Do you lock your doors when you're home?

[kiana2015]

My husband has a habit of not locking the door behind him when he leaves for work if I'm up, this morning I was in the kitchen washing DD's bottles when he left, I spent a good 30 minutes in the kitchen before I came out and realised the door was unlocked whilst DD was upstairs asleep, I panicked and was rather annoyed with him. It got me thinking, when you're home do you lock your doors? Since DD came I've had this awful anxiety about the door being locked and someone comes strolling in, the way the world is now it wouldn't surprise me if this happens, does anyone else have the same fears?

Someone tried my door handle recently completely random in the day time, no knocking..don’t know him and disappeared when it was locked. 9 times out of 10 forgetting to lock it might be fine but always best to keep it locked just incase x

Yes always lock them. I've watched too much true crime not to!

We don't. Front door tends to be locked because we don't use it much but the back door is usually unlocked unless we're in bed or out.

My brother doesn't even bother locking his when he goes out. It seems to be an Isle of Wight thing, none of his friends bother either.

We dont use our front door so its always locked.

Our back door, which we always use to enter / exit, is not locked while we are in the house, although we always lock it and night and it remains locked until we go out in the morning.

We live in the middle of nowhere in the countryside.... only walkers would walk past our house.

Only lock the door if we’re both out or when we go to bed, husband goes to work and doesn’t lock the door if I’m home , same as when I go out and he’s got a day off door not locked after I leave

You must lock your doors. I once had someone try my door years ago when we lived in flats but it was locked. My husband went to check and it was a neighbour who said he was feeling mentally unwell and wanted to talk. No major drama on that occasion as husband got some help for him but he was clearly just going to walk in if the door wasn’t locked.

You could never but it's normal in both my family and friendship group to have doors unlocked like that

I don't find it shocking in the slightest

I always do now. Our town used to be the kind of place where people didn't bother but my neighbour had her handbag snatched by someone who nipped in the back door and my elderly mother had a guy wander in to her house and try to steal her car keys.
20 years ago I wouldn't have but sadly times have changed.

In the warmer months the whole back of the house is practically open as we have bifold doors in every room. I don't sit in the kitchen cowering! Most rural houses also have dogs. Good luck getting down the drive without setting them off.

yes locked and bolted day and night,the back gates are also locked & bolted.

I know so many people who live rurally and used to do that. Til they got burgled.......

I have the door locked because when I didn't the post man came in and left a parcel in the house. That particular day I was upstairs getting dressed. It made me feel very uncomfortable they would come into a house. It is always locked not to my OH's annoyance.

Every single property I've every lived in (as a child as well as an adult) has had a Yale type lock on the front door, so it automatically locks as it shuts.

Am always surprised on these thread how many people have front doors that don't lock automatically as you shut them.

Unlikely. I think that's only a Yale type lock, which probably excludes all uPVC doors, which seem to be what most houses have.

But the OP is talking about leaving the door unlocked, ie vulnerable to someone just walking in, so it's clear this doesn't apply to her situation.

But you can negate that risk by always leaving keys in an easily accessible place near to the door. Sneak in burglaries are also probably more common than house fires.

I don't think I know anyone who has a Yale lock tbh. Plus it sounds like a PITA as you'd be at risk of being locked out if the door blew shut when you went out to the bins or similar.

I don't, I hate the feeling of being locked in.

I always lock. We get a LOT of door trying around here.

Mind they also take the kitchen windows out of the frame if they really want in like. Cameras be damned.

Yes, ever since my mum's neighbour had her handbag stolen from her kitchen. She got home with her young son, put her bag on the kitchen table and went upstairs. A man walked in and said to the boy "I've just come for your mum's bag". Since then I've always made sure we're locked up.

Well, you'd put it on the latch then.

@Tubetrain How would that work exactly? They then carry it all down the drive, hope the gate and leave all with the dogs going mental at them and us not noticing?

@Bjorkdidit Just two or three breaths of toxic smoke can render you unconscious, so I rather not be fumbling about with keys. In any case, my door can’t be opened from the outside without a key (maybe this thread isnt about this type of door?). And even if it were locked it’s possible to lock-pick.

An intruder is far less likely to kill vs a fire.

I’ve heard of a police officer recommend to leave purse/car keys close to the door so if burglars do gain entry then they just grab them and leave instead of rummaging about the home.

No, we don't ever lock the front door unless we going on holiday, flat door, so people have to get through main door so maybe that makes a difference?

I don't know anyone whose front door doesn't lock on its own!

Will your dogs keep going mental if someone chucks a nice bit of steak at them? or hits them over the head?