News Copy - By Gemma Francis
‘Did I lock the front door’, ‘do I have my phone’ and ‘have I paid the bills’ are among the top 25 questions that drive Brits mad, a study has found.
A poll of 2000 adults found almost nine in 10 have spent their days wondering if they turned things off, picked up important items and locked up when they left the house that morning.
Other common niggling questions include ‘did I pick my keys up’, ‘did I turn off the light’ and ‘did I turn off my hair straighteners’.
But once a worry sets in, it can be hard to shake it off with 55 per cent admitting that a nagging thought is often all they can think about until they can make sure it’s OK.
Eight in 10 adults, polled by home improvement window specialists Independent Network, have even turned back or returned home to put their mind at ease, despite the time and money it adds to their journey.
A spokesman for Independent Network, a membership of trusted local window & door installers powered by VEKA, said: “From wondering if we’ve left a window open to questioning if the lights are still on, there are many niggling questions we ask ourselves each day.
“And once you have that thought, even if you are certain you did it, it can be hard to forget about it completely until you can go and check.
“For some, it gets so bad, they have to drive back home to make sure their door is locked or the window is closed so they can concentrate on the rest of their day.
“But many of these little niggles could cause trouble if we did in fact forget to do them, so it’s easy to see why they can play on your mind and lead to a worrying day.
“Leaving your door or window open could leave your home at risk, especially when you are at work all day.”
The study found ‘did I lock the front door’ is the most common question Brits ask themselves followed by ‘have I got my phone’ and ‘do I have my keys’.
Worrying about what to have for dinner and whether you’ve got everything you need is also at the forefront of the nation’s minds along with concerns that a window has been left open at home.
‘Did I turn off the light’, ‘have I locked the car’ and even ‘did I leave the front door open’ also appear in the list.
Four in 10 have been so worried they have left something open or unlocked, or turned on, they have called a friend or neighbour to pop back home and double check.
And almost one in four have left a spare key with someone so they can get in to their home to make sure things are shut and turned off when they are too far away to check themselves.
A third have even left work in the middle of the day, or used their lunch break to go back home to put their mind at rest. Are these niggling doubts our subconscious trying to tell us something?
One respondent even went back home to check they had turned the hob off to find a fire engine outside and a house full of smoke confirming that they had left it on.
A quarter of those polled, via OnePoll, have returned home from work to find they have left a window open while almost one in five have gone back to their car only to find they had left it unlocked.
More than one in twenty have also opened their front door to find the iron or their hair straighteners still switched on.
But while most niggling worries have usually proved to be unfounded, 90 per cent are glad to have gone back to check their home.
Four in 10 even went as far as to say they would feel anxious all day if they weren’t able to go back and check something while another 22 per cent would feel on edge.
A spokesman for Independent Network, added: “As a company we are very tuned into how homeowners live their home lives and how busy they are, but even we were surprised by some of the results! It just goes to show that we are all under the same pressures and juggling a million things each day.”
Top 25 niggling questions
1. Did I lock the front door?
2. Do I have my phone?
3. Do I have my keys?
4. What shall I have for dinner and have I got what I need?
5. Have I left a window open?
6. Did I turn off the light?
7. Have I locked the car?
8. Did I leave the front door open?
9. Did I turn the hobs off?
10. Did I switch off the oven?
11. Did I turn off the central heating?
12. Did I leave my hair straighteners on?
13. Did I turn the iron off?
14. Did I leave a tap on?
15. Have I drunk enough water?
16. Did I get the dinner out of the freezer?
17. Is the fridge door closed?
18. Have I paid that bill?
19. Did I respond to that person's email/text?
20. What side's my petrol cap on?
21. Does the cat/dog have water?
22. Did I put the handbrake on in the car?
23. Have I hit my daily step count?
24. Did I lock the garage?
25. Did I leave the cat in or out?
To find your local Independent Network provider and installer go to www.inveka.co.uk
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