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

Edmond Approves New Police Records Management System

To help police officers easily identify people who may pose a threat to society, a reliable police record system is important. That type of system manages  all of the police records, so it is easier and faster for police officers to locate the files they need.  However, in Edmond, the Police Records Management System is outdated and losing its functionality.

The current system used by the police is a 1998 system, and it needs to be replaced.  So, the City of Edmond is doing just that.  The City Council has already approved a new Police Records Management System for a cost of $922,768, and the New World Systems Inc. record management software suite is now what the police department will be using.

Though the new system is estimated to become fully operational by 2014, the city has already set the bid for the system to be easily moved to its new location at the new Public Safety Center and Ancillary Facility at 100 E. First St. According to city officials, the new system will be paid for by the Public Safety Center Capital Improvements Tax.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Lights of Awareness Featured at Integris Health Edmond

Holiday lights and bright Christmas trees are all around us this holiday season. They remind us of the joy and happiness that surround this time of year.  But, no matter how we celebrate and enjoy the holiday season, there are many people who may not be able to fully revel in the celebration because they are battling life-threatening illnesses like cancer.

To offer support and awareness for people who are suffering from cancer, Team Outdoor Lifestyle has partnered with Integris Health Edmond to showcase a well-lit group of Christmas trees at Integris Health Edmond.  Team Outdoor Lifestyle is a landscaping and creative outdoor lifestyle company that offers lawn care and maintenance, as well as other outdoor features. may be battling.

The light display will feature 42 trees lit with 300 strands of holiday lights, or 21,000 lights total. There will be nine different colors on each tree, with each olor representing a disease. AIDS will be red, breast cancer will be pink, lung cancer will be white, Leukemia will be orange, colon cancer will be royal blue, bladder cancer will be yellow, prostate cancer will be in light blue, and kidney cancer will be green.  Purple will represent general awareness.

Light displays will be available for viewing outside the Integris Health Edmond until January 31, 2013.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Common Home Security Mistakes to Avoid

Home security is important for keeping your family and property safe from thieves and intruders. When implemented properly, you can feel very secure, knowing that it will be extremely difficult for unwanted trespassers to enter.  However, there are still people who don’t prioritize their home security enough and therefore leave their houses more vulnerable to theft and unwanted intruders.
To increase the level of your home security and prevent situations of robbery or theft, avoid these common mistakes:

• Hiding keys in obvious places. You may want to hide a spare set of keys somewhere outside your house in case you lock yourself out, but be careful where you stash them because thieves are very familiar with that practice and therefore usually look for them. Hiding keys under a big rock or under your doormat is really common. If you need to hide a spare key, put it in a more challenging, unexpected location.  If you can put it on the other side of gate that you are able to access, that’s even better.
• Not fixing broken doors or windows. If you leave a full crack on your window, thieves can easily break through it. The same is true when you fail to fix your door hardware. Repair broken windows, doors, and other exterior openings as soon as possible.
• Leaving doors and windows unlocked. Needless to say, if you unlock your door or window, anybody can come inside. Make it a habit to lock your doors prior to going to bed or, even better, immediately after you come inside.  Check your garage door as well to be sure it is closed and locked.
• Turning off the lights when no one is in the house. If you and your family need to go away for a few days, don’t make it obvious that your house is empty. Having a dark house is a big signal to thieves. If you need to leave your home, even for a few hours, leave a light by a window on or put your lamps on automatic timers.
• Having an overgrown garden. One of the appeals of larger vegetation is that it makes your yard more private.  But, keep in mind that tall plants can also conceal lurking intruders. Keep your garden properly maintained and at a level that keeps you safe.

 

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Martin Park Nature Center Offers Sensory Events

People who are disabled often have a hard time adjusting to the physical challenges of the world and fully experiencing the environment around them.

Those who are blind are unable to enjoy the different colors of the changing fall leaves, while those who are hard of hearing cannot completely appreciate music and the sounds of nature.

To provide support to people with disabilities, Martin Park Nature Center is offering free sensory events to the public. These events give people the chance to experience the beauty of nature more fully, despite their physical or developmental challenges. The series of events will continue through February and is offered to all ages.

On December 15, a free session will be offered to the hearing-impaired, which will involve activities specifically designed for people with hearing disabilities. January 19 is scheduled for people with cognitive impairment, and February 16 will be an event for those who are sensitive to light, sound, or other environmental factors.

Martin Park Nature Center is one of Oklahoma City’s popular parks that offers many recreational features.  A wildlife sanctuary showcases a number of animal species like squirrels, foxes, reptiles, and deer. You can also find animals around the 144-acre nature park.

Three and a half miles of gentle hiking trails, as well as an education center that features a nature educational library, are additional features that can be enjoyed by families. The nature park also features the first observation bee hive in the city.
Martin Park Nature Center is located at 5000 West Memorial Road in Northwest Oklahoma City. The park is opened from Wednesday to Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Edmond’s Project READ Receives Health Literacy Grant

Health is crucial for every person, and when you take good care of yourself, you increase your chances of a longer, healthier life. However, many people suffer from poor health due to things like unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles, obesity, and smoking. Oftentimes, these health issues are caused by a lack of knowledge of how to take care of your health properly.

Low literacy is one of the reasons why people fail to obtain proper information about their health. That is why the Oklahoma Department of Libraries has provided grants to several literacy programs in Oklahoma, including Project READ in Edmond, to provide learning to adults with low literacy rates. Other literacy programs include Great Plains Literacy Council in Altus, Rogers County Literacy Council in Claremore, Creek County Literacy Program in Sapulpa, and Ruth G. Hardman Adult Literacy Service in Tulsa.

A $3,000 grant funded by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services was given to these programs to help support literacy efforts in the state. The goal is to help people with low literacy rates read and understand health information, which can directly impact their wellbeing.  The programs will be able to add more health literacy resources and enhance their literacy instructions that will include topics about health and lifestyle. The grants can also be used to provide workshops and presentations on health literacy.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

What You Need to Know about Radiant Floor Heating

Walking on cold tiles is uncomfortable and shocking. It’s great when the weather is hotter and you receive its cooling effect.  However, as the weather becomes colder, the last thing you want is to feel even colder inside your house.

Radiant floor heating is one effective solution when it comes to addressing cold floors. Basically, it applies heat directly to your floors, so whenever you walk on them, your feet are soothed by their warmth. Heat from the floor can be achieved by installing electric or tubing system underneath your floor.

There are three basic types of radiant floor heating. First is the electric radiant floor, which is one of the post popular options. It utilizes electricity to provide heat to your floor and runs through electricity-powered cables.  One of the drawbacks of using this type radiant heat is that it increases your electricity usage. However, the heat produced by the wires remains on the floor for quite a while, even if you turn off the system.

Another type is the hydronic heating system. It makes use of water that runs through tubing underneath your floors. A boiler heats the water, which is in turn pumped through the tubes to provide warmth to the entire floor. Many homeowners choose this type of floor heating system since the water supply can also provide heat in specific areas of the house.

Lastly is the air-heated system, which generally circulates heated air throughout tubing. Instead of water, air is used to transfer heat to your floors. This floor heating system is less popular because it does not keep your floors warm for a long time and therefore must run more regularly.

One of the benefits of using radiant floor heating is the comfort factor.  Adding heat to your flooring surfaces will help you and your loved ones feel more comfortable during the cold days. And, you can use the radiant floors to help heat rooms, which allows your central heating units to run less often because the warm air isn’t being absorbed and removed as quickly.
In addition, radiant heating is energy efficient because homeowners can lower their thermostats due to the added warmth inside the room. Heat loss is also reduced since these floor heating systems add insulation to the room, making it hard for the hot air to escape through floors. What’s more, radiant floor heat is quiet, so you can enjoy a relaxed, cozy environment.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Citizen Performance Report Shows Excellent Marks for Oklahoma City Council

The Oklahoma City Council’s performance has recently been made public, thanks to their great effort in implementing a Citizen Performance Report about local government. The report keeps track of the city council’s performance by using internal performance guidelines and surveying residents to determine whether or they are meeting their goals.

The Citizen Performance Report in Oklahoma City has been going on for three years. The city’s officials have been creating surveys for different aspects of the government and encouraging resident feedback, so they can evaluate the effects of their decisions and project implementations. This feedback is then compared to their internal performance markers to help them evaluate if they are accomplishing their goals in a satisfactory manner.

This year, the Citizen Performance Report for Oklahoma City  an excellent rate with reports revealing how the city council accomplished its state goals. According to the report released last week, the nine priorities set by the city council have been accomplished successfully based on feedback from the community surveys and internal performance indicators.

The city’s nine priorities centered on:

• enhancing quality of life
• ensuring citizen safety
• expanding economic development initiatives
• focusing on infrastructure development
• gaining greater government efficiency
• improving public education
• increasing effectiveness and sustainability of public transportation
• preserving confidence and trust in the city government
• promoting a sustainable financial model

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

Which Builder Upgrades to Choose

When buying a new home, our minds become active as we imagine ways to enhance the space and personalize it to our liking.  Even if you’ve purchased your dream home, there are always going to be little details, like adjusting the size of the interior trim, that can be tweaked to make things look even better.

If you’re purchasing a new home, builders usually offer upgrades that allow homeowners to address some of those details at an additional price.  Even though you incur an extra expense up front when you choose an upgrade,  you can actually save more money (and a huge amount of time) in the long run.  Upgrading a house while it is built versus making changes later on allows you to get exactly what you want without dealing with the hassles of remodeling or the structural limitations of the existing framework.

So, if you plan to purchase builder upgrades, here are a few suggestions:

• Additional Structures – If you want to add an extra bathroom or garage to your new home, it’s best to make that decision before your house is built. Adding things later will only cost you more in materials, labor, and time.
• Extra Kitchen Cabinets – Your kitchen cabinets should be installed and completed before the rest of your kitchen is finished. Backsplashes and plumbing are difficult to remove and reposition, and it is usually quite expensive to do so.  So, you want to avoid installing utility-related hardware and finishes until you know exactly where they need to be located in relation to the cabinets.
• New Floors – Upgrades to your floors may still be available in the future, but in consider the hassle and inconvenience of ripping up your old floors to install new ones. It requires removing everything from the rooms where the floors will be changed, and in a way, you almost end up moving out and then back in. Builder upgrades to floors can sometimes be cheaper if done while the house the house is still under construction or if bundled with additional upgrades.
• Electrical and Plumbing upgrades – If you anticipate you will be adding additional electrical outlets in your house or adding another sink to one of the bathrooms, it’s best to upgrade your electrical and plumbing hook ups now. Doing so later will require breaking into walls, repairing them, matching materials, and doing segmented work that can sometimes produce more complications than a job that was completed all at once. The costs add up very quickly.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent