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Here’s the part of preparing our home for foster kids that’s not as much fun to talk about or photograph as designing the bedroom. We have a checklist of things that need to be done in our home before an inspection. These requirements differ from state to state and agency to agency, I’m sure, but here are some of the things we had to buy/do:

• outlet covers on all of our electrical outlets
• cleaning supplies and chemicals stored in a locked cabinet
• all medications (including vitamins) stored in a locked box
• smoke detectors in various locations throughout the house
• carbon monoxide detector installed
• minimum 2.5 lb. fire extinguisher rated for class B and C
• hot water heater set lower than 120 degrees
• matches and knives inaccessible to children
• landline telephone available (we decided to sign up for Vonage for $15/month)
• flashlights in working order and accessible (we got a nightlight/emergency light/ flashlight)
• bedroom for child with proper clothing storage
• bedroom for child has a window
• separate bed and mattress for each child
• infant crib in compliance with government safety standards
• area rugs secured to floors; mirrors and wall hangings secured to walls
• internet adult sites inaccessible to children (we use Safe Eyes to block these sites)
• pets are up to date on all required vaccinations
• automobiles in safe operating condition
• vehicles equipped with child safety seats for infants/young children and booster seats for older children

So that’s only about half of the list, but it covers most of the main requirements. I was looking for this information online out of curiosity before we started the process so maybe someone else out there will benefit from seeing our list. We added to this list our personal list of projects to get done around the house before we welcome foster kids into our home:

• buy furniture (crib, bed, dresser, rugs) for the kids room
• hang book ledges (pictured above—I did this all myself! I’m very proud.)
• decorate kids room
• paint the kids room
• paint the rest of the house… or at least the master bedroom, living room, kitchen and hallway
• finish the fence blog post coming soon!
• close up all the gaps along the bottom of the fence so Lucy can’t wander away
• remove the dangerously sharp fireplace hearth  Booyah!
• get the electricity fixed in 2/3 of the house (this is a new development as of yesterday … stupid old wiring! Right now have 4.5 rooms without electricity … the kids room, my cloffice, both bathrooms and the ceiling light in the kitchen.)
• get a new vehicle – The Silver Bullet. Yay!
• build a new patio table we got a great deal on an already built one
• finish drywall and trim in Jason’s studio aux room
• finish drywall and paint in the laundry room
• clean out studio aux room and closet
• clean out our bedroom closet and dresser and give clothes to charity
• clean out cupboards
• clean and organize pantry

Ok, so most of the things on our personal list have nothing to do with preparing our house for kids EXCEPT that we want to have all of these things checked off our to do list so that once we have kids we can just relax and have fun in the evenings and on the weekends. Sounds like a nice dream, right?