A home security checklist covers doors and frames, ground-floor windows, exterior lighting, cameras, codes and keys, sensors, valuables, vacation prep, and routine testing so you harden the house in layers instead of buying one gadget and calling it done. Most break-ins still go through a door or an unlocked window; cameras help after the fact, locks and light help before. Work the interactive list below in order of forced-entry fixes first, then visibility, then alerts.
I used to think a yard sign and a doorbell cam were enough. Then a neighbor's side door with a short strike-plate screw kicked open in under ten seconds while their camera caught a perfect video of someone who was already inside. Hardware beats branding. This list is 100 tasks aimed at delay, visibility, and access control, not a pitch for a three-year monitoring contract.
You do not need every item on day one. Deadbolts, long screws, motion lights, and a honest key inventory close more gaps than a full sensor suite with default passwords. Add cameras and alerts once the physical layer holds.
Walk the house at dusk. Dark corners next to doors are where someone can work a lock without being seen from the street. List every exterior door, including the garage walk-through and basement, plus ground-floor windows within arm reach.
Check HOA or city rules before you mount cameras or floodlights. Set a budget that funds locks and lighting first. Write down who has keys, remotes, and codes now; that list is usually longer than people expect.
Decide which rooms, if any, get interior cameras. Entry coverage is enough for most households. Prioritize forced-entry fixes over subscriptions. A monitored panel on a hollow door is theater.
Put Grade 1 or Grade 2 deadbolts on every exterior door. Replace the short screws in the strike plate with 3-inch screws that bite into the stud. A soft frame is the weak point, not the lock cylinder.
Confirm doors are solid-core or steel. Add a peephole or video doorbell at the main entry so you are not opening blind. Sliding glass doors need a charley bar or secondary lock plus pins so the panel cannot be lifted off the track.
The garage pedestrian door deserves a deadbolt. If the emergency release cord is reachable from outside through a gap, fix that. Test locks with the door fully closed; a latch that only works when you lift the door is not locked.
Keyed or lever locks on operable ground-floor windows, plus stops that limit how far they open for air. Basement and well windows need locks that cannot be reached through a broken pane.
Security film helps on large glass if you are worried about a quick smash. Remove ladders, bins, and stacked furniture that turn a second-story window into a first-story problem. Close curtains on rooms that advertise TVs and laptops to the sidewalk.
Brace window AC units. Screens and storm windows slow someone down; they are not locks. Pull on each locked sash hard enough to find loose screws before a stranger does.
Motion lights on the front door, side gate, and back patio. Aim at the approach path, not the neighbor's bedroom. Add dusk-to-dawn fixtures at every entry so you are not relying on motion alone.
Interior timers or smart schedules while you travel beat a single lamp on every night. Trim shrubs below sill height. Limb trees that give cover to upper windows. Clear plantings that hide a side door.
Replace burned-out bulbs the day you notice them. Trigger motion sensors at walking speed from the sidewalk. Photograph the lit exterior at night; dark pockets are obvious in a phone photo even when your eyes adjust past them.
One camera on the main approach and package zone, another on the least-visible side or rear entry. Mount high enough to resist easy reach while faces stay readable. Match night vision to your light zones so clips are usable.
Enable person detection if car headlights keep waking you up. Keep at least seven days of recording. Change default passwords and turn on two-factor auth. Put cameras on a guest network if your router allows it.
Skip always-on bedroom recording unless everyone in the house agrees and you have a reason. Test live view on cellular data. Home Wi-Fi tests only prove the camera works when you are already home.
Re-key after you move in or after a roommate leaves. Limit physical keys to people who need ongoing access and keep a written list. On smart locks, give each person a unique code and rotate after contractors or cleaners finish.
Spare keys belong off-site or in a locked drawer, not under a mat. Disable garage remotes you no longer control. Change router passwords if they still match the sticker by the modem.
Keep lock and camera accounts on an email you control. Revoke app access when a phone leaves the household. Access control is boring paperwork; it is also how most friendly-entry problems happen.
Contact sensors on primary doors and the garage walk-through. Window sensors on openings you leave cracked for air. One hallway motion sensor covers a lot of interior movement without wiring every room.
Glass-break sensors make sense for big patio glass; they are optional elsewhere. Try self-monitoring with phone alerts before you sign a multi-year monitoring contract. If you do buy monitoring, read cancellation terms and who owns the hardware.
Use separate arming codes for adults and a duress code you will remember under stress. Yard signs only help if the system is real. Walk arm and disarm with everyone who lives there, then test one sensor path monthly without accidentally dispatching police.
Bolt a fire-rated safe down for passports and spare keys. Photograph serial numbers on laptops, bikes, tools, and TVs. Keep a room-by-room inventory in cloud storage for insurance.
Lock the shed. Keep high-value items out of sidewalk sightlines. Use a package locker, carrier hold, or neighbor drop when you travel. Store firearms separately from ammunition.
Smoke detectors on every level and CO near sleeping areas belong on the same checklist as locks. Review insurance limits after major purchases. An inventory photo taken in daylight beats reconstructing a claim from memory.
Hold the travel posts until you are home. Ask a neighbor to collect mail and flyers or park in the driveway. Use postal hold for trips longer than a few days.
Stagger lights and a TV or radio schedule. Lock the garage, shed, and side gate the night before you leave. Close windows, set HVAC to vacant mode, and arm sensors after you confirm phone alerts still arrive.
Give house-sitters temporary codes that expire on return day. Unplug appliances that can spark in an empty house. Leave a spare key with a person, not in a lockbox that advertises your address to anyone walking past.
First weekend of the month: walk exterior locks and lights. Put sensor and camera batteries on a calendar. Update firmware when prompted, then retest remote view.
Clean lenses and motion sensors quarterly. Check garage auto-reverse twice a year. Audit door codes and app users every quarter. Replace smoke and CO batteries on the manufacturer schedule.
Re-photograph the lit exterior after landscaping changes. Confirm old camera clips still download. Update the written access list whenever keys or codes change. Maintenance is unglamorous; dead batteries are how good setups fail quietly.
Layered security pairs well with other household systems. Use our home automation checklist for lights and locks that schedule cleanly, the home renovation guide when you are already opening walls or replacing doors, the emergency preparedness checklist for contacts and outage plans, and the fire safety checklist so detectors stay on the same maintenance calendar.
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The following sources were referenced in the creation of this checklist: