- [Voiceover] You never know when a thief can strike.
Lurking around your home and
waiting for the perfect opportunity
to relieve you of your valuables.
That's why today we've put together
an excellent list of home security life hacks
to protect you and your family.
Let's get sneaky.
In the event that a criminal manages to bypass
your security, you can still make it
hard on 'em by concealing your expensive items.
One excellent method is to create a fake
and boring bookshelf display.
To do this we'll take three old binders
and turn them into the perfect hiding spot.
You'll start by cutting off one side of a binder,
while leaving a small tab hanging off for later.
A cutting board or scissors should do the job just fine.
Then cut both sides off
of the second binder, again leaving tabs.
This is going to serve as our centerpiece,
which will bind the others together.
Once you have everything done,
take some glue and reinforce the plastic
and cardboard so that nothing is going
to slip out of place.
And then line the binder tabs up
together so that they're flush.
Now glue them together, holding each tab in place
as you go to form a strong bond.
Once all the binders are connected
and secured place them on your bookshelf
and you can hide small but expensive items
within the treasure cave you just built.
This makes for an inconspicuous hiding place
that most thieves will past right by
without a second thought.
Speaking of your nice equipment,
another common mistake that can be made
is placing empty boxes of your items
near or around the trash bins.
This is sort of like advertising
what awesome things you have stored inside your house.
So spend a little extra time breaking
down the boxes and hiding them away in a bag or a bin.
It's a combination of all the small things
that really make a difference.
Did you know that 40 percent of people using
your bathroom will snoop in your medicine cabinet?
If you don't have a lock on yours,
here's a fun way to insight shame
upon any snooping house guest.
Get yourself one of those musical
or singing greeting cards.
We grabbed the most annoying one we could find
to make sure it leaves a mark.
This will make for a great trigger
to let you know when your medicine cabinet
is being snooped.
Carefully open the card and reveal its inner workings.
What you'll find inside is a small speaker,
a circuit board and a tab which initiates the sound.
As you can see the tab prevents the circuit
from completing, and when pulled,
allows the sound to burst out.
Snip the tab at the end connected to the card
and put it aside.
Now peel the board and speaker from the paper as well.
Make sure to do this slowly so you don't
disconnect any wires or snap the board.
Now head over to your medicine cabinet
and place some adhesive on the inside
to hold the board and speaker in place,
while making sure the trigger is facing out.
Once you have that secured and in place,
push the tab back into the trigger,
and put some tape on the end.
You're going to close the cabinet a bit,
and attach the tab to the door
while still keeping it lined up with the circuit board.
Close the door and your cabinet is armed.
And now any sneaky person looking through
your personal belongings will be met
with surprise and most likely shame.
When leaving your house at night,
it's always good to leave a light or two on,
so it looks like someone's home.
However, that might not always be enough.
But how do you fend off burglars
aside from leaving your 8-year-old son
home alone while you and the rest
of the family take a trip to Paris?
Simple, cardboard cutouts.
Grab an old box and flatten it out on the floor.
Have someone lay down on top of it
and trace around their torso and head
with a pen or marker.
Now it doesn't need to be perfect,
it just needs to resemble a human shape.
Once you have it traced,
go ahead and cut it out with some scissors
and place it in your windowsill.
Flip on a light in the room and
have a fun evening out,
knowing that your cardboard sentry
is hard at work keeping the burglars at bay.
Thieves are less likely to enter a home
when they believe an animal could expose
them or even injure them.
A simple and effective layer of
extra home security can be obtained
with a simple sign letting
potential intruders know what might be in store.
You can find pre-made graphics online
to print out on your own or
simply grab a cheap plastic version at any hardware store.
Next time you're outside doing housework,
make sure not to leave any items out
that give thieves easy access to your home,
like this ladder.
But you also want to secure your entry points.
Some window locks can be pried open
from the outside with ease.
While a broken window is always
a possibility, it's less likely
because it'll attract attention.
A simple security tactic is to measure
out your window frame and create
a perfectly sized rod to
hold the window in place whether it's locked or not.
Get a piece of wood and cut it to size.
You can also try using adjustable curtain rods.
Just place the stopper in the window,
for an extra level of protection
besides a simple lock.
If a thief wants in your home,
you certainly don't want to make it easy on them.
So secure those easy access windows
and block them out.
Another obvious but quick tip
is to have motion lighting around entryways
to your house.
These will save you good money in the long run
since you won't have to keep them turned on all the time.
And not to mention the surprise factor
that comes with the immediate flash
of light which serves as a great theft deterrent.
Now these are all great ways to secure your home,
but if you want to take it to the next level,
check out our sponsor SmartThings.
The Samsung SmartThings home monitor kit
comes with two multipurpose sensors
for your doors or windows,
a handy motion sensor so
you can detect movement in your house,
and even an outlet that lets you control
lights or anything else you plug into it.
They all connect wirelessly through the SmartThings
hub which is also included.
You can also add a camera like the SmartCam HD Pro
and set it to record when certain
things happen like motion or door opening.
So now if someone is on your front porch,
a simple notification will let you know,
and even send a video clip through the SmartHome monitor.
It's quite useful if you're expecting
a package or just want a record
of who comes by your house when you're away.
The SmartHome monitor can also
let you know when an intrusion
has been detected and take action.
Is someone breaking into the basement?
Well you can just check the alert status
and see what's going on down there.
I set it to record and turn on
the lights after a few seconds,
to scare away any potential intruder
and make it look like I'm home.
Yeah, get out of here.
When you buy a kit at
SmartThings.com/HouseholdHacker
or click the link, they're giving away a free
water leak sensor while supplies last.
So check it out and get your security into gear.
Thanks for watching.
If you enjoyed this video,
be sure to subscribe and
share it with your friends and family.
Securing your home is a
great way to sleep better
and get some peace of mind.
See you next time.