Author: Jenny

I’ll be honest, during all the added holiday hustle and bustle – getting birthday parties planned and carried off, holiday shopping and kids’ Christmas programs rehearsed and performed, work Christmas parties, and this year a rehearsal dinner and wedding as well – my day-to-day tasks get shoved to the wayside. Dishes get washed when we need utensils and laundry gets done when we’re out of towels or school uniforms. Often times I’m moving from event to event so quickly I barely know my own name. And in the house, I’m moving from room to room as fast as I can and sometimes I leave a tornado-like path in my wake.

One of the things I have to make a real conscious effort not to leave in my wake is home safety. For instance, we have hardwood floors, and if I’m not careful about getting Jonah’s toys picked up, or having the big kids pick up their toys, someone could easily go skating on a Lego or a Hot Wheel and really get hurt. So when I leave my tornado mess behind, I try to at the very least create a safe walkway in the midst of it!

Another area that’s easy to let slip is laundry safety. As I mentioned, during the holidays it’s often a scramble to get laundry done (and all the special laundry! Holiday dresses and dress shirts, a class t-shirt for a holiday field trip – oy!) and it’s easy to get in a rush and leave supplies out instead of stored up high and out of the kids’ reach. But in the case of laundry supplies in general and single-load liquid laundry packets in particular, it’s always important to keep them stored safely no matter what time of year. Because these are not products children should handle, ever.  In fact, serious harm & injury including accidental ingestion and eye exposure can occur if single-load liquid laundry packets are not safely stored and children get their hands on them.  Luckily, accidents such as these are ENTIRELY preventable.

That’s why during this rush of holidaypalooza, it’s more important than ever to take the KEY Pledge for a safe laundry room and routine. In my case, I took the pledge months ago but during this season of busy-ness, the KEY Pledge and I are renewing our vows. 🙂 A nice thing about taking the KEY Pledge is that it’s simple and quick to do! It’s an important step that won’t add any stress to your busy holiday “to do” list. All you have to do is head over to the American Cleaning Institute’s KEY Pledge website and take the KEY Pledge:

• Keep single-load liquid laundry packets out of the reach of children
• Educate your family and friends about the safe use and storage of these new laundry products
• You serve a key role in laundry safety

It’s so easy yet so important to take the KEY pledge for a safe laundry room & routine! And remember if you do, you’ll be entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to win a $2,500 grand prize to help makeover your laundry room! Woot! The sweepstakes ends on 12/31, so make sure you head over to Keypledge.com ASAP for a chance to enter and win.

Lastly, head over to Keypledge.com and watch the ACI’s laundry safety video series, which is a MUST see for parents and caregivers.  It features child safety expert, Kimberlee Mitchell offering her tips on laundry safety and the small steps you can take to protect your family.

Don’t let the rush of the holidays cause you to forget keeping things safe at home. Take some time to relax, enjoy this season of giving, and remember your KEY Pledge!

How do you feel about the holidays? Are they your favorite time of the year, or are you relieved to ring in the New Year when they’re over? For me, I think it’s really both!