Very few people would argue the fact that “there’s no place like home for the holidays.”

Regardless of your ethnic background or religious persuasion, there’s just something special about the roughly 6 weeks that starts around Thanksgiving and ends shortly after New Year’s Day. Warm and inviting decorations, sumptuous cooking and baking odors, more company than usual to share it with, sons and daughters home from college – what’s not to love?

We know you agree, and so do burglars who love this time of year, as it frequently means more goodies and cash up for grabs, and easier access to your home. But it doesn’t have to be easy pickings – not if you observe a handful of proven effective home security measures:

• Keep gifts and other valuables away from uncovered windows. You’ve worked hard to buy those gifts, and you should have the privilege of giving them to the recipients of your choice. Advertising them to passersby, however, could rob you of that opportunity.

• Be predictable. This includes putting your outdoor and indoor holiday lights on automatic timers so they come on and go off at the same time every day. That prevents thieves from figuring out the exact timing of your comings and goings.

• Lock all your windows and doors before going to bed at night or leaving your house empty of people. At the same time, don’t run any electrical wires through windows as that makes it easier to pry them open.

• Bring that spare key back inside. This is a good time of year to bring that spare key back inside. But if you have to leave one, ask a neighbor to hold it for you or your kids. Or, at worst, change the location every couple of days, put the key in not-so-obvious places, and don’t let anyone see you moving or accessing it.

• Be wary of unexpected service people or door-to-door sales people. In all cases ask to see identification, even if they purport to be from a well-known charity and are outfitted accordingly. You never know how somebody may have come by that particular garb.

• Don’t broadcast your gifts on social media. That includes the ones you’ve purchased and those you’ve received. Facebook and other social media are open portals for people of ill-repute to plan their next home “visit.”

Helping people all over Connecticut beef up their home security is out job and our privilege. If you don’t have a home security system, we can install exactly the right one for your home and budget in very short order. Or maybe you have a security system but you’re not happy with your monitoring company – there’s one more reason to contact Now Security Systems. Call us and let us know how we can help.

When we think of home security, we tend to think of keeping burglars and vandals at bay, having a safe electrical wiring system, fire and carbon monoxide alarms, and things of that nature.

But there’s a lot more to home security and family safety than that. Take your bathroom, for example. Did you know that that the number one for emergency room visits is injury caused by slipping and falling in family bathrooms? What’s more, the people most often victimized are seniors and children 15 and younger.

Here some effective ways to make each bathroom in your home a safer environment for every member of your family:

• Walk-in tubs. The older and/or less nimble one becomes, the greater the likelihood of falling while stepping over the side of a tub to gain entry. The solution? A walk-in tub with a very low threshold that can be easily navigated with much greater ease.

• Non-slip floors. There are a host of new flooring materials that are known for their slip-free quality: cork, rubber, non-glazed ceramic tile, and others.

• Grab bars. Many bathroom accidents occur while standing up from the toilet or entering or exiting the tub of shower. Most can be prevented with the strategic placement of well-anchored grab bars.

• Hand–held showerhead. The more people move around in the tub or shower, the more likely they are to slip and fall. One way to prevent that is with a hand-held showerhead to eliminate the need to turn around to clean your entire body.

• Anti-scald shower valves. Ever have the shower water suddenly turn crazy hot on you, just because someone else turned on a faucet or flushed a toilet? That’s another “accident waiting to happen” that can be prevented by installing an anti-scald shower valve.

These are just a few of the ways you can enhance family safety and security. But when it comes to protecting them against unwanted intrusion, nothing beats a custom-designed home security system custom-designed and professionally monitored by Now Security Systems. Contact us today to request a free and no-obligation quote.

They say timing is everything? Well how’s this for timing: one American home is burglarized, on average, every 15 seconds. The average haul? About $2,000 worth of cash, jewelry, electronics, and more.

When you read statistics like that, all thoughts suddenly go to installing or beefing up your home security system. Is that enough protection to keep you out of the every-15-seconds group? Probably not. That’s why Now Security Systems presents these additional suggestions for keeping the burglars out, and your valuables in, right where they belong:

• Keep your bushes and shrubs well-trimmed to make them less desirable and effective hiding places.

• Use window treatments to keep valuable items out of view, or don’t put them near windows in the first place.

• Don’t advertise new luxury purchases by putting the big boxes they came in out on the curb with the rest of your trash. This is especially important during the holiday season.

• Call your home electrician and ask him about such home security options as motion-sensitive lighting, footpath lighting, keypad lighting, and more.

• If you travel extensively or frequently arrive home after dark, consider installing one or more timers to automatically turn on your lights to always maintain the impression that someone is home.

• Since the majority of home burglaries take place at ground level, you want the best protection possible in the form of wood or stainless steel doors, dead bolt security locks, keeping your windows locked, and so on.

And yes, by all means consider adding or beefing up your home security system, where a burglar alarm system is just one of several available options. For more information or to schedule a free in-home quote, contact Now Security Systems today.