5 brightening tips for a dark space

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The Fall season means shorter days and shorter days means less daylight to brighten the inside of your home.

We’ve got a couple hacks to brighten up the rooms in your home to get you through the fall and winter season.still-life-625935_960_720

  1. Think White : White naturally reflects light without absorbing any. This will cause any visible light to bounce off any white surfaces making the room appear brighter.
  2. Add light fixtures to walls : Add light fixtures to walls that send the light upwards and downwards. This will spread the light across the walls throughout the room.
  3. Add some black : Adding black accents help give contrast in a light colored room helping the bright areas stand out even more.
  4. Area Rugs : If your home has a lot of dark floors, consider a bright or light colored rug to help brighten up those areas.
  5. Plants : Adding some house plants can make any room feel brighter and help give a room more sunny feeling vibes.

-The Neighborhood Handyman

5 ways to heat your home…

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I’m not sure how everyone else feels, but it seems like summer has flown by!

September is just around the corner and with it comes cooler weather.

We have 5 tips to help keep your home warm without breaking the bank.fall leaves

  1. If your home has a lot of big windows, consider buying heavy thermal curtains. When the sun goes down, closing these curtains will help keep in the heat…and the cold air out.
  2. If you have a fireplace (or two or three!), this is unfortunately a heat sucker as well. You can buy a Fireplace Plug at most hardware stores that will keep warm air from escaping up and out of the chimney!
  3. Reverse the ceiling fans to rotate clockwise. This will push cold air upwards and the warm air downwards, making the room feel warmer.
  4. Re-Caulking around the windows is relatively easy and inexpensive to do to keep warm air from escaping through cracks.
  5. Colder temperatures usually mean holidays and eating a lot of home-cooked food! Use this to your advantage and leave the oven door open after you’re done using it. This way the excess heat can escape into the kitchen and help make the air feel nice and toasty!

Hope these help!

-The Neighborhood Handyman

Summer Tips to Keep Your Home Cool

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It’s been especially hot in Kansas City the past couple of weeks. We’ve got some helpful tips that can help you get through these hot times without paying your life away in AC bills.

  1. Switch your ceiling fan to rotate counter-clockwise. This will push the air down creating more of a wind effect.  This is a great short video by Del Mar Fans and Lighting if you need a tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLHRHdy6Nuc
  2.  Be sure to keep your blinds closed, and use curtains if you have them, during the day because this can lower the indoor temperature as much as 10-20 degrees.
  3. If the temperature outside drops low enough at night, opening your windows and turning off the AC can help to cool down your home while you sleep.
  4. Break out the grill and cook your food outside. The more heat you produce inside, the harder it will be to stay cool.

Hope these simple yet useful tips help to keep you cool as we make it through these summer months!

The Neighborhood Handyman

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3 all-natural spring cleaning tips

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It seems spring has finally sprung!

If you are one of those people who would rather curl up in a blanket on the couch than clean your home during the cold winter months then this post is for you!

Here are 3 all natural ways to jump start your spring cleaning!

#1 The Microwave

We all know winter time is when we all eat more soup than usual and of course hot chocolate! This means our microwave can sometimes take a beating!

An easy way to clean up the mess inside is by using 1 cup Vinegar and 1 cup water in a microwave safe bowl.

Put the bowl in the microwave anywhere from 5-10 min depending on the wattage. Once the time is up, simply wipe down the inside with a wet towel for a squeaky clean microwave!

#2 Bathtub/Shower

All you need for this is half a grapefruit and some salt.

First, wet down your bathtub or shower and add a sprinkle of salt around the perimeter.

Then grab half of a grapefruit, put a nice amount of salt on top, and scrub your toilet with it. This will not only safely clean the surface, it will add a wonderful aroma to the entire room!

#3 Wood Cleaning

Save those chemical filled wood cleaning sprays for someone else! All you need for clean and conditioned wood surfaces around your home is 1/4 cup of Olive Oil and a few drops of Apple Cider Vinegar. Mix the ingredients in a bowl and use a soft cloth to wipe down the wood.

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Hope this helps get you started!

The Neighborhood Handyman

How to : Paint those walls

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Recently I’ve been hearing a lot of arguments about the proper way to paint a wall.  It seems painting with another person whether it be a friend, spouse, or relative is just about as dangerous as a game of Monopoly when it comes to losing and keeping good relationships.

So I found an awesome short video from Lowe’s about the proper techniques to make painting a room as painless as possible.

Hope this helps!