Two things hitting my pocketbook hard these days are gas and food. So I thought getting my groceries delivered could help cut down on my daily gas binges. I recently explored the food delivery services offered by Giant and Safeway. I also looked at Harris Teeter's drive-up food service, which doesn't solve my gas problem (no pun intended here), but does free up some time I would otherwise spend navigating the store. Here's what I learned:

-- The more you order and the more flexible you are about when the food gets delivered, the more you'll save on delivery fees. With Giant's Peapod service, you pay $6.95 for orders more than $100 and a dollar more than that if you spend between $75 and $100. If you dip below $75, you'll be paying nearly $10. You'll get a whole $1 knocked off if you schedule your delivery during a time when Peapod is in your neighborhood. With Safeway.com, you pay $12.95 in delivery fees for orders less than $150. But you'll get $3 knocked off if you choose a 4-hour delivery window or you buy at least $150 worth of groceries. But it's one or the other. You can't get a $6 discount if you order $150 worth of food and select a 4-hour delivery window.

-- Harris Teeter's Express Lane service allows you to place your order online and then four hours later it's ready to be picked up at your nearest store. The service, which runs about $5, lets you pull up to the curb and wait as a Harris Teeter employee loads up your trunk with your order. The prices online are the same as in the store and they're updated every Tuesday to match the store's weekly circular.

-- Peapod's prices are different than Giant's. First of all, you won't get the sale prices listed in Giant's weekly circular when you shop Peapod. Peapod offers the disclaimer: "The prices of Giant groceries purchased through Peapod may be different from the prices in Giant retail stores." I found that the prices do vary. A 14-ounce box of Cheerios cost $4.19 on Peapod and $3.39 in the store. A jar of Smucker's strawberry jelly was $3.39 on Peapod but $3.19 in the store. The online store does, however, have its own sales.

-- Plan on spending at least $50 at Safeway.com and Peapod. Otherwise you can't get them delivered. Harris Teeter's service has no limit.

-- Expect to pay a fuel surcharge if you're using Safeway.com and Peapod. The fee, which is calculated based on the average cost of gas each week, is currently $1.58. So if either store is close to your home, you likely won't be burning that much gas.

-- Safeway.com requires someone to be at home when the food is delivered. Peapod does offer unattended delivery, which means an insulated cooler with your food will be left wherever you want them to leave it. Just make sure you return the container or you'll be charged for it.

-- Both sites sell alcohol and tobacco but someone who's old enough to buy these products will have to be at home to sign for it.

-- Safeway.com drivers and Harris Teeter Express Lane employees do not accept tips but Peapod's will.

Have you ever gotten your groceries delivered? Have you ever used Harris Teeter's pull-up service? Is it worth the money? Speaking of money, how is your pocketbook being squeezed these days? Post a comment below.

Fiscal Fast Update: As many of you know, I'm right in the middle of a fiscal fast, which means I'm not spending any money for seven days. It's day three and I just ran out of milk and I have only a few diapers left. Plus I'm starving for a Target run. This is hard! How is it going for you? Let me know by sending me an e-mail at shoptoit@washingtonpost.com. Words of encouragement are welcome.

How many times have you told a friend the price you paid for a recent home project, only to be told that they had a similar project completed for 10 percent less? Newman! That's happened to me a few times and it doesn't feel good. Washington Checkbook Magazine pushes the concept of competitive bidding, which allows you to get the best possible price on the priciest of transactions. Robert Krughoff, editor of the magazine, recently offered me some pointers on how to bid and when. Here are his tips:

Tip #1: Use competitive bidding before plunking down big bucks for expensive items or services. Krughoff says the way to use competitive bidding is to contact several firms and ask what their best price is on the item you want to buy or the service you need done. Let the firms know you're doing this and ask them to give you their best price. "In competitive bidding, the major threat to the business is that you'll go somewhere else," he says.

Tip #2: Competitive bidding can be used for more than just a renovation project on your house. Consider the strategy for hotels, men's suits, furniture, carpeting and dental procedures. "In many cases these folks can't do enough business and therefore are willing to compete," Krughoff says.

Tip #3: In competitive bidding, never tell the businesses what prices you're getting or what price you want to pay. Just get your list of prices and go with the lowest. "The only way to find out what a good price is is to see what the market will bear," he says.

Tip #4: Competitive bidding is for people like me who are intimidated by negotiation, which is outright asking for a lower price. Competitive bidding is less aggressive, allowing the shopper to just say something like, "I'm going to be contacting several places and I'd love to hear the best price you can give me." Simple and straight forward. I can do that.

Tip #5: If you do decide to pull out your negotiation skills, think of a good reason for the store to give you a lower price such as the fact that you're a senior citizen or you drove 100 miles to shop at the store. "If you're negotiating, the major threat is that you'll not buy at all," Krughoff adds.

Tip #6: If a business says they won't negotiate on price, consider asking for the other perks or services they could provide. For example, a car rental company may be willing to pay for a tank of gas.

Have you ever used competitive bidding to get a low price? What were your strategies to make it work? Post a comment below.

On another shopping subject... have you ever bought groceries online? I'm not talking about Peapod or Safeway but online-only businesses like Netgrocer.com? If so, please tell me about your experience at shoptoit@washingtonpost.com.

Also, are you doing the Fiscal Fast with me this week? I'm one day into it and so far my Mastercard is snuggly tight in my wallet. Only six more days to go...

I usually fly right through Old Town Fairfax. The streets are narrow and the traffic heavy so I've never known what the stores had to offer along this small historic district for fear that a split second glance will get me into a fender bender.

But one recent Monday afternoon I was inspired to stop. Who knew you could find home decorations, fine children's clothing, original art, Christian books and gifts, wine, running gear and even a place to get a tattoo. The strip is also home to several eateries, which is part of my criteria for a worthwhile shopping destination. And best of all, Old Town Fairfax has free, public parking, which is rare these days.

Old Town Fairfax, a stone's throw from George Mason University, is a bit reserved for a college town, but that didn't stop me from finding some shopping gems.

The Second Yard, on the corner of Main Street and University Drive, specializes in fabrics for home decor like curtains, furniture and throw pillows. The store also has a wide selection of lamps, framed prints, furniture, home decorations and tableware. I was especially struck by the store's rather wide array of fake foods and drinks ranging from $15 to around $40. (Yes, people will actually use a glass that very convincingly looks like it's filled with a martini as decoration.) I almost reported a spill to an employee only to realize the toppled coffee cup was part of the decor. The store also carries Vera Bradley's plate collection, which includes dinner plates for $24 and square appetizer plates for $22. The designs on the plates mimic the paisleys and swirls you'll find on Vera Bradley bags.

While you're on that block of Main Street, hit Young Elegance, a traditional children's boutique that's been in Fairfax 13 years. Here you'll find dress clothes for boys and girls, who may be in a wedding, bar mitzvah, christening or any other big event in their little lives. Some of the clothes range in price from $18 to $200 and include designers like Frances Johnston and Sophie Dess. You'll also find shoes, jewelry and a few toys.

And you can't miss Circa, a home and garden store housed in an old feed and grain warehouse tucked behind T.T. Reynolds, one of Old Town's eating establishments. The store was opened in 2002 by Betsy Rutkowski after being laid off from the airline industry after 9/11. The store sells a little of everything with a vintage, antique and European feel to them, including furniture, lighting, plant urns, lotions, soaps and framed artwork. Among the things that caught my eye were Cucina hand soaps and lotions for just under $20. Circa also had a large tulip vase, complete with small tubes within the vase to hold up these lazy flowers, for $58. The store also had some fun, artsy plastic plates with pictures of blow fish, turtles and sea horses. A set of four small plates run $36 and a set of four dinner plates go for $44.

So, what stores do you hit while shopping in Old Town Fairfax? Where else do you go when you're shopping off the beaten path? Please post a comment below.

My fiscal fast starts in a few days. Will you join me in not spending any money for a whole week? The fast starts at midnight on July 7 ending at midnight on July 14. I'll report back on how I fare on July 17. Please post a comment that day if you also do the fast. Have any tips for fiscal fasting? E-mail me at shoptoit@washingtonpost.com.

We search, we hunt, we dig. One of our summertime rituals besides cookouts and serious sweating is yard sale shopping. You never what you'll find among the unwanteds from another person's life. And aside from being a haven for treasure hunters, yard sales serve as a way to declutter one's home. I talked to Chris Heiska, a Marylander who's known online as the Yard Sale Queen, to get some tips for having a cash-generating yard sale:

Tip #1: Preparation is key. Some of the things people forget about most often are making sure to have enough change to break big bills, having some plastic or paper bags handy for items that get sold and having some newspaper handy for wrapping breakables.

Tip #2: Use the Web and signs around the neighborhood to bring the crowds to your sale. Aside from advertising on Craig's List, I can't fail to mention washingtonpost.com's garage sale listings, which start at $9.99. Post signs in your neighborhood the day before and make the wording simple. Just make sure you know the rules of signage in your neighborhood, especially if you live in a neighborhood with a homeowners association. Arrows pointing in the direction of your sale will make it even easier for drivers to quickly see where to go. Use your Web and newspaper ads to describe what you'll have at the sale but leave that kind of information off your street signs.

Tip #3: Any weekend is up for grabs for scheduling your yard sale. It used to be that you wouldn't dare have a yard sale during a holiday weekend but Heiska says that rule may be going out the window as gas prices rise and people stay local. Saturday mornings are the more typical days to hold yard sales in the Washington region. But different regions of the country have different traditions. Heiska says she's heard of some places where yard sales are held on Thursdays and Fridays.

Tip #4: The pricing of your items can make or break your yard sale. Pricing too high will send people away empty-handed. Visit local thrift stores and other yard sales prior to yours to see how similar things are priced. Also, "think about how bad do you want to get rid of it. And take into account what you paid for it new," says Heiska.

Tip #5: Don't try to sell valuables and big items like furniture at your yard sale, Heiska says. People want to get things for $1 and they don't want to worry about having to find a way to haul something away. "If you have stuff worth a lot of money, take it to a consignment store or put it on Craig's List," she says. People go to yard sales for household items like CDs, DVDs, toys and clothes, especially for kids.

Tip #6: If things aren't going well at the sale, like people are walking away without buying, start slashing prices. Or tell people you're willing to go lower on an item they pick up. "You might be able to talk them into buying it," Heiska says.

Tip #7: Consider selling your unwanteds at a flea market or neighborhood yard sale. You'll likely be charged a fee for the space but they'll handle all the advertising for the sale, bringing in a larger number of shoppers.

Have you ever had a yard sale? If so, what have you done to make it a success? What's the most amount of money you've ever made at a yard sale and what were you selling? Do you have any tips for how to shop yard sales? What's the coolest thing you've ever bought at a yard sale? Post a comment below.

Fiscal Fast: On another note... I'm looking for people to go on a fiscal fast with me. You may recall my recent blog post about frugal living and author Jeff Yeager's suggestion that people should go on fiscal fasts. I've decided to take the plunge and see if I can handle a week-long fiscal fast where I don't spend a single dime on anything. I'll start the fast midnight on July 7 ending at midnight on July 14. Care to join me and post a comment on July 17 when I write about my own experience? Target may go out of business while I do this.

I think I spend more time at the grocery store than I do my own house. Well probably not, but there are weeks when I feel like a professional grocery shopper. With food prices on the rise, I've wondered if I'm shopping at the right place. As much as I would love to shop at Trader Joe's every week, the place isn't practical for my family of four. And Whole Foods is a little too fancy. (That's code for too expensive.)

So I'm left with Giant, Safeway and Shoppers Food Warehouse, which are a stone's throw from my house. I know the Harris Teeter lovers are wondering why I've left out their beloved store. The truth is I already know I spend at least $75 more there on a week's worth of groceries than I do at Giant, which is the store I go to. And Wegmans' local stores in Woodbridge and Fairfax are too far for me. But I've heard the store has great deals.

So to make sure I wasn't missing any deals at Safeway and Shoppers, I spent an afternoon comparing about 15 different food items from fruits and vegetables to meat and dairy products at each of the stores and how they compared to prices at Giant. I compared the prices using Giant and Safeway's savings cards, which are offered to customers for free. Shoppers has always touted itself as a store that doesn't require a card but offers low prices automatically. I went into this experiment thinking Shoppers would be the winner but it turns out Giant was the right place to shop all along.

Giant had better prices on more than half of the items I compared, some with pretty dramatic differences. Giant, for example, sells a pint of grape tomatoes for $2, while Shoppers and Safeway had them for at least $3. A bag of Dole lettuce was a whole $1 less at Giant than at Shoppers. But one of the most dramatic price differences was Shadybrook Farms lean ground turkey. A pound of the stuff was $2.59 at Giant compared to $4.69 at Shoppers and $4.49 at Safeway.

Safeway was the most expensive, only beating out the other two stores on three items -- Dannon yogurt, Jif peanut butter and Fresh Express lettuce bags. And Shoppers matched Giant's prices on most items. Shoppers did beat out Giant with its price on a carton of a dozen large eggs, which go for 10 cents less than Giant, and bananas, which were a whopping 1 cent cheaper than Giant.

So where do you find the best deals on groceries? Do you stick with one particular store? Let us in on your grocery shopping expertise by posting a comment below.

Have you had a yard sale lately? What makes a successful yard sale? What mistakes did you make? I'll reveal my tips for a worthwhile yard sale next month but tell me your strategies at shoptoit@washingtonpost.com.

One of my most stressful experiences as a parent was reading a letter from my child's doctor saying that they were no longer going to use our insurance provider -- just as my daughter toddled down the stairs asking me why she had pink dots all over her. I had to scramble to find a doctor who was not only covered by our insurance company but also someone I could trust with my daughter's very immediate problem. I ended up calling a friend who pointed me in the direction of her pediatrician, who we still use today. (Turns out my kid was allergic to the penicillin she was taking for an ear infection.) Shopping for a doctor is not something that should have to be done while your child breaks out in itchy, pink dots. Here are a few tips for a more peaceful doctor search:

Tip #1: Think about what kind of features you want in a doctor. These days many offer open-access scheduling, which gets you an appointment the day you call in. Some also offer quick in-and-out appointments for simple ailments like a sore throat. "That way you don't have to take a whole day off work just for a simple matter," says Jim King, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Other doctors are allowing patients to e-mail them with questions, which is great for those of us who forget all their questions once they step foot in the exam room.

Tip #2: Set up a get-to-know-you meeting with the doctors you're considering. Some will charge for the meeting and some insurance companies won't cover these kinds of visits. But it may be worth it just to be able to ask a few questions and to see if your personalities match.

Tip #3: Go with a doctor that's been board certified, says King. While every doctor needs a licence to diagnose and treat patients, seeking a board certification is voluntary. But it demonstrates their expertise in a particular speciality or subspeciality. The American Board of Medical Specialties has a free tool to check if doctors are board certified. Just be prepared to register to use it.

Tip #4: Don't rule out a doctor who's had a medical malpractice suit brought against him. "You would never see an OB/GYN if you ruled out doctors who've never been sued," King says. "Medical malpractice has very little to do with the physician's abilities." However, a red flag would be someone who's had several suits brought against them. You can also check with Administrators in Medicine, which has an online tool for finding out disciplinary action taken against doctors.

Tip #5: Ask a prospective doctor for a copy of their "patients' handbook" to get some insight into how things run at the practice. It will explain how they handle everything from prescription refills to hospital admittance procedures.

Tip #6: Don't automatically rule out a doctor who got their medical education overseas. Where they did their residency and whether they're board certified should be bigger determining factors. "You would want to find someone who has done some residency training in this country so they're familiar with the way the system works," says Joel Keehn, a senior editor at Consumer Reports magazine.

Tip #7: There's nothing like the power of word of mouth. Ask friends and neighbors where they go for medical care.

Have you had to search for a new doctor lately? How did you find him or her? What other tools are out there for finding good doctors? Post a comment below.

While we're on the subject of good health... have you been grocery shopping lately? Who's got the better deals these days -- Giant, Safeway or Shoppers Food Warehouse? I'll let you know what I think on Thursday but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Send me an e-mail: shoptoit@washingtonpost.com.

A funny thing happened on the way to my in-laws' house the other day. I found the coolest store in Springfield. Wit's End is a small establishment tucked in a strip mall along Old Keene Mill Road. At one end you'll find Whole Foods and at the other, Washington Sports Club.

At Wit's End you'll see everything from furniture and greeting cards to stained glass picture frames and baby onesies. The goods at Wit's End are unusual but also trendy, and several of the items have been featured in magazines like O, The Oprah Magazine, and US Weekly.

Olga Barber founded the store in 1998 and strives to carry items that you wouldn't find at a typical gift shop.

"I try to be ahead of the game and out of the ordinary," she says. "We just have a lot of stuff that's just fun and original and something people don't already have 12 of."

Take for example the rubber gloves that a harried housewife would slip on her hands to wash the evening's dishes. Wit's End's rubber gloves, priced at $38, are hot pink with black lace attached to the end of the glove to make for a nice dishwashing experience. And in case you were wondering what to do with your old license plate collection, someone has figured it out. Small purses are the perfect way to reuse a license plate and you can find those at Wit's End as well, for $58.

The store even carries the works of artists that are lesser known in the world. Like pottery by Ed & Kate Coleman, a husband and wife ceramic art team based in North Carolina. Wit's End had a collection of their brightly colored bowls with small pipes on the inside for flower stems for $27.

If you lean toward the more trendy side of things, then slip on one of Dillon Rogers' leather bracelets for $33. It's what Jennifer Aniston is wearing, according to a past issue of US Weekly prominently displayed next to the small collection of bracelets. And if you just can't take your mind off of ice cream, even when you bathe, pick up a few scoops of ice cream soap. It's not edible even though it comes in flavors like strawberry kiwi and looks totally believable. The bath scoops, which run $9 each, were featured in O. The magazine also wrote about the frosted drinking glasses carried by Wit's End, which feature painted tributes to every state in the union. The Catstudio glasses, which go for $11 apiece, are one of the store's most popular items.

Even the store's small furniture collection is unusual. Wit's End carries Dust Furniture, which is a line that looks straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. The lines are wavy and brightly colored and stacked on top of each other in unusual ways. The store's collection of Dust shelving units can run from $1,040 to $3,100.

Have you been to Wit's End? What cool store have you stumbled upon lately? What's your definition of a cool store? Post your discoveries below.

Have you ever played the "find the cheap gas" game? My husband and I do it all the time when we're driving to the beach. All of a sudden one of us will scream out, "I see $3.97! I see $3.97!" How do you shop for cheap gas? I've been inundated with tips on how to cut back on my gas consumption and I've followed many of the tips. But let's be realistic. I still have to drive to get to certain places. Do you have a secret spot where the gas prices are always lower? Post a comment below. And while you're at it, answer the poll on what kind of gas shopper you are. I have a mere three tips for finding cheap gas and here they are:

Tip #1: Hit the Web. Several sites have launched over the last year that help consumers find the cheapest gas in their communities. Some the prices are based on findings from motorists driving around and calling them in and others are taken from the Oil Price Information Service, a source for petroleum pricing and oil news. I recently discovered that you can get pretty different prices from some of these sites. MapQuest's gas prices feature, which gets its prices from the Oil Price Information Service, found me the lowest price recently at $3.86. The station was 10 miles away from my house but the next cheapest gas price was a whole 7 cents more. MapQuest's prices are updated seven times a day and any price older than 48 hours is removed from the site. AAA's Fuel Price Finder is also pretty good, getting its data from 100,000 gas stations, credit card transactions and direct feeds. There's also GasBuddy.com, which uses a network of ordinary people who report gas prices in their community.

Tip #2: Hit some of the cheapest. It used to be that Hess was always my go-to station but lately their prices are not much better than the big boys. Liberty, a small independent company based in North Carolina, has stayed cheaper than its bigger competitors. Tom Alexander, one of the company's executives, said Liberty was started in 2000 as an "alternative to the higher prices being charged by the mainstream brands, such as BP and Exxon." The one near me always seems at least 10 cents cheaper than its big-name neighbors. Where are your favorite spots?

Tip #3: Hit the pumps on hump day. I've noticed that gas seems slightly, I repeat slightly, cheaper mid-week rather than on the weekends and Mondays and Fridays.

He taught you how to ride a bike and drive a car. And he helped you with your algebra homework late at night when it was the last thing he wanted to do. (At least mine had to.) Once a year we honor the fathers in our lives, whether they be our own or those of our children. Here are a few ideas to say thanks to Dad:

A visit to National Harbor: It's brand spanking new and looks ultra cool from the Wilson Bridge. It's the perfect spot for a clambake, right? You can do just that at one of the harbor's up-and-running restaurants. Foster's Downeast Clambake cooks up a traditional clambake feast that includes clam chowder, mussels and corn on the cob. The feast does require a reservation. Several other eating establishments have opened up including ones inside the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, like Moon Bay Coastal Cuisine Restaurant, National Pastime Sports Bar & Grille, and Old Hickory Steakhouse Restaurant. You can also try out Potbelly Sandwich Works and Sauceity, which is inside the Starwood Hotel.

Laughter: Give Dad a few laughs with tickets to see some of the various comedians making their way to D.C. this year. George Lopez is coming to Warner Theatre in October, Weird Al Yankovic also makes his way to the Warner Theatre in July and Kevin Pollak will be at the DC Improv four nights in July.

An Experience: I know I mentioned Excitations for my Mother's Day post but it's become one of my favorite sites. And it's especially good for Dads like my husband and father who say they are perfectly happy with their kids' love and affection for Father's Day. Sweet, but ya' know you like to open a gift or two. So Excitations will set up "an experience" for Dad like taking a couple of laps in a stock car around a race track with a professional NASCAR driver or taking a sailboat ride from Southwest Washington to Old Town Alexandria and then getting dropped off a half mile from the Washington Nationals stadium to catch a game. Both of those, by the way, are under $100. I ordered experiences for my father and husband and the gift card came in a beautiful red box with a red ribbon. Plus, the gifts came within two days of when I ordered them.

Speaking of baseball... maybe Dad would prefer more than one baseball game but not a whole season. The Washington Nationals have partial season plans ranging from $187 to $374 for 11 games. And since no dad should have to enjoy a baseball game alone, see if you can convince his best friend to buy the seat next to his.

So, how will you honor your father on Sunday? Have any last-minute gift ideas? Tell us by posting a comment below.

Also, gas is on everyone's minds these days. And that's why I've been shopping for cheap gas. The only problem is I'm burning up all my gas looking for cheap gas. So where do you find cheap gas? Please let me know and I'll share everyone's secrets for finding some gas deals (if they exist) next week: shoptoit@washingtonpost.com.

It towers over our houses, holding up our roofs and protecting us from the elements. Yes, the attic is such a multi-tasker, providing storage for our fake Christmas trees, luggage and the China dishes we inherited from Aunt Sue. But these days the attic is looking a little more appealing as a place to maybe hang out or to write the great American novel. So here are a few tips for giving your attic a new purpose:

Tip #1: Figure out if your attic can even be changed into a liveable space. Obviously a crawl-space attic won't do. But if your attic was framed with rafters, which are beams that support the roof, rather than trusses, which are triangular wood structures that sometimes extend to the floor, you may be in business. If you can walk around your attic, you likely have rafters. Trusses often require you to get on your hands and knees to crawl around the space.

Tip #2: You'll also need to know if the ceiling is tall enough for modern-day humans to walk around in. The space has to be at least 70 to 100 square feet and at least half of the floor space should have ceilings that are about 8 feet tall.

Tip #3: When in doubt, talk to a couple of remodeling companies to get questions answered and to get an idea of the cost. Remodeling the attic is not one of the most popular projects, so people know less about what's involved. It may seem harder than you think.

Tip #4: Figure out what to do with the space. Think of it in terms of a third or fourth floor of your house rather than a finished attic. Some of the options include family rooms, children's bedrooms, a master bedroom, a loft studio, an office or a home gym. Mark G. Richardson, president of Case Design, a remodeling company based in Bethesda, says many Washingtonians are turning their attics into master suites, playrooms, hobby rooms and home offices.

Tip #5: Once you've determined you can do a liveable attic, start thinking about the design. You'll want a professional to actually draw up the plans but you should consider if you want to put in a dormer, which will add some head room and space. Also consider skylights, stairs, hardwood floors or carpet, windows, a deck, shelving and storage and insulation.

Tip #6: When trying to figure out who should do the work, ask the prospective remodeler how many attics they've done. You'll want someone who's done more than one or two in their lifetime. And ask if they do background checks on their workers and whether they use their own employees or subcontractors. And finally, ask for references and visit their finished attic projects.

Tip #7: The more bells and whistles you add to the attic, the more expensive. Duh! But if you want any of the bells and whistles, some of the most important in the eyes of Richardson are the skylights. He recommends at least three to four skylights to make the space brighter and not feel like it's just a finished storage area.

Tip #8: Once you have a beautiful finished attic, you must have a way of getting up there. The stairs should look like a set of stairs rather than a fancy ladder.

Tip #9: Consider a separate heating and cooling system for the finished attic. If you set foot in your attic these days, it's probably hot enough to take a couple pounds off of you. So you'll want the ability to cool off that new finished floor of the house without robbing cool air from the rest of the house.

Tip #10: An attic remodeling project is not for the faint of heart, so make sure you're ready. You'll have construction going on right above your bedrooms, with dust settling on lower floors and lots of banging and noise just above your head. Richardson even recommends building an outside set of stairs to the attic to minimize the disruption to the house. "It's not uncommon for someone who's not lived through it to experience some levels of pain that they're not tolerant of," Richardson says. "Make sure that if your pain threshold is low, you're working with the right company."

So, have you re-done your attic? What was the project like? Post a comment and tell me about it.

And while we're on the topic of home improvement projects, have you thought of what you're getting dear ol' dad for Father's Day? I'm looking for ideas so please send them my way: shoptoit@washingtonpost.com.