Emergency preparedness made very easy

If there is one thing that this city has been beaten over the head with a hundred times, it’s emergency preparedness. Warnings of the huge earthquake that could hit Salt Lake City at any time have driven some residents to get serious about being prepared in case of any kind of emergency. And I support that fully.

But if you are not quite as prepared as you’d like to be, or if you haven’t even thought about it, I am going to tell you about a website that will make it very easy on you.

ShelfReliance.com takes the guesswork out of being prepared. It can be frustrating to figure out exactly how much you will need and what you will need, so this website does it all for you. When you go to the homepage and click on SR Planner, you’ll see three options to click.

‘Emergency Kits’ will take down your age and number of people in your family, and it will show you just what you need to have in an emergency kit. You can choose if you want a 24 hour kit, all the way up to I think 7 day kit. It breaks down how much each item costs and allows you to purchase them right there on the same page. They’ll send you your kit – simple as that.

The ‘Thrive Foods’ section shows you how to get your food storage together. Again, you input your ages, number of people in the family, and you get a list of exactly what you will need for your food storage. You can plan for up to two years! The planner makes sure you have all the necessary food groups and allows you to purchase everything from their site if you would like.

The ‘Food Rotating Systems’ option allows you to purchase some very nice food storage shelving systems. You first choose which style you would like, then the dimensions you need based on the size of the room where they will go, then you choose the colors and options. How much simpler could it be?!

The rest of the website is very informative also. Recipes, blog, etc., it’s all there. I think this site is a great resource for everybody who sees the need for emergency preparedness. I really don’t think you’ll find an easier way to get everything together. The only problem is that now that it’s so easy, we don’t have any excuses to keep procrastinating!

Tags: Shelf Reliance,Emergency Preparedness,food storage,SR Planner,Utah food storage

View Real-Time Utah Real Estate Market Statistics

If you are into numbers, graphs, market statistics, etc., then I have got the site for you.

Altos Research provides very informative real-time market information for any city in the Salt Lake City Metro area. When you visit the Salt Lake City Metro page on their website, you’ll be shown various charts that show exactly what is happening in our market. You’ll find:

-Real Estate Price Trends

-Housing Market Conditions

-Home Sales and Demand Trends

-Median Price Per Square Foot

-Number of Homes for Sale

If you click on ‘Explain this’, it will tell you a little more about what the numbers are, and if you are really impressed by what you see, you can subscribe to more in-depth reports.

I also like the ‘Map It’ feature, where you can see the market statistics on a map of the Salt Lake City Metro area.

It’s a really great tool for anyone interested in real estate – you don’t even have to be a numbers person.

Tags: Altos Research,Salt Lake City real estate,real estate,Salt Lake City market data

What to do this weekend

It’s finally going to get warm – or so the weather channel says. And when it gets warm, we all want to be outside and enjoy the new springs growth. So beginning this weekend, Thanksgiving Point is inviting us outside to enjoy the Annual Tulip Festival.

If you go, you’ll see 95 different varieties of tulips imported all the way from Holland. As if that isn’t impressive enough, there will be a quarter million bulbs on display! I can only imagine how awesome that would look from the air, since there is still not a whole lot of color outside this year.

This festival can serve as merely a pleasant stroll, or as inspiration for your own yard. If you are interested in the latter, you will be able to purchase the tulips on display when they are dug up in May, because every year they have an annual Tulip Bulb Sale in June.

And if you are a photographer – amateur or professional- you can enter the tulip photo contest for the chance to win a Thanksgiving Point property membership and recognition in the newsletter.

Click here for dates and times.

Tags: Thanksgiving Point,Utah gardens,Thanksgiving Point Annual Tulip Festival,tulips,gardening

Utah home builders who have gone ‘green’

I know I’ve been talking a lot lately about ‘going green’ in your home, but it has really sparked my interest and I think it’s important.

One thing that I didn’t talk about last time is who to hire to build a green home for you. I became interested in this question after I paid a visit to my sister and saw a house being build behind her that claims to be entirely ‘green’. So who can you turn to?

Instead of compiling a list myself, I’ll refer you to a good website that has a bunch of information on green builders – this website calls them Energy Star builders, but it’s the same thing. The website is Energy Star Builders in Utah.

They have created a list of builders who have a minimum five-star rating on the HERS scale. Some names I think you’ll recognize, but some I had never heard of.

You’ll probably find that building a green home will cost more than a regular home. It might make sense to some people, but others might not be able to justify the cost. We’re not here to vilify people who don’t build green home – everybody can do something to be environmentally responsible. If building an energy efficient home fits into your plans, then more power to you.

Tags: Utah home builders,Green Utah homes,energy efficiency,utah real estate,real estate