At this time of year, many of us are thinking of creating a better and healthier life with goals, resolutions and aims for the upcoming 12 months. Since your health and safety are essential to you achieving all the success you want in 2018, this is also great time to walk through your home and make sure you have set up the safest living space possible.
Here’s how to make your home the safest it’s ever been, starting in 2018:
- Create an emergency preparedness kit. Florida saw a number of devastating storms in 2017, highlighting the importance of emergency preparedness. If you don’t yet have a emergency kit, this is the time to set one up. Whether a hurricane, tornado, serious storm or man-made disaster, being ready for anything makes dealing with an emergency easier. Emergency preparedness kits should contain everything you need to survive without services for at least a few days. It should contain water, food, pet supplies, child supplies, medications, cash and anything else you need daily. If you already have an emergency preparedness kit, now is the time to review it to make sure it still makes sense for your life.
- Check your insurance. The new year is a great time to review your insurance needs and make sure your current provider in still your best option. Figure out whether you need to take on new types of insurance or increase coverage to fully protect yourself and your family. Do you have insurance in the event of a car accident, home disaster, disability, or other problem? Do you have enough insurance? Consider whether there are ways that you save money on your insurance premiums so you can afford better coverage.
- Create an emergency plan and run drills in your home. Your written emergency plan should detail everything that people should do in your household in the event of an emergency. This may mean heading to the basement during a hurricane or heading outside through preapproved routes in the event of a fire. Practice drills for different disasters so everyone in your household knows exactly what to do. Name a meetup place in case you are all separated and need to meet together after a natural or man-made disaster.
- Update your sprinkler systems or smoke alarms. Test your alarm systems, smoke detectors, and sprinklers to make sure they are working correctly. If you don’t have sprinklers, consider whether they make sense for your home.
- Make a list of additions you can introduce over the year to make your home safer. Could you install grab bars in the bathroom to make bathing safer for family members who have a chronic condition? Could you place no slip treads on stairs or in the bathtub to reduce the risk of slip and fall injuries? Make a list of ten things you can do this year to make your home safer than ever and start implementing them throughout 2018.
If you have been injured through someone’s negligence, contact a personal injury attorney in Hollywood or in your community by contacting Flaxman Law Group at 1-866-352-9626 (1-866-FLAXMAN). A compassionate team of attorneys will be happy to speak to you in a free, confidential and no obligation consultation.