Category: Home Tips
5 Organizational Tricks to Make Your Pantry Less Cluttered
Here are five tips for maximizing space and keeping your pantry organized.
- Think Vertically. Add hooks and a shower caddy to the inside of your door to hang items. Hang oven mitts on the hooks, and store onions and potatoes in the caddy racks.
- Use Clear Bins. It’s much easier to stay organized when you can see items. Use one clear bin to hold packets, such as taco seasoning or gravy mixes, and others to keep snacks organized.
- Use Clear, Stackable Storage Containers. Transfer nuts, granola and other items into clear mason jars, and use stackable plastic bins to store flour, rice, breadcrumbs and cacao powder.
- Use Crates with Wheels. If your pantry has “dead space” between the floor and the lowest shelf, a wooden crate with wheels gains you some additional storage. This is the perfect solution for those “buy in bulk” items or your reusable grocery bags.
- Add a Lazy Susan. If the corner of your cupboard is a black hole, add a lazy Susan. Not only does it maximize this area, it also keeps all items visible and accessible.
How to Measure Your Space for a Washer Dryer Pair
Before you buy your new washer and dryer, be sure it will fit your space. Taking accurate measurements of your hook-up location will ensure quick and efficient delivery and installation.
Step 1: Measure the space.
Measure the height (top to bottom), width (side to side) and depth (front to back) of your space.
If purchasing front-load machines with pedestals, make sure you include the pedestals in your height measurement.
How Secure Is Your Garage Door?
When you close your overhead garage door, do you assume that your home is secure? For the most part, it probably is, but there are a few ways crooks can still get through. Consider these measures to make sure your home is locked tight:
Look at the service door. The service door, or side door on your garage, is often one of the easiest points of entry for a burglar. Make sure the door has a deadbolt and a heavy-duty strike plate, as should all exterior doors in your home.
Install a garage door sensor. Sometimes your garage door security is compromised simply because someone forgot to close the door. This is where a sensor and monitor come in. Attach the sensor to the garage door and then place the monitor somewhere inside your house. If the garage door is open, the monitor will let you know.
Remove clickers from your vehicle. If you park a vehicle in the driveway, make sure you do not leave your garage door remotes in your vehicles (e.g., on the visor or center console). A thief can break into your car for entry into your house. Opt for a key-ring remote, which you can find online by typing in your garage door brand followed by “remote.”
Use an old-fashioned lock. If you are going to be away from your home for an extended period of time, you may want to lock your garage door track. Simply drill a hole in your garage door track just above one of the rollers and fasten a padlock through the hole. Even if a robber can fish the garage door lock open from the outside, he will not be able to actually roll up the door.
Install a smart home door opener. These high-tech garage door openers come with built-in security features such as monitors and lighting controls – all connected to your smartphone. This means that from anywhere, you can make sure your garage door is closed and your home is secure.
Source: The Family Handyman, Garage Security Tips
Home Safety Reminders for the Summer
Summer is just around the corner, and unfortunately, this is the time of year when accidents around the home increase. Here are a few friendly safety reminders so you can have fun all summer long.
Water Safety – It only takes an inch of water for a child to drown. While the common areas to focus on water safety are pools and spas, other places in your yard need to also be considered: water features, wading pools and utility buckets can accumulate many inches of rainwater after storms. Keep a close eye on young children playing around these areas.
Home Tips for Spring
How Secure Is Your Garage Door?
When you close your overhead garage door, do you assume that your home is secure? For the most part it probably is, but there are a few ways crooks can still get through. Consider these measures to make sure your home is locked tight:
Look at the service door. The service door, or side door on your garage, is often one of the easiest points of entry for a burglar. Make sure the door has a deadbolt and a heavy-duty strike plate, as should all exterior doors in your home.
Install a garage door sensor. Sometimes your garage door security is compromised simply because someone forgot to close the door. This is where a sensor and monitor come in. Attach the sensor to the garage door and then place the monitor somewhere inside your house. If the garage door is open, the monitor will let you know.
Remove clickers from your vehicle. If you park a vehicle in the driveway, make sure you do not leave your garage door remotes in your vehicles (e.g., on the visor or center console). A thief can break into your car for entry into your house. Opt for a key-ring remote, which you can find online by typing in your garage door brand followed by “remote.”
Use an old-fashioned lock. If you are going to be away from your home for an extended period of time, you may want to lock your garage door track. Simply drill a hole in your garage door track just above one of the rollers and fasten a padlock through the hole. Even if a robber can fish the garage door lock open from the outside, he will not be able to actually roll up the door.
Install a smart home door opener. These high-tech garage door openers come with built-in security features such as monitors and lighting controls – all connected to your smartphone. This means that from anywhere, you can make sure your garage door is closed and your home is secure.
Source: The Family Handyman, Garage Security Tips
Wine Storage Solutions
Comedian W.C. Fields once said, “I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.” Whether wine is part of your latest culinary creation, part of your overall cooking experience or a staple in everyday life, finding the perfect wine storage solution for your kitchen deserves more consideration than you may expect.
There are dozens of design elements to consider when installing a new kitchen. Hardware, colors, countertops, appliances and countless selections can be overwhelming. For the homeowner that pops a cork once every few weeks, wine storage may be an afterthought. For the connoisseur, however, making the wrong wine storage decisions could lead to a design flop.
The 5 Best Interior Paint Colors for Feeling Refreshed and Relaxed
Whether you want to feel serene and relaxed the second you step through your front door, are looking for a calming oasis in your bedroom or need a soothing retreat in the living room, the right paint colors can help you get there.
The best part about these interior paint colors is that they add a touch of style and sophistication to your home at the same time as they provide a calm atmosphere. Choose any of them and feel your blood pressure drop when you spend time surrounded by a beautiful color.
5 Calming Paint Colors for Any Room
Keep your interior décor a haven from the bustle of the outside world by choosing paint colors that remind you of nature. Whether you prefer to keep things warm or cool is up to you, but keep in mind that cool colors read as more refreshing, while warmer shades feel cozier.
10 Technology Updates for the Home
While your home might not look like the Jetsons’ and you can’t get a robot to clean your refrigerator (yet), today’s homes are getting more and more tech-savvy, and there are plenty of simple upgrades you can make to bring your home to the cutting edge of technology. Whether you’ve always wanted a tech-dense home or you’re simply looking to streamline and enhance your lifestyle through simple home improvements, these upgrades are for you.
10 Top Tech Updates for the Home
From self-adjusting thermostats to robots that vacuum your floor, these ten top tech updates can help your home feel modern and functional – both now and in the future.
1. Smart door locks
Have you ever gotten so busy that you left the house without locking the door? Maybe you’ve gotten to work or the airport only to ask yourself, “Did I lock the house?” If you’ve ever experienced either of these things, smart door locks can help.
Produced by a variety of companies, smart door locks sync with a smartphone so that you can lock and unlock the home remotely. Ideal for keeping your home secure while you’re gone or simply making sure the housecleaner or dog walker has easy access to the place, smart door locks offer keyless entry and enhanced convenience for your home and lifestyle.
2. Remote-control blinds
Sick of fighting with standard blinds that fall out every time you touch them? If so, remote control blinds are a great option. Simple, sleek and sophisticated, remote control blinds open, close, and lower or raise with the help of a remote control.
Ideal for people who need to darken or illuminate rooms quickly, or who want to keep their homes safe by making them look inhabited even when you’re not, remote control blinds are fully programmable and come in a variety of colors, finishes, settings and sizes.
3. Smoke alarms that sync with your smartphone
What if a fire starts, but nobody is home? If you have a smart smoke detector or carbon monoxide detector, you won’t have to worry about not knowing until it’s too late. Manufactured by companies like Nest, smart smoke detectors detect the presence of smoke and send an immediate notification to your smartphone, as well as issuing an audible warning within the home.
4. Refrigerators with built-in touchscreens
While stainless steel refrigerators rose to popularity several years ago, the refrigerator of the future takes it one step further.
Instead of just offering stainless steel beauty and appeal, today’s refrigerators often feature built-in touchscreens that can do everything from displaying recipes to giving you a real-time view into your fridge, so you can check how much milk you have or decide whether or not you need to grab apples from the store. They can also help you make grocery lists and eat healthier. Simple, beautiful and functional, these touchscreen-enabled refrigerators are the way of the future.
5. LED light bulbs
While they may not be as exciting as a smart fridge or remote-controlled blinds, LED light bulbs are some of the most eco-friendly and accessible tech upgrades you can make. They don’t cost thousands of dollars, and they apply to all homes – even those that may be lacking in technology to begin with. Simply swap them out with your existing bulbs for a smaller energy bill, longer-lasting light and even full integration with your smartphone (on some models). Ideal for bringing any home into the modern age, LED bulbs are a smart, easy tech upgrade everyone can enjoy.
6. Dual-flush toilets
Like LED light bulbs, dual flush toilets have been around for a while. That notwithstanding, though, they’re still one of the most efficient ways to upgrade the tech in your home and benefit the environment all at once.
Outfitted with separate buttons, dual-flush toilets allow you to adjust the water level of each flush as needed, so you can save resources and decrease your energy bill. Available from many quality manufacturers, dual-flush toilets work beautifully in bathrooms that are also equipped with features like motion-activated sinks.
7. Robotic vacuum cleaners
No, there’s not yet a robot to clean your fridge or walk your dog, but there is a robot to sweep your floors. Popularized by the iRobot Corporation, many companies now produce these simple robots that run according to your pre-programmed preferences. Ideal for daily use in households that feature pet hair and kid messes, or occasional use in a house that just needs a bit of tidying around the edges, these small, sleek disc vacuums do a great job of keeping your floors spic and span.
They can also help improve the overall functionality and cleanliness of your home. They run according to program and return to their charging stations when they’re done. All you have to do is clean the receptacle every once in a while.
8. Voice assistants
Voice assistants are functional, convenient and handy home upgrades that come in small, sleek packages. Products such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home are ideal for playing music, checking the weather, making lists, scheduling an Uber and more – all hands-free. Plus, their streamlined and beautiful designs make them easy to enjoy in any home, anywhere in the world.
9. Smart thermostats
Smart thermostats can be programmed to get warmer when you’re home and bump the temperature down when you’re not. What’s more, they “learn” your patterns over time and adjust themselves accordingly, saving you energy and time, and helping your home run more efficiently. They’re also easy to install, without renovation. To install one in your home, look for a model that syncs with your smartphone, like the Nest Learning Thermostat.
10. USB-equipped outlets
USB-equipped outlets allow you to plug your USB cords directly into the outlet and save the traditional outlets for things like televisions and larger electronics. Ideal for anyone who wants to charge their phone, laptop or tablet, but hates struggling to find an open outlet, USB-equipped outlets are the way of the future.
A Tech-Savvy Home Starts Here
If you’re looking to upgrade your home and bring it into the modern age without remodeling from top to bottom, these ten tech-savvy upgrades are exactly what you need.
Need help envisioning how they may fit into your home? No problem. Simply us to talk through your project with one of our experienced designers. We can incorporate these clever gadgets … and recommend so much more!
Green Lighting Tips for Your Home
As the days are darker this time of the year, we turn the lights on earlier and leave them on more each day. Lighting accounts for about a quarter of all electricity consumed in the U.S. Here are some ways to lighten the energy load while keeping your home bright:
- Replacing light bulbs. Regular incandescent light bulbs are inefficient, with 90% of their energy going to generate heat, not light. Replace standard lamps with compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs – they cost more per bulb but are far more efficient and last up to ten times longer. Over the life of one CFL, you can avoid replacing up to 13 incandescent bulbs and use 75% less energy. Visit www.energystar.gov for more information.
- Photocells turn lights on and off in response to natural light levels – for example, on at dusk and off at dawn.
- Occupancy sensors activate lights when you enter a room and turn them off after you leave. They are good for areas of infrequent use, such as storerooms.
- Dimmers reduce the wattage and output of light bulbs. They also significantly increase the life of incandescent bulbs.
- Don’t overuse kitchen and bathroom ventilation fans. Left on for too long, these fans can pull out much of your heated air.
- Clean fixtures and lamps annually by wiping off the dust (make sure the bulb is cool first).
- Clean or repaint walls. Dirt on surfaces reduces the amount of light they reflect and make the room feel darker.
- Turn off incandescent lights when you’re not using them, even if you’re just leaving the room for a few minutes.
(Source: EarthShare, www.earthshare.org)