Home Maintenance

The New Normal: save money on laundry detergent

Better Life

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A while back I re-posted a money saving laundry tip from the blog HomeEc101. It mentions the many ways white vinegar can help you save money when you do your laundry at home. See the original money saving laundry tips there and over here too.  Then the super-awesome Sarah Cooper of CoopCrafts dropped by and [...]

22 March 2011 Read the full article →

Clean your dryer lint trap

Homeowner Help

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Did you know that the stuff they put in dryer sheets to make your clothes soft comes from… …well forget about it. Trust me, you don’t want to know what it comes from. Suffice it to say that I found out what it comes from one day when I stumbled on a vegan lifestyle website. [...]

29 January 2011 Read the full article →

Save money on laundry

Lifestyle

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Found today’s money saving tip on HomeEc 101, a nifty blog about all the things you were supposed to learn in your high school Home Economics class but probably didn’t pay attention to. You can use Borax or vinegar in your laundry to save money. I never knew this, did you? Vinegar is a cost-conscious [...]

26 January 2011 Read the full article →

Will my house ever sell?!?

Seller Help

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Sometimes selling your home in Metro Phoenix in 2010 can feel like a lot of hurry up and wait.  There are some things you can do to make the process quicker and less stressful.  This is reprinted from December 6, 2008. Gives you a little idea how long sellers have been struggling to sell their [...]

6 November 2010 Read the full article →

Quickie Around the House

Homeowner Help

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Quickie Around the House an occasional series of helpful homeowner tips. The series name has changed over time but it’s always focused on making your life easier. This Quickie is courtesy of Moxie Girl, a personal concierge-type service that you really should check out. Frustrated when cleaning scorched food from your stainless steel cookware? Add [...]

1 October 2010 Read the full article →

Buy for less than you pay in rent?

Buyer Help

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The conventional wisdom (and a lot of mortgage companies’ advertising) currently says that you can buy a house for cheaper than you can rent an apartment in the Greater Phoenix area.  Is it true? Mmmmm…  Yes and no. Case in point: First time home buyer, starter home in the south end of the 85016 ZIP [...]

4 June 2010 Read the full article →

Changes to lead paint rules

Central Phoenix

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Updated April 23  – Fantastic website launched by the EPA, HUD, the Ad Council and the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning. Get the facts about lead paint, prevention tips, and guidelines for Do It Yourself home renovations involving the potential to disturb lead paint. (LeadFreeKids.org) As of April 22, 2010 federal laws regarding safe [...]

19 April 2010 Read the full article →

What’s in your electrical box?

Buyer Help

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You might find it interesting to have a look at your electrical fuse box. A fairly frequent home inspection finding we’ve noticed lately is the ‘double tap’ inside the fuse box. If you click on that picture above, you’ll see that one fuse has two wires attached. I’m no electrician and I don’t even play [...]

10 April 2010 Read the full article →

Great packing, moving idea

Lifestyle

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Color-coded packing tape marked with the name of the room the stuff goes in. This is so cool!  U-haul.com sells this stuff, $2.95 for a 30yard roll. Frugalista bargain-hunter anal-retentive tightwad that I am, I wondered if I could do better on pricing.  I looked around online and found that OfficeMax sells ‘paper tape’ for [...]

8 April 2010 Read the full article →

Two must-have kitchen cleaners

Lifestyle

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This stuff is fabulous! If you have problems with a smelly garbage disposal, this might be just the ticket. You can generally find this at grocery stores, although I’m not sure I remember seeing it at my local Target (which has the new grocery section). It’s a little counter-intuitive to use, because of two things: [...]

6 April 2010 Read the full article →

Fix and Flippers, Bustin’ Your Chops Again

Op Ed

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Alright folks. I’m going to rag on fix and flippers again. I can’t help it; they leave themselves wide open. Investors! Listen up! When you buy a home at foreclosure auction, it’s going to need some work. Paint and carpet might not be all the house needs to make it livable. Case in point (these [...]

22 January 2010 Read the full article →

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