Every where we turn, it seems that the cost of living is going up, especially at the grocery store. So who wouldn’t want to save on your grocery bill by growing your own fruits and veggies at home?

If your yard has at least a 20-by-28-foot space that gets full or almost full sun, you can grow enough vegetables to have fresh food all season with surprisingly little effort! Go ahead and dig beds if you’re lucky enough to have naturally fertile, well-drained soil, but don’t let soil flaws stop you from starting a food garden. Instead, try bag gardening. This method is almost too easy to believe, but it absolutely works! Gardening in bags of topsoil lets you get a garden going today, and offers these additional benefits:

Bag Gardening Benefits:

• In the course of a season, the topsoil bags will smother the grass underneath them, so you won’t have to dig up and remove the grass sod.
• The bags eliminate aggravation from seedling-killing cutworms, which are caterpillars commonly found in soil where lawn grass has been growing.
• Bag gardens have few (if any) weeds, because bagged soils and planting mixes are pasteurized to kill weed seeds.
• You can eventually gather up the plastic bags and dig their contents into permanent beds, or just lay down a new batch of bags.

In addition to plenty of fresh veggies to put on the table and to store, you can also easily produce a year’s supply of several tasty herbs, which will attract droves of pollinators and other beneficial insects.

If you’re new to food gardening, your biggest challenge may be planting crops at the right times. A food garden should be planted in phases, so that every crop gets the type of weather it prefers.

In early spring you should prepare your site. You can dig beds in the traditional way, or you can plant most of this garden in bags. If you’re using bags, you will need about 25 40-pound bags to cover the five main beds.

The skies the limit, whatever vegetables you like you can plant. Onions, beets, lettuce, potatoes, peas, collards, the list goes on. Go to your nearest library and check out a simple gardening book that lists when it’s best to plant each fruit and vegetable. Waiting a few weeks until it’s the ideal planting time can be the difference between decent fruits and veggies and the best produce you’ve ever had!

With the economy still struggling, we all know the housing industry has taken a beating these past few years. Economists say the recession has curtailed many of the extravagances that buyers desired before things went south. Homebuyers want different things from their homes today. Rooms that serve multiple purposes and homes that can accommodate either “boomerang” children or aging parents are in.

Realtors say baby boomers in particular are starting to think about what their homes need to look like if they’re going to stay in them as the years advance. That means single-story homes, homes with grab bars in the bathroom, fewer stairs and perhaps even wheelchair ramps, walk in bathtubs, step in showers, etc. Realtors say, accessibility is a top priority with many of their clients.

Another top feature that never goes out of style is space. Not long ago, homebuilders were adding garage space to accommodate SUVs. Now some homebuilders are making more room in the garage for all the other items families put there, from tricycles to golf carts. A trend for the larger garages is to use part of it as a ‘man cave’ space where you can fit two cars, in addition to a sofa, TV, weights, etc.

Realtors say buyers want homes that are more flexible, more versatile. Rooms dedicated to one purpose are less popular now. With the economy the way it is, homebuyers are realizing that in a smaller home, rooms can serve multiple functions. There is no such thing as wasted space. Nooks that used to serve no purpose now include a desk, printer, room for a laptop and even some cubbyholes for mail and bills.

Homeowners are now adding “planning centers” to their homes, which are basically spaces adjacent to the kitchen that serve as the family command center. Basically, it’s a place where the kids can do their homework and be within earshot of the parents. They are great for family organization, paying bills, or just having a place to getaway!

Roofs have definitely come a long way in the last few years. If you’ve driven around lately, you may have noticed that many people are choosing metal. Tired of replacing their roofs every thirty to forty years is a big reason why.

So you may ask, is metal roofing really a smart investment? Local builders say yes! Metal roofing is much stronger and more durable than asphalt shingle roofing. In a nut shell, a metal roof can last twice as long as most conventional roofs. Because metal roofing is so durable, it has long been the choice for many school, government, and industrial buildings.

Another benefit of a metal roof is that it is superior in all extreme weather conditions, including hail, sun exposure, and wind. Unlike shingles, metal roofing will not deteriorate due to sun exposure. High winds and/or a hail storm will destroy a composition roof, but a metal roof can handle wind speeds up to 140 MPH and is extremely hail resistant.

Lighter colored metal roofs reflect away much of the sun’s UV rays, which can help keep your house cooler and lower cooling costs. A metal roof can actually cut cooling costs by as much as 25% or more.

If you’re concerned with our environment, a metal roof is a great choice. Did you know that 20 billion pounds of asphalt shingles are dumped into U.S. landfills annually? The recycled content of steel in metal roofing is much higher than the recycled content in asphalt shingles. Also, due to the low weight of metal roofing (about half that of shingles), in many cases it can be installed directly over your existing roof, saving the environmental as well as financial costs associated with removal and disposal.

Metal roofing is a popular choice for so many reasons including:

• Long life expectancy
• Low maintenance
• Durability
• Lightweight to ease stress on your roof structure and framing
• Long term warranties
• Energy Efficiency – save money with reduced heating and cooling costs
• Increased resale value of your home
• Improved curb appeal of your home
• Metal roof colors to complement your home
• Increased protection from high winds, hurricanes, and fire
• Environmentally friendly building choice
• Made from recycled material and won’t contribute to our landfills
• Reduces energy consumption

If you’re dying to add some light into a room, skylights are a great tool. Everyone enjoys walking into a room with good natural lighting. The light of the sun seems to bring the outside in for a nice warm feeling.

It’s also quite beautiful when a morning sunbeam shines down into a living room through a skylight placed high up to emphasize the beauty of a room. It also makes a great impression when guests enter your home.

Just the same, a couple of skylights placed in bathrooms and master bedrooms seems to be all the rage these days both for added effect, and natural lighting. Skylights provide up to 30% more natural light than your existing windows, and they can make a small space seem larger.

A few decades back, adding skylights became extremely popular. Unfortunately, the problems resulting from poorly designed skylights started flooding in. Problems included, leaks, faded carpet and fabrics, heat loss, and condensation. Skylights seemed to open a can of worms maintenance-wise.

The good news is that today’s skylights aren’t what they used to be. They’re a ton better! Today’s modern skylights have addressed many of the faulty design problems that plagued earlier skylights. This has made skylights a popular choice in modern homes once again. With improved designs and factory-manufactured flashings, the improved weather-tight ability has, in most cases, made leaks a thing of the past.

Energy-efficient Low E glass has addressed the faded fabric and heat loss issue. Bottom line is that today’s skylights are loads better than the one’s years ago, and can really add a level of class and beauty to your home!

Many homes deal with water problems. It could be flooding your garden beds, or worse yet, it could actually ruin your foundation. Water in the basement, or crawlspace is a definite sign that you have a water problem. If left untreated, this can cause major problems that can easily add up to thousands of dollars in damage.

Old, leaky gutters could be the reason you are having problems with water. The sole purpose of a good gutter system is to direct water away from your home.

When gutters are not working and are clogged up, the water has no where to go, but into your crawlspace, landscaping, or your foundation. Experts say, a maintenance free gutter system is the way to go. Not only will you never have to worry about cleaning out your gutters, you will never have to worry that water is building up under your home.

If you do have a water problem, the first thing you need to do is determine where the water is coming from. You may have a line leak, or it may be coming in from the outside and you just need to extend your downspouts. One thing is for sure, a maintenance free gutter system is a great investment and will give you peace of mind.

It is not good to have water standing in your crawl space, and this should be resolved immediately. Sloping the ground near the crawl space so that the water flows away from your house is also a good idea to keep water away from your house.