It’s hard to believe but 2010 is approaching a close.  And with all end of the year activities it’s time to start thinking about Fall and Winter (at least in the northern hemisphere!)  Yes.  That sounds depressing to me as well. 

Fortunately there are a few things you can do to help with the transition.  And while none of these are exactly “fun” they all help keep our homes maintained and our lives a little better.

1. Seal Air Gaps – Heating prices have been high for a long time now.  Perhaps they will never go lower.  Which means we need to get serious about sealing up all those loose air gaps around our windows, under our doors and along the floors.  A tube of $5 caulk goes a long way to reducing your energy bill.  Plus, doesn’t it feel good to make your house a bit more efficient?

2. Check House Exterior – If you’re in the hot, warm parts of the country, or experiencing a hot summer like we did here in Cincinnati, then you probably haven’t walked around your house recently.  Now that September is (theoretically) bringing cooler air, maybe it’s time to see what the foundation looks like.  Are there new cracks on the sidewalk?  Any shingles need replacing before winter?  Now’s the time to take that exterior house tour!

3. Fall Cleaning? – It used to be you needed to do “spring cleaning” because it was a good time to empty your house of all the dirty air, grime, and dust that built up over a few months of closed windows and burning fires.  But these days most of us run our AC units just as much as our heat.  That means it’s a good time to clean up your house.

Part of what we do around here at Neat Features is help you understand all the fun and neat parts of your own home.  But let’s face it – if your home is falling apart you’re not very likely to notice them!  So go pick a week this month and work on these three tasks.  And then sit back.  Relax.  And enjoy your home’s own neat features!

photo provided by flickr user dan4th

If you own a home, you have cracks in your walls.  Cracks are a part of life.  No matter how well we take care of our homes, we can’t prevent  the foundation from settling and cracks developing.  In an ideal world we would be able to patch up these cracks.

But what if you can’t?  With unemployment being so high, what if you don’t have the money to fix the cracks in your walls?  Or what if your mother in law is on her way over, and the last thing you want to hear is about needing to repair your walls?

Then these TakeBreak Wall Decals may be your solution.

By using stickers, you can turn your unsightly cracks into work of art.  Well that’s the idea anyway.  Does it work?  You’ll have to be the judge of that for yourself!

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

Today’s Neat Features post seems to come just in the nick of time for me.  Just last week I came across two large boxes of 3.5 floppy discs.  (Because back in my day when we were walking up hill both ways to school, we took our homework on floppy discs, and we liked it that way!)  Since I found those floppy discs, I’ve been wondering what I should do with them.  Sure I can’t use them anymore.  I’m not even sure I have a working floppy drive.  But it still seems like a shame to throw them away (yes I realize they are useless).

Fortunately some clever people over at Instructables may have solved my problem.  They’ve created a tutorial on how to reuse old floppies and turn them into pencil holders.

One of the things we talk about here on Neat Features is that Neat Features can be very complex or very simple.  It’s not the size or expense that matters.  It’s whether something has personality and attitude.  Does it make you want to live there.  Those are the three characteristics that make up a neat feature.

And you don’t get much smaller than floppy discs.

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it.  Image courtesy Liefehacker Tip Testers photo pool by user vokabre

A while back we showed you a room with a pretty elaborate jungle paint job.  Perfect for the 7 and under crowd.  But what about older kids.  (Or the older kid inside all of us?)  I don’t know about you, but as cool as the jungle was, I’m not sure I really want to go with the "Welcome to the Jungle" feel. 

Well here’s an office that was painted in argyle. 

Neat Features don’t have to be expensive, they don’t have to be complex, and you don’t always need an engineering degree to lay them out.  Sometimes you just need some paint and tape. 

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

We’ve shown a few Neat Features involving wine.  These are great solutions for storing your wine.  But how many of us only store wine?  Usually, we get around to drinking it.  So does that mean the Neat Features need to stop?

Of course not!

You can put those wine corks to good use, by creating a bath mat. 

How durable is this bathmat?  Well that’s a good question.  I’m not convinced it will be a long-lasting solution.  However I could be wrong.  You can follow Monica Ewing’s (Caftynest.com) Twitter feed to find out.  She’s promised to test the bath mat for a few weeks.

Another potential problem is mold and mildew.  (Just remember to seal the bath mat and keep an eye on it.)

Even if the mat doesn’t hold up long-term, it’s still a great solution for a guest bathroom.  This bath mat adds personality, has some attitude, and creates a guest bathroom that’s worth using.  (Which are the same three things that I said make something a neat feature.) 

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it. 

It’s funny how your perception changes.  I’ve seen pictures of painted walls before.  But until I wrote a few weeks ago about “what kid wouldn’t want to sleep and play in this room?” I never really paid attention.  But now, of course, I realize that they are everywhere!  It seems that I can’t help but turn around and see a kids room with playfully painted walls (say that three times fast!).

Take, for instance, this great image of a frog playing.

This particular image is in a Cape Cod house.  Now Cape Cod’s tend to feel a little on the small side.  Add the fact that the room itself is only 12x10, and you have a recipe for claustrophobia.  But with the image, and the added sense of depth, it makes the room feel much larger. 

I’m starting to wonder if my parents didn’t hold out on me when I was a kid!

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it. 

Power cords are the scourge of modern living.  But they are a necessary evil.  We need electricity for our computers, our TV’s, our appliances, and a thousand other things.  And if you’re anything like me, it seems like every time I go to plug something in, there is never a convenient wall socket.  So we can't completely eliminate power cords or we'll be forever reaching behind the couch to plug things in.  So what do we do?  Well the way I see it we have three choices when it comes to cords.

1.  The Man Behind the Curtain – We simply declare “there are no cords here, please ignore them.”  Sure you know they are laying out in the open, your guests know they are laying out in the open.  But we all just agree to ignore them.  Hey it worked for the Wizard of Oz!

2.  Twist & Shout – Here we break out twist ties, measured cables, and cable management devices.  We just work very hard to organize and maintain our cables. 

3.  Get Creative – While this approach isn’t for everyone, being creative with our cabling can blend the first two strategies.  By making the wiring part of your decoration, it can become a Neat Feature all by itself!

Now personally, I don’t want a lot of little birds hanging out on my walls.  But I have to admit, it’s a lot better than having a power cord laying on the floor!  Because let's face it, when you tell people not to look behind the curtain... that's the first place they look.