Modern Living

Ideas For Leftover Christmas Ornaments

While decorating for Christmas is usually fun to do, you don’t have to let the festivities stop once the holiday is over. There are several ideas for decorating the home with large Christmas ornaments, garland and lights that can bring a brilliant look to any room.

Gather a few ornaments together that are the same color or that compliment each other when they are beside each other, and place them in a large bowl. A wooden bowl usually looks best, especially if you want a natural theme in the room. However, glass will also work so that lights in the room can pick up on the shine from the ornaments. Place the bowl on a kitchen table, end table or coffee table, changing the colors and adding strings of garland at different times of the year. You can change the colors to match the holiday, such as green for St. Patrick’s or red and blue for the Fourth of July.

Create a beautiful wreath with some of the larger ornaments that you have and leftover tinsel. This is another project that you can change the colors on according to the time of the year. Place the finished wreath above a fireplace, on the front door or on a wall that doesn’t seem to have many other decorations so that it can be the center of attention. Ribbon can be tied on the spokes of a chandelier with colored balls hanging from each ribbon. This would work best in a dining room if you are hosting a party so that there is a little more color. You can also use the same idea on a ceiling fan pull. Mix balls of different sizes together, gluing them so that they form a large display. Add silver garland in the middle of the balls before attaching the decoration to the light or fan pull.

Another idea is to create a colorful display inside an old window frame. Hang the frame on a wall or on the front door with a few extra decorations along the edges. Metallic balls and a little ribbon also make an adorable gift wrap accessory.

Speakers for Homes

I am not sure if I have been to any home lately that did not have some quality speakers. Every home needs to have something quality in order to listen to music and watch movies. A good example of quality speakers are carvin speakers. Such speakers are good enough to make even the most demanding people happy with the choice that they made.

Good Entry Doors

Are you going to be putting your home on the market in the near future? If so, you need to make sure it looks as good as the day it was built. This is the only way to ensure that you will get the highest possible offers for your home. There are many ways you can go about improving your home in preparation for selling it. The things that you decide to improve will really depend on what needs to be fixed. Here are some useful tips about how to improve your home before selling it.

1. Inspect your home

You will need to perform a thorough inspection of your home. This will allow you to determine what needs to be fixed. Make a list of problem areas during your inspection. You can then determine which of these areas needs to be improved before you can begin to show your home to potential buyers. Arrange the list of problems in order of importance. A problem that is in your utility room and out of public view will obviously not be as important to fix as a large crack in the middle of your living room wall.

2. Carefully consider the exterior

Do not make the mistake of spending so much time fixing up the interior of your home that you neglect the exterior. Always remember that the exterior of your home will make an extremely important first impression on all potential buyers. This means that the appearance of the exterior will play a very crucial role when it comes to getting the price you are looking for. Pay special attention to all of the entry doors. Have they seen better days? Do they have unattractive scratches and cracks in them? ETO Doors is an example of a company that has a large selection of replacement doors to choose from.

3. Invest in landscaping

It would be a wise decision to have your lawn taken care of by professionals on a regular basis while you are actively trying to sell your home. Overgrown trees, bushes and grass will definitely not impress the people who come to take a look at it. Professional landscapers will cost you some money. However, it will be money well spent and the investment will pay for itself with the higher offers you receive. Hiring a landscaper is especially important if you are physically unable to take care of your yard regularly.

5 tips for moving house like a pro!

Buying, selling and moving home is expensive and time consuming. After countless missed calls and voicemails left with the agent and being squeezed for every last pound, the sale happened and your new life awaits! It was stressful for sure, so instead of early grey hairs here is 5 tips to get you moved with your sanity intact and a lot of extra pennies in the bank!

Do the move yourself

Sure contracting a removals firm is an easy solution but it’s also darn pricey! If you prepare correctly and pull in some favours (make sure to do some nice things for people in advance) you will get it done with ease and your wallet will be all the happier for it. Prices for rentals on vans are cheaper at weekends and this is a time friends and family are usually available too. Always get the biggest van available as one big trip is a lot easier than many small trips.

Plan (way) in advance

Although throughout my life Parkinson’s Law has been a mainstay, it has absolutely no place when achieving tight planning for moving day. I highly recommend mapping out everything needed for the move and using a productivity app like Todoist and Trello.

Declutter and minimalise

There will never be a better time to get rid of the excess clutter in your life. On my last move I donated 320 books to charity. Why had I kept them at all, to show how intelligent I am to guests or to feel accomplishment?. Collecting stuff and materialism can take a strange hold but now is the time to say “no more”, so get rid of that nokia 3310 charger, the left over screws from your IKEA wardrobe and the insurance document from a car you had 10 years ago. Seeing how your boxing things up anyway all those DVD’s and CD’s could probably cover the cost of the van on Music Magpie. For more ideas on having more from less in your life I highly recommend checking out Marie Kondo or The Minimalists.

Packing

For peace of mind and completing the move like a pro you need to arm yourself with sturdy house moving boxes, different colour marker pens, heavy duty tape, bubble wrap, notepads, and a lot of caffeine! Remember that first on is last off, heavy items need to be packed down low and anything important i.e. ID, insurance documents and medication need to packed separately and to hand. Put the kettle on last and on the trip to the new place pick up some fresh supplies for the next tip.

Unpacking

First things first, get a good brew on and survey the lie of the land, then start unloading boxes into their designated rooms. So what next? I always find it helps to do the kitchen first to act as my HQ and after that it’s my bed and bedding so I can hit the hay when I want too. Now here is another great opportunity if you didn’t declutter, why not leave any non essential unpacking and find out what you really do and don’t need over the next few months.

I hope your manage to get the move done with as little stress as possible and the money saved can help with your future plans, remember change is meant to be a positive experience. Enjoy the new home!

How to Play Music

Do you know any tips to make music better? One way to accomplish is to look at this MusiciansFriend tech tips – install givson pickups and learn how you can do such things yourself. There must be many things that can be done for you to enjoy yourself so you’d better make sure that you take advantage of that as much as possible.

Crown Moldings Add Character to Any Room

If you’re looking for ways to add character and style to your home’s interior, consider adding crown moldings. They will enhance any room with beautiful architectural details that give your home a rich look with unique design appeal.

Types of Moldings

Crown moldings are available in a variety of materials such as wood, plaster, fiberboard, and polyurethane. Each material offers advantages and disadvantages based on strength, shape, style and finishing techniques. When choosing crown moldings, it’s important to consider the durability, shape of your room, and the preferred finish.

Wood

Most wood moldings are made from oak or pine. Although pine is the least expensive, oak is preferred because it accepts stain better. The grain in pine is not as uniform, so stains often look uneven and splotchy. Pine looks best when painted or stained with a translucent stain finish. Wood moldings are subject to dents, scratches, and warping and shrinking with temperature changes.

Plaster

Plaster crown molding is the ultimate in elegance, but it’s expensive because it’s typically available only as a custom-made item per a customer’s requirements. As a custom-made product, it can be fabricated with intricate patterns and details that provide a rich, custom look. Due to its rigid consistency, plaster is more difficult to install and can crack easily, but it doesn’t shrink, expand or warp regardless of room temperature and humidity.

Fiberboard

Fiberboard, also called MDF (medium-density fiberboard), is made from a combination of resins and sawdust. It can be stained or painted, but it looks better if painted unless it has a stock wood veneer finish. MDF moldings are less expensive than wood or plaster moldings, and they’re available in a wide variety of sizes and styles. They are easy to cut and install and will not crack, warp or shrink.

Polyurethane

Polyurethane crown moldings are made with a polymer base that provides a durable, strong product. They are inexpensive and easier to install than wood crown moldings. Polyurethane moldings come in a wide variety of stock sizes and styles. They won’t crack, split or chip, but they can easily dent. On the downside, they are best used only for painted applications.

If you’re interested in installing crown moldings in your home, click today to talk to a professional contractor in your area who can help you choose the best material that fits your needs and budget.

Preparing Your Home for Sale

Making the decision to sell your home means that there is work to do. The home must be made presentable to realtors and potential homebuyers. While the home needs to be neat and tidy, it also needs to feel warm and inviting at the same time. A few tips will help you get your home ready for viewing.
Depersonalizing
The difficult part of preparing your home for sale is depersonalizing it. You have spent a great deal of time customizing the home for your family. It makes it difficult for a new family to see the home as their own or picture themselves living in it with personal effects being displayed.
Deep Cleaning
Potential homebuyers like to see a squeaky clean house. This does not mean that you have to deep clean every time you have a showing, just maintain the cleanliness after a deep cleaning. Having the time for deep cleaning is another story. Consider hiring helpers from Minneapolis cleaning services to complete the task. This allows you to focus on other important items of the preparation process.
De-Cluttering
Keeping the home free from clutter is a must. Potential homebuyers do not like to see a cluttered home. It makes them feel as if the home is not cared for and may not have been well taken care of. It also hinders toward a lack of storage in the home. Consider renting a storage unit or obtaining a movable storage container if your home is rather full and there is a lack of storage. Doing so makes the spaces of your home look larger and allows a potential homebuyer to envision their own things in each space.
Landscaping
The first impression of your home comes from the outside. Make sure the home has some curb appeal. Meticulous landscaping is attractive. This does not mean that you have to buy new plants or shrubs, just tidy up what you already have. A few seasonal flowers for pops of color are a good idea too.
Once you make these initial changes within your home to prepare it for sale, make sure it is all maintained. Rushing around to pick-up, clean or even mow the grass makes things hectic when preparing for a showing or open house. When the realtor is scheduling showings outside of the open house times, make sure those times work with the family’s schedule for better impressions with potential buyers.

Three Reasons to Have Your Clogged Drain Cleaned Professionally

The first time you see a drain that is stopped up, your first thought may be to try and clear the drain yourself. The first reaction is to grab a plunger, and this is not a bad idea, but if a plunger doesn’t help, you need to call a plumber to clear the drain. Attempting to do the work yourself is usually a waste of time, and at worse, you may create a bigger problem for yourself. The following are three reasons for this.

Problems using a rotor machine
These are the same machines that a professional will use to clean a drain, but when an amateur attempts to use one, the result can be damage to the property, and you can even sustain injuries. Although they can sometimes be found at local home improvement stores as rentals, they should be avoided, because there is skill in using them. It is possible that the cable can become snagged inside the pipe, and when this happened, the cable can snap. You now have to pay for a damaged machine and call a plumber to extract the broken cable in the drain line. This will be expensive. Simply call an expert plumbing naperville from the beginning, and you will avoid this type of problem.

Clearing a drain from the roof
There are times when it is not practical to clear a drain from the pipes inside the house and the drain must be cleared from the vents on the roof. Knowing when this is necessary is part of the skill set of a plumber. In addition, if you attempt to get on the roof yourself, you are taking a risk of falling. People are injured and even killed falling from their roofs every day in this country. Part of a plumber’s job is climbing ladders to do drain work from the vents on the roof. Let them do their job, so you can stay safe.

Using harmful chemicals
There are several products on the market that claim to clear a stopped drain, but these are made from harmful chemicals. Most of the time they don’t work, and all you have is a sink filled with dangerous chemicals, but the problem is still there. Plumbers do not use these chemicals, so that should tell you something right there. They use drain cleaning equipment that not only unclogs the drain, but cleans the entire drain pipe.

If your drain stops up, try a plunger, but after that, call a plumber. Anything more than a plunger and you are wasting time, money, and even putting yourself in danger.

3 Reasons Why You Should Get Your Home Tested For Mold

Mold is a more common problem than many homeowners would care to believe, which means that testing for mold is something that should be done each year. You can usually find a mold testing company’s website that offers the opportunity to “click here for special pricing” to save money on your mold test. However you get your mold test done, it is important that you have your home checked at least once a year for this elusive issue.

Preventing Health Problems

Certain types of mold can cause respiratory issues, and various forms of black mold can even be fatal if it is not removed from your home. When mold sits in your home, your family is breathing in the mold spores that cause health issues. You do not need to be able to see mold for it to be causing health issues with your family, which makes an annual inspection that much more important.

Stopping The Spread Of Mold

When mold starts to form, it can spread quickly if it is not stopped. You could have a serious mold infestation in your house that you do not see until the day you are told that you have to leave your home because the mold is so prevalent. An annual mold test will prevent any of those problems from happening, and it will help you to keep your mold issues under control.

Fixing Unseen Damage

Water is what primarily causes mold, and water can also do a great deal of damage to the wood frame and drywall in your home. When you get your home tested for mold once a year, the technicians can point out areas where mold is forming, and inform you of repairs that can be done to prevent mold. Something as simple as having a leaky pipe replaced can not only stop the damage being done to your home’s wooden support structure, but it can also save you money on your water bill as well.

Mold in your home does not have to be a major problem if you get an annual inspection done by a qualified organization. When you take care of mold problems, your family breathes fresher air, and you can save money by taking care of those little home repairs that you would normally never see.

How to Sell Your House Quick

In a down economy, selling a house might prove to be a challenge as not that many people might be willing to buy from you due to the crisis. One way to avoid this might be to lower the price of your house, but if this isn’t an option you might want to try several tricks to convince all your potential buyers that your house is something that they simply need to have.

Below are a few ideas to help you to sell your house quick. I will list only some of them as there are many tips and tricks you can use in order to make sure that your house sells fast and without that much hassle.

1. Consider renovating your house first. This should be especially an enjoyable task if you enjoy DIY projects. Simple remodeling can make a huge difference when it comes to the first impression your buyers get when they visit your home for the first time. You simply don’t get a second chance at that.

2. Consider selling your house to an investor. It turns out that people who need to sell their home quick in Baltimore, MD might prefer to go to an investor who will be more than happy to buy a house from them rather than try to sell their house on their own. This is one of the most important things when it comes to selling your house: selling your house as fast as possible so that you can move on as quickly as possible. The right investor will take care of your home the way nobody else will.

3. I know that it might sound obvious, but making your house more presentable is a great way to attract potential buyers to buy from you. All it takes some time is a little bit of cleaning here and there can already make a huge difference between selling or not selling your home.