October 30, 2025 • 40 mins
The holidays are a time for warmth, joy, and connection — not kitchen mishaps or home hazards. Jeanette Schneider and Pam Bellante share practical, easy-to-follow home safety tips for cooking, decorating, traveling, and entertaining, so you can focus on what really matters this season.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to the Remax Real Estate Insights show
where you get real talk by real agents walk to
you by Remas of Southeastern Michigan. Well, hello everyone, and
welcome to the show. You're listening to Remax real Estate Insights,
and we're so glad that you're here. The holidays are
a time that are filled with food and family and fun,
(00:21):
and if we're honest, there's a fair amount of chaos
that comes with it too. And while there truly is
no place like home around the holidays, it's also a
time when accidents and mishaps can happen faster than you think. Today,
we're going to share some practical holiday home safety tips
to help you enjoy your home throughout the season safely, confidently,
(00:42):
and with fewer surprises. I'm your host, Janette Schneider, and
joining me today is Pam Balante. She is the marketing
director with Remax of Southeastern Michigan. Welcome back, Pam.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Yeah, thanks, Jenette.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I do love doing this episode every year. It's really
just a great reminder for all of us, and I
think that we can all agree, you know that the
holidays really just kind of creep up on us.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
They do. I mean everywhere every year.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Because next month is already November, I.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Know, and as we're sitting here, I mean, then when
this is going to publish, it's going to be the
day before Halloween, I mean, so that to me is
kind of like the unofficial official, I guess kickoff of
the of the fall and winter holiday season.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
And holiday season, right right, So are you ready for Oh?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
No, no, because the weather's been so nice that actually
my I can't get my head wrapped on the changes
that are coming to No.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
I mean, yeah, this fall did stay nicer longer, which
I think you're right, doesn't put you in the fall
holidays are coming mood. I do know you decorated at
least your front porch because you have homecoming pictures.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
So yeah, yeah, and I literally did that the day before.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
The summer flowers and flowers out.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So so you know, like we said, first holiday up
is going to be, you know, Halloween, which is closely
followed by Thanksgiving in Chris, miss And between the baking
and the decorating and the shopping and the traveling, it's
easy to forget a few safety basics. So today we're
going to talk about fire prevention home security. When you're
away a handful of family pat and food safety reminders,
(02:14):
and you can kind of think of it as a
holiday safety checklist. If you've listened to our show consistently,
you know we typically do like a spring home maintenance checklist. Well,
you and I just did a fall home maintenance checklist.
We're going to consider this your I guess, your holiday
safety checklist if you will. So let's get started. And
the first place we're going to go is the kitchen.
It is the heart of the home, and unfortunately, it's
(02:36):
also the most commonplace for fires. In fact, cooking accounts
for almost half of all home fires, and the holidays,
especially Thanksgiving and Christmas, are the peak days for them.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Yeah, and you know that does really make sense if
you think about it. You've got you know, multiple dishes
going gas chatting, you know, kids running in and out
of the kitchen, that type of thing, and attention does
get divided fast amongst all those different you know, things
that are happening in your house.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
It really does, because I take a look at it
and I'm thinking, Okay, on an average night in my house,
which doesn't have any kids, it's pretty quiet. I can
focus and what I'm doing TV maybe on and I
do like to give commentary back to the to the
TV while I'm listening, but that's not the same as
having guests and other things that's going on. Right, So
two simple rules that can save a lot of headaches
are The first is never leave cooking food unattended, and
(03:27):
the second is fry. If you're gonna fry, and especially
if you're gonna do deep frying, do it with care.
If you need to leave the kitchen, hand things off
to a specific person. You don't want to assume, well,
somebody saw me leave somebody you know that proverbial somebody
is going to take care of it. That's probably not
that's not.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Going to happen. I don't think I will.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Well, I'm not like, oh, I guess I'm off. I
guess that's my responsibility. You know, nobody's thinking that. No
one is thinking that way exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
And you did mention, you know, frying, So we do
know that people do like those deep fried turkeys. That's
kind of been a thing now for a while. So
apparently they're very good. I haven't had one, but apparently
they're very good. But they are one of the biggest
causes for holiday fire calls, So something to think about there.
Make sure the turkey is completely thawed, and always fry
(04:19):
it outside. Do not attempt to fright inside your house.
Keep it away from anything flammable. And this is another one.
Don't leave it unattendant for any seconds.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah, and I have had it's been a while since
I've had a fried turkey, and I want to say
it was a Remax broker that was having in an
event at his office and was doing it and it was,
I mean, it was, it was very very good. I
don't ever see me trying to attempt. Yeah, and you know,
we've seen videos, you know, all things going wrong, and
like you said, I mean there's videos out there of everything, right,
(04:49):
I mean, And so let's just say, once you've seen
a fried turkey incident, go bade. You can't not on
sea that you don't want to be that video.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Yeah, you don't want to be that video exactly, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
And then going back to the kitchen, you know it
is it's smart to do a quick scan before you
start cooking.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Move your paper.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Towels of and myths, any holiday decorations that you may
have away from the stove, and make sure handles on
the pods are turned inward, especially if there are little
ones in the house.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Well that's a yeah, man, that's a really good point.
I mean, especially if you're not used to having little
ones around you don't think you don't think that way
right right. You also want to take a look and
grab a lid for whatever pan you're using, even if
you don't need it for cooking. The recipe may not
call for it, but it's a really it's a best tool.
It's your best tool. If a fire does start, you
can cover the flames, turn off the heat, and that
(05:40):
can be a good way to kind of, you know,
minimize what's going on. What you don't necessarily want to
do is move the pan or throw water out on it.
That might seem intuitive, right, you know. I mean it's
just like I gotta do something, and so you're just
taking take action, but you know you don't want to
move it, you don't want to throw water. That's usually
how you know, burn and bigger fires end up happening.
(06:03):
And just your reminder if a fire ever feels out
of control, I don't care how small it might be,
if it's feeling like you're not in control of the situation.
You want to make sure you or someone else is
calling nine to one one.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Yeah, you hear that a lot that you know, they
thought they had it under control and then and the
whole kitchen starts going up.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Yeah, because it just it takes a split second. Yeah,
and I'd rather have I've rather have the crew come
out and apologize that I wasted their time. Yeah, then
regret it on the other end.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely, And also worth noting microwave fires happen
more than people realize. So that's another thing there too.
If if something inside your microwave does catch fire, keep
the door shut and unplug it if you can. Again,
the lack of oxygen will usually smother the flame. So
similar concept of putting the lid on the pan.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Yeah, I mean in this one, you don't open it
because I think that's going to be human nature. This
is what we do. Yeah, you know, I mean, something
you put it in for too long in the microwave
and hear you hear the pop, right, and you go,
oh no, you know, sometime's now splattered all over the place.
You open it up. So that's that's the initial reaction,
but it shouldn't be go against muscle memory. I guess
(07:11):
that in that regard, and while we're you know, talking,
I guess about safety tools and fires in particular. Now's
a really good time to make sure your smoke detectors
have those fresh batteries, that you actually know where your
fire extinguisher is. If you don't remember the last time
you replaced one, it might be time to take a
look at that. I mean, fire extinguishers have the little
(07:32):
are they still good, you know, gauge on there. And
I think we think more about smoke detectors, but I
think we forget a lot about fire extinguishers and where
they actually are. And I was thinking, we moved, you know,
a year and a half ago, and I'm like, I know,
we brought it with us. I think I've seen it,
and where did I see it? I mean, so it
is a good you know, kind of thankfully if you're
not using you kind of forget where they are, right.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Right, Well, yeah, ours is under the kitchen sink. But
to your point here, it's probably been there, you know,
for number of years, so it's probably not fresh. Yeah,
So this is a great tip. I think, you know,
even if you do know where it is, they don't
last forever.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
They don't last forever. Check that.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Check that out on there. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
And here's another one. It's a good idea to have
a family plan if a fire were to occur. You know,
think about where is everyone going to meet outside of
the home, and then you know, sign specific family members
to you know, get the pets out. You know, you
be in charge of the pets, You be in charge
of the kids. Maybe you have a little bit elderly
people over for the holidays, you know, someone be in
charge of getting them out of the house.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Great plan, I mean, and I know in the heat
of the moment, I guess no pun intended or for
talking fire, but I mean, you don't want to assume
everybody's going to know what to do. And the last
thing any of us wants to do is get you
get outside and realize somebody was left left your gund
And yeah, if you watch, if you watch, sign for
they don't want to be the Georgia stand up, quickst
(08:55):
standza pushing everybody out of the way. So you get out,
you leave everybody else behind. So again, when you're cooking,
I mean, and this is kind of a lot of
kitchen safety. It's basic, but it bears you know, I
think a kind of a focus as we go into
this busier than normal time of the year for cooking, baking,
having people over. Some good tips just to when you
you know, if you're listening to this, you know, whatever
day you're listening to, kind of when you get home,
(09:17):
you know, take a look around your kitchen and just think, Okay,
where's the fire extinguisher? You know, do I have towels
and decorations near the stove? Just kind of do you know,
a look around and kind of have your plan in
mind right right already. So let's we're kind of keeping
I guess a little bit of the same thing, moving
to probably different parts of the house. We're going to
talk a little bit about candles and fireplace safety because
(09:39):
you know, the kitchen is the hub of the home.
But you know, the coziest and riskiest part of the
holidays are candles.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Yes, and I do love the candles. I do love them.
Bath and body works at my favorite, Yeah, they have
especially for the holidays, and but they can be definitely
an accident way to happen. And when my kids were little,
I actually avoided lighting candles.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
I just you know, stayed away from it all together.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
But yeah, now that everyone is older, I've gotten back
into them. But but again, as we'll be discussing, there
are some tips.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
There, there are, and you weren't wrong to be cautious,
you know, and I think you and I've talked about it.
But for our listeners, did you know that Christmas Day
sees almost three times more candle fires than an average day.
So that would suggest to me that even people who
aren'tquote unquote candle people, if you will light them up
on that day, you know, there is setting the mood.
(10:36):
It's setting a you know, kind of an atmosphere, and
typically you're going to have extra people in the house
and extra commotion in the house, you know. So that
in the top days for candle fires are Christmas, New
Year's Day, New Year's Eve, and Thanksgiving. So again with
our holidays, I mean, all of these holidays are fast approaching.
So what are some tips you know, like you said,
(10:58):
you kind of took them away when kids were little,
But what their tips do we have for candles safe?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Yeah, so we do have some other tips. Keep candles
at least a foot away from anything that can burn. So,
especially because of the holidays, think about like any wrapping
paper that might be laying around, make sure that you
know it's a foot away from wrapping paper, curtains, you know,
curtains can catch on fire very easy. And of course decorations,
because again this time of the year, you're going to
have more decorations than you normally do, so I think
(11:21):
people really need to be aware of the placement of
where they're putting their candles. Always use you know, sturdy
and stable holders and place them on flat, uncluttered surfaces.
You don't want them toppling over anything like that, right
if you don't have a flat surface, and then blow
them out before they burn all the way down, especially
in glass jars, those can crack or explode when overheated.
(11:44):
So I think that's another thing people don't really think about,
you know.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
No, And I have to laugh because in our house,
my husband he jokingly refers to himself as a safety officer.
And if I do have a candle going, like, he'll
come in, how hot is that?
Speaker 3 (11:57):
You know?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
How long has that been? You know burning? Where are
you gonna put that? Near? Done? But I mean I
give them a hard time to some degree, but it
is good that somebody's got.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
His mind right in the right space for that, Yeah,
for sure. And then also, never leave a room with
a burning candle. There's kind of a little theme about
leaving things, but don't leave those burning candles alone. And
kids don't count. Kids don't count as supervision so close.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
In fact, they're the opposite of They're the opposite of that.
I mean it. And if we're being honest, I mean,
being truly, truly honest, I have definitely left a room
with candle. Oh yes, yeah, I mean, even if it
was to run to the restroom, I have left a
room with the candle going, truth be told, I have
left a room to change clothes to, you know, in
the middle of making dinner, get something, going run upstairs
to change your clothes. I can't imagine I'm unique in.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
This, No, no, absolutely, And I think, uh, you know,
the way my house is laid out, great room is
next to the kitchen. Well, I like to light the
candles in the kitchen. Well, we're in the great room now.
I mean it's right there, and it's somewhat visible right
in one way?
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
You know?
Speaker 2 (12:58):
As I left the room, You know, I don't know
something to think about no.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
I mean it is. I mean, and if we're honest,
I mean, this is this is why we're having the
conversation because we may not change everything that you do,
but maybe there's just some small tweaks, you know, that
people people can make and for those who might want
the glow I mean, because again it's kind of an
I mean it is. The scent is one part of
the candle, and you alluded to that, but it's the ambiance,
the glow that's the other part. You can do it
without some risk. Flameless candles have come a long way.
(13:24):
You know. Some of those have that kind of realistic flickering.
Now you can even have them on timer, so you know,
that would be you know, another way to go. You know,
I do have some of those, like on the mantle
on our fireplace. I splurged last year and got the
ones that actually looked like the little flame is law
is moving. Do you use any of those?
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Yeah, I do have. I just got some this year too,
and actually I got them from Amazon. You know how
Amazon seems to have everything and they're really nice and
they have the little like the flicker look to them
and anything.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
So there's a lot out.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
There there a lot of options and might have like
the little, you know, remote thing of a jig that
you can try, but apparently my heart didn't really use them.
I didn't think that much. But the battery is already
dead on one, so I'm gonna need to replace that
here soon before people are over. So it kind of
a companion to some degree to candles is fireplaces if
you haven't already and you have a fireplace and you
(14:15):
plan to use it, because I think there are some
people who have them, don't you, but don't really use them.
If you've got it and you plan to use it,
you want to schedule a chimney cleaning, suit build up,
you can ignite easily, and you always want to make
sure if you are using a fireplace, you keep that
screen in front, you know, just so that somebody can't,
you know, certainly can't accidentally fall into it. You also
(14:36):
want to keep you know, sparks from traveling, you know,
further than you might think that they can.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
H exactly, and don't toss wrapping paper or dried up
trees in there. It might look like fun, but you
know that paper is going to burn way too hot.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Yeah, and then then you could end up with a chimney.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Fire, I mean, and that's not what it was meant for.
I mean, I mean you might see it in a
TV show or you know, something like that, but that's.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Not that's not how you get rid of your revenue.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
No, not not really. And the other thing you want
to do is you want to keep matches in lighters,
stored high or in a lot cabinet. We know, kids
get curious, you know, they watch what you do. You
don't want them to mimic that, and you definitely don't
want them experimenting. And so make sure that you know
you're keeping that kind of out of sight, out of mind.
All right, So let's move on to a little bit
(15:20):
more specific of a season, which is going to be
you know, the Christmas and other related seasons in December
and the decorations that go with it. And I say,
this is kind of the controversial topic, if you will
Christmas tree. You know, the debate reel versus artificial Yes, yes, yeah,
and you're an artificial.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yes I am, But I don't love you know, I
love it for certain reasons. It's probably more of the
practical reasons is why we switched to doing an artificial tree,
but you know it certainly isn't the same, doesn't have
that same Yeah, you know, the smell and all that
that that you get.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
With the real one.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
And we're real tree. And I I mean, I you know,
been way since I was a kid. Did the Friday
after Thanksgiving? My family always went out and cut down
the tree. That's just what that's my tradition to do, right,
And I mean even to this day. Now nieces and
nephews come along, you know, and well, nephew now cuts
down the tree.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
You know.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
In all of that, so you know we're we're a
real tree. And so let's start, I guess with the
real trees. For real trees, you want to make sure
you're cutting off a good two inches off of the
base before putting it in water. Now, we cut ours down,
so ours is pretty freshly cut. Obviously, when we bring
it home, we cut it down, drive home, you know,
and put it in. But if you're getting it from
a lot, you don't know how long ago that's been cut, right,
(16:36):
So a fresh cut so that it can absorb the
water is what you want to do. You also want
to keep it watered every day, and especially at the beginnings.
It's typically going to drink a lot at the at
the beginning, and a dry tree burns much faster than
you can imagine. So that's the last thing you want
in your house, and you do want to get rid
of it once the needles really start dropping. I guess
(16:59):
the downside to a real tree is you can't overly
extend the season. I mean, yeah, the tree is only
going to be good for so long, and that it's
going to tell.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
You that it's ready to go. Yeah, yep, exactly, Well
I think, you know. And on the opposite side with
the artificial. That's why I like the artificial because I
like to put it up earlier, you know, like in November. Yeah,
you know, so then I have it to Christmas. But
once Christmas, you know, once.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
We hit New Year's I'm ready to take it down.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Anyways, So well, in our old neighborhood, I mean, I
haven't noticed as much in this one, but there was
a couple of houses and I think it must have
been like a contest because it would be like November first,
I'd see the Christmas tree up in somebody's front window,
and then like the next day be up in the
other person's front window and it would stay up well
past Christmas. I mean, so they I mean obviously artificial
and had it enough for a long time.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Yeah, yeah right, And if you are going artificial, make
sure it is labeled labeled fire resistant.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Electrical fires are also a big culpriate.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
About forty percent of Christmas tree fires are caused by
electrical issues. So some things that think about there, Check
every stand of lights before plugging them in, make sure
you don't overload your overload your outlets or power strips,
and follow the manufacturer's instructions. You know, no guessing games
with how many strands you can link together. And I
(18:12):
think what's great about the artificial trees now is there's
there and they look amazing that you almost don't not
saying don't worry about these things, but you don't have
to necessarily overload with extra lights now in that type
of thing.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
No, because yeah, like you said, they're coming kind of
pre strand the lights are already strung on there, they're
kind of placed really nice. I mean that that is
the one downside of a of a real tree is
I feel like I'm taking precious needles off to kind
of you know, keep touching things to get it where
you you know you want it to go. And the
lesson here is, you know, don't be the clerk Griswold
of your neighborhood where it's like you're trying to overload
(18:46):
it to the point you're blowing fuses. That's a sign
you're probably doing. Yeah, you're overloading just a just a
bit a bit. You know. Also, whether it's a real
or an artificial, you do want to keep trees and
decorations least three feet from fireplaces, space heaters, radiators, you know,
things of that sort. And when you go to bed
(19:07):
or you leave the home, unplug the lights. You just
I mean, nothing should happen, but you don't want to
risk it. So when you're gone, you know, when you're
gone or when you're going to go to sleep, unplug
either artificial or real. You don't need to have something
spark overnight.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Right right exactly, you know, And just kind of talking
about trees, this is you know, not necessarily with the fires,
but if you do have pets or young kids, avoid
small or breakable ornaments on the lower branches because that
is a temptation zone.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
So you know, keep the which Annesley. I still do
that kids are grown, but she's still the bottom. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
A friend of mine we were just talking about like
the you know, families that have multiple kids, and I
was joking, how the mom I heard the mom mention
she has six kids and usually she you know, somebody
asked her, oh, how many kids do you have? She
lo stamall in chronological order. Well, she's listed in them
according to who was married, who had a girlfriend, And
I kind of moved him and moved him around. So
another friend was laughing and say, well, my mom used
(20:09):
to do that in a different way. On her Christmas tree.
The grandkids got like the prime you know, the prime
spot on the tree for all their ornaments to go.
And then if you were on marriage ors were all
kind of on the bottom. So I could think every
family has its way of apparently, yeah, decorating.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Organizing the ornaments tree.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
And here's one you don't want to lose. You talk twisted,
learn the hard way, skip the tinsel. If you've got cats.
I don't personally, I've never had a cat. I know
my mother in law does, but they do find it irresistible.
It can be dangerous to them if it's swallowed, I mean,
and it would also be something that could entice them
to kind of jump in your tree, which could tip
the tree over. And now you've got other issues, so
(20:47):
I mean, just be kind of careful with that, especially
if you've got some pets.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
And if you do have the cat, one thing you
can do is hang lemon scented air fresheners on the
lower branches of your tree.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Cats do hate that. Someone that will help them keep
their distance.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
So you can decorate your tree with lemon lemon air fresh.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
And not really the holiday set most of us are
going for at that time, but year bit it is
fresh and clean. Yes, that's not a bad thing. Now,
I know you have a dog. Do you have any
challenges with your with your dog Christmas season and decoration?
Speaker 3 (21:18):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (21:18):
No, I'd say the very first year that we had her,
when she was still a poppy, she was very curious.
But but they're really you know, you know, she's like
kind of going under the tree a lot and looking stuff.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
But she never got in the tree knocked anything down,
so it was it wasn't too bad. It wasn't bad.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
And now that she's older, like I don't even she
doesn't care at all anymore.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
But my sister, you know, she she's a cat person,
so she has had her share of cats being in
her tree, knocking trees down, you know, that type of thing.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
So what was funny last year? My mother in law
has an artificial tree. When we were up there, probably
a Thanksgiving ish time, my husband brought it up, you know,
from the basement for her, and I mean it was
like catnap. I mean the minute that he brought that up.
And the cats always hide, you never see them in
the house. Yeah, the minute that tree got put on
a table, here they both are and they can't stop
(22:09):
circling it. Yeah, I mean, and and she kind of
kept you know, shooting oh you know better, you know,
kind of shoeing them away. And I'm like going, well,
this is like a magnet for that.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Yeah, she needed those lemon air fresh Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
I had to recommend that this this year. Yes, exactly.
All right, So let's kind of switch topics a little bit,
and let's talk about home security when you're traveling, because realistically,
for many for many families, the holidays mean packing up
and hitting the row. Not everybody gets to stay you know,
kind of in their house. The last thing you want
to do is worry about your home while you're away.
(22:42):
So let's talk about, you know, some things that you
can do to protect your your homestead while you're gone.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Yeah, there's a few basic things that you can do.
I think this is a great tip, not just during
the holidays, but you know, whenever you travel, uh, don't
announce your travel plans online. You know, save those vacation
posts for when your home. You know a lot of
people you know, oh, getting ready to go Disney or whatever.
So yeah, and like he's on the mat, you know,
(23:09):
pause your mail or have a trusted neighbor collected and
pausing your mail is so easy to do now you
can do that right out in line. Yeah, so that's
a great tip. Keep deliveries in check, you know, if possible,
you know, reschedule packages or use those smart lockers, you know,
so you don't have to, uh worry about packages sitting.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
On your porch.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Well yeah, I mean, and I and I think that
you know, if you do stop the mail, then maybe
you haven't talked to a neighbor. Like if you said,
if you just go online and you know, stop it
through the you know, the post service. At least reach
out to one trusted neighbor to let you know, someone
that's nearby your house know that you're going to be gone,
because especially around the hoighways, you could have a package
come you're not expecting. It might not be something you ordered.
Somebody might be sending you something, or a vendor you know,
(23:47):
is dropping off like a corporate gift for you. You know,
you want somebody keeping an eye in the house and
taking that off of your porch, you know, if you're
not if you're not around, and like I said, you
may not be expecting.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
It, yep, exactly.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
And if you haven't invested in one already, a smart
home security system is always worth it. Video door bells,
monitor senses, smart lights, all those type of things. They're
affordable and a great way to monitor right from your phone.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
And another thing that you know, you can kind of
go the old I mean there's two ways to go
old fashion, you know, kind of remove the dial, or
you can do like smart timers so that some lamps
are clicking on and off, you know as you're you know,
to make it look like there's the daily cadence of
somebody being at.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
The at the house and it's actually a home.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Yeah, I was noticing because we've got a couple just
set all year round it so that, you know, some
stuff kind of comes on and off. And I was
noticing with as it's gotten darker earlier and we've had
a few more grayer days lately, you know, I'm like, well,
I think we need to adjust the time. You know,
it's getting to be that time. You know, they need
to be adjusted. But then I'm like, well, hang on,
a second, time change weekend is coming up, So do
I change them all now or do I wait till
(24:51):
the time change weekend. But I mean, that's again something
else you can.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Do that you can do and to kind of playing around,
you know, and being you know, especially we're talking like say,
traveling for the holidays. You know there might be snow
in the forecast, so line up someone to shovel your
driveway a snow covered drive you know, for days, you know,
for days as a dead giveaway that you know someone's
not home. So I love that one because I see
(25:14):
that all the time of myself, you know, and.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Yeah, they're not out of town, they're out of town.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Yeah, exactly. So you know, reach out to a neighbor
I guess, right, or.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Yeah, if you've got some young kid in the neighborhood
that wants to make a little money, you know, or
whatever it is, just yeah, find find somebody. And one
I guess, maybe one last thing in this category. If
you've got that beautifully decorated house and maybe you've got
a tree visible in the front window, you know, you
may be somebody who puts the gifts under the tree
early or at least you have some decorative boxes. You
may want to remove that before you leave town or
(25:44):
position the drapes are blind so that someone can't really
easily see what's inside. Uh, you know, you don't want
temptation to come gift wrapped for somebody to take advantage of.
And so just kind of think that through. I mean,
if you're coming and going, and nowadays with so many
people working remotely, it's more often than not that someone's home.
Kind of a lot of the time. You don't think
about this maybe as much as you used to, but
(26:05):
if you're getting ready to pack up and go away,
think through kind of what could somebody see you.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
Know, Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Alrighty, So let's talk a little bit we've we've kind
of invoked family and pets and guests into some of
the things that we've talked about. But let's really get
you know, kind of inside the home where you're hosting
extra people. And once you start adding extra people to
the mix, you're adding extra hazards.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Yes, exactly.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
So you want to pay attention to where guests arrive first,
and that's going to be outside, right, So make sure
that you shovel, put down your salt, make sure walkways
are well lit. If you've got extension cords for outdoor lights,
keep them away so you know, from the places where
the guests walk, so they don't trip over those cords.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Well, and considering that this is going to publish right
before Halloween, I mean, we think Christmas, but there's a
lot of people that do a lot of outdoor decorating
for Halloween. You know, a lot lots of lights and
inflatables and you know, all of that type of stuff.
And think about that. Most people come into your front
door trick or treating aren't familiar with your landscaping, right.
They don't really know how your driveway curves, or how
your front walkway curves, or what might if there's even
(27:10):
you know, kind of a you know, the sidewalks not straight,
there's you know, there's a joint and there's a little
bit of a height difference between they don't know. All
of that's already a trip hazer. Don't add extension cords
to it.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
Yeah, a great point. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
So, and so assuming that we're talking now about a
holiday where like Thanksgiving or something else, or they're coming inside,
consider adding a non slip mat near the front entryway
or the back entry or wherever they're coming in, and
maybe keep some towels handy for wet boots. You want
to wipe up any puddles, you know, fairly quickly. It
only takes one slick spot you know, that can send
(27:42):
somebody you know, tumbling. And you know, let's be honest,
we all we live in Michigan. We know how this goes.
If it's if it's wet rain or if it's snow
and it gets tracked into the house. And then if
guys are taking off their shoes. You know, we've all
been there where you have the socks and now you
step in the wet snow puddle.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
Horrible.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Yeah, and nobody likes that. So I have a few
towels around, I mean, not only to save you from that,
but more importantly to save people from you know kind
of you know, scooching and falling.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
You don't want that, yep, exactly. And also keep pathways clear. Again,
if you know it's holidays, you know, wrapping paper cords,
maybe toys, those can altern into tripping hansards, especially for
older guests. So just make sure all the pathways are clear.
And if you're giving gifts to kids, make sure they're
age appropriate. No small pieces for the little ones. And
(28:29):
if you're giving something like bikes or scooters, it's a
great idea to pair them with the helmets, you know,
with some of the safety care.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
The kids probably don't like it, but I know.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Mike, I don't. You're not going to get the big
you know for elbow.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Paths, yeah, exactly, but you know, but you're looking out
for them, so that that's what's important.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, just I mean, if
you're going to go that far to buy something like that,
take it the extra mile and yeah, and do it right.
And let's not forget our furry family members, the noise,
the visitors, the food smells. It can be overwhelming for
them as well. Something to consider is, you know, giving
pets a quiet space away from the action. You know,
where they're water, they're toys, their bed, you know. I mean,
(29:11):
because I will go back to when we had you know,
our dog, and I'm like, you know, she had the
run of the house, you know, but then you have
you know, twenty people show up and it's like, Okay,
she's used to her food being in the kitchen and
all that, but we would move it, you know, someplace
else so she could get I mean, at the beginning,
you know, she thought everybody was there to see her,
but as the day goes on, you can see all
of that getting to them and find a place where
(29:33):
they can, you know, kind of rest and take it easy.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
That's a great tip.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Another thing is you want to if you do have
guests that are coming over, they may or may not
be familiar, you know with some of the things Pets
shouldn't have chocolate, grapes, onions, raisins. They can be toxic
for dogs and cats. Another thing to consider is, you know,
maybe appointing another responsible family member to keep an eye
on guests so they don't try to be helpful and
(29:58):
quote unquote feed the animal. You know, they might think
they're doing a solid by buttering up to your chair
and oh here here's a little something off the people table,
and it's going to cause more problems.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
More problems down the road.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yeah, I actually have that issue. And I love my
mother in law, but it is she's the one. She's
that guest that constantly eats my dog off the table.
And it's really my boys that don't sit there and
be like Grandma, you know, stop stop, but you know,
you know, oh.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
It's okay, it's just a little you know, and then
later on you know you're dealing.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Yeah, you got all kinds of issues.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
So so that is that tip is spot on.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Well it is, I mean, and nothing, nothing's going to
clear out a table than a dog getting ready to throw.
That's a sound nobody wants to be here and at
a holiday gather exactly.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
And also think about those holiday plants, mistletoes, points, satas holly.
They're all very pretty, but those are also not pet friendly.
So so if you have any of those around, you know,
make sure they're out of reach from your path.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Absolutely. All right, So kind of going into a different
topic here, we're gonna switch and now we're going to
be talking about food safety. Nothing can ruin a holiday
faster than somebody getting food poisoning. The CDC estimates that
one in six Americans do get it every year. And
of course this like like home fires and other things,
(31:18):
it's spikes during the holidays. So with all the cooking,
the meal prep, the leftovers, you know, it's easy to
kind of have a slip up. It's easy for maybe
something to not be handled correctly. So we're going to
review some simple things that we can do to keep
our food safe and Pam, what's the first thing?
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Yeah, So the first thing is you can wash your
hands and make sure that you wash them often. If
you think about your hands are touching everything that you make,
so you don't want to cross contaminate. That's the issue
that cross contamination. When it comes to meats, keep raw
meat separate, and don't forget to use a thermometer, especially
for a turkey or any meat or dish that you
(31:54):
that you maybe not have.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
A lot of experience cooking.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
So like a lot of people only cook those turkeys
maybe once a year, right, oh, you know.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
And I mean I mean out like something else that
you do all the time. Let's say port chops or
chicken or you know, I mean most of us have
that down pat we know. But you're right, if you're
dealing with a very large bird, you know, and you're
cooking something you don't normally do, or you're trying a
different recipe, you don't really know, and I'd much rather
be safe than yeah than sorry.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
And once the meal is done, you know, refrigerate leftovers.
You know, experts say within two hours. I would never
leave stuff out that long. That is way beyond my
comfort zone personally, you know. But some of the other
some of the other recommendations are to take you know,
larger items, like you know, if you do have you know,
meat left on, like a turkey, cut it into smaller pieces.
(32:42):
It's going to help it cool faster than just kind
of you know, wrapping it as is. You also want
to keep an eye on the temperature that refrigerator is at.
You want to make sure that it's forty degrees for
the refrigerator and at least zero for the freezer, so
that what you're putting in there actually cools to what
it needs to be.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Able to too. Yeah, yeah, up.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
And also while I was tempting to lick the spoon,
you know from uh, when you're baking those cookies, they
like the cookie dough or eat the raw cookie dough,
you probably should try to resist or stay away from that,
which is kind of disappointed, Like, yeah, just taste good,
but raw flour and eggs can harbor bacteria. Also another thing,
(33:22):
if you're making egg nog, use pasteurized eggs or you know,
probably the best bat is just to buy pre made. Yeah,
you know, and they have a ton options, so and
they're all good.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
If you like eggnog, I think they're all good.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
Which I really don't get, but that's a whole other show.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
I like.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
I like putting little cinnamon in there. I like it.
Maybe something else, but.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Uh, and you know, and just uh, you know, think
about if you're having a lot of people over think
about those food allergies. It might be helpful to have
recipes handy, or even have a few cards identifying the
items with not steary, gluten or other common food allergies.
You know, just a quick heads up to people who
are in the house, you know, could could help, you know.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
A trip to the emergency well and I know, for
remax events that you know, we take precautions, you know,
to make sure you know that we're trying to be accommodating,
you know, to to you know, guests that have dietary
restrictions and you handle a lot of that. So do
you do you take the same approach with your family functions.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Or yeah, so so you know, not me so much.
But on my husband's side, the very large family always
do this big Christmas Eve party and his one cousin
has a son. He's a senior in high school now,
but a lot of ellergies to nuts, you know, nut ellen.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
And I was always impressed because she would always do that.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Put the little like if she brought the cookies, put
a little she would put a little note. Or if
she hosted on the invitation, she would say, please don't
bring you know whatever, you know, whatever this case, you know,
because my son's allergic. So she did that for years
and I think eventually people just go to you just knew,
you just knew. But when Nat boy was little, she
did a really great job.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
On that, and I thought that was really I mean,
because the reality is is I mean, and I think there,
you know, I don't think any host wants to, you know, unintentionally,
you know, put something out there that is something that's
another guest would be allergic to. But we don't always know.
I mean with extended family, and when you start to
have like in our case, the nieces and nephew's bringing
boyfriends along, I have no idea you know, what may
or may not be lurking as a food allergy. You know,
(35:20):
And I would think as an adult, if they had
any questions, they might ask. But I think it is nice.
And I've started to see this more like at some
of the church events that we do and stuff like that,
like people you know, you know, saying you know, whether
it's gluten free or it contains nuts or I mean
just there's little helpful hints on some of them. My
niece has a corn allergy. Oh wow, and that's I mean,
that's unique. I mean not you hear you know, dairy,
(35:42):
you hear you know, other stuff, and corn is in
a lot.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
Yeah, I would think it would be.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
I mean, because it's not just you know, corn, it's
corn oil and corn syrup. And you if you start
reading the boxes or the labels, it is amazing how
much that is and so not like my, you know,
my radar is up on that one because it's like,
you really, I like, what if she's coming over, I
have to really I've started to know that, you know,
these two flavors in this brand of this I can
(36:11):
you know, have, or this brand of that I can
have for her. But it's very limiting. But I mean,
you wouldn't know unless you actually know somebody.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
Yeah, yeah, right right, yeah, yes, you absolutely would not
have the knowledge otherwise, you know, And she had that
her whole life.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
No, I mean it was just diagnosed. I think it
was I think that between hers No, I think of
freshman year in college.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
Oh my gosh, wow.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
And she started to notice it because she was breaking out.
She was it was the summer of her freshman year
in college and she was working kind of like for
landscaping for her local municipality and that's in mid Michigan,
and she was breaking out, like every place where she
touched the ground her she was breaking out, okay, And
she was also getting like at different times of the year.
(36:53):
It's kind of seemed like seasonal allergies a little bit.
And what it turned out is, no, they're saying, like
the dust from the corn you know, like from corn
fields that travels through the air a lot, and if
it lands on the grass, it was causing her to
break out, ingesting, it was causing different things.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
Oh wow, wow, Yeah, that's that's definitely like a unique one.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Yeah, yeah, very much so. But to your point me,
you don't know what guests have right right, You don't know,
you know, you just don't know already. So our final
so kind of to wrap things up, We've talked about
fire safety, We've talked about food safety. We've talked about
removing things from the floor so that you know, guests
aren't going to trip and fall candles and fireplaces and
all that. So let's maybe just end with a little
(37:34):
bit of a kind of a home safety audit. And
I think some of the more important things to take
away from today's show are, first and foremost, check your
smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Let's you know, let's make
sure those are operating so if anything is going sideways,
you know you're going to get notified. You want to
replace the old batteries in any alarms that are more
than ten years old. Know where your fire extinguishers are
(37:56):
and make sure that they're accessible and you know, if
there's still actually and working order and you want to
discuss an emergency plan with your family, how to get out,
where to meet, who's responsible for helping kids, pets, or
you know, some elderly relatives. At a very minimum, at
least doing that, certainly, I think gets you in a
good safety frame of mind.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
Yeah, absolutely. And then some other tips.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Look, make sure that you look around before lighting candles,
keep paper towels and other objects at least a minimum
of one foot away from that open flame, Keep matches
away from those from children's reaches, and then keep fresh
trees watered. And don't overload circuits circuits with too many highlights,
(38:38):
too many lights plugged into those circuits.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
Yep. And then for those traveling, you know, I can
again consider having the mail held and making arrangements for
snow to be removed while you're away. And for those
that are hosting, you know, you're shoveling, You're de icing
those driveways and walkways before guests arrive. You're keeping the
floor free from obstacles that can cause others to trip.
Because we know a little prep and planning now can
(39:01):
certainly make for a happier holiday. The ambulance coming to
your house is never the way you want the holiday
to go to go, right. Well, Pam, thanks for so
much for joining me today. It's always fun to have
you in here and kind of go through these different
checklists and reminders.
Speaker 3 (39:17):
Yeah, thank you for having me. I do love doing
this one, you know.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Again, it's a great way just to kind of take
that pause and make sure that you are ready, you know,
for the holiday, you know, kind of think about these
things and make sure to ensure you do have a
good holiday.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
Aps. Absolutely, that's our goal first and so for you know,
as we're heading into the holiday season, it's it's a
little early as you're going to be hearing us, but
you know, we're getting real close. So from all of
us here at Remax of Southeastern Michigan, we certainly with
you warmth, joy, but most importantly safety this holiday season.
We look forward to chatting with you again soon. We
hope you enjoy today's episode. Don't forget to subscribe, write
(39:52):
a review, or rate the show as it helps us
reach more people. You can also follow us on Facebook
and Instagram.
You are listening to the Remax Real Estate Insights show
where you get real talk by real agents walk to
you by Remas of Southeastern Michigan. Well, hello everyone, and
welcome to the show. You're listening to Remax real Estate Insights,
and we're so glad that you're here. The holidays are
a time that are filled with food and family and fun,
(00:21):
and if we're honest, there's a fair amount of chaos
that comes with it too. And while there truly is
no place like home around the holidays, it's also a
time when accidents and mishaps can happen faster than you think. Today,
we're going to share some practical holiday home safety tips
to help you enjoy your home throughout the season safely, confidently,
(00:42):
and with fewer surprises. I'm your host, Janette Schneider, and
joining me today is Pam Balante. She is the marketing
director with Remax of Southeastern Michigan. Welcome back, Pam.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Yeah, thanks, Jenette.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I do love doing this episode every year. It's really
just a great reminder for all of us, and I
think that we can all agree, you know that the
holidays really just kind of creep up on us.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
They do. I mean everywhere every year.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Because next month is already November, I.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Know, and as we're sitting here, I mean, then when
this is going to publish, it's going to be the
day before Halloween, I mean, so that to me is
kind of like the unofficial official, I guess kickoff of
the of the fall and winter holiday season.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
And holiday season, right right, So are you ready for Oh?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
No, no, because the weather's been so nice that actually
my I can't get my head wrapped on the changes
that are coming to No.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
I mean, yeah, this fall did stay nicer longer, which
I think you're right, doesn't put you in the fall
holidays are coming mood. I do know you decorated at
least your front porch because you have homecoming pictures.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
So yeah, yeah, and I literally did that the day before.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
The summer flowers and flowers out.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So so you know, like we said, first holiday up
is going to be, you know, Halloween, which is closely
followed by Thanksgiving in Chris, miss And between the baking
and the decorating and the shopping and the traveling, it's
easy to forget a few safety basics. So today we're
going to talk about fire prevention home security. When you're
away a handful of family pat and food safety reminders,
(02:14):
and you can kind of think of it as a
holiday safety checklist. If you've listened to our show consistently,
you know we typically do like a spring home maintenance checklist. Well,
you and I just did a fall home maintenance checklist.
We're going to consider this your I guess, your holiday
safety checklist if you will. So let's get started. And
the first place we're going to go is the kitchen.
It is the heart of the home, and unfortunately, it's
(02:36):
also the most commonplace for fires. In fact, cooking accounts
for almost half of all home fires, and the holidays,
especially Thanksgiving and Christmas, are the peak days for them.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Yeah, and you know that does really make sense if
you think about it. You've got you know, multiple dishes
going gas chatting, you know, kids running in and out
of the kitchen, that type of thing, and attention does
get divided fast amongst all those different you know, things
that are happening in your house.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
It really does, because I take a look at it
and I'm thinking, Okay, on an average night in my house,
which doesn't have any kids, it's pretty quiet. I can
focus and what I'm doing TV maybe on and I
do like to give commentary back to the to the
TV while I'm listening, but that's not the same as
having guests and other things that's going on. Right, So
two simple rules that can save a lot of headaches
are The first is never leave cooking food unattended, and
(03:27):
the second is fry. If you're gonna fry, and especially
if you're gonna do deep frying, do it with care.
If you need to leave the kitchen, hand things off
to a specific person. You don't want to assume, well,
somebody saw me leave somebody you know that proverbial somebody
is going to take care of it. That's probably not
that's not.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Going to happen. I don't think I will.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Well, I'm not like, oh, I guess I'm off. I
guess that's my responsibility. You know, nobody's thinking that. No
one is thinking that way exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
And you did mention, you know, frying, So we do
know that people do like those deep fried turkeys. That's
kind of been a thing now for a while. So
apparently they're very good. I haven't had one, but apparently
they're very good. But they are one of the biggest
causes for holiday fire calls, So something to think about there.
Make sure the turkey is completely thawed, and always fry
(04:19):
it outside. Do not attempt to fright inside your house.
Keep it away from anything flammable. And this is another one.
Don't leave it unattendant for any seconds.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah, and I have had it's been a while since
I've had a fried turkey, and I want to say
it was a Remax broker that was having in an
event at his office and was doing it and it was,
I mean, it was, it was very very good. I
don't ever see me trying to attempt. Yeah, and you know,
we've seen videos, you know, all things going wrong, and
like you said, I mean there's videos out there of everything, right,
(04:49):
I mean, And so let's just say, once you've seen
a fried turkey incident, go bade. You can't not on
sea that you don't want to be that video.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Yeah, you don't want to be that video exactly, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
And then going back to the kitchen, you know it
is it's smart to do a quick scan before you
start cooking.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Move your paper.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Towels of and myths, any holiday decorations that you may
have away from the stove, and make sure handles on
the pods are turned inward, especially if there are little
ones in the house.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Well that's a yeah, man, that's a really good point.
I mean, especially if you're not used to having little
ones around you don't think you don't think that way
right right. You also want to take a look and
grab a lid for whatever pan you're using, even if
you don't need it for cooking. The recipe may not
call for it, but it's a really it's a best tool.
It's your best tool. If a fire does start, you
can cover the flames, turn off the heat, and that
(05:40):
can be a good way to kind of, you know,
minimize what's going on. What you don't necessarily want to
do is move the pan or throw water out on it.
That might seem intuitive, right, you know. I mean it's
just like I gotta do something, and so you're just
taking take action, but you know you don't want to
move it, you don't want to throw water. That's usually
how you know, burn and bigger fires end up happening.
(06:03):
And just your reminder if a fire ever feels out
of control, I don't care how small it might be,
if it's feeling like you're not in control of the situation.
You want to make sure you or someone else is
calling nine to one one.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Yeah, you hear that a lot that you know, they
thought they had it under control and then and the
whole kitchen starts going up.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Yeah, because it just it takes a split second. Yeah,
and I'd rather have I've rather have the crew come
out and apologize that I wasted their time. Yeah, then
regret it on the other end.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely, And also worth noting microwave fires happen
more than people realize. So that's another thing there too.
If if something inside your microwave does catch fire, keep
the door shut and unplug it if you can. Again,
the lack of oxygen will usually smother the flame. So
similar concept of putting the lid on the pan.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Yeah, I mean in this one, you don't open it
because I think that's going to be human nature. This
is what we do. Yeah, you know, I mean, something
you put it in for too long in the microwave
and hear you hear the pop, right, and you go,
oh no, you know, sometime's now splattered all over the place.
You open it up. So that's that's the initial reaction,
but it shouldn't be go against muscle memory. I guess
(07:11):
that in that regard, and while we're you know, talking,
I guess about safety tools and fires in particular. Now's
a really good time to make sure your smoke detectors
have those fresh batteries, that you actually know where your
fire extinguisher is. If you don't remember the last time
you replaced one, it might be time to take a
look at that. I mean, fire extinguishers have the little
(07:32):
are they still good, you know, gauge on there. And
I think we think more about smoke detectors, but I
think we forget a lot about fire extinguishers and where
they actually are. And I was thinking, we moved, you know,
a year and a half ago, and I'm like, I know,
we brought it with us. I think I've seen it,
and where did I see it? I mean, so it
is a good you know, kind of thankfully if you're
not using you kind of forget where they are, right.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Right, Well, yeah, ours is under the kitchen sink. But
to your point here, it's probably been there, you know,
for number of years, so it's probably not fresh. Yeah,
So this is a great tip. I think, you know,
even if you do know where it is, they don't
last forever.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
They don't last forever. Check that.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Check that out on there. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
And here's another one. It's a good idea to have
a family plan if a fire were to occur. You know,
think about where is everyone going to meet outside of
the home, and then you know, sign specific family members
to you know, get the pets out. You know, you
be in charge of the pets, You be in charge
of the kids. Maybe you have a little bit elderly
people over for the holidays, you know, someone be in
charge of getting them out of the house.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Great plan, I mean, and I know in the heat
of the moment, I guess no pun intended or for
talking fire, but I mean, you don't want to assume
everybody's going to know what to do. And the last
thing any of us wants to do is get you
get outside and realize somebody was left left your gund
And yeah, if you watch, if you watch, sign for
they don't want to be the Georgia stand up, quickst
(08:55):
standza pushing everybody out of the way. So you get out,
you leave everybody else behind. So again, when you're cooking,
I mean, and this is kind of a lot of
kitchen safety. It's basic, but it bears you know, I
think a kind of a focus as we go into
this busier than normal time of the year for cooking, baking,
having people over. Some good tips just to when you
you know, if you're listening to this, you know, whatever
day you're listening to, kind of when you get home,
(09:17):
you know, take a look around your kitchen and just think, Okay,
where's the fire extinguisher? You know, do I have towels
and decorations near the stove? Just kind of do you know,
a look around and kind of have your plan in
mind right right already. So let's we're kind of keeping
I guess a little bit of the same thing, moving
to probably different parts of the house. We're going to
talk a little bit about candles and fireplace safety because
(09:39):
you know, the kitchen is the hub of the home.
But you know, the coziest and riskiest part of the
holidays are candles.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Yes, and I do love the candles. I do love them.
Bath and body works at my favorite, Yeah, they have
especially for the holidays, and but they can be definitely
an accident way to happen. And when my kids were little,
I actually avoided lighting candles.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
I just you know, stayed away from it all together.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
But yeah, now that everyone is older, I've gotten back
into them. But but again, as we'll be discussing, there
are some tips.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
There, there are, and you weren't wrong to be cautious,
you know, and I think you and I've talked about it.
But for our listeners, did you know that Christmas Day
sees almost three times more candle fires than an average day.
So that would suggest to me that even people who
aren'tquote unquote candle people, if you will light them up
on that day, you know, there is setting the mood.
(10:36):
It's setting a you know, kind of an atmosphere, and
typically you're going to have extra people in the house
and extra commotion in the house, you know. So that
in the top days for candle fires are Christmas, New
Year's Day, New Year's Eve, and Thanksgiving. So again with
our holidays, I mean, all of these holidays are fast approaching.
So what are some tips you know, like you said,
(10:58):
you kind of took them away when kids were little,
But what their tips do we have for candles safe?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Yeah, so we do have some other tips. Keep candles
at least a foot away from anything that can burn. So,
especially because of the holidays, think about like any wrapping
paper that might be laying around, make sure that you
know it's a foot away from wrapping paper, curtains, you know,
curtains can catch on fire very easy. And of course decorations,
because again this time of the year, you're going to
have more decorations than you normally do, so I think
(11:21):
people really need to be aware of the placement of
where they're putting their candles. Always use you know, sturdy
and stable holders and place them on flat, uncluttered surfaces.
You don't want them toppling over anything like that, right
if you don't have a flat surface, and then blow
them out before they burn all the way down, especially
in glass jars, those can crack or explode when overheated.
(11:44):
So I think that's another thing people don't really think about,
you know.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
No, And I have to laugh because in our house,
my husband he jokingly refers to himself as a safety officer.
And if I do have a candle going, like, he'll
come in, how hot is that?
Speaker 3 (11:57):
You know?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
How long has that been? You know burning? Where are
you gonna put that? Near? Done? But I mean I
give them a hard time to some degree, but it
is good that somebody's got.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
His mind right in the right space for that, Yeah,
for sure. And then also, never leave a room with
a burning candle. There's kind of a little theme about
leaving things, but don't leave those burning candles alone. And
kids don't count. Kids don't count as supervision so close.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
In fact, they're the opposite of They're the opposite of that.
I mean it. And if we're being honest, I mean,
being truly, truly honest, I have definitely left a room
with candle. Oh yes, yeah, I mean, even if it
was to run to the restroom, I have left a
room with the candle going, truth be told, I have
left a room to change clothes to, you know, in
the middle of making dinner, get something, going run upstairs
to change your clothes. I can't imagine I'm unique in.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
This, No, no, absolutely, And I think, uh, you know,
the way my house is laid out, great room is
next to the kitchen. Well, I like to light the
candles in the kitchen. Well, we're in the great room now.
I mean it's right there, and it's somewhat visible right
in one way?
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
You know?
Speaker 2 (12:58):
As I left the room, You know, I don't know
something to think about no.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
I mean it is. I mean, and if we're honest,
I mean, this is this is why we're having the
conversation because we may not change everything that you do,
but maybe there's just some small tweaks, you know, that
people people can make and for those who might want
the glow I mean, because again it's kind of an
I mean it is. The scent is one part of
the candle, and you alluded to that, but it's the ambiance,
the glow that's the other part. You can do it
without some risk. Flameless candles have come a long way.
(13:24):
You know. Some of those have that kind of realistic flickering.
Now you can even have them on timer, so you know,
that would be you know, another way to go. You know,
I do have some of those, like on the mantle
on our fireplace. I splurged last year and got the
ones that actually looked like the little flame is law
is moving. Do you use any of those?
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Yeah, I do have. I just got some this year too,
and actually I got them from Amazon. You know how
Amazon seems to have everything and they're really nice and
they have the little like the flicker look to them
and anything.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
So there's a lot out.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
There there a lot of options and might have like
the little, you know, remote thing of a jig that
you can try, but apparently my heart didn't really use them.
I didn't think that much. But the battery is already
dead on one, so I'm gonna need to replace that
here soon before people are over. So it kind of
a companion to some degree to candles is fireplaces if
you haven't already and you have a fireplace and you
(14:15):
plan to use it, because I think there are some
people who have them, don't you, but don't really use them.
If you've got it and you plan to use it,
you want to schedule a chimney cleaning, suit build up,
you can ignite easily, and you always want to make
sure if you are using a fireplace, you keep that
screen in front, you know, just so that somebody can't,
you know, certainly can't accidentally fall into it. You also
(14:36):
want to keep you know, sparks from traveling, you know,
further than you might think that they can.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
H exactly, and don't toss wrapping paper or dried up
trees in there. It might look like fun, but you
know that paper is going to burn way too hot.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Yeah, and then then you could end up with a chimney.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Fire, I mean, and that's not what it was meant for.
I mean, I mean you might see it in a
TV show or you know, something like that, but that's.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Not that's not how you get rid of your revenue.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
No, not not really. And the other thing you want
to do is you want to keep matches in lighters,
stored high or in a lot cabinet. We know, kids
get curious, you know, they watch what you do. You
don't want them to mimic that, and you definitely don't
want them experimenting. And so make sure that you know
you're keeping that kind of out of sight, out of mind.
All right, So let's move on to a little bit
(15:20):
more specific of a season, which is going to be
you know, the Christmas and other related seasons in December
and the decorations that go with it. And I say,
this is kind of the controversial topic, if you will
Christmas tree. You know, the debate reel versus artificial Yes, yes, yeah,
and you're an artificial.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yes I am, But I don't love you know, I
love it for certain reasons. It's probably more of the
practical reasons is why we switched to doing an artificial tree,
but you know it certainly isn't the same, doesn't have
that same Yeah, you know, the smell and all that
that that you get.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
With the real one.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
And we're real tree. And I I mean, I you know,
been way since I was a kid. Did the Friday
after Thanksgiving? My family always went out and cut down
the tree. That's just what that's my tradition to do, right,
And I mean even to this day. Now nieces and
nephews come along, you know, and well, nephew now cuts
down the tree.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
You know.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
In all of that, so you know we're we're a
real tree. And so let's start, I guess with the
real trees. For real trees, you want to make sure
you're cutting off a good two inches off of the
base before putting it in water. Now, we cut ours down,
so ours is pretty freshly cut. Obviously, when we bring
it home, we cut it down, drive home, you know,
and put it in. But if you're getting it from
a lot, you don't know how long ago that's been cut, right,
(16:36):
So a fresh cut so that it can absorb the
water is what you want to do. You also want
to keep it watered every day, and especially at the beginnings.
It's typically going to drink a lot at the at
the beginning, and a dry tree burns much faster than
you can imagine. So that's the last thing you want
in your house, and you do want to get rid
of it once the needles really start dropping. I guess
(16:59):
the downside to a real tree is you can't overly
extend the season. I mean, yeah, the tree is only
going to be good for so long, and that it's
going to tell.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
You that it's ready to go. Yeah, yep, exactly, Well
I think, you know. And on the opposite side with
the artificial. That's why I like the artificial because I
like to put it up earlier, you know, like in November. Yeah,
you know, so then I have it to Christmas. But
once Christmas, you know, once.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
We hit New Year's I'm ready to take it down.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Anyways, So well, in our old neighborhood, I mean, I
haven't noticed as much in this one, but there was
a couple of houses and I think it must have
been like a contest because it would be like November first,
I'd see the Christmas tree up in somebody's front window,
and then like the next day be up in the
other person's front window and it would stay up well
past Christmas. I mean, so they I mean obviously artificial
and had it enough for a long time.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Yeah, yeah right, And if you are going artificial, make
sure it is labeled labeled fire resistant.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Electrical fires are also a big culpriate.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
About forty percent of Christmas tree fires are caused by
electrical issues. So some things that think about there, Check
every stand of lights before plugging them in, make sure
you don't overload your overload your outlets or power strips,
and follow the manufacturer's instructions. You know, no guessing games
with how many strands you can link together. And I
(18:12):
think what's great about the artificial trees now is there's
there and they look amazing that you almost don't not
saying don't worry about these things, but you don't have
to necessarily overload with extra lights now in that type
of thing.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
No, because yeah, like you said, they're coming kind of
pre strand the lights are already strung on there, they're
kind of placed really nice. I mean that that is
the one downside of a of a real tree is
I feel like I'm taking precious needles off to kind
of you know, keep touching things to get it where
you you know you want it to go. And the
lesson here is, you know, don't be the clerk Griswold
of your neighborhood where it's like you're trying to overload
(18:46):
it to the point you're blowing fuses. That's a sign
you're probably doing. Yeah, you're overloading just a just a
bit a bit. You know. Also, whether it's a real
or an artificial, you do want to keep trees and
decorations least three feet from fireplaces, space heaters, radiators, you know,
things of that sort. And when you go to bed
(19:07):
or you leave the home, unplug the lights. You just
I mean, nothing should happen, but you don't want to
risk it. So when you're gone, you know, when you're
gone or when you're going to go to sleep, unplug
either artificial or real. You don't need to have something
spark overnight.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Right right exactly, you know, And just kind of talking
about trees, this is you know, not necessarily with the fires,
but if you do have pets or young kids, avoid
small or breakable ornaments on the lower branches because that
is a temptation zone.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
So you know, keep the which Annesley. I still do
that kids are grown, but she's still the bottom. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
A friend of mine we were just talking about like
the you know, families that have multiple kids, and I
was joking, how the mom I heard the mom mention
she has six kids and usually she you know, somebody
asked her, oh, how many kids do you have? She
lo stamall in chronological order. Well, she's listed in them
according to who was married, who had a girlfriend, And
I kind of moved him and moved him around. So
another friend was laughing and say, well, my mom used
(20:09):
to do that in a different way. On her Christmas tree.
The grandkids got like the prime you know, the prime
spot on the tree for all their ornaments to go.
And then if you were on marriage ors were all
kind of on the bottom. So I could think every
family has its way of apparently, yeah, decorating.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Organizing the ornaments tree.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
And here's one you don't want to lose. You talk twisted,
learn the hard way, skip the tinsel. If you've got cats.
I don't personally, I've never had a cat. I know
my mother in law does, but they do find it irresistible.
It can be dangerous to them if it's swallowed, I mean,
and it would also be something that could entice them
to kind of jump in your tree, which could tip
the tree over. And now you've got other issues, so
(20:47):
I mean, just be kind of careful with that, especially
if you've got some pets.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
And if you do have the cat, one thing you
can do is hang lemon scented air fresheners on the
lower branches of your tree.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Cats do hate that. Someone that will help them keep
their distance.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
So you can decorate your tree with lemon lemon air fresh.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
And not really the holiday set most of us are
going for at that time, but year bit it is
fresh and clean. Yes, that's not a bad thing. Now,
I know you have a dog. Do you have any
challenges with your with your dog Christmas season and decoration?
Speaker 3 (21:18):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (21:18):
No, I'd say the very first year that we had her,
when she was still a poppy, she was very curious.
But but they're really you know, you know, she's like
kind of going under the tree a lot and looking stuff.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
But she never got in the tree knocked anything down,
so it was it wasn't too bad. It wasn't bad.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
And now that she's older, like I don't even she
doesn't care at all anymore.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
But my sister, you know, she she's a cat person,
so she has had her share of cats being in
her tree, knocking trees down, you know, that type of thing.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
So what was funny last year? My mother in law
has an artificial tree. When we were up there, probably
a Thanksgiving ish time, my husband brought it up, you know,
from the basement for her, and I mean it was
like catnap. I mean the minute that he brought that up.
And the cats always hide, you never see them in
the house. Yeah, the minute that tree got put on
a table, here they both are and they can't stop
(22:09):
circling it. Yeah, I mean, and and she kind of
kept you know, shooting oh you know better, you know,
kind of shoeing them away. And I'm like going, well,
this is like a magnet for that.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Yeah, she needed those lemon air fresh Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
I had to recommend that this this year. Yes, exactly.
All right, So let's kind of switch topics a little bit,
and let's talk about home security when you're traveling, because realistically,
for many for many families, the holidays mean packing up
and hitting the row. Not everybody gets to stay you know,
kind of in their house. The last thing you want
to do is worry about your home while you're away.
(22:42):
So let's talk about, you know, some things that you
can do to protect your your homestead while you're gone.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Yeah, there's a few basic things that you can do.
I think this is a great tip, not just during
the holidays, but you know, whenever you travel, uh, don't
announce your travel plans online. You know, save those vacation
posts for when your home. You know a lot of
people you know, oh, getting ready to go Disney or whatever.
So yeah, and like he's on the mat, you know,
(23:09):
pause your mail or have a trusted neighbor collected and
pausing your mail is so easy to do now you
can do that right out in line. Yeah, so that's
a great tip. Keep deliveries in check, you know, if possible,
you know, reschedule packages or use those smart lockers, you know,
so you don't have to, uh worry about packages sitting.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
On your porch.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Well yeah, I mean, and I and I think that
you know, if you do stop the mail, then maybe
you haven't talked to a neighbor. Like if you said,
if you just go online and you know, stop it
through the you know, the post service. At least reach
out to one trusted neighbor to let you know, someone
that's nearby your house know that you're going to be gone,
because especially around the hoighways, you could have a package
come you're not expecting. It might not be something you ordered.
Somebody might be sending you something, or a vendor you know,
(23:47):
is dropping off like a corporate gift for you. You know,
you want somebody keeping an eye in the house and
taking that off of your porch, you know, if you're
not if you're not around, and like I said, you
may not be expecting.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
It, yep, exactly.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
And if you haven't invested in one already, a smart
home security system is always worth it. Video door bells,
monitor senses, smart lights, all those type of things. They're
affordable and a great way to monitor right from your phone.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
And another thing that you know, you can kind of
go the old I mean there's two ways to go
old fashion, you know, kind of remove the dial, or
you can do like smart timers so that some lamps
are clicking on and off, you know as you're you know,
to make it look like there's the daily cadence of
somebody being at.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
The at the house and it's actually a home.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Yeah, I was noticing because we've got a couple just
set all year round it so that, you know, some
stuff kind of comes on and off. And I was
noticing with as it's gotten darker earlier and we've had
a few more grayer days lately, you know, I'm like, well,
I think we need to adjust the time. You know,
it's getting to be that time. You know, they need
to be adjusted. But then I'm like, well, hang on,
a second, time change weekend is coming up, So do
I change them all now or do I wait till
(24:51):
the time change weekend. But I mean, that's again something
else you can.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Do that you can do and to kind of playing around,
you know, and being you know, especially we're talking like say,
traveling for the holidays. You know there might be snow
in the forecast, so line up someone to shovel your
driveway a snow covered drive you know, for days, you know,
for days as a dead giveaway that you know someone's
not home. So I love that one because I see
(25:14):
that all the time of myself, you know, and.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Yeah, they're not out of town, they're out of town.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Yeah, exactly. So you know, reach out to a neighbor
I guess, right, or.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Yeah, if you've got some young kid in the neighborhood
that wants to make a little money, you know, or
whatever it is, just yeah, find find somebody. And one
I guess, maybe one last thing in this category. If
you've got that beautifully decorated house and maybe you've got
a tree visible in the front window, you know, you
may be somebody who puts the gifts under the tree
early or at least you have some decorative boxes. You
may want to remove that before you leave town or
(25:44):
position the drapes are blind so that someone can't really
easily see what's inside. Uh, you know, you don't want
temptation to come gift wrapped for somebody to take advantage of.
And so just kind of think that through. I mean,
if you're coming and going, and nowadays with so many
people working remotely, it's more often than not that someone's home.
Kind of a lot of the time. You don't think
about this maybe as much as you used to, but
(26:05):
if you're getting ready to pack up and go away,
think through kind of what could somebody see you.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
Know, Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Alrighty, So let's talk a little bit we've we've kind
of invoked family and pets and guests into some of
the things that we've talked about. But let's really get
you know, kind of inside the home where you're hosting
extra people. And once you start adding extra people to
the mix, you're adding extra hazards.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Yes, exactly.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
So you want to pay attention to where guests arrive first,
and that's going to be outside, right, So make sure
that you shovel, put down your salt, make sure walkways
are well lit. If you've got extension cords for outdoor lights,
keep them away so you know, from the places where
the guests walk, so they don't trip over those cords.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Well, and considering that this is going to publish right
before Halloween, I mean, we think Christmas, but there's a
lot of people that do a lot of outdoor decorating
for Halloween. You know, a lot lots of lights and
inflatables and you know, all of that type of stuff.
And think about that. Most people come into your front
door trick or treating aren't familiar with your landscaping, right.
They don't really know how your driveway curves, or how
your front walkway curves, or what might if there's even
(27:10):
you know, kind of a you know, the sidewalks not straight,
there's you know, there's a joint and there's a little
bit of a height difference between they don't know. All
of that's already a trip hazer. Don't add extension cords
to it.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
Yeah, a great point. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
So, and so assuming that we're talking now about a
holiday where like Thanksgiving or something else, or they're coming inside,
consider adding a non slip mat near the front entryway
or the back entry or wherever they're coming in, and
maybe keep some towels handy for wet boots. You want
to wipe up any puddles, you know, fairly quickly. It
only takes one slick spot you know, that can send
(27:42):
somebody you know, tumbling. And you know, let's be honest,
we all we live in Michigan. We know how this goes.
If it's if it's wet rain or if it's snow
and it gets tracked into the house. And then if
guys are taking off their shoes. You know, we've all
been there where you have the socks and now you
step in the wet snow puddle.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
Horrible.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Yeah, and nobody likes that. So I have a few
towels around, I mean, not only to save you from that,
but more importantly to save people from you know kind
of you know, scooching and falling.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
You don't want that, yep, exactly. And also keep pathways clear. Again,
if you know it's holidays, you know, wrapping paper cords,
maybe toys, those can altern into tripping hansards, especially for
older guests. So just make sure all the pathways are clear.
And if you're giving gifts to kids, make sure they're
age appropriate. No small pieces for the little ones. And
(28:29):
if you're giving something like bikes or scooters, it's a
great idea to pair them with the helmets, you know,
with some of the safety care.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
The kids probably don't like it, but I know.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Mike, I don't. You're not going to get the big
you know for elbow.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Paths, yeah, exactly, but you know, but you're looking out
for them, so that that's what's important.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, just I mean, if
you're going to go that far to buy something like that,
take it the extra mile and yeah, and do it right.
And let's not forget our furry family members, the noise,
the visitors, the food smells. It can be overwhelming for
them as well. Something to consider is, you know, giving
pets a quiet space away from the action. You know,
where they're water, they're toys, their bed, you know. I mean,
(29:11):
because I will go back to when we had you know,
our dog, and I'm like, you know, she had the
run of the house, you know, but then you have
you know, twenty people show up and it's like, Okay,
she's used to her food being in the kitchen and
all that, but we would move it, you know, someplace
else so she could get I mean, at the beginning,
you know, she thought everybody was there to see her,
but as the day goes on, you can see all
of that getting to them and find a place where
(29:33):
they can, you know, kind of rest and take it easy.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
That's a great tip.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Another thing is you want to if you do have
guests that are coming over, they may or may not
be familiar, you know with some of the things Pets
shouldn't have chocolate, grapes, onions, raisins. They can be toxic
for dogs and cats. Another thing to consider is, you know,
maybe appointing another responsible family member to keep an eye
on guests so they don't try to be helpful and
(29:58):
quote unquote feed the animal. You know, they might think
they're doing a solid by buttering up to your chair
and oh here here's a little something off the people table,
and it's going to cause more problems.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
More problems down the road.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yeah, I actually have that issue. And I love my
mother in law, but it is she's the one. She's
that guest that constantly eats my dog off the table.
And it's really my boys that don't sit there and
be like Grandma, you know, stop stop, but you know,
you know, oh.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
It's okay, it's just a little you know, and then
later on you know you're dealing.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Yeah, you got all kinds of issues.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
So so that is that tip is spot on.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Well it is, I mean, and nothing, nothing's going to
clear out a table than a dog getting ready to throw.
That's a sound nobody wants to be here and at
a holiday gather exactly.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
And also think about those holiday plants, mistletoes, points, satas holly.
They're all very pretty, but those are also not pet friendly.
So so if you have any of those around, you know,
make sure they're out of reach from your path.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Absolutely. All right, So kind of going into a different
topic here, we're gonna switch and now we're going to
be talking about food safety. Nothing can ruin a holiday
faster than somebody getting food poisoning. The CDC estimates that
one in six Americans do get it every year. And
of course this like like home fires and other things,
(31:18):
it's spikes during the holidays. So with all the cooking,
the meal prep, the leftovers, you know, it's easy to
kind of have a slip up. It's easy for maybe
something to not be handled correctly. So we're going to
review some simple things that we can do to keep
our food safe and Pam, what's the first thing?
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Yeah, So the first thing is you can wash your
hands and make sure that you wash them often. If
you think about your hands are touching everything that you make,
so you don't want to cross contaminate. That's the issue
that cross contamination. When it comes to meats, keep raw
meat separate, and don't forget to use a thermometer, especially
for a turkey or any meat or dish that you
(31:54):
that you maybe not have.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
A lot of experience cooking.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
So like a lot of people only cook those turkeys
maybe once a year, right, oh, you know.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
And I mean I mean out like something else that
you do all the time. Let's say port chops or
chicken or you know, I mean most of us have
that down pat we know. But you're right, if you're
dealing with a very large bird, you know, and you're
cooking something you don't normally do, or you're trying a
different recipe, you don't really know, and I'd much rather
be safe than yeah than sorry.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
And once the meal is done, you know, refrigerate leftovers.
You know, experts say within two hours. I would never
leave stuff out that long. That is way beyond my
comfort zone personally, you know. But some of the other
some of the other recommendations are to take you know,
larger items, like you know, if you do have you know,
meat left on, like a turkey, cut it into smaller pieces.
(32:42):
It's going to help it cool faster than just kind
of you know, wrapping it as is. You also want
to keep an eye on the temperature that refrigerator is at.
You want to make sure that it's forty degrees for
the refrigerator and at least zero for the freezer, so
that what you're putting in there actually cools to what
it needs to be.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Able to too. Yeah, yeah, up.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
And also while I was tempting to lick the spoon,
you know from uh, when you're baking those cookies, they
like the cookie dough or eat the raw cookie dough,
you probably should try to resist or stay away from that,
which is kind of disappointed, Like, yeah, just taste good,
but raw flour and eggs can harbor bacteria. Also another thing,
(33:22):
if you're making egg nog, use pasteurized eggs or you know,
probably the best bat is just to buy pre made. Yeah,
you know, and they have a ton options, so and
they're all good.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
If you like eggnog, I think they're all good.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
Which I really don't get, but that's a whole other show.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
I like.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
I like putting little cinnamon in there. I like it.
Maybe something else, but.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Uh, and you know, and just uh, you know, think
about if you're having a lot of people over think
about those food allergies. It might be helpful to have
recipes handy, or even have a few cards identifying the
items with not steary, gluten or other common food allergies.
You know, just a quick heads up to people who
are in the house, you know, could could help, you know.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
A trip to the emergency well and I know, for
remax events that you know, we take precautions, you know,
to make sure you know that we're trying to be accommodating,
you know, to to you know, guests that have dietary
restrictions and you handle a lot of that. So do
you do you take the same approach with your family functions.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Or yeah, so so you know, not me so much.
But on my husband's side, the very large family always
do this big Christmas Eve party and his one cousin
has a son. He's a senior in high school now,
but a lot of ellergies to nuts, you know, nut ellen.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
And I was always impressed because she would always do that.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Put the little like if she brought the cookies, put
a little she would put a little note. Or if
she hosted on the invitation, she would say, please don't
bring you know whatever, you know, whatever this case, you know,
because my son's allergic. So she did that for years
and I think eventually people just go to you just knew,
you just knew. But when Nat boy was little, she
did a really great job.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
On that, and I thought that was really I mean,
because the reality is is I mean, and I think there,
you know, I don't think any host wants to, you know, unintentionally,
you know, put something out there that is something that's
another guest would be allergic to. But we don't always know.
I mean with extended family, and when you start to
have like in our case, the nieces and nephew's bringing
boyfriends along, I have no idea you know, what may
or may not be lurking as a food allergy. You know,
(35:20):
And I would think as an adult, if they had
any questions, they might ask. But I think it is nice.
And I've started to see this more like at some
of the church events that we do and stuff like that,
like people you know, you know, saying you know, whether
it's gluten free or it contains nuts or I mean
just there's little helpful hints on some of them. My
niece has a corn allergy. Oh wow, and that's I mean,
that's unique. I mean not you hear you know, dairy,
(35:42):
you hear you know, other stuff, and corn is in
a lot.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
Yeah, I would think it would be.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
I mean, because it's not just you know, corn, it's
corn oil and corn syrup. And you if you start
reading the boxes or the labels, it is amazing how
much that is and so not like my, you know,
my radar is up on that one because it's like,
you really, I like, what if she's coming over, I
have to really I've started to know that, you know,
these two flavors in this brand of this I can
(36:11):
you know, have, or this brand of that I can
have for her. But it's very limiting. But I mean,
you wouldn't know unless you actually know somebody.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
Yeah, yeah, right right, yeah, yes, you absolutely would not
have the knowledge otherwise, you know, And she had that
her whole life.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
No, I mean it was just diagnosed. I think it
was I think that between hers No, I think of
freshman year in college.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
Oh my gosh, wow.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
And she started to notice it because she was breaking out.
She was it was the summer of her freshman year
in college and she was working kind of like for
landscaping for her local municipality and that's in mid Michigan,
and she was breaking out, like every place where she
touched the ground her she was breaking out, okay, And
she was also getting like at different times of the year.
(36:53):
It's kind of seemed like seasonal allergies a little bit.
And what it turned out is, no, they're saying, like
the dust from the corn you know, like from corn
fields that travels through the air a lot, and if
it lands on the grass, it was causing her to
break out, ingesting, it was causing different things.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
Oh wow, wow, Yeah, that's that's definitely like a unique one.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Yeah, yeah, very much so. But to your point me,
you don't know what guests have right right, You don't know,
you know, you just don't know already. So our final
so kind of to wrap things up, We've talked about
fire safety, We've talked about food safety. We've talked about
removing things from the floor so that you know, guests
aren't going to trip and fall candles and fireplaces and
all that. So let's maybe just end with a little
(37:34):
bit of a kind of a home safety audit. And
I think some of the more important things to take
away from today's show are, first and foremost, check your
smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Let's you know, let's make
sure those are operating so if anything is going sideways,
you know you're going to get notified. You want to
replace the old batteries in any alarms that are more
than ten years old. Know where your fire extinguishers are
(37:56):
and make sure that they're accessible and you know, if
there's still actually and working order and you want to
discuss an emergency plan with your family, how to get out,
where to meet, who's responsible for helping kids, pets, or
you know, some elderly relatives. At a very minimum, at
least doing that, certainly, I think gets you in a
good safety frame of mind.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
Yeah, absolutely. And then some other tips.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Look, make sure that you look around before lighting candles,
keep paper towels and other objects at least a minimum
of one foot away from that open flame, Keep matches
away from those from children's reaches, and then keep fresh
trees watered. And don't overload circuits circuits with too many highlights,
(38:38):
too many lights plugged into those circuits.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
Yep. And then for those traveling, you know, I can
again consider having the mail held and making arrangements for
snow to be removed while you're away. And for those
that are hosting, you know, you're shoveling, You're de icing
those driveways and walkways before guests arrive. You're keeping the
floor free from obstacles that can cause others to trip.
Because we know a little prep and planning now can
(39:01):
certainly make for a happier holiday. The ambulance coming to
your house is never the way you want the holiday
to go to go, right. Well, Pam, thanks for so
much for joining me today. It's always fun to have
you in here and kind of go through these different
checklists and reminders.
Speaker 3 (39:17):
Yeah, thank you for having me. I do love doing
this one, you know.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Again, it's a great way just to kind of take
that pause and make sure that you are ready, you know,
for the holiday, you know, kind of think about these
things and make sure to ensure you do have a
good holiday.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
Aps. Absolutely, that's our goal first and so for you know,
as we're heading into the holiday season, it's it's a
little early as you're going to be hearing us, but
you know, we're getting real close. So from all of
us here at Remax of Southeastern Michigan, we certainly with
you warmth, joy, but most importantly safety this holiday season.
We look forward to chatting with you again soon. We
hope you enjoy today's episode. Don't forget to subscribe, write
(39:52):
a review, or rate the show as it helps us
reach more people. You can also follow us on Facebook
and Instagram.
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