Throughout your home, whether you’re a student in halls, newlywed going into their new home or someone who’s happily retired; the chances are you will have a lot of expensive items throughout your home. Be it, electronic gadgets and equipment, jewellery, even certain items of clothing. Therefore it is important you put in the right precautions in order to keep your valuables safe and away from any risk.
Lock up before you leave
Be sure to lock up all your doors and shut your windows whenever you are leaving the house. Now, this may seem incredibly obvious but it can often be tempting if you’re quickly just nipping out for 5 minutes that you won’t bother, and you’ll leave your windows open or maybe won’t worry locking your door. However, it is essential that you lock all your doors and windows before leaving the house, regardless of the time that you’re planning to go out for.
If you are living in shared accommodation or in student housing with others then ensure that you have a good solid lock in place on your doors, this way your possessions will be kept safe and secure. Though when terms come to an end remember that for students this can be when housing can be targeted by burglars, so be sure to take any of your valuable items with you when you leave and this way they won’t be at risk.
You can always register your items
In order for you to add another sense of protection and cover to your items, you can always register them, with Immobilise. As they are the UK National Property Register and they help the police to return any stolen property to the rightful owners. You are able to register your items via this site free of charge and are entitled to list as many belongings as you would like to. This way you can keep note of what you have, then you simply just flag an item if they get stolen and this will notify Immobilise.
A suggestion of something you could do if you don’t feel a need to physically register your belongings is simply keeping an inventory of all of your major belongings. That way you are able to keep track of what you have so when you cannot find something or it goes missing you can go back and refer to your list of items.
Keep belongings out of sight
It is essential that you do not leave any of your valuables on show, as by doing this you are leaving yourself in a vulnerable position. Wherever you are, be it in the car, at home or in your shared kitchen at university, you need to be careful. As if it is visible to other people, then the temptation is there for thieves and burglars. It is important you keep your items hidden and out of sight as this will reduce the risk of thieves seeing any of your belongings and being tempted to try and swipe them.
Keep safe when carrying items around
It is much easier for thieves and pickpockets to take items out of your back pockets than any other pockets, therefore be sure that you do not keep items such as wallets and phones in these places. Instead, carry them in your closed bag, or even in your front pockets as this will make it much more difficult for a pickpocket to steal from you.
Be sure to only get your wallet out when you really need to, for example, be it when you are using a cash machine or in fact paying for something. The biggest piece of advice for this would be to not flash around any valuables, such as your wallet, cash or your phone etc.
How to protect your mobile?
There are multiple ways in which you are able to keep your mobile phone safe and secure, for example, this could include registering your phone with Immobilise, or using the mobile phones current built-in security features, though these may vary depending on type and model, so it is best for you to have a read through the manual. You can also keep the details of your own mobile phone in safe place, including details such as the manufacturer, model of the phone, as well as the IMEI number – which can be found when you dial *#06#).
Don’t leave equipment outside
Chaining your bike or other equipment can be a good way to avoid theft, though this has no guarantees as with a set of bolt cutters a thief would break the chain and be off with your bike and you’d be none the wiser. Therefore the only real way you can keep certain possessions safe is if you take them inside with you; however, in certain homes, this won’t be possible. Therefore keeping your bike and other items out of sight would be much better than just chaining you bike outside the front of your house, if you could do both, and lock your bike and keep it out of sight then that would be even better and wouldn’t result in you having to accommodate it inside your home.
Here are a few ways in which you can keep certain items safe and secure, though it is important that you remain alerted and stay vigilant. So if you see something report it and if something happens to you and your belongings don’t hesitate to report this to the police. If you do not have the facilities to maintain all of your belongings securely and you need some additional space then here at Make Space Self Storage we would be more than happy to accommodate your belongings, keeping them safe and secure for you.