Home Improvements for 2017

Painting started Jan 2016 

Organizing the home seems to be the common New Year's Resolution for your home and like most personal resolutions, like losing weight, eating healthy, and exercising - it usually gets placed on the back shelf by March.

hardwood floor is done - still needs the trim

Last year, we decided to make all the necessary Home Improvements, we had been putting off. We had a new roof installed, all new energy-efficient windows installed, a new soaker tub in the bathroom, we painted all rooms, EXCEPT the bathrooms, and 1 bedroom that still needs to be done. We bought steel shelving for the garage -We installed new flooring in the laundry room and 1 bath and we bought a new stove and microwave as well as a new washer and dryer and put hardwood flooring in our hall.

Expect the Unexpected - we had to rip up the carpet in the office due to cat urine. 

On our list was possibly going Solar. We checked into it - the contractor came out but we have too many trees and I am not willing to cut them down. I am a TREE LOVER. Anyway, with our new energy-efficient roof and windows, I have noticed a huge difference.

2017, has us moving just a few things to this year's LIST. But the main focus will be the exterior of our home.

2017

New Carpet for Living room and master bedroom. (That comes on Wednesday)

ORGANIZE the house. (storage etc)

Paint house trim and front door

Landscape front and back yards

redo our covered back patio.

extend front patio

Plant a small vegetable garden in containers

Hanging plants

More bird feeders

and we may have to get a new hot water heater - it is already 9 years old. We are thinking about replacing it with a tankless water heater with instant hot water. 

How nice.

From 2016

paint master bathroom

install floor

paint hall bath

paint cabinets in both bathrooms

change fixtures

new ceiling fan in the master bedroom

my husband needs to finish the hallway

I am sure I have forgotten a few little things - I call that"Fluff". It's all the fun stuff.

WHY did we do all of this? My husband retires in 6 years and we wanted to get our home, fixed up and IMPROVED so we don't have to do this when we are on a limited budget. 

It has been a sacrifice of time and money - we haven't taken a big vacation. (Although I don't like to leave more than 4-5 days - I miss my animals and my house)

So here's to 365 days of Home Improvements!  

Lord willing, I hope 2018, I can say, we're DONE!

Natural Ways to get rid of ANTS

We've been dealing with an INVASION of ants. To be honest with you, I don't know what kind of ants we have, so we need to put on our detective gear and start detecting. 

Basically, there are 3 types that could be responsible for invading my space. Each species have different behaviors, preferences in food, and remedies that will be effective in keeping them out.

Some ants are specific to certain areas.  This post will cover remedies for odorous house ants and carpenter ants.

Odorous House Ants 

This type of ant is attracted to sweets and is commonly found in the kitchen. Odorous house ants will leave a chemical pheromone trail wherever they travel. I did not know this. I thought Odorous House Ants, were like Stink Ants. You know, that they smelled and left an odor. They do, just only for other ants. If you kill them, other ants will follow the odorous trail and show up in the same places. This means the entire colony must be killed. When you see the first few ants, you can sponge them (and the surrounding area) with soapy water to eliminate the pheromone trail. Immediately work to figure out where they’re getting into your house, and begin placing homemade ant bait at the entry points.

 Homemade bait for house ants

 Borax will kill odorous house ants, and powdered sugar will attract them. Make a homemade bait by thoroughly mixing one part borax with 3 parts powdered sugar. Fill tiny containers (such as bottle caps) with this homemade bait and place them as close to the place where you suspect ants are entering your house. If you see trails of ants, place small containers of the mixture directly in their path. This prevents most of them from traveling all-around your house if they have easy access to this sugary treat.

 Have pets or kids who might get into this powdery mixture? Try this instead: mix one cup warm water with ½ cup sugar and 3 tablespoons of borax. Soak it up with cotton balls and place them in shallow dishes near ant trails.) Resist the urge to kill all the ants you see. They will carry the bait back to the nest, unable to differentiate between the borax and sugar, and the borax particles will eventually kill the entire colony. The more ants that are allowed to find the bait and carry it back, the faster the colony will die off.

 More tips for house ants

• Spray vinegar near baseboards, in any cracks, and on countertops where they may be traveling. You can allow the vinegar to dry on surfaces or wipe with a clean cloth – this eliminates their chemical trail and will deter some of the stragglers. Repeat several times a day.  
• Practicing good sanitation practices is one of the best ways to make your home less attractive to ants. Keep spills, crumbs, and garbage cleaned up in the kitchen. 
• Make sure all food – especially anything sweet – is stored in tightly-sealed containers or zip-top bags. They will get into things like jars of honey that have drips on the side or around the lid, so sealing the jar in a zip-top bag will protect it. 
•  Even if you’re using a natural ant bait, if there is a more desirable snack, like spilled soda or cookie crumbs, they will choose that over bait.

 Carpenter Ants Carpenter ants are commonly found around homes in wooded areas. They don’t carry the bait back to their nests, so you have to kill them at the source. This means you have to do a little detective work to find the nest(s). Don’t bother using the borax/sugar bait – they’ll just feed on it like little piggies at a trough.

 They will typically live outdoors very close to the house, and eventually, enter your house in search of food and water. How to find the nest Carpenter ants live in wood and tunnel through it. The best clue to look for is small piles of very fine sawdust – the remains of the wood they have chewed through. You will typically find carpenter ant nests in moist wood in foundations, decks, woodpiles near your house, trees, gaps between boards, etc. If you take some time to figure out where ants are entering the house, you can usually track them back to a nest. It’s easiest if you kill all the ants in sight, then watch for new ants to appear to determine their general entry point. This may give clues to holes that need to be sealed up, rotting foundations where they’re living, or cracks under doors they’re traveling under.

 Natural carpenter ant remedy The best natural remedy we have found for eradicating carpenter ants is Diatomaceous Earth (DE). DE is completely natural and organic. It is made from tiny skeletal remains of algae-like plants. DE is lethal dust for insects. Its microscopic razor-sharp edges will cut through the body of insects, drying them out and killing them. If ingested by carpenter ants, it will shred their insides. There are different types of DE, so keep in mind you must get food-grade DE for pest control. (You do not want the DE that is sold for swimming pools – it has a different make-up.)

 Food grade DE is completely safe to be used around kids and pets and can be sprinkled around the home and yard without posing a threat. Find food-grade Diatomaceous Earth here. In order to get rid of a colony of carpenter ants, DE must be injected directly into the nest. We used a medicine dropper to squirt dry DE into cracks where we found them nesting. You can also use a gadget like this to spray it into cracks or holes. DE must be reapplied after it rains. The best advice I can give to get the most out of your DE treatments is to stay on top of it! This pesky ant species may relocate their nests and find new ways into your house. If you see a resurgence, put your detective hat back on and find that nest.

 Other Tips for Getting Rid of Ants

• Some ants like protein and grease. Mix a spoonful of peanut butter with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of borax. Using a plastic straw, tap the end into the mixture repeatedly until the straw is full of the mixture. Cut the straw into ½ inch pieces and place them next to ant trails. 
• Put a few drops of peppermint essential oil on a cotton ball and place in areas ants are crawling around. (find 100% pure essential oils here) 
• Sprinkle cinnamon (being careful not to get it on things that will stain) near entry points. 
• Some ants dislike baby powder. Sprinkle around the perimeter of the house or indoors where ants are entering your house. 
• Rub a little Vaseline near the areas they are entering the house.

More ideas for our office flooring

Source: trendir

We are down to the bare, cold, cement floor in our office. It will have to wait till after Christmas, more like after the new year. I saw this and loved it. It would take too much work for us, and we won't pay to get someone else to do it -

 but I love the look. 

Source: improvisedlife

Source: houzz