Remember - It's the thought that counts! Tips for Returning Gifts

Use these seven tips for stress-free holiday gift returns:

1. Find that receipt. Even though some retailers can be more lenient with their return policy during the post-holiday rush, you will be able to speed through the returns process when you bring your receipt. Whether it's a purchase receipt or a gift receipt, do whatever you can to find the original or get a digital version of it for the return. Some stores may only offer store credit or a gift card if you try and return the item without a receipt. Others may be able to process the return if you paid with a credit card or if you shared your phone number when you paid with a check or cash.

2. Review the return policy closely. Make sure you return the item in the store's return window, and return it to the right location. Some retailers that have both an online outlet and a brick-and-mortar store may have a limited return policy. For example, you might only be able to return something that was purchased online to the online store, which means you may have to cover the cost of shipping it back. Review the receipt or invoice closely for the return policy so you don't waste time making an extra trip to the store or wasting money.

3. Avoid the post-Christmas sales. The few days right after Christmas are still prime shopping days, which means you'll deal with long lines and slow customer service. If you can wait until the first week of January – or later – to take care of holiday gift returns, you may find it easier to get the refunds or credits you want. Map out your schedule so you can completely avoid the post-Christmas shopping rush.

4. Double check your items. Some stores won't accept items that have been opened or appear to be used. Make sure you double check your items so that everything is still in returnable condition. This will prevent you from waiting in a long line at the customer service counter, only to find out that the store won't honor the return. If the item has been used or cannot be returned based on the store's policy, consider listing it for sale on eBay or Craigslist, or even trading or selling the item on Facebook Marketplace.

5. Bring a form of identification. Even if you're a frequent shopper or have a store credit card, the customer service representative may need to see a form of ID to process your return. Make sure to bring your driver's license or another form of ID to get through the returns process as quickly as possible.

6. Be prepared to pay a restocking fee. If you're returning electronics or other items that have been opened but are still unused, the store might charge you a restocking fee. This can be up to 15 percent of the purchase price, so make sure you are aware of this fee when you return items that cost a few hundred – or even a few thousand – dollars. Consider whether you may be better off selling the item online or posting a local ad for the new item. You might be able to recover the full cost of the item so you don't have to pay a restocking fee.

7. Have a back-up plan for damaged goods. If the item you are returning is slightly damaged and the store will not accept the return, be prepared to ask for a partial store credit, or to sell the item on your own. Even if the damage wasn't your fault, many stores will not accept the item if they cannot sell it easily. Have a back-up plan so you can get the refund you need.

12 Tips for a Better Night's Sleep

Learn the secret to getting good sleep. 

These simple tips will help you sleep better at night and be more energetic and productive during your waking hours.

1. Ensure that you are getting enough sleep. Voluntary sleep deprivation is the most common cause of daytime sleepiness. We all tend to shortchange our hours of sleep to get more work done, watch more TV, etc. Make sleep a bigger priority and give it the respect it needs. Although some can get away with less, most people need seven or eight hours of sleep per night to get all the benefits of good sleep.
2. Reserve the bedroom for sleep and intimacy only. Other activities, such as watching TV, reading, planning, having conversations and eating should be reserved for other rooms. Your brain needs to know that this is the room where you sleep.
3. Along with No. 2 above, ban all television sets, computers and smart phones from the bedroom. Their lights and sounds are disruptive on so many obvious levels, but here's one side effect you might not know about: The bright light emitted from their screens can suppress melatonin, a hormone that's normally released during periods of darkness to help us stay asleep.
4. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine suggests that you think of your bedroom as a cave: a place that should be cool, quiet and dark. Most people need a drop in body temperature to prepare for sleep, and a cool room helps with that. But your room shouldn't be so cold – or warm – that you are too uncomfortable to sleep. Fiddle with the thermostat until you find the sleep temperature that works best for you.
5. Set a regular bedtime and wake time, and stick with that schedule consistently – even on weekends.
6. If you find that you are lying awake for what seems like more than 15 or 20 minutes, get out of bed and engage in some form of relaxing activity, such as reading, outside of the bedroom – nothing too stimulating – and then return to bed when you feel drowsy.
7. Expose yourself to bright light first thing upon awakening. That stimulates the time sensors in your brain to establish that wake time. If it's still dark or gray out when you get up, consider investing in a full-spectrum therapeutic light box (10,000 lux is recommended). Follow the instructions on the package – you don't have to look right into the light. Sitting in front of the light for 30 minutes while you eat your breakfast or read the news can help you feel more awake. Light therapy also helps reduce the symptoms of a form of winter depression known as seasonal affective disorder.
8. Avoid napping, particularly in the late afternoon and evening. Any napping during the day will detract from deep, consolidated, prolonged sleep at night. If you slept poorly the night before – and we all do, every once in a while – don't make up the hours with a nap the next day. It'll only detract from your sleep the next night, and could start a cycle of daytime napping and nighttime sleeplessness. Instead, try to power on through the day, knowing that the next night's sleep will be that much better.
9. Avoid caffeine after noon – or earlier for some, depending on your bedtime. Caffeine has a half-life of 4 to 6 hours, which means that it takes that long to eliminate half of it from your body. A little in the morning, when you get up, shouldn't bother you by bedtime. But drinking caffeine after noon could cause sleep problems.
10. Avoid tobacco. Like caffeine, nicotine is a stimulant that can interrupt sleep. Many smokers light up before bed and have trouble getting to sleep, or wake up in the middle of the night to smoke and then have trouble falling back to sleep. For deep, restful sleep, avoiding tobacco altogether is your best bet. 
11. Limit alcohol to no more than one to two drinks, and avoid it completely within three hours of bedtime. Some people think that alcohol helps them sleep, but the opposite is true. It may help you nod off more quickly, but it impairs sleep during the second half of the night, resulting in less restorative sleep and reduced sleep time overall.
12. Avoid large meals and excessive fluids within three hours of bedtime. Overeating too close to bedtime can cause digestive issues that disturb sleep, and the more you drink before bedtime, the more often you'll wake up needing to use the bathroom.  

Nearly everyone has an occasional sleepless night — but if you often have trouble sleeping, contact your doctor. Identifying and treating any underlying causes can help you get the better sleep you deserve.

Protect Your Home this Winter From Freezing Pipes

What’s worse than a major home maintenance disaster? How about several major home maintenance disasters at once? For the quarter-million families who have their homes ruined and their lives disrupted each winter because of frozen water pipes, frigid nights can very quickly turn to ongoing, inconvenient, extremely expensive ordeals.

The cold weather and freezing overnight temperatures are here to stay. Use these simple tips to avoid waking up to frozen pipes:

1. Insulate all water pipes from cold moving air and keep them dry. Locate the main water shut off in case you need it. Leaks often happen if the pipe is thawed out.

2. Use either heater tapes wrapped around the pipes or a heated reflector lamp in a dry enclosed space. On cold nights, check the light to see that it is working. The heater tapes work by a built-in thermostat. In order to work, the tape must be wrapped between the pipe and the insulation.

3. If electric power is unavailable or is lost, let the water run no faster than a slow constant drip; this is cheaper than repairing it. First start a slow drip on the hot side faucet, then a faster drip on the cold side faucet. There is no need to run a lot of water. Bathrooms can be cold, as long as they aren't freezing.

4. Remember to insulate and heat the drain lines in crawl spaces and cold basements. Again, a heat lamp focused on the drain p-trap will keep it from freezing if it is also protected from moving cold air with a boxed enclosure that you can build yourself.

5. To thaw a frozen pipe, first check the pipe in the area of the freeze. Some plastic or copper pipes will split and will flood the area when thawed. If the pipe looks busted or has a slit in it, call a plumber. If the pipe is all metal, it can be thawed by connecting a welder onto the pipe on each side of the frozen part. After a while it will be running again. This is just like connecting starter cables to the car battery, but with much longer cables.

6. It is far better to heat the area around the frozen part with an electric space heater, a hand-held hair dryer, or a heat lamp in a reflector to prevent a fire. If this is a problem, call the plumber. Some of them don't mind if you watch them as long as you are quiet and not in the way.

7. Always disconnect your water hose from your outdoor spigot in the winter, or before the temperature in your area drops below freezing. The water inside the hose can freeze, and the freezing continues back into the spigot until it reaches your pipes. If you have PVC plastic piping leading to this spigot, it will burst.

8. Use a temperature-controlled thermal convection powered hot water recirculation valve (which does not require electricity to operate) to continuously circulate warm water throughout your hot and cold waterlines anytime the temperature is below the user chosen set point 77F-140F. Unlike heat tape which only heats the pipes, this process circulates water non-stop to prevent crystallization and freezing no matter where the pipes are hidden. Note: This method requires that the valve be installed at a higher level (2nd - 3rd floor) than the water heater. Circulating water throughout your system non-stop will also increase your water heating bill.

9. Use a product called ICE LOC which prevents pipes from rupturing by taking up the expansion of the frozen water. It's an elastomer that fits inside pipes that are in trouble areas.

10. Use a RedyTemp, a device which utilizes an internal water contacting temperature probe to monitor the temperature of the water inside the pipes. Depending on the temperature set point you choose on the unit's temperature dial, it will circulate as needed to maintain the selected temperature. The RedyTemp optimizer installation is a DIY project and takes twenty minutes to install under a sink. Disconnect one end of the existing faucet supply lines and connect to the RedyTemp. Connect the two faucet supply lines which come with the RedyTemp. Plug the unit into a standard wall socket and set the desired temperature set point. Users can gauge the effectiveness of their chosen set point by opening a cold water faucet and feeling how cool/ambient/warm the water is it comes out of the tap, and adjust the set point until optimized.

For more information, please contact a licensed plumber or building professional.