If you live in Minnesota and Centerpoint Energy is your utility company you get FREE bathroom showerheads, FREE kitchen sink swivel faucet aerators and FREE bathroom sink faucet aerators. Special funding has been used to offer up to 3 of each type of of faucet aerator per household. These aerators are designed to reduce your hotwater usage by more than 3,000 gallons a year. They even offer the showerheads in 2 different finishes either white or chrome.

As with free offers like this in the past the demand is always greater than the supply so act now because they usually run out very quickly way before the deadline. This was just mailed out to all their customers in their monthly bill so I’d suggest calling right away to get the offer before it runs out. You must be a Centerpoint Energy customer to be eligible.

It will take 6 to 8 weeks to ship and the program ends on December 31, 2010. Quantities are limited on a 1st come 1st serve basis. For more information or to order your free showersheads and faucet aerators visit www.centerpointenergy.com/lowflow or call 612-321-5011

• Arrange for someone to check on the house while you are away.
• Alert a neighbor that you trust that you’ll be away so they can be on the lookout for suspicious activity.
• Set timers on lights or TV so it appears that someone is home.
• Lock doors, windows, garages and sheds and set any alarms that you have. Don’t leave hidden keys outside.
• Stop delivery of your mail and newspapers or arrange for a neighbor or friend to pick them up.
• turn off water valves on external hoses and the washing machine, especially if the hoses are old.
• Unplug small kitchen appliances, especially the toaster and coffeemaker.
• Check the thermostat and check the weather forcast and adjust accordingly to conserve energy
• Plan to eat any food before you go that will perish while you are gone
• If you have a trusted neighbor leave them your cell number and the phone number of where you’ll be incase they need to contact you.

We always make a list in advance of all the things we need to do and set it by the door and check it the day before so we can set the times and lock everything up. As we get ready to leave we check the list again to make sure everything has been taken care of. This gives us peace of mind that we did not forget anything. Have a happy vacation!

You can print off this article and cut it inhalf to share with a friend. Happy cleaning naturally done!