DIY Life

House fires are one of the most devastating accidents, and a home in our neighborhood was recently victim of a fire that started in their garage. Luckily, the young couple had a fire safety plan in tact and practiced it often. It sounds corny, but saves lives. View the below video for additional tips to keep you safe in the event of a fire in your home:


Keep in mind, although two-thirds of American households have a fire escape plan, only about a third of those have practiced it. Practice makes perfect. I know you're probably thinking, "I don't have time for that" or "Are you kidding? I have better things to do" but the truth is, you can't afford not to practice your fire escape plan with your family. Shoot for a memory refresh every six months. You'll be glad you did if a fire ever starts in your own home.

Be safe, DIY-ers!

I can imagine that cracking a safe under pressure would be somewhat frustrating. If you are unsuccessful, though, it is probably not a good idea to leave an angry note.

News of the Weird reports that not only did the amateur thieves express their displeasure at being unable to cut into the safe ("[expletive] you and your safe"), but that they were caught speeding away from the scene, license plate in full view of the on-the-ball security officer.

Now, I'm not saying it is easy, but I wonder if this father and son team did their research before they tried to break into the safe at the Iowa golf club they attempted to rob. A simple Google search will get you videos on how to crack a safe and a complete guide on how safe-cracking works.

Perhaps these would-be robbers should have started small, and read Francesca's post on how to crack a combination lock in twelve seconds. They might have gotten away with at least a cool bike or something....

Did you all enjoy your Independence Day? I hope that you were able to celebrate with a safe fireworks display, either an organized event in your town, some (legal!) fireworks in your own backyard, or even a national event on your big-screen TV.

What I hope you didn't do was to try and DIY your own fireworks display -- not safe! In fact, one young man was so, shall we say, questionably innovative, as to try to become his own fireworks display.

Yes, I'm serious. After the break, I'll tell you exactly what he did.

One of the worst fates to befall family and home is a raging fire. The result can be a small as a nuisance clean-up job to the worst of all - the death of one or more family members. Having fire extinguishers close at hand can make the difference. But not all extinguishers are the same. Let's have a look...

• Type A: for use on paper, plastics, and wood.
• Type B: for use on gasoline, paint thinner, or other flammable liquid.
• Type C: for use on electrical fires.
• Type D: for use on flammable metals.
• Multi-class types: These are a combination of two or more of the above types. Often, these are the most handy to have around the home.

The key to using an extinguisher effectively is summed up as PASS.

• Pull the pin.
• Aim the nozzle.
• Squeeze the handle.
• Sweep the spray at the base of the fire.
  

Be sure all members of the family know how to do this. As cheap as fire extinguishers are, it wouldn't hurt to buy a few and practice so the reaction in an emergency will not be confusion and panic.

For children, a homemade Halloween costume can be the best kind. They get to pick the most intricate details and stay up late working with you until it's "just right". Personally, I'm a huge fan of DIY Halloween costumes. If you are planning to make costumes this year there are some important things to remember. This check list from Essortment will help you keep safety in check while creating the next great costume.

Costume Safety Checks

1. Ensure the costume has proper ventilation
   Any homemade mask needs vents at the nose, mouth and top of the head. Children often think they are breathing fine, until there is a real problem. They likely won't notice discomfort as quickly as we would, so you're best to make sure that there is plenty air circulation. make sure you test the mask out at home before sending them out in it.
   
2. Use flame resistant materials
   With awkward clothes and big capes there is a big risk of getting caught in the flame of a jack-o-lantern or by some other fire source. Commercial Halloween costumes are required by law to be flame retardant. If you're sewing something yourself, the fabric you choose is likely not. Choose a material that is flame resistant or consider applying a separate coating of flame retardant.
   
3. Make sure there is proper visibility
   If you have to use a mask, keep eye holes as big as possible. Children will quickly feel disorientated if they only have partial vision.
   
4. Allow for a good range of motion
   Try not to design a costume that restricts motion or requires the child to hold their head or back in an unnatural position. Children should be able to move quickly and get out of the costume if needed. Think plenty of velcro.

I don't know about you, but I like to keep my money on me at all times if I can't or don't carry a purse. For some people I understand that this might be difficult if they carry large sums of cash. Since I don't have that particular issue, let's talk about where you can keep your cash stash when you are at work.

AT at Instructables has written a nice article on making a quick and easy office safe. While I don't know if I would do this for large sums of money, I probably would do it for $20. Hiding cash in a taped to death envelope might make a thief work harder to get the cash out of the envelope.

I do like the idea of putting money inside the computer cabinet. I don't think many thieves would walk away with your computer cabinet. Good luck to them if they tried. Anyway, the more I read AT's article the more I thought it useful. What about you?

If you've ever had a chest in the attic locked for years or even a shed at a rent house unopened for years, chances are you might have used a combination lock to keep prying eyes and thieves away from whatever is valuable enough to keep locked up. I know I use them instead of key-based locks just because I can't stand keeping track of zillions of keys.

Okay, the next big question: ever forget the combination to a lock? If it's a Master-brand lock (most of them are), did you know that you can harmlessly crack it pretty easily and get that darn thing unlocked with a minimum of fuss? Just don't tell any nearby, part-time thieves about this.

I have always preferred to feed my dog from a stainless steel bowl. The reasons for that are because stainless steel does not provide a porous surface for bacteria to hide in and stainless steel is so very easy to clean. Additionally, stainless steel bowls are nearly indestructible and they won't break your toes if you accidentally kick them in the middle of the night, but they make a heck of a lot of noise if that happens.

The down side is that if your dog is an aggressive eater, stainless steel bowls are fairly light and Fido may well be pushing that bowl all over the house while finishing his meal. This can actually be quite humorous if you have put something sticky in it.

The Internet can be a wonderful resource for kids. They can use it to research school reports, communicate with distant family and other kids, and play interactive games. But that access can also pose hazards to your children. For example, your 8-year-old might log on to a search engine and type in a simple word like 'Lego.' But with just one missed keystroke, he or she might enter the letters l-e-g-s instead, only to be directed to thousands of websites with a focus on legs -- some of which you can bet contain pornographic material. Remember: Any child who is old enough to punch in a few letters on the keyboard can literally access the world. And, if you have a techie child like I do, then you already know that they can figure out how to do a lot of things without your help ... while this does allow them to learn a lot on their own, it can also get them into trouble.

That being said, don't keep your children off the internet, instead learn how to keep your children safe because truth is the internet is amazing (don't let anyone tell you different.)

It's also just as important to be aware if your slightly older children are meeting people online ... too many parents say things like 'my child would never meet anyone from the Internet' ... yet the reality is that there are many kids who are looking for something more ... and when a stranger tells them how wonderful they are and how happy they can make them ... don't be fooled! Your kids (yes, your kids and mine too) will believe them.