Creating a safety plan is important to both keeping yourself out of danger and preventing future abuse. Your plan should include warning signs, how to escape, places to go, and people to talk to. Write down the plan. It is difficult to keep this information in your head, so as you go about making your plan make sure you write down each step. If you feel unsafe or believe that abuse is about to occur, engage your safety plan immediately. It is important to know early if an abusive situation is likely to occur so that you can remain safe, take action or get away. Some situations that are often associated with abuse include: alcohol and/or drug use, heightened anger or stress, relationship issues, and domestic violence. However, if you feel that you are in imminent danger, you need to escape the situation, get to a phone, and call emergency services. Remember that anger is okay, but violence or abuse is never okay. You do not deserve to be abused and if it is about to occur it is important that you keep yourself safe from abuse or harm. Identify possible situations that may occur based on what has happened in the past (type of and nature of abuse). Identify common places in which the abuse may occur. If abuse has happened in a particular room, make sure you have an easy exit out of that room (whether it be a door, window, etc). Make sure there are no pieces of furniture or other objects that may get in your way. Do not attempt to hide in your own home. This can cause you to get stuck somewhere and not be able to get away to a safe place. Identify escape routes out of your home. Many apartment buildings have fire escape plan posted; you can learn the fastest way to exit your building. Use stairs instead of the elevator. Understand how to unlock windows and doors, as well as where important keys are to your home. Identify specific safe places to go to if you are in danger such as a neighbor or friend's house. Make sure these individuals are in on your plan and note when they are usually home vs. when they are not. Identify the fastest and safest way to get to your safe place. If you can run, do so. If you have easy access to transportation that you are legally allowed to operate, use it (car, skateboard, bike, etc). Have several back up plans in case you cannot go to your specific safe place. For example, identify close public places that are open 24 hours or have easy phone access. Identify safe individuals such as close friends and family members who will keep you away from harm or intervene if you are in trouble. Keep important phone numbers such as emergency contacts on you at all times. When you get to your safe place you can call for additional help (emergency services or your local police station) if needed.
++++++++++
One-sentence summary -- Make a plan to protect yourself. Identify warning signs. Plan how to get away. Plan where to go. Plan who to talk to.

If you want to form a shape, you can cut off the tops of branches to make a shape. Cut at lateral buds and side branches. You can trim every 4 to 6 weeks if you prefer. Lateral buds are ones that grow to the side instead of up. Cut just above a healthy bud, leaving about 0.25 inches (0.64cm) of branch above it. It's important to cut some side branches off, as after thinning the bush, some branches may become leggy. Simply pick branches that are at a 45-degree angle to main trunks and are about half the size. Trim them back close to the trunk. The trunks will branch out all the way to the ground. If you prefer a bare look near the bottom, you can trim the branches off up to your chosen height to create the look you want. Cut the branches off near the trunk with hand shears. You can form a dense hedge with this plant, but you do need to let light into the bottom of the hedge. With this method, you cut a few little inconspicuous holes in the top of the plant to let light through to the bottom. As you're trimming for height, cut some branches down into the plant rather than right at the height you want. That way, you're creating space in the top. If you are creating a hedge shape, shape it so it's a bit wider at the bottom. That way, light will be able to reach the whole plant more effectively. As you prune the plant for shaping or pick pruning, curve the plant back in towards the top, creating an "A" shape. That creates space at the bottom for the plant to get more light.
++++++++++
One-sentence summary -- Shear off the tops of branches to reduce the height. Trim off branches near the bottom if you want bare trunks. Use pick pruning if you have a dense hedge. Keep hedges wider at the bottom.

If the air outside of your home is drier than the air inside, open all as many windows and doors as you can to help the air circulate. You should be able to feel whether the air is drier just by stepping outside, but if you're not sure, you can purchase a humidity gauge from a hardware store. If it's sunny outside, it's probably less humid outside than it is in the home. However, you'll likely need to shut the windows and doors at night, when humidity outside increases. Help your home dry faster by opening up damp closets and cabinets. This will allow the air to circulate more freely and will help lower the overall humidity in the home. Sometimes drawers will swell and will be difficult to remove. If this happens, don't try to force them just open the cabinet beneath the drawer. You need air to circulate through your crawl space in order to dry underneath your wood floors. If your crawl space is flooded, use pumps to remove all of the water. You may also want to place a fan in the crawlspace to circulate the air. If your ducts flooded, they'll be full of dirt and silt which may contain contaminants which are dangerous if you breathe them in. Clean the ducts yourself or hire a professional for a duct cleaning before you turn on your central air unit again. You can use dehumidifiers and window air conditioners to reduce the humidity in the air, especially in closed-in areas. You can use a personal dehumidifier, but for severe flooding, you might have better results by renting commercial dehumidifiers, which remove 3-4 times more water than home models. For best results, close nearby windows and doors when you're using a dehumidifier. Desiccants are materials which are used to absorb moisture. They're especially useful when you place them in closets or other areas where air doesn't circulate, and they can be purchased at hardware, grocery, or drug stores. Examples of desiccants include clay-based cat litter, calcium chloride pellets, and chemical dehumidifier packs used to dry boats.
++++++++++
One-sentence summary --
Open the windows and doors if the humidity is lower outside. Open closets and cabinets and remove sliding drawers. Pump out the crawl space if you have one and it flooded. Avoid using the central air conditioning if your ducts were under water. Run dehumidifiers if the water has seeped into the wood. Use desiccants to remove moisture from closed-in areas.