The safest place for your instrument when not in use is its case. If you don’t want to put it away keep it on an instrument stand.
Never leave your instrument on a chair, bed, music stand or with a section of the instrument sticking out past the edge of a table.
Woodwind instruments must be swabbed (dried) after use to save the life of the pads.
Don't keep the damp cloth in the case with the instrument as this defeats the point of drying the instrument
Don't use silver or brass polish on flutes to keep them shiny. This commonly results in the bending of keys and damage to pads. Replacement of pads can be an unnecessarily expensive exercise.
Try to avoid holding your instrument on the keywork when assembling or taking it apart.
If your instrument is damaged in any way, don't try to fix it yourself.
Have your instrument serviced regularly to keep it looking good and playing well.