A couple of us magazine staff writers have been working on a feature story about the plethora of home improvement TV shows for our June issue. I have to admit, when I first started reporting on the topic, I knew very little about the quirky hosts my co-workers gushed about and the drama-filled plots that seem to keep millions of viewers enthralled. My TiVo only records a few of my favorite sitcoms, so I hardly ever venture out of my comfort zone to check out what’s airing on the other channels.
Apparently, Angie’s List members are big fans. In a recent poll, 79 percent of our members said they watch these types of programs — everyone from “This Old House” old-school fans to the fanatics who love watching the fiery Niecy Nash annihilate clutter in “Clean House” chimed in to let us know why they watch. Some have a pretty serious addiction to home improvement TV as a handful of respondents admitted they tune in to more than 15 different shows per week. The majority said they watch it to get ideas for their own house and because they’re entertaining. Continue reading ‘Channel surfing’
Brittany is senior editor of national affairs for
Angie's List magazine. When she's not busy reporting for the magazine, she enjoys relaxing, bowling and watching movies.
When we started doing research for our green issue, I didn’t know much about building a “green” house. I figured if you turned the lights off when you left a room and turned the water off while you brushed your teeth, you were doing your part to help the environment. People who really knew what they were doing could add some solar panels to their home or replace their windows with new, low-e ones. But that was it, right?
Wrong. Continue reading ‘Going green across the country’
Liz is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. She enjoys eating chocolate chip ice cream on the beach after swimming. She also likes colder, drearier places like London.
I wouldn’t call my sister Teresa an activist, but I’m starting to change my thinking. She believes and supports many causes, but I don’t usually hear of her doing something about it (I think most of us are like that). So, when I got an e-mail from her earlier this week about her mission to implement two of the three R’s in the eco-friendly creed “reduce, reuse, recycle,” I was pleasantly surprised.
Teresa has been taking canvas bags to carry home her groceries in so that she doesn’t have to use the plastic ones (reduce, reuse — see?) On a recent trip, the cashier was obviously irritated by this, which in turn irritated Teresa. “I don’t think she liked messing with my bags. Pfft!” she wrote.
Irritable cashiers aside, I definitely believe it IS a good thing, and it was a small anecdote that jibed with my mental state here in the magazine department. My head was filled with thoughts of green this and that as I had just finished the update of Angie’s List magazine’s website, magazine.angieslist.com. Continue reading ‘Actually, green is my favorite color’
Mandy Miller is senior online editor for Angie's List publication department. When she's not focusing on the
magazine's website and other online offerings, she's tackling a mounting list of home improvements she thinks she can do herself. Plus, she really likes to ride her bike, play with her puppy, Boo Radley, and take naps.
A couple of us magazine staff writers have been working on a feature story about the plethora of home improvement TV shows for our June issue. I have to admit, when I first started reporting on the topic, I knew very little about the quirky hosts my co-workers gushed about and the drama-filled plots that seem to keep millions of viewers enthralled. My TiVo only records a few of my favorite sitcoms, so I hardly ever venture out of my comfort zone to check out what’s airing on the other channels.
