Do you give keys?

[HotHolly]

OK, silly question. I normally dont give keys out to anyone, despite my tendency to lock myself out of my house. I had given my brother a spare key when he lived here. He lived about 5 mins away and I thought it would be helpful. The short version of that story is, when ever we went away, I would come home to find his helpfulness...um interesting. I woulda thought vacuuming would be a nice gesture. I came home once and he had started to finish my garage. He took sheet rock I had for something else and used wood putty as plaster. Dont get me wrong, I am very greatful he would want to be so helpful, but ummm...its kinda an odd welcome home present. I used to be worried when ever we left, God knows what Id find when I returned. Now that my parents live within the state, they have been wanting a key. You see where this is going, right? Over helpful, tends to try to make things better in big ways, but tends to leave it not as Id have it.

I did tell my brother that I didnt want him to do anything while we were gone. Or if he wanted to do something, vacuum the house for me like a normal person. He earned himself an interesting reputation while he lived here. Anyway, I can see where he gets it from now. My Dad told me he wanted to trim my front tree while I was at work recently. I came home and found he'd chopped 1/2 the tree down. The problem isnt the helpfulness, its that they think why do something little, when you can do something BIG? The results of the tree - I have 1/2 a tree in my front yard (which looks, well not so good) and we lost all the shade...energy bill went up. And I have a lot of firewood that I cant burn. Im wondering if the tree will croak now that 1/2 of it is gone. That would suck. Im hoping it grows back.

Do you give out your keys? You think Im being a ninny? Or maybe I should give out the key and make sure I have proper construction supplies on hand? I might have a greenhouse when I come back from the Austin workshop. lol.

[123canon]

my dog is the the only one i give a key to. no, seriously, it hangs in his dog house and he decides who comes and goes while i am away. i found that rottwiellers are very docile animals to people they like and he seems to be a pretty good judge of character as long as the bad guys don't show up with a tennis ball!

[Howard Barlow]

.. My Dad told me he wanted to trim my front tree while I was at work recently. I came home and found he'd chopped 1/2 the tree down.

The old Beavis and Butthead pruning method. "We can prune any tree with one cut."

[JenJohnson79]

My dad has a key, because he picks the kids up occassionally from daycare if I need him too, I think that's happened four times. And I give a key to the kid down the street when we go out of town to feed my dogs. . . he's 18, his mother runs a daycare in her home (watching my girls for 4 years now). When we get back in town he hands me my key back and nothing is messed up. . . he's responsible.

[Rson]

Don't lock the door and you won't have this problem.

(I second the dog proposition, I have a English Mastiff and Neapolitan Mastiff both don't like people there when we aren't)

[Jessica Merritt]

My parents have a key, and my friend who pet sits for us has one as well. They don't do construction, though.

[Debbi]

My neighbor has a key (in case the kid forgets his) and the lady who cleans our house - but she actually does vacuum!

[Shelby Lane]

My parents have a key, but I'm not sure they know where it is. When I'm out of town, they regularly need things for the kids, so it just makes sense. I'd never let one of my brothers have a key though. I'd come home to find them camped out on my sofa, eating my food and watching Pay Per View.

[dsjsws]

Holly,

Family is family whether they have a key or not.
My mother took my daughter jean's shopping several years back and they came home with armloads of things to redecorate my guest bathroom.
No one ever asked me if I liked the stuff. It just appeared.
I hate it, and I'm stuck with it.
So, does a key really matter?
Give a key to a neighbor you trust if you have one. It came in really handy the time my pipes burst and water was streaming out of the house. They came in turned off the water, and mopped. Most helpful.
Good luck!

Donna

[groovyone]

I have one of these:

GE Keysafe

[shamrock]

I have an electronic deadbolt that requires a 4 digit code to unlock. You can set multiple codes. My petsitter is the only one that has the main code, but i have one set for my in-laws, one for my best friend (in case of emergency with the dogs), and one for each of my (grown) children. I can deactivate the ones that i don't want in when i go away, such as on vacation. The pet sitter gets the main code so that she can ALWAYS get in, in case of emergency.

[HotHolly]

Originally Posted by Jessica Merritt

They don't do construction, though.

Neither do mine - that seems to be the problem.

Originally Posted by shamrock

I have an electronic deadbolt that requires a 4 digit code to unlock. You can set multiple codes. My petsitter is the only one that has the main code, but i have one set for my in-laws, one for my best friend (in case of emergency with the dogs), and one for each of my (grown) children. I can deactivate the ones that i don't want in when i go away, such as on vacation. The pet sitter gets the main code so that she can ALWAYS get in, in case of emergency.

That may be a good idea. I can tell them the code and then tell them if they add a new wing outa tar paper and twigs, then Im deleting their key code. No key for you! Its probably cheaper to just change the locks.

Crazy people. lol. I swear, my brother was the only college kid with a 12' ladder and a chain saw. Whenever, me the homeowner, didnt I have a tool, Id call him and 9:10 he had it. Blow torch - check. You never know what youre gonna need in the dorm!

[HeatherLou]

I think its always a good idea to let someone you TRUST have a key to your place. Now, I don't say family, cuz if it were my side of the family, all my stuff would be gone!! However, when Jeff's mother was ill, just before she passed away, we came to Bwood from Denton. We had to have a key Fed Ex'ed to some friends to feed our cat. Now, my in laws have a key to our house, and we have a key to theirs. We take care of each others animals and such, since we all travel a bit. Its funny, our inlaws won't use their key unless we are out of town, but they always leave stuff on our front door step! LOL

[David_3]

I don't even give out my address, much less my key.

[Michelle Allmon]

Yes, I'm a key-giver. I think they sound sweet! At least they don't wreck your home with wild parties. :)