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  • - [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.

- [Voiceover] You never know when a thief can strike.

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