New year, new batteries

By Heather

by Heather

This morning as I walked into work, I was literally juggling groceries (bringing my lunch into work fridge for the day), dry cleaning (for pick up from office), my laptop, my purse, and a heavy projector that I had kept at home overnight. I had saved up so many errands and loads for one fell swoop that I was feeling at once like both a supermom and a huge slacker all at the same time.

Similarly, I tend to bunch many of my home maintenance chores so it’s one big leap forward when I cross them off our list. Yesterday, we both got new air filters AND bought up all the 9-Volt batteries in town. We planned to get our fire alarms ready in January to start the year with a clean slate, but January got away from us. (Usually) in January, we test our smoke alarms, change their batteries and make sure they’re all mounted properly. If you haven’t done it yet, make February your month.

I hope that as I finish writing this, my husband is not only replacing batteries but also putting the alarms in their rightful place.

We used to have a smoke detector in the kitchen (over the stove of all places!) and it would make a ton of noise every time we cooked dinner. We’d usually rip it down right before opening all the windows and doors. I hope everyone already knows that if you make a big smoky dinner and the smoke alarm chimes in, causing you to smash it open with a broom handle, you must put it back together when you’re done with your meal. To avoid this whole shenanigan, instead of in the kitchen, smoke detectors should be on each floor (of a multi-story house) and outside each sleeping area (or inside bedrooms if doors are kept closed).

For more helpful hints on smoke alarms, read these tips from UL.