Life Hacks: 3 Ways to Boost Summer Safety at Home

Many workers feel like they're getting the third degree when it comes to safety on the job site, and they just want to cut loose on their days off. But there are ways to make your home safe in a way that will also provide you with more freedom. Making your home safe is a choice that can improve your lifestyle, as well as add more freedom for visitors, neighbors, and your daily activities, since your living area will be more organized.

Home Is Where the Accidents Are

Believe it or not, most of the injuries and accidents that children suffer are not at school or work, but inside their homes or the homes of others. Even adults experience most of their accidents in their yards rather than on the job. Incorporate hazard control and accident prevention to ensure that you and your family have a safe and healthy summer, and use these three simple safety hacks to boost your safety while at home.

1. Keep Entryways and Exits Clear of Debris

You never know when one of your kids or a neighbor's kid will come flying around the corner during a game of tag the one time you forgot that you put that box of bottles near the door to take outside—and you have suddenly and unintentionally ended up creating a hazard.

Entryways are one of the highest traffic areas, as well as a natural drop-zone for items we carry into the house. Backpacks, boots, bottles, tools, toys, games, machines—everything is fair game when it comes to stacking stuff near the entryway.

To prevent clutter and buildup, put your construction prowess to work and make some wall shelving units. All it takes are a few inexpensive elbow brackets and some boards cut to fit the dimensions of your home. In a short time and without many expenses, you'll have all the clutter and debris off the floor and neatly organized on the shelf.

2. Use a Bath Mat or Adhesive Strip

Slipping in the tub is one of those things that people think won’t happen to them—until it does. Putting a bath mat in a tub can give you a safer point of entry when getting into the tub and provide that extra bit of grip to prevent a slip or fall.

Believe it or not, the grip tape that is used on skateboards is an excellent product for the bathtub—that is, if you don’t mind having a large piece of sandpaper on the bottom of your tub. It can also double as a foot pumice to get those calluses worked down.

It is also important that small mats, rugs, and carpets around the house are secured. Make sure they're securely taped on the underside or otherwise held in place so they don't slip about when you stand on them. This simple task will eliminate slip potential, and make for a safer home (for more, see Prevention: Slips, Trips and Falls).

3. Move Clotheslines and Other Objects Well Above Head Level

Have you ever walked into a clothesline and been knocked over or cut? If so, you know—literally!—what it means to be clotheslined. This term can refer to any object or line that is below head height and located in a walkway or traffic area with the potential to hit, snag, or ensnare you.

Every home and yard has these items and it can be all too easy to forget about them when you're carrying a load around. They can include:

• Eavestroughs
• Clotheslines
• Shelves
• Air conditioners
• Lampshades
• Any other protruding object that is within bumping height

Have a Safe Summer

Clear these objects, make your home safer, and enjoy your summer without having to worry about getting your head rocked, smashing bottles, or slipping in the tub. You spend enough time worrying about being safe on the job, so make your home ship-shape for a safe and carefree summer.

For more easy ways to up the safety level in your home, check out Janitorially Speaking - Knowledge is Safety.