You’re probably never going to make your house impossible to break into. If somebody is determined enough, has enough time, and doesn’t care how much noise they make, they can probably get into just about anything. What you can do is make your house less convenient.

Most of the home security advice I’d give somebody isn’t complicated. An unlocked car, an open garage, a dark side door, a package sitting on the porch, or something valuable left where everybody can see it can be enough to create an opportunity. You don’t have to turn your house into Fort Knox. You just don’t have to make it easy.

Look at your house from the street

Walk outside after dark and look at your house from the street. Try not to look at it like the person who lives there, because you already know where everything is. Look at where somebody could walk, stand, or get close to a door or window without being seen.

If the front door is completely dark, add some light. If bushes around a window are high enough to hide somebody from the road or your neighbor’s house, trim them back. You don’t need to light the place up like a football field, but darkness and cover are useful to somebody who doesn’t belong there.

Start with what you already have

Lock the doors and windows.

That sounds almost too simple to include, but people will spend hundreds of dollars on cameras and alarms while leaving a side door unlocked or the garage wide open. Before you start buying more security, make sure the security you already have is being used.

The garage is a good example. People leave it open while they’re home and think nothing of it, while anybody passing by gets a look at the lawn equipment, tools, bicycles, fishing gear, or whatever else is sitting inside. There’s no reason to give somebody a free inventory.

Cameras are one layer

I like cameras, and doorbell cameras can give us useful information after something happens. They can show who came onto the property, what they were wearing, where they went, and sometimes what they were driving.

A visible camera may also be enough to make somebody move on, but a camera isn’t a force field. If the garage is open, the back door is unlocked, and valuable stuff is sitting in plain view, getting great video of somebody stealing it isn’t the goal. Cameras work better as one layer along with good lighting, decent locks, and fewer easy opportunities.

Don’t make an empty house obvious

Packages piling up at the front door are an easy target, but they can also tell somebody nobody has been around for a while. If you’re going out of town, have somebody pick up the mail and packages and take care of anything else that starts stacking up.

A couple of lights on timers can help, but the basic idea is to make the house look lived in.

I’d use the same common sense with social media. I’m not saying you can’t post vacation pictures, but there isn’t much upside to announcing to everybody on the internet that your house will be empty all week. The beach will still be there when you get home and post the pictures.

Don’t forget what’s sitting outside

Lock the vehicles in your driveway too, and don’t leave bags, electronics, cash, or other valuables where they can be seen.

I’m also going to repeat something I’ve said before: your vehicle is a terrible place for long-term gun storage. If somebody breaks into the car and takes the gun, what started as a property crime just became a much bigger problem.

Finally, take pictures of the valuables you care about and record serial numbers when there are any. “A black TV” or “a DeWalt drill” doesn’t give police much to work with after it’s gone. A model number, serial number, and photograph can.

It’s boring right up until the day you need it.

None of this guarantees somebody won’t steal from you. The goal is to remove easy opportunities, make somebody more visible while they’re on your property, and make your house less convenient to target.

Walk around your house tonight and look for what you’ve made easy. That’s where I’d start.