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Entry bubble Baby, It’s Cold Outside

By: Sam | November 28, 2007 | Category: Home and Family

I wouldn’t call myself a snow bunny.  In fact, I dread this time of year.  The bitterly cold walks to and from the metro, the howling wind, dressing in layers…I could just skip the next couple of months.  The only thing I really look forward to is the fashion.  Who doesn’t love a good pair of boots?

But as much as I would like to live in a tropical climate year-round, I must come to terms with Old Man Winter coming back into my life.  His unwelcome appearance means it’s time to get my home ready for the winter.  Thankfully, the ultimate home improvement guru Bob Vila has put together this handy home maintenance checklist.  There are plenty of great tips whether you live in a house, town home, or apartment.  Did you know a full fridge uses less energy than empty one?  Time to stock up!

With an average American spending $1,900 annually on energy bills and half of the energy going to heating and cooling your home, we can all take steps to reduce our energy use this winter, while still remaining comfortable.  Some things I try to do are change all my air filters before heating season begins, set back my thermostat when I’m away, use compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), power down my computer and other electronics, and open my shades during the day.

To help you get started, I’ve put together some of my favorite resources that give you easy ways to lower your energy bill and make a big difference in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Please share any tips that you have about how to winterize your home or lower your energy bill. 

| View Comments [1] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: energy   heating   home   money   winter  

 

Entry bubble Little Tiny Grasslings

By: Sommer | October 05, 2007 | Category: Home and Family

My husband struggled all summer to grow a new lawn to replace the awful clover and weeds that were growing in our 10’x 10’ front yard. He started in June, first with some regular grass seed. Faithful twice daily watering resulted in only partial success so he moved on to a more fool proof product, you know, the seed that’s covered with newspaper and fertilizer (the stuff that’s bright blue?).grasslings I guess it’s supposed to make the germination process a little easier since the newspaper keeps in the moisture and the fertilizer helps it grow. Faithful watering of this particular seed worked beautifully and there was a lush green lawn after about 3 or 4 weeks. I was so proud of him and took faithful photos of the little “grasslings” (his pet name for the baby grass sprouts) that he proudly showed me every evening. It was almost like “happily ever after” until we got to the scorching heat of August and needless to say, he’s back to a clean slate with a lot of dead grass and dirt. He just got done seeding again now that the weather’s cooler. The grasslings are starting to grow and he still loves to show them off. But, now that the grass is growing again we’re coming up on another hard season. Winter! I’m going to do everything I can to make sure the new grasslings don’t die again so here’s our plan:

  • Fertilize: Fall fertilization is key for healthy grass over winter. Use one higher in nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) and lower in phosphorous (P).
  • Rake or clean up fall leaves to prevent damage to your grass
  • Mow one final time if the grass hasn’t already gone dormant or gotten matted down. Be sure to leave the grass at least 2” high, though.
  • In winter, try to avoid packing down snow cover on your lawn and be careful when using snow melting agents on your sidewalks and driveways. If possible, shovel or plow before adding snow melters so they don’t get pushed onto the grass and damage it.

| View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: fall   grass   home   lawn   sommer   winter  

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