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Yes, I got robbed. Well we got robbed. Our house got broken into.
First, let me start by saying we are both safe and luckily no one was home when it happened!
Last Thursday I left our house at 7:50am and returned at about 3:00pm. I pulled into the garage and noticed the garage light was on. Yes, it was odd to me but we could have accidentally left it on. I checked the mail that falls into our garage. Then walked towards the door that leads into the house. I saw the door open and saw something in the floor that was rectangular.
Automatically I thought, “I have to get out of here!” Jumped back in the car and backed out of the garage. I drove down the street a block to the park and called Ryan. At first I thought maybe I over reacted and I should tell him what I saw to see if he thinks I should call the cops. We decided to call the cops.
Long story short someone (or multiple people) tried to kick in our front door. When it did not budge they went to the back door and it did budge. They went through EVERYTHING. It was a mess. They took all of our electronics in pillow case that had my name embroidered on it!
So over the past few days a lot has taken place as far as insurance claims, door replacements and trying to make it feel like we are secure again. There have been several things that have come up that I wish I knew or thought about BEFORE we got robbed. Besides once you have been robbed your mind set is completely different. With that being said I am going to share a few tips with you that we have learned or others have told us in this process.
I plead with you: Don’t think “It will never happen to me.” Just take the precautions and hopefully it never will! But if it does you will be more prepared than we were.
What I Wish I Knew/Thought Of
- Turn on your alarm system! (Duh- I know. But someone we were talking with got robbed one day when the alarm was off for the cleaning lady.)
- Lock the safe EVERY time you get in it. (I had forgotten to lock it last time I was in it. Lucky for us they didn’t want any of that stuff.)
- Do not leave spare keys close to doors.
- Main places they over turned was mattress, bottom and top drawers of dresser, bathroom and desks.
- Main places they did not even touch: kitchen and bookshelf.
- Make sure your computer is locked using a password.
- Have serial numbers and descriptions off all electronics (I would suggest several hard copies in places and also one saved on your phone.)
- If you have a smart device even if it does not have service have some kind of app that has GPS on it. This will help the cops locate it.
- Have a weapon of choice (gun, baseball bat, etc) in every room.
I am sure some of these seem like no brainers, but some times we take things for granted.
I am sure there are more I will think of later – maybe I will have to do a part two.
Yes, I got robbed and yes, it was scary. What I wish I knew. Now you know!
Leave a comment telling us any other tips people should know to help prevent robbery.
I am finding more and more that through facebook, twitter or other social networks people are posting pictures of themselves on vacation, or saying when they are going on vacation. This is just an invitation to get robbed. Wait until after the excitement of the trip to post these things. If you take the newspaper or your mailbox is on the outside of your house, ask a trusted neighbor, friend or family member to collect these items. A few days of news papers on the ground is a clue no one is home. And in todays world, I think we could all use a security system. For $30 to $50 bucks you can secure your house and family. If you have children home alone after school or in the summer, be sure to have a plan for them if someone tried to break in when they are home alone.
These are good things to keep in mind. Although we were gone just for the day and no one knew about it social media can allow robberies to happen more easily. Thanks for the tips!