5 Ways to Protect Your Home While On Vacation

If anything can go wrong it will happen while you’re on vacation, right? – which is perhaps the reason 80% of burglaries take place when their owners are away.

Coming home from a Mediterranean cruise, honeymoon or safari can be gloomy. But nothing spoils a good vacation more than coming home to find you’ve been the victim of a crime.  All those hours of careful planning, scrimping and saving for your dream vacation will be quickly undone if you have to start filling in a claim to your home insurance.

To better prepare yourself for the vacation of a lifetime, we spoke to the experts at Select Garage Doors, the UK’s leading manufacturer of home security accessories and garage doors, who gave us the following checklist to ensure your property is left in safe hands:

1) Garage Door Safety

Garage doors are perhaps the weakest point for thieves looking for easy access to your home and belongings. Not only are they a weakness, but provide shelter once inside. To a passer-by an open garage with a works van parked in the driveway is not screaming break in.

For this reason, you should never leave your garage unprotected when planning a vacation away from home. You might as well roll out the red carpet for them and put the kettle on while you’re at it! Having a system in place will stop those pesky thieves in their tracks as they look up to see their face plastered across a security camera.

If however after saving up funds for your dream vacation, you are a little strapped for cash and less inclined to purchase a security camera for your house, don’t worry. You can still protect your home with the addition of some stand alone accessories such as Euro-Locks and Bars, Hinges and Handles to minimise the chance of a break in.

2) The lights are on but no one’s home

Don’t switch your lights on for the entire time you’re on vacation in an attempt to make it look like someone is in the house. Aside from an extortionate electricity bill greeting you when you return, you’ll find a house blazing with light on a night is a little odd.

Instead, purchase a light switch timer with the option to automatically turn your lights on and off according to a preset schedule. Criminals keeping an eye on your house will see the bright lights going on and off and will assume there is someone inside.

3) Lock that door/window

It might seem like an obvious one but time and time again people will forget to close the upstairs window or not bother to turn the deadbolt in the kitchen. Well now it’s time to clean up your act and check, everything! If you lock up all possible access points it will make life much harder for a burglar when looking to enter your house.

4) You got a friend in me

A quick and painfree way of securing your home while away on vacation is to ask a close friend or neighbour to keep an eye on the place in your absence. Give them a spare key so they can pop in and collect all mail, water the plants and feed the cat etc. You may also want to give permission for someone to park their car on your drive. These may seem like minor actions but they will make a big difference in the long run.

5) No vacation posts

Keep the #summer2016 posts on hold until you return. This includes social media, blogging and online forums where anyone could be reading about your fun in the sun… away from home. That’s not to say you need to suspect everyone you happen to meet, but you should be mindful of that information falling into the wrong hands. Wait until you return to brag about your travels. Instead leave your family and friends in suspense for a little while longer – it’s your vacation after all, enjoy it while you have the chance.
Guest Post by Emily Cocker. Feature image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Insuring a Classic Car

Classic cars are the pride and joy of their owners, with people doing whatever they can to keep them well protected and in top condition at all times. If, however, something does go wrong with your classic car, it is vital that the insurance you have for the vehicle covers all aspects of its aesthetics, internal mechanics and functionality.

What is a classic car

Classic cars in the UK do not fall under a specific, fixed age group, though a classic car must be older than 15 years to qualify under this title. A car that is just 15 years old may be referred to as a modern classic, in fact.

Though classic cars do not necessarily have to be old, the majority of them are one-offs that have been made in the past which now are not manufactured any longer. It is important to note that different insurers will class what a classic car is differently from other insurers, so check with your insurer when getting your classic car insured that they are prepared to consider it as one.

Insuring your classic car

When it comes to insuring your classic car, there are various things to take into consideration. Whilst it may be more expensive to insure a classic car for some reasons, such as the parts being less readily available, there are also many instances in which it may in fact be cheaper to insure older, more classic models of car.

Here, we run through some factors worth considering when you insure a classic car to ensure you have all the information available to you, allowing you to pursue the best policy for your model of car:

Low policy price

Classic cars are often cheaper to insure for a number of reasons, including:

Insurers tend to assume that the car will be doing less mileage due to its age and its purpose as a show piece rather than a car used to make long trips or have many passengers. Most classic car owners take great care of their vehicles, ensuring that they are well maintained at all times and stored in a safe and secure location.

Uncommon parts

There are, however, considerations to make when it comes to replacing faulty or broken parts which may no longer be available such as windscreens. Though insurance will cover the repair of a classic car’s windscreen, not all manufacturers may still produce the exact replica windscreens needed to replace the broken ones, meaning that customers’ premiums may be pushed up or certainly a higher excess may be charged in the instance of a broken windscreen on their classic car. For more information on repairing and replacing classic car windscreens, it is worth speaking to specialists such as those at The Windscreen Company.

Other parts of the car may also incur expensive excess payments or, indeed, may make the insurance premium more expensive on account of their rarity. For this reason, it is important to shop around expert insurance companies for the best policy when looking to cover a classic car, as some may be more equipped to cover certain classic makes than others.

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Backyard Design To Promote A Healthy Family

Spending time outside to eat, talk and play bonds family members — from small kids to adults — in incredible ways. With that in mind, how can you design your backyard to be an inviting, activity-boosting space where the whole family wants to spend time? Here’s a look at some key tips for turning your backyard into a favorite family destination.

Start With the Big Picture

Before buying new pillows for the lounge furniture or flowers for the beds, consider this: What do you want from your backyard? A space to entertain on weekends, or a space to eat dinner together every warm night? Do you want areas for sports and/or a fire pit? Once you know what you’re looking for, you know where to start. Think about what already works well for your goals, and what doesn’t. This can guide your efforts in design.

Add the Right Elements

Based upon your desires and goals, add elements to the backyard that make it more usable and enjoyable. By creating a fun and functional outdoor space, you can promote health and wellness for everyone. Consider adding the following:

1. Outdoor lighting makes your yard usable at night as well as day. Consider landscaping lights to highlight your foliage, string lights to illuminate eating areas, and solar-powered lights to take advantage of the power of the sun in creating evening ambiance.
2. Give yourself and your loved ones protection from the sun’s blazing heat with quality shade structures. From umbrellas to canopies, shades can make eating areas and seating nooks more comfortable.
3. Outdoor Seating and Play Areas. Fancy furniture might be fun for the adults, but if you have small children, be sure to include them in your design, too. Make sure there are seating and play areas for everyone who will need them. Differentiate a few seating nooks where adults can gather as well as larger, informal spaces where the whole family can spend time. Likewise, consider adding a sandbox or a tree swing for kids.
4. An Outdoor Grill. There’s nothing quite so quintessentially summer as grilling outside or picnicking on a beautiful day. Use this season to make big, healthy dinners of fresh produce like corn on the cob or zucchini grilled with herbs and oil. Getting everyone together is half the fun of spending time outdoors, and eating deliciously healthy food is icing on the cake.
5. A Fireplace. There’s nothing quite like a cozy fire to create backyard warmth and ambiance on a cool night. You could buy a fireplace or, if you’re handy, make one using DIY tutorials online. In either case, a commanding fireplace will turn your yard into a true showpiece for entertaining and relaxing.
6. A Backyard Garden. A backyard garden is more than a way to boost your summer vegetable crop; it’s also a project you and your kids can work on together. Whether you add a raised bed garden or plot out space in the yard itself, help your family connect to nature and understand where food comes from by growing from seeds or starters to a wide variety of plants.
7. Sports Equipment. Children aren’t the only ones who benefit from time to play. Give the whole family an excuse to get active and have fun by including a bocce ball court, some baseball gloves and balls, a soccer ball and other activity-encouraging features that you can enjoy together.

When it comes to smart backyard design, the key is knowing your own family and what works best for your needs. Look at the way you work and play together and turn your yard into a space that cultivates time outside! Then, when you’re hanging out with loved ones in the yard throughout this season, you can build memories and relationships that last a lifetime.

 

About the author:

Brent Derbecker is the National Sales Manager of Superior Skyspan, a shade division of Superior Recreational Products. The company designs umbrellas and shade structures for any unique space to improve your outdoor comfort and protection.

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How long will my appliances last?

We’ve not yet entered a new dawn in terms of how robust technology can be; nothing lasts forever and everything will, at some point, be beyond functionality. So what about all of your appliances at home? Considering the money you spend on each individual appliance in your home, you might be curious to find out how long your appliances will last.

Take a look at our infographic below to see the average lifespan of your household essentials.

 

Dishwasher – 9 years

Microwave – 9 years

Tumble Dryer – 13 years

Refrigerator – 13 years

Extractor Hood – 14 years

Washing Machine – 15 years

Freezer – 16 years

Gas Oven – 18 years

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5 Tips That Work When Staging Your Home

Home staging is an important part of selling your home. Especially with the upcoming generation of home buyers, visuals are everything. Most times, a prospect will first find your house on Trulia or Zillow (or one of hundreds of other sites) so staging each photo to show how a room can be used and it’s size will be a determining factor in whether the prospect decides to go to an open house or request a tour.

Here are 5 tips that really do work when staging your home.

1. Rent furniture that appeals to the majority. Don’t use some beat up couch you got in the dumpster during your college days! Many furniture stores offer pieces just for home staging! Take the time to choose items that almost everyone would like and would really draw out the positives in each space. If you have a weird corner or nook, make sure you dress it up so instead of it being an awkward area you show the potential it has by furnishing it.

2. Clean up your curb appeal. This is especially important for taking a photo. Even if you know you plan on selling next year, during the summer take a photo when your yard looks best so you have it when posting your home on the dozens of sites where prospects go to look. This will also give your prospect an idea of what the home looks like in summer even if it’s winter when they buy the house.

3. Rip off the wallpaper (unless it’s really nice wallpaper). Home buyers love neutral, clean walls. Help them envision their home by taking down your wallpaper or even wallpaper borders that could distract them from seeing their own decor in that space. This is such a simple item to do and yet many home owners just leave their personal touches without thinking how it might affect the prospects view of the place.

4. Light it up. No one wants to live in a dark, dreary place. Invest in good lighting fixtures and curtains that allow the natural light in when staging your home.

5. Invite the outdoors in. There is just something about having plants incorporated when staging your home that instantly draws the eye. Especially if someone is seeing your home during the winter, plants bring a sense of peace and prosperity to a home’s zen.

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Easy Meal Prep for the Week

The success of a healthy lifestyle is almost entirely dependent upon the food that you use to fuel your body – without fresh, satisfying options on hand, it’s easy to fall off the wagon. That’s why so many health-conscious people sing the praises of meal prep. An afternoon’s worth of cooking, packaging and preparing for the week ahead will make it nearly impossible for you to grab something that’s not in line with your goals.

All you have left to do is learn some tricks of the trade in order to make the process as easy as possible. Here are seven of them:

Find Your Recipes for the Week

You can’t determine your shopping list without first deciding what’s on the menu for the upcoming week. Many meal preppers peruse sites like healthy recipe boards on Pinterest or their favorite healthy-eating blogs to find recipes they can whip up on Sunday to last through the workweek, when time – or a lack thereof – leaves them unable to cook each day.

As you get into the meal-prepping groove, this step will become easier. You might also be able to come up with a list of go-to protein-starch-veggie combos that you can buy and cook in advance and invent meals of your own.

With dinner and lunch sorted, plan your snacks and breakfasts, too. Write everything on a chart or calendar that you can post on the fridge – and snap a picture to keep on your phone. That way, you’ll remember what you’re supposed to eat, and when, all week long.

Always Write a Grocery List

With every last snack planned out, you’re ready to hit the grocery store. Your menu makes it incredibly simple to write your grocery list. Having a list will make your trips to the store a breeze, too, as you grab only what you need to make it through the week. Furthermore, proper shopping will create a dearth of snacks and unhealthy options sitting around the house, which will help you stay on track with your preplanned menu.

The Freezer Is Your Friend

On a particularly productive Sunday, you can meal prep for the upcoming week, as well as for weeks or months in advance. If you have a slow cooker in your kitchen, then take the time to prep and freeze all of the ingredients you’d need to make a freezable slow cooker dinner. Then, on a weekday morning, you can throw the frozen base in, set it to simmer throughout the day and come home to a warm meal.

If you don’t have this appliance at home, find a big-batch soup recipe or other easy-to-freeze meal that you can defrost and enjoy when you’re in a pinch. You can also grab bags of frozen veggies that you can quickly microwave as a dinner side dish, omelet add-in or stir-fry base.

Get Roasting

Your oven has multiple racks for a reason: So you can fit multiple things inside of it at once. This comes in handy during meal prep days, when you’ll be getting a week’s worth of food ready in one fell swoop. The good news is that many meats and veggies roast at the same high temperature, so you can cook trays and foil-wrapped foods all at once.

If temperatures vary too greatly, start with what roasts on a lower temp. Once that’s done, amp it up for your second batch. This saves you time on preheating and cuts down on electricity usage and, therefore, costs.

Quick Oats? Yes, You Can

One meal-prep task you’ll likely look forward to is creating oatmeal jars, which make it easy for you to grab a to-go breakfast that’s not heavy on sugar or light on flavor. With all the ingredients sealed into a mason jar – there are plenty of recipe ideas available online, or you can create flavor combos on your own – you simply fill it with hot milk or water while you get ready for work. When you arrive at the office, crack it open and spoon into a creamy breakfast that’s fresh, comforting and satisfying.

Bonus tip: You can do the same prep for salads and green smoothies, too!

Upgrade Your Container Game

Your rag-tag Tupperware collection may have served you well in the past, but it won’t be fun trying to stack and store mismatched pieces in a cramped fridge. All serious meal preppers should have a fleet of containers that match so it’s easy to package and put away everything you’ve cooked. Make sure the new containers you buy come in an array of sizes so you can portion everything out properly.

Stick to Your Plan

Finally, the most important step of meal planning is to stay true to your plan. Find support in friends who also meal prep, or seek out a Facebook or Instagram group that shares tips, tricks and compliments. When it’s tempting to veer off course, remember that you pour hours into your prep as you draw up a menu, shop and cook – sticking to your guns makes all of the effort worthwhile.

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How to Make Your Own Soap

You should pay close attention to the quality of food you put into your body. Equally important are the types of products you use on your skin from day-to-day. Perhaps you haven’t really thought about the kind of soap you use to wipe away dirt and grime, but you should understand what ingredients are in your soap every time you purchase a bar.

Why Do It Yourself?

You’ll most likely find that many kinds of harsh detergents and synthetic fragrances are ingredients in your favorite brands. These chemicals can be linked to skin irritation, allergies and migraines. Even some antibacterials — triclosan is one example provided by the FDA — are considered a possible carcinogen.

You can avoid these health hazards altogether by learning how to make your own soap. Making soap will not only be better for your body, but is a fun way to save you money. It can even become a unique gift you share with your family and friends! Don’t worry: The task isn’t extremely difficult. You’ll need some basic ingredients and some molds to start.

Find the Right Mold 

Before setting up all your ingredients for your first homemade soap batch, you’ll need to look into purchasing soap molds to shape your crafty creations. Try using the sites Bramble Berry or Mold Market to find the silicone mold in the shape and style you want.

If you’d rather not spend the extra money, you can be inventive with what you have around your kitchen. Muffin tins are a great substitute for soap molds, or you could use a bread pan to create one large soap bar you cut afterwards. Be sure to spray your tins or pans down with oil before pouring your soap, or line them with muffin liners or parchment paper for easy removal.

Tips Before You Begin

Becoming a creator of your own soap feels a bit like being a mad scientist — from exploring new fragrances from oils and herbs, to experimenting with design and shape, soap-making is a fun and entertaining way to take care your body. You won’t be an expert immediately, and it will take some time to perfect complicated recipes.

Still, if you’re willing to start out small, you’ll soon be on the road to amazing creations. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Make sure your measurements are accurate. Use a kitchen scale in grams or ounces for the best results.

• Use distilled water instead of tap water. You won’t have any unwanted minerals in your mixtures that could interfere with the process.

• Begin simple before trying more complicated recipes.

Castile Soap

A mild, pure soap, Castile soap is a great way to begin your foray into the world of soap-making. The recipe below makes six large bars.

Ingredients:

• 20 ounces olive oil
• 2 ½ ounces palm oil
• 2 ½ ounces coconut oil
• 3 1/3 ounces lye crystals (sodium hydroxide/caustic soda)
• 8 ounces cold water
• 1 ounces of fragrance or essential oil

This particular recipe uses the cold press method and is easy to follow. Feel free to add your own herbs or petals at the end while your soap is setting.

Calendula, Oatmeal and Honey Soap

This soothing soap has oatmeal and honey to gently exfoliate and the calendula to act as an anti-inflammatory. It’s the perfect way to enjoy a long soak in the tub after a long day and makes about 10 bars.

Ingredients:

• 18 ounces white melt-and-mold soap
• 5 tablespoons calendula petals, dried
• 4 tablespoons coarse oatmeal
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 10 drops bergamot, neroli or mandarin essential oil

You’ll be sure to fall in love with the beautiful citrus fragrances and the nourishing honey after making this soap from the full recipe and process.

Drying your own Calendula Petals

If you would like to try your hand at growing your own calendula for soap or other skin-care products, be sure to choose the medicinal variety of the plant Calendula officinalis. You will want to harvest the petal once the flowers have fully opened up and you have morning sun to evaporate any dew.

Place them in a shady place on a drying screen, turning them once or twice a day until they’re as dry as paper. Finally, pull the petals off the flower buds and put them in a glass jar for storage.

Once you’ve created your first few bars of soap, you’ll never want to give the hobby up.

Feature Image Credit

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