We have a gas-powered leaf blower, but I hate to start it, and I got tired of begging my husband to do it for me. So I had resorted to using a broom to clean off our deck, stairs and paver patio.
Ryobi ONE+ 18-volt model P2190
We have a gas-powered leaf blower, but I hate to start it, and I got tired of begging my husband to do it for me. So I had resorted to using a broom to clean off our deck, stairs and paver patio. Not anymore. I bought this cool battery-powered blower, and what used to take me an hour or more now takes 10 minutes or less! I start up on the deck, work my way down the stairs and then blow all the debris from the patio out into the lawn or away from the driveway. I paid about $40 for the Ryobi ONE+ 18-volt model P2190 without the battery. (I use the batteries from my husband’s other Ryobi 18-volt tools.) The blower is light and has enough battery life to do everything I need to do. No more gas-powered blowers or brooms for me! — Jan Lehman. Buy this blower at The Home Depot now.
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Plus: Can you guess the home trends millennials are loving right now?
In additional to being sustainability-minded, Millennials tend to value convenience. Homes that are designed with smart home technology that allows them to easily and even remotely control their lighting, appliances, entertainment, heating, cooling, security systems — the list goes on and on — are making this generation more apt to buy real estate, studies show.These 10 cool smart gadgets are a great place to get started on making your home smart.
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Houseplants
Perhaps because they're delaying home ownership — and even parenthood — Millennials are all about indoor gardens. By and large, houseplants abound in young people's homes, and they tend to be treated like babies — this generation has even given rise to the term "plant moms." Air plants, living walls, succulent gardens, and the trendy fiddle-leaf fig have come to represent America's green-thumbed youth. All of these houseplants will purify your air.
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Built-In Storage
When you're short on space, built-ins are a godsend. No one knows this better than an apartment-dwelling Millennial. If it's a multi-functional piece of furniture with storage options, even better. In fact, according to real estate agents, a home with plenty of built-in closets, drawers and luxuries like wine coolers are more likely to be sold to buyers in this age group, who are less interested in square footage and more into smaller spaces used efficiently. These 15 home office storage ideas really work.
Millennials just wanna have fun—and work out. In-home media rooms, play rooms, game rooms, and gyms are high on the wish lists of this anything-is-possible generation. Another option, if space allows? Wine cellars—after all, Millennials drink so much wine they're changing the way it's sold. If a wine cellar is not an option, a wine refrigerator will do, thank you very much. Check out these 25 cool game room ideas.
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Mid-Century Modern Design
After a few quiet decades, mid-century modern design — that is, decor and architecture from the 1950s and '60s, primarily — came back with a bang in the 21st century, and it looks like it's sticking around. Millennials are expressing interest in homes made around this time period, and according to a recent quiz by design brand Modsy, they're also still digging the decor their grandparents made famous. It appeals to their minimalist, small-space aesthetic. Check out these 14 iconic mid-century modern design elements.
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Minimalism
Very conscious of their carbon footprint, Millennials embrace the ethos that less is more. Modern living philosophies like KonMari, which urges you to identify what brings you joy and get rid of anything that does not, and Swedish death cleaning, which involves cutting the clutter in your environment to make sorting easier for the loved ones you leave behind (morbid we know), have helped nurture a culture of minimalism. In many ways, a mess is very last-generation. Here are 12 smart ways to downsize your home.
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Farmhouse Sinks
Deep, apron-front farmhouse sinks are having a moment thanks to Millennial homeowners. Home heroes Chip and Joanna Gaines have made these modern vessels cool again, and a new generation is here for it. Not only do farmhouse sinks have the capacity to hold more, they're also easier to clean and lend a relaxed, rustic feel to the kitchen. Practical, low-maintenance, and laid-back are the orders of the day. Never do these 10 things during a kitchen renovation.
Millennials aren't investing so much into peaceful, clutter-free, nature-inspired interiors only to let noise ruin their vibe. Among the most coveted features for new homes, as this generation dips its toes into the real estate market, is whisper-quiet exhaust fans and vent hoods. Manufacturers are meeting the demand by making low-sone fans that are actually powerful enough to get the job done. Here are some creative ways to disguise a vent hood.
The ornate, Mediterranean-inspired interiors of the Baby Boomer generation have been all but phased out by Millennials, who prefer a simpler environment furnished with naturally occurring elements like wood and stone — think butcher block countertops and limestone fireplaces. Bringing the outdoors in is a prominent principle that carries over into many areas of the home. Now, marvel at these amazing stone patios.
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