Hello everyone:
Flat tires are a bother, an inconvenience, and especially troublesome on major holidays. I know. I had one this afternoon.
There I was, on my way to one of my favorite stomping grounds- Bed, Bath, and Beyond- for a little mid-afternoon entertainment (I am easily amused, I suppose), when I noticed my car tire inflation light was on and my car seemed to be running a bit more lumpty bumpty than usual.
Okay, the roads around this area have trouble with smoothness but this seemed out of the ordinary. It was.
Fortunately, my go-to IT guy had just left my house (He’s the son of a dear friend) and so I called and asked if he would take a look at my tire, which seemed only a bit mushy.
Folks, mushy is not a good thing and a little mushy turns into greatly mushy amazingly fast. Give the tire a few minutes and you have a tire that is mostly rim sitting on the ground. Trust me, I know.
My IT friend arrived at the scene of the newly-flat tire just in time to confirm that, yes, indeed, I had a flat tire. I couldn’t find my AAA card.
Happily, my friend was also a member and gave me the phone number. The man at AAA said it would be 65 minutes. Sixty-five minutes in the hot summer sun sounded very unappealing, but the Tire-Changer Man showed up in less than 30 minutes, was very pleasant, exchanged the recalcitrant tire with my brand new spare with great efficiency, and everyone was on his or her way in a matter of minutes.
It was a great experience in the middle of despair. So what do I recommend? Having a good friend is great, so that is the first advice. My final advice on this experience is this: If you don’t like changing tires, get AAA! They do not pay me to say this. I am offering this recommendation without any expectation of reimbursement for my endorsement.
Having someone show up to change my tire for me was worth the price of the yearly fee they charge to be a member. AAA is most definitely worth its weight in gold tires. Because flat tires, as you know, are a real drag.
Best,
Dr. Sheri
P.s. Yes, I gave the Tire-Changer Man a tip. It was a very hot day today.
Hello everyone:
Let me tell you a story about a pool mistake that was costly. P
Part of lawn maintenance is the care of your pool, if you have one.
Pump filters need to be changed once a week in order to keep the pump running well. Chemicals need to be added to keep your pool water from becoming really nasty.
Bugs and birds are not potty-trained and can make a real mess of your pool. Be sure to follow the instructions that your manufacturer has for the pool you own.
I used to work many years ago for a motel in Cocoa Beach, Florida; the Cape Colony Inn was lovely, for a circa 1960s motel. Although it was old when I went to work there, the pool was quite nice, nestled as it was in the middle of the circle of rooms.
Shortly after I left, they got a new manager, someone from the north who did now know about Florida’s high water tables and proximity to sea level. He insisted that the pool people drain the pool and scrub it out.
When they did, the concrete liner popped out of the ground as it was pushed upward by the water level in the ground, permanently ruining the pool. Because of changes in the building codes, the motel was not allowed to build a new pool.
They turned it into a rock garden. Since it was now a motel in Cocoa Beach that did not have a pool, the Cape Colony Inn quickly went out of business. The northern-transplanted manager was long gone by the time the motel closed. The take-away from this is: follow directions carefully.
What pool tips do you have? My readers would love to read your stories of woe or experience, as well.
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hello everyone:
When I spoke to a new realtor several years ago about staging a home, he indicated his disdain for the whole idea. When I talked to my experienced real estate friend recently, he told me that he always stages homes.
Sometimes is it simply a matter of adding a few flowers to the home; other properties require more effort. Homes on the lower price range spectrum would not get a total makeover; they would just get a little sprucing up and it would be confined to the living room, kitchen/dining room, and master bedroom.
The cost for that amount of work would be between $500 and $1,000. If a home is vacant and in a somewhat higher price range, the staging would be more elaborate. A home in the $400,000 price category might require a staging cost of $1,000-$2,000. A multi-million dollar home would have a cost of $3,000-$5,000 to stage.
Why would you want to use a stager to sell your home? The agent I spoke with told me that a staged home will sell faster and at a higher price than homes that have not received this service. There are a wide variety of services available with stagers; staging pays for itself through the higher price you get for selling a staged home.
If you are a do-it-yourself type, you might be able to do the work on your own. Folks, this is not for the faint of heart. You will have to have the guts to unclutter your home AND have a gift for decorating.
Look at current decorating magazines and HGTV shows to get some ideas. See how they have pretty tablescapes in the dining room? They have the table set up for a fancy dinner party. Get out some nice plates and other dinnerware and set it up as if you expect some company. If you are really fancy, you can buy some chargers (the plates that go underneath the biggest plates) at your local craft store for about $2.00 each. Add a nice silk flower arrangement and your table looks ready to go. (Note: If there are cobwebs in the corners or kiddie toys scattered in the room, get rid of them all, pronto.)
Go into your bedrooms. Make sure the beds are neatly made, clutter is gone, there are no family pictures anywhere, and drape an extra quilt that is color-coordinated with your bedspread diagonally across your bed. Again, look at the decorating shows. Make sure you remove any extra furniture. You want buyers to come in and exclaim how big your bedroom is. If it is overrun with anything, they will find it cramped, not cozy.
What about the living or family rooms? Don’t pile all of your furniture in one room, spread it out. Again, be brutal. Anything that gives the rooms a cluttered, too-small look has got to go. Any worn furniture is better in a storage unit than in a house you are trying to sell.
Make sure that your home shines. Swiffer everything frequently. If you have hardwood floors, I recommend Swiffering and then following that up with the use of Bona, a hardwood floor cleaner that also polishes. It is reasonably priced and works like a champ! I understand that they also sell Bona for tile floors but I have not used that yet and won’t recommend it until I do. If it works as well as the hardwood cleaner, you will be very satisfied. You can buy these products in the grocery store. No one has paid me anything for this endorsement and I do not have stock in the company. I am simply a very satisfied customer.
If you have an open house, realtors suggest baking cookies, but I must confess that, as a buyer, it makes me wonder what they are trying to cover up if the seller does that. Doggie doodle? Cat litter box? Dirty diapers? Your call entirely.
Clean up the outside of your house, as well. Make sure that the siding is clean, not moldy. Keep the grass and bushes well cared for. Paint the shutters, if need be. Drive up to your house and ask yourself if you would want to live there. If the answer is “no, then work on the place until you can say “sure thing.”
I hope this helps! I would love to get some ideas from you, so please feel free to share!
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hello everyone:
You know how you like to put your groceries on the back seat of your car, so that they’re easier to retrieve when you get home? Don’t do it if you live in a place known for its hills. You won’t like the results.
I moved recently from a reasonably flat area, having grown up in the very flat central Florida area.
In Florida, we always put our groceries on the back seat of our car so that, when we got home, it was not necessary to bend over and pick things off of the floor as we took things in the house.
We just did things that way. It worked very well. It also worked great in Maryland. Not so much in the beautiful city set on seven hills.
“Why?” my friends in other states might ask. Be still my soul.
Let’s say you put some eggs on the seat. Let’s say that your grape juice and sports drink bottles are also on the seat. Let’s say that you prepare to leave the parking lot, and that you note that the exit ramp is on a hill. Going down hill. No worries, right?
Just for a change of pace, no other driver has done something stupid, requiring you to slam on your brakes and send everything flying, but that you do, indeed, press down on the brake a little harder than usual.
Heavier items start to fly off the seat first, knocking the lightweight items to the floor.
You know those cute little Styrofoam egg cartons? They don’t like five pound bottles of drinks on top of them, no matter what anyone says. (Okay, so they aren’t really five pounds, but their weight combined with gravity makes them a force to be reckoned with.)
So, here’s the deal. Put your groceries on the floor unless you prefer scrambled eggs (complete with egg shells) for lunch and watch your step when applying your brakes.
Oh, I also seat belts heavier items into place (like luggage) whenever I travel. Seems silly but I don’t want a 25-pound suitcase shifting its weight around in mid-drive.
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hello everyone:
As you take the things that had been in the laundry room back to the closet where they belong, you may want to take some time to re-organize your closet.
Are there any clothes that you have not worn in a year? Unless you are talking about a tux or a ball gown that is only used periodically, you might want to consider giving your unused clothing to someone who would enjoy having it.
If something hasn’t fit in many years, you may want to give this now-out-of-date, ill-fitting garment to someone else less fortunate than you. If your cuffs on your shirts or the hems on your pants are showing signs of wear, this is a good time to pass the clothing along to a disaster-relief group.
One caveat: If I have a scruffy-looking hem on an otherwise-nice pair of pants, I send them to my dry cleaners and have them made into shorts.
If you have something in your closet that you argue with yourself about every time you go to put it on, give it away. Be brutal.
If you haven’t worn an outfit in a year or more, chances are slim that you will wear it now. As the saying goes, “You have to get rid of what you don’t want in your life to make room for what you do want.”
Do you really want to keep those ugly, dated shoes with the worn-down heels? It would probably cost more to have them re-heeled than they are worth.
As you work through your closet, have three piles: give away, throw away, and keep. As the closet empties out, dust for cobwebs and clean off the shelves and floor.
As you put away your “keep” pile, your closet will be cleaned, as well as cleaned out. Please note that this works well on dressers, as well.
Do you really want to hold onto a nightgown that itches, a belt that pinches, or underwear that cinches? Nope.
Give them away or throw them away. Undergarments that don’t fit will not lead to a nice-looking appearance. The battle of the bulge will throw off your whole look, so toss or give away these items, pronto.
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hello everyone:
Today’s Missive is all about Taking out the Trash
Do you know what day the trash is collected in your area? How about knowing when the recycle folks show up? What time do you need to have the trashcans out at the curb? Where should you place them? How much time do you have to bring them back to the house? (This could be an issue with your homeowners’ association.) Are there any special restrictions on what you can place at the curb?
If you haven’t been paying attention to these details, talk to your neighbors or observe what they are doing. Your local county is also a good source of information on trash. Visit their website or give them a call to find out what is or is not acceptable.
Garbage cans can be extremely heavy when they are full, so either do not fill them completely, use more than one garbage can so that the weight is more evenly distributed, or get a dolly to roll the can to the curb. I do not recommend putting the garbage can in the back of your car; even if you could lift it (this sounds like a hernia operation waiting to happen).
If the trash spills out, you could end up with a very smelly trunk. Make every effort to get rid of your trash on a weekly basis. The longer it hangs around, the more likely you will attract bugs, rodents, or other small animals. Trash does not get better with time. It also does not go away on its own. (Think Alice’s Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie, here!)
You can also purchase garbage cans that have wheels. They come in very handy if you need to pull your garbage can to the curb for pickup. You may wish to put your house number on the side of the can so that you can identify it from those of your neighbors; a magic marker usually works well on providing the cans with permanent identification. Again, be sure to follow the homeowners’ association rules for when you’re your garbage can be placed at the curb and the deadline by which it must be removed.
In my present neighborhood, I am required to turn my trash can a certain way, so that the wheels are facing the street. The city has a special truck that picks up the cans and dumps them into the back of the vehicle but they will only pick up the trash can if the wheels are properly aligned.
I also have to have a city sticker on the top of the can, or they won’t stop. The sticker costs $40-80 per year, depending on the size of the can. It has an expiration date that is easily read. I must pay the bill to get a new sticker or the city won’t pick up the trash!
Interestingly enough, my new city does not recycle. If I want to recycle anything, I have to take my empty bottles and cans to a recycle center and pay to have them take the empty containers off my hands.
I hope my trash talk has helps smooth your transition to the single life. Do you have any tales to tell?
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hello everyone:
A clogged drain is not a particularly difficult challenge. All you need for a simple clog is a wire clothes hanger, opened up to its full length. Keep the hook crocked, so that you have something to hang on to. Put a smaller hook in the opposite end of the hanger. Thread the end with the smaller hook down the recalcitrant drain, twist it in circles several times, and pull the entire glob of gunk out of the drain.
You might have a buildup of hair and other items in the drain. You might actually be surprised by what you find down there, clogging up the works. You can also buy a Drain Devil, which is a piece of plastic that has serrated edges that allow it to pick up the gunk in your drain as you snake it down the pipes. You do basically the same thing as you would with the hanger, but you don’t have to destroy a hanger to do it.
(Keep a paper towel handy, to wrap the mess in. You won’t want to touch it any more than necessary.) You will want to throw this gunk in the garbage immediately; make sure you seal it in a Ziploc bag when you dispose of it or it will stink up the house.
Keep whatever you used to unclog your drain; don’t throw it away because this will happen again.
Do not EVER use muriatic acid on your pipes. When it is poured down a drain, it smokes, it smells, it gives off dangerous gas, and it doesn’t always work. It can kill you and yours. Do not take a chance on it.
What is the other option? If you don’t unclog your drain, the water in the bathtub will back up and it will be soapy. It will get on the floor of your shower or bathmat and it will become slimy. (Note that, if it is already slimy, time will not improve its condition. You will need to clean the mat or shower floor after you unclog the pipes, or you could have a slipping hazard.)
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hello everyone:
Yes, you truly love the color you painted the living room eons ago, but it is time to repaint, if you want to sell the family homestead.
One of our family friends died recently and his children decided to put his condo up for sale. Their emotional attachment to the property was immense, so much so that they decided to put it on the market for $40,000 above the price of comparable units. They did nothing to it, mind you.
The condo had not been painted since the parents moved in and its age was obvious. The flooring was old and worn out, the carpeting was threadbare in places and stained in others. The kitchen had the original builder-grade quality cabinets and linoleum; the condo was on the ground floor of a property that had been flooded by several big storms.
The property did not meet the upgraded standards of other units in the same complex. They were selling it as “for sale by owner” to save the real estate commission. After several unsuccessful months on the market, they reduced the price and then they reduced it again.
The last reduction was accompanied by placing the property with a real estate agent, but they are still overpriced for the area and have had no takers for this well-worn condo. I saw the property recently and it still needed new carpets and a fresh coat of paint throughout.
Also, although you may absolutely love the mermaid you personally (and without any artistic training) hand painted on your kids’ bathroom wall, prospective buyers may find it horrid. You absolutely need to paint over it in a neutral tone.
The bright yellow hair and crooked smile may be charming to you, but it could gag the people walking into your bathroom for the first time. (I actually saw this on a make-over show. The woman was almost in tears as she removed the huge mermaid, while her husband stood by to comfort her.)
If you decide to repaint, keep in mind that any pictures you take down may need to be rehung when you are finished. Get someone at your local hardware store or a friend who has experience in hanging pictures to teach you how to find a stud in the wall, how to use the proper screws and anchors, and how to get things perfectly level so that you can do the job right. If you do the work incorrectly, the area behind your pictures may look like the shoot-out at the OK Corral when you are finished. You want things to stay in place, be secure, and look great, so ask for help if you need it.
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hi folks:
One of my friends had an elderly grandfather who grew up during the depression and he didn’t trust banks. As a result, he kept a great deal of money at his house.
One day when she was vacuuming, he told her to be careful around the drapes. When she asked why, he told her that he had money pinned to the bottom of the inside of the curtains. He also had additional money hidden throughout the house but he refused to say exactly where it was.
When he died, he still hadn’t told anyone. His wife and family never did locate the hidden stash. It is still hidden. He was a good hider! If you are hiding money, make sure that someone in your family knows where it is or the money could be lost to your family forever.
When cleaning out my aunt’s house, we discovered money hidden in magazines. She had tucked over $1,000 away for a rainy day, but none of it was in the same place. There was a $20 bill here, another there, all over her house.
She also grew up during the depression and realized it was important to have money in case the banks were not open. We also found family members’ death certificates in old magazines, so be very careful when going through an older person’s belongings.
Also, some of the elderly person’s furniture might be valuable. If you are not good at valuing antiques, find someone who is. Don’t just throw things out.
Do you have tales of woe regarding hidden treasures? I would love to share your experiences with my readers!
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hi everyone:
This coming Sunday morning, I will be on WLNI, finishing my first interview (which was started last weekend) with radio and television host Andre Whitehead.
If you would like to listen live, it can be found at WLNI.com at 8 am. This was my first venture into a long conversation, and was seen via television twice last weekend, along with the first half of our conversation. for a first endeavor, the feedback was fairly positive. I would covet your feedback on this continuation of that conversation.
So far, the most popular part of the first discussion was the story about how I killed a mouse that was trapped in a mousetrap in my garage.
I am available for interviews in your area, if you are relatively close to Virginia, and would love the opportunity to share about my book Suddenly Single. I am also available for church conferences on singleness.
If you would like more information, please post a comment herein and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Best,
Dr. Sheri