do you lock your doors?

[silent thunder]

Curious where others are on this...

 

For years mine were not locked... 'just walk in.'

Though, if you don't knock, or announce... be prepared to potentially see some odd shit.

 

Now I'm in the conditional crowd.  It's locked under certain circumstances.

 

 

 

 

[cold]

Yup, I'm in the conditional crowd too, mostly unlocked.

[Nungali]

Unlocked ,   I fitted some simple   slide bolts on the inside to stop them blowing open in storms , But most of the time during the day the doors stay open. If I go out all day I  will close but not lock them -  to stop the birds and huge lizards getting in and causing havoc.

 

They stay open at night in summer ,  only bats come in then, but they are cool, just small insect bats flapping around ,   they fly so close i can feel the wind off their wings on my face .   Over  20+ years I have lived here,  had about  5 'unwelcomed '   turn ups  ...... they won't be back !     

 

My 'unwelcome skills '  apparently match my welcome skills   (in level, not type ) . 

Edited May 18, 2017 by Nungali

[Apech]

6 minutes ago, Nungali said:

Unlocked ,   I fitted some simple   slide bolts on the inside to stop them blowing open in storms , But most of the time during the day the doors stay open. If I go out all day I  will close but not lock them -  to stop the birds and huge lizards getting in and causing havoc.

 

They stay open at night in summer ,  only bats come in then, but they are cool, just small insect bats flapping around ,   they fly so close i can feel the wind off their wings on my face .   Over  20+ years I have lived here,  had about  5 'unwelcomed '   turn ups  ...... they won't be back !     

 

My 'unwelcome skills '  apparently match my welcome skills   (in level, not type ) . 

 

Do you leave large wads of cash lying around when you are out ... and what's your address?

[C T]

I do. Check them twice too. Though where we are I have not heard of anyone's property being broken into in the last 5.5 years. In neighbouring estates, yes.. therefore the risk is there. An ex-colleague of mine who lives about a mile up from me had an attempted break-in recently despite knowing the property was occupied. 

[Nungali]

Do you leave large wads of cash lying around when you are out ... and what's your address?

 

No , as I dont own large wads of cash, but there are other things here some might wanna kick the door in for, but since its usually open, my door ownt get broke. There are weapons scattered around here and there, its more likely, if someone with your evil intentions turns up I will be the one 'taking ' them   up                 Do you like the new controlls on DBs ? 

 

Fun aren't they,   I can hardly wait until I make one of my half  page  long posts  like this     

 

 

....     urrrgh ... that made me feel a little ill . 

 

I prefer to be home when   such people  'call in '  ;      young kid  ( now early 20s and wild and grown big with muscles  is leaning against my  open front door  giving me  cheek  " Well, you getting pretty old, what you gonna do if a bunch of us turns up for a home invasion ? "

 

I casually yawn and stretch my arms up and fls them back to the behind of the arm chair   ( where there is a throwing knife sticking out the wall boards )  " Ohhh ... I dont know ....  maybe  ........   this !  "        whoosh !   fedang !  It sticks into the door jamb next to his head .

 

" Whoa !   Easy Man .... I was joking ... I was just joking ! "

 

" Oh yeah ...   so was I ... if I wasnt , I would have got you right here . "   <points to own Adam's Apple >

 

 

In retrospect it was a silly and dangerous thing to do , I am pretty good at knife throwing, but in practice , sometimes I miss , coulda got him by accident or on rebound  ...  but still , I am not gonna have those would be punks coming around here to 'test the water '   .   I am sure he told all his mates about it     

Edited May 18, 2017 by Nungali

[AussieTrees]

Hi Nungali,

house unlocked,even when we go away for a few days.

usually leave car unlocked as well with keys in it.

 

about ten years ago,one Sunday summer morning young son comes to inform."there is a man in the lounge room"

no panick,got up,and sure enough it was a man in our house.

there was no intent or malice from either,he asked about the neighbor,I politely indicated that he had the wrong house,so he was on his way.Still feel I should have offered him a coffee or something.

sadly that man successfully suicide some years later,may he rest in peace.

[Aetherous]

Everything I have is constantly locked. There are many reasons to lock...possessions are worth something and you'd miss them if they were stolen, there are private things to keep safe, your spaces are for your solitude and other people would mess with that, etc.

Locking = good boundaries.

[Marblehead]

My Tundra gets locked, my Honda does not, my house gets locked if I am going to be away during dark-time hours - day-time hours not locked.

 

[MooNiNite]

I lived in a house with 3 roommates, we never locked the door. 

 

[liminal_luke]

I think it takes a certain gumption not to lock the house, an admirable cockeyed optimism and confidence.  Personally though, I lock. 

[Cheshire Cat]

In my country, if in an unwelcome guest enter your house with malicious intentions and gets hurt -even stumbling on a carpet while you're not at home-, he can sue you. If he's severely injured or dead (for example stumbling on a carpet and falling down the stairs), the scenario is even worst because you'll probably go to jail.

 

Better to lock the doors.

[Nungali]

Well .... I guess a load of  gumption,  cockeyed optimism and confidence.    And also ..... 

 

 

 

....   I got  'Old Doris '  here   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nungali]

12 minutes ago, Cheshire Cat said:

In my country, if in an unwelcome guest enter your house with malicious intentions and gets hurt -even stumbling on a carpet while you're not at home-, he can sue you. If he's severely injured or dead (for example stumbling on a carpet and falling down the stairs), the scenario is even worst because you'll probably go to jail.

 

Better to lock the doors.

 

I see ... and if you invite them in after opening the door and they  get hurt stumbling on your carpet , when you are home  they can;t sue you ? 

[Cheshire Cat]

17 minutes ago, Nungali said:

 

I see ... and if you invite them in after opening the door and they  get hurt stumbling on your carpet , when you are home  they can;t sue you ? 

 

They can, but the judge will most likely consider your intentions to hurt the thief which will make legal consequences worse.

[morning dew]

Woah, I'm getting nervous just reading some of these replies.

 

I grew up in London, so it would have been unthinkable not to have locked the front door and I still feel the same way. I was in an area last year (out of London) for a while where the main door to the block of flats didn't lock, and even that made me quite uncomfortable (although it was a fairly quiet and safe area).

[Marblehead]

4 hours ago, Cheshire Cat said:

 

Better to lock the doors.

Or feed the victim to the stray dogs.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

3 hours ago, Marblehead said:

Or feed the victim to the stray dogs.

 

 

That reminds me of a nice clip from the movie "Snatch" 

 

 

[Brian]

Depends.

 

My wife is more comfortable coming home alone if the house has been locked while she has been gone, and she feels more comfortable sleeping with the doors locked (reduces the middle-of-the-night "I think I heard something" incidents, too).  Her comfort and sense of security are important to me (even though we both know this is an illusion, it is a useful illusion).

 

 

[thelerner]

I'm a Chicagoan, now a Suburbanite.  I lock my front door and my car doors and teach my kids to do the same.   Why tempt fate?   If I didn't nothing would happen, til the thousandth or so time, then a problem.  

 

I also teach them, never be afraid, always be alert; that's the cost of living in (or near) the big city.

[Brian]

4 minutes ago, thelerner said:

I'm a Chicagoan, now a Suburbanite.  I lock my front door and my car doors and teach my kids to do the same.   Why tempt fate?   If I didn't nothing would happen, til the thousandth or so time, then a problem.  

 

I also teach them, never be afraid, always be alert; that's the cost of living in (or near) the big city.

That's good advice regardless of where one lives.

[CloudHands]

There are more chances that I lock and lost my keys if I'm out... and I risk not much if I'm in. Nothing really valuable otherwise so, in or out mostly unlocked.

Recently I gave a friend my key's copies so I can lock if I want/have to but honestly not much to steal except my bass.

[Nungali]

On 5/20/2017 at 7:58 AM, Brian said:

That's good advice regardless of where one lives.

 

yeah but ....  how one of them horny hippy chicks gonna sneak in the middle of the night and hop in  my bed  ?

 

I dont wanna have t get out of bed  .... get up ... trudge across the cabin ... unlock the door .... in the middle of the night  .... too much bother ! 

[Nungali]

3 hours ago, CloudHands said:

There are more chances that I lock and lost my keys if I'm out... and I risk not much if I'm in. Nothing really valuable otherwise so, in or out mostly unlocked.

Recently I gave a friend my key's copies so I can lock if I want/have to but honestly not much to steal except my bass.

 

I had another house where the kids used to get in, so I locked that door ... and I am a key looser ! 

 

So just left the key in an old wooden box by the front door  ......    with one of these guys in it 

 

[Brian]

20 minutes ago, Nungali said:

 

yeah but ....  how one of them horny hippy chicks gonna sneak in the middle of the night and hop in  my bed  ?

 

I dont wanna have t get out of bed  .... get up ... trudge across the cabin ... unlock the door .... in the middle of the night  .... too much bother ! 

Oh, just leave a key hanging on a hook by the door!

 

My wife would likely not be too understanding about horny hippie chicks...