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Prepare Your Home for Fall

by Kynzy Lowe

The resurgence of everything pumpkin spice means that fall is upon us once again. You are probably as excited to pull out that box of fall décor as we are. If you live in a building (a house, duplex, apartment, condo, etc..) then there are some other important tasks that should be added to your to-do list to make sure your home is well prepared for the change of season.

  • Have your furnace inspected

Don’t get left in the cold. Fall brings cooler temperatures, shorter days, and earlier sunsets. Ensure that your home stays nice and cozy by having your furnace inspected. Contact your preferred local HVAC company to get your furnace checked out and maintenance, if needed.

  • Clean your gutters

Gutters safely carry water from your roof away from your home’s foundation. Blocked gutters can prevent this water from flowing, causing damage to your home, so it is important to clear out any debris that has built up. You can hire someone to do this, or you can do it yourself. Consider getting gutter guards so that water will flow smoothly without your gutters getting clogged with leaves or other debris.

  • Properly insulate your home

Combat the drop in temperature by making sure your home is properly insulated. The most effective way to keep your home warm is to invest in extra insulation, and there are many different options that vary based on your type of home and specific layout. This can be pricey, but will save money on energy bills in the long run. You can also reduce heat loss by covering windows with blinds and curtains.

  • Check outdoor faucets

Make sure all outdoor faucets are turned off. It might be worth doing now, before winter, to avoid water freezing and bursting pipes. Don’t forget to use insulated covers for exterior water spigots.

  • Bring in outdoor items

Depending on the weather, it may be best to pack up outdoor furniture and other patio items that could get damaged. If you have a pool, it might be time to cover it so that it stays clean until next summer.

Following these tips can help you avoid common problems in the fall and winter. By making sure that your home is well prepared, you can relax and enjoy all that this season has to offer.

family slides down blue plastic slip-n-slide on beautiful green lawn

Natural Lawn Maintenance Tips for Safe Summer Fun

by Jason Haeger

A lawn in summer is a wonderful thing! It is the proper location for picnics, barbecues, slip-n-slides, and more. Forget chemical fertilizers and herbicides. You can still enjoy a healthy SAFE lawn by following natural lawn maintenance tips below.

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How To Prepare Your Home For Winter

by I Am Benchmark

It’s That Time Of Year Again

Winter officially begins on Thursday, and if you haven’t already winterized your home, it’s time to take action. Follow these steps to keep the comfort in, keep the cold out, and ensure your family’s safety. The energy cost savings doesn’t hurt, either, so get to it!

 

Seal Drafty Windows and Doors

Exterior door and window leaks are the biggest source of energy loss when (baby) it’s cold outside. You can help prevent the heat sneaking its way out, and the cold creeping its way into your cozy home by sealing the gaps. For gaps at the edge of windows, you can simply caulk the gaps. (Be sure to cut out old caulk for best results.) For gaps between panes on newer windows, a little bit of weather stripping can go along way in keeping winter out. On older windows, short of reglazing, you can use weatherstripping or caulk to seal gaps. 

For doors, check the weather stripping where the door seals. At dusk, you can check from outside for light getting through cracks. For all window and door leaks, you can light a candle, and hold it near potential gaps in windows and doors to check for a flicker caused by escaping warm air, or entering cold air. 

 

 

little girl sitting by window in winter

Don’t Heat Vacant Rooms

room hvac vent

If you have any spare rooms, or rooms that are rarely used, keep the doors to them closed, and close the vents in them. This will prevent your central heat from working to heat unused space. Unless someone decided to start using the vacant room, no one would notice the sweet savings on your energy bill. 

A bonus tip, if your home has more than a single story, you can partially close the vents on the top floor, and keep the doors to frequently used rooms open. Be careful, though. If your air handler is oversized for your house, this could put unnecessary stress on it, causing it to die prematurely. 

Blow the Warm Air Down

Ceiling fans are fantastic for cutting cooling costs in the summer. The breeze effectively reduces the perceived temperature, meaning you can turn the thermostat up a couple of degrees to lighten the load on your air conditioner unit. What about in winter? 

Most ceiling fans have a switch to reverse the rotation direction that the blades spin. While you don’t want to feel the breeze when you’re trying to stay warm, you do want to generate circulation of the air in the room to even out the temperature between the top of the room and the bottom. Switching your ceiling fans on in reverse direction accomplishes this. No longer will the risen warm air stagnate against the ceiling, leaving the heat from your furnace under-appreciated. You can set your thermostat a couple of degrees lower, to lighten the load on your furnace, while staying comfortably warm when it’s cold outside. 

ceiling fan

Check Safety Systems

testing a smoke alarm

Test your fire and smoke alarms, your carbon monoxide sensors, and your security system components to make sure the batteries are good, connections are secure, and CO sensors  have not yet expired. Fires and carbon monoxide are both more common during cooler months, and holidays are also a time when thieves may be after the presents under your tree, unfortunately. Don’t forget to check mounting brackets and wiring for external security cameras and motion sensing lights. Being safe is essential to feeling cozy at home.

Stock Up and Be Prepared

Start with keeping a backup stock of food in case you are stuck inside due to snow or ice. It also makes sense to check your first aid kit to see if anything needs to be replenished, or buy one if you do not already have one. Keep extra stock of prescription medications, just in case you are unable to get a refill when running low. Make sure you have a means of opening cans in the event that power is lost. Keep firewood on hand, or another means of keeping warm. Keep emergency numbers handy, and keep your cell phones and any supplemental power banks for them charged. Stock up on batteries, test your flashlights, check your fire extinguisher(s), and keep several gallons of potable water on hand. In the event that you need these resources, your future self will thank you later. So do something nice for yourself and your family: be prepared.

 

Summer Water Conservation Tips For Your Home and Garden

by I Am Benchmark

Being our most important natural resource, conservation of fresh water is a universal responsibility. Here are four simple ways that you may be able to reduce your fresh water footprint and save on your water bill.

 

Use Less On Lawn Care

Did you know that nearly 60% of a person’s water consumption may be used on lawn and garden care?* Having a great lawn can really keep your home looking its best, but are you giving yours too much love? By just watering at the right time of day, you can prevent evaporation, with means the water sprayed is actually held in the soil to keep your plants and lawn watered throughout the day. It is recommended to water early in the morning, and to avoid watering during windy weather. It also makes sense to limit the amount of time spent watering, and during rainy seasons, it isn’t necessary to water every day. By cutting down on just a few minutes of watering, you’ll save money on utilities, several gallons of water, and your garden will still look stunning!

* http://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/water-conservation-tips/

 

 

Mulch Is Soil’s Best Friend

By adding a layer of mulch, you prevent evaporation, keeping soil is kept moist for longer. Not only is mulch water efficient, but it contributes by adding visual contrast to landscaping. Since it comes in a variety of materials and colors, you can also choose a color to accent your house and landscape. Synthetic mulch and wood mulch are the two most popular kinds. Synthetic mulch made from recycled products last for many years, and are a popular choice for playgrounds. Natural wood mulch will need to be replenished annually as it breaks down, improving soil by adding organic matter and slow release compost. If your garden has a lot of water runoff, which mulch is important since some wood mulches can wash away more easily than synthetic (rubber) mulch. Many homeowners prefer wood chips because of their natural look and tendency to stay grounded on windy days.* As wonderful as mulch is, there is another way to be water smart in the garden. You can also use rain barrels to collect rainwater, which is free of chlorine, plus a little added nitrogen picked up in the atmosphere on its way down. Every drop counts!

* http://homeguides.sfgate.com/comparison-between-rubber-mulch-wood-chips-51700.html

 

Water For Washing

Do you enjoy a relaxing bath at the end of a long day? Did you know that it takes ~70 gallons of water plus the energy required to heat it? Showers are a great water smart alternative since they don’t use nearly as much water, especially with a low flow shower head.*

This goes for washing dishes, too. Typically, water usage for washing dishes isn’t very high, but every little bit adds up. A completely full dishwasher prevents the need to hand wash every dish individually, with the following rinse in the kitchen sink. Modern automatic dishwashers are designed to be efficient and use a minimal amount of water.* Not to mention the time and energy it saves!

* http://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/water-conservation-tips/

 

Drinking Water

Since bottled water is transported great distances before it is consumed, it is better to avoid it when possible. Many bottled water companies also use a reverse osmosis system to produce their products. Even though Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a popular option for taste and quality, the bigger picture effects on conservation may be surprising. For every gallon purified by RO, four gallons (up to 12) are wasted. By using an inline or gravity water filter, you only use the water you drink, and no water is wasted. Most vendors offer water filters at a reasonable price with many only needing to be replaced once every six months or more. Other kinds of water wise treatments include UV filters, Alkaline Water Ionizers, and others. By finding what works best for you, you can keep your lifestyle and help conserve our most important natural resource.

* http://www.softwaterfiltration.com/water-filters/

Preparing Your Home: Beat The Summer Heat

by Benchmark

In order for you to beat the heat this summer, you will need to start preparing your home before the heat hits. There are several things that you can do to ensure that your home stays comfortable during the  summer months. Below are some tips for preparing your home:

Update Your Insulation

This will help keep the hot air outside and the cool air inside of the house. Updating your insulation can also help you save money on your electric bill. If your home is poorly-insulated, you could end up spending more money on your electric bill.

Change The Direction Of Your Ceiling Fan

If you used a ceiling fan to keep your home warm during the winter months, then you will need to change the direction of the blades. When the blades turn counterclockwise, they distribute the cool air throughout the room. You may also be able to save money on your electric bill. Even though the ceiling fan does not reduce the temperature inside of the room, it does help the room feel cooler. You will be able to comfortably raise the temperature on your air conditioner a few degrees. Ceiling fans can help you save between four to six percent on your electric bill.

Switch To Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Many people switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs so that they can save money on their electric bill. However, this is not the only benefit that can be reaped from switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs. CFL light bulbs produce less heat than incandescent light bulbs. Therefore, it will be easier for you to keep your home cooler if you use compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Replace Your Air Filter

A dirty air filter will reduce the air conditioner’s efficiency. It can also trigger or worsen allergies. That is why you will need to replace your air filter every two months. It is also a good idea to have your air conditioner unit serviced before the summer heat hits.

Now is the time to start preparing your home for the summer heat.

Depositphotos_7762516_original

Top 10 Tips To Save Water This Summer

by Benchmark

With the warm summer weather comes an increase in activities around your home, outside and inside, that use water. Here are 10 tips for smart water usage.

Check Your Connections

1. Check hose connections and outdoor faucets for leaks. Replace or adjust them as soon as you notice a leak. Also watch lengths of hose when water is running through them for holes or other damage.

Strategically Schedule Your Water

2. Be strategic by scheduling when you water lawns, gardens and flower beds. Watering before the heat of the day means less water is lost to evaporation. A regular watering schedule also keep plants and lawns from drying out and becoming stressed, which in turn leads to the need to water more.

Regularly Adjust Your Sprinklers

4. Stay pointed in the right direction. Regularly adjust the direction of your sprinklers to make sure you aren’t watering the sidewalk or driveway.

Make A Clean Sweep

5. Use a broom on driveways and walkways as a first step to cleaning them. Use the hose as the second step.

Maintain Your Pool

6. Don’t let your pool make an unwanted splash on your water bill. If you have a pool, make sure it is regularly maintained and thoroughly checked for leaks.

Use A Rain Barrel

7. Set up a rain barrel. Then use water collected to water trees, shrubs and flowers. In a similar vein, see if downspouts can be directed to deliver water to certain areas that need it such as lawns or garden beds.

Fill Your Appliances

8. Appliances are most efficient when full. Wait until there is a full load to run the dishwasher or washing machine.

Inspect Your Appliance

9. Inspect other appliances that use water to make sure they are performing in an optimum way. Don’t forget your evaporative cooler or hot water heater.

Don’t Wait For The Tap To Get Cold

10. Keep a container of drinking water in the refrigerator instead of letting tap water run to get cold for drinking. This has the added benefit of giving you a cool drink instantly.

Saving a drop here and a drop there really makes a difference when it comes to water usage. What looks like a small amount of wasted water adds up quickly when it happens every day or all summer long. In a similar way making what seems like a small step now will help keep your home green. Then you can enjoy summer the way it was meant to be.

Watering flowers

Make Your House a Home – Top 10 Feng Shui Tips

by Benchmark

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art designed to balance the energy in a space while making it more inviting and cohesive. Here are a few suggestions to enhance your home and inspire you as well.

1. Clean Up Your Clutter

One of the most important Feng Shui principles is to clear away any unnecessary clutter. Feng Shui states that we are energetically connected to everything we possess. Having too many unnecessary things in your space literally drains your energy. Go through your entire home and remove anything you no longer love or use.

2. Rearrange Your Furniture

Your furniture should be placed where you can see who’s entering the room. Ideally, you should never walk into a room and see the back of someone sitting in a chair or sofa. This creates a feeling of disempowerment and unease.

3. Make the Entryway to Your Home Inviting

The entryway to your home is considered the portal where all opportunity can enter. It should make you and everyone else inspired and eager to enter. Implement special touches like colorful pots of flowers, a clean doormat, and a fresh coat of paint on your front door. Your home’s entryway is the first impression your visitors will get and says a lot about you and the home you live in.

3. Care for Your Home

Fix or replace anything in your home that is broken, rotting, or cracked. How you care for your home reflects how you care for yourself.

4. Color Affects Everything

Color affects us on both a conscious and subconscious level. Look at the colors in your home. Do they make you feel safe, nurtured, and inspired? Color is a key element in affecting our everyday mood.

5. Room Function

Make sure every room in your house is conducive to its function. For example, it doesn’t make sense to put exercise equipment in a bedroom where you rest and sleep.

6. Create a Friendly Atmosphere

Sharp-edged furniture sends the message your home is unsafe. Remove other unfriendly items like kitchen knife racks or spiky pot hooks as well. Every element in your home should feel comfortable and secure.

7. Create Flow

The path meandering through your home should flow easily. Do not place furniture where it will obstruct a path. Lack of movement inside your home may indicate a lack of movement regarding your career, relationships, and health.

8. Forget Trends

Remove anything in your space you feel obligated to keep. Forget popular trends and only surround yourself with things that inspire you.

9. Little Things Mean A Lot

Little things like keeping the toilet seat down or replacing the handle on a drawer may not seem like much, but they actually convey a sense of order and mindfulness. Keeping things in order equates to a peaceful existence.

10. Invite Mother Nature into Your Home

What is it about nature that makes us feel one with the world? Nature essentially realigns our energy field with the rest of the Universe and makes us feel whole.

Once you understand the primary principles of Feng Shui and incorporate them, you’ll begin to notice a shift in the way you feel. It’s called peace and happiness.

Feng Shui

Simple Tips to Winterize Your Home

by Benchmark

When winter’s cold blast approaches and the warmth of summer is a distant memory, it’s time to winterize your home to ensure you keep heating and other costs at bay. Here are some simple tips on how to winterize your home this season.

Seal up Windows and Doors

Nothing acts more like a beacon to escaping heat than drafty windows and doors. When windows and doors are poorly insulated, you’re saying goodbye to your hard-earned cash as your costly heat goes right out the door. It’s easy to detect a leak — just walk around your home and light a candle near each window and door. If the flame flickers, cold air is getting in. Caulk the leaks to seal them and keep your toasty air in, helping you to save on your energy bills.

Close Unused Doors and Vents

If there are any rooms you do not use frequently in the winter, such as guest rooms and finished basements, keep the doors closed and shut the heating vents to those rooms to conserve energy. No sense in heating a room when no one’s in it. You’ll get more even distribution of heat throughout the main rooms, like your bedroom, the living room and the kitchen, where you need it most.

Reverse the Ceiling Fans

You probably never thought much about the direction of your ceiling fan blades but there’s a real benefit to reversing their direction when the winter hits. Most ceiling fans come with a switch that you can simply flip to make the blades go in the opposite direction. Make sure they’re rotating in a clockwise motion rather than counterclockwise, to encourage the warm air (which naturally wants to rise) to direct downwards.

Check Your Alarms

This includes your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well as your security alarms and surveillance systems. Ensure outdoor security cameras are properly secured to the home to prevent slipping and shifting due to high winds and snow drifts.

Stash an Emergency Supply

Could you survive a few days or a week without power? If not, it’s a good idea to always have an emergency supply as a backup in case you lose power during a storm. You’ll need a fully-stocked first aid kit complete with sanitizers, bandages, OTC medications and backup prescriptions, as you may not be able to get to the store in the event of an injury or a critical situation where your child has a food allergy, for instance, and you need an epinephrine pen. In your emergency supply, you’ll also need plenty of dried and canned goods, several gallons of water, flashlights with extra batteries, manual can openers, matches, fully charged cell phones and a fire extinguisher. Keep emergency numbers handy in case you need them at a moment’s notice. Stay safe this winter and do what you can to prepare.

Winter houses

Fire Prevention Tips for Every Homeowner

by Benchmark

As a homeowner, you will want to take the necessary steps in preventing a potential house fire. Fires can cause a great deal of damage not only to your property, but also to the many memories that you have made with your family in your home.

In addition, fires can be extremely dangerous for those who are in the house at the time that the fire starts. Every homeowner should take advantage of these fire prevention tips that will truly help you in preventing a fire within your home before it has the chance to start. Now you will have the peace of mind to know that you are safe in your own home.

Your Home’s Electrical System

One of the most common ways that a house fire starts is from a faulty electrical system. Your electrical system should be checked by a professional annually to ensure that you are not experiencing any issues. Some things that will be checked on your electrical system include grounded receptacles, damaged wiring that may have been caused by pests chewing on it, circuit breaker damage, tripped fuses, power surges and more. By hiring a professional to look over your system regularly, you are preventing the risk of your system starting an accidental fire within your home.

HVAC Systems

Air conditioning and heating systems require semi-annual maintenance in order to ensure the safest home possible and to take the necessary steps in fire prevention. An overworked fan motor or a clogged filter can start a fire in just a matter of minutes. Air conditioning coils should be cleaned, filters should be changed and furnace burners should be cleaned before starting up the heat at the beginning of the winter season. Regular HVAC maintenance will help to prevent a fire from starting in your home.

Flammable Liquids

If you have any flammable liquids within your home, they should be stored in areas where there is no ignition source present. For example, you will not want to store paint cans, gasoline or other flammable materials near the stove, washing machine or dryer as this can start a fire easily. In addition to flammable liquids, it is important to keep your stove and other ignition starters clear of any garbage or debris such as paper which can catch on fire in just seconds.

Other fire prevention tips for every homeowner include proper maintenance of your fireplace, being careful when using space heaters, keeping your appliances clean and using caution when burning candles and oil lamps. Preventing a fire is simple when you take the proper steps for you and your homes ultimate safety.

tech gadgets to make your home modern

5 High Tech Gadgets to Take Your Home into the Future

by Benchmark

Are you buying a new home or updating your current one? Adding a few modern, high-tech gadgets can rocket your home into a positive direction. New home gadgets can help to modernize your home, and also make your home safer and more secure. Below are a few must-have, tech-savvy devices.

Vivint Home Automation

The Vivint Home Automation system is an all-in-one system that allows you to control your home security from anywhere. You can lock and unlock your home door from your smartphone. Have your kids ever left their house keys at school? With the Vivint system you can easily let the kids inside by using your smartphone or other web enabled device. A video surveillance system helps you know exactly what is happening inside your home. This system allows you some control of your home while you are gone.

Canary Home Security Device

Ensuring that your new home is safe is a top priority. The Canary Home Security Device alerts you to emergencies happening inside your home. Even if you are away from home, you can choose how to respond to an emergency easily from your smartphone. You can choose to call the police or text a neighbor. This security device takes high-quality video with a night vision HD camera.

August Smart Lock

The August Smart Lock allows you to choose who enters a room. The door automatically locks after the door shuts. This locking device allows you to feel more secure at home or when you are away. If you have guests coming, they can be invited, and the door will unlock for them.

Nest Thermostat

The Nest Thermostat helps you stay comfortable while you are in your home. It learns your comfort level and adjusts the temperature automatically. It also has an automatic away mode which detects when you leave your house and sets the temperature accordingly. This feature can help you save money on your electricity bill.

Spotter Sensor

The Spotter Sensor is a wonderful tool that can help keep your home in working order. It will automatically alert you of certain types of changes. For example, it can automatically adjust the humidity in a wine cellar or alert you if someone comes into a certain area. It can also automatically turn on a light when you open a door. The Spotter Sensor can be controlled conveniently with your smartphone.

tech gadgets to make your home modern