The End is Near...and Other Stuff

The end is near...the end of daylight savings 2011, that is. 

We get to set our clocks back one hour this weekend. Daylight savings time ends this Sunday, November 6 at 2:00 a.m. We'll lose another hour of afternoon light and the days will continue to grow steadily shorter until the winter solstice. Oh, I can hear the complaints already. "Great, now I have less time to work in the yard." "Now my morning and afternoon commutes will be in the dark." "Honey, when are you going to get around to checking the smoke detectors?" Wait, what?

Look at it this way, the beginning and end of daylight savings time can be an opportunity, twice each year (you set your clocks forward in the spring, don't you?), to perform some other routine checks and maintenance that can help make your home a safer place year-round.

• Change the batteries in your smoke detectors and CO (carbon monoxide) detectors. Even if they haven't made a peep in six months, the batteries still wear.
• Check and test your sump and ejector pumps. If there is little or no water in the "pit", add water until the float or solid-state switch kicks the pump on. If you continue to add water and the pump doesn't engage, it's probably time to replace it. Clean out any sediment that may have accumulated, as this dirt and grit can prematurely age your pumps.
• Replace the bulbs in your outside wall light fixtures. Consider going with CFL bulbs. A 25- to 30-watt CFL is equivalent to a 100 watt incandescent bulb, about 1600 lumens. What does that mean in plain english? It's bright and costs less on your electric bill. If you have motion-detecting security lights, check those too.
• If you have landscape and path lights on a transformer with a timer, make sure you reset that clock also. Check all fixture connections and replace any bulbs that have burned out. Properly maintained landscape lights can offer a measure of security as well as aesthetic value.
• Clean your gutters. In areas with large, mature trees, leaves can accumulate pretty quickly. Clogged gutters can lead to a variety of problems, including eroding foundations and ice on sidewalks and driveways in the winter. 
• If you have window wells without covers, clean those out too. Leaves and trash that build up in window wells are attractive to overwintering insects, as well as small rodents.
• Change your furnace filter. It's a good practice to change these every three months, but if you haven't gotten in that habit, now is a good time.

Those are just a few things you can do, routinely, twice each year to help secure your home inside and out. So, what does all this have to do with neighborhood watch? It's more than just watching the streets and parks for suspicious activity.  It's neighbors looking out for neighbors. That's why we're here on "the Patch".

Over the past couple of weeks, neighborhood watch groups from four different, adjacent, subdivisions have been out making themselves visible. Groups from Orchard Prairie North, Lakewood Creek, Montgomery Crossing, and Lakewood Creek West have been walking and patrolling their streets and common areas, sometimes simultaneously. I also know that the group from Foxmoor/Fairfield Way has been out as well. Five active neighborhood watch groups; all within a very small geographic area, all cooperating and communicating with each other. Pretty amazing!

All of these groups are looking for more volunteers. How can you get involved?  Chances are, your neighborhood watch group has a Facebook page and you can look them up there. Not on Facebook? Check with the ; they'll be able to point you in the right direction. 

Questions, comments, and recommendations are always welcome here.