At Home With Valerie

Adding plants to your home will give it a fresher and brighter feel and will also improve your home’s air quality. Although it does take a little bit of work and consistency to maintain your plants, but it’s well worth the effort. Here are a few tips for keeping your plants looking great. Use leftover water from cooking. Plants love the extra nutrients from your leftover cooking water that can’t be found straight from the tap. Instead of dumping the water right after boiling vegetables, let it cool and use it to water your plants. Coffee makes great fertilizer. Rather than throwing your used coffee grounds in the trash, empty out your French press or coffee filter straight into a planter. Dust your plants. This should be part of your regular dusting and cleaning routine. Keeping your plants’ leaves dust-free keeps them healthier. Pay attention to soil types. Different plants require different soils. Do some res...

It’s easy to take a few missteps when it comes to lawn care, especially if you’re a new homeowner and it’s your first time being solely responsible for your yard and landscaping. Here are a few tips that will help you avoid lawn-related frustrations. Cutting the grass short . Lowering the height of your mower blades may give you a few extra days between each mowing, but it’s bad for your grass in the long run. Don’t go any shorter than 2.5 inches, or your grass could be starved for sunlight. Watch where your dog urinates . Finally out of an apartment and ready to let the dog into the back yard when it’s time to go? You might regret it. Your pets’ urine can kill your plants and grass. Try to train your dog to go in one spot, preferably in stone or gravel. Be careful with fertilizer . Fertilizing your lawn isn’t as simple as picking up any bag at a local store. Choosing the wrong fertilizer, using too much, or ignoring the instructions is a recipe...

Looking for a home improvement project which will up your home’s curb appeal and give you some great exercise in good weather? Look no further than building a new fence. Summer is an ideal time to tackle outdoor renovation projects. From driveway paving to sidewalk repair, the fair weather can be an ideal time to not only enjoy the outdoors, but take some time to improve the curb appeal and value of your home. One common outdoor project? A new fence. Whether you’re looking to install a decorative wooden garden fence, a chain link border for your pets, or a substantial privacy fence, there are some things you’ll want to keep in mind before you begin: 1. A permit may be required for fence construction. These may be issued by your county or your city, depending on where you live. 2. The size of fence may dictate need for permit. Some communities do not require permits for smaller fences. 3. If your fence shares a border with your neighbor, certain permits may requir...

Do you feel you’re wasting precious hours of every day staring mindlessly into your computer or mobile device? Then try these two helpful apps for managing your screen time. Screen addiction is real, and it’s not just adults who are suffering from the impulse to reach for that phone or tablet. It’s also taking a toll on kids ( https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/06/screen-addiction-is-taking-a-toll-on-children/ ). Even the parents of Silicon Valley giants are raising their kids with a dose of low-tech mindfulness ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rebecca-padnos-altamirano/raising-low-tech-kids-in_b_9559836.html ).  If you’re looking for ways to track and manage the amount of time you spend staring into your magic screens, you might want to check out the browser extension “Waste No Time” and the mobile app “Moment.” According to the website, “WasteNoTime is a browser extension which is designed to help you manage your time spent on the Internet more efficiently. Time...

Have you ever wondered what a “pocket listing” is?  Learn a little bit about this trend in hot markets and how an agent familiar with pocket listings can help you sell your home faster or find homes which haven’t hit the market yet. If you’ve been searching for a home or have been considering selling your home, you may have heard the term “pocket listings” from real estate agents or even friends and family. What is a pocket listing? Where did the term come from? How are pocket listings being used today to buy and sell homes? Pocket listings are homes which are for sale but not yet widely advertised or entered into typical MLS databases. Often an agent will enter into an agreement to sell a home, but will first reach out to their personal and professional network to see if anyone may be interested in a quick, private purchase. Ideally, the agent knows someone or another agent who has a client interested in the home and the whole process of listing and marketing the ho...