Top Tips and Ideas for Improving Your Home This Year

May 21, 2020 Leave a Comment

Owning a home is one of the most exciting things you can do in life, and the home is such an excellent asset to have these days. Now, there are a lot of things you are going to need to get right and focus on as best you can moving forward. You want to be sure you are making the best decisions to help the home improve and get better. This is something you need to make sure you make the most of right now. 

 

You are going to need to take steps right now to protect the property and improve it as much as you can because there are so many benefits to doing this. Try to think about the best ways of being able to factor this into your daily routine. Anything you can do to make the home better and more impressive is important, and there are a lot of things you can do to achieve this moving forward. Here are some of the key ideas and hints that will help you to make the best possible home improvements right now. 

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Extend the Property 

 

Extensions are one of the best ways of being able to improve the home and make the right sorts of changes that can help you with this. Now, there are a lot of people who have different ideas of how you can go about achieving this, and one of the key things is that you can choose to extend the property. Now, there are a lot of factors that you have to keep in mind when you are looking at some of the best ways of achieving this, and something like a conservatory or an orangery would be the ideal way of being able to get this sorted right now. 

 

Make Repairs

 

There are bound to be things all over the house that need to be repaired, and this is another excellent way of being able to improve the home. You are bound to be able to find plenty of things all over the home that could be repaired or fixed, and this is an essential way of being able to improve the home. Sometimes you’ll want to bring in professionals for this, but there are also plenty of home repairs you can do yourself, and there are a lot of YouTube tutorials you can check out to help you when it comes to improving this as much as possible. 

 

Increase Security

 

You also need to look at how safe and secure your home is and take steps to improve and increase this as much as possible. There are plenty of modern home security tips you need to keep in mind when it comes to improving and assessing the best ways of being able to take things to the next level. Installing security systems, upgrading locks, and lighting up the home are just a few of the great ways of being able to factor in what it takes to get this right as much as possible. 

 

Pest Control

 

Something else that is worth considering when it comes to making your home better is to look at dealing with pests and controlling their influence on your home. This is something you need to make sure you get right as much as you can, and it can make a massive difference moving forward. Stuff like termite damage repair is essential for the future of the property, and you need to make sure you do as much as possible to improve things moving forward, and to try to work on making the most of this right now. Pest control matters a great deal, and this is something to keep in mind for the home moving forward. 

 

Get a New Kitchen

 

The kitchen is the crown jewel of the home, and it is essential that you have the best kitchen you possibly can. Try to do as much as possible to focus on making the right decisions for the home, and revamping your kitchen is one of the best ways of being able to do this. Try to come up with ideas that will let you make the right changes for the home today, and something like an open plan kitchen can transform your home to completely new heights and will have massive advantages for you when it comes to selling the home in the future as well. 

 

Repaint the Home 

 

You might be surprised by what it takes to make a massive difference in your life, and you might also be shocked at the impact that repainting your home can have on the property. Make sure you do as much as possible to focus on making the right changes. A fresh coat of paint can transform the home and make it look brand new, not to mention bright, vibrant, and welcoming. So, you have to do as much as possible to look at how you can repaint the property right now, and the best paint color scheme to use moving forward. 

 

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Add Value

 

Anything you can do to add more value to the home is something that you need to look into right now, and this is really important. Try to make sure you take steps right now to help you achieve this, and you can use a number of the ideas we’ve already mentioned to help you. Another huge way of being able to add value to the home is to look at how you can be more energy-efficient in your life. 

 

Take the time to do as much as possible to help your home improve and grow. There are so many wonderful things you can do that are going to make a big difference here, and this is something that you need to keep in mind. The more you can do to make the most of this, the better it will be for you moving forward. You will be in a position to improve your home, and you will be able to add value to it at the same time. Try to do as much as you can to get this right, and work on improving things for the future right now. 

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Top Home Security Tips

May 13, 2020 Leave a Comment

How do you feel when you are at home? Safe? Secure? We all want to feel this way in our own homes and the thought of an intruder in your home is likely to make your blood run cold.

Making sure you are security conscious in all areas of your day to day life will help you to make sure your home and all your personal belongings are safe from would-be burglars and intruders whether or not you are home or away.

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Keep on Top of Repairs

If you have noticeable damage to external windows or doors, then this can prove appealing to those who make a living from stealing other people’s possessions. The easier you make it for others to gain entry to your home, the higher the risk of falling foul of those who wish to cause you harm.

Make sure to keep on top of damaged windows or window frames to eliminate unwanted invitations. Make sure you check all doors and windows fittings and locks to ensure they are doing what they are supposed to be doing and helping to keep your home as secure as possible.

Fit Security Systems

From alarms on doors and windows to full smart home refits, there are many options these days when it comes to upping your at-home security to protect everything you have in the four walls of your home. Incorporate biometrics by utilizing fingerprint door locking systems and video doorbells so you can see who is knocking at our door and on your premises. Install alarm systems that are less intrusive and have noise alerts for movement and noise when you are away from home as well as a temperature monitor.

Light It Up

Burglars love the darkness. It makes sense that a lot of home intruders pounce under the cover of night. So, light up your outside space with sensor lights that detect movement and come on automatically. Solar lights that charge by sunlight and be left on during the night in gardens or on patios and fences. Aim the light at the more hidden areas of your home such as garages, side paths as well as lighting up areas closer to the house itself to deter anyone trying to sneak in.

Check Your Habits

Be aware of your surroundings when going about your day to day life. Take notice of others around you when you leave home or come back. Try not to leave keys in doors whilst you nip in and out again with shopping. Or indeed keys in cars or even engines running to warm the car up or if you have to get back out if you forget something as you leave home. Opportunist thieves thrive off this kind of chance and won’t hesitate to make you regret that split-second decision.

Make yourself aware of what you do and how you do it help you become more security conscious and change your habits to better protect yourself and your home.

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Protect The Health of Your Family and Home with these Tips

February 25, 2020 Leave a Comment

There is nothing more important than making sure that your home and family are healthy, safe, and secure. This can be done in a great many numbers of ways. The way the house is set up has a great effect on mental and physical health, so neglecting the home can cause issues. So it is important that you ensure that you cover all the bases in terms of health and safety. Problems may not arise immediately; however, over time, you can start to see the detrimental effects of certain things you have overlooked. At times, this is not your fault, as many dangers are hidden, and you may need to do a bit of research. However, as we know that you are busy and have other things to deal with, we have come up with some home improvement tips and advice about safety to help you out.

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Natural light

If your home does not allow in much natural light, over time, it will start to have a negative effect on your mental health. Natural light is a mood enhancer and can ward off some mental health illnesses. If your home is quite dark, think about moving any bulky furniture away from the window, so the light you do have is able to travel into the house better. It may be an idea to put mirrors up strategically in the home so that the light can be reflected and rebounded around the home better. This will also give the impression of more space so that you feel less oppressed. Overall the more light you allow in, the better you will feel.

 

Safety and security

If you do not have any instruments in place to protect against intruders, you should do so. Not only will this protect you, but it will give you some much-needed peace of mind if you happen to go away and the children are at home, for example. Think about investing in security lights and a burglar alarm to deter anyone if they tried to break and enter. Also, do you secure your door with a deadbolt when you are inside if not, you should? It may be worth getting a video security having the ability to watch the safety of the house from your phone. Also, you definitely need insurance. It would help if you had this on your house, contents, and car, you may want to have a look at the auto insurance comparison, to get a better deal. 

 

Don’t allow dust to build-up

You may think of dust as just a harmless annoyance which every so often you have to wipe away with the polish cloth. And for the most part, that is true. However, dust can cause allergies, especially in young children, so it is not as harmless as you may think. Also, it may also contain some other nasty surprises that are best kept at bay. These include some toxic particles and some chemicals as well, including things such as lead, asbestos, other fire retardants, bits of plastic, and pesticides, along with a whole load of other things. Over the year, the house, especially if it is old, will have accumulated a lot of dust from various sources, and in the past, the rules were not as tight as they are now about things. Many of these harmful chemicals pose a significant threat to babies and young children due to the fact that they are still growing. It is in your best interest to consider removing carpets and having a non-carpet alternative laid down if your home does have a dust problem. Failing that, it is best to buy a state-of-the-art dust eliminating vacuum cleaner. 

 

Test what you don’t know

The good news is that in this day and age, there is a test for everything. So if you are concerned about toxins and chemicals, then you do have a line of defense. They are not particularly expensive, and you buy them at the local hardware store or on the internet. One of the main particles to look out for is lead. Prior to 1978, lead was used in paint, so houses renovated or made before this year may still have coats of lead paint. If you have any areas where the paint is thicker than usual, then old paint may have been painted over, and the under layer may contain lead. So it is best to check it out. As the paint ages, it will flake, and tiny pieces of dust-sized lead paint will merge with ordinary dust and be breathed in, etc. Lead is of particular danger to the unborn child of pregnant women. If the Mother inhales too much lead, the fetus may suffer some irreversible side effects, such as brain damage. Also, if young children are exposed to too much lead, they can develop developmental issues as well. If you think that lead may be an issue in your home, don’t think about it, get it tested, and get it removed. Another major concern is radon gas. This problem can affect any home of any age, size, etc., it is a very non-discriminatory poison. It is a colorless and odorless gas that can cancer and is the second-largest cause of lung cancer after smoking. It is a byproduct of certain geological processes that go on under the ground as soil and rock degrade. You can buy a test kit if you are worried. Another thing you should probably test is the water. Although water out of the tap does go through some filtration, if there is something in the old pipework, then you need to test at home. If you do discover something, maybe purchase a specialist water filter, or drink only bottled water. It may even be a good idea to test for asbestos on ceilings. If you know what is in the house, then you can make a well-informed decision about what to do going forward. The health and safety of everyone in the home should be your primary concern. 

 

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Get An Easier Home Life By Doing These 4 Things

June 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

The family home is more than just a house. It is the center of operations for the family unit, and even the busiest families spend a great deal of time there. But is your home setup to work for you and your family in the best way possible? Or it causing you unnecessary stress? Read on to find out.

Improve safety

One thing that can cause anxiety and stress in family life, which can contribute to frayed tempers and difficulties is concerns about safety in the home.

This can be inside safety, as in any dangers that might be problematic to the residents like steep stairs, scolding hot water, and slip and trip hazards. It can also refer to security issues such as window and door locks, burglar alarms, and the like.

Obviously, each issue needs to be identified and sorted according to what would be most useful. Inside issues can often be resolved by making small changes such as installing corner bumpers to sharp edges. Or laying rug grip to stop slips and trips, especially helpful if you have lots little ones that sometimes forget that they shouldn’t run indoors.

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Security issue can be a little more difficult to resolve, although things are finally getting easier with the many smart systems now on the market.

One thing to consider is installing CCTV that you can monitor from your phone or laptop. Even when you are out of the country for an added layer of a piece of mind. Also, upgrade windows to contain the best anti-tamper security features to ensure you minimize the risk of a break in as much as possible.

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Replace beds and mattresses  

One thing that we all need is sleep, and without enough of it, we can get stressed and ill. But getting the right amount of quality unbroken sleep is something that eludes many of us. This can be due to lots of different reasons that may need our attention such as an uncomfortable bed, too much light, or getting too hot in the night.

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In particular, getting too hot in the night can seriously affect the quality of our sleep, making it hard to nod off and difficult to not wake up throughout the night. But what can be done about this?

Well, one thing you can do is to change your mattress. This is because some mattresses are much worse at retaining the heat from your body during the night than others.

This is an issue that many people find with memory foam mattresses, but luckily there are now products out there like Nectar mattresses that include a cooling effect. Meaning that they will make it a lot easier to get a good night of unbroken sleep, even in the warmest of conditions.

Something that has the knock on effect on improving your mood and health, so you can be ready for any challenge the family and life throws at you the next day.

Eat at the table

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An incredible small change that you can make to get an easier home life is to bring the family together once a day around the dinner table. Eating a meal at the table instead of on our laps on trays can help improve your family life in all sorts of ways.

Firstly, it allows you to take your time over eating, enjoying your food, and even brings added awareness so you can stop eating when you are full.

Secondly, it a great time to devote to family life, where you can have conversations and catch up with each member of the family. Also checking on how they are doing and offering support if necessary.

Also, this will have a positive effect as you will feel more connected with your partner and kids, and the will feel the same. Giving this undivided attention can also really help when you have children, as then they don’t feel they are fighting for your focus.

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Get organized

There are many home and family blogs out there, extolling the avenues of being organized. All with lots of great tips on how to do. However, not many of the actually explain why being organized is going to make your home life easier.

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It’s because when you know where things are, and you have space to actually live in, you and the others around you are going to be less irritable and less stressed. Thus minimizing arguments.

Also, it’s important to remember here, that being organized isn’t an excuse to be regimented and inflexible. Being organized does take some focus and effort, but it should be done in a compassionate and measured way. As if you are spending all of your time and energy getting everything to be perfect, you will likely create more stress and uncomfort for you and you family. Something that negates the benefits of doing it in the first place.

Get on top of the cleaning

 

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By getting on top of the cleaning, I don’t mean that you have to spend your afternoons off on your hands and knees with a scrubbing brush. Yes, they say cleanliness is next to Godliness, but no one wants to grow up in a home that they are terrified to drop a crumb in, or that has plastic on the couch.

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In fact, the same aware but relaxed attitude applies to cleaning as it does to organization. If you hold on too tight, you won’t get the desired result of stress reduction due to living in a pleasant family home.

Instead, set a reasonable schedule that you can set down and pick up according to how busy you are and your energy levels at the time. It can also help to get the rest of the family to help you.

As not only does this get them to appreciate the work that goes into keeping the family home clean, meaning they will be more careful generally. But it also gets them in a great habit for later on in life as they aren’t going to expect that the magical cleaning fairy will come along and do it all for them when they move out.

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