How to Save Energy and Money Lighting Your Home

Making energy-efficient light bulb purchases is certainly a major way to trim the fat from your electrical bill, but there are many other techniques you can draw upon. 

1) Turn off lights that aren't being used. This is the simplest, most common-sense solution, which can result in surprisingly significant energy savings. Consider that a 75-watt light bulb left on for a couple hours daily can comprise up to 2 percent of your overall monthly lighting bill. Shut it off when you leave the room. 


2) Be sure to dust. A dusty bulb is an inefficient bulb. Get out the dust rag, and get your money's worth from your lighting. 

3) Use task lighting. Don't flood an entire room with light when all you need is a small reading lamp. Choose lighting that meets your specific functional needs. 

4) Place lamps in corners. Doing so allows light to bounce off two wall surfaces, meaning you will need fewer lights overall. 

5) Choose light colors when painting your walls. Light reflects off pale tones more easily than it does off dark shades, allowing you to use lower-wattage light bulbs in your home. Where glare isn't a problem, consider paints that have high reflective values. 

6) Use daylighting techniques. This is the practice of using natural light for illumination. Enhancing your home's daylighting can mean everything from simply moving your desks and work surfaces closer to sunny windows to installing new skylights. See Daylighting Techniques for more on these methods. 

7) Use automatic timers and/or dimmers. Timers, which regulate electrical usage by turning on and shutting off lighting sources at set times, and dimmers, which allow you to modulate the brightness of a lighting source, can contribute greatly to energy savings. For more on these, see Light Switch Options and Lighting Dimmer Switches. 

8) Don't neglect outdoor lighting. Outside lights are often left on unnecessarily. Using things such as timers, motion or photoelectric sensors, or solar power with your exterior lighting setup can be helpful. For more, see Energy-Efficient Outdoor Lighting. 


http://www.hometips.com/diy-how-to/save-energy-money-lighting-home.html

Homeowner Newsletter: Novmber 2011

Homeowner Newsletter: Novmber 2011

Message From The President

Gardens Home Management Services hopes everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! Below you can read about some of the services the GHMS team can help you with this season! Also, check out the video below about "Healthy Homes". As always, if there is anything at all that I can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact me.

How Healthy is Your Home?

We are bombarded with toxins and dangerous chemicals every day. And our own home is likely the most dangerous place of all. Everyday products and behaviors of any modern family pose surprising health risks. Duct and vent cleaning have health advantages, and can even reduce your energy bills and extend the life of your forced air system. Contact Us Today to schedule an appointment. + Contact Us

Professional Interior Cleaning

Maid Service: One of our most popular services! Our housekeeping & interior home care services are provided by fully trained, licensed, bonded & insured caretakers. Our standard detail or freshen-up programs are designed to keep your house maintained to your requirements and budget level. 

High Cleaning: Have trouble reaching your fans or high mirrors? GHMS offers a professional High Cleaning service to clean those hard to reach areas!

Carpet Cleaning: GHMS can make your carpets look and smell like new! We offer great pricing and guarantee our service! + Read More

Winter Flowers

Is your home due for a landscape upgrade? Let Gardens Home give your home a landscape makeover. By adding annuals or giving your lawn an ornamental treatment, your yard can outshine your neighbors. We are offering 20% OFF on all winter flowers offered for your home. + Contact Us

Get Your “Honey Do” List Complete

Gardens Home Handyman services can take care of your to do list. We offer a variety of services from complex installations to routine service installations. GHMS takes pride in keeping its homeowners homes in pristine condition. Our services will keep your home looking above and beyond your standards.

Carpet Care

Regular care is essential for maintaining the appearance and wear life of your carpet. The amount of cleaning required depends on how much traffic the area receives, where the carpet is located, and environmental conditions. Routine vacuuming, responding quickly to spills and stains, shampooing and professional cleaning periodically are necessary for maintaining your carpet.

http://www.homecarepro.com/home-care-tips/Carpet-Care

Healthy Lawns

Keeping your yard healthy does not have to be at the expense of the community or planet if you take the green path to greenery. With a little bit of effort, education, and commitment, your yard can be a healthy tool to not only conserving natural resources but also improving the state of the environment.
http://www.hometips.com/ecologically_smart_yard_garden.html

Pool Sanitization

The traditional method of sanitization is the use of chlorine, which not only eliminates bacteria but is also able to break down organic debris through oxidation.

Chlorine comes in liquid form, though this is not commonly used for home pools; granular form, which is dissolved before being added to pool water; and tablet form, which is placed in a floating feeder that slowly dissolves and then releases the chlorine into the pool. The chlorine, in reaction with the pool water, produces hypochlorous acid, or what is called “free chlorine,” which is actually what sanitizes the water. But, free chlorine degrades rapidly in sunlight, so cyanuric acid, which stabilizes the compound, is added with the chlorine.

Upgrading Your Bathroom

Today's bathrooms have become beautiful, efficient, luxurious spaces that are key to the comfort, style, and value of our homes. When it comes to identifying the areas of homes that warrant the cost of remodeling or improvement, bathrooms often top the list.

http://www.hometips.com/bathrooms.html

Faux Finishes

Color washing, sponge painting, rag rolling—these are just three of the many available paint application techniques that can give a home’s interior walls stunning color, tone, and texture.
Light, bright, animated, subdued, aged— whatever mood you want for a room, you can use paint and decorative techniques to help create it. These effects can be subtle, with translucent color layered over a similar shade of opaque paint, or bold and brassy, thanks to new metallic paints.
And fabulous walls don’t have to require expensive materials or application by custom artists. All it takes is a little expert guidance to help you with the step-by-step techniques, which is what you’ll find in this section of HomeTips.