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By: Leanne Potts
Beautiful you-can-do-it inspirations for easy DIY projects.
As anybody who’s been inspired by HGTV can tell you, DIY projects on TV look amaaaazing.
But DIY renovations in real life: kiiiinda the toughest thing ever. And, yet, these rookie craftsmen did beautiful, jaw-dropping work that will totally inspire you. Check them out!
#1 Pinterest-Worthy Window Seat:
An empty recess in a room is a ripe spot for a DIY project, as home improvement blogger Britt Kingery can tell you.
She and her husband, Justin, built a window seat so ridiculously Pinterest-worthy you’ll want to make one for yourself (like, right now).
It’s a roomy 10-foot beauty, so you can seat a houseful of guests without dragging chairs all over the place. And (bonus!) there’s storage underneath for stashing lots of stuff out of sight.
You can custom-create your own for about $250 if you’ve got a few essential DIY tools.
Or you can do an Ikea hack to get the same result. Just attach one of their long, horizontal storage systems to your walls. Then add cushions and preformed molding for the same custom look.
#2 Miracle Makeover With Just Paint, Stain (and Patience):
“The Brady Bunch”-orange wall and abused floors in the before photo are homely enough to strike you blind.
But what a miracle paint, sanding, and stain can do! Lighter shades on the walls, trim, and floor reflect natural light, making the space so much brighter. And for very little money (about $150).
The key to such an amazing transformation, Kingery says, is to be a tortoise, not a hare.
Sanding, taping, patching holes, and waiting on stain, paint or polyurethane to dry takes care and patience if you want professional-looking results.
“The big reveal doesn’t happen overnight, and a renovation almost always looks worse before it looks better.”
#3 Instant Open Floor Plan:
Cramped, dark kitchens are so very 1981.
Sarah Lemp of the “All Things With Purpose” blog turned her dated kitchen into an open, light-filled space that feels and functions like a larger room.
The cost? $300. Yep. For less than the cost of a set of countertop canisters at Williams Sonoma, Lemp worked magic.
The biggest fix? She just removed a set of overhead cabinets that blocked light and the view into the dining area, making an instant open floor plan.
Then she turned to paint, the budget remodeler’s friend. She used a soft griege (designer-speak for grayish beige) for the walls of the kitchen and dining area.
She painted the remaining upper cabinets white, and the bottom ones dark gray.
“I love the look of white cabinets, but figured a darker color was more kid-friendly,” she says.
Lemp skipped the requisite subway tile backsplash and went with peel-and-stick shiplap instead. “It was easier and cheaper,” she says.
#4 Brighter Bedroom With Paint and Wood:
This may be an ugly room, but we’re not sure because it’s so dark all we can see are cheap blinds and a poofy valance that hasn’t been fashionable since the Olsen twins were toddlers.
It needed major help.
Ashley Rose and Jared Smith of the blog “Sugar and Cloth” pulled off a weekend makeover by painting the walls a lighter color and replacing the window treatments with wispy, white drapes that practically pull sunlight into the room.
A pair of wall-mounted reading lamps added a second layer of light, because a lonely overhead fixture can’t light the whole room all by itself.
And that wall behind the bed? It’s strips of reclaimed wood with an adhesive backing. Peel, stick, and you’re done.
No nails. No glue. And just one tool: a level to make sure you stick the wood strips in a straight line. Awesome.
#5 An Easy-Peasy Backyard Patio:
Dirt’s ugly. It’s also a pain, turning into mud when it rains, dust when it doesn’t, and sneaking into your house on the feet of dogs and kids.
Covering it with a paver patio is a great fix. Chelsea Foy of the blog “Lovely Indeed” built this one in a neglected flower bed in just 10 hours.
She used patio stones molded to look like several individual bricks, because leveling one large stone is tons easier than leveling a bunch of bricks.
Those arcs of large river rocks just off the patio make a natural-looking transition between the factory-perfect pavers and the rest of the yard. They’ll also give you less lawn to mow and less flowers to tend.
#6 Fancy Wall Molding for a Bargain Price:
Wall molding makes a room look so custom, so finished, so much better than boring old drywall. But it costs around $25 a square foot just for the materials.
Mysha Barton of the blog “Remington Avenue” pulled it off along her stairs for just $30 — total.
The secret? She used MDF (medium density fiberboard, aka fake wood) to keep it cheap, and didn’t mount it in the traditional way with board panels on the wall.
Instead, she put thinner “chair rail molding” directly on the wall, and painted everything white, including the wall to get that rich look of molding.
The toughest part was cutting all those angles, Barton says.
She got it done with a miter box and a handsaw. “My advice is to use scrap wood to practice your angled cuts before taking on your expensive molding pieces.”
Barton did this project in just eight hours with three small children in the house, so even if 10th-grade geometry made you cry, you can do this.
#7 A Space-Saving Workbench:
A DIY workbench is a gateway project, one that can lead you to harder projects and possibly, a home improvement addiction. Make this workbench your very first project and you’ll have room to do scads of projects — money-saving ones.
It’ll fit in a small space because it’s actually a door mounted on door hinges, so you can fold it flat against the wall when you’re not using it. Be sure to buy a solid wood door, not a hollow one, so it’s sturdy enough to stand up to years of projects.
By: Jamie Wiebe
The tip about coffee mugs? We’ve all been there.
Did you ever notice that your self-improvement pacts with yourself are action oriented? Walk 10,000 steps a day. Fix that leaky faucet. Register for VolunteerMatch.
But “get organized”? It’s a goal so broad that just trying to figure out what action to take makes you wonder what you were thinking in the first place. It’s like you need an organizing plan for your organizing.
Ta da!
Here it is. Follow these steps, spending less than an hour day (sometimes just a few moments), to a better organized home:
1. Do That Project:
“What about your space is making you feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed?” asks Amy Trager, a professional organizer in Chicago. Is it the paperwork disaster in your office? The pile of clothes teetering on your dresser? Or that mess that surrounds your doorway? Start with what’s annoying you, she says. One hour on that task will get your organizing engine revving.
2. Create a “Go Away” Box:
Put anything you’re planning to donate in it (or give to a friend, or take to recycle). And keep it by the door so you can easily grab it when you’re leaving.
3. Deal With the Decorations:
Hallelujah — the holidays are over! When you’re putting away your décor, donate anything you didn’t bring out last season, and separate decorations by holiday. No need to dig through your St. Patty’s clovers when you’re searching for a menorah.
4. Create a System for Your Entryway:
Set up a “command center” so your front door doesn’t become a lawless accessories arena, especially during winter months. Add hooks for coats, bins for shoes, and a mail sorter if you need it. (Remember to keep a place for your “go away” box).
5. Wrangle Your Pet Supplies:
Minimize the time spent scrambling when your pup is desperate for a walk or eager for a meal. Hang hooks and cubbies near the door and keep leashes, kibble, bowls, and toys in one convenient spot.
6. Organize Your Spices:
Arrange your herbs and spices alphabetically, by cuisine, or by brand — whatever makes them easier to find when you’re in the middle of your noodle stir fry.
7. Pare Down Your Utensils:
You’ve accumulated several dozen kitchen utensils in your culinary career: can openers, microplanes, four (what?!) wine openers. Pare down the collection and use drawer dividers to keep the remainders in order.
8. Reconfigure Your Pots and Pans:
Stop digging around in your shelves for the oversized, cast-iron skillet. Donate the pots and pans you hardly use, and install cupboard organizers to help manage the rest.
9. Throw Away Expired Foods:
You never use Worcestershire sauce — except that one time. Go through your refrigerator and pantry and ditch or donate anything past its prime.
10. Stack Your Pantry Staples:
Make better use of your pantry by sorting through your staple dry goods — think flour, sugar, pasta, oatmeal, dry beans — and putting them in airtight, stackable containers. You’ll free up a ton of space, too.
11. Downsize Your Kitchen Gadgets:
You had noble intentions when you purchased that spiralizer. (Zucchini noodles every night, right?) Give those space hogs to someone else with lofty dreams.
12. Say No to Coffee Mug Over-Saturation:
Every time you lose a sock, a new coffee mug appears. Keep one or two mugs for every coffee or tea drinker, and donate the rest.
13. Sort Your Food Storage Containers:
No singles allowed. Toss any tops or bottoms that have no mates.
14. Reassess Your Display Shelves:
Shelves crammed with knickknacks, books you’ll never read, and stuff you somehow accumulated are just a waste of space. Donate books to the library, discard the junk, and arrange what’s left in a way that pleases you.
15. Deal With Your Cables:
With a Roku, PlayStation, DVD player, and a cable box, it’s no surprise your entertainment center is a mess. Create ID tags for each plug from bread tags or cable ties, and bundle the clutter together with velcro strips.
16. Put Clothes on New Hangers:
Switch your clothes over to the slimmer, grabbier hangers. They use less space and keep your clothes from sliding down to your closet floor. As you do this, discard the clothes you never wear.
17. Corral Your Accessories:
Belts, scarves, purses, hats — all the accessories that don’t have a drawer or spot in the closet can end up everywhere. Buy an accessories hanger or install a simple series of hooks to give your wardrobe’s smallest members a home.
18. Purge Under the Bed:
Under-bed storage is ideal for out-of-season clothing. But when out-of-season becomes out-of-sight and out-of-mind, clear out those clothes you’ll never wear again from this precious storage space.
19. Declutter Your Desk:
When your workspace is swimming with collectibles, staplers, Post-its, and more, paring down can keep you focused when it’s time to hunker down.
20. Shred Old Paperwork:
Not every form, statement, and tax record needs to stay in your filing cabinet forever. Check out this list to make sure you’re not wasting space. Shred the rest to ward off identity thieves.
21. Tidy Your Files:
Now that you’ve shredded the paperwork you don’t need, tidy up your files by organizing them and labeling them clearly. Colorful folders can help organize by theme (home stuff, tax stuff, work stuff, etc.).
22. Get Rid of Mystery Electronics:
Admit it. You’ve got a drawer where black mystery cords, chargers, and oddball electronic bits go to die. Free that drawer up for better uses, or at least get rid of the ones you know for sure are “dead.”
23. Pare Down Your Personal Care Stuff:
Your intentions were honorable when you bought that curl-enhancing shampoo — but it expired two years ago, and you haven’t used it since. Throw away any expired potions, salves, hair products, and medicines.
24. Tackle Under-the-Sink Storage:
Clean everything out. You’ll be amazed at what you find (like those Magic Erasers you could never find). Then put back everything you’re keeping in bins you can easily pull out so nothing gets lost again.
25. Hang a Shelf:
Wall storage is so often overlooked. Find a spot in your home where a shelf would solve a problem, and hang it. Maybe it’s for some toiletries in the bathroom, or laundry supplies, or for your kid’s stuffed toys.
26. Reduce Your Towels and Linens:
There are the towels you use — and the stack of towels you never use. Donate them to the animal shelter. Those torn pillowcases? Convert to rags or toss. Same for napkins, dishtowels, pot holders, etc.
27. Hang a Shoe Organizer:
Hanging shoe organizers can solve a ton of storage problems beyond the obvious. They can store scarves, mittens, cleaning supplies, craft supplies. You can even cut them to custom-fit inside a cabinet door.
28. Organize Your Junk Drawer for Good:
There’s no shame in a junk drawer — but why not organize it? Dump the whole thing on one surface and sort everything into piles. Use drawer dividers to keep each pile in its own space.
29. Store Your Tools the Right Way:
Finding the right Phillips-head screwdriver to put together that cute IKEA bookshelf shouldn’t be so hard. Track down your hammers and screwdrivers, and arrange them in one easy-to-access spot, such as a pegboard.
30. Plan for the Future:
See how much you’ve accomplished! Take a look around your newly organized home, making note of any spaces you missed. Then dream a bit about your next home project. Maybe paint that dining room, finally.
By: Gabriela Barkho
Start looking for that contractor NOW if you want your project done by summer’s end.
Whew. The holidays are done. The new year has rung in.
That’s when smart homeowners know it’s time to do these five things that’ll save time, money, and hassles all year long:
#1 Organize Your Seasonal Storage Space:
Packing away holiday decor presents a big opportunity. It’s the best time to sort, declutter, and reorganize that space where you store your seasonal stuff.
So before simply stuffing your holiday things back in there somewhere, take inventory, then sort, filter, donate, trash, and re-home as many of your things as possible.
It’ll help keep you more organized all year long, and make it easier to find all your holiday stuff next year.
#2 Deep-Clean the Kitchen:
All of that holiday merriment-making is rough on a kitchen. Give it a good deep cleaning now that the glittery dust has settled.
Purge your pantry and frisk your fridge, passing what you can on to local food banks. Scrub the walls and kick-boards, and even pull those appliances right out from the walls for a thorough vacuuming to prevent gunk (and stinks!) from accumulating.
#3 Plan Summertime Projects Now (Especially if You Need a Pro):
Finalize plans for any landscaping, decks, patios, or other outdoor projects that need warm weather. Two good reasons:
1. If you’re DIYing, you’ll be ready to roll at the first hint of nice weather.
2. If you’re hiring a contractor or other professional, getting your bids and contracts in place now will save you from competing with the spring rush (wait too long, and you may not be able to book anyone!).
#4 Create a Schedule to Clean ALL Your Home’s Filters:
It’s not just your HVAC. The filters in your fridge, your vacuum cleaner, your dryer, your air filter, and other household items need to be changed or cleaned at least once a year to be effective, usually more often — especially your dehumidifier. Yucky mold grows easily there.
Check manufacturer instructions for all the filters in your home, and create a master schedule, then add them to your calendar app to remind you.
#5 Save Some Green at White Sales:
Linens and towels go on sale in January. It’s a long-standing retail tradition that started back when linens only came in white (hence the name), and still has a solid rep as a money-saver — only in more colors today.
Cut your threadbare bath towels into rags and restock your supply, plus fill in any gaps in your bed linens you may have noticed if you had a house full of holiday guests.
By: Gabriela Barkho
They look nice. But girlfriend, they don’t play nice. Especially with your house.
Those beautiful, shiny icicles hanging from your roof are not cool.
They’re a really, really bad sign that you may have an ice dam — a ridge of ice along the edge of your roof that can damage your house and your wallet.
But don’t freak out. Just be in the know about these six things, and you can save your budget from hypothermia this winter.
#1 They’ll Destroy Your Roof’s Insulation:
So here’s how ice dams work: When heat escapes through your roof, it melts the snow up there.
Then it gets cold again, and that water freezes along the ridge of your roof. If this happens enough, the ice builds up into an ice dam.
Once the ice dam is established, when the warm air melts more snow, that water gets trapped behind the ice dam and just hangs out there in a puddle.
Water is not supposed to puddle up on your roof. It can seep down through the roof (science calls this a “leak,” FYI), and turn your insulation into a wet mess.
But that’s only the beginning…
#2 They’ll Infest Your House With Mold:
Once your insulation is that soggy mess, something worse could be lurking.
MOLD! Ugh, it’s nasty. And it’s expensive to make go away.
Fittingly, the way to prevent it is (ta-da!) good insulation. So your roof doesn’t get too warm in the first place.
“Most ice dams are caused by a warm attic, which can be fixed if people would just call the professionals in,” says Joe Palumbo of ice mitigation company The Ice Dam Guys.
Having sufficient insulation is key, but keep in mind that a well-insulated attic has to be balanced with good ventilation. An attic shouldn’t be more than 15 degrees hotter than rest of the house — if it is, you need better ventilation.
Not sure about your insulation/ventilation balance? You can find a home energy auditor through the Residential Energy Services Network, or — even better — check with your local energy utility, as many of them offer free audits to customers.
#3 They’ll Send Water Pouring Down Your Walls:
Count yourself lucky if you caught the ice dam in time so that moldy insulation was the only problem.
A really bad leak will continue right through the insulation to destroy walls, ceilings, flooring — pretty much everything it touches (and spread that nasty mold around!).
That’s a great way to wave goodbye to the Dream Deck Savings Account you’ve been working on for years.
One way to ensure you never get a catastrophic leak is to make sure there’s never enough ice or snow up there to melt into one.
This can be done with special roof rakes (that’s a thing!) if your roof is low enough, or by calling in pros who know how to climb around on roofs in the snow without breaking themselves.
#4 They’ll Rip Down Gutters and Pull Roof Shingles Loose:
Ice dams weigh a ton (literally!).
Which means all that weight can tear gutters away from your house, pull shingles loose from your roof, and generally cause stress on your home’s exterior.
But if there’s no ice, there’s no ice damage.
So make sure your home’s insulated — and well ventilated (see #1) — and you shouldn’t have a problem.
But if you see one forming, try this DIY trick: Fill pantyhose with an ice-melt product, and place on freezing-prone points of your roof.
Your home won’t win any beauty pageants, but in the short term, this DIY trick can save you some serious grief.
#5 They’ll Damage Something (or Someone!) Special to You:
Did we mention how heavy ice dams are? Weight can inflict damage. A ton of it! And in dangerous ways you don’t even want to think about. Like suddenly breaking loose and falling on:
•That azalea you nursed back to life last spring
•Your just-paid-off car
•Your dog
•You!
If preventative measures haven’t worked to keep them at bay — or you’re just learning about ice dams too late to prevent one — getting rid of an ice dam as quickly as possible is crucial.
This is where companies like The Ice Dam Guys come in.
You may have been an icicle-harvesting pro as a kid, but now that you’re an adult with a home to protect, this is a job for the pros. Not only will they remove the dam safely, they can help you pinpoint the exact cause and identify damage.
#6 They’ll Grow In Lots of Spots Around Your House — Not Just the Roof:
It makes sense that ice dams can damage your roof. Duh. But ice danger just keeps going and going when it clings to any part of your house. Case in point: gas meters.
“That gas meter has a small breather that needs to breathe air,” Palumbo says. “We’ve often seen it get iced up or covered in snow.” A frozen-over meter can cause your gas to shut off unexpectedly — not the best winter surprise. Other places ice (and icicles!) hang out on:
•Tree limbs
•Playground equipment
•Outbuildings
•Anything outside that will let snow puddle on it when it melts
It’s tempting to put your home maintenance blinders on during the frigid winter months, so try to carve out a little time between your cocoa-and-Netflix binges to pull on your boots and take a slow lap around the outside of your home.
Clearing away the beginnings of any ice buildup can save your wallet big time — and make more time for cozy viewing and sipping in the end.
By: Gabriela Barkho
What to sniff for, and how to kill it — quick.
From pet stench to kitchen stinks, house odors get amplified during the tightly sealed winter months.
Here’s how to deal with those shameful winter smells that prevent you from inviting friends over for a hot toddy.
Cut Off the Chimney Smoke:
When it’s crackling under the mantel, your fireplace is the best part about winter. When the fire’s out though, you’d prefer your house didn’t smell like stale char.
Here’s the deal: When warm air goes out of your house, it’s replaced by cooler air coming in. That cool air often finds its way in through your chimney – which stinks. Then it circulates through your house. Awesome.
Of course, you need to keep your chimney as clean as possible, but that’s often not enough.
To seal out the smell, close your damper when the fireplace isn’t in use, and consider installing one that closes at the top of your chimney, rather than the bottom.
Also, adding a tight-fitting glass fire screen can help keep the odor inside the chimney — not under your nose.
Contain the Pet Hair (Yes, It’s Actually Possible):
Not only is the air stuck inside all winter, so are your (wonderful, loving, fun) stinky pets.
“The hair in pets’ fur accumulates, and as it rots and degrades in the carpet, you get that unpleasant doggie smell,” says Mike Sciullo, an instructor at the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification.
Because you’re not going to get rid of Fluffy (never!), you’ve got to get rid of that hair. But for many pet owners that feels about as easy as getting rid of the water when you’re drowning.
But you can cut down on it by:
•Using removable, washable pet bed covers. And removing ‘em. And washing ‘em.
•Spending 5 to 10 minutes a day vacuuming. Do it during the “Wheel of Fortune” commercials, and you won’t even have to find the time.
•Have wall-to-wall carpeting? Fluffy’s your excuse to chuck it. Wood won’t let those hairs hide.
•Regular washing and brushing will help you collect fur and dander before they end up on your floor.
Slay Cooking Odors Where They Hide:
Mmm! The smell of a roasting holiday turkey is the best. Still smelling it a week later? The worst.
Cooking odors are caused by lingering grease. Sciullo says the molecules that form in the air while cooking end up stuck everywhere (gross!)
If you don’t get rid of the surface grease, it’ll only continue to pick up more stench over time.
Your floors, appliances, and counters might be used to a regular wipe-down. But you’ve also got to tackle the walls, the filter above your stove, and your cupboards. Use a mixture of:
•¼ cup of liquid cleaning detergent
•1 gallon of warm water
•1 cup of vinegar
Stop Stinky Mold Before It Starts:
It’s honestly a little too embarrassing to talk about.
But when you get a whiff of the M-word around your house, it’s time to come clean. The first step to solving a mold problem is admitting you have one.
It happens: Mold forms when your home’s cold windows are hit by the humidity indoors, causing condensation for bacteria to feed on.
To disrupt that cycle, keep your home’s humidity level under 60%. A $12 temperature and humidity gauge can help you find out if you’re feeding the fuzz.
Humidity issues in winter are typically contained to the bathroom and the laundry room.
A dehumidifier in the laundry area can do the trick, if need be. And when it comes to those long, hot showers, running an exhaust fan for 20 minutes after your shower is crucial.
Or you could take shorter, cooler showers. Nah, go with the fan.
Embrace (Or Invent) Your Home’s Natural Smell:
“Sometimes your home just smells like … your home!” Sciullo says.
Whether it’s your weekly curry creations or your holiday candle addiction, part of what makes a home unique is its special smells — which ultimately come from you.
If you’re not wild about the natural smell of your clean home, make it your own. You can use essential oils, candles, cooking, or other pleasant scents to infuse your home with olfactory delight.
If you want guests to feel as if they’ve just walked into a spa, fill your diffuser with eucalyptus or lavender oils. For a fresh, citrusy scent, go for peppermint or wild orange.
By: Jamie Wiebe
Don’t break your back. Try a de-icing cocktail instead.
If you’re a homeowner in a snowy climate, chances are good you rue the winter: All that snow has to go somewhere, and it’s not getting there itself.
Cue the snow shovel.
Barring a move to a snow-free state or barricading your family inside all winter, there’s no way to avoid the endless task of shoveling snow. There are, however, ways to make the process much easier. Here are three simple hacks to make the morning after a snowfall much less stressful.
#1 Spray Your Shovel with Cooking Oil:
Snow sticking to your shovel makes an already arduous task even more obnoxious. Avoid it with this hack: Lightly coat your shovel with non-stick cooking oil to make snow slide right off. No more time wasted removing snow from your snow remover. (You can substitute a spray lubricant like WD-40, but the downside is it’s toxic.)
#2 Lay Out a Tarp Before the Snow:
If you like short cuts, this technique, billed as “the laziest way imaginable” to clear snow, according to a tutorial from “Instructables,” has got your name on it. The day before an expected snowfall, lay a tarp on your walkway. When the snow finishes falling, just pull out the tarp, and voilà: an instantly cleared walkway. (Word to the wise: Make sure pedestrians won’t trip on your tarp; include a sign or use this technique in your backyard walkway if you’re concerned.)
The technique requires a tarp, firewood, and twine as well as some prep work. Pre-storm, use firewood to weigh down your tarp — you don’t want it flying away in the wind! — and tie the twine to both the tarp and to a shovel standing upright in your yard. You’ll use the shovel to pull out the snow-laden tarp.
Although this method might be faster than shoveling, it does require manpower. After all, a cubic foot of snow can weigh between 7 and 20 pounds. So don’t get too ambitious with the size of your tarp or you might not be able to pull it once it’s full of snow.
#3 Make a Homemade De-icing Cocktail:
De-icers make snow removal easier by cutting through the tough, icy layers that are a pain to remove with a shovel. But an easy solution should be easy on your property as well. Many commercial de-icers are pretty harsh.
Commercial ice-melting substances — magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, and sodium chloride (salt) — all cause damage to the environment, according to the University of Maryland’s Home and Garden Information Center. They can also damage concrete sidewalks and driveways, which mean hefty repair costs later.
A better solution: Make your own de-icer using rubbing alcohol or vinegar. You’ll save money, too. Commercial melters typically cost $8 or more. Plus, you’ll avoid the hassle of trekking to the hardware store to stock up.
Use vinegar before a storm to make ice and snow removal easier:
•Combine 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water.
•Spray or pour gently (you still want to avoid runoff into your landscape) before a storm.
To keep the sidewalks and steps from icing after a storm:
•Combine 2 parts rubbing alcohol with 1 part water.
•Apply to minimize runoff.
By: Leanne Potts
Meet you under the skylight, on the white sofa, with a cream cheese brownie.
Fall and winter start cozy — who hasn’t used the colder temperatures as an excuse to binge-watch Netflix while swaddled in a couch blanket?
But come January, staying indoors can feel less like a treat and more like you’re living in a cave.
Here’s how to make your house lighter, brighter, and cheerier.
#1 Take the Screens Off Your Windows:
You’ll get 30% more sunlight shining indoors without screens on your windows.
Here’s the best part: Sunlight warms your room and saves you money on your heating bill. It’s solar power — for you!
Be sure to store your screens in your garage or basement where they won’t get damaged. In the spring you’ll want to put them back on so you can keep that 30% of the sun out and run your cooling system less.
#2 Hang Outdoor String Lights Indoors:
They don’t give off a lot of light, but they’re cheerful as heck.
Drape them around a window or a mantel, or hang a string of LED glimmer lights in a tall potted plant. They’ll add a layer of soft light to your room and remind you of fireflies, flip-flops, and patio parties.
#3 Steal a Little Swedish Chic:
Scandinavians excel at making a home light and airy because they’ve got places where the sun doesn’t rise at all from November to January.
And you thought you had it bad.
To adapt to weeks and weeks of polar night, Swedes keep interiors pale to reflect and amplify light.
Think white walls, light woods for furniture and floors, and light upholstery. To get the look without getting rid of your dark furniture and floors, put white or light gray slipcovers on your sofa and chairs, and put down light-colored rugs.
The fastest way to bring a little Sweden into your room is to paint it. Try creamy white, pale blue, or dove gray.
#4 Change Your Bulbs:
Replace those incandescent bulbs and their yellowy light with LEDs, which produce a brighter, whiter light.
But get your bright right:
•The higher the K rating on the bulb, the cooler and whiter its light.
•For cool, white light, opt for a bulb rated 3,500K to 4,100K.
•For blue-white light that’s closest to natural daylight, use a bulb between 5,000K and 6,500K.
Unless you live in Sweden (see above) you may want to leave the uber-high K bulbs for grow rooms and seasonal affective disorder therapy clinics — because they’re as bright as real sunlight on a hot summer day at noon. You’ll need sunglasses to read.
#5 Hang Mirrors:
Make the most of that weak winter light by bouncing it around the room with mirrors.
If you don’t want the distraction of seeing your reflection all the time, use a large, convex one — also known as a fish-eye mirror. It will amplify light better than a flat one. Another option: Hang a gallery wall of small mirrors.
#6 Replace Heavy Curtains With Blinds or Roman Shades:
Fabric curtains, while quite insulating, block light and make a room feel smaller and more cramped, especially if they’re a dark color or have a large print.
Try Roman shades or a simple valance paired with blinds to let in the maximum amount of natural light.
#7 Trim Branches and Bushes That Block Light:
If you look out your windows and see the tops of your bushes, grab your pruning shears and get whacking.
You don’t want anything blocking that precious natural light. Same for tree limbs that may be arching down and blocking windows. Cut them off.
#8 Clean Your Windows:
Dirty windows block a lot of natural light.
Admit it, yours are kind of cruddy because who remembers to block out an afternoon to clean the windows?
So get it on your list. Clean the glass inside at least once a month and the glass outside once a year. Your serotonin level will thank you.
#9 Swap Your Solid Front Door for One With Glass Inserts:
A solid front door can make your house look and feel as dark as a dungeon.
Get rid of it and install a half-light or full-light door that lets the natural light stream in. For even more natural light, add glass sidelights and a glass transom.
The median cost of a new door is $2,000 for steel and $2,500 for fiberglass, before any extras, but a new door will add curb appeal.
Curb appeal equals higher resale value. And coming home in the evening to the warm glow of light radiating out the glass panels in your front door is an instant mood lifter.
#10 Add a Skylight:
It’s the ultimate way to bring more natural light into your house. A window only catches sun for a couple of hours a day, but a skylight lets in the sun all day.
An indoor view of the sky makes deepest January more tolerable. And feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin, light streaming from above, is liberating. A skylight, installed, can cost as much as $3,000. A cheaper alternative is a tubular skylight, which costs around $1,000.
If you’re really good with tools, you can install a tubular skylight yourself. Don’t even think about installing a full-blown skylight yourself.
#11 Add Plants:
Putting pots of plants around your room will remind you that spring and green will return.
Match plants to the amount of light you have, because dead and dying plants are depressing. Tropicals that thrive in indirect light are usually the best choice. If you have a sunny window you’ve got more plant options.
Bonus points for adding a plant that blooms in the winter, like a kaffir lily or anthurium.
#12 Celebrate National Cream Cheese Brownie Day:
February 10 is National Cream Cheese Brownie Day. Really. Since February is when winter is feeling longer than a seminar on insurance underwriting, this is exactly when you need to make cream cheese brownies.
Chocolate won’t make the sun shine longer or your house brighter, but it will make you feel better because … endorphins. Besides, you spent a ton of money on that marble-topped kitchen island and those double ovens, so get baking.
By: Jamie Wiebe
Even if you think they’ve already started to freeze.
New homeowners may have heard that winterization is important, but in the hubbub of your first year living in a home you own (finally!), it can be easy to overlook the need to prepare for the cold weather ahead. After all, it’s just not something renters deal with; prepping pipes for winter is often the landlord’s job.
Ideally, you should winterize your pipes in the fall, before winter seriously sets in. But if you’ve forgotten and all of a sudden you’re in the middle of a deep freeze, there’s still time to prevent disaster.
Here are some easy techniques to save your pipes from bursting:
#1 Turn On Your Faucets:
If the temperatures have dropped into freezing and intend to stay there, turning on your faucets — both indoors and out — can keep water moving through your system and slow down the freezing process. There’s no need to waste gallons of water: Aim for about five drips per minute.
#2 Open Cabinet Doors:
During cold weather, open any cabinet doors covering plumbing in the kitchen and bathroom. This allows the home’s warm air to better circulate, which can help prevent the exposed piping from freezing. While this won’t help much with pipes hidden in walls, ceilings, or under the home, it can keep water moving and limit the dangerous effects of freezing weather.
#3 Wrap Your Pipes:
If your pipes are already on their merry way towards freezing, wrapping them with warm towels might do the trick. You can cover them with the towels first and then pour boiling water on top, or use already-wet towels — if your hands can stand the heat (use gloves for this). This should help loosen the ice inside and get your system running again.
#4 Pull Out Your Hairdryer:
A hairdryer (or heat gun) can be a godsend when your pipes are freezing. If hot rags aren’t doing the trick, try blowing hot air directly on the pipes. Important note: You don’t want to use a blow torch or anything that produces direct flames, which can damage your pipes and turn a frozen pipe into an even worse disaster. You’re trying to melt the ice — not your pipes.
#5 Shut Off The Water if Pipes Are Frozen:
Have your pipes already frozen? Turn off the water immediately. (Hopefully you know where the master shut-off is, but if not, now’s the time to find it!)
Make sure to close off any external water sources, like garden hose hookups. This will prevent more water from filling the system, adding more ice to the pile, and eventually bursting your pipes — the worst-case scenario. This also will help when the water thaws; the last thing you want after finally fixing your frozen pipes is for water to flood the system — and thus, your home.
By: Amy Howell Hirt
Start saving those egg cartons!
Give or take a Scrooge or two, everybody loves the holidays: Decorating the tree, hanging lights, hanging holly … all those things! But you know what nobody loves? Taking all those things down.
Because, wow, what an unorganized mess.
Before you go all Scrooge, get your jolly back with these simple holiday decorating hacks.
#1 Protect Ornaments With Holiday Recyclables!
Trimming the tree should feel like the happy ending of a Lifetime holiday movie, not a game show guessing which box will contain broken memories.
Keep ornaments safe for next year by stowing them in leftover party cups, hot-glued onto a piece of foam board cut to fit inside a storage bin, recommends Lisa Woodruff, a Cincinnati-based professional organizer.
Or pack ornaments away using bubble wrap from holiday packages, or egg cartons from those countless cookies you made.
All of these options make for shock-absorbent padding that’s more durable than paper towels or tissue paper.
#2 Create a Year-Round Focal Point:
You dream of decking every hall, every year, but when the holidays roll around, you’ve got a brisket to bake and cocktails to clink.
So focus your festive energy on just one iconic focal point — a wreath on the front door or greenery on the mantel — something that easily changes with the seasons.
Or, create a display that makes you feel merry year-round. (Try repurposing storefront letters to spell out “LOVE” or “JOY” — sentiments that never go out of season.)
#3 Create a Decorating Toolbox:
Before you can hang a single strand of lights or sprig of mistletoe, you have to find the gosh-darn zip ties, track down the floral wire, and repurpose a few extension cords.
Just thinking about the prep work makes you ready for a long winter’s nap. But this year’s gonna be your prep for next year, and the years to follow.
As you put everything up, keep a running checklist of what you need. Then stock a toolbox that gets replenished every year.
#4 Leave Your Light Hooks and Nails in Place for Next Year:
If you like to trim your home’s roof and siding with holiday lights, you know what a hassle it is to find last year’s nail holes while balancing on a ladder with your extremities slowly freezing.
So, this year, use hooks that match your siding (not nails because they fall out easier) or paint them so they are indistinguishable from your siding or trim before you put them up.
Then leave them up when you take down your lights.
Come next year, just rehang your lights and bask in your twinkling success.
#5 Wrap Lights Around Gift Boxes:
There’s nothing like a multicolored knot of lights to put a damper on your bright holiday spirit.
So as you take down this year’s lights, wrap them around empty gift boxes or cardboard. Make a small notch on each side to keep the ends snugly in place.
Next year you’ll spend less time untangling your lights and more time basking in them.
#6 Hang Wreaths in the Rafters:
All year you look forward to hanging that wreath you got for a steal at an after-Christmas sale.
Rather than tossing it in a trash bag, where it can too easily get seriously mushed or even forgotten, hang it from 4-inch nails hammered into the attic rafters or garage walls, Woodruff recommends.
It will be easy to find, and will be in pristine shape for next year.
#7 Store Your Tree With the Decorations on It:
No, seriously.
If strategizing the placement of skiing Garfield and his 107 dangly friends is your least favorite part of holiday decorating, skip it after this year.
Ask someone to help you tightly wrap this year’s decorated (artificial) tree — yep, ornaments and all — with heavy-duty stretch plastic wrap (the type that professional movers use, which you can find at home improvement stores).
Next year, just cut the wrap and reshape the branches.
Happy holidays indeed.
#8 Or Give in and Buy a Tree Bag:
Every December 26, you begin to dread awkwardly wrestling your artificial tree back into its original packaging.
This year, go ahead and spend the 50 bucks on a tree bag or box, Woodruff says. It will seal out dirt, dust, and bugs, won’t smash the branches, and some styles even allow you to store your tree fully or partially assembled.
Plus, just knowing you can skip the reassembly next time makes for an extra happy New Year.
#9 Trim Those Trimmings:
Getting out decorations should be a welcome walk down memory lane — not a guilt trip through items you “should” display but … ugh.
So when you take down this year’s decor, follow the old rule for paring down your wardrobe and get rid of anything you didn’t use — you know, that carol-singing mounted fish from your dad or Nana’s crocheted coaster set — and donate them.
“If it’s a sentimental item, take a picture of it,” Woodruff says.
You won’t waste storage space and, come next year, you’ll be greeted only by items you love and use.
#10 Organize By Room:
If you’ve got snowmen in every bathroom and a jingle bell on every drawer, you may end up with mountains of half-empty boxes piled everywhere for longer than you spend enjoying the decor.
Get your halls decked more efficiently by sorting your boxes of trimmings by room, Woodruff suggests.
Then, label each light strand by location — mantel, doorway, tree, etc. Decorating is merrier when you can grab a bin and make an evening of it, one room at a time.
#11 Create a “Must-Have” Bin:
Put all your favorite decorations in one “first-up, last-down” bin.
Next year, you’ll spend more time enjoying your cherished menorah or manger and less time rummaging to find it.
By: Leanna Potts
Meet you under the skylight, on the white sofa, with a cream cheese brownie.
Fall and winter start cozy — who hasn’t used the colder temperatures as an excuse to binge-watch Netflix while swaddled in a couch blanket?
But come January, staying indoors can feel less like a treat and more like you’re living in a cave.
Here’s how to make your house lighter, brighter, and cheerier.
#1 Take the Screens Off Your Windows:
You’ll get 30% more sunlight shining indoors without screens on your windows.
Here’s the best part: Sunlight warms your room and saves you money on your heating bill. It’s solar power — for you!
Be sure to store your screens in your garage or basement where they won’t get damaged. In the spring you’ll want to put them back on so you can keep that 30% of the sun out and run your cooling system less.
#2 Hang Outdoor String Lights Indoors:
They don’t give off a lot of light, but they’re cheerful as heck.
Drape them around a window or a mantel, or hang a string of LED glimmer lights in a tall potted plant. They’ll add a layer of soft light to your room and remind you of fireflies, flip-flops, and patio parties.
#3 Steal a Little Swedish Chic:
Scandinavians excel at making a home light and airy because they’ve got places where the sun doesn’t rise at all from November to January.
And you thought you had it bad.
To adapt to weeks and weeks of polar night, Swedes keep interiors pale to reflect and amplify light.
Think white walls, light woods for furniture and floors, and light upholstery. To get the look without getting rid of your dark furniture and floors, put white or light gray slipcovers on your sofa and chairs, and put down light-colored rugs.
The fastest way to bring a little Sweden into your room is to paint it. Try creamy white, pale blue, or dove gray.
#4 Change Your Bulbs:
Replace those incandescent bulbs and their yellowy light with LEDs, which produce a brighter, whiter light.
But get your bright right:
•The higher the K rating on the bulb, the cooler and whiter its light.
•For cool, white light, opt for a bulb rated 3,500K to 4,100K.
•For blue-white light that’s closest to natural daylight, use a bulb between 5,000K and 6,500K.
Unless you live in Sweden (see above) you may want to leave the uber-high K bulbs for grow rooms and seasonal affective disorder therapy clinics — because they’re as bright as real sunlight on a hot summer day at noon. You’ll need sunglasses to read.
#5 Hang Mirrors:
Make the most of that weak winter light by bouncing it around the room with mirrors.
If you don’t want the distraction of seeing your reflection all the time, use a large, convex one — also known as a fish-eye mirror. It will amplify light better than a flat one. Another option: Hang a gallery wall of small mirrors.
#6 Replace Heavy Curtains With Blinds or Roman Shades:
Fabric curtains, while quite insulating, block light and make a room feel smaller and more cramped, especially if they’re a dark color or have a large print.
Try Roman shades or a simple valance paired with blinds to let in the maximum amount of natural light.
#7 Trim Branches and Bushes That Block Light:
If you look out your windows and see the tops of your bushes, grab your pruning shears and get whacking.
You don’t want anything blocking that precious natural light. Same for tree limbs that may be arching down and blocking windows. Cut them off.
#8 Clean Your Windows:
Dirty windows block a lot of natural light.
Admit it, yours are kind of cruddy because who remembers to block out an afternoon to clean the windows?
So get it on your list. Clean the glass inside at least once a month and the glass outside once a year. Your serotonin level will thank you.
#9 Swap Your Solid Front Door for One With Glass Inserts:
A solid front door can make your house look and feel as dark as a dungeon.
Get rid of it and install a half-light or full-light door that lets the natural light stream in. For even more natural light, add glass sidelights and a glass transom.
The median cost of a new door is $2,000 for steel and $2,500 for fiberglass, before any extras, but a new door will add curb appeal.
Curb appeal equals higher resale value. And coming home in the evening to the warm glow of light radiating out the glass panels in your front door is an instant mood lifter.
#10 Add a Skylight:
It’s the ultimate way to bring more natural light into your house. A window only catches sun for a couple of hours a day, but a skylight lets in the sun all day.
An indoor view of the sky makes deepest January more tolerable. And feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin, light streaming from above, is liberating. A skylight, installed, can cost as much as $3,000. A cheaper alternative is a tubular skylight, which costs around $1,000.
If you’re really good with tools, you can install a tubular skylight yourself. Don’t even think about installing a full-blown skylight yourself.
#11 Add Plants:
Putting pots of plants around your room will remind you that spring and green will return.
Match plants to the amount of light you have, because dead and dying plants are depressing. Tropicals that thrive in indirect light are usually the best choice. If you have a sunny window you’ve got more plant options.
Bonus points for adding a plant that blooms in the winter, like a kaffir lily or anthurium.
#12 Celebrate National Cream Cheese Brownie Day:
February 10 is National Cream Cheese Brownie Day. Really. Since February is when winter is feeling longer than a seminar on insurance underwriting, this is exactly when you need to make cream cheese brownies.
Chocolate won’t make the sun shine longer or your house brighter, but it will make you feel better because… endorphins. Besides, you spent a ton of money on that marble-topped kitchen island and those double ovens, so get baking.
Real Estate and *stuff * 