The conditions happened to be just right. A mini-carrot, a hardwood floor, a pooch that needed to go outside and an impatient person rushing to let the pooch out and get back to the task at hand, which was dominoes. It happened so fast. It started with a little roll and a big slide and a lot of floundering and ended with a big crash that happened to be my body hitting the floor.

My husband, who had been contemplating his next domino move, looked shocked and then scrambled to determine if I was hurt. I wasn’t sure. I laid face down and didn’t know if I wanted to try and move any parts of my body that were hurting. I remember the scenario three years ago this January where a fall down the steps left me with a broken ankle, surgery and weeks of recovery time.

I have never been the most graceful person. My fall this time was something out of a slapstick comedy. Who ever heard of slipping on a carrot? It was kind of funny as long as I could move. I was lucky all my body parts moved and nothing seemed to be broken. I could resume my game of dominoes and continue on with my day with just a few aches and pain.

We always consider our home a safe place. That thought crossed my mind a few weeks ago as I was hurrying home from work. I had forgotten to buckle my seatbelt. Who needed a seatbelt to travel two blocks? I was close to home. Then I remembered the experts saying that many accidents happen close to home. I quickly buckled my seatbelt.

I am not always as careful at home as I would be if I were elsewhere. The reason I fell is that I wasn’t paying attention to what was on the floor. I was hurrying to let Sambo out and resume my domino game. At night before going to bed I usually check the floor and the path that leads to the bathroom. If we are bleary eyed in the middle of the night on our journey to the bathroom we will not trip on Sambo’s toys and various bones that he leaves lying around. I don’t do that during the day. The carrot was an uneaten treat. I am supposed to see during the day and not be bleary eyed.

However because we are always in a hurry and we think accidents can’t happen at home we do walk around bleary eyed. How many of you use a stool or a chair that is unsafe to reach things? I can’t tell you the number of times I stand on tiptoes to reach something in a high cupboard that is underneath something else. Everything topples down on top of me. Yet I do it again. I can’t take the time to find my small stepstool and retrieve something safely.

Home safety is something many of us take for granted. We don’t take the proper steps to make our home safe. When the grandchildren visit I scout the house for safety hazards. I put plugs in the outlets and I make sure there are no hazardous materials close enough to the ground that little hands might like to try. I leave nightlights on so those staying at my home can find their way around. I worry about the safety of those precious children.

There is an excellent Web site on home safety. It is http://www.homesafetycouncil.org. It has a slogan that says “Home Safety Is In Your Hands.”

On this Web site you can find information to make your home safer and make you aware of what you can do to prevent accidents. I chose the safety guide for preventing falls. This is the advice I received.

Have handrails at both sides of steps. Make sure they go from the top to the bottom of the stairs.

Have lots of light at the top and bottom of the stairs.

It is easy to trip on small rugs. Tape them to the floor or don’t use them at all.

Keep the stairs clear.

Have nightlights in the bedroom, hall and bathroom.

Have a matt of non-slip strips in the hall or shower.

Have a bath matt with a non skid bottom on the bathroom floor.

Have grip bars in the tub and shower.

Always watch young children.

If you have young children use safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs.

Have window guards on upstairs windows to keep young children from falling out the windows.

Put bright lights over all porches and walkways.

Keep sidewalks and paths clear so you don’t trip.

Fix broken or chipped steps.

They also advise you to walk through your home and identify potential falling hazards. That would definitely cover carrot treats. My advice is this: when you are looking for falling hazards don’t just look for things that you can fall on, look above your head for things to fall on you. That is good advice if you are short. I have lots of lumps on my head to prove it.

Take the time to start the year right and avoid carrot tripping by making your home retreat safe.

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send e-mail to her at thecolumn@bevcomm.net.