Category: HOME

5 Ways to Save on Your Heating Bill This Winter

By Nancy Ngo Fro Star Tribune (Minneapolis) Home heating costs are expected to be at their highest in more than a decade. As temperatures continue to dip in the weeks ahead, heating bills are predicted to be at their highest in more than a decade. According to a U.S. Energy Information Association (EIA) report, households…


What Are Some Holiday Cleanup Jobs?

By Brigitta Shannon Rose From Ask Angi Before long, you’ll have eaten the food, unwrapped the gifts, given thanks, and sent the family and friends on their way home. When the busy season ends, it’s time to look around, take a deep breath, and return the house to its pre-holiday arrangement. Here are six pros…


How to Decorate With Confidence, According to an Interior Design Pro

By Hunter Boyce From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution As the housing market continues to take a hit from rising mortgage rates, many homeowners are taking down their “for sale” signs and rethinking how they can beef up their home values. Meanwhile, the holiday season is here — meaning many more homeowners are making preparations for hosting…


How to Make Sure That Your Christmas Tree Isn’t a Fire Hazard

By Abraham Gutman From The Philadelphia Inquirer Fresh-cut Christmas tress can make the entire house smell festive, but they also pose a fire risk if not handled properly. Philadelphians don’t need to look far in the city’s past to be reminded of the quick and horrific damage that a Christmas tree on fire can cause….


Scam Busters: Essential Info to Avoid Falling Prey to Thieves

There are far too many people around the world creating clever ways to separate you from your money. In most of these scenarios, the old saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t,” rings true. Many scams rely on the victim either being overly trusting or greedy, which makes healthy skepticism…


Plant a Christmas Tree

A living Christmas tree is one that’s balled or burlapped and ready for planting. It’s a tree you can decorate and display for the holidays and then plant and watch it grow for years to come as part of your landscape. The challenge is timing and keeping the tree alive long enough before being moved…


Remodeling and New Home Hacks

Just a half-mile from my home a new house is being built. I’ve yet to meet the new owners but I’ve been able to closely monitor the progress. The aroma of sawdust still invigorates me, and I must say I do miss wearing my tool belt rig all day long while building a new house….


Cleaning and Restoring Tile and Slate Floors

Recently, I wrote a column about how to get ceramic tile grout clean. I received quite a few thank-you notes via the “Ask Tim” page at AsktheBuilder.com. It’s always gratifying to hear from you that I helped you save time and money. Pam, who hails from Kenosha, Wisconsin, reached out to me after reading that…


Gifts of Christmas Past: Buy Secondhand to Give Your Loved Ones the Gift of Nostalgia and Imagination

Christmas is a period for celebrating our relationships with family and friends—a time filled with nostalgia and sentimentality. Of course, for many people, it’s also a time of conspicuous consumption, even if this year in the face of a cost-of-living crisis, spending is expected to fall. But in times of uncertainty and anxiety for the…


The Ideal Sydney Family Home

Sitting on a 1/3-acre parcel in one of Sydney’s most prestigious neighborhoods, this charming private residence is essentially a small, private resort designed for the comfort and pleasure of its owners and their guests. Located in the affluent, desirable Vaucluse suburb, it allows easy access to Sydney’s business, entertainment, shopping, and dining districts. The living…