According to the folks over at the APPA (they do a national survey every year), 63% of U.S. households own a pet.  This is equal to 71.1 million homes.  Curious to learn the most popularly owned pets?  Dogs, Cats & Freshwater Fish–In that order.

It’s no wonder these guys occupy millions of homes throughout the nation.  The benefits we reap stretch far beyond love and companionship.  According to research, people who own pets make fewer trips to the doctor’s office.  They also experience lower blood pressure, reduced stress, lessened symptoms of depression and lowered risk of heart disease.

With all the benefits that we receive from our furry/feathery/scaly little friends, it’s no wonder so many of us find ourselves spoiling the heck out of them.

Here are a few fun remodeling ideas that are totally geared towards our pets.  If you love your buddy as much as I love mine, you might want to allow one of these ideas for consideration during your next renovation task.

• Doggy Overlooks-Is your pup as nosy as mine?  This concept would allow him to stick his head through a decorative opening on the second floor and keep tabs on his owners below.
• Heated Floors-What little guy doesn’t like to be warm and cozy?  Heated floors are a nice touch for us, but think about how awesome something like this would be for them!
• Wood/Linoleum Floors-If you’re a pet person, and you perform any kind of floor remodeling whatsoever, I highly recommend you take advantage of the inherent pet-friendly qualities that these surfaces offer.  A high-end linoleum floor can be a beautiful finish to any remodeled kitchen, bath, basement or rec room.  And a light to medium finish will minimize scratches.
• Indoor Pet Retreat-Use that extra room in your house to design your own, customized, state of the art pet playland!  These are sometimes located with a pet door for easy pet indoor/outdoor access.  You can design your retreat to include such amenities as automatic feeders and drinking fountains or maybe even a pet washing station!
• Matching Fabrics & Carpet-Can’t say that I would use this tip, but I think it’s a practical one, nonetheless.  For owner’s who don’t like the look of shedding hair on furniture, fabrics, rugs, carpets–Choose non-toxic fabrics that match the pet’s fur.  In my case, I might consider purchasing black and white carpets and couches.  (Actually, that might look kind of cool).

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Do you feel like your kitchen is a big, fat throwback to the 1970’s ?  Do you sit down at your dining room table to enjoy a nice supper, but find the environment itself to be so dreadful that you’d just assume head to the ball pin at McDonald’s to eat your meal?  Does your master bathroom (the place where you go to cleanse and rejuvenate yourself) contain any chipped tile, moldy grout, water spots, hideous wallpaper, unsightly vanities, peeled linoleum  or wiggly parts?

Yeah?  Might be time to do take on a little remodeling.  But don’t worry, this will not be painful.  (Well, not too painful, anyhow).

Step #1 in this process is Establish a Budget.  Let me break down the budgeting process for a kitchen remodeling project:

First consider the market value of your home.  Studies show that if you are able to remodel your project relative to the cost of your home’s worth, you will be able to recoup anywhere from 90-98% of your overall project cost.  (I may not be the best mathematician here, but to me, that’s almost free).

A good percentage to shoot for is 15%-20%.  You should try to keep your kitchen remodeling budget between the range of 15-20% of your overall home value.  For example:

• Your home is $100,000
• Cabinets & Countertops (50% total budget) $7,500
• Appliances, flooring, other (35% total budget) $2,250
• Labor, design, permits, etc. (35% total budget) $5,250
• TOTAL BUDGET (at 15%) $15,000

This is a good, healthy breakdown.

I did a little research to find out what spending averages looked like in the Kansas City area during 2008.  Sometimes, it’s helpful to be able to take a look at what kind of cash others are dropping on their projects.

I referred to the annual Cost vs. Value Report by Remodeling Magazine.

The following data breaks down the average cost per job for a “Mid-Range” home in the Kansas City area in 2008-2009.  It displays the average percentage of cost recouped, as well:

• Roof Replacement $18,176 | 56.4%
• Minor Kitchen Remodel $21,185 | 73.3%
• Bathroom Remodel $15,753 | 64.8%
• Siding Replacement $10,027 | 74.3%
• Window Replacement $11,518 | 71.6%

Moral of the story, if you’re going to get 50%+ of it back, GO FOR IT!  Live in the home of your dreams and stop mickey mousing around!

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While browsing online I found an interesting article written by Cynthia McMurray with searchwarp.com.  She offered some of the most bizarre home remedies I had ever come across.  I thought I’d pass a few of them along:

• Banana Peels:  Banana peels contain digestive enzymes that can assist with the removal of a splinter (wood, glass, metal…)  Rather than digging at splinter with tweezers and pins and God knows what other kinds of devices you might find, try cutting off a piece of a banana peel and wrapping it around your affected area, skin side out.  You can hold the peel in place with a band aid or some medical tape and you should leave it be overnight.  By morning, the enzymes will have forced the splinter to the surface, and proactively healed the wound at the same time.  If the splinter is really deep, you may want to repeat this process again.
• Cayenne Pepper:  Cayenne pepper is loaded with Vitamin K and Vitamin K embodies a powerful clotting factor.  You can use this unique remedy with any minor bleeding that won’t stop.  Now, one might assume that such a remedy would be painful.  In fact, this substance will not burn or irritate a wound.  You can even leave the pepper on overnight.  Just sprinkle, cover and expect relief.
• Peppermint Oil:  Did you know that according to research, peppermint oil–used for headache relief–is as effective as 1,000 mg of acetaminophen?  You may rub a few drops into your temples and expect relief in about 15 minutes.
• Onion:  Summertime…Outdoors…Bug bites.  Don’t scratch!  Just slice open an onion, and rub it onto the bite.  This high-sulfur vegetable will relieve the irritation by neutralizing the chemicals from the bug saliva.

And of course, these are merely suggestions to try.  These suggestions are not necessarily recommended by Medical Professionals.  While they are all safe and effective, if a problem persists, it is best to seek professional medical attention.

Thanks again to Cynthia McMurray for the cool tips.

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Spring weather in Kansas is sure to bring its fair share of rainwater.  And evidently, plenty of folks are taking a completely ‘old school’ approach to the whole conservation/recycling initiative in terms of rainwater.  If you haven’t heard much about the resurgence of rain barrels yet, here’s an opportunity to learn a little more.

Although these barrels appear to be making a comeback in our parts, they’ve actually been around for hundreds (maybe even thousands) of years.  Rain barrels are containers that are designed to trap and store rainwater for later use.  Most commonly, rain barrels are made of hard, plastic containers that catch the water runoff from roofing and guttering systems.

Water harvesting is a very good-sense, practical and simple effort for any homeowner who might be looking towards creative, new initiatives that will save money and conserve resources.

Interested to learn more about the actual meat and potatoes?  Want to see some numbers?  Here’s a great formula I found online that breaks down the potential savings:

1. Measure the exterior length and width of your house (include roof overhang)
2. Multiply L x W.  For example, a house that is 30′ x 40′ will have 1,200 sq ft. roof catchment area
3. Multiply 1,200 by 0.6 (the portion of a gallon that will be harvested by one inch of water falling on one square foot of your roof’s surface)
4. Your 1,200 square foot roof catchment area will yield 720 gallons of water from 1″ of rainfall (30 x 40 = 1200 x .6)

Pretty cool, huh?  Now, you may not want to go so far as to start drinking your rainwater as the headline suggests.  Although, the material I read claims that rainwater is actually quite clean and would be acceptable as drinking water because evaporation serves as a filtration system to air pollutants and toxins.  Nonetheless, this water could most definitely be used on houseplants, flower beds, vegetable gardens, etc.

Check this link out to learn exactly how you can go about installing and using your rain barrel.

How Stuff Works.Com

Photo courtesy of “Bananallama.com”

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Evidently, painted patio furniture has become quite trendy recently.  This is good news for those of us who A) are feeling a little ‘crafty’ this spring and B) are opposed to spending the additional monies on brand new versions of such outdoor items.  I found a video on Martha Stewart’s website (which by the way I love because you can always find lots of “good things” there) that walked me through the process of re-painting an old, metal piece of outdoor furniture.  You can take a look for yourself:

Martha Stewart Video: Re-Painting Patio Furniture

Interested in taking on this particular do it yourself?  There are four basic steps involved.  Here you go:

1. Clean: Since paint won’t even try to stick to a dirty surface, I recommend you really give this step a big “E” for effort.  Be thorough.  Use soap and water.
2. Smooth: Paint will adhere much better to a smooth surface.  It will also look much nicer.  Use proper sanding material to buff out any impurities.
3. Prime: Pick one that is recommended for outdoor use and that is approved for your surface.  Let it dry overnight.
4. Paint: You can use an outdoor acrylic paint.  For wood or plastic furniture, go ahead and apply with a brush.  For metal or wicker, I would recommend spray.

Sound fun?!?

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As you’re throwing open the windows, getting out the gardening tools and putting forth the overtime in Spring cleaning hours, go ahead and add one more thing to your big ‘ol to-do list.

According to an article published from the CDC, last fall, “Someone died in a fire about every 162 minutes, and someone was injured every 32 minutes.”

While most data will prove that residential fire-related fatalities and injuries have declined over the past several decades, many remain completely preventable.

So, here’s a quick checklist that you may use to evaluate your current home fire prevention setup.

1. Inspect and clean dust from the covers of your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
2. Clean the clothes dryer exhaust duct, damper and space under dryer: Poor maintenance allows lint to build up in the exhaust duct and cause fire.
3. Protect all electrical appliances from power surges and lightning with surge protection.
4. Replace all extension cords that have become brittle, worn or damaged.
5. Have a multi-purpose fire extinguisher available: We’ve included a couple of practical options that we located.  The first photo displays a little disposable can extinguisher that you can pickup at Walmart in a twin-pack for around $25.  The second photo is a more traditional option that can be found at Target for about $20.

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So, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the hammock is making a comeback–in a big way.  It has managed to make it’s way onto the necessary “to-do” list when staging a home in Washington D.C. (according to The Washington Journal, and it even has it’s own fan club forum!  That’s right-A hammock FAN CLUB!  You can check out their site at the link below:

http://www.hammockforums.net/

Comparing, choosing and hanging a hammock might seem like an easy task, but in fact, there are many factors to consider before diving right in.

Hanging

• Two people required
• Hammock should not have a sway

Location

• Hammock stand
• Two trees (one will not suffice)
• Ceiling, wall or porch
• Hardwood trees
• Rot-resistant posts

Choosing

• Consider location
• Utility & Function
• Indoor vs. Outdoor

Much to consider, yes.  But in the end, we are left with an ideal spot to spend time away from the world’s stresses.  Your hammock should be a special, serene place that induces feelings of comfort, joy and warm fuzzies.  So, pitch your first hammock.  Spring is a good time to give it a whirl.

I’ve attached a little photo of my hammock below…(well, this is how I imagine my hammock to be, anyway).

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Door Lock: Install a dead bolt with a strike plate that is secured by 3″ screws that drive into the frame.  Anything less can be kicked in.

Trash:  New TV?  Laptop?  Home Computer?  Household appliance?  Rather than placing the box/packaging itmes on the curb for the trash man, go ahead and make a great big billboard that says, “Look here!  Brand new merchandise!  Please inquire inside!”  Break down these boxes and materials, first.

Play Pretend:  Pretend you’ve locked yourself out of your house.  Can you gain entry?  If you can, so can he.

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Windows & Doors: Guess how 33% of all home burglars gain entry into a home?  Unlocked windows and doors.  It may sound obvious, but you must remember to close and securely lock each of these entry points whenever you leave the house.

Bushes: Keep trim.  No need to provide additional hiding places for burglars.

Photo courtesy of Photobucket

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Telephone: Ring, ring, ring… Can you hear your phone ringing from your driveway?  Do you sometimes rush inside your home to grab the phone so as to not miss that call?  if you can hear the ringing from outside, so can anybody else.  And if a burglar can stand outside of your home and hear that you are not home, then they are much more likely to attack.  Turn the ringer down on your home phone–it can be a dead giveaway that you are not there.

Outdoor Lighting: If you don’t already have outdoor lighting with motion sensors, then get some.  The cost is minimal but the benefits are remarkable.  LIghting leaves no chance for a thief to enter your property under the cover of darkness.

The phone featured above is the “Salvador DALI Lobster Phone.”  Evidently, you can purchase thie item from the National Gallery of Australia.  We’ve got 3 of these guys on back order for the office.

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