Regardless of personal style, there’s one thing every Southern California yard should say about its homeowner. You care about the environment. And one of the best ways to say that is by planting native vegetation.

Native landscaping can bring year-round color and beauty to any yard. It offers a host of other benefits too:
•    Drought-Tolerant. If planted in proper lighting and soil, native plants should thrive with little or no watering. Just be sure to group plants that have similar watering needs.
•    Natural Balance. Native plants attract birds, butterflies, lizards and insects to your garden, naturally restoring the ecological balance that helps keep unwanted pests in check.
•    Low Maintenance. Because they are naturally suited to the climate, native plants are generally self-sufficient, needing little care once established.

Native plants also say something about the place you live. And in Southern California, that’s a desert. According to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, choosing native vegetation, instead of palm trees and grass lawns, can revive the look, the feel, the smell and sound of our original landscape.

Now that’s a voice worth hearing and preserving.

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Enlist a favorite character. Visit the Kid’s Corner at the San Diego Environmental Services Department, where you can download Dr. Suess’ beloved Horton Activity Book and Tip Sheet with games and puzzles to help kids be more energy efficient.

Make your own cleaning supplies. Toddlers to teens can get into the act when you combine eco-friendly products such as cider vinegar, water or baking soda into non-toxic cleaning products. Give kids a spray bottle and let them see the sparkling results for themselves. Visit Good Housekeeping to learn how.

Hold a recycling contest. Give each child a small container to hold recycling materials. See who can come up with the most cans, plastic and paper each week.

Create a Responsible Jar. Every time a family member leaves on a light, television or gaming system when they leave a room or if they stand in front of the refrigerator with the door open, they have to contribute a designated amount to the Responsible Jar. At the end of the month, donate the funds to a favorite environmental cause or pet shelter.

Start the Shorter Shower game. Instead of baths, have kids take showers. If your kids already shower, try to cut the time in half. Set a funny timer like an egg timer. By cutting shower time in half, kids can save up to 33% of the water that they would have otherwise used. Make a list of who needs that water – our trees, plants, dolphins and world.

Plant a tree. Earth Day is April 22. Consider planting a tree or shrub with your kids in honor of the day to recognize our planet.

Grow a garden. Teach kids the benefits of growing and gathering food close to home without pesticides. Consider favorites like strawberries or even watermelons. Many fruits and veggies can be grown in planters on the porch if backyard space is not an option.

Make Your Child a Star. An Energy Star, that is! Visit the Energy Star Kid’s site and you’ll discover lots of fun and interesting ways for children to learn how they can make a difference.

Choose green every day.

Learn about Pardee Homes’ LivingSmart program. More than a decade of green building.

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Exchange Plants Instead of Cookies.
If you like holiday cookie swaps, try a plant swap. Share a ready-to-plant herb, vegetable or decorative plant, and take home something new to plant in your own garden. As a bonus, just think of the calories you’ll save by not swapping cookies!

Have a Sustainable Potluck.
Everyone brings something delicious made with at least one locally-grown ingredient. Shop for your goods at a local farmer’s market or a grocer that carries sustainable foods. Reduce your neighborhood footprint even more by having one volunteer do all the shopping for the recipes.

Invite a Speaker.
Even if you already know the benefits of buying locally grown food, there’s always more to learn from an expert. Contact your city’s sustainable food center to request a speaker – he or she will definitely be the life of the party.

Resolve to Make Lasting Change.
During your party, have a sign-up list for neighbors interested in carpooling to your local farmer’s market each Saturday. You’ll be bringing sustainable foods to your tables not just on Earth Day, but all year long.

Have each neighbor share a pledge to make one earth-friendly change this year. The Earth Day website is looking for One Billion Acts of Green. You can enter your pledge as an individual or as a community.

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That’s especially true in your child’s bedroom. Here are some ways to celebrate his or her unique interests and ingenuity.

Paint a mural. A wall mural can provide a focal point for the bedroom. It can also transport your child to a galaxy far, far away.

Open an art gallery. Turn your child’s greatest masterpiece into a piece of wall art. Your local craft store can help you frame the art or mount it on poster board for a more finished look.

Start scrapbooking. With a collection of nice picture frames and a few sheets of your favorite scrapbook paper, you can create one-of-a-kind artwork that ranges from quirky to stunning.

Reach for the sky. The ceiling is another canvas for your creativity. Paper lanterns and hanging mobiles can be a fun way to include family photos, cherished mementos and handmade art.

Track milestones. Use inked handprints on the wall to create your own growth chart. You can add dates and height information on the palm of each hand.

Provide a blank slate. Paint a wall with chalk board paint. Install oversized sheets of metal and fun magnets. Or hang a beautifully framed whiteboard, giving your child a defined space to express himself.

Build a castle or fort. Whether you drape fabrics over the bed or build a more elaborate hideaway, your child will thank you for providing a way to disappear into her own magical world.

Give them some space. Teenagers cherish a place of their own to escape to. A few simple touches help the room to reflect their personality and interests.

It all begins with a home that inspires you. Visit Pardee Homes.
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Silverthorne Plan 1X

Whether you have a home-based business, telecommute or run a busy household, a key to efficiency and productivity is a well-organized office.

Make your work/life details a snap with these tips to get your home office organized. Ready. Set. Go.

Create a designated work area. Experts at HGTV explain that home offices should have a clear work area with specific space for computer equipment, printers, reference materials, office supplies and paper. Whether in a kitchen cubby or a more spacious affair, keep items that you use often, such as a telephone and computer keyboard, within easy reach.

Let there be light. Lighting can transform a room. Plus, it contributes to productivity and a good mood. Keep your home office lighting uniform and moderately bright. Depending on your space, you may want to look at overhead lighting and floor or desk lamps.

Invest in adequate furniture. Select furniture that suits your needs and space. For smaller areas, ditch a clunky desk and choose a more diminutive model or use shelving instead. According to The Container Store, a good, supportive chair is just as important as a well-organized office. A solid, well-made chair helps reduce fatigue and increase productivity. Choose one with wheels to save time with increased mobility.

Maximize storage. You don’t have to sacrifice style for storage, explains the design team at The Pottery Barn. They recommend combining different pieces (stacking furniture or baskets) to create media centers, resource shelves or other home office spaces. If your office is not blessed with expansive cabinets, consider modular components or simple shelving, which allow you to design customized storage with the architectural presence of built-ins.

Make it yours. Add a little character to your office. Frame your children’s artwork or botanical prints from wall calendars. Transform unique and inexpensive flea market or garage sale finds, such as bookcases, shelves and tables, with a fresh coat of paint. Or, have some fun with fabric. Cover a cushion for your office chair.

Hampton Lane Plan 2

Many of our homes offer ideal spaces for a home office. We’d be delighted to answer any of your questions.

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These homes are move-in ready

Pardee’s financial support combined with employee volunteer hours and personal contributions helped us to spread holiday cheer again this year in the areas where we build homes—and it touched a lot of hearts throughout Pardee Homes, as well.

Thanks to many generous Pardee Homes employees, we were able to deliver individual gifts for nearly 60 residents of RAIN Program Transitional Living Center in Camarillo, which provides housing and training for independent living. We also hosted a book drive and professional clothing drive, and presented a check to the facility. It means a lot to us to be able to offer a helping hand to others. Our friends at Mohawk donated carpeting, Holiday Carpet donated the padding and installation, and ValleyCrest Landscape Companies volunteered an appearance by Santa Claus!

In Las Vegas, our team put their portion of the Holiday Giving Program funds to work for The Shade Tree shelter for homeless and abused women and children in crisis and HomeAid Southern Nevada.

Carousel Ranch in Santa Clarita provides therapeutic equestrian programs for the disabled.
This year, we sponsored the 5th annual “Santa Day”, complete with crafts, refreshments, and other fun ways for the children to celebrate the holidays in a familiar and comfortable setting. One of the highlights for us was this amazing “thank you” video. We were also delighted to make a donation to the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry.

Twenty-four at-risk teens who live at Olive Crest Children’s Ranch in Perris received some much needed gifts, and our program also provided two televisions and DVD players to the facility. Founded in 1973, Olive Crest has transformed the lives of 50,000 abused, neglected and at-risk children and their families.

In San Diego, we were able to assist the Military Outreach annual holiday dinner, and provide new bicycles and helmets to 10 underprivileged children through BIA Cares 2011 Bike Drive. BIA Cares is the charitable foundation of the Building Industry Association of San Diego, which for the past 15 years has provided bikes to more than 6,400 underprivileged children and to 65 different charities in San Diego County.

Funds were also available to assist a number of young single mothers and their babies who reside at HomeAid San Diego’s Home Start Shelter.

Thanks for letting us share our enthusiasm for these charities, and for Pardee Homes’ Holiday Giving Program. We’ve posted many more photos on our Facebook pages. Come say hello! Pardee Homes, Pardee Homes LA/Ventura, Pardee Homes Las Vegas, Pardee Homes San Diego, and Pardee Homes Inland Empire. If you’d like to learn more about any of the charities, please just click on the links.

To earn a top ranking, you need a quality product. World-class customer service helps too. But it takes more than that. The inner workings of a company, the processes invisible to most customers, are just as critical to achieving success and maintaining consistency.

Ask Pardee Homes. We routinely invite homebuyers behind the scenes. When you buy a Pardee home, you’ll be able to tour your home under construction and you’ll have direct access to the entire Pardee Homes team. We want you to feel comfortable with your purchase—before, during and after.

In addition to the regional results that put Pardee Homes at number one for Move-in Key Measure Scores, Pardee also received the following 2011 Eliant Homebuyer Choice Awards (based on 2010 survey results) in the Nationwide Large Builder Category: Design Selection Experience (second place); Customer Service Experience (third place); Overall First Year Quality (Honorable Mention); Highest Percent of Sales from Referrals (Honorable Mention and First Place for San Diego Region). In 2009 and 2010, the Southern Nevada Division of Pardee Homes received the highest J.D. Power and Associates rankings for customer satisfaction and new home quality.

These honors, and others like them, reflect Pardee Homes’ company-wide reputation for and commitment to customer satisfaction. The high scores also demonstrate a focus on internal processes in areas such as Sales, Options, Flooring, Construction, Closing and Escrow. Feedback in each of these areas of operations is significant because it provides a road map for continued success and improvement.

The score we watch most closely? More than 9 out of 10 Pardee homeowners would recommend us to a family member or friend. Read some of their stories.

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The average person spends 55 minutes per day looking for things, says The Container Store’s Mollie Kirby. Save time and sanity by creating designated spaces. Voila, no more hunting for small electronics or small children. Here are some easy ways to get organized without breaking your back or your budget.

Kitchen
The heart of any home, an organized kitchen goes a long way toward keeping things running smoothly.

Home Office
In a modern home, a place to pay bills or write a note to the teacher is mandatory. Carve out contentment in a workspace that’s organized and helps you to be more efficient.

• If you don’t have them already, invest in inexpensive items just for your office – pencil cup, paper clip holder and tape dispenser.
• If you don’t have a workspace, turn an unused closet into a small efficiency office. A simple countertop with shelving is all you need. Just close the door when you’re done.
• A guest room is also a great spot for a workspace. Consider an armoire that can hide your computer and papers when guests arrive.

Closet
To keep your closet from becoming a dark abyss, consider some ideas that promise minimum clutter and maximum style.

• Real Simple says to choose just one type of hanger to avoid a chaotic jumble of metal and wood. Hang garments facing the same way. If you’re really ambitious, color-coordinate or organize by season.
• Choose shoe stackers or over-the door shoe organizers to get those stilettos and slingbacks off the floor. You save valuable time when you can find what you need.
• HGTV suggests clear containers with picture labels to help young children sort and find their own clothing.
• A special rack with hooks to hold belts, scarves and accessories is a great organizational tool, and
• In the linen closet, store sheet sets inside one of the pillowcases and you’ll never have to waste time hunting matching pillowcases again.

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This is good news for homebuyers in all 50 states, since FHA financing supports more than one-third of all home mortgages nationwide.

An FHA mortgage is the best opportunity for most buyers to obtain a low, fixed rate with little equity or a small down-payment – as low as 3.5%, and are available today, including loans at the higher limits, through Pardee Home Loans.

The latest move by Congress followed a significant drop in conforming loan limits, effective as of October 1, 2011. In high-cost states like California, loan limits had decreased by more than $100,000 in most counties, forcing many buyers into higher interest rate loans, higher down payments, lower cost housing or, in many cases, out of the market altogether.

Congressional leaders backing the new bill believe that restoring loan limits will help stabilize the housing market at a time when it is weak, but opponents argue that it contradicts the bipartisan goal to reduce the U.S. government’s role in propping up the housing market. Similar ceilings applying to loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will not increase.

To take advantage of today’s favorable lending conditions, start your shopping at Pardee Homes. We have floor plans and pricing to fit your family. And be sure to check-out our Move-In Ready Homes.

Another Smart Solution from a Homebuilder you trust.

Sources:
LA Times, Higher FHA Loan Limits Reinstated for High-Cost Housing Markets
Wall Street Journal, Lawmakers to Restore Higher FHA Loan Limits

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Certified Green Professional and Pardee Homes VP Joyce Mason explains what the certificate means to homebuyers, including the part where the anticipated energy bill for this energy-efficient home is about $25 per month–for gas and electricity!

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Every homebuyer in this Green Community of the Year receives an Environmental Benefit Certificate for the home they purchase. Among the energy-saving features of these beautiful homes, are tankless water heaters and solar.

Pardee Homes is California’s first production homebuilder that is building an entire new home project certified to the National Green Building Standard (TM) by the NAHB Research Center, an internationally recognized, independent third party.

Learn more about LivingSmart Homes at Fair Oaks Ranch