Help a charity at no out-of-pocket cost to you

I saw this great tip on the Fly Lady mailing list (www.flylady.net). A woman wrote in saying that her grocery store was giving away a free turkey, and invited shoppers to fill in a ticket for the drawing at the cash register. Instead of her own name, she filled in the name of a charity that helps needy families. What a great idea! One of my grocery stores lets you enter a drawing for a gift certificate if you bring your own bags. I can't wait to fill in the name of our local food bank! Be sure to have the contact information for whatever organization you want to help.




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Need last minute gifts?

Here's a great last minute gift you can give from your computer! It's clutter-free, sweatshop-free, and very valuable. Sponsor an animal at Best Friends Animal Society for $25. You get to choose which animal you sponsor, and it was fun (and sad) to look through all the stories. Your greeting, along with the animal's bio is delivered to the recipient via email (printable if you need it too).

Happy giving!

Sponsor an animal at Best Friends Animal Society








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Rebooting your dryer

You are probably used to rebooting your computer every so often. Mine just starts to act funny after a few days of not being fully shut down (it has a sleep mode, so I don't always do a full shut down). I've also rebooted my Blackberry, the Tivo, and my husband's cell phone for the same reason. When my dryer started acting up, it never occurred to me to reboot even thought it obviously has a computer.

I put a load of laundry in, and went to turn the dryer on and got nothing but strange flashing lights and buttons I couldn't push. I pulled out the manual and went through the troubleshooting process and got nowhere. I went to the manufacturer's website to set up a service call, and ended up having to call them. Normally I would call Sears because they service appliances whether they are Sears brand or purchased at Sears or not, but in this case I ended up contacting the manufacturer, LG, because it isn't a common brand in the US and not everyone services it.

In a great example of customer service, I was able to get a live person at 8:30 pm, and before he scheduled the service call he walked me through a few steps, one of which was to pull the plug in order to reboot the dryer (you could also use the circuit breaker if you can't reach the plug). The end of the story is that it worked! My dryer was completely fixed.

I was lucky because the manufacturer gave me this information when they could have charged me for a service call. If you have a similar problem, rebooting your dryer might do the trick and save you the cost of a service call.





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Know where your shut-offs are

In my last post, I made a case for not running appliances unless you are home and nearby. In case of an emergency, you can respond quickly and limit the damage. For this and other emergencies, it's a good idea to know where the shut-off is for your gas, electric and water main. It's a good idea to regularly review all the shut-off procedures with anyone in your family you deem responsible enough. You don't want to be frantically trying to locate the water main shut-off while the dishwasher is flooding your kitchen.

For electric, you probably need to locate your electrical panel. All of the various circuits in the house should be labeled, and there should be one switch that will shut off all the electricity in the house immediately. If you are unsure about your electrical, schedule a consultation with a licensed electrician to help you.

For gas, locate your shut-off valve (mine is near the meter) and determine how to work it. Mine isn't a handle or switch, but something that looks like the head of a bolt which has to be turned. You could, in a pinch, use a regular wrench but it is much easier to use a specialty wrench made for this purpose. I purchased one for about $7 at a plumbing supply place and keep it near the shut-off valve. Again, you don't want to be fumbling for a wrench if you are having an emergency.

For water, you probably have a shut-off valve located somewhere on the water main between the street and where it enters your house. Mine is a handle that just needs to be turned 1/4 turn. If you don't have or can't find your gas or water shut-off valves, consult a licensed plumber for help.

This is the kind of thing that doesn't seem important until it is. It's simple enough for a non-handy person to figure out, especially with the help of a tradesperson. Don't wait until you need this information to get it.






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Appliance safety

Now that we are officially in the holiday season, your appliances might be getting more use. With company coming and entertaining to be done, you might have more laundry and dishes to wash. Here's an important tip that I am finding is not well known.

Don't use your washer, dryer or dishwasher unless you are home and near enough to monitor them.

The arguments against this are many. These appliances make noise, so it makes sense to run them when you are sleeping, outside or not at home. They also use energy, so it makes sense to run them at night when demands on the power system are less and power is cheaper. They may drain your hot water or natural gas, leaving less available for other purposes like showers. They may cause scheduling difficulties - my dishwasher takes 2 hours to run, during which I can't use the washer and probably shouldn't shower.

So why not use them when it "makes sense?" There's a risk of fire or flood damage which you can catch and address quickly if you are nearby. Yes, it's a fairly small chance, but fires and floods do happen. A good friend of mine had a short in the wiring under his dishwasher. Because he was nearby and had a fire extinguisher, it was not a big deal. Had he not been nearby, the fire could have grown, and mixing fire, water and live electricity could be disastrous.

Your dryer is also a fire risk, especially if it is not maintained properly. One of the bigger risks is not cleaning the duct of lint, which can catch fire.

It seems that I hear more about flood damage from the washer or dishwasher. A burst hose caused a 3 story flood in the condo where I once lived. A friend had a dishwasher flood that caused the need for extensive repair in the kitchen including a new floor. Consider how the two scenarios would play out. In the first scenario, you aren't home when the washer is running. The water hose bursts while the washer is filling. The water runs into your kitchen for hours and sits pooled for hours. The damage could be very extensive. In the second scenario, you are home and hear the flowing water right away and shut it off. A few gallons are on your floor, which you clean up immediately and there is no damage.

So what about your schedule? How do you do it if you work outside the home 8+ hours a day, plus commute time, errands, social time, exercise, appointments, etc? Here's a few hints that helped me. I put a load of wash on before bed (with enough time to complete the cycle). The next morning, I put that same load in the dryer as soon as I get up. By the time I finish some of the rest of my morning routine, the laundry is dry and ready to fold. I also use the Flylady "one load a day" principle, so I am never trying to find more than an hour at a time for laundry. For the dishwasher, I run it as soon as I get home and unload it before bed or in the morning. I prefer to unload it in the morning as the dishes are much drier then.

Yes, the chances of either a fire of flood happening are small, but when they happen the damages can be great. Consider what would happen to your indoor pets if either fire or flood should happen while you are out. The way to mitigate the risk is simple and has minimal cost. That's why I only run appliances when I am home and nearby.




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