Curb Appeal

Storage tips that’ll make packing up jollier.

Decking the halls is good fun and all, but shuffling through piles of wreaths, lights, ornaments, dreidels, wrapping paper, and stockings is nothing to fa la la about. 

Cut back on the holiday overwhelm with these organization ideas for your festive gear.

#1 Make a Holiday Closet

Instead of doing a holiday-themed scavenger hunt each November, put all your holiday gear in a single closet. You'll keep it dust-free, together, and at your fingertips. Since this closet will be all holidays, all the time, leave some of your decorations out and use them to adorn the space. Easy to find and festive; it's a twofer.

If your closet is unfinished, use the space between the wall studs to store hanging items.

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Quick-and-easy tasks that’ll brighten up your interior.

December.

The year's coming to an end. Time to do four small tasks for a bright (and money-saving) new year.

#1 Clean Light Bulbs and Fixtures

Two great reasons to clean your light bulbs: You want as much light in your house as you can get as the days grow shorter, and, you'll save money.

Dirty bulbs apparently shed 30% less light than clean ones, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Wipe bulbs with a cloth dampened by a mix of 1 oz. dish soap, ¼ cup white vinegar, and 3 cups of water. Get to it Dec. 1 so you're ready for the curtain fall on the shortest day of this year: Dec. 21.

#2 Evaluate Homeowner's Insurance

The holidays. You love them, but they do seem to eat

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Winter is a great time to prune your trees and shrubs!

And if you'd like to hire a professional, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) may be able to help. Their Tree-Bate program offers rebates for professional tree care – up to $100 for residential customers!

ABCWUA Tree-Bates!

Trees, while they do require water to survive, actually aid conservation by providing shade and reducing water loss to evaporation, not to mention the many other environmental benefits they bring to our community.  In order to promote proper care in our dry climate, the Water Authority offers “Tree-Bates” to help cover the costs of tree maintenance -- and even the purchase of new trees!   The “Tree-Bate” is 25 percent of the cost of…

By: Jan Soults Walker

Make an outdoor living area comfy long after the sun sets or the leaves turn with outdoor lighting, a patio heater, and a glowing firepit or portable fireplace.

Light the Deck or Patio

The sun sets sooner on your outdoor living space in the fall, but that shouldn’t limit the hours you use your deck or patio. Adding low-voltage or solar outdoor lighting fixtures lets you party or relax well after dark.

With both lighting types, you can:

• Light deck railings and stairs
• Define the patio perimeter
• Illuminate the edges of paths and walkways
• Draw attention to a planter or tree

Other fixtures light up dining tables, grill surfaces, and even underwater in swimming pools. 

Low-voltage fixtures clip onto a

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By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon

Upgrading your outdoor spaces? Here are upgrades that landscape architects rate as most popular.

If you’re thinking of sprucing up your yard, install what you love; but also pick upgrades that will increase your home’s value and, someday, attract buyers.

The new "2014 Residential Landscape Architecture Trends Survey" by the American Society of Landscape Architects clues you in on what outdoor features are trending up: 

1.  Outdoor lighting (98.3% of architects rated this as very popular): With today’s solar and LED lights, it’s a low-cost upgrade, too. 

2.  Terraces, patios, and decks (97.7%): Adding any of these features is like adding another room to your home for much of the year.

3.  Low-maintenance landscaping

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A new way to look at landscaping can protect your yard from severe weather patterns.

Contrary to what many may believe, severe weather doesn’t just beat up on the other guy. Mother Nature can wallop anyone’s home and yard.

That doesn’t mean you’ll have to watch your house reduced to briquettes by a wildfire or flooding test your home’s capacity for flotation. But your yard may lose some of its curb appeal if you let nature take its course and you experience events like drought, flooding, hail, high winds, or other uninvited elements. If severe weather is persistent or paired with deficient maintenance, it can set your yard back years. 

It may be time to rethink your ideas about traditional yards and landscaping. Consider new ideas that will stand

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Save time and money while adding touches of awesomeness to your yard.

We're all about indulging in Starbucks' latest seasonal concoction or this season's "it" bag. (OK, maybe a knockoff version of this season's "it" bag.) Trends are just plain fun — and they keep things interesting. But they also, by definition, are hip today and potentially worthless tomorrow.

And that's not exactly a recipe for success when it comes to your home and the first impression it gives. While a green lawn might be a safe bet to keep your home's value intact, let's face it: It's boring. 

For a little outdoor drama that won't cost much (and actually saves money and time instead), try these landscaping trends:

#1 Build a Rain Garden for Colorful Blooms

What's not

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These 5 timeless ideas work because they’re both fun and functional.

Outdoor entertaining spaces aren't always equal when it comes to home value (think about that house with the falling-down above-ground pool with no curb appeal at all). Homes that get them right, though, have patios and backyards that blur inside and outside spaces.

And the best thing: These outdoor entertaining space ideas have been working for decades — and adapt to most any house today. Here are five reasons why they work (and why you may want to add to your home).

#1 They Function Like Indoor Spaces

The more outdoor entertaining spaces mimic their indoor equivalents, the more functional they are. And you'll get more than sunshine and memories: an outdoor kitchen will add

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Like cleaning your siding — just be sure to start from the bottom and go up.

Could it really be summer?!

Tackle these five summer maintenance tasks during June's longer days and better weather — and save yourself time and money this winter.

#1 Update Outdoor Lighting

In June, winter nights are probably the last thing on your mind. But early summer is the perfect time to plan for those "OMG it's only 4:30, and it's already dark " moments by adding or updating landscape lighting.

The most energy-efficient, easy-to-install option is solar lighting, but it won't perform as well on dark or snowy days. For light no matter the weather, install electric.

LED bulbs last up to five times longer and also use less energy than comparable bulbs.

#2

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Don’t open the windows. That spring breeze is no help at all.

Once there's even a glimmer of spring, you're ready to throw open your windows and let the breeze blow away the winter funk. Well, you might want to rethink that spring cleaning ritual this year.

If you're an allergy sufferer (and who isn't?), that's the last thing you want to do, says Dr. Neeta Ogden, a spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. "It will allow pollen to settle in your home."

If you really can't skip that spring breeze, avoid opening windows in the morning, when pollen counts are highest. They decrease late in the day and at night.

That's not the only common spring-cleaning mistake homeowners make. Here are eight more to avoid:

#1

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