Jeffrey Clos
Bio
I am a lifelong inhabitant of Michigan. I decided to do something therapeutic and write a blogging website. www.inyerself.com
I touch on all subjects but my focus will be on Life Experiences, Technology, Home and Self Improvement.
Stories (39/0)
My Journey for the Ultimate "Smart Home" Part 1
I am not here to plug any specific items, and I don't receive kickbacks from what I describe herein. My primary purpose is to tell what I have and what I felt was needed to make my current home "smart." In addition, I am hoping I can provide helpful advice and information. I have accumulated various experiences when making my last house a smart home and then bringing the smartness to our new home.
By Jeffrey Clos2 years ago in 01
Dark Hardwood Floors? It Seemed Like a Good Idea
One of the most beautiful features of our new home was the hardwood flooring on the main level. My wife and I were instantly sold based on this feature alone. While carpeting is excellent for sound deadening and warmth insulation, it also brings with it certain disadvantages. Given that each member in the house has some allergy, the carpeting is detrimental because it holds dust, dirt, and mites. I never cease to be amazed by how much our vacuum pulls from the carpeting after a cleaning. Couple that with a good scrub using a water-based carpet scrubber and the dirt continues to flow. I remove the dirty water container, and the muddy water is enough to make us want hardwood floors throughout the house.
By Jeffrey Clos2 years ago in Lifehack
The Highs & Lows of Crowdfunding! Part 3
Thinking more significantly, I wanted to contribute once again to a couple of larger ticket items. I had some minor success and now seemed like the right time to branch out once again. Given my recent interest in E-Bikes, an opportunity came upon me which checked several boxes of "wants" by myself.
By Jeffrey Clos2 years ago in 01
The Highs & Lows of Crowdfunding! Part 2
My next contribution seemed to be well justified and founded. My wife had bought me a gift for my office, which I loved. The item was an aquarium named Ecoqube C. I loved the idea of having a small, ultra-low maintenance aquarium for my office. It proved to be a friendly habitat for a Betta fish and home for a small basil plant. When the Ecoqube C+ was announced on Indiegogo, I was instantly sold. It promised everything of the previous model, but a larger tank and more plants could be grown.
By Jeffrey Clos2 years ago in 01
Vandalism Peppered With a Side of Untimely Car Maintenance!
Last week was quite the experience in our household. The adage, when it rains, it pours is an understatement with regards to the setbacks my wife and I experienced. For the sake of this article, I will keep it focused on the automotive issues we both had in such a short time frame.
By Jeffrey Clos2 years ago in Wheel
It's Time for a Change and a New Home!
I rushed through the closing process, but it is essential to point out the need for documentation and the loan company's amount of back and forth. As was explained to me, the pandemic had made it much harder to get a loan these days. Loan companies were less apt to approve a loan given such rampant unemployment rates caused by the pandemic. Documentation, or lack thereof, made it much harder to get approved. If there are any deficiencies with the paperwork, it will red flag the loan company. It was almost a daily occurrence where our loan officer would look for additional information, documentation, explanations, etc.
By Jeffrey Clos2 years ago in Humans
It's Time For a Change and a New Home!
All of the stars aligned on this housing opportunity, and the consensus was this house worked for our family. It was located within the same school system. It had the room we needed, albeit a little more space than we needed. The three-car garage, larger kitchen, and bedrooms were non-negotiable needs. This house met all of our needs, but could we land this house. We had a leg up on the competition as we were the first to view this property. Indeed, if we let this hit the market, it would become a bidding war, and we could kiss this opportunity goodbye.
By Jeffrey Clos2 years ago in Humans
It's Time For a Change and a New Home!
Our realtor secured us a private viewing of this existing build. It was a charming house, and it checked off quite a few of our wants and needs. The location of this neighborhood was a huge selling feature. You enter the community just off a well-paved road into an area of cul-de-sacs. The community is situated as a tree-like branching subdivision with only one road in and out access. Each home has quite a bit of property with a certain amount of privacy. Some more than others, with each house having an "estate-like" feel to them. As we drove into this subdivision, it was interesting to observe we were going into a somewhat elevated area. Given the majority of this city was located on previous flat farmland, it was surprising this particular area was situated in a high hilly area.
By Jeffrey Clos2 years ago in Humans
It's Time for a Change and a New Home!
In our quest to upsize our current living situation, we had seen quite a few homes and developed a list of things we did not want. I became accustomed to having a side-facing garage. Many new builds seemed to favor front-facing garages, thereby sacrificing quite a bit of privacy, and let's face it, your neighbors don't need to see your disorganization. Enormous bathtubs in the master bathroom seemed to be commonplace. This was a feature my wife and I were not very fond of. A closed-off floor plan on the main floor was off-putting to my wife especially. Many of the houses we saw seemed to have many segmented rooms rather than an open feeling space. These small compartmentalized spaces broke up the flow of the general level of the house.
By Jeffrey Clos2 years ago in Humans
My Introduction to the “Color Tour”
I was a man in my late 30's before I had even heard mention of "Color Tour." For those who are not in the know, a color tour is a daily or even weekend excursion to travel to areas known for a large amount of color-changing trees. A diverse collection of trees is an incredible landscape to experience a color tour. Michigan is home to a tremendous amount of trees in both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. This is not to say tree coverage is non-existent in other states. I have seen countless articles calling out the best places to see the Fall color changes. Many maps focus on the northern part of the United States, spanning East to West.
By Jeffrey Clos2 years ago in Wander
Everyone Has That "Friend"
We all have friends who have developed or exhibited some habit or trait to which we assign our friend's name directly. Often it has some negative connotation to it. Let me give you an example. You just pulled a "Josh," or that is so "Karen," as it has become quite popular nowadays. "Karen" seems to be getting all of the press nowadays as this describes someone who is generally a middle-aged white woman exhibiting obnoxious, often entitled, angry, racist behavior (and not in that order). If your name is Karen, you have taken a beating in the press over the last few years. Karen just happened to be my mother's name (I wonder how she would feel about that, but I digress).
By Jeffrey Clos2 years ago in Humans
I Used Five Words in a Relationship I Wish I Could Rescind
"You are not marriage material" were the words I used at the moment. These five simple words had a tremendous amount of impact. These are probably some of the most destructive words anyone can use when in a relationship. I think back to the time I used them and to whom they were directed, and I admit this was not my best moment.
By Jeffrey Clos2 years ago in Confessions