Portion Control Made Easy

Well I hope this works out I found this great video from eating well on a quick way to watch your portions.

Tip 8 On How To Winterize a House

It's that time of year again for most of us in the United States.  Time to turn the clocks back an hour for daylight savings time.  Man I do miss living in Tucson where we didn't do that but I don;t so I have to.

Anyway that leads us to tip 8

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

1.  Change the battery in your smoke detectors.  

2.  Consider adding smoke detectors to every room.  The sooner you know there is a problem the better chance you have of getting everyone out.

3.  If you don't have a carbon monoxide detector get one and place it near your furnace and depending on the type of water heater you have place one there.

4.  If you have a carbon monoxide detector and it is older the 6 years or is making a small chirping noise then its time to replace it.

5.  Check all fire extinguishers to make sure they are still charged.  Replace any that need it.

Tip 7 On How to Winterize your Home

It's a beautiful day here in Long Island.  Perfect for finishing up any outdoor stuff before winter kicks in.  So head outside and get things ready for winter.

Prepare Landscaping and Outdoor Surfaces

1.  Trim trees if branches are dead or hang too close to the house or electrical wires. 

2.   Seal driveways, brick patios and wood decks.  Water that gets into the cracks and crevices will expand and contract as things cool down and heat up causing more damage.  Sealing these surfaces will help prefent the damage

3.  Move sensitive potted plants indoors or to a sheltered area

4.  Remove vegetation and debris away from the foundation. Then seal up any small cracks around the foundation to keep unwanted visitors out.

Tip 6 On How To Winterize A House

Baby it's getting COLD outside and its time to clean up you summer supplies and get the winter ones ready for service.

Service Weather-Specific Equipment and Store your Summer Fun

1.  Drain gas from lawnmowers, trimmers and other gas powered summer maintenance equipement.

2.  Clean, dry and store summer gardening equipment.  Store and cover your grill and patio furniture to keep them safe from the winter weather

3.  Replace worn rakes and snow shovels. 

4.  Service or tune-up snow blowers. Of course for us this means lots of Hot chocolate for warming up after digging out but for those of you who have them make sure they are working before the storms hit.5.  Sharpen ice choppers and buy bags of ice-melt / sand.  If you have pets use the sand or pet specific salts to help keep their paws safe.

Tip 5 On How To Winterize a House

Inspect Roof, Gutters & Downspouts

If your afraid of heights then consider one of the many service people to help you out. When I need expert help I always try to higher someone local since it helps the community.

1. If your weather temperature will fall below 32 degrees in the winter, adding extra insulation to the attic will prevent warm air from creeping to your roof and causing ice dams.

2. Check flashing to ensure water cannot enter the home.

3. Replace worn roof shingles or tiles.

4. Clean out the gutters and use a hose to spray water down the downspouts to clear away debris.

5. Consider installing leaf guards on the gutters or extensions on the downspouts to direct water away from the home.

Tip 4 On How To Winterize a House

I'm heading out to the Home Depot today to pick up some weather stripping for around the front door. During that little storm we had blow through I could feel the cold pouring under the Front Door. Now since I'm renting I'm very picky on the things I fix up around here. It's not my house and I not going to make improvements that the home owner should be making. That being said weather striping is a fairly cheap way to save me lots of money on heating this winter so I'm going to go ahead and fix it. I'm also going to ask if there is some way to fix the area around one of our light switches, I can feel the cold coming in from out side there too but I have to be careful what I use since I don't want to start a fire. Any way here is the next tip for getting snug for winter:

Check the Exterior, Doors and Windows

1. Inspect exterior for crevice cracks and exposed entry points around pipes; seal them. This will not only keep the cold out it will also keep out any unwanted visitors looking for a warm place to bunk down for the winter.
2. Use weather stripping around doors to prevent cold air from entering the home and caulk windows.
3. Replace cracked glass in windows and, if you end up replacing the entire window, prime and paint exposed wood. If this is not in your budget right now try one or all of the following which can also help with single pain windows that don't keep out the cold well:

* window insulation film sticks on with double sided tape and uses a
shrink wrap plastic you heat with a hair dryer*layers of curtains (make sure they aren't covering the heat vents.
*build a frame that fits on the outside of the window and cover with heavy duty plastic
to keep the cold away from the window.
I remember my dad doing this and it made the house warm and snug all winter and
was easy to remove and replace with screens in the summer.

4. If your home has a basement, consider protecting its window wells by covering them with plastic shields.
5. Cover your Air conditioner. It doesn't matter if its a window or central, covering it will save you money.

Tip 3 on How to Winterize a House

Well Winter just jumped up and smacked us in the face here in the North East and I've been getting things done that I thought I would have more time to do.

Now I don't have a fireplace anymore but I can smell the neighbors burning away and remember what I did when I had one. So for a warm safe winter it's time to:

Get the Fireplace Ready

1. Cap or screen the top of the chimney to keep out rodents and birds. This should be on in the summer too. You don't want to give your wild neighbors free access to your home do you?
2. If the chimney hasn't been cleaned for a while, call a chimney sweep to remove soot and creosote. It is very important to get this stuff cleaned out as it can spark up and start a fire.
3. Get your firewood or chop wood. Store it in a dry place away from the exterior of your home.
4. Inspect the fireplace damper for proper opening and closing. Don't forget to keep it close when not using the fire place to keep your heat from going up the chimney.
5. Check the mortar between bricks and tuckpoint, if necessary.