It’s one thing to lovingly celebrate the home you’ve spent time developing, decorating and even sometimes extending. It’s another thing to take a few moments to ensure the safety and longevity of your property from all angles. If done properly this will give your home more of a lifespan to celebrate and ensure the integrity of the place you shelter your family in.
This doesn’t mean you need to break the bank in exchange for peace of mind. Keep a few smart strategies in mind, invest in a few materials, and you’ll both come to a real sense of stability in the home you live in, but also understand the deeper levels of how your property is your property.
Setup a CCTV system
Most people feel having a CCTV system is overkill, but it’s really not. If you live in an area that’s built up you have to be prepared for all eventualities. It doesn’t have to be a traumatic event that’s prevented, but something as simple as identifying who accidentally knocked over your driveway fence as they were turning their vehicle around.
Neither do you need a state-of-the-art system with all the bells, whistles, and an anti-spy laser grid? One security camera covering the main entrance is all you really need, and most security experts recommend this. You can set cameras to only begin recording once they detect motion too, so a home server isn’t required to record unnecessary footage.
Purchase a fire extinguisher/blanket
Many homes don’t actually carry fire extinguishers, and that is a mistake. It’s one thing to be able to detect and evacuate a house on fire, it’s another to be able to fight it in a worst-case scenario. Make sure that you have the correct extinguishers, preferably a foam and water one for both electrical and normal fires.
I’ve recently invested in fire safety equipment after an accident in my house during a house party that meant I nearly lost my property! Seeing your home you’ve worked so hard for going up in flames is absolutely terrifying, and it’s a real eye-opener. We’ve also just got a deep fat fryer (goodbye bikini body!), so it’s crucial we have one!
Pay attention to cracks and damp
Cracks and dampness are the natural enemies of construction workers, home developers, and retail agents alike. Keeping an eye on those usually overlooked places once a month, behind wardrobes, etc, is a good way to make sure there aren’t any structural inconsistencies that could be causing a crack.
To prevent dampness, sometimes taking preemptive measures is best. Making sure your house is weatherproof and not prone to leakage can be as simple as making sure roofing felt is fitted correctly. This will, in turn, provide positive insulation benefits, helping you save money on your heating bills and making your household run cheaper.
Hide cleaning products in higher places
If you have a family, this last point will be second nature for you. Keeping distressing and irritating products away from the ever-curious hands of children is something most mothers seem to instinctively know without consciously thinking about it. However, if you don’t have children, sometimes it’s easy to forget simple safety measures when your friends bring their little tykes around to play with cakes and coffee.
Doing a mental checklist around the rooms in your house to see if there are any sharp objects a child could grasp, or any dangerous rooms that would be best kept locked during their visit could potentially save you from a bad situation. Despite how lovely children are, we can’t lie they like testing our capacity to worry sometimes. Take a preemptive step to think about this and you’ll have nothing to worry about.
After keeping in mind these 4 tips to improve your ‘home health,’ you’ll be able to rest easy, without the inner feeling of dread that accompanies forgetting something important. Sometimes that’s all you need when you put your feet up and relax.