Keep Your Home And Belongings Secure With Master Lock Review And #GIVEAWAY 11/11

With October coming to a close, families are starting to plan their Holiday travels. I know my family will be heading to Cleveland, Ohio in the coming months to see my Grandma and we will also be spending time in Maryland with my husband's dad and his family. When families plan their hectic Holiday schedules, one thing that should not be neglected is ensuring their homes and belongings will remain secure while they are away. The Holiday season is the peak time for criminals to break into homes and commit robberies and often worse, as they know that many peoples' homes will be unattended due to Holiday gatherings and celebrations that require traveling. I am lucky enough to have a team of crime-fighting, numchuck wielding elves that will be guarding my home for me while I am away, but many families are not that lucky. So adding some extra protection is always a smart idea, and may just keep your home from being burglarized.

Did you know that October is National Crime Prevention Month? Sure, the month may be almost over, but it's always a good idea to put common sense precautions in place to protect your family and your priceless belongings. To help recognize National Crime Prevention Month, Master Lock is working to educate people on very basic things they can do on a daily basis to prevent not only becoming victims of crime themselves, but protect other family members or people in their local neighborhoods.

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Here are some wonderful, common sense tips from the nice folks at Master Lock that are sure to help keep you safe and secure, not only during the upcoming Holiday season, but all year long:

1.       Lock everything up. It is essential to keep your home, vehicles, valuables and family safe at all times. Whether you’re at home or away for the day, all points of entry should be locked and more valuable items should be stored in secure areas. Consider utilizing such Master Lock security products as key safes, locking storage boxes and padlocks for extra protection. Every family member, including children, should know how to secure everything from windows and doors to garages and sheds.

2.       Limit availability of personal information. When on the go, carry only what you need. Do not keep social security cards, birth certificates or passports in purses or wallets. If possible, remove your name from marketing lists to reduce identifying junk mail and shred credit card offers that still come through to decrease the chance that your personal information could be accepted on your behalf by a stranger. You may even want to consider storing confidential data and information in a secure, online location where only you have access, such as the Master Lock Vault.  

3.       Start a neighborhood watch. Your street, parks and neighborhood should be an area where you and your family feel most comfortable. Forming relationships with neighbors can ensure there are additional watchful eyes on your home. Take this one step further by mobilizing a group of surrounding homeowners, encouraging each other to keep your eyes and ears open for anything suspicious and arranging regular patrols to increase neighborhood activity. In many cases, local police departments or PTAs will have resources to help you get started.

4.       Trust your instincts. If a specific person or place causes you to feel uneasy, avoid the situation by removing yourself completely, and alert authorities if a suspicious person is lurking in your neighborhood.

5.       If a crime occurs, report it! Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to share with the police, family or friends if you experience some sort of crime, regardless of how small. Relating your experiences can help the police or other families ensure the incident does not occur again.

To help commemorate National Crime Prevention Month, the nice folks at Master Lock sent me a Dual Function Door Security Bar for my review. My 11 year old son was absolutely thrilled that we received this product, since he has recently moved his room from the top floor to our fully finished basement. He is getting to that age that he wants more independence, and he sure doesn't want to be surrounded by his baby brother and sister all the time. Our basement has a door with a dead bolt, but he still gets a little nervous at times. Having this Dual Function Door Security Bar helps give him peace of mind, especially at night. The really neat thing about this security bar is that is can be adapted for use on both hinged doors as well as sliding glass doors. We have a hinged door downstairs, and this kind of hooks around the door knob at one end while the other end sits securely on the floor. To test out its effectiveness, we unlocked both the dead bolt and the regular lock and just used this security bar. I then went outside towards the back of the house and tried to enter, knowing the door was only being secured with the Master Lock Dual Function Door Security Bar. Guess what? I couldn't get in, even when using significant force. When my husband got home from work, we tried it again, since he is much stronger than I am. He couldn't enter, either! This security bar truly works! Of course I would recommend keeping your doors locked at all times. That's just common sense. But this product is a wonderful reinforcement to your regular security and would most certainly help deter an intruder. After all, anyone who is breaking and entering is not just coming to borrow a cup of sugar!

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Overall, I would definitely recommend the Master Lock Dual Function Door Security Bar. This product is sturdy, effective, and would definitely serve as a fantastic layer of added protection against crime. I know my son sleeps more soundly knowing that he has this product on our back door at night! I am also a lot more secure knowing my home will have the Master Lock protection while we're traveling this Holiday season.

BUY IT:

You can check out this and many other fine products on the Master Lock website. Master Lock products are available at most retailers near you!

You can follow Master Lock on Facebook and on twitter to stay on top of their current products and promotions!

WIN IT:

One very lucky follower will be receiving the Master Lock Dual Function Door Security Bar to help protect their homes, too! How cool is that?!

Please use this handy Rafflecopter form to enter!

This giveaway is open to US Residents 18+ and will be open until 12:01AM EST on 11/11/2011. Winners will be chosen at random and will be announced here, tweeted, shared on Facebook, and contacted via e-mail. The winners will have 48 hours to reply and claim their prize. If I receive no response, I will be forced to draw a new winner.

***Disclosure: I received a complimentary product to facilitate my review. No other compensation was provided, and all opinions are 100% honest and have not been influenced in any way.***