15 Safety Tips For Living Alone

Living alone is part of life and coming of age for many young proffesionals, and some may not even be able to imagine living any other way as it is their life choice. Living alone comes with many freedoms as well as responsibilities that can turn into a stressful experience.

When living alone, you have to prepare your home to have security measures and change your habits to be more security conscious. If you're looking to improve your safety when living alone, then these tips may assist you.

1. Get a pet

This tip may not be for everyone as many people living alone live in flats that may not allow pets or dogs of a specific size, but if you are in a home or apartment that allows pets then have a dog is a great option. Dogs are proven deterrents when it comes to burglars selecting targets. Pets can either make a noise or provide an early warning system or even scare intruders away should the dog be threatening enough.

2. Remember to lock up

When you do leave the home or when you're home at night, remember to do your security checks and ock up all the time. If you're not using a particular entrance, ensure that you Lock. It. Up. Some break-ins occur as 'walk-ins' due to the lax attitude about locking doors. Don't leave doors open for friends or family because you're lazy and also, get in the habit of using the peephole or video doorbell if you have one.

3. Close the curtains

Closing the blinds or curtains means potential baddies can't see your stuff, sure. It also means they can't know that you're alone—which could be a factor in choosing targets, depending on the burglar. This tip is a recommendation for anyone, but especially crucial for those living by themselves.

4. Don't advertise your location

When you live alone, you might be on social media a lot. Whether you're Facebooking your binge-watch on Netflix or Instagramming your Chinese food take-out, social media can make you feel like you're not alone. But when you do, make sure that you're not inadvertently broadcasting your location to the world when you share social media posts from home. Giving out too much information online can make you an easy target as criminals look for vulnerabilities in your daily routine.

5. Know your neighbours

You don't have to be best friends with everyone you live around but knowing your neighbours (and your neighbours knowing you) is one of the best and easiest security systems in the world. If your neighbours know you live alone, they're likely to keep an eye out for you and can even assist you when doing security checks and provide an additional set of eyes on your home.

6 Fix security Issues right away

Get yourself a useful toolbox for minor fixes, and ask your landlord or call in the professionals for significant repairs where you think your home is vulnerable. These fixes could be a shoddy door or lock that may need replacing or adding another lock on doors. Some maintenance issues, like a window that's stuck open or lock, slip off easy can make unauthorised visiting easier.

7. Keep your cell charged

Though it may be easy for a burglar to cut a phone line, you can still contact help with the aid of a cell phone. Keeping your cellphone charged is especially crucial for people who live alone because you're likely only to have one cell phone in the house. A great way of keeping your phone on charge us by having a docking station or charging pad you can always leave your device on to keep the charge.

Additionally, you could keep a spare phone handy on this docking station in case of an emergency.

8. Get a home security system

Getting a monitored security system means you can be alone without being alone, you can have an early warning detection system put in and link that to an armed response service provider for additional layers of protection.

9. Have a panic button or emergency phrase

If anything ever goes bump in the night, you can use the panic button to alert the police quickly or have a phrase you send your armed response or loved ones to let them know you're in danger.

10. Create a saferoom

Select a room you think is the least vulnerable in your home for intruder attacks and then solidify it by adding a slam lock gate inside your home. In case of emergency, you can move this room lock yourself in and call for help which can protect you and your valuables while help arrives.

11. Join the neighbourhood watch

As mentioned in a previous tip, you should get to know your neighbours, but in some areas, neighbours may be more passionate about security and form neighbourhood watch groups. While these meetings and WhatsApp group messaging my seem like an irritation having the support of your community can make all the difference in times of incidents, and it also keeps you informed on what is happening your area.

12. Keep your keys safe

The first step you should take is to rekey your door locks immediately. It's quick and inexpensive and adds another layer of protection. Also never leave keys hanging in your doors where they could be stolen or copied and when locking doors store your keys in a safe place in your home. If that all seems like a hassle you can also upgrade to electronic door locks with keypads that make it easier and more convenient for you.

13. Reinforce your home

You're living single, you want a stable door, and a standard panel isn't enough. You can upgrade your door to a fully framed security door that's 100% aluminium and comes with a lock with the lattice facing inward.

14. Don't let workers in when you're alone

Whether you're male or female, young or old, or are expecting a plumber to fix a leaky sink, invite some friends over to keep you company. It's much safer to have a stranger think you live with roommates than to give away the fact that you live alone. It'll make you less of a target.

15. Add a home CCTV system

A final precaution would be to set up a CCTV system at key entrances in your home like the back and front doors and perhaps facing your garden or yard. Having these cameras can act as a visual deterrent but also provide valuable evidence in the case of a burglary or attempted burglary.

Home alone

Not every person will be as resourceful as Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) in "Home Alone" when dealing with intruders, and some of us may feel prevention is better than cure. By implementing a few of these security techniques, you can significantly reduce the chances of a home invasion and feel much safer while living out your life of solitude.

Start by shopping local

Support your local security service provider and find local vendors in your area that can assist you in improving your home security systems.

Are you looking to promote your business?

South African safety and security businesses can create your free business listing on nichemarket. The more information you provide about your business, the easier it will be for your customers to find you online. 

Registering with nichemarket is easy; all you will need to do is head over to our sign up form and follow the instructions. If you require a more detailed guide on how to create your profile or your listing, then we highly recommend you check out the following articles.

• How to create a nichemarketer profile
• How to create a nichemarket business listing

Recommended reading

If you enjoyed this post and have time to spare why not check out these related posts and dive deeper down the rabbit hole that is safety and security.

• Get Your Safety & Security Business Listed Online
• Best Reasons to Invest in a Home Security System
• Tips To Secure Your Driveway

Tags: Home , Safety , Security