To keep curtains closed at night?

[Margo34]

Settle a disagreement for us!
DH grew up in household where curtains downstairs were closed of an evening until you went to bed, then they were opened. He says this was because keeping them closed advertised you had stuff to hide so it was a security reason.
Meanwhile I grew up in a household where downstairs curtains were closed of an evening and stayed so until you got up next morning, again for a security reason to keep others from peering in and seeing what you owned.
We both think our way is better as a deterrent to potential unsavoury night time folk and uninvited midnight visitors. We both think each others way is weird!
Who is right?

YABU - he is right, open curtains over night.
YANBU - I am right, keep them closed overnight.

I open my downstairs curtains before I go to bed. Always disagreed with my housemate over this when I was a student. I like coming down in the morning to a house that is ready for the new day. She liked coming downstairs and flinging wide the drapes. In the end it was whoever went up to bed last who got their way. We were never burgled.

On my street now, nobody seems to close their curtains ever - I can see what my neighbours are watching on TV out of my front window. It's a quiet street and our house is set well back and slightly elevated, so there's very little chance of anyone walking by and peering in.

I think the best deterrent to burglars is an alarm - curtains are a bit hit and miss, especially as when you're on holiday they will be permanently in one position and that is the giveaway. But just in case the thieves get inside your house, you should leave your car keys and £50 out near the front door, so that they grab that and run instead of ransacking your entire house looking for swag. They'll go for the easy pickings and scarper. Car's insured and £50 is way less than the excess on your contents insurance.

That’s ridiculously odd.

His way, I mean.

Op, can you come back when you've given all this feedback to your hubby and tell us what he says, if he agrees with you now and is willing to change his opinion ;)

Most break-ins around here seem to have the objective of stealing car keys rather than anything else of value in the house.

Does he do this year-round? Surely in winter you keep curtains closed overnight for insulation?

Never heard of your DH's curtain ritual; it seems he's not alone!

I'm meticulous in closing downstairs curtains of an evening - summer months by around 10 pm. If I didn't close them of an evening I'd have to keep doors closed when hallway and other room lights are on which can't be guaranteed with kids and, I like my privacy.

Also with all the gadgets we have these days with red, blue, yellow indicator lights pulsing constantly... I'd prefer to keep would-be burglars and nosy neighbours guessing as to what I have - On the basis that burglary is a risk based business - They'll focus on the neighbours who don't close curtains so can see the potential revenue making opportunities within. But then I do have CCTV and floodlights!

First floor rooms which aren't overlooked are treated differently, but usually curtains are firmly shut in the winter.

@bumbleb33s

Op, can you come back when you've given all this feedback to your hubby and tell us what he says, if he agrees with you now and is willing to change his opinion ;)

He's changed his reasoning now to 'well mum and dad always did it at home' - OK but it's still weird imo!

Thecatsthecats burglars will try to get in open windows regardless of whether they think you're home or not. I'd have closed it.

Nope. Curtains closed when it is dark, opened in the morning.

@Mintjulia

Apart from the security aspect, well made curtains keep in heat. Opening curtains before you go to bed, let’s heat escape.

So for 6 months of the year, it’s wasteful and environmentally unsound.

Agreed. But I do open mine before bed in the summer to let the room air and leave them closed to keep the heat in in winter. Burglars would give up with the state of my dirt track before bothering to break into my house.

I've never heard of opening curtains before you go to bed.

We don't have curtains downstairs but have blinds which we close in the evening. In the summer months before we go to bed, admittedly we open the blinds. We do it because we like coming downstairs in the morning to the living room being light, rather than for any security reason.
I can see this is very uncommon though!

Never mind the heat and cultural differences. Does no one here watch crime T.V. programmes or films? Critical scene : camera pans across to window - curtains open, person in house going about their routines oblivious. Rule 1. Close the curtains for the evening and keep them shut < unless you qualify for houseplants abstention > Rule 2 when you are babysitting NEVER answer the phone 📞 No good ever comes from it !

I knew someone who had to go into her sisters bedroom when she was away at uni and close the curtains each night. Her parents though if someone was going to rob them they would enter through that window!

In the summer months before we go to bed, admittedly we open the blinds. We do it because we like coming downstairs in the morning to the living room being light, rather than for any security reason.
I can see this is very uncommon though!

If I were the curtain-closing type, I can see the point of this -- who wants to come downstairs to a dark, shrouded house in the morning?

Why on earth would a burglar look at a house with the curtains closed and think you're hiding valuables?

So your DH reasoning is that you open the curtains and the burglar can shine his torch in have a look round before he buys, as it were, and think that's a shitty house - not saying your house is likely to be shitty OP - so I won't bother breaking in? Very odd. Do burglars window shop?

I don't have curtains, except on the bedroom windows to keep out the light, I have blinds on my windows and close them every night as I want to be able to walk about in my house at any time, day or night, without anyone being able to see in.

My window coverings are there for my benefit, they're not there as an aid, or otherwise, for burglars.

Curtains closed here when lights honon in the evening, never would I ever think to open then when I go to bed!
Also I like windows covered at night, have a horrible, irrational fear that a face will be peering in at me through the window if I need to get up to go to the bathroom or get a drink😵

My nan used to open curtains before bed as she didn't want the neighbours to know if she overslept incase they thought she was lazy.

My nan used to open curtains before bed as she didn't want the neighbours to know if she overslept incase they thought she was lazy.

Exactly. My mother's childhood neighbours apparently used to open the curtains, throw a few damp sticks on the fire to get some smoke going up, and wheel their bicycle outside the front of their house -- all before going back to bed again.

Sometimes (though happily not often) I have to leave very early for work in the depths of winter when its still dark.

Most houses have their curtains closed (and their lights out).

I close them, but I have 4 2m x 4m floor to ceiling windows covering two walls of the living room, with only minimal walls between.

Oops, clicked the wrong button, so I'm probably the 1% saying YABU. It was an accident, I swear!

Surely curtains stay closed at night so you’re not woken by the light at dawn?!

Your DH’s plan sounds bizarre-surely everyone has something in their house worth stealing. If you follow his theory through-why bother closing the curtains in the evening? Surely you’re advertising you’ve got stuff to hide them, too?! Why bother even having curtains!

Surely curtains stay closed at night so you’re not woken by the light at dawn?!

Only in your bedroom, though -- the OP is talking about downstairs/living area curtains.

@Margo34 yeahhhh ... thanks for letting us know