When people become parents for the very first time, they suddenly and understandably start looking at their safe and secure home as a sinister source of danger for their precious little one. From covering every outlet to securing bookcases to walls and much more, new parents are pros at making sure their homes are as safe as possible.
Those of us without little ones in the house don’t have to take such thorough and extensive steps to make our homes safe and sound. After all, chances are high that you no longer have to worry about your kids sticking a fork in the outlets or climbing the entertainment center. But just because we don’t have infants around, it does not mean that we should be lax in the safety department. It does not have to take a lot of time, money or effort to boost the safety of your home—in fact, the following trio of suggestions are simple places to start.
Light up the outside
If you enjoy entertaining family and friends outside, or even if you find yourself returning home from work or school after dark, it’s vital to have proper outdoor lighting. In addition to providing an added layer of security, Red Beacon notes that outside lighting will help you and your family safely navigate steps, pathways and more without falling. Zone lighting helps illuminate certain key areas at night, and it can also be used in the backyard and around your patio and deck areas. You should also consider adding lights with motion sensors. This way, if you are maneuvering up stairs in the dark while carrying bags of groceries, the lights will automatically come on to light your way. Basically, the more you can illuminate the places that you and your family walk through or hang out in at night, the safer you’ll be.
Install a peephole
As Keep Safe Warehouse notes, one of the easiest and least expensive ways to keep strangers out of your home is to install a peephole in your front door. Also referred to as a “door viewer,” a peephole allows you to see who is knocking at your door before opening it. As it turns out, peepholes are not created equally; for example, instead of the “fish eye” style, consider installing a wide angle door viewer that will give you a much broader view of the outside. For example, the 2 3/8-inch silver metal model by New-Vue enables you see up to 7 feet away from your door as well as a nice wide look out front.
Add a spa or hot tub cover lift
An outdoor spa or hot tub can be fabulously relaxing after a long day at work. Unfortunately, in order to enjoy the water, you first have to lift the cumbersome and heavy spa or hot tub cover off. In order to save your back, purchase a spa or hot tub cover lift from a company like Hot Tub Works; not only will the cover lift help to prevent neck, shoulder and back injuries, it will also encourage you to keep the spa or hot tub safely covered when not in use. This can also boost your home’s safety by keeping young kids and pets out of the water when you are not around to watch them.
Author Alison Stanton has been a freelance writer for the past 14 years. Based in the Phoenix, Arizona area, Alison enjoys writing about a wide variety of topics, but especially loves meeting interesting people and telling their stories.
