Tips to Avoid Getting Locked Out of Your Home

It’s something that only happens to other people.  It could never happen to you.  The annoyance, the embarrassment, the time wasted.  Don’t let yourself fall victim to the dreaded lock out!  Here are a few simple tips on how you can keep from going through the hassle of getting locked out of your home.

1. Give someone a spare key
2. Give a spare key to a friend or family member who does not live with you. A trusted neighbor is best because you don’t have to go far if you’re locked out or if there’s any kind of emergency and you need them to get inside your home, they already have the key.
3. Carry an extra key in your briefcase, if you carry one of those, or your purse, if you carry one of those.
4. Put a combination lock on your shed and hide a key inside.
5. Consider installing a smart lock on your front door. They use an electronic keypad where you simply type the combination.  The downside is that you have to remember to change the battery.  They usually have low battery alarms on them, but if you don’t change it in time and you don’t have the key to open it manually, you’ll be locked out.
6. Put a keyless door knob on your front door, like one that you would find on a closet but only do this if you have a deadbolt lock on your door.  Then the only way to lock the deadbolt is with the lock switch when you’re inside or with a key from the outside of the house so it would be impossible to leave the house without your house key.
7. Do as Al Gore said and put it in a lock box. These can be securely placed somewhere on your property.  They usually have a combination lock on them so make sure everyone in your family knows the combination.
8. Install a wireless keypad on your garage and hide a key in there.
9. Pat downs aren’t just for criminals! Get in the routine of a morning pat down, patting each pocket for your usual items.  Wallet in back pocket, phone in the other, change in your left pocket, keys in your right…hey, Macarena!
10. Put a combination lock on your electrical panel and hide a key in there.
11. Hiding a key somewhere on your property is always an option too, but there are some places you should never hide a key outside your home:
    1. Under the welcome mat. It’s the first place that anyone who’s ever seen an old cartoon or a sitcom would look.
    2. On top of the door. It’s the second place they’ll look.
    3. In the mailbox.
    4. Under a plant pot.
    5. A fake rock unless it’s a really good one that looks like a real one because everyone knows that fake rocks always have keys in them.
    6. In your car’s glove compartment. If you forget to lock your car or it’s broken into, the criminal would then have access to your home.

Following one or two of these tips should keep you from being locked out of your home, but if it ever happens to you, we’re here to help.  Call 24/7 Speedy Locksmith in Chicago at and we’ll get you back in your home in no time!