Creating More Closet Space — Quickly and Inexpensively

What’s the best way to create more space in an existing closet? The easiest thing you can do is to install double hanging poles. You end up with twice the hanging space and still have a top shelf available for storing shoes, boxes, baskets or hats.  The double pole arrangement isn’t great for dresses and long coats, but only about 15% of hanging garments in a typical household need full length space. Use another closet for those items. Home improvement stores sell do-it-yourself closet kits. The ones made of particleboard with a melamine finish are preferred over wire sets, which have non-adjustable shelves/poles and are not as durable. Because we use our closets everyday, a totally organized closet can start and end your day on a very positive note. A top-rated closet organizer can help you get the right closet for your personality.

Expert Advice About Mold

Many people think that any kind of mold you find in your home is a health hazard. That's not necessarily true, according to David Keith, President of K2 Environmental Inc., a Diamond Certified company. Shower mold is no big deal and can easily be removed by applying a bleach and water solution for 15 minutes. Damp crawl spaces do not necessarily breed mold with proper ventilation.

Mr. Keith says the mold to worry about may come from plumbing, roof and window leaks. It grows behind walls, and while only a small patch may be visible, the problem could be much bigger than what you can see. If you attempt to remove mold yourself, seal off the area to keep airborne spores from landing in other rooms and on furniture. A professional may be needed, not just to remove the mold, but to fix the water problem that caused the mold in the first place.

Extending the Life of Your Car

What's the secret to getting more mileage out of your car? Darrin Schlafer, Operations Manager of Pennzoil 10 Minute Oil Change, a Diamond Certified company, emphasizes paying attention to your car's fluids, and he means ALL the fluids. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations in your owner's manuals for changing transmission fluid, anti-freeze, and power steering fluid. Bay Area drivers should follow service intervals in the manuals recommended for "severe" driving, meaning city driving, stop-and-go, short trips and hills.

Mr. Schlafer says frequent oil changes, every 3,000 miles or so, are critical for longer engine life. They're so important that Pennzoil has started offering customers a limited warranty on oil-related parts (things like pistons and rings, oil pump, bearings) for 250,000 miles or 10 years, if they change their oil every 120 days or 4,000 miles, whichever comes first. Only cars with 36,000 miles or less are eligible for this new program.

Diets, Carbohydrates and Your Body

The no and low-carbohydrate diets are a hot topic at many dinner parties these days. Most of us have tried or know someone on one of these diets, and the results are mixed. Nutritionist Maureen Sullivan, CEO of Lite for Life, a Diamond Certified company, doesn’t buy into the fad. Ms. Sullivan says the body needs good carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables, beans, rice, potatoes, and cereals. On a low carb diet, you lose water and glycogen from your muscles, but not fat. Without good carbs, you lose energy so you don’t feel like exercising and even your mental performance is affected. To lose weight in a healthy way, give up the bad carbohydrates such as pastries, French fries and ice cream, and consume 2 to 3 servings of complex carbohydrates and 2 servings of fruit. The sky is the limit when it comes to non-starchy vegetables! Eat as many as you want.

Cleaning Tips for Your Computer

It may be just an excuse, but I rarely clean my desktop computer because I am not sure of the best way to do it. Do I need special products for the monitor and the keyboard? And what's the easiest way to clean a sticky mouse? I got the help I needed from Erik Sagerdahl, General Manager of Techs to Go, a Diamond Certified company. Mr. Sagerdahl recommends using a damp scratch-resistant cloth on the monitor. For the keyboard, try a product called Dust-Off, available at your local computer store, which blows dust off safely and effectively.

You'll probably have to replace the keyboard if something like soda or coffee is spilled into the keys. To clean a mouse, unscrew the cap that holds your mouse ball in place by turning it counter clockwise. Take the ball out and clean it, along with the three rollers inside, with a Q-Tip and rubbing alcohol.

The Deep Dirt on Dishwashers

Are you getting the most out of your dishwasher? I am now, thanks to Larry Asien, owner of Asien's Appliance, Inc., a Diamond Certified company, who knows dishwashers inside and out. First, you don't have to wash your dishes before loading. Just scrape them and let the machine do all the work. Second, if you have an older dishwasher, you'll get better performance by getting the water in your sink faucet hot before starting a cycle.

Third, you can use less detergent and still get the dishes sparkling clean. Liquid products are better if your water heater is on a lower setting. Powdered detergents work best at 120 degrees or higher. Finally, if you have stains on the inside of your dishwasher, don't panic. The stains are usually from minerals in your water. You can clean them up by running citric acid from the drugstore through the washer instead of detergent.

A Winning Strategy for New Car Buyers

It's a common mistake to focus only on the monthly payment when negotiating a new car sale. It's an easy trap to fall into, according to the Consumer Advice Editor for Edmunds.com. Mr. Phil Reed, who worked as an undercover new car salesman at two dealerships and tells about his experiences on the website, says salespeople will ask, "What's a comfortable range for a monthly car payment for you?" Whatever amount you quote, they will start at the higher number and go up from there. The salespeople are not basing the payment on anything real at this point in the negotiations.

Mr. Reed says the best strategy is to negotiate the price of the car, NOT the monthly payment. You may want to do your homework before going to a dealership by using Edmunds.com, which lists the true market value for new cars and has a payment calculator. You may also want to check out Edmunds' new book, Strategies for Smart Car Buyers.

Planning Landscaping That Lasts

If you're completely renovating a home, or moving into a brand new one, that's the best time to have a landscape designer or architect generate a blueprint for the yard. You may have to complete the landscaping in stages, according to Alan Kostelnik, owner of Gardens of the Wine Country, a Diamond Certified company, but you'll save money in the long-run if you have a master plan. When it comes time to plant, Mr. Kostelnik suggests that you get professional advice from a local nursery as to what will grow best in your particular microclimate. Something that thrives in Napa may not do so well in San Francisco and vice versa.

Also, if you get gardening ideas from other parts of the country, such as tropical Hawaii, don't assume you will be able to grow the same things here, unless you're willing to give your plants a LOT of time and attention.

How to Sniff Out and Eliminate Bad Car Odors

After the stolen car was recovered and repaired, it still had a strange odor. The non-smoking owner discovered that the thieves had smoked up a storm. Is there any way to permanently eliminate cigarette smoke odor and other bad smells in a car's interior? Roth Schleck, owner of Premier Auto Tops and Interiors, a Diamond Certified company, says that a thorough detailing job is a good place to start and will fix many odor problems.

Deodorizers can help for faint smells. For persistent odors, the source must be located and addressed. For example, cigarette smoke rises and permeates headliner material so the material may need to be changed to rid the car of the smell. Mr. Schleck says most odor problems can be fixed, but in some cases, getting the smells out completely may cost more than you're willing to pay.

Tax Prep Tip

Significant tax changes in 2003 may be of substantial benefit to you, especially if you are a business owner and/or earn a significant portion of your income in dividends and capital gains, according to Daven Sharma of Davis and Company, a Diamond Certified public accounting firm. Mr. Sharma recommends that if you prepare your own tax return, you should review and understand the tax changes before completing the forms. You can find information on ’03 tax changes on finance-related websites and in specialized newsletter articles at www.daviscocpas.com. Click the link to newsletters on the homepage. Unless your tax return is extremely simple, consider having a professional review your self-prepared return before filing it. A professional may identify additional deductions as well as potential costly errors and areas of concern. It shouldn’t cost you a lot to get a review because you have already done most of the work.

Great Products for Cleaning Shower Glass

If you have a glass shower enclosure, you know how quickly soap scum, mineral deposits and film build-up. The problem with keeping the glass sparkling clean is that many of the "spray-and-leave-on" products are so harsh that they can eat through the shower's silicone sealant. What's good for the glass may not be good for the metal and acrylic hardware, according to Terri Downs, Vice President of CB Showers Inc., a Diamond Certified company. Ms. Downs recommends regular maintenance for shower enclosures, such as using a squeegee or wiping the glass with a cloth after showering.

Two products that are effective for cleaning and sealing the glass are Comet Heavy Duty Bathroom Cleaner and Invisible Shield. Another option is having the glass treated with Diamon-Fusion¨. This process makes glass water repellent and stain resistant, as long as basic maintenance is performed.

When to Call a Handyman

Sometimes a job is just too small for a licensed contractor. For example, do you just need someone to repair a gate, fix some doors, change a faucet or a toilet? Maybe you only need some caulking in the bathroom, or a picture hung. Perhaps your gutters need cleaning, but you don't want to get up on the roof yourself anymore. That's the time to call a handyman. Daniel Hernandez, owner of Handy Dan, a Diamond Certified company, suggests using a handyman when plans aren't needed and the job is small.

Also, unless they have an active contractors license in good standing, a handyman can't do more than $500 worth of work in a day. A reputable handyman should have a local business license, insurance and a bond. Even though the job is small, make sure you get a written estimate with pricing either by the hour or by the project.

Deals on College Textbooks

In my day, the only place we could buy college textbooks was at the campus bookstore. All we did was complain about how expensive the books were and that was that. Now students have many more options, yet many don't bother to shop around. The typical college student will spend $300 to $500 on books every semester. My son's last bill for books came to $425. When a friend told him about buying online at half.com, he checked it out in the first few weeks of school. He shopped for 4 of the most expensive required books and was thrilled to save $140. One of his $40 microeconomics books was $5 used at half.com!

It's worth checking out for the coming semester. By the way, some professors are helping reduce the tab for textbooks by placing material on electronic reserves so that students can access the reading online. This saves money and trees.

Help Stop Junk Faxing

By some estimates, every unsolicited junk fax that you get costs you 25 cents in paper and toner. That's on top of the inconvenience of having your line tied up and your sleep interrupted when the junk fax systems ring your fax number in a home office at night. While federal law banned unsolicited junk faxes more than 10 years ago, California allows them, IF the sender includes an "opt-out" number at the bottom of the fax. Not surprisingly, some numbers are bogus, so you are at their mercy.

Linda Sherry from the non-profit group Consumer Action advises consumers to call the opt-out number, record the name of the company, and the time and date of your call. If that doesn't stop the unwanted faxes, file complaints with the California Attorney General, the sender's Attorney General and the Federal Communications Commission. For more information on how to fight this problem, contact www.junkfaxes.org.

Don't Delay Dealing with Dirty Ducts!

How do you know it's time to get your furnace and air ducts cleaned? Generally speaking, you should have the service done every 3 to 5 years, depending on the quality of the air filters you're using. Dirt gets through some low efficiency filters and into the ducts easier than others. Matt Farber, owner of Air Quality Heating & Air Incorporated, a Diamond Certified company, says another way to tell is by checking the fan compartment with a flashlight. Also look for dirt around the heat registers.

A thorough cleaning, which includes brushing and vacuuming the ducts and cleaning the furnace, can improve your furnace's efficiency by 15%-50%. Dirty systems block airflow and overheat your furnace. This can lead to an early failure. In the Bay Area, a proper furnace cleaning in an average home will take about 2 hours and cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $200-$400.

Caring for Stone Countertops

All new stone countertops need to be sealed correctly with enough coats of a good quality sealer to make them last. That's the key, according to Greg Palmer, co-owner of Northbay Stone Works Countertops, a Diamond Certified company. After that, how you care for countertops will depend on the stone you have had installed. Granite countertops, which are great for kitchens because they don't react with acids, are very hard and don't need any special maintenance other than occasional re-sealing. You only have to re-seal granite, or any other new stone, when it shows signs of absorbing liquids.

The other stones used for countertops, marble, limestone and travertine, are all organic and their appearance will change over time. To clean them, you must use a non-corrosive Ph-neutral stone cleaner only, or a damp cloth. Do not use any products that might scratch the surface, such as Ajax or Comet.

Kids Away at College? Here's How to Save Money on Car Insurance

In the scramble to pack your kids off to college, you may have forgotten to make an important call to your insurance company. Did you know that if your child is more than 100 miles away for home, and does not have a car at college, you can have them temporarily taken off your policy? I called GEICO and by not having a rated young driver on our policy, our premium is reduced by $363 for the next 6 months.

I saved this much even though a surcharge for an earlier accident will stay on our record while the teen is away at college. My insurance company does allow the student to drive one of the cars if he comes home just for a long weekend. However, if the student comes home for more than 30 days and will be driving your cars again, you will have to have him or her re-instated.