100: Safety Tips for the Homestead and Beyond

Keeping yourself safe on the homestead is important! Today we're giving lots of homestead safety tips, and also some tips for safety when you're away from the homestead. I hope you find them helpful. If you have any others to suggest, please leave them in the comments! Listen to the podcast by pressing the play button on the black bar above. All episodes are linked under the podcast tab that you can find way at the top of this post in my menu bar.  You can also listen and subscribe to my Farmish Kind of Life podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, PlayerFM, and other popular podcast players.  Safety on the homestead Thankfully, there is no shortage of homestead safety tips, and there are probably a gazillion tips that could be added to this blog post! We could do a whole episode on homestead kitchen safety, homestead barn safety, or homestead equipment safety. Many of the homestead safety tips below could be fleshed out into their own blog post, which means this article is basically a sort of checklist where you can say yep, I’m on top of that, or wait, I need to research that tip a little bit more.  And remember, friends—there is a huge difference between being paranoid and being prepared. Homestead safety tips Get a dog. Dogs are nature's alarm system. They are sure to tell you when something or someone is in the yard, in your house, or when something just isn't right.   Use security cameras. I wasn't a fan of these when we first got them at our farm because they felt like an invasion of my peaceful utopia, but it turns out they are a really good way to ensure your utopia stays peaceful. (Or to know exactly what happened if that utopia was breached.)   Put up gates and fences. Will a gate or fence always stop someone from trying to access your property? Not necessarily. But will it slow them down? Yes, it will.   Have a way to defend yourself. Firearms as a way to protect your family and your homestead. If this is something you're interested in or want to know more about, you can visit my other Facebook page Ready Amy Fire Away or join my private Facebook group Amy's Private Range: The Round(s) Table.   Teach your kids firearms safety. Firearms safety is important for everyone. Check out this explanation of the basic rules of firearms safety from another site I run.   If you’re leaving your homestead on vacation, don’t broadcast it all over social. Don't let people know your homestead is empty or that you've got a friend "checking on it" while you're gone. No one needs to know how great your vacation was until you get back home.   Make sure your equipment and tools are in working order. Keep up on maintenance. Fix what needs to be fixed as soon as you realize it's broken. Remember, a dull knife is much more dangerous than a sharp one.   Teach the members of your homestead know how to use the equipment and tools. Not only will this increase productivity because more people will have the know how to complete a task, it is also helpful to help get you out of a bind if you find yourself in a mess with a piece of equipment.   Have a storm or disaster plan for people and animals. Know what's going to happen in an emergency if one should arrive, not just for the people in your house, but the animals on your homestead.   Keep animals safe from predators. Different homesteads deal with different kinds of predators. Be open to suggestions from others in how to remedy those situations.   Lock your doors house and car. Yes, even if you live in the country on a dead end dirt road.   Take keys out of equipment—tractor ATVs, skidloader, etc. Yes, even if you live in the country on a dead end dirt road.   Hang up your keys in the same spot. Always. If there is an emergency and you have to leave fast you don’t want to be hunting down keys in coat pockets, mom’s purse, the table, the bedroom...