Category: HOME

Calculating the True Cost and Other Reader Tips

Have you ever figured how many hours you’ll have to work to pay for the new car of your dreams or fancy restaurant meal? Perhaps you should, suggests one of my readers who starts out today’s batch of clever reader tips: Curb The Urge My husband and I have finally found a way to curb…


World’s Only Nonuplets, 5 Girls and 4 Boys, Finally Head Home at 19 Months Old

The world’s only known surviving nonuplets, five girls and four boys who were born in Morocco, have finally flown home to Mali in West Africa with their proud parents at 19 months old. Abdelkader Arby and Halima Cissé traveled home with their nine babies on Dec. 13 after 19 months of expert, round-the-clock care from Ain Borja…


Polar Vortex and Plants

In his book “Following the Equator,” Mark Twain says, “The captain had been telling how, in one of his Arctic voyages, it was so cold that the mate’s shadow froze fast to the deck and had to be ripped loose by main strength. And even then he got only about two-thirds of it back.” Twain…


What Are Some Projects for a Happier Home?

By Brigitta Shannon Rose From Ask Angi Winter is an excellent time for making improvements to your home. Temperatures might be cooler, but contractors’ schedules are lighter. And the season is perfect for making changes to your home that improve your comfort as well as your resale value. Here are six ways to bring more…


8 Must-Know Tips for Caring for Your Houseplants During the Winter

Winter is known as the quiet season in the garden because most outdoor plants aren’t doing much. It’s the same for your indoor garden. Of course, your houseplants don’t have to endure snow and chilly winds whipping across the landscape. Yet, growing conditions in your home do change in several subtle ways during the colder,…


Lighten Up: Cost-Effective Ways to Brighten a Dark Room

Bright rooms with a wealth of natural light have a host of benefits: They’re healthier, happier, will make you more productive, and—best of all—they feel more spacious, making the overall house seem larger. You’ve probably heard the old adage, “A gallon of paint is the most inexpensive way to transform a room”—and it’s true here,…


Apparently, the French Don’t Floss

One of the benefits of getting out of debt and working 90-hour weeks (perhaps I exaggerate but only a little) is having the means to actually take a vacation. And we did — two glorious weeks in Europe. What an amazing experience. And by “amazing” I refer to the $9.50 dental floss. I’m not kidding….


Double-Digit US Home Price Growth Streak Skids to an End

Annual price growth in the increasingly fragile U.S. housing market slid into the single digits in October for the first time in about two years when mortgage rates that month surged above 7 percent and further stifled demand, a pair of closely watched surveys showed on Tuesday. The S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller national home price…


This Betty Serves Pie—and a Whole Lot More—From Her St. Paul Garden

By Nancy Ngo From Star Tribune St. Paul—On a weekend morning in mid-August, customers trickle into a St. Paul driveway for a mini farmers market. The incentive to arrive early is not just to nab the freshest of the fresh produce—it also betters the odds that you’ll walk away with one of Betty’s pies. And,…


Are Home Appraisals Obsolete?

Dear Monty: I am indirectly involved in real estate transactions. I work for a title company. I witness real estate transactions regularly failing for a variety of reasons. Appraisals are one of the leading causes. There should be a better method. Will there be a better process in the future? Monty’s Answer: Your question requires…