How to Decorate With Outdoor Christmas Lights
Hanging Christmas lights is popular and traditional for many families. But, it can be a daunting and frustrating experience. Take the time to plan and hand the Christmas lights in a step-by-step, organized fashion. A little planning can go a long way!
Here’s what you need to know to get the Christmas lighting project done without the stress and hassle.
1. Create an Electric Plan. Plan ahead and know exactly what you want to hang lights on, and how you plan to plug them in. Connecting too many strings of lights together can blow fuses (especially the cheaper strings of lights). Plan the set-up by utilizing a couple of electrical outlets.
2. Safety Issues. Clean the dried leaves from gutters and downspouts to alleviate the chance of fires. Make sure the electrical cords are intact and not cracked or torn. Be sure the hooks are secure and provide a sturdy place to attach the lights.
3. Use Proper Tools. Get out the tools you will need for the project. Most likely, you will need a ladder, tape measure, light clips or hooks, decorative lights and extension cords. You might also need a hammer, pliers and a screwdriver.
4. Separate light strands and test the lights. Before hanging any decorations, separate the strands, lay them out across the yard or driveway to get all the twists and kinks out of the strings. Check for broken bulbs and split wiring. Plug in the light strings, and replace any dead bulbs. It’s easier to replace burned out bulbs before they are hung and out of reach.
5. Hangers, hooks and clips. Evenly space the hooks or clips along the eaves of your home. Make sure the hooks/clips are attached firmly and spaced far enough apart to keep the light strands from dangling or swinging in the breeze. Usually, 12 inches is about right. Attach all the hooks along the areas you plan to have lights. Don’t use staples or nails, because the wires can be split, light strands can be ruined, and potential fire hazards can be created.
6. Hang the lights. Before climbing the ladder, make sure it is on flat ground and has a firm footing. Ask someone to hold the ladder steady. When hanging Christmas lights, be sure to hold the strings up to prevent the weight from the not-yet-hung portion of the strand from pulling off or breaking any clips or hooks.
7. Power Up. Once the lights have been placed securely in the light hooks, plug the strings into the planned outlets. Set timers, if you’re using them. Check to be sure there are no extension cords dangling, or hanging wires that could create a safety hazard.
8. All Systems Go. Now it’s time to turn on the lights and do a final check for any missing or dead bulbs. If there should be an entire string that isn’t working, check the connections before replacing the string. Many times the problem is a bad connection or a burned out light bulb instead of a faulty string, especially if the strand worked before hanging.
9. Enjoy the Show! Pick up any debris and empty boxes, put your tools away, and walk from your house to get a better look at your handiwork. Bet you’ve got the prettiest light display on your block!
Small Business Website Marketing
As more and more businesses launch their online marketing plans into action, one of the first questions that is asked is “HOW”. Getting your business online may seem easy as there are 100’s of choices for hosting accounts, 1000’s of different web design companies, and dozens of methods of putting your plan into action. With this many methods of putting your business online, it can seem overwhelming, even confusing and that can prevent people from succeeding.
To help you dominate online with your business website, I invite you to consider digging deeper with questions. Instead of simply saying “put up a Wordpress site” and then hope to get a top ranking in Google, Yahoo, or BING, consider putting a strategy into action that will be easy to stick with and provide results.
1.Platform Choice – Wordpress certainly is the most widely used platform available today. It’s flexible, there are 10’s of thousands of plugins that you can use for free to extend your websites ability, and it’s easy to use. While you may certainly decide to go with Wordpress, consider what plugins you will use. Which ones will give you the functionality you desire? Which ones will help you increase your rankings? Which ones will make it easier for you to use?
2.Content Strategy – A 5 page website won’t be climbing to the top of Google anytime soon. What value can your business website offer on a weekly basis? How many new articles, blog posts, and pages can you create monthly? Could you outsource the writing of your website for a small monthly fee? Having content strategy in place will help you to have continued success after your site is launched.
3.Design – What design will attract clients? Notice I didn’t say what design would you like but what design is appealing to your prospects? What look will give the confidence to pick up the phone and call you for more help.
When you choose a good platform, have a content strategy, and put a design into action that your customers will like you will be on the way to dominating online with your web marketing strategy.
Home Improvement Projects Can Increase The Value Of Your Home
Home improvement projects can improve the look and value of your home dramatically. Though in some cases, using a home improvement project as a way to increase the value of your home can actually backfire and cost you money. So how will you be able to tell if the project that you have planned will add to the value of your home or decrease the value of your home?
The first thing that you need to know is the appraised value of your home. You must know the appraisal value, or estimated resale price, of your home before you can determine if a project will increase or decrease the value of your home. Although you may feel that your home is worth a certain amount of money, and that a home improvement will increase the value by X amount of dollars, your feelings will not set the final selling price, the appraisal will.
When completing a home improvement project that you believe will dramatically improve the resale value of your home, you need to consider your neighbors houses. If you have the nicest house in your neighborhood, but you are trying to sell it for twice as much as the appraisal value of other homes in the neighborhood, you will be disappointed.
A general guide is to not try to sell your home for more than 20% of what the surrounding homes will sell for. For simplicity, let us assume that the homes in your neighborhood are appraised at a value of $100,000. This would mean that you could expect to get about $120,000 out of your home if you make selective home improvements.
What this means for you as a homeowner is that you should seriously rethink any home improvement project that would cost more than $20,000 going by our above example. Using the above example, it is easy to see that a $30,000 home improvement project would cause you to lose money in the long run.
Now, if you can make a home improvement that costs very little, but results in a higher resale value, it may be a good idea to pursue that project. Going back to our example, if you can spend $5,000 on a project and this results in your home being appraised at $115,000, then it is a great investment idea.
You also want to consider the appeal that your home improvement project would have to a future owner. For example, swimming pools and hot tubs may be something that you enjoy, but would a potential buyer pay extra for those features? There are some fairly safe projects that you can pursue that other home buyers generally find valuable. Some of these include kitchen remodeling, adding or remodeling a bathroom, adding a new room, landscaping, etc.
Also keep in mind that maintenance projects do not usually result in an increased value for your home. Replacing a broken furnace or hot water heater usually will not improve the value of your home when selling it. These are considered maintenance issues that all homeowners expect the home to have working. Most people would not consider paying full price for a home that does not have these basic features in working order.
The bottom line is that if you are interested in increasing the resale value of your home you need to make smart decisions. Smart decisions on which home improvement projects to tackle can put extra money in your pocket when you sell your house.