Make your home safer with these 6 items less than $20 each | KTUL
These days, no one is safe from a home burglary, but taking steps to prevent it could be costly.
Unless you know the right tricks that is.
Chances are, you have what a burglar wants. If you’re not careful, they just may get it.
Working as a realtor has taught Amy Tidwell a few clever but inexpensive ways to keep your home safe. Some of these may never have occurred to you.
“It’s startling the things that people don’t do,” said Tidwell. “No one ever thought that you could make use of the Clapper Plus.”
Tidwell plugs her Clapper into the lamp next to the phone when she’s away. She simply calls home every now and then.
“Every time the Clapper hears the phone ring, it’s going to set the lamp off,” said Tidwell.
Solar powered lights are another inexpensive way to ward off crooks.
“Here we have the Solarblaze Motion Light,” said Tidwell. “$19.99 for one. You can buy them in a double pack.”
They go anywhere, stick anywhere and light up any dark situation.
“Best part is, when we’ve lost power over here in midtown, I just brought this right in the house, and there was no problem with having light in our house,” said Tidwell.
Even the best distractions are no guarantee, so you’ll want to make sure getting inside isn’t easy.
“Simple things, if you have wood-framed windows, you can take screws and screw in your wood frames,” said Tidwell.”
Your front door may seem secure, but chances are, it’s weaker than you think. It’s because the screws used to hold the strike plate on are small, which makes kicking the door in pretty simple.
Leon Garner, with B & G Travis Lock and Key, says you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to reinforce your front door. Just use longer screws.
“You need to get that into the framing,” said Garner. “That way it will resist kicking when people kick.”
For a few bucks more, you can even pick up a steel strike plate reinforcer.
“For $6 that will take care of a whole lot of security in people’s home,” said Garner.
Last but not least, Tidwell says to never underestimate the value of a good flashlight. For about $6 you can get one that goes from a solid beam to a strobe in just one click.
“More than anything, it can blind an intruder if they’re coming toward you, and it can buy you critical seconds,” said Tidwell.
As the wife of a police officer, she knows just how important simple tricks like this can be.
“You hear about the daily crimes, the things that so easily could have been prevented,” said Tidwell.
She says any one of these items could end up saving you money, and more importantly, your sense of security.