Home safety tips aren't things you don't know about. These home safety tips are simply things forgotten in the hustle and bustle of everyday living. We take a lot of things for granted and that's okay most of the time but during the holidays, we do a lot more visiting and entertaining at home. Guests might not know about a loose step on the walkway, a doorbell that doesn't work or a shaky handrail.
Yes, you've already got too much to do so here's the deal. You're going to decorate your home for the holidays, right?
Let's combine these home safety tips with planning your holiday decorations. We'll give you a simple, one page checklist and you can make it a game, something the kids will enjoy while learning more about home safety.
Home Safety Tips From the Street to Your Front Door
Home safety starts outside your home, when someone steps onto your property. That means we'll start our checklist of home safety tips at the street, and then we'll walk up the driveway or sidewalk, the way a guest would approach your front door.
In fact one of the reasons we forget about problems outside our house is we drive up to the house so you're busy focusing on where to park or opening the garage door. So this checklist suggests places to stop and look around, and when you print out the one page version, you'll find columns for home safety and holiday decorating. Hint – when you see all your holiday decorating ideas listed out, you might realize it's more work than you have time for … and you can prioritize.
- From the “curb” where people drive or walk onto your property, are these well marked for visitors at night? Google “solar landscape lighting” and you'll find an amazing array of inexpensive lighting that's easy to install now that you don't have to run electrical wiring to the lights.
- How will you greet guests as they approach your house? Maybe you'll have twinkling holiday lights running along the roof line but they might not give off enough light for someone walking up to the front door. We don't always remember to turn on the front door lights, so maybe it's time to install some motion sensitive lighting. You'll be amazed at the choices I found at LampsPlus.com, in all different finishes, some using LEDs and others solar powered.
- Walk up to your front door and look for any walking hazards like loose bricks, stone or a shaky handrail? In cold weather climates, are you prepared for snow and ice? We forget about these when we don't use the front door but you really don't want anyone falling when you've got a house full of guests. If you don't have time to make the repairs yourself, maybe it's time to give yourself an early gift with a visit from your local handyman to take care of these things.
Home Safety Tips for Inside Your Home
Enter your home through the front door and imagine what a guest is thinking and doing? Is there enough room to remove coats comfortably? Often we tell guests to drop their coats off in a bedroom upstairs because the hall closet isn't big enough. That's fine but let's review our list of home safety tips.
Consider the flow of guests through the rooms used during the party and it's time to think outside the box because everyone is different and they won't all move into the rooms you steer them too. It reminds me of an open house showcase I held where we were using three floors so I made sure to place food on all the floors. It didn't work and of course, most people clustered around the kitchen island and dining room table where there was more food?
Think about your holiday decorating in light of these home safety tips (read our Christmas Decorating Holiday Checklist). When there's not enough time, you can reduce the number of decorations to create a single focal point in each room.
- Is there adequate lighting where guests will walk, e.g. the hallways and stairs leading to the gathering areas (we all know everyone heads for the kitchen), bathroom and bedroom where coats are being stored.
- Is your kitchen configured so guests won't disturb any food preparation or cooking going on during the party?
- Move furniture around to make it easier for guests to flow from one room to another, and mingle in small groups? Make sure there aren't any exposed wires or other tripping hazzards.
- It's better not to have any open flames and if you must, proceed with caution with a fireplace, holiday lights or candles.
- Are you prepared for any emergencies – handrails secure, smoke alarms working and multiple doors to exit if necessary?
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and …
Let us know of other home safety tips worth sharing
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