According to the Statista Research Department, the top new year’s resolutions for 2022 were:
- Living healthier
- Personal improvement or happiness
- Losing weight
All fantastic goals to strive for! But as a company devoted to ushering in a new era of personal protection, we’d like to propose a fourth item for that list in 2023: Improving home safety.
That may sound complicated, but it’s much easier than you think!
The eight ideas below are simple methods to heighten your home security, better protect your family, and prepare for a variety of emergencies.
The best part about these strategies is that they don’t just upgrade your home safety. They elevate your sense of peace of mind too. And we think you’ll find they’re much easier to do than the top three new year’s resolutions from last year!
1. Review/Update Your Emergency Action Plan
An emergency action plan is a valuable tool that ensures you and your family know what to do in the event of a fire, flood, earthquake, or other extreme scenarios.
These plans include everything from how to evacuate or take shelter to emergency meetup spots to securing your valuables.
If you have one in place, make it one of your home safety new year’s resolutions to sit down and review it. If you’ve moved, renovated your home, or simply have changes you’d like to make, update your plan accordingly and share the new version with your family.
Making sure everyone’s on the same page can save precious time and even lives in an emergency.
And if you don’t already have an emergency action plan, now’s the perfect time to come up with one!
2. Take a First Aid/CPR Class
You don’t have to be a healthcare professional to make use of a first aid/CPR course.
If a friend or loved one has a health emergency at home, this knowledge can help you provide critical and life-saving care while you wait for first responders to arrive.
These classes are taught by licensed professionals and typically range anywhere from $60-90. Well worth the price for the education you receive!
3. Check Your Fire Prevention Devices & Carbon Monoxide Detectors
This home safety new year’s resolution only takes minutes to do but goes a long way toward protecting you and your family.
Check to see if your fire extinguisher is due for an inspection, make sure it’s still pressurized, and test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. You can also stock up on nine-volt batteries for your alarms.
If these devices aren’t functioning correctly, there could be life-threatening consequences.
*NOTE: If you don’t have carbon monoxide detectors in your home, we strongly recommend installing them. Carbon monoxide is known as the silent killer, and these alarms can save your or a loved one’s life.
4. Make or Restock Your Emergency Survival Kit
Some emergencies leave us without power for days or even weeks. In these situations, it’s essential to have a survival kit with all the supplies you might need to weather the storm.
When building your kit, you’ll want to include the following items to help you and your family stay as safe and comfortable as possible:
- First-aid kit
- Bottled water
- Non-perishable food and snacks
- Flashlights and batteries
- Portable cell phone charger(s)
- Satellite phone
- Supply of necessary personal medication
- Lighter and waterproof matches
- Warm clothes, blankets, and sleeping bags for cold climates
If you already have an emergency survival kit, replace any expired medical supplies, test your flashlights, and restock any items that are running low.
5. Do Your Spring Cleaning Early
Believe it or not, cleaning up around the house is a great way to improve your home safety.
For example, cluttered floors make tripping and falling more likely, heavy dust and dryer lint are fire hazards, and cleaner floors and surfaces improve your air quality.
So, tackle your spring cleaning a little early this year, including those nooks and crannies that always get neglected (closets, behind the dryer, underneath furniture, the fireplace, etc.)…
When you complete this new year’s resolution, you’ll have killed two birds with one stone—creating both a cleaner and safer home!
6. Register for Your Local Emergency Notification Service
If you’d like to keep a closer eye on potential weather and safety risks in your community, sign up for your local emergency notification service.
These systems are authorized by federal, state, and local authorities and send emergency alerts to your phone free of charge. These notifications look like text messages and can include extreme weather updates, missing children alerts, and even messages directly from the President.
7. Change Your Locks
Locks are the primary bastion of home safety, and if you haven’t replaced yours in several years, it might be time to do so.
In fact, there are several times when it’s necessary to change your locks, including:
- When you move to a new home
- When someone moves out
- If you lose your key
- If a lock is damaged or not working properly
Changing your locks requires some effort, but the peace of mind you’ll feel once it’s done is definitely worth it.
8. Prepare for Home Emergencies With the Rescu App
When it comes to emergency response, there’s no better way to upgrade your home safety than the Rescu app.
Unlike the public 911 service, Rescu doesn’t require you to speak to a dispatcher and answer a list of questions about your emergency.
During account setup, you can add up to four physical addresses to the app. Then, in an emergency, you simply select the address where you need assistance, tap the service you need (fire, police, or ambulance), tap “Send Alert,” and help is on its way.
There’s no need for a phone call.
Rescu’s private headquarters will dispatch the nearest first response team to your address immediately. At the same time, the app will send your pre-entered medical information to responders and send a text to all your listed emergency contacts, letting them know you’ve sent an alert.
This streamlined process eliminates the risk of delays and lengthy back-and-forth interactions with dispatchers, saving valuable time. Not to mention, if you’re unable to speak due to pain or other complications, you’ll never have to.
This new year, take your home safety into the next generation with the Rescu app—the fastest way to get help in an emergency.
