Recommendation Wednesdays

The safety of your home is not always at the top of peoples' lists during the holiday rush, but if you are planning on traveling this holiday season and will be leaving your home unattended, follow all or even some of these recommendations below to help ensure that you are not a victim of holiday thieves.

1) Give your contact information to at least one neighbor and let them know when you will be gone. Also, if you have a maid service or other service provider entering your home when you are out of town, let your neighbor know who they are and when they are coming.

2) Stop your mail delivery, but continue to receive your papers. Ask a neighbor to collect the papers for you so that they don't accumulate in the driveway. Not all paper delivery people are cleared the way postmen/women are so it is better to let them continue to deliver the paper, instead of alerting them to the fact that you are gone.

3)Place a few lights onto timers so that they light up key parts of your home and give a lived in look to the place. Also, ask a neighbor to park their car in your driveway for a day or two here and there so that it looks like someone is home and coming and going frequently.

4) Ask a neighbor to put your trash cans out on trash day so that it looks like someone is home.

5) Consider plugging a radio into a timer and have it set to an all talk radio station. When turned down low the sound of the radio appears to be people's voices and can deter criminals from trying to break-in.

6) Make sure that your extra house key is not hidden outside of your home somewhere. Criminals are very resourceful and will search gardens, door frames, mailboxes and potted plants in an attempt to find a spare key.

Employ these home safety guidelines this holiday season and keep your home safe from criminals.

Going Green and Saving Some Green

It seems that the topic of green- either saving some green or being green- is on the forefront of everyone's minds this holiday season. With the recent passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) and talk of a bailout in the auto industry, everyone is watching their budget and trying to save some money where and when they can.

Of equal popularity is discussion of ways to be green this year and do more to help preserve our natural resources.

Below I have listed a number of holiday-related green tips that will either help save you some green or will help you be more green. Enjoy them and pass them along. Remember that if we all make an effort to do just one of the things on this list, we can make a big difference in the long run.

Green Holiday Tips:

1. Go to the EPA website at www.epa.gov/ecycling for more information on how to recycle your old MP3 players, laptops and cell phones.

2. Instead of wasting money on wrapping paper this year, wrap your gifts in grocery bags or newspaper. To jazz up the exterior of the packages, get your kids involved and have them paint the paper or decorate it with pine cones or pressed leaves from your yard. Not only does this save money, but it involves a craft project as well which is great when its cold and rainy outside.

3. If you put up Christmas lights this year, only turn them on at night and be sure to turn them off before you go to bed in order to cut down on energy consumption.

4. Recycle bows, bags and as much tissue paper and wrapping paper as you can. This saves money and its a great way to recycle.

5. Consider getting your kids involved in making gifts this year, instead of spending a lot of money to buy gifts. Possible options for kids crafts/gifts are: 1)making ornaments for others to hang on their trees 2) baking cookies, breads, granola or other types of holiday treats 3) making personalized CD's 4) decorating a plain photo frame or trinket box with festive paint etc. (these types of plain gifts can be found at most craft stores for minimal money).

6. Don't send Christmas cards this year. Look into sending e-cards or emails with photos attached. This is a great way to do something great for the environment and it cuts down on your holiday bills.

7. Run your ceiling fan clockwise at a low speed this winter to circulate the warm air in your home and push it downwards where it can be enjoyed.

8. Use clay cat litter, sand or ashes from your fireplace to de-ice your steps and walkways. This keeps chemical de-icing products from running into storm drains and public water supplies.

9. Turn your thermostat down during the day when you are not home and use a fireplace or wood burning stove to heat your home when possible.

10. Try turning the temperature down on your thermostat a few degrees and opt to wear a sweater and slippers while you are at home. This will help to reduce your monthly bill, and it's better for the environment.

Green is the theme this holiday season-Go Green and Save Some Green. Pass it along!