Okay, so maybe you spent far too much on holiday shopping this year. Sure, you simply couldn’t resist picking up all those wonderful gifts. Of course, between the in-store specials and online deals, you thought you were saving money so you just kept buying presents. Now your bank account and/or credit card may be suffering from that shopping strain. Budgeting would’ve helped, but that’s a lesson you can carry forward.

Budgeting is essential for any Michigan homeowner long after the presents have been unwrapped, the relatives have left, and the lights have come down. If the only budgeting consideration you have is how to pay your mortgage and keep the lights on every month, it’s a good time to take some serious steps in creating a budget for home improvement projects and repairs.

How much is enough? Let’s use a $300,000 home as an example. If your budget is in the range of 1-2%, that means setting aside $3,000-$6,000 a year to cover planned and unplanned projects.

Consider the potential areas of concern at your Michigan home in a given year. Damage could occur from flooding, fires, storms or even sewage backup. On a smaller scale, a broken window caused by a thrown ball or a rock kicked up by a lawn mower could be another expense.

Other expenses inside the home are possible if appliances, such as hot water heater or washing machine, are damaged by disasters. If those appliances are aging or already malfunctioning, replacement will be necessary.

If you’ve never been a person who budgets, 2012 is a time to start fresh. Sit down after the holidays and assess what may need to be replaced in the coming year. Also, look back at what unexpected expenses you faced in 2011. Having a sense of what you spent overall this year on home improvement and repair will give you an idea of what’s possible in the year ahead.

When you need disaster response in Sterling Heights, Clinton Township, Grand Rapids and beyond, rely on Aaron’s Restoration. From emergency services to cleanup and recovery to restoration, the disaster experts can return virtually any home back to its original condition. Call 888-442-2766 for a free estimate today.

Santa Claus is coming to town, and he’s turning up everywhere these days. This Saturday, you can take the kids to see St. Nick at Cranbrook House and Gardens in Bloomfield Hills at noon. Maybe a 1 pm lunch with Kris Kringle at Stonycreek Metro Park in Utica sounds good. Or for early birds, meet the jolly man in the red suit at Macy’s (Oakland) in Troy for breakfast at 9 am. Yes, he sure seems to travel fast. But so do you.

Quick departures from home to get to the stores, community events, school functions, or church services can be the norm this time of year. After all, there is so little time and so much to do. But during the next few weeks, as we wrap up 2011, it definitely pays to take time for a few precautions before leaving the house every time, no matter how short the expected trip may be.

Fireplaces are the usual suspects and hopefully you know better than to leave a fire burning when you’re out of the house. But what about a clothes dryer? An unattended clothes dryer is another fire hazard, especially one with a build-up of lint. The safest option is to turn it off before leaving.

Attending that office holiday party may prompt you to use the curling iron to look your best, but leaving the curling iron on, one without an automatic shut-off, is a hazard that can lead to horrendous consequences. The same can be said of a clothes iron. These household items should be safely turned off and moved to a place they can cool off without igniting nearby fabric or material.

As a safety precaution, do a walk-through of your home to inspect for potential fire dangers. Identify what items, if left on or unattended, could spark a fire. Then, when it’s time to get on the road, assign each family member a room to check. The extra few minutes you spend now just might save you thousands of dollars later.

In the event of a fire, rely on Aaron’s Restoration for 24-hour emergency service from board-up to rebuilding. Visit aaronsrestoration.com anytime, or when disaster strikes, call 888-442-2766 first.

Weekend Events Info

This month delivers frequent festive moments during holiday office parties, visits from relatives, family meals and much more. Yet December also brings a unique set of threats at home. Michigan residents who decorate with holiday lights and put up a Christmas tree could create hazards in the home if they’re not practicing a safety-first approach.

Many of us are familiar with the holiday disasters caused by one fictional movie character, Clark Griswold of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Chevy Chase’s Clark, always over-the-top in his quest to create family traditions, covers the home and property with 25,000 lights. But decorations don’t have to be elaborate like Griswold’s to pose a risk. Even a modest amount of decorations and lighting can lead to trouble, if not set up correctly.

Published figures show roughly 240 house fires per year are linked to artificial and real Christmas trees. Another 150 house fires are linked to holiday lighting products. Among those decorative lighting fires, a whopping majority (73%) were caused by electrical problems. The list of problems most likely includes plugging too many items into one outlet and using lights that have been damaged during previous use or during the removal or packing process. A fire starting due to an item that was too close to the lights only accounted for 15 percent of the total fires.

Before decorating, carefully inspect each lighting product and test it before use. After decorating is done, remaining vigilant can reduce the risk of fires. Observe your lights daily and immediately remove any lighting product that malfunctions. Also, make it a habit to turn off lights while no one is home. When removing these lighting products at the end of the holiday season, carefully remove and pack them so they do not sustain damage before you haul them out again next year.

Aaron’s Restoration provides disaster response in Michigan in Clinton Township, Macomb Township, Saint Clair Shores, Sterling Heights, Troy and Grand Rapids. More information can be found online at www.aaronsrestoration.com. For 24 emergency services, call 888-442-2766.

Winter doesn’t officially arrive for another month, but low temperatures near the freezing mark these days are a sign of things to come. If you haven’t winterized your home yet, it’s still a good time to do it. Experienced homeowners make this a Fall routine, but newer homeowners may not recognize the importance of protecting your home from the harsh elements of a Michigan winter.

In a short amount of time, you can make real progress in winterizing your home. Keep in mind, both inside and outside areas of the home need attention. Let’s take a look at five easy steps you can get done in the next 15 minutes.

1. Winterize air conditioners. Cover a condenser unit outside or remove and store window units. If the unit cannot be removed, close the vent and cover the unit.

2. Check chimney draft. Light a roll of newspapers and observe if the smoke flows upward. If not, contact a professional to clean the chimney.

3. Insulate exposed plumbing. Use electrical tape to wrap water or drain piping in those chilly crawl spaces or attic, then cover them with foam insulation.

4. Turn off water supply to outside faucets. Drain the water first, then cover the hose bibb with an insulated cover.

5. Insulate hot water heater. Kits are available and some come with pipe insulation for hot water lines.

With continuous frigid temperatures and the threat of ice and major snowfalls, December to February can be a harsh period in Michigan. Taking care of your most important investment now reduces the risk of potential weather-related disasters in the coming months. These disasters, including pipe bursts which lead to flooding damage, can be disruptive to your comfort or even force you out of your home depending on the severity of the disaster.

When disaster strikes, Aaron’s Restoration provides 24-hour emergency services. Our service area includes Clinton Township, Macomb Township, Saint Clair Shores, Sterling Heights, Troy and Grand Rapids. Click on the link below to learn more about these services.

Aaron’s Restoration: 24-Hour Emergency Services

As the temperatures drop below freezing tonight, and then linger in the 30s for overnight lows in the days ahead, Michigan residents may be tempted to rely on supplemental heating sources to keep the family warm. These sources may include fireplaces, electric space heaters, wood burning stoves, and kerosene and gas space heaters. While they provide much-needed heat to make a late fall night more comfortable, they also pose a risk that residents should be aware of every time one of these sources is in use.

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) provides a warning about the dangers associated with supplemental heating sources. You may have missed the reminder last month or ignored it all together. But it bears repeating. Properly using supplemental heating sources sharply reduces the risk of accidental fire which can lead to serious injuries and even death.

Some of the MPSC Consumer Tips involve common sense, such as making sure the chimney flue is open before lighting a fire in the fireplace. You may have also heard that it’s safer to buy a space heater that automatically turns off if it falls over. But you may not know that sleeping while a space heater is in use is not recommended. It’s also potentially hazardous to use a gas or electric oven or stove burners to heat a home.

While carefully reviewing the owner’s manual of a heating device is always wise, the manual is not always available if lost, discarded or the device was a second-hand purchase. In many cases, you can find operating guidelines for these devices online. If not, contact the manufacturer before using a heating device with which you’re not acquainted.

Aaron’s Restoration invites you to get a full look at the MPSC Consumer Tips by clicking on the link below. Pass along the information to your friends and neighbors too. With the right information and consistent safety practices, you may not need to see us this winter.

MPSC Consumer Tips