Spring Forward with these Daylight Saving Tips

With the changing of the seasons, it's time to spring forward once again and change our clocks one hour forward.   Before you spring forward, now is a good time to think forward and review the safety measures in your home so that you and your family are safe and prepared for any type of emergency.  Here are some helpful tips on what to check:

1. Change all batteries in all smoke & CO detectors
2. Test all safety devices to ensure all are in good working order
3. Change furnace filter
4. Check pressure on all fire extinguishers
5. Review safety & escape plans with the entire family
6. Ensure you have at least 72 hours of water & canned food (a combination of protein and carbohydrate sources) for your entire family.  Check expiration dates.
7. Have an in-home safety kit that is stored in an easily accessible location that all members of the family are aware of its location

Items in Safety kit:

1. Blanket (s)
2. Flash light (s) - we recommend at least 1 x LCD wind up flashlight
3. Batteries
4. First aid kit
5. Candles
6. Water proof matches
7. Can opener
8. I.C.E. contact name, number, & full address - we recommend recording at least 3 individuals
9. Hand cranked radio
10. Hand sanitizer or moist towelettes
11. Specific family needs e.g. formula, prescription medication, pain reliever medication, etc.
12. Paper & pencil

Spring Forward

Spring is definitely in the air, especially in South Western Ontario. This recent spring-like weather can be a motivator to get you into your 2012 garden. Although it’s a great time to take advantage of the weather, it’s still a little early to do anything significant in the garden. Never the less, it’s a great time to get a jump on the season. Here are a couple of stylicious tips that can give you a head start:

Clean Up Your Garden – This is a great time to clean up any debris in garden, cut down any dead growth to allow new growth to come through, rake out your grass, and trim back any dead branches on shrubs and trees.

Pull Out Your Gardening Journal – It’s a great time to remind yourself of the goals you set last season for this coming season. This will allow you to schedule your time over the next couple of months to provide adequate time to complete these projects. Also, doing these projects early in the season will allow you to enjoy it throughout the gardening season. Your journal will remind you of any to-do items that you have recorded for March/April. Finally, if you don’t currently have a gardening journal, we encourage getting one now so you can record your tasks to do each month, and future hopes and dreams you have for your garden.

Sowing Seeds Indoors – With the new 100 mile diet trend encouraging everyone to eat locally grown, what better than having veggies and herbs at your finger tips, right outside your back door? This is the time of year to start planning and preparing your seeds. Most seeds require 6-12 weeks germination/growth before you can transplant them outdoors. Check your local weather trends for the average last frost date. For most of South Western Ontario, it is usually May 15-24.

Check for our next entry on How to Sow Seeds Indoors. An easy way to get ahead this season!