Space
Maximum garage. More than half of people with two-car garages don’t park cars there or have room for only one car because storage and clutter overtake the space, according to the U.S. Department of Energy and Gladiator GarageWorks, a garage-organization company. Australian master builder and TV personality Karl Champley has teamed with Gladiator to offer consumers garage- upgrade ideas. Visit to read more about maximizing the potential of your garage. Or heed these easy tips.
Look up. Don’t let the size of the garage restrict you. Use the walls and the ceiling to put up shelves or hooks to get the most out of this confined space.
Free up space. Get rid of clutter, and organize your garage essentials. The aim should be to create a multipurpose room that the whole family can use.
energy
Eco-friendly kids contest. “Trash to Trees” is a holiday tree decorating competition that challenges local students to use recycled or repurposed items for decorating, and a chance to win cash for their school’s PTA or PTO. Sponsored by The Inverness Hotel, Tree by Tree, Tagawa Gardens and Radio Disney, the competition is limited to the first 50 schools to submit applications by Nov. 14. Teachers and students in grades 4-8 in the Denver, Douglas and Arapahoe county school districts are eligible. For complete competition rules and deadlines, visit , call Lupe Hirt at 303-859-1762, or e-mail trashtotrees@destinationhotels.com.
money
Reining in the remodel. Remodeling plans have been scaled back by the recent economic crisis, according to a new study by remod . The results indicate that homeowners who now have low home equity or who are living in lower-value homes have put their remodeling projects on hold, while homeowners with more financial resources are moving ahead with remodeling plans with hopes of taking advantage of lower material and labor costs. Visit the website to see the survey’s full findings. Among those results:
Eighty-four percent of homeowners report that the possibility of a recession is affecting their remodeling plans.
Sixty-five percent of homeowners who do plan to remodel will do some of the work themselves.
Kitchens are still the most popular rooms to revamp, followed by bathrooms, bedrooms, garages and basements.
