Your home should be the place where you feel the safest. But it can be hard to feel safe these days. And it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Fortunately there are a lot of simple, quick ways to improve your home's security. Here are nine actionable steps you can take to make your home more secure--including how to make your doors safer. 

1. Invest in solid wood doors

Solid wood doors that are well-fitted in their openings are much more secure than any hollow core doors out there. They're harder for people to break into than the foam or hollow core doors that may come on your house from the contractor. That's why all our entry doors at RealCraft are built with solid wood, to help protect you and your family. 

2. Install deadbolts on all exterior doors

This is a quick, easy fix to instantly upgrade your home security. Make sure to attach the strike plate to the jamb with screws that are at least three inches long. If your local building codes allow, use a double cylinder deadbolt on entry doors with glass adjacent to the locks. This means that someone can't break the glass to unlock the deadbolt from the inside, but it isn't allowed everywhere. 

3. If you have outswing doors, get NRP hinges. 

We always recommend inswing entry doors because it places the hinges on the inside of the house. This helps a lot with security, since one way that intruders can get in is to pop the pin out of outswing hinges. That's why we use outswing hinges with a non removable pin (or NRP for short). If you have an outswing door, getting NRP hinges instead of standard ones is one of the simplest ways to improve security. 

4. Install window security film. 

Security film makes it much harder for an intruder to gain entry. If someone shatters the window glass, security film holds the pieces together, which means the intruder has to take more time to pull the shards of glass off the film. In other words, it delays entry and may deter intruders because it's a hassle. As an added bonus, security film can also protect against storm damage and even provide some UV protection. 

5. Install motion sensor lights. 

Motion sensor lights deter intruders, and they can also alert you if someone is outside. Place them near entry points like doors and windows. 

6. Get window locks and bars. 

Install additional window locks or bars, especially for ground-level windows or those that are hidden from street view. 

7. Follow the 2-6 rule for landscaping. 

Simply changing how you landscape your yard can make a big difference. Trim bushes to below 2 feet in height and limb trees 6 feet up from the ground to help remove hiding places, especially near any entry points of your home, or near windows that are hidden from street view. 

8. Be strategic with your plants. 

Your plants can protect you, too. Plant thorny plants like roses beneath vulnerable windows, and plant vining flowering plants that attract bees near your windows and doors. 

9. Change your ground covering. 

Use landscape rocks or pea gravel instead of beauty bark. Landscape rocks make a loud crunching noise when someone walks on them, so if someone is prowling your house, you'll be alerted to it. Bark or mulch on the other hand is silent.