I've seen movies that show robberies and homeowners get hostaged in their own homes. I think that, whenever you upgrade your home to a bigger space, the first thing you should think about is safety/security followed by convenience and efficiency.
I'm excited to be moving to my new home soon. So, I've been thinking of a couple of things to put on my list of todos and targets. Here are some, and hopefully some of you who could relate could also add to it too.
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Safety vaults. I think that you can't totally count on banks and deposit boxes. They are just like the cloud vs local storage devices. Sometimes when you need things in the wee hours of the night and there are non-ideal scenarios, its difficult to get a hold of these important stuff. On my list, I would have a safety vault in the master's bedroom, one for my gun and one for documents, etc.
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Air tight containers. Aside from vaults, air tight containers for documents are now a very sensible implementation of safety for important stuff (eversince we had Ondoy here).
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Hidden shotguns and pistols. I would be buying more firearms later on. For different strategic areas of the house, I will put conceal covers. Its self explanatory. You move around the house, you will always have an alternative resort.
So, don't make a big mistake of picking the wrong house! :)
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Fire extinguisher. Even if my developer wouldn't have one ready for me, I'll buy one.
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A panic plan. I may not be able to have a panic room, but I can have a "panic plan". At moments of danger, know what to do first. What to pack first, who to call first, what to do first, etc. Knowing this ahead of time is like a drill. It will become a habit when you always read/see it.
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Routine checklist. Some of the accidents that happen are tasks that are ignored or forgotten. To avoid this, I will prepare a checklist of things that need maintenance/checkup/upgrade for every fixed period of time. An example would be, checks of electric wiring, gas tanks, pipe leaks, applicance checkups, etc.
At the moment this is all I could come up with. I'm thinking this is a good start for me to understand how better I could protect my new home by making it safe, convenient and healthy for everyone there.
Did I miss anything? Maybe you have other inputs that you did to protect your home that you could share with me. Let me know! :)