Heating Safely...

Got a couple of tips for those of you needing heat this year:

 1.  Do not use any fuel-burning space heater indoors, e.g. gas stove, grill, camp stove, etc. This is very dangerous when these items are left unattended.  Find a family member or friend to stay with instead.  However, if there is no other option due to inclement weather, etc. if you decide to use these heating sources do so with extreme caution.  Use plenty of ventilation, common sense, and turn them off if you feel unsafe at any point.

2. Be sure any furnaces or wood stoves have been inspected regularly and had any problems properly fixed.  Also be sure to inspect the stovepipe on wood stoves regularly, and if any needs replacing know what type of pipe you have whether it is single wall stove pipe, or double wall stove pipe.  Also check your wood stove gasket to be sure it doesn't need replacing before using it each winter.


3. If you do use kerosene heaters make sure you have kerosene heater wicks, heater wicks come in cotton and fiberglass wicks.  Also make sure you have your manual to your kerosene heater or know where to find one online.  Red Hill General Store has several kerosene heater manuals for your use on their kerosene heater questions page.

4.  If a power outage is not expected to last very long, the best place could be to share body heat with family members snuggled up in bed and bundled in coats and warm clothing.

5.  Another tip is for those that have wood stoves, if your power is out for very long you may have to resort to using the wood stove to cook on.  In that case, use proper woodstove cookware and be sure food is cooked thoroughly as you do not want to add food poisoning to a power outage situation.

These are just a few safety tips for keeping warm this winter.  There are many more, and each tip might vary on your particular situation.  Please share other tips, or experiences with using emergency heat in our comments.

Daylight Savings Time

We have to reset our clocks here at Red Hill General Store.  Hopefully, we don't miss any with all the excitement over our big sale we had today.

The time changes at 2:00 am. Enjoy that extra hour of sleep.  Also keep in mind that it is a good idea to change the batteries in your smoke detectors when you change the time on your clocks, safety is always a priority.  While most of you will be changing your time, we recently learned that there are a few states and territories that do not spring forward or fall back; so those of you in Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands will not be gaining that hour of sleep. 

Cold Weather is Rushing In

Hard to believe it is that time of year again.  Time to break out the coats, make sure we have emergency kits ready for power outages, and time for all those holidays.

About those emergency kits, we have a few items that we recommend that you have:

• Car charger for your cell phone.  This particularly comes in handy if the power is out much longer than expected.
• First Aid Kit.
• Flashlight or Oil Lantern (or both in case your batteries run dead)
• Bottled Drinking Water.
• Non-perishable food.
• Manual Can Opener
• Crackers & Cookies in Sealed Containers
• Treats for your Pets
• Battery Powered Radio
• Extra Blankets
• Back up heat source

There are many more things that you may need depending on preference, region (cooler regions will need an extra heat source), and more.  This list is just an idea to help you get started.  We hope you have a safe winter with no power outages, but it is better to be prepared in case of emergencies.

What are you putting in your Emergency Kit this winter?

Halloween Safety

There are so many exciting things for Halloween and so much going on this time of year, it is sometimes easy to overlook little safety measures to keep everyone happy, healthy, and safe.

• Make sure your children know not to go into a stranger's house.
• Be careful crossing streets, and be sure to watch out for people crossing while you are driving.
• Know all activities your children are attending, even older children.
• Do not use a cell phone while driving on Halloween.

Last minute costume idea?

Go as a farmer, you can stop by Red Hill General Store and pick up some bib overalls and a flannel shirt, just add some boots, a straw hat, and voila instant farmer.  Step it up a notch and add some face paint and hay at the cuffs and collar and you can be an easy quick scarecrow.

We hope you have a great safe Halloween!  What are your plans?  How are you keeping it safe?