Location, location, location is the mantra in real estate, but is also applies to your yard this time of year when you want to lower energy bills and create curb appeal. Positioning the right combination of plants and trees can yield shade, beautify, and unearth energy savings. Such smart or energy-efficient landscaping, claims the U.S…. Continue reading.

In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the typical family spends up to 18 percent of its utility dollars on water heating. Good news: It’s simple to lower that cost. Here are six tips: Get rid of your old showerheads and bathroom faucets.  They pump out way more water than you need to… Continue reading.

Saving energy isn’t difficult, but it’s not automatic. You need to plan to buy energy-efficient appliances and to develop energy-wise lifestyle habits.  Here are 15 easy things to do around the house to save electricity and pare down your energy bill: Adjust your thermostat. Even one or two degrees can add up to great savings. … Continue reading.

I’m a sucker for household hints, those tried-and-true tips designed to help you clean up, tidy up and make your home a better place to be. Anytime I can save time or money, or cleverly repurpose something I never thought I could, is a great time as far as I’m concerned. So, just in time… Continue reading.

I remember eating dirt as a preschooler totally oblivious to the fact that it was, well, dirty. And, in the not-so-distant past, though I certainly washed my hands throughout the day, I rarely used disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer. I would, I suppose, when I wasn’t near a faucet before digging into my French fries… Continue reading.

By Richard G. Biever Between a drought and a lack of pollinators, the Community Share Gardens at Lebanon’s St. Peter’s Episcopal Church had little harvest to share in 2013. But help soon came from above — on the wings of … not a snow white dove … but honeybees. From the church’s small but active… Continue reading.

Jay County, which sits along on Indiana’s eastern edge with Ohio, is a portal into significant passages of Indiana geography, history, and culture. To name three: The Wabash River. Indiana’s official state river enters Indiana through Jay County. The river’s origin is just over the state line, and the Wabash meekly flows in along Jay… Continue reading.

If your garage doubles as a catch-all room for junk you haven’t gotten around to getting rid of, your house has a its own den of hazardswaiting to happen. If you want your garage to be safe for your family to park cars, retrieve sports equipment or even root around for lost stuff, clean it… Continue reading.

If you were to pull your desk or your TV cabinet out from the wall, you’d probably find a tangle of cords, cables, wires and plugs. That tangle isn’t so good for your electronics. Besides creating a tripping hazard, a mess of electrical cords could lead to a fire if they’re all plugged into the… Continue reading.

While you’re spiffing up the house this spring, don’t neglect your appliances: Dust the refrigerator. Refrigerators exchange heat through a system of coils. A buildup of dust and pet hair will make the unit run longer to have the same cooling effect and use more electricity. Vacuum the coils on the back and underneath to… Continue reading.

If you have leftovers from last Tuesday lurking in your refrigerator, now’s the time to pull on your latex kitchen gloves and clean them out. You could be putting your family at risk for food poisoning should somebody decide to snack on the smelly scraps. It’s true a refrigerator operates more efficiently when fully stocked…. Continue reading.

Adding a few items to your list of spring chores can help make your home more energy efficient and deliver electric bills that won’t make you sweat when temperatures soar. Start with your air conditioner Spring and early summer are good times to make sure that your air conditioning unit is ready to work when… Continue reading.