This is a sponsored post but all opinions are my own.

The holidays always bring me such joy and excitement; the food, cookies, family, decorations and the lights! THE LIGHTS! With my joy, comes nervousness and anxiety! Probably more so now that I’m a mom and homeowner. As it is, I walk around all day and lay in bed at night thinking, did I blow that candle out? Did I unplug the tree? Is anything in front of that outlet? Even just with this renovation in general, I wonder, is the electric done properly? It’s an old house…

As a child, my best friend’s house was undergoing an addition and one night it went up in flames. As it turns out, it was electrical from the addition! Everyone got out safely, thank god and other than losing everything they owned, they were all ok! Just a few weeks ago, my husband attended a charity event for a family in town, whose house burned to the ground. It’s just scary to think in a split second, everything can change!

I think about every room in this house when we’re in it and what I would do if something like that ever happened and we were in said room. Either because I’m a crazy person or just an uber prepared mom of 3 little boys and a dog, these are my practical tips for fire safety in your home!

1. Mind your P’s and C’s [See what I did there?] Always make sure your outlets are plugged up with child safety plugs and if in use, aren’t within reach of the children and are not obstructed by anything! Keep curtains from falling in front of them, keep bedding away from them, etc. [That was the P]. If using candles, keep them in safe proximity from the children or anything drapey! This seems commonsensical but I can’t tell you how many times we have gone to someone’s house [who is either not as child safe as we are or who doesn’t have children, and the candles are just out for all to see…and touch!] Don’t think just because your kid knows better, that so does everyone else’s. Mine tend to be quite curious and the 4 year old’s favorite pastime is blowing them out. After all, we teach them from the age of 1 that candles mean fun and celebration, don’t we?

2. Unplug! When leaving the house, make sure you blow out all candles, unplug the Christmas Tree or anything else you may have illuminated like it. NEVER leave the dryer on! This is one of my major no-no’s for us because we have a dog. I would never forgive myself if my urge to get the laundry done resulted in a fire while I was gone and Jake was trapped inside with no way out! While I’m on the topic of the dryer, remember to always clean that lint filter out…thoroughly and frequently!

3. Have a safety plan! Teach your kids Stop, Drop and Roll, to stay low because smoke rises, test door knobs before opening doors, all the good stuff. Without a doubt, definitely have an escape plan. They have those ladders that roll up and stay by the window sill until needed and then unroll and can be climbed down easily to the ground. What doors will you use? What neighbors house will you run to? Who will get the animals?

4. Hide matches, lighters and anything flammable and keep in a safe space. As an art teacher, we always had our stains and spray paints in the “flammables” cabinets, just in case they spontaneously combusted. As I’m writing this paragraph, I just remembered a friend who was building a new beach house and one of the workers put a can of stain and a rag in a 5 gallon bucket with the lid on…it got hot and it exploded, burning the house and pilings and the whole thing needed to be rebuilt because the structural integrity was compromised!

5. Have Proper And Working Equipment: My last tip would be to make sure you have all of the proper equipment to alert you of a potential hazard; smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors etc. If you aren’t sure if your detectors are properly installed, you might consider calling in the professionals. Alpha Fire and Security Systems is your one stop shop to purchase and have installed not only smoke detectors but also alarms as well. They offer 24/7 monitoring on your home for fire and home intrusion as well as repair should something go wrong. They serve several counties in the New Jersey area including fire alarm installation in South Orange county so be sure to give them a call if you need assistance.

P.S. For all of those who have real Christmas Trees, don’t forget to water them!

Happy Holidays!

xoxo

Kelli