I am always fascinated by how much work people put into their lawns. You know, you can really tell a lot about a person based on how they take care of their property. You might be able to glean such interesting bits of information like how dedicated they are, how much money they make or how creative they can be. Creation reflects the creator, or so the old saying goes, but no one wants outsiders to think that their home is insecure.

That’s why I have come up with a few simple, landscaping tips to make your home less inviting to any would-be intruders.

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1. Gravel or stone paths. A welcome addition to any yard, gravel paths can tastefully section off the yard while adding a nice contrast to all the green. They also provide an early warning sign that someone is approaching. When you walk on gravel, the uneven surface is bound to make a noise, no matter how careful you are. You can even lay down some gravel close to the house by the windows. Got a dog? If you don’t hear someone stepping on the gravel, a dog certainly will.

Image via: Fairytale Lights.Flickr

2. Shorter shrubs. Shrubs, bushes, whatever you like to keep around your home, make sure you are able to keep it under control. It is advisable that you cut back any plants that are taller than you. This gives intruders less places to hide and makes your lawn look much neater. There is a wide variety of smaller shrubs and plants you can look into as well.

Image via: Ednl.Flickr

3. Exterior lighting. You can find these in most hardware stores and many of them come with different features like motion detection and solar power. Place a couple of these in your yard and shine a light on anything that moves within range. You can find most exterior lights in a variety of colors to match the yard and they can be strategically placed to both enhance and secure your property.

Image via: Exfordy.Flickr

Some people believe, when it comes to landscaping, that you can be creative or you can be practical. I think you can have your cake and eat it too.

Brian Edwards is a writer and an educator. He has spent the better part of his career writing for home security systems and enjoys the opportunity to educate people on safer practices in all things.

For more outdoor living ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

When your little tykes get big enough to crawl, climb, and walk around, you’re going to have to start worrying about a whole new level of dangerous things they can get into, especially in the kitchen.  Just the thought of a toddler rooting through the trash, getting stuck in the fridge, or opening a drawer full of knives is enough to send any parent into panic mode.  Luckily, you’re not the first parent to face these trials and tribulations in the course of child-rearing, so there are plenty of solutions out there for the concerned adult that would like to make the kitchen a safe place for the little ones.  Here are just a few tips to help you do so.

Image via: Smarter

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Gates

Baby gates won’t keep your kids out forever, but they’ll work well enough during the stage where anything and everything must be sampled to see if it’s food, or when every door, drawer, and unseen surface that is just within reach (the stovetop, for example) represents an adventure waiting to be discovered.  So until your children are old enough to understand (and heed) you when you warn them that something is dangerous, your best bet to preserve their ongoing health and safety is to keep them far away from the many trouble zones represented in the kitchen.

Height

Your main advantage over your kids, at least when they’re young, is that you have access to overhead spaces that are beyond the grasp of their tiny fingers.  However, you should be aware that some kids are climbers, so although it’s a good idea to put harmful items in the higher cabinets, you may want to secure them against entry, as well.

Latches

While you can certainly keep some hazardous items out of reach in the kitchen, it behooves you to put latches on all doors and drawers (including the fridge), and there are a couple of reasons.  First of all, you can’t possibly store everything out of reach (unless you are okay with the idea of foregoing half of the usable storage space in your kitchen).  This means that potentially hazardous items (cleaning solvents, sharp utensils, and heavy pots and pans, for example) could be on the lower level.  And where would you put the trash?  Since you’ll have to store some items within easy reach of your children, simply secure them with child-proof latches.

Image via: Hello Baby Direct

Locks

Kids are like little velociraptors, constantly testing the defenses.  So eventually they’re going to figure out how even sophisticated latching systems release.  You’d hope by this point they’d be smart enough not to drink the dish soap or pull an iron skillet down on their heads, but since you can’t really be sure of that, you may want to switch to locks on the doors, at least for cabinets that contain the most potentially hazardous items.

Alarms

Okay, so this might seem like overkill, but if your kids are persistent, some kind of closed-circuit alarm system could be necessary to ensure that they’re not breaking and entering in your kitchen cabinets.  If you’re really paranoid (say you have older kids that get left home alone on occasion, and you’re worried about the well-stocked liquor cabinet) you can even get an alarm system that alerts your smart phone when it goes off.  It doesn’t take a specialist in loss control management to know that kids are going to try to get into things they’re not supposed to when your back is turned, so you need to protect them from themselves by any and all means available.

For more kitchen & bath ideas on Stagetecture, click here.