20 Tips to Make Your Home a Safer Place to Live

In addition to monitoring your home with ADT, there are simple and easy things you can do to take extra precautions when it comes to providing your family with a safe home. Below are some general home safety tips for you and your family.

General Safety Tips

Do not leave notes on the door
Do not leave notes on the door for service people or family members. These alert the potential burglars you are not home.

Store valuables in a safe or safety deposit box
Store cash, jewelry, and other valuables in a safe or safety deposit box instead of leaving them lying around the home.

Keep drapes and blinds shut
Keep drapes and blinds shut – especially in rooms where there are valuables. Do not advertise the items in your home.

Do not leave extra keys under doormats
Do not leave extra keys under doormats, potted plants or any other obvious outdoor location. Thieves will easily find them. Try giving a set of extra keys to a neighbor you can trust.

Have a family watch dog
Having a family watch dog is always a good idea, but you can never know exactly how your dog will react in an emergency. It is a better idea to have an ADT-monitored home security system and a family watch dog both working together to keep your home and family as safe as possible.

Door and Window Safety Tips

Reinforce doorframes and use multiple locks
Reinforce doorframes and put multiple locks on all outside doors

Talk with a locksmith
Find alternatives to regular deadbolts in doors that have windows. Talk with a locksmith about what is available.

Treat garage doors the same as outside doors
Treat inside garage doors the same as an outside door: multiple locks and bracing

Plant rosebushes or hedges
Plant rosebushes or hedges in front of all vulnerable windows

Safety-coat your windows
Look into safety coating the most vulnerable windows. This will make them harder to break

Fire Safety Tips

Fire resistant roofing materials
Make sure all your roofing materials are fire resistant when building or renovating your home.

Open Flames in the home
Never leave candles or other open flames burning unattended

Install smoke alarms
Install smoke alarms on every level of your home. Test them monthly to make sure they work. Replace the batteries as needed.

Make a Fire escape plan
Make a fire escape plan for your family, and have several practice drills a year

Make sure your street address is visible
Make sure your street address is visible so firefighters can easily find your home in the event of an emergency.

Home Safety When on Vacation

Put your TV or radio on a timer
Put your TV or radio on a timer, so it automatically goes on and off at certain times during the day and night.

Ask a neighbor to watch your house
Ask a neighbor to watch your house. Better yet, hire a house sitter - a trusted student or senior, for example - to stay at your home and earn some extra money to keep a watch on things.

Hire someone to keep your yard maintained
In the winter, make sure someone shovels the snow from your walkway. Summers, don't let the lawn grow out of control while you're away.

Do not leave a recorded message
Do not leave a recorded message on your phone at home that you are out of town. Your message at work should simply say you are out of the office.

Stop newspaper and mail delivery
Stop newspaper and mail delivery, so papers and postal items do not pile up on your porch. This is an obvious sign that no one has been home for awhile.