Planning to remodel, repair or build a new home? Looking for some fantastic features to add which can save you tons of time in shortcuts, efficiencies and saved steps? We can aid! We began accumulating over 1,000 uncommon, affordable convenience built-ins in 1998, when we first started writing books and consulting to assist people have really extraordinary – yet affordable – homes. Here are some of our favorite ideas that will change your life via the time they save you. Add any of these to your next project, and you will be on your way toward making a home that is really beyond the ordinary!

• A shallow closet or weatherproof cabinet at each and every outdoor hose faucet, for storing a hose at an easy-to-reach height where it will stay relatively clean, out of sight and out of the way. No more risk of tripping over a hose left in a heap on the ground! (As well as recoiling and flat hoses can be awkward and dirty to move from faucet to faucet, particularly if they’re stored outdoors.) This makes gardening a snap, and also hosing down the deck, patio or outdoor furniture, or washing windows. You will also want flooring inside which prevents the inevitable drips from inviting mold.

• A non-porous, nonskid, self-leveling garage floor coating, so that soil and oil can easily be hosed away. (If you have a drain in the floor and flooring that slopes toward it, use a similar coating that is not self-leveling.)

• A sewing machine permanently plugged in and set up on a desk or inside a well-lit closet or alcove. Be sure there is space behind the machine for the fabric from large projects to accumulate.

• Remote-controlled window shades, particularly on hard-to-reach windows or skylights. Choose amongst remote controls which can be operated manually; by way of a timer or photocell; or via any on-site or off-site computer, personal digital assistant or mobile phone. Besides being safer than trying to reach out-of-the-way shades manually, easy-to-maneuver shades help control light and heat in a room, decrease fading of a room’s or closet’s contents, and the automatic or off-site controls can make an empty house look occupied.

• Dedicated space for wrapping presents that is near where you store your wrapping supplies and tools. No more transporting stuff around!

• A doorbell intercom outside the door that can be answered from every phone in the house (also via your cell phone while you are out). No more dropping everything to run to answer the door!

• Shallow shelves with only one row deep of canned or dry goods, medicines, supplies, tools or equipment, for instant identification of and access to whatever’s stored. These can often be tucked into a space that is otherwise unused.

• At least one full bathroom on every level of the house.
• A laundry chute from closets, cabinets or bathrooms to a laundry room on a lower level. No more carrying soiled laundry down stairs when gravity will do the job! And no more dropping items on the way to the laundry room which you may trip over!

• A pot-filler faucet attached to a wall near your cooking burners, which swivels into various positions as well as out of the way. No more moving large pots of water from the sink to the stove!

Like this article? Then you will love our books  chock-full of uncommon, affordable convenience built-ins which increase your quality of life and your home’s resale value! We also offer a free e-book at www.extraordinaryhomes.com:  The 34 ExtraOrdinary Home Principles: Over 70 Fabulous, Affordable, Innovative Ideas That’ll Improve Your Life and WOW You!

© Copyright 2005 by Carol Abrahamson/ExtraOrdinary Homes. All rights reserved.

Choosing the right Real Estate Agent to Represent your Best Interests

Buying a home is one of the most important investments of your life. It’s also one of the most complex transactions you may ever undertake. Your first step involves deciding how you will approach your home search. Who will you work with throughout this process?

As a buyer, it’s important that you find some one you feel completely comfortable with who you can trust, and who listens to you and respects your views. They need to have the market knowledge and expertise, but at the end of the day, it’s your home and your investment, so you must be able to work well with them.

Like so many professions, reputation and word-of-mouth are crucial. As you begin your search for a REALTOR® talk to family, friends, and colleagues who have gone trough the home buying process to see if they can recommend anyone. Look for someone who is experienced in your market, but not so busy that they can’t give you due attention. You want to be served, not sold.

What a REALTOR® Does For You?

There are many good reasons to work with a qualified real estate professional. You can expect your Re/Max Representative to:

• Provide you with the highest standard of care and extreme loyalty to you as the client.
• Understand your specific needs and wants, and locate appropriate properties.
• Assist you in determining how much you can afford.
• Help you get pre-approved for your mortgage.
• Preview and/or accompany you in viewing properties.
• Research properties to identify any problems or issues you should consider.
• Advise you in formulating your offer.
• Help you develop your negotiation strategy.
• Provide a list of qualified team members (such as lawyers, inspectors, lenders, etc.) for other related services that may be needed.
• Keep track of all the details throughout the entire transaction – to closing and beyond.

Choosing the correct agent will make your home buying experience go as smoothly and successfully as possible.

Ants can be a nuisance, a threat to those who are allergic to ant bites, and have been known as killers.  It wouldn’t seem possible of such a tiny creature, but their biggest defense seems to be their numbers.  They multiply rapidly, easily, and quickly.  They can take over a yard if left to themselves.  A small child who accidentally falls into a fire ant bed and becomes quickly covered in them will be in misery and pain, sometimes having to be rushed to an emergency room.  A dying animal can be overtaken by them and used as a food source.

Ants eat a wide variety of things.  They’re not nearly as picky as we humans when it comes to their dinner choices.  They don’t even need silverware!  They can carry large weights in comparison to their body sizes.

It’s human nature to immediately grab a can of ant spray or a bag of granules and begin walking the yard to search for their colonies.  If you’ve lived in places like Texas and Louisiana, you know that ant beds can become huge.  The fire ants are aggressive and dangerous.  It’s much better to control an infestation than to wake up one day and realize that your property now belongs more to the ants than to you.

Sometimes insects can become immune to the chemicals sold on the market.  Ant bait and ant poisons can lose their effectiveness due to overuse and years of enduring the same poisons.  The chemicals can also cause harm to other insects and animals.  If you don’t store them properly, your children could become poisoned by them.

While it’s true that many natural insecticides can be dangerous as well, they are safer for our environment and safer overall than chemical poisons, especially if you know how to use, mix, and store them properly.

Natural or organic insecticides are those which come from natural resources.  Boric acid, which is a form of the mineral boron, is used on ant beds.  Sometimes it is mixed with other things like sugar and boiling water.  It can also be mixed as borax soap with sugar and water and is safe to use around pets and small children.  Many people sprinkle it along the entry points in their houses and apartments or campers.

Another natural insecticide to use as an ant control is cayenne pepper, made into a liquid and used as a spray.  You can grow your own pepper plants just for this purpose.  Hot peppers are also used to control or kill other insects.  Just make sure you don’t let your small child have access to your pepper plants.  Hot peppers can sometimes cause blisters when eaten.

Corn meal can be used as ant control; it’s a low-cost alternative to poisonous chemicals.  If you grow your own corn, you may even know how to make your own corn meal.  It’s a food the ants like to eat, but can’t digest.

There are many solutions for natural insecticides that can benefit your pocket book, your plants, and your environment.  It’s a way to treat insects that can help everyone win!

Thad Srinivasan writes for Uniformhaven.com which sells dickies scrubs, dickies scrubs pants and lab coats as well as a lot of other products.

There exists a great deal of hot tub models for you to pick from, such as the portable hot tub or home spa from SpaCap. You may well be confronted with a varied range of hot tub features, styles, specifications and accessories so it’s a sensible idea to equip yourself with some simple knowledge on hot tubs prior to deciding on the model preference and the energy star and spas the you will encounter.

The net world is a good way to search for helpful facts regarding hot tubs and also the different hot tub models out there on the market . Cost is an important matter too if you choose to purchase a hot tub, which in turn depends on the construction, size and characteristics of the spa you choose. It’s also clever to understand the managing cost of the hot tub.

Once you have set up your hot tub at your home, make sure to sustain it in good working condition as it’s not a minimal cost investment. Most hot tubs should come with a hot tub cover given that this is a vital and helpful hot tub accessory to have. It should also be safeguarded against the heavy blow of storms and winds. A hot tub not having a cover could also be risky as younger kids or household pets may accidentally fall into the hot water. Hot tub covers also help preserve heat at the hot tub, therefore minimizing your electric power bills.

It really is important that you choose to purchase a great quality hot tub cover. Make sure that your chosen hot tub cover is resilient and enduring in order that it can be used for many years to come. In addition assess that your hot tub cover is the appropriate size and suits safely over your hot tub. Acquiring a hot tub cover that fixes securely can also help in keeping pollutants and litter from the hot tub, and additionally contains the heat assisting maintain the water pleasing and hot. If you are situated in a windy area, try to use wind proof spa covers.

Following prolonged usage, your hot tub cover could become waterlogged and ineffective. At these times, the cover can’t insulate the heat perfectly. In that circumstance, why not consider acquiring a new cover like SpaCap. Realize that a hot tub cover could also become worn and wrinkled where it has been folded and unfolded  a lot of times. A wrinkle in the hot tub cover may also allow more heat to escape, so that it’s no longer effective as insulation.