Do you keep your dwelling locked all the time?

Ronni

Ronni

Well-known Member
Location
Nashville TN
This is sort of an offshoot of my other thread about who locks up at night.

I was intrigued by the statement from some of you that your place is always locked because we don’t keep our house locked when we’re home. We’re in and out all the time when we’re here. We use our back porch all the time unless it’s really cold, I’m in and out walking the dog, we both have projects going on in the shop, I’m outside watering the plants and tending to the veggies…I mean there’s just so much activity between the two of us when we’re home that it just makes no sense to keep things locked up.

Even after dark we’re in and out….it’s really peaceful to sit on the porch with the candles lit and chat. Or I might run out to the shop and put a final coat of paint on whatever the current project is, or Ron will pound a few more nails in his.

I guess if we lived in an apartment it’d be different, and I know some of you do. But for the rest of you, do you stay locked up when you’re home?
 

When I lived in my house which was in the middle of the state forest, I did not lock it at all. Even at night. To be honest, my door had been broken and never fixed until just before I moved. So it was not locked. But I figured if anyone wanted to get in they could easily break a window.

Now here in my apartment, I do lock my door because other people in the building will just open a door and go in. That is because they have lived here with their doors not even closed at times so they did not have to get up to answer it. I like my privacy. The whole building though is locked at all times and you need a key to get inside. Or to be buzzed in by a tenant.
 
When we lived in a house, the front door was always locked, as was the screen door. The sliding patio door off the kitchen was unlocked as the dog was let out into the yard, often.

Of course, here at the condo, the door is always kept locked.
 

Do I keep my home locked ?...absolutely not!... Not when I'm here anyway!

The windows are all open regardless of if it's cold or hot.. the back door is open all the time in summer as it is down there at the moment.. wide open , not just unlocked... the front door is closed although not locked except at night when we go to bed..

Like you Ronni, I/we are in and out dozens of times a day.. even at night we sit outside when hubs gets home from work, for a ten minute catch up while he has a beer and before he has dinner.. and bed.

All that said, if my husband is alone in the house , end despite maybe having to go in and out, he'll shut the doors and windows.. I hate to come home and find those things shut , sometimes locked..I feel stifled and claustrophobic..
 
When I had my house, and lived alone (after hubby's passing) I usually had it unlocked during the daylight hours.
I did lock everything at night.

My apartment has double locks on a steel door.
I learned that it takes the Fire Department to break down the doors in these apartments if both locks are engaged. :eek:
Watched in dismay a few years ago, as they had to break into a deceased 94 yr. old woman's apt. Until then, I didn't know how much protection these doors gave.
 
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Only if going away for the day. unlocked day and night. windows open most of the time. truck parked outside and unlocked. When I lived in Miami, Toronto or Bermuda i kept the place locked. Oddly the only place I was broken into was Bermdua - lost of bag rice, bottle of rum, and a tshirt - to a well known character. I used to wave and say hello when i saw him wearing the shirt
 
I hate locks. Our back door is only locked when we are out of the house or in bed. The front door is often wide open in Summer to get the southerly breeze. The garage and the shed are unlocked except when we go on holidays. I refuse to use the deadlocks because it there is a fire I want to be able to get out quickly. The gates to the carport have no lock and anyone could walk to the back of the house and enter the garage or the house.

Guess what? The only people who ever do that are either family or friends.
 
When I lived alone at my home, I always locked up. Never had a robbery thank goodness. Since I live in assisted living now, I never lock up unless going to be out for a few hours or more. I figure here if someone steals something, we find out who it is. Visitors all have to sign in.
 
Jules said:
For those who leave their windows open, are there screens on them?
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No screens on my windows... I have wooden horizontal slatted blinds which get tilted a little against the sun.. and to protect the furniture, but here we get surprisingly few beasts compared to the US hotter countries...

A few Flies, wasps, bees, butterflies, during the day , moths at night the occasional mosquito when it's hot and they lay their eggs in the bird bath.. but not enough to need a mesh as we have to have in Spain where Tiger mosquitoes and flying roaches are a problem in some places
 
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Ronni said:
I guess if we lived in an apartment it’d be different, and I know some of you do. But for the rest of you, do you stay locked up when you’re home?
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Nope
Everthing unlocked 'til we hit the sack
Hate, absolutely hate trying to get in the back door with the screen door locked....

Yeah, we're in and out, too
Even into the wee hours
 
If we were in the backyard, the front doors would be locked. The easiest opportunity for quick thefts is people in the back & a quick entrance in the front. It’s not uncommon. There’s lots of petty theft here. If the crooks are caught, there’s basically no punishment for crime under $5000.

We installed digital locks on the doors, one of our better decisions. No need to carry keys unless driving.
 
jet said:
everythings open all day,even the cars on the drive.
garage doors wide open all day
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Same here and it's been that way since my grandfather built he place in 1921. The house and property have never been out of the family since it was a King's Grant long before the Revolution. This property and two others, making up maybe 5 acres in total, are all that is left (in the family) of the original Grant.

It's on the outskirts of the city and zoned "residential". Also used to be a main highway to Boston so not much foot traffic to be concerned about.
 
Locking & unlocking not viewed as a chore but more as an exercise. Pushing the button to raise the garage door the lesser exercise. Dual work out for the front door. Twisting the knob for the door lock takes a lot more effort & memory for direction to twist.

Short answer. Yes we lock our dwelling.
 
Our front door is always locked. When we are outside in our back yard or sitting on our back porch they could come in the front door and we would never know it.
Generally we use our back and side door anyway.
When we had our dogs I felt safer leaving the front door unlocked even though our Labs would have been under the bed before the intruder stepped foot in the house. lol
 

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