Unknown Household Cleaning Tips and Tricks: Oct 07

Decorating your home?:

Make it safe - remember that many trick-and-treaters will visit you at night, so be sure to remove any cables or cords from your walkways or front steps that might cause them to trip.
Light it up - not everyone in the neighborhood will be home or celebrating the holiday. If you want lots of visitors to your front door, be sure to "light it up." This gives adults and children reassurance the your home is safe for a visit.
Keep flames away - while candles, jack-o-lanters, matches and lighters are all part of decorating, be sure to use common sense when putting these items out. Remember with the dry weather a battery operated light may be safer than your traditional candles and provide the same effect. Also - open flames on your front porch could catch a stray Harry Potter cape or Cinderella's dress, so keep burning candles away from your front door and trick or treaters.
Here kitty, kitty - pets scare too. If your pets don't enjoy visitors, they will become especially agitated at multiple visit from ghosts and goblins. Give them a special treat that night, and maybe tuck them away in a spare bedroom until the festivities are over.
Where did I put that power strip? - over the years outdoor decorations have become more and more visible. But remember to always ensure your outdoor lights are ULC certified, check for broken lights or damaged cords, and never overload extension cords or use power strips outside.
Shhhhhhhhhhh, don't wake the neighbors - remember that not everyone celebrates the same holidays. During your trick or treating this season; have fun, but remember to respect your neighbors.

Other Halloween Quick Tips

Candy - Kids will be less likely to eat candy when out trick-or-treating if they had a big meal before leaving the house. Try making goolish pizza or other foods to get them in the spirit. There are some GREAT Halloween recipies at www.allrecipes.com
Costumes - Costumes should fit. Poorly fitted costumes can cause kids to trip, limit their ability to see cars and others, and possibly injure your child.
Carving - Carving pumpkins is a great part of the holiday, but encourage younger children to draw or paint faces on the pumpkin and save the knives for later.

Precautions: As always, we simply provide these tips as things that have worked for our homeowners and customer service managers. Monte Hewett Homes makes no claims or warranties on these tips and tricks. Common sense should dictate in most instances.