Front porch of a house decorated for Christmas

Holiday Decorating Safety Tips: How to Stay Safe This Winter

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The holidays are not a good time to worry about your health. But you need to be aware of the threats to yourself. Roughly 17,500 Americans had to go to the hospital due to decorating-related injuries.

Decorating safety is essential. Yet many people don’t know good decorating safety tips.

What should you do before the start of the season? What are some ways you can start staying safe while decorating? What are some fire risks you need to consider?

Answer these questions and you can avoid a devastating injury this holiday season. Here is your quick guide.

Prepare for the Holiday Season

Think about what you plan to do during the holidays. You may want to hang up some holiday decorations just for yourself. But you may want to bring others over for a party or dinner.

Schedule your events well in advance. Look at your calendar and find the best dates to bring people over.

Then take steps to make your home safer. Replace your smoke and fire detectors so they can pick up on small flames. Smooth over your walkways so you can place exterior decorations and move around your house.

A good way to assess your needs for the holiday season is to put up decorations for Halloween. This gives you a trial run for the winter and lets you see what risks you need to address. Write down a list of decorating safety tips for yourself.

Find Good Places for Decorations

You don’t have to put decorations everywhere. You should find places where you and your loved ones can look at them without endangering yourself.

The sides of your front porch are ideal. You can look at your directions while having plenty of room to go into your house. The corners of your living room and bedroom are also good spots.

Putting decorations in your kitchen will give you steady access to them. Yet you risk knocking something over or tripping over something. If you must put something in your kitchen, keep it off the floor and toward the walls.

Do not put decorations on staircases. You can hang items from banisters, but placing things on the steps may pose a fall risk.

It is okay to have decorations that require electrical access. But you should not overextend an electrical cord or crowd several electronic decorations next to each other. Spread them out across your house and keep them away from flammable materials.

Know How to Use a Ladder

More than half a million Americans are injured from ladder falls every year. Ladders seem easy to use, but you can suffer a serious fall from even a short height.

Find a ladder that is tested for maximum safety. Before you buy any ladder, test it out yourself. If it seems wobbly or if you struggle to use it, do not buy it.

Wear a good pair of shoes with firm soles whenever you use a ladder. Place your ladder on flat ground and keep it as close to a wall as possible. Shake it a little bit to make sure that it is steady.

Take one step at a time up the ladder, gripping the sides with your hands. You can sling your decorations over your shoulder or attach them to a work belt.

Stop at least one step below the top. If you need to go up higher, you need to use a different tool. The most serious falls occur from the top step.

Hang up your decorations, then grab the sides and go down. Keep your eyes focused on the steps and on any objects on the ground. Close the ladder once you have reached the ground and make sure you do not pinch your fingers.

Mitigate Fire Risks

It is okay to use candles as decorations, especially in religious ceremonies like lighting the menorah. But you need to be very careful when you use any candles.

Keep the candle away from all flammable materials, including wood and paper. Put it in a glass or metal base that can catch dripping wax. If you are using multiple candles, spread them out over a surface.

Put your candles a moderate distance away from your smoke detectors. They should be close enough that the detectors can pick them up if they start a fire. But they should be far enough away that a little smoke from the candle will not set the detectors off.

Electrical fires often occur from crowded electronics. But it is possible for a frayed wire to spark a fire, particularly in a heating unit. Look for the warning signs of an electrical fire, such as blown fuses.

Decorations are not the only things that can cause fires during the holidays. Cooking fires are very common, especially grease and oven fires. Be aware of your different risks and take all steps possible to avoid them.

Even if you are mindful of fire risks, you may still experience a fire. Prepare for one well in advance by having personal insurance. Read the terms of your plan and understand what you need to do to receive compensation after a blaze.

The Essentials of Decorating Safety

Decorating safety is simple yet essential. Make preparations well in advance like removing holes from your concrete. Hang up some decorations for Halloween so you can evaluate what exactly you need to do.

Put decorations in places where you won’t trip on them. Don’t overextend or stress your electric cables.

Buy a firm ladder and do not rush while you are on it. Be careful around open flames and do not plug all of your electronics into one outlet.

Keep your family safe at all times. Allied Insurance Managers, Inc. serves Southeast Michigan families. Get your quote today.

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Headquartered in Rochester Hills, Mich., Allied Insurance Managers is one of the largest, privately-owned, independent insurance agencies in Michigan.