I Broke Into Someone's House Today

[BrianL]

Yeah, I confess. This idiot had locked only the knob on the security door in the back. I didn't have any tools or anything at all, so I'm scrounging around this moron's back yard for anything I can use to do the deed. Fortunately I found some scrap metal, an old gate handle, that I was able to use to get under the guard and pry the door jamb back just enough to pop it and get into this imbecile's house! Successful break-in!

Oh, did I forget to mention that it was my house and I accidentally locked myself out?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Locked myself out twice within the first few weeks (thankfully while roommate was home) and then hid a key in my basement.

In the previous place, I once locked myself out with no shoes/jacket while roommate was gone for the weekend. For the life of me I couldn't find the key that had been in my car. After 2-3hrs testing all the windows (even got out a ladder) and checking all through the car/trunk several times, finally found the darn key in the exact place in the car it should have been, but slid under the lining.

 

[BrianL]

Locked myself out twice within the first few weeks (thankfully while roommate was home) and then hid a key in my basement.

In the previous place, I once locked myself out with no shoes/jacket while roommate was gone for the weekend. For the life of me I couldn't find the key that had been in my car. After 2-3hrs testing all the windows (even got out a ladder) and checking all through the car/trunk several times, finally found the darn key in the exact place in the car it should have been, but slid under the lining.

Yeah, I had NOTHING. No phone, no keys, credit cards - I was barefoot. I had just stepped out onto my small deck. The door doesn't ahve a closer, the wind must;ve sent it back. I still don't really know why it was locked anyway, but, man, did my heart sink!

Fortunatley, it was just the knob lock, and I was able to slip under it, but it took a good 15 minutes or so. The peice was a littl ebent, so I had to bend it back a bit and be careful not to bend it more. It's a good thing that junk metal was just sitting on my old grill!

 

[Dug720]

I've locked myself out of my apartment before. Fortunately I'm on the first floor - though the windows are a bit off the ground, which is nice since because they are, there are no grates over them.

I went to the pizza place around the corner to see if they had a ladder I could borrow (they knew me and knew where I live) so I could get in the window. The funniest part is there were some cops from the local precinct (2 blocks away) in there and the manager of the pizza place said "Yeah, I know her. She lives there for sure." and I had my license with me, so they radioed the precinct and said "If we get a call about a white girl breaking into an apartment on [my street] it's cool, she lives there.

Now I have a spare set of keys in one of those boxes like dog walking services use just in case. I'm getting too old to climb through windows.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Yeah, I confess. This idiot had locked only the knob on the security door in the back. I didn't have any tools or anything at all, so I'm scrounging around this moron's back yard for anything I can use to do the deed. Fortunately I found some scrap metal, an old gate handle, that I was able to use to get under the guard and pry the door jamb back just enough to pop it and get into this imbecile's house! Successful break-in!

Oh, did I forget to mention that it was my house and I accidentally locked myself out?

Someone’s gonna end up on the news…

 

[RedAngie]

Yeah, I had NOTHING. No phone, no keys, credit cards - I was barefoot. I had just stepped out onto my small deck. The door doesn't ahve a closer, the wind must;ve sent it back. I still don't really know why it was locked anyway, but, man, did my heart sink

NOTHING? Not even any clothes on???

 

[BrianL]

NOTHING? Not even any clothes on???

Just some jogging shorts and a t-shirt - nothing that would help me break into my house. I am not quite dumb enough to pull the ol' "going to get the paper in nothing but a towel" move!

 

[Deb]

locked myself out of my house about a year ago, maybe. My sister had just dropped me off and I had more than one load of stuff to get from her car into my house so I put it all in my car then took the first load in, while she drove away. Dropped my purse with my keys and my cell phone in the kitchen, went back into the garage to get another load and the kitchen door locked behind me. Never has before or since.
My sister lives about 2.5 miles from me, very busy street most of the way with no sidewalk.
A neighbor I had never met was working on his car down the street. He let me borrow his phone, but I knew no useful phone numbers. I tried emailing my sister from his phone, but who knew if the email would end up in her spam folder or how long till she checked her email. Eventually the neighbor offered to take me to my sister's house. I wasn't thrilled about getting in a strangers car when no one knew where I was, but I did.
I have a house key hidden in my garage now. And generally make sure my phone is in my pocket when I step into the garage no matter how briefly.

 

[tvguy]

No knob locks on my house. Just deadbolts, so impossible to lock yourself out. Now, I worked overnight and early morning shift for over 30 years, and from time to time I would have to "credit card" a door that was locked, usually when the fire alarm panel showed a smoke detector activation in that locked area. My store rewards card looks like it has been through a war. Although most of that time I had a master key. A new manager would come in, and want to know why I had a master key and it would get taken away. Then they would get a $250 fine for a false fire alarm that the fire department responded to in an area I could not access......and mysteriously there would be a master key left in my mailbox again.

 

[BrianL]

No knob locks on my house. Just deadbolts, so impossible to lock yourself out. Now, I worked overnight and early morning shift for over 30 years, and from time to time I would have to "credit card" a door that was locked, usually when the fire alarm panel showed a smoke detector activation in that locked area. My store rewards card looks like it has been through a war. Although most of that time I had a master key. A new manager would come in, and want to know why I had a master key and it would get taken away. Then they would get a $250 fine for a false fire alarm that the fire department responded to in an area I could not access......and mysteriously there would be a master key left in my mailbox again.

I have on ocassion walked out of my front door without my keys, but usually that means I was leaving and had my wallet on me. I can credit-card the knob lock on my front door pretty easily. In this case, I just had nothing on me. My heart sunk when I realized it!

locked myself out of my house about a year ago, maybe. My sister had just dropped me off and I had more than one load of stuff to get from her car into my house so I put it all in my car then took the first load in, while she drove away. Dropped my purse with my keys and my cell phone in the kitchen, went back into the garage to get another load and the kitchen door locked behind me. Never has before or since.
My sister lives about 2.5 miles from me, very busy street most of the way with no sidewalk.
A neighbor I had never met was working on his car down the street. He let me borrow his phone, but I knew no useful phone numbers. I tried emailing my sister from his phone, but who knew if the email would end up in her spam folder or how long till she checked her email. Eventually the neighbor offered to take me to my sister's house. I wasn't thrilled about getting in a strangers car when no one knew where I was, but I did.
I have a house key hidden in my garage now. And generally make sure my phone is in my pocket when I step into the garage no matter how briefly.

Yeah, I know so few phone numbers these days! Fortunately I do know my mom's and she has keys to my front door. I would have had to climb over my fence and ask my neighbor if I could borrow his phone. Who knows if she'd answer an unknown caller though? She doesn't live that close either, so it would have been a while.

 

[Meriweather]

LOL....My 18 month old DS locked me out of the house. I had my pajamas on and just stepped into the back yard to move the water hose and he flipped the switch on the sliding door. I had to get a neighbor and he had to break the lock on the front door to get in.
I have ever since always had a spare key hidden somewhere. That was 44 years ago

 

[prairie_girl]

Locked myself out twice within the first few weeks (thankfully while roommate was home) and then hid a key in my basement.

In the previous place, I once locked myself out with no shoes/jacket while roommate was gone for the weekend. For the life of me I couldn't find the key that had been in my car. After 2-3hrs testing all the windows (even got out a ladder) and checking all through the car/trunk several times, finally found the darn key in the exact place in the car it should have been, but slid under the lining.

Isn’t a key in your basement still inaccessible since you’re on the outside?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Isn’t a key in your basement still inaccessible since you’re on the outside?

No, my basement is exterior access only & the bulkhead doesn't lock.
Thankfully I really don't lock myself out much, just right in a row adjusting to the new place.

 

[prairie_girl]

No, my basement is exterior access only & the bulkhead doesn't lock.
Thankfully I really don't lock myself out much, just right in a row adjusting to the new place.

I’ll be honest, I had to google your reply because I had no idea what you were talking about. The only basements I have seen in my whole life are interior access only and are functional as living space.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

All BUT our glass doors are keypads because we would lock ourselves out regularly if we relied on keys only. If all of the batteries in all the doors are down at the same time, we will have a big problem.

 

[kyton]

This is why our front door lock is actually a pin pad. When we were building our forever home our then 2yo locked me out of our rental leaving both her and her newborn brother inside. Took me ages to coax her to open the door. When we got to choosing how to put the handles on our front doors, I found a pin pad lock which is awesome. All family members have codes so they can let themselves in 24hrs a day without carrying keys.

 

[HopperFan]

Have had only a couple adult lock outs and breaking windows. SO much better now with keypads.

BUT when I was an older teen I had locked myself out of my parents home. With no cellphones back then or any way to get in myself .... I began to check windows. The powder room window was unlocked so I slid it up and climbed in head first, lost my grip on the frame and fell face first towards the open toilet. I guess my brain thought fast throwing arms to avoid the plunge and my face hit the floor. WAY BACK in 70's the powder being off the family room (on a concrete slab) they both had that tight loop commercial carpet. I walked away with no broken bones or wet hair but a face full of rug burns. Tough one to explain. Needless to say I never forgot my key again.

 

[disykat]

When my elderly parents had moved into a care facility and I was camping out in their now sparsely furnished home every other week, I locked myself out of their house while watering their lawn. My husband wasn't in town with me, my nearest siblings were hours away. No shoes, nothing. I met a very nice new neighbor I hadn't met yet who was out working in her yard. She had apparently mastered in breaking into windows after curfew as a teenager and I told her what windows my sister had used for the same when we were little. She helped me break in. Good thing she turned out to be trustworthy because we got in! We literally took a sliding door off it's rail and opened it right up. She was a much appreciated genius that day. I made an immediate emergency plan then as we got the house prepped for sale, we got the weak points fixed though. That door was first priority because it was shockingly easy to get in if you knew how!

 

[BrianL]

Have had only a couple adult lock outs and breaking windows. SO much better now with keypads.

BUT when I was an older teen I had locked myself out of my parents home. With no cellphones back then or any way to get in myself .... I began to check windows. The powder room window was unlocked so I slid it up and climbed in head first, lost my grip on the frame and fell face first towards the open toilet. I guess my brain thought fast throwing arms to avoid the plunge and my face hit the floor. WAY BACK in 70's the powder being off the family room (on a concrete slab) they both had that tight loop commercial carpet. I walked away with no broken bones or wet hair but a face full of rug burns. Tough one to explain. Needless to say I never forgot my key again.

Better than going in the toilet!

 

[TippyThomas]

I have a strange system just in case that ever happens to me. I have a spare key to the pole barn hidden with my vehicle. Inside the pole barn, I have a key inside a small safe for the house. It's quite the process if I ever need to use them, but they are there just in case. I have a friend who also has a key because they water my plants and check on my home when I'm away for long camping trips. I haven't actually had to use either one for an emergency lockout yet, but it's nice to know it's available if needed.