New home owner, listen up. There are a few items that everyone should have in their home.
These items are usually meant to keep us safe. We never expect to be in danger in our own homes, but accidents happen. Things we don't ever want to happen can spring up on us, so we have to be prepared.
This list of important home items are essential for any home owner. Even if you're not a first time buyer! Professionals have chimed in with some incredibly helpful advice that backs the need for these home staples.
Redditor DanDong77 asked:
"What is something that everyone should have in their home?"
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"Fire extinguisher."
"ExtinguisherS."
"One near the kitchen."
"One in the garage (if you have a garage)."
"One near the fireplace."
"One on each floor."
"Most importantly, one in the bedroom. If you get woken up by the smoke detector, you grab the extinguisher with you in case the fire is between you and an exit. Also, an empty one from when you practiced putting out fires with it. Most extinguishers last over 10 years (get the ones with the pressure gauge). Even if you need 5, that's around a $100, or $10 per year."
"Emphasis on near the kitchen, not in the kitchen."
"If the stove starts a fire and you keep the extinguisher a foot away under the sink, you won't be able to get close enough to get it."
"Keep it in a nearby pantry or closet or hallway; somewhere between the kitchen and exit so you can get out if need be. Mount it on the wall, too, so you don't have to dig around to get it."
"More importantly, make sure everyone in the house knows how to use them."
"Spend the extra money to buy a spare, and teach you SO and the kids how it works, what to expect when you use it, and where you should point it."
"Insanely important."
It's a luxury for some and a necessity for others.
"A working and clean toilet."
"I just had a long conversation about living in a van. This was my whole argument."
"To everyone who says use compost toilet, sh*t in bag, or use public restrooms that's all well and fine. Butt for me, there's no replacement for your own toilet in the privacy of your own warm home. I've been on some looong trips I've had to try these methods and more."
Safety first! Take it from a firefighter.
"A smoke detector."
- thaw800
"Firefighter here. Yes smoke detectors are absolutely essential to a home fire safety plan. BUUUUT, you shouldn't just assume that simply having them around is going to make you totally safe. They are just one tool in a complete toolbox of fire safety. They can only alert you that a fire is already burning. They do exactly nothing to prevent, extinguish or provide shelter from fire."
"A plan for how to escape is critical. Also sleeping with your (and especially kids') bedroom doors closed could very well save a life. Extinguishers are nice if you have a small fire that you can put out quickly, but detectors and a plan are the most important things."
"Don't just take my word for it. Here's a video from Underwriters Laboratories showing how fast fire and toxic gases spread in a house fire with modern furnishings. And here is a video showing the dramatic difference closing a bedroom door makes."
- mtd074
"I don't have one because my parents believe the radioactivity from a smoke detector is more dangerous than the risk of fire. Hope they're right."
"I have tried for years to convince them. For now I'm gonna accept it, but in a few months I move out and get my own."
"Please tell your parents to put their smoke alarms back in ffs. They give off about 1/100 of a millirem over the space of the year. You can withstand a background radiation level of around 360 millirems per year... 1/100... 360..."
"It's not worth dying in a house fire over nothing."
"Source: I work in nuclear engineering."
"Carbon monoxide detector."
"Yup. This saved us this week. We have one in the basement and it started going off after dinner, so I called the non-emergency line all apologetic, like I'm not sure who to call. But they were so pumped and had the fire truck there in two minutes and they had the energy company come out with a more sensitive reader. Ended up being the oven (new one installed today and it's awesome) and we wouldn't have known at all without the alarm."
"I wish they were made for fewer false positives."
"I mean, I get it, if it goes off too much, that acceptable compared it not going off even once when it isn't supposed to. The thing is, people just disregard them now."
"I actually spent over an hour explaining to a customer on a service call that the CO detector he had wasn't faulty, but that he had CO in his house."
One Redditor shared a post from a man who was leaving post-it notes around the apartment and forgetting about them. He later learned he had carbon monoxide poisoning.
If you don't have this, is it even a home?
"A bag filled with bags."
"This is a requirement!!!"
"A bag bag, if you will."
"I call mine, 'The Bag of Bags.'"
The heart of the home is the kitchen.
"A good sharp chefs knife."
- dgolia1
"And sharpener!"
- splorfer
"I got a knife set as a housewarming gift. I don't know how I lived before cutting vegetables with dull cheap knives. It has changed my entire cooking experience."
- Amii25
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First aid.
"First aid stuff."
"Yes. I sliced my hand open not too long ago while doing the dishes and had nothing to bandage it with. It sucked. Lots of blood everywhere. Ended up getting 4 stitches."
"True. Aspirin works as a blood thinner. So people with family history of cholesterol and heart diseases should have one at home! It'll give you some extra time to reach hospital for surgery!"
A working toilet.
"A working and clean toilet."
"With a plunger."
"I just had a long conversation about living in a van. This was my whole argument."
"To everyone who [says] use compost toilet, sh*t in bag, or use public restrooms that's all well and fine. Butt for me, there's no replacement for your own toilet in the privacy of your own warm home. I've been on some looong trips I've had to try these methods and more. Mainly I just want to handle my own sh*t as little as possible!"
This is critical.
"Toilet plunger."
"And make sure it's a toilet plunger, not a sink plunger. Sink plungers are semi-hemispherical. Toilet plungers looks like sink plunger with a skirt on it."
"Once rented the spare room of someone who liked to flush things like kleenex and paper towel. Naturally they did not own a plunger. It was a bad time."
On a similar note...
"A BIDET!!!! A BIDET!!!!!"
"How are bidets not common across North America?"
"It's one of those 'we don't have many them, so no one misses them, so no one feels compelled to make/sell/promote them, so we don't have many of them' things."
The ability to call for help.
"A working phone. Even if it's just a cell phone that's not used, you need to be able to call 911."
"A cell phone can call 911 even without service, as long as it has a signal."
When the power goes out.
"Flashlight, candles and matches/lighter."
- diiejso
"Every time there's a big storm I am surprised and disappointed by how many people don't seem to have these."
- Sammo909
We don't need anyone hurting themselves.
"A tallish ladder (one that will allow you to reach all your ceilings comfortably). I've stacked chairs on tables before in previous places and it sucked for changing light bulbs or air filters."
"Those little giant ladders are a godsend. Heavy, but a 6ft closed latter can be used as an A-frame up to 11ft or straight for 22ft."
"I will add onto this, but having step stools in any space where there are cabinets above your head. Doesn't matter if you can reach. Will potentially save you from oopsie dropsies, hurting your shoulders or back from over-reaching, allow you to better organize high cabinets."
Wifi really has become a necessity.
"Internet."
- kgold0
"Yes. Living with garbage wifi for six years was [terrible]."
Aw, so sweet!
"Someone who is happy to see you when you come home."
"So my dogs count?"
Pets definitely count.
Something everyone deserves.
" Peace."
"Underrated. You never know you have it until it's gone. And you don't wish for it until it is unavailable."
- Jcdabney
"At home, emotional/physical abuse is frequent. Back when I was a teen who still hadn't realized living like that wasn't normal, I noticed I'd get exhausted as soon as I walked in the door. I adopted all kinds of superstitious explanations for this, from bad feng shui to the house being cursed."
"Turns out that a house where you can't have peace f*cks with you. Do what you can to make it happen."
The fact that so many professionals came to this thread is an indicator that you need these home items. It could save your life.
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