As work at home moms, we are aware of the importance of babyproofing our home office, but are you sure your home office is safe for YOU? It´s easy to forget about general safety in our rush to keep paperclips and cds off the floor. If you´re like me, you probably try to keep these items up high . . . like on top of your computer monitor.  Not a good idea, since they can heat up and actually cause a fire hazard.

Here are a few more tips on keeping your home office safe for everyone in the house, especially work at home moms!

• Inspect your cables from time to time to make sure power cords aren´t frayed or have wires exposed. These can be a fire hazard, not to mention they can shock drool-covered fingers.

• Don´t overload your electrical outlets. Power bars are handy, but if you have too much plugged in, it could cause problems. A better solution? Get an electrician to add a couple more outlets.

• Keep the floor clean. If you ever have to get out of the house fast, like in case of a fire or earthquake, you don´t want to be scrambling over boxes and chairs that block your exit. Not to mention, tripping with a cup of coffee onto your laptop is never a good thing.

•  Don´t store anything heavy up high. I am really guilty of this. I have very little storage space, so boxes of papers get stuck up on top of the wardrobe or bookcases . . . but this can be a hazard if they fall. You can be seriously injured by heavy stuff falling off a high surface.

• Replace your chair when it gets wobbly or breaks. Ok, that sounds like common sense, but it´s pretty easy to say, “Oh, it´s just the arm, I can deal with it.” I learned this lesson the hard way when my semi-broken computer chair dumped me on the floor when I was 8 months pregnant.

• Don´t store papers on top of your computer or monitor. These areas need to be free of clutter so they can cool properly. It´s not a pretty sight to see your monitor go up in flames, so try to avoid placing anything on top of it.

Home offices can be dangerous. Chances are you won´t die in a simple home accident, but why risk it? Besides, even a small injury can be a big problem when you are a work at home mom!

Subscribe now in your feed reader so you don´t miss a single article from At Home Mom.

Are you a work at home mom running your own business? Add your biz for FREE to the At Home Mom Business Directory.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

• Do You Need a Better Home Office?
• Do You Ask for Help?
• Should You Stop Procrastinating?
• Are You a Bad Mom?
• Why Your Work at Home Schedule Doesn’t Work