This week-end is our annual Memorial Day Celebration, which at our house is always enhanced by celebrating Rick’s birthday. We all have our favorite recipes, but before we get to the food, there’s the BBQ fire to get just right. Here’s a short video about how to get your charcoal briquettes burning without lighter fluid. Hope you find it useful.

 

Week-End Project: Organize Your Garage

We were thinking about doing this project. Not this week-end. Some week-end in the near future. Really!

How about you? Looking for a week-end project? Does your garage need organizing? Here's some tips and a video.

The setup: Shopping for garage storage solutions is definitely a kid-in-the-candy-store experience. There are so many cool shelves, hooks, and hangers available that you’ll need to prioritize your needs. Take stock of long-handled landscape tools, bikes, paint supplies, ladders, and odd ducks, such as that kayak. Measure your available space so you’ll have a rough idea of where everything goes.

Specs and cost: Set your under-$300 budget, grab a cart, and get shopping. Many storage systems are made to be hung on drywall, but hooks and heavy items should be fastened directly to studs. Use a stud finder ($20) to locate solid framing.

If your garage is unfinished, add strips of wood horizontally across studs so you’ll have something to fasten your storage goodies to. An 8-foot-long 2-by-4 is about $2.50.

Tools: Cordless drill/driver; hammer; level; measuring tape; screws and nails.

Time: This is a simple project, but not a fast one. Figure 6-10 hours to get everything where you want it, plus shopping. But, oh the fun in putting everything in its place!





Spruce Up Ideas for the Front of Your House

 

11 Ways to Create a Welcoming Front Entrance for Under $100
from HouseLogic, by Cara Greenberg
Wouldn’t it be nice to approach your home’s entrance with a grin instead of a grimace? Take our tips for beating a clear, safe, and stylish path to your front door.

First impressions count — not just for your friends, relatives, and the UPS guy, but for yourself. Whether it’s on an urban stoop or a Victorian front porch, your front door and the area leading up to it should extend a warm welcome to all comers — and needn’t cost a bundle.

Here’s what you can do to make welcoming happen on the cheap.

1. Clear the way for curb appeal. The path to your front door should be at least 3 feet wide so people can walk shoulder-to-shoulder, with an unobstructed view and no stumbling hazards. So get out those loppers and cut back any overhanging branches or encroaching shrubs.

2. Light the route. Landscape lighting makes it easy to get around at night. Solar-powered LED lights you can just stick in the ground, requiring no wiring, are surprisingly inexpensive. $45 for a pack of 8, lowes.com.
3. Go glossy. Borrow inspiration from London’s lovely row houses, whose owners assert their individuality by painting their doors in high-gloss colors. The reflective sheen of a royal blue, deep green, crimson, or whatever color you like will ensure your house stands out from the pack. Consult Bonnie Rosser Krims’ book, The Perfectly Painted House, for ideas.

And find out what your front entryway says about you.

4. Pretty up the view. A door with lots of glass is a plus for letting light into the front hall — but if you also want privacy and a bit of decor, check out decorative window film. It’s removable and repositionable, and comes in innumerable styles and motifs. About $5.25 per running foot, decorativefilm.com.

An less expensive way to get the look of stained glass without doing custom work or buying a whole new door: Mount a decorative panel on the inside of the door behind an existing glass insert, $92 for an Arts and Crafts-style panel 20” high by 11” wide.

5. Replace door hardware. While you’re at it, polish up the handle on the big front door, or better yet, replace it with a shiny new brass lockset with a secure deadbolt, $57.

6. Please knock. Doorbells may be the norm, but a hefty knocker is a classic that will never run out of battery life, and another opportunity to express yourself (whatever your favorite animal or insect is, there’s a door-knocker in its image). $39, potterybarn.com.

7. Ever-greenery. Boxwoods are always tidy-looking, the definition of easy upkeep. A pair on either side of the door is traditional, but a singleton is good, too. About $25 at garden centers. In cold climates, make sure pots are frost-proof (polyethylene urns and boxes mimic terracotta and wood to perfection). $80, frontera.com.

8. Numbers game. Is your house number clearly visible? That’s of prime importance if you want your guests to arrive and your pizza to be hot. Stick-on vinyl numbers in a variety of fonts make it easy, starting at about $4 per digit.

9. Foot traffic. A hardworking mat for wiping muddy feet is a must. A thick coir mat can be had at the hardware store for less than $20, or spring for something fancier, like this decorative half-round that promises weather and mildew resistance, $45, frontgate.com.

10. Go for the glow. Fumbling for keys in the dark isn’t fun. Consider doubling up on porch lights with a pair of lanterns, one on each side of the door, for symmetry and twice the illumination. $69 each, shadesoflight.com.

11. Snail mail. Mailboxes run the gamut from kitschy roadside novelties masquerading as dogs, fish, or what-have-you to sober black lockboxes mounted alongside the front door. Whichever way you go, make sure yours is standing or hanging straight, with a secure closure, and no dings or dents. The mail carrier will thank you.

Cara Greenberg is a veteran writer on architecture, design, and gardens for magazines and newspapers, including This Old House, Coastal Living, and Garden Design. Her blog, casaCARA: Old Houses for Fun and Profit, is based on her experience owning six properties.

Morgan Hill House for Rent

Defaults Down and Flipping Returns

By Gino Blefari, President & CEO, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

Here are two fun things to ponder this week:

Mortgage defaults are down – way down. First-time delinquent home loans fell to 0.84% of the 50.2 million mortgages in March, according to LPS.

It was monumental because it was the first month defaults fell below 1% since 2007, when the first defaults of the financial crisis reared their heads.

First-time delinquents are defined as loans that went from performing to at least 60 days delinquent when the report was created.

The days of problem loans aren't fully behind us – there will be some amount of that in the market for a while. But the days of massive waves of these loans are safely tucked in the background, for now it seems.

Flip: Real estate's four-letter word

Flipping made a media comeback this past week when RealtyTrac released a report highlighting the top 25 markets for flipping homes in 2012. The markets reflect those cities in which flipping produced the highest rate of return for flippers, i.e., gross profit.

Phoenix had the highest number of flips in 2012 with 10,589 property flips. Inland Empire, CA, Las Vegas, Miami, Denver and Detroit also topped the list by volume of flips.

The top five markets in terms of dollar amount profit in 2012 were San Jose ($103,241), San Diego ($85,714), San Francisco ($80,306), Las Vegas ($70,746), and Ventura County, CA ($70,426).

While flipping may conjure up bad memories of its TV glory days when everyone from waiters to hairdressers was a self-proclaimed real estate investment guru, it's not a bad thing.

Flipping implies property improvements and increasing values - two important factors in pushing a healthy, widespread recovery.

Something tells me it'll be less circus-like this time around. More seasoned investors and levelheaded borrowers. More lending restrictions. Less snap decisions and debt digging.

Lessons learned indeed. But it's something to keep an eye on. If we start to see insane rampant flipping by real estate hobbyists again, we may need to step back and reboot.

Honoring Moms



Homeownership Perks

Dishwasher Maintenance Tips

Today it's all about dishwasher maintenance. Sooooo helpful!

Clothes Dryer Maintenance Tips

 

In keeping with the Spring Cleaning theme this week, heres a quick video with a couple of tips for keeping your clothes dryer in peak drying condition.

 

 

 

 Thanks to American Home Shield for this article. Due to the general nature of the property maintenance and improvement advice in this material, neither American Home Shield Corporation, nor its licensed subsidiaries assumes any responsibility for any loss or damage which may be suffered by the use of this information.

30 Minutes to a Clean Refrigerator

There are plenty of reasons to clean a fridge (unidentifiable leftovers, funky odors) and one big excuse not to — namely, lack of time. But you don’t need to set aside several hours to complete a basic cleanout and scrub down. Get it done in 30 minutes when you follow this guide.

Before you start

There’s no reason to clean out your fridge the day after a big supermarket trip. Pick a day just before you go shopping, when your fridge is relatively empty.

For safety reasons, it’s a good idea to unplug your fridge before you start cleaning it.

Gather your supplies:

1. small bucket
2. small cleaning brush
3. terrycloth towel
4. large sponge
5. new box of baking soda

Get to it

Take food from the fridge and place it on the table or counter. As you do this, check expiration dates and toss anything that’s no longer edible.

Fill the bucket with warm water, and add a half cup of baking soda. (Save the rest of the baking soda — you can put the box in the fridge later to neutralize odors.) Use this solution to wipe down the empty shelves and interior with a sponge, starting from the top and working your way down.
Use a brush to clean around brackets and gaskets and to dislodge any dried food. Wipe the interior dry with a terrycloth towel.

Rearrange, reseal, restock

Before you put the food back in the fridge, take a moment to group similar foods together. This will help you find items easier. Separate ethylene-sensitive produce (e.g., apples, broccoli) from produce that releases ethylene gas (e.g., bananas, pears) to prevent premature decay. Make sure that all containers are sealed properly and that anything wrapped is covered completely. Airtight storage will help prevent spills and spoilage.

As you begin to put items back in the fridge, be careful to space food out to allow a free flow of air. Keep eggs, poultry, meat and seafood separate from all other items to help limit the spread of bacteria. For more food safety tips, visit foodsafety.gov . And if you’ve unplugged your fridge, don’t forget to plug it back in!

A final note: A basic cleanout like this is no substitute for a thorough cleaning, which your fridge and freezer require periodically. To do that, you’ll need to remove and clean shelves, vacuum coils and wipe down the exterior. Consult manufacturer’s instructions for details.

Thanks to American Home Shield for this article. Due to the general nature of the property maintenance and improvement advice in this material, neither American Home Shield Corporation, nor its licensed subsidiaries assumes any responsibility for any loss or damage which may be suffered by the use of this information.