Have a happy Thanksgiving, multifamily style

Thanksgiving is a special time of year. We give thanks for all of our blessings, cook and eat way too much food, entertain relatives we may see only occasionally, watch football — what’s not to love?

Popular images of Thanksgiving always seem to be in single-family homes, but a significant part of Houston will be serving turkey and dressing in an apartment this year. Here are some things to keep in mind if you’re hosting Thanksgiving multifamily style!

Got friends or relatives visiting? Out of necessity, many apartment communities have rules about guest parking.

If you’re having a lot of guests, make sure you check in with the apartment manager and make sure nobody has to go over the river and through the woods to pick up a car that got towed away for a parking violation.

Before you set out to make your grandmother’s famous green bean casserole flambé for the first time, do a quick check of your apartment’s fire safety features.

Every apartment unit in Houston should have a 1-A:10-B:C fire extinguisher somewhere near the entrance to the kitchen — not within five feet of the stove. The extinguisher should have a pressure gauge with a needle in the green part of the dial, showing that it is fully charged.

There should be a smoke alarm mounted inside — and adjacent to — every bedroom.

If you didn’t change the batteries earlier this month when you changed your clocks at the end of daylight savings time, now would be a great time to put in some fresh batteries. Push the test button. If it doesn’t make noise, notify the property manager in writing immediately.

If dinner doesn’t go quite as planned and you set off a smoke alarm, don’t panic. Newer alarms have a “silence” button you can press.

The button silences the alarm, then resets it automatically a few minutes later. If you have an older alarm and end up removing the battery, make sure you put it back in when your kitchen is under control.

Speaking of cooking, make sure you dispose of oil and grease properly — don’t ever pour it down your sink.

Cooking grease is the leading cause of plumbing clogs in apartment properties. Pour grease into any metal can or glass container, let it cool, then dispose of it with the rest of your kitchen trash. This article was provided by the Houston Apartment Association. For more information, visit www.haaonline.org.