Winter-Proofing Your Home

 

Colder temperatures and blustery winds will soon be a part of our daily life as winter ebbs ever closer. It’s important to begin winterizing your home long before the icy temperatures arrive. By taking a little time each weekend, your home will be ready for winter weather without much effort. You can keep more warmth in your home by taking the time to winter-proof your home. 

 

Begin by checking with your local utilities to see if they have any programs to help you save on your winter energy bills. Many utilities have a home heating check-up or can at least recommend steps you can take to ensure your home isn’t wasting energy during the winter months. With proper upkeep and weatherproofing, you can save money this year.

 

One of the easiest things to do to winter-proof your home is to check for leaks around your windows and doors. Light a candle and hold it about six inches from the window or door and move it around slowly. If the candle flickers, you know there’s a leak in that area. By weather stripping or caulking to stop the leaks, you can save up to 15% off your heating bill.

 

After you’ve added weather stripping, there could still be a draft. You can find plastic sheeting kits that will help block drafts, at most home improvement stores and even discount stores. The plastic sheet is stretched over the window and then gone over with a blow dryer. This creates a barrier, which will keep the cold air out.

 

Crawl under the home or in the attic, wherever your ductwork is, to check the seals, as they will wear out over time and with use. Replace any ductwork that is damaged and re-tape any joints, which have come loose. While you’re working around the ductwork, you may also want to ensure there is enough insulation in both areas of your home.

 

Your heating unit or furnace should be checked each year to ensure it is working properly. Have a professional come out unless you’re very familiar with the mechanics of your furnace. Remember to clean or change the filter in your furnace each month during the winter. This will help it run properly and could reduce your heating bill. If your heating system runs on natural gas, you’ll want a professional to check it for gas leaks.

 

Clean out the gutters around your home and inspect the fascia boards. While you’re up along the roof, check the roof for damage and cracks in the chimney if you have one. Make any repairs that are needed to ensure your home is as safe and secure as possible before winter arrives.

 

Winterize your air conditioner, whether it is a window unit or a large whole-house unit. Shut the water off to the air conditioner so you don’t have to worry about it freezing. You’ll also want to cover it with an insulated blanket to keep snow and debris out of it.

 

Insulate pipes, wires, or vents, which lead outdoors. This will help keep cold air outside where it belongs. It would also be helpful to check around your light switches and electrical plugs. If you notice drafts around them, you can put insulation behind the plate to keep the cold air out. 

 

When you winter-proof your home, the time and effort is an investment in your home. Winterizing your home will result in a warmer house even if you set your thermostat a couple of degrees cooler. You’ll also notice a difference in your energy bills during the winter months.

 

Save Money With An Air Filter Whistle

Heating and cooling your home can be a very expensive task. Heating and cooling is a large portion of most energy bill, contributing up to 43% of the total cost. Improving the efficiency of your heating and cooling units will help to reduce your bill. One way to do this is by replacing your air filters regularly. Having an air filter whistle will help ensure you do so on a regular basis.

 

An air filter whistle alerts you when your furnace or air conditioner's filter needs to be exchanged. An air filter whistle is simply two pieces that are placed onto the air filter at the time of installation. A clean filter allows air to pass through. However, a dirty filter will often have dirt and dust stuck inside. This will keep the air filter from working properly. The air will be forced to escape through somewhere so it will go through the whistle, causing it to go off. The whistle will give you a steady signal that it is time to replace the filter.

 

Once you get a new air filter, install the reusable air filter whistle. Installing the whistle onto your new air filter isn’t hard. The simple steps include:

 

1. Locate your HVAC systems filter. There are a number of places it could be located. However, it can usually be found behind a grate in your wall or in the ceiling of your home. If you aren’t sure where it’s located, make sure you check the owner’s manual.

 

2. Once you’ve found it, remove the air filter. To remove, just slide it out of place. Once you’ve taken it out, examine if the air filter needs to be replaced. If it does, be sure to replace it. 

 

3. Install the air filter whistle. You will notice that the air filter whistle comes in two separate pieces. To install, just place the two pieces on opposite sides of each other. Press them together through the filter. Make sure the base of the two pieces is facing the direction of the incoming air and that the second piece is on the opposite side where the air leaves the filter. 

 

4. Place the filter back into the HVAC system. Now that the air filter whistle has been installed, all you have to do is slide the filter back into place. Make sure that when you put it back, the filter is in there properly. If not, the whistle won’t work the way it’s supposed to. 

 

Without the whistle, your heating and air conditioning won’t work properly and will make the lifetime of your system shorter than it should have been. So be sure that you check and replace your air filter regularly. In addition, be sure that when you install the air whistle, that you do it correctly. 

 

You will not only save money in your energy bill, but also in the replacement of your heating and cooling system.

 

Myths and Facts about Operating Your Water Heater

There are many myths surrounding the idea of saving money on your water heater. and more specifically whether or not reducing the water temperature will save you money. Here is a list of common beliefs that also includes additional information about whether there is any truth in the belief.

 

1. It's best if you leave the hot water heater on at all times rather than turning it on and off. 

 

This is a very common myth, but you actually do not need to be heating your water all the time. As long as your tank has a good insulating jacket, your water will remain hot all day. By not having the hot water heater on all day to heat up your water, you are saving energy and money.

 

2. A new water heater will offer you substantial savings. 

 

This is a myth. You do save about $6.00 a month in energy costs when replacing an old heater with a new one, but those savings don’t take into account the overall price of purchasing a new hot water heater.

 

3. Older water heaters do not meet safety standards. 

 

When the heater was installed, it was installed under the guidance of the regulations then. If you’re worried about it not covering the current safety standards, get it checked out.

 

4. Older water heaters lead to dirty water. 

 

This is a myth. Water heaters are designed to withstand any build-up. If you notice a rusty color to your water, or if it takes longer than usual to heat up water, get it checked out. 

 

5. Insulate your water heater. 

 

This is something you need to do. Instead of having it run all day so that you’ll have a nice hot bath, leave it on for an hour or so. Turn it off and the insulation in your water heater will keep the water hot. By insulating your water heater, it will also lead to a shorter waiting time for your hot water to come through your faucet. 

 

6. Turn down your water heater. 

 

This is true. This is a very quick and energy efficient way to save money. You can get away with turning down the heater to only about 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Some people worry about the bacteria due to not having hotter water, but just make sure you use soap when washing the dishes and you’ll kill any leftover bacteria. There wouldn’t have been any difference anyway, unless you soak all your dishes in hot water beforehand. 

 

It’s important to sort through all of these myths and misconceptions before going through with some of them. Sometimes the things that are said to save you money will actually cost you more money than you wanted to spend, or just won’t save you any money at all. 

 

Knowing the myths and facts about your water heater, will help you save money. There might be no need to replace an older water heater as long as it’s working properly.

 

Ideas for Reducing Attic Heat

Attics get very warm in the summertime. So what’s the best way to beat that heat? Many companies want you to believe that there is only one solution to fixing the temperature in your attic. However, no one product will necessarily make your home more energy efficient. Here are six different ways to reduce the temperature in your attic and save you money.

 

1. Try using a thermostatically controlled roof mounted ventilator. They will help to keep your attic much cooler in the summertime. The thermostat will usually start at 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the temperature that the attic fan usually starts at.  

 

2. Using insulation only keeps the attic's heat from traveling through your home. Nevertheless, by adding powered attic fans, you will draw more air into the attic. While it does help to reduce the heat in your attic, putting these fans in your attic costs more because of the loss of conditioned air. The air you lose from the attic is then drawn into your home from the outside, which will cause your cooling bill to go up. 

 

3. Radiant barrier: This coating material gets sprayed onto the outside of your roof to help reduce the amount of heat that is radiated into your attic. The radiant barrier is shown to reduce about 68% of the heat that is being radiated into the attic. This will keep your attic cooler, which will reduce the cooling load on your home. 

 

4. Continuous ridge vent: This vent runs along the entire ridge of your roof. It is placed at the highest point of your roof so that the hot air rises to get out. However, for best results you must have sufficient vents to allow for the free airflow. The biggest downside to this type of cooling system, though, is that you must install it when you are installing either a new roof or building a new home. This type of venting wouldn’t work properly on an already existing roof. 

 

5. Standard “turtleback” vents: These are the most common vents and are very effective when enough of them are installed. Turtleback vents can be placed on an existing roof and allow for greater airflow, when properly installed. 

 

6. Check for restricted vents. Your vents can get clogged from dirt, rust, or insulation that was blown in from the attic. Make sure they are all open and will allow for the maximum amount of air to pass through. 

 

The best time to make these types of repairs to your attic is during the wintertime when it is much cooler and a lot more bearable to fix the cooling in your attic. Just make sure you think ahead before the summertime, because many people don’t think they’ll need any sort of repairs until the problem is already there. 

 

So what are you waiting for? Start saving money on your energy costs by cooling down your attic.

How to Protect Your Pipes from Freezing

As summer draws to a close, you may be thinking about the coming winter. Is your home ready for the first frost? You can learn how to protect your pipes from freezing before it’s too late.

 

Over a quarter of a million homes experience frozen pipes each winter. Not only are frozen pipes expensive to repair, your home and contents may be ruined. In a matter of minutes, a one-eighth inch crack can release 250 gallons of water and disrupt your life in ways you may never imagine.

 

Sub-zero temperatures and cold winds can wreak havoc on your water pipes if they’re not protected. What can you do now to prepare for that first frost to ensure your pipes don’t freeze and burst this year?

 

·      Know where the main water shut off valve is to your home. This will enable you to shut the water off to the house should one of the pipes freeze and burst. The quicker you can get the water shut off, the less damage will be done. This will also give you time to call the plumber for help.

 

·      Find out where the water pipes are located in your home. In most cases, they will be in the crawl space under your home or possibly in your attic. Once you’ve found exposed pipes, wrap them with insulation. The more protective insulation you can wrap around them, the less likely they are to freeze and burst.

 

·      In extremely cold temperatures, you may also want to use thermostatically controlled heat cables. These can be wrapped around the insulation and should only be used according to manufacturer’s instructions for installing them. Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. independently tests and approves these cables; be sure to use only those which have been UL approved.

 

·      Take the time to seal up any leaks around the pipes, which may be allowing cold air into the area where the pipes are exposed. This could mean checking around electrical wiring, which comes through the walls, dryer vents and the pipes themselves. Use flexible insulation, caulk, or a can of expandable foam insulation. By blocking as much air as possible, you’ll lessen the chance of the pipes bursting.

 

·      Disconnect and remove any garden hoses that won’t be used during the winter. Turn the valve off to the spigot and drain all of the water from the faucet. 

 

·      If you must leave a faucet active for whatever reason, remove the garden hose between uses. You can also put an insulated cap over the faucet to keep it from freezing.

 

·      When the temperatures are expected to get especially frigid, leave a trickle of hot and cold water running, in at least one sink that is on an outside wall. This may be just enough to avoid freezing pipes. 

 

·      Allow cabinet doors with un-insulated pipes under it to remain open. This will allow the warm air from the house to heat the pipes and keep the pipes from freezing.

 

·      Keep the thermostat to your home set no lower than 55 degrees Fahrenheit even if you’re not going to be home. Then ask family or a neighbor to check on your home periodically while you’re gone to ensure the temperature doesn’t fall too low.

 

No one wants to experience a burst water pipe. By getting ready for the first frost, you’ll be well on your way to avoiding one.

Stick To Your Fitness Resolution

 

Every January comes with a sense of renewal for many people. A common theme amongst individuals is to create a resolution involving things they would like to change or achieve in the coming 365 days. 

 

One of the more prevalent resolutions involves fitness. Whether it be to simply improve overall physical appearance, get healthier or maybe just become stronger, a vast amount of people base their resolutions around some facet of physical fitness. 

 

Unfortunately, the majority of New Year’s resolutions fail. The fiery motivation felt in late December to mid January begins to wane and by February, people find themselves at the same place they were the year before. 

 

Fitness goals are notoriously prone to not being fulfilled. If you’ve ever spent much time in a gym, you know the routine. For the entire month of January, there is often a line at every piece of equipment in the building. The local fitness facility begins to resemble Times Square. 

 

Advertisements flood the media with discount gym membership rates, dietary supplements and all sorts of shiny new pieces of equipment promising to transform your body in a short amount of time. 

 

In this article, we are going to break down a few tips that will hopefully allow you to fulfill your fitness goals for the New Year. If you can set yourself apart from the statistics, you will undoubtedly thank yourself next December when you are reveling in your progress while others are starting the typical, “maybe next year” routine! 

 

1.    Keep Things Simple

When embarking on a new fitness journey, it is so easy to become overwhelmed. Contemplating which workout routine to start, what foods to eat, even the outfit to wear to the gym can get in the way of your overall goal. Fitness, as well as life in general, is best kept simple. 

 

The best workout routine is the one you will stick to, period. Similarly, your nutrition should not be rocket science. You know what foods are good for you and what is junk. The biggest determining factor pertaining to your success in fitness is consistency. 

2.    Set Reasonable Goals

The media does a remarkable job of making drastic body transformations seem like an overnight process. We are constantly bombarded with images and television commercials promising that if you buy their equipment or take a certain supplement, you will look identical to the models used to promote these products. 

 

Even more comical is the timeframes reported by these advertisements. How many times have you heard, “In just 15 minutes per day, 3 times per week, you will finally have those six-pack abs?” This is all nonsense, as physical changes to your physique do not work this way. 

 

Fitness is about the long game. As you begin your journey, it is critical to realize that while you WILL see progress, it doesn’t happen overnight. Therefore, instead of planning on going to the gym 7 days per week and eating nothing but rice and chicken from a Tupperware container, set goals that you can stick to. 

 

Start small, like holding yourself accountable to 3 workouts per week and avoiding your favorite late-night junk food. 

3.    Develop A Strong “Why”

As we have already discussed, fitness is about consistency. Remember this, the incredible sense of motivation and enthusiasm you feel at the start WILL come and go. If your only goal to work out is to “look better,” there are going to be a lot of days in which that is simply not enough. 

 

If you are going to stick to your fitness goals this year, developing a reason why that is strong enough to stick it out when the motivation cools off, the excitement isn’t there and you’d much rather stay in and watch television instead is MANDATORY. 

 

Your “why” has to be unique to you. Find whatever that is and use it to push through the hard days! 

 

Stop Letting Stress Impact Your Life

Stress is a normal part of everyday life. Some levels of stress are even healthy and can contributing to keeping us alert and functioning at our best. Many of us, however, have difficulty managing our stress.

 

Some stress disorders are hereditary and can be caused by imbalances of the chemicals that help the mind and body communicate. Many stress disorders are caused because what the body considers a threat and what the mind considers a threat aren't the same thing.

 

For those of us who have survived accidents, combat, or other extreme and real dangers stress disorders can come from having a hard time adapting to life outside of high levels of stress.

 

Whatever the cause of your stress, whether it be a personal concern or a diagnosed disorder, stress shouldn't control your life and there are certain things that you can try to take control of it. If you are already seeing a medical professional about your stress, these tips may help to supplement the help that you are receiving. If you are not talking to a medical professional, these tips may still help you, but they are not a substitute for other forms of intervention.

 

Talk To A Friend

 

One of the biggest ways to avoid letting stress impact your life is to realize that stress isn't an unusual thing, or something that only affects you.

 

According to the National Aliance on Mental Health, over eighteen percent of American adults suffer from a severe stress like Anxiety or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. That's roughly one in five people.

 

Being familiar with these statistics may help you to feel more comfortable about talking to a healthcare provider, though it may also help you to feel more comfortable talking to a friend or community member. Casually talking to a friend or community member can be a good way to get advice about how to deal with stress, but it can also help for you to determine how bad your condition may actually be – or not be.

 

Focus On Life Before Your Stress Problem

 

Whether stress comes on gradually due to life changes, or quickly due to an incident or experience, you shouldn't let stress stop you from doing things that you used to enjoy.

 

It's natural for stress or a stress disorder to make new things seem scary but they can also have this effect on experiences that we regularly enjoyed in the past. For example, gradually on-setting stress may make you not want to spend time with old friends, or a car accident may make you want to avoid driving, or even riding in or being around cars.

 

It's important to remind yourself that these events went well for you in the past and that seeing them differently now doesn't change the nature of the activity. Even if the activity did go poorly for you once in the past, as in the case of the car accident, that was only one of many incidences with most of them having gone well.

 

Ease Into Stressful Activities

 

When stress or a stress disorder leads us to fear pursuing a certain activity, doctors often recommend that we ease ourselves back into it. 

 

To return to the car accident case, it might not be healthy for you – or safe for those around you – for you to try to face your fear by forcing yourself into the driver's seat before you're ready. If you froze or had a panic attack behind the wheel it could cause an accident, potentially hurting yourself or others and reinforcing your fear rather than fighting it.

 

Instead, try taking taxis or riding with friends and family for a while before getting behind the wheel again. At first it may even be helpful to read a book in the car instead of paying attention to traffic.

 

5 Tips for Long Term Weight Loss Success

Losing weight can take a lot out of you, physically, emotionally, mentally. And many times, once it’s off, you feel like those calories will never return. But the sad truth is that we easily pack on the pounds soon after because we fall back into the same negative habits as before.

 

If you’ve lost some weight, follow these 5 smart tips to guarantee that you keep it off for good.

 

1.    Don’t diet

 

Dieters gain back their weight within 6 months to a year. Some even gain more than they lost after they stopped dieting. So instead of following some 10-week eating plan, why not change your entire outlook on food?

 

Food shouldn’t be a substitute for anything. That’s the first rule. Food should be eaten for nourishment and sustainability. It should taste good and look good as well to appeal to all your senses without being loaded with processed sugars and oils.

 

Make it a habit to eat foods rich in fiber, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, minerals and vitamins, like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meat, and fish. These give you the sense that you’re full for longer, and they contain few calories. Use aromatic vegetables like onions and garlic, as well as spices and herbs to make your food look, smell and taste delicious. You can also use condiments to add flavor to your dishes.

 

Another great trick to boost your metabolism and keep those calories burning all day is to eat small amounts several times throughout the day. Use small plates and enjoy a nourishing dish every 3 - 4 hours. This helps maintain blood sugar levels, so you don’t feel that slump in the afternoon while keeping your energy levels up and calories at a minimum.

 

Also try to really focus on what you’re eating. Most of the time, we’re too busy or tired to notice how our food even tastes. This is one of the worst habits you can have because it forces you to eat more than you should and leaves you feeling bloated and heavy. Instead, take a few seconds to appreciate your food; its texture and smell. 

 

Taking in the whole experience of eating allows you to enjoy your food more without having the need to overindulge and eat more than you should.

 

Also, never underestimate the power of water. Drinking lots of water daily, especially before meals, keeps your body hydrated, increases metabolism and helps you burn off more calories. You can add vegetable or fruit slices for a healthy kick.

 

2.    Strengthen your muscles

 

As we age, we lose muscle mass which is why it’s crucial to start strengthening your muscles to prevent fatigue, loss of balance and weak bones. Also, muscle tissue burns more calories, even when you’re not working out, than fat. Yet another reason to stretch and pump those muscles.

 

3.    Accept the setbacks

 

There will be days when you’re faced with difficult decisions, like a party at work or going out with friends. If you can plan ahead, then you’re one step ahead of the game. You can fill up on healthy snacks before the event, or even have something in your bag you can munch on like carrot sticks or a granola bar.

 

There will also be cravings that gnaw at you until you can’t take it anymore. More often than not, cravings are never really about the food. They can be a signal that your body lacks a certain mineral. For example, when you crave chocolate, what your body is really saying is that it’s lacking in magnesium. 

 

Cravings could also be a reaction to a stressful day at work, or an emotional problem you’re going through. All cravings last about 20 minutes so find something to distract yourself; watch TV, read a book, even brushing your teeth will quickly kill off your craving.

 

4.    Surround yourself with supportive friends and family

 

People who believe in the same things as you make it easier to enjoy a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle. They support you and believe in what you’re doing, and sometimes even take the time to be your workout buddy or prepare meals with you. And, in turn, they become your accountability partner so that if, and when, you slip up, you have someone that provides understanding and support.

 

5.    Exercise

 

The suggested minimum for maintaining weight loss is 250 minutes per week. This comes down to about 45-50 minutes of moderate activity for 5 days. While these numbers may seem disheartening, it’s actually simpler than you may think. Pick an activity you enjoy, as walking, swimming, gardening, and start at your own pace. You can also mix and match, so you don’t get bored. To make things even more fun, get a workout buddy, or join a gym and start meeting new people. After a while, exercising will become a natural part of your daily routine, and you’ll even start to look forward to it.