Archive for the ‘Around The Home’ Category
Saturday, May 5th, 2012
 Dirty shower doors can ruin an otherwise sparkling-clean bathroom. If you have your home on the market, dirty shower doors can be distracting to prospective buyers. The soap scum that accumulates isn’t just unsightly, it contains body oils and skin particles that provide for a perfect bacteria breeding ground.
Supermarket shelves in Colorado are filled with bathroom cleaners that promise to cut through soap scum, but the cleansers don’t always work and those that do often contain harsh chemicals that can irritate your skin.
Cleaning shower doors can be more safe and more pleasant when you use chemical-free household products, many of which you likely have in your kitchen already. White vinegar makes an excellent soap scum remover, for example.
To remove soap scum from your shower doors using white vinegar, pour non-diluted white vinegar into a spray bottle, and then spray your shower doors until the soap-scummy sections are completely saturated. Let the vinegar sit for several minutes. This allows the white vinegar time begin breaking down the soap scum. Spritz the surface again, if necessary, to keep the surface wet.
This is a preview of How To Remove Soap Scum From Shower Doors . Read the full post »
Tags: Bathroom, Cleaning, sell home, stage your home, White Vinegar
Posted in Around The Home, Residential Real Estate, Selling a Home, Staging | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
 As the weather turns warmer and the days grow longer, it’s time to pack away your winter clothes to make room for spring and summer things — just make sure to store your cold-weather clothes properly. They’ll look better, wear longer, and will be ready to go when winter rolls around again next year.
Here’s what to do.
First, you’ll want to launder your winter clothes before you pack them up — even if they were never worn and/or don’t appear to be soiled. Clothes can sometimes have spots or stains that aren’t readily visible. Use unscented detergents, and skip fabric softeners and other additives that could attract insects.
Take items that can’t be washed to the dry cleaner. Next, you’ll put your clothes into storage containers. Ideally, use bags or boxes that won’t degrade and will seal out dirt, dust, insects and moisture. Fold clothing neatly before adding it to the container and pack “loosely”, allowing air to circulate. Tuck a lavender or cedar sachet into each container to help repel bugs. Both lavender and cedar are safer for use than mothballs and they smell much better.
This is a preview of How To Store Your Winter Clothes For The Summer Season . Read the full post »
Tags: Cleaning, Clothing, Fashion, home buyer, home improvement, real estate inspiration, staging
Posted in Around The Home, Moving, Residential Real Estate, Selling a Home | No Comments »
Saturday, April 28th, 2012
 Did you remember to handle the most basic safety precaution for your new home?
When people buy homes , there’s a tendency to think “Big Picture” on home improvements. Flooring, painting and furniture are common “just-moved-in” purchases, as are cable television and utilities packages.
The most important move-in purchase, though, may also be the least expensive — deadbolts for your doors. Every home has at least one — and sometimes up to dozen — keyed points of entry. And, until you change those locks, there’s no telling just how many people may have access to your home.
For example, your home’s prior owners may have shared house keys with any/all of the following people :
- Real estate agents
- Neighbors and friends
- Parents, brothers and sisters
- Home cleaning service
- Dog walkers and pet sitters
This is a preview of What’s The First Thing You Should Do After A Home Purchase? . Read the full post »
Tags: Deadbolt, home improvement, Home Safety, Locksmith
Posted in Around The Home, Buying A Home, Construction/Maintenance, Moving, Residential Real Estate | No Comments »
Saturday, April 21st, 2012
 According to the EPA, during summer months, lawn and garden watering account for roughly 40% of a typical home’s water use. It’s a statistic that reminds us how “green lawns” can be wasteful to both the environment and household budgets – especially with drought conditions expected and water costs rising in many U.S. municipalities.
As a homeowner in Lakewood , to help Mother Nature and your wallet, consider added a rain barrel to your home. A rain barrel is a rain-capturing system that collects and stores water runoff from your roof. Often attached to a home’s gutter system, a standard rain barrel collects and holds 55 gallons of water which can then be reused to water plants, wash cars, and clean driveways among other uses. Because the water is natural (i.e. not treated with chlorine or lime), it’s also ideal for window washing.
Rain barrels can be purchases at most hardware or garden stores, or online via Amazon.com, for example. Or, they can be hand-built.
This is a preview of Build Your Own Rain Barrel To Save Money, Environment . Read the full post »
Tags: EPA, Garden, Green
Posted in Around The Home, Colorado Living, Green Home Tips | No Comments »
Monday, April 2nd, 2012
 It’s April in Evergreen and warmer weather is coming. It’s Spring Cleaning season. Do you have a checklist?
In some households, spring cleaning is an annual ritual, taking anywhere from a full day to an entire week to complete. Room-by-room, foot-by-foot, dust, dirt and grime are replaced with cleanliness and shine.
No matter in which way to you choose to tackle your chores, though, the people at Real Simple have you covered. The magazine’s website provides a thorough, detailed walk-through of the most common spring cleaning tasks. It also offers a “shortcut” series.
For example, the section of cleaning area rugs and rooms with wall-to-wall carpeting is a chore Real Simple lists as lasting “a morning”. The shortcut version, however, is noted to take just 10 minutes.
Some of the other areas covered in the Real Simple spring cleaning guide include :
- Windows (4-6 hours long version; 15 minutes each “shortcut” version)
This is a preview of Spring Cleaning Shortcuts . Read the full post »
Tags: Cleaning, Martha Stewart, Real Simple
Posted in Around The Home, Colorado Living | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
 With their sleek, modern look, over the past 10 years, stainless steel appliances have move from “hot trend” to commonplace. However, as any homeowner with stainless steel appliances will tell you, to keep a stainless steel surface free from marks, drips and fingerprints can be a futile exercise. Streaks and smudges will happen — they can’t be avoiding.
There are tricks, however, for keeping your stainless “shining”. You’ll need a microfiber cloth and a small bowl, plus some dish detergent, and some WD-40 or furniture polish.
This is a preview of How To Keep A Stainless Steel Product Shining . Read the full post »
Tags: Cleaning, Stainless Steel, WD-40
Posted in Around The Home | No Comments »
Saturday, March 17th, 2012
 Space heaters are popular among homeowners in Colorado because, as portable appliances, they can heat a small space quickly and inexpensively. It requires less energy to run a space heater than to raise the temperature of an entire home by a few degrees. However, space heaters can be dangerous, too.
In its November 2011 report, the National Fire Protection Association reveals that heating equipment was involved in an estimated 58,900 home structure fires, 480 civilian deaths, 1,520 civilian injuries and more than $1.1 billion in damage.
Space heaters caused a disproportionate percentage of the accidents:
- 79% of all home heating-related civilian deaths
- 66% of all home heating-related civilian injuries
- 52% of all home heating-related property damage
If you use space heaters, please remember to read (and follow) the manufacturer’s instructions for proper usage, and to obey basic safety standards.
This is a preview of Using Space Heaters? Use This Safety Advice. . Read the full post »
Tags: Home Safety, NFPA, Space Heater
Posted in Around The Home | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 14th, 2012
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless, poisonous gas. It kills more 400 people die in their homes each year.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is especially common during periods of power outage. This is because homeowners throughout Colorado fire up their personal home power generators. Home generators are a leading cause of poisoning by carbon monoxide and, in this 4-minute from NBC’s The Today Show, you’ll learn about home generators, how they operate, and the safety measures everyone homeowner should undertake.
A few basic home generator safety rules, as described in the interview, include :
- Never modify a generator or its engine
- Keep a 10-foot distance between the generator and your home
- Always point the generator’s exhaust away from your home
Furthermore, make sure your home has an ample supply of carbon monoxide detectors, and that they’re operational.
This is a preview of Using Home Generators? Here’s How To Stay Safe. . Read the full post »
Tags: Home Safety, Power Generator, The Today Show
Posted in Around The Home | No Comments »
Sunday, March 11th, 2012
An average home’s lighting accounts for 15 percent of its total energy consumption, a fact that’s both costly to homeowners and “un-green” to the environment. It’s simple to reduce those effects, however — all you need are dimmer switches.
A modern dimmer switch works by rapidly opening and closing a light circuit, providing less energy to the bulb, and consuming less energy from the source. In this 2-minute video, you’ll learn how to reduce your home’s standard on/off lighting switches using dimmer switches. The dimmer-switch project is a do-it-yourself project and requires only basic handyman experience.
First, determine whether you need a 3-way dimmer switch, or a single-pole dimmer switch. If your fixture is controlled my two light switches, you’ll want a 3-way dimmer switch. Otherwise, the single-pole choice is best.
Next, just follow the directions :
- Cut the power to the light switch via your home’s circuit breaker
- Remove the existing light switch plate and pull the switch from the wall
This is a preview of How To Install A Dimmer Switch . Read the full post »
Tags: Dimmer Switch, Green, Lowes
Posted in Around The Home | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 7th, 2012
 “Creative Reuse” is the transformation of everyday items that would otherwise be thrown out into something useful. It’s where being “green” and the arts can converge.
In every home, there are literally hundreds of items that be reused and repurposed, including such disparate items as chipped coffee mugs, step ladders, and bubble wrap. After transformation, for example, these three items can become a simple storage container, a plant stand, and greenhouse insulation, respectively. Real Simple made a list of “50 All-Time Favorite New Uses For Old Things“. It’s a list of Creative Reuse projects from which you’re bound to find inspiration.
For example, the magazine suggests using an old Twister Mat as a children’s party tablecloth; or an old eyeglasses case to hold nail care essentials such as clippers, files and scissors.
Some of Real Simple’s other top ideas included :
- Distinguish your glass from other party-goers’ glasses at a party with peel-on/peel-off window decals
This is a preview of 50 “Creative Reuse” Ideas For Your Home And Garden . Read the full post »
Tags: Creative Reuse, Green, Real Simple
Posted in Around The Home | No Comments »
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