Friday's Freebie...

As the weather gets cooler we don't always get the weekend weather that's great for kids to get out; so this week I am featuring a couple up comming events they will enjoy, first is the Lowes Build and Grow Clinic.  On September 24th they will be offering a class on building a fire truck, complete with a siren.  After that, Home Depot is offering a Kids Workshop on October 1st from 9:00am - 12:00pm building a Fire Rescue Helicopter. 

Hope everyone is looking forward to a great weekend!

C.Q.

Friday's freebie...

I love the long fourth of July holiday weekend with all its grilling and fireworks. But if its raining it can be a real let down, espically for the kids. So, if rain is in your forcast tomorrow consider taking the kids to Home Depot for their free kids workshop. This months project on July 2nd is a coaster set, next months on August 8th is a pencil box. The kids free workshops are geared towards children ages 5 to 12, when they are done with the project they will recieve and achievement pin together wtih a child size orange apron, just like the Home Depot staff, to take home with their project.

Hope you all are looking forward to a great long weekend!

C.Q.

Thursdays picture perfect deal...

The picture...

Or recent snowfall left our backyard looking like a winter wonderland.  I love the contrast of the hardwoods with the white of the snow and the softness of the dead grass.

The deal...

Have a man on your list that's hard to shop for this holiday?  Check out the Home Depot's Ryobi free tool event.  Right now when you buy select tool kits you will get a free tool, this is a great way to stretch your holiday dollars. 

Have a great day everyone and stay warm!

C.Q.

Avoid having your holiday hijacked...

I noticed ads already for Black Friday pricing starting this weekend!  I think retailers are looking forward to the slightly better economy to boost their sales.  Many people have said that they plan to spend more this year than they did last year so stores are really competing to get your holiday dollar.  This can mean some really great deals for you but it also means more opportunity for scams.  Here is some helpful information to help you avoid being ripped while your looking for your perfect gifts.

Almost everyone knows not to fall for the "I have been robbed overseas please send me cash fast" scam that is going now or the "hey I am from Nigeria and need to get my cash out of the country please give me your Social Security number" that was popular a couple of years ago and still crops up every now and then, but what about the non-cyber crimes?  Here are some things to watch for as you battle the crowds.

First and foremost watch out for the straight forward and criminally tried and true method of simple pickpocketing.  Just like the retail stores, the holiday season is the high point for thieves as well.  To help avoid this take your shopping list and just one credit card, leave any others at home.  Its a good idea to keep a photo copy of the front and back of your credit cards in a secure place in case you do need to cancel them. Take your Drivers license for I.D., if you use checks don't carry a full book (I usually  only carry one) and make a note of the check numbers you have with you so you can tell the bank if you do get robbed.  Ladies need to keep their purse zipped at all times and guys should keep their wallets in a front pocket. 

Another theft that takes place during the holidays is the parking lot smash and grab, thieves will watch mall parking lots for people that need to bring their gifts to the car and go back into the mall.  To avoid losing all your holiday hard work this way make sure to put everything in the trunk, out of sight of prying eyes.  The very best way to avoid this is to see if the mall has a secured area to leave packages while you shop (this is usually only available in large metro areas or mega malls like the Mall of America) or move your vehicle when you come out to put things away.  I have done this in the past and it can be a hassle trying to find a new parking spot, but it is so much better than the alternative.

During the holidays department stores tend to hire seasonal help with a little less of a background check.  This is a scam that my parents fell victim to many years ago, a thief gets a hold of credit card numbers while checking you out then uses your card to purchase small things that you may not ever notice, usually under $10.00.  To help avoid this simply look at your statement when it comes, if you don't remember purchasing something for $5.95 on line then call the credit card company right away.

You have heard me talk about this before, when you are searching for that perfect gift sometimes a gift card is just the only option, but this time of year you need to be wary.  Thieves take gift cards that are displayed on grab-and-go racks, like in grocery and department stores. Using a handheld scanner they can read the code behind the magnetic or scratch-off strip on the back of the card. Using that and the number off the front of the card they can steal the value from that card, leaving you a zero balance to give as a gift.  If you do take a gift card from an open rack take it from as far back as possible.  An even better option is to buy gift cards from behind the counter, having to ask the cashier for the cards may be a little bit of  extra work but its better than giving a worthless gift card.

Lastly, keep an eye on your mail, both in coming and out going.  Petty thieves will think nothing of opening your mail this holiday for everything from gift cards and cash sent in your holiday greeting cards, to your bank statements and credit card bills so they can steal your identity.  The easiest way to avoid this is to mail your outgoing mail in a blue post office box and purchase a locking mail box for your home.  The locking boxes are not that expensive when you consider the cost of identity theft.  Home Depot has a good selection of them for both post and flush mount, depending on if your mail is delivered to your door or the street.

Have a great weekend everyone!

C.Q.

Thursdays picture perfect deal...

The picture...

I took this picture one spring when the trillium in our yard started to bloom.  They are nodding flowers so I had to get on the ground and point the camera up towards the flower. 

The deal...

We are fast heading into the holidays, a time of family meals, holiday pies and cookie exchanges.  If your stove of oven is on the fritz or you are looking for an upgrade Home Depot is currently having their appliance savings event, stoves, ovens, refigerators, washers, dryers and dishwashers are all on sale at drastically lower prices.  Check the prices online before you head into the store, that way you will know what features you want and are willing to pay for and what you can live without.

I hope you are all having a nice Veteran's Day!

C.Q.

Thursdays picture perfect deal...

The picture...

Up the stairs.  I liked the simplicity and the curve in this picture I took at the Split Rock Lighthouse in Silver Bay.  The stairs lead up to the light which was first light July 31, 1910.

The deal...

If your looking to add a little light to your home this fall then be sure to look at the Home Depot lighting department.  They are having a huge sale of 20% - 70% off of ceiling fans and lighting both on line and in the store.  The sale even includes solar walk way lights for out side, a nice touch when the sun sets at 4:00pm in the winter. 

I hope you are all having a nice Thursday!

C.Q.

Your castles capital

I apologize for the weeks delay in getting this done, we have had a rather trying week in the real estate market. As some of you may know we are in the process of selling two homes, one lake property and one is our main home. This is the time of year when prospective buyers pick up, people want to be in a new house come Spring so they can enjoy the Summer in their new house. There are a lot of things you can do to increase your homes potential to a buyer. If your house is not for sale then take a fresh look and ask yourself "If I were looking at this place to buy, what would I like to see done?" Now is the time to take charge and tackle a project so you can have a spruced up house by Summer.

A very easy and totally free way to spruce up your space is to change it up a bit, try rearranging your room, not only is it fun to see it from a new prospective but its good exercise. Don't just look at what is in one room, you have a whole house of furniture, try something from the living room in your bedroom, or take a table from the den and put it in the family room, really mix it up and have some fun. If you want to do this with less work Better Homes and Gardens has a very nice room planner that I have used often, you will just need the size of the room and the furniture dimensions. If you are doing this with an eye towards selling your property, remember that buyers like to see how much room there is so they can picture their things in the space. If at all possible, reduce the clutter to about 2 or 3 things per surface. This isn't always easy but it will help in the long run.

One of the easiest and least expensive projects is to paint. If you are selling keep the colors more neutral but try to avoid painting everything stark white, it tends to remind people of the little apartment they had in college. If you are not selling there is no reason not to go a little wild, if you have always wanted an accent wall in burnt orange then give it a shot, in my own house my office has bright green stripes with hot pink trim, it makes the bills a little less stressful. The worst that can happen is you need a little primer and a new color to paint it over. The thing to remember with paint is that its one of those things where you truly get what you paid for, look for a high quality paint that will go on easy and cover in one or two coats. We recently tried the least expensive brand we could find and in the long run used almost three times more than a more expensive paint. The total cost exceeded our budget because we had to use so much. Sherwin Williams has a $10 coupon, they have nice paints and I have found the store staff to be very knowledgeable. If you want to paint using a more green product Benjamin Moore has a new paint line out called Natura that has less fumes and will soon have a whole new line of eco-friendly paints and stains. Their sight also offers a color viewer that allows you to see the color before you paint your wall by uploading a photo of your room. Remember too that if you find a color you love but you don't like the paint manufacturer you can have the color custom made at any paint store for no extra charge.

Putting in new updated appliances can really turn a buyers head. Right now if you purchase an Energy Star appliance you may qualify for up to a $1,500 tax credit, this is good through the end of the year. Sears is offering 15% off off all their appliances right now and they will deliver for free right to your door. Best Buy has home appliance sales every week, this week the more you buy the more you save in addition to whats on sale, and the nice thing with them is you can use your reward zone card to get store credit back for your purchases. If the item you want isn't on sale be sure to ask the sales associate if they know when it will be going on sale, they often know and are more than willing to share this information.

Look down, are the floors in your house worn and dingy? If they are not bad and just need a good wash to make them look new and fluffy then be sure to check your local papers and Valpak mailer for coupons to carpet cleaners in your area. There are a couple of chains offering discounts, Coit Cleaners in Minneapolis and St. Paul has a 40% off coupon, Stanley Steamer has a spot on their site to check for deals in your area, Sears is has a special of $99 per room and ServiceMaster if offering $20 off your cleaning bill.

There are also a lot of general home repairs that can be done yourself. Both Lowe's and Home Depot have DIY videos available on their web sites. Lowe's went one step further with a breakdown of how much you can save per year on each project you do yourself, its very impressive! There are also a lot of helpful books available to both show you project details and just plain inspire you. Barnes and Noble is offering 15% off if you use coupon code X4L9P7H at check out and Borders is offering 25% off until 3/1/10 with coupon code BSE7281G. Both Barnes and Noble and Borders also have reward cards that will give you an additional amour off your purchase. There is a great site called BookCloseouts.com that has a wide array of house and home books far below the retail price and they have free shipping. I use this site a lot to find fun books at incredible prices.

As Spring gets closer outdoor curb appeal becomes very important, when the snow actually melts I will put together a blog with more information and ways to save with your lawn and garden in mind.

If you have done a fun project lately let me know about it, I love hearing about what others have done to make their house a home.

Have a great weekend all.

C.Q.