After World War II technology took over our lives. We began to live in a fast paced world where we didn’t have time to sit on our porch or to socialize with our neighbors, thus the decline of the front porch. This allowed the criminal to move into our neighborhoods. We don’t even know the name of most of our neighbors, we don’t have time to stop and say hi let alone gather to talk, sing or play games.

Lately there has been a yearning to go back to simpler times, when life was simpler, when we knew our next door neighbor. In recent years we have seen the return of the front porch but we still don’t have the time to sit and gather with our neighbors.

So what would happen if we actually took the time to sit on our porch and get to know the people next door? Maybe this would help bring our neighborhoods back to the safe place they used to be. Maybe it would deter the murderer, the rapist, the child predator or the drug dealer from moving next door.

We need to take back our neighborhoods so that our children are safe. Maybe the answer is so simple that we have overlooked it. Maybe it is as simple as the return of the front porch. But it won’t do any good to just build a porch we will have to actually use it.

One way to implement the use of the front porch is to invite your neighbors over for a pot luck barbecue. There are many activities you will be able to come up with that everyone would enjoy.

So why don’t we turn off the televisions, get off the internet and take the time to gather on the front porch, get to know our neighbors and bring back the safe haven our neighborhoods should be.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it’s just as simple as making our front porch a gathering place.

Diana Bays is the co-owner of Mamma’s Primitive Hut. Visit her online store for your candle needs [http://www.mammasprimitivehut.com].

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Diana_Bays

The best way to start getting ready for your garage sale is to create a map of the area you will be using. This can just be a quick and simple sketch on paper. But, you are going to want to include the layout of the yard, your porch, the big tree in the center of the yard, your mailbox, etc. Once you have drawn up your map, you will want to think about the flow of customers through your sale. Ask yourself a few simple questions, like…Where are the customers going to park? Can people see my sale as they drive through the neighborhood? The answer will give you some good ideas about where your sale will start and finish and get you ready to decide where your merchandise and cashier should go.

Next, you’ll want to think about organizing your merchandise for the sale. Try creating 5 or 6 major categories, depending on what you have for sale. Clothing, furniture, books and knick knacks are all good examples of categories you would typically find at a garage sale. Once you have your categories created’ you’ll want to place them on your garage sale map, so you know where everything will go. Think about what you would want people to see first when they arrive at the sale. Then, create some simple signs that you can place with each category.

The next step – and one of the biggest ones – is deciding on what price you want to charge for each item. You may want to price some items by category (everything on a certain table is $1, etc.) and some items you will want to price individually. Whatever the case, it’s important to make sure all your prices are clearly marked and easy to read. If they are not and you are with another customer, you may lose a sale because someone doesn’t want to wait around to ask about pricing on a particular item. Before you actually start putting your items out for your sale you will want to make sure the area you are having the sale is presentable. If the sale will take place in your driveway or your front yard you should be sure to cut the grass, rake the leaves, clean up any clutter, etc.

Lastly, you will need to make sure that you have customers at your garage sale. You won’t sell many items if you don’t have customers! The best way to get customers to your sale is to advertise. You may want to place an ad on the internet and there are several sites that will allow you to post free listings that will make it easy for the savvy garage sailor to find you and you most certainly will want to place signs around your neighborhood. When it comes to posting signs, be sure to find out the rules in your community. Your neighborhood HOA and Local Township will likely have some rules about where you can place signs. You will want to post your signs at least one week prior to your sale, so people have plenty of time to see them before your sale. Make sure that the date of your sale is big and bold and easy to read.

Once your sale is over you may have some items left. A great way to help those less fortunate is to donate your unsold items.

Of course, now that you have de-cluttered your home and earned a few extra bucks by holding you sale, you may need some new items for your place. You might consider looking for a garage sale in your area!

GarageSales.com is the best FREE site to post or list your garage and yard sales, as well as search for sales in your area.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kacy_C_Manning

On a Sunday morning in November the snow started falling in my hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan. With our close proximity to Lake Michigan, we are also the beneficiaries of lake effect snow, which occurs when arctic air forms over the Great Lakes, picking up heat and moisture and depositing a “bonus” amount of snow over our region.

Within two days Lake Michigan graced us with a record-breaking total of 24 inches of the white powdery stuff. My 11-year-old son had gone out early that morning to shovel, but by nightfall there was no sign that any dent had ever been made in the snow. With my weak back, and my older daughter sick with a cold, I decided that any more snow removal efforts could wait until morning. We were just finishing dinner when my son Carman heard a noise outside and opened the door to investigate. There at the bottom of our steps, in the freezing cold, was our neighbor from across the street just finishing up from shoveling our driveway, sidewalk and porch. I was barely done with my profuse thank you’s to this young father when another neighbor walked over and began shoveling snow out from behind my car.

It’s rare that I do any baking, but coincidentally this day I had just happened to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies. I quickly sent my son out with two bags full of cookies for my kindhearted neighbors. Later, while resting on my couch, I had time to reflect, and was filled with a strong feeling of nostalgia. I was musing about how years ago neighbors used to always watch out for each other, bring casseroles when someone was sick, and take turns watching each other’s children.

And then I realized that those days aren’t gone. There are still people helping out their neighbors, like my Shoveling Angels did. However, sometimes now our “neighbors” and friends are those we have met on the Internet, and there is some wonderful, miraculous help being given via this online world. The neighborhoods may have changed, but people’s hearts have not. We have just created a neighborhood unrestricted by sidewalks and street signs.

Our friends and “neighbors” live in all different parts of this country and the world, and they do what neighbors have always done. Our inboxes have become our backyard fence, and we share our lives and laughter with each other, send our prayers, offer encouragement, and provide a virtual shoulder to lean on when needed. I’ve learned that love and friendship can come across a computer cable just as easily as across a shaded street. I am blessed and thankful for all my neighbors – the ones who live next door to me, and the ones online who live next door in my heart.

About the Author

I remember sitting on my porch in Texas watching the fireflies
light up.  My friends and I would play games catching the fireflies
and putting them in a bottle. The person with the most fireflies
won the game. Summer nights were always special times. My friends and I could stay outside light at night running and jumping on the porch swings at the neighbors house.

I can still see my grandmother sitting on her porch. My grandmother
lived next door to us. She would call to me from her porch so I could
come over and get a treat. I had several porches in my childhood
because the neighbors would gather on someone’s porch and drink
lemonade and eat cookies. Everyone’s porch was available for an
impromptu get together.

Our porch was nothing elaborate just concrete steps that lead to a
wider expanse of concrete. The porch was wide enough so that the
family could gather outside when the weather permitted and enjoy
conversations, tell jokes and find out all the latest gossip.

Mr. Henderson and his wife lived across the street. I can still
see him rocking in his rocking chair watching the neighborhood.
We considered “The Henderson’s the noisy neighbors because they
knew everybody’s business. They would tell stories to the parents
about the antics of the children. Mrs. Henderson took her seat on
the porch in the morning and made quilts with some of the older
neighbors.

When I was transferred to California, there were no porches. In
fact my friends had never experienced the camaraderie of porch
sitting. They did not know that a valuable learning experience
had somehow escaped them because they never knew the joy of porch
sitting.

Porches are making a revival all over the country. Some homeowners
are searching for that connection to their childhoods. Some
homeowners who never had a porch in childhood see the addition of
a porch as an inexpensive addition to their living space.

A porch can offer a place to eat, a quiet place to read, relax
and experience nature. Porches are used to get acquainted with
nature. Sitting outside can provide the opportunity to chat with
neighbors and get to know them. These inexpensive additions can
provide a valuable tool for building and uniting a community unit.
The porch in its simplest terms can help the neighborhood become an
extended family.

Neighbors passing by feel free to say “hello”. They just might be
invited to the porch to share a glass of water. Americans are
emerging from a cocoon weaved from their need for privacy. Americans
are stepping out from their air conditioned homes and are moving
outside on the porch to meet their neighbors and enjoy nature.

About the Author

Tim Gorman