The house changes and nobody updates the walk
What you stop noticing
You walk past the same hallway every day. The smoke alarm on the ceiling has been there since you moved in. The CO detector in the basement blinks green, or maybe it used to blink green, and you have not checked recently because it is behind a shelf you added last winter. The cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink are where they have always been, next to the dish soap, at the height a curious toddler could reach if one visited for the weekend.
Daily familiarity makes all of this invisible. The rug that slips when you step on it is just the rug. The nightlight that burned out in the bathroom is something you will replace when you remember to buy one. The extension cord running under the living room carpet has been there so long it is part of the floor. None of these are emergencies. All of them are the kind of thing that contributes to an injury in someone else's accident report.
A walk, not a checklist
A home safety audit is a room-by-room walk through the house with a few specific things to look for in each room. It is not a building inspection and it does not require any tools or expertise. You are looking for five categories: smoke alarms, CO detectors, fall risks, childproofing measures, and poison storage. In each room you note what is present, what is working, and what needs attention.
The value is in the walking. A checklist on paper catches what you already know about. The walk catches what you have stopped noticing because you see it every day. The alarm you forgot was due for a battery change. The cabinet latch that broke and was never replaced. The medications on the counter that used to be out of a child's reach before you rearranged the kitchen.
Home safety changes when the household changes. A baby, an aging parent, a new medication with a drowsiness warning, a rearranged room. The twice-yearly walk catches the drift that daily familiarity hides.
Two readings, one walk
This module pairs two readings. The first covers the physical plant: where smoke alarms and CO detectors should be, how to test them, fall prevention, and the twice-yearly safety walk. The second covers poisoning prevention: safe storage of cleaning products and medications, the Poison Help line (1-800-222-1222), and what to do if an exposure happens. Both subjects show up in the same room-by-room walk, which is why they share a module. The readings below cover the details for each category.
The readings for this module
Read as many as you need. The first one carries the module; the rest add depth.
Walk through every room in your home.
Record each smoke alarm, CO detector, and poison storage location. Note fall risks you have addressed and childproofing measures in place. Add each item to the right category as you go.