If you’re looking for an eco-friendly home, we’ve got good news for you. Balmoral builders include tons of environmental, sustainable features in their homes. Everything from smart thermostats and Energy Star appliances to LED lightbulbs and kitchen faucets that reduce water usage. Once you move in, you can continue what they’ve started by following these tips for more sustainable living.
Buy Some Bins
Glass, paper, metal and plastic can all be recycled, but you can’t always put everything in one container. Purchase at least three containers to keep your recyclable items separated.
Hit the Thrift Store
Cheap clothes and furniture are good for your wallet but bad for the environment. Thrift stores are the solution. You can find fantastic clothes, books, furniture and more at second-hand stores. Purchasing them reduces waste and often costs less than what you find at big box stores. If you shop at stores run by non-profits, you can do good for your community.
Donate Used Goods
Don’t just shop at thrift stores, donate to them. Donating used items keeps them out of landfills. You can donate almost anything from clothes to cars. Check with your favorite local charity to see if they hold donation drives.
Upcycle
Upcycling is a new word for a time-honored tradition — repurposing items in your home. Anytime you choose to turn old wine bottles into candle holders, old bottles into planters or ice cube trays into snack plates for your toddler you are upcycling. HGTV offers lots of creative ways to get more use out of items you might be thinking of tossing.
Reduce E-waste
Apple, Best Buy and other electronic stores will often give you credit toward new tech if you bring in your old electronics. Best Buy allows you to drop off old electronics for recycling. They will even wipe your old devices for you. When you purchase a new computer, make sure it has an Energy Star label.
Change Your Laundry Practices
Did you know that 90 percent of the energy used by a washer goes toward heating water? Hot water doesn’t always get clothes cleaner either. In fact, it can degrade fabric and dull colors. Switch to cold water to save energy. After washing your clothes, skip the dryer and hang them up to dry.
Use Natural Cleaning Products
Brand-name cleaning products contain harsh chemicals that can be bad for your health. The plastic bottles they come in make up a large portion of landfill waste. The solution is to make your own cleaning products. These can be kept in reusable containers. There are also competitively priced eco-friendly products on your grocery store shelves.
Eat Healthy and Local
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, animal-based agriculture is responsible for approximately 15 percent of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. Save the planet by reducing your consumption of meat. For your vegetables, hit the farmers market because eating local reduces the number of trucks on the road.
Leave Your Car in the Garage
Do you need to drive everywhere? Carpool, use public transportation, walk or ride your bike whenever possible. Using alternative transportation reduces carbon dioxide emissions and keeps you fit (bonus!).
Parks and playgrounds aren’t just for children. At Balmoral, Fitness Hub Park is where adults get to play.
Our new park is dedicated to your health and fitness with a variety of opportunities to test your skills and build your strength and coordination all while having fun. What will you find there and how can you use it to improve yourself? Take a look:
The equipment at Fitness Hub is designed to build your muscles, although a circuit or two will get your heart pumping. To further their fitness goals, our residents enjoy walking, jogging and biking to the park. Afterward, they can swim or relax (and show off their muscles) at our Crystal Lagoon.
Fitness Hub is just one of the many exciting amenities you’ll fall in love with when you make your home in Balmoral. Visit us today and see for yourself.
You have a new gorgeous home in Balmoral, so you want to keep it immaculately clean. That’s the dream, anyway. Between the kids and other loved ones living in your home, the mess seems to pile up out of nowhere. Not to mention the messes left behind by entertaining or the boxes of stuff you’ve accumulated over the years and maybe not yet unpacked.
If you’re a busy parent, it may be impossible to simply rid your home of all objects that don’t “spark joy.” So, we’ve found 6 simple solutions for a tidier home.
1. Donate unwanted clothes twice a year
Spring cleaning and back-to-school are great times to rid your closets of unwanted clothes. If your kids have grown out of things, you can clear out their drawers, opening up plenty of space for your kids’ back-to-school clothes or new summer wardrobe. When your kids’ dressers and closets are tidy and they can find what they need, they feel less stressed out. Plus, it gives them the independence to find things on their own.
Check your own closet, too. It may be time to give up that once-favorite outfit that’s no longer super fresh. Don’t hang onto clothes that no longer flatter you or have slipped out of style. Instead, hang onto items that stand the test of time and let the others go. Old ties, blazers, and even shoes can also be donated at your nearest charity drop-off.
2. Join a neighborhood ‘Buy Nothing’ or ‘Free Page’ group on Facebook
Neighborhood “buy nothing” groups are all too happy to take your unwanted clutter to be recycled. This is a great option for those who are not ready to do a big, cleansing purge. You can use these groups to get rid of a little at a time or a lot if you choose. Each group has its own rules, so be sure to read them thoroughly if you join. And use caution when meeting up to exchange items or planning a porch pick-up or drop-off. If you’re more comfortable meeting up at a safe, public space like a strip mall parking lot or a municipal building, then do so.
3. Do a load of laundry every day
While this seems like a lot to ask, it’s not. Believe in the process. Doing a little every day keeps you from having to dig through piles of dirty clothes and then put away clean piles all at once. Think about it — no laundry hanging out of the hamper, no clean laundry chilling in baskets waiting to be put away all week while you’re busy. And no one-day-a-week massive laundry project.
Plus, when you wash more often, your kids will have access to their favorite outfits more often, cutting down on them begging for a certain item to be washed or, even worse, wearing a soiled ensemble.
4. Clear out the mystery boxes
Do you have boxes in your closet or garage that have gone untouched for years? It may be time to take a peek inside. Unless the box is full of treasure — whether it’s sentimental treasure or valuable goods — it may be time to get rid of the stuff inside.
More than likely, that once “cool” jacket isn’t going to come back into style. You probably don’t need all those cords, and you’re definitely never going to use those tangled holiday lights again. And if you’re hanging onto your kids’ old clothes for sentimental reasons, you can have them made into a comfortable quilt to send your kiddo off to college with something special.
5. Make sure everything has its place
Organizing is difficult for some people when they’re in the moment, but there’s a huge payoff for that effort. Organizing your home reduces stress and contributes to a healthier lifestyle. If you don’t have to constantly find things, life is much easier.
Desk organizers, clear bins, and a set of shelves are great tools to get things up off the floor and tidied away neatly. Clearing out the unwanted clutter and starting fresh, you’ll notice which tools you will need to stay organized. That way you don’t overspend on bins and drawer organizers you may not need.
6. Make the bed
Experts aren’t lying when they say that making your bed every day starts your day off right. But why? Because once we’ve tackled the first cleaning task of the day, the rest seem to just fall into place. This one good habit sprouts many others and promotes a tidier home and a healthier mind.
If you’ve been working from home in a corner of your kitchen, it might be time to upgrade to a dedicated workspace. If your home has a study, you may feel it’s a little sterile. Ready to upgrade? Here are tips for creating a stylish, dedicated workspace.
You Need a Desk
Say it with us: “The kitchen island is not a desk.” While a laptop set up on the counter may have worked for the first year of the pandemic, it’s not an optimal environment. You need a desk suited both to your needs and the space you are working in. The trend for 2022 is large, comfortable desks with room for all of your electronic equipment. If you don’t have enough space, House Beautiful suggests using corner desks, small desks with hutches or bookcases and drop-leaf tables mounted to the wall. If you are working with a Balmoral builder, find out if you can add a built-in desk.
Speaking of Gadgets
Computers and printers need wall outlets. Tablets and phones need chargers. Everything has a power cord and who wants to see (or trip) over them? How do you hide the unsightly cords while still making them accessible? Wireless chargers are a start. Cable organizers can be installed on or under your desk to keep them off the floor. Some desks have openings that hide cables. If your home is being built, make sure your study has plenty of outlets so you can place your desk anywhere in the room.
Get Comfy
When you need a break, leave your desk and hang out in your personal employee lounge by installing a separate seating area. It doesn’t have to be large. A comfortable chair and a table big enough for a cup of coffee are all you really need. If you have a larger space, add a sofa you can relax on while thinking about your next project.
Embrace Nature
Interior designers predict that 2022 will be the year we get back to nature in our homes. If you can, position your desk to take advantage of natural light streaming through a window. If you have a view, so much the better. If not, you can still bring natural elements into your space by using wood furniture, painting your walls light green, nurturing indoor plants or adding a small desktop waterfall.
Work At Night? You Need Light
You might be able to work without artificial lighting during the day, but early-morning or late-night hours call for a light source. Avoid overhead lighting. Instead, install recessed lighting or choose stylish floor lamps for a soft glow. If your office needs to serve multiple purposes, a chandelier will dress up the space.
Reflect Your Personality
Sterile offices drain creativity. A home office should celebrate your personal style. Use neutrals to make your space seem larger or to avoid being distracted. If you have a favorite color, don’t be afraid to use it on one wall at least. Your furniture should be functional but that doesn’t mean it should be ugly. Retro chairs, antique desks, colorful throw rugs are great ways to show off your aesthetic.
Boots, barbecue and fun are coming with the return of a much-loved Humble tradition — the Humble Rodeo & BBQ Cook-Off.
Nine days of fun kick off Jan. 26 with a carnival that will be open during the entire event. Ride a Ferris wheel and other popular rides and test your skills at a long list of games. Funnel cakes and other carnival food will also be available to purchase. The carnival is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily through Feb. 5. During the BBQ cook-off, carnival wristbands are $15. The carnival is free during the livestock show and rodeo.
The BBQ cook-off is open to the public 4-11 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28, and noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29. Your entry includes a meal and performances by Abigail Taylor and Mason Creager & The Gulf Coast Drifters on Friday and Brian Winfield and Gary Kyle on Saturday. Come ready to shop as more than a dozen vendors will be offering a variety of foods and goods for purchase. Besides judging for the best chicken, pork ribs, pork and brisket, there will be four other contest during the BBQ cook-off. Cook teams will vie for the best margaritas on Friday night and the pit challenge — which tasks high schoolers to build a BBQ pit from scratch — will be Saturday.
Young cooks will compete in two age categories during the Kids Q Cook-Off on Saturday. High school teams will face off in the Rumble in Humble cook-off. Cost for the weekend is $15. Children ages 5 and under get in free.
The Livestock Show & Rodeo kicks off Monday, Jan. 31, with rabbit, lamb, goat, broiler, turkey, swine and steer shows lined up through Wednesday, Feb. 2. Thursday, Feb. 3, brings the live auction and livestock auction, as well as a 4H Food Auction.
Rodeo action gets underway 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4 and 5, with seven rodeo events sanctioned by the United Professional Rodeo Association and the Cowboy’s Professional Rodeo Association. In addition to competing cowboys, kids will challenge each other in a Calf Scramble, Chute Dogging and Muttin Bustin.Concerts start around 9 each evening. Bag of Donuts performs Friday and Aaron Watson takes the stage Saturday. Tickets are $20. Children ages 5 and under are free.
Proceeds from the event benefit the Humble ISD Foundation, which provides teacher grants and scholarships. The foundation has given more than $15 million to teachers and students at Humble ISD, creating a foundation for lifelong learning.