If you have continous run soffit vents as well as a continous run ridge venting, then typically you would have an air space between the insulation and the roof sheathing with most insulation types. Most use styrofoam or plastic baffles stapled to the underside of the sheathing inbetween the rafter spaces that insures that the insulation wont interfere with that air space. Air is drawn up through the soffit vents , through the air space/baffles, and out through the ridgeventing. This helps to keep hot air out in the summer, and to keep condensation out in the winter months. A radiant barrier sheeting draped on the underside of the rafters will keep heat gain from entering the space by keeping the heat confined to the rafter space w/ the hot air traveling up and out through the ridgeventing. For foam applications, you will have to research what method is being used in your area, as in some areas they utilize the air space w/ baffles and foam up to that to keep the air space intact. In other areas they fill the rafter space solid w/ no venting at all. Check in w/ reputable foam outfits in your area as well as your areas requirements from the building dept. Hope this helps. Here is a link that might be useful: radiant barrier

Dryers in the U.S. are not rated for energy efficiency, and none are EnergyStar labeled. Reason being is that all dryers that use the same energy source (gas, or electric) are of equivalent efficiency so there's nothing to compare between brands/models. Some frontloaders and HE toploaders (as does your Calypso) have a soak function (that keeps the clothes saturated wet, not covered/floating in water), but it runs for a limited time, not 1 or 2 days. The only way you can get a soak like you want IN a washer is with a traditional deep-fill toploader, by filling it and shutting it off for the requisite time. If you routinely have only a few items to soak at a time, you may be better served by soaking them in a sink or bucket.

Cupofkindness What has finally worked for me is having daily tasks: I made a table using Word and put the tasks under each day of the week and stuck it on the wall in my familyroom. I don't look at it much now, as I have the routine ingrained. DAILY: clothes meals swish and swipe each bathroom (DD8 often will do the main) clean kitchen after each meal- any dishes that won't fit in the DW are hand washed basic tidy up each day DD8 bedroom tidy up I have certain tasks on certain days: WEEKLY: Monday is the floors Tuesday is change bedding and ironing Wednesday is bathrooms and towels Thursday is dust and cobwebs Friday is floors and ironing Weekends- gardening How I worked out my weekly tasks was in reflection of the day- eg Monday the chn have swimming and we get home late- so I want and easy day. Wednesday is my day off, so I have the time to do the bathrooms. MENU: I follow a specific menu plan which is a six week rotating cycle. (Again, consider daily needs- eg Monday is my busy day so I often choose fish and salad for that day as it is quick to prepare.) DH is a computer nerd and used Access to make a menu/grocery program- each week he selects eg: 'Week 4' and the menu for week 4 generates a grocery list- with a quick check of the pantry/fridge we know what we need. The grocery list also includes store items (eg flour) and cleaning products (eg washing powder). One we check items as a quantity or a zero the program generates a grocery list. Now this is my super nerd hubby- the list is in aisle order and shelf order as you go down the aisle of our local grocery store. Sweet! Sometimes I miss the old style of hit and miss cooking days (... mince... hmmm, do I have a tin of tomatoes? oh a carrot!... any basil? yes! Spaghetti? no... oh well penne will do!). But overall, I love the fact that I can tell you that next Sunday I am having a beef roast with roasted beetroot, garlic, carrots, sweet potato and broccoli. With fruit and yoghurt for dessert! My time organiser is my regular calendar- I bought one with a column for each child (harder for you I realise). I told them all- if it isn't on the calendar it won't happen. School assignments, social engagements, meetings, visitors, family time and anything that impacts on a specific day. Good luck! How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! In other words- keep goals realistic. Em

I did all our kitchen remodel lighting DIY, and am very happy with the result. But I am not a lighting expert. In general, my philosophy is "put in too much light, with dimmers". The *best* thing we did in terms of making an impact was adding under-cabinet lighting. This creates better task lighting and really brightens up the place. We used low voltage Xenon puck lights from American Lighting: http://www.csnlighting.com/asp/show_detail.asp?sku=ALI2110&refid=FR19-ALI2110 These are on a dimmer, and I mounted one every linear foot. Remember to mount them closer to the front of the cabinets than the wall. For our island, we used two giant 14" pendants from Restoration Hardware: http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod740064&navCount=2 For us, we wanted pendants that would shine down on our island (6' X 2.5') *and* provide ambient lighting, which is why we chose lights with glass shades. Also, these pendants hold two bulbs each, so they throw a blazing amount of light. As for the cans, I had full access to the ceiling from the attic above, so there was no constraint on accessibility. I found the following rule of thumb at a number of online sites: "Measure your room to determine how many fixtures you will need. The rule of thumb is one recessed lighting fixture for every 4 to 6 square feet of ceiling space for even illumination." Of course, the higher your ceiling, the more lights you need. In our case, since the pendants were throwing off so much light, I didn't feel the need to turn the ceiling into the starfield I see on some kitchen remodels. We ended up putting in just four cans in the ceiling, and four (!) smaller 3" cans above the sink. For the ceiling, we didn't want big cans, nor did we want the ones that look like dots of light, so we ended up with 4" rings with PAR 20 bulbs: http://www.csnlighting.com/WAC-Lighting-R-432-BN-WAC4264.html Now, if I look at your design, it looks like you are trying to put your can lights over your countertops, where people are working. But if you think about it, if you are cutting vegetable on your countertop, you are blocking any light from directly above - thus the need for under-cab lights. Also, unless you have a large ceiling light in the middle of your kitchen, your perimeter will be light but the center of the kitchen will be dark. If it were me, I'd look to install two parallel sets of can lights, with four in each row, running (on your drawing) from left to right, spaced equidistantly, across the center part of your ceiling. A total of 8 cans. In the center of your kitchen I would add a ceiling light, or ceiling fan+light. If your ceilings are 8 feet, it will have to be close to the ceiling, but you have an opportunity here to either 1) put in something subtle, that will throw off some ambient light or 2) put in something more dynamic, that will be a focal point for your kitchen. You've got a 45" space to fill over your sink - I'd put two smaller pendants, there, maybe even three, rather than just one. Same with your peninsula - there is much more visual interest (not to mention brightness) with more than one light. Of course, it is easy for me to triple your workload and costs!