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How to Make Your Home more Environmentally Friendly

June 12, 2019 by admin

Being more energy-efficient is a fabulous thing, and knowing that you’re reducing your carbon footprint is even better. Mother Nature is a beautiful force, and if you can make any change – no matter how small – to preserve her, then you should probably do it.

It doesn’t just have to mean spending money on new fixes; sometimes, it can just be small changes. Here are just a few ways you can help make your home greener.

Install Solar Panels

Solar power is one of the best sources of clean and renewable energy and is also one of the most reliable. Having solar panels on your roof means you are not only helping the environment, but you’re creating a more consistent energy bill for yourself and even helping to create jobs in the solar panel industry.

It’s also possible to save a whole load of money by switching to solar power. Depending on the state you live in, there are varying tax incentives and cost savings to be had by having home solar systems installed. Companies like goingsolar.com explain exactly what you need to know in terms of where you live, along with an estimator to give you an idea of exactly how much you can save by switching.

Use Your Water Sparingly

Being eco-friendly doesn’t just mean your energy consumption and how you approach it. Water is also a valuable asset, and you can make simple changes to help the planet. Try not to leave your tap running when you are brushing your teeth or shaving. If you don’t need the water during that time, why waste it?

Try to spend a shorter time in the shower if you’re prone to spending half of the time in there singing into the shower head. If you can be in and out in less time, try to do so. You can also even consider installing a lower-flow shower head if you have a large family who spends a lot of time in the bathroom.

Install Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

You don’t want to get to the point where you’re worrying about switching on lights in case it harms the environment – it’s unrealistic to think you can get away with never using electricity or turning on the main lights.

If you elect to switch to energy saving bulbs instead of regular bulbs, you’re not only using less electricity, but you’re prolonging the life of the bulb (energy efficient ones last longer) meaning you’ll save money having to replace them all the time.

Use a Smart Meter for Your Heating

You’ve probably already fallen victim to the trap of leaving your heating on longer than necessary in the colder months, maybe even when you’re out of the house to ensure it’s all warmed up ready for you when you get home. If you use a smart meter programmed to come on and turn off exactly when you need it to, you’ll save money on energy bills and help to reduce your carbon footprint.

Living With Light

November 28, 2018 by admin

Studies show that ambient lighting can have a direct effect on our mood and productivity. It can impact us at home, at work, at school, and just about anywhere we go. Ever noticed when you go to a restaurant they have specific lighting all around in varying intensity? There’s a reason for that. Have you ever seen those gigantic lights that are used in operating rooms? Precision and accuracy are what comes to mind with those type of lights.

Technology Today

As many of us know, technology has played an essential part in the evolution of light bulbs. Great strides have been made to produce energy-efficient, long-lasting, and economical light bulbs today. Many of us are familiar with halogen bulbs and many of us are also familiar with LED light bulbs. I’m sure there was a time when we were thinking to ourselves, Halogen vs LED Lights and made considerations of various factors to make a decision.

Work

In an article from WebMD, workers are found to have a better quality of life and are more productive when exposed to natural light. The article goes on to further describe the study that included forty-nine day-shift office workers. In it, it states that “the study results confirm that light during the natural daylight hours has powerful effects on health.” So the next time you’re feeling a bit sluggish at work, try moving closer to a window or provide yourself with more light. Having more light will also alleviate headaches from eye strain.

Home

Your bedroom at home is your sanctuary. It’s a place you go to after a hard day’s work. It’s a place where you relax and unwind. Lighting plays a big role in relaxing. You want the right amount of light to settle down comfortably. You also want ample light to get ready in the morning. For instance, if you’re an avid reader before bedtime, you would want lighting that will give you enough light to read your book, but not too overpowering that you won’t be able to fall asleep. Most use dimmers in the bedroom so that you can get a wide range of settings for light intensity. Lowering the light as you fall asleep will aid in getting a better night’s rest.

Bathroom

What better way to relax than with a hot shower or a bubble bath at the end of the day. The lighting in the bathroom can also help with relaxation and rejuvenation. Turning down the lights or even using candlelight will help reduce stress while you soak in the tub. In the morning, natural light or white light can give you an energy boost to prepare for the day ahead and inspire a productive day.

Kitchen

One of the most important areas in your home is the kitchen. The kitchen is associated with appetite and nourishment. Specific colors of lighting to varying intensities of light sets the tone for functionality and appetite. Today, there are many contemporary designs that implement the use of both natural and artificial lighting. During the day, you’d want to take advantage of the natural light outside. Windows and skylights can bring natural light indoors. In the evening, soft yellow hues can invoke the feelings of comfort. Lighting plays a significant role in the types of food you create in your kitchen. Lights can inspire to create chef-like dishes or perhaps a relative’s best kept secret recipe. Like many of us, our kitchen is also a place where we eat. Having the right amount of light can certainly create an enjoyable ambiance while eating, and can aid in promoting healthier eating habits.

TV Room

So you’re pumped to watch a movie or tv show on the television. You want to be focused on what you’re watching. Dimming the lights or turning it off completely can feel like you’re at the movie theatre. The excitement remains as you sit there in the dark, snacks on-hand, waiting with anticipation. Having a dimmed or dark room will ensure minimal distraction.

Patio

You breathe in the fresh air outside. It’s evening and you’re not ready to go inside just yet. As darkness falls, a sense of calm comes over you. The moonlight shines bright and casts silhouettes around your patio floor. Moonlight not only calms but energizes the mind. Having minimal to medium lighting on your patio should be used to maintain the ambiance.

Hospitals

Precision and accuracy are what we normally associate the lighting of hospitals with. Well-lit and bright overhead lights are used in hospitals to help healthcare professionals in caring for their patients. That is why it is important that hospitals have bright lights throughout the hospital. Bright white light also encourages and promotes patient recovery.

In conclusion, light effects us in many ways and in different places. The color, the intensity, and the type of light used vary in many combinations. In today’s technology, there are LED lights that come with a remote control and are as thin as sheets of paper. They light up in various colors and can be attached anywhere. Smart lighting is trending as well. You can automate or control your lights with your smartphone or it can automate itself by adjusting to the time of day. There are many technological advances today for lighting.

Budget-Friendly Home Renovation

September 27, 2018 by admin

Tackling a home renovation is more challenging than it might seem. Not only do you have to plan everything and keep track of your progress, but you also need to choose projects that will offer you great value for money. Without a proper renovation approach, your remodelling project can quickly turn into an expensive nightmare.

Decide whether to hire professionals

Depending on the type and scope of your renovation, you’ll have to decide whether to hire contractors or DIY. Undertaking a renovation on your own can save you a significant amount of money. However, if you’re not experienced in the field, you risk making an expensive mistake. In addition, certain projects require professional experience, especially those that entail structural changes.

Create a budget

Although you cannot know exactly how much money you need for a home renovation, you should still create a budget. When creating a renovation budget, you should always set aside an amount for unexpected costs. Once you’ve set up the budget, you should stick to it because renovation costs can quickly get out of control. In addition, you should shop around before buying materials and other items. There are great discounts and offers, you just need to find them.

Plan your renovation

Another great way to control your expenses is to plan the remodelling project in detail. If you’ve decided to take on a DIY project, you need to act as a project manager, which entails developing an efficient, time-effective plan. Aside from creating a timeline and defining different stages of your home renovation, you should also find a way to monitor your costs in order not to exceed the budget.

Rent, don’t buy

You should find different opportunities to cut your expenses where possible. Renting the pieces of equipment that you don’t have is typically more affordable than buying new ones. For example, you can rent portable and stable scaffolding for the duration of your renovation. Chances are that you won’t frequently use certain pieces of equipment, so you can save a lot of money by renting them for this particular occasion.

Choose projects that will pay off

When renovating your home, you should go with improvements that will pay off in the long run or that will increase the value of your home. For instance, instead of wasting a fortune on building a sunroom, you should design a wooden deck. Certain improvements won’t cost you much, yet they will bring great value to your home. Painting the interior is one of the most affordable remodelling ideas that will make a big difference in your home.
If you’re remodelling your home in order to sell it, you should go with projects that will help you recoup your investment. Replacing your garage door, painting the façade, insulating your home properly, implementing minor bathroom and kitchen upgrades and sprucing up your landscape are some of the most profitable home remodelling ideas.

Repurpose

Repurposing is both eco-friendly and budget-friendly, so you should definitely consider reusing your old materials. You can also buy repurposed materials at a much more affordable price. For instance, you can purchase second-hand shingles in excellent condition if you’re renovating you roof. You can also find slightly used fixtures for your home, especially if you’re aiming for a vintage look. This will help you enhance the sustainability of your property while also cutting your renovation expenses.

Go green

Before dismissing green improvement because they might be more expensive at first, you should consider the long-term merits that they offer. By implementing green improvements in your home, especially those that can boost its energy efficiency, you’ll be able to cut your energy consumption and increase your savings. In addition, if you ever decide to put your home on the market, eco-friendly updates will certainly pay off because they will increase the value of your property substantially. You can start small by installing LED lighting or replacing your leaky faucets with low-flow models. Afterwards, you can consider going with major green improvements, such as installing a solar system.

By following these tips, you’ll be able to cut your renovation costs while still getting excellent results.

Serious Home Upgrades: How to Finance Them

July 31, 2018 by admin

As homeowners, we always look for ways to improve our homes in order to secure better living conditions for our families and to add more value to our assets. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always go smoothly, as money is often the biggest issue. Also, it’s not uncommon to have the home improvement project turn into a never-ending process that devours your precious budget in the blink of an eye!

For that reason, it’s imperative you take time and make careful financial plans and research all available financing options and possible downfalls. You may also be able to save some money on home upgrades by doing them yourself. For example, there are plenty of assemble yourself cabinets available online that are easy to install. Here are a few other suggestions on how you can deal with this sensitive matter.

Use cash if you can

If you’re undertaking a large-scale home renovation project and it’s possible to divide it into smaller stages, using cash is probably the best option. In that way, the risk of piling up debt decreases significantly.

The average cost of serious home improvements and upgrades is usually around $20,000 and for most people, finding that sum of money in a short period of time is often impossible. So, dividing your project into smaller and more feasible phases is your best chance.

Take a loan

Even the big renovation projects can be scaled down to medium ones as far as the costs go. That means somewhere between $15,000 and $50,000, which will make you eligible for unsecured or personal loans. They’re easy to apply for and you don’t need any collateral.

There’s also the option of longer periods for payback without putting your home as a collateral, but interest rates are much higher and there are no tax benefits to boot. So in the end, you’ll pay more than you initially planned, but most clients claim it’s worth the price.

Combo options

Going with cash or loans only is not your only option. Another feasible option is combining these two and in many cases, experts recommend it. The main advantage is that you’ll be able to reduce the amount you pay in interest. Just bear in mind that the longer you stretch your financial plan, the bigger the odds are that you’ll end up in a tight spot.

Financing program

When thinking of improving and upgrading your home, you need to consider the time we live in now and the future as well. We are already experiencing climatic changes, extreme temperatures, and induced storms, so investing your money into insulation, door, window and roof reinforcement is something to be seriously considered.

Such investment is quite substantial and, for most people, unattainable. However, with financing programs such as PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy), serious improvements and energy-efficient upgrades are now easily done. This is a new concept in financing property improvements that help save energy, harness renewable energy, conserve water and offer protection against natural disasters.

The obvious question here is: how does Pace work? In general, with the help of PACE, homeowners can get full financing for their renovation project, based on the available equity in their property and payment ability. The entire amount, including interest and any applicable fees, is added to your property taxes which you then pay over a period of time. It can be done via your annual or semi-annual property tax bill or as a part of your monthly mortgage installment.

0% credit cards

It’s almost hard to believe, but there are some surprisingly good options here, too, provided you have a decent credit. If that is the case, your bank might offer you a zero-rate credit card that will probably sound like science fiction to you. But, it’s quite a realistic probability and it can finance your project without a cent paid in interest.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t come without potential traps that can easily swallow you, if you’re not careful enough. These are usually sky-high interest rates after the expiration date, the lack of tax benefits, the balance transfer fee, penalties for missing a payment or being late and a short period of time for the payback.

When you’re thinking about the ways to finance your home improvement project, your main consideration is being prudent and thinking about contingency. However enticing and appealing some financial loans or programs may seem initially, you should look beyond the instantly available sum of money. In order to avoid creating more serious problems long term, pick your projects carefully and invest only in those that will add value to your home and improve the quality of your living standard.

How to reduce your household expenses

July 10, 2018 by admin

If you are concerned about your finances, it is important that you act fast to resolve the situation. After all, it’s your best chance of getting matters under control before you are landed in an enormous amount of debt and forced to change your lifestyle drastically. Although it is important to keep living in the way you desire, there should be some areas that you can subtly adjust. Doing so will help you to free up some funds and to pay off any debts. Why not begin with your household expenses? There are so many ways that you can reduce them to secure impressive savings. Below are six suggestions to get you started.

Taking care of your animals

Owning a pet can be expensive. That is why you need to keep your eyes peeled for money saving opportunities. Make sure that you do your research before going ahead with any purchases. For instance, if you are a dog owner, you should think about the meals that you are providing for your pampered pooch. It will give you a chance to compare your prices and to make sure that you are getting the best dog food for the money you are handing over. Once you have made this purchase, you will need to weigh each meal to make sure that you are not overfeeding your pet and wasting precious resources. Another step is to try grooming your animal at home. You could set up a washroom and invest in high-quality products. Although this will be expensive at first, in the long run, it will save you from paying someone else to do this for you.

Completing your weekly grocery shop

Next, you should think about saving money on your weekly grocery shop. If you are going to reduce your household expenses, you can’t afford to be throwing money away. That is why you should never buy a product unless you absolutely need it. You can ensure this by creating a meal plan for each week. Then, you can write out a grocery list that will help you to budget your purchases and to stick to your plan. Instead of relying on a scrap of paper that could easily be lost or torn, you should download a useful app. That way, you have no excuse for wandering off course. You could even download an app that allows your family to add to your list remotely. Creating a list will save you from forgetting any essentials and wasting precious time on a second trip to the store. Although you should be sticking to your list, you should also be on the lookout for any chances to buy items in bulk and to secure a one-off deal. Why not set yourself a financial goal for each week?

Paying your monthly bills

It is likely that a lot of your outgoing expenses involve paying your monthly bills. Whether this is your electric bill or your heating bill, it is vital that you are cutting costs wherever possible. You can do this by getting off the grid and creating your own energy. Not only will this help you to save money, but it could also help to save the environment and to boost the value of your property. If you don’t already have solar panels, now is the time to invest. You could even end up generating enough energy to sell back to the government. You should also invest in comprehensive insulation solutions, as this will prevent valuable heat from escaping your property. Additionally, you should switch your regular light bulbs to LED alternatives and encourage your loved ones to turn off their devices once they have finished with them.

Managing your technology

When it comes to your technology, you should also be evaluating your television subscriptions. If your family likes to explore a wide range of channels, you may be facing a large monthly bill. It is one area where you could be making a huge saving. Firstly, you will need to make sure that you aren’t paying for channels that you don’t watch. You will also need to compare the prices that you could be getting with other providers. Understanding your options could help you to negotiate a better deal, as the company that you are currently with will have to compete for your loyalty. Another thrifty tip is to ask your loved ones to charge their devices in public places. You should also be leading by example and do the same. It will save the sockets in your home from being switched on all the time. Perhaps you could charge your smartphone at your favorite coffee shop or take your power pack along to the local library.

Cleaning your property

Cutting down on your expenses shouldn’t stand in the way of you being house proud. Instead, it should simply evolve your attitude towards cleaning. Instead of hiring outside help, you should establish a chore chart for the whole family to follow. You could also save money by creating your own cleaning products as an alternative to store-bought solutions. Finally, you should endeavor to clean your own car, as this is another brilliant way for you to claw back some extra funds.

Keeping your family entertained

If you spend a lot of money on keeping your family entertained, you should write a list of fun and free activities that everyone will enjoy. Embracing a thrifty lifestyle will help your loved ones to respect their money and to create their own entertainment. Why not hold a weekly family meeting and encourage everyone to bring along at least one suggestion? You could spend time outdoors hiking or walking along the beach. You could attend a cultural event such as an open gallery or a community theatre performance. Or, you could strengthen your family bond by taking part in a charity run or an outdoor team sport. The most important thing is that you aren’t relying on your wallet to have a good time. It may take a little while for you to get used to this change, but it won’t be long until you’re all having fun.