Bobbie Maynard Broker/Realtor, CRS, GRI, CSP, GREEN Bobbie is the first agent with the allen tate company to earn the NAR's Green Designation. To earn the GREEN designation, she completed a 12-hour Core Course and one of three 6-hour elective courses in residential real estate, commercial real estate, or property management, as well as submit an application and receive approval from the Green Resource Council.  TO SAVE MONEY and PREVENT AIR, WATER, and NOISE POLLUTION : Concepts and sayings to live by: 1.It’s got to be convenient or you won’t do it. Plan and Do it now. Get the tools NOW you will need later. 2.Reduce, Reuse, Recycle…in that order. Its always best to just not use something unnecessary to begin with. Napkins, plastic knives, etc. 3.“Adapt, improvise, and overcome” there is usually another less toxic way. 4.“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” Auto: 1.Turn off your motor when waiting in line at the Bank or Burger drive-thru. 2.Avoid idling just to listen to the radio, or to run cooling and heating when the outside air is mild. 3.Keep the air pressure in your tires correct. Check every month. Buy and Keep a gauge handy in the glovebox. 4.Replace sparkplugs and air filters when needed for maximum operating efficiency. 5.Don’t get the paper receipt at the gas pump. It will be on your credit card statement. 6.Buy a smaller, lighter, more efficient car. More weight = more gas needed. Simple Physics! Ignore Manufacturer’s spin to the contrary. Dining and snacking: 1.Take a reusable coffee mug to the coffee shop. Save the disposing of Styrofoam or paper cups. 2.Use the available reusable metal utensils at Panera Bread, etc instead of the plastic ones. 3.Eat with your hands more. 4.Don’t take a bag. 5.Water with no ice…it is better for digestion anyway. Shopping: 1.Take reusable cloth bags. Keep them handy in the car for those unplanned stops at the grocery store. 2.Refuse the bag at checkout if you can carry it in your hands easily. 3.Buy non-phosphate laundry and dishwasher detergents. Charlies soap or Seventh Generation are good products. 4.Avoid buying 2-stroke engines on weedeaters, blowers, and mowers. 4-stroke engines pollute less. Consider electric ones if you have a small yard. 5.Buy only EnergyStar appliances. 6.Avoid buying things with lights or clocks that are always using power. 7.Call the toll-free number and get off mailing lists of catalogs you don’t want. 8.Buy 3 pairs of non-cotton polyethylene or other synthetic Thermal long underwear, and you will be toasty all winter, indoors or out. Get some nice wool or synthetic socks too. 9.Learn online banking and bill pay. It is not only free and secure, but you buy fewer stamps and envelopes. At Home: 1.In the winter, wear a sweater and lower the thermostat to 65-68 degrees. 2.Install a programmable setback thermostat for oil or gas furnace systems. Lower to 65 during empty house times. 3.Close fireplace dampers when not in use. They suck out your heat! 4.Don’t light up the outside of your house at night. This is not Las Vegas! Eliminate gas Lampposts and pole or yard lights. Light pollution is real. Let’s see the stars again. 5.Put ALL consumer electronics on a switched power strip that you can turn off when not in use. There is significant power use even when “off”. 6.Open blinds fully during the day for solar advantages in cold weather, close in summer to block unwanted heat uptake. 7.Consider installing permanent ceramic tile flooring instead of temporary 5-year carpet. 8.Install a permanent metal roof instead of temporary 25 year asphalt shingles. They are also petroleum products. 9.Place rain barrels at roof downspouts, use this water for the yard or garden. No chlorine is better for plants also, and it’s free. 10.Don’t use chemical lawn services. The insecticides in the fertilizer spray poisons birds and wildlife, and upsets environmental balance in many ways. Have smaller grass areas, more natural areas. 11.Mulch or compost leaves instead of “packaging” them in plastic bags for the city pickup. 12.Close the drain when you shower in cool weather. Let the warm water heat the air. Drain when cold. 13.Take shorter showers. 14.Set your water heater thermostat for the temperature you like for a shower, no higher. You won’t have to mix cold with it, and won’t overheat your water all day and night. 15.Men: Stop the sink drain to shave, rather than running the water. 16.Blow dry your razer blades. They will last longer, since they won’t corrode. Buy fewer blades per year. 17.Fold, don’t wad up, toilet paper. This uses less. 18.Don’t use the toilet as a trashcan. 19.Women: Never flush any hygiene product, even if it is supposedly “flushable”. Use the trash can. They clog sewers. 20.Minimise use of chemical cleaners, especially Bleach. Vinegar water has many uses. 21.Don’t “cook” your clothes with excessive dryer time. Use some judgement for drying times needed. Avoid “automatic” or “sensor” settings. They are inaccurate and waste more energy.
I know not all of these ideas will apply to all of the people. Get your mind thinking about all that you do. “You are either part of the Problem, or part of the Solution”. 
Financing Your Home >Credit Card Mania
Most people know that a checkered credit history can disqualify you for a home loan, and maxed-out credit cards can do the same thing. But what most people don't know is that merely having a large number of credit cards, even with low balances and a history of timely payments, can disqualify you for a home mortgage loan just as quickly.
According to credit experts, having a number of credit cards can be just as detrimental to the granting of further credit as a history of late payments. Lenders look at it this way: If you have ten credit cards, each with a limit of $5,000, that means you have the potential to run up $50,000 in debt virtually any time you choose. That mere possibility makes you a greater risk, from their point of view.
The moral of the story? If you are planning to apply for a home loan in the future, keep only those credit cards you actually need to use and cancel the others.
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What Newport, Rhode Island mansion was built as a birthday present and incorporates 500,000 cubic feet of white marble?
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| A |
The Vanderbilt Marble House was constructed by railroad baron William K. Vanderbilt for his wife Alva, who later divorced him, remarried and moved into a mansion down the street. |
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