
Have you ever locked two kids in your running car and a third child in the house all at once?
As embarrassed as I am to admit it, my husband and I accidentally did this when we were in the process of building our house. Through a comedy of errors where each of us thought the other had the car and house keys, we found ourselves standing outside of our newly-built home with a 2-year-old and 1-year-old locked in our running SUV, while our 2-month-old infant daughter was locked in her carrier inside the house.
Of course you can imagine the panic that ensued…until one of our new neighbors calmly walked across the street and wedged a credit card into the door frame, popping the lock. Of course I vowed two things right then and there: a) to always use the deadbolt lock and b) we needed to ensure that we were always able to gain access to the house.
Until now we’ve used a PIN pad attached to our garage door to achieve this, leaving our door leading inside in the garage unlocked. Of course had I known that there were such things as the Kwikset SmartKey available before now, we could have solved this in a much simpler and more secure manner!
My husband installed the Kwikset Arlington Handle and SmartKey Keyless Deadbolt in under 20 minutes — all while I was away on a business trip and he was in charge of all five kids. So that tells you just how easy it is!
The handle is so much more attractive than the boring basic doorknob we had previously, and I love the keyless deadbolt. It automatically locks behind you after 30 seconds, and all you have to do to get back in is punch a 4-digit code that you set into the PIN pad. We’re definitely buying a second SmartKey for our door in the garage!
One Deal Seeking Mom reader will win a Kwikset SmartKey prize pack that includes:
- Your choice of a Arlington handleset, Tustin lever or Juno knob
- SmartCode Signature Series Keyless Deadbolt
To enter, tell me how you manage your house keys. Do you have multiple keys in case you get locked out? Do your children have keys to the home? Perhaps a neighbor keeps a spare key in case of emergencies.
Every reader has four methods available to enter this contest. Choose one each of any combination of method one, two, three, or four for up to a total of 4 entries!!!
If you are reading this in your email or feed reader, please CLICK HERE to visit the original blog post to enter. Email entries will not be counted.
Methods of entry:
1. Leave a comment. How do you manage house keys?
2. Join the Deal Seeking Mom community on Facebook for more conversation, additional deals and a peek at the freebies I receive in the mail each week. Come back and leave a separate comment letting me know you’ve done so!
3. Follow @DealSeekingMom on Twitter and tweet the following. Be sure to come back and leave a separate comment with the link to your tweet!
Enter to win a Kwikset SmartKey prize pack on @DealSeekingMom: https://dealseekingmom.com/?p=61205
4. Subscribe to my feed via RSS or email. You must confirm your email subscription for it to be a valid entry! Leave a separate comment letting me know you have done so. If you’re already a subscriber, simply leave a separate comment letting me know you’re already subscribed. Lovin’ my subscribers! You guys make this all possible.
Prize:
(1) Kwikset SmartKey prize pack, as described above
This giveaway ends at 7 p.m. on Thursday, 11/18 and is open to all U.S. residents 18 years or older. I’ll use Comment Contest to select the winning comment. Winner will be notified by email and listed on my Giveaway Winners page. Winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize. Good luck!
While you’re in a contest entering mood, don’t forget to check out the Giveaway Gathering for a variety of contests being hosted on Deal Seeking Mom readers’ blogs!


Tanya
I am an email subscriber!
Heidi
My husband and I each have a house key. When we first moved into our house, we locked ourselves out and ending up breaking into our own house through a window!
Travis
Multiple have keys.
Tanya
I subscribe to DSM emails!
Travis
Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/demonstrable/status/5099046578425856
Travis
I subscribe via email.
Andrea
I have two sets of keys, my husband has one, my neighbor has one, and my parents have one. Now that we have our son, I totally panic about locking him inside!!! I am not one to hide a key. You just NEVER know!
Andrea
I am a facebook follower.
Andrea
I also receive your emails. :)
karinya @ Unlikely Origins
Multiple sets! (And a good friend has an extra, just in case.)
Kasey
We keep our keys on a keyring by the door! We don’t have a way to lock the door without having the keys, so they’re never left inside. And I always triple check that they are in my hands before locking the car.
Kasey
I’m an RSS subscriber. :)
Darla
My brother who lives around the corner has a set and I have used that set more than once.
Min
Three or tow of us have all the keys.
Marisa
I’m an email subscriber
Marisa
I leave a spare set with my neighbor and I have a hide a key in my backyard just in case.
Paul
I have a different set of locks for the front and back…i keep a spare set in the fenced backyard but in case a prowler found them, those keys only work on the front door and not the back door where he found them…it’s not the best scenario but it works in case our 2 year old locks us out going in and out to play.
Leanie
I don’t have a spare set of keys hidden anywhere; haven’t locked myself out yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Thanks for the reminder – I need one of these!
Larena
A few of our extended family members have keys to the house. Also we use the garage door opener from the car.
Kim O
We so need one of these! Our front door knob looks awful!
We each have a key, but we do have a place outside we keep an extra hidden on days that the bug man comes to spray. My mom always has a key as well. We usually use the garage and keep the door inside the garage unlocked, so I rarely use a key at all.
sheri
Eeek! We haven’t really planned this out. We once gave my mom a key but I think she misplaced it :/
karinya @ Unlikely Origins
I subscribe via google reader.
karinya @ Unlikely Origins
I also like you on FB!
sheri
I like you on facebook
Trish
My husband and I each have one and then we have the keyless entry on the garage.
Trish
I follow on FB.
Trish
I subscribe via RSS.
Margaret
That is so sad! Our neighbors have an extra set when we lose ours.
DK
In my household, we manage key panic by having a spare that stays with a relative who lives nearby.
Dara
I keep a lot of spare keys lying around in different areas.