|
|
|
|
Teresa's Timely Tips Newsletter
| Click on the desired content to be directed to that information without having to scroll down. | Summer Newsletter Content:
Home Improvement Tips for the Summer
How to Raise Healthy Kids and Save Money Part I
How to Raise Healthy Kids and Save Money Part II
Thrifty Storage Part I
Thrifty Storage Part II
Real Estate Update
ARCHIVES:Spring 2009 Newsletter
Winter 2008 Newsletter
Fall 2008 Newsletter
Spring 2008 Newsletter Summer 2008 Newsletter
Return to Homepage |
| 1.Clean and seal decks. Ideally, you'll need three consecutive warm, sunny days. On day one, dry out the deck. Apply deck cleaner and scrub the deck on the second day and let it dry 24 hours. On the third day, apply deck sealer.
2. Hire a certified chimney sweep to inspect and clean chimneys. Doing this task now instead of the fall allows plenty of time for repairs before the next heating season. It's also easier to schedule a sweep.
3. Wash the exterior of your house, using ordinary garden hose pressure and a mild detergent. Beware of the pressure washers, they are powerful enough to force water under the siding where it may encourage mildew and rot. Power washing is a job for a pro.
4. Caulk exterior joints around windows and doors. Caulking helps keep your house weather-tight and lowers heating and cooling bills. It can also help keep insects and other "critters" out of your house. When you caulk before painting, it eliminates edges where the paint may start to peel.
5. Clean lint from the entire clothes dryer vent system, from the dryer to the exterior vent cap. Because lint is incredibly flammable it poses a fire risk. If a gas clothes dryer is not properly vented, it can force carbon monoxide back into the home and that can be deadly.
6. Check operation of attic fans and roof-mounted turbine vents. Attic fans run on little energy and can greatly reduce summer cooling costs.
7. Clean Ice-Makers. Debris on or around the condenser coils prevents them from cooling thereby making the condenser work harder, wasting energy and shortening its life.
8. Burglarproof Your House. Inspect the operation of automatic-light timers and motion-detector systems, especially if you're planning a vacation. Break-ins can be thwarted with security measures that prolong the burglar's time and effort.
9. Repair cracks in concrete patios and driveways. For most cracks less than 1/4", apply concrete caulk; just clean the crack out with a high-pressure hose nozzle, let it dry and then apply the caulk into the crack. For larger cracks, substitute concrete patch for caulk.
10. Increase your pool maintenance. Pool parties and more frequent pool use make chlorine dissipate faster. That leads to algae build up. Conditioners, frequent cleaning and lengthier filter runs are a must for summer.
11. Repair water-stained ceilings Following a roof leak, there is usually a yellow or brown stain on the ceiling below. Don't try to paint right over the stains--they're likely to show through. Simply seal a stain with a stain sealer, then repaint the ceiling (you can try to touch up the area, but, for uniformity, you're likely to find that the entire ceiling may need to be painted).
12. Fix missing or damaged roofing. Look for trouble spots on top of the roof (but only in good weather and if you can do this safely). Or, during the day, go into the attic with a bright, portable light to check for signs of wetness or water marks. You can also look for pinpoints of daylight showing through (on a wood shingle roof, you'll probably see many such places, but these tend not to leak because they're protected by the shingles' overlap.) When in the attic, step only on secure framing members--never on the insulation or topside of the ceiling below--this won't support you!
13. Clear gutters and downspouts. Water damage often occurs as a result of clogged
|
| 1– Doctors are always complaining about not drinking enough water. Cutting out just one glass of soda per person per day for a family of four can save you almost $600/year and make you healthier.
2-Obesity is a major problem among children in the United States. If you cut out just one bag of chips a week you would save $125 a year and make them healthier.
3-Lack of exercise is a big problem. Save time and wear and tear on your car by walking and making them healthier at the same time.
4-You are not depriving children when you don’t buy them every toy they see and want. We wouldn’t dream of giving a baby on baby food all the chocolate that he wants because we know it would make him sick. His body can’t tolerate that much chocolate even if he desires it.
|
|
5-When a young child looks at piles of toys, he can become very stressed over choosing which one to play with. If you watch, you will notice that they tend to play with the same couple of toys over and over. If you didn't give them all the toys they asked for and bought one less brand new toy at $10 a week, you would save $520.00 in one year and you would help relieve them of some stress.
6-It is no wonder our children stay confused. We insist that they should eat healthy yet we take them out to eat 3-5 times a week at McDonald's. We give them a bag of carrot sticks in their lunch because it's healthy and then give them a bag of chips when they get home from school to get them off our backs.
7-We want them to have strong character yet the moment they whine or cry for another toy or some candy at the store we give in out of guilt. We are afraid that if we don’t give them what they want, they won’t love us so to rid ourselves of uncomfortable feelings we say yes. How can we teach them to be strong in character when we are so weak?
|
| 1) The most important factor in being organized is to be able to locate what you need when you need it.
2) Organizing holiday items is something you can get your whole family involved in. Rather than spending additional money on red and green boxes to store Christmas items, you can have your children create special labels for the boxes you do have. They can color trees or Santas or other holiday themed pictures for you to affix to the front of the boxes. Then when you store them, you will be able to see which ones are the holiday boxes just by looking. You can do this for any holiday or birthday supplies.
3) Looking to organize your bathroom? You can spend just a couple of dollars on a roll of colorful contact paper and cover some shoeboxes. You can have a box for make-up, one for hair styling supplies, anything you like! Another advantage to this is that the contact paper can easily be wiped down with a slightly damp cloth .
|
| 4) The contact paper idea can actually be used in many places in your house. If you need more clothing storage but don't want to spend money on a furniture piece just now, you can cover banker's boxes (or other cardboard boxes) and use them for dresser cubes. This also allows you to change out the 'decor' whenever you want. You can cover smaller boxes to hold office supplies or other home office items.
5) Looking for ways to be nifty and thrifty in your kitchen or pantry? Buy a handful of inexpensive plastic lazy susans and create specific areas. You can have a baking area, a canned soup area, a children's snack area just for some examples. By keeping these areas together and organized, you will save money because you will know exactly what you have. You will be able to see these items in your closet with just a spin of the lazy susan. This will help to avoid things being lost in the back which will eventually be thrown out because they become stale. This will help you to avoid buying duplicates of items you already have and it will help you to be able to meal plan by seeing right in front of you what is there and what you might need to buy.
6) The biggest nifty and thrifty way you can organize is to cut down on the amount of stuff you have. ESPECIALLY if you are paying for a storage unit or have your garage so full of storage stuff that you can't park your car in there. The fewer items or boxes that you are storing, the better able you will be to organize them effectively. If you have things in storage that are valuable to you either monetarily or sentimentally, then they should be taken care of and respected. They should not be shoved into storage boxes with a bunch of things that aren't as important.
7) If you do have an offsite storage unit that you are paying for, it's important to know exactly what is in there. Then you can determine where you might be able to store the stuff at your home so it won't cost you so much money. You might also decide that the stuff in storage isn't worth paying that amount of money for any longer.
8) You might be asking yourself what is 'nifty' about getting rid of stuff. By cutting back on the quantity of things that we have, we can more fully enjoy the items that we are keeping. If we only have a few select pieces or collectibles, they can be properly displayed inside the home. Spending money to collect things that we just end up storing is neither nifty nor thrifty!
|
| From March 2009 to June 2009 in the Florence area 39.08% of homes on the market sold with a average price of $151,159 and an average of 110 days on the market and in the Lake City area 34.78% of homes sold with an average price of $46,751 with an average of 120 days on market. Foreclosures are still driving the market. The first tIme home buyers tax credit is still available for up to a $8000 tax credit and there are also tax credits available to make your home more energy efficient - such as insulation, energy efficient windows, and more. It is a good time to buy because prices are low. All of Lake City qualifies for USDA Rural Development 100% financing for first time home buyers.
| | |
|
|
|
|
|