Create a Place to Soar for your Family

How did last week go?  In my book, creating warmth and laughter is tons of fun and gives your soul a nice warm fuzzy glow, too! 

Unleashing Your Greatness

Part of being a growing, thriving individual is not just sitting in your comfort zone but stretching yourself and trying new things.  This week I’m going to add some adventure, playfulness, and challenge you a bit.  As we talked about at the beginning of the month, your home is a great place to try new things before you unleash them on an unsuspecting world.  Things like playing a musical instrument, learning some new dance moves, trying a new recipe, changing your hair or makeup, writing a book, taking up a new sport, or anything else that gets you going.

To begin creating a home where you and your family can soar, ask yourself the following questions: 

• Is your home set up to allow individuals to try new things?
• Is there an atmosphere that is encouraging and accepting?
• Is there a lightness that makes it easy to try new things and not feel heavy with the fear of failure?
• Do you support and encourage each other in your attempts?
• Does everyone have enough quiet time to dream the dreams and pursue their interests?  That includes you!

 We all have been given different gifts and talents.  By honoring that and creating the physical and mental space for each family member to pursue their own interests and passions, you will create a home that is authentic, fun, warm, and challenging.  This environment will encourage and support your family to be the best that they can be.  And who wouldn’t want to come home to that!

What are some things that you have been dying to try or learn?  Now is the time! 

Great job this month! Celebrate all you’ve accomplished!  And let us know what changes you’ve made, we would love to celebrate with you!

HVAC Sales through Confusion

Choosing a service provider- Do Your Homework

 Unless you have someone you know and trust, I would suggest first tapping your network of friends and collegues.  If they have been down this road before use their experience.  If not, you are in no-man’s land. You can check the listings and look for licenses, certifications (BBB), etc but know that you can’t certify integrity.  It is critical that you get a few estimates and don’t be surprised if they vary widely.  Here are some questions to ask your potential provider

• What do recommend? (more on this below)
• Specifically (and in writing) what products and services does this price include?
• Is this the ‘drive out’ or final price?
• What if you find “other things” that need to be done once you get into the job?
• Is there any room for negotiation in this price?
• When can you start?  When will you be finished?
• Is there anything else I should know? (I love this question! )

Also, be prepared to use your intuition.  My first interview was a 2 hour sales pitch with lots of extra work that would ‘help me in the long run’. It took me  full day to get the ’sleeze’ funk out of my house and the fear of  NOT adding all the upgrades he was pushing out of my head.

R-22 vs R-410a Cool! Kinda?

I’m no expert on coolants but the bottom line here is the industry is set to make a big change in HVAC coolants in 2010.  The old stuff (R22) is going away, the new stuff (R-410a) is coming in.  There are many resources on the web about the differences between the two and how the r22 phase out is going to go down.  Read them.  Here is why– R22 and R410a use different equipment –and they are really not compatible with each other.  Meaning you can’t put the new stuff in the old equipment or interchange the equipment parts.  I’ve seen sites that say you can just suck out the old r22 and put in the new r-410a but most of the service providers I talked to would not touch this with a 10 foot pole. 

So, if you need to replace only the outside A/C and you choose to upgrade to a new r-410a you will need to replace the whole thing including the part called coils (they are in my attic).  So you see where this is leading… your old R22 dies.  Do you replace it with an brand new unit that takes r22 and is being phased out? What about repair or maintenance?  How will this effect any warranties you get with a new unit? Or maybe you upgrade to the more expensive r410a unit and re-do everything?

Duct work – My stress headache is back!

Duct work is in my attic.  They are big tube things that circulate the air to and from your house and the A/C units.  Remind me of Chuck E. Cheese playground only silver.  Your duct work may or may not be the right size and configuration for your A/C .  Apparently these tubes can be the unsung hero of your A/C unit.  Get this right and you will extend the life of your unit, increase your efficiency, and be way more comfortable in your home.  But no one could really tell me how much more life I would get out of it or how much more efficient it would be. 

One  service provider quoted me $2100 (in addition to the actual a/c unit) to straighten out the duct work.  Another provider said something like, “Were you cool enough when the old A/C was running?”  My answer was yes, I passed on the duct work.

F is for efficiency – SEER rating

SEER rating is the way they rate the efficiency of the A/C unit.  There is lots of information on the Internet and it is pretty straight forward.  Higher the SEER rating the more efficient the A/C.  Ratings generally start at 13  and go up to about 21.  Seems like 14/ 16 are mid-line and mainly what I dealt with.  It is hard to determine the actual benefit of paying the extra money for the higher rating (say 16 vs 14).  Maybe you can find it, I didn’t.  Other things I read about to consider for efficiency are duct work,a good installation, and keeping the equipment maintained. 

Now Its up to You…

This is the part where Yoda tells Luke Skywalker he must feel the Force and find his own way.  Do your homework, educate yourself, work your network, and use your intuition. Good Luck to you! And for the curious…

How my situation turned out

After consulting 3 service providers, I replaced my old r22 unit with a brand new one with a 10 year warranty.  I went with a company that I judged to be a honest and trustworthy.  I did not redo my duct work but know that I can add that later if it becomes important to me.  Yea, I realize that R22 and supporting equipment is phasing out. But the fact is there are many R22 in the world cooling homes right now and I’m banking on the fact that we along millions of others will have access to parts and service for the life of this unit.

If you have experience with this, write a comment and pass it along.  Help me add to the clarity and stomp out confusion!

[tags] HVAC, R22, R410a, SEER rating, 4 ton, Air conditioning, central air conditioning units [/tags]

Creating Warmth in your Home

This month I’ve been encouraging you to put on your artist’s hat and create an authentic home—a home that supports, encourages, and nurtures everyone to be their very best.  So far, we’ve talked about how to cast a vision for your ideal home and create an atmosphere to influence family members to be the best they can be.  This week, I want to talk about love and warmth.

Fun and Laughter 

Most people love their families (well at least a few members anyway!) but we can get so caught up in the daily tasks of home management, stress of work, getting homework and everything else done that we forget to have some fun and laugh along the way. 

How to Get Started 

To begin creating more warmth in your home, think about the following questions:

•  How (and how often) do you show appreciation and gratitude in your family?
• When a family member comes home for the day, how is (s)he greeted?  Is it with happiness and energy or barely a grunt in that direction?
• How often do you give hugs and kisses or touch each other in your family?  When you kiss your partner, is it the pecking kind of kiss or the ‘let’s put the kids to bed early tonight’ kind?
• When was the last time you shared a really great side splitting laugh together?  Or even a few chuckles?

 Laughter is probably the most underrated medicine for relationships and improving the happiness scale in your home.  It takes away stress and bonds you tightly together (ala the “inside joke”).  Affection and appreciation also convey to your family how much you love and value them. 

 I challenge you this week to look at these areas and see if sharing a laugh, putting an arm around a family member, or expressing your appreciation doesn’t make things feel just a bit lighter and easier. 

Do you have a favorite memory or story of how laughter helped bring you closer to a friend or family member?  Share it with us!

 Have a fun week!

Adjust the Atmosphere in Your Home

Now that you have cast a vision for your ideal home, it is time to create a nourishing atmosphere in your home.  Atmosphere is defined as “a surrounding or pervading mood, environment, or influence”.  Pay close attention to the last word, “influence”.  We start and end our days at home.  Home is where we learn and practice new things before we do them in front of other people. It is where children develop relationship skills and learn how to navigate in the world.  Even as adults, home is where we come to recover and regroup after a long day’s work.  The atmosphere in your home influences your ability to show up big and bold in the world and accomplish your dreams.

How to create an influential and nurturing atmosphere

Ask yourself the following questions:

•  Are members of your household accepted and loved unconditionally?
• Do they feel safe to try new things and be themselves?
• How often do you and your family spend time encouraging and affirming each other?
• How much focused time do you spend doing things together without distractions?
• Is everyone responsible for their own actions and belongings?  Or are some carrying a big burden while others get a free ride?

 When you cultivate an atmosphere of love and acceptance, safety, togetherness, and set some boundaries/responsibilities you are creating a place where everyone can feel supported as they develop their talents and become their best.

What is one thing you can begin doing (or stop doing) this week to enhance the atmosphere of your home? Share it with us!

 Have a great week!

Is Your Home a Good Place to Be?

Do you think of yourself as creative?  Creativity is more than being a painter, sculptor, writer, or musician.  We are the creators of our homes along with our families. 

A woman’s home is a reflection of her life 

When I first heard this many years ago, I didn’t believe it.  I didn’t see any reflection of myself in my home.  All I saw were the kid’s toys, laundry piles, and my husband’s things scattered around the house.  Then it dawned on me, just as I was invisible in my home, I had become invisible in my own life.  I had put everyone’s needs above my own.   That was a wake up call for me. 

Today, you can see my imprint all around my home.  Right now on my coffee table, amid the baseball gloves and harmonicas, you can find my latest read, magazines I love, a great scented candle, and some work papers.  You can look at the household décor, the walls and shelves of my home and find things that bring me joy—pictures and keepsakes that remind me of great vacations and all the people that I love.  I’m even in a few of those pictures myself! 

How to create an authentic home that supports everyone to be the best they can be

The first step is to evaluate where you are and then cast your vision.  Your assignment for this week is to answer the following questions:

Describe the home that you have currently co-created with your family? Think in terms of the following areas:

• Physical Aspects (décor, organization)
• Emotional Aspects (what emotions do you feel in your home–happy, sad, relaxed, stressed)
• Relational Aspects (how do people treat each other in your home)
• Other Aspects

 What is your ideal vision for you home?  Think in terms of  the following areas:

• Physical Aspects (décor, organization)
• Emotional Aspects (how would you like your home “feel” to you)
• Relational Aspects (how do would you like people treat each other in your home)
• Other Aspects

 Next time, I’ll share some easy practical steps to begin creating  an atmosphere of support in your home. 

Happy Creating!

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