The Kitchen sink

Meredith unearthed this kitchen sink for a mere $25 at a salvage shop. “I love, love, love the sink,” she says. “I know I’m nuts, but the drainboard sink makes me happier than diamond rings.” It’s a cheerful antidote to the builder-boring aluminum sink it replaced.

We found an old one thrown away in the back field. We use it as our garden sink and just love it. Enjoy, Beccie

Cheer up a Galley Kitchen - Inexpensive

I love these colors. The white top cabinets. I think she could have painted the inside of the cabinets to match the countertop vs. the stained glass. I have seen the lower cabinets painted a hershey chocolate - and it is quite lovely.

Although she didn’t add any square footage, Meredith’s revamped kitchen lives large. The wallpaper she chose for the far wall was a last-minute find. “When I saw it, I couldn’t believe how perfectly it matched the countertop and stained glass of the cabinet windows,” she says.
DIY Tip: Tape up a sheet of wallpaper before you cover an entire wall or room. Live with it for a few days to make sure you love it. If it passes the time test, you’re ready to buy the adhesive and get to work. If you’re hesitant about putting pattern all over the wall, Meredith recommends framing a few smaller sections for a lower-commitment option. Enjoy, Beccie

Best Towns - 2010 Boise, Idaho

POPULATION (METRO) 606,376MEDIAN HOME PRICE $169,900HOMETOWN HERO Kristin Armstrong,2008 Olympic time-trial gold medalist,bicycling advocate, supermom
THE LIVING: Boise, to put it mildly, has been on a roll. Government, education, and health care remain core industries, but dozens of high-tech startups have moved to town, joining behemoths like Hewlett-Packard and Micron Technology. And while its population has more than doubled in the past 30 years and jaded locals bemoan the sprawl, Boise has managed its growth impressively well: The city is home to nearly 2,000 acres of parks and a 25-mile greenbelt. The outlying areas feel a bit bland, but the older neighborhoods have that Boulder vibe—cruiser bikes, farmers' markets, and prayer flags—only with reasonably priced homes.
THE PLAYGROUND: With a few play waves already in city limits, a $6.7 million white­water park in the works, and life-list runs on the Payette and Salmon within a two-hour drive, the paddling is exceptional and only getting better. There's also a healthy triathlon community and a robust road-biking scene. In winter, before or after work, you can get a quick ski in—nordic or alpine—at Bogus Basin Ski Area, just 16 miles up the road. (Tip: The climb up is also a classic road ride.) And those brown hills above town are laced with more than 135 miles of hiking and mountain-biking trails. Yup, you're going to need a bigger Rocket Box.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The Northend neighborhood is as good as Idaho gets: You can walk to the local coffee shop, bike downtown via paths, plant some veggies at the community garden, or hop on singletrack at the end of your block.

Treasure Valley housing downturn isn't over yet

Nan Holmes, a senior escrow officer at a title insurer, says her insider's view of the Treasure Valley housing market gave her the confidence three years ago to pay $370,000 for a new home in Boise's Collister neighborhood. She got a price she liked from the builder and 100 percent bank financing.
That was before the bottom fell out of the housing market as borrowers with bad credit began defaulting in record numbers, setting off a recession. Holmes, who had earned $150,000 a year when real estate was booming, saw her compensation shrink by half when business cooled, forcing her to dip into savings and sell jewelry. She stopped paying the mortgage in April and has put the house on the market for $145,000 less than she owes the bank.
"How long will it take for the market to turn so I can just break even?" said Holmes, 55.
Home foreclosures are still climbing in Idaho and some other states, according to real estate data firm RealtyTrac Inc. With 14.6 million Americans out of work and consumer spending declining, further weakness in housing could push the economy back into recession, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Aug. 1.
Home seizures soared 822 percent in Idaho in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, and the state now has the nation's seventh-highest foreclosure rate, according to RealtyTrac.
Median home prices have tumbled by more than one-third in the Treasure Valley since their 2006 peak. The median price in Canyon County fell to $89,000 last month, according to the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service. In Ada County, it rose slightly to $160,000. The value of residential transactions in Ada County declined 62 percent in June from the peak four years earlier.
"The housing downturn started late in the Northwest and now it's ending late," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. Idaho, Oregon and Washington lagged behind the national cycle and will suffer declines after other areas stabilize, he said.
New defaults are declining and appear to have bottomed in states where the crisis began, falling 43 percent in California, 37 percent in Florida and 27 percent in Nevada in the second quarter from a year earlier, RealtyTrac's data show.
"The worst is over, but it's going to be a long road ahead," said economist Steven Frable at IHS Global Insight Inc.
But the worst may not be over in Idaho. While one in 397 households nationwide received a notice of default, auction or bank repossession last month, one in 240 in Idaho did. Lenders seized 454 homes in Idaho in July.
Initial jobless claims nationwide rose in July, and unemployment stood at 9.5 percent (8.8 percent in Idaho), near a 27-year high, Labor Department figures show. More than 4.5 million people are collecting unemployment benefits, and an additional 3.9 million are getting emergency and extended payments. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told Congress on July 21 the outlook is "unusually uncertain."
"The numbers are exploding due to unemployment and economic displacement," said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of marketing at RealtyTrac. "We will see them get a lot worse unless we see some job creation."
In Hubble Homes' Charter Pointe subdivision in South Boise, more than half of the homes listed for sale are bank-owned or "underwater," meaning the property is worth less than the mortgage. Dairy cows wander in a nearby pen, and baling machines grind into the night.
"The neighbors aren't used to living next to farming operations with manure and flies," said Richard Murgoitio, who sold 70 acres to Hubble Homes Inc. in 2001 and would like to sell his remaining land to builders. "We're hoping they take us all out, if the economy ever turns around."
Holmes said her employer, TitleOne Corp., is down to 80 employees from a high of 175 in 2007. Her lender, Bank of America, took the first step toward foreclosure in July.
A divorced mother of two, Holmes put her house on the market in June and has applied for a federal program that offers incentives to loan servicers, investors and homeowners to complete short sales, in which the bank accepts less than what it is owed on the mortgage.
She's asking $225,000. She hasn't had an offer.
A third of real estate listings in her area are distressed properties, with seven months of inventory on the market in Boise at her price.
"I was never raised to be in this position," Holmes said. "I've tried everything I can think of."
The Idaho Statesman contributed.Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/08/14/1302722/treasure-valley-housing-downturn.html?at_from=becciep@msn.com#ixzz0wcPKFZFH

7 Tips for Saving Energy in the Laundry

Good laundry room habits, including some occasional minor maintenance, can save energy and shave nearly $300 off your annual utility bills. That’s because you can curb the biggest energy culprit: the cost of heating water.
Washing machine
The bulk of a washing machine’s operating costs—around 90%, says Energy Star—go to replacing the hot water in the home’s hot water tank. Reduce the amount of hot water the appliance uses, and you’ll significantly shrink its associated utility bills. By washing fewer loads and doing those loads in cooler water, you can save around $200 per year.
1. Use cold water. Switching from hot wash to cold, according Michael Bluejay, also known as Mr. Electricity, who specializes in electricity savings, can shave up to $215 per year off your electric bill. If you have a high-efficiency washer or gas-fueled water heater, assume savings of about half that figure. Cold washes are generally as effective in getting clothes clean as hot.
2. Only wash full loads. Discounting the energy required to heat the water, it costs around $60 per year in electricity to run the washer, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Because it takes just as much electricity to wash a small load as it does a full one, you’ll save money by only washing full loads. By reducing the number of overall loads by one-quarter, you can save $15 a year.
Clothes dryer
Because it’s essentially a “toaster with a fan,” says Amanda Korane of The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a nonprofit focused on advancing energy efficiency, the clothes dryer is a difficult appliance to make green. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to lessen its impact on your utility bill to the tune of about $80 per year.
3. Spin it faster. Good dryer efficiency starts in the clothes washer. Setting the maximum spin speed in the washer will reduce the amount of time—and energy—it takes to get clothes dry. Many of today’s high-speed washer spin cycles can cut dry times by as much as half compared with older models. If an average electric clothes dryer costs about $80 per year to operate, according to the DOE, savings can approach the $40 mark.
4. Clean lint filter and exhaust. Dryers have to work harder and longer to dry clothes when air doesn’t freely flow. Cleaning the lint filter before every use and doing the same for the exhaust line once a year will help maintain maximum efficiency. Also, check that the duct hose is free from tight bends and obstructions. These small chores not only will save a few bucks per year, they will reduce the risk of fire.
5. Activate energy-saving features. If the dryer has an automated moisture-sensing device, use it. Setting the timer can cause the dryer to run longer than necessary. But a moisture sensor will automatically shut off the machine when it senses clothes are dry. This feature can save $8 to $12 a year.
6. Dry like with like. Lighter items, such as T-shirts and blouses, dry much quicker than heavy items like towels and blankets. Therefore, when these items are combined in the same load, some of the clothes continue to tumble long after they’re dry. This extends the dry time of the bulkier items, in turn wasting a few bucks every month.
7. Skip it. Every load in the dryer costs around $0.35, according to Bluejay. Hanging clothing to dry on a line outside or rack inside costs nothing. Racks run about $25-$90 at online retailers. So, by giving the dryer a break even occasionally, savings can add up. Not only will the practice reduce utility bills, it will help extend the life of both the clothes and the appliance.
Douglas Trattner has covered household appliances and home improvement for HGTV.com, DIYNetworks, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. During the 10-year stewardship of his 1925 Colonial, he’s upgraded almost every household appliance. After lengthy deliberation, he recently replaced an aging top-load washing machine with an energy-efficient front-load unit.Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/articles/7-tips-saving-energy-laundry-room/#ixzz0vlJJ1VBR

20- Year Mortages Cut Interest Significantly!

20-Year Mortgages Cut Interest Significantly Buyers with the ability to stretch a little might consider a 20-year fixed-rate mortgage instead of the traditional 30-year, suggests CBS Money Matters’ financial adviser Ray Martin.Martin points out that a $200,000 mortgage with a 30-year term and an interest rate of 4.75 would have a monthly payment of $1,043 and the total interest over the life of the loan would be $175,600.The same mortgage with a 20-year term at 4.5 percent would have a monthly payment of $1,265 with total interest over the life of the mortgage of $103,670.Young home buyers planning to have children will have their 20-year mortgage paid off by the time their kids enter college, a big financial advantage, Martin points out.Source: CBS, Ray Martin (08/04/2010)

Spending less money on utility bills doesn’t mean you need to rush out and purchase a whole new suite of Energy Star appliances. With occasional light maintenance and good habits, you can greatly improve the energy efficiency of your large kitchen appliances—up to about $120 annually—without sacrificing convenience.

Refrigerator/freezer
Energy-efficiency experts tell us to focus our efforts on the biggest energy hogs in the house, and that definitely includes the fridge. Because it cycles on and off all day, every day, the refrigerator consumes more electricity than nearly every appliance in the home save for the HVAC systems. The average refrigerator costs about $90 per year to operate, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The good news is that a few simple adjustments can trim roughly $38 to $45 off those utility bills.
1. Adjust the thermostat. By setting the thermostat colder than it needs to be, you might increase your fridge’s energy consumption by as much as 25% on average. Adjust the refrigerator so that it stays in the 37-40 degrees F range. For the freezer, shoot for between 0-5 degrees F. You could save up to $22 per year. If your model doesn’t display the current temps, invest in two appliance thermometers (one for the fridge, one for the freezer). They cost roughly $3-$20 apiece at online retailers.

2. Clean the coils. As dust accumulates on the condenser coils on the rear or bottom of the fridge, it restricts cool-air flow and forces the unit to work harder and longer than necessary. Every six months, vacuum away the dust that accumulates on the mechanism. Also, check to see that there is at least a 3-inch clearance at the rear of the fridge for proper ventilation. This routine maintenance can trim up to 5% off the unit’s operating cost, says energy savings expert Michael Bluejay, saving you about $4.50 a year.
3. Use an ice tray. Automatic ice makers are a nice convenience, to be sure, but it turns out the mechanisms are energy hogs. An automatic ice maker can increase a refrigerator’s energy consumption by 14% to 20%, according to Energy Star. By switching off the ice maker and using trays, you can save about $12 to $18 off your annual electricity bill. Most units require little more than a lift of the sensor arm to switch them off. To reclaim the space remove the entire unit, a simple DIY job on many models.
4. Unplug the “beer fridge.” Many homes have an extra fridge that runs year round even though it’s used sparingly. Worse, these fridges tend to be older, more inefficient models. By consolidating the contents to the main fridge and unplugging the additional unit, you eliminate the entire operating cost of a fridge. The second-best solution is to make sure the extra fridge remains three-quarters full at all times. The mass helps maintain steady internal temps and lets the fridge recover more quickly after the door is opened and closed, according to the California Energy Commission.
Ovens and ranges
“Green” cooking all comes down to proper time and space management. By using gas and electric stoves more effectively, you can painlessly save a few dollars a year.
5. Cut the power early. As anybody who’s ever bumped a burner on an electric stove can attest, those heating elements stay hot long after they’ve been switched off. Put that residual heat to work by shutting off the burner several minutes before the end of the cook time. The same technique can be applied to the oven. The savings can add up to a couple bucks every month.
6. Match the burner to pan. When a small pan is placed on a big burner you can practically see the money disappearing into thin air. By matching the burner to the pan, electricity won’t be squandered heating the kitchen rather than the food. The reverse is true, too. A small burner will take considerably longer to heat a large pan than would an appropriately sized burner. For gas stoves, don’t let the flames lick the sides of the pot. Follow these tips and watch the utility bills shrink by a few dollars a month.