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If you’re like most homeowners, learning how to save energy with your HVAC system is a high priority.  The costs for all types of energy – electricity, natural gas, propane, etc.—remain high and very volatile.  The good news is, by following a few basic steps you can reduce energy consumption by 10% to 25% — and you won’t have to be cold in the winter or hot in the summer to do it.  Here are 4 affordable ways to save energy with your HVAC system.

1. Have your HVAC system cleaned and tuned.  Dirty coils can rob a heat pump or air conditioner of 30% of its efficiency and even cause expensive mechanical failure.  Dirty furnace burners and out of tune blower motors can do the same.  Have your HVAC professional service your system once or twice a year and you’ll see a decrease in your energy bills.

2. Seal your ductwork.  Ductwork in open spaces like the attic, basement or crawl space can leak treated air (heated or cooled).  Even if the joints and seams were tight to begin with, the ductwork settles along with the house and gaps can occur.  Some HVAC experts estimate that as much as 15% of treated air can be lost through leaking ductwork.  Use metal duct tape or mastic to seal the ductwork.  Avoid the hardware-variety duct tape that’s handy for so many things.  The irony of it is that it doesn’t have the strength or insulating qualities to actually be used on ducts!

3. Program your HVAC system to shut down or slow down when no one is home.  Read HVAC ratings to find a quality, reliable thermostat and install it, if yours isn’t a good one.  Then, program the system to run less while you’re gone.  In winter, throw an extra blanket on the bed and turn the temperature down 10 degrees.  Whether you are gone or asleep, you can program the thermostat to make your home comfortably warm or cool by the time you get home or wake up.

4. Add weather-stripping to doors and windows.  This isn’t specifically about the HVAC system, but it will keep more of the treated air your heating and cooling equipment makes in your home where it belongs.  And it will keep outside air from making its way indoors, causing your HVAC system work harder – and wasting energy and money in the process.

Conclusion

These 4 affordable, simple steps outline how to save money with your HVAC system.  Take these steps soon and you’ll notice an immediate difference on your energy bills.

A garage, by definition, is a place where you store your car. In reality, it ends up being an extra attic on ground level. It’s easy to stack the discarded packaging from electronics, tools, gardening implements, and even bulky toys in your garage. But if you don’t know how to organize a garage, you may end up creating a health hazard, harbouring harmful pests, and ironically, having little space left over for your car.

You need to set aside a day to work on your garage. You can make it a family affair or gather a group of friends. Throw in the promise of drinks and a barbecue after. This will make the task more fun, boost morale, create motivation for the task at hand, and turn the whole thing into a party. Move the car and clear the yard or driveway to create space for the work. Collect storage accessories that will be used to make everything easier.

Take out the items in the garage individually and class them. Broken items should be placed in one area, dirty items in another, and useful items in a third. Once the garage is completely empty, clean it out thoroughly with brooms, soap, water, and scrubbing brushes if necessary.

While the garage dries and airs, attend to the three piles. Start with the pile of broken items and subdivide the individual pieces. Decide which items can be repaired. The useless ones can be set aside for recycling, and you can classify them according to what they’re made of. Of the reparable items, some can be sold while others will remain in use, so that’s two separate categories. Next, go to the dirty items and clean them. Class them as you clean. Some will be sold, some will be recycled, and others can even be given away.

The garage should be clean and dry now, so you can install storage accessories. You can use things like bike racks, storage bins, wall hooks, and shelves to help arrange the garage. Bicycles, lawnmowers, and power tools can be suspended on racks. Small tools can be stacked in labelled bins.

The key method of how to organize a garage is to keep an inventory. As you place the items back, list every item so that you know exactly what is in your garage. Put the list in a visible place and as far as possible, update the list whenever a new item is stashed in the garage. You can also make a small note on exactly where each item is for easy retrieval.

If you are thinking about installing shelves to help get organized, check out this article 5 Questions To Consider Before Looking At Garage Shelving Ideas from Get Set Organize.

Carpet runners around the home are invariably used in high traffic areas, meaning that over the course of a year that get a large amount of wear. It’s important therefore that unless you want to be replacing your carpet runner every year that you make the right decisions when you purchase your carpet runner. This article takes a look at what you should look for when you a purchasing machine washable carpet runners.

Materials

Like normal rugs washable carpet runners come in a multitude of different materials but all are not made equal when it comes to durability. The ideal material for a washable carpet runner to be made from is a man made material such as Polyamide/Nylon, Polyester or Polypropylene. All of these materials are not only washable (at low temperatures) but they are also very resistant to staining in the first place, so you will have to wash it less in the first place. If you prefer to be eco friendly and go for more sustainable materials you can buy cotton washable carpet runners but these will pick up marks and scuffs much easier than the man made material, that said, if you are looking for a carpet runner in a low traffic area then a natural cotton one could be ideal.

Design

Like normal rugs machine washable carpet runners come in all sorts of designs and colours and we can’t really recommend to you what sort of washable carpet runner design would fit in with your home. However there are some features of the washable carpet runners which are best avoided in the home environment. For instance, you will find that almost all of the washable types of rugs come with a latex backing. In some cases this latex backing is used as a design feature and protrudes around the outside of the mat by about an inch, and is usually black in colour. In our opinion this looks just a little bit industrial and you may want to consider a mat that doesn’t have this feature.

The black latex/rubber edge can look a bit industrial

With no latex edge washable carpet runners look much better

Anti-Slip or Non-Skid

The latex backing of these machine washable carpet runners offers another advantage over regular rugs – they grip to any floor really well. In areas where rugs on the floor traditionally posed a hazard – such as rooms with tiled floors – the latex backing of these washable rugs makes them the ideal choice. It is for this reason that you will now find a myriad of anti-slip kitchen carpet runners on the market all of which don’t need an additional ‘non-slip’ map purchasing to go underneath them. Best of all, these anti-slip kitchen carpet runners are machine washable too so you don’t need to spend a lot of money on getting them dry cleaned.

Size

You might think ‘great – the age of machine washable carpet runners has begun I can line my 30’ hallway and not have to go to the expense of getting it dry cleaned…’ However, before you get carried away consider the size of you washing machine – you would be surprised at how bulky some of these washable carpet runners can be. Their latex backing can be quite stiff and therefore squeezing a large rug in to a regular sized washing machine can be a struggle. For a regular sized washing machine we would recommend not buying a rug over 16 square feet.

So to summarise if you are looking to purchase a machine washable carpet runner consider the following:

• Materials – Buy a manmade material such as Polyamide/Nylon, Polyester or Polypropylene
• Design – Unless you are looking for a washable carpet runner to be used as a doormat then avoid the ones with the black latex or rubber boarder.
• Anti-Slip/Non Skid – Machine washable rugs are ideal for areas with tiled or hard floors
• Size – Unless you have a big washing machine don’t buy a washable carpet runner bigger than 16 square feet

There is nothing that can bring warmth and beauty to an old house like a chandelier. They add charm, beauty and elegance to a room, creating a bright and dynamic lighting. They are usually passed on from one family member to another.  However, there are several ways to find the chandelier you need.

Going to an antiques shop is the first thing most people do to find a vintage chandelier. Some antique shops restore antique lamps, without disturbing the original beauty or value. You definitely want to look in the shops by car. You may be surprised what you find; you may just find exactly what you want. Another good way is to check the lists of property sales. Most real estate sales list the key elements in their documents. You can get more history than it would otherwise state. Auctions can be a good way to find one. Most properties are auctioned off, either at the farm or in a part of the house. You could probably find something.

To make sure that you have found a real old one when shopping for the perfect red chandelier, you need to know how to tell a genuine antique from a reproduction. This will take a little research. There are many books about antiques that can guide you in your search for solar patio lights. First, you need to know the popular materials that make a point of seniority. Polished steel has been a popular material until recently, to cancel the possibility of being an antique. Most were made of materials that were convenient, and beautiful, when applied correctly.

Materials such as brass, bronze, wood and glass are typical materials that identify the chandelier as an antique. You will also want to look at the type of fuel used in the lighting system. The light sources such as candles, kerosene and diesel were very popular and are a positive identification of the chandelier you are looking for. However, many of them have been adapted for the consumption of electricity and it is best to check and make sure it has been changed recently. Manufacturers also gave each a different set of insignia of candles of distinction. These badges are no longer used, mainly because of mass production. If you find a chandelier with badges that are similar to what you saw in old books, it can be an antique.

A chandelier is a jewel because of the charm and elegance it lends the room where it is placed. Choosing the perfect one depends on the style you’re looking for. The larger the room, the bigger it can be. A large chandelier in a small room is very powerful. If you know what you’re looking for, these simple guidelines will help you find the perfect vintage chandelier with the best price.

In this article we provide a series of tips to help you purchase a cheap and reliable toilet.  We’re assuming your budget is less than $500 and that you’d prefer to find a toilet in the $150-$200 range. The good news is that they are a wide range of toilets available in this price bracket, many of which offer a great flush performance.  You’ll also want a toilet that conserves water and that won’t require much maintenance. The last thing you want is to have to pay for expensive plumber call out fees.

How to find a cheap toilet that works well:

• Stick to white toilets. Most models will be available in a number of different colors, but you’ll find that colored toilets tend to be more expensive.
• Choose a model with a standard height of around 14 inches. As the population ages there is a growing trend towards higher toilets as these are easier to stand up from, but they are also more expensive.
• Ideally the “rough in” distance between your bathroom wall and the center of the floor toilet drain will be around 12 inches. This is the standard distance and you’ll find that most cheap toilets will be designed to accommodate this.
• Focus on two-piece toilets rather than the more expensive one-piece integrated designs. Two-piece toilets, where the toilet bowl is separate from the toilet tank, will work just as effectively as one-piece designs.
• If you are interested in corner toilets, then it’s far more cost effective to purchase a standard toilet bowl separately from the corner toilet tank.  Corner toilets are a great space saving option for small bathrooms and guest cloakrooms.
• If you are purchasing in the US look for the EPA’s WaterSense label as this ensures that the toilet will be using less water per flush. Generally this will be around 1.6 gallons which is less than half of the amount of water used in conventional toilet designs. That’s great news for all your water bills.  If you want to take the question of water conservation one step further, there is always the option of purchasing a dual flush toilet. These are generally a little bit more expensive but provide you with the option of choosing between two different flush options; a smaller volume for liquid waste and a larger volume for solid waste.
• The cheapest toilets use gravity flush mechanisms. But despite being the cheapest flush mechanism it’s also one of the most effective. It’s a tried and tested technology that doesn’t rely on any complicated or expensive toilet parts. This type of flushing mechanism also works fine if you have weak water pressure at your house.
• Remember that most two-piece toilets are sold without the toilet seat. The seat may set you back an additional $30-$60. But before you buy, check to see if your old seat is compatible with the new toilet.

Solar panels have been installed on home rooftops for decades, but it’s only recently that they’ve become truly affordable. The change comes from the size of the companies that are producing solar panels. Previously, these panels were produced by small companies that could only manufacture a limited number, and had to sell them to businesses that could afford them. Now that giants like BP and Kyocera are turning how panels at economies of scale, they have the means to make versions specifically for homeowners at competitive prices.

Pricing Home Solar Panels

Most solar panels designed for residential use range between $500 and $1500 each. Under normal circumstances, the ability to quickly comparison shop online is a unilateral advantage for the buyer. However, looking up prices for mini solar panels on the Internet can be a double-edged sword. Many of the prices should will seem too good to be true, in which case it’s critical to look at the fine print. These ultra-low prices frequently indicate a wholesale price that’s only available for quantity orders. That’s not necessarily a deterrent if the house needs several panels that meet the minimum order.

It’s unlikely that one panel will ever be enough for an entire house. Home solar panels are designed to be modular, connected together in series. The power output for each panel will depend on the model, but a common range is 170 to 180 watts at 24 volts to power batteries that store electricity for evening and low-light power supply. Panels are not enough. You’ll need buy an inverter—a device that converts the DC electricity that comes from the panels to AC electricity that can be used by the house wiring.

Grid Tie Systems

One of the advantages of solar energy is that it can be used withing or outside of public utilities. So if you have a farm in a remote location that would otherwise have no access to power, solar systems are the perfect solution. But for most residents, who live on a power grid, they can take advantage of grid tie systems that integrate with the grid. This allows any surplus power generated by the panels to be fed back into the grid and sold to the utility for energy credit. This system of net-metering is one of the key economic benefits of installing solar panels. The Interstate Renewable Energy council maintains a database of federal, state and municipal net-metering programs, as well as any financial incentive programs (like tax credits) for which you might qualify.

You have decided to buy some plastic storage boxes to help clean up around the house and make it more organized and presentable. Once you have decided on the size and shape of container that is best for you, you need to figure out where you are going to go to buy these containers, given that money is tight right now, given the current economic environment. This article will offer some ideas on where you can go to get the best plastic storage containers for your dollar.

If you don’t mind buying used plastic storage boxes, check out your local Goodwill store, where you can buy a wide variety of used items all under one roof at bargain-basement prices. You can find some real gems at these kind of stores, where most people wouldn’t even think of looking. Visit any yard sales that are being held in your area, where people are often desperately trying to get rid of things that they don’t need anymore. You can often find some real steals at places like this, where the price is often negotiable.

Check out online auction sites like eBay, and online marketplaces like Amazon.com, where plastic storage containers are just one of hundreds of thousands of different items sold every day, often at prices that can’t be beat anywhere else. If you’re looking to improve the aesthetics of your home as well as its cleanliness and organization, you can buy some stained glass window film at these places too. Do a Google search, and you may find the websites of companies that offer bulk pricing, where you can purchase a large quantity at a lower unit cost.

You can always visit your local discount retail store, like Wal-Mart or Target, where a wide variety of items such as plastic shoe boxes can be bought at relatively low prices. You can also check out your local hardware stores, or home improvement retail chain, like Lowe’s or Home Depot. These stores carry plastic storage boxes, because they are used extensively at shops and manufacturing facilities to store everything from power tools to mechanical fasteners. You should also check out your local office supply store as these boxes are also used to store files, as well as office supplies.

By following some of the steps outlined above, you should be able to find the plastic storage containers that you need at a very affordable price that won’t break your bank.

With so many of us living in small spaces, the room that housing designers allocate to the kitchen is often less than we would like. And not all of us can afford a complete redesign or a move to a larger home! However, there are ways of optimizing the space available without such drastic measures. If you have a small kitchen ideas such as the following can really help; act on as many of them as you can to maximize the usefulness of the kitchen space you have.

It may sound an obvious suggestion but de-cluttering is one of the quickest and easiest ways to make your kitchen space seem larger. To begin with, try to use up any food you’ve had in your cupboard or pantry for a while, and don’t replace any items you don’t use on a regular basis. Think about moving any kitchen utensils that you don’t use frequently to other rooms, or buy some lightweight plastic crates for the space above your kitchen cupboards, and store the less often used items in these. If you find that your kitchen is being used as a home for non-kitchen-related items, such as stationery, craft tools, or other hobby bits and pieces, make sure you allocate these to another room too, and ban the use of the kitchen for anything other than traditional kitchen uses!

Not all designs for small kitchens are ideal, but you can help to get the most out of what is already there by organizing the contents around the space. Keep ingredients and your favorite utensils close to the food preparation area and serving dishes and glassware in spaces away from the working space. That way, anyone cooking or serving in the kitchen will not need to be disturbed if anyone pops in for a glass of cordial or cup of tea. Try and move the kettle to a place where it can be accessed by tea-makers and cooks alike!

If you often serve meals on a kitchen table, you may find that stopping this habit and having, for example, breakfast on the dining table instead gives you a whole new space which you could use more practically. Consider purchasing a mobile island with a work surface and storage space underneath, for example, or simply a freestanding cupboard if storage space is more at a premium than preparation areas.

The insides of cupboard doors can be a great place to add storage; often the shelves inside the cupboard are a good deal shorter than the depth of the space, and spice racks or other shallow items can be easily relocated inside a door.

The space under the sink is often home to more than just essential cleaning materials, but even these can be moved to a cupboard elsewhere, and just dishwashing products kept in the kitchen. Then you could attach a waste bin to the door, and clear another bit of kitchen floor space.

Finally, be rigorous in keeping your reorganised kitchen the way you want it, and you’ll be amazed at how much space you suddenly have!

One of the most fun parts of entertaining your friends is choosing an appropriate theme. Although you can simply call up a few couples and invite them for a casual get-together, it is much more interesting to give your party a particular subject or theme.

One of the easiest kinds of themes is the calendar. Then all you need to do is think of appropriate seasonal décor ideas. For example, during Easter, you can base your table settings, decorations and centerpieces on Easter bunnies or put pretty little colored eggs together as a table decoration. During the month of October, Halloween centerpieces would be the order of the day, while in December you would base your ideas around Christmas.

But if there is no upcoming festival, holiday, or personal day such as a wedding anniversary or birthday, what kind of theme can you give to a friendly party just to jazz it up a bit? There are plenty of ideas. For example, how about going floral? You could use flowery tablecloths, with a dried flower table arrangement or small vases of flowers on the tables as centerpieces. If you are using more than one table, each table could represent a different kind of flower. You would also decorate the walls with pretty little nosegays or bouquets.

Alternatively, you could be somewhat more exotic and use an African table setting. This is not as difficult as it sounds and can make for an interesting evening. African meals are eaten with the fingers, so you would have to find the appropriate recipes. Set the table with bright Sahara colors, such as red, yellow, gold, fuchsia and turquoise. For decorations, the key is natural materials. Ideally, buy a few African woven tablecloths, napkins, placemats and plate holders for the traditional look. For authenticity, use wooden or pottery plates and decorate everything with beads. Wooden napkin rings with printed African napkins are another integral part of this style. Traditionally, at African meals the dishes are eaten from one plate, and everything is laid out all at the same time, saving you much fuss and serving time. For a centerpiece, put a wooden bowl full of different African spices, tropical fruits, beads and flowers on the table to give that extra African flavor.

Other examples of national themes are Asian table settings, French, or American styles. Similar to the African theme above, you would try to follow national decorations and base the menu on that particular country’s cuisine.

If other nationalities don’t interest you, how about taking a specific time period, such as trying to set up a Victorian table, with silver or silver-plated cutlery, elegant china dishes, and lace tablecloths. You might have to do a little research here to come up with an authentic menu, but it could certainly make for an interesting evening. To add to the atmosphere, you could light the room with mock gaslights, like in the Victorian era and decorate the walls with playbills and embroidered samplers as was done at that time.

For housewives, it is very important to make sure that every place in our house is clean and spot free. Among all the things that we clean, I think we can all agree that the carpet is probably one of the hardest. Imagine cleaning a whole carpeted room. You do not only have to vacuum the entire area thoroughly but you still need to move around all the things just to be thorough and clean every spot. We are quite lucky today since we have the help of technology. However have you ever wondered what the best way to clean carpet is? Below are three of the best methods we have tried.

First one is dry cleaning. This is the do-it-yourself version since carpets as not as mobile as your suits which you can bring to your dry cleaners. All you need here is some quick drying foam purchased from your local hardware store. Spray the foam on your carpet and let it settle for around 20 minutes. Once it is dry, then that is the time to vacuum it away. The foam will act as somewhat a magnet to dirt so when you remove it, the dirt is removed as well. The cost of this is quite cheap but is not as effective as the next one which is hot water extraction.

Hot water extraction uses a machine called a truck-mount unit. This basically has double the power of your normal vacuum cleaner and with a bit of steam cleaning as well to sterilize the area. Normally you can finish your job at half the time when you use this method however the big drawback here is the cost of the machine itself which could cost thousands of dollars. So if you have the money, go for it.

Finally there are some who like the old fashioned hand cleaning method. This might take the longest and require a lot of effort but your cost here is next to nothing. I suggest you ask someone to help you so you can cut your time otherwise you might take around 4 -5 hours to clean an entire room. Just bring your best laundry detergent and start the cleaning. Make sure to dry the entire room though first before allowing anyone to enter as during this time it might get a bit stinky.

So there you have it, these simple methods should serve as a guide for cleaning your carpets it is always best to try to clean a carpet as carpet repair or replacement can be a challenging and expensive. Try out each one and see what you feel is best for you.