Ways You Can Lower Your Power Bills

When planning your household budget you need to put towards the electricity bill. With the ever increasing cost of electricity you will soon need to put aside even more. There are a lot of things in your home powered by electricity, such as your appliances, lights and heating and cooling systems. We can't avoid our power bill as electricity is something we use everyday. Choosing the right electrical services can help save you money as well as having an electrician come in to check that your appliances are running efficiently and not wasting power.

Switch off appliances

You can save electricity by simply switching off appliances at the wall when they are not in use. Don't just turn off you television with the remote, or at the button on the television, but switch it off at the wall at the end of the day once you have finished with it. Don't leave your microwave switched on at the wall either. Once you have heated up your meal switch it off at the power point. You will find that there are other appliances you need not leave switched on when they aren't in use, such as the computer or printer.

Energy saving appliances

When buying your appliances go for those that have a high energy saving rating. You can buy everything from fridges, washing machines, dishwashers and dryers, all with very different energy ratings. Most new appliances will have a sticker on them in the store with a number of stars on it. Basically the more stars on the ticket the better the energy rating. When shopping for things like a dishwasher or washing machine you can also choose brands that use less water. You may find that you pay a little more for more efficient items but in the long run you are going to save money by having lower power bills.

Lights

Don't forget to turn off your lights. Make sure that when you leave a room that you switch the lights off and don't have them on during the day if you don't need to. It is a waste of electricity to have lights on in unoccupied rooms or if there is enough natural light coming in through the windows. Instead of switching on lights just open up your curtains. If your home is dark, even during the day, you could install a skylight.

Heating and cooling

Your heating and cooling system can use a lot of electricity particularly if you over use them. Switch off your heater or air conditioner when you go out and turn them off at night. Keep warm by putting extra blankets on your bed, wearing warmer pyjamas or taking a hot water bottle to bed. If you want to keep your children's rooms warmer get a bar heater and heat only their rooms. Have your heater and cooling system running more efficiently by shutting the vents in rooms that you aren't occupying so the heat or cool air is being blown into these rooms. You will save a lot of power.

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5 Important Things to Check When Buying a New Home

Buying a new home can be a stressful time because as well as organising finance and finding the right home you also need to check a few things about the home before you decide to purchase it. As well as going through your check list you also need to do some research into home insurance and find a good removalist to move your furniture and possessions into your new home.

Building Structurally Sound

If you are buying a home, particularly an older home, you will need to check that the building itself is structurally sound. It can be a good idea to have a fully qualified builder come and go through the building for you to check that it doesn't need major work done to it, like re-stumping or that it needs all the electrics re-wired. A builder will be able to let you know whether any parts of the home needs renovation and should be able to give you an estimate of what that would cost you. Any repairs need to be factored in to the total cost of the purchase of the property.

Pests
Before you buy a property you also need to make sure that it is not infested with pests, such as termites. These sorts of pests can be extremely destructive to a building and if the house is infested it could require huge sections to be demolished and replaced or you could find the framework of the home is beyond repair.

Vacant Block Next Door

If the home you are interested in has a vacant block next door you might want to find out who owns the property for several reasons. You may need to erect a fence, which is a shared cost between you and your neighbour. Depending on where you live a vacant block could be used for all manner of things, including apartments or even more commercial structures like a car park or shopping centre. It would be a good idea to contact the council and find out who owns the land and if they can tell you if there are any building plans in place for the block. If you have the choice you might not want to live next door to a shopping centre.

Location
As well as liking the look of the house you have to be happy with the location. A home needs to be close to shops, the right school if you have children, public transport and be easily accessible to your place of work. There might be other things that you want in your neighbourhood, like easy access to cafes and restaurants, you might want to be a walk to the beach or be near plenty of park land.

Will it Suit Your Lifestyle?

The home will also need to suit your lifestyle. It will need to be big enough to house your entire family comfortably. You may be retiring and looking for a smaller home to down size to. You might entertain a lot so need large open rooms and an area for an outdoor kitchen in your back garden. Some couples are very career focused and prefer a property without a garden so they don't have to do much maintenance on their property, or a family could want a garden for their kids and pets.

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Yellow Flower

Captured inside Nusantara Flower Park (Cipanas, West Java, Indonesia)

Little Fire

Little fire
little light
little warm

The Weekend in Black and White

5 Ways to Feel Safer in your Home

Feeling safe is one of the most important things for a person, though sometimes it is hard to feel totally secure even in your own home. Quite often there is actually nothing to worry about however that doesn't make you feel any safer. The following ideas will help you worry less, feel safer and relax more when you are at home.

1)Have a security system installed – Whether it is security doors, security screens, or an alarm system, having that extra line of defence between you and the outside world can make a huge difference. Not only is your place less likely to be targeted, but if it is, it will be way less chance that anyone will be able to get inside. Investing in a security system will mean you can rest easy knowing that you are safe inside your home.

2)Get to know your neighbours – There is nothing quite as secure as a community where people know each other. Make a point of getting to know your neighbours and looking out for one another. Introduce yourself, drop by with cookies or muffins, and take an interest in their lives. Some people are way more vulnerable than others so they'll feel safer too knowing that you are looking out for them. It will also be much harder for an intruder to sneak in or out of your community if people realise they don’t live there.

3)Learn self defense – Knowing how to defend yourself is an invaluable skill and even just a move or two can make all the difference. Regardless of your age, it is always handy to know what to do if you are attacked and it can be as simple as knowing a few vulnerable areas to strike out at. Taking a self defense class will give you the confidence to know what to do in an emergency and you will feel much safer both in your home and out on the street.

4)Get a dog – Dogs are great companions and are also quite territorial. Having a dog in your place will be great at both alerting you if someone is nearby as well as deterring possible intruders from targeting your place. Apart from this, just the great company provided by your dog will have you feeling less alone and way less vulnerable.

5)Choose your late night movies carefully – Whether you are actually totally safe or not, watching scary movies when you are home alone at night can make it really difficult to feel safe. Scary movies can be loads of fun, though maybe keep them for during the day or for when friends are staying over. You dont want to think every shadow in your place is hiding an intruder or a monster!

Everyone should feel safe whether in their home or not, though it's often the feeling of isolation that adds to our fears. Adding a few practical safety measures to your home will help a lot, though the real safety will come from knowing that your community is one where everyone looks out for each other. Use a bit of common sense and involve yourself in your community. Don't feel scared and isolated in your home.

Reasons Your Kit Home Needs a Veranda

Not only do verandas improve the look of kit homes it also increases their value, just as any structure added to a home makes a property more valuable. If you didn't want to put a veranda around your home patios on the side a great for providing some shade and using to shelter an entertainment area.

Shade

In our warmer climate it is hugely beneficial to have shade around your home. Homes in rural areas of Australia were traditionally built with wide verandas running all the way around the house and The Queenslander style of home, as well as being up on stilts to keep it cooler, also relies on verandas to control the temperature inside the home. A shaded area around your home gives you somewhere to sit on a warm day, you can set up your outdoor furniture on the veranda and it will shade your windows and bricks from the hot sun helping to keep your house cooler.

Play area

A veranda will give your kit home another area for your children to play. They can keep out of the hot sun during summer or shelter from the rain. Rather than being stuck indoors all the time it is good to have an area where children can get some fresh air without being attacked by the elements. Set up a table and chairs where they can play games, do drawings or play with play dough. You can buy small easels where they can stand and do paintings or build them a cubby out of blankets.

Entertainment area

Having a veranda added to your kit home will create an instant entertainment area. Build a timber decking or have a paved area where you can put your outdoor furniture and invest in a quality barbecue. Improve the look of the area by planting small trees, hedges and having creepers or plants that will grow up over your veranda or patios, such as wisteria or climbing roses. It is important to have a shaded area if you want to entertain outside otherwise you will get very hot and uncomfortable, not to mention sunburnt, sitting out in the direct sunlight.

Increase the value of your home

Adding a veranda to your kit home will also increase its value. Basically the more you add to your home the more you are going to increase its value.

Keep your home cooler

A veranda will help keep your home cool as it will stop the sun from falling across your exterior walls and from coming in through your windows. When the sun comes in through a window it can significantly increase the temperature inside the room. A house can also warm up once the outside walls become hot. Having your home insulated properly can reduce this problem.

Reduce your power bills

With a veranda keeping your home cooler for longer you will find that you need to rely on your air conditioner a lot less during summer which will in turn help reduce your power bills.