Quick tips for eliminating morning madness
April 26, 2010 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Maintenance & Safety Tip, Uncategorized
Calling all moms: eliminate morning madness
(Courtesy of ARA) – Every mom knows that the only thing to expect in the morning is the unexpected. Between finding time for a shower, getting the kids’ teeth brushed and keeping the dog from drinking out of the toilet, morning madness begins in the bathroom for many busy moms. According to a recent Scrubbing Bubbles survey, 81 percent of women begin multitasking right from the start, with eight in 10 admitting to multi-tasking more now than ever before.
“As a mom of two, I know the difficulties of trying to juggle everything in the morning,” says Janice Croze, founder of 5 Minutes for Mom. “Like many women, I start my mental to-do list as soon as I step into the shower, so the last thing I want to look at is a dirty bathroom. By utilizing tools that work hard for me and employing some organizational skills, my mornings run smoother.”
Croze is partnering with Scrubbing Bubbles to offer moms a few simple tips to minimize morning madness:
* Prepare in advance – Make the extra effort to prepare lunches the night before for the kids to grab on their way out the door to school. You can also use the time to start prepping something easy for breakfast, like pancake or muffin batter.
* Turn morning hassles into nighttime fun – Picking out outfits is another night-before activity that can cut down on chaos in the morning. Try making it into a ritual after homework and before bed. If your kids are budding fashionistas, let them help choose what you’ll wear, too.
* Choose cleaning solutions that work overtime – Avoid looking around your house and adding cleaning to your worries by finding products that work harder for you. For example, new Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean Power Sprayer has active cleaners that keep your bathroom surfaces clean for days. So, there’s one less thing on your to-do list for the day.
* De-clutter as you go – Don’t let a mess pile up in the kitchen sink after every meal. Be proactive – leave the dishwasher open and empty, directing everyone to put their dishes in when they’re done eating.
* Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork – Team up with your family members to make sure that everyone has what they need as they go out the door, from completed homework and lunch bags to gym clothes and cell phones.
Making a night-before effort, finding products that work harder for you, and staying organized will cut down on unnecessary chaos in the mornings. To find more tips to help you minimize your morning madness visit www.5minutesformom.com or www.scrubbingbubbles.com.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
5 easy ways to help cut heating cost.
December 29, 2008 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Maintenance & Safety Tip
There’s a good chance that high heating bills are here to stay. As the prices of natural gas and heating oil go up, homeowners will find themselves paying more and more to heat their homes in the winter. Fortunately, you can offset some of the price increases by beefing up your home insulation. In fact, most homeowners can save 30 percent or more on home heating costs by making a few inexpensive home improvements!
Older homes are often most in need of an insulation upgrade. But don’t assume that, because you have a newer home, it’s as well-insulated as possible. Many homes built after 1980 have inadequate insulation because local building codes aren’t up-to-date with US Department of Energy recommendations. Also, occasionally home-builders do scrimp on “little” things like insulation to lower costs and increase profits.
Here are some relatively simple and inexpensive steps you can take to lower your heating bills this winter:
1. Increase attic insulation.
Your attic is a big source of home heat loss and is one of the easiest places to get in to. If your attic does not have at least 12 inches of insulation you can lay paperless rolls of insulation on top of existing insulation, including cellulose or vermiculate. These types of insulation tend to “compact” over time, reducing their effectiveness.
By the way, a well-insulated attic is always cold. If you see icicles dangling from the eaves of your home it means that warm air in the attic is melting snow and the water runoff is re-freezing (which can also cause significant damage to your roof!). Get in there and insulate until the air is very cold.
2. Use weatherstripping around windows and doors.
Lots of heat is lost through the spaces around windows and doors. Modern weatherstripping materials are inexpensive and very effective at minimizing the loss of warm air (and money). Most do-it-yourselfers can install weatherstripping pretty easily. Just make sure to do it in temperatures above 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, always apply weatherstripping to clean, dry surfaces to maximize effectiveness and ensure that it lasts for a long time.
3. Use expansion foam for small spaces.
Expansion foam insulation works great for filling small openings that allow heat to escape. Some examples include the spaces behind electric switch plates on exterior walls, openings where plumbing pipes enter the house, and the small openings that are used to run electricity, cable, and internet lines into your home. All together these little spaces add up to a lot of heat loss and a little bit of inexpensive expansion foam can save you a lot of money on your heating bill.
4. Don’t forget the basement.
Home basements and crawlspaces often have many little openings that let heat escape. This is especially true if they are unfinished. Use paper-faced insulation on exposed ceiling joists and stuff small pieces of insulation into open crevices at the juncture of basement walls and the ceiling. Also, you might want to pump some expansion foam insulation into any small openings around the foundation, which are usually no more than an inch or two wide.
5. Use window curtains and blinds.
One of the simplest ways to reduce heat loss through windows is to use curtains and blinds. They can be closed at night to trap cold air and opened during the day to allow sunlight to naturally warm the house. Remember that the thicker the curtain, the more effective it will be at insulating your house.
As you can see, none of the home insulation steps above are too difficult or too expensive to accomplish. But they will save you a ton of money over the years. Take advantage of them and you just might find this year’s heating bills to be lower than expected!
|
Jamie Clark is a researcher and writer for Home-Insulation-Guide.com. For more home insulation tips and to learn how you can lower your home heating bills visit http://www.home-insulation-guide.com today! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jamie_Clark |
Safety and Security tips from the Atlanta home inspector
December 29, 2008 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Maintenance & Safety Tip
As Atlanta home inspector, one of the things that I watch for while doing a home inspection is the security around the new home that I’m inspecting. I often write up that the owners need to trim the shrubbery away from your home. One of the reasons I write that up is for the actual home inspection part. But another reason I write that up is because it gives an intruder someplace to hide. If you have large shrubbery next to your doorways are across the front of your home, let me encourage you to go ahead and trim that back.
Another less expensive way to deter intruders is to invest in a few solar outdoor lighting sets and place them around your home. This gives you actual lighting at a very cheap cost and looks great in the process.
You may want to replace the standard outdoor light bulbs with motion detectors and doorway lights. Sometimes this will go off from the neighborhood dog, but in the long run, should give you a greater sense of security.
David Lelak, an Atlanta home inspector and owner of IHI Home Inspections serves Canton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Woodstock, Atlanta and all of North Georgia.
Call David today at 404-788-2581 to get your dream home inspected.
We are proud to offer our new FREE Home Concierge Services where one call does it all, Satellite, Internet, Cable TV, Home Security, and Phone. Call 1-866-594-4871 and provide them with access code 1008126. Call our Free Home Concierge Services to save time, save money and simplify life!
You can also schedule your own home inspection today online.
We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time.
Retweet this postWinter maintenance tips from the Atlanta home inspector
December 29, 2008 by Bonnie Lelak
Filed under Maintenance & Safety Tip
As an Atlanta home inspector I like to present different money saving tips to help the home owners out there. One of the less expensive things that you can do yourself is repair around the window sills and doorways. What would need to do is check around each and every window and doorway to see if the existing caulk has started to pull away. Where the caucus started to pull away, you’ll need to remove it completely. Be sure to clean the area where the new caulk will be applied thoroughly. Once the area has dried completely re-cauk with a weather proof caulk.
One other handy tip to keep your window seals from rotting out is to remove your window screens and store them in a storage area if possible, if you’re not opening your windows. By leaving the screens on year-round, and not taking them off you allowmoisture to settle on the window sill in and around the screens, which will cause wood rotting.
David Lelak, a Atlanta home inspector and owner of IHI Home Inspections serves Canton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Woodstock, Atlanta and all of North Georgia. Call David today at 404-788-2581 to get your dream home inspected.
We are proud to offer our new FREE Home Concierge Services where one call does it all, Satellite, Internet, Cable TV, Home Security, and Phone. Call 1-866-594-4871 and provide them with access code 1008126. Call our Free Home Concierge Services to save time, save money and simplify life!
You can also schedule your own home inspection today online.
We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time.
Retweet this post
Facebook
Youtube
LinkedIn
RSS