Tag Archives: Advice

How to Keep Your House Cool Without AC

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon

Want summer comfort but hate the AC? Follow these tips on how to keep your house cool without frosty air conditioning.

You don’t have to switch on the air conditioner to get a big chill this summer. These tips will help you keep your house cool without AC, which will save energy (and avoid AC wars with your family).

Block that Sun!

When sunlight enters your house, it turns into heat. You’ll keep your house cooler if you reduce solar heat gain by keeping sunlight out.

  • Close the drapes: Line them with light-colored fabric that reflects the sun, and close them during the hottest part of the day. Let them pillow onto the floor to block air movement.
  • Add awnings: Install them on south- and west-facing windows to reduce solar heat gain by up to 77%, says the U.S. Department of Energy. Make your own by tacking up sheets outside your windows and draping the ends over a railing or lawn chair.
  • Install shutters: Interior and exterior shutters not only reduce heat gain and loss, but they also add security and protect against bad weather. Interior shutters with adjustable slats let you control how much sun you let in.
  • Apply high-reflectivity window film: Install energy-saving window films on east- and west-facing windows, which will keep you cool in summer, but let in warming sun in the winter. Mirror-like films are more effective than colored transparent films.

Open Those Windows

Be sure to open windows when the outside temperature is lower than the inside. Cool air helps lower the temps of everything – walls, floors, furniture – that will absorb heat as temps rise, helping inside air say cooler longer.

To create cross-ventilation, open windows on opposite sides of the house. Good ventilation helps reduce VOCs and prevents mold.

Fire Up Fans

  • Portable fans: At night, place fans in open windows to move cool air. In the day, put fans where you feel their cooling breezes (moving air evaporates perspiration and lowers your body temperature). To get extra cool, place glasses or bowls of ice water in front of fans, which will chill the moving air.
  • Ceiling fans: For maximum cooling effect, make sure ceiling fans spin in the direction that pushes air down, rather than sucks it up. Be sure to turn off fans when you’re not in the room, because fan motors give off heat, too.
  • Whole house fans: A whole-house fan ($1,000 to $1,600, including install) exhausts hot inside air out through roof vents. Make sure your windows are open when you run a whole-house fan.

Power Down Appliances

You’ll save money and reduce heat output by turning off appliances you’re not using, particularly your computer and television. Powering down multiple appliances is easier if you connect them to the same power strip.

Don’t use heat- and steam-generating appliances — ranges, ovens, washers, dryers — during the hottest part of the day. In fact, take advantage of the heat by drying clothes outside on a line.

Plant Trees and Vines

These green house-coolers shade your home’s exterior and keep sunlight out of windows. Plant them by west-facing walls, where the sun is strongest.

Deciduous trees, which leaf out in spring and drop leaves in fall, are best because they provide shade in summer, then let in sun when temperatures drop in autumn. Select trees that are native to your area, which have a better chance of surviving. When planting, determine the height, canopy width, and root spread of the mature tree and plant accordingly.

Climbing vines, such as ivy and Virginia creeper, also are good outside insulators. To prevent vine rootlets or tendrils from compromising your siding, grow them on trellises or wires about 6 inches away from the house.

Speaking of shade, here are smart, inexpensive ideas for shading your patio.

Want more tips for staying cool this summer? Substitute CFL and LED bulbs for hotter incandescent lights.

Also, try insulating your garage door to prevent heat buildup.

What are your favorite ways to stay chill in the summer? Shout ’em out in the comments section!

Source: HouseLogic Visit HouseLogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Photo Credit: “Blue Shutters” by Myles Jeffries © 2012 (CC BY 2.0)

Tips for Choosing the Right House Color

Choosing a new house color can be quite tricky. It takes some thinking and observation.  We’ve gathered some pointers that can hopefully help along the way to choosing the perfect color for your dream house.

1. Accentuate

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Photo by: Andersen Windows / Flickr: Creative Commons

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Photo by: Andersen Windows / Flickr: Creative Commons

That’s right. Accentuate architectural details like window trim in a contrasting color, which in return will add character and charm. It’s always a good idea to emphasize your entryway.

2. Trends

Unlike fashion or sporty car models, color houses seem to stay in style for years. For that reason, what you choose today most likely will still be trending the following day, or even year. Take a walk around your neighborhood, or other neighborhoods that have caught your eye and observe the colors other use. You might get new color ideas, and find they work perfect for your house.

3. Dark vs. Light

Photo by: John / Flickr: Creative Commons

Photo by: John / Flickr: Creative Commons

Consider that darker lights in the lower portion of a house can suggest permanence and stability. Lighter colors make a house appear larger in size and more inviting. Know what you want your house to portray and go from there. It is after all, a reflection of you.

4. Don’t accentuate the wrong things

If you have air conditioning units or gutters, you might want to work them into the house. Don’t work around them, make them work for you. Don’t accentuate them in anyway, just the opposite , try to drive the eye to the better assets your house has. Again, emphasizing on the entryway is always a must.

5. Don’t ignore the neighbors.

Photo by: Daniel R. Blume / Flickr: Creative Commons

Photo by: Daniel R. Blume / Flickr: Creative Commons

Be creative. If you’re one to always stand out, do so. However, when choosing a color don’t choose one that will clash with your neighbor’s. When you take a stroll around the neighborhood, look at the other colors the neighbors use and try to find that median, where you find a color you’ll be happy with, yet also mesh well with the neighborhood’s colors.

6. Don’t ignore the landscaping

Take into account everything that’s around your house. The color you choose might help bring out those beautiful flowers you work so hard to grow. Compare and contrast earth tones if you have a lot of greens growing around you.

7. Do not wing it

Photo by: Erik Söderström / Flickr: Creative Commons

Photo by: Erik Söderström / Flickr: Creative Commons

This is something that not only you’ll have to live with everyday but, also other people. Plan it out at the best of your abilities, and don’t be scared to paint a small portion of the house with the colors you’re considering. At the end, you’ll be sure you got the right one.

 

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Photo by: Loren Kerns / Flickr: Creative Commons

 

Well dear readers, this is where we end our post. Do let us know if any of these tips helped you out at all. Feel free to comment below the steps you took before choosing your house color, and why you decided on that color? We’d love to know!

 

Find the original article here. 

Top 5 Phone Apps for Realtors

Technology is a great resource for any professional today. For realtors, who are always on the go, what phone apps serve them best to make their jobs that much easier? Well, we’ve gathered 5 apps we suggest every realtor should have on their phones/tablets. Let us know if there is one you use the most:

1. Pro HDR

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View in iTunes store here

This app will allow you to take pictures of your properties, modify the lighting or little edits you can add to enhance the picture and make it a higher definition one.

2.  Storehouse

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View in iTunes store here

Imagine talking to a prospect buyer and pulling out a video and pictures with the virtual tour of a house right from your phone or tablet. This will make you look even more professional, but also one that’s eager and ready to get things done. Your clients will surely appreciate it.

3. Genius Scan

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View in iTunes store here.

 

Realtors, and agents are never in one single place. Odds are sometimes you might have to run back to the office to scan a document and end up losing time and gas. This app can scan your documents and turn them into a PDF or JPEG doc. Take a picture, and send it over through email as either format with no problem and no need to run to anywhere.

4. Waze

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View in iTunes store here.

 

Ever been stuck in traffic in a unfamiliar part of the city wishing you could know of a shortcut? Well, we’ve got one for you! Well, iTunes and Google has one, but we’re telling you this one is will make your life so much easier. This app will tell you the traffic updates  or road closures close to your location. Sounds like a perfect app for someone who’s always on the go!

5. Dashlane

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View in iTunes store here.

Realtors can have over 10 social media platforms. With all the names, addresses, information realtors receive in one day chances are you might forget passwords often. This app will solve that problem alone. Not only does it save your login information, but also receipts, payment methods, credit card information. Perfect app for a busy professional such as a realtor or agent.

 

Gym vs. Home chores: Which one burns more calories?

Do you ever feel guilty for staying home and cleaning your house instead of going for a jog, hitting the gym, or missing your yoga class? Well, fear not dear reader we have good news! You might burn more calories staying home and doing chores than lifting weights! Don’t believe us? No worries, take a look at this infographic and tell us if you were surprised as much as we were.

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Source: Yourgreenpal.com

5 Hacks to Make Your Studio Apartment Look Bigger

Do you live in a loft? studio apartment? Do you see yourself living there for a while, or do you just like that style and can’t see yourself leaving it? Well, we totally understand, and we’ve got tips for you to make every square footage of that room count. Here are five hacks to make your studio apartment look bigger than it actually is:

 

1. Lighten up the floors

Yep, that’s right. Make your floors a lighter color. Paint them, or if you’re renting the place  and your lease won’t allow it, then a wide bright rug will do the trick just fine, as well.

 

2.  Clear it up

By this we mean, clear, see-through furniture is your best choice. Side tables with see-through legs. All these help into making it seem there is less space, or clutter. Try it out and tell us what you think!

3. Two-for-One

To some people this idea never seems like fun, but then again some people love the efficiency of it. Think of buying one furniture that doubles into something else. For example, your side table could also double as a bar. These not only save you space, but also keeps you and almost forces you to keep the space less cluttered  and more organized.

 

4. The walls are your friends

Well, it might sound silly but they are! They become extra space you can occupy. For example, hang your necklaces, towels, etc. Have that become another space that you can use. Here’s a tip: make sure everything has at least 5-8 inches of space between each other. The trick is to never make it seem like it’s cluttered.

 

5. Higher Up

Ok, so now we’ve used up your walls, floor, and even doubled-up some furniture use. Now, look up. Yes, the ceilings. No, we’re not hanging anything from there today (although we recommend you do—some interior decorators suggest hanging plants gives it a sense of more space to a room), but we will be painting it. If you are lucky enough to have a high ceiling, then feel free to paint it! We suggest you do the same color as your floor to lighten up the place even more.

 

Well reader, here is where we end our post. Hopefully, you’ve find it informative! Feel free to tell us if you’ve tried any of this and it’s worked! Or, if you’d like to add some more tips, feel free to do so in the comments below!

 

 

Find the original article here.

Downsizing a Home for Moving

If you happen to be moving to a smaller place, then you will likely have to find a way to remove some of your possessions in favor of a more lighter solution. The longer we live in a single place, the more time we take to gather up quite a few items. Moving can however be quite expensive so you need to consider these expenses beforehand. The article ahead will give you a few tips on how you can downsize your belongings to a more manageable size, reducing things and making them cheaper to move:

Think about your needs

A lot of the exercise equipment or furniture you have around your home is likely not used for the most part. If you happen to have any furniture in storage or if you think what you own can go for a change, then you may want to do something about it so you’ll find them a new home. This will be a good opportunity to make use of them by either selling them, making some money in the process, or to donate them somewhere where they can do more good. The same goes for any clothes you may have around your home that you can donate to a thrift store. Some books you believe you will never read can also be given away to your local library, so someone can read them instead or you can find a way to sell them online.

Check all locations

Going right through every spot you have around your home and removing what you don’t need is a must. Check the contents of each drawer, container, cabinet, closet and anything else you can find. Lay things out in the open and reconsider what you don’t need and what you do so you’ll have an easier time ahead.

Make a good floor plan

Measure the furniture you own, as well as the size of the doorways in your old and new home. Mark these down and make a floor plan so you can decide what you can do to place it there and move it. Without a plan like that you will have a much harder time dealing with things.

Check out for storage

It’s likely the storage containers and boxes you own may have not seen daylight in a long time. When you’re moving your things, make sure you move the larger items first so they can go at the end of the truck. These will be much harder to deal with if you’re not ready for them once moving day arrives.

Donating excess items

You can always make a yard sale to make some quick money out of the whole thing. In most cases this will help with your taxes or give you more money in the process so you can spend it on your moving expenses or any other thing you need.

 

Landscaping Tips for Homeowners

Having a landscaped garden is a great way of improving the overall value of your home, as well as its reputation around town. The costs you will need to pay to get things done will be there, but you can rest assured this will be money well-spent, making your home a much more welcoming place for all involved, guests and potential buyers as well. If you need the help, you can hire gardening and landscaping professionals to get things done for you, assisting you with the jobs you’re not sure you can do yourself. The time you spend on this will be up to you, but the main thing you need to remember is that landscaping gardeners will have the skills you need, but they may also know the type of garden that would work best for your chosen area. You can do some research on the web by yourself or through books if you need more information on the subject.

A gardening expert who works on designing such places will have a significant amount of information you can make use of, as well as ideas and the experience you need to get things organized. Nowadays people either don’t have the time to deal with such tasks or they simply don’t possess the skills in many cases. Having the area under the care of a professional will make sure you have less to worry about in the long run. You can have a great, low-maintenance approach to your new landscaping solution, which will make it much easier to take care of. A good example of that would be paving it with flagstone slabs that are easier to clean. Wood decking is also a good way of approaching things, though it will need some occasional cleanup and staining to make it look good. Although the initial costs of string trimmers, lawnmowers and other gardening tools will set you back, you will have great need of them as time goes by so you can keep your garden clean, weed-free and looking good.

You can also have a much more interesting and complex design for your landscaping needs, though this means you will need to deal with more maintenance too. Landscaped gardens can really stun with their amazing looks, especially if you have a strategically placed gazebo or something along those lines.

You will also have to deal with the right amounts of light levels for the plants in your landscaped area. This is especially important if you have trees or the home you live in or plan on selling creates a shade over some areas of the landscape. Certain flowers and other plants love the shade above all, so before you make your move you should ensure you understand what goes where as well as their specific needs. Another great addition to a landscaped area, ponds can be absolutely wonderful to have around, especially when combined with some ornamental statues, seating space and more. Whatever your choice may be, your vision is what defines the looks of your new landscape.

There are a great many flowers that may be grown in the Minnesota area, such as the following:

  • Cornflowers (Echinacea purpurea)

Lovely pink to purple and white colors, but also available in other colors such as yellow, red and more. Do keep in mind that some people are allergic to echinacea though, so you may want to make sure you’re not one of them.

  • Lenten Roses (Helleboros orientalis)

Often found blooming in the shade, they are red, purple or almost black, whith pink, greens and white petals. You can place them near your walkways to enjoy their lovely colors.

  • Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

A wonderful spring flower, which has purple to pink blooms, equally capable of surviving in the sun or in the shade. They can reseed themselves, so you don’t really need to worry about them too much.

  • Black-Eyed Susans (Redbeckia fulgida)

Gorgeous golden flowers wht a dark center, blooming for more than a month and even during August. You can grow them in the sun with no maintenance and no worries at all.

  • Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

These lovely flowers, also called milkweed that are very easy to grown, also being a real magnet for monarch butterflies. They have gorgeous clusters of yellow, pink or orange flowers with thin and delicate seedpods.

Landscape Design And Garden Services Kensington can help you with more ideas.

About the Author: Cora Carter is a professional writer. She lives in England with her husband and children. She wants to share her experience with her audience. She has many published articles on various topics such as home and garden, real estate, cleaning etc.

6 Overlooked New Year’s Resolutions

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We’re all aware of the main resolutions many of us make at the beginning of every new year: eat healthier, quit smoking, unbury that treadmill that, you’re pretty sure, is still in the basement somewhere. While all of these important goals to set, there are also resolutions that are sometimes overlooked but can be just as necessary in leading a more productive and happy life. Here are six that you should keep in mind for 2014.

 

Read More

You know that half-read novel you’ve been neglecting the past few months? Make it a goal this year to reach for a book over the remote or the laptop or the tablet. Conquer it and then move onto the next one that’s been on your must-read list.

 

Discover a New Hobby

Take more time to discover new activities. Sign up for a cooking class, learn to play a new instrument or pick up a book on woodworking. Trying something new can help you discover hidden talents or give you something to do that’s more productive than flipping through whatever’s on TV or Netflix.

 

Save More Money

Go over your finances with a magnifying glass and try to put away some money from every paycheck. Set it up automatically so it can be done without having to remember to do it and try not to look at again for a given amount of time. Or, set up a certificate of deposit (CD) and plan on using it for that family vacation that keeps getting pushed back.

 

Unplug

Set a time during the day where you can unplug from your phone, your computer, your tablet and your television. Research has found that media overload can contribute to an increased risk for depression, job burnout, social anxiety and even allergies. Your emails and texts will still be there when you plug back in.

 

Expand Your Vocabulary

When you do plug back in, use sites like Vocabulary.com to improve your vocabulary through games and trivia to ascertain newfangled librettos to flabbergast your confrères (learn new words to impress your friends).

 

Reconnect With Old Friends

New responsibilities in life often contribute to losing touch with people you used to be close with. Make it a point to call or meet up with an old friend. Don’t be afraid to try and reconnect, even if it’s just a quick catch-up conversation over your lunch break. Long-lasting friendships will always be worth the time and effort.

 

What are some ways that you’re trying to better yourself in 2014? Share your resolution(s) in the comments below.