Life Happens 365 - Are You Managing the Risk?

By Diane Tait Image courtesy Pixabay If you have an electric garage door opener, you probably enjoy using it to let yourself in when you get home, especially if it’s dark or raining.   Having a modern convenience like this makes most folks feel safe and secure.   With an electronic opener, you don’t have to worry about standing outside in the dark to get inside your home.   You don’t have to worry about straining your back to open your garage door.   What a wonderful world in which we live, right?   Well, that’s exactly the sentiment that burglars feel about electronic garage door openers.   In today’s blog, I’ll show you how these devices make breaking into your home quick and easy, along with 10 ways to keep thieves at bay.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy Pixabay Now that another couple of named storms have reared their ugly heads, it’s more important than ever that your home is covered by insurance.   All it takes is one lightning strike or some windblown debris to turn a domicile into a mess.   The last thing you want is to have your property sustain severe damage only to find out your homeowner’s policy was cancelled.   What’s even worse is you only have a short amount of time to get your home covered before you face the consequences.   Before your mortgage is called in by your bank for lack of insurance, let me give you a few tips on how to deal with such a situation.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy Pixabay Face it, we’re in the dog days of summer.   This is the time of year when the outside temperature in Florida hardly ever falls below 90-degrees.   This fact alone makes an air conditioner run nearly non-stop.   Not surprisingly, it’s also the time of year we Floridians have the highest electric bills. If you’re tired of paying through the nose to the electric company, I thought I’d show you ten ways to beat them a their own game.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy Pixabay As I sit here writing this, Hurricane Elsa is predicted to make landfall in Florida today.   Having weathered my share of hurricanes over the years, all I can say is that while the threat of wind and water causes many homeowners to lose sleep at night during Hurricane Season, there’s one peril that all too many ignore: CO poisoning.   Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can incapacitate and kill in minutes.   Before you start firing up that portable generator or breaking out the camp stove, there are a few things you need to know.  

  By Diane Tait Image courtesy Pixabay Poet Joyce Kilmer said it best. “I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree.”   Trees are without a doubt a source of joy and wonder.   They provide a home for songbirds, a source of shade, they help mitigate noise and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, plus they protect property from wind and weather.   A live oak can reach sixty feet in height and have a crown spread of one hundred feet or more.   Festooned with long beards of Spanish moss, live oaks are one of the majestic emblems of the deep south.   That being said, when hurricane season rears its ugly head, live oaks and other large shade trees can do a great deal of property damage should they topple over or shed a trunk-like limb.   To help you keep your chi in harmony with your trees, I thought I’d take the time to tell you ten things you need to consider when it comes to maintaining the trees that adorn your property.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy flickr If you’re like most Americans, COVID-19 is still cramping your style more than a month after the pandemic begun.   That means you’re spending a lot more time at home since there’s precious little to do.   Instead of whiling away the time watching TV, I’ve got a better idea.   Why not take the time to organize your garage?   Intended to house a car or two, the garage in most homes has become the catchall area used to store everything from household chemicals and tools, to disused furniture and toys.   If your garage has denigrated into little more than a household warehouse that’s chock full of junk, now is the time to roll up your sleeves and clear it out.