f/up to stranger at the door last night...

someflower6

original thread: https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/31688167.aspx

so a woman came to the door saying she'd shovel for some money so she could buy some formula. i gave her the only dollar i had, even though i knew she very well could have been trying to score drugs. when my husband came home, he said one of our shovels (which we keep on the front porch) was missing. i remember this woman has a black plastic shovel on her when i opened the door (ours was wooden, and red). i don't know if she took it or if anyone else took it, or if perhaps it was just misplaced, but now i will definitely be taking extra precautions.

question for the group... what are your "rules" for opening the door when someone knocks and you aren't expecting company? do you answer it? would you answer it if you were home alone with a baby? would you only answer it at certain times of the day?

Kelanne

I RARELY open the door if someone knocks and I don't know who they are.  It scares me. 

I figure there is no law saying I HAVE to answer the door, so most of the time I don't.

cindybaf

During the day I'd open, but not after seven or if it's dark when DH isn't home. So scary!   

And Ketch

I won't open the door ever if DH is not home, unless I am expecting someone or I can tell it is someone I know.  If he is home, he answers it.

someflower6

what i feel weird about is that we have big windows in our living room. so if i'm on the couch and someone knocks on the door, they can probably see me (we have curtains, but they are sheer). plus if the living room light and tv are on, then they would definitely know if someone is home. i guess my concern is i could be ignoring something potentially very important.

sarahandeddiejune212008

I usually don't answer the door when DH isn't home.  If it is someone important they will call, or continue to beat on the door until I come.  This happened once after my m/c.  I forgot my phone in the car and DH was trying to get ahold of me, when I didn't answer for 2-3 hours he sent his friend over to check on me.  We live in the boonies so we don't get many visitors.

eggymaye

I always check outside my window to see who it is.  No one comes to my house w/o calling first so usually when the doorbell rings it's UPS or the mailperson.  I hardly ever answer my door...then again I have lived in a lot of not so great places so it's more a precautionary thing than anything else.

Mrs.Kristen

I'm known for not answering the door. People learned to call before showing up because you can ring the doorbell but i'm not going to answer. We live in a good neighborhood but about two years ago there was a home invasion in another phase of our development but those people knocked on our door as well and we didn't answer the door. We have a camera set on our driveway so I can see who is coming up the driveway and if I don't know them I don't answer esp since having my son.

someflower6

Mrs.Kristen:

I'm known for not answering the door. People learned to call before showing up because you can ring the doorbell but i'm not going to answer. We live in a good neighborhood but about two years ago there was a home invasion in another phase of our development but those people knocked on our door as well and we didn't answer the door. We have a camera set on our driveway so I can see who is coming up the driveway and if I don't know them I don't answer esp since having my son.

i kinda like the camera idea. maybe at the door somehow.

jacse007

If I don't know them and my security door is locked, then I'll answer and not open the security door until I know they are legit. If it's at night, I'll probably do the same thing, but I'll have my glock on me or shotgun behind the door. No one really comes over without calling. The little internal laser on a forehead from a gun can be very intimidating. Yeah, I'm pro owning a gun. I take safety precautions. My right and will be very responsible come time for baby to be exploring. Never in her reach and we have it in plans to purchase a gun safe for all weapons except the primary home protection weapon.

AmysMelody

jacse007:

If I don't know them and my security door is locked, then I'll answer and not open the security door until I know they are legit. If it's at night, I'll probably do the same thing, but I'll have my glock on me or shotgun behind the door. No one really comes over without calling. The little internal laser on a forehead from a gun can be very intimidating. Yeah, I'm pro owning a gun. I take safety precautions. My right and will be very responsible come time for baby to be exploring. Never in her reach and we have it in plans to purchase a gun safe for all weapons except the primary home protection weapon.

DH has a small gun safe under his side of the bed.  It has a push button code to unlock it and he keeps a loaded gun in there at all times.  I'm not a HUGE fan of guns but I'm ok with having them in the house and DH showed me how to use it and how to hold it when I answer the door if I have to do that.  The safe we have is tamper proof (if a child starts to play with the buttons, it sets off an alarm and will not open unless you have the correct code) and I feel it's completely safe to have around.  There is a history of break ins in our area.  We also have a driveway alarm so if anyone comes up our driveway, we are alerted.  We don't use our front door, but the side door that leads from the driveway has windows in it, so we can always see who is coming.