I have a room in my basement and accidentally locked myself out of it - EDITED - [View all]

Last edited Fri May 8, 2026, 09:23 PM - Edit history (2)

The previous owner had it set up as a bedroom with a full bathroom attached. I use it as my home office. I have a desk, PC, printer, file cabinet and TV in there. I've lived here 17 years and never before shut the door to that room, so imagine my surprise and annoyance when I went to open the door and found it locked. I tried using a credit card, a screwdriver and a bobby pin to open it, all to no avail. The only thing left to do was to call a locksmith, which I didn't want to do because of the expense, but I finally got the number of the locksmith I'd used before from the HOA.

I watch a lot of true crime on TV and in one story, a father used a coat hanger to open his daughter's locked bedroom door. I figured, what do I have to lose? I put the bent top of the hanger in the little hole and voila! The door popped right open! What a relief! I guess when I tried using the bobby pin, I didn't push it far enough into the hole. The first thing I did was press the lock to keep it unlocked, but I found out that when the door is up against the wall, it pushes the button in so I put a paperweight between the door and the wall until I can get a door stopper.

That door was locked for a good amount of time. I am nothing if not a terrible procrastinator. I hated having to go to the library to print and of course, Holly hated having the door locked because she likes to sleep in her cat bed that's in that room. But all's well that ends well. And I didn't have to pay a locksmith!

Edited to add: I hated having to go to the library to pay to print out copies when I have a perfectly good printer at home. I LOVE the library. I go there all the time. It's important to me to clarify that.