Using Your Dryer More Effectively

As much as you may not like constantly using your clothes dryer, there are times when you simply need to use it. Even thought they can use a large amount of energy at home, dryers also help make your life more convenient. So, the key is to use your dryer more effectively, so even when you do use it, you do it in a more efficient way.

Below are some tips:

• Maximize the load of your dryer, but do not to overfill it, as that can actually make it less efficient. Fill your dryer to its limit, so you can dry as many clothes as possible with less energy.  If the load is too full, however, don’t add more to it because the clothes won’t dry well, and you’ll end up having to use more energy and time to complete the cycle.
• Wash and dry similar types of clothes and separate different groups from each other.  It will be a lot faster to dry certain items if you combine all the lightweight fabrics and dry them at the same time. Tossing in different types together will only lengthen the drying process.
• Throw in a clean, dry towel to help dry your clothes faster. The towel can easily absorb the moisture from your clothes, and then you can just hang it somewhere to air dry after.
• Clean the lint filter regularly. A clean lint filter can allow the air to circulate properly inside your dryer, which will help your clothes more effectively. When your lint filter is dirty, residue tends to clog the airways, which reduces circulation in your dryer. It will also diminish the service life of your appliance.
• Choose a dryer with a moisture sensor. A moisture sensor will automatically shut down your dryer once the clothes are dry. It will reduce energy use and will also decrease possible wear and tear on your clothes.
• Schedule your drying time. This will reduce the constant use of your dryer and will give you control over your energy use. Try to schedule it once or twice each week, if possible, and during lower usage times of day.
• Keep your dryer in a warm room, so less energy is used. The cooler the place, the more energy your dryer has to use to heat things. Try to add a new load to the dryer as soon as you take the old one out, so you can make use of the remaining heat.
• Use alternative and free solutions for drying clothes. If you are not in rush to have your clothes dry, and if the weather is hot, hang your clothes outside instead. It can save a lot of energy over using your dryer.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Water Heating Tips: How to Save Money

 

Colder days at home mean there is a greater demand for heating your water. Warm water is used year round for doing the dishes and laundry, but we use it even more in the winter when we need to take baths and showers or wash our hands.

Though you may want the comforts of warm water in a colder environment, using too much of it and making your water heater work overtime can make your energy bill soar. The more you use our water heater, the more energy is consumed, and that consumption comes with a price tag.

So, what can you do to reduce your hot water consumption?  Below are several money-saving tips:

Reduce your water consumption – A simple way to save energy is to reduce your water usage.  Basically, if you use less water, then there will be less that needs to be heated.

Time your heater – Set your timer to your desired number of minutes, so it will automatically turn off and not waste more energy by reheating water that has already been heated. Electric water heater usually comes with timers, so you should use them.

Install heat traps – This will prevent hot water from flowing out of your tanks when there is no use for it. Heat traps can be installed on your tanks to limit the flow of hot water coming out of them.

Use low-flow showerheads and faucets – this will limit the amount of water that comes out each time you use them, so less water is wasted.

Insulate your tanks and pipes – Outdoor tanks and pipes must be properly insulated to avoid freezing. If your tanks and pipes are exposed to the cold environment, your heater will need to work extra hard to achieve the level of heat you need for your water.

Drain water from your tank – Sediment often gets trapped inside the tanks and can obstruct the transfer of heat. To eliminate sediment, drain your tanks every 3 to 6 months.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

The Cost of Home Expansion

As your family grows bigger, one of the things that starts coming to mind is the limited space of your current home. Is the space big enough for your growing children? Will there be an extra bedroom for when one of your children needs his or her own space? Are the living room and dining room big enough to accommodate all of you?

These kinds of situations make a homeowner wonder, “Should I extend my home?”

Home extensions are a way to add on to your existing home and create more space without having to move. You can either extend your house to the sides by adding more space or build vertically to turn a one-story home into two two-stories.

Creating a home extension project is like building a new house. You need to create very specific architectural plans, especially if you will be adding an additional full story on the next floor. You will also need to carefully budget, so your expenses do not spiral out of control as the project proceeds.

There are several factors that affect the cost of your home extension. First is the size of your extension. The bigger the project, the more costly it gets because it will require more materials and more labor.  In addition, how your planned extension affects the flow of your existing home will also affect the cost of the project. Will you be rearranging your current interior to accommodate the extension or is the current layout already fine? Will you need to remove a wall or a door to make way for the added space? If so, these require more materials, more planning, and more time.

The location of your new extension can also significantly dictate the overall cost. For instance, extending a full second storey for your house will mean detaching the roof, adding stairs, and providing materials for what, in many ways, will be the equivalent of building a house. On the other hand, turning a porch into an additional room or extending a certain wing of the house will be a simpler, more straightforward project.

When it comes to expanding your living space, it is important to carefully weigh the pros and cons of staying in your house and renovating it versus moving.  Evaluate the needs of your family so you can identify the most efficient solution that will maximize your overall investment.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.00

Low Maintenance Ideas for Your Home

We all want a home that requires less maintenance. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to enjoy he luxuries that life has to offer, but there are certain items and lifestyles that require more attention than others. We don’t want to spend a ton of money on something that requires constant repair, cleaning, and upkeep. Rather, we prefer to spend money on things we actually need that do not require a lot of time or money to maintain.

Living in a low-maintenance home is not only cost-effective, but also peaceful and less stressful. You don’t have to worry about if your home essentials will easily break and need repair, nor do you have to be concerned if you skip a day on cleaning your house. To help you achieve a low-maintenance home, here are some useful ideas:

• Opt for a smaller house. If you do not have a home yet or are planning to buy one, try considering a smaller house. There’s less to clean, which means you save time. Plus, you stick more to the basics of what you need, so you’re less likely to become overloaded with electronic devices and miscellaneous items.
• Do away with unnecessary things around the house. And, if you come across something that doesn’t work, get rid of it. It will reduce the number of items you have to clean.
• Choose more durable devices for your home. Durable items are already tested and proven to last for a long time. Even if they cost a little more up front, you can be assured that you will not have to buy a replacement for a long time as opposed to if you buy cheaper materials that break easily and must be replaced.
• Choose a flooring material based on your lifestyle. This means scratch-resistant flooring if you have pets and darker carpets if you have kids. That way, you don’t have to constantly seal and stain your floor because of marks.
• Have cabinets and shelves that reach the ceiling and don’t have open spaces. This will reduce the accumulation of dust above your cabinet and around your dishes that would otherwise collect dust.
• Do not decorate your home excessively. Less decor means fewer things to dust and clean. In addition, it will make your room look less cluttered and cleaner.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Positive Changes Oklahoma Partners with Edmond Public Schools for Special Education

In order to offer more support to children with disabilities, the Edmond Public Schools Board of Education has partnered with Positive Changes Oklahoma for a special education program for the 2012-2013 school year. As a result, children from ages 5 to 17 who have emotional disorders or other related disabilities can enjoy special education services while going through therapy.

Positive Changes is a program geared toward children who have emotional and behavioral difficulties or have been victims of abuse. The program aims to provide outpatient treatment that offers patients personalized care, but also allows them to go home to their families at the end of the day or on the weekends.

During the upcoming school year, Edmond Public Schools will be providing these special education programs to children with disabilities within the community who want to continue to learn in a classroom situation. The members of the board will be responsible for the salaries of the two special education teachers, the classroom furniture, and the learning materials needed.

The great thing about the program is that students who participate in the day treatment program will be able to go home each night instead of staying in a hospital. Each school day, students will receive educational instruction for three hours and then attend therapy in the afternoon.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Edmond’s 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse Offers Tours During LibertyFest

During this year’s LibertyFest Fourth of July celebrations in Edmond, historical tours of the oldest one-room schoolhouse in Oklahoma, the 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse, will be open to the public all day Wednesday.

Located at 124 E. Second Street, the 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse was built by the Ladies School Aid Society, headed by Jennie Forster, in the summer of 1889.  It was designed to provide a proper school for the children in the area, and its first class began with 19 students in September 1889, which grew to 37 children by the end of the school year.

The schoolhouse underwent restoration in 2003 and reopened to the public in April 2007.  Now, the schoolhouse is open the first two Saturdays of each month by appointment and hosts the Edmond Historical Society & Museum Educational Programs classes.

On the Fourth of July, volunteers will be leading tours and offering souvenir water bottles and history booklets of the schoolhouse.  The schoolhouse will also provide cool shade and picnic tables, where families can sit and relax while watching the festival parade.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.00

Go Green in the Kitchen

Helping the environment is something we all strive to do and, fortunately, there are things we can do in our day-to-day lives to help contribute.  Even if you’re not out there cleaning rivers and lakes or participating in environmental conservation activities, your little green ways at home can create a huge impact.

Making your kitchen greener can be a great step toward a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Not only will it help the environment, but it will also save energy, reduce your bills, and allow you to enjoy a healthier life. Below are some ideas for becoming greener in your kitchen:

• Purchase kitchen appliances that have an Energy Star sticker. This will guarantee that what you are using is energy-efficient. In addition, use your appliances wisely, so you don’t waste energy.  For example, avoid opening your freezer or refrigerator until you are sure of what you want to get, so you don’t let all of the cool air out.
• Use sturdy kitchenware.  If you purchase kitchenware made of cheap materials, don’t expect it to last long. Sure, low-quality utensils will work fine in soups, omelets, and fried foods, but when it comes to tough cooking, they usually wear down. Spend a little bit more money to invest in higher quality kitchen ware that will last you a long time.  This will not only save you money in the long run, but it will reduce your garbage waste.
• Avoid using bottled water. Some kitchens use bottled water for kitchen use and consumption. If your tap water is not as clean as you would like, use a filter instead. That way, you don’t have to buy any more water bottles, which is more cost-efficient, and you reduce the amount of non-biodegradable plastic waste that you put into the environment.
• Take your cooking outside. Since it’s summertime, seize the opportunity to grill outside and reduce your electricity bill by not using your large kitchen appliances.  It will also encourage the rest of your family to go outdoors and enjoy the summer air, thus reducing the electricity consumption in other rooms as well.
• Use small appliances instead of bigger ones. The smaller they are, the less energy they consume.  For example, try using a small toaster oven or microwave instead of your large main oven when possible.
• Waste nothing. As much as possible, avoid wasting things inside your kitchen. That means no food waste, no excess packaging or plastic bags, and no throwing things away before they have been fully used. You can reuse a lot of items like cans, bottles, and plastic bags, or you can recycle them via your local pick-up service or drop-off locations. For organic waste, create a compost for your garden.
• Use green cleaners. Avoid buying cleaners that have chemicals in them because they not only harm the environment, but they can also pose a major risk to your family. Also, use cloths and rags when cleaning instead of disposable paper towels.
• Buy organic and eat green. Introduce your family to healthier green dining with organic ingredients that are good for the body.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.00

Essential Cleaning Supplies Every Home Must Have

Cleaning at home is a lot easier when you have everything you need. Sure, it takes time to clean each room, especially the bathroom and the kitchen, but when you have all of the supplies you need, you will be able to work much easier and faster, allowing you to get back to what you really want to do.

Below are some of the essential cleaning supplies that every household should have:

• Microfiber cloth – Many homeowners use old rags to dust cabinets and furniture. Although they may come in handy for other uses, when it comes to dusting, a microfiber cloth is a much better option.  Microfiber cloths gather more dust and dirt than ordinary rags that tend to just push it around.  So, cleaning is done in no time and you don’t have to dust as frequently.
• All-purpose anti-bacterial spray cleaner – Yes, you need an anti-bacterial cleaner to thoroughly kill germs and bacteria and, yes, it should be an all-purpose cleaner. There are many specialized cleaning solutions out there, but an all-purpose cleaner will benefit you more.  It takes up less space than a collection of multiple bottles, and it will save you money because you only need to buy one cleaner.
• Rubber gloves – Safety should always be a top priority, and using rubber gloves will help protect your hands from the harmful ingredients that are found in cleaning solutions. When using heavy duty cleaners, you may even want to use a disposable mask to avoid breathing in the fumes.
• Garbage bags – Whether you’re cleaning out a particular area of your home or simply using them for your trash cans, garbage bags are much more sanitary than throwing trash directly into the bin.
• Vacuum cleaner – When it comes to cleaning carpet and furniture, vacuum cleaners are the way to go in order to ensure you are truly getting everything clean.  Invest in a high-quality vacuum cleaner that will last for several years.
• Baking soda – This may seem like an unlikely cleaning supply considering baking soda is used in food preparation, but this natural ingredient is also a life-saver when it comes to removing stains, odors, and tough grime.
• Toilet bowl cleaner – Your toilet bowl is one area that does require more than a basic all-purpose cleaning solution.  Use toilet bowl cleaner regularly in order to protect your family from germs.
• Mops and brooms – A good mop and a strong broom are absolutely essential maintaining a clean, dirt-free floor.
• Sponges, brushes, and scrubbers – These items help to get rid of tough stains, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.00

OKC Offers More Advanced Parking Meters Starting in July

As part of Project 180, OKC city officials are planning to replace the old parking meters with a more advanced system. The Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority recently added over 600 on-street parking spaces downtown, so in line with those changes, they decided it was time to replace the old coin meters with more versatile pay stations.

Project 180 is a four-year city improvement initiative to implement ways to clean up the streets and sidewalks as well as provide more convenient facilities. With a budget of $160 million, Project 180 aims to redesign the streets and public parks and plazas through decorative street lighting, marked bike lanes, landscaping, and on-street parking spaces.

To better provide a convenient public parking, over 125 solar-powered pay stations will be installed in parking spaces, which will accept both coins and credit cards. The first phase of the meters will be installed at the Myriad gardens on Reno, Robinson, and Hudson streets. City officials said that installations will occur every two weeks, and the first phase of meters will begin operating on July 16.

The new digital meters will be easy to use, and unlike the older mechanical meters, they will accept credit cards in addition to coins.  A receipt will be printed for the driver to place on the front driver’s side windshield to make it visible. If the driver returns to their car before the time has expired, they can leave the receipt on their dashboard and transfer to another parking space without paying again.

There will be a minimum parking fee of 75 for 30-minute parking in either the one hour or two hour parking zones. One-hour meters will have blue caps, while two-hour meters will have orange ones.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.00

Decorating with Your Kids’ Art

We love the works of art that our kids create, and it’s exciting to see what they’re going to show us when they come home from school. Is it a picture of a colorful flower or a family in front of a huge house? Will there be new animals this time or the usual stick figures? Whatever the final product is, we love it and usually want to hang it somewhere inside the house.

Even though kids like to showcase their pieces of art inside their own bedrooms, it doesn’t have to be confined there.  In order to prevent artwork overload in your kids’ bedrooms and simultaneously share their work with everyone, you can hang their masterpieces in unconventional places like the hallway, the kitchen, or your home office.

Here are a few creative ways to decorate your home using your kids’ artwork:

• Frame it. This is actually a common practice in many households.  Simply select a few of your child’s best creations and frame them.
• Incorporate it in functional items.  For example, you can choose your favorite piece of artwork and add it to your morning tray. Laminate the artwork and stick it on top of your tray, and you’ll always be able to see your child’s work while drinking coffee or bringing morning tea to your house guests.  You can also have the artwork printed onto fabric to create a blanket, throw pillows, or even your kids’ bed linens.
• Create a huge gallery. In one corner of a room, fill the empty walls with all of your child’s artwork in a collage style.  Make sure that each piece is well-protected in a frame, so they cannot be damaged easily.
• Hang them – literally! Use a long wire or twine to hang pages of art as though they were photos that were hanging to dry. You can string each end of the wire or twine to end hooks and use decorative wooden clothespin to hang their artwork.
• Stick them in cabinets. Laminate some of their smaller drawings and attach them, using glue or tape, to the inside of your cabinets, so you see them every time you reach for something.
• Create a personalized refrigerator magnet. Rather than buying magnets for your fridge, create your own using your kids’ artwork. Cut out small pieces of their drawings, laminate them, and glue a magnet on each one.
• Keep it as a reminder in your home office. Working at home sometimes blurs the lines between your work and personal life, so use your child’s artwork as a reminder that they need your time and attention too.  Place their art beneath the glass on top of your desk or frame it, so you can look at it all day and remind yourself of when it’s quitting time.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.00