Wednesday, November 15, 2006

A Friendly Reminder

We're getting close to the holiday season and I know multiple people on Florida Avenue and Morse Street (right where Montello hits) who have been hit by burglars in the past couple of weeks. Please be extra careful to:
-lock your doors;
-lock your windows (check the upstairs ones, the intruders used an extension ladder in at least case);
-TURN ON BACK & PORCH LIGHTS (please do this, it doesn't cost that much and it is a deterrent);
-think about removing (it's getting cold now anyway, don't you want to save money?) any window A/C units in unbarred windows;
-lock-up (or better yet, put them in your basement/garage) and ladders. Leaving these lying around (even in your backyard) makes it a lot easier for someone to break in to your home, or your neighbor's home.

Other good things to think about:
-talk to your neighbors, and maybe let a couple know if you are out of town so they can keep an eye on your house
-the post office is pretty good about holding mail while your on vacation, but you do need to give them notice. (you should still have someone come by because phone books and flyers get delivered even when the mail doesn't.)
-you might want to put your lights/tv on a timer when you are out of town.
-if your window locks are crappy and you've got wood windows, you can make very good locks by drilling holes in the sides (angling down) of the frame and putting a nail in there (I actually prefer to use a nice big bolt with a snug enough fit that it won't fall out, but I can still easily remove it by hand when I need to open the window).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Also, remember not to leave *anything* of value in your car--though even then there is a risk.

Three cars were broken into Sunday night on Parker Street NE (1 block street between 2nd & 3rd, I and K Streets).

Apparently, thieves need to go shopping for the holidays, too.

Best,
Alan

Anonymous said...

Great points. We have energy saving lights in our porch lights. They're like 15 W and we leave them on all the time. If you are paying pennies per KILOwatt HOUR, you can figure leaving on a light like that costs you very little.

Anonymous said...

I put screw in photo sensors that I bought from Home Depot on all my exterior lights. When the sun goes down they come, when the sun rises they shut off.