Oh! Christmas Tree!

The Wall Street Journal

T.J. Wisner used to buy a small Christmas tree for the downstairs floor of his home in Grand Blanc, Mich. Four years ago, though, after getting the idea from an art fair, he opted for something different: a "beer tree," bottles of holiday brews stacked on a terraced mound of inverted metal buckets.

While the family has a separate artificial tree upstairs, the "beer tree" has become the real Christmas tree. Each year, the Wisners decorate the structure with Christmas cards and pile gifts around it. "This is actually where we have Christmas morning," says Mr. Wisner, a 59-year-old life coach and speaker. "The day after Christmas, we blind taste the beers." Then the tree goes back into the Christmas tree storage bag until next year.

The centuries-old tradition of the Christmas tree is undergoing a rethink. Enterprising—and penny-pitching—people are crafting alternative trees using everything from tumbleweeds to bricks. For those who want to avoid a big do-it-yourself project, manufacturers and retailers are rolling out their own models that only barely resemble a traditional tree storage bag.

Crate and Barrel's CB2 brand is selling a new tree with white polypropylene bristles that the company advertises as "faux fir" and "unapologetically artificial." Williams-Sonoma Inc.'s West Elm and designer David Stark this holiday season introduced cone-shaped weave trees that look like they are made out of straw. And the company's catalog this year features a tree painted on a wall and decorated with a garland for sale at West Elm.

"We know that a lot of our customers are in lofts or apartments and might not have space for Christmas tree storage" says spokeswoman Abigail Jacobs.

The proliferation of offbeat trees may be a sign of a backlash against holiday consumerism—especially during these days of high unemployment. People are "trying to claim Christmas for their own in a way that doesn't fit with how Madison Avenue has defined it with thier Christmas tree storage bags," says Nancy Koehn, a retail historian at Harvard Business School.

The Christmas tree gets a makeover with more consumers making or buying alternative options -- some of which don't even try to look like a real tree. And with many consumers looking for ways to cut costs this holiday season, the pricey real or traditional artificial Christmas tree storage bags may not be in the budget this. Indeed, tree sales declined last year, according to a poll released last August by the National Christmas Tree Association, a group for growers and retailers of real trees, and Harris Interactive. Consumers purchased 28.2 million farm-grown Christmas trees last year, down 10% from the previous year, and 11.7 million artificial trees, down 35%.

"People are looking at every which way to save a buck but also continue with the Christmas spirit," says Toon Van Beeck, a senior industry analyst for IBISWorld, a market research firm in Santa Monica, Calif. Mr. Van Beeck expects tree sales to decline again this year.

The right price has led to quirky purchases. Debora Volansky, of New Milford, Conn., bought a purple tinsel Christmas tree from a pool-and-patio store last year. It was priced at $60—cheaper than your average artificial tree—"because no one wanted it," she says.

Her kids now decorate the tree with an ocean theme (This year—in lieu of a star—there's an octopus on top). "It adds color to the house, which I think is great," says the 42-year-old owner of a Web conferencing company, who already owned a pink bubble-gum colored tree which she stores in her attic in multiple tree storage bags. "The holidays are about the sparkle."

Some manufacturers are trying to appeal to eco-conscious customers who want to eschew the average artificial tree—made of plastic and metal—which growers of real trees have long denounced as neither biodegradable nor recyclable. Büro North, a design studio in Melbourne, Australia, says it uses minimal energy to produce the plywood trees it began selling online this year. The company, which says it has been getting 100 orders a week, packages the trees flat in recycled cardboard and which may then be put away in special bags made for Christmas tree storage. PossibiliTree LLC, in Northfield, Minn., started selling handmade wooden trees, which it says don't contain any toxic materials, online last year.

David Barshow's Mountain Dew tree began, in part, as a creative recycling project. In 2006, Mr. Barshow, a student at California State University, Chico, and his three roommates constructed a tree out of 400 empty Mountain Dew cans, which took three months to drink.

"There was an element of class that was lost when compared to a real tree, but everybody in Chico thought it was really cool," says Mr. Barshow, now 25, a graphic designer in Menlo Park, Calif.

They never made the tree again. "Our bodies just couldn't handle that much sugar after that," Mr. Barshow says. But the Web site they created for their tree, Mdewtree.com, still got 1,000 hits a day around Christmas last year and continues to attract new fans on Facebook and MySpace. "People email once or twice a month with questions on how to make their own and about storing Christmas trees," he says.

Some have gone as far as to make the nontraditional tree a household tradition. Mark Doeffinger, a landscape gardener in Plymouth, Mich., says he has been making his own Christmas trees for nearly three decades, ever since his dog knocked over the family tree and his wife was upset about the mess it created.

He has constructed trees out of different materials each year. One year it was hangers, and another year, old books. Mr. Doeffinger, who this year made a tree out of bricks and light bulbs, says Christmas has become a secular holiday that deserves a nontraditional tree. "The old-timer tree is really passe," he says. "The fake ones people don't like because they're fake. So I'm saying let's try something really funky."

The National Christmas Tree Association says such creations don't count as Christmas trees. "If you make a pyramid object out of bricks or whatever, that's a decoration, maybe, but it's not a Christmas tree," says Rick Dungey, spokesman for the Chesterfield, Mo.-based association. "To me, a Christmas tree is a conifer tree grown on a farm."

But some people have grown up with a different idea of what defines a Christmas tree. Mary Anderson, of Glendale, Calif., says her family used to decorate a tumbleweed with dried chillies and ornaments each year and remembers gathering around it to open gifts. The plant was much easier to come across in New Mexico where she lived and much easier to deal with in terms of storing artificial Christmas trees.

"It literally just rolled up at our door," she says. "It became sort of a tradition. It was a family joke."

Now, for the first time in years, her family is shopping for one this season to get Ms. Anderson's eight-year-old great-niece, who lives in Albuquerque, involved in the tradition. "My dad's gone, and it was just such an amazing, funny thing when he started that," she says.

Folks who own quirky trees warn that they draw stares from visitors. A few years ago, Brandi Duvall found a 10-foot-tall artificial tree that was marked 75% off, making the final price $570. The catch: It was meant to be placed upside down on the stand and had to be stored in a special tree storage bag.

Each year, the tree has caused a buzz in her neighborhood. "I had one couple come over last year, and they said, 'We just got to see your tree,' "esays Ms. Duvall, 34, of Springville, Utah. "It just grows on people."

Annual Remodeling Report Finds 4 Best Improvements For Selling Your Home

MSN

House prices are still dropping, so it pays to know which upgrades will deliver the best return when you sell your home. An annual remodeling report finds 4 basic replacements are likely your smartest choice.

Remodeling is a better investment in some years than others. This year is among the worst if you’re hoping to recoup much money when you sell, says a newly released report. Homeowners are getting back just 64%, on average, of a project’s cost, compared with 87% in 2005, according to Remodeling Magazine’s 2009-2010 Cost vs. Value report.

Some projects pay back better than others. You get more bang for the buck putting money into a basement or attic upgrade than adding a wing to the house. Some of the highest-return projects include a deck addition and quick, conservatively priced replacements of old siding, entry door or windows. (If you want a different perspective, personal-finance guru Liz Pulliam Weston calls remodeling “a waste of money.”)

The report compiles responses from about 4,000 members of the National Association of Realtors in 80 cities to survey questions about 33 hypothetical projects. “I think what the real-estate agents are saying is you’re taking a big risk if you’re buying these high-ticket items, because the market is slow. Buyers are looking for utility,” says Sal Alfano, the magazine’s editorial director. “They’re not so wowed these days as they were three or four years ago.”

A retreat from overbuilding
Some contractors are dropping their rates to get work, so it might seem a good moment, if you have the money, to do a big, blow-out addition. And maybe it is, if you can keep the house long enough. But today, a high-end master suite remodel, for example, returns just 56% of the cost, on average, compared with 80% in 2005. 

“You’re not seeing the big 750-square-foot additions being put on the side of a house like you were a few years ago,” says Martin Conneely, owner of Conneely Contracting, in Arlington, Mass. “Our biggest (jobs) right now are maintenance replacements (of windows, doors, siding and roofing), basement renovations and moderately priced upgrades in the kitchen and bath.”

Despite widespread talk of falling labor prices among remodelers, the cost of construction overall hadn’t changed much.  Return on investment (ROI) is dropping because, in a market flooded with foreclosures, even if labor costs are dropping, the price of existing homes is at such a discount that anything newly built can’t compete.

The 22-year-old Cost vs. Value survey makes clear that return on investment depends greatly on where you live. The highest payback is in the Pacific region (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington). There, although costs are double the next-most-expensive region (the Mid-Atlantic, including New Jersey, New York and home remodeling Pennsylvania), high resale values more than compensate.

Peter Michelson, CEO of Renewal Design-Build in Decatur, Ga., cautions homeowners to be aware that projects described and priced in this report can — and often do — cost considerably more than the amounts given.

ROI is better in the West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma), South Atlantic (Washington, D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, the Carolinas, Virginia, West Virginia) and East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee) regions.

Residents of the Mountain states (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico) and New England (Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) enjoy average returns.

It’s hardest to make a buck back on your project in the Middle Atlantic, West North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, the Dakotas) and East North Central (Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin) regions.

The math didn’t always come out so poorly. As recently as 2005, few homeowners bothered to figure out if their plans meant overbuilding for the neighborhood, Alfano says. They just commissioned the work they wanted and assumed prices would rise to cover their costs.

They were largely correct until 2006, when payback began shrinking along with the scale of jobs that homeowners were undertaking. “The projects that were evaluated as having the most return were not kitchens and baths so much anymore. All of a sudden it was these exterior replacements: roofing, siding and windows,” Alfano says.

It was the beginning of the end of the housing boom. “Today, resale value has come to the forefront. People are much more conscious of building for the neighborhood, and they’re worried about their mortgage rates and their jobs.”

Basic replacements rule
As a group, low-cost replacements — new siding, windows, doors and roofing — deliver the best bang for the buck now, a considerably better payback than from a two-story remodel or a kitchen remodel.

Given great improvements in materials, you can replace your inefficient 10- or 15-year-old products with highly efficient ones for a decent return when you sell. In addition, the improvements help you save on heating and cooling bills. Replacing leaky windows with highly efficient newer ones is a good example. The technology behind the glass and frames has so improved that you’re tightening up your home’s weatherproofing in the process. You get more comfort and, from the real-estate agent’s point of view, new windows show off your house from the street.

Replacement projects included in the Cost vs. Value survey all cost less than $20,000 and most cost considerably less. They instantly enhance curb appeal, boosting a home’s marketability, and they require little maintenance once installed - all of which are better prospects than with a home addition. A bonus: Most of these replacements qualify for a federal tax credit for energy efficiency (not included in Remodeling Magazine’s ROI calculations).

1. Replace the front door.

    * The absolute best return on the money of any of the projects surveyed — 129% of cost — is gained by replacing a beat-up front door with a $1,200 steel-shell door filled with foam insulation.
    * A new fiberglass door (more expensive, at $3,490) returns less, about 65%. (Fiberglass is the new chic building material because it’s rugged and durable, can be painted and will mimic almost any wood. Unlike wood, it doesn’t crack, warp or shrink and needs zero maintenance.)
    * Spend about $7,500 on an entire new entrance, including a widened opening, a solid-core wood door and high-end glass, new lighting and better locks, and you’ll recoup 69%, on average.

2. Replace home siding

    * Replacing old siding with a durable fiber-cement product ($13,287) recoups about 84% at resale.
    * Use vinyl siding ($10,607) to get an 80% return.
    * Foam-backed vinyl ($13,022) costs more and earns back less — roughly 79% — but it is much more efficient at insulating a home.

3. Replace windows. Three of the four window-replacement projects considered in the survey pay back about 77%:

    * Wood-trimmed windows ($11,700).
    * Lower-end vinyl windows ($10,728).
    * Windows trimmed in higher-end vinyl ($13,862).
    * The fourth project, higher-end wood-replacement windows ($17,816), has a return of about 72%. Fiberglass windows weren’t included in the study.

Replace the roofing: Spend $19,731 on new fiberglass asphalt shingles and you’re likely to recoup about 67% of the cost.

    * A higher-end roof replacement using standing-seam metal ($37,359) pays back about 61% of the cost, agents told the survey.

Additions aren’t cost-effective
Except for a new deck, which pays back nicely, adding to a home’s footprint brings a poor return these days.

A new deck
    * Wood is high-maintenance, but homebuyers love it: A new wood deck ($10,634) returns 81%.
    * New outdoor decks of midrange composite planks ($15,373) return around 71% of the cost at resale.
    * A higher-grade composite ($37,745) brings an ROI of about 61%.

Other additions
    * Adding a 200-square-foot sunroom ($73,167) recoups 51%. [Find a Sunroom Builder in Grand Rapids Michigan]
    * A high-end ($225,995) master suite project, adding 640 square feet to the house, including a bath with walk-in shower and stone walls, brings a 56% return.
    * A less ambitious, less costly ($103,696), 640-square-foot master suite addition including whirlpool bath and ceramic tile recoups 65%.
    * A garage addition ($87,230) earns back about 56%.
    * A high-end bathroom addition ($75,812) earns about 58% at resale.
    * Adding a midrange, 6-by-8-foot full bath ($39,046) recoups about 60%.
    * Add a midrange two-story wing ($156,309) to the house, including 24-by-16-foot first-floor family room and second-floor bedroom and full bath, for a return of about 69%.
    * A midrange family room addition ($82,756) returns around 65% of the cost.
    * Adding a sunroom or home office were the projects that yielded the least payback, presumably because these special-purpose rooms appeal to fewer buyers and are in less demand.

Best use of the money (besides replacements)
Upgrading existing space, such as a bathroom remodel, is the best bet for recouping cost. It makes sense: Pouring a foundation, framing a structure and bringing in electricity and plumbing are among the most expensive aspects of a building project. When you can largely skip these steps and increase your usable space, the payback is richer:

    * An attic conversion, including a 15-by-15-foot bedroom with dormer and a 5-by-7-foot bath with shower ($49,346) returns comparative gold: 83% return, on average. Agents in several cities said this job would return more than 100%.
    * A basement ($62,067) remodel —a 20-by-30-foot entertainment room and 5-by-8-foot full bath — recoups about 75% of its cost.
    * A midrange 5-by-7-foot bathroom remodel ($16,142) with standard fixtures and trim has a 71% ROI.
    * Expanding that bathroom to 100 square feet ($52,295), including moving plumbing and wiring and adding higher-end cabinets and fixtures, brings a 62% ROI.

Kitchens and baths: Scaled back but ever popular
High-end kitchens and baths are fading in popularity, replaced by “very practical things,” Michelson says. “The $400,000 and $500,000 jobs are few and far between. The jobs between $50,000 and $200,000, we’re doing lots of those.”

Bath and kitchen remodeling hasn’t stopped, since these projects maximize the enjoyment of the most-used spaces in a home. But “people are definitely being smarter with their money,” Conneely says. “For instance, a $75,000 remodel five years ago? That same client would today spend $50,000.” People who blithely bought the best of everything now pursue the same look by choosing materials judiciously.

    * A minor kitchen upgrade ($21,411) installing new cabinet fronts, laminate counters and other cosmetic improvements is a decent investment, at 78% ROI.
    * A major kitchen remodel ($57,215) using midrange materials — semi-custom cabinets and laminate counters — pays back about 72%.
    * A high-end major kitchen remodel ($111,794) with top-of-the-line cherry cabinets, stone counters, glass backsplash and expensive, built-in appliances, pays back just 63%.

Affordable Innovations In Housewares

Hartford Courant

Are we really nesting more? Has the bad economy kept us at home more, cooking, cleaning, watching television and inviting friends for a meal?

The International Housewares Association thinks so. According to the trade group, some consumers are waiting until the economic outlook brightens before plunking down big bucks for a flat-screen TV or a top-of-the-line vacuum cleaner or kitchen appliance. But more affordable options — a serving platter, kitchen utensils or a time-saving gadget for cleaning the house — are still separating buyers from the money.

"Consumers have tempered their behavior slightly but tempered it less in our industry," says Perry Reynolds, vice president of marketing and trade development for the Chicago-based International Housewares Association. "They are spending more time at home with family, eating in and entertaining. Sales of coffee and espresso makers and home entertaining [goods] have all gone up."

Independent retailers, as opposed to chain stores, are one of the association's "bellwethers," Reynolds says, "and they tell me that their business is pretty good. They are telling me that people are postponing major investments or tailoring a purchase in such as way as to feel good about the investment." A cook who needs or wants indoor grills or new pots and pans may pass up the 19-piece set of cookware for a smaller set or a few well-chosen pieces, he says.

The economy is a factor in how housewares manufacturers design and price new items. Manufacturers have paid more attention in recent years to the balance of design, function and value. "Consumers want functional products at fair prices," Reynold says, adding that they don't want to give up great design.

Those three characteristics — function, design and value — were woven into the "Affordable Innovations" theme of a recent Housewares Association preview in New York of new products either just arriving in stores or on their way. About 20 manufacturers displayed their wares, ranging from cleaning supplies and clothing storage systems to tabletop appliances and deep fryers.

Have Food, Will Travel

Hamilton Beach Kitchen Appliances showed two electric cookers that can save time and money. The Stay or Go 5-Quart Slow Cooker ($39.99, www.hamiltonbeach.com) was designed in response to research showing that 78 percent of slow-cookers use their pot to cook and bring the food to another location, says Betty Byrne, manager of the Hamilton Beach test kitchen. The pot has an oval-shaped dish with a tight-fitting seal and canister clips to keep the lid in place. With its stainless steel exterior and bright red accents, the pot also has style.

Steamed On Schedule

Hamilton Beach also has taken rice cookers and food steamers to the next level. The Digital Simplicity Deluxe Rice Cooker/Steamer ($59.99) offers a timer that can delay cooking up to 15 hours in advance. In addition to steaming rice, the machine has a whole grains setting for cooking beans, barley, quinoa, oats and other grains. Byrne says that she uses the delayed start and the whole grains setting to have a hot cereal of barley, oats and dried apples ready for breakfast when the family gets up. There also is a boil and simmer feature for packaged rice mixes.

A Snap To Make The Bed

One of the most novel products at the show would make Martha Stewart — or any compulsively organized person — proud. Fit & Fold ($9.99, www.fitandfold.com) is a set of four color-coordinated buttons that make folding a fitted sheet a cinch. The two-piece buttons snap into place in each sheet corner but do not pierce the fabric. The buttons then snap together to create straight corners. Each button also is labeled with the name of the mattress corner (top right, bottom left, etc.) to put the oblong sheet on the mattress correctly on the first try.

Sleek Toaster
Another counter-top appliance for daily use is the Bistro Flatbed Toaster ($79.99, www.bodumusa.com) from Bodum USA. European in style and available in bright colors, these toasters are a cross between a toaster oven and a grill. Unlike a traditional toaster, the flat surface offers a large enough space to toast larger slices of bread, bagels, croissants and baked goods or to reheat tortillas and pizza - more like toaster ovens.

Space Case

To make space in a closet, organizing experts suggest tossing any clothing not worn in a year. But for people who can't part with a favorite sweater or jacket — or hope that it will come back in style — items from ITW Space Bag's line of storage accessories ($9.95 to $19.95, www.spacebag.com) will come in handy. The Cube Tote is a collapsible bin with handles that holds an airtight, water-tight Space Bag. For the show, the bag was filled with 24 sweaters and six pillows, but the bulk was compressed to a fraction of its size when air was removed from the bag with a home vacuum cleaner. A travel version of the space-saver can reduce volume up to two-thirds. The new Travel Cube has a wide opening, a gusseted bottom and a double zipper. The air can be expelled from the bag either by hand or with a vacuum cleaner.

Throw-Away Style

The new generation of disposable plates, cutlery and serving pieces looks like the real thing. Mozaik plasticware ($1.49 for individual pieces to $9.99 for sets, www.sabert.com) has the appearance, but not the weight, of china and stainless steel. This collection has style: rectangular and square plates, platters and bowls in addition to classic round, and an appetizer set of small square plates with mini "silverware." Some items are already available under the First Impression label at CVS and BJ's Warehouse stores, but the Mozaik label will cover the whole collection by next year.

Bright Ideas

When the news is depressing or the weather drives folks indoors to a warm spot, a cooking project can nourish both the appetite and the psyche. And what combats the blues better than color, the brighter the better?

The Komachi 2 collection of knives from Kai USA ($7.95 to $9.95, www.shuncutlery.com) markets its color selection as a way to prevent cross-contamination of foods when prepping ingredients. The brilliant hues — royal blue, lime green, magenta, violet — will perk up any kitchen. The blades are made of high-carbon stainless steel for a sharp edge and bonded with a food-safe, FDA-approved liquid color coat that helps resist corrosion.

Knives this good-looking and functional shouldn't be tucked away in the drawer. The company offers a nine-piece set, including serrated bread knives, an 8-inch chef knife and a paring knife, in a countertop acrylic block ($89.99).

Kids, What's For Dinner?

Also brightly colored, functional and sure to get the kids in the family working in the kitchen is the Curious Chef line of children's utensils. The heavy-duty plastic, dishwasher-safe gadgets have rounded handles designed to fit small hands, while the knives' serrated edges cut foods but are child-friendly. The company sells about 50 utensils individually ($2.98 to $12.95, www.curiouschef.com) and packages both cooking sets and party sets ($19.99 to $38.99). The five-piece pizza set includes a pizza cutter designed with a finger guard, knife, spatula, pie server, pan, shopping list and stickers ($19.99).

Steam- Clean The Floor

Other manufacturers at the show appealed to neatniks who want their cleaning efforts to target germs as well as dust.

Haan Corp. has the answer to mopping floors without stocking up on a variety of detergents. Its SI-35 Slim & Light Steam Cleaning Floor Sanitizer ($119.95, www.haa nusa.com) uses tap water for steam-cleaning hardwood, tile or any sealed floor. A tank of water heats to 212 degrees in about 30 seconds — hot enough to kill bacteria — and provides about 20 minutes of steam- cleaning power. The cleaner, which resembles an electric broom, weighs about 6 pounds.

A Cleaner Toothbrush

In the bathroom, the egg-shaped, battery-operated Zapi Toothbrush Sanitizer ($29.99, www.violight.com) targets bacteria through UV technology. The contraption fits most standard toothbrushes and electric toothbrush heads. Available in bright colors, there also are four new designs including a ninja.

•Some of the new products shown at the Affordable Innovations show are already in retail stores or available by mail order. Others have been shipped to stores in time for holiday gift-giving. For more purchase information, visit the company web sites listed above or search for on-line retailers.

Enjoy The Holidays, But Remember Fire And Carbon Monoxide Safety

Woodlands Online

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas -- Not having a working smoke detector can lead to a holiday tragedy, with increased numbers of fires due to cold weather and seasonal celebrations. On Monday, Dec. 7, at 1:15 PM, Firefighters from the New Caney, Splendora and Porter Fire Departments responded to a fire in a mobile home at The White Oaks Estates Community. Firefighters were able to quickly contain the fire, but not before smoke and heat damaged much of the home and it’s contents.

According to firefighters the cause of the fire was the family's natural Christmas tree. Investigator Roland Morgan determined that the fire started at the tree, which had only been in place a few days.There were no working smoke detectors in the home.

Although these types of fires are not common, they can be deadly under the right conditions. Between 2003-2007, U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 250 home fires that started with Christmas trees per year. These fires caused an average of 14 deaths, 26 injuries, and $13.8 million in direct property damage annually. On average, one of every 18 reported fires that began with a Christmas tree resulted in death.

Issaquah Press

As temperatures cool down, homeowners turn their thermostats up and ovens on. Consequently, the risk of carbon monoxide exposure also increases. In fact, from Thanksgiving until just after Christmas, carbon monoxide kills more people than any other time of year.You can’t smell it like natural gas, or see it like smoke. Carbon monoxide is an invisible gas that builds up in your house and can cause dizziness, nausea and even death. Still, nearly one-half of Americans report not having carbon monoxide alarms in their homes, according to a recent survey conducted by BRK brands, maker of First Alert-branded products.

For as little as $25, a carbon monoxide alarm can protect a home and family from potential tragedy. For maximum protection, the Home Safety Council recommends installing carbon monoxide alarms on every level of the home and near each sleeping area.

The following safety products are available:

-Plug-in alarms that use electricity from any standard electrical outlet and have battery back-up start

-Battery-powered devices that provide basic protection

-Combo smoke/carbon monoxide detectors that help to protect from two dangers in the home

-Multi-gas alarms that provide protection from carbon monoxide as well as three explosive gases — natural, propane and methane

The kitchen stove is among the most common sources of carbon monoxide poisoning in the home. Industry experts recommend running kitchen vents or exhaust fans anytime the stove is in use, but especially during the holidays when stoves often are left on for long periods of time. It also is a good idea to open a nearby window periodically when cooking to allow fresh air to circulate.

Homeowners also should arrange for a professional inspection of all fuel-burning appliances (such as furnaces, stoves, fireplaces, clothes dryers, water heaters and space heaters) annually to detect any carbon monoxide leaks.

U.S. Seeks To Curb Workplace Injuries

Cincinnati.com

Rules forcing employers to minimize the risk of repetitive-stress injuries with more than $4 billion a year in workplace improvements may be moving closer to being revived, eight years after corporations fended off the proposal.

The Obama administration Monday proposed requiring companies in the U.S. to keep more extensive records of ergonomic-related injuries, according to a Labor Department regulatory agenda. The move may repave the way for workplace-injury regulations that were nullified by President George W. Bush and a Republican Congress in 2001 amid opposition from companies.

"This is going to be what employers view as the first shot across the bow on the ergonomics front," said Brad Hammock, a lawyer at Jackson Lewis LLP in Reston, Va., who advises companies on how to comply with workplace regulations.

While the proposal doesn't reinstate the original Clinton-administration rules, it may lead to a revival of the ergonomics issue in a different form, Hammock said. The AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions, pushed for today's proposal at its annual convention in September, and in documents it gave President Barack Obama's transition team to guide them on labor issues after he was elected in November 2008.

The reporting requirement, subject to public comment before taking effect, will "provide useful information to employers" and "help them identify these injuries," said Peg Seminario, director of occupational safety issues at the AFL-CIO.

The new rules could pave the way for new workplace furnishings like ergonomic work benches.

The original Clinton administration ergonomics rules issued in 2000 were intended to spare 460,000 worker injuries and save $9.1 billion in health-care costs. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest business lobbying group, said at the time that the rules would cost employers much more than the $4.2 billion a year estimated by the government. The group said today that the Obama administration should expect a fight.

"Ergo regulations brought the business community together in the same way that the card-check" union organizing bill prompted companies to spend millions of dollars to kill, said Marc Freedman, director of labor law policy at the Chamber. "If they go forward with a new ergonomics proposal, it will have the same kind of rallying impact on businesses as card-check, because it could impact a broad range of companies."

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said she was planning 90 new rules in her regulatory agenda for the coming year. "When people hear the word regulation, they feel stifled, delayed, and many times they believe government is being intrusive," Solis said in a video posted on the department's Web site. Her goal is to "level the playing field for businesses that play by the rules," she said