The thread about strangers coming in made me think of this. I used to open my windows and turn off the air at the first sign of Fall, to lower my power bill some but mostly because it feels good to air out the house. But lately I've gotten alot more worried about someone coming in thru one. I seriously used to think nothing about sleeping with them open. I still love them being open, but just don't feel secure anymore, especially at night. It just seems like the world has gone absolutely mad, and things that I used to would never imagine are now being heard about on a daily basis. What do yall think? Am I just too paranoid, or do any of you feel the same way?

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I leave my windows open as much as possible. Usually stating in April and I finally closed them up last week!!! I love the frsh air and don't have air conditioning.

Jen

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In our old house I would leave the windows open upstairs all the time without closing them since there was little chance that someone could get in them since we lived on a high hill.
In this place we live now there is no way that I will leave the windows open at night. It would be much to easy for someone to get in.
I do not blame you since you are putting safety first. You just cannot be to safe. (and it is a shame)

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I love to open ours up but I am a little more cautious now. The screens don't do anything. I do shut at least the front ones when I go out. The back windows are in a fenced in area. We have 3 dogs too and if anyone even came near my windows they would start barking. I do shut the one on the side of the house and lock it when I'm not home and also at night since it is one of my daughter's bedroom. We used to have a bunch of kids that would cut through on that side of the yard all day and noght and even though they don't any more I got in the habit. My other DD is afraid to have her window open so when she's in there- she will not leave it open and locks it.
We do live in a neighborhood where everyone notices everything though and if anyone was nosing around at least in the front of the house they would check it out.

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I leave ours open as often as possible. I love having the fresh air blowing through. Not to mention it helps tremedously on the electric/gas bills.

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When I'm home during the day, I open the windows on the main floor. When I go out, I shut them. The only windows we leave open on a regular basis are the ones in our bedroom on the back of the house. We open them from the top down (mostly so the cats can't claw the screens). Someone would need a ladder to get in because although our master is on the main floor, we live on a hill and our bedroom is on the down slope so it's really more like the second floor from outside. I do keep my doors locked most of the time when I'm home, unless the kids are outside playing with friends and need to get in.

Sarah

Have you tried opening the window from the top? I don't think very many people look for the top of the window to be open if they are burglerizing a house.

My 26 year old daughter was recently awakened in the middle of the night, by a man trying to climb in her open (screened) window. She lives in a brownstone type apt. and the windows are about 5 ft from the ground behind an iron fence. The guy was standing with one foot on the fence and one foot on the window sill, lifting the screen. Thanks to her scream, he either fell or jumped off. Needless to say, burglar bars were put on the windows the next day. She thought she was safe sleeping with the windows open since they were so high off the ground.

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I do keep them open while I'm at home, but close them when I leave or go to bed. I will not put the baby to bed and leave the window open though, way to paranoid for that! I love the fresh air though, and love to sleep with them open on a chilly night! There's no better sleep!!

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I only open windows that are high off the ground. If I'm in the kitchen and cooking, I'll open my kitchen windows, but only if I'm in the room.

There are some real crazies out there. We live out in the country and you would be surprised at the number of people who come by our house asking for directions, etc. Sometimes I wonder if there's a sign that says "stop by - free directions!" So I definitely keep low windows closed and doors locked at all times. If I'm on one side of my house working outside, that's the door that's unlocked. The door fartherest away stays locked.

Isn't it a shame that society has come to this?

In the summer, I leave our windows open. We don't lock our doors and we don't lock our car. Thats part of the great part about living in a low crime state (Maine). Not that peoples houses don't get broken into, because it does happen, just not that often.