How To Make Your Neighborhood A Safer Place

Whether you’ve just moved in or you’ve been living in your home for years, you want your neighborhood to be safe from crime for you and your family. Take these actions to make it even safer.  Safety is a team effort, so get to know your neighbors. Who works during the day? Who has kids? Who is retired? Maintain a list of home/cell/work numbers so you can call each other if you see something suspicious. For example, some thieves pose as movers. If you see someone at your neighbor’s house putting flat screen TVs and computers in a truck, don’t assume it’s a legitimate activity. Call your neighbors to check, especially if they aren’t home.  Work with your police or sheriff’s office to launch a Neighborhood Watch Program. It unites law enforcement and citizens to reduce residential crime. To find an existing program or learn how to start one of your own, go to www.nnw.org.  Improve your neighborhood lighting. If you don’t have adequate street lighting, join with your neighbors in turning on your outside lights every night. An effective and inexpensive idea is to place sensor-activated lighting around the outside of your home, especially entry doors and garages ($20 – $80 at Home Depot or Amazon).  Talk to your neighbors about home security systems. Visit a site such as www.safewise.com for information on a variety of systems. You can get basic ADT monitoring, for example, for $37 a month plus $99 for installation. Some insurance providers offer a discount if you purchase a complete security system. The site also offers an excellent Home Security Checklist (click on Learn and Home Security Resources).

What To Do If Someone Is Following You

The feeling that someone might be following you is terrifying. Though it’s not likely, what would you do if the feeling became reality? Being aware of your surroundings is the best way to tell if someone is actually following you. Whether you’re on foot or in a vehicle, here’s how to know if someone’s tailing you and then how to handle the situation: How to Tell • Try not to act as if you’re looking for the person following you. Keep walking or driving at the same speed, and try not to look over your shoulder. • Notice small details. Is the car behind you taking all of the same turns? Does the suspicious person take a turn away from you but re-appear minutes later? • Walk or drive more slowly. If you’re in a car, move to the right lane and drive a few miles under the speed limit. If you’re walking, stop for a moment and notice if people around you stop as well. What to Do 1. Stay calm. Don’t speed or panic because you’ll be more likely to cause an accident. 2. Be confusing. Change your route, stop, retrace your steps, take a quick exit or enter a store unexpectedly. 3. Call the police. It’s better to let the professionals handle the situation. Let them know exactly where you are and describe the suspect person or vehicle in detail. 4. If you’re being followed, don’t drive home in case it’s a criminal with bad intentions. You don’t want them to know where you live. Instead, drive to the nearest police station or busy public area.

Ways To Save By Being Green

By Being Green These tips have dual benefits – helping the Earth and your pocketbook at the same time. Here are some things you can do right now and how much they can save you: Carpooling: The average commute to work in the U.S. is 25 minutes, and up to 20 miles each way. Combined with the savings on the costs of maintaining your vehicle when you’re driving to work every day, you can cut your current gas costs in half if you share the ride. Check sites like www.CarPoolWorld.com or Craigslist.org to help you plan a carpool (see the Rideshare forum under Community.) Energy Audit: Most households spend around $1,300 annually on energy bills. You can save up to 30% on these costs by making your home more efficient, and many of those upgrades are inexpensive and easy to do – replacing your thermostat with a programmable one, sealing cracks with caulk, and sealing around windows can make a big difference. Conduct a home energy audit yourself or hire a contractor to do it for you (search energy.gov for “Home Energy Audit.”) You may even be eligible for a tax credit (check energy.gov/savings). Water Heaters: The Department of Energy says the average annual water heating bill is $400 to $600. Turning down the water heater and washing clothes in cold water can save you 6%. A tankless water heater can save up to 30% annually. Re-use (everything): Check Freecycle.org before you buy supplies for that one-time project. It’s free to join, and people give away everything from tools and building supplies to appliances they no longer need. You might also want to rent power tools if you won’t use them regularly (search HomeDepot.com or Lowes.com for “Tool Rental.”)

Thinking Positively Can Make You Healthier

How you approach life can affect your health, according to several studies by medical professionals. Positive people tend to have fewer health problems and live longer lives than pessimists. The good news is if you’re not typically the bubbly type, you can learn an optimist’s skills to help improve your health and how you feel. How to do it: 1. First, determine the things that make you feel the happiest. It might be spending time with positive friends or favorite family members, walking the dog, or watching a funny TV show. Helping others tends to help you feel better too. 2. Next, schedule one of those things in every day’s agenda. Make it a necessary part of your day. 3. Focus on positive thoughts. When a negative thought arises, pause and find a way to spin it to the positive. Even if you don’t believe it at first, just thinking it or saying it aloud can affect your outlook. For example, change “No one wants to talk to me” to “I’ll find a way to talk to others at least once today.” 4. Make being healthier a priority. Exercise boosts your mood and has been proven to reduce stress, which can increase negativity in your life. A healthy diet makes your body and mind feel better, making it easier to be positive. 5. Avoid negative people. Nothing sidetracks a positive day like someone who always has something negative to say. It won’t happen overnight, but after practicing positivity for a few weeks you’re sure to have a better outlook.

Roadside Assistance Plans

Being stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire or some other mechanical problem can happen to anyone at any time. A roadside assistance plan is the kind of purchase you hope you’ll never have to use, but having the right one when you need it most can save hundreds of dollars and a massive headache. Here’s what you need to know to choose the one right for you: • Many new cars (and some certified used cars) come bundled with assistance from auto manufacturers. Though they are often valid for the length of the warranty, check with the dealer when you purchase. • Popular roadside assistance carriers include AAA (aaa.com), Better World Club (betterworldclub.com), AARP Roadside Assistance (aarproadside.com), and Good Sam (goodsamroadside.com). However, add-on plans are also available from cell service carriers, credit card companies, and insurance providers, though the services they cover vary. Some may have restrictions on towing distance, the number of roadside assistance calls allowed each year, and out-of-pocket costs you may incur by using these services. • Because some coverage plans are for specific vehicles (such as those affiliated with a warranty), you may need additional plans for other family vehicles. However, other plans, such as cell phone-related assistance, cover certain people. In choosing coverage, make sure all relevant parties and vehicles in your family are appropriately protected.

How To Protect Yourself From Hospital Infections

People check into hospitals to overcome illness, but these supposedly sterile environments can also expose you to many germs. Luckily, there are several things you can do to protect your health if you happen to land in the hospital: 1. Research your chosen hospital. Educate yourself about laws in your state designed to create safer, healthier hospitals (hospitalinfectionrates.org), then find out what your hospital has done to control infections. Your state’s health department can advise where you can find specific hospital statistics. 2. Practice appropriate hand washing. Ask that your doctors, nurses, and visitors wash their hands before touching you or items in your room. Gloves offer a false sense of security and can be contaminated if put on by germ-infested hands. 3. Eat from clean plates. Consume food that has only touched the clean plate on which it is delivered. Don’t set food on a meal tray or any other surface. 4. Avoid contact with sick people. This includes not just other patients but also family and friends who may be ill. 5. Keep tubes to a minimum. Catheters, IVs, and other tubes offer a direct line into your body. If possible, skip them; but also ask to have all tubes removed as soon as possible after surgery. 6. Go home. The longer you stay in the hospital after surgery, the more likely you are to develop an infection. Before being admitted, work with your doctor to create a recovery plan you can tackle right away in order to get out of the hospital as soon as possible. Find more information about staying safe at safepatientproject.org.

Manage Digital Photo Overload

Smartphones have made it easier than ever to shoot photos at a moment’s notice, but with this ease comes a new problem: What to do with all of those images? Organize them with these simple tips: • Junk the bad photos as soon as you take them. Don’t save anything you won’t print, use, or look at later. • Upload photos to your computer regularly and sort them into organized folders. Create folders for each year, and within each year, make sub-folders for specific events or holidays. Use simple names, like “Family Reunion.” Move relevant photos into the folders, and delete them from your phone. • Share as appropriate. Don’t overload email messages with data-heavy images. Instead, upload select photos to a photo-sharing site like Picasa (picasa.google.com) or Flickr (flickr.com) and distribute a link to family and friends. Continue to print your favorite photos for framing or create an annual photo book. • Invest in a cloud service or use an external drive to back up photos. Services like Mozy (mozy.com) and Carbonite (carbonite.com) automatically backup copies of computer files.

Spice Up Your Health!

You already know about the positive affects of eating garlic, but here are three “super spices” that have amazing health benefits: Sage. Did you know the name (salvia officinalis) comes from the Latin verb meaning “to be saved”? It’s high in vitamin K, which helps with blood clotting and building strong bones, and it may improve memory. Here’s some sage advice: Use it in dishes with meat and poultry. Peppercorns. They contain piperine, a pungent substance that is anti-inflammatory (it may reduce arthritis symptoms). Buy whole ones, grind them, and add to food at the end of cooking or at the table. Smelling black pepper oil also can ease the pain of aching muscles. Oregano. The name is from Greek, meaning “mountain of joy.” WebMD says oregano contains chemicals that might help reduce cough and spasms. It also helps fight some bacteria and viruses. Use one teaspoon daily of dried oregano in salad dressings and many recipes.