South Eastern Connecticut Landscaping

I’ve been doing home improvement projects for years. I’ve noticed they tend to come in spurts where the mood takes me, and suddenly, I am an improvement and repair machine. At the same time, there are weeks or even months where the thought of starting a project just sounds like a nightmare.

We all have our home improvement moods, but sometimes a repair comes up that we have to do right away. If we aren’t in the right mood, then the repair can take twice as long and you will be more likely to make mistakes. Here are few ways to kick start that home improvement vibe.

1. Watch some home improvement shows: I know this the age of the Internet and you can watch a thousand videos on how to grout your tile on YouTube, but in my experience, there is nothing to compare with watching true professionals working on a project. The shows are fun and informative and can help get your mind flowing about home improvement. The funnier and crazier the better in my opinion. I am not watching them to learn, I am watching to be inspired.

2. Make a game of it: I know that sounds like a cop-out answer, but believe me it actually works. The games don’t have to be elaborate or require index cards and pewter game pieces. A simple timing game can make the project go faster. Give your self a task and set a time for it to be done. If you win, then take a break for 10 minutes. If not, then set a new goal and play again. There really isn’t a loser with this.

3. Invite some friends: Being surrounded by likeminded people on a job will help you ease into that home improvement mindset and the job will be done twice as fast. You can sit and talk about sports, other projects and how much you both need a night out after a job like this. Follow the job up with a good meal and they will beg to come back again.

4. Start small: One of the best ways to get your mojo flowing is with a little success. Do a quick project that won’t take long and you know you can do. The satisfaction of doing that one job will encourage you to go for the big job that you need to do. Imagine the feeling once the big job is completed.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t feel like doing home improvement and repairs all the time. Your human and we have moods. The key is to be able to tap into that mood when we need it.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/djlicious/1342653661/

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I grew up in the sticks. I don’t mean the hillbilly mountains where I ran moonshine for Mom and Dad, but out in the country away from the cities, towns and anything else that resembled human life. Once I left for college, I vowed never to live in such a small community, but now that I am older, I am craving the solitude and wholesomeness that it provided.

When you are starting out or thinking about a family, where you live becomes as important as the kind of home or apartment you live in. There are basically three types of areas to choose from: country, city and what I like to call in-between. Each ones has advantages and disadvantages, and you must decide what is most important to you.

City

By city, I am talking about major metropolitan areas and the suburbs surrounding them. The places where people own apartments and the suburbs are so close together that you can go from one to the other and back again without ever even knowing it.

City life has excitement and is fast paced. It provides opportunities that the other sites can’t even begin to dream about. This is why many young people start off by going to the big city to make their fortune. You have private schools, specialized schools, nightlife, culture and so much more that you will not find anywhere else.

It’s also expensive as can be. You will make more money in the city, but you will also pay more for food, rent, taxes and everything else. I remember going to Chicago as a kid and standing at the train station, mesmerized by the idea of paying $1 for a can of Pepsi. The city also has increased crime, and if you aren’t making the big bucks, then you could end up in a less than desirable place.

Country

Ahh, the boonies. The land of forests and cornfields for as far as the eye can see. You can look out your window and see deer frolicking in your back yard and wave to Farmer John when he goes to the fields early in the morning. It’s the simple life.

County living gives you peace, solitude and precious space. Where the city has building butting up against each other and lawns the size of matchbooks, you can go miles without seeing anyone in the country. The life is slow paced and perfect for people that like to stop and smell the roses.

Then it snows, and suddenly you are 10 miles from the nearest person and can’t leave your home for a week. A trip to the grocery store takes 15 minutes, and God forbid you have a heart attack, because it’s going to take the paramedics about 15 minutes or more to get to you. Schools are small and children get more attention, but they also lack the opportunities of larger metropolitan schools.

In-Between

This is were I currently live. It’s about 1.5 to 2 hours from the big city, but there are still plenty of cornfields to be seen. You can order pizza for delivery and head out to a restaurant at 3 a.m. after the bars close.

Town living is a mix of city and country. You are close enough to the city for weekend outings and special trips, but you don’t have to worry about the crowdedness and crime… too much. There are still drugs and the occasional break-in, but people aren’t getting shanked in your backyard.

You have to real identity here. City folk consider you country bumpkins, and county folk consider you city slickers. It lacks the extremes of the other two, and hovers in a happy medium.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/der_bauer/3770135871

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Many people think that childproofing a home means just putting locks on the cabinets and putting a little foam on table corners. As the children grow, the standard treatments don’t always work, and it may require a little home remodeling.

As children grow, they start getting stronger and smarter, to the point where they can either unlatch the locks or simply rip them from the cabinets. It’s then that you have to come up with alternative means to keep them out, and that may mean a trip the hardware store.

Padlocks: Plastic locks on cabinets just weren’t working any more. My children were able to pull on them hard enough to loosen it and get inside the cabinets. It’s not that big of a deal if they get into the pantry for some cookies, but if they get into the cleaning supplies of silverware drawer, then it can be serious. I went to the local hardware store and purchased a large metal lock that can only be opened with a combination and placed it on both the silverware and cleaning drawer. It’s a bit more of a hassle for us, but it’s worth it if I don’t have to rush to the emergency room.

Super glue: Our refrigerator has been the target of heinous crimes by our children. We have lost gallons of milk and dozens of eggs, and we finally got around to putting on a fridge lock. It was fine for a while, but the adhesive wasn’t the greatest, and my children ripped it off. Yeah, I know. I have superhuman children. They get it from their dad. I bought some superglue and glued them to the fridge. They aren’t going anywhere. Ever. Make sure to stay near the locks until they are completely dry, so children don’t get their fingers in the glue.

Homemade coverings: There are several plug-ins at our house that we don’t use. We simply don’t have that many electronics, so we have lots of those plastic plug-in covers. My middle child now has the ability to pull out the plastic plugs, and I have had to resort to homemade covers. It’s a rather simple contraption of small pieces of wood that I have nailed together that completely covered the entire socket. I then screwed the entire apparatus to the wall. It’s not the prettiest site, but I don’t have to worry about my children being electrocuted.

When it comes to children, safety is one of the most important duties of being a parent. They are natural explorers, and when the store-bought locks aren’t working, then it’s time to get creative. Do whatever it takes to make sure your children stay out of trouble. Please share some of the ways you have adapted childproofing techniques.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/exalthim/2398118452

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Growing up in a small town, I was always under the impression that people just went from living with their parents to buying a house. I assumed people just gave you money when you wanted a home and you moved in. Easy as pie.

I was wrong. Dead wrong. Today’s home prices may be in a decline, but that doesn’t mean you can afford your dream home right out of high school or college. Odds are that you are going to need to rent something for a while, at least until you can save up for that house or find an area that you want to settle down in. Here is a quick reference on the types of rental units available.

Converted Apartments: This was my first apartment, and it is my favorite type of apartment rental. These are large homes, usually older, that have been remodeled so that instead of one big home you have two or three mid-sized apartments. The nice thing is that there aren’t that many people living with you, but landlords looking for a quick buck may put up some shoddy construction to make the apartments.

Apartment Building: When people think of apartment renting, this is usually what they think about. An apartment building is simply a large building specifically made for apartment living. Depending on the area, the buildings can have fewer than a dozen apartments or up in the hundreds. The apartments can be inexpensive and run down, or very expensive and luxurious, such as in cities like New York and Los Angeles. The problem with apartment living is that you can have hundreds of people living around you and have no control. The upstairs neighbors could fight 24-7, the downstairs neighbors could play their radio way too loud, and the neighbors on each side could be annoyingly loud love-makers. Out of your hands.

Duplex: This is a mix of a house and an apartment. It consists of two units, usually side-by-side, that are completely distinct and separate from each other. They can be converted homes or built with the duplex in mind. Converted duplexes tend to have thin walls, but many constructed duplexes have special soundproofing, so there is a complete separation between the two parties. Constructed duplexes tend to me more expensive than standard apartments because of their newer construction and amenities.

House: If you hate having close neighbors or want plenty of room to grow, then renting a house is perfect. Like apartment buildings, rented homes run the gambit on expense and quality. With the housing decline, many people are renting out homes instead of selling them, but that could be a double-edged sword for the renter. There are plenty of choices out there, but if the market improves, then the owner may try and sell it out from under you. There is nothing worse than spending several years in a rented home and then having your landlord say to be out in 30 days. “I just sold it,” they’ll say. In fact, this should be a topic that you discuss prior to signing the lease.

For more tips on what to look for in renting, the home-improvementblog.com has a great article.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/turkeychik/2468996425