Strategies to Help Save Energy in Your Home

With the price of oil on the rise - let's be honest, with the price of everything on the rise - these simple strategies to help save energy in your home will help when having to make difficult decisions in your household budget. One of the smartest strategies to help save energy in your home is lowering your thermostat when you go to sleep and when you're away. Start with a comfortable setting of 68 F, then turn it down by 10 degrees on your way out. Save on your peace of mind, too, by installing a programmable energy-saving thermostat. Most are priced under $100 and will pay for themselves within one year of proper use.

• Avoid the Draft with Weather Stripping on Your Doors and Windows

 How many times have you walked by a closed window or exterior door and felt a tiny bit of air rush in? Those little bits add up to a lot of heat rushing out in the course of a year, and more during harsh winters. Covering them up is one of the best strategies to help save energy in your home. It's also one of the least expensive. A 10 foot roll of weather stripping costs under $10. For less than $50 or so, and within a couple of hours, you can avoid heating the outdoors.

• Clean or Replace Air Filters Regularly

Another one of the low-cost strategies to help save energy in your home is monitoring the wear and tear of your air filter. Do this throughout the year, not only during high-use seasons of summer and winter. A clogged filter will make your heating/cooling system work harder, so the roughly $20 to $50 you spend on a new filter is well worth it. You can avoid even this minimal expense by cleaning the filter frequently.

• Invest in Insulation That's Good for Your House and Health

There are always going to be costly strategies to help save energy in your home. However, depending on how long you plan to stay where you are, they could pay for themselves over time.
If you're fortunate enough to have a little extra cash on hand, one of the most cost-effective strategies is to invest in proper insulation. If you still have home insulation used in the 1920s, it's high time for you to upgrade!
Considering insulation is sealed in walls and ensconced in attics and crawl spaces, you might be surprised at how it can deteriorate over time. A combination of moisture and animal waste (the smallest holes provide a damp breeding ground for the tiniest creatures) over the years can do a lot of damage. You'll also find that today's materials are far more efficient than what you may currently have.

A few tips for homeowners selling a family home

• Be honest about the reason you are selling. If it is financially related, don't be afraid to admit the need to downsize. If it's for more space or a shorter work commute, be clear on why that is important to you and how it will benefit the family unit as a whole. The better you communicate the need to move, the more your family will understand and have the ability to adjust to the news.

• Invite questions and feedback from family members. Allowing children and other dependents to participate in the conversation about selling a family home is a crucial component to gaining their support. By encouraging them early on to express their emotions, selling a family home can be a much smoother process. If they seem upset by the move, find out why and address the issue sooner rather than later. Also, keep in mind that the average time to sell a home is nearly 10 months, so in many cases you will have time to ease them into the idea of moving.

• Emphasize the importance of family versus material possessions. If the reason for selling a family home is to downsize or save money, be sure to emphasize that you have their best interests at heart and that the family unit is more important than any material possession or physical location.

• Find out what is important to your family in a new home. Be sure to invite ideas from family members on what would make them happy in a new home. If family members feel like they are contributing to the decision-making process and have more control, they will be more likely to adjust to selling a family home and may even have something to look forward to.

Selling a family home can raise difficult emotions and be a tedious or even torturous process, depending on how well you communicate the change with your family members. With these few tips in mind and the right amount of support, your home sale can put the past in the past and leave you excited for what the future has in store.

Warmer weather and a nice breeze are perfect conditions for garage saling....Arghhhhh matey go get some booty

As the weather warms up here in Highlands Ranch or your home town don't you notice there is a garage sale on every corner? Do you think that garage sales just have useless junk? Or is your time just to precious to waste your time at garage sales? Your not alone this is the way i used to think until I realized the great deals on barely used items you can get at garage sales. Here are two lists that of tips that'll hopefully persuade you on why garage sales are great ways to save money

First Here Are Five Myths of Garage Sales

1. Stuff at garage sales has all been used. It’s true that much of the stuff for sale at garage sales has been used, but it’s generally in good condition. There’s also a lot of stuff that is brand-new. When we had our garage sale last year, I put out a number of things that were still new-in-box.
2. Stuff is dirty. This is silly. Stuff at garage sales isn’t dirty. Sellers want you to buy their stuff; they’re not going to put out things caked with grime.
3. I can get what I want online (via eBay). This isn’t always true. And on-line items involve longer waits, shipping charges, and the potential for bidding wars.
4. It’s too time-consuming. In a matter of an hour or two on a summer afternoon, you can hit ten or twelve garage sales. You probably won’t find anything you want at most of these, but every so often you’ll stumble across the perfect bargain. Garage-saling takes as much or as little time as you want to spend on it.
5. I’m no good at negotiating. Neither is the seller, probably. It cannot hurt to try.

Garage Sale Shortcuts & Hints

1. There are two types of garage sales: the ones where people want to make money and the ones where people want to get rid of stuff (The latter are best for finding deals).
2. For maximum efficiency, map out your route (This is only for the truly hardcore).
3. If at all possible, leave the kids at home. If you must bring children with you, make sure to bring plenty of snacks. Allow the older children an allowance to find bargains of their own.
4. Be prepared. Wear cool, comfortable clothes. Bring lots of change and dollar bills. Keep your money in your pockets, not your purse. Bring a tote bag.
5. When you find something you’re not sure you want, pick it up and carry it with you while you continue to look. This prevents somebody else from finding it while you’re trying to decide.
6. Always ask politely if the seller will reduce the price. Beware: sometimes the prices are so low that it seems impolite to ask for less.
7. If there is something you really want, but the seller is asking more than you want to pay, offer a lower price. If they say no, leave your name and number in case they change their mind.
8. Check items for hard-to-see tears, stains, and breakage (Better safe than sorry).
9. It is best to go early, but don’t panic if you can’t. The best stuff is available at the start of a sale, but the best deals can be had later in the day when the seller is tired and doesn't want to carry everything back into the house.
10. If you don’t have success in one part of town, try somewhere else the next time. Sometimes the best garage sale neighborhoods are the ones you don’t expect.

All of the above tips are great. One other important tip is to search craigslist for garage sale information. Craigslist offers a list of garage sales in your city, often with a preview of the most desirable items. It’s easy to plan a morning of garage-saling with craigslist.  I hope all this has helped change your mind about garage-saling and i hope to see you out there soon!