1) Save Energy and Money

Set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs. Install compact fluorescent light bulbs when your older incandescent bulbs burn out.

 Unplug appliances when you're not using them. Or, use a "smart" power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts "phantom" or "vampire" energy use.

 Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water. Use a drying rack or clothesline to save the energy otherwise used during machine drying.

 

2)Save water to save money.

Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.

 Install a low-flow showerhead. They don't cost much, and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your investment.

 Make sure you have a faucet aerator on each faucet. These inexpensive appliances conserve heat and water, while keeping water pressure high.

 Plant drought-tolerant native plants in your garden. Many plants need minimal watering. Find out which occur naturally in your area.

 

3)Less Gas=More Money

Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity.

Consider telecommuting if you live far from your work. Or move closer. Even if this means paying more rent, it could save you money in the long term.

Lobby your local government to increase spending on sidewalks and bike lanes. With little cost, these improvements can pay huge dividends in bettering your health and reducing traffic.

 

4)Eat Smart

If you eat meat, add one meatless meal a week. Meat costs a lot at the store-and it's even more expensive when you consider the related environmental and health costs.

 Buy locally raised, humane, and organic meat, eggs, and dairy whenever you can. Purchasing from local farmers keeps money in the local economy.

Watch videos about why local food and sustainable seafood are so great.

Whatever your diet, eat low on the food chain . This is especially true for seafood.

 

5)Skip the Bottled Water

Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates large amounts of container waste.

Bring a reusable water bottle, preferably aluminum rather than plastic, with you when traveling or at work.

Check out this short article for the latest on bottled water trends.

 

6)Think Before You Buy

Go online to find new or gently used secondhand products. Whether you've just moved or are looking to redecorate, consider a service like craigslist or FreeSharing to track down furniture, appliances, and other items cheaply or for free.

Check out garage sales, thrift stores, and consignment shops for clothing and other everyday items.

When making purchases, make sure you know what's "Good Stuff" and what isn't.

Watch a video about what happens when you buy things. Your purchases have a real impact, for better or worse.

 

7)Borrow Instead of Buying

Borrow from libraries instead of buying personal books and movies. This saves money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new books.

Share power tools and other appliances. Get to know your neighbors while cutting down on the number of things cluttering your closet or garage.

 

8)Buy Smart

Buy in bulk. Purchasing food from bulk bins can save money and packaging.

Wear clothes that don't need to be dry-cleaned. This saves money and cuts down on toxic chemical use.

 Invest in high-quality, long-lasting products. You might pay more now, but you'll be happy when you don't have to replace items as frequently (and this means less waste!).

 

9)Keep Electronics Out Of The Trash.

Keep your cell phones, computers, and other electronics as long as possible.

Donate or recycle them responsibly when the time comes.

E-waste contains mercury and other toxics and is a growing environmental problem.

 Recycle your cell phone. Ask your local government to set up an electronics recycling and hazardous waste collection event.

 

10)Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies.

The big secret: you can make very effective, non-toxic cleaning products whenever you need them. All you need are a few simple ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, lemon, and soap. Making your own cleaning products saves money, time, and packaging-not to mention your indoor air quality.

If you have a squeaky wood floor under tile or carpet, you may be able to eliminate the squeak without removing the floor covering. Try to reset loose boards by pounding a hammer on a block of scrap wood in the area over the squeaky boards. The pressure may force loose nails back into place.

You may be able to silence squeaky hardwood floors by using talcum powder as a dry lubricant. Sprinkle powder over the offending areas, and sweep it back and forth until it filters down between the cracks.

Try filling dents in a hardwood floor with clear nail polish or shellac. Because the floor’s color will show through, the dents will not be apparent.

Sometimes you can flatten bulges or curled seems in a linoleum floor by placing aluminum foil over them and “ironing” them with your steam iron. (The heat will soften and reactivate the adhesive.) Position weights, such as stacks of books, over treated areas to keep them flat until the adhesive cools and hardens.

To remove a resilient floor time for placement, lay a piece of aluminum foil on it and then press down with an ordinary iron set at medium. The iron’s heat will soften the mastic, and you can easily pry up the tile with a putty knife.

To remove a damaged resilient tile, soften it with a propane torch fitted with a flame-spreader nozzle. (Be careful not to damage surrounding tiles.) When the tile is soft, pry it up with a paint scraper or putty knife and scrape the adhesive off the floor so that the new tile bonds cleanly.

You can also remove resilient tile by covering it with dry ice, wearing work gloves to protect your hands. Let the dry ice stand for ten minutes and then remove any remaining ice. The cold will make the tile brittle, so it will shatter easily. Chisel out the tile from the edges to the center.

Laying resilient floor tile will be easier it the room temperature is at least 70 degrees before you start, because tile is more pliable at higher temperatures. Put all boxes of tile in the room for at least 24 hours prior to positioning tiles on the floor. Try to keep the room temperature at the same level for about a week after laying the tiles, and then wait at least a week before washing the floor.

To prevent scratching the floor when moving heavy furniture across uncarpeted areas, slip scraps of old carpeting, face down, under all furniture legs.

After laying floor times, you can help them lie flat by going over them with a rolling pin.

If you want to replace damaged area of resilient flooring, here’s a way to make a perfect patch from scrap flooring: place the scrap piece over the damaged area so that it overlaps sufficiently, and tape it to hold it in place. Then, cut through both layers at the same time to make a patch that is an exact duplicate. Replace the damaged area with the tightly fitting patch.

To patch a gouge (not a dent) in a resilient floor, take a scrap of the flooring and grate it with a food grater. Mix the resulting dust with clear nail polish and plug the hole.

Another way to camouflage a gouge or hole in a resilient floor is with crayon wax. Choose a crayon that matches the floor color, melt it, fill the gouge or hole, and then wax the floor.

Solvent-based cleaners and polishes preserve cork tile floors and should be used instead of water or water based products.

So chairs won’t scratch a hardwood floor, glue bunion pads to the bottoms of the chair legs. Thumbtacks pressed into the bottom ends of wooden chair legs will allow them to slide more easily across a wood or tile floor.

If you’re going to use flagstone or slate as indoor flooring, these porous materials should be sealed to keep them looking their best.

Brick flooring can also be sealed and waxed to protect its porous surface from staining. It is especially helpful to treat brick this way if it is used for flooring in the kitchen.

Cover hardwood floors with area rugs to cut down on noise in your home. Upholstered furniture also absorbs noise, while glass, chrome, and wood reflect noise.

To make a bathroom carpet fit perfectly, make a precise pattern with paper. Lay overlapped sheets of paper on the bathroom floor, tightly butted up against corners, walls, and obstacles. Tape the sheets together and cut. Turn the pattern over, face down, on the back of the carpet, trace with a pencil, and then cut.

Install floor tiles from the center of a room outward, because the center of a room is where appearance and matching are most important.

Plan to burgle yourself. In this game, you’ll discover any weaknesses in your home protection system that may have previously escaped your notice.

Before turning your house key over to a professional housecleaner for several hours, make sure the person is honest and reputable as well as hard-working. Check all references thoroughly by telephone. If the housecleaner is from a firm, call your local Better Business Bureau to check on the firm’s reputation. Make sure the firm insures its employees against accidents and theft.

Instead of keeping a spare key in a mailbox, under the doormat, or on a nail behind the garage, wrap the key in foil – or put it in a 35mm film can or a pipe tobacco can – and bury it where you can easily find it if you need it.

If your plans to be away from home have been publicized through a funeral, wedding, or similar newspaper notice, hire a house sitter. Burglars often read the newspapers to see who’s planning to be away from home all day or for several days.

Lock up your home, even if you go out only for a short time. Many burglars just walk in through an unlocked door or window.

Your house should appear occupied at all times. Use timers to switch lights and radios on and off when you’re not at home. Ask your neighbors to use your garbage cans when you’re on vacation, so your absence won’t be so evident.

Safeguard your home by not leaving notes for workmen or family members on the door. If you’re going to be away from home for several days – or even for just one day – adjust your telephone ring to its lowest volume. To a prowler, an unanswered phone is a quick tip that your home is empty. Let neighbors know of any suspicious-looking person or strange cars you notice lurking about.

To prevent burglars from stealing ladders stored outdoors, padlock them to something that cannot be moved. To keep your tools from being stolen, paint the handles. Thieves avoid items that are easy to identify.

Trees located near windows, or shrubbery that might shield a burglar from view, can be major flaws in your home protection plan.

Ask for credentials from any salesman who requests entry to your home – even security system salesmen. Many professional burglars use this cover to check out homes. If you want to buy an electronic alarm system, make your own contacts with reputable firms.

Dogs are among the best deterrents to burglars; even a small, noisy dog can be effective – burglars do not like to have attention drawn to their presence. Be aware that trained guard dogs do not make good pets. Obedience training and attack training are entirely different, and only the former is appropriate for a house pet.

For the most effective alarm system, conceal all wiring. A burglar looks for places where he can disconnect the security system. A door with too much space between the door and the frame is an invitation for the burglar to use a jimmy. Reinforce such a door by attaching a panel of three-quarter-inch plywood or a piece of sheet metal to it. If there are door hinges on the outside of your house, take down the door and reset the hinges inside. Otherwise all a thief has to do to gain entry to your home is knock out the hinge pin.

You can burglar-proof your glass patio doors by setting a pipe or metal bar in the inside bottom track of the door slide. The pipe should be the same length as the track. It’s easy for a burglar to pry his way through rot, so replace rotted door frames with new, solid wood.

It’s simple for a thief to break glass panels and then reach in and open a door knob from the inside. A door with glass panels should be either fortified or replaced.

  All this time we’ve just been putting Bounce in the dryer: It will chase ants away when you lay a Bounce sheet near them. It takes the odor out of books and photo albums that don’t get opened too often. Repels mosquitoes, tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season. Eliminates static electricity from your television screen; since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from resettling. Dissolve soap scum from shower doors, clean with a sheet of Bounce. Freshen the air in your home, place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang in the closet. Prevent thread from tangling, run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce before beginning to sew. Prevent musty suitcases; place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing. Freshen the air in your car; place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat. Clean baked on foods from a cooking pan, put a sheet in a pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The antistatic agent apparently weakens the bond between the food and the pan while the fabric softening agents soften the baked on food. Eliminate odors in wastebaskets; place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the wastebasket. Collect cat hair, rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs. Eliminate static electricity from venetian blinds; wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling. Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering; a used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth. Eliminate odors in dirty laundry, place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper. Deodorize shoes or sneakers; place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight so they will smell better in the morning. Remove static electricity from your hair, if you hair is really fly away rub it down with a sheet of Bounce to remove the static.

Cutting Cooling Costs Solar reflective films applied over your windows in warm-weather months will reduce the amount of light and, therefore, of heat that enters your home. Since cold air falls, you’ll get better air circulation from a room air conditional if you aim its vents upwards. If you have a forced air heating system but use window air conditioning units, be sure to close the heating system vents so cold air doesn’t escape through the ducts and fall to the basement. To keep air conditioning to a minimum, be sure you’re not overheating your home needlessly. Draw your draperies against direct sunlight, and switch off lighting fixtures when you’re not in the room. If you have the facilities, consider barbecuing outdoors so that you can keep the kitchen cool. If you install your air conditioner thermostat away from heat producing appliances and direct sunlight, it won’t “think” the room is warmer than it really is and work overtime. Also, place any outdoor portions of your unit or a central unit where they’ll receive the least direct sunlight. Using a patio cover will reduce the load your air conditioning unit bears in the summertime. The cover shields the concrete from sunlight that would otherwise reflect and radiate into your home. Conversely, removing the cover in winter months lets you take advantage of the heat generated by reflected sunlight. Keep furnishings away from air conditioning vents so that the cold air can circulate freely. Save on energy costs by turning off your air conditioning unit when you leave home. If you’re gone every day, install a timer control to keep the unit off until shortly before you return in the evening. (You can manually override the timer when you’re at home.) Awnings and canopies can keep your home cooler in the summertime. Odors emitted by a central air conditioner usually indicate condensate drain fungus. You can eliminate the smell by pouring laundry bleach into the condensate pan to fill the fungus.

'Time to Buy Again,' says Fortune (1)  TIME TO BUY: The cover story in the April edition of Fortune magazine trumpets that "housing is back.""After four years of plunging home prices, the most attractive asset class in America is housing," proclaims Fortune magazine, one of the world's premier business publications, in its April cover story.The article, headlined "The Return of Real Estate," explains that several market forces have created a more promising outlook for the industry. An excerpt:So let's state it simply and forcibly: Housing is back. Two basic factors are laying the foundation for dramatic recovery in residential real estate. The first is the historic drop in new construction. The second is a steep decline in prices, on the order of 30% nationwide since 2006, and as much as 55% in the hardest-hit markets. The story of this downturn has been an astonishing flight from the traditional American approach of buying new houses to an embrace of renting. But the new affordability will gradually lure Americans back to buying homes. And the return of the homeowner will start raising prices in many markets this year.The author, Senior Editor-at-Large Shawn Tully, acknowledges that demand has been extremely weak in recent years, but notes that a "remarkable shift in home affordability" and the cost of owning vs. renting bode well for housing's immediate future.The second measure, the cost of owning compared with renting, should also inspire potential buyers. In 28 out of 54 major markets, it's now cheaper to pay a mortgage and other major costs than to rent the same house. What's most compelling is that in all of the distressed markets, owning now wins by a wide margin -- a stunning reversal from four years ago. It now costs 34% less than renting in Atlanta. In Miami the average rent is now $1,031 a month, vs. the $856 it costs to carry a ranch house or stucco cottage as an owner.Some cities, especially those not immersed in foreclosures, will rebound sooner than others, Tully writes, but even the hardest-hit markets have reason for some level of optimism. One big reason: Investors."People always want to live in those sunny locales, and their job markets are starting to recover, albeit slowly. In foreclosure markets, the inventory problem is far greater because it includes not just traditional resale homes but millions of distressed properties. Fortunately those houses are now such a screaming deal that investors, including lots of mom-and-pop buyers, are purchasing them at a rapid pace."The bottom line, Tully concludes, is that it's a great time to buy. His article's final advice for those on the fence:  Beat the crowd.

© 2011 RE/MAX, LLC. RE/MAX Affiliates may share this article, provided they do not charge for it and this notice is included. All other rights reserved.

Jessica Brown, Affiliate Broker

Re/Max Elite-5050 Poplar St 1617, Memphis, TN 38157

Office:  901-685-6000    Cell:  901-210-3474

 

 

I came across this last month & wanted to share this story with you. Today’s interest rates really are unbelievable & it is a great time to make a move. Please call me if I can be of any assistance. I also included a market sales update below.

 

10 Reasons to Buy a Home

 

A recent piece in the Wall Street Journal took issue with a recent Time cover story calling into questions some of our most cherished beliefs about homeownership. Much of what the Journal talks about isn’t new. In fact, it recites benefits of homeownership that you already know better than anyone. But is pulling them together in the way it does, it makes you realize just how compelling homeownership is from just about every standpoint. If you haven’t seen the piece, by Brett Arends, here’s a thumbnail sketch of its 10 points:

 

1. You can get a good deal. Prices are down 30 percent on average.
2. Mortgages are cheap. At 3.75% on average for a 15-year mortgage & 4.3 percent on average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, your costs to own are down by a fifth from two years ago.
3. You can save on taxes. When you add up the deductions for mortgage interest and others, the cost of owning can drip below renting for a comparable place.
4. It’ll be yours. The one benefit to owning that never changes is that you can paint your walls orange if you want (generally speaking: there might be some community restrictions). How many landlords will let you do that?
5. You can get a better home. In some markets, it’s simply the case that the nicest places are for-sale homes.
6. It offers some inflation protection. Historically, appreciation over time outpaces inflation.
7. It’s risk capital. If the economy picks up, you stand to benefit from that, even if you’re goal is just to have a nice place to live.
8. It’s forced savings. A part of your payment each month goes to equity.
9. There is a lot to choose from. There are some 4 million homes available today, about a year’s supply. Now’s the time to find something you like and get it.
10. Sooner or later the market will clear. The U.S. is expected to grow by another 100 million people in 40 years. They have to live somewhere. Demand will eventually outpace supply.

 

By: Robert Freedman, senior editor, Realtor Magazine

 

Here are the market numbers for August – this year compared to last year.

 

	North MS Association of Realtors			Memphis Area Association of Realtors
August	2010	2009	% Change	2010	2009	% Change
Total Home Sales	230	253	-9.1%	1,136	1,212	-6.3%
Median Sales Price	$134,000	$129,000	+3.9%	$80,000	$105,000	-23.8%
Average Sales Price	$143,528	$134,792	+6.5%	$127,301	$138,957	-8.4%

 

Jessica Brown, Affiliate Broker

Re/Max Elite-5050 Poplar St 1617, Memphis, TN 38157

Office:  901-685-6000    Cell:  901-210-3474

 

8 Tips for Fall Decorating with a Natural Flair

BHG.com Decorating Editor Kaelin Zawilinski offers this advice for styling your home this fall using natural accents.

• Introduce hints of a new color to your existing palette. Combine autumn red or orange splashes with a neutral or contrasting base such as taupe, olive, or blue. Muted greens are fresh alternatives to bold warm colors. Throw pillows, table accessories, and accent rugs are high-impact, low-investment places to start.
• Find woodsy elements at your local farmers' market or your own backyard. Look for moss, grasses, and small branches. Fill interesting pots with any combination of them, or turn a bundle of twigs into a natural photo holder.
• Small but unexpected details go a long way at the dinner table. Tie a name card to leafy twigs to make great place holders for your guests. Dress up acorns by exchanging one for a large crafts-store pearl and tying them up with a velvet ribbon for a rustic, yet elegant, napkin holder.
• Celebrate the harvest season with casual country touches. Find natural artwork, twine, and rustic wooden accent pieces. Cozy blankets add autumn comfort to any space.
• Choose pieces that will stay timely through the holidays, or that can be updated in a snap, to save space and money. Pinecones, dried berries, and twigs stay up-to-date through the winter. After Thanksgiving, swap your moss and acorns for faux-snow and ornaments to give the same decor a new presence.
• Wreaths are classic and versatile, and can be made from almost any material. Experiment with wheat or leaves for fall, holly for Christmas, or pinecones and twigs for the whole holiday season. Try laying them flat to frame pumpkins, candles, or other centerpieces.
• Candles add warmth and light in any season. They work anywhere. Don't forget about mantels and windowsills. If you stick with neutral colors, embellishments and containers can be changed for the season.
• Make space for conversation. Adding -- or relocating -- seating around a fireplace creates a cozy new space for fall fellowship. No fireplace? Pull a couple of sitting chairs in a corner, add candles for ambiance, and keep a stack of books close at hand.