Why You Should Start Putting A Coffee Mug On Your Door Handle At Night
These days, we do have to keep an eye on our homes to keep ourselves and our property safe, perhaps more so than we had to in the past. Like many of us, you may be appropriately vigilant, but when you find out how much it costs to install a security system, you may decide that advanced security measures aren't in the cards right now. Luckily, there's a cost-effective hack anyone can use to remain aware of what's going on in their house at night.
Highlighted by TikTok user @richardoooo6, the hack involves placing a coffee mug on your front door's inside handle after locking it. If someone tries to get in, the mug should fall off the handle and alert you to what's going on.
Though you'd be missing a coffee mug if someone does jiggle your door and it smashes, it will clatter and at least make a noise that is likely to scare them away, as well as wake you up.
Pulling off the coffee mug hack
Now, this hack only works if you have a door handle, not a doorknob, since a handle sticks out laterally which would allow you to slip the handle of a mug on it. If you've got an old chipped coffee mug with a lot of accumulated coffee stains, that's the perfect candidate for doing security duty. If it's in the back of your cupboard and you never use it to drink, but can't bring yourself to toss it out, you've just given its life some meaning by repurposing it.
Sometimes, depending on the model of your door handle and the locking mechanism, the mere act of locking the front door can keep the handle locked in that horizontal position, which means it won't move if someone does try to open it from the outside. If you have that type of handle, try hanging a bell there instead, per Heart 96-107. Maybe the would-be-robber has a firm enough grip that the vibration from their efforts will activate the bell.
If this DIY hack leads you to discover that someone unsavory is lurking in the neighborhood, then perhaps it's time to ask your friends and family to chip in to get a cheap doorbell camera for an extra sense of security.