8LF | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 | THE RECORD P
HOMESCAPE / ADVERTISING SECTION
Garage sale: Donate
unsold items to charity
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7LF
When it comes to pricing,
your heart should not be trusted.
“It’s easy for us to over-price
things in a garage sale,” says
Cruze. “We start to add sentimental
value.” For a more realistic
price, it’s best to consult with
a friend or research similar items
on Facebook, Poshmark, and
other appropriate sites. “This
is a garage sale so you’re probably
not going to get $50 for a
sweater. Price your items to sell,”
Cruze says.
Bundling is an appealing way
to price items because most can’t
resist a bargain. “If you have
a box of old baby clothes each
priced individually for $3, that
might be easy to pass up,” says
Cruze, “You could consider offering
three for $7. When people
feel like they’re getting a deal, it
makes it harder to pass up.” And
if the day is ending and items
aren’t selling, she says, “You can
let people choose a certain number
of items for a flat rate.”
A tip for handling cash, says
Maniscalco, is to have enough on
hand to make change and carry
it in a fanny pack, which is easier
to manage and keep secure than
a cash box.
n Stage for Results: As someone
with extensive experience in
home staging, Maniscalco cannot
overemphasize the importance
of presentation. Get your merchandise
off the ground and
arrange it attractively on tables.
“It should be almost like shopping
in a store,” she says with
like items displayed on the same
table. Categories might include
toys, books, collectibles; and there
could be a bargain table with all
free items. “People shouldn’t have
to look at every table to try and
figure out what’s there,” she says.
Cruze also suggests hanging
clothing and grouping it with
accessories near a mirror, just like
you might find in a department
store. “Taking a few small extra
steps to make sure your stuff is
presented nicely can make a big
difference!”
n Make a Date: Maniscalco
busts the myth that you have to
hold a two-day
garage sale.
“A lot of times
people don’t
want to come
on the second
day; they feel
all the good
stuff is taken,”
she says. The
best days for
a sale are Friday
and Saturday,
not Sunday! The best times are
between 8 a.m. (there will always
be early birds) and 3 p.m. (nobody
comes after that), she says.
Because there’s often no accounting
for weather, she suggests a
tent or other protective covering,
so the sale can go on.
n Get the Word Out: This is
the last and most important step,
says Maniscalco because without
advertising, you might have the
best merchandise and no one
to buy it. Of course, there are
the popular lawn signs to post on
main roads and throughout the
neighborhood with arrows to the
sale, address, time, and date.
Knick-knacks and lower-priced items can be bundled together at an attractive value
to move merchandise at a garage sale, particularly at the end of the day.
But she says many shoppers
also consult the newspaper classifieds,
and don’t forget Facebook
and craigslist, including a photo
of your most promising items, she
adds.
n Donate Unwanted Items:
Most people don’t want to reclutter
their closets with things that
didn’t sell, so why not plan in
advance how you will dispose of
these remnants.
Cruze suggests taking
another go at it by posting certain
items with a high-quality photo
and a description on sites like
Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace,
or Letgo.
BASYA555/GETTY IMAGES
If you’d rather be done with
it, Maniscalco suggests arranging
in advance with a veterans’ organization
or other charity for them
to pick up leftovers after the sale.
Or how about posting free at curb
on social media? Maniscalco did
that for her own sale, and items
were gone in 10 minutes.
Whatever you decide to do
with your profits, now you have
the benefit of clean closets to
stash your new belongings. As
Maniscalco says, “If you continually
declutter, you will never get
to the position where in 20 to 30
years, you have so much stuff it’s
impossible to get rid of.”
Ceiling fans: Safer when installed by professionals
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7LF
of the blades can be reversed.
Running in a clockwise direction
the fan blades push heated air near
the ceiling back into the room.
“We don’t get a lot of questions
about energy efficiency,” says
Antenna. “We bring it up because
fans today are more energy-efficient
than those in the past, especially
those with LED lighting.”
EnergyStar ceiling fans are
20 percent more efficient than
standard fans. Those with lights
are 60 percent more efficient.
EnergyStar is a program of the
Environmental Protection Agency
that rates and promotes the use
of energy-efficient products.
PICKING THE RIGHT
SIZE FAN
Ceiling fans are sized by the
diameter of the blade span. Sizes
range from about 24 inches up to
about 60 inches. The larger the
room, the larger the fan needed
to ensure proper air flow. “Our
formula is any room that is 10 feet
by 10 feet or less, we recommend
a 42-inch fan,” says Antenna.
“Larger spaces require a 52-inch
fan or larger.”
The Home Depot buying guide
for ceiling fans uses the length of
the longest wall as a guide. If the
wall is less than 12 feet long, they
recommend a 36-inch fan. If more
than 15 feet, then a 52-inch fan
or larger is called for. Some very
My Home Project
Problem solved by
creating a planter post
large spaces will need multiple
fans to provide adequate cooling.
Another important measurement
is the amount of air flow the
fan produces, expressed in cubic
feet per minute (CFM). Airflow is
a product of the fan’s design, its
motor and the pitch of the blades.
Flat blades produce very little
air flow. Look for blades that are
pitches of 12 to 14 degrees. Air
flow measurements are usually
part of the product information
for each fan. Look for fans that
produce over 3,500 cfm for maximum
comfort.
INSTALLATION
For the best performance,
a ceiling fan should be located
about eight feet above the floor.
For standard height ceilings, there
are flush-mounted fans. For ceilings
higher than eight feet, such as
cathedral ceilings, down rods, available
in various lengths, can get the
fan blades closer to the floor.
Ceiling fans are connected to
a wired junction box in the ceiling.
The box has to be rated “suitable
for fan support” or some other
wording that indicates the box
is strong enough to support the
weight and the movement of a fan.
In many cases where there is a
light fixture in the ceiling, people
think they can just install a fan
in its place. “Many times, those
(electrical) boxes are plastic and
they can’t hold the weight of the
fan,” says Palmarozza. “We’ve
gotten calls where people have
installed a fan themselves and it
has pulled out of the ceiling. And
it usually happens when you are
not expecting it, like in the middle
of the night. That’s not a good
time to have a fan fall out over
your bed.” Palmarozza’s service
replaces existing ceiling fans if the
right equipment is present. If the
box doesn’t work, the homeowner
needs to hire a licensed electrician
to install a new box.
The cost of ceiling fans ranges
from about $150 to over $1,000,
so there is a wide range to choose
from. Professional installation will
cost about $100 to $150 for ceiling
fixtures that have the correct
electrical box.
By JOSEPH CICCHELLI
of Hackensack, NJ
SPECIAL TO HOMESCAPE
The groundhogs eat the flowers
faster than my wife can plant them
and the hummingbirds lost their feeder
because their tree was removed.
I think I need to make some garden posts.
The arborist left me 12 inches of trunk
to use as the base for Post One. I bolted a
steel post base to the trunk and trimmed
off the height of a light kit from an 8-footlong,
6- x 6-inch
cedar post, with
a circular saw. I
secured the post
into the post base.
I trimmed
the post bottom
using PVC board
and mouldings,
secured with
stainless-steel
nails, Cortex
screws and PVC
glue. With the
light kit attached
atop Post Project Two.
on the post top, I chamfered the post’s corners
from 4 inches above the base trim top
to 4 inches below the light kit with a router.
I attached two wrought iron plant hangers,
a hummingbird feeder and a Wi-Fi sprinkler
system sensor to the post.
With Post Two, 2 feet of an 8-foot post
was buried in the ground following standard
post installation protocols. Its base
was trimmed out similar to post one, but
proportionally sized for its
shorter height. I topped this
one off with a birdhouse,
chamfered its corners and
attached two wrought iron
plant hangers.
Another job in the “Honey
Do” jar calls for repairs to the
shed. When done, I’ll paint the
post bases and shed to match
the house colors, while the
cedar weathers naturally.
The flowers are hung,
the hummingbirds are fed,
my wife is happy, and the
groundhogs are on a diet.
Joseph Cicchelli is a
resident of Hackensack, NJ,
and a handy DIYer.
Quickly occupied,
Cicchelli’s birdhouse sits
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOSEPH CICCHELLI
A planter topped with a light kit, Post
Project One is anchored to a tree stump
and features a hummingbird feeder.
Project materials include PVC board, mouldings and glue.
NR-USE0008358-01
We’ll Keep You
Comfortable All Year Long
Family Owned and Operated
For 4 Generations
Serving all your home heating and
air conditioning needs.
Complete Inventory of Heating Systems
Automatic Fuel Oil Deliveries
Air Filtration & Central Air
Tank Insurance Available
Maintenance Agreements
24 Hour Dispatched Service
Courteous Professionals & Qualified Technicians
Ductless Systems Available
We Carry All Major Brands
Free Estimates & Energy Surveys
Fully Licensed & Insured
Call us today at
201-891-1000
www.bolkemafuel.com • FREE ESTIMATES
Contractor Lic. # 13VH00908000
Master HVACR Lic. # 19HC00060900