There are only three reasons a house does not sell: price, condition, or location. While
you, as a homeowner, cannot control the location. The price and the condition are in your control. Doing all you can to price your house correctly and to get your home in selling condition will earn you the better value for your home in a quicker amount of time.

Pricing your home is important because a property could be immaculate, but if it is priced to high no one is going to see it. Your Realtor should compare your home’s features and amenities to others in your area. This process will help to determine a competitive price for your home. Comparable homes should have recently sold or currently be on the market.

Price wisely. The strategy of pricing a home with built in negotiating room (5 percent or more over market value) is flawed. Consumers have a keen sense of when a home is fairly priced. They can spot the good deals and will typically stay away from over priced homes. If you haven’t had many showings within the first couple weeks of your home being listed, it is usually due to overpricing.

In today’s market, there are a lot of homes for buyers to choose from. Pricing your home competitively and getting in selling condition will put you one step above the rest.

A person gets their first impression of a home within the first three seconds of walking up to the door. Think about it, what is a prospective buyer doing while they wait for their agent to unlock the door? They are looking at everything on and around the front porch. The entry way should be clean, painted and perfectly landscaped.

Once they walk in the home the second impression they have is the odor of the home, good or bad. Be mindful of smoke and pet odors. Putting the effort into mitigating these odors will pay off in the end.

Here are a few other tips to get your home in selling condition:

l  Pack up personal items. This will help the prospective buyers visualize themselves in the
space rather than seeing you
in your space.

l  Use the same minimalistic approach in your closets. Pack up seasonal clothes and give away old clothes. Emptying your closets will make them appear more spacious.

l  Neutralize décor. While your items may work with brightly painted walls, not everyone’s will. A neutral look will make the home of blank canvas.
— ERICK

Products we use, cleaning methods, heating and air conditioning systems that move the air we breathe indoors all affect our office ecosystem. Here are some ways to make our office environments greener:

• Purchase office supplies that are: non-toxic, recyclable, recycled-content, remanufactured and reusable.

• Switch to business cards printed with soy ink or recycled content paper stock.

• Use chlorine-free and recycled coffee filters. Check to see if you can recycle coffee filters in your area.

• Give PowerPoint presentations without printing copies for all attendees. Offer to distribute the presentation via e-mail or print the slides in duplex or four-plex modes to conserve paper.

• Enable power management modes on your computer. By doing so, you allow your PC’s to save up to 90% of their energy usage by taking advantage of sleep modes when not in use.

• Use E-meetings/webinars to reduce travel for many different types of meetings. Solutions such as Web Ex, GoTo Meeting, etc. are very easy to use and extremely cost effective.

• Before recycling any electronics, consider donating them to local non-profits, schools or churches.

• Use VOC eating office plants — Boston Fern, Dwarf Date Palm, Bamboo, Palm, Rubber Plant, Dracaena Janet Craig, Weeping Fig, Happy Plant, Dracaena Marginata and Deremenis, Umbrella Plant — to help purify the air in your home or office environment.

• When purchasing new computers or electronics, purchase Energy Star or EPEAT (www.epeat.net) compliant models.

— JEFF

"Roll Out Cowboy," documentary feature

Indie films give character actors the chance to star, film editors the chance to direct and young actors the chance to enter the industry.
“That’s why they’re so interested in it,” says Mary Blackwood, 53, of Iowa City, president of the Landlocked Film Festival running tonight through Sunday (Aug. 26 to 29) in downtown Iowa City.

Indie film festivals give their work a chance to be seen. That’s why so many of them are converging on Iowa City, toting more than 80 films from narrative features and documentaries to music videos and animation.

Industry insiders are making the Los Angeles to Landlocked trek this year, bringing their expertise to workshops and panels. Many have Iowa ties, including “First Stop, Iowa,” an Australian documentary that follows at the 2008 presidential caucus trail in Iowa. Others have Iowa natives at the helm or in starring roles.

All are anxious to hear audience reaction to their creative endeavors.

“With big film festivals like Sundance, all the people who come are filmmakers or in the business,” says Fort Dodge native Christopher Hutson, 45, who directed and produced “Ashley’s Ashes” with college friend turned business partner Chris Kazmier, 47.  “With Landlocked, it’s an audience who comes — people who go to watch the movies. That’s what this film is for.”

Hutson and Gress will be at the Film’s Green Carpet festivities at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Englert
Theatre, 221 E. Washington St., and will answer audience questions afterward.

While “Ashley’s Ashes” tells a fictional tale reflecting on life, “From the Badlands to Alcatraz” reflects life-changing lessons gleaned from a factual journey of discovery.

The 56-minute documentary follows a group of American Indian youths as they plunge into unknown territory to swim from Alcatraz Island to the San Francisco shore in September 2005. One young woman didn’t even know how to swim at the start of six days of intensive training in the Bay Area.

The program is the brainchild of Dr. Nancy Iverson, 58, of San Francisco. Born in South Dakota, she graduated from Ottumwa High School, earned her medical degree from the University of Iowa and spent several two- to three-week stints working in a hospital on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in the mid-1990s.

Iverson will join a panel from the UI college of Public Health to answer questions and discuss issued raised in the documentary following a screening at 5 p.m. Friday at the Englert.

This was her first foray into filmmaking.  She is thrilled with audience reaction to the film, which has been garnering awards at various festivals since it’s November 2009 premiere at the San Francisco American Indian Film Festival.
— DIANA

Blake Peterson, 27, Iowa City
Artist/ Designer @ the Grocery

Zoe Phillips, 22, Iowa City
Artist/ Designer @ the Grocery

Blake Peterson and Zoe Phillips have both been drawing for as long as they can remember. Their history together started just four years ago when they met in a lithography course at the University of Iowa. They went from sharing a studio space, to dating, to collaborating on the Grocery. Today it’s their ultra creative outlet that allows them to blend their different but complimentary artistic styles and support an earth-friendly printing process. We think it’s a match made in heaven.

So what is it that you make?
B: I’m a printmaker, so basically I draw a lot, take a ton of photographs, and digitally alter them a bit. I take those images and put them onto other objects (like paper, fabric, or wood) through various techniques. Over the past year, I’ve primarily been doing lithographs and the unique fabric technique that Zoe and I perfected for T-shirts. I also do some installation pieces and sound design.
Z: For the Grocery, Blake and I make and design T-shirts and scarves mostly. We’ve developed a unique non-toxic technique for making our clothing, and we try to print only on organic material. We also are both printmakers, so I also print and draw. Blake’s work tends to be a bit darker than mine and photo based. Mine tends to be a little more strange, and hand drawn. We both have a love of comics, which I think really comes through in our work.

If you had only three words to describe what you do what would they be?
B: Draw weird manimals.
Z: Pink, wicked, excessive.

Where do you find your inspiration?
B: I base my images off personal experiences, stories my friends tell me, and the news. I mix them up together a little bit, and put the main characters in an alternate universe.
Z: A lot of our work has some sort of story behind it, usually a funny one. I draw every day and when you get into that kind of routine, events of the day or funny things you have seen or thought about tend to pop up in what you draw.

What’s the best part about being a crafty/creative person?
B: Well, I mean … the use of “manimals” in normal conversation is great. But generally, it’s great doing something that I love. Also drawing, and creating these weird little stories that influence others’ perception of society is empowering.
Z: I have something I really enjoy doing, and hopefully I’ll be able to pursue a career that
will make me happy.

Do you remember the first craft project you ever tried?
B: Well when I was a little kid, my sister and I devised this plan to make our own version of “tie dye” but instead of actually dyeing the shirts we did this (messy) process using yarn covered in acrylic paint on top of T-shirts and sweat shirts. It actually kind of worked, but you had to use a lot of phone books (It’s a long story. I was like 6 at the time.)
Z: Not at all. I’ve been drawing and making things forever, and I have a bad memory.

When you become rich and famous for your work, then what will you do?
B: Honestly I don’t think I’ll ever stop producing new work. There isn’t a day now that I don’t at the very least sketch.
Z: Keep making art, and abuse my fame with eccentricities.
— KATIE

Ogle it
The Shop Next Door, 111 13th St. Cedar Rapids

Google it

http://www.etsy.com/shop/thegrocery

http://groceryarts.blogspot.com/

Given the amount of rainfall we’ve had this summer in Eastern Iowa it might seem odd to discuss why water, and in this case drinking or potable water, is such a precious and vulnerable resource to us and the rest of the world.

Consider that 80 percent of the Earth’s surface is water, but only 1 to 2 percent of that is available for drinking. Of that percentage, 2.5 gallons would represent the amount of water each person in the world would be allocated. The average American uses 400 gallons of drinking quality water per year, including 30 percent for outdoor purposes such as washing the car or watering the lawn. Reducing water usage in our commercial buildings by 10 percent would save more than 2 trillion gallons of water.

Here are some ideas for reducing the amount of drinking water we use:

1. Turn it off when brushing your teeth or shaving, and reduce shower time to less than five minutes.

2. Install toilets with a maximum flush volume of 1.6 gallons per flush or less.

3. Introduce a policy of no running water when unattended at home and work.

4. Reduce use of bottled water and replace with reusable drinking containers that can be refilled through your tap or water filtration system.

5. Install low flow aerators or flow-reducing valves with flow rates not to exceed .5 gpm for hand washing sinks, 1.5. gpm for kitchen and lavatory sink faucets, and 1.5 gpm high efficiency showerheads. All infrared faucets should be fitted with aerators not to exceed .5 gpm.
— JEFF

Dori Vogel, 36, Cedar Rapids
Owner @ The Dreaming Bear

Dori Vogel clearly dreams in color. Once you set eyes on her vibrant creations you’ll hardly be able to look away. But it’s not just her art you should be impressed with. For one she runs The Dreaming Bear, a little shop in Marion where you can see and buy her creations. But she also operates an art studio behind the shop where you can just drop in and create something yourself. Dori promises they have the supplies for all kinds of art projects — canvas painting, bird house decopauging and flower pot bejeweling just to name a few — and we believe she could inspire creativity in just about anyone!

So what is it that you make?
Let’s see. What don’t I make? I am a mixed media artist who uses acrylic paint, papers, textiles and found objects. I create wall art, funky painted furniture, home décor and gift items such as keepsake boxes, art dolls and ornaments. Recently, art journaling and altered books have become a real passion of mine. I license some of my designs too. My latest project is my third fabric line, due to come out in early 2011.

How and when did you get started?
I’ve been creating my whole life, but I officially started my business in 2000, and I opened my store in 2004. In the early years, I sold my work through art shows. I’d always dreamed of owning my own store. in 2004, I took the leap!

What three words would you use to describe yourself?
Joyful. Quirky. Playful.

Where do you find your inspiration?
My family and friends are lots of fun. We laugh all the time. I’m also inspired by wise quotes, colors in nature, and people who live their lives authentically.

What’s it like to run your own shop?
It’s great! Of course it’s a lot of hard work, but it is work that I love, and I feel very lucky to be doing what I love. Every day is different and that certainly keeps me on my toes.

Why do you love being crafty?
When one of my creations is invited into someone’s home, or becomes that
“perfect gift” for a loved one. That is a
really great feeling.

Do you remember your first craft?
I remember making Stumpkin dolls with my Grandma. They were strange little soft sculpture dolls made out of pantyhose and polyfil. We would dress them up with different hats and accessories. What a hoot!

What will you do when you are rich and famous?
I will just keep on creating. From my new studio on a tropical island.
— KATIE

As summer winds down in Eastern Iowa our attention and focus to green living transitions from outside to inside. Small changes will lower both your family’s carbon footprint and your monthly utility bills.

Here’s some basic do it yourself home energy audit tasks most anyone can handle. Another option is to call your local utility provider and ask if they provide on-site free audits for existing customers.

Lighting

• Energy used for lighting typically accounts for 10 to 15 percent of most electric bills. Check the wattage of the light bulbs and look for ways to reduce wattage. You may find 100-watt (or larger) bulbs where 60 or 75 watts would work just fine. Switch out CFL (compact fluorescent lamps) bulbs, especially in areas where lights are on for hours at a time.

• Your electric utility provider may also offer rebates or other incentives for purchasing energy efficient lighting.

Heating/Cooling

• Inspect your heating and cooling equipment annually. If you have a forced-air furnace, check your filters and replace them as needed — monthly in most cases. Look for non-allergic types that capture more air pollutants.

• If the unit is more than 15 years old, consider upgrading to one of the newer, energy-efficient units.

A new unit would greatly reduce your energy consumption, especially if the existing equipment is in poor condition. There are also federal and state incentives that can help offset this cost and increase your return on investment.

• Check your ductwork for dirt streaks, especially near seams. These indicate air leaks, and they should be sealed with duct mastic.

• Insulate any ducts or pipes that travel through unheated spaces. An insulation R-value of six is the recommended minimum.

Daily practices

• Turn off lights and other devices that are not in use. Connecting multiple devices to power strips allow you to turn off them all off with a single switch.

• Check your thermostat setting before leaving the house or going to bed. If it’s programmable, learn how to really use it. A couple degrees here and there in peak periods of summer and winter can make a significant difference without causing frostbite or heat stroke.

• Reduce phantom energy loads. Every electronic device draws some amount of current when plugged in, even if they are turned off. Look for such things such as cell phone chargers, video game players, appliances, printers, fax machines, etc. and unplug them when not in use.

— JEFF

Seth Walters photo

Three Cedar Rapids residents have teamed up to enter the Mad Men Casting contest.

Brian Anderson  opened his vintage home to local actress/singer Amy Stoner and local photographer Seth Walters and together they shot photos late into the night. They narrowed down the photos of Amy and chose this one to upload to the Mad Men contest.

Amy is currently 78th out of over 2,700 based on public voting. The top ten men and top ten women will be semifinalists for a chance to appear on season 5 of Mad Men.

Vote at the Man Men site. Voting goes through September 17.

Here’s more of local photographer Seth Walter’s photos from the shoot:

[View with PicLens]

Clothing swaps are a great way to get yourself to clean out your closet, and also find a few new-to-you items. There is plenty of information online about how to put together a clothing swap of your own, but we thought we would help out by putting together some of the basic steps.

1. Figure out where, when, and how many. Before getting the word out about your clothing swap you want to put together a general idea of what you are working with. Decide how many people you’d like to participate. If you are planning on a few close friends, use your living room. If you are imagining something of a much grander scale find an alternate venue, to keep cost down consider something like a park shelter.

2. Figure out who. If you are just planning on a few friends, make sure that there are multiple people of matching sizes so that no one feels left out. Also be sure to invite friends with similar styles.

3. Set some rules. Make sure you set a number of items for people to bring. Be sure to let people know that you get what you give, so quality is important. And don’t forget accessories. Hats, belts, and scarves are all a nice thing to dig through. Usually it is a good idea to say no to undergarments or socks. And remind your pals to bring clean clothes.

4. Provide tips for what to wear. Encourage participants to wear leggings and a tank top so they can quick try stuff on without having to get down to the dainties. I read somewhere bathing suits, but as someone who shops too often I have determined that leggings and a tank are the perfect recipe for trying a lot of stuff on.

5. Get started. The best way to start the clothing swap is to have participants drop stuff off and organize it. Then when the actually swapping begins it is good to have people take turns. This way everyone will be forced to remain civilized even though Lucy totally just got that shirt I was eyeing, at least I got the skirt she wanted. Once the swap starts a nice rhythm will start and all will fall into place.

6. Leftovers. Pick your favorite clothing charity and donate the leftovers.

— MONA

GET READY TO SWAP

If you would like to attend a swap party, but don’t want to host one then you are in luck. Green Iowa AmeriCorps is holding a FREE swap party at The Shop Next Door  Aug. 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. Bring six or more items (clothing, books or music) by 6:30 p.m. At 7 p.m. the swapping begins! Check out www.nextdoorcr.com or www.cedarrapidsswap.blogspot.com for more details.

Sure the Iowa State Fair is famous for food on a stick. But what about comedy on a stick?
Jeff Dunham, with his cast of characters on sticks, will be just one of the acts at the fair from Aug. 12 to 22.

Sugarland, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, Darius Rucker and Pat Benatar lead the Grammy-packing punch.

Lots of big names are headed to the free stages, as well. Lee Greenwood, Davy Jones, The Grass Roots, Jake Owen, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Vanilla Ice and Tone Loc will all be there, along with regional favorites The Nadas, The Blue Band and Leslie and The Lys (read more about their show on page 10).

The fairgrounds are located at East 30th Street and East University Avenue in Des Moines. For more information, go to www.iowastatefair.com

GRANDSTAND

• Aug. 12: MercyMe and Newsboys, 8 p.m., $28, contemporary Christian

• Aug. 13: Keith Urban and Season 8 “American Idol” Kris Allen, 8 p.m., $47, country, alt pop

• Aug. 14: Shinedown and Chevelle, 8 p.m., $28

• Aug. 15: Jeff Dunham, 8 p.m., $37

• Aug. 16: Deery Brothers Summer Series for Late Models, 5:30 p.m., $15 adults, $5 ages 6 to 11, free ages 5 and under

• Aug. 17: Pat Benatar and REO Speedwagon, with Matt Woods & The Thunderbolts, 8 p.m., $35;

• Aug. 18: Grand Outlaw National Tractor and Truck Pull, 2 p.m.; $20 adults, $10 ages 6 to 11, free ages 5 and under

• Aug. 19: Darius Rucker and guest Candy Coburn, 8 p.m., $30,

• Aug. 20: Boys Like Girls and We The Kings, 8 p.m., $25

• Aug. 21: Sugarland and Little Big Town, 8 p.m., $42

• Aug. 22: Sheryl Crow and Colbie Caillat, 8 p.m., $35

FREE STAGES

• Richard O. Jacobson Exhibition Center: Aug. 12: Lee Greenwood, 7 p.m.

• Anderson Erickson Dairy Stage: Aug. 12 to 14: The Nadas, 7 and 9 p.m.; Aug. 15: Legends of Hip-Hop featuring Vanilla Ice and Tone Loc, 8 p.m.; Aug. 16 and 17: Think Floyd USA, 7 and 9 p.m.; Aug. 18: David Nail, 8 p.m.; Aug. 19: Love and Theft, 8 p.m.; Aug. 20: Green River Ordinance, 7 p.m.; Aug. 21: The Blue Band, 7 and 9 p.m.; Aug. 22: The Blue Band, 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.

• Anne and Bill Riley Stage: Aug. 12: Sioux City Rockestra, 7 and 9 p.m.; Aug. 13: Ryan Cabrera, 7 and 9 p.m.; Aug. 14: Iowa State Fair Queen Coronation, 7 p.m.; Aug. 15: Fastball, 7 and 9 p.m.; Aug. 16 to 21: Vocal Trash, 7 and 9 p.m.; Aug. 22: The Grass Roots, 8 p.m.

• Budweiser Stage: Aug. 12: Davy Jones of the Monkees, 8 p.m.; Aug. 13 and 14: Ides of March featuring Jim Peterik, 8 p.m.; Aug. 15 to 17: The Buckinghams, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; Aug. 18 and 19: Atlanta Rhythm Section, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; Aug. 20: The Family Stone, 8 p.m.; Aug. 21 and 22: Richie Lee and the Fabulous Fifties, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. (8/21) and 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.  (8/22)

• Susan Knapp Amphitheater: Aug. 12: Jake Owen, 8 p.m.; Aug. 13: Bomshel, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; Aug. 14: Whitney Duncan, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; Aug. 15 and 16: Jason Brown, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; Aug. 17: Leslie and The Lys, 9 a.m., Justin Moore, 8 p.m.; Aug. 18 and 19: Hairball, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; Aug. 20: Colt Ford, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; Aug. 21: Country Gold featuring Leroy Van Dyke, T.G. Sheppard, Jimmy Fortune and Lacy J. Dalton, 6 and 8:30 p.m.; Aug. 22: Eli Young Band, 8 p.m.

• Fun Forest Stage (all shows ASL interpreted; no 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. or noon shows on Aug. 13): Aug. 12 to 22: The Fast Horses, 11:30 a.m., 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.; Aug. 12 to 22: Mallory Lewis and Lamb Chop, noon, 2 and 4 p.m.; Aug. 12 to 22: Doc Anderson’s Traveling Medicine Wagon Show, 11 a.m., 1, 3 and 5 p.m.