Monthly Archives: March 2012

Spend Less Heating Your Swimming Pool with Solar

I believe it’s comforting to know that no matter where you live on Earth, you get sunlight at least part of the year. And it’s nice that the sunlight can be helpful to the old wallet. Right now, I have spring fever and want to jump into a sparkling swimming pool that’s just the perfect temperature. Heating a swimming pool to that great temp is expensive, but going solar saves money and is more sustainable than other heating methods. When I started researching solar pool heaters I had many questions, so I decided that the best way to write this post would be to ask questions and then … [More]

How to Turn a Desk Drawer into a Keyboard Tray

I think a good vintage desk from the “Mad Men” era (that’s 1960s for nonfans) is far out. And yes, I’m using some 60s slang here! I also believe everything old can be made better than groovy again. So, I say to you, go ahead and dust off that lonely desk sitting in your storage unit, or start a search for an outta sight vintage desk at a thrift shop. The biggest hurdle to overcome when trying to make an older desk more ergonomic is the lack of a keyboard tray. It’s no biggie though. Vintage desks come with a middle drawer, often complete with a pencil tray … [More]

Get Rid, Get Paid, Part One

Is it me, or does it seem that lately there is major excitement and interest over self-storage auctions? It has me thinking about cleaning out my own house (and garage) and freeing up some extra cash. But how? There are so many different ways to sell your stuff. Which makes the most sense and the most money? Sometimes Old School is Better The online world can be fickle. You spend hours taking pictures, uploading, editing, and writing descriptions and then… nothing. Nobody bids, no responses. You still have to pay the listing fees, but you got nothing in return. When trying to make some extra cash, this can … [More]

Do It Yourself – Mudroom Organization

After reading all of the recent Extra Space Storage blog posts about organization, I have come down with a case of organization FEVER! Having bought our first home last year, my wife and I are slowly but surely going room to room organizing and decorating to our tastes and desires. One of the first areas we decided to tackle was our pantry. When walking in from the garage, you enter the pantry. On one side of the room there are shelves for food while on the other side there is a small, open space where we’ve set up our dog’s pen for when we are out of the … [More]

Decoding Plastic Recycling: Helpful LDPE and PS

Plastic shopping bags and those little packing peanuts, aw, things I love and hate, or is it love to hate? Annoying or not, these items (sometimes) have a place in my world, and they just might have more life to give after I’m done with them. By the way, are you surprised that packing peanuts are considered a plastic? As all delightsome things must come to an end, I remind you that this post marks the close of our series on plastic recycling. Previously, we discussed plastics PETE and HDPE, plus a more difficult trio to recycle: PVC, PP and Other. These last two plastics can’t always be … [More]

Organizing Children’s Spaces

As a child, it didn’t matter how many times my mother helped me clean up my room, because 24 hours later it was as though a tornado had played with every toy and tried on every clothing item and dropped it on the floor. Maybe that tornado looked a little like me, but a bit smaller. If only the magic of Mary Poppins were real in cleaning up children’s rooms. Snap your fingers and the toys jump into their toy box and the clothes hang themselves up. Oh, how I used to dream. Instead, I’d snap my fingers as I kicked the clothes and toys under my bed. … [More]

Weird Storage Findings

I thought a good way to break up the dragging afternoon would be to search the internet to find what weird things people have found in storage units. We’ve all heard the dime a dozen stories about people buying self storage units at auction and finding some random treasure that makes them thousands of dollars. I however, wanted to see what kinds of weird, interesting, unique, bizarre stuff people have found in storage units, regardless of whether or not it made them a lot of money. I was shocked to find a TON of examples, some of which were so shocking I chose not to write about them in this … [More]

Decoding Plastic Recycling: Difficult PVC, PP and Mystery Other

My household, like many others, has its share of yogurt and other dairy containers relaxing in the refrigerator. Yet, my wife’s yogurt habit doesn’t mean the nearby landfill will be swamped with plastic containers of yesteryear. Yogurt containers can be more difficult to recycle than the easygoing plastics PETE and HDPE, which we discussed recently in this series on plastic recycling. Yet, just because something isn’t easy doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it, right? While plastics identified with the numbers one (PETE) and two (HDPE) are commonly recycled, a few of the higher numbers in the plastic gang are a bit more difficult, or moody. Temperamental or not, … [More]

4 Easy Ways to Spring Clean Your Office

Spring cleaning sounds great, but I’m not sure where to start.Start with whatever area is bothering you the most – maybe the top of your desk or your overflowing storage area – or with whatever area you think will be easiest to tackle. Working on either one of those areas will be satisfying and will give you the oomph you’ll need to keep going. How do I clear out my old stuff without making a big mess in the process?Start small – just work on one defined area at a time, rather than an entire room. You don’t need to work on the entire space in one fell … [More]

It’s Easy Traveling Green

It is “easy to be green” now more than ever, especially when planning holidays and vacations. With Spring Break and summer right around the corner, I have been thinking about preparing for greener, eco-friendly vacations. I don’t know about you, but I am ready for some serious sunshine. The greenest type of vacation is always the staycation—your carbon footprint is minimized when there is no travel or hotel needed. Make it fun: think of the things you would do if you were visiting a new city (art and science museums, zoos, theater, parks, libraries, festivals, new restaurants, city centers). Chances are, you probably don’t visit those places in … [More]