Residence: Setting up

Here are some things to consider doing. Some items may not be applicable to you.

  • Ensure children can’t fall out of windows, e.g., window opens too wide, screen too loose each year, approx. 18 children under 10 die and approx. 15,000 are injured in window fall accidents
  • Lock unopened windows to keep kids from falling out
  • Open windows at top, vice bottom, for ventilation to keep kids from falling out
  • Keep furniture away from open windows to keep kids from falling out
  • Keep window blind and curtain cords out of reach of children to keep them from using them to climb out window and to keep them from strangling themselves
  • Designate places to put:
    • Wet items to be washed in washing machine, e.g., wash cloths (perhaps have a place in kitchen and each bathroom)
    • Rags ready to use (perhaps in several places)
    • Dirty rags, etc. to be washed
    • Cherished and/or valuable items (especially irreplaceable items such as documents) which you would want to remove in the event of disaster, e.g., approaching flood, brush fire but don’t make it easy for a burglar to find and steal these items
    • Cherished and/or valuable items to protect against fire damage, e.g., in a fireproof safe (consider keeping copy of keys to fireproof safes in a bank safe deposit box)
    • Hazardous materials (a locked area or container)
  • Consider making a crawl hole between parents’ room and child’s room in the event fire and/or smoke prevents parents from going into the hall to get their child

If you don’t have enough electrical outlets:

  • Have an electrician install more using extension cords and outlet multipliers can be a fire hazard

EXPLORE: At Home

Thanks for reading!