It’s a horrible thing to come home and find that burglars have ransacked your stuff. From overturned drawers to the loss of your personal treasures, it strikes at your heart.

But the worst part is when thieves pilfer documents, checks or credit cards that allow them to steal your identity. Although you may not realize those items are missing at first, their loss can have financial consequences much more severe than a missing television or stereo system. Truth is, experienced thieves don’t need much information to break into your bank account or swipe your credit card.

So if you’ve been burgled, start by assuming that the burglar has stolen your personal information. Call your bank and credit card company ASAP. You can get a new card or new bank account numbers so you still have access to your funds.

Don’t touch anything, even the door knobs, until after police have arrived. They may be reluctant to take fingerprints, but you should insist on it. The prints will stay on file and get checked against current and future criminal data bases. Cops may not find the person immediately, but they may match the criminal at some point down the road, especially if it’s a neighborhood serial burglar, which is often the case.

Keep your most valuable stuff in hiding. Forget about the most obvious places like under a mattress, in a drawer, on a closet shelf or in a cereal box. One fairly inexpensive option are ‘book safes’ — hollowed-out books that look like all the others in your library. Keep bank or credit card statements where they can’t be easily found. Cut up and destroy all old credit cards, driver licenses and other expired forms of personal identification. You also may want to consider purchasing a safe. A safe isn’t cheap, but if it’s a good one that properly installed it can be a great way to keep your personal and financial information safe at home.

Before you turn up your AC, you might want to check to make sure the filter is clean. Did you know that indoor air pollution is one of the top five environmental health risks? Changing your air conditioning filter is the most important thing a homeowner can do to keep the unit running properly.

While air conditioning units may vary, in general it is a good rule of thumb to replace your unit’s filter every 30 to 60 days. And it is easy to do. A quick inspection can generally alert you to whether or not the filter needs to be replaced. The filter acts as a barrier between unwanted dust, dirt pollen and debris.

Clogged, dirty filters block the normal air flow and reduce the unit’s efficiency. Having a clogged or dirty air filter means the air will bypass the filter and may carry dirt or allergens directly into the evaporator coils. This can result in a reduction of heat-absorbing capacity. The dust that is not collected by the filter gets distributed back into your home. Keeping your air filter clean can reduce your air conditioner’s energy consumption by five to 15 percent.

Changing your air conditioning filter is easy. In most homes, the filters are located near the main unit, which is typically in your hallway or on the ceiling in the return air duct. The return air duct is where the air is pulled in from inside the home. Typically, you just pop the latches and remove the metal screening. It’s lightweight and easy to remove and slide back in.

Make sure you have the correct air filter size. Check the number label on the filter’s side. Have more than one filter on hand. That way it will save you a trip to the hardware store. Also, don’t forget to clean off the dust on the metal grill. Once you insert the filter, close the metal grill and reattach it.

Your air conditioner is no different than your car, which runs best on clean oil. Your AC unit runs best when it has a clean filter. Changing your air conditioning filter is the easiest thing to do to keep your cooling system running clean and efficiently and it will reduce maintenance costs and extend the life of your system!