The document provides updates from Habitat for Humanity of Utah County. It announces that the long-term construction manager, John Roberts, is retiring after almost 9 years of service. It also announces an upcoming indoor 5K race to benefit Habitat and mentions that students will be volunteering on Martin Luther King Day to help with construction projects and at Habitat ReStores. Additionally, it provides information about radon testing and mitigation efforts during National Radon Action Month and lists various volunteer opportunities, home maintenance classes, savings tips and strategies, and health tips.

1. January 2014
N e w s
Hammer Time
HABBITAT FOR HUMANITY OF UTAH COUNTY
LONG TERM CONSTRUCTION MANAGER RETIRES
Habitat for Humanity of Utah County Construction Manager, John
Roberts, retired from the local Habitat affiliate at the end of December. Roberts has been heading up the affiliate’s Construction department for almost nine years and has been instrumental to the success
and growth of the local organization. A retirement party will be held
in his honor later this month. Details to follow. We appreciate his
dedicated, kind, and patient service and wish him all the best in his
retirement. He will be truly missed.
UVU AND HABITAT TO SPONSOR ANNUAL ‘NO SNOW’ INDOOR 5K
Utah Valley University is teaming up with Habitat for Humanity of Utah County to sponsor the Seventh
Annual “No Snow” Indoor 5 K on Saturday, January 25, 2014, at 9:00 a.m. The event begins at Centre
Stage in the Sorensen Student Center and includes a stair or a non-stair route option.
Participants can run or walk the 3.1 miles indoors through UVU’s interconnected hallways. All participants will receive a free T-shirt and free pancake breakfast following the race. Proceeds will benefit the
UVU/Habitat for Humanity home currently being built in Springville with the Woods family.
Registration for the 5K is $10.00 in advance or $15.00 on race day starting at 8 a.m. Children under 10
are free. Participants can register early by going to UVU’s Campus Connection in the Sorensen Student
Center or online at www.habitatuc.org. Call 801-863-8786 or email volunteer@uvu.edu for more information.
STUDENTS TO HONOR DR. KING WITH “DAY ON”
Students from Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University will be honoring the life and work of
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by helping Habitat for Humanity of Utah County with a number of projects during the Martin Luther King Day holiday on Monday, January 20, 2014. The student volunteers will be
spending their “day off” volunteering their time at a local construction site and at Habitat ReStores in
Utah County.
HABITAT CELEBRATING NATIONAL RADON ACTION MONTH
Habitat for Humanity of Utah County is working with the
Utah Cancer Action Network, Utah County Health Department, and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality to
encourage community members to test their homes for radon during January's National Radon Action Month. Habitat will be providing information about radon and offering
radon test kits for $6.00 at its ReStores in Orem and Spanish Fork. Test kits are also available online at
www.habitatuc.org.
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer. High levels of indoor radon have been found in many areas of Utah.
Because radon is a colorless, odorless gas that occurs naturally in soil and rocks through the breakdown of uranium, testing is the only way to know the radon level
in a home. If test results are 4.0 pico liters or above, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends that the homeowners install a radon mitigation system. A list of certified mitigators is available at
the Utah County Health Department in Provo.
Additionally, Habitat for Humanity of Utah County currently builds all of its new homes Radon Resistant
and installs mitigation systems in all renovation homes. In January, Habitat will be providing free test
kits for all current Habitat homeowners in the area and encouraging them to test their homes.
For further questions regarding radon, contact Andrea Jensen at 801-851-7509 or
at andreaj@utahcounty.gov. You can also visit the DEQ website, at www.radon.utah.gov.

2. 2
W
•
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•
•
•
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h a t ’s U p
Get your home ready for the New Year! Check out the deeply discounted new and used building materials, appliances and furniture at the Habitat ReStores in Utah County. Details and locations at
www.habitatuc.org/donate/restore/.
Habitat’s Cars for Homes program takes the hassle out of donating your old vehicle. Start your donation
or learn more at www.habitatuc.org/habitat_car_donations.html.
Recycle all the cans from your New Year’s parties and help us provide a “hand up” to families in need of
safe and affordable housing in our community! Details and drop off locations listed at
www.habitatuc.org/donate/gogreen.html.
Stay up to date with all the local Habitat happenings! Habitat for Humanity of Utah County has
adopted a new texting platform called txtCloud that will allow our local Habitat affiliate to keep you up to
date on what is happening at the organization - including volunteer opportunities, events, ReStore inventory arrivals, and much more! We would like to invite you to join Habitat’s Cloud. Using your phone, text
UCHabitat to CLOUD or 25683. You will be asked three questions - your zip code, your gender and the
year you were born. You are now ready to keep up to date with what is happening at your local Habitat
affiliate. We know your phone is sacred space. Spam is not allowed. Check it out and see how it works you may opt out anytime!
Check out Habitat’s FUNSAVER Site! Habitat for Humanity has partnered with VP Deals to get all the
latest bargains on local products/venues. Check out this week’s FUNSAVER specials at
www.habitatucdeals.info. A portion of your “fun” purchases will help Habitat further its housing mission in
the community.
Have you tested your home for radon yet? – Habitat is working with the Utah Cancer Action Network,
Utah County Health Department, and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality to encourage community members to test their homes for radon. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, causing an estimated 22,000 deaths of year in the United States. Habitat offers test kits at the Orem ReStore
or online for just $6.00! Learn more at www.habitatuc.org/radon_awareness.html.
Need tools for your winter projects? Stop by Habitat for Humanity of Utah County’s tool lending library
and “check out” needed tools and lawn care items for free. New tools have been added recently. The
lending library, located inside the Habitat ReStore at 340 South Orem Blvd., Orem, is open Monday
through Saturday from 10-6. An application and proof of residency are required. Look online at
www.habitatuc.org for more information.
t u n itie s
n t e e r O p p o r
V o lu
VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT TO SERVE ON
COMMITTEES
JANUARY BUILD DAYS
Volunteers are needed to serve on all of Habitat’s local
committees. Monthly meetings, limited time commitment,
no experience necessary, varying interests and skills.
Look online at
www.habitatuc.org/volunteer/committees.html for more
information and meeting times.
JANUARY VOLUNTEER
OPPORTUNITIES
CREW LEADERS AND SITE HOSTS NEEDED TO
HELP GUIDE CONSTRUCTION
Volunteers are currently being sought to help with
construction, renovation, critical home repair, and
beautification projects. Build days are now held
Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Sign up online at www.habitatuc.org/volunteer.
•
•
•
Work in the Orem or Spanish Fork ReStores
Monday through Saturday from 10-6
Assist with Habitat Recycling efforts.
Graphic designers needed to help with monthly
Daily Herald Ad and other graphic design
needs.
Volunteers with construction experience or those wanting
to improve their construction skills are being sought to
participate in the affiliate's Crew Leader and Site Host
Programs. Orientations are monthly. The next orientation
will be on Saturday, January 11, 2014, at the Habitat
office in Orem. For information, contact LeAnn at the
number or email below.
For more information, look online at www.habitatuc.org or contact LeAnn at (801) 368-2250 or
leann@habitatuc.org. You can also sign up online at www.habitat.org/volunteer.

3. 3
H o m
eM
l a s s es
a in t en a n c e C
Check out Habitat & Community Action’s Free Home Maintenance Course. The next class will be Wednesday, January 29, 2014. The topics are: Basic Plumbing Repairs. Classes begin at 6:30 p.m. and are held at
the Habitat office at 340 South Orem Blvd., Orem.
At HOME DEPOT – Registration is necessary. Call store or register online. Look online for the January clinic
schedule at www.homedepot.com.
At LOWE'S - you must sign up for How-To Clinics by calling 229-1485 or stopping by their store at 140 West University Parkway in Orem. Look online for January clinic schedule at www.lowes.com.
At CENTRAL UTAH GARDENS – Registration is necessary. Look online for upcoming classes at
www.centralutahgardens.org/classes_events_concerts.aspx
HOUSEHOLD HINT (www.hints-n-tips.com)
Clogged Toilet? Easy ways to unblock it
A few ideas from plumbers who routinely solve this
rather nasty problem. When you tackle the job make
sure you spread some old newspapers around the
base of the bowl to minimize the effects of 'splash
back', use old clothes or overalls - and rubber gloves
are a must. Afterwards carefully wash all nondisposable soiled items.
Educating the younger family members as to what is
to be flushed and what is not is also a very good idea
and can often help prevent the unhappy situation arising in the first place.
Hot water will help clear the blockage but using boiling
water can cause the bowl to crack or break, add a bit
at a time, gradually building up.
The Plunger
Get yourself a good one, the puny or floppy
ones really do not do a good job. You want a
good seal so bigger is usually better.
When using a plunger it is better to suck than
to push, so make sure there is enough water
to cover the the plunger (hot, soapy water is
best) and use gentle movements to avoid
splashes.
H o m
eM
ip s
a in t en a n c e T
Rodding - Use an Auger
Sometimes referred to as a snake, this is the plumber's
solution. They can be surprisingly cheap and are by far
the most effective method. You may be tempted to use
an uncoiled wire coat hanger but they are often too
short and will mark the porcelain.
Select one that looks as if it can do the job. Some devices are designed specifically for unblocking pans,
others are more suitable for industrial use, and a cheap
one advertised on the internet uses an electric drill to
supply the rotation!
The head of most augers are designed to grab or break
up the material causing the clog so if you are using the
'grab type' it is sometimes possible to actually extract
the offending material.
Chemicals
If you have used the above methods without success
then it is usually time to send for a plumber, however
you may wish to use some of the proprietary unblocking agents. They are quite effective but are expensive
and damage the environment, both in the manufacturing process and in their use.
Plumbers
Finding a good plumber is not always easy, ask a friend
or neighbor if they know a good one. If you do find one
that does a good job, then treat him (or her) well and
keep their phone number for the next time.
(February 2013 Marketwatch Newsletter)
Three Great Winter Projects
•
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Change your furnace filter.
Insulate your water pipes. You can insulate pipes by wrapping them with several layers of newspaper and
duct tape or you can buy pipe insulation made of foam or other materials. The cost is minimal, typically
around 30 cents per foot.
Dye-test your toilet. Put five drops of food coloring in your toilet’s tank, wait 10 minutes and see if the color
comes into the bowl. If it does, you know you have a leak. The most common cause for a leak is a defective
flapper (the rubber mechanism that allows water to exit the tank when you flush. That 10 minutes of your
time could end up saving you a lot of money on your water bill.

4. 4
SAVING TIP (www.bankrate.com)
Start, or boost, your emergency savings account.
Fewer than 1 in 4 Americans have an adequate emergency savings cushion, and an alarming 27 percent have no
emergency savings at all, so the majority of people need to heed this tip. Since the biggest barrier to saving is not
being in the habit of saving, the best way to get in the habit is to pay yourself first.
Have money directly deposited from your paycheck or even your checking account into a dedicated savings account. This can be done concurrently with other goals such as paying down debt or saving for retirement, not instead of those goals. You won't miss what you don't see, and putting your savings on autopilot is a great way to
reinforce the savings habit when unplanned expenses inevitably come along and chew a hole in what you've
saved.
You're only one paycheck away from beginning to replenish your savings balance.
g ies
a v in g s S t ra t e
S
(The Simple Dollar)
Figure Out Exactly What You Saved
Over the final ten days of this year, we’re going to finish off this series by looking at ten tactics that demonstrate
how you can transform all of the little savings you’re getting from frugality into life-affirming changes.
The first step, though, is figuring out how much all of these frugal changes is actually saving you.
Whenever I make a frugal change in my life, I want to directly see my return on investment. I want to know
exactly how much I’m saving because of this move and whether that change was worth it.
For example, let’s say I make a batch of my homemade laundry soap. I can make fifty loads’ worth of laundry
detergent for about $1.12 and fifteen minutes of effort. At the same time, I can buy about fifty loads’ worth of Tide
at the store for roughly $8. I’ll save $7 on that exchange while investing about 15 minutes of effort.
If I do that six times in a given year, I’ll have saved $42 on laundry detergent over the course of that year (along
with an hour and a half of effort, spread out over the year). Given the performance of the homemade soap, I’d
happily say it’s worth it.
So, I’ll add that $42 to the list.
How much am I saving by switching my gas purchases to Sam’s Club? $25 a year, let’s say. How much am I saving by cooking my own beans at home roughly once a week instead of buying cans? $40 a year, let’s say. You
set your thermostat two degrees higher in the summer and two degrees lower in the winter and you find that
you’re saving about $20 per energy bill, or $240 per year.
Whatever tactics you choose to use, if you keep track of what they save you, you’ll find that they really start to
add up.
I highly recommend estimating annual savings from your frugal choices, then adding those savings up.
You’ll directly see how much your choices are actually saving you, and you’ll probably be surprised as to how
much it is.
Now, take that money and apply it to genuine change in your life. Keep living your life as you live it now, but
use that money to pay off debts, to build up an emergency fund, and to start saving for retirement.
As the debts fall away, you’ll have fewer and fewer bills and thus more money to use to target other debts. When
emergencies happen, you no longer have to rely on credit cards to fix the situation and can use an emergency
fund to handle it, saving you from even more debt and even more interest lost to the banks.
Those little changes you make at home are the catalyst for all of these things. The first step is to see how much
impact those little changes really have, then resolve to take that money and use it to create real lasting change in
your life.
BE CAREFUL (www.thetipsbank.com)
Principles of Personal Safety
•
•
•
Be Aware and Suspicious
Avoid Routine
Be Methodical
•
•
•
Have Good Communications
Use Common Sense and Initiative
Be Flexible

5. 5
H ea l t h
o o d T o Y o ur
B eG
(www.boston.com0
New Year Health Tips
Wear a pedometer. New research suggests that routinely wearing a pedometer encourages people to walk about
an extra mile each day, lose weight, and lower their blood pressure. Aim for at least 30 minutes of brisk walking and
a total of 10,000 steps per day.
Don't forget strength training, involving both the upper and lower body. Too many people neglect resistance exercise, particularly women for whom it's crucial for preventing muscle and bone loss with age. Lift weights for at
least 20 minutes, two- to three-times per week.
Drink water. No matter where you are, water should always be the first thing you reach for when you're thirsty. Water truly is essential.
Sleep 8 hours a night. A number of recent studies have confirmed that you really do need at least 8 hours a night.
Among the many benefits: Adequate sleep makes you feel better, decreases risk for cardiovascular disease, boosts
memory and reduces the likelihood of being in a car accident.
Keep sugar and caffeine -- the "legal evils" -- to a minimum. It's hard to believe, but decreasing sugar actually
increases people's energy, by minimizing the highs and lows that sweet foods triggers. Different people react differently to caffeine, but most of us are probably overstimulated already -- adding a stimulant just adds to things like
road rage.
Don't focus on dieting. Focus on eating. If you're hungry, you're more likely to overeat, especially in the evening.
Instead, of sacrificing all day and gorging later, it's better to eat enough during the day to avoid hunger pangs and
uncontrolled eating at night. Eat every four hours or so, and make sure to eat a "second lunch" -- think of it as another meal rather than a snack -- in the mid-afternoon to keep your energy up and make you less hungry in the evening.
Budget your food as you do your money. A rough guideline for daily caloric intake: Multiply your ideal body
weight by 10 (i.e., 1,200 calories if you want to weigh 120 pounds) and then add another 600 calories if you're moderately active, a few hundred more if you're very active. Divide those calories out across the day to keep yourself
well fed.
RE S O U RCE S
Community Action Services offers Home Buyer Education Classes on a monthly basis. Classes in January will
be held January 8 and 9, 2014 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. and January 25, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. To register,
please call (801) 691-5200 or go online to www.communityactionuc.org.
The Utah Valley University Turning Point Program sponsors the Professional Clothing Source providing donated
professional clothing for women as they re-enter school and/or the workforce. Available by appointment only at
(801) 863-7580.
Benefits of Homeownership
Homeownership Benefits Physical Health
Homeownership contributes to a family’s physical wellbeing and to children’s development health. Studies indicate that people who live in family-owned homes have greater advantages than than those who live in
rented homes or who are periodically homeless.

6. 6
6
April Crossley
Brad Simons
Brent Jensen
Bruce Snow
BYU Habitat for Humanity Chapter
Carol Day
Cascade Shadows
Century Link
Cort Trejo and YSA Ward
Dave and Laksmi Dominguez
Dynamic Structures
Elisabeth Trim
Gene Bramhall
Gordon Case Excavation
Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors
IM Flash
It’s a Wrap Volunteers
Jeanne Walker
Joel and Alane Kester
John Roberts
Jonathan Mecham
Kenneth Masteller
Les and Erma Simpson
Magelby Construction
Martin and Jayne Kearl
Mary Kae Blair
Mathew Whiting
Noorda Family
Provo Towne Centre
Response Marketing Group
Shiree Thurston
Sonya Hess
Stephen Benedict
Stan and Stella Welsh
Susan Chasson
TD Ameritrade
The Noorda Family
The Ruttenbur Family
The Shumway Group
The Utah Trading Company
TRI- Architecture
Utah County Health Department
UVU Habitat for Humanity Chapter
William Clark
Zions Bank
Thank You
Noorda Family, John Roberts,
IM Flash
Provo Towne Centre

7. 7
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Of Utah County
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
7—
2
3
4
8
9—Site
10
11
18
5
6
12
13
14—Building 15—Board 16
17
20
21
22
23
24
27
28
29
30
31
19—
Executive
26
Development
Services
—NRI
—Martin
—Building
Luther King
Resources
Day—Martin
Luther Day On
Event
Development Services
January 7, 2014
Selection
—Family
Partnership
Noon
Office
NRI
January 7, 2014
3:00 p.m.
Office
Family Partnership
January 9, 2014
6:30 p.m.
Office
Site Selection
January 9, 2014
Noon
Office
Executive
January 19, 2014
7:30 a.m.
Office
Board
January 15, 2014
7:00 a.m.
Office
Martin Luther Day On Event
January 20, 2014
UVU No Snow Indoor 5K
January 25, 2014
7:00 a.m.
Office
Building
Martin Luther King Day
Building Resources
January 14, 2014
January 20, 2014
January 21, 2014
2:00 p.m.
9:00 a.m.
Central Bank
Office Closed
UVU Centre Stage
25
—UVU
No Snow
Indoor 5K