Leaving your kids with a babysitter can cause some stress and anxiety, especially for the first time. Create peace of mind by preparing yourself, your home, and your babysitter for your night away.

Give Your Potential Sitter a Hands-On Interview
Let’s be honest – it’s never-wracking leaving our kids at home with a stranger. When you really need a sitter, it’s best to prepare for babysitter nights at least a week in advance. First off, give a new sitter your  a hands-on interview. Have your babysitter come over and babysit your child while you’re home doing chores or house work and let them get used to the child's normal routine. This way, you and your child can build trust that your babysitter will watch over your child carefully.

You Have House Rules. Make Sure Your Kids Follow Them. 
When you are gone, your child might try to get one over on the babysitter. That’s where house rules come in. Write down all your rules (Ex: “No TV after 9 PM”, “Bed time at 9:30 PM”, “No desserts”, etc.), and place them out in the open (on the refrigerator, on the kitchen table, etc.). If you are leaving a newborn at home, give precise instructions on how and when you what your baby fed, changed, and put to bed.

Babysitter Safety | Leave Out In Case of Emergency (ICE) Information 
Next to those house rules, write down a list of important phone numbers, and when to call them. Write down your number first, and tell your babysitter when it is okay to call you and text you (emergencies only/your child does not want to eat dinner/other). Write down several other numbers in case your phone goes dead or you miss their call, and your babysitter encounters a true emergency. If a fire occurs, designate a safe spot for your sitter to go to. If a flood or leak happens, but it is safe to stay inside the home, you may still want to be notified before you get home, so you can call a repair and restoration expert. ServiceMaster is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the unlikely event such an incident occurs. The quicker the damage is mitigated, the less costly it will be for you to fix.

Prepare Your House for Your Sitter 
Before you leave, do a house walk-through with the sitter of every room that is going to be unlocked while your sitter is home. As you give the tour, write down and note where emergency tools are, such as the circuit breaker, fire extinguisher, phones, water shut-off valve, and alarms. Leave your first aid kit out in the open, too. After your house walkthrough, give a quick babysitter safety test to make sure your sitter knows what to do in case of emergency.

Enjoy your Night Off!
Have fun away from the kids! Be glad you decided to prepare for babysitter night well in advance, and enjoy your time away from your children with full peace of mind. Remember, you are prepared, the sitter is prepared, which will create a seamless transition between you and the sitter for the kids. And if a disaster were to occur, the babysitter is well educated and equipped.

According to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), there are an average of 365,000 house fires per year that require an emergency response. Overall, an average of about 2,500 people in America die from house fires per year. While your home can be restored from a fire, the human loss from such a tragedy can not be undone. The sad fact is that many of these house fires could have been prevented. Below are the five most common house fire causes and how they can be prevented.

Cooking Equipment
The house is a busy environment and many house fires are caused in the kitchen by unattended cooking equipment. To prevent kitchen fires, it is important to have at least one person, in the kitchen at all times, attending to cooking food. Also, check to make sure all cooking equipment is turned off after cooking.

Heating Equipment
Portable heaters have causes thousands of fires during the cold winter months. The biggest reason for these types of fires are the heater's proximity to flammable items in the home. To prevent a fire from a portable heater, keep the device at least one meter from laundry, clothes, curtains and other objects.

Smoking in the Bedroom
They say that smoking kills. Sadly, this fact extends to house fires. In fact, 73% of all house fatalities are caused by fires started in the bedroom or the lounge area. It is important that people avoid smoking in their bedroom. This is to prevent an unattended cigarette causing a fire if the person falls asleep.

Electrical Equipment
Electrical fires are one of the most dangerous house fires one can encounter. Electrical equipment such as a toaster can start a fire if that piece of equipment has a faulty or frayed cord. Therefore, it is important that the homeowner inspect all of the electrical equipment around the house. If there is an old piece of electrical equipment or an electrical appliance with questionable wires or parts, unplug it and get rid of that item immediately.

Candles
Candles may make a nice alternative to traditional lights. However, these items can easily cause of a fire if they are left unattended. Therefore, it is important for the homeowner to keep a careful eye on their candles and ensure that all of them are extinguished before going to sleep.

House fires can not only destroy your most important investment, they can also cause serious injury and death. While it is possible to restore parts of a home destroyed by fire, it is better to not have a fire happen at all. You can prevent most house fire causes by following a few simple steps - mind electrical equipment, watch for any open flames, and make sure you have at least one fire extinguisher in the home. Additionally, inspect your fire alarms every six months to ensure that they are in proper working order. While no home is completely fire proof, common sense can prevent most fires in the first place.

Do you know how to file a claim after a disaster strikes? 

Homeowners want to get their house back to normal as quickly as possible so they can resume their lives. Even if the damage is localized to one part of the house, like the living room or kitchen, for example, it can still be stressful. And if the damage is extensive enough, then the house occupants might need to live somewhere else until all the proper repairs can be made. Whatever the case, you’ll want to make a homeowners insurance claim as soon as possible.

The first step is to simply ensure your safety. Assess whether or not you can remain in your home. Before you to clean up or touch anything, document all the damage to your home with pictures and/or video and making a list of all the damage. This will make it easier for your insurance company to estimate the cost of the damage so you can get a fair reimbursement. You will also want to keep track of all your expenses related to the damage. For example, if you need to replace necessary items right away, keep the sales receipt with your records so you can include it as part of your claim. Other expenses might include having to stay in a hotel because your home is uninhabitable.

Before you contact your insurance company, it’s important that you read over your policy. According to the Insurance Information Institute, if you have a high deductible, it might be easier to pay for the repairs yourself. That said, even what looks like minor damage can actually end up costing thousands of dollars to repair or replace. Water damage can be especially tricky because even after the carpet or floor boarding is replaced, you still might need mold remediation, which can add additional expenses.

What To Do After Your Homeowners Insurance Claim Is Filed

Once you file your claim, your insurance company will usually send out an insurance adjuster. An adjuster is a representative that will talk with you and inspect the damage to your home in order to come up with an estimate for the damages. Be sure to show the adjuster any photos/videos you have taken right after the disaster, and have your list handy of damaged items that need replacing. This will help the adjuster’s job much easier and more efficient. This will also show the adjuster what the damage looked like before you made any emergency repairs to prevent further damage.

Once the adjuster is done, you’ll usually have to wait to see how much the insurance company will pay you. Some insurance companies will give you a certain amount of money up front for basic necessities like food, but it depends on the company and your insurance plan. The length of time you have to wait for the insurance company to approve your claim and pay really depends on your state. Every state has different laws regulating how long insurance has to pay claims.

Assuming the claim is approved, you can then hire an emergency repair service come out to start fixing your damaged home. Hopefully, this information will help you know how to file a claim so you can get your life back on track after a disaster.