Living in a busy neighborhood has its ups and downs. On the upside, a busy neighborhood tends to have a great sense of community, many businesses strewn about, and a higher sense of security. Neighbors generally form a tight-knit environment, keeping an eye on each other and offering a helping hand when they can.

On the flip side, privacy can be difficult to keep in a densely populated neighborhood. With people walking the streets almost 24/7 and houses being close to each other, you may spend a lot of time worrying about if people can see into your home or if anyone is peeking over your fence.

Nevertheless, there are lots of ways you can improve your home’s privacy without looking like a complete shut-in to your neighbors. If you live in a crowded neighborhood, here are some of the best strategies that you can try:

1. Install privacy window film

Frosted window film makes it impossible for anyone looking through the windows to see inside your home—but without sacrificing the amount of sunlight that passes through. It is beneficial if you live right next to a busy street and don’t want to keep your first-floor curtains closed all day, as well as if you have windows that look directly into your neighbor’s home.

You can even install frosted film on the bottom half of your windows only so that you can still see clearly from the top half. For example, if your kitchen windows are directly in the line of your neighbor’s yard, you can install frosted film on the bottom half (to cover your line of sight) to protect both of your privacy without blocking out everything.

2. Hang sheer curtains

Curtains and drapes do a great job at blocking out anyone’s view into your home, but they also prevent sunlight from entering your home. If you don’t want to install privacy film on your windows, hang sheer curtains instead. Although sheer curtains do not make it impossible to look through your windows, they provide a high level of privacy during the day and can even diffuse sunlight to soften the natural light.

3. Put up a property fence

Installing a fence along the perimeter of your home is one of the most effective ways to increase your privacy. If your current fence is not tall enough or if you don’t have one altogether, consider putting one up along your property line to prevent people from peeking into your home—or worse, trespassing on your property.

However, some neighborhoods have certain policies when it comes to putting up fences. Consult your local council on how tall of a fence you can build and what kind of material you can use. Furthermore, ensure that you are not occupying your neighbor’s property when putting up your fence to avoid any legal dispute in the future.

4. Build trellises

Trellises can help you create secluded areas around your home, such as your porch or patio. You can also build them along your property line to limit visibility for your backyard. Moreover, you can grow hanging or crawling plants on them to create more shade and privacy for your secluded areas.

Just note that trellises can also serve as climbing aids for intruders. If you have a second floor, consider adding thorny plants on your trellises to discourage burglars from climbing them.

5. Remove obstructions

Removing obstructions around your property may seem counterintuitive to improving your privacy, but it actually helps prevent people from snooping around your home. These obstructions can serve as hiding spots for people who want to peek into your affairs. Worse, potential intruders can also use them to scope around your property for the best entry point.

Obstructions like overgrown plants, woodpiles, and large trash containers are great hiding places for peepers or potential intruders. That said, getting rid of them will not only improve your privacy—but will also enhance your safety as well.

6. Install security cameras

Installing security cameras is, first and foremost, an additional security measure for your home. But apart from that, it can also improve your privacy by deterring potential peepers who may tend to linger around your property. The key is to make your security cameras visible from the street so that people know not to snoop around, and you can even hang signs that say you have security cameras to make the fact extra obvious.

Living in a busy neighborhood may come with a lot of privacy issues. Still, as you can see, there are a lot of ways you can prevent people from snooping around your property—or unintentionally looking into your home.