Posts in category 'Home Improvement'

I just had an amazing weekend of spring cleaning. For those of you who have been reading along, you know that means I had a fantastic time. Decluttering, organizing, scrubbing, shampooing and sweeping were all on the agenda and all were crushed! Of course the reward of a cold beer in the hot tub didn't hurt one little bit. Not to mention the tub was re-filled and we got the chemicals sorted out. You don't want to know what happened in that tub over St. Patrick's Day weekend! Thankfully we avoided the green food coloring.

If you're itching to get cleaning and you are (beyond) ready for spring, this article should help nudge you in the right direction. I have memories of mom (and us kids) taking down all the curtains, washing all the windows, laundering all the blankets and moving all th...

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As I write this, it's a crisp and nose-hair freezing 2 degrees outside. It's dark. And I'd much rather be under a big blanket finishing season 6 of Parks & Recreation. (I know!! Can you believe I've never watched this final season!?) Old Man Winter has us in his boney fingered grip and he does not appear to be letting up anytime soon. I'm still madly in love with winter and, aside from a few unseasonable warm-ups, it has been a great winter for getting outside and playing in the snow.

Last weekend I found myself "puttering" around the garage, filling up the snowblower with gas and running the weed wacker just to remind him of his duties. This got my mind fast-forwarding to spring and some of the projects I have planned for the landscaping around the house. In general we don't have m...

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Over the last 8 – 10 months we have upgraded the kitchen appliances and the result brings a smile to my face literally every day. The fridge was outdated and way too small. The dishwasher didn't, well, "wash" dishes! And the sink/faucet combination was way too shallow and simply annoying to use. Everything we bought was second hand to save money (It's amazing what people sell!) and other than the water line to the new fridge, we installed everything ourselves. We literally couldn't be happier.

On multiple articles over the last few years we have discussed the remodeling or upgrading of certain areas of the home. Kitchens, baths, basements and garages have all received my treatment and all have had one thing in common. It is important to know for whom you are doing the remodel. In most cas...

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Anyone who knows me knows that I like things to be simple. Regardless of the restaurant (for the most part) I order a cheeseburger first. If they can make a good burger, chances are it is worth it to try a more complicated (read: expensive) item next time. My vehicle purchase only had 2 requirements: 4-wheel drive and 6-cylinder. Granted, I do work from home, but my daily clothing includes the same pair of pants and my favorite sweatshirt.

A friend of mine went back home for the holidays and left his dog with some friends of his. When he returned his dog "Buddy" was obviously not happy with being left that whole time and clearly did not like where he was. After further chatting with my friend, he noted that the house where Buddy was living for the week was in a constant state of chao...

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Regardless of where you stand on the global warming issue you'd really have to be living under a rock to not accept the reality of what we humans are doing to harm this planet. (You know. The only planet we have on which to exist!) But even if global warming and the horrific issue we are creating with all of our waste doesn't motivate you to "act locally", we can all agree that saving money is a good thing, right?

This week a friend of the newspaper from Randolph wrote in with some great information about solar panels. It prompted me to do a little digging of my own and explore this technology a bit further. I've now lived in two homes that have had solar in place. The first used the panels, situated just behind the house, to heat the water for the home. This handled the "forced hot wa...

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