Salute Friend

Buying a home is usually a stressful experience. So much rides on a new home because this is where you relax, have fun, sleep, eat; in short, it’s the place central to your life. Not only that, but homes usually cost a whole lot of money and represent our single largest investment. Most homebuyers can usually find the objective requirements of house hunting, such as location, size, and price. But, there are also intangible factors when searching for a new home, but most people don’t know what to look for.

Helping you find the flaws
This is where feng shui comes in. Using feng shui, you’ll be able to spot the problems -or the potential — in a house that exist outside of the objective requirements of number of bedrooms, amount of storage, etc. These are features that you might not notice, and a realtor will seldom, if ever, point out to you. But, with this checklist, you can at least feel more confident about your decision to go with a particular property.

Look at the space with “feng shui eyes”
When you are looking at a house - or any space for that matter - and considering whether to buy it, it helps to look at it with “feng shui eyes.” You will want to do this once you have considered all the other objective aspects of the house, such as square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, living areas, location, price, etc.

The next step is to run down a checklist of the subjective feng shui considerations that will help you make a feng shui assessment. Even if you aren’t house hunting, this list can give you some important information that might be very revealing about the house you are already in!

The list below provides some of the more serious feng shui problems.

Exterior
Street: Is house at the end of a cul-de-sac, dead end or T-junction?
Topography. Is the lot sloped away at the back? Avoid yards that slope down toward the rear. Select home with a rise at the rear. Is house below street grade? This will make for a constant “uphill” struggle while you live here.
Landscape. Is there a tree or pole directly in front of the front door? Dead trees or shrubs? Dead lawn?
Garage. Is it ahead of the house or front door?
Neighbors. Is this house smaller than houses on either side? Do neighbors’ houses have sharp angles pointing at this house or appear to overpower or dominate the house?
Views & proximity. Can you see or is it close to church, temple or other house of worship? Can you see or is it close to funeral home, cemetery, hospital, police station, sewage treatment, abandoned building or run-down house?
Water. Is water, lake, river, ocean at the back of house or too close to front?
Lot. Regular or irregular-shaped? House sits too close to the front of lot? Does backyard fall away from the rear of the house?
Paths. Driveway ends at house instead of garage? Walkways end straight at door?

Interior
House style. Split, bi-level, or center hall colonial?
Front. Front door lines up with back door? Does front door face stairway?
Structure. Overhead or exposed beams? Ceilings too high or are they low and slanted? Skylights over sleeping areas or kitchen? Foundation cracks or problems? Serious plumbing or electrical problems?
Entrance. Do you see toilet/bathroom door from the entrance? See the kitchen/stove from the front door? See the dining room from the front door? See the bedroom from front door?
Toilets. Located in NW, SW, center, or corners of the house? Bedroom, dining area or kitchen located under or over toilet?
Staircases. Spiral staircase? Staircase stops at front door? Split or scissor-style staircase?
Hallways. Too long? Divide the house into two sections? Too dark?
Bedrooms. Over garage? Over bathroom or laundry? Have empty space below, i.e., patio area? Is master bedroom too close to the front door?
Fireplace. In the NW portion of the house? Is it in the Southeast (wealth) sector?
Major locations. Problems with or missing sections in Northwest (man), Southwest (woman), North (career), or Southeast (wealth)? Bathroom, laundry, kitchen in center of house?
Odor. Smells musty, smoky, putrid?

Enlist a professional
Still not perfectly confident? Well, a home is a major purchase and we must always consider that important point. Most people take a used car to their mechanic before buying it and its purchase isn’t as important as a house. So, if you’re still confused or just want to proceed with the sale in confidence, why not talk to a feng shui specialist about looking about the prospective house?

A professional feng shui consultant should be able to tell you what you can expect from this location, such as good financial or business opportunities. Or, maybe you’ll find out that buying this house means your health will suffer, you’ll discover an afflicted portion of the house, such as a toilet in the SW sector that can hurt your marriage. Give serious consideration to hiring a professional.

Fortunately, most problems have a feng shui fix
It’s important to know that every house has “feng shui flaws” and that no house is perfect. However, you should be aware of what you are buying so that you are knowledgeable about what kinds of problems might be associated with the house. The good news? Most feng shui flaws can be corrected.

Kathryn Weber is a certified master practitioner in classical feng shui and the publisher of The Red Lotus Letter a weekly feng shui E-Zine. She has been featured and quoted by publications and websites, including Seventeen Magazine, First for Women, Martial Arts Professional, the Indy Star Newspaper, Self-growth.com, and Transformations.com. Log on to www.redlotusletter.com to subscribe or to contact her about a personal consultation, speaking engagement, or workshop.

When you are renting an apartment, you often feel like making changes is not on the agenda. After all, you don’t own the space so what can you do? In this three part series, we will teach you how to devise a game plan to decorate to make your apartment feel like a home.

For every decorating project, large or small, the first step is always a walk through. You need to get a tablet or a notebook and walk through the area you are thinking of decorating while following these five steps:

1. Check for trouble spots that will cause a problem later; off center architectural elements, windows, fireplaces doors.
2. Look for anything permanent which would cause a problem in arranging a room or giving the effect you want. Particularly in older homes and apartments make a note of pipes, radiators, doorways that are closed off, uneven floors etc. In newer homes and apartments, builders often put things like heat ducts, cold air returns and thermostats just where you want to put a piece of furniture or hang a picture. Make note of these.
3. Check for trouble spots, things that throw a room off center, or ‘uglies.’ As a renter you don’t have the options of a home owner to paint, pull apart, tear down or add to the permanent fixtures in your home. So if you don’t like the looks of the layout or the color of the carpet, write it down here.
4. Mark down and measure electrical, phone, or cable outlets for TV’s and computers.
5. Check windows. Do they need to be covered for privacy or to keep out light? Are the windows unusually high or too close to the floor? Are they off center, or in the middle of a wall you need for furniture placement? Now is the time to measure windows. Measure the distance from the wall and between windows, the actual size of the window, and most importantly how many inches there are from the floor to the sill (or base of window). Make a note on which windows receive sun and when.

Next you need to make a checklist of the contents of the room. Decide how the room will be used; single or multi purpose. In apartments and smaller houses you will often find you need to use the dining area for the computer or the bedroom as a craft area. Once you have your purpose you are ready to start your shopping list.

• List and measure the things you have that you will keep. If you are doing a floor to ceiling make over, you will need measurements of pieces of furniture, as well as the length and height of walls. If you have a digital camera, better yet. You can put the information into your computer. The pictures don’t have to be perfect, they are just memory jogs.
• List the things that are worn out or won’t work and which you will either eliminate or replace with something else.
• Finally list any purchases that need to be made with descriptions if necessary and sizes.

When you have done all this, look over your notes and take one last look at your rooms to make sure you haven’t missed anything which could cause a major problem.

Now for some fun! Go through decorating magazines and books. Perhaps you have saved some pictures of rooms you love. Take a fresh look at them. Perhaps there are things in these pictures which can be used to get the look you want. Or perhaps you’ll see a room that reminds you of the ones you have. Go to furniture showrooms and shops that sell soft furnishings and see what is out there. If you are interested in antiques, check out the antique shops and used furniture/consignment places.

You’ve done the preliminary work so you are ready to go to the next step. Remember that nothing is etched in stone. If you decide on a color scheme and on your first shopping trip fall in love with something that doesn’t match, take a deep breath and reconsider. You can always adjust the plan. However, once the first major purchase is made color changes are expensive.

Part II of this series will help you chose a color palette which will work well for your living space, lifestyle and personal taste.

Contributions for this article provided by ON THE GO 4 U design consultant, Suzanne Copenhaver.

Indra A Books, author of this and many other lifestyle articles, is the owner and founder of ON THE GO 4 U, Personal Shoppers & Concierge Service in the Washington DC metropolitan area.In addition to its shopping and concierge services, ON THE GO 4 U also publishes a monthly e-zine and conducts workshops on wardrobe, entertaining and decorating. For more information about the author and ON THE GO 4 U, please visit http://www.onthego4u.net

© 2005 Indra A Books for ON THE GO 4 U

We would all like cheaper electricity and gas bills. Most of us
shop around for the provider with the lowest electricity, gas or
oil prices and leave it at that, but there are other ways to
warm your house. Not only could you save money in the long term
by reducing your household fuel bills, but you can also do so in
a more environmentally friendly way and, in today’s world of
global warming which produces extreme weather conditions, that
is a major factor for many people.

Solar heating can reduce your electricity bills no matter where
you live. Obviously, where you live will determine how much
sunshine you will get in an average day, but even on a cloudy
day with the sun low on the horizon you can still benefit. If
you live in a warm climate and don’t need heating for much of
the year, you still may wish to heat the swimming pool.

What Equipment Do I Need?

A typical system uses collectors, also called heating panels.
These are generally mounted on a south facing roof which should
ideally be pitched at an angel of between 30 and 60 degrees. If
your roof isn’t pitched, the panels can be mounted at an angel.
The size of the panels will depend on the size of the household
and your local climate. As a general rule, you’ll need 2.75
sq.m. to heat water for two people, or 4.12 sq.m. for a family
of three or four people.

There are two types of panels and the right one for you will
depend on your local climate.

- Flat Plate Collectors - a simple flat plate of specially
coated black metal covered by glass or plastic. Water passes
through pipes that are solered to the plate and the warmed water
is then fed to your boiler.

- Evacuated tubes - which are fitted into insulated steel
casings. These are more suited to cooler, cloudier climates. By
reducing the heat loss, the water temperature can reach 60F/15C
so it may not require further heating. Evacuated tubes are more
expensive than flat plate collectors.

Can I Install A System Myself?

It is possible to install a system yourself if you are reaonably
good at DIY. Either find a parts supplier who will also do the
design for you, or join a solar club - non-profit making groups
who run one-day courses designed to make solar heating cheaper
and easier to install.

How Much Money Will I Save?

Impossible to quantify as it will depend on your local climate,
house insulation, heating system, and the type of panels you
install. But if you want lower electricity and heating bills,
and wish to help the environment by burning less fossil fuel,
solar heating is well worth investigating.

Some call it a disaster in a tube, it congers up images of
sticky fingers and uncontrollable globs of goo oozing out of a
tube and onto the top of your shoes. of course I am describing
that homeowner nemesis…Caulking.

It doesn’t have to be that way, in fact just by avoiding a few
common caulking mistakes you can caulk like a pro.

First, buy the right caulk for the job.There are a lot of
different brands of caulk on the market but there are only a few
types available for residential use, so let’s keep it simple.

100% silicone- solvent base, not paintable, available in stock
colors and clear, difficult to use.

100% silicone- waterborne, paintable, available in stock colors
and clear, easy to use.

Acrylic/Latex- water based, paintable, available in a few
colors, easy to use.

Acrylic/Latex Siliconized- water based, available in a few
colors, easy to use.

Now let’s determine which caulk to use for the job at hand.

If you are planning to caulk your woodwork (interior or
exterior) before painting use a general purpose White Acrylic
latex caulk (siliconized or not). If you intend to caulk the
Counter Top or the Bathtub Surround use a 100% silicone, I
recommend the waterborne (paintable) type for it’s ease of use.
You can choose a color that closely matches you Counter Top or
opt for the clear variety.

Ok, so we got the right stuff, how do we use it without making
a mess. Buy a good caulking gun, look for the type with an
auto-release feature that prevents unintended ooze from the
caulking tube’s tip. Cut a small hole the size of a coat hanger
wire ( diameter) at the tip at about a 45 degree angle. A common
mistake is to cut the hole too large and straight across. Remove
as much of the old caulk as possible from the work surface.Wet
and wring out a cotton rag leaving it damp. Start caulking in a
corner keeping an even pressure on the gun’s trigger while
pulling the tip along the work surface in a smooth stroke.
Smooth out the caulk with the damp rag wrapped around your index
finger,be careful not to remove too much caulk. keep the rag
rinsed out and wipe off the tip of the tube between pulls. Keep
the application light, if the caulking shrinks or sinks into the
cracks simply apply another bead after the first has dried.

That’s it, with a little practice you will be caulking like a
pro.

American’s love rebates. Whether rebates are offered on computers, software, cars or whatever, we snatch them up. If your considering going solar, you’ll be happy to hear rebates are available.

Solar Rebates

As most people know, a rebate is a give back by a company in exchange for the purchase of their product. Rebates usually come in the form of money if you send in a coupon, but can also come in the form of upgrades and add-ons.

The solar technology industry is so thick with rebate programs it is hard to see the forest for the trees. You can expect to find rebates being issued by the manufacturer of a product, the federal government, your state government and possibly even your country and town or city. In many locations, the local utility company may also give you a rebate on your bill for going solar. No other source or product line has as many rebates as the solar industry. Why? Because solar represents one of the cleanest and cheapest energy sources in our country. The powers that be want to promote it for monetary and environmental reasons, not to mention providing some relief to our overtaxed national electric grid system.

Buy down rebates are the most voluminous in the solar industry. With a buy down, a government agency will pay for a percentage of the solar platform you purchase. The specific amount of the buy down depends on factors such as what the platform is used for and the amount of electricity it produces. Trust me, your local solar vendor will be able to tell you in detail about the rebate since it is a good sales technique.

When investigating rebates for your solar purchase, it is important that you don’t stop at the first program. If a state has one rebate program, it will often have as many as eight others. You can often qualify for three of four, which can cut your initial costs by as much as fifty percent.

Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com, a directory of solar energy companies. Visit us to read more articles on solar power and renewable energy.

When seeking a wonderful and affordable product to compliment
your home you definitely have to check out window blinds.
Vertical blinds are particularly helpful in the summer months if
you wish to keep your home cool from that heat. Wood, Faux Wood,
Mini & Vertical Window Blinds. Pleated, Cellular, & Roller
Window Shades are all excellent suggestions if you are in the
market for this. Mini blinds can provide a nice elegant and
custom look. The creativeness is entirely up to you.

Some of the more popular brands in mini blinds includes Hunter
Douglas, Levolor, Duette, Bali, Kirsch, Graber, Crystal Pleat,
Louver Drape, Comfortex and more all at your easy disposal. You
can find your ideal set of vertical blinds to match your
interior trim or mouldings. Sizes , styles and suggestion is
what we are about. Today more than ever consumers are making
their homes look very impressive. Families love vertical blinds
for their practicality. They block light effectively, are
amazingly durable and insulate well against heat and cold.
They’re ideal for sliding doors where large expanses of glass
can otherwise reduce your home’s energy efficiency. Vertical
blinds are a good choice where high traffic, children and pets
can take their toll. They come in so many styles, colors and
textures there is no compromising of design for practicality. We
realize just how many uses that they have.

Roller Shades can add a beautiful touch to any room, and are
easy to operate. They can block the sun from your furniture, or
darken your room to ensure you a pleasant and peaceful slumber.
You can definitely find some amazing styles, colors and
selection to choose from. Cellular shades are one of the most
popular window treatments because of their numerous features.
The unique cellular construction provides excellent insulation
and sound absorption and they are very durable yet extremely
soft to the touch. Venetian blinds are definitely an excellent
choice for a decorative window covering.