I’ve been tidying up my house since mid-January. To be truthful, I didn’t intentionally set out to declutter and reorganize my home. Instead, it was a byproduct of my latest home improvement project. After nine years, it was time to re-paint a bathroom, three bedrooms and all the closets in my house. Every organizer will tell you to completely empty your closets and then edit the things you’re going to put back into them. So, that’s how my tidying got started. Now, I’m continuing to tackle other rooms and even our garage. I’m on a roll!

Popular organizing books suggest only keeping things that you truly love and giving or throwing away everything else. Read more

When my kids were little, my husband and I wanted to make sure they started learning how to manage money. Their allowances and gift money were divided into three categories: saving, spending and giving. It was a good exercise to ask them to think about how to allocate the funds on a regular basis (on a small scale, of course).

It turns out that a recent study underscores the importance of teaching your children about savings early in life. Researchers at the University of Kansas analyzed data from a large study of families dating back to 1968. Read more

El Niño has finally arrived in Northern California, and the rains have had disastrous consequences…for ants. According to Janet Thrasher of Thrasher Termite & Pest Control, Inc., when rainwater saturates the earth, it floods ants’ colonies and forces them to seek refuge in nearby dwellings. Consequently, ant-related calls to Diamond Certified pest companies are currently on the rise.

How to Get Rid of Ants
If you need to get rid of ants in your house, there are many different ways to go about it, but the most effective way is to destroy their nest. Read more

Today, many homeowners are considering the benefits of going solar because of energy savings and tax credits. Systems are also getting more affordable. I asked Sungevity’s Sloane Morgan to answer some of the most common questions.

Is it expensive to install solar?
When residential solar systems were first introduced, they were expensive for the average homeowner, but solar panel prices have dropped radically since then Read more

Expecting to receive a lot of gift cards this holiday season? Watch this video for some helpful info about maintaining their value. Read more

When I managed a consumer complaint line for KGO Radio and TV, we always had calls after Christmas about stores’ unreasonable return policies. Consumers were frustrated that they couldn’t get their money back, receive a store credit or exchange a gift. In some cases, receipts had been misplaced or thrown away, and some were simply unavailable because the item was a gift. In other cases, stores had failed to clearly post their refund policies as required by state law. People were unhappy about restocking fees, too. Read more

It’s easy to tune out news about automobile recalls—most aren’t serious, and they usually don’t apply to a vehicle you own. However, my ears perked up when my 2003 Toyota was among millions of cars being recalled. Vehicles of many different makes (Honda, BMW, Subaru, Mazda, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Mitsubishi, Nissan) have Japanese-made airbags that could explode upon impact and injure drivers and passengers with flying shrapnel. That’s pretty scary. I called my local Toyota dealership right away to schedule the “fix” specified in the recall. The free repair was completed with minimal hassle earlier this year. Read more