Home Security on a Budget

Keeping your home safe is always at the top of everyone’s list. When looking to secure your home, it’s often a daunting task and many see it as an expensive one too. There are plenty of ways to secure your home on a budget and to keep those belongings safe. It doesn’t all have to be about bolts and fancy cameras, we’ve put together a few of our top DIY security tips to help you feel more secure.

Lighting

Sensor lights by your front, back, side or any positioned door, are a great way to keep those unwanted guests out. You can pick up motion-sensor lights for under £20 to keep the boundaries of your home illuminated and safe. We know energy costs are constantly on the up, which is why solar-powered lights are a great option to keep those energy prices down too.

CCTV and Alarms

Now we’re not saying kit your home out like Fort Knox, that would cost a fortune! Hear us out on this one, a great option to act as a deterrent is dummy systems and alarms. Taking advantage of products that imitate real CCTV and alarms is an effective option if purse strings are a little tight at the minute. Certain dummy systems even come with LED-fitted lights to give them that extra layer of security.

Hiding Valuables

This is probably the most important factor when it comes to keeping your home safe. Making sure your valuables and keys are out of sight is imperative to keeping your home secure. Remember not to leave things in plain sight, especially by windows.

Set your Boundaries

If you’re lucky enough to have a garden, making use of things such as fences, bushes and your surrounding areas can be your first line of defence. Make sure your fencing is in good condition as any damaged areas or panels can give unwanted eyes a chance to scope out the area and possibly gain access. 

Let’s make some noise. If there’s a path or driveway leading to your doors, laying gravel is a great tactic to deter burglars away. As it’s noisy to walk on, gravel can help alert you to people approaching your home before they arrive at the door. 

There’s always the old trick of using dense and thorny hedges around your property to put intruders off. Don’t think anyone fancies a trip through thorns and nestles, do they? Top hedges ideas: holly, pyracantha and hawthorn.

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These are just a few simple steps to make your home more secure without breaking the bank. We’re always giving out some tricks and tips on our blog and in our newsletters, you can sign up here to get them right to your inbox.

A Growing Concern of Rising Rent Prices in 2023

The cost of renting in the UK has been on the rise for several years and it doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down in 2023. According to finance gurus, Finanze, rents are predicted to sky-rocket once again by nearly 13%. So it’s no surprise that the constant rent increases are causing tenants to grow concerned.

One of the most significant factors catapulting rent prices in the UK is the shortage of rental properties available. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), reported that the number of available rental properties has fallen to its lowest level in nearly 20 years. Simon Rubinsohn, the chief economist of RICS, stated that ‘the overall tone of the latest RICS Residential Survey is understandably more downbeat than previously’.

The shortage of rental properties has put upward pressure on rents as landlords can increase prices due to high demand. This trend is heavily noticeable in some of the UK’s largest cities. For example, London’s rental market has seen increases as high as 27%, not to mention Manchester’s private rental increases of 20%! Tenants just simply can’t afford it as pay is not keeping up with inflation. 

We know that times are tough at the minute and it’s not just rent prices on the rise, the cost of living is squeezing those hardest in the rental market.  We are constantly updating our property portfolio with key workers, mature postgraduates and working professionals in mind. With new properties come new opportunities for property guardians with prices at least a third cheaper than rentals in the open market.

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It’s not an easy task to find affordable housing, but at Blue Door, we’re always on hand to offer you help with accommodation if you meet our criteria.

Upcycling Ideas for the New Year

Happy New Year to you all!

Ahhh, the New Year. Plenty of people make resolutions of what they want to achieve, whereas others are more focussed on revamping their personal space! People’s homes are being scrubbed from top to bottom, and personal belongings are being sorted into piles of ‘keep’ or ‘throw’.

Except here at Blue Door Property Guardians, we don’t like to see people throwing their perfectly good personal items away, just because they might have received something better for Christmas. We also know that you can buy some great things from secondhand shops or websites to improve your home. Have you ever heard of upcycling?

Upcycling is the process of taking something ‘old’ or used and breathing some much needed life back into it. Whether that’s giving it a lick of paint, or just changing the purpose of it completely. Upcycling provides you with new projects, the opportunity to learn new skills, and opportunities to enhance your living space.

Upcycling is very beneficial for the environment too. As you’re giving a new life to something previously owned, the amount of materials and waste being sent to landfill is minimising. The production of new items is also slowed down, meaning greenhouse gases and other pollutants are decreasing too. Another great thing? You can keep these incredible new items for yourself or sell them for a little bit of pocket money. Win, win!

So, what can we upcycle? Here are some ideas…

Move over wardrobes, it’s time for clothing rails

Clothing rails can be a perfect addition to your living spaces and you don’t need to head to the shops to buy one brand new! Take a ladder, some screws, spare wood and some paint and voila! You have yourself a brand new addition to your home.

Clothing rails are great to show off your favourite pieces of clothing or to keep in your hallway to store your coats and shoes.

Wooden crates are for more than just transporting goods

Have you had any new deliveries and received them on wooden crates? Or do you know somebody who has plenty of wooden crates that they don’t know what to do with? Keep them.

Wooden crates can be attached together and painted to create new shelving units of bookcases. You can choose the layout, the size and the design of how you want it to look. A perfect new place to store your favourite reads or most prized possessions.

New plant pots for new plants!

Unless they really can’t be used anymore, don’t throw away your old buckets. Your old buckets can be transformed into the most gorgeous planters and new plant pots to redesign your garden.

Buckets come in all shapes and sizes, so you can really turn your thumbs green and start your own green corner!

Egg cartons are for more than just eggs…

Don’t know what to do with your old egg cartons? Sure, you can recycle them but you can also use them for your upcycling projects.

Egg cartons are great for storing those Christmas decorations after the festive season. If your decorations have personal value to you or are valuable in general, then you want to keep them in perfect condition for the next year without any damage coming to them.

Another great use for your old egg cartons is to keep them to grow some windowsill herbs. These are super convenient for your cooking and it saves you pennies on the shopping!

Second-hand furniture can be a first-class success

One person’s trash is another person’s treasure after all, right, Orinoco? So much joy can be brought back into second-hand items and with a little bit of TLC you can bag yourself a brand new addition to your home, or even make some pocket money for yourself.

You can get furniture such as sofas, chairs, drawers, wardrobes and more from second-hand stores or websites for a great price, and then the decision is yours for what you do with them. This is the perfect chance for you to be creative and create bespoke items where you can’t get anywhere else!

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The list for upcycling projects is large and you can pretty much give anything a brand new life and purpose. Not only is upcycling great for the environment and you’ll be doing your bit, it is also cost-effective for you too!

We’d love to hear about your upcycling projects and what you’ve managed to achieve, so make sure you pop us a message with your new creations: admin@bluedoorpropertyguardians.co.uk.