We often say experience comes with age, but that is not always true. Experience can also come with reading and learning. We tell ourselves, I have never been married how am I supposed to know how married people behave? Or I have never run a home, how am I supposed to know how a home is being run? These things are there for us to learn and know and it is not quite difficult if we can only spare a moment to read it up. So here are seven real life practical tips to keep your home safe.

1. Prevent Reptiles Sneaking Into Your Homes: Once in a month, pour a cup of kerosene or a cup of salt in your toilet and flush to keep off reptiles. According to Engr. Femi Olulegan, reptiles like to hide in Water Closet (WC) chambers to cool off its body with the flushing water and also for safety. Reptiles may also get into your WC in search for food when it pursues rats or rodents through the soak away pit. Often times, after swallowing the rodents, it stays there for digestion and thereafter makes your WC its place of abode. So it is safer to prevent this from happening by pouring a cup of kerosene or salt in your WC.
2. Shut Your Doors: Always and always shut your door. I know some homes have the open door policy, but do not literally take it to mean leaving your front door and back door opened. Reptiles and other rodents will find it easy to make your home their abode through the open doors. Never leave your door open except you are standing right there. I know we might say its impracticable if you are living in a hot clime like Nigeria. You can improvise, most people do that, have a net door created as an outlet for air. In that way, your home is not being shared with reptiles and rodents.
3. Block Every Outlet: Block every outlet or tiny holes that can be a passage way for reptiles and rodents. It is just as important as having your doors shut at all times.
4. Check Your Locks Before Sleeping: Make it a routine every night to check your locks before night time. Also check it one more time before falling asleep that makes it twice. It is better safer than sorry.
5. Switch Off The Sockets: Switch off sockets which are not in use, also the sockets where the TV and other electronics are connected should be switched off at night time and whenever you are going out. This is very important due to power outage. A spark could end up burning down the house. Also turn off the lights in the house and other electronics, except the ones you actually need. Don’t leave the living room lights, dining, guest rooms and the kitchen lights on if you are not spending the night there. And if you are using a meter, apart from keeping your house safe, you are also saving up your electricity and that’s just one more reason to turn off the lights and electronics not in use. Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of TV booming in your ears? Just because you were not cautious enough to turn it off from the socket when there was power failure? What of the unnecessary attraction such sound brings to your home at the dead of the night?
6. Turn Off Your Gas: After cooking, always turn off your gas from the gas cylinder. It is safer that way and it also helps in minimizing your gas. If you use a stove, make sure the stove is properly turned off before leaving the kitchen. At night before you sleep do a routine check to make sure the gas cylinder or the stove is turned off.
7. Always Keep Objects In a designated section: Never leave an object lying on the floor. You may not necessarily be the one who put it there, but do well to take it off the floor for safety reasons. Anyone could trip on it, fall and sustain terrible injuries. Also sharp or piercing objects could also drill a hole on our feet.

Cheers!