Re-key your locks yourself for safety and savings

If you just moved into a new home, congratulations! Have you thought about who might still have keys to your home? The old owners could have forgotten about the dog sitter or the housekeeper's key. Or an owner before the previous owner may still have a key. For these reasons and more, it is wise to be safe and change your locks. If you hire a locksmith to come to your home and change all the locks, the cost can be anywhere from $200 and up! That's a hefty sum to pay, especially since you spent every penny saved on your new house.

Changing the locks on your home doesn't have to cost a fortune. Did you know that you can take your locks to a local locksmith shop and have them changed for a significant savings? Or, if you have multiple locks with different keys, you can have all the locks re-keyed to match. This can only be accomplished if all your locks are the same brand. If they don't match, a remedy is as simple as purchasing a new lock to match the other brand.

If you have to purchase new handles, why not take the time to update your door hardware to a fashionable oil-rubbed bronze. You can order all the door knobs, dead bolts and handle sets online and ask them to key everything the same. Keyed entry knobs cost as little as $20 and up.

Once you have your new keys, do yourself a favor and create a hide-a-key location for one of your keys. Use the ubiquitous rock or a more unusual fake sprinkler head.

One more suggestion for keeping your home safe, if you give a neighbor your key, write your pet's name on the key instead of your last name. That way if the key is picked up by someone who shouldn't have it, they won't be able to look up which house it belongs to.

Enjoy the safety and security of your new home. Once you are unpacked, think about adding some landscaping lights to deter thieves!

Brittany blogs for PrettyHandyGirl.com.