Daylight Saving Time Begins, Check Your Smoke Alarms!

Daylight saving time begins this Sunday, March 11th. ⏰  For me, it's the unofficial start of Spring and that makes me happy.  :) The hour of sunlight we get, completely over-rides the hour of sleep we lose.

Daylight saving time is also a good reminder to go and check those smoke detectors!  That's one of the easiest and very inexpensive ways to protect our families from smoke and fire injuries. All it takes is to test those smoke alarms to ensure they are working properly.

Go, press and hold the test button on the smoke detector. After a few seconds you will hear the loud sound (alarm), coming from the smoke detector while the button is pressed. If you get a weak sound or no sound a all, it means you need to replace the batteries.

Now, did you know smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years? I didn't!

*This post contains affiliate links.

Look at that! Our alarms were installed September, 2000.  Almost 18 years ago! 😲
There are several reasons why you need to replace them every 10 years, you can read about that on this article here and here. But overall, is for peace of mind.

Kidde - FireX Hardwire Smoke Alarm with Battery Back Up (4-Pack)

Of course, we immediately got our new smoke alarms. If you need to change yours, my best recommendation is to uninstall one and bring it with you to the store so you can buy a similar product in order to maintain the same configuration you have.

Our alarms are hardwire with a backup battery in case of a power outage.


The dates were written on the alarms and they were ready for installation which is fairly easy. So much so that my 15 year old son, under Mr. RLC's guidance, was the one who tackled this job.

However, if like me, electricity is definitely not your thing, by all means call an electrician.

DeWalt Drill Driver  |  Ridgid Dual-Power Light Cannon

My husband is the one who understands and makes most electric repairs around the house. He's the one who changes batteries and everything power related. But this time, he got his assistant, talk about lifetime lessons for our son.

After a short demonstration, the boy went ahead and replaced all the other alarms. The following is a small video I recorded of the process:

*The first step is to go and turn off the power at the main circuit braker in your home electrical panel*


If your smoke alarms are still OK, within the 10 year life, the battery is the only thing you need to replace.

HDX 9V Alkaline Batteries

DeWalt 20-Compartment Pro Small Part Organizer

So, while the boys where changing those smoke alarms, I decided to bring organization to my battery collection! :D

I'm now hooked with these HDX batteries, their quality and performance for the awesome value you get, it's a no brainer! And they're guaranteed to hold power for up to 10 years in storage.


Eeeek! I love to be this organized! 😆

Werner Ladder |  DeWalt Organizer  |  Milwaukee Performance work gloves

Hey, those batteries are heavy, but this DeWalt organizer is SO perfect for this. It's though! 💛 But, easy to carry around the house. ;)

AAA -HDX Batteries  |  AA -HDX Batteries

Another thing I liked about these batteries is that I ordered them online from the Home Depot and their shipping was free, which means we're not going to run out of those AA or AAA batteries that we use so much!

But hey, now it's your turn. Go and change those batteries! /Safety first! 🧡

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