What Helmet Should I Wear?

 Hi All,

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has a very relevant site that readers might want to visit - especially now that it is Spring and kids are spending more time outside. The link is for a site called 'Which Helmet For Which Activity?' - click here for the link.

The site does a great job explaining why helmets are so important and explains how users/parents can tell which helmet is the right one to use.  Other important questions that are addressed include, 'Will I need to replace a helmet after an impact?', 'Where can I find specific information about which helmet to use?', and much more. 

Finally, there is a helpful chart that will help parents and kids figure out which helmet to use for activities as varies as bicycling, mountain bike racing, in-line skating, karting, moped riding, motorcycling, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, baseball, softball, t-ball,and much more. 

When users visit this page - by clicking on this link - you will also see a tab at the top of the page for Toy Recall Statistics.  Click on this link to go to that part of the CPSC site.  In particular, users might want to visit this site - Buying Toys - Safer Toys from the CPSC site.  There are a whole bunch toy safety related videos that readers might want to view.

Enjoy the links and CPSC site - its definitely worth bookmarking or making a favorite!

Regards,
Stu

Fall is Garage Sale Time!

Hi All,

Garage sales are awesome! Where else can you find gently used merchandise (clothing, toys, kitchen appliances, tools, computer accessories, kids clothing, toys and more...) at a fraction of the cost that you would normally spend for the same stuff at a Wal-Mart or Target or Sears or BuyBuyBaby?  Indeed - garage sales can save you big bucks!   Which is why I'm writing about them today!  I love to save money - who doesn't!

There are 4 major garage sale/yard sale sites on the web. They are:
1. YardsaleSearch.com
2. LISaler.com
3. Garagesalestracker.com
4. GSALR.com

YardsaleSearch.com lets users look for garage sales by state or by zip code.  Users can post a yard sale and get yard sale tips as well. The site has an informative blog as well.  One of the reasons why I like this site is the 'down home', country type feel to the site.  Click on this 'About Us' link and you'll understand why you feel so comfortable on this very, very useful garage sale site.

LISaler.com is another helpful garage sale website available to users. Like the prior site, users can find a yard sale and post an ad. Users can also find professional services on the site as well.  Clicking on the 'Find a Sale' link takes you to a page where garage sales are listed chronologically.  When I looked - 10/12/14 - I found garage sales that were taking place that very same day. How is that for timely? 

Clicking on any of the garage sales links takes you to another page that includes date and time of the garage sale, a map and a link for directions to the sale and, finally, a brief narrative of what items are being sold at the garage sale.  It is very, useful and comprehensive information for someone who likes to visit garage sales on a regular basis.

Users can find active sales by city by clicking on the box on the right side of the page. Finally, LISaler has videos that users can watch.

Another garage sale website that is very helpful is GarageSalesTracker.com.  At the top of the page, visitors to the site will see a box where the zip code and a distance can be entered.  Basically the site is asking you to enter a zip code to look for all garage sales within a radius....Entering a zip code and the radius option brings you to a results page.  Contact information, date, time and more are listed on the new page.  In additions, readers can get more details about the garage sale and driving directions.  One thing about GarageSalesTracker.com - there is some advertising on the site.  Somewhat annoying, but not a deal breaker.  From the home page, users can also click on a 'Browse Sales' link at the top of the page.

Finally, users would be remiss in not looking at GSALR.com.  It has many of the same features as the previous three sites mentioned.  Users see a big dialog box at the top of the page when they first visit the site. By entering the City and State, they are taken to a page of garage sales.  But first, they have to navigate a pop-up (annoying window) that asks the user if they want to sign up for free email alerts.  The dialog box can be closed by clicking on the X at the top right portion of the box.

Beneath the box appears a map with all the garage sales that were found.  Users can zoom out to view more sales.  On the right side of the page, users can find a comprehensive list of the garage sales.  Including address, details, time and more about any particular sale. Clicking the 'Details' box brings the user to another page that includes a map, address and, in some cases a very detailed description of the garage sale.  Whew!

There you have it!  Four great garage sale/yard sale sites for the inner antiques collector/shopper/hunter in all of us.  Good luck finding what everything you need for your house and kids at these sales!

Enjoy the sites - and enjoy the weekends and the treasures that you'll find at these yard sales.

Regards,
Stu