Keys to my house

[Poochiepooh]

I need someone else’s perspective on this. Myself and my youngest went away for Christmas to avoid all the angst going on in our family. Background to my asking for advice. I live in a rural town with low problems but I was burgled about 12 years ago. I have also accidentally locked myself out 3 times. The last time see 77 year old filch next doors ladder to climb on to the flat kitchen roof on one of the hottest days of the year. The roof was untouchable so I stripped off my dress to be able to clamber on to the roof. Once on I redressed and kicked the window of one of the bedrooms in.

I was hiding a spare key in a hanging basket, but I’d given it to my plumber who lost it. Not a safe place anyway. So recently I decided to buy a key lock box. I have a ginnel next to my house that looks like just another front door unless you know otherwise. So I installed this behind the door and you can’t really see it when you open the door unless you’re looking for it.

So I accidentally left my handbag in the house we were staying in over Christmas, with my keys in. We get home and can’t get in. I said “no problem, I’ll get the key from the lock box”. No key! My son said “I put it indoors because someone could smash the lockbox to get the key out”. Am I nuts or is he? It would be easier for a burglar to smash a window to get in than try and smash a lockbox off a wall in a terrace that all the residents would be aware of. I’m being treated as the idiot.

Put a spare key in a plastic bag. Put that bag into a small plastic container with a close-fitting lid. Bury it in the bottom of a flower pot in the garden.

Which is exactly what I was doing before. The world and his wife know that’s the most obvious hiding place. My son has lost 3 keys in the last 2 years so I’ve changed the barrel twice. I think I’ll put another key safe in the garden and not tell him about it.

The question is still the same.

Maybe you and your son need to learn to stop losing important things.

Lockboxes can be broken into quite easily by all accounts.

If you lose your keys all the time then consider a code or a fingerprint door lock.

Get a key pad instead of a key.

I would be livid my child had overridden my decision to have key box though.

I've got over 200 pots in my garden. Any dodgy types would have a heck of a job going through all that lot!

You’re not nuts – you’re being practical.
The issue isn’t the idea of external access, it’s the type of product. Cheap key lock boxes can be smashed, but after lots of research, I found that a police preferred key safe is a completely different thing. They’re solid and tested against forced entry.
I use one myself for similar reasons (family access and avoiding lockouts) and I feel far safer with it than hiding keys in plant pots or udner a mat - burglars check those first.
You’re also right that if someone wanted in, smashing a window is far quicker and easier than attacking a proper key safe where noise would be noticed.
So you’re not the idiot here. The sensible solution is a police approved key safe, not getting rid of the idea altogether! Mine is super sturdy and robust and I now couldn't live without it!