Your home should be a safe place for your most valuable asset…your family. The precautions listed in this post will not only protect your family, but could also protect your home and all of the items you worked so hard for.

Take a tour of your home to be sure there are no harmful chemicals stored where little hands can get to them. Move items like bleach, toilet bowl cleaners, ammonia, chlorine-based dishwasher detergent and oven cleaners out of sight and out of reach. Also, be sure to never mix your cleaning products. Read and follow directions listed on the label for interactions with other chemicals and for proper use/disposal of it.

In your workshop or garage, move turpentine, gardening chemicals, charcoal lighter fluid, and gasoline to higher shelves or better yet, in locked cabinets. Workshops or garages typically have some of the most dangerous toxins in your entire home, so these precautions should be kept in mind.

Overuse of opioids is a trending topic these days. Law enforcement agencies have tied addiction to prescribed medication. For this reason, all medication, whether over the counter or prescribed, should be off limits to children and teens. They should always be dispensed by a supervising adult. The Center for Disease Control further suggests they always be kept in their original containers and be sure to turn your lights on when dispensing medicine at night.

As they say, an ounce of prevention!