Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Locked Out

When we built our house, we didn't spend a lot of time reviewing the options for many common but necessary items such as door knobs. What we ended up installing were knobs that when you lock them, you can still open them from the inside--meaning that it is extremely easy to lock ourselves out of the house, which we have done several times. (What is the purpose of this type of door lock? Who needs it?) I used to keep a spare key hanging outside in a tree, and it came in handy several times, particularly one cold winter night when Husband and I went out into the garage to see what kind of ice cream snacks were in the freezer. When we realized that we'd locked ourselves out, I borrowed his shoes and socks, as I was barefoot at the time, so that I could go get the key (he didn't know precisely where it was). It was a dark and cold night--I was wearing flimsy PJ's--and when I got into the woods, I had to feel my way to the tree and then feel all around to find the key. It was an adventure, and I didn't feel the need to eat ice cream that night.

Not long ago, some landscaping changes made getting to that key very difficult, so I took the key into the house and forgot about finding a new hiding place for it. That is until last night when Husband and I stepped outside to let the dogs go out before going to bed. As soon as I shut the door, I realized that it was probably a mistake, and indeed it was. To make a long story short, we ended up using a drill and a sledge hammer to demolish the door knob, and in the process, we ruined some of the door frame, creating another chore for my already overworked husband.

Today, my mission is to find a new place to hide the spare key.

5 comments:

Tony Arnold said...

I suggest buying a coded key box that you can attach anywhere in your outbuildings or even to the house. You have to enter a numerical code to open the box. Rental properties use them. The cabin we stayed in the Smokies 2 weeks ago used this. It was great. They send you the code and you can get in the cabin w/o checking in w/ a rental agency.

We used it everyday. Instead of carrying the one key w/ us and risk losing it, we just put it back in the box anytime we left.

I bet you can get them at Home Depot or Lowes. ~ 4x2" or maybe 5x3". Protects the key from the weather too.

Tony

Tony Arnold said...

BTW, did you see the sad news that Doug Marlette was killed in a car wreck yesterday.

I love the 2 books he wrote and was looking forward to more.

So sad.

JMG said...

Good idea. I'll have to look for one of those.

My mom told me about Marlette yesterday.

Ayatollah Mugsy said...

We have a keypad on our garage so that we can get inside the house without a key. That might be another option -- you could hide a key in the garage.

Ayatollah Mugsy said...

I hope you haven't gotten locked out again.