REFRESH YOUR GARDEN FOR SPRING

Do you hear that?

It’s the first breathy sigh of your spring garden, waking up from its winter’s nap. Longer days, warmer temperatures and dreams of lazy afternoons spent lounging among the flowers is enough to get any homeowner motivated to get their garden ready for the coming months.

If you long to get outside and get your hands dirty in preparation for spring, here are some great ideas to get you started.

Trim and tidy

The end of winter is an excellent time to prune and cut back the plants, bushes and trees in your garden before they get new spring growth. However, it’s a good idea to wait until any danger of frost has passed before wielding those pruning shears, as cutting back during a freezing spell can mean doom for some plants. Remove any annuals from the previous season and compost them.

Remove weeds

While most homeowners don’t love the idea of spending an afternoon pulling weeds, it goes a long way right now – not only does it reduce the number that are propagating in your garden, but it also makes your yard look clean and tidy. Weeds are generally easier to remove at this time of year, as they have shallow roots that can easily be pulled from moist soil. Try to get as many as you can while they’re still small – it’ll save unnecessary back strain down the line.

Divide and conquer

Some varieties of perennial plants do well when they are divided and transplanted. It’s also an easy and inexpensive way to add new plants to your landscape. Dig up perennials to be divided just as they are starting to grow, and transplant into new spots that have been amended with compost to give the divisions the best possible start.

Fertilize

All your plants and flowers enjoy a healthy dose of fertilizer in the spring as they begin to grow. If you have compost, add a layer of it to existing beds to give the soil a boost, or apply organic or synthetic fertilizer as new growth appears.

Add mulch

Mulch does wonderful things for your garden. It acts as a barrier to keep weeds from sprouting, it helps soil retain moisture and it gives the garden a polished look. As mulch starts to break down it also adds beneficial nutrients to the soil. So go ahead and give your garden beds a nice thick blanket of mulch – just be sure to keep it away from the trunks of trees and stems of tender plants.

Prepare feeders

Any garden can be made more magical with the addition of bird feeders and baths that attract local and migratory birds. If you have any in your garden, now is the time to clean them thoroughly to avoid build-up of bacteria or mold.

Get the lawn ready

If you have grass, take time to give it a good raking to remove any dead growth and debris that has accumulated over the winter. This allows air and light to penetrate the soil, stimulating all that glorious new green growth for spring.

If the promise of spring has you yearning to get outside, go ahead and give in to the urge. Taking a little time now to get your yard ready for the coming warm weather can be beneficial to your garden – and to you!

MAKE YOUR WOOD FLOORS LOOK LIKE NEW

Did you buy an older home because you fell in love with its character? Many homes built in previous decades or centuries feature details that often aren’t prevalent in new construction, such as Dutch doors, transom windows and even dumbwaiters or laundry chutes.

One of the most attractive features in many older homes are the hardwood floors. But years of wear and tear can leave them looking dull, scratched or dingy. If your home’s hardwood floors need a makeover, follow these steps to have them looking like new.

Sweep and repair

After emptying the room of all its furniture, give the floor a good sweep and vacuum to get rid of all the dirt and grit. This is also the best time to deal with repairs, such as sinking nail heads, filling in scratches or patching holes.

Clean with appropriate cleaner

Next, you’ll want to clean your floor with an appropriate cleaner, such as Murphy’s Oil Soap or Bona Floor Cleaner. It’s important not to use regular soap or harsh chemicals on your hardwood floor, as they can leave a residue or damage the wood with too much moisture. Let the floor dry.

Polish and seal

After the floor is dry, apply a thin layer of polish evenly around the room. The polish will help to moisturize the wood and leave it shiny. Polishes can be purchased with either a satin or glossy finish, depending on your tastes. Some floors benefit from a second coat; follow instructions on the label to determine how much time should elapse between applications. Be sure to give the floor plenty of time to dry before moving furniture back in – in some cases up to three days.

Buffing and waxing

Sometimes cleaning and polishing just doesn’t give your floor the love it needs to restore its luster, especially if it is already finished with wax or shellac. In this case, you can use a floor buffer to remove the top layer of finish off the floor. Buffers can be rented for around $50 a day, just be sure the buffer has a sanding screen so you don’t remove too much of the surface of the floor. Clean the dust and follow with a floor wax, which can be buffed to a shine once it dries.

When to call a professional

If none of the above techniques give you the results you desire, it may be time to refinish your hardwood floors. This technique requiresmore time and know-how, so even though you can rent a sander to do the job yourself, it might be best to hire a professional. Not only will they properly sand your floor, they will also re-stain and seal it, restoring your beautiful floors to their former glory, which, with the proper care, will last you for many years to come.

Nothing gives a home warmth and character quite like a well-cared for hardwood floor. It is worth the investment to refresh your floors; not only does it renew your home’s energy, it can evenincrease its value.

TRANSFORM YOUR ATTIC

If you’re a homeowner who has been looking for ways to increase the square footage of your living space, but you’re hesitant to build a new addition to your existing home, have you thought about looking up?

Unfinished attics are an excellent way to increase the size of your home while avoiding some of the obstacles like zoning restrictions and easement concerns that come with building an addition.

Convert your attic into a new living space

Attic conversions can be used in a number of ways to cater to the growing needs of your family. Some of the best uses of an attic space include:

• Bedroom – Having a peaceful place to slumber away from the noise and activity of the more heavily trafficked areas of your home can be a real blessing, especially for those who have trouble sleeping. Just be sure to include a closet and a window in order to claim the space as a bedroom when it comes time to sell.
• Media room – Do you have a teenager who needs some privacy and a place to hang out, or do you love throwing home parties centered around films or sporting events? Consider turning your attic into a home theater.
• Playroom – Perhaps you have smaller kids who need their own space to play without making the rest of the house a mess. Attics made great hideaways for kids, transporting them into their own little creative space.
• Home office – Do you work from home, or wish you had your own space to pay bills or work on that novel you’ve always wanted to write? A quiet attic office could be just the thing you need.

Attic conversion considerations

While reclaiming your attic as usable living space helps you avoid some of the pitfalls of building a new addition, they do have their own particular set of challenges that you should consider before diving in.

• Building codes – You’ll need to follow the “Rule of 7s” in your attic room, which states that at least half of your attic space if seven feet tall and seven feet wide and contains at least 70 square feet of space. In addition, you will likely need to beef up floor joists so they can handle the extra weight of people and furnishings. If you’re planning to use your attic as a bedroom, it will also need at least two exits including a window and a staircase to the rest of the home.
• Access – If your attic has a pull-down staircase, you’ll need to factor in building a permanent staircase. Straight staircases take up the most room but are easiest to construct. Switchback stairs or spiral staircases take up less room, but remember how much room you’ll need to maneuver furniture up into your new space.
• Electrical/Plumbing/HVAC – You’ll need to bring in licensed contractors who can determine the requirements of your new space and how they will fit into the existing system of your home. If you’re thinking of adding a bathroom, it’s best to locate it over an existing bathroom or kitchen so you’ll have less plumbing to install.

While tackling an attic conversion can be a big project, most homeowners find that in the end, having a brand new living space without constructing an addition was worth the effort.

USE YOUR TAX REFUND ON YOUR HOME

Have you filed your taxes yet?

We know — tax season isn’t anybody’s favorite time of the year (except, of course, for tax accountants). But if you’re expecting a refund, now is a great time to reinvest that money in your home. Whether you’ll be getting a check for a few hundred dollars or a few thousand, there are great ways you can put that money to good use.

Save it for a down payment

Are you hoping to buy a home in the near future? As you probably already know, you’ll be expected to put down a down payment — anywhere from 3.5 to 20 percent or more of the purchase price. If you’re expecting a refund in the thousands of dollars, adding it to your down payment savings account is a fantastic way to get yourself closer to home ownership. And if you manage to save more than 20 percent, you’ll eliminate the need to buy mortgage insurance, saving you even more money down the line.

Pay down your mortgage

Even if you have a great rate on your mortgage loan, making an extra payment will still help you save money in the long run. By paying off more of your mortgage early, you will pay less interest over time. You’ll build equity more quickly and will own your home outright sooner. You may also be able to eliminate the cost of mortgage insurance once some of your loan has been paid off.

Purchase additional insurance

An inevitable part of owning a home is also purchasing homeowner’s insurance. This protects you from liabilities should someone get injured on your property and sue you. Unfortunately, most homeowner insurance policies are not comprehensive. By purchasing umbrella insurance, you get additional protection once your primary insurance coverage limits are reached, and as an added bonus, it also applies to your vehicles. For around $300 a year, you get about $1 million in coverage. It’s a very small price to pay for peace of mind.

Audit your home’s energy usage

Leaky windows, drafty doors and energy-hogging appliances all needlessly eat up your money. If you’d like to find ways to cut your energy costs, consider using your tax refund for a home energy audit. While there are free programs available from many local power companies who will send out a professional to look at your home and offer advice about where to make changes, the biggest bang will be to hire a private firm to do a comprehensive audit of your home. While you’ll be paying more up front, the audit is much more detailed and could potentially save you up to 30 percent on your energy bills should you decide to implement their suggestions.

Make needed home repairs

If your refund is less than $1000, perhaps one of the best ways to use it is to make some needed home repairs that you’ve been putting off. You can repaint, add some new landscaping, buy aprogrammable thermostat or finally organize your garage. The money spent will go a long way to contributing to your overall enjoyment of your home.

While it may be tempting to splurge on a big treat, spending your tax refund wisely on your home can improve your financial health for the long haul.

WHEN YOU SHOULD – AND SHOULDN’T – DIY

Are you starting to feel a little bored with your house? Are you daydreaming about making some changes? At some point, most homeowners want to spruce up their home a little bit – and may even try to handle some of those upgrades on their own. But beware – there are certain projects you can DIY, and some that you shouldn’t.

Are you starting to feel a little bored with your house? Are you daydreaming about making some changes? At some point, most homeowners want to spruce up their home a little bit – and may even try to handle some of those upgrades on their own. But beware – there are certain projects you can DIY, and some that you shouldn’t.

Go ahead and DIY these projects

If you’ve got the itch to get your hands dirty and feel a sense of accomplishment (and not to mention potentially save some money), these home improvement projects fit the bill. They can be easily done with a little bit of know-how and some elbow grease, without requiring too much expertise or special equipment.

• Paint – If you want the biggest bang for your DIY buck, this is the best place to start. Painting a room, or even an accent wall or a piece of furniture, will quickly change the energy and aesthetic in a space without too much effort or expense on your part. The key to a good paint job is preparation – be sure to fill holes and sand them, and tape and protect anything you don’t want to find splattered later.
• Update hardware – If you want to give a new look to your kitchen or bathroom cabinets, and easy DIY is to change out the hardware. All you need is a screwdriver and some time. Be sure to buy new pulls or knobs that match the existing holes.
• Change out faucets – This is a great first-time plumbing DIY that can make a dramatic difference. If you have a wrench and know where to shut off your water, you can swap out a leaky faucet or upgrade to a more functional or designer model. Don’t worry – you can totally do this on your own, and think of how good you’ll feel when you’re done!
• Install a chandelier on a dimmer – Installing a chandelier with a dimmer switch is not as hard as you think and can quickly transform your room into a cozy and inviting space. Be sure to buy special dimmable bulbs and turn the power off at the breaker box before you start.
• Replace your showerhead – Replacing a showerhead is so easy you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. You can upgrade your shower experience by installing a new model with special features like mood lights or massaging jets. You can even save money by going with a low-flow unit.

Hire a pro for these projects

Once you’ve gotten a few projects under your belt, you might feel like there isn’t any home improvement project you can’t DIY. However, there are certain things that should always be left to the pros, including:

• Knocking down walls or building a new addition.
• Repairing faulty wiring or other electrical work.
• Repairing plumbing, other than a clogged drain or replacing a faucet.
• Installing new siding.
• Replacing windows.
• Hooking up a new gas appliance.
• Installing new tile.
• Refinishing a hardwood floor.
• Repairing the roof.
• Installing a new fence.
• Anything that requires a permit, unless you are a professional. This could lead to serious problems when you try to sell later.

Once you understand what you should and shouldn’t attempt on your own, have fun! Tackling small DIY projects around your home will refresh and re-energize your space and make it feel like new again.

10-MINUTE HOME PROJECTS

You’re probably familiar with the idea that little things add up to a lot. But did you ever stop to think about how that can be applied to the upkeep of your home?

Homeowners know that one of the responsibilities of ownership is keeping up with regular maintenance and repairs. While it may sometimes feel overwhelming, there are simple, ten-minute projects that you can do that will make a huge difference in your quality of life at home. Fit them in between episodes of your favorite Netflix binge, and you’ll feel like you’re hardly putting in any effort at all. Here are some of the easiest projects to get you started.

Easy home repair projects

Sometimes it isn’t worth calling a handyman or your brother-in-law to come over and help. These are easy fixes you can complete by yourself in ten minutes or less:

• Fix a squeaky door – If you’re tired of the squeaky kitchen door alerting your spouse to your midnight snack attacks, spray some WD-40 on the hinges and open and close the door a few times to work it in. You can also try petroleum jelly.
• Sticky windows – Don’t let a hard-to-open window keep you from enjoying a nice summer breeze. Spray silicone lubricant (found at home improvement stores) onto a rag and wipe into the track of a plastic, wood or metal window frame. Dry lubricants like PTFE spraycan be used on a vinyl window.
• Silence a squeaky floor – While it’s not a permanent fix, sprinkling talcum powder into the cracks between floorboards will help to temporarily silence those noisy floors.
• Replace a broken toilet lever – First pop open the back to make sure the chain is still attached. If it’s broken, buy a replacement toilet lever kit. Don’t let these instructions worry you – it’s very simple and with the exception of going to the store to get the kit, it won’t take you more than ten minutes.

Easy home maintenance projects

If you want to avoid costly repairs due to negligence, it’s important to keep up with regular home maintenance chores. The following projects are so simple you have no excuse to put them off:

• Change the filters on your air conditioning unit and furnace to keep them running smoothly, especially in summer and winter.
• Replace batteries in smoke detectors once a year.
• Clean lint from your dryer exhaust with a long, flexible brush or a vacuum hose attachment.
• Vacuum the coils on your refrigerator once a year.
• Flush the garbage disposal in your sink once a month with a mixture of baking soda and hot water.
• Check fire extinguishers.
• Test your garage door opener regularly to make sure that it reverses automatically if there is an obstruction.
• Clean the filter on your stove’s range hood. It can get quite greasy, but cleaning it is easy.

Keeping up with the small tasks around your home will go a long way towards making sure everything stays in good working order. And when it comes time to sell, you’ll have much less to worry about. So hit the “pause” button on the remote and take ten minutes to complete one of these easy tasks. You’ll be glad you did!

6 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR HOME’S SECURITY WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK

You’ve spent countless hours and energy getting your home just perfect. You’ve labored over the right paint, the best furniture and even invested in some art. But have you put in enough thought about how you are protecting your home? While you can invest in a state-of-the-art system, there are plenty of ways to improve your home’s security without breaking the bank. Here are six that we recommend.

1. Install a surveillance systemWhile it may seem like it would be expensive, there are deals to be had on DIY home security systems. If you’re willing to spend a couple hundred dollars, you can outfit your home with a camera system that you set up yourself that constantly monitors your property. If peace of mind is your biggest priority and you have a little cash to spare, this is one of your best options.

2. Trim back the bushes

If your property has thick bushes or tall hedges, it offers more places for a burglar to hide. By keeping your trees and bushes trimmed        and tidy so that you can see your neighbors, it also means that they can see you if anything suspicious happens on your property.         While it’s nice to have a little privacy, don’t completely wall yourself in.

3. Light it upDon’t give a criminal a leg up by providing lots of dark places in which to hide. Strategically place exterior lighting around your home, concentrating on walkways, entrances and garages. If you don’t want the expense of installing new lighting, considering swapping out some of the bulbs with motion-sensor lights that will alert you if there’s any activity in the area.

4. Beware of dogThere are plenty of reasons why dogs are man’s best friends. One of them is certainly because they tend to be protective of their owners. Dogs will often alert you if anything seems out of the ordinary and will deter most would-be thieves from breaking in for fear of being bitten. Don’t have a dog? You can still post a “beware of dog” sign in your window or on your gate or put a large dog bowl by your back door. Sometimes the suggestion itself is enough to scare off a potential burglar.

5. Make friends with your neighborsWhile having a nosy neighbor can sometimes be a headache, use it to your advantage. Neighbors are usually the first ones to notice if something is amiss, so make sure to tell them when you are going to be out of town. It also helps to know your neighbors so if someone unfamiliar is snooping around they can be easily identified. If your community has a neighborhood watch program, join. Neighborhoods are stronger and safer when people come together and are all invested.

6. Use common senseThe best home security doesn’t cost you a dime – it’s good, old-fashioned common sense. Be sure to close your garage door when you aren’t inside. Lock the gate to your backyard when not in use. Don’t leave valuables sitting outside unattended. Close and lock windows when you leave. Stop mail and newspaper deliveries when you are out of town so they don’t pile up. The best defense is always a good offense.