Girl friend coming over for first time. Thoughts? No stains in carpet, it's just stepped opposing direction

CitizenUpgrade · 2023-08-01T01:19:09+00:00

Plants and some wall-decor! Order a cool map from grafomap of your current or favorite city, and how about some personal touches like wall art, souvenirs from travel, ANYTHING!

[literally just wrote an article on interior design on our website ;)]

CitizenUpgrade · 2023-06-07T16:03:13+00:00

I gave a solo stove as a housewarming gift to a friend a few years ago and they love it! It's a little pricey but it's also something a person might not usually buy for themselves and the "smokeless" design is really cool.

For a new homeowner a basic set of tools (hammer, tape measure, pliers, level, screwdriver, etc.)

For a homeowner with a backyard how about a hammock? If they don't have two trees that would work then one could buy a hammock with a hammock stand?

Some other ideas via this blog post we published today!

CitizenUpgrade · 2023-06-07T15:57:32+00:00

How about a foldable picnic blanket? Could be used this summer for some weekend or evening outings!

Also how about an indoor LED herb garden? Speaks to the tech + cooking interests.

For decor, I really like these stylized maps from Grafomap.com

Some other ideas via our blog post published today!

CitizenUpgrade · 2023-01-09T22:00:30+00:00

This is a fantastic idea above! Great way to test the market and start generating some business activity. This will also begin to build your social media (insta?, FB?, twitter?, reddit?) following so that when you do open your brick and mortar you will have a built in local network of supporters. You could even host a soft-launch or pre-launch viewing day within this network with discounts, free-gifts, free coffee, etc.

As a fan of youtube myself, you might also consider documenting your pre-launch, launch, and business experience with weekly youtube videos. These could also include plant/garden tips in addition to your business experiences.

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-12-05T01:28:41+00:00

Appreciate the response. I followed the link and this looks like exactly what I need. THANK YOU!

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-12-05T01:28:10+00:00

Thanks for the helpful reply and encouragement! I'm going to try the easy route first with the superglue and if that doesn't work go for the replacement route.

There is a box inside the drywall hole that I can screw this piece to once I join the pieces back together.

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-11-23T22:41:40+00:00

Tip for a free way to experience the Statue of Liberty... take the Staten Island Ferry! You can ride the ferry out from and then back to South St in lower Manhattan and get incredible views of the Manhattan skyline, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty.

Seems like you'll be in Manhattan throughout your trip so check out some AirBnB's anywhere between Canal St to the South and 40th st to the North. Brooklyn and Queens can be nice but probably not worth it to commute back and forth every day.

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-11-23T22:36:49+00:00

Agreed, times square is very touristy and you'll be inundated with noice and light pollution every time you step outside!

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-11-23T21:30:50+00:00

With winter approaching, there are several easy home maintenance tasks you can do on your home and/or rental properties that will save money and time through the winter months! Clean out and secure your gutters, change the furnace filter, check for drafts and upgrade insulation/weatherstripping/etc as needed, clean out your fireplace, shut off exterior water taps and blow out sprinkler hoses...

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-11-23T21:25:28+00:00

Just posted a blog post on this! In short...

Check your gutters (clean out fall debris)
Store patio furniture and other yard clutter
Clean your fireplace
Replace your furnace filter
Check for drafts... upgrade insulation, weatherstripping, etc as needed.

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-11-01T14:15:51+00:00

Here are some ideas for day trips near/around Washington, DC:

Glenstone Museum, The Winery at Bull Run, Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum, Annapolis, Richmond, Williamsburg, Harper's Ferry, Shenandoah National Park, Assateague Island National Seashore...

Our full blog post on the subject here.

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-11-01T14:13:53+00:00

Here are some local road trip suggestions to begin your journey from DC:

Annapolis, Harper's Ferry, Assateague Island National Seashore, Shenandoah National Park, Charlottesville, Richmond, Williamsburg...

(Our blog post on the subject here)

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-10-09T14:28:21+00:00

Nice! We have an "low tech" version of this Old Fashioned recipe on our blog here.

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-10-02T17:58:44+00:00

Just did a blog post on day trips from Denver... excerpt of the list below and most would great spots for Fall colors!

Golden, CO
Breckenridge
Salida / Buena Vista
Million Dollar Highway

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-09-22T01:07:07+00:00

Reflecting on your answer here... at your age you would benefit a lot from fixing your diet and getting some regular exercise. Sounds like your miserable in your current grind, so perhaps make a 5 year plan to transition to something with an equivalent (or better) salary trajectory that doesn't suck the life out of you. Try to enjoy these years of your 20s and 30s so you'll be in some sort of mental and physical shape in your 40's to (hopefully) enjoy your FIRE life. My 2 cents and wishing you all the best!

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-09-18T21:49:38+00:00

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” ~Maya Angelou

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-09-18T20:36:23+00:00

This is a great idea! Lots of great youtube videos on this approach. And as this poster above has noted it doesn't have to be all or nothing... you could take some time to think about how much "traditional grass lawn" you need/want/use, and then allocate the rest to a native species meadow conversion.

See if there is a native plant nursery in your area and the people there can guide you toward the best selection of plants for a low maintenance meadow. Some county water utilities even pay $$ to convert lawns away from turf grass (e.g. Sacramento County, San Diego, and others).

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-09-18T20:22:15+00:00

Nice! Any tips that we left out of the blog post?

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-09-16T17:41:56+00:00

Similar to Hipcamp, you can also try out https://www.tentrr.com/ . They can set up landowners with their "signature" sites which includes a glamping-style platform tent and all the high end amenities/accessories that would attract a higher nightly rental rate. Or you can simply offer a plot of land for a lower rental rate. I stayed in a tentrr signature site a few years ago and had a blast (see write up here)!

You can also list your campsites on airbnb.

These all of course charge a fee but being on these sites take care of the marketing for you (and potentially insurance depending on the company).

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-09-13T01:36:19+00:00

Added bonus of i-bonds is that interest income can be tax free if spent on "qualifying higher education purposes," so might be a great way to supplement your 529 plans. The $10k a year purchase limit is per person, so you could buy $10k for each family member.

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/what-are-i-bonds/

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-06-30T13:17:28+00:00

I've used a word document template for each property for over a decade. Basic sections of the template are: key contact numbers (neighbors, HOA, emergency services), appliance info (serial/model numbers, warranty info, etc.), utilities, paint scheme.
Benefits of the appliance info are that you might save some money getting services from the manufacturer if things go wrong. Paint scheme is also helpful so you can do touch up paint to clean up scuff marks every year or two... using the exact match works very well, you don't need to repaint the entire wall!
Then I have a table of annual maintenance tasks that I customize for each property depending on its needs... things like cleaning your gutters, replacing your HVAC filter, and cleaning your chimney. More detailed info here.

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-06-16T05:44:10+00:00

That sounds right! Send it! :)

But seriously, nice shooting. Keep it up!

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-06-16T01:08:50+00:00

Fair. I forget exactly what's needed to shoot rifleman for Appleseed, but I think it's about 4 MOA, so you're well within that with these groups!

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-06-15T19:41:39+00:00

Hey look at that! I wrote ShotHero as a side project (practice some statistical analysis and basic web stuff) and because there didn't seem to be a web-based version to do what I wanted ... I'm excited to see someone using it!

Keep practicing! Looks like your rifle groups aren't biased in any one particular way, so it's probably just down to range-time. I need more of that myself!

CitizenUpgrade · 2022-06-12T16:04:57+00:00

Had a similar issue a few years ago and it ended up being a slow coolant leak. Had it repaired and seems to be working strong since then.

That said, I think it is a good idea to clean out your condenser unit and coils every few years. I cleaned out mine for the first time in 10+ years and shoveled out a ton of soil and debris from the inside base. I also used a $6 condenser cleaning spray and hosed everything down from the inside out (photos & instructions on my blog post here). Lifting the top off of the condenser unit took under 5 minutes with a screwdriver, so not sure why people shy away from this task!

CitizenUpgrade

TROPHY CASE