WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES MAY 16, 2019 19
Spring cleaning: How to make money
Seasons come and go, but one
thing remains the same - energy
bills. According to the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE), the
average annual energy cost for a
single-family American home is more
than $2,000. While some of this cost
is due to the rise in electronic usage
in homes, there is a much bigger
problem driving up energy bills in
American homes - poor insulation.
The North American Insulation
Manufacturer’s Association estimates
that 90 percent of homes in the U.S.
are under-insulated. When a home is
poorly insulated, the furnace and air
conditioner work overtime to counter
the loss of heated and conditioned air
that escapes through insufficient
insulation. Fortunately, with a few
simple DIY fi xes, you can combat these
cost culprits. By focusing on three of
the biggest coverage problem points,
you can start saving money on your
bills as early as this weekend.
1. Prevent air from going through
the attic
Start by evaluating your current
materials. If the insulation in your
attic looks like a cotton candy
machine exploded, then you have
what is called “loose-fi ll” insulation.
Many contractors and homebuilders
use this insulation because it is easily
blown into attic spaces. Unfortunately,
it is not always the most eff ective
insulation because it is diffi cult to
ensure uniform coverage across the
attic surface. Additionally, it is only
designed to fi t between the joists in
the attic fl oor. This leaves the joists
susceptible to heat transfer from the
home to the attic.
For a more efficient upgrade,
consider replacing loose-fi ll insulation
with expanded polystyrene (EPS)
rigid foam insulation boards. These
boards are available at local homeimprovement
stores and can easily be
cut to fi t any crawlspace without any
mess. During installation, focus your
eff orts on the knee wall and raft ers.
These areas are in closest contact to
the outside air and can make a big
diff erence in the attic’s heat fl ow.
2. Insulate the biggest gap in your
house - the garage door
Although it only moves in two
directions, your home’s garage door
serves multiple purposes. Not only is
it necessary for keeping a garage safe
and secure, but it also has important
implications for your home’s energy
effi ciency. If it’s left uninsulated, it can
drastically change the temperature of
the ambient air closest to the inside
of your home, causing heating and
cooling systems to go into overdrive.
The good news is even a fi rst-time
DIYer can insulate their garage
door. During your trip to the home
improvement store, look for a garage
door insulation kit. These kits include
eight pre-sized panels that are easy to
cut to size and fl ex into place between
the garage door’s horizontal rails.
As an added benefi t, with common
household tools, this job can be done
in under an hour.
3. Minimize heat fl ow through
the basement
Depending on the state of your
unfi nished basement, it may look like
a collection of holiday decorations and
keepsakes or a slab of concrete with
exposed studs. However you use your
basement, adding insulation is a smart
project to take on this weekend.
Basement insulation contributes
to an energy-efficient home by
minimizing heat fl ow between the
surrounding environment and the
basement walls. Insulation can be
applied to the outside of a basement
wall; however, it is typically much
easier to install on the inside walls.
This approach avoids having to move
dirt away from the foundation and
back-fi ll it once the insulation is in
place.
“Insulating a basement is not as
daunting as someone might think,”
said David Stassi, Insulfoam’s fi eld
technical support manager. “With
the right product and a free weekend,
this overlooked space can turn into a
real energy saver for a home.”
For step-by-step instructions on
installing insulation in the listed
applications, visit the Insulfoam
YouTube channel.
Bonus project: Treat yourself
The U.S. DOE estimates that a
properly insulated home could save
homeowners up to 20 percent on their
heating and cooling bills. Don’t be a
part of the population that overpays
for their energy; take energy
effi ciency into your own hands. Who
knows, you may even have a little
extra money from your savings for
a well-deserved vacation aft er your
projects are done.
Courtesy BPT
AT HOME
American households are sitting
on goldmines. Experts estimate
there’s almost a trillion dollars
worth of unused items in our homes.
Rather than letting those things gather
dust, people are digging into their
closets, garages and basements to
make money back on unused items.
Many are engaging in recommerce
by selling their used stuff through
the internet or in-person auctions. In
fact, half of Americans plan to resell
their gently used goods to support
their income this year, according
to OfferUp’s Spring Cleaning &
Recommerce survey. And two-thirds
of Americans would consider selling
gently used items online to free up
space in their home.
If you want to make some money
clearing out things you no longer want
or use, consider these smart tips:
Have a yard sale: Reach out to
your city to learn about any yard
sale regulations, then set up shop at
your house to sell to people in your
community. Make sure to mark items
with a reasonable price and promote
your sale to bargain hunters that’ll
search through your treasures. This
is also a wonderful way to meet new
neighbors.
Sell online: You can reach a much
broader audience and potentially get
more money for things like electronics,
toys, clothes and vehicles using an app
like Off erUp. Simply snap a picture on
your phone, add a brief description and
set a price. Safety is always a priority
when selling online and meeting
people in-person, and Off erUp works
with police departments across the
country to designate safer places to
meet, which you can fi nd in the app or
by going to SafeTradeSpots.com. The
app also off ers nationwide shipping
that allows you to reach more buyers
for smaller items.
Tap into consignment: Consignment
stores have been a staple for reselling
for a while, but be advised that it could
take the store some time to sell your
items, and the store can take as much as
a 50 percent cut on your merchandise
for managing the transaction. On the
plus side, consignment stores may be
able to sell your items for a higher
price than you’d be able to sell them for
online, and it can be more convenient
to let a consignment store sell for you
instead of going through the trouble of
listing the items yourself.
Post in a neighborhood forum:
You can also try posting in your local
neighborhood classifi eds or on social
media. While websites like Nextdoor
tend to be more popular for people
listing free items, you can offer a
discount to your neighbors and plan
on quicker sales since it’s easier to
arrange pick-ups and drop-off s when
everyone is less than a quarter-mile
from each other.
Donate: For things you don’t end up
repurposing or selling, donate them to
a local charity. Many nonprofi ts accept
a variety of items in good condition for
resale or auction. There are a number
of diff erent organizations accepting
donations, and depending on what you
donate, you can get a receipt for a tax
write-off that can hopefully get you a
larger refund the following year.
Courtesy BPT
Three projects to cut your energy bills
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