Attention all keepsake hoarders
Here’s how to preserve your stuff
Nearly everyone has boxes of stuff they save. Inside them are old letters, newspaper clippings, vinyl records, photographs, maybe an old wedding dress, and old kindergarten drawings.
Now, authors Louisa Jaggar and Don Williams tell what to save and how to do it in their book Saving Stuff: How to Care for and Preserve Your Collectibles, Heirlooms, and Prized Possessions.
First, they provide a worksheet to prioritize keepsakes and determine what to keep and what to toss.
One of the keys to saving stuff is knowing what can damage it.
Light will fade everything from photos to textiles and paintings. Both sunlight and fluorescent light can be harmful. To protect valuable wall hangings, switch to lower-wattage lights.
Temperature extremes, too hot or too cold, make many items brittle. Museums keep their thermostats at 70 degrees.
Moisture will dissolve, stain, or mold your treasures. Keep them in a plastic tub with a tight seal. Never wrap anything in plastic cling wrap.
Air pollution, tobacco smoke, and oily polishes are bad for antique furniture. Use furniture wax to protect it.
Bugs and critters are notoriously dangerous to keepsakes. Maintain your home so mice can’t get in and be sure your windows are screened.
Handling with bare hands can damage delicate papers, fabrics, metals, and ceramics. Wear cotton gloves when handling antique books and papers.
Guard against flooding. If you must store important keepsakes in a basement, be sure they are stored in a tightly closed plastic container.
Here’s how to preserve your keepsakes
Kitchen renovation vs. home value
One of the key factors in deciding to remodel your kitchen should be the percentage of the cost you will recoup when selling your home.
A complete redo could cost up to $50,000. But unless your home would sell for $500,000 or more, you would have little chance of recapturing that investment.
When considering what you might do to make your kitchen more enjoyable and convenient, here are a few less-costly projects.
* New kitchen appliances are a good investment and give a good bang for your buck.
* For new cabinets, don’t order custom-made. Good cabinets are available at home improvement stores.
* Kitchen islands are nice, but not all kitchens are large enough for them. TV advisor Bob Villa recommends adding an interesting or small kitchen table instead. It will provide extra work space or an informal dining area. It’s less expensive and takes less space.
* It doesn’t cost much to tear down a wall if you want a bigger kitchen. Don’t do it by sacrificing storage space.
*Â New lighting can be a dramatic improvement. Add energy-efficient recessed task lights above work areas and eating places. Create lighting that can be either bright or atmospheric.
* Buy a new faucet. Consider a high end model and top brand.
* For counter tops, Villa recommends solid granite. It lasts for many years and doesn’t scratch or stain easily.
Poison prevention steps not as common as you might think
Poison Prevention Week is March 16-22
It was 1962 when the first National Poison Prevention Week was declared by Presidential Proclamation.
This year, poison prevention is more complicated than it was 46 years ago.
We have many more cleaning products, pesticides and lawn and garden products, virtually all of which are poisonous. Any product on which the label includes the words “warning,” “caution,” “danger” or “poison” should be stored securely.
That’s especially true if children live in your home or come to visit, but adults can make mistakes with dangerous products too.
About half of the 2 million poisonings reported each year are for children younger than six years old. They like to taste things and put pills into their mouths. Experts generally recommend locked storage for harmful chemicals, especially when children are around.
Sounds easy, but a Home Safety Council study shows that 80 percent of homes with small kids don’t do it.
Another safety factor in preventing poisoning is pill safety.
If you or someone you are caring for takes multiple medications, be sure pills are organized properly to prevent incorrect dosing. Check with the pharmacy for a 7-day pill holder that can accommodate morning, noon, and night medications.
Prescription bottles look pretty much alike, so always read the label before taking the medication or loading it into a pill holder. The Home Safety Council shows that one in 10 caregivers of an elderly person reported having a poisoning incident at some time.
Keep handy the Poison Control Center telephone number, 1-800-222-1222.
It works from anywhere in the U.S. and can connect you to one of 61 centers nationwide. The centers give information on immediate steps to take if a poisoning is suspected.
Prevent Cooking fires: Watch What You Heat
The fire department is joining forces with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to remind us of danger in the kitchen: the possibility of a cooking fire.
Safety advocates are spreading the word on the dangers of cooking fires, most of which result from unattended cooking.
According to the latest NFPA research, cooking is the leading cause of home fires. One out of three home fires begins in the kitchen, more than any other place in the home. Cooking fires are also the leading cause of home fire-related injuries.
When called to a fire that started in the kitchen, firefighters say the residents often tell them that they only left the kitchen for a few minutes. Sadly, that’s all it takes for a fire to start.
Safety tips that firefighters and safety advocates will be emphasizing include:
* Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, broiling, or boiling food.
* If you must leave the room, even for a short period, turn off the stove.
* When you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly. Stay home and use a timer.
* If you have young children, use the stove’s back burners whenever possible.
*Keep young children and pets at least three feet away from the stove.
* When you cook, wear clothing with tight-fitting sleeves.
* Keep potholders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper and plastic bags, towels, and anything else that can burn, away from your stovetop.
* Clean up food and grease from burners and stovetops.
Tips on Coping With School Violence
School shootings are sobering and tragic events that cause much concern about the safety of children.
School shootings are sobering and tragic events that cause much concern about the safety of children.
Despite these events, schools remain a very safe place for children to spend their days. In fact, the vast majority of children and youth homicides occur outside school hours and property. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has assembled a collection of resources on violence prevention to help parents, students, and school personnel cope with the aftermath of a traumatic event.
Tips for Parents
It’s natural for kids and teens—no matter where they go to school—to worry about whether this type of incident may someday affect them. Talking with kids about these tragedies, and what they watch or hear about them, can help put frightening information into a more balanced context. The CDC offers parents these suggestions to help children through their questions:
1. Reach out and talk. Create opportunities to allow your child to talk, but do not force him or her. Try asking questions like, what do you think about these events or how do you think these things happen, to get the conversation started. After an incident of school violence, it’s important for kids to feel like they can share their feelings and to know that their fears and anxieties are understandable.
2. Watch and listen. Be alert for any change in behavior. Are kids sleeping more or less, or withdrawing from friends or family? Are they behaving in any way out of the ordinary? This may show that they’re having trouble coming to terms with this event. Recognizing even small changes in behavior can give you an early warning that something is troubling your child.
3. Share information with other parents. Get to know your children’s friends and their parents. Make an on-going effort to check in and talk to other parents about any issues or stress. You don’t have to deal with problems alone—the most effective connections you have are parents, schools, and health professionals working together to provide on-going monitoring and support for the health and well-being of your child.
4. Keep it going. Ask your child how he feels about the event in a week, then in a month and so on. Each child has her own way of coping under stressful situations and the best thing you can as a parent is to listen and allow children to express their concerns and fears.
link: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/SchoolViolence/
School shootings are sobering and tragic events that cause much concern about the safety of children.
Listen to / Watch Podcast: “Coping With Traumatic Stress” (2:16 min)