Daylight savings time comes to end on Sunday November 5th at 2 am. At 2 am it becomes 1 am, again. It sounds rather confusing when you have to write it out.
Basically we set our clocks back an hour to Standard Time.
Why do we have Daylight Savings Time? And why does it end in November? You can check out the Farmer’s Almanac for a history on Daylight Savings time.
When we change our clocks back, it’s a good time to change or check a few other things as well. You might remember the “Change your clocks, change your batteries” banner we used to see during Fire Prevention week in October. Now that we change our clocks weeks later I don’t see those reminders as much anymore.
However there are a few safety thing we really should change or check this weekend.
- Change your clocks to Standard Time.
- Change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors if they are battery operated. Test all the detectors in your home, battery or hard-wired, to make sure they all work.
- Check the medications in your home. Are they expired? Do you still need them?If they are expired or are not needed, dispose of them. Many police departments have medication drop off boxes for you to safely dispose of prescription medications.
- Check all the medications in your home and how you store them. Are medications kept out of reach of children?
- Consider a Vial of Life or making and posting a list of medications if you have someone in your home who needs several medications. This vial or list can be invaluable during a medical emergency or if you need to evacuate due to weather or other emergencies. Some Fire Departments participate in the Vial of Life program and may have kits for you.
- Check your First Aid kit. Is anything in it expired? Do you still have adhesive bandages in it? If something in your kit is so old you are not sure if it will still help then replace it.
- Check that you have supplies for the upcoming winter weather.
All of these are great things to do at any time of the year, but changing our clocks is a good time to remember to change, check, and consider keeping our homes safe and prepared.
Looking for a quick way to restock your first aid kit? Check out First Aid Mart.