Depends where you live I guess.

We only close our curtains on our big sliding door to stop people seeing in if they are considering breaking in.

I know

My faces weren't for you, they were for your husband. Why would you not lock your door? Although in saying that, my sister lived in Texas in the 80's, in a small town, and never locked her door and left her keys in the ignition of her car....

My OH grew up in Minnesota, where everyone knows everyone else and it's perfectly sensible to leave doors and cars unlocked.

Me? I grew up in grotty Harrow, where if you even had your car window cracked an inch you'd lose your stereo. I lock our cars even in our garage now, with the garage door closed and front door locked! Just can't stop doing it, even though it drives Mr Gingerert crazy when he tries to load up the car before work.

I'd rather keep my belongings... and limbs... Just not taking any chances.

Simply to keep the heat out in the summer and reduce AC cost, and to keep heat in during the winter to save oil....windows are generally pretty crap around here, except for new builds.

Good reasons, I just always associate closed curtains during the day with the 'tradition' in the UK being that closed curtains during daylight usually meant the inhabitants were in 'mourning'

Learn something new everyday. I've never heard of such a tradition.

We keep our blinds closed because of the reasons Bob mentioned. In addition to those reasons, since we typically aren't home during the day I don't want anyone peeking in a window and taking a liking to something we own..and we like our privacy. I don't want anyone seeing what I'm doing in my own house (cuz I sometimes don't like clothes ya know).

This is what gets me. People keep the blinds closed during the day to keep the heat out. But it's also popular over here to have extra windows in the house where there's not actually a room, they're just for show. That's just daft.

It's an old tradition, goes back a long way, not sure if people still do it these days.

Thing is, (here anyway in newer houses) most of them have flyscreens on the bottom half of the windows, so I could pull my blinds up completely to the top of those and noone could see in anyway, even if they get close up (unless lights are on)

I think it's a tradition that went out of date decades ago in the UK.

It may be out of 'fashion' now, the last funeral I went too in the UK was about 18 yrs ago, the family still closed the curtains though, I think it is more for visitors (or used to be) to let them know they should show respect and not disturb until the curtains were opened again

The last time I recall seeing curtains closed for mourning was when I was a child. So yes that would be about 18 yrs ago.

That would make you still a 'wee sprog'

It depends on how you are defining "nomal" Its whatever works for you and the family. We never have our curtains closed - not even at night and we keep the windows wide open. Now in saying that we do have black-out curtains in the kids rooms that we do hang in the summer to help them get to sleep at nite.

We do lock our cars and house although with a golden lab with a deep evil bark I dont think anyone would ever be able to break in without it being known.

Or on the other hand, so people dont see what you and the wife are up to.....

I tend to do the same thing here as I did at home, that is I keep the blinds closed when no-one is home and at night, but if I'm home and it's daylight then I open them to let in the light. The only time I close them during the day at home is if the sun is in my eyes, or is casting a glare on the TV and what not. My American wife doesn't seem to have an issue with it so it must be a universal practice. Generally I don't like to have blinds open at night, it makes the room look untidy to me, I can't explain it but if the lights need to be on, for me that is when the blinds are shut. I'll open them (and turn off the lights) if there's a good thunderstorm under way though

The one big exception is that I keep the blinds to my music room closed all the time, so the undesirables can't look in to see what I have. For gigs/practices, I load and unload the car in the garage too so no-one really knows I have any expensive gear at home. I use headphones when I play to appease SWMBO anyway, so no noise is generated either!