Archive | HOME AND GARDEN

If you’re considering selling your home any time soon, you should have sustainability on your mind. Why? Not only do 48% of buyers interested in brand new homes cite “energy-efficiency” as their most desired feature, but investing in some eco-friendly upgrades before putting your home on the market can yield higher appraisals and listing prices. This is definitely an option today’s home sellers should keep in mind: HGTV.com already recommends taking 15% to 20% off what the home is worth when selling your home, but a few mindful and sustainable upgrades can really help your home stand out above the rest in the ever-competitive real estate market. Here are just a few eco-friendly upgrades to consider before putting your home up for sale.

Windows

Installing eco-friendly windows could be the perfect way to spruce up your home’s curb appeal while investing in its long-term energy-efficiency and savings. You’d be surprised just how many homes are long overdue for window replacements. If your home frequently drafty, or your windows are old and outdated, chances are they can be dramatically improved with eco-friendly features.

If you don’t quite have the budget for full window replacements, you can also consider more affordable options that have some of the same effects, such as window tinting. You could save up to 40% on your utility bill by tinting your windows, and they can also keep the glare and harmful UV rays out. Take advantage of this option by tinting the windows in the rooms where people gather and socialize the most.

Thermostat

For bigger homes that cost a lot to heat and cool, consider investing in a smart thermostat system to optimize the temperature in each and every room as opposed to heating the house as a whole. This enables each person to customize their preferred temperatures at various times throughout the day. It also allows homeowners to minimize energy usage by heating or cooling their home only when they are occupying it. You can even set these systems in line with your work schedule, ensuring your home’s heat turns down the moment you leave and turns back up just before you return. When all is said and done, experts say homeowners can save almost $200 a year on home energy costs.

Water Heater

Finally, if you have the budget, replacing your home’s water heater may be an incredibly wise choice. Most experts agree that bathroom additions offer some of the best ROI, but this investment, and those of similar sustainability levels, offer more value than others.

“A new, energy efficient water heater is a great way to save money. They won’t run as often, and homeowners will enjoy the ability to have hot water on command as opposed to having to wait for the water to heat up while they watch several gallons of water go down the drain,” writes Bill Gassett on Massachusetts Real Estate News.

Once you’ve made your upgrades, consider getting an energy audit to legitimize your eco-friendly investments and make sure the measurements are quantifiable and accurate on the listing. Of course, after making all of these eco-friendly improvements, you may not even want to sell your home at all — but who could blame you?

Ultimately, about $1.4 trillion of new mortgages were issued in 2008, and new homes are constantly being mortgaged to eco-conscious consumers. Being aware of the ways you can make your home more appealing to those with similar values is the key to making your real estate transaction as quick and easy as possible.

While you might enjoy staying cool and comfortable in your home during the warmer months of the year, you may also be concerned about cooling your home in a way that’s sustainable and friendly for the environment. Explore a few tips for making your cooling experience eco-friendly and just as effective as traditional methods.

Invest in Quality Insulation and Sealing

Some of the best and most effective cooling methods don’t even involve your air conditioner. Take out some time to have a professional technician who specializes in air conditioning repairs inspect your current insulation to see if it’s doing its job and whether you need to consider investing in an upgrade. Different types of insulation and sealing include thermal envelopes and heat shields.

Boost Your Home’s Ventilation

Making sure air can easily flow through your home is also essential to keeping cool and overall energy efficiency. Specifically, you’ll want to keep your home’s windows, shades and doors closed up until it’s cool out, otherwise, you’ll only have hot air blowing through your home’s interior. Additionally, bear in mind that ceiling fans cool people, not rooms, which means you should only have your fans on when someone is in the room. On a related note, when your fans are on, they should spin counter-clockwise to draw hot air up into the ceiling.

Close Your Shades and Blinds

No matter how great the inside of your home looks while drenched in sunlight, it comes at the cost of heating up your interior, which means your air conditioner is working harder than necessary. To help combat feeling as if you’re living in a sauna, close up your blinds and shades against direct sunlight and the heat waves that come with it. If you’re someone who thrives on sunshine, you can leave your blinds and shades partially closed to direct sunlight.

Cook at Night or in the Early Morning

Operating your oven or stove during the day cranks up the heat in your home, which makes your air conditioner crank up its efforts to keep your home at the same temperature. Rather than feel as if you’re making a sacrifice by not using the oven, you can instead start eating more raw vegetables and fruits, which your body is sure to thank you for. Opt for fruits like a watermelon that contain a lot of water to help you keep cool.

Lower Your Overall Cooling Load

Ways to make the most of passive cooling include:

• Add or upgrade the sealing around your home’s windows and doors.

• Use low-E glazing to your windows.

• Make sure you have proper and sufficient insulation in your attic.

• Invest in a whole-house fan, which can decrease your use of your air conditioner as well as your overall energy consumption.

• Consider installing a radiant barrier in your attic ducts.

These methods are sure to pay off in the long run.

Sleep With a Buckwheat Pillow

If you’re like most people, you probably like sleeping in a cool room. Blankets and sheets are comfortable while sleeping, but they can raise your body temperature. Rather than crank up the air conditioner, invest in a buckwheat pillow, which is naturally cooler than standard pillows and won’t keep you tossing and turning during the night, which impacts the overall quality of your sleep.

Turn Up Your Unit Temperature

You can still remain comfortable even if your unit is set at a higher temperature. For every degree you set your unit above 72 degrees, you can save anywhere from one to three percent energy. Try it and see if you notice a difference in your comfort levels.

With the right information, you can do your part to save the environment through more efficient cooling methods. Put these tips to good use and see what a difference they make and how good it feels to practice sustainability.

Young or older, you might be looking at home care if you suffer from an illness or injury that makes maintaining independence in your own home difficult. 

For the older person struggling to cope with living alone, home care is a common choice. This is because moving into a care home is often a stressful experience, and many people avoid the option because they are eager to maintain as much independence as possible. 

It is important to consider what elderly care services can do for you, and how to choose the right option. Read on for some crucial advice.

There are many great options to choose from when it comes to care at home, and it might seem difficult to distinguish and choose between the companies out there. If you think that you or a loved one could benefit from care services, the question then becomes one of how to choose the right home care for you. 

As care staff might be working with particularly vulnerable people, it is important than they are fully checked and trustworthy. It is up to the care agency to carry out these checks for you. 

The next thing is to understand whether a homecare company’s employees are fully trained, and whether they have any qualifications to prove the quality of their care. Are they fully equipped to handle the needs of you or your loved one? For example, does the company provide care staff that has experience in catheter care or diabetes? The carers themselves are surely the most important element of any care package, and you must make sure standards are high when looking for home care services.

Other Factors to Consider When Looking for Care at Home 

The quality of staff is paramount, but when looking for care at home, there are other important things to consider. Whether you want assisted living or respite care, it is important that the home care service is tailored to your specific needs. 

Beyond the direct care provided, ensuring continuous safety and peace of mind is crucial, especially for those living alone or with limited mobility. Technology can play a vital role in this, offering immediate assistance when caregivers are not present. For instance, a reliable medical alert system can provide a critical layer of protection, allowing individuals to call for help instantly in an emergency, even if they cannot reach a phone. These systems often feature two-way voice communication, long-lasting battery life, and water-resistant pendants, empowering users to maintain their independence with confidence. To enhance safety and ensure prompt assistance, many families choose to order medical alert devices as part of a comprehensive home care plan.

Not only this but that the home care company provides specific guidelines and a framework for its care staff to operate under. You want to make sure that home care staff will arrive on time and in appropriate uniforms. It is important that they are informed of all specific support needs, and it is the home care service’s job to do this. 

To make your decision, it is always worth looking at reviews and testimonials of the people who have used the care service before. Though we would all like the highest quality of care, cost is always a factor, and you need to make sure that prices are fair and cost-effective. 

You should also make sure the company is ethical and that they are committed to helping the community and the planet.

So there you have it: an insight into some of the different factors that you need to consider when you are looking for home care services for your loved one. We know that this can be a difficult period in anyone’s life, and so we hope that the information that has been provided will be helpful for you.