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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1996-10-23, Page 10Page 10 Times -Advocate, October 23,1996 More living space without the expense One sure way for your house to appear larger—and ttwre appealing—is if clutter is eliminated and furniture and household goods are reorganized. Start going through your closets and cupboards, eliminating items you don't want to keep. Do the same in the garage and backyard. Get rid of, or store, the odds and ends. It's interesting to note that the longer someone lives in a home, the more used to the clutter they become. Try to be as objective as you can. Unfortunately, closets, cupboards and garages brimming with "old treasures" make a home look small and cramped. Carefully examine your furniture and consign items that are not needed to the storage or a garage sale. Most homes occupied by the same family for several years tend to be somewhat over -furnished. Another "item" that adds to the clutter of a home are excess knickknacks. Scrutinize the kitchen for rarely used utensils/gadgets; miscellaneous items in closets and cupboards, even small furniture and throw rugs. Pack or give away clothing that will not be worn as well. Rearrange and organize. Remove as many articles as possible from the kitchen and bathroom countertops to the cupboards below—they'll still be within handy reach in the newly created space. Organize closets. Clear off your night stands and bureaus. Size up the arrangement of your furniture—any room for improvement there? Last but not least—don't forget the outside. Sweep the garage and sidewalks, trim the lawn and bushes and put away any excess clutter. Give, your home a stitch in time The bat way to make sure that your plumbing, heating and cooling systems are performing as they should is to start at the bottom and work your way up. Your whole -house audit should begin in the basement and include the following: • Furnaces or Boilers—Although it's the largest energy user in the home, most people don't think about their furnace or boiler unless it stops running. ning. A good rule of thumb is to consider replacing your furnace or boiler if it is more than 20 years and had been experiencing minor breakdowns. •If your water heater is ten to 15 years old, it will need to be replaced soon. It is generally suggested that the average family of four needs a 50 gallon (225 litre) unit to ensure fast recovery of hot water. • Fix all leaky faucets and fixtures. A leaky faucet can waste 1,000 gallons (4500 litres) of water every month. Remember to check your toilets as well. If you can hear the water running into the closet bowl after the toilet is flushed, some part of the toilet is out of order. • Sump pumps do not need much maintenance but you should keep the sump pit debris -free by scooping out the sediment at the bottom of the 30 -inch deep pit. • Air conditioners—This system works best when checked by a professional before each cooling season. But there are some things you can do to prepare the indoor and outdoor parts of your system. Trim away any shrubbery that might have grown too close to the outdoor unit. Wash down the outdoor coil with a garden hose to Are you in hot water? Water heating is the second largest energy use in your home, so how you choose to heat it is a very important decision. Whether you are building a new home or renovating an existing one, some heating alternatives can produce hot water faster and reap large savings in your energy bill. Propane can be a more cost effective method for many homeowners. The average annual operating cost for electric water heaters is about 45 per cent higher than for those fueled by propane. That means gas units heat almost two gallons of water for the same cost it takes to heat one gallon with electricity. It also means you could be paying $200 or $300 more each year to run your electric water heater. Propane also produces hot water faster and more efficiently then its electric counterpart. Gas units can also be easier to maintain since they don't rely upon electric heating elements that often must be replaced more than once over the life of the appliance. The two most common types of propane water heaters are storage and instantaneous systems. 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One of the newer propane gas technologies is the "combo system", a single unit that both heats a home and supplies hot water. In a cost-efficient combo system, water brought to the desired temperature is pumped through a heating coil that heats air blown over it by a fan. Water runs to the water heater to meet household needs, while the fan circulates warm air to the house. Units are 94 percent energy efficient. For more information on cutting water heating bills, call your local propane company located in the phone book's Yellow Pages under "gas, propane" or "gas, liquefied". remove any accumulated debris. Change the filter. Since it's more cost efficient to have a professional check both the beating and cooling system at the same time, now's the time to give your heating system a check. Concerned about what's in your DRINKING WATER These contaminants are present in our drinking water • Pesticides • Bacteria • Sewage • Chlorine • Cryptosporidium • Lime CaII to see how a Lifetime Water Distiller can enhance taste and ensure safety in your drinking water JFerIme .StaiWnater s Distillers • lesCool<wsire 11()\11 I'1,11 11 )1 l 1. I\ I 1 1 R ESTABLISHED 1986 7 -7s -is Z's what At Country Flowers, we love to decorate homes. Our accessories add interesting touches, our floral designs soften corners and add colour and texture to a room. We enjoy working on a one to one basis with our customer. Homes need not be large, but they need to be a pleasant environment, so we can relax and enjoy our few precious moments of leisure. Home decor is very personal. Each one of us has a different lifestyle and our home decor should reflect this. At Country Flowers, we are constantly reviewing home trends. We travel to furniture and gift markets in Canada and the U.S. to see what is happening in home decor now and in the future. Watching carpet trends, paint trends, reading books, magazines and product gu}des help us know what is next! Our store front is brimming with artificial stems of flowers, berries, branches and pods which change with each season. The customer and designer wander together through the store picking beautiful stems to coordinate with fabric or carpet. We will even go to your home to coordinate colour and style. A custom arrangement is then made specifically for the customer. The final effect is beautiful as the arrangement matches your decor perfectly. Price is very important as we purchase product for our store, but we are not always looking for the 'cheapest' as the box stores do. Our prices are very good, but cheapest isn't our goal. Our goal is quality and value. We strive to select pieces that are current and pleasing to the eye at the best price possible. We are one of the largest flower shops in Ontario, therefore we buy in large quantities and receive many price breaks which we pass on to our customer. Our name is 'Country Flowers'. We don't think anyone does Country better; but we also do amazing contemporary, traditional, Victorian, South Western or any other style to suit your home. The 'Country' in Country Flowers really implies the values of our store - freshness, good, down home service and warm friendly surroundings. Our product mix is second to none, our staff is caring and professional and our goal is to provide a well designed, well priced floral piece which you will enjoy for years. Please, browse our store, we'd love to have you visit us! P.S. Our fresh flowers are the freshest, most beautiful flowers you can find, that's another thing we love to do! CO r.,I ,r •�� ' I RS 391 MAIN STREET, EXETER, ONTARIO NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-2350 Stewarts Home Renovations Since 1971. Lucan. Ont. 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The den, set apart Iran he matin traffic areas„ would make an ideal sax* room or hone office. psteel, the proal roan provides at roam to aoconrmodale a variety of L4rnss equipment, and also a spike swing imitedout window seat. There let man for /our bedrooms, buy t 5,w is fie nailffih d bedroom could be used as e library with a view to the bier and Alm mom The mater, ressrvid for Hoe kInt (and queen) of this castle, boats a Welke; West, plenty of and a five p ebi insults WO • rsrbeq, be eclat wafer he. unfinished assay* swots your awn areae touch. kit One ittllr bi (*faiwd for $$90.00 lb a package allho o h,t st• sea of *aft prints and 00 Ibr aalli 4&$L rwf est dor spina plan. Mara 912.00 entre t cow the cost of pastry and N O isiklMlaf add appfkabM sates tax to plan total). (M Canaan rwk$ma add 7% 097 to NW pas poets. and aandlInt) M era of out new designs. 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