Rental properties can be a profitable investment but only when managed properly. This is particularly true in areas with higher property values where it is even more important to maximize rental income by reducing expenses, increasing your property’s appeal, and limiting turnover.

Whether you have just purchased your first investment property or are an experienced landlord with a full portfolio, there is almost always something you can do to increase your profit margins.

Here are seven tips to get you started:

1. Replace carpet with LVT.
There are two reasons to replace the carpet in your rental with luxury vinyl tile (LVT) or a similar product.

The first is that people just do not like carpet anymore. Having carpet in your rental automatically shrinks your pool of potential renters. The more folks interested in renting your house, the more likely you are to find a great, long-term renter at your asking price.

The second reason is that LVT is an easy-care, durable option that holds up well to traffic, pets, and kids and is far less likely to need to be replaced between tenants.

2. Complete simple updates.
You may not have the budget for major renovations, but there are plenty of simple updates you can do to increase your rental’s appeal and function. If cabinet hardware, sink faucets, ceiling fans, switch plate covers, doorknobs, or light fixtures are dated or have just seen better days, consider replacing them with modestly priced upgrades.

3. Improve outdoor living areas.
Good outdoor living areas are appealing to renters and will make your property stand out, particularly in areas like Ojai and Oak View where the weather allows for year-round outdoor entertaining. If a paving stone or stamped concrete patio is not in the budget, create a more affordable option with gravel.

You should also consider paying for ongoing landscape maintenance. Paying for maintenance allows you to select the gardeners and helps ensure that your investment is properly maintained. You can offset this expense by considering it when setting the monthly rent.

4. Install low-maintenance, drought-resistant landscaping.
While we are on the topic of landscaping, you should also consider replacing high-water or high-maintenance plants, natural grass, and other features with low-maintenance, drought-resistant options that will lower your maintenance costs and your water bill.

You can also help protect your investment by choosing fire-resistant plants, hardscapes, and other landscaping features.

5. Maximize tax deductions.
Work with your accountant or tax preparation professional to make sure you are maximizing your possible deductions, including travel and home office expenses, depreciation, repair costs, and your mortgage interest.

6. Vet your applicants.
If you are not using a property management company to do this for you, do not forgo this important part of the tenant selection process. It is well worth the money and time to run credit and background checks and to call previous landlords to inquire about their experience with the applicants. While there is no guarantee that this is going to result in amazing renters, it is going to improve your chances. Avoiding lost rent and eviction expenses is an important part of maximizing rental income.

7. Be a good landlord.
When you get good renters, you want to keep them. Reducing turnover reduces the cost of marketing and vetting applicants and results in fewer vacancies. One way to reduce turnover is to be a good landlord. For some, the best way to do this is to hire a property manager who will handle everything for you. If you choose to manage your property yourself, respond quickly to maintenance requests, make sure you are easy to reach when issues arise, and stay updated on local and state laws.

I love growing food. I love talking about growing food. I really love sharing tips that show just how easy it is to grow at least a little food – even in tiny spaces. So, that is what I thought we would talk about this month.

Growing our own food, even if it is just a single tomato plant on a balcony, helps us stay more connected to the earth, teaches our kids where food comes from, and reminds us to appreciate the people who grow and harvest our food for us.

Gardening is time consuming, and most of us do not have room in our busy schedules to add growing food for ourselves or our families to the to-do list. In particular, most of us do not have the time or space to grow enough food to sustain us, but we can all grow something. There are plenty of easy options that probably come to mind, like radishes, carrots, tomatoes, and herbs. Today, let’s add potatoes to that list.

The experts, which I am not, will tell you that you must buy seed potatoes from a nursery, cut them into pieces, keep them in the refrigerator for a few days, and dust them with sulfur before finally planting them in either February or August. That is probably the right way to do it, but I have never done any of this, and I have grown up to 20 potato plants at a time throughout the year. Now, it’s true that you don’t want to use conventional potatoes from the grocery store for this, because they have been treated with maleic hydrazide (a growth inhibitor), but whenever I have some organic potatoes around that I didn’t eat fast enough and have started to sprout, I plant them in the garden and watch them grow.

Here is the simplest way to grow organic potatoes in your backyard:

1. Find tall, well-draining containers in which to grow your potatoes. You can grow them in the ground, but it is much easier if you grow them in a container that you can dump out at harvest time. I use tall, fabric planters that I can fold and store in the shed when not in use.

2. Fill the bottom of the container with about four inches of soil.

3. Place your sprouted potatoes about four inches apart in the container with eyes pointed up. If your potatoes are large, you can cut them into chunks with a couple of eyes on each chunk.

4. Cover them with about four inches of soil.

5. Water regularly and watch for sprouts to begin poking through the soil in a couple of weeks.

6. As the plants grow, continue to add soil to the container to cover most of the plant. Make sure to leave a few inches of the plant above the soil. This is going to feel wrong, since you will be covering up stems and leaves, but keep doing this until your container is full.

7. Once the plants have yellowed and withered, leave them for about a week or so, and then dump your container on a tarp or in a garden bed and sift through the soil to harvest your potatoes. You can brush off any big debris but keep them a little dirty for better longevity. Store them in a cool, dry, dark spot, and do not eat potatoes that are not firm or that have turned green. Green potatoes contain a toxic glycoalkaloid, solanine, that is toxic to us and our animal companions.

If you reuse the soil, which I usually do, you might find that you get some volunteer potato plants wherever you use it. I always seem to miss a tiny potato or two and end up with volunteer potatoes growing in other parts of the garden.

If you choose to purchase seed potatoes, check out one of our local nurseries to see if they are in stock.

Recent temperatures should serve to remind us that the rainy season is coming to an end and the hot, dry days of summer are just around the corner. To help you keep your family, pets, and guests comfortable in the coming months, here are nine ways you can prepare your home and yard for increased heat.

Change your HVAC filters.
It is almost time to start using your air conditioner regularly, so it is a good time to change your HVAC filters in preparation for AC season.

Increase shade.
Provide shade for patios, play areas, dog runs, and other outdoor living areas to help keep your family and guests cool during the hotter months. This might mean finally building that roof to cover your patio, stringing up shade sails over gravel seating areas, or setting up umbrellas over your outdoor dining table.

Set out extra water bowls.
This is a good time to start getting in the habit of setting out extra water bowls for the animals that share your home and yard. That way, by the time the heat really arrives, this will be part of your normal routine.

Invest in blackout curtains or shades.
Blackout curtains are not for everyone, but if you would like to reduce the cost of cooling your home and take a step towards keeping it more comfortable for your family and pets, consider installing blackout curtains or shades to reduce the amount of heat from the sun that enters your home.

Install drip irrigation for food plants and ornamentals.
Controlled watering at soil level reduces water waste while helping plants better cope with the dry, hot weather the coming months will bring. Install an automatic irrigation system now to have it in place before summer.

Reduce water-loving landscaping.
Replace tropical plants and other landscaping features that require excessive irrigation with drought-tolerant native plants that will save water and help your yard look lush and beautiful even in the incessant summer heat.

Add insulation.
If it is in your budget, increase the insulation in your home. This will help keep your home comfortable throughout the year and reduce both cooling and heating costs.

Add or replace weather stripping and caulk.
Properly sealed doors and windows reduce air exchange, which means less hot air gets inside your home from the outside and less of the HVAC-cooled air inside your home escapes. You can improve the seal on your doors and windows by adding or replacing weather stripping and caulking.

Add fans to your home-cooling regimen.
While we cannot rely on fans to cool the air to a comfortable temperature, we can incorporate them into our cooling routine to help move HVAC-cooled air around the house and improve air circulation. This can reduce cooling costs and make your home more comfortable on hot days.

If you plan to install ceiling fans, blackout shades, a drip system, or any other heat-preparation measures that might require a professional, remember to support the local economy by using local contractors and vendors.

A couple of nights ago, I was letting my dog out and came face to face with a slug that was right about eye level on my sliding glass door. This reminded me just how much slugs like wet weather and got me thinking about how many times I have had to battle slugs in my garden in the past. Now that my drip system is finally up and running, I am looking forward to getting my spring garden going soon and, if you have similar plans, I think we all better be ready for more slugs than we are used to dealing with this year.
 
All of this rainy weather after years of drought is going to bring out the snails and slugs in force, particularly with a growing population being supported by all of the plant growth brought on by the rain. Since these tiny marauders generally work at night, it can be difficult to determine what is devastating your garden, but if you are finding large, irregular holes in your plants’ foliage, these nocturnal trespassers are likely the culprit.
 
It may be tempting to head to a local nursery for commercial pesticides or to concoct home remedies that will quickly decimate your slug population, but these are not always the best options. There are many natural alternatives that offer non-lethal, non-toxic ways to protect your food plants and ornamentals from slugs without harming other wildlife or introducing unnecessary compounds into your garden.
 
Before you resort to commercial pesticides, try these non-lethal measures to keep slugs from invading your yard.
 
1. Plant alliums and herbs: Onions, garlic and other members of the allium family are natural deterrents for slugs and snails, so planting them around the border of your garden will help protect other food plants. Keep in mind that alliums are toxic to dogs and cats, so if you have pets that get in your garden, this might not be the right option for you. Alternatively, you can plant herbs that ward off slugs, such as mint, thyme, sage, lavender, and rosemary.
 
2. Spray your plants: If planting onions and garlic is not an option, you can spray a mixture of garlic and water directly on your plants and the surrounding area. You will need to repeat this home remedy regularly.
 
3. Remove manually: If you are okay with touching slugs, removing them manually is an effective method of management. Make sure to move them at least 20 feet away from your garden to keep them from coming back. I get grossed out pretty easily, so this method is difficult for me, but one way to make it easier is to place citrus peels upside down in your garden at night. Return in the morning to collect the peels and use them to scoop up the slugs that have taken shelter underneath.
 
4. Wrap your garden beds in copper: Purchase rolls of copper tape from a local garden center or online. Line the outer edge of your garden beds and flowerpots with the self-adhesive tape to create a barrier to block entry. The combination of copper and slug slime creates an electrical shock that will quickly deter slugs without killing them.
 
5. Remove habitat: Slugs like to spend their days protected from the sun and dry air under rocks, flowerpots, firewood, weeds, and even children’s toys left near the garden. To help reduce slugs in your garden, remove these options to encourage slugs to find shelter elsewhere.  
 
6. Water in the morning: It is easier for slugs to slither around when the soil is wet, so watering in the evening allows these nocturnal pests to more easily get to your plants. If you water your garden in the morning, the soil has time to dry out before nightfall, making it more difficult for slugs to infiltrate your garden.
 
7. Create a barrier: Slugs have soft bodies that make traversing sharp materials painful. This allows for easily keeping slugs out of the garden with barriers made from gravel, wood chips, broken eggshells, or other jagged ground covers.
 
8. Plant sacrificial plants: Like most animals, slugs and snails prefer to eat certain plants. For example, they would much rather dine on lettuce than ornamental plants, so if you have slugs eating your ornamentals, plant some lettuce in your beds and borders to distract the slugs and keep them away from your desired plants. If you are having issues with slugs eating your food plants, plant French marigolds a few feet away from your garden to attract slugs and distract them from ever getting to your food plants.
 
9. Introduce predators: This is a lethal method, so you need to be okay with killing slugs. If you are, bringing in chickens or making your garden appealing to birds and other predators is a natural, effective way to reduce the slug population. The problem with bringing in predators is that you usually have to balance the pros and cons to determine if this is your best option. For example, bringing in chickens is going to remove slugs from your garden, but chickens also like to eat vegetables, so they may be just as detrimental to your food plants.
 
As with most natural pest control methods, you will likely experience the most success by employing a combination of these methods in your garden.
 
If you need help building garden beds or installing a drip system, be sure to support the local economy by hiring local contractors.

You will not want to miss this Ojai estate sale taking place Saturday (March 18) and Sunday (March 19) from 8:00am to 2:00pm.

This is the first in a series of sales that will include furnishings, art, and household items once used to furnish the houses at Matilija Canyon Ranch, including the historic Dent House, which was moved there in the 1980s.

When Matilija Canyon Ranch was sold, the furnishings were moved into storage, and now will be sold through a series of estate sales, since there are far too many items for just one sale.

Here is some of what you will find at this sale:

Antiques
Antique Furniture
Art
Jewelry
Linens & Vintage Linens
China
Kitchenware
Outdoor Pottery
Outdoor Furniture
Books
Bronze Statue
Antique Lamps
Rustic Ranch Style Decor
White Wicker Furniture
Cameras and Equipment
Rugs
Pottery
Antique Lanterns
Smart TVs
Beds & Bedding
Couches
And more!!!!

Hope to see you there!

Visit the sale's Web page for lots of photos and more information, including the address:

Estate Sale Information and Photos

I love spring cleaning. Really, I love any excuse to clean and organize, but I get so busy with work that it is easy for me to fall behind. That makes this annual cleaning ritual a great time to catch up on things like vacuuming refrigerator coils and purging belongings I no longer need. This usually results in a few boxes of things to get rid of, which is not really enough for a garage sale but is a bit too much to set at the curb for folks to go through without upsetting your neighbors. This provides a perfect opportunity to combine spring cleaning and supporting local organizations.

The most direct way to turn your spring cleaning into support for local charities is to donate items directly to organizations that need them. For example, the Ojai Raptor Center (OjaiRaptorCenter.com) maintains wish lists on its website that include some common household items, like newspaper, masking tape, scrub brushes, shade cloth, and various medical supplies.

The Humane Society of Ventura County (HSVC.org) also maintains lists of items they need, including towels, blankets, office supplies, cleaning supplies, puppy pads, litter boxes with covers, flashlights, rubber toys, and unopened bags of dry food.

Organizations that accept donations of items they need to assist with delivering their services will only want specific items they can use. However, if you have a variety of items that are not on these wish lists, you can still donate the stuff you no longer need to help local causes. For example, you can donate household goods and clothing to the Goodwill in Oak View or you can donate them to the 2nd HELPings thrift store donation center in Ojai (370 Baldwin Road) so that the items can be sold to support the services offered by HELP of Ojai.

HELP of Ojai is also set up to receive donations through selling for charity on eBay. If you would like to support this organization (or another of your choice), simply go to eBay, use the charity search function to choose a charity to receive a portion of your earnings, sell and ship the items, and then receive a donation receipt for your tax files.

If that sounds like a bit too much work, you might consider consigning your items at The Lennon Closet to support the Brain Rehabilitation and Injury Network (B.R.A.I.N.) traumatic brain injury charity instead. Described as a “fine family consignment store” and located at 250 B East Ojai Avenue, The Lennon Closet accepts consignments on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 10:00am on Fridays and donates 1% of all sales to this cause.

You can also head to Ventura for other thrift shops that accept donations, such as SPARC Second Chance Store, Cats Cradle Thrift Store & Adoption Center, the Battered Women’s Thrift Store, Boys and Girls Club of Ventura Thrift Store & Vintage, ARC Thrift Store, or the Assistance League of Ventura County Thrift Store.

If you have a favorite charity you would like to support that is not included above, you can also gather your castoffs, have a garage sale, and donate the proceeds to them. There are so many great organizations and causes to support in Ojai. If you are not sure where to donate your garage sale cash, here are just a few you might look into to see if they align with your values: Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, OjaiCARES, Ojai Music Festival, Secure Beginnings, Turtle Conservancy, The Ojai Foundation, National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, All for Love Animal Rescue, Greyfoot Cat Rescue & Sanctuary, and California Coastal Horse Rescue.

According to a handful of studies I looked at before writing this, somewhere between 80% and 90% of New Years resolutions are abandoned shortly after making them. This is often due to goals being too ambitious, too vague, too much of a departure from our current lifestyles and interests, depriving us of something we really enjoy, or too focused on achieving a particular goal rather than improving our lives by increasing or reducing behaviors.

Life is difficult enough without us being hard on ourselves or setting ourselves up for failure by establishing unrealistic goals. So, this year, maybe we should all consider focusing more on progress than perfection, setting intentions instead of rigid goals, and sticking with resolutions that we can keep and that will improve our lives, health, or community involvement at least a little.

One of the key components in making resolutions you can keep is making them measurable and being specific. For example, instead of a vague goal like “I am going to walk more,” try something you can easily quantify like, “I am going to walk three additional miles each week.”

Secondly, your goals are going to be easier to achieve if they help you live in line with your values. As I mentioned in last year’s New Year column, one thing that many of us gained in the pandemic is clarity regarding our priorities. We now have a better understanding of what is important to us and deserves our energy. If your resolutions help you live in line with these values, they will be easier and more satisfying to accomplish.

Something else that will help you keep your resolutions this year is building on goals you are already achieving. An example would be expanding the water-saving efforts you have already fully incorporated into your life to gently push yourself to up your water-conservation game even more. This might include adding another rain barrel to your gutter system, expanding your drip system, or reducing your family’s meat consumption.

Whatever you choose for your resolutions this year, remember to be kind to yourself, grateful for the loved ones in your life, and committed to making time for self-care.

Here’s to the new year! May it bring you peace, joy, love, and prosperity however you define each of those.

Your front porch is the space where you shrug off the outside world before entering your sanctuary, where you send your family off with well wishes for the day, and where you welcome guests to your home. How this space looks influences the first impression your neighbors and guests have of your home and lets them know what they can expect to find inside.
 
Most folks want their homes to be welcoming and inviting. If this is your goal, your front porch is the ideal place to start. Here are five ways you can freshen the look of your front porch to start the new year off right.
 
1. Paint Your Front Door
 
Painting your front door is an easy, affordable way to instantly increase your home’s curb appeal and add a fun pop of color to liven up your home’s façade. You might simply choose your favorite color for your front door, or you might want to do a little research to find the perfect color based on current trends, historic trends, or feng shui principles. For example, in Early American tradition, a red door was a symbol of hospitality to welcome people into your home. If inspired by feng shui principles, a red door would represent the element of fire and might be chosen for good luck and protection.
 
2. Wash the Windows
 
If you are looking for an even more affordable way to freshen the look of your front porch, wash the windows. It is amazing what a difference clean windows can make.
 
3. Clear the Clutter
 
If your porch has become a catch-all for work boots, sporting equipment, dog leashes, or toys, you can easily improve the look of your front entry by clearing the clutter. If you do not have anywhere else to conveniently store these oft-used items, create some simple storage solutions to keep them organized. Even muddy work boots look more organized if they are sitting on a boot tray by the front door.
 
4. Replace Your Porch Light
 
If you have not replaced your porch light in the last decade, this small home improvement project is a quick way to update the look of your home. This task is best completed by a professional, so hire a local electrician for this one.
 
5. Add Seating
 
Even a small porch likely has room for some type of seating. A small bistro set, a bench, or even a stool provides a spot to take off your shoes, set packages, or enjoy your morning coffee. Having some type of seating on your porch also creates a more welcoming space to invite neighbors and guests into your home.

One of the many benefits of living in Southern California is that we can enjoy fresh produce from our backyard gardens any time of the year. There is a wide variety of foods that can be grown even in the coldest months, but winter is a particularly good time for growing lettuces and leafy greens for use in salads, juicing, and side dishes.

Some varieties, such as kale, taste better when grown in cooler weather, while others are simply too fragile to thrive in Ojai’s summer heat and must be grown in winter.

Here are 10 tips for growing your own winter greens to get you started with this healthy hobby.

1. Raised garden beds are a great option that allow you to better control your soil content. While kale likes nutrient-rich soil that is not high in nitrogen, many winter greens thrive with a bit of nitrogen added to the soil, so amend your soil according to the greens you are growing.

2. Many leafy greens like their soil moist, which is another reason it is best to grow them during the rainy season to reduce the need for supplemental irrigation.

3. Avoid wasting water by growing your greens in shallow containers with plenty of soil for their shallow root systems but no excess soil to soak up water.  

4. Consider starting your seeds indoors if you are planting early when the weather is still pretty warm or planting late and the temperature is already regularly dipping below 50 degrees.

5. Succession planting is the key to enjoying an ongoing harvest throughout winter and spring. Plant a few seeds of each variety each week to significantly extend your harvest.

6. You can also extend your harvest by taking only what you intend to use right away and harvesting leaves at the outer edges of the plant.

7. Growing winter greens from seeds is pretty easy; however, if your thumb is not all that green, you may achieve better results by starting your garden from seedlings from one of our local nurseries.

8. Another way to help ensure success is to choose easier-to-grow greens, such as spinach, kale, Swiss chard, or rocket lettuce. Most greens are easy to grow, but these are even easier, so they might be better options for beginner gardeners.

9. If you do not have room for a vegetable garden, grow your greens in containers on your patio, a vertical garden, or in small pots on a windowsill.

10. Add a layer of mulch around the base of your plants to help retain moisture and protect the roots.

11. Consider a simple hydroponics system for growing leafy greens indoors. I grow leafy greens both in soil and hydroponically and would recommend either one for gardeners with any level of experience. Using a hydroponic system allows you to grow greens indoors all year – not just in winter – so that is a bonus. You can purchase an indoor hydroponics system that is complete with grow lights and a pump, but it is also possible to start with a much simpler and more affordable, do-it-yourself option, such as using the Kratky method, which you can easily learn with a quick Internet search.

Fall is my favorite time of year. While we may not enjoy the beautiful displays of entire forests of leaves changing color, it is nice to finally ditch sundresses and sandals for cozy sweaters and boots. It is also nice to be able to spend time working in the garden now that the temperature has dropped enough to actually enjoy outdoor activities. Here is some fall garden inspiration to help you get as excited as I am about getting back out in the garden.  

Plant an herb garden.

Fall is a great time to plant an herb garden for you and your family to enjoy. Since our climate allows for year-round growing, you can plant just about any herb you would like, but you will have the best luck starting herbs that prefer cooler weather, such as mint, sage, rosemary, lavender, parsley, or thyme. Any of these can be used both as culinary herbs and as ornamental plants, so consider planting an edible border or incorporating culinary herbs into your flowerbeds. Remember that mint is a thug, so it is best to manage its growth by planting it in a container.

Plant leafy greens.

Sweater weather is on its way, which means it is time to start planting our leafy greens. Varieties of kale, lettuce, and spinach do well throughout fall and winter, so these are good choices for your fall garden. To extend your harvest period, practice succession planting by sowing seeds every two weeks. This will allow you to enjoy fresh greens from your garden well into late spring. If you have limited space, skip the lettuces, and opt for kale or spinach, which offer greater nutritional value and more versatility in the kitchen.

Plant fall vegetables.

While it is generally best to start your fall garden a bit earlier in the year, there is still time to plant cool season vegetables, like beets, broccoli, cabbage, radishes, peas, carrots, cauliflower, onions, garlic, and celery. Like with your leafy greens, you can extend the harvest period by practicing succession planting. With foods like radishes or beets, determining how many you and your family will eat each week will help you decide how many seeds to sow for each round of succession planting.

Consider container gardening.

If you have limited space for gardening or want to expand your garden beyond your raised beds, there are many food plants that grow well in containers. I like using fabric containers to expand my garden area so that I can fold them up and store them when not in use. I particularly like tall, fabric containers for growing potatoes and sweet potatoes, since this makes them easier to move around and easier to dump out at harvest time.

Home maintenance tip: It is time to start using our heaters, which means it is time to change our HVAC filters. The coming months will also likely bring some rain, as well as the Santa Ana winds, so it is a good time to clean your gutters to reduce the risk of water damage or gutter debris catching fire. If you need a professional to perform these tasks, remember to support our local economy by hiring local contractors.