Search Results for: blog home projects in the heat

Beach Fun at Home

There’s nothing like a beach vacation to celebrate summer. Enjoying the sun, sand and surf is a rite of passage for many families, but like all good things, seasonal trips to the shore don’t last forever. If you struggle with vacation withdrawal, consider the following fun projects designed to battle the summer blues.  You will be amazed at how cheap and easy it is to turn all that extra sand you dragged home from the beach into amazing vacation souvenirs: Beach Candles Materials: Solid colored pillar candle Rubber cement Sand Shells Newspaper Directions: Dump some sand on newspaper that has … Continue reading →

The Hidden Fire Hazards in Your Home Part 2

Have you eliminated all of the hidden fire hazards in your home? I have to tell you that there were a few that I didn’t catch until I learned about them from an interactive exposition about fire safety. Yesterday, I covered two hidden fire hazards that are commonly overlooked in the home, one of which I was guilty of having. I want to share some more of these, in the hopes that it will keep everyone safe. The Clothes Dryer The dryer we currently have spews lint out at me every time I open the door after a load. I … Continue reading →

Top Low Cost Projects that Will Increase Your Home’s Value

Renovating your home right now is a good idea for a couple of reasons. Since real estate prices are still unstable, it may make more sense to stay in your home and improving it instead of looking for a new one. Plus, if you improve your home’s value now, you will be in better shape later, if you do choose to sell. Steel Entry Doors With the uncertainty of the world, there are two things that many buyers are looking for these days: energy efficiency and security. Installing steel entry doors is a good investment. They can actually cost less … Continue reading →

Adding a Little Sunshine to Your Home

As a new homeowner who is on a budget, I am always trying to find inexpensive ways to add some sunshine to my home. While I have a lengthy to do list of projects such as painting, bathroom upgrades, recess lighting installations, new windows, and other pretty major changes to make to my home, I know it is going to take awhile (maybe years) to get to all these ideas. In the meantime however, I would like my house to feel clean, fresh, and homey. I have found some ways to add color, cleanness and a warm feel to my … Continue reading →

Earth Day Resolutions for the Home

This weekend has been an odd mix of Easter and Earth Day. Earth Day is a day to think about your relationship with the earth. It was a beautiful day, and we played in the garden. Since it’s a long weekend, today I am fixing things around the house. It’s my usual long weekend pastime. However, in the spirit of Earth Day I am trying to avoid using anything new. What can you do to create an Earth Day spirit in your home management? Change the way you light your home. From LEDs to CFLs, there are acronyms galore when … Continue reading →

Black Friday Fun at Home

No one, and I mean no one, despises the thought of a parent dragging his or her child to the mall on Black Friday more than me. For years I was paid to cover the Black Friday shopping madness while working as a local TV news reporter, and I will never forget the looks on the faces of the kids, who were ripped out of their warm beds and forced to stand in the freezing cold, so their parents could be first in line to score a 40-inch TV for 400 bucks. There are better ways to spend Black Friday. … Continue reading →

Seasonal Home Maintenance

Tis the season to thoroughly clean your entire house. While some homeowners reserve major cleaning projects for the springtime, fall is actually one of the best times of the year to purge and reorganize your living space. It’s a good idea to decontaminate your home when the weather is still decent and before you have to close it up for the winter. Fall is also an ideal time to complete major cleaning projects because typically the holiday season brings a litany of guests to your home and it’s nice to have a decluttered space to show off. With that said, … Continue reading →

Green Homeless Shelters – Katherine K. Hanley Family Shelter

Yesterday, I blogged about Crossroads, a new green homeless shelter that is about to open in East Oakland, Calif. But, it was not the first homeless shelter certified green. The Katherine K. Hanley Family Shelter in Fairfax, Va. opened August 4th of last year. The 16,931 square foot shelter was among the first to receive the Green Globes certification. The Green Globes certification is awarded to structures by the Green Building Initiative of Portland, Ore. The shelter, which can hold up to 20 families, offers an eco-friendly, safe, and secure environment where the families can stay while trying to get … Continue reading →

Modular Homes Go Green

Modular (pre-fabricated) homes have often suffered a bad reputation, but now, some of them are on the cutting edge of green living. Based just upon how they are built, modular homes may be a more efficient, green way to go anyhow. Unlike traditional homes, modular homes can be made in a warehouse, so they are more time efficient because rain, snow, wind, etc. won’t stop the construction. But, today’s modular homes are also proving to be more energy efficient. All American Homes, from Elkhart, Indiana, has built what they call the Living Zero Home. The home uses fiber cement siding, … Continue reading →

2009 Tax Credits for Home Improvement

Tax credits for energy efficient home improvement projects are back again. This is good news for many of us who have older homes that need some improvement. Of course, there are no tax credits for last year (2008), which means that the insulation we put in over the family room attic will not qualify. However, since we aren’t done yet with our energy efficient improvements, I am sure that we will be able to take advantage of this credit. The bill was signed into law on October 3, 2008 by President Bush. It provides for tax credits for energy efficient … Continue reading →