Ready.gov recommends that you keep an emergency kit in your car with a few essentials:

When branches become heavy with ice and fall on power lines, many are left without electricity and need to find alternate sources for keeping their home warm and safe.

If you live in the South, you know this: if it snows, you can pretty much count on school being cancelled. By about day three of last week’s #snowcation, videos started popping up in my news feed of kids dancing on kitchen tables and singing their 800th rendition of “Let It Go” while frazzled parents held onto their sanity. What’s a parent to do? The web is full of great ideas that creative parents have come up with, but here are a few of my favorites:

Growing up in North Carolina, the novelty of a real winter snowfall still catches me by surprise. By being as prepared as I can, I’m able to spend time enjoying the magic of winter with my family. How do you prepare for a winter storm? Do you have any creative ideas for keeping home-bound kiddos entertained?

Tube lights are found in many applications and environments such as office buildings, hallways, garages, and really anywhere that has a low and flat ceiling. Although fluorescent tubes contain small amounts of mercury and isn’t a whole lot, you still want to avoid the breaking of a fluorescent tube and any exposure to mercury if possible.

Whether you are simply replacing a burnt out fluorescent tube with a new one or are switching over to a new technology (such as LED), there is a proper way to do it. By following these steps along with others that you may find, you will allow yourself to reduce risk of harm for yourself, staff, or whoever is the one physically replacing the tube lights.

Let’s answer some common questions and issues that people seem to face when tasked with this issue of replacing mercury filled fluorescent tubes…

By recycling rather than simply throwing away your tube lights, you opt-in for the environmentally friendly route of switching out old tubes. If you choose not to recycle, you are allowing toxic mercury to freely enter the environment, which of course is not good.

Not only do you prevent mercury from freely entering the environment by recycling, but you also reduce waste. How exactly? Part of the tube is reused for new tubes that will be resold and used. This allows for less waste and this goes back to the saying “Reduce, Reused, Recycle.” So by taking part of fluorescent tube recycling, you allow the process of recycling to continue and prevent waste from entering the landfill!

When taking your tubes out to bring for recycling, this is probably the most difficult step you need to be most cautious with. The best option you have is to be prepared and know what to do if things go “south” as they like to say.

Here is what you can do to prepare for the removal of fluorescent fixtures:

And for one thing that you should always remember for dealing with a broken tube is this: NEVER VACUUM. By vacuuming, you make glass particles go airborne and that is a highly dangerous situation to be in.

For more tips on how to clean up a broken fluorescent or CFL lights, using this tool from Earth911. It allows you to search what you need to recycle and where you are located. So you go to that tool, type in ‘fluorescent’ or ‘CFL’ along with your location and you will surely come across the closest place to recycle fluorescent tubes (along with really anything else you may want to recycle).

If you are in the process of disposing and recycling your fluorescent tubes, what is going in there to replace the ones you are removing? If the answer is “more fluorescent tubes,” may we ask why?

Now is the time to evaluate your outdoor and landscape lighting needs in preparation for the summer season.  Follow our step-by-step landscape lighting design plan and get the job done right.

Learn how to get luxurious landscape lighting effects and make your home shine by Memorial Day 2014…

Step One:  Review the perimeters of your home, including surrounding outdoor property—front yards, back yards, side yards—to see which features you would like to accentuate, such as fountains, sculpture, or flower boxes. Choose a few areas that will stand out and add a luxurious element to your home at night.

Step Two:  Scout out areas where you will need security lighting—leading up to and at all home entryways.  Take note of areas where path lighting, step lighting, and task lighting are needed.

LED strip lighting under steps, railings and benches provides excellent security lighting and may be custom-tailored to your decor. LED light strips are especially suitable for outdoor areas, as they are long-lasting and extremely durable, radiate very little heat, and use up to 80 percent less electricity than standard light sources.

Step Three:  If you have existing outdoor lighting—review your property at night to see where you can upgrade your lighting design.  Check that everything is in working order and adequate illumination is provided at all significant locations.

• Where there are large areas blanketed in darkness, consider installing a floodlight equipped with energy-efficient lamps and lighting controls.

• Equally important is to check for areas that are excessively bright. Overly bright outdoor lighting, including path lighting and patio lighting, creates glare and can actually make it harder to see at night and diminish safety and security.

Your landscape lighting should be soothing and comfortable.  Make sure that  landscape and outdoor fixtures do not cast light into your neighbors’ property.  Keep “light trespass” from invading your own home at night.

Step Four:  If you like to entertain outdoors—see that your property is safely lit for guests—pay attention to elevation levels and unusual dips or risings; boundaries defining rock gardens, Koi ponds, and small shrubs should be clearly visible.  Make sure you have enough ambient illumination for safe navigation, as well as sufficient task lighting for cooking and food preparation.

Step Five:  Lighting techniques, such as shadowing, silhouetting and cross lighting add artistry and depth to your landscape at night.  But do not overdo it.  Depending on the size of your property, select one to three key areas that will expand and complement your overall landscape lighting presentation.

• Conceal lights behind and below a statue or small tree to highlight form and create definition.

• Show off a sculpted garden,  a textured rock wall or a unique architectural feature of your home that will stand out at night.

Light responsibly.  Keep an eye on the safety.  Having top-quality outdoor lighting makes for the best “Neighborhood Watch Program.”

Light conservatively.  The most wonderful aspect of outdoor and landscape lighting is that you only need a few well-chosen light sources to deliver a great deal of illumination and an overall luxuriant feel to your home.  Compared to other home improvement projects, top quality landscape lighting adds substantially to the value of your property.

Light efficiently.  You will save money in the long run, if you invest in automated lighting systems and LED landscape lighting now.  For maintenance-free, durable, long-lasting illumination—buy your LED landscape lighting and automated control systems from a reputable dealer.

Top-quality LED landscape lighting fixture are built to last with finishes guaranteed to withstand harsh weather conditions; many come with life-time product warranties.

Find qualified lighting professionals and electricians.  Professional lighting consultants will help you design your landscape lighting to exact specifications with outdoor fixtures that are UL-listed for outdoor use; electricians, familiar with updated LED lighting systems, should be licensed and aware of current electrical codes and ordinances in your town or city.

Order your fixtures early, set the job up now with energy-efficient security lighting and luxurious landscape illumination to ensure you will be ready for summer holiday celebrations.

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