Category: home improvement

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New gates

It is time for new baby gates. The old ones have fallen apart. I use them for pet gates as well as safety gates when there are little ones in the house. I frequently have visitors with small children and like to make sure the house is as baby proof as possible. You never know what they will get into and since my children are all five and up the necessity for the old baby proofing is long gone.

I even have one for the hearth on the fire place. I use this one the most,even with my own kids, especially during the winter when I have a fire going a lot. I love my fireplace and so do my children. We cut wood a lot so we can have a fire going. It helps to save money on heating during the winter months that normally run me over three hundred dollars a month or more. I know that as soon as I don’t need them anymore for my kids and the friends and neighbors, I will have grandchildren to use them for. I guess I will always use the safety gates no matter what.

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Home energy audit nj

I am thinking about making the house more energy efficient. There are so many ways to save energy or use greener energy around the house. I am looking at companies that help businesses and homes to become more energy efficient. Renewable energy is a definite plus. If i decide to use solar power to run a few things in the house, it will save me a lot of money and be better for the environment. Home energy audit nj is one of the best ways to find out more information about how to go about it.

I am really would like to make the whole house solar powered, but it is rather expensive the first time out. Perhaps energy audit new jersey can instruct me on exactly what to do. My first thought was just to make the hot water heater, as well as the washer and dryer work on the solar power, however I am sure that the central air unit could just as easily be put on the same circuit as well. I have to do some more insulating and sealing around the house itself. New windows would be a good idea as well. I am going to look further into this and let you know how it goes. If you want more information yourself on a home energy audit nj, you have only to search for it.

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More work on the house

Well the remodeling is gong very well. The bathroom looks great and I am considering having some other work done as well. The basement is just an ordinary basement, but it is very large. There is a lot of unused space that would be great as a rec room. If I have the washer and dryer moved to corner and enclose that as a laundry room, I can finish the walls, add carpeting and possibly a half bathroom for a nice rec room.

My fiance has some large table games stored down there that can be set up for everyone to enjoy. A Foosball table could go in one corner, with the pool table on the other side. I have a friend who is purchasing new furniture, so I could take the old couches off of her hands and use them down here as well. All I would have to really buy would be a new TV and that is not very difficult. Our taxes will be in soon and we can afford it right now.

The kids would have their own space to play video games and play with their friends without being under foot all the time. It opens into the back yard as well, so it would be great for parties and holidays too. I think I will talk to my honey tonight when he gets home and see what he thinks.

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Shopping

I love to shop. Even more I love to shop for stuff for my house. Today I bought a few things for my bedroom. A whole new bedding set complete with the bed skirts. I love the way the skirts hang on the bottom of the bed. I took inventory of the beds in the house and bought new mattress covers for all the beds in the house as well. Mine didn’t really need a new one, but the children have torn theirs up, so I had to get new ones. Don’t ask me how they manage to tear them up, because I am clueless.

I have a set of satin bed sheet for my bed, but not enough satin pillow cases for the set, so I bought a few more of those as well. I bought them in different colors to contrast the color I already have. The ones I have are a maroon color, and the ones I bought are dark blue like the comforter as a contrast. I really like the effect it makes. I am looking for some material to stretch on the walls that matches the comforter set. When I have that my room will have a whole new look to it.

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Aunt Phyllis

Well my Aunt Phyllis is looking for Toronto contractors to help do some remodeling on her house. Since she and my Uncle split up a few years ago, the house has been steadily falling apart on her without a man to help with repairs. The Toronto kitchen contractors can remodel her kitchen entirely instead of having a handy man do repairs. I think it is a great idea so that she doesn’t have to worry about constantly having someone come fix stuff for her.

She has also had a few problems in her bathroom, so has decided to redo it as well. The Toronto bathroom contractors she found have given her a good price on it, with a whole new bathroom as well. Her new bathroom will include a shower stall instead of a tub, with rails so she doesn’t fall. Since she is getting older she is worried that one day she might have this problem, so is preparing ahead of time. I feel much better with this knowledge, as the family has worried about her being up there with no other family around. She has friends, but it is not the same. This is a very good thing.

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Address

So i have decided on the address plaques for the outside of the house. They are really quit distinguished looking. I like the bronze and black coloring and it will look amazing on my house. An address plaque goes on the front of your house and has your house number and street name on it. You never have to worry about anyone not being able to find your house because the numbers aren’t there or the mailbox numbers have faded.

My address sign is now the envy of my street. Three of my neighbors stopped to ask me where I got it and how much it cost. I love it when my home is admired by the neighbors. It really makes a person feel good to know that their hard work has paid off. I work really hard on keeping my home looking nice too. Saturday’s are yard day for the kids and I. We always have some kind of project going on and really enjoy the time we spend together doing it.

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New spice rack

Well my old spice rack fell apart. It was very old and I probably should have replaced it a long time ago, but it was a gift from my mom long ago when I got my very first place. It had sentimental value and I just didn’t want to get rid of it. However, since it broke, I can now get a new one. I am not sure though if I want a wall spice rack or a counter top one. There are so many different kinds to choose from.

I am looking online as I so often do before deciding what I want. The spice racks I have found are awesome and I have even found some for in a drawer. That is kind of interesting. I am going to have to get one that fits different brands of spices because I use so many different kinds to cook. Now I just have to decide between the ones I like and order it. Have a great day everyone.

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Raising chickens

The kids and I decided that since we have such a large piece of property, we can put it to good use. We are going to start raising backyard chickens. We are building a chicken coop out by the barn all by ourselves. This ought to be interesting as we are fast becoming good little builders. the kids are excited about the project, but I have a feeling they aren’t going to want to feed them later when the chicks get bigger.

We should have enough eggs and chickens for sale to make a tidy little profit that hopefully will pay for the chicken feed as well. If we end up with too many chickens to sell, we can always eat them. I will have to make sure the kids know that they are farm animals not pets though. Of course I will have to learn how to kill and clean them, and that is going to be the hard part as I have never done that before. I am sure I can learn in no time, but plucking them from what I hear is a tedious process. Wish us luck in our new little business.

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New Mailboxes

So I live in a rural area. We don’t have house to house mail delivery, we have cluster mailboxes. Ours were destroyed by the last storm that passed though the other day. I don’t know if a tornado got them or what it was. Perhaps flying debris or just straight line winds did it, but we have to replace them now with a new clustered mailbox.

We are looking at approved cluster mailboxes the association picked out for us to decide on. In the long run it doesn’t matter which ones they pick as long as they work. I hope they are replaced by the end of next week, because I am having to run to the post office to get my mail until then, and that is a bit of a drive. It is worth living in the country, so the kids have plenty of room though.

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Raccoon’s

Well, with the cold weather here, it’s brought a little family of raccoon’s to nest in my attic. They may be cute, but they are very destructive and I store my holiday decorations and various other things up there.

I called a pest control service that humanely removes the raccoon’s with traps and then set them loose in the wild. I couldn’t see them harmed as some people would do, so this is best. Besides, the kids would not understand if we didn’t trap them, they would be very upset.

They set the traps and caught them within a couple of days. Now that they are out of my house, I have to clean up the mess and fix the hole they made getting in. Time to get to work.