Take an inventory of all of the hazardous chemicals you have around the house.  Look on the back label for ingredients like bleach, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, phosphates, muriatic acid, sulfuric acid, isopropyl alcohol, and ammonia.  Also pay attention to hazardous warnings like FLAMMABLE or CORROSIVE.  Try not to use aerosol products (because the propellants are hazardous and polluting). Commit to replacing the typical hazardous home cleaners with safer alternatives.  Cleaning does not have to be a hazardous undertaking.  Go to neuhomecare.com for more information.

Gather up all of the old cleaners, fertilizers, paint and other chemicals that have been sitting around for a while and that you do not need.  Now find the next local cleanup event near you that collects these types of products for proper disposal.  Most communities sponsor these events sometime in the spring, so check your local event calendars.  Never dump these products down the drain, in the sewer or behind the garage.  Keep them in the original container, do not mix them and bring them in for proper disposal.  Clean up your home and help protect the environment.  Go to neutralcleaning.com for some helpful information.

If there are children or pets in the house, it is common sense to verify hazards like chemicals, cosmetics, knives, cleaners, food ingredients and fragile items are properly secured and stored out of reach from the little ones.  People forget that as children grow taller, they will be able to reach new hazards that were not accessible before.

Replace all of the antibacterial hand and body soaps around the house with regular versions of these soaps.  Studies have shown that antibacterial soaps do not prevent disease any more effectively than regular old soap.  There are some serious potential health effects to using them regularly and there is little benefit.  Save some money, because regular soap will do a great job.  If you cannot find any non-antibacterial versions of the soaps, use baby wash or baby shampoo as a safe alternative.

Buy a couple of general home use fire extinguishers and place one on each level of the home.  They even come in designer finishes like stainless steel.  Although wall mounting is preferred, you can always place one under the kitchen and bathroom sinks (securing from kids and pets of course).  Any home center will have these in stock.

Make sure that there is a smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector on every sleeping level of the home.  Verify that there are fresh batteries in each device. And press the test button to make sure they work.  Home centers should have these in stock.

Devise or review the disaster escape plan.  Meet with family members to review what to do to escape a fire or take cover from a tornado or severe storm.  Have a safe escape route or a safe place to take cover, and once the danger has passed, have a central location to meet away from the home in order to account for everyone. 

If you burned a lot of wood in the fireplace or wood stove this winter, have a chimney specialist do an inspection to check for creosote build-up.  Creosote build up can ignite in the chimney and cause a fire.  It is a great investment to have an expert take care of any potential problems.

Clean the ductwork from the dryer to remove lint.  Lint build up in the exhaust ductwork can super heat and ignite, causing a fire.  There are professionals that can do this, so do not try it without using the proper tools and techniques.

Do an old clothing and household item purge.  Make sure clothing and household items are clean and in good condition.  Instead of selling these items on-line, donate these items (in good, useable condition) to a local church or charity in order to help someone less fortunate.

Make a renewed commitment to recycling paper, aluminum, plastic and other items.  In addition to recycling newspaper, magazines and cans, pay special attention to food packaging, junk mail inserts and other sources of recyclable paper, cardboard, metal and plastic.  Bring used hangers back to the dry cleaner for reuse.  Empty printer ink cartridges can be brought back to many office supply stores for recycling.

Give the gift of a plant, tree or shrub as remembrance of this  important time in your life.