Tips for Protecting Yourself from Thieves After the Holidays Constable says your Christmas trash can tip off thieves!! "Criminals see those boxes after Christmas that had big screen TVs or computers, iPads, Playstations, and they make a mental note to possibly come back to that house at a later time," Constable Mark Herman, Harris County Precinct 4 said. How can you avoid being next on the naughty guys' list? The same way you avoid identify theft from those who would troll through your discarded bills and private paperwork: 1. Take your Christmas cardboard directly to the dump or recycling station, making sure that your address is not on any of the packaging. 2. Break the boxes down, not just to save space but also tear them in enough pieces that it's difficult to see what was in them originally. 3. Place this refuse at the bottom of your trash barrel or recycling bin. That makes it tougher for someone to lift the lid and see what you received.

Plus, if they break into your house, they come back a couple of months later because you have replaced stuff! That happened to us in our first house in Aldine!

Those big TV boxes are surprisingly great for moving. When I moved back south I grabbed a couple from work (office had just purchased a couple TVs to use as giant computer monitors). Perfect for framed pictures and I forget what other narrow awkwardly shaped things. Super easy to pack, load, unload, unpack.

jjjj : Great idea! Btw. . .I love your new Avatar!!

Those big TV boxes are surprisingly great for moving. When I moved back south I grabbed a couple from work (office had just purchased a couple TVs to use as giant computer monitors). Perfect for framed pictures and I forget what other narrow awkwardly shaped things. Super easy to pack, load, unload, unpack.

We used moving blankets and some shrinkwrap for the TV and it was perfect for what we needed.