# Why does it bother my neighbors that I never open my blinds/shades? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 6, 2022, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086 "2022-05-06T21:21:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/21 "2022-05-07T01:51:45Z")
How ridiculous that anyone would think closed blinds meant a house was for rent, tight market or not, and that they’d ask neighbors _on one side only_ about it. I’m aware of no place where closed blinds is some secret signal a place is for rent. Hell, I close my blinds during the summer so the sun doesn’t heat up my apartment. My friend, whose home is, like yours, close to the sidewalk, keeps hers closed so people don’t peer in. If your neighbors raise the subject again, smile and say, “Huh. Is that right?” then change the subject. Three inquiries in two years is no reason for concern. For some reason, these folks want to see into your home. That’s reason enough to keep the blinds closed, if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/22 "2022-05-07T02:41:01Z")
I know from old books that blinds down in the daytime used to be a sign of mourning, but didn’t know that people still cared about blinds until a student in my Freshman English last year wrote about it in an essay. According to her essay, one of her mother’s rules was to always open the shades in the morning, otherwise neighbors would think that they were lazy or hiding something. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/23 "2022-05-07T02:54:52Z")
I’d say just file it under People Are Weird, subsection Nosy, as their story doesn’t hold up. Typically, _all_ houses look unoccupied during the day, since _most_ people are at work. No lights, no cars in the drive, blinds closed. I can’t imagine what would make someone single your place out. Is the rental market so tight it seems probable people are scouring the neighborhood for unlisted rentals? ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/24 "2022-05-07T02:56:48Z")
The next time someone suggests you open your blinds, say something like “I should do something about that, yeah” and then the next day put a big sign on your door that says “I assure you someone lives here!” Bonus points if you use a sheet and shoe polish. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/25 "2022-05-07T03:01:54Z")
Perhaps a real estate agent has been talking to people in the neighborhood trying to stir up business. And, as I have pointed out previously, the curtains were drawn but the furniture was real. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/26 "2022-05-07T05:50:36Z")
> [@Ponderoid](#): > > The next time someone suggests you open your blinds, say something like “I should do something about that, yeah” and then the next day put a big sign on your door that says “I assure you someone lives here!” Bonus points if you use a sheet and shoe polish. 🙂 Or, in all seriousness, put a seasonally appropriate wreath on the door or something. A decorated door would be a visual clue that someone lived there. I just got [this one]([https://www.joann.com/place-time-unfinished-wood-fish-wreath-with-welcome-sign/18603399.html?adlclid=1bd44f0fe39f1d67a1b62d79eb9dd972&msclkid=1bd44f0fe39f1d67a1b62d79eb9dd972&utm\_source=bing&utm\_medium=cpc&utm\_campaign=[ADL]](https://www.joann.com/place-time-unfinished-wood-fish-wreath-with-welcome-sign/18603399.html?adlclid=1bd44f0fe39f1d67a1b62d79eb9dd972&msclkid=1bd44f0fe39f1d67a1b62d79eb9dd972&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%5BADL%5D) %5BPLA%5D %5BShopping%5D All Products&utm\_term=4585238372259545&utm\_content=All Products) myself. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/27 "2022-05-07T05:52:25Z")
That is so goddamn weird to me. I cannot imagine someone asking me that (and my blinds are almost always closed) and I’m not sure I’d be as polite as I normally like to be in my response. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/28 "2022-05-07T06:04:31Z")
Obviously you two are just such gorgeous alluring interesting people that the neighbors can’t bare to not see you as much as possible. Option two. Your neighbors are all national security agents. All of them. What the hell are you up to! ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/29 "2022-05-07T09:22:58Z")
I live in the UK. My blinds (front and back) have been down for 30 years. No neighbour has ever said anything and nobody has ever knocked and asked if the house is for sale. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/30 "2022-05-07T09:37:46Z")
A “Vampire Den” sign might help? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/31 "2022-05-07T13:09:56Z")
Every time I read a thread like this, I’m reminded how great it is not having any neighbors in visual distance. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/32 "2022-05-07T13:21:07Z")
Open the blinds and walk around naked for a few days. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/33 "2022-05-07T13:26:45Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > its window coverings closed all the time, because they think that makes it look shady or something. Well, that is kinda the point of having shades, isn’t it? > [@susan](#): > > Open the blinds and walk around naked for a few days. That was my thought, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/34 "2022-05-07T13:31:44Z")
The neighbors probably read too much Dashiell Hammett, and have become convinced that the OP’s home is a nest of drug addiction, deviant sexuality, and participation in pseudo-religious cult activities. It may be a good idea to cut down on the number of furtive visitors dressed in 1930s-style outfits. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/35 "2022-05-07T14:21:48Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Open the blinds and walk around naked for a few days. Yeah. I like having the blinds open, so I can look at people walking by. I don’t care if they look in. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/36 "2022-05-07T14:32:04Z")
I am not the OP’s neighbor, but it bothers me when people leave their blinds closed **all day**. In the summer time, I can understand having east-facing blinds closed during the morning, and west- or south-facing blinds closed during the afternoon. But not all day. And the reason is this– Why in the name of common sense would you want to waste the free lighting from the sun? Why would you want to turn lights on during the day, in order to see, when you can get glorious, free lighting benefits from the sun? It makes no sense, and I genuinely wonder whether people who do waste the sunlight are either paranoid or stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/37 "2022-05-07T14:35:39Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > I genuinely wonder whether people who do waste the sunlight are either paranoid or stupid. So people who work nights and are _sleeping_ during the day, thus would want the place darker, are “either paranoid or stupid”? (Just one example drawn from my own life experience.) ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/38 "2022-05-07T14:37:38Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > Why in the name of common sense would you want to waste the free lighting from the sun? So another possible explanation is that my neighbors are hyper-environmentalists worrying that I’m destroying the planet by using electric lights during the day? The reality is, enough indirect light comes through my shades and blinds that most of the time I don’t need to turn lights on during the day. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/39 "2022-05-07T14:42:41Z")
> [@Ponderoid](#): > > The next time someone suggests you open your blinds, say something like “I should do something about that, yeah” and then the next day put a big sign on your door that says “I assure you someone lives here!” Bonus points if you use a sheet and shoe polish. 🙂 Yeah, I thought about that. If the sign were nice and garish and they seemed visibly unhappy with that, that would tend to confirm the “property values” explanation. (I didn’t mention this earlier, but in the time I’ve lived here the wife in the couple next door has made a few comments seeming to indicate that she’s one of these people who’s obsessed with squeezing every last dollar of property value she possibly can out of a house.) > [@elfkin477](#): > > Or, in all seriousness, put a seasonally appropriate wreath on the door or something. A decorated door would be a visual clue that someone lived there. I just got [this one]([https://www.joann.com/place-time-unfinished-wood-fish-wreath-with-welcome-sign/18603399.html?adlclid=1bd44f0fe39f1d67a1b62d79eb9dd972&msclkid=1bd44f0fe39f1d67a1b62d79eb9dd972&utm\_source=bing&utm\_medium=cpc&utm\_campaign=[ADL] ](https://www.joann.com/place-time-unfinished-wood-fish-wreath-with-welcome-sign/18603399.html?adlclid=1bd44f0fe39f1d67a1b62d79eb9dd972&msclkid=1bd44f0fe39f1d67a1b62d79eb9dd972&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%5BADL%5D) %5BPLA%5D %5BShopping%5D All Products&utm\_term=4585238372259545&utm\_content=All Products) myself. I am in the process of getting more front porch decorations; it’ll be interesting to see whether that placates them. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086/40 "2022-05-07T14:44:54Z")
Are _all_ of _everybody’s_ window coverings _true_ black-out shades ? In the Rockies, the sun is _intense._ I could leave every window covering in the house closed and nowhere will be even close to remotely dark. > [@Arcite](#): > > The reality is, enough indirect light comes through my shades and blinds that most of the time I don’t need to turn lights on during the day. Er … yeah. This 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-bother-my-neighbors-that-i-never-open-my-blinds-shades/964086.md?page=3)