New Home Design Should Be Energy Efficient

When you are ready to finally buy your own home, you may want to consider having a new home built rather than purchasing a home that is already standing. There are several good reasons to look into building a home from the ground up, not the least of which is getting a home designed to save money over the long run. Companies that can help you with new home design in Edina, including TC Home Builders, will be able to go over the options that you want and how to make them energy efficient and non-toxic to your family.

Lead and Asbestos

The first thing that you should know about a new home is that it will not contain any lead-based paints or asbestos. Older homes that were built before the regulation of these substances may still contain these items, and you will most likely have to sign a waiver stating that you understand the hazards, aware that they may or may not exist in the current structure, and will not hold the seller liable for any health problems that may result from the substances. With a new home, you won’t have to deal with these problems.

Energy Efficiency

You can design your new home for the ultimate in energy efficiency. Windows and insulation can have the highest R-rating available, which will keep your home from leaking heat or air conditioning. Geothermal technologies can harvest the heat in the ground to heat in the winter and can dissipate the heat from your home to cool in the summer: all at a cost that is less than what a normal HVAC system would cost.

Energy Production

The roof of the home and the garage can be outfitted with solar panels, so that your home creates energy. Not only does this save you money immediately, but it will also help you by giving you a hedge against rising energy costs. You may even be able to get a tax break, and many areas have adopted or are adopting the policy that the power company has to buy back any energy that you create and do not use.

Companies like TC Home Builders can help you create the dream home that you have always wanted, and it can be a home that will pay you dividends in both the short and long term.

Recipe Holder

As baking has now been a part of my "not so boring" life (lol), I am thinking of ways to speed up my work and make everything organized.  I'have thrown several messed up recipe sheets as I accidentally spilled something on these while baking.   Holding these sheets with my dirty hands also made the recipes unfit for future use.  Because of this experience, I have thought of coming up with something to solve my problem. You see, I always wanted to display the recipe sheet every time I bake as I don't want to miss up on any ingredient.   It happens to me once and this affects the overall taste of my cup cakes.

On one of my shopping adventures, I chanced upon this plastic holder which is actually multi purpose.  It's good to hold photos, menus, brochures, directions, announcements, etc.  Oh, and I find it perfect as a recipe holder for my kitchen, at least just for my cake recipes.

As there are two basic recipes which I often used at home for our cup cake business, I thought of having these recipes displayed on this recipe board.  It's so easy actually.  I just have the recipes printed from the computer, cut these out according to the size of the plastic holder, add up some cute photos of cakes from my old organizers and magazines and voila! I have this very cute recipe holder for my favorite cake recipes. This holds my recipes permanently and protect them from being messed up while baking.  Also, it is very convenient for me to scroll down the ingredients as the recipe is displayed in a standing position.

It's very cute and very neat. :)

At Home on Christmas

Hi everyone! How was your Christmas?  As for me, we had a great time at home with the family. We had our Noche Buena, followed by attending a holy mass aired on ABS-CBN and then a short chat with hubby and finally, the most awaited exchange of gifts among members of the family.  It was a family tradition to have an exchange gift every Christmas and it's a fun filled activity where every member of the family get to enjoy every Christmas eve.  Everyone was excited to open their gifts and even out pets shih-tzus, Marcus and Lucio received their gifts too from all of us. :)

Marcus and Lucio received some treats from all of us and Marcus was very pleased with his toy.  In fact he opened the gift all by himself. lol

I was glad that my daughter loves her gift.  I gave her what she truly needs.  Well, she's not expecting to receive a Dean Markley guitar strings at musicians friend and she was equally happy with what she got.  My son had lots of shoes and I gave him a nice shoe organizer and a set of skin care products.  We all gave healthy treats for Mom as these are really what she needs now and she was all smiles when she opened her presents. Oh and before I forget, I got a very nice present from my daughter and son too.  I will post it on my other blog, soon.

Christmas is always nice to celebrate with family and for me, that's the true essence of Christmas.

Closet Organization

My fervent desire to have my closet super organized had led me to look for ways and means to organize everything inside my closet.  From clothes to bags to accessories to belts and everything.  I don't really pressure myself though.  I do it one step at a time.  I'm not thoroughly done yet but I'm already seeing the positive outcome of my hard work.  It's super easy to find things that i would like to get from the closet. I know exactly the place where I would get it.  Another thing, I could get what I need without having to mess up with other things stored on the same area.

It really make the job faster and things can get done easily in no time.  You get to eliminate the hassles of finding for things you want until you end up messing with the entire things in your closet only to find out in the end that the thing that you need is not really there.

This hanging organizer that I hang at the back of the door of my closet now stores those things which I just tuck everywhere in the closet before.  Now these small pieces of papers are stored properly and very easy to find.

That's the beauty of organizing! :)

Why Undergo a Kitchen Remodel?

Every time you walk into your kitchen, you are reminded why you hate to use it. But do you need to go through an entire kitchen remodel in Gainseville, FL, or just make a few minor changes? The following are situations where a more extensive remodel is the desirable option, even given the time and expense involved. What you will end up with is a kitchen that is fun to use and easily accommodates your cooking style. Take-out won’t look so attractive anymore.

Obstructed or Massive Work Triangles

If the way is obstructed between your sink, your countertop or island, and your refrigerator, cooking becomes a major hassle and takes far too long to be enjoyable. Even if the way is not obstructed with cabinets, ill-placed storage areas, or the mop bucket (because you don’t have a closet nearby), a huge work triangle will leave you exhausted; there is such a thing as too big of a kitchen. If what it takes to create a functional work triangle is a remodel, you should definitely consider having it done. Removing any obstructions is the key, and that may mean moving one or more of the elements in the triangle. If your kitchen feels like a commercial kitchen that requires lots of walking between stations, reduce the square footage of the kitchen area to something manageable and comfortable. The legs of your work triangle should never add up to more than 25 feet, and you should have complete freedom to move between the elements with ease. If necessary, add an island or additional counter space to simplify prep and cleanup activities. Another important consideration is the kitchen flooring.  You may not only be concerned about the mobility and size of your kitchen, it is also a must to have a clean and elegant looking kitchen and the best way to start is by upgrading your flooring to something that's unique, elegant, versatile engineered oak flooring from  markettimbers.com.au. There are variety of colors to choose from and you can opt for the one that could complement the overall look of your kitchen. 

You Just Hate It

If improving your kitchen will encourage you to use it more often, a carefully budgeted remodel could be just the thing. Don’t mistake hating cooking and cleaning with hating your kitchen, however. Consider the layout, storage capacity, and the condition of cupboards, counters, and appliances as you contemplate spending several thousand or more on a remodel. If you feel that making significant changes is the only thing standing between you and your career as an amateur foodie (or just as a parent hoping to feed the kids something nutritious and homemade), go for it. Just be sure to incorporate as many timeless and classic elements as possible. The trendier the remodel, the more quickly it will get outdated, and then you’ll end up hating it all over again.

You Want to Sell Your House

Kitchen and bathroom remodels are the two best ways to improve your house for sale. An old, outdated kitchen with a terrible layout will give potential buyers pause even if the rest of the home is lovely. Even a great layout that is filled with very dated features is hard to sell. Don’t overspend on such a remodel in order to recoup as much of your investment as possible at sale. Contact an expert to help you plan a quality kitchen remodel in Gainseville, FL, that will help you sell your house with the least amount of fuss and expenditure.

  

Simple Christmas Decors

This year, we've decided to be a bit relaxed on our Christmas decors.  After a series of calamities that happened in the Philippines, we felt that we have to be a bit vigilant with our spending.  Saving for unforeseen events is really a must for every family especially that the cost of living now a days is really that high and unless you're having a decent family income, it's quite hard to get by.

Anyway, we've just made use of our old Christmas decors at home.  We didn't buy anything except for some Christmas flowers and ribbons that we've  added up to our Christmas tree.  I actually wanted a nice "parol" and "belen" but I will just save it for next year.  :)

I've also spent quite a lot to restore our home after we get affected by the great flood this year. I spent on new furniture to replace the worn out ones and for the repair of some electrical appliances. Fixing, decluttering and organizing comes next.  It's really a tough job but since it was a family effort where we get to share all the work loads, everything seemed to be that easy. 

Adding some colors to my garden to complement the "joyous atmosphere" of the holiday season is all what it takes to complete the look.

I painted all our flower and plant pots in red and green color just to make our yard more appealing.

Since our garden was built up, I always see to it that it's properly maintained.  I paid around $650 for the landscaping services and I just thought that maintaining it is the least that I could do to keep my money's worth.  I personally painted everything around the garden and it gives me a great relief seeing that everything was restored after the flood.

I have made some final touches inside the house but not as grand as what I initially planned.  the most important thing is that I was able to fix and organize everything in no time.

This is more than enough to make our Christmas this year truly special.  I'm, finally back home now and that matters most to me. :)

  

Home Appliances Repair

As most of our home appliances were submerged in water during the great flood which affected our city last September, we've managed to get the personal services of our regular technician who used to come to the house for the repair of some electronic appliances and fixing of our electrical switches and sockets.  Glad that 90% were already restored back to their original condition.  I was actually worried then that our newly purchased desktop and printer were also damaged but I was happy to hear from my son then that he was able to secure these before the water level has gone up.

Our home theater was not damaged though but it seemed like the speakers were slightly affected as these no longer perform efficiently same like before.  Browsing online, I've seen some cool genelec speakers at musicians friend and was pleased with lots of good reviews I've seen about their performance.  I'm thinking if I could get one for the house but I'm still thinking if our old speakers can still be repaired by our technician. As a home maker, it pays to be practical and wise. :)