Security has become an issue in our neighborhood lately, with things going missing from our front yard. It makes me nervous about a lot of things, not the least of which because this is our dream home. I also worry about our ability to receive mail when we need to; although many of our bills are paid online, we have a home business so a lot of important documents are mailed to us. It’s imperative that they get to us securely.

So we’ve been looking at better mailboxes. I like the idea of Blomus mailboxes because they look great and are unobtrusive. They aren’t garish and they don’t draw attention to themselves, but they securely do the job until you can check the mail. In particular, I think stainless steel mailboxes look great and can stand up to all the rainy weather we’ve been having lately.

Even though our house is older (circa 1930s) we’ve been looking at more modern mailboxes because that’s where we’re taking the look of our house. Nothing too fancy, but something that does the job for security and looks great too. It would be nice if we could have an open mailbox like I grew up with, but it’s just not feasible where we’re living.

What kind of mailboxes do you prefer?

Ever since I bought my first home, my mom has been politely goading me into letting her help spruce up the house with some plants. I’m black-thumbed, but she’s always been great around plants. Here are some of the things I’ve looked into doing:

• Paving the area on the side of the house and decorating it with outdoor planters. I’d love to use cacti but I don’t think our mailman would appreciate it.
• Putting another outddor planter or two on our back patio. There’s a dearth of color back there so I’d want it to be bright — oranges and reds, maybe?
• Inside we’ll have indoor planters with low-maintenance plants. Can I get away with putting cacti in every single indoor planter, even though we don’t live in the Southwest?

I’ve been browsing the online selection at EPlanters and getting a lot of fantastic ideas. I love that they show their planters actually being used; I really need a visual when it comes to making the most of the flowers and plants on our property, so it helps to see what looks good. I especially like the jazzy, modern-designed planters. Also, the colored planters. Time to go shopping!

Environmental issues are at the front of everyone’s minds lately. Everything from green computers to fuel-efficient cars are in the news and making an impact on climate change.

How does heating those cold winter nights affect the environment?

We’ve done a lot of reading and found that gas heating is much more efficient and environmentally friendly than electric heating. Electric heating comes in at only a 33% efficiency, which means that 2/3s of the energy being produced by the electric company, usually via coal burning, when you turn on the heat is actually going up into the atmosphere, not your home. Gas heating, on the other hand, can be as much as 80% efficient, and in most countries is subject to strict government ratings for efficiency.

Browse through a gas heater store like GasHeatersOnline and you will see a great commitment to efficiency and the environment. For example, forced air heaters, which at one time were under intense scrutiny and had a resulting bad reputation, are now government-regulated. As a result, they are some of the most efficient systems around. For heating large areas with a lot of people – workshops, construction sites, etc. – forced air heaters are now one of the best and most efficient heating choices. Read the rest of this entry »