Is there anything more frustrating than locking yourself out of your home?
One minute, you’re running out the door to try and avoid being late to work or school. And the next, you’re standing on the front porch saying, “Oh no, I’m locked out of my house,” and wondering what in the world you’re going to do next.
Fortunately, there are a bunch of different things that you can do in an attempt to work your way back into your home. Locking yourself out of your house might throw your day off for a little while, but it doesn’t have to completely ruin it.
Check out some of the things that you should consider doing when you realize that you’re locked out of your house.
Walk Around and See If Any of Your Doors or Windows Are Unlocked
Any time you leave your home, you should really make sure that all of your doors and windows are locked. You don’t want to leave even a single window unlocked and allow for someone to gain access to your home while you’re not there. It’s the easiest way to keep your home secure.
But obviously, there are going to be times when you don’t have time to check the locks on every door and window in your home. There are also going to be times when you simply forget to lock a door or window before leaving.
With that in mind, you might think that you’re locked out of your house just because you don’t have a key for the front door. But you could very well find that another door or a window is unlocked and will help you get back into your home.
It’s easy to find yourself in a panic when you realize, “I’m locked out of my house!” But before you start freaking out too much, you should walk around your house to see if there’s another way that you can get in.
Use a Ladder to Check If Any Second-Story Windows Are Unlocked
Does your home have a second-story? If so, you shouldn’t stop at simply checking to see if all of the doors and windows on the first floor of your home are locked when you lock yourself out of your house.
You should also pull out a ladder and take a look at your second-story windows to see if they might be unlocked. These windows are more likely to be unlocked than your first-floor windows since they’re often located in bedrooms where they’re opened and closed a lot.
It might take you some time to move a ladder around so that you can check to see if any second-story windows are unlocked. But it’ll be well worth the effort on your part if you discover an unlocked window that you can climb through to get into your house.
You might just want to make sure that your neighbors know what you’re doing. You don’t want one of them to get confused about what’s happening and call the cops on you when they see you breaking into your own home.
Call Your Parent, Spouse, or Roommate to Bring You Their Key
If you live in your house alone, you might not have the option to call on someone to bring you a key to your house. But if you live with your parents, your spouse, your kids, a roommate, or someone else, giving them a call should be the next step when you lock yourself out of your home.
If they’re not too far away from your house, they might be able to drive right over and give you their key so that you can unlock your front door. They also might be able to brainstorm a better idea if they’re not able to get back home in a reasonable amount of time.
If you haven’t done it already, you and those that you live with should put a plan into place for what will happen if one of you is ever locked out of your house. It’ll prevent you from having to scramble at the last minute to come up with a solution.
Find Out If One of Your Neighbors Might Have a Key to Your Home
Is there a chance that you may have given your neighbor a key to your house at some point in time for one reason or another?
Maybe you did it the last time you were on vacation so that they could keep an eye on your house while you were away. Or maybe you did that time you knew you were going to be working late so that they could feed your dogs and let them out.
There is also a chance that someone else in your house gave your neighbor a key to your home without you knowing. Your parents may have given your neighbors a key to your house a few years ago “just in case.”
Knock on your neighbor’s door—or several neighbors’ doors—and ask them if you might be able to help you out. They could very well have a key to your home handy that they can give to you right away.
Or if nothing else, they can give you a warm place to wait if your spouse, parent, or roommate is on their way to bring you their house key.
Think About Where Else You Could Have a Spare Key Lying Around
There are a lot of homeowners who have started to hide keys on the exteriors of their homes. Many of them do it specifically so that they won’t have to worry about ever locking themselves out of their houses.
In a perfect world, you’ll remember that you did this the second that you realize you’re locked out of your home. You’ll run into your backyard and get the key that you hid under a big rock behind your shed a few months back.
But even if you didn’t ever get around to hiding a key, there still could be one somewhere on the exterior of your home. You could have one in a shed or in a detached garage that you forgot was even there.
Spend a few minutes thinking about where you may have left a key on the outside of your home. You could very well stumble upon one after taking a little bit of time to look for it.
Consider Calling the Police for Help
We want to be very clear here: You should not call the police after locking yourself out of your home if you don’t feel as though you’re in an emergency situation. They aren’t going to be able to help you get back into your house under normal circumstances.
However, you may want to consider calling the police for help if locking yourself out of your house could prove to be a catastrophe. You actually shouldn’t hesitate to do it if you feel as though your home or someone in it might be in danger.
For example, if you locked yourself out of your house and left your crying baby inside, that could be reason enough to call the cops for help. Or if you locked yourself out of your house and left your stove turned on, that could also be a good reason to call the cops.
As we mentioned, you shouldn’t get into the habit of calling the police in these types of situations. But they won’t mind responding if you feel as though you might have a dangerous situation on your hands.
Reach Out to a Reliable Residential Locksmith for Assistance
Are you still stuck on the outside of your house looking in after trying all the options presented to you here? There is one more option that you should try to get yourself back into your home in no way.
You should give a local residential locksmith a call and have them come to your house right away to help you get back in. They can hook you with the specific home lockout services that you need.
With over 20,000 locksmiths scattered all across the country, you shouldn’t have any trouble tracking one down in a place like Dallas. Google the words “locksmith near me for home” and you should see more than a few options.
But you shouldn’t hire just any old locksmith to deliver services to you. You should only work with the very best in the business. A good locksmith should be able to provide you with:
- Years of experience in the locksmithing industry
- A large selection of locksmith services, including emergency locksmith services
- Fair and affordable prices that won’t break the bank
A good locksmith should also be more than willing to come out to your home to help you out at just about any time of the day or night. You shouldn’t be forced to sit on your front porch for hours on end while your locksmith takes their sweet time.
It’s a great idea for homeowners to develop good relationships with reliable locksmiths in their area. You really never know when you’re going to need one to come out and lend a hand to you in a hurry.
Avoid Locking Yourself Out of Your Home Again in the Future
Locking yourself out of your home is one of the worst feelings in the whole world. It can kill a good mood in a second and make you wish you had been more careful when walking out of your house without your keys.
If you lock yourself out of your home even once, you might want to think about trying to avoid having it happen again. You’ll feel better about leaving your home when you know that there’s no possible way that you’re going to lock yourself out of it.
One of the best ways to ensure that you won’t have to endure another home lockout is by installing one of the high-tech locks on the market today. There are so many options for homeowners to choose from in this day and age.
Keypad locks have become very popular in many American homes. They allow people to unlock their front doors by entering a code. There is no need to use a key at all.
Electronic locks are also growing in popularity now that almost every home in America has WiFi. Homeowners are able to unlock their front doors by using their smartphones.
And if you really want to take the locks on your front door to the next level, you’ll love what biometric locks are bringing to the table. You can use your fingerprints or your irises (yes, your irises!) to unlock your front door with these types of locks.
Each of these keyless entry systems will take your home security up a notch and make it more convenient to get into your home at the end of a long day. They’ll also work wonders if you ever find yourself locked out of your house.
Don’t Allow “I’m Locked Out of My House!” to Derail Your Whole Day
If you ever lock yourself out of your house, you’re not going to have a fun situation on your hands. You’re going to be filled with anxiety as soon as you realize, “I’m locked out of my house!”
But as long as you follow the steps that we’ve laid out here, you shouldn’t have to feel that way for very long. There are so many ways that you can work your way back into your home in no time.
If you find that your best option is calling on a residential locksmith for help, we would love to offer you our assistance. We offer excellent emergency locksmith services to our customers and can send someone out to your house immediately to get you back inside.
We also offer a wide range of other residential locksmith services, including lock repair, deadbolt installation, and more. We would love to show you what we can do if you’re ever in need of these kinds of services.
Fill out this form to request locksmith services online or to ask us any questions you might have about our home lockout services.
