Staying at home all alone can be great. You get to indulge yourself in long showers or bubble baths, play your favorite records without anyone forcing you to turn down the volume or chance the song and cook whatever your heart desires. You get the picture. However, when the sun sets down and the night owls start to make their presence felt in your backyard, things may feel a little different, especially if you just moved in to a new home. Living by yourself for the first time or having a temporarily missing spouse or apartment roommate is enough to bring some cold chills down your spine.
If you count among those who feel scared of living alone or you are simply terrified by the thought of having to sleep by yourself in an empty house tonight, you’ve reached the right article. We are going to provide you with a few useful tips that should make you feel more at ease when turning all the lights off and go to sleep alone in your new home.
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Before Moving In
It is not enough that your landlord says he put the most expensive and reliable types of deadbolt locks on your entryways, you need to check yourself that this is really the case. You can even have your landlord paying for an inspection by a licensed and insured home locksmith as a condition for signing the contract. Most landlords do not have any problems agreeing to this as it really is in their best interest as well. Ideally this should be done before you actually move in and spend your first night there but let’s say you have already moved in then just try to do it as soon as possible. Having a professional check doors and windows should really be mandatory. The reason for this is that some of the old owners may still be holding on to spare keys they might think about using for various reasons without your knowledge or consent. The same goes for any of the old babysitters, builders or real estate agents – there are quite a few people who could be still storing keys to your home on their keychains. Have a locksmith re-key your locks or fit brand new key sets for more peace of mind and higher levels of safety.
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Settle In Your New Place
After you have moved in, and made sure your doors and windows can keep potential burglars on the outside, then it’s time for you to familiarize yourself with the surroundings so that you are not only safe at home, but also on the streets of your neighborhood. If you have just moved into a new place, or even if you need to spend one or several nights alone at a new location, you will need to start by getting accustomed to the surroundings. It is normal to feel alienated or uneasy when moving into a new apartment building or property for the first time. If you have also switched town, your levels of stress and anxiety are prone to go even higher.
Walk around the neighborhood and familiarize yourself with the area. Look at the rest of the homes and buildings around you and look at people’s faces when passing by in the street. Knock on a few neighbors’ doors and introduce yourself. It will give you a feeling of being safer than you originally thought you will be.
Also, familiarize yourself with your new home and know every creaking and cracking that might scare you off at night. All homes have a “tune” of their own, but older homes tend to be a whole different category. Know all the ins and outs of the home and you should feel a lot less anxious and scared to sleep there by yourself at night. If there are any motion sensors inside the house, make sure you are well aware of each and every one of them so they do not take you by surprise. Get used to automatic lights turning on and the floors squeaking under your feet when on your way to the restroom at night and you should significantly lower your stress levels.
- Stay Safe
So you had a locksmith inspect your doors and windows. Just remember this does not make your house safe, unless you also make full use of them all the time! Once we start to feel a bit more at “home”, we tend to forget to close a window or even lock the door while just running out the get a pizza. A burglar could easily sneak into your home or garage during the day if you leave your home unlocked or a window wide open and unsupervised. They could come out of their hiding at night, while you are asleep and take off with a few of your most prized possessions. If you have installed an alarm then continue to use it everyday and not only the first month when you don’t really feel safe yet. Always enable the alarm before going to bed and leave a few lights on during the night so you can let potential burglars know you are at home (and awake). These are excellent deterrents for intruders who will think twice about kicking a door open or picking a lock only to risk meeting with the owners inside.
By following the advice of this article you can finally relax in your new home and sleep well at night even after watching a scary movie on Netflix!
