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You know that old catch phrase..."Never ASSUME, because when you ASSUME, you make an ASS of U and ME."  I love our new kitchen! It has been so much fun to cook again. Unfortunately some of our cabinets arrived damaged. The trucking company was careless. We are now on the third go around of replacing parts. The most frustrating part has been dealing with the delivery people. The cabinet manufacturer and their representatives have all been great.  UPS was scheduled to deliver the last pieces on Friday. Everything was crated in a beautifully built box. There was no way they were going to be damaged this time. The UPS guy assumed there would be workers at the house, since the last time he dropped something off we were in the midst of construction. There was only me. He said he was not going to haul that crate up the driveway by himself. I suggested if he had called, we could have scheduled people to be there to help. Just use the phone, don't assume. The solution was to have UPS drop the crate at a local moving company, and they would re-deliver the crate. The moving company assumed I couldn't take the delivery as I didn't have room in the garage for the crate. The moving company unpacked the crate, and blanket wrapped each piece!  What were they thinking? It would have been better for me to have the items in the crate. Now they are loose, lying on the garage floor waiting to be installed. If they had just picked up the phone and called. It would have saved them an enormous amount of time. Moral of the blog is, don't assume, just pick up the phone.
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What do you do with the packaging? We are finishing up our home remodel, a very exciting time. The frustrating part is all the packaging materials. It seems everyday we have a new pile to get rid of. I can manage the cardboard, but what do you do with all the styrofoam? Those tiny bits that break off seem to have a mind of their own. They attach themselves to everything, Watch out if there is a breeze. They love to fly around the neighborhood.  I want to be a good human and recycle. Up until now there wasn't a solution. Styrofoam was trademarked by the Dow Chemical Company for extruded polystyrene that’s used in thermal insulation and craft applications. EPS for short. Here are some objections for using it.
.It doesn't seem like we are going to get rid of this packaging nightmare anytime soon. So how do we deal with it? There is good news! The amazing group of "Heal the Ocean" has teamed up with MarBorg Industries to divert styrofoam from going into our County landfill at Tajiguas. According to an article in the Santa Barbara Independent "Borgatello said if there’s sufficient public response, his company would invest in a compacting machine that reduces the foam into blocks that can be sold and re-used to make a host of products. But that, he said, would require 10,000-20,000 pounds a month." “It’s a necessary evil,” said Hilary Hauser of Heal the Ocean, who helped spark the project. “It seems people can’t live without it.” By finding commercially attractive uses, it’s her hope to keep as much of it out of the landfill as possible. Some of the pieces turned in thus far, she said, were “as big as the State of Indiana.” You can drop off your styrofoam FOR FREE at these locations In Goleta at 20 David Love Place In Santa Barbara at 132 Nopalitos Way Of special interest is foam used for packaging big screen TV's, and construction materials. It has to be clean of tape and mud.  Let's all make the extra effort to bring our styrofoam to the recycling centers. If we all do our part we can make the world a better place.
#healtheocean #styrofoam #recycle Choosing a contractor...Nightmare or Dream experience.So you've bought your dream home. Dream is the keyword here...it's a fixer that only you can love. You have a vision, you know this is the one. The hard part is how to you choose a contractor who shares your vision, and your idea of a budget?  This is personal for me. I found my ugly duckling. As my daughter says, "the uglier the better for you". It's a standing joke for us. When she was a kid I found an amazing house, of course I was the only one with the rose colored glasses on. She sat in the living room, and uttered, "you aren't going to make us live here, are you?". I did, and in the end no one wanted to leave it. I was listening to NPR on KCRW the other day. Frances Anderton was interviewing Jean Brownhill. She sounds like someone I would love to meet. A trained architect at Cooper Union in New York. She has worked on multi-million dollar renovation projects. You would think when it came to hiring a contractor for her own remodel it would be simple. It wasn't.  I interviewed five contractors. Most said it would take a year and twice my budget, but I persevered. I finally found someone that shared my dream, and my idea of timeline and budget. We are moved back in after six months and half what the others thought it should cost.   ,Jean Brownhill created the perfect solution to this contractor homeowner match-matching dilemma-SWEETEN-Think of it as Tinder for your home. Sweeten is derived from "Home Sweet Home"
Her company vets contractors and matches them to your project. They also follow the remodel project from beginning to the end. Simply log onto the website, describe your project and VIOLA! They will send you a shortlist of matches, you interview the contractors, get estimates and hire your favorite. It's only available in NY, Philly, and LA areas. Jean please come to Santa Barbara! We need you. Take a look at some of my favorite homes in the area. Montecito as viewed from Girard Trail  There is no doubt that Montecito suffered as a result of the Fire and Debris Flow in 2018. There were fewer sales during that time period and buyers were hesitant to jump in the market. The good news is we have made it through the rainy season, insurers are writing new policies on homes, the sun is shining, and there are some great homes available for purchase. Montecito is a strong resilient community. Even more now than ever before. Take a look at my Collection of special homes. Let us know if one of them sparks your interest, or if you just want to find out more about our great town. My Curated Collection of Special Montecito Homes Montecito is nestled between the ocean and mountains just east of Santa Barbara. I love the hiking trails and especially the fact they are National Forests, not State Parks. This means my pal Oliver is free to roam the mountains with me.  |
AuthorPamela-Real Estate Romantic Archives
May 2020
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