Author: oi_admin

Savvy Storage for the Smaller Home

Pillar To Post blog post

Many homebuyers may hesitate to consider a smaller home that lacks sufficient storage space. While this often means getting rid of—or acquiring fewer—belongings, there is still a need for accessible, efficient storage throughout the home. Short of adding or constructing areas specifically for storage, there are ways to coax more usability out of existing space. Read more on RISMedia.com.

Pillar To Post Newsletter March 2016

Pillar To Post blog post

 

Pillar To Post welcomes your comments and concerns. You can contact us: Click Here
 

 

Is your power of mind really so great that you can condition it to achieve anything you want, such as gaining more profits and finding your desired relationship? What exactly are mind power secrets and is there any way that you can unlock these secrets to help attain success.

Over the years, there have been numerous studies done to prove the power of our minds and the results have been positive. If you have yet to discover the keys to these secrets, this article may be a life-changing experience for you!

The Potentials of Your Power of Mind.
Expert’s studies have discovered that there are actually a lot of untapped potentials in the power of the mind. When you are able to tap into these untouched potentials, the economic, social and personal achievements you can gain are immeasurable.

Unlocking Your Power of Mind.
Get a professional to guide you through the whole process.
Purchase and activate a basic power of mind resource or book. It will serve to unlock the powers of your mind.

What are some of these basic mind power principles?

1. Practice Makes Perfect.
The more positive mind exercises you do by meditating and reflecting upon your positive potentials, goals and dreams, the better life you will create.

Take a few moments each day to just think positive thoughts. Thoughts of what you hope to achieve in life. Over time, you will find your negative thoughts and energies will disappear and be replaced with the positive thoughts.

2. Positive Thinking.
You will need to ensure that both your conscious and subconscious minds are positive in believing that you really can achieve your dreams. So, starting from now, start visualizing in your mind your dream life and positively believe you can achieve it. Eliminate all negative thoughts as soon as they creep into your mind.

3. Healthy Physical Self.
Although you only need to use your mental self when you are using your mind power, you must still have a healthy body in order to achieve success. If you are too sickly, your mental self will be affected by the pain and sufferings. Thus, learn to relax and heal your physical self. Once you have done that, your mental power will be strengthened.

The only person who can unlock the potentials to your power of mind is yourself.
If you want to get out of debt and skyrocket your life and business profits, you can do so once you have successfully unlocked your mind powers.

Apply the steps mentioned above and venture on your way to attaining the success in life you were meant to have.

Mak Stella
www.powerofmindtips.com

 

With the cost and hassle of replacing central heat, a lot of people are investing in space heaters.

Whole-Room vs. Personal Heater:
Select the Right One.

An electric space heater that is too large for an area will consume lots of energy and lead to higher utility bills. Buying a portable heater rated for a small space and expecting it to cover a large area will make it work harder to heat the space.

Tip-Over Protection
A heater with a tip-over or tilt-over switch will automatically shut off if tipped over for any reason.

Pick the Right Place
Install at least 3 feet away from furniture, window treatments, bedding, clothing, rugs, and other combustibles.

Directly Plug into an Outlet
Sufficient power capacity is required. An extension cord increases the chance of overheating.

Regularly Inspect and Maintain Your Purchase
Frequently clean and maintain the heater to ensure safety. Wipe down the heater to reduce the amount of dust and allergens that may be dispersed.

Shut Off and Unplug
When leaving an area, disconnect the portable space heater or buy one with an automatic programmable timer.

Keep Heaters Away From Water
Refrain from running a heater in a bathroom or a humid basement. Moreover, do not touch the heater if you are wet or have wet hands, as this increases the risk of electrical shock.

 

The relaxing experience one gets at a quality hotel or resort is designed right into the rooms to make a stay as rewarding as possible. For those who like the feeling of being in a five-star hotel room and would like to re-create that experience in their own homes, here are a few simple tips.

Your bedroom is the room in your house you spend the most time in every day. You’ll love having a peaceful oasis to retreat to at the end of the day and wake up to each morning.

Bedrooms should not multitask. Banish all furniture beside the bed, a chair, nightstands and a dresser. No exercise equipment, desks, computers, sewing tables, etc.

Insulate for sound. Fabric or paper wall coverings and carpets help. Double-paned or triple-paned glass windows will minimize outside sounds.

Control the lighting for sleep and romance. Dimmable lamps create a warm, romantic environment. Layered window treatments give you options for both privacy and light.

Reduce clutter and make your bed every day. Seeing the tops of the nightstands and dressers makes the bedroom feel clean, and a well-made bed looks luxurious and inviting.

Give yourself some luxurious touches. Place a special robe or pair of cozy slippers at your bedside.

 

These quick tips from the National Safety Council are geared to keep you safe in and around your bathroom.

1. Use non-slip bathmats or appliques in the shower.

 

2. Prevent trips by purchasing an adhesive, non-slip rug mat.

3. Make the entrance to the shower or bathtub easily accessible with a bath step or a walk-in tub.

4. Install grab bars by the toilet to assist in safely getting up and down.

5. Plug in nightlights in and around the bathroom.

6. Switch to liquid soap or soap-on-a-rope to avoid reaching and bending over.

7. Add a hand-held shower nozzle.

8. Make sure the shower door swings outward in case of a fall.

 

Residential electric heating systems are clean, nearly one-hundred percent efficient, and easy to maintain. Fossil fuel would be cheaper and more efficient to burn directly in your home. Except for one mitigating factor: delivery of the fossil fuel to the home comes at a cost. In remote areas where the delivery costs of fossil fuel are high, electric heat may be a less expensive option.

Heat pumps
An electric heat pump collects heat from outside and moves it inside. When you heat your house with electricity, you convert one unit of electrical energy into one unit of heat energy. With a heat pump, you might then use one unit of electrical energy to collect two units of heat energy, giving you one-hundred percent more heat than you paid for!

Electric Furnace
An electric furnace is a simple and relatively trouble-free system. It has no heat exchanger, no gas valve, no igniters and no chimney. It simply has an electric resistance coil placed directly in the air stream. A blower moves air through the furnace and circulates the warmed air throughout the house.

Electric Baseboard Heaters
Electric baseboard heaters provide heat exactly where you need it, as you need it. Baseboards allow you to set back the thermostats in the rooms you are not inhabiting, saving a significant amount of energy. Unfortunately, you cannot easily add an air conditioner to this system.

Electric Hot Water Boiler
An electric hot water boiler uses electric elements to heat water. The heated water is pumped into radiators or convectors throughout the house.

Electric Radiant Heat
Under-floor electric radiant heat is popular in bathrooms and kitchens, usually added as accent heating rather than as the primary source of heat.

Electric Thermal Storage
This system heats a thermal mass, such as blocks of ceramic, located inside the home heating unit. During peak hours when electricity is most expensive, the electric heat shuts off but heat continues to ooze out of the ceramic, thus heating the home.

 

A signature represents how people want to be seen by the world and how they feel others perceive them.

Use handwriting to clue into anyone’s true personality.
If the person writes their name . . .

Large: They are confident.

Straight up and down: They are cool, calm and collected.

Slanted to the left: They are shy.

Small and concise: They are humble.

Illegibly: They are guarded.

With a line at the end: They are worried about the future.

Slanted to the right: They are extroverted.

With a line underneath: They are dependable.

 

Make these minor changes to save energy and money.

Add weather stripping to doors and windows.

Wrap your electric hot water heater with a blanket.

Properly setting your programmable thermostat may reduce heating and cooling costs by at least 10%.

A clean furnace filter will help your heating system work better, use less energy and last longer.

A heavy duty outdoor timer will automatically turn your seasonal lights on and off.

 

Low capital & installation costs Electric heating is very easy to install, ensuring installation costs are kept to a minimum. It doesn’t require any pipe-work, simply a connection to the electrical circuits.

 

Low Life Ownership Costs The true cost to consider is the lifetime costs of the system, which not only take into account the fuel used, but the hidden maintenance costs - both monetary and time - over its lifetime.

Flexible & Versatile No flue or pipe-work, so there are no restrictions on building layout and no regulatory or planning issues associated with positioning of flues to restrict you.

No maintenance and no annual inspection With virtually no moving parts to break down or wear out, electric heating is extremely reliable and there is practically nothing to go wrong.

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE PDF

Share This Month's ePostNotes Issue:

 

 

(800) 294-5591
pillartopost.com


More Pillar To Post
INFO

Copyright Pillar To Post ® 2016
If you would like to use any of this content for your own use, please contact marketing@pillartopost.com

 

 

Pillar To Post Newsletter January 2016

Pillar To Post blog post

Pillar To Post welcomes your comments and concerns. You can contact us: Click Here
 

We’re several days into the New Year, and many of us are still basking in the glow of a fresh start. Every year, January brings renewed optimism for change, for a better life, for a better you, and that’s a wonderful thing.

It’s wonderful, because this fresh start gives us a chance to reinvent our lives and ourselves. It allows us to reinvigorate ourselves, to shed the baggage of the previous year and now anything is possible!

That is a gift, my friends, and I suggest we make the most of this gift. Not just by creating and sticking to resolutions but by reinventing the way we live.
Here’s how:

  1. Let go.
    Many times we are held back by the tangled web of previous failures, commitments, emotions, barriers. We cannot change careers because we’re used to what we’re doing and it’s too hard to change. We cannot find time to get healthy and fit because we have all these other things to do. We cannot find time for our loved ones because we have too many commitments. A fresh start demands a clean slate. Let everything from the past go. Clear your plate and have a fresh start. Let go of last year - start anew.
  2. Decide what matters most today.
    Forget about your goals for all of this year. Instead, decide: what do you want to do today? Often the answer is in creating something new or helping other people. Whatever your answer, have it clear in your mind at the beginning of each day.
  3. Clear away distractions and focus. Clear away email, Facebook, Twitter and your favorite blogs, news websites and social forums, clear away the iPhone or Blackberry or Android or cell phone; clear away all the little nagging work and chores and errands that pull at your attention; clear away the clutter that surrounds you (sweep it off to the side to deal with later) Now, find focus. Even if only for 15 or 20 minutes at first, but preferably for 30-60 minutes. You can take a break and check your email or whatever after you have found focus.
  4. Find happiness now. Don’t look at happiness as something that will come someday. When you push it back until later, it’ll never come. When you learn to be happy now, it’ll always be here. When you’re doing whatever you’re passionate about, whatever you decide is worthy of your time and heart and focus … be happy!
  5. Reinvent yourself, every day. Every day, you are reborn. Reinvent yourself and your life, every day. Do what matters most to you, that day. Here’s to a fresh start every single day - not just on January 1.

And that, my friends, is the best thing ever.

Leo Babauta

 

In attempting to conserve energy and reduce heating costs, we can sometimes make our homes too air tight. In fact, for a house to be healthy, it needs to “breathe”. It needs to expel moisture and other gases from inside and take in a constant supply of fresh air from outside.

When a fuel-burning appliance in your home does not get enough fresh air and fails to completely burn its fuel, carbon monoxide is produced.
If ventilation is damaged or blocked or if you have a powerful kitchen fan, bathroom fan or open hearth fireplace, then carbon monoxide can be drawn back inside the house.

Exhaust fans can compound the problem. Be mindful that the air you exhaust from your home has to be replaced. Powerful exhaust fans in bathrooms, kitchens or open hearth wood-burning fireplaces can actually create a negative pressure inside your home, resulting in a backdraft which will draw exhaust fumes from your furnace, hot water heater or other appliances back into the house.

How can you tell if your home is too air tight?

  • The air inside your home is usually stuffy or stale.
  • Excessive condensation is dripping down your windows.
  • The pilot light on your appliance goes out.
  • A gas flame burns yellow instead of blue (except for natural gas fireplaces).
  • The smell of exhaust gases is present in your home; although you cannot smell carbon monoxide, other exhaust gases do have an odor.

If you notice any of these signs, contact an expert to check your home and correct the problem.

 

Hoping for a raise? Trying to tame tension at home? Looking for a health boost? Feng shui can help cure what’s ailing you.

If you would like to sell your home quickly, hang a metal wind chime outside your front door to fill your entryway with a welcoming melody. Surrounding the entrance with rocks will also help deflect negative energy.

If you are under the weather, place symbols of the sun and earth - the elements of feng shui for health and well-being - in the center of the rooms you spend most of your time in. Try pretty stones, seashells or a colorful bowl of fresh fruits and vegetables.

If you are not getting along with your neighbors, add window boxes filled with colorful blooms or flowering shrubs on the side of your house that faces theirs. It will help cut tension and encourage harmony.

If you would like to solve a family dilemma, try adding apple-green accents to your family or living room. A healing color, green encourages growth and strengthens family ties.

If you are hoping to get ahead at work, add plants to the corners of your desk or work space to clear any negative energy that could be blocking your success.

 

Electric space heaters are a handy way to add a little extra warmth to one corner of your home without turning up the furnace. Improper use of space heaters is one of the leading causes of fires and carbon monoxide exposure in homes and cottages. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and these safety tips to stay safe and warm.

 

  • Never use an electrical space heater in a wet area or any area that can be exposed to water.
  • Make sure extension cords used are the right size and gauge to carry the electrical load.
  • Never use space heaters to dry flammable items such as clothing or blankets
  • Keep all flammable objects at least three feet away from space heaters.
  • Supervise children and pets at all times when a portable space heater is in use.

Never use fuel-burning portable space heaters (such as propane or kerosene) in any enclosed space, as it may lead to deadly carbon monoxide exposure.

 

A high relative humidity in your home encourages mold growth and dust mites, can make your house smell musty, and can potentially damage your home and your possessions. In simplest terms, “relative humidity” refers to the amount of dampness in the air.

Whole House High Humidity

  • Lack of ventilation – newer homes are “tight,” meaning well-sealed, restricting ventilation. Without fresh air circulation, humidity builds up inside your home.
  • Oversized central air conditioner – central air conditioning is an excellent dehumidifier. An oversized central air conditioner, however, has on-cycles that are too short to effectively remove humidity. Also, the cold air may actually increase the relative humidity, making your home colder and clammy.

Localized High Humidity

  • Overcooling – if an area, such as a basement, gets too much cold air supply, you may create condensation and a high humidity problem. Adjusting the supply registers prior to the cooling season may help.
  • Clothes dryer discharging into house – clothes dryers should discharge to the exterior.
  • Bathroom fans – showers and baths add a great deal of moisture. Install an exhaust fan.
  • Basement dampness – before you crank on a dehumidifier, find the moisture culprit and reduce or eliminate it at its source.
  • Dehumidifier A dehumidifier may be your only way to control moisture in a damp area. A dehumidifier removes moisture from the air and drains the liquid into a reservoir or drain. It is designed to work in an environment of 65 degrees F (18 C) or higher.

Buy a dehumidifier sized appropriately to the space. An undersized unit will not achieve desired humidity levels. But be aware that dehumidifiers use the same amount of energy as a small window air conditioner; that is, quite a bit.

 

Tailoring your organizing strategy to your lifestyle and personality is the easiest way to get rid of clutter long-term.

Overwhelmed? Busy people find clutter accumulates without even realizing it. Instead of tackling the whole thing at once, plan to tackle one hotspot per week.

Worrier? You worry about throwing things away in case you might need them or never feel you have enough. Box unused items. Date the box to discard if not used in six months!.

Sentimentalist? You find it hard to let go of clutter that tugs at your heart. Start a scrapbook. Take photos of sentimental items, then place in a scrapbook and let them go. Then discard or donate.

 

  1. Pick up dust fast. Attach a dryer sheet to a sponge mop and push around the floor; dirt and dust will disappear on the double.
  2. Use a “safe” scrubber. Dampen old pantyhose with a paste of baking soda and water. Use it to lightly rub away marks and stains without leaving a scratch.
  3. Lift gunk and grime naturally. Add a half cup white vinegar to a bucket of water and mop the ceramic tile floor.
  4. Clean stained grout with cola. Pour cola onto the discolored grout and let sit for 10 minutes. Wipe with a damp sponge to lift the grease and dirt without scrubbing.
  5. Easily rub out scruff marks. Cut a slit in a tennis ball, place it on the handle of a broom and use it to erase floor marks with ease.

 

You can measure humidity levels with an inexpensive device that is called a hygrometer, easily obtained at any hardware store. Take a measurement in a few areas to see if the problem is localized, or if the house is humid throughout.

A humidity level of 50% is normal for the summer. In the winter, the ideal indoor humidity depends on the outdoor air temperature and may be 30% or less on colder days.

Too much or too little humidity can create a variety of problems for your family and home.

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE PDF

(800) 294-5591
pillartopost.com

More Pillar To Post INFO

Copyright Pillar To Post ® 2016
If you would like to use any of this content for your own use, please contact marketing@pillartopost.com