Poor Man's DIY Home Security

A few weeks ago, I briefly mentioned moving into a new house. Boxes still feel never ending, but I do love finding new homes for everything.

The first time my dad came to see the house, before we had moved in, he informed us it was a necessary to make our own "poor man's security system." This entails having dowels cut to fit all the windows and sliding glass door. You know where you put the stick behind the sliding door/window and it stops anyone from opening the window/door, from the inside or outside? Dad has also not forgotten to mention this necessity every time I've seen him since. He also said the dowels should be accompanied by bells hung on the doorknobs at night, so we hear anyone trying to break in. I love him.

Here's how I fulfilled his request (and you can make your own):

First, go to your local hardware store, or  even Fred Meyer, and purchase 1 1/8 inch diameter wooden dowels. I believe they are about 4 feet long. At Freddy's they are in the paint section. Measure your windows/door spots first. I didn't do this and could have saved myself a dowel (which are about $4 each) because two windows were short enough to only require one stick.

Then, mark your dowels like so:

I also marked which piece was for which room. This will save you the puzzling game of trying to fit the right cut ones in the correct spots when you're finished cutting.

Next, cut each dowel where you marked. This was by far the most exciting part because I was able to use (for the second time since Christmas!) my Craftsman 4-in-1 Reciprocating Saw.

You could totally be done here and put all your dowels into their respective places, unless you want to give them a little pop. Read on.

I love spray paint (as apparent in yesterday's post), particularly this soft blue color (Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Blue Ocean Breeze) I had on hand. So I wrapped my dowel in painting tape. Tip: Do not force the tape or stress about the spiral of tape being equal distance apart from the previous spiral. If you start the tape in one direction, it will naturally fall equal distance apart from itself. The minute you try to start placing it yourself by eyeballing it, you will end up with bumps in your tape and uneven spirals.

I could have totally just left this tape because the green was super cute! This made me think of how you could also cover the dowels in the super cute designs of duct tape, too!

Then spray paint it.

You could also do a checkered one, straight stripes or whatever else your creative brain thinks up! Just to give your window (or the kids') a little pop!

Partying at Tatertots & Jello's Weekend Wrap Up. Go check it out!