"Case" your home the way a burglar might and look for easy ways to enter your home. Start with the front door and work clockwise around the entire outside of your home, inspecting the back yard, fence, shrubs, gates and garage.

Check to see if valuable items are visible from the street. If you can see your valuable possessions from the street, so can the burglar.

Keep your home well lit. Mount exterior lights out of reach in your yard and on your house. If you are going out for the evening, leave a light or the television on.

Install simple security devices such as grates or bars to block your windows and patio doors.

Consider installing an alarm system.

Install a commercially available patio door lock.

Make sure all your windows have locks and keep them locked.

Each exterior door should have a deadbolt lock. Also, make sure each exterior door is strong—metal or solid hardwood that’s at least one and three-fourth inches thick. It's fairly pointless to put a deadbolt lock on your door if the door is weak. Ensure your door fits snuggly inside the frame. 

Trim any shrubbery that blocks the view of your front door.