The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski

your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.

Even a Little Light Beats Darkness

I stumbled across the above poem by Mr. Bukowski months ago. I realize he was speaking metaphorically, but what he wrote is also true from a physical security perspective.

"It may not be much light, but it beats the darkness."

In my last post, I discussed fences. They are the first layer of defense. Lighting is the second layer and is very important for the security of your property. You want it to be well lit inside and out.

Outside Lights

Lighting provides security by deterring criminal activity. You don't need to leave them on all the time, and you don't need a yard that is lit up like a baseball game at night either. The spaces you transition however should be lit while you traverse them. For example, you want your driveway to be illuminated while you pull into it. Personal security professionals teach that most ambushes occur in transitional spaces.

The image above shows a transitional space. As you pull up to the gate and are waiting to drive through it, you are in a transitional space. When you open your garage and are waiting to pull into it, you are in a transitional space. They are spaces where there is a slight delay before your next action, and you are not moving much while waiting to take that action. While in transitional spaces therefore, you want to be within the light and view of your security cameras.

Your porch as you walk in and out of your house should be well lit. Inside your garage should be well lit, and the garage should be kept organized well without spaces to hide within it. If you have a perimeter fence with a gate, the gate and area around it should also be well lit. Those lights can be controlled to only turn on as needed too. You do not need to leave them on all the time. It may be a nuisance to your neighbors to keep them on anyway, and you might have a problem sleeping yourself with all the lights outside your windows.

Inside Lights

You already use lights inside your home, so what else is there to share about them, right? There's quite a bit to share surprisingly. When you go to bed at night, do you turn off all the lights? I would ask that you do not. You do not want the common areas of your home dark at night for the same reasons you do not want transitional spaces outside the home dark.

Within your sleeping space, keep it as dark as you like. However, use LED outlet lights such as the one below in your hallways.

The lights are inexpensive, turn on automatically when darkness is detected, and last a very long time due to LED technology. Your children will appreciate them for middle of the night bathroom runs, and having a dim hall light on outside your bedroom door allows you to see movement from inside the room. They keep away the imaginary monsters in children's heads, and they let you know if real human monsters are lurking about as well.

In addition to the hall lights, I also recommend you leave a light on with the shades down in the common living space of your home. Make it another LED light but brighter to save money if desired. The purpose of the light is to not allow someone outside the home to assume everyone is asleep. Leave a single light on, and a criminal looking for an easy target won't be sure whether you're awake or not. Some people will leave a TV running all night in a living room as another solution.

Closing Thoughts

I hope these simple lighting tricks help to improve your home's security and safety. There are all sorts of lighting considerations, but I shared some of the most important ones above. Please feel free to ask questions below and add to the discussion if I've missed something obvious or made a mistake. As always I appreciate your feedback and hope you will up vote. Follow me if you have found the information valuable and want to see more. Thank you!