Pet-Proof Living: Window & Blind Safety

Clean up the look of your window’s blinds or shades while making them safe for kids and pets.

Surely you know the long, skinny cords that dangle from mini-blinds and roman shades pose a safety hazard for babies and small children.   But did you know that they can be just as dangerous to kittens and other small pets?

Case in point: the adorable pair of foster kittens I had for most of last year.

I’ll never forget the day I walked into my living room to find one of them swinging back and forth in front of the window, her neck wrapped tightly in the cords of my bamboo roman shade.  It was terrifying. Once I had cut the kitten free from the tangled mess – and made sure that she had recovered  – I decided that the cords had to be gotten out of the way.  I couldn’t take another chance with this precious pair, who loved to play on the window sills.

I’d seen people put nails in window frames to hold the cords, but as a renter I like to avoid putting unnecessary holes in walls.  The less destructive option that won’t even leave a mark?  The tiny Decorating Clips, part of the line of Command Adhesive products (that I love!) were small enough to stick onto the inner edge of the window frames.  Once I stuck them up there, I was able to loop all my unsightly cords underneath the blinds – eliminating the kitten safety hazard  while streamlining the look of my windows.

Sure, the cords still were apparent, but looked much better than when they were hanging loose every which way:

Here’s a peak at what it looked like underneath the blind:

Since I didn’t want to take any chances with cat safety in my new home, I installed the same clips on all the windows that had shades installed.  But this time, because the blinds are custom-fitted to the inside of the windows, I had to put the clips on the outside of the window frame:

But because they’re clear plastic and tiny, they are still unobtrusive.

I’m thrilled to have this quick and easy solution that cleans up the look of the windows and keeps kittens safe.  Safety concerns aside, the sight of  long cords hanging in front of windows always did bug me a bit.  Am I the only one who has this pet peeve about cord control?

Safety disclaimer:  While the adhesive clips provide a certain degree of cord safety, it’s never a good idea to leave small children alone in a room with mini blinds or other window treatments that have hanging cords.

Curious for more window tips and tricks?  Here’s how I instantly upgraded my windows from trashy to classy, and then DIY’ed my see-through bamboo shades into insulated privacy blinds.