A Quick Downsizing Quiz for the Undecided

On the fence about downsizing? We help you decide whether that fencing should encircle a mansion or a mini trailer

We all consider downsizing for different reasons. Maybe we’re sick and tired of the maintenance and upkeep of a large home. It could be that we’re weary of the financial burden, or of being tied to a house and yard. Perhaps we want a smaller footprint for greener living. But is downsizing really for you?

If your circumstances make downsizing a necessity, go for it and decide to love it. But if you have a choice in the matter, take a few minutes with what I call the Knee-Jerk Reaction Test to see if downsizing is really for you. Gather a pencil and paper, look at each picture below and write down the number next to the response that most closely matches your own.Ready? Here we go.

Siemasko + Verbridge

1. This is my dream home!
2. Lots of roof there to maintain.
3. All I see is time and $$$$.

Bonterra Build | Design

1. I don’t think my grand piano will fit through the door.
2. Must be nice having time to sit on the porch.
3. When can I move in?

Oregon Cottage Company

1. Is this the garage?
2. I’d have to get rid of a lot of stuff, but maybe it’s time.
3. We could live on the road and visit the grandkids whenever we wanted!

Beth Dana Design

1. Where’s the kitchen?
2. It calls to me. But where am I going to put the Cuisinart, the KitchenAid mixer, the coffeemaker, the espresso machine and the countertop rotisserie?
3. As long as I can find the microwave, I’m good.

Leff Construction Design/Build

1. This is a bedroom I would love to live in.
2. I could probably get along without the fireplace.
3. How many people sleep in this room?

Dailinger Designs

1. I am so not ready to give up my king-size bed.
2. At least there’s room for a chair to throw my clothes on.
3. All I do is sleep there, anyway.

Martha O’Hara Interiors

1. Finally! A laundry room that fits my family!
2. Hopefully I’ve outgrown the need for multiple machines.
3. Looks more like a Laundromat than a laundry room to me.

Castle Building & Remodeling

1. And just where am I supposed to fold the 15 loads of washing I do each week?
2. Maybe this would discourage my son from bringing home his laundry.
3. Compact, functional, no piles of clothes … I like it!

Anthony Wilder Design/Build, Inc.

1. My partner and I both work from home, so this shared office is a good idea.
2. This office makes me tired.
3. Just give me my laptop and a Starbucks!

Rossington Architecture

1. How can you expect me to accomplish anything in such a ridiculous space?
2. This could work if I culled my files …
3. Genius use of closet space.

Stephanie Bonini

1. This closet might work for my partner. But where’s mine?
2. I wish my closet looked like this.
3. Anything I haven’t worn in the past year gets donated, so this is perfect.

David Clough Construction Company

1. Cleaning gutters and working all day in the garden is my idea of a good time.
2. I am seriously getting too old for this.
3. I’d rather golf, read, drink, watch TV, shop or travel than work in my yard.

Shades Of Green Landscape Architecture

1. Where would I play croquet?
2. Wow, I could weed this in five minutes.
3. Someone pour the wine!OK. All done? Now add up all the numbers you wrote down. If you scored:

13–21: You are definitely not a candidate for downsizing, and can totally ignore my next several ideabooks.

22–30: Brace yourself — there is a move in your future. You are definitely showing signs of being bitten by the “maybe it’s time to downsize” bug.

31–39: Call the moving company! And watch for the next installment in this series on the secrets to successful downsizing.

Thank you to:

Houzz and

Becky Dietrich

Christmas Cleanup Tips for the Not Naturally Organized

Dreading the post holiday chores?

First let yourself unwind!

Then grab some boxes, a few supplies and this easy guide!

 Cleanup? I finally got my feet up! Let’s face it: After all the time and work we’ve put in to making the holidays, the last thing anyone wants to do is clean it all up.

If that resonated with you, you are probably Not Naturally Organized and this is just the holiday version of the core issue that divides the Naturally and Not Naturally Organized: now or later. While we, the Not Naturally Organized, want to finally relax and maybe think about cleaning up someday, our Naturally Organized brothers and sisters are twitch, twitch, twitching to haul it all away today.But what about savoring the beauty? I’m with you completely … until February when your tree is moldering in the corner of your living room. Who wants that? Go ahead and relax; whenever you decide to tackle the mess, here are a few tips to make the process as easy as can be.

Take pictures

Before you tear everything apart, take some quick pictures of all of your decorations. I did this last year, and these were my reference when I pulled out the boxes this year. I made a few small changes, but this gave me an easy start.

Be sure to take close-ups to see the details.

Separate the non-breakables

This is my biggest time saver and how I start on the tree. I remove the non-breakable ornaments and lay them in their box. I don’t bother removing the hooks, and with a few exceptions they don’t get tangled. I began doing this to save space on the divided boxes but found it saved me so much time. Bonus!

Break it down into categories

In addition to non-breakable and fragile ornaments, I have boxes for trees, books, lights and miscellaneous larger items like snow globes and the Advent calendar.

With the trees I set the large ones on the bottom and carefully stack the others. The glass or pottery trees I wrap in tissue and securely place in the middle.

Organize-It

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Ornament Keeper Ornament Storage Box – $61.99

This is a very nice box, but inexpensive plastic ones work just fine.

Buy the right supplies

In my family growing up, taking down the tree was as much a part of the tradition as setting it up. My siblings and I were responsible for packing up our personal ornaments, and I carefully wrapped each one in tissue. When I had my own tree with hundreds of ornaments, I dreaded putting them away every year until I finally bought a slew of boxes with dividers.

After the non-breakable ornaments, I remove the fragile ones. If an ornament is precious to me, I’ll take time to wrap it in tissue, but most of them I set in their little cardboard cradles. I’ve never had an ornament break in storage.

This is a really good time to cull the ornaments you don’t love or use. If it’s sitting in the bottom of your boxes when you take down the tree, there’s a reason. I always have a bag for Goodwill at hand.

All season long I have a big basket of our Christmas books by the tree. Every night youngest and I read several titles — a favorite tradition. Storing the books is as simple as emptying the basket into their labeled box. A non-breakable tree or two is often stacked on top.

Make a note

This is one of my miscellaneous boxes. Here I’ve created an inventory for this box: nativities, Advent calendar, snow globes, wreaths, luminaries, lights for the tree.

Under that is a second note and a reminder that we needed to buy two more strands of lights. I was glad to have this when we opened the boxes and before I hung the lights on our tree.

What do you need or want to buy before next Christmas? Take note and write it down.

Get help at the end

I work alone stripping the tree. I’m able to move quickly without breaking anything. When all of the ornaments are boxed, I ask one or two members of my family to haul them down to storage.

Although this looks like mayhem, it’s really only some cardboard, a few boxes, a bit of paper and tissue, and some greenery. This is when I want to throw in the towel, but I make myself keep going. Once I’ve recycled, thrown away or put away everything outstanding, my husband and son haul the tree out and tie it back on the van to take to a local park for recycling. I sweep and vacuum everywhere, but we’ll still see needles here and there for weeks.

Special Thanks to:

Alison Hodgson

Houzz Contributor

Visit our HOUZZ site at

http://www.houzz.com/pro/marthabrown

Winterizing Your Plumbing

Don’t let the cold weather play Russian roulette with your pipes. Water freezes and turns to ice, and when that happens it expands. If that water happens to be inside a metal pipe, it may be strong enough to burst that pipe open. So if you live in an area where water freezes in the wintertime, you’ve got to start winterizing your plumbing.

Going Away

Are you going on vacation? Do you own a property that you don’t live in full-time? Unattended plumbing systems are much, much more likely to fall prey to winter weather. If you own property where hot water isn’t going to be used for many days or weeks at a time, you’ve got to winterize.

Begin by turning off your main water valve. Next, go outside and turn on your hose bib (the outside faucet where you connect the hose). This allows water to drain out of all the pipes. If you have a basement, turn any faucets on there to drain the water.

Buy a large bottle of windshield wiper fluid, liquid that will not freeze even in freezing temperature conditions. Put about 2 cups of this fluid into all drains. This includes the sinks, showers and bath tubs. The goal is to allow the liquid to drain down to the trap, where it will stay. Plumbing traps must have liquid in them to prevent noxious sewer gas smells. But in winter, ordinary water may freeze in that trap and burst pipes. Use your windshield fluid instead. To finish the job, pour about 4 cups of the fluid into each toilet (and don’t flush!).

Staying in the Cold

Even if you plan on using your plumbing system throughout the winter, certain pipes and fixtures can still freeze in cold weather. Check the inside of all your exterior walls. Exterior walls are exposed to the cold. Any plumbing pipes against these walls are at risk. Insulate them to protect them from the cold. Pipe insulation is foam-like material that can be purchased at any home improvement store. Simply wrap it around pipes and use duct or electrical tape to keep it in place.

The same goes for pipes in unconditioned spaces, like attics, crawlspaces and basements.

Next, you need to shut off your hose bibs (the outside faucets). It’s highly unlikely you will be using your garden hose in the winter, and this is why this particular fixture is so prone to freezing and bursting in cold conditions. Locate the inside shut-off valve for this fixture (it’s commonly found under the kitchen sink) and turn it off.

Go outside and disconnect the hose if it is in place. Now, turn on the hose bib to allow any water inside the pipe to drain. Turn off the outside shut-off valve as well. No water will flow to the hose bib while the shut-offs are engaged, so write yourself a note to open them back up once spring rolls around.

Thank you http://www.doityourself.com for great ideas!

Are you planning on building your dream home?  Remodeling your existing home?

Ron and Martha Wolford are the leaders in luxury home construction in Louisville, KY.

Wolford Built Homes

Let us help you have the home of your dreams!    

 

http://www.wolfordbuilthomes.com

Winterizing Your Home: Making Your House Airtight

According to the Department of Energy, you can save 5 to 30% on your home energy bill just by fixing gaps and cracks where air enters or leaves your house. The first step is a visual inspection. Indoors, on a windy day, light a stick of incense and hold it around windows, doors, and other areas where air can get in or out. If the incense travels horizontally, you know you’ve got a problem.
For more accurate results, hire a pro to conduct a home-energy assessment that includes a blower door test. This uses a door-sized fan to pull air out of your house, which will reveal air leaks that aren’t easy to find.
Outside look for gaps and cracks in your home’s foundation, siding, and in spots where two building materials meet-such as siding and a brick chimney. These spots often develop gaps as your house settles with age and because materials expand and contract. Once you’ve identified where your house is leaking air, use this guide to fix the leaks.

1. Exterior Elements:  Seal gaps between different materials (like brick and siding) using exterior caulk or a patching compound.  Make sure it is for outdoor use and compatible with the materials it is in contact with.
2.   Attic Hatches:  Seal the perimeter of the access panel to your attic with weather stripping.  You can also get a draft-blocking stair cover if you have pull-down attic stairs. For walk-up attics, use weather stripping and a door.

3.  Electrical Outlets:  Remove cover plates and secure foam gaskets onto their backsides before reattaching them.

4.  Windows and Doors:  Add caulk or weather stripping around windows and doors. A door sweep will create a weatherproof seal between the door and threshold.

5.  Pipes or Ducts/Vents:  Use caulk or canned spray foam to close gaps wherever pipes, wiring, or ducts penetrate walls, floors, and ceilings.

6.  Ceiling Fixtures:  Gaps around light fixtures often create air loss.  But restricting airflow can cause overheating.  Try replacing older fixtures with air-sealed, IC-rated models.

What sealants work best where?

 Wider gaps in doors and windows:  Weather stripping

Irregularly shaped gaps:  Canned spray foam

Hairline Cracks and Narrow Gaps:  Caulk

  Many thanks to Green Energy Homes and Living Magazine for great suggestions!!!

Are you planning on building your dream home?  Remodeling your existing home?

Ron and Martha Wolford are Louisville’s premier luxury homebuilders.

 

Wolford Built Homes

Let us help you have the home of your dreams!

http://www.wolfordbuilthomes.com