National Clean Out Your Garage Day – On the House
Home   >   Radio Show   >   Show Notes   >   National Clean Out Your Garage Day

National Clean Out Your Garage Day

By on September 5, 2014

Thank you joining James and Morris  today as we kick off the fall On The House season. We will be help you get your home ready for winter and falling temperatures all through October. Be here each week for the fall to do list!

6th Annual National Clean Out Your Garage Day!

According to the Lehigh Home Safety And Security survey, the garage is the most disorganized area or room of the home by a wide margin, and 42 percent of Americans admit to either having never cleaned their garage or to only cleaning it once a year or less.

From tools and stools to trunks and junk, it seems that the garage is home to just about everything these days – except the car.

The experts at Lehigh offer these basic guidelines:

Sort the Mess Separate items into categories such as auto supplies, lawn and garden tools, holiday decorations, and sports equipment. Then, pitch, donate or sell items you don’t use. Before organizing and storing, take a multipurpose push broom to sweep the garage floor, or wash down the floor with a water hose.

Zone It Out 
After deciding what stays, separate the garage into zones for storing each category of items, and then identify the most appropriate storage method.

Go Vertical 
One great storage strategy is to use the vertical plane to keep the floor free of clutter. Garages provide ample wall and ceiling space that can easily be used for vertical storage through use of hanging shelves, pegboards, storing rails and overhead systems.

Be an Organized Sport 
Establish a solid game plan to organize the typical plethora of sports gear as well as the family’s fleet of bikes. For bicycles, cost-effective screw-in hooks and flip-up bike hangers, along with pulleys, are ideal ways to keep bikes off the ground and out of the way while they’re not in use.

Securely Store Hazardous Items
 Place toxic materials such as paint, paint thinner, weed and bug killers, fertilizer and gasoline in high cabinets or lockable tool chests to keep out of the reach of children. Use well-supported shelves to store cleaning solutions and vehicle fluids. Be sure to secure tools and wrap up extension cords via tool hangers.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sixth-annual-national-clean-garage-130600639.html

Thank you  Susan Sherayko for joining James and Morris to talk about you book “Rainbows Over Ruins”. 

Susan’s book is available at amazon.com

 

Getting Fired Up For Falling Temperatures

 Do you use your fireplace more than the heater in the fall and winter months? It’s time to get your fireplace ready for fall by discarding old ashes and ensuring the damper is open to allow air to freely move through the chimney. Examine the damper handle and springs to ensure the flue is operating. Hire a professional chimney sweep if needed.

If you store wood in the garage or on a porch, remove the existing pile and sweep the area. Check the wood carefully for evidence of bugs like termites, carpenter ants, and powder post beetles. If you find insects in the wood, either burn it immediately or simply move the wood well away from the house and let it rot away. Do NOT bring insect-infested wood into the house ever EXCEPT TO BURN!

Once your storage area is clean, restack your firewood. Put the newest wood down first and the drier wood from last year on top.

 

Savings Project:

Insulate Hot Water Pipes For Energy Savings

 Insulating your hot water pipes reduces heat loss and can raise water temperature 2°F–4°F hotter than un-insulated pipes can deliver, allowing for a lower water temperature setting. You also won’t have to wait as long for hot water when you turn on a faucet or showerhead, which helps conserve water.

Paying for someone to insulate your pipes—as a project on its own—may not make economic sense. But having the insulation done during new construction of a home, during other work on your water heater or pipes, or insulating the pipes yourself, is well worth the effort. In special cases, such as when the fuel used for heating water is very expensive, the distance traveled by the pipes is far, the pipes are exposed to very cold air (in which case they should be insulated anyway to prevent freezing), and if the household uses a lot of water, much higher energy savings can be obtained. In these cases, cost savings may offset paying for someone to do the job for you.

http://energy.gov/energysaver/projects/savings-project-insulate-hot-water-pipes-energy-savings

 

Is It Time To Touch Up The House Paint Before Bad Weather?

 Prevent weather damage with annual paint touch-ups to trim, flashing and siding while the weather is still mild and dry:

If you’re are A DIYer, touching up only a few spots, it will likely cost you less than $100. If you’re nervous about climbing ladders, it’s best to leave things to a handyperson or painter.

 Look closely at your home’s siding, trim and flashing for any bubbling, peeling or signs of water damage. Check out the high peaks of the house, they get the most sun, so get up on your ladder to take a close look.

Forget the leftover paint from the last time you painted your house, it probably won’t match, due to fading. Remove some chips from the side of your house and bring them to the paint store for matching. The new paint may not match exactly. Try painting a test patch and letting it dry to make sure the colors aren’t noticeably different.

 After that the rest of the process is quite simple: Scrape, prime and repaint areas where the paint has been damaged. If the damage is on only part of a shingle or clapboard, be sure to repaint the entire piece, so the finish doesn’t look spotty.

By the time the weekend is over, your home will look as good as the day you last painted.

 

September Is National Preparedness Month – Ready.Gov

This year’s Resolve to be Ready campaign focuses on ‘Family Connection’ to reinforce the importance of parents including their children in preparedness conversations in advance of potential disasters. The Ready campaign makes an emergency preparedness resolution easy to keep by recommending families consider these three ideas when making a plan: who to call, where to meet and…..

What to pack.

 BASIC DISASTER SUPPLIES KIT

A basic emergency supply kit could include the following recommended items:

  • Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
  • Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
  • Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
  • Flashlight and extra batteries
  • First aid kit
  • Whistle to signal for help
  • Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
  • Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
  • Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
  • Manual can opener for food
  • Local maps
  • Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger

http://www.ready.gov

 

Red Cross Mobil Apps:

 You can download these in both english and spanish

and set the notification area to where you live, work or play

FIRST AID

FLOOD

TORNADO

EARTHQUAKE

WILDFIRE

HURRICANE

SHELTER

PET FIRST AID

http://www.redcross.org/prepare/mobile-apps

 

Website mentions: 

Fast2K :http://www.fast2k.com/

Wet & Forget Shower: http://landing.wetandforget.com/best-shower-cleaner/

KrudKutter:http://www.krudkutter.com/

Grout Gator:http://www.groutgator.com

How to Choose a Water Filter: http://m.wikihow.com/Choose-a-Home-Water-Filter

Spare One Phone: http://spareone.com

About onthehouse

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Pin It on Pinterest