home improvement guy

The pre-spring doldrums can really take a toll on your house. The flurry of activity around the holidays is long in the past, but spring itself is still some weeks away. Put that time to good use: Before you do your spring cleaning, you can set yourself on the path to household order.

Your best bet is to hire a professional organizer. Pros usually charge between $55 and $100 per hour. If you hire them on a per-project rate, the average fee is $580. Consider looking for pros certified ...

How long would you drive your car without changing the oil? You should think about heating and air conditioning the same way. Your HVAC system works harder than nearly any other system in your house. It often runs daily, working hard to heat or cool your home in response to the temperature outside. That’s a lot of wear and tear on an expensive system.

Regular HVAC maintenance keeps your system in tip-top shape, lubricates the gears (literally), and minimizes wear-and-tear damage. HVAC ...

Whether it’s the dead of winter, a broiling summer, or you live in a comfortably moderate climate, your home’s energy efficiency is a big deal. You spend a lot of money to power heating and air conditioning and keep your home climate-controlled, and you don’t want to see that go to waste. While big-ticket installations such as solar power and geothermal heating and cooling systems play a huge role in efficiency, don’t underestimate the power of these everyday acts to dent those energy bills. ...