Posts Tagged ‘kitchen’

Pollution is the evil that we release upon our planet every day, as we power our cars, homes, and businesses. If you are one of those who sees the need to pull away from traditional forms of energy and look for cleaner, renewable sources of energy, this article should be helpful to you. The first place you can start has to be your own home. Have you thought about investing in solar panels for home? The expenses would be much lower if you choose to take some time and effort to find out how to make solar panels on your own.

Those looking to save energy and live a greener life may want to consider reducing the amount of lighting in their house. Ask yourself if you really need four lamps in a single room, or read with a book light rather than using your rooms lighting at night. This simple tip can go a long way to reducing your energy consumption. Are you still using oil heat? You could switch to a greener solution without replacing your furnace. Find a qualified technician to inspect your system and make sure you can switch to a biofuel. Biofuels are non-toxic, degradable and renewable sources of energy that you will be able to re-use.

Consider the amount of energy it takes to run your computer. Different people hold different opinions on whether they prefer the use of a desktop or a laptop. There are two things for sure that cannot be argued against when it comes to laptops. They are portable, and they save you money on energy costs when compared to desktop computers. Computers are one of the pieces of equipment in your house that uses the most energy, so why not save some money? A good energy saving tip for those looking to go green is to wash your clothes in the washing machine only when you have a full load. Washing a few articles of clothing is just wasting energy.

You do not have to leave your electronics behind to live a green lifestyle. Recharge your electronics with solar chargers and you no longer have to be concerned with your electronics being a drain on the environment. It is a small investment that pays off quickly in electric bills and a guilt-free conscience. A high-efficiency furnace becomes far less efficient with a clogged, dirty filter, so change your furnace filters often. This is especially important if you use tightly-woven pleated filters, because the HVAC system must work much harder to draw in air through its tiny openings. Most filters need to be changed or cleaned at least once every 3 months.

Think outside of the box. While many people think ‘solar’ panels when they think of green energy, there are other ways to take advantage of the sun. If you are building a new home, consider incorporating passive solar design into the home. By building with materials such as concrete or adobe and taking advantage of the sun’s natural heat with south-facing windows, you can create a home that will naturally heat itself in the winter and stay cool in the summer. Buy a box of Ziplock quart size baggies and use these to make your own snacks. Whether you enjoy a bit of trail mix, Chex Mix, or a tasty muffin, you can use this bag and wash it when you get home to use the next day. Keep your snacks green by washing and reusing these baggies for your snacks until they are too worn.

Make use of the natural sunlight for great green energy savings. Install solar tubes in your home which take the light from outdoors and bring it inside so you do not need to use lamps and other lighting sources as often. These are relatively inexpensive and are great for increasing the value of your home. Save energy by making a switch to rechargeable batteries. Your house is probably full of game devices, remote controls and digital cameras that use large quantities of batteries that eventually find there way into the trash. Buy several battery chargers with multiple slots and enough rechargeable batteries to have some charged and ready the next time you need batteries.

As you can see, knowing the basics about green energy technology is important. Now that you know these basics, you can begin using what you’ve learned to save electricity and other energy in your home. Pass on what you learned to someone else; so that they can save the environment and some money, too.

Question: Do I pay Sales Tax if Lowes or Home Depot are remodeling my kitchen and bathroom?
If I am purchasing all the material for the remodel from them (cabinets, tile, sinks etc) and they are installing everything, do I have to pay sales tax on those products? What about the labor, is that taxed? I am confused about “capital improvement”.

P.S. I live in New York

Answer:

Answer by the tax lady
If you buy it, you pay sales tax.
If they buy it, they pay the sales tax and add it to the amount you pay them.

The fact that it’s a capital improvement doesn’t change this. (The sales tax is added to your basis.)

OVER 100000 VIEWS??? YOU GUYS F-ING ROCK!!! Another All-time great for pop television, The Man’s Kitchen. A guy’s gally. I am man. Hear me roast! *simian grunting*. Copyright 2006 Futuramklax Inc.

The Taylors vacation at a Lake Michigan resort… while Tim tries to give more power to the BBQ concept, Randy meets with Lauren and Brad breaks up with Angela. Mark’s changing, but is it for the better? Tim is seriously considering quitting Tool Time and moving permanently to this country resort.

Many times sinks are clogged in the P trap that hangs beneath the sink. This means the P trap must be removed. Watch as a professional home repairman unclogs a kitchen sink in this free video on home improvement.Expert: James Drew Contact: www.jnchomerepair.com Bio: James Drew is the owner and president of JNC Home Repair in Austin, TX. Drew is also an HVAC certified tech with more than two decades experience in plumbing, masonry, and carpentry. Filmmaker: Todd Green

There are two rooms that every householder strives to keep clean and organized by providing appropriate storage therein. You guessed it right: kitchen and the bathroom.

But there are different reasons for each of these. We tend to keep our bathrooms reasonably uncluttered for a couple of obvious reasons. One reason is that there are not many items that we can imagine for being dumped there, thus keeping away most of the clutter that gets piled up in other rooms. Another is that bathrooms are normally small in relation to other rooms, and therefore do not come to mind when looking for somewhere to store something . This makes the bathroom a simple room to keep clean and tidy, so we usually keep on top of any problem.

There is really not that much that needs to be kept in the bathroom, so organizing storage is usually simple. Towels are likely to be the most bulky things you need to accommodate, so adequate rails are important. Bathroom shelving usually does not need to be extensive. When you get some floating shelving, problem is solved. Generally it suffices to have a cabinet above the sink and vanity, but that may not be good enough for a large family with members of diversified age. Then additional cabinets may be needed. Corner shelving would suit most of the bathrooms as it easily fits into the shower area or cubicle thus keeping everything at arms length while you are showering. There are many floating shelf ideas to use.

Kitchen, on the other hand is quite different and needs more consideration. In most homes it is the only working room, unless there is a home office. Most people who cook like, and need, to have things well organized, and that, coupled with the need for hygiene, means that we have more inclination to keep a kitchen neat and tidy than anywhere else in the house. There may be exceptions, but most of the time it holds true.

When remodelling or renovating a kitchen, it is worth taking the time to find out just what options are available for your project. As each kitchen design is different, it is possible to save money by taking stock of exactly what changes need to be made to totally remake your kitchen – also, if you have a set budget to spend on a kitchen, you can re-allocate some of this money to include accessories and luxury extras that originally lay outside the budget for the kitchen itself, giving your project the high level of finish you want.

The reason these savings can be made is that a total refitting and finishing of your kitchen is not always necessary, and depends entirely on the state of the solid units of your kitchen as they stand. As you will be aware, the structural elements of your kitchen (cupboards, worktops, complete units, etc.) are of an entirely functional nature – they can be the solid canvas over which your new design can be placed, with the same results as a complete refit. With new kitchen and cupboard doors, new cabinet facings, there is often no need to refit a kitchen whose structural are intact.

By taking the time to assess whether or not a complete refit is necessary for your kitchen project, it is possible to find yourself in a totally new field of flexibility when it comes to your budget. The partiality of a design advisor will ensure that you’ll be told the opposite, but as you know the history of your own kitchen, you’ll be well aware of any real refitting work that needs doing, and whether or not a refacing project would make more sense to you as your situation dictates.

In a common refacing project, one might have the kitchen doors, cupboard and cabinet doors and finishings replaced will totally transform the kitchen to achieve that fresh, bright, and unified feel of a new kitchen. By opting to renovate only the elements normally in need of replacement, we will save the best part of our budget by avoiding costly work where it is not required. By doing this, it’s possible to completely change a kitchen space without needing to project some future date at which it might be possible to completely refit every existing element of the kitchen.

Furthermore, through a kitchen remodelling service, it’s possible to get a complete bespoke kitchen refacing for the same price as a regular refit, ensuring that the originality and character of your kitchen space need not be curtailed, no matter your budget. The choice of kitchen doors, kitchen worktops and counters is regularly as extensive as the choice of colour and texture, so you need not compromise on the vision of your dream kitchen. So, if you’re currently planning a new kitchen design and you’ve recognized that a refacing would be more suitable, take some time to look into the option of refacing; you might find that it’s possible for you to achieve the kitchen of your dreams for a fraction of your original budget.

Your own new ideal kitchen can be the main focus of domestic family bliss and a careful harmonisation of flooring (either real wood or laminate), cabinets and kitchen worktops all gel to make that unique combination that puts your personal touch on your kitchens design.

Lets focus on your kitchen cabinets for example, traditionally these have been quite bland and are nothing more than a box with a door and perhaps a few internal baskets as well, but in the modern age where we tend to have all sorts of kitchen appliances in all shapes and sizes, consumer demand has cried out for more functionality and better use of the cabinet space, which is essential if you only have a small kitchen area to work with.

Armed with the demand for more inventive storage solutions the challenge of creating different door designs has fallen firmly at the feet of the kitchen furniture designers, who have in turn invested in innovative 3D design programs so they can really make maximum use of any space available and work through any number of combinations and variants of cabinet design.

The new breed of kitchen cabinets has certainly been well received by consumers especially those with smaller homes or small apartments, as they seem to be able to store far more than the older traditional styles which lets face it, wasted a huge amount of spare capacity.

Some of the more popular types of kitchen cabinets and doors now include the following for example:

Doors with pre fitted baskets:

This type of door is very useful for deeper cupboards as you have much easier access to the baskets when the door is opened without having to stoop down.

See-through kitchen cabinet doors:

These are ideal storage areas for your favourite dinner service or perhaps unusual kitchen gadgets where they can turn a dead area of a kitchen into a visually appealing talking point.

There are of course many others, but then that is the fun of designing your own kitchen

Whatever particular function the kitchen cabinet doors have for the owners of the kitchen should be well defined by the particular role that they are supposed to perform in the said area of the home. To assure that the kitchen cabinet doors would be able to perform well for the family’s needs for all time, for a long time, it is essential that the use of sturdy cabinet door hinges should be considered.

On a slightly different note the same applies to your choice of kitchen work surfaces and Kitchen work tops, gloss kitchen worktops are more suited to casual or low level use as tiny scratches can dull the effect, whereas stronger laminate kitchen worktops would be suitable for harder wear or even one from a composite stone kitchen worktops range.

As the kitchen is a natural hub for family activity its not unusual for the kids to pile in and use the breakfast bar or work surface for some form of activity which could simply range from colouring and drawing to homework perhaps. so with all the extra space you have created with your choice of functional kitchen cabinets it may be a nice touch to give them some kitchen storage space of their own.

Remember, it is well worth spending some time exploring the cabinet designs available as this can give you some excellent ideas.

How to Install a Low-flow Faucet Aerator

You may have noticed, but the choice to be green doesn’t have to burn a hole in your wallet. It can even be as easy as putting a $2.99 add on to your faucet. Remember, it’s easy to make more expensive mistakes if you don’t spend some time on research. Many manufacturers currently advertise their product as “earth friendly” or “green” but there are no government standards in place to define what makes an item eco-friendly or not.

Follow these 5 tips to assist you on your journey to create a kitchen that will save you money, give you a fresh new look, & save the world all at once:

1. Buy a low-flow water faucet/aerator

• Why: A shiny new faucet is a simple upgrade, but kitchen faucets can vary from 1.5 – 4 gallons per minute in water flow. Low-flow bathroom faucets with the Environmental Protection Agency’s new WaterSense label are usually 30 percent more efficient than older models.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: Until the government comes up with some industry standard for low-flow kitchen faucets, for $3 to $11 you can make most new or existing taps more efficient simply by attaching an aerator. These devices save water, and lower utility bills as well, because less hot water is used. Because of this, low-flow aerators will generally pay for themselves in just a couple of months.

• Cons: With lower flow, it might take a bit longer to fill that 2 gallon pot for spaghetti night.

• Suggested Purchase: Look for a gallon per minute rating of less than 2 gallons per minute or GPM (some are as high as 4 GPM). Many Kohler faucets offer an aerator option that can reduce the GPM rate by about 25 percent. Don’t forget, even though it’s more expensive, you can purchase an adjustable aerator for your faucet. Keep the aerator on the low setting when using the sink for average use and set it to high flow to fill up big pans with water. Another green choice is a hands-free faucet, like the Danze Parma D421058, $480 or other low-flow Danze faucets.

• Keep in Mind: When you find a faucet that fits your budget and style, make sure it has a lifetime warranty that covers stains and water-wasting leaks. Also, some kitchen aerators will allow you to flip between two flow rates without affecting the water temperature

2. Switch to low wattage lighting

• Why: Modern kitchens can use up to 2,000 watts for lighting (especially track lighting) because standard incandescent, halogen, and xenon lights are energy vacuums. All that burning heat from your inefficient lights might motivate you to turn down the A/C to keep the room cool.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: Switch to cool-burning compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in your fixtures, and also consider adding some LED or fluorescent under cabinet task lighting. This simple DIY fix costs about $199 for 5 fluorescent fixtures.

• Cons: A handful of CFLs and LEDs cast a bluish or other odd color light. Before you buy, ask if you can return the fixture if you don’t like the way the light looks with your décor. Even better, try the light in the store or ask an associate for a recommendation.

• Suggested Purchase: Strips are the most common type of task lighting, round “hockey puck” lights are best for casting pools of light onto a counter and linear lights are best if you need more versatile fixtures. Both circle “puck” light fictures and linear lights can be included with LEDs.

• Keep in Mind: If your cabinets don’t have a built-in valence to hide task lighting, either add one or choose a fixture with a sleek housing that’s not as noticeable.

3. Install a ceiling fan

• Why: Kitchens get hot, and if you use an air conditioner to cool things off, it will gobble up a lot of energy and money.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: A ceiling fan in the kitchen will use only a fraction of the electricity that an A/C would.

• Cons: Aesthetics, few people have ceiling fans in kitchens for a reason, it doesn’t usually look good.

• Suggested Purchase: There are a number of great models from Hampton Bay, Harbor Breeze, and Hunter, and most circulate air about the same. So rather than shop for a particular brand, go for a style you like and remember that lighting affects energy use.

• Keep in Mind: You might be able to find CFLs designed for ceiling fans that can replace the original bulbs and save energy. You need to remember CFLs on the market now don’t function correctly with fans that have light dimmers.

4. Refurbish with second hand materials

• Why: A new countertop or cabinet face can change the whole look of your kitchen, but producing them keeps coal power plants polluting the air and some “earth friendly” materials aren’t as green as they might seem.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: Before you buy new, see if you can find used materials.

• Suggested Purchase: Salvage shops are stocked with new or lightly used stone countertops, hardwood flooring, decorative lumber, and kitchen cabinets, so they’re a great place to look for bargains. Even better, Habitat for Humanity sells used and surplus building materials at outlets called ReStores.

• Keep in Mind: If you will buy brand new, at least search for greener cabinets and other products made from sustainable lumber and materials.

5. Trade in/Sell the biggest energy hogs

• Why: The appliances in your kitchen that take the most energy to operate are refrigerators and dishwashers. The more geriatric these appliances are, the less energy efficient they are and the more expensive they are to run.

• Simple Eco Upgrade: Only open the doors when you know what you want. Don’t waste energy by “browsing” with an open fridge. Also, it usually doesn’t pay to salvage working appliances with new ones. But when you choose to update, search for models that are quieter and need less energy. Yes, energy efficient models cost more BUT, you’ll recover the investment as your utility bills decrease.

• Suggested Purchase: Look for appliances that are Energy Star qualified. These ENERGY STAR approved fridges need only 50% of the energy as the energy hogs manufactured before 1993. Also ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator models use high efficiency compressors, improved insulation, and more precise temperature and defrost mechanisms to improve energy efficiency. Switching out a dishwasher manufactured before 1994 with an ENERGY STAR qualified dishwasher can save you more than $300 a decade in utility costs. These also use much less water than conventional models. If not on city septic, this can also help extend the life of your septic tank.

• Keep in Mind: You don’t have to get rid of all the old appliances at once. Start with the ones that are the biggest energy hogs. When repairs of your old energgy hog appliance would cost more than 50% of a new appliance, go ahead and replace them with a new one.

If this is all seems complicated some online retailers make it easier for you such as Designer Plumbing Outlet with the help of Site Search technology by SLI Systems. When browsing the fixtures on their website you can just click one button to refine your search by “Eco-Friendly” results. This helps simplify your search and makes going green even easier when buying new.

 

While everyone knows how and why he or she would use the stovetop, the oven, and the microwave, not everyone seems to understand the importance of making use of the toaster oven. There are so many wonderful meals and snacks that can be made a million times better thanks to the invention of the toaster oven. What are the toaster ovens you ask? The Cuisinart TOB-175bc Toaster Oven Broiler is always a good choice.

So what exactly is a toaster oven? Well, just as the name implies, a toaster oven is basically a combination of a toaster and an oven. Nowadays almost all toaster ovens such as the Cuisinart TOB-195 Convection Toaster Oven for example, can fulfill the role of both. On the other hand, the regular style of toaster oven lacks the toasting slots, while it’s the new models which have a built in toaster feature on top. As a result, with the newer models one can use the toaster as you would any regular toaster, while at the same time being able to use the oven independently. Of course it goes without saying that the oven is the most important feature.

While some of these toaster ovens only have an oven feature, there are those which include the toaster feature but irrespective of which style you choose, the fact that they are small in size and designed for standing on a counter top, make them virtually an essential appliance in most kitchens. A great investment would be in the Cuisinart TOB-175bc Toaster Oven Broiler.

When it comes to price you may find yourself a little concerned. While there are many extremely expensive toaster ovens out there, there are also ones that are great deals. Brand new ovens can range in price from one hundred dollars to three hundred dollars on average. If you really want to get fancy with your toaster oven purchase then there are models that are even more expensive then three hundred dollars. It is all about what you like and what you can afford.

One thing to consider when looking at the various models and styles out there is the warranty that comes with the toaster oven. While a particular oven could appear to be extremely nice, it is not worth it if you are going to spend all of that money on something that you are not protected by. Also, make sure that you are doing a little research from other consumers to see what their experiences were with the particular model you are looking at. Ovens such as the Cuisinart TOB-175bc Toaster Oven Broiler have had rave reviews so keep ovens such as that in mind. The last thing you want to do is waste your money, especially since toaster ovens are not exactly a super cheap purchase.

When you are looking for items in you kitchen, you probably already know that you need to have appliances that can work well for you. A toaster oven is something that you might want to think about getting. You can use it in many different ways in order to help with your cooking.

Simply put, a toaster over is a self-contained oven unit. Lots of styles and sizes and fits right on top of your kitchen counter. The large models will bake a large 12 inch pizza and the small models will bake a small sized pizza. Sure you can use your oven in your stove, but why. The toaster oven does everything your oven does and more. Plus it is compact and very convenient. It generally cooks much faster than a large oven and the clean up is far easier a feature most people find very beneficial. Investing in a Cuisinart TOB-195 Convection Toaster Oven will always serve you right.

With the Cuisinart TOB-195 Convection Toaster Oven, which is one of the best types of toaster ovens on the market, you are able to use the oven part whenever you would like. The oven is something that many people enjoy about the toaster oven. The reason that the toaster oven is so popular is because of how it works. The toaster oven is the same type of oven as you would find in a bigger appliance, except that it is much, much smaller. The oven is easy for you to use as well. It has a glass front that you can open, and wire shelves inside of the oven. You can usually fit two slices of bread, and in some of the bigger models, you can fit more. It is easy to use, you simply open the front, lay the bread out on the wires, and shut the door. Then, you can set the oven temperature on the front of the oven. You can set the oven for any temperature – usually up to 400 degrees, or more with the Cuisinart TOB-195 Convection Toaster Oven, and other models that are on the market.

Cuisinart TOB-175bc Toaster Oven Broilers are a very popular choice in this type of kitchen accessory.  Among all the brands, sizes and models of toaster ovens out there, you are bound to fine one that fits your needs and budget. Most popular colors available are silver, white and black, but other, bolder, colors are available for you to chose from. They are blue, yellow and red to name some and maybe a little harder to find, but they are out there. You really can’t go wrong with a Cuisinart TOB-195 Convection Toaster Oven.

The prices of these kitchen accessories may be a concern, but even though there are some, toaster ovens, that are very expensive there are also great deals to be found. New toaster ovens range in price from one hundred to as much as three hundred and if price is no concern there are those in the higher end of the price spectrum. It all boils down to what is your budget and what you want. There are also some exception deals out there. You need to look and ultimately the decision is all up to you and your pocket book.

When you are out there looking for “your” toaster oven there is one think to consider. The warranty which comes with the oven.  An oven you spot may seem very nice and you like it, but be careful to make sure it is worth the price. It won’t be if the warranty is insufficient meaning the protection is not good in case of problems and your money will have been wasted. Do some research from a consumer program (on the internet) to get some feedback on the toaster over you want to purchase. Lastly, since toaster ovens are not super cheap items and an item you will have for a very long time, be sure of your purchase. The Cuisinart TOB-195 Convection Toaster Oven has had excellent reviews and keep this in mind while you are looking.