One of the things that I wanted to do before my husband went back to work after the holidays was to organize our home. Well, I think I’ve basically run out of time to get his help on that, but I’m just going to move forward and try to tackle all of this on my own. I thought a good starting place would be the kids’ playroom. That’s one area that’s always messy, so I thought it might be good to get that worst room out of the way first. Plus, my kids will get to start enjoying it more again that way.

I looked online to find some tips about that and while I was looking, I ran across some info on new doors. Our front door looks so beat up and awful that I decided to use that site to get it replaced.

I’ve already started sorting through the kids’ toys, which is kind of just where you have to start out with this. It’s going much easier than I expected and I just hope that it keeps going that smoothly!

Our neighbors down the street contracted out their own upgrades and renovations to their home last year. They kept telling us how much money they saved and how proud they were that they were able to do everything on their own. When were ready to do a few things to our own home, we met our neighbors for dinner so that they could share their “secrets” with us. They suggested for our home alarm system that we use www.HomeSecuritySystems.com . They gave us the name of an inexpensive painter and also the company they used to put in their new sprinkler system. They make self-contracting sound so easy. We have started checking into our plans and our first update is scheduled for next week. We are excited and have saved up a long time until we felt we were financially ready to update our home. I just hope that self-contracting is the right decision. Our friends have offered to help us a long the way. I’m glad they are because I need all the help I can get!

I was not familiar with above ground pools until I moved here. I have always thought a pool in your backyard meant a “cement pond,” like you see in the movies of homes in Beverly Hills. I would think that installing an in ground pool would be very expensive and take a long time. You have to excavte the hole, frame it out, pour the concrete, install the plumbing, finish or paint the walls and decking, and then fill it with water. This could esily take 2 or 3 weeks to do. But an a pool that sits above ground requires much less work, materials and time to complete.

I cannot wait to go to my first pool party at each of my friend’s houses with their new pools. I just have to be careful to not favor one friend over the other in my visits this summer.

i hope you had the chance to go outside and look at the huge moon last night. It was so awesome! I tried to get a picture with my digital camera, but it does not do well in the dark without a tripod. This photo was taken about 9:30 at night – it was bright white all night long!

From time to time in the winter we all need to leave our homes. But, we often forget that we may not be able to return for awhile due to things such as the car breaking down, a blizzard causing the roads to home to be inpassable, or any emergency that can cause a significant delay in our return. You need to think about a few things before embarking on any journey away from the house at any time but especially in winter. Make sure that you’ve set the thermostat a bit lower, but not low enough to cause your pipes to freeze. If your pipes are close to the ground surface, just leave a hose on at a slow trickle which keeps water moving in those pipes. Be sure that lights are on inside and outside you home to ward off anyon! e who may be up to no good. Don’t forget to leave extra food and water out for your pets and bring them in while you’re gone. Don’t leave them outside to starve or freeze to death. Coming home to a messy house is a much better alternative than to come home to sick or dead animals. When you’ve checked everything, just prior to getting into your car, make sure that you’ve set your home alarm by Home alarm systems. You’ll be less stressed now while out.

An enclume pot rack makes my favorite pots within arm’s reach instead of having to get down on my knees and reach into a deep dark cabinet cluttered with all the different pots and lids that are jumbled on the shelf. I really dislike kitchen cabinets – they are not made to be user friendly at all.

After looking at all the enclume potracks on their web site, this is the one that I want to order. See how it has a nice shelf for me to have all my cookbooks handy? This is the perfect design for my needs! Finally, someone has made user friendly ways to store the essential and most frequently used things in my kitchen.

Not knowing much about fire pits and outdoor fires, I read the Gas Log FAQs on Hansen Wholesale’s web site. This is my favorite wish list type of web site. They have such a wonderful selection of
Gas Logs that I love to shop the different styles and dream of having them in my house. Or on my deck.

The R. H. Peterson Real Fyre Gas Logs are marvelous. I can’t make up my mind which of the over 40 styles of logs will be best for my fireplace. Part of me wants a traditional split oak log arrangement and then my inner poet wants the beach driftwood effect.

I really liked the looks of the copper rain chains, and was thinking about replacing our gutter downspouts with them. Our downspouts are old and beat up – they really are an eyesore! I think that replacing them with a pretty rain chain would really dress up the house!