APARTMENT SAFETY - WHEN YOU GO ON VACATION
WHEN YOU GO ON VACATION
· Remember, unless there is a Cop reading this over your shoulder, YOU ARE NOT SAFE! The police do a pretty good job of SOLVING crimes. They cannot PREVENT crimes. The your safety, the safety of your family, and the protection of your property is YOUR responsibility.
· One of the times your home is most vulnerable is when it is left empty for an extended period of time. Darkened windows, mail or newspapers collecting and closed windows in hotter weather all advertise your absence to a potential burglar.
· The best protection for your apartment during your absence is to have a house sitter. A friend you trust staying at your house can take care of your pets and/or plants in addition to making sure the house is inhabited.
· Have a neighbor check on your apartment while you're away -- turning on lights, radios or TVs and opening and closing curtains will give your apartment the appearance of someone home.
· If you don't have a friend or neighbor to housesit or check your apartment while you're away -- perhaps even if you do -- you should keep not only lights but a TV or radio on a timer. If you're like me and have your TV on almost all the time you're home [NOTE: I don't watch it, it's just background noise.], the absence of the sound and that glowing light in the windows announces that you're not there.
· Make sure whoever is checking your apartment while you're away knows how to work your alarm system and who to call in case of a problem.
· Unless you have a house sitter, stop your mail and any newspaper or other delivery. Nothing announces an empty apartment better than a stack of newspapers or an overflowing mailbox. Ask a nearby neighbor to pick up any packages delivered while you're gone.
· If you have a garden or plants on your balcony, make sure someone is watering the plants regularly or put the plants where they can't be seen. Plants slowly dying due to lack of water may announce your absence.
· Check your lease. Many landlords require that you notify them if your apartment is going to be left empty for any period of time (this is so they can enter in case of emergency even if they can't reach you). If you've got a house sitter this isn't necessary.
Best Regards, Be Safe,
Craig
Craig Hinz is an expert in Corporate Security. He also sells a variety of personal protection and surveillance equipment. He may be contacted at info@grainwoodprotection.com or info@grainwoodsurveillance.com. Please visit his websites at www.grainwoodprotection.com and www.grainwoodsurveillance.com.
Country Bedding and Bedrooms
There are few places in the home where country decor can shine better than in the bedroom. All the warmth, welcome, and simplicity that characterize country decor is simply the most effective in bedroom decor. Country bedding and furniture can easily create a comforting and relaxing setting that is unrivaled by any other decor style. This makes a country decor the perfect choice for a guest room, for instance, as it will do an excellent job of setting your guests at ease in your home. Furthermore, country bedding is the perfect balance of aesthetic appeal and functionality, which means that your bedroom will both look and feel great.
Country bedding is most certainly one of the most appealing parts of using country decor in the bedroom. In fact, it is one of the high points of country decor in general. This is the case due to one thing: the quilt. Quilts have been around for hundreds of years, and for good reason. When it comes to warmth, there is little that can outmatch a quilt, and when you want something that is aesthetically pleasing, quilts deliver in spades. When setting out to apply a country decor to your bedroom, a quilt is an excellent place to start, as you can use it as an inspiration for colors and patterns.
Quilts can be used for more than just country bedding, though. In fact, a quilt can be used similarly to a tapestry, making it a central display piece. This is also a great way to keep your quilts in use during the warmer months, when they will not be necessary as actual bedding. This role makes quilts even more important to your decor, as it becomes the unquestionable focus point of your entire room. This will require care when choosing other elements of your room, but it is well worth the effort for the results you can hope to achieve.
When working with your furniture and such, it is important to work back to the colors that you used in your country bedding. For instance, if you are using a quilt with predominant dark colors, then working with a dark painted wood for your furniture is probably best. If you have a lot of deep reds and browns, then your furniture is best if using a deep, rich stain to bring out natural wood grains. Lighter colors in your country bedding call for lighter colors (whether this is achieved by the use of paint or by the use of light colored woods.)
Of course, the style of your furniture is also important, both for your decor in general and for your bedding. If the patterns of your bedding are fairly simple, then you would do well to have fairly simply designed furniture. If your patters are more complex and varied, then your furniture can follow suit and be a bit fancier. Also, think about the shapes in the patters. For instance, if your patterns have a lot of rounded shapes, then you may want to use furniture with some kind of rounded features.
Copyright © Jared Winston, 2006. All Rights Reserved.
About The Author:
Stop by Rustic Embrace to receive free interior design advice about everything from making rustic furniture to design concepts such as log cabin home design.
Guide To Install Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fan installation involves two main aspects: mechanical and electrical.
Before the actual ceiling fan installation procedure starts, consider a few constructional aspects of your home.
First of all, get the wiring of the house examined by a professional electrician. You have to make sure that proper wiring for ceiling fan installation is available in the house. Also remember that some ceilings may need to be braced to support the additional weight of a ceiling fan. So a ceiling bracing must be inserted during the time of construction itself.
Now mark the area from where you intend the fan to hang. Hanging the fan from the middle of the ceiling ensures best air circulation. Avoid ceiling fan installation directly over a bed. The actual ceiling fan installation can be broadly divided into assembling the fan and mounting it.
Assembling the fan
-The assembling procedure varies with different brands. In order to assemble the various parts of a ceiling fan you have to follow the manual provided with the unit.
-If the fan blades are less than 10"-12" away from the ceiling, there is no harm in installing the blades before hanging the fan.
Mounting
-Fix the mounting bracket to the electrical box tightly with the screws.
-In the time of the wiring, use the "working hook? provided with the mounting bracket to hang the fan on.
-Match the wires by following the standard color coding system (white to white, black or blue to black or blue and so on). Each connection should be covered with a securely screwed-on wire nut.
-Push back all extra wiring up into the electrical box.
-The fan should be electrically grounded to the metal box with the green or bare copper grounding wires. Connect the ground wires from the box, the fan and the power supply together with a wire nut, or a pigtail like wire which you have to attach to the box with a screw.
-Next slip back the ceiling cover to its full height and make it tight so that it does not move from its place.
-If you have a beamed ceiling you have to use a special beam mount for ceiling fan installation.
Improper ceiling fan installation causes disturbances like wobbling, noise etc. But a proper ceiling fan installation adds to its longevity.
Masni Rizal Mansor provide tips and review on ceiling fan wiring, contemporary ceiling fans and how to install ceiling fans.
