On The Move

LED holiday lights consume 80 to 90 percent less energy.
Tips on packing houseplants for a move.
IceStone is an earth-friendly option for countertops.

Moving Tips and Home Decor Ideas

Feed the Birds

Nothing cheers up a backyard like some singing birds, and a bird feeder is a sure way to attract them. Place the feeder in a quiet area, close to some trees and shrubs, where it’s easy to see and convenient to refill – then sit back and watch. (Just don’t place the feeders too close to cover or squirrels and cats could spoil the party.) Black-oil sunflower seeds – high in energy, with thin shells – are the most common variety offered in feeders, but there are plenty of other options.

Suet is a good choice for attracting insect-eating birds such as nuthatches and woodpeckers.

Nectar is sugar water used to attract hummingbirds and orioles. Be sure to change nectar every three to five days to prevent mold and fermentation.

Millet is a small, round grain commonly found in seed mixes, and it’s a favorite of smaller, ground-foraging birds.

Try mixed seeds containing millet, cracked corn and sunflower seeds to attract a variety of birds including sparrows, juncos, doves and quail.

Stay Warm Without Burning Cash

The cost to heat an average home is about $1,400 per year, according to the Department of Energy, and you can save close to 50 percent of that if your home is winterized correctly. Here are some tips to try.

Since warm air rises, the most effective way to save on heating is to have adequate attic insulation. Look for your ceiling joists. If you can see them, you need more insulation.
Seal up all cracks around windows and outdoor faucets with standard caulking or new Sidewinder Caulk that works in temperatures below 40 degrees.
Seal up cracks on the inside – around windows and around electrical outlets on exterior walls. For drafty windows, use a window insulation kit like the one available from Duck brand. It’s easy to install and costs about $3 per window.
Have a professional inspect your heating system each year to make sure it’s operating properly.
On average, it takes 14 percent of your overall utility bill to provide hot water. Wrap a water heater blanket around your water heater, insulate your water pipes and consider installing a timer on all electric water heaters. A $60 timer can pay for itself in about a year.

Making the Move

Ever wonder how many people move each year, or how most folks choose a neighborhood? We’ve got some answers:

One-sixth of all Americans – 17 percent of the total U.S. population – move each year.
Approximately 46 percent of all moves are job-related, 32 percent are due to retirement, and 22 percent are for other personal reasons.
The reason people (about 31 percent) are most likely to choose their new neighborhood is convenience to their jobs.
Individuals move 11.7 times in their lifetime, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Packing Your Plants

Houseplants often get relegated to the bottom of the list during a move, and that can lead to last-minute lapses – and a dead plant or two. Remember, plants can’t be loaded onto the moving van, so you must take your plants with you. Here are some tips to make sure your greenery arrives at your new home in tip-top shape.

For tall plants, pack sphagnum moss into the top of each pot and wrap the pot with plastic and tie it with string or tape. Then you can tip the plant on its side in the car without losing all the potting mix and making a mess.
If you’re moving in the winter, wrap plants with newspaper before loading them. Even a few seconds of exposure to extreme cold could injure them.
If you’re making several overnight stops along the way, treat your plants as you would your pet. Don’t let them get too hot or too cold, and make sure they get enough water.
Consider taking cuttings instead of the whole plant. Wrap the cuttings in wet moss and newspaper and place them in unsealed bags. Place bags in a carton and fill in around them with light packing material. The cuttings should survive several days’ travel and be ready to take root.

Light Up With LEDs

If you’re planning to deck the halls – and your house and lawn – with lights this holiday season, consider using earth-friendly LED lights, or light-emitting diodes, which burn brighter than incandescent holiday lights. LED lights cost roughly 30 percent more than regular lights, but they consume 80 percent to 90 percent
less energy. LEDs also last nearly 10 times longer than the incandescent variety, so you won’t have to replace them as often.

Go Green With IceStone

If you’re planning to replace the countertops in your new home, consider an environmentally friendly material called IceStone instead of granite. This material looks, wears and is priced like granite – and it comes in a variety of granite-like colors, from earth-toned neutrals to rich, saturated hues – but it’s actually a patented composite of recycled glass and concrete. Manufactured in a Brooklyn warehouse, IceStone countertops are VOC-free, not as porous as marble and just as heat-resistant as stone. Check out www.icestone.biz for more information.

We’ve Got Your Back

For a quick and relatively inexpensive way to spark up your kitchen, consider adding a ceramic tile backsplash. It’s easier than you think, and you can finish in a weekend. Glazed ceramic tiles cost, on average, between $5 to $10 per square foot, and many Web sites offer step-by-step instructions and videos. Just add tools, materials and motivation. Here are a few sites to get you started:

www.thisoldhouse.com

www.hometime.com

www.diynetwork.com

Interactive

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Images America

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Tools

Book Your Move

United Van Lines
To book your move or find a local agent, visit http://www.unitedvanlines.com.

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