Dawn Wiser's Blog

Recycle challenge

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:44:07 -0700

Our house sold and while we look for the right home, we moved into a condo for the short term. The first thing I noticed was the lack of recycling at the complex, which includes owned units and rentals. There is no opportunity to recycle any waste despite the fact that there are large waste receptacles on site and there is room for a recycling bin. I suspect most apartments lack recycling. What a difference it would make if apartments and condos offered recycling.

SOLD!

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Thu, 13 May 2010 21:58:52 -0700

I've sold my personal home and what a great experience this is for a real estate agent. If you haven't move in a while, it can be an eye opener and create greater understanding of your clients experiences in locating other housing, finding movers, packing, cleaning, eliminating unnecessary things, and working with title companies, banks, and more. What I haven't really understood is how quickly 30 days is to change everything in your life. It is exciting and scary. My clients will have greater sympathy for me!

I miss the $8,000 credit

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Wed, 05 May 2010 19:25:50 -0700

New home buyers are the best to work with. Their excitement is contagious. Sure, there will be new home buyers but the credit help so many people begin home ownership and that can only be a positive. Local businesses profited, local counties profited, and cities became improved by the pride of ownership that will be displayed. A good thing that I suppose had to go.

Check twice

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:49:04 -0800

Over the holidays we use our fireplace more than any other time of the year. We most often try to let the fire burn down and close the damper that night. Sometimes, however, the fire is too hot and we must remember to close the damper the next morning. As you know it, we forget one morning during the holidays and found it had been several days before the damper was checked. Now we check twice - once the following morning and then in the evening on the day after using the fireplace. Too bad there isn't an automatic fireplace damper closer!

Twice as dry

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:53:35 -0800

An updated master bathroom called for new towels to complete the makeover. The towels I found were soft and a large size but were also advertised as quick drying. And they are, which I find to be an advantage. But the true benefit came to light when I laundered the towels. They took less than half the time to dry than previous towels in my house. The savings in electricity was a bonus I overlooked with evaluating the quick drying feature. The towels met ever other need so why not use the energy efficient models.

Buyer's choice

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:42:30 -0700

It is becoming more and more in front on buyers "wants" in a home to have an energy efficient home. And it should because an energy efficient home saves money and helps the environment. What you can do is to make those improvements that enhance the energy efficiency of your home - new windows, more insulation, resealing around door and windows, and upgrading house systems. Not only will this increase the value of your home but also increase your comfort until it is time to sell.

Use to be

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:40:14 -0700

Just how much has the internet use saved environment? There was a time that the only way to view a house was to go directly to the home. While using the Internet with pictures, virtual tours, and video tours of every home can reduce travel to homes that are outside of consideration by the client. There was a time when printed material was the only way to share information about a house. Imagine the future!

Clunkers

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:14:29 -0700

I was amazed to understand the impact of the government's cash for clunkers program on the environment. The amount of gas that will be conserved is enormous. Even if many the old vehicles turned in weren't driven much, the volume of reduced gas consumption is huge and the reduction in emissions is huge as well. The program does have multiple benefits.

Live here

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:43:08 -0700

I had a call the other day from someone who was thinking about moving to Wenatchee. They asked about the weather, the size of the communities, and the price of houses. I answered all their questions but forgot to mention that we are a green community. Someday, "are you a green community" will be a standard question for any location one might consider for the home town. We've got it here.

Blast furnace

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:34:11 -0700

It is really, really hot, all over the state. In Wenatchee, most homes have some sort of air conditioning be it a wall unit or more. For those who don't have air conditioning or for those who don't want to pay the cost of cooling, there are other alternatives to keep you cool. Luckily, we live by two rivers. The temperature there is always cooler and if you take a dip, you can feel cold, as least until you get out of the water. It's worth a try.

Green sells

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 12:42:38 -0700

Many more buyers are looking for "green homes" and are willing to make a choice to buy the one that best meets the criteria. Here is an article that the Realty Times, a real estate and advice newsletter published recently on the power of making your home green. There is some great information here.

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090605_green.htm

My own site

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:11:55 -0700

I'm pretty excited about www.dawnwiser.com - my own website. This is just part of the change in the way business is done and the amount of paper that is being saved daily. As often as possible, I use e-mailed documents and keep my personal records on line rather than print out every single form. Of course, the official forms are still kept in paper form but someday soon that should change as well.

Family fun

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:09:20 -0700

Having family visit is great but one thing about having family visit is space limitations. It works best to have a house that can be separated so that cooling and heating can be turned of and off when needed. This works best with a two story house where the bottom or top level can be completely closed off. The extra space can be excessive but it is also a good investment in real estate.

Only what you need

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:14:54 -0700

In Europe, we did not go to a restaurant where water was served when we sat down or immediately after being seated. We all know water is good for us and it is healthy to drink plenty each day, drinking water with my meal is not a regular practice of mine. I usually have a beverage but not water in addition to the beverage. Not only does serving water on request only save water, it also saves electricity in eliminating the need to wash a dish that isn't used. Just little things, but good things.

Alternate energy

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:25:32 -0700

I have seen wind farms in the US - granted I haven't seen many of them, but in France I saw thousands of wind machines in an area with high, frequent winds. This alternate form of energy seems so simple, clean, easy and green. Soon the technology will improve to the point where the amount of energy produced by wind will grow to a significant proportion of energy produced world wide. The wind certainly affected our visit to Carcosonne, a ancient Roman walled city with churches, forts, and a town in the center. We quickly ran from feature to feature to escape the wind chilled air.

Europe fun

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:30:06 -0700

I recently spent 3 weeks in Europe on a wonderful trip with my husband and mother. We met so many nice people and saw so many fantastic sights. I hope to make another trip within the next couple years.

I did notice several energy saving measures in Europe that we do not do in the USA. One of the easiest things to do is automatic sensor lights. Most of the hotels we stayed in had hall sensors that turned off when there was no action or timed lights. The same thing was found in some bathrooms however, a few times the lights went out in a matter of seconds!

Cycles

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:23:32 -0800

Business can have a huge impact on the amount of garbage that is recycle and that which is thrown in the dump. Paper seems to be the biggest culprit. If every business recycled all waste paper, the amount of saving in energy and water to produce the paper would be tremendous. If you don't recycle at work, simply check local organizations and start your own.

Fly away

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:43:38 -0800

We recently took a trip to the Washington DC area to visit our daughter, her husband and the new, first grand baby. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate that day - we and almost everyone on the flight missed their connections. We were delayed 5 hours total, not too bad considering the situation. It is amazing that we can get thousand of miles away in such short time, even when there is a major disruption in the schedule.

Baby, baby

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:38:41 -0800

Sometimes the best efforts to stay green can't be followed to the letter. My brand new grandson is a joy no doubt and in order to accommodate his entry into the world, keeping the thermostat turned back at night just didn't work out. Plus, you do like to keep the house just a little warmer to be sure the baby is warm enough. This is a temporary measure for sure and one well worth the cause.

It's personal

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:25:36 -0800

I use an MCI card to make long distance calls - you really can't beat 3 cents a minute and with auto dialing, the 20 numbers to enter each time you make a call, is really not all that bad. Now, MCI has decided that they will charge a 15% surcharge for recharging a card. But, if you buy a new card, there is no surcharge. I don't understand the reasoning behind this strategy (ploy?). How green is that anyway. The cards are plastic, they come in paper and cellophane packaging, they are shipped all over the country, all of which uses natural resources. I thought I'd switch but Verizon now owns MCI or the other way around.

Check the door

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:58:53 -0800

Now is a good time to check the seals on your outside doors. While a poor fitting door is not going to break the bank, adding weather stripping will help save some money but will increase the comfort of your lving space. The are several products available to weatherproof your doors - just go the local hardware store and look for products that will work with your particular setup. It should take just a few minutes for this improvement.

Stormy

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:38:37 -0800

If you have storm windows and notice condensation on the inside of the storm window, there is an air leak that is making the windows less effective than they can were intended to be. This can be especially irritating when you can't see outside because of the steamed up surface and can be very detrimental when selling your home. You need to seal any leak to prevent warm inside air from the space between the two windows. This will save heating costs and make living a little sweeter.

Keep warm to heat less

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:13:35 -0700

If you use an electric blanket and turn down the heat at night, you can save money and reduce your energy consumption. A couple of things are important to remember though. First, you have to remember to turn it off in the morning. The other thing that is important is to replace older blankets - more for safety reasons than for energy savings. Keeping warm and staying ahead of the electric bills can be simple.

Little things

Dawn Wiser (Century 21 Exclusively) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:47:34 -0700

When you're conserving energy, every little thing can help. Painting the walls of your home a light color is more efficient. Dark colors tend to absorb light, requiring you to use more energy from light bulbs to achieve the same level of light in your home. Lighter color walls will also make your rooms feel brighter and more cheerful, not to mention the benefit of having a brighter, cleaner, and more neutral home when you are selling your home.