CNN Money put together this little video that explores changes to the average American home over the past forty years. They aren’t allowing anyone to embed the video, unfortunately, so you’ll have to click through to watch — but it’s an enjoyable minute and a half once you do.
If you read design magazines and websites with any regularity, you will have encountered the topic ‘IKEA hacks’ many, many times, but the truth is we never get tired of these stories. It’s so fun to see what people with good imaginations and a few DIY skills can do. Continue reading
When you order a pair of shoes from Zappos, you know you’ll be able to return them without a hassle, but what about a bulb or seedling that will not prove its quality for weeks, months, or even years? The Oregonian recently published an article about mail-order nurseries by Lee Reich, and it was peppered with useful advice Continue reading
This month’s letter just went out, and it was all about preparing your home for hot weather. After our suddenly-summer Monday (90 degrees?!), it seems like a good time to double up on advice about cooling your home.
How many of you actually read the inserts in your utility bills? Probably not many, but we often find at least one item of interest in each mailing. For example, this year PGE is publishing an “Energy Fixer” series in their Update newsletter and on their website:
Sarah, a PGE employee and mother of two, recently purchased a 1,500 square-foot, all-electric ranch house built in 1960 that retained much of its original style — along with many outdated energy features. We’ll check in throughout 2015 as she works to shape up her new home and get it energy fit. We’ll also share ideas that you can use to shape up your home.
So far, Sarah has done some research and completed Energy Trust’s online home assessment questionnaire. (Past installments of the series are available on the Energy Fixer page—just look in the right-hand sidebar.) This month, she’ll be conducting in-depth home energy assessment and blower-door test to pinpoint where she needs to seal air leaks and add insulation.
Follow along for some easy lessons in home energy use.
(For those of you who use natural gas and get it from NW Natural, they offer an assessment tool called Energy Analyzer; you must be logged into your account to use it. Pacific Power provides online energy calculators.)
This little video has been all over our social media, and maybe for good reason. If you’re switching to warm-weather bedding and decide to try this trick, please let us know how it goes!
Although there is a chance that a wet spring will bring our regional water levels up to normal, we are currently lagging behind. Perhaps now is the time to switch to a drip irrigation system for coming growing season? Continue reading
This book by Brit Morin just hit the shelves. Great minds…
Closet design articles often seem to be written only for the serious clotheshorse—someone with enough designer shoes and handbags to fill a small shop. If you take the time to read through these sorts of articles and discard about half the information, you can come up with some useful suggestions that work for people with more normal closet needs. Luckily, we’ve done some of that reading for you! Continue reading
Looks like our blog posting hit some snags in the new year, so here’s a quick post while we hit the reset button!
A recent mailing from the Portland Water Bureau addressed issues related to emergency preparedness, a topic we’ll probably address more than once this year. New to us is the Public Alerts service, available for several cities and counties in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington.
A visit to the website shows past notifications, but you can sign up to receive future alerts as calls to your landline or cell phone, text messages, or e-mail messages (or whatever combination you specify). Once you submit the form, you’ll receive a confirmation e-mail from the Public Alerts system.
The site is also a good one-stop-shop for information about roads, transit, hospitals, public safety, utilities, and more in the Portland metro area. Check it out.
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