Home safety is an important, even life-saving topic that you should teach your children about at an early age. If you educate your children on basic home safety principles when they’re young, the lessons will stick with them for a lifetime.

Learn to lock a deadbolt. Let your children know that the door should always be locked to keep them safe—even when they’re home. However, it’s important they also know how to unlock it in case of an emergency.

Arm and disarm the home security system. With thousands of burglaries happening each day, it’s wise to invest in a home security system. Teach your children how to arm and disarm the system and what to do should it go off when they’re home or sleeping.

Memorize the escape plan. Just like how elementary schools conduct fire drills, it’s important to have an emergency escape plan at home as well. Walk your children through the house to show them the safest exit routes, and designate a meeting place outside the home where family members should gather if an emergency occurs.

Know important emergency contacts. Post important contact information on the fridge or in an easy-to-access location. Teach young children how to use the phone, dial a number and ask for help. This list could include contacts such as 911, Poison Control, parents’ cellphones, a family doctor, or a trusted friend or neighbor.

Never answer the front door. Children should never answer the front door, especially if they’re home alone. Tell children to alert an adult when the doorbell rings.

Don’t climb on furniture. Heavy furniture, such as TVs, bookshelves and entertainment centers, can tip if children climb on them. You can secure these pieces to the wall studs and add nylon straps to increase security. It’s also important to teach children that climbing on furniture is always dangerous—even if safety measures are in place.

Use medicine safely. Store medicine in locked cabinets that are inaccessible to children. However, should children come across any medicine, they need to know never to consume anything unless it’s given to them by a parent or trusted adult.

Young children often imitate the actions and behaviors of their parents and siblings. Practice the safe habits you want them to emulate, and they’ll likely mimic your moves.

Source: Sage Singleton/RISMedia’s Housecall

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Losing a credit card can lead to all kinds of problems, especially if you don’t act quickly. Whether it’s lost or stolen, a credit card out of your control could be used to ring up fraudulent charges or even steal your identity, both of which could leave you with a bigger credit card bill to pay.

More than 133,000 people filed reports with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2017 stating their personal information was misused on a credit card account or was used to open a new one, according to an FTC report.

The first thing you should do if your credit card is lost or stolen is call the issuer and report it missing. The sooner you report it missing, the more you’ll be protected from fraudulent charges and your information being used by an identity thief.

Under federal law, if you report a credit card as missing before it’s fraudulently used, you’re not responsible for any unauthorized charges; however, if a card is used by a thief before you report it missing, you could be responsible for some of those charges. The maximum liability amount is $50 under federal law, although some credit cards offer zero liability. If your card wasn’t stolen, but your credit card number was, you aren’t liable for any unauthorized charges.

How to Report a Missing Card
Your credit card statement has instructions on how to report a missing card. Most companies have 24-hour, toll-free numbers. If your spouse has the same credit card, the phone number will be on the back of their card.

Call your issuer as soon as you realize your card is missing. Even if you think you might have misplaced it, you can still call your credit card company and ask them to suspend charges immediately (but temporarily) until you can determine if the card is really missing or if you’ve left it in the car or find it elsewhere.

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Want to master scallopine? Write a best-seller? Play the violin like a virtuoso? You can learn the basics from world-class connoisseurs without ever having to leave home.

Through the online magic of MasterClass.com, you can study screenwriting with Martin Scorsese or acting with Helen Mirren. Learn the art of photography with Annie Leibovitz, or the art of magic and sleight of hand with the fabled Penn and Teller.

You can play the violin with Itzhak Perlman, perfect your jazz piano with Herbie Hancock, or learn to write a best-selling thriller with Dan Brown or David Baldacci. It’s all there, at surprisingly low rates, with curricula ranging from the art of the deal to the art of cooking with Wolfgang Puck.

If cooking is your thing, you can also take lessons live in your own kitchen from culinary experts–chefs who will come to you in New York, Chicago, D.C., Los Angeles, Connecticut, New Jersey or San Diego. Find them online at TableAtHome.com, invite a few friends over and dine in. Brush up on barbecue, brunch or international cuisines, with live instruction among your own pots and pans.

Or maintain your privacy and learn to cook one-on-one via Skype with an internationally based chef. Just hang up your keys, open a bottle of wine, and video-call a chef from around the world. Master the art of paella with step-by-step instruction from an executive chef in Spain, carbonara from an Italian chef, or jambalaya direct from New Orleans. Choose your faves at TheChefAndTheDish.com, and get personal attention with a 90-minute lesson.

Personal training has new meaning these days. So indulge, and follow your passion.

How medical debt and other collection items are tallied in a credit score is changing, potentially increasing the credit scores of millions of people.

Called the FICO 9, the new credit score changes how medical collections are treated from non-medical changes, such as credit cards. A medical debt will now damage a credit score less than paying a credit card bill on time, for example.

FICO 9 came out in 2014, but the improved credit scores could just now be coming to fruition for many consumers because it can take a few years for banks and other lenders to implement the new system.

The new FICO 9 score should give responsible borrowers better access to credit and lower rates on existing credit once the changes are accepted by the industry.

Part of the thinking behind the changes is that for many people facing medical debt collections, it isn’t something they have a lot of control over. People get sick or are in an accident and can’t control how high their medical bills are, and may not even know that their medical debt is in collections.

More than 64 million Americans have some kind of medical collection record on their credit reports, according to Experian, a credit bureau. Almost all medical debts are reported to credit bureaus by collection agencies.

The FICO score is the most widely used credit score in the country, and is used by companies selling mortgages, credit cards, personal loans and more.

Another change with FICO 9 is that older collection items will have less impact on a credit score. Other types of debt that are sold to a collection agency—such as an unpaid utility bill or phone bill, school loan or rent—can still be reported to a credit bureau, but older collections will have less impact on a credit score. If the collection item is paid back, the score will improve.

I hope you found this real estate information helpful. Please contact me for all your real estate needs today!

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According to House Beautiful gardening experts, shrubs can be the stars of any garden because the plants do it all–attract pollinators, create screening and privacy, and offer brilliant splashes of color.

Best of all, most shrubs thrive for years without requiring much work on your part! Just be sure the shrub type is suited to your area, plant it where it gets the full sun or partial shade it requires, and water regularly for the first couple of seasons to help it get established.

If you’re looking to improve your home’s curb appeal, House Beautiful notes five of the best shrubs to consider for hardiness and color:

Forsythia. Best for early blooms. Nothing says spring like that first bright pop of canary-yellow forsythia. The newer varieties are more compact for small gardens.

Lilac. Best for fragrance. Ranging from pale pink to deep purple, the spikey blooms of this old-fashioned spring bloomer are sweetly fragrant and make a great hedge or accent. Bonus: They attract butterflies and rebloom throughout the season.

Azalea. Best for shade and a low profile. This attractive shrub boasts glossy leaves and spring flowers that come in nearly every shade, including red, pink, purple and orange. There are evergreen and deciduous types, so read the plant description before buying. They can make a lovely low hedge.

Rose of Sharon. Best for full sun. This plant comes alive in late summer when many other flowering shrubs have lost their steam, and it boasts pink, white, lavender or blue flowers that bloom well into fall.

Butterfly bush. Best for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. Aptly named because its fragrant blooms of white, pink or purple typically attract butterflies and hummingbirds, this sturdy shrub is compact and non-invasive, so it plays well with other perennials in mixed border spaces.

According to House Beautiful gardening experts, shrubs can be the stars of any garden because the plants do it all–attract pollinators, create screening and privacy, and offer brilliant splashes of color.

Best of all, most shrubs thrive for years without requiring much work on your part! Just be sure the shrub type is suited to your area, plant it where it gets the full sun or partial shade it requires, and water regularly for the first couple of seasons to help it get established.

If you’re looking to improve your home’s curb appeal, House Beautiful notes five of the best shrubs to consider for hardiness and color:

Forsythia. Best for early blooms. Nothing says spring like that first bright pop of canary-yellow forsythia. The newer varieties are more compact for small gardens.

Lilac. Best for fragrance. Ranging from pale pink to deep purple, the spikey blooms of this old-fashioned spring bloomer are sweetly fragrant and make a great hedge or accent. Bonus: They attract butterflies and rebloom throughout the season.

Azalea. Best for shade and a low profile. This attractive shrub boasts glossy leaves and spring flowers that come in nearly every shade, including red, pink, purple and orange. There are evergreen and deciduous types, so read the plant description before buying. They can make a lovely low hedge.

Rose of Sharon. Best for full sun. This plant comes alive in late summer when many other flowering shrubs have lost their steam, and it boasts pink, white, lavender or blue flowers that bloom well into fall.

Butterfly bush. Best for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. Aptly named because its fragrant blooms of white, pink or purple typically attract butterflies and hummingbirds, this sturdy shrub is compact and non-invasive, so it plays well with other perennials in mixed border spaces.

Hand in rubber protective glove with microfiber cloth cleaning baseboard on the floor from dust at the wall. Early spring cleaning or regular clean up. Maid cleans house.

Did your toddler scribble on the walls? Or perhaps a year or two of wear and tear have your interior paints looking less than pristine. If your walls could use a little TLC, but you’re not quite ready for a fresh coat of paint, consider the following methods for freshening up.

Latex Paints
Whether you have dirt or dust clogging up your paint job, all you need to do is mix a few drops of dish soap into warm water, soak and wring a sponge, and go. Be sure to wring the sponge to avoid long drips making their way down your walls and right into your electrical socket.

If you don’t want to use dish soap, two tablespoons of white vinegar to one gallon of water will also do the trick.

Warning: Never use a scrubby sponge, brillo pad or harsh cleaning solution, or you could risk ruining your paint job.

Oil-Based Paints
If your interior paint is oil-based and soap or vinegar just aren’t cutting it, you can safely use a mild degreaser—especially helpful on greasy kitchen walls. Just be sure to follow the instructions on your package carefully to avoid ruining your paint.

Again, avoid harsh scrubbing pads or other cleaners, or you may find yourself repainting, pronto.

Did your toddler scribble on the walls? Or perhaps a year or two of wear and tear have your interior paints looking less than pristine. If your walls could use a little TLC, but you’re not quite ready for a fresh coat of paint, consider the following methods for freshening up.

Latex Paints
Whether you have dirt or dust clogging up your paint job, all you need to do is mix a few drops of dish soap into warm water, soak and wring a sponge, and go. Be sure to wring the sponge to avoid long drips making their way down your walls and right into your electrical socket.

If you don’t want to use dish soap, two tablespoons of white vinegar to one gallon of water will also do the trick.

Warning: Never use a scrubby sponge, brillo pad or harsh cleaning solution, or you could risk ruining your paint job.

Oil-Based Paints
If your interior paint is oil-based and soap or vinegar just aren’t cutting it, you can safely use a mild degreaser—especially helpful on greasy kitchen walls. Just be sure to follow the instructions on your package carefully to avoid ruining your paint.

Again, avoid harsh scrubbing pads or other cleaners, or you may find yourself repainting, pronto.

Did your toddler scribble on the walls? Or perhaps a year or two of wear and tear have your interior paints looking less than pristine. If your walls could use a little TLC, but you’re not quite ready for a fresh coat of paint, consider the following methods for freshening up.

Latex Paints
Whether you have dirt or dust clogging up your paint job, all you need to do is mix a few drops of dish soap into warm water, soak and wring a sponge, and go. Be sure to wring the sponge to avoid long drips making their way down your walls and right into your electrical socket.

If you don’t want to use dish soap, two tablespoons of white vinegar to one gallon of water will also do the trick.

Warning: Never use a scrubby sponge, brillo pad or harsh cleaning solution, or you could risk ruining your paint job.

Oil-Based Paints
If your interior paint is oil-based and soap or vinegar just aren’t cutting it, you can safely use a mild degreaser—especially helpful on greasy kitchen walls. Just be sure to follow the instructions on your package carefully to avoid ruining your paint.

Again, avoid harsh scrubbing pads or other cleaners, or you may find yourself repainting, pronto.

Brown wooden table with bokeh image of kitchen bench interior

If you’re a fan of that rustic look, or just love to feature beautiful wood in your space, then your home may already be covered with hardwood floors below, exposed beams above and wood furniture throughout. But if you’re looking to add even more wood to your interior scheme, consider a few of the following.

Countertops. While real wood countertops may be more difficult to maintain, their gorgeous look in your space may make them worth it. Shop around with your local counter conveyor, or hire someone to create a custom job.

Ceilings. Wood ceiling panels or planks can be a great way to add a rustic, farmhouse touch from above.

Art. From wall hangings to sculptures, there is no shortage of wood art. Hit up Google to find a few pieces, or for more original work, call up your local gallery.

Accents. Wood lighting fixtures, wood coasters, wood vases or plant holders, wood-framed mirrors and more. The options are quite literally endless when it comes to spreading wood accents around your space.

If you’re a fan of that rustic look, or just love to feature beautiful wood in your space, then your home may already be covered with hardwood floors below, exposed beams above and wood furniture throughout. But if you’re looking to add even more wood to your interior scheme, consider a few of the following.

If you’re a fan of that rustic look, or just love to feature beautiful wood in your space, then your home may already be covered with hardwood floors below, exposed beams above and wood furniture throughout. But if you’re looking to add even more wood to your interior scheme, consider a few of the following.

#AnnapolisRealEstateMarket, #AnneArundelCountyLiving, #CroftonRealEstate, #DreamHome, #GambrillsRealtor, #MarylandRealEstate, #MoveWithKathie., #MoveWithKathie.#AnnapolisRealtor #AnnapolisHomes. #AnneArundelCountyLiving #AnnapolisRealEstateMarket., #OdentonHomes, #SeniorDownsizing