This compilation of home safety tips is offered in the hopes that it will help protect you and your family. There are a number of the "security" tips which came from Blockwatch. If you have more you'd like to share, share in the comments below. If you'd like to learn more about any of the ideas, let me know and I can post more detail in the future.
The old joke goes;
Q: "What is a shin?"
A: "A device for detecting furniture in the dark"
Socks prevent broken toesThis is my favourite safety tip. Because I have broken toes on my stupid metal bedframe, and because now I only "nearly break my toes" on my stupid metal bedframe/casters. Put thick wool socks over the legs of your bed to avoid breaking a toe on the metal legs/bed frame when moving around in the dark. It really
Take the saw to your coffee tableCut sharp corners off of coffee table (leaving rounded corners or corners that are more blunt). It started with my knees. I kept hurting my knees on the coffee table, then our toddler was putting himself in danger by falling near the coffee table. (God saved his bacon so many times). I looked at those finely chiselled corners on the ikea coffee table and thought... Hey, if I cut those at a 45 degree angle the corners will be half as sharp. Enough said, we've had several events were the children's injuries were less sever because the scary corners got recycled years ago.
Tie down your TVAnchor your TV to the wall or cabinet to prevent children from pulling it off the shelf when they inevitably attempt to climb up the TV. The idea isn't to hold the entire weight of the TV, but to simply prevent it from tipping or moving in the first place. Large eyelets which screw into your furniture and TV (make sure to avoid all electronics and related shock hazards) make the task easy. Insert these before positioning the TV. Then use Wire (electrical wire of sufficient thickness) to secure the eyelets to each other ensuring the ends are well secure by winding many times.
Anchor your BookshelvesAnchor tall bookshelves to the wall to protect against toppling. Emergency preparedness recommends anchoring tall furniture with the potential to topple in and earthquake. Much more common is the scenario where children decide to climb the tall furniture to reach something interesting on the top shelf. Do yourself and the kids a favour and anchor that furniture. I recommend using webbing (commonly used for rock climbing) Cut a piece 4 inches longer than you need. Fold the end over so you have 2 inches of overlap, put a screw through a washer into the webbing and into a solid piece of wood on your furniture. Then repeat the same for the other end of the webbing into the wall. Make sure that the screw you are putting into the wall penetrates a wall stud or your anchor is useless.
Laminate entryway windowsConsider laminated glass for entryway windows if you are replacing your windows. In addition to providing some protection from shattered glass in the event of earthquake, they make these windows much harder for a thief to break. Generally it is thought that a thief will not stick around and fight with your window while making more and more noise. If your house is not an easy target the thief is likely to think twice and move on.
Don't obscure doors and windows with plantsWhen planning landscaping, think about keeping an open line of site. lattice fences, well placed shrubs, low fencing. Blockwatch advises that homeowners and renters keep plants well trimmed so they don't obscure the view of your houses entrances and windows. By keeping these entry points exposed, thieves are less likely to try to use them.
Motion detecting floodlights light your wayUse motion detection to activate floodlights around your entry ways. Less as a paranoid security measure, and more as a convenience to your family. How many times have you had to go back in the house, run up the stairs, through the kitchen and throw the switch to turn on the back light. If your house doesn't have motion detecting floodlights, get with the program and install some. Installation is easy if you are the least bit handy.
Secure your gear to deny thieves toolsSecure ladders tools, lawnmowers and bikes with a cable and padlock. Blockwatch warns that ladders and tools left outside a home provide a would-be thief with more tools for breaking into your home. Make the theif miserable by securing your gear with a braided metal "aircraft cable". Purchased from your local hardware store, the aircraft cable can be looped and secured to something that won't move (like your house or your strongbox). The free end can be looped and secured and is easy to thread through / around your gear. After threading the cable through the lawnmowers bikes, weed-eaters and tool handles, loop it back around something large and lock it to itself with a padlock.
Secure flamables in a fireboxBuild a firebox to secure flamables. Arsons are rare. Accidents are more common. Children and carcinogenic flamable explosives do not mix well. Keep your kids safe by building a box for your gass / oil / propane / white gas and other flamables. Make sure to leave enough room so jerry cans and other containers can sit level. Making the box lock with a padlock is inexpensive and effective. Lining the inside of the box with tin can be easy with tin-snips and metal screws. You might find it effective to purchase air vents and open them up rather than trying to find sheet metal.
Secure outdoor gear with a strongboxBuild a strong-box for secure outdoor storage. Thieves don't normally want to work too hard to steal, otherwise they would just go work. They don't usually have a lot of time, but you can take time at your leisure to build a strong-box for outdoor storage that slows thieves down, making your secured stuff a much less tempting target. If you make it large enough it will be practically impossible to be moved (i.e. 2 people required to move it empty) If you use weather-stripping and silicon caulking in cracks and opening, you can practically eliminate the possibility of spiders or other insects getting into your gear. If you use haspes and padlocks, you can construct it in such a way that removing your locks is difficult. We built our when we were renting a small suite and simply didn't have the storage space, yet didn't feel the neighbourhood was safe enough for us to leave our gear outside.
Cultivate a culture of safetyEmployee safety rules to help children learn. "If you trip on it, stop and pick it up". In addition to preventing a second accident with a particular object, it also helps bring order to your world by engaging your children in making an house more safe and orderly. Other rules could include; children may not touch tools unless they get permission from an adult. Carry sharp and pointy things with the point facing down away from your body and many more...
Then it hit me... like a hollow core interior door right between the eyesFix doors so they don't stay "half open". Doors are useful when they are closed, and when they are open. They are next to useless when they are half open because you are then forced to move them. Some evil doors have a tendancy to make themselves 1/2 open, where they wait for you to walk into them. This usually happens in the dark. Hinge springs or pulleys and weights can keep your doors where they are supposed to be.
There you go. That is the list of home safety tips I have for you today. I hope some of them help keep you and your family safe. pass them on if you know someone who would like them. Add your own safety tips below in the comments.
