Be Careful with What You Put Out on the Curb

by Robyn Wright on December 26, 2012

in Living

If you received some really nice gifts for the holidays – great! But be careful! Thieves will troll through neighborhoods this time of year looking for tell tale signs of homes to rob. It is a shame, but it is a fact. There are some things you can do to help reduce your risk of your home being robbed of all your new toys.

  • crooksCut up large TV, computer, etc. type boxes to fit into recycling without having the full box in your trash pile. Putting out a full box easily lets them see what new items might be just waiting to be stolen inside your home.
  • Do not put out your old items that are being replaced in your garbage. If you put out an old TV buy the garbage that means you may have gotten a new TV to replace the old one.
  • Even small boxes and packaging should be in garbage bags if possible. If you just pile stuff into the trash can loosely the crooks can easily lift the lid and see what is inside.
  • Consider taking boxes and packaging directly to your recyling center. Since you do not use trash bags in your recycling it is harder to disguise those items. Call your local recycling center (or trash company) and ask if there is a drop off location. They may not have this all the time, but they do have it around the holidays in many areas.
  • While this may not deter thieves, make sure to recycle as much as you can to help Earth. Unfortunately our society has a lot of waste this time of year. Do your part to help reduce the amount put into landfills.

Do you have any tips to add that may help others?

 

© 2012, Robyn Wright. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: household, recycle, safety

  • Jane m

    We must recycle weekly in clear bags so we shred As much as possible & cut card board small pieces.

    • http://www.RobynsOnlineWorld.com Robyn Wright of Robyn’s Online World

      That’s interesting that you use bags for your recycling. Are they special bags?

  • http://fadedginger.wordpress.com Ginger Kay

    I never thought about it that way, but it’s good advice. Our garbage company only takes what is in the trash and recycling receptacles, but I’ve lived in areas where the empty boxes were all on display on the curb for all to see.

    • http://www.RobynsOnlineWorld.com Robyn Wright of Robyn’s Online World

      Yes, we see this all the time around here. Usually the trash guys will not pick it up these days, but they tend to be a bit more lenient during holidays.

  • http://twitter.com/tkharmonic Terri K (@tkharmonic)

    I’ve been careful about my boxes and things for years. Our TV box was so big and so thick it was almost impossible for me to break down, I flattened it and kept it under my bed until I could get it taken to the recycling center.

    Also, if you can, it’s a good idea to keep your recycle bins in the back of your house and put them at the curb at the closest time to pickup.

    • http://www.RobynsOnlineWorld.com Robyn Wright of Robyn’s Online World

      Yes, the TV boxes can be huge these days! Hubby gets annoyed with me because I always want to save those types of boxes for about a month – just in case there are any problems with the items.

  • @GlArthy

    Not only should one be careful about the boxing but the printed names on stickers as well. We cut our names and address out and up before disposing of any recycling materials.

    • http://www.RobynsOnlineWorld.com Robyn Wright of RobynsOnlineWorld.com

      Great tip! I forget about stuff like that a lot!

  • Rachel V

    This applies throughout the year as well. My husband placed a big computer box outside when he unloaded ours. I was like, Hello! Why not just leave an inventory list of what we have inside too?!

    • http://www.RobynsOnlineWorld.com Robyn Wright

      Men just have that gene to take out the trash, no matter what it is LOL

  • Katherine

    This is one time of year I am thankful we have to take care of our own garbage

  • Ravzie

    At least turn the boxes inside out, flatten them and lay them flat on the ground if you don’t have to option to take them away yourself. Hope you all got lots of great toys in those boxes!!!

    • http://www.RobynsOnlineWorld.com Robyn Wright

      Our biggest box at our house was for Hubby’s inversion table – but I can’t imagine someone breaking in to still that LOL

  • Margie

    Thanks for the advice. I never really thought about the danger of leaving the boxes outside. We also shred all our important documents, then recycle them.

    • http://www.RobynsOnlineWorld.com Robyn Wright

      I used to shred, but I always fell behind. Now I save up those items and we burn them when we go to the lake

  • nannypanpan

    we’re lucky we use big tipper barrels for recycling so things are hidden. But i think it’s a great reminder to people….cause society has gotten scary

  • http://historyinculture.wordpress.com Robin O

    Very good tips. I also recommend maintaining good relations with your neighbors, so they will be more likely to look out for you when you’re out of town!

    • http://www.RobynsOnlineWorld.com Robyn Wright

      Yes! We have great neighbors across the street who we know watch out for us and we do the same for them.

  • Jolene Howes

    Oh wow I have never thought about this and as I am typing this the trashman just pulled up to take all of our empty boxes. They have been sitting out there for almost a week. We have an awesome trashman but he came on Wednesday and picked up all of the trash but sorted it all out and left all of the boxes as he can take those home and burn them saving him money at the dump. We live in a small town so this is better for him. This is wonderful info. We not only had all of the boxes from four Christmas parties with lots of gifts but on Saturday our finished basement flooded with backed up water so we had to get rid of a lot of stuff there and hopefully replace some of it when we can afford it. I am hoping no one thought we bought all new things and that is why that was all out in the trash. Thanks so much for the info.

    • http://www.RobynsOnlineWorld.com Robyn Wright

      Sorry to hear about your basement flooding, that stinks!

  • http://www.moodymamasays.com Andrea

    I’ve never thought about people looking through my trash with the intent to rob me. Thanks for the great tip!

  • http://www.RobynsOnlineWorld.com Robyn Wright

    It is sad that we have to think about it

  • ria

    excellent tips! You raised some great points

  • http://mommiathome.blogspot.com Heather Swarthout

    Never thought about that before! I do remember when I moved a few years ago and we had put so many things out on the curb and it wasn’t a good neighborhood, it didn’t take long for people to be peeking in our old apartment. The next day we went back to make sure we didn’t forget anything and not only was everything on the curb gone (It was for trash but I know for a fact it didn’t go to trash..), but people were going in and out of the apartment. It was unlocked.. this might not be in complete reference to this post but it definitely reminded me of putting our things on the curb. I did make sure our names were off of everything. And I will remember your post for next time we put things out for trash. I never thought about it that way!

    • http://www.RobynsOnlineWorld.com Robyn Wright

      At least if they take things from the garbage to use themselves it keeps things out of landfills :-)

  • http://brokenwon.blogspot.com Wendy T

    Well….I consider myself a very safety conscious person, and I am shaking my head at this one. I never considered this and you are so right!

    Crazy world we live in nowadays in a lot of ways.

  • Lindsey

    This is such a helpful article. I tell people all the time to do the exact same thing, to cut up those cardboard boxes and not to place what you can in garbage bags.

  • Michael McMannis

    Yeah you see people just put all there trash on the curb. And they don’t think about people looking at there trash and making plans. Always cut your boxes up small enough to fit in trash cans

  • http://www.fotomacro.etsy.com angie

    wow! This is something that I never thought of! VERY good points! I would suggest never putting out over-stuffed trashcans and making sure your lid to your dump bin can close completely, even if you have to wait until the next week to get all the garbage out of your house.

  • Melissa VandenBerg

    EXCELLENT reminder. My husbands brother is a cop and its amazing what people will do….I say shred as much as you can and tie bags tight. I also put my sons dirty diapers on top…. :)

  • Valerie Taylor Mabrey

    I had a friend that got robbed for what was in her trash! When they caught the guy running he commented that he did not even find what he was looking for. (My friend had moved using old boxes from her parents.)

  • jenny

    I have heard of this, good advice!

  • Michelle S

    I surprisingly never thought of this! But it’s not the average thieves–in these times anyone could become a Nosy Nancy and go dumpster diving.

  • Michelle Tucker

    Thanks for the reminder. After having our apartment broken into years ago, we do take safety measures quite seriously. Also, another thing. IF you are a renter, please have renters insurance. It’s usually cheap and so worth it if anything ever happens.
    michelletucker at baconnation dot net

  • Alix Craw

    Those are all excellent tips. I haven’t had to worry about it for the pat few years because we lived in an apartment complex, and we could throw our trash in a communal dumpster so no one knew what trash belonged to each person. Now that we live in our own house, we will have to incorporate some of these ideas. Thanks!

  • Susan Smith

    My garbage service only takes trash and boxes, anything big they charge to pick up because they have have a seperate truck with a big claw to pick up the item.

  • Linda

    Whoa! Never stopped to think of that. I need to be more careful with my trash for sure.

  • suzy

    Thats a really scary thought, eeek

  • Kelsie

    I never would have thought of this!! Thank you so much.

  • Ashley

    This post was an eye opener. Thanks. I won’t be leaving any disclosing boxes in my trash

  • Mike

    Here in Hawaii we have to remember to keep our garage doors closed if we are not actually in the garage. It is not unusual for bad folks to cruise areas looking for open garages and possible loot to plunder. Many people use garages for other than cars such as an extra room complete with sofa, TV and frig.

  • Tim Moss

    Just a few days ago I saw someone’s flat-screen TV box on the side of their yard at their house, left for the trash pickup. Not what I consider a wise idea & this post bears that out. Ever notice how fast worn-out TVs & such get gone even when trash isn’t being picked up? Just put one at your curb & you’ll see what I mean. I’d advise more caution in doing this sort of thing.

Previous post:

Next post: