Green Thumb

I was chatting with my Mom the other day, when suddenly I had a good laugh after she mentioned about her inability to tender the garden at the moment.  She sounds like a bit desperate and I didn't expect that with the current weather condition in the Philippines, she would still insist to have a regular visit to our home garden. My Mom is quite old already and I do not permit her to go out of the house especially when it's constantly raining as  I don't want her to get any accident. The possibility of her slipping down the floor is very evident with a wet ground and I don't want to take chances.  When she raised that concern to me, I consoled her by saying that there's no need to water the plants at the garden anyway or do anything at the moment and our garden would be okay.  My Mom has a green thumb.  She has that great passion for plants and gardening, thus, it explains why I was really hooked into gardening.  We used to take care of the garden together when I was still working in the Philippines.  I told Mom to leave the garden to the care of our house helper but Mom would like to do the job herself even I don't really like the idea of her getting too tired.

Next summer, I am planning to buy a suitable garden hose for her so things will be a lot easier.  Well, it doesn't need to be a heavy duty penflex metal hose.  Just something that she could use to water the plants so she doesn't need to carry a bucket of water every time she goes around the garden area.  On the contrary, I was thinking that somehow, gardening should never be taken away on my Mom's daily routine.  It's a good form of exercise for her and it creates an outlet for her to relax and entertain herself.

I'll be home this October and I myself is so excited to have a sight of my garden once again.  I am looking forward to see how robust are my plants now and I would also like to do some trimmings on some of our ornamental plants.  Hope that the consistent typhoons in the Philippines would not cause massive destruction on my home garden.

Relaxing Outdoor Space

 
This outdoor design by Patricia Wagner proves only one thing! That beating stress and finding ways to relax need not be expensive. And the good news is.....

You can do it within the confines of your homes and outdoors.  :)

This garden design allows a lot of sun shine and fresh air to come in and provides ample light for some reading activities. Since there is a garden atmosphere with all those lovely greens, this outdoor space provides a better place for entertainment, as well.

How about having some coffee and cakes with your friends while chatting or perhaps discussing some business ideas?

This relaxing outdoor space will certainly bring us some peace and quiet moments that's truly invigorating! 

Kitchen Makeover

Is there anyone here interested to do a kitchen makeover? Would you like to save on huge labor costs hiring the services of a professional cabinet maker?  Would you love to give your kitchen a new look with lots of design options to choose from?  If you answer yes to all these questions, then why not consider going for ready to assemble kitchen cabinets?  

Ready to assemble kitchen cabinets can be ordered online and are available for shipping within the next two to three days depending on your location.  The fact that it can be done by yourself or any people in your house using the enclosed instructions and pictures, could save you a lot in labor cost by hiring contractors.  I think this is a good alternative for getting that awesome kitchen look at a reduced price.  A free kitchen design service is also being offered to help you plan your dream kitchen by giving the exact measurements and configurations of your kitchen space.  

As a home maker myself, I think it is every one's dream to replace those obsolete kitchen cabinet design that you used to have with a fresh looking one but budget has always been the issue. The introduction of the ready to assemble kitchen cabinets provides a solution to this problem.  If I have to order one, I would choose the compact design with lots of organizers and drawers to hold all my kitchen items. That would be wonderful!

 

Storage Ladder

See this cool bright colored storage ladder featured on DIY projects from hgtv? I think this is a good way to store our bath room items in a simple and unique style.  This storage ladder can be positioned in corner of any room  and can be a real space saver.  This can also be use in the study room or on any part of the house.  The choice is yours!  I particularly like the idea that this can even be fabricated using our left over woods at the back yard. Just paint it with a color of your choice and voila! A cool storage ladder!

This can brighten up any dull space and can accentuate any room, not to mention that it can help us organize our things in a snap.

I will certainly make one for our house! :)

Home Restoration Products

As many parts in my house were tiles covered like our floors, bathroom, inside kitchen as well as our dirty kitchen, I am in search of some products which could help us maintain our tiles in good condition.  As I was browsing online, I saw this Rejuvenate Tile and Grout Cleaner which says "Remove Cake-On Dirt and Grimes".  I guess, it's user friendly cause you just need t spray it on any surface that you would like to clean and it does the cleaning by itself.  You don't have to scrub and it continues to clean long after you are done.  I think it will save us more time in cleaning and is a very good cleaning aid especially for those Moms on the go.

Here is another variant that I like: Grout Renewer Pens

These renewer pens allow anyone to get professional results in no time.  It's easy to apply, doesn't mess up and restores the color of your grouts in a snap.  I think it's great for Moms, too as we don't need to ask for professional help when we feel like we wanted to restore the beauty and cleanliness of our tiles grout anytime.

As I just saw these products online, I am not sure if these products are available on stores worldwide but I think, this can be ordered online.  I think these home restoration products can help most home makers in maintaining their homes always looking clean and beautiful.

Refinance Program For Home Owners

I've been an OFW for 5 years now and one of the most common investment for those people working abroad is getting a house and lot.  I've heard a lot of stories from friends and relatives about the success and failure of getting a home for themselves.  Some were able to obtain one by buying the property in cold cash through their savings and some acquired their properties by going through a financing institution. However, I observed that more than 50 per cent of overseas workers obtained their properties through financing institutions like the Mutual Home Development Fund and Social Security System,  while others apply directly to the real estate developers who offer different kinds of payment scheme.  As for my case, I choose to acquire my properties by using my savings as I wanted to avoid complications in case that I failed to pay my monthly amortizations.  Some financing institutions will foreclose your properties if you failed to remit your monthly amortization for 3 consecutive months.   Besides, if I use up my saving to purchase a lot or a house and lot, I could save on the interests that most financing institutions would charge for obtaining such loan.   

A lot of stories can be told about employees who neglect on their responsibilities to remit their monthly amortization as some lose their jobs in the midst of the payment period  and some were simply lured into over spending and had been delinquent payers.  For some, they took the risk of their properties being foreclosed and lose their investments while others opted to save their investment by refinancing their home loans.  There are lots of refinancing institutions available but many owners failed to qualify for the traditional refinance options and ended up paying interests more than what they can afford.

Good thing that there are some refinancing institutions that offer an affordable program to help the home owners qualify for a refinance and save money on their mortgage payments.  An example of which is the HARP refinance savings that could assist millions of struggling home owners by providing them the opportunity to refinance their loans.  This was made possible by allowing more flexibility in the qualifying requirements for borrowers.  

I personally think that such program will help home owners stay in their homes.  More often, it would be ideal for home owners to take a responsible stand in keeping their commitments to avoid losing their investments.  However, if you are confronted with the situation, acting responsibly by looking for alternative solutions would be a worthwhile decision.  Being aware of such programs  and keeping yourselves informed of available options will put you in a more advantageous position.   

A New Way Of Caring For Your Homes

June to August is the season of typhoons in the Philippines and during this period, I cannot help but worry.  You see, a lot of discomfort happens during this time and more often, our home sweet home is always faced with the natural wear and tear brought about by heavy rains and floods.  One common problem that I observed during this period is the accumulation of molds indoor and outdoor.  These molds reproduce and digest whatever they are growing on.  Presence of molds on woods, carpet, walls and even on food items stored in our cup boards really gives us discomfort aside from the fact that it can cause structural problems in our homes.  I've been thinking of  how to control indoor mold growth until I realized that in order to control mold, we have to control moisture.

Recently, I came across a site on  Ottawa insulation. I would admit, it's my first time to hear about spray foam insulation and I was amazed with the many benefits that it can offer to our homes.  It can seal our homes from air and moisture intrusion, thus preventing the accumulation of my number one enemy at home, molds!  Not only that, I've learned that Spray foam Ottawa can add strenght to our home's building structure, can help us save on energy costs, thus lowers our utility bills to nearly 40%.  We can actually choose between closed cell spray foam and open cell spray foam which are both highly effective.  They offer the most environmentally-friendly spray-foam insulation and we don't need to worry about safety procedures and health concerns.  Their service comes with warranty and installation is normally done by highly qualified professionals. Sometimes, I am thinking that this kind of home protection can be very costly but looking on long term benefits, I think we could be getting back our money by saving on the cost of repairs on the building and on the reduction in our utility bills since energy can be conserved. 

It's really hard to maintain our home sweet home, but the rewards of staying in a safe, clean, and durable homes is always a plus factor.