Do you lock your doors

[Scrambledegghead]

When you’re in the house? So you’ve come in, shut the door behind you and you’re going to be in for at least a few hours. Do you lock it behind you or leave it unlocked because you’re in? We leave ours unlocked and DM has made me promise never to do it again but I can’t get out of the habit! She locks hers when she gets in even if she’ll only be in for 5 minutes before going out again, whereas unless we’re going to bed, ours stayed unlocked.

should I be making more of a conscious effort to lock it, lest a murderer or a burglar comes in or am I in the majority?

Keep front door locked.

Mainly because my keys are kept there or thereabouts and I don't want someone coming in and making off with them.

Live in a safe and quiet area but after watching Luther I always lock it behind me.

Locked, whichever door we use unless I'm downstairs and likely to be in and out - in which case I leave back open but front locked.

If they're both locked, I'll unlock for any friends who message they're on their way for a brew, or my dad, or the girls on their way from school.

We're not in the best area & I feel better that way(even though 'they' could easily get through the kitchen window if they wanted to, I suppose 🤷‍♀️).

My friend in the same area leaves hers unlocked & we just walk in unannounced (or at least, most folks do)

I used to live in the middle of nowhere. We didn't lock house doors or car doors. Now I live in a city amd lock everything

We have the door locked at all times apart from when we are walking through them.

Growing up, my parents only locked the door when out or at bedtime…but that was in a home where you had to come around the house to get to the door and were faced with 2 barking dogs so if anyone, friend or foe, approached you’d know about it!

Unlocked mostly.

However I live rurally and have a pair of 70kg dogs and their little sister- a 30kg German shepherd with a bark that sounds evil.

I always bank on their being easier houses to get into!

No thanks. I choose not to live in fear of all of that. I can't imagine being afraid to leave a window open or being afraid of being raped or murdered if I left my door unlocked while I'm at home, it sounds like a really awful way to live, nevermind choosing to watch tv shows or whatever it is you talk about to try and rile you up further so you are afraid of people lurking in the moonlight with shotguns. The last murder in my town was in 1882 as far as I can make out from a google search if I'm next so be it but I think I'll take my chances.

Back door always locked, even though it’s difficult to get into the back garden

front Door I lock as a habit as I get in. Although you can’t open the door from the outside without a key I originally had a door you could so kept it locked and it’s an ingrained habit

Honestly, we have front and back unlocked and often open, as in standing open, like its the 1950s or something, especially when youngest is playing out. My neighbours come up and shout knock knock, as does the grocery delivery guy. I'm embarrassed to admit that we often forget to lock at night as well! I'm sure I'll read this thread and be terrified at all the things that could happen to me.

In summer back door is normally wide open! 50/50 whether it's locked when shut. Front door is normally unlocked during the day if someone is home. Everything locked overnight or if everyone is out.

I know there's a tiny chance something could happen but I live somewhere fairly safe so I refuse to be scared of having a window open or something. Sounds a horrid way to live.

Having lived in a hot country where we had to sleep with front ground floor windows open and only fly screens (that could be removed from outside), and on hot nights the back door open and the screen door locked (which could easily be kicked open), I just learnt to let go and stop worrying about the what if's.

Locked all the time loads of vile people on the area I live

Every single time.
Safety first.
I'm not giving anyone the change to break in and grab what they can. Keeps my children and me safe.

Our front door is automatically locked,,but we only double-lock at night, or if going out. Back door is usually unlocked so anyone could open it,,but the side gate to the garden is nearly always locked, so unless someone got into the back garden (not easy) they couldn’t access it.

We always lock the front door when we're in as there's to many dodgy people around here 😑 2 people on our street have been robbed in broad daylight when they have left their door unlocked and they have been upstairs

Unlocked til bedtime. My dog generally lies looking out the window and barks whenever anyone approaches the house anyway.

We don’t but to access our door you have to come through our gate which has a Yale lock on it.

I guess you could climb over our wall / hedge but I don’t think that we are interesting enough for invasions by the SAS.

When the kiddos were toddlers we were better at locking the door but that was to keep them in.

If I was you I would fit a Yale lock and then the door will lock automatically.

Nope. Never lock them until the evening (front) and the dog's last wee (back).

My neighbours leave their patio doors wide open, even when they are out for the day. The dogs can then access. The garden when they like.

Yes, because I watch/read/listen to a LOT of true crime!

I leave it unlocked until bedtime but hubby tells me to always lock it as soon as I get in unless the gate is closed. We live on a really pretty lane set back from the road but there’s a big camp of travellers/gypsies that permanently reside about half a mile down the road and tend to occasionally speed up and down the lane, often drunk. One crashed in to a neighbouring car that was parked on the lane and the car was completely destroyed. It’s a shame as it’s an otherwise quiet area.

Yes, every time. All ground floor doors and windows are locked whether we are in or not. Unlocked as and when needed, if in the area if that room.

Opportunist burglars do exist. It's very quick to grab car keys or bags without anyone knowing.

On the ground floor is our kitchen and utility mainly. So if in living room it would be easy to not hear anyone.

We've got a Yale lock on the main front door so it's effectively always locked from outside. It was high enough that the kids were sensible enough not to escape by the time they could reach so never worried about from the inside. We only put the deadlock on over night and have never bothered with the chain. I think I'd try and keep it locked if it didn't automatically lock from outside, but I guess I don't know what habits I'd get in. My parents often seem to have theirs unlocked. My main worry would be invalidating the insurance if something did get taken - that's much more likely than rape or murder!

We do leave the porch door outside of it unlocked in the day (handy for deliveries) but only our shoes could be stolen from there! Although I did realise a visitor left their bag there once not realising I didn't treat that as my main door.

We have had bikes stolen from a (locked but evidently not very well) integral garage while we were in the house though, and we live in a pretty nice area, a quiet road in a village on the edge of a city, so we are very aware that you can be targeted at any time. Since then we have added bolts to the garage which are used when no one likely to be coming in that way, and are much more careful about keeping the door between garage and house locked.

I know a few people who have been burgled, or had their car keys swiped from hallway and car stolen, when at home, none in terrible areas, so it's worth considering as a possibility! Or pushy door to door sales / charity people try handles when they haven't answered the door! When we lived in a flat in a rougher area we also had the weird upstairs neighbor's girlfriend wander in 'looking for fags' so that taught us a lesson about door locking too!

Of course there are lots of examples of it all being fine when people have left things open / unlocked. I left my house and car keys in full view on the outside window sill of the porch all night by mistake once! But the one time it isn't ok could be very expensive!

Front door is always locked but not the back as its pretty impossible to get round the back without climbing over fences. We keep the front locked as we are often out the back so wouldnt notice if someone just walked in

Doors are either locked or can't be opened from outside without a key. Padlock on back gate too. Also, car doors locked when in car. Why take the risk?