Plan Some Winter Cost Savings

Older homes have their charms and a few challenges. One of the challenges is conserving heat in the colder months. With a little planning you can cut down on heating costs without wearing your long johns to cook breakfast.

You can of course insulate, caulk, and install double pane windows, but there are a few things that folks without handyman skills and with limited budgets can do short of major renovations.

The first consideration is the placement of furniture. Keep furniture from blocking heating ducts, radiators and baseboards as much as possible. When it is just not feasible to leave these heating elements unobstructed there is a product that fits over the heating register and redirects air into the open space. It is made of clear PVC and at one and a half inches tall fist under most furniture and is almost invisible.

There are also products that boost the airflow of exposed registers. The Airflow Breeze replaces the register cover and the Equalizer Register Booster pulls air into the room. Both products use electricity and claim to be energy-efficient. The equalizer costs less than a 40-watt bulb to operate. Another adaptation for registers is Cover Up Magnetic Sheets which allows you to cover up registers without dampers in unoccupied rooms.

Another important consideration is to stop drafts. The Twin Draft Guard fits on both sides of the door and moves with the door when it is opened and closed so it does not need to be repositioned every time. Window Stoppers lay on along the windowsill and come in two lengths. You can also opt for a Plastic Window Insulation Kit that comes with channels and vinyl sheeting that is almost invisible. Insulated curtains also help retain heat and can be custom-made or purchased in ready-made sizes.

Check out these websites for these and similar products:
www.solutions.com
www.improvements.com
www.harrietcarter.com

With a little planning and a few products, you can stay cozy in your charming older home.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organize Your Attic

Autumn is a good time to think about organizing the attic. Cooler days help to keep the space at comfortable temperature. During the summer, the unventilated attic can reach temperatures up to forty degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the rest of the house. That is why it is not advisable to store, videos, photographs or combustible items in that space. If you have those items in the attic, think of another storage space for them to live

Before you even climb the attic stairs think about how you will ideally use the space. Is it for long term storage only or does it serve short-term storage needs for overflow. Does it hold only your treasures or are you holding items for grown children until they have the space to claim them? Do you store seasonal clothing, holiday decorations, or hobby supplies?

Many articles advise to clear out the attic and start from scratch. In our experience, this is a pretty big job and most folks do not have the time, energy and resources to tackle it in that manner. What we recommend is a project approach that tackles one phase of organization at a time.

You have already considered how you are going to use your attic space. This initial consideration is influenced by the space you have in the attic, whether it has stable flooring, the supports weight-bearing capacity and how easily you can access the space.
Sketch out a rough plan detailing what items will go where-long term storage in the least accessible spaces, short term or frequently used items in more accessible spaces

Clear out the trash. Remember that cardboard boxes and paper attract rodents and bugs, so retain only what you need and put the items in sealed plastic containers.

While you are clearing the trash, remove items from around the entrance and the center of the floor space and group them around the perimeter of the attic

Arrange remaining items in the categories you have decided on. They might be :

Holiday decorations
Seasonal clothing
Furniture and floor covering
China and other heirlooms
Craft supplies


Now that the items are sorted into groups of like items, tackle one category at a time. Decide what to keep, what to sell, what to give away and what to discard. Take the sell, give away and discard items out of the attic as soon as you have finished the category and dispose of them.

Make a list of supplies to purchase to appropriately store the items remaining. Hold off making the purchase until you have finished going through all the categories and have an opportunity to review the list in its entirety. Sometimes you will have to consider alternate plans because you have more or less items to store or you come across some forgotten surprises that require an alteration in your initial plan.

You should now have:
A trash free attic
The items you are going to keep sorted in like categories
A list of proposed purchases
A plan for where each group of items will be placed in the attic.

Review your plan and make any changes for placement of stored items. Consider using stationary or moveable shelving, clothing bags, ceiling hooks and rafter rods to maximize your storage space.

Review your purchase list. Keep these things in mind as you decide on storage options.
Clear storage boxes of uniform size allow a neat storage system and make contents visible.

Label all boxes with clear list of contents

Avoid placing fabrics in unsealed cedar or paper containers and wrap precious fabrics in acid free paper before storing

Store musical instruments in their cases with silicon gel packs and remove reeds and mouthpieces from the instruments.

When you have your storage equipment, remove all items from one corner of the attic and clean the space thoroughly. Place the items you intend to store in the space in their containers and put them in the clean space, beginning with ceiling and rafter storage and working you way down to the floor. Continue methodically around the room until all categories of items have been placed in their designated spots.

Stand back and survey your organized attic and make any adjustments that you decide will make it easier to access your storage.

Place your master plan at the attic entrance as a visual cue to where things are located.

Using this method you can take a day, a weekend or a month to get attic clutter organized. Just make your plan, give yourself a reasonable time frame to accomplish the task and stick to it. Ask for help from friends or consider using a professional organizer to help you with planning and keep you on track.


Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Treat Yourself to an Organized Happy Holiday

In our book, Halloween marks the beginning of the holiday season. Before the carved pumpkin begins to sag, it is time to make plans for Thanksgiving, then Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanza arrive followed by New Year’s celebrations which present another chance to resolve to do better next year- to get a handle on the celebrations before the celebrations handle us.

Don’t wait to make that New Year’s resolution. Here are a few tricks that will let you treat yourself to a happier holiday season. Take a few simple steps now that will help you save time, money and your sanity.

1. Label sections of an expanding folder for each holiday. At the front of the folder place a calendar with October, November and December.
2. List the activities you expect to do for each holiday. (make costumes, clean guest room, make cupcakes, plan church pageant, purchase synagogue tickets, buy gifts) and give each activity a completion date.
3. Review your lists and make sure you have not overscheduled your time. Get help if you need it and eliminate some activities if you need to.
4. Review your calendar daily to evaluate your progress and determine if you need to adjust your expectations or your activities.
5. As you complete an activity check it off the list. Also retain receipts, coupons for items you want to buy or ideas, patterns and recipes in the appropriate section. This saves time searching for that perfect decorating idea you know you saw in some magazine (or was it the newspaper?) last month.

You will probably be surprised at the extensive list you end up with, especially if you have school activities, work activities and worship activities along with family and social obligations. Knowing what you have to accomplish is the key to getting it done. It allows you to allocate time and resources that are necessary to accomplish the task without getting overwhelmed. It also allows you to take advantage of downtime to accomplish tasks that do not have to be done at the last minute, and to save money by purchasing things you know you need when they are on sale.

An organized approach makes holidays more happy than harried.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransition.net

Create Routines to Stay Organized

One way to stay organized is to work organizing routines into your usual activities. This is the time of year that many of us are tucking light-weight clothes into less accessible spaces and putting our winter clothes where we can more easily get to them. Save time next Spring by culling out the obsolete items in your Spring/Summer wardrobe while you are shifting them to another space. Discard worn out clothing and collect the items in good condition that you have not worn this season to give to charity. Many churches and charitable organizations are happy to accept lightweight clothing anytime of year for donation in tropical climates.

As you are gathering clothing to store, think about how you will need it next year. The slightly heavier pants tops and other clothing may come out in April while the skimpiest things in your wardrobe may not see light of day until June. Group the clothing according to when you expect to be using it again and you can bring it out for use a little at a time if you are dealing with a busy schedule. Also consider packing together items of like colors so that when you bring them out next Spring you can easily group them in your closet. Next year when you are looking for just the right white blouse, you can quickly review what your choices are and save time making the selection.

If you are lucky enough to anticipate travel to warmer climes in the middle of winter, put the items you expect to take with you in a suitcase as you go through your wardrobe. You will have a head start on vacation packing and will have an idea what you need to supplement your travel supplies so you can take advantage of special shopping finds.

Even if your closet space is large enough to accommodate all of your clothing and accessories, you will save time having seasonal clothing grouped together. The more clothes you have to look through to make a choice, the more time it takes. By limiting the items you need to consider before making a selection, you save yourself time.

If you follow this process every season as you rearrange your closets, you will establish a routine way of keeping your closets organized - and saving yourself time every time you chose an outfit to wear. Then you can use that time to organize the remaining clutter in your life, or to just enjoy the things you love.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net