Most of us don’t go through life thinking about how hazardous our homes can be until we have children or an elderly family member comes to live with us. Then we scramble, trying to soften the edges and tighten the bolts and screws. Unfortunately, accidents can happen to anyone at any time, so it’s important to make sure your home is safe no matter who lives in it.

There are several ways to tackle your situation. The most important task for any home is to always have an emergency exit plan specific to your home and family. “People don’t think about basic planning,” says Mia Jazo-Harris, a spokesperson for State Farm Insurance. “Everybody’s so busy today, but having that emergency plan, knowing where to meet, having supplies in the vehicle and all important papers in a convenient place, knowing the names and numbers of your insurance policy—those steps make a difference.”

The five main causes of accidents in the home are falls, poisonings, fires and burns, choking, and drowning. The Home Safety Council recommends dividing your home into zones, or going room by room and checking for sources of these most common accidents. If you check each room one at a time, you are more likely to be thorough, and that may save a life someday.

Kitchens
Remember when you were a kid and your parents stopped you when you reached your hand toward the hot stove? Staying clear of heat is only the first step toward safety in such a high-traffic area.

Garages
This is the spot where we store our cars, tools and chemicals, making it an accident-prone area.

 Buy a garage-door opener with an auto-reverse feature, which prevents the risk of someone being caught underneath a closing garage door. You also can buy sensors that make the garage door stop or open automatically when the sensor laser beam is broken.

 Clean up grease and other spills immediately, especially those near stairs.

 Store heavy items close to the ground.

 Always open the garage door before starting your vehicle to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.

 Keep all chemicals clearly labeled and securely stored. Be especially careful with gasoline and other flammables.

 Store work tools with sharp edges away from doorways and/or on the wall.

Back yards
You can take many precautions to make your yard a safer place, but here are a few with which to start.

 Outside your home is one of the first lines of defense against fire, says Russ Rivera, public information officer for the National Interagency Fire Center. “You need to be prepared for fire before it ever comes,” he says. “You need to have defensible space around your home, and depending on where you live, you need about 30 feet of cleared space around your house.” Rain gutters, decks, wooden railings and attached wooden fences should be considered part of the house.

 Consider planting deciduous plants, not evergreens, close to your home. According to Rivera, they will hold more water over time and will protect against drought and dry-earth-sparked fires. Don’t allow tree branches to touch your home, because they can carry fire.

 Before mowing the lawn, check for any glass or other trash that can fly out from underneath the mower. Wear protective eyeglasses and insulating headphones.

 Don’t leave gardening supplies, including rakes, shovels and pesticides, out on the lawn.

 Never leave your child unattended on a swing set. Put down mulch, sand or rubber chips to cushion any falls; remove rocks and roots from the areas near monkey bars and swings; and watch for entanglement hazards or bars where small heads can become stuck.

Transitional spaces
Transitional spaces include stairways, hallways and floors with throw rugs. Here are a few precautions to help you get from room to room safely.

 Ensure that all carpeting is properly glued or stapled down.

 Always install two handrails for stairways, one for either side of the steps. There also are products available that are designed for small children to use while navigating stairs. Check handrails periodically to make sure they are not loose.

 Use nightlights in hallways.

 If you must use throw rugs, put down nonslip strips liberally on the bottom, near the corners and in an x-pattern on the rug.

Entire House
Tackling your home zone-by-zone and room-by-room will give you a head start on safety, but you must ultimately think of your entire home as a safety system.

 Arm your home against fire by installing fire alarms not only on every floor, but also on different sides of the house.

 Get carbon-monoxide and radon detectors for the entire house, and install them near gas stoves, in the garage and near vents.

 Consider installing fold-away fire-escape ladders in bedrooms and rooms with single exits.

 In order to prevent electrical shock from power surges, install ground-fault circuit interrupters in every outlet, and put a lightning rod on the roof or close to the home to prevent any potentially dangerous storm surges from damaging your electricity.

 Put emergency contact lists and a family emergency plan layout on your refrigerator or near a telephone.

Safeguarding your home is a never-ending task, but if you remember to be diligent and pay attention to signs of wear and tear throughout the house, you will always be ahead of the statistics.