Serving Eastern Pennsylvania, Central and Southern New Jersey, and Delaware
Serving Eastern Pennsylvania, Central and Southern New Jersey, and Delaware
So, everyone wants to go on a vacation, even the band, the Go-Go’s, as heard in their song, simply titled…”Vacation”!
However, with gas prices and flight costs rising, taking a simple summer vacation has gotten to be a lot more expensive. Add in paying for meals and entertainment and say goodbye to even more of your hard earned money.
Oy vey…what a headache! Why not forgo all that stress, save some money, and instead have a Staycation in your very own home!
Merriam – Webster defines a Staycation as “a vacation spent at home or nearby”. Turn your home and backyard into an outdoor oasis that everyone in the family will enjoy. Think about how a hotel is set up and organize your home as such, for the whole summer or even for just a week!
Start in the kitchen:
Set up an island or part of a countertop for a breakfast buffet/snack bar like you would find in a hotel chain. Set out those single serve cereal boxes, some fruit and granola bars; maybe even whip up a large amount of pancake batter. Buy an inexpensive waffle maker and you can have fresh waffles every morning! Since you are saving money by staying at home, splurge a little here. Find melamine dishes and bowls and acrylic cups, and stash your everyday dishes and cups up on a higher shelf. Tie them together with a bright tablecloth and you have a fresh new look. When you decide to eat al fresco, just take those items outside!
Head into the great outdoors:
After a nice breakfast head outside for the next phase of the day. If you are in the mood to relax then set yourself up on your patio or lawn. Put on some music, bring out your favorite books and/or magazines, and even work on a hobby that you’ve been neglecting. Keep a cooler filled with your favorite beverages and you’ll be set! If you are in the mood to get out of the house, then use those at home days to figure out where to go. If you don’t have a pool at your home or community, consider a membership to a local pool. Or maybe you’d rather go shopping; an outlet center is a great way to spend a day and most offer coupons for additional savings. Another idea is to become a tourist in your own city. So often, our lives get so busy that we can’t appreciate the historical areas and landmarks that our own city has to offer.
End in the bedroom:
Use as a sanctuary to rest and recharge after a busy day outdoors. Put crisp linens and a light comforter on the bed in soothing beach colored neutrals. Try to keep it as a technology free area, which shouldn’t be too hard, because most TV shows are on reruns! Keep a book on your night table and read that instead.
However you decide to spend your Staycation, take the time to savor every minute of the day. Push aside obligations and expectations and put the focus on you. You deserve it!
Garages tend to become the dumping ground during the winter. But the best thing about organizing the garage is that if we do a really good job, it usually stays that way for at least a year. In reality, families use garages as storage facilities rather than a place for the car. That stuff can include obsolete electronics, delayed decisions about where to put something, overflow from the house, and unneeded building supplies. Since the whole family probably uses the garage, bring everyone together and make it a family affair. Let’s break it down:
START WITH A CLEAN SLATE AND UNCLUTTER
STAY IN THE ZONE
TYPE OF STORAGE/SYSTEM
Finally, if you enter your home through the garage make sure it’s clutter-free and welcoming. Hang a welcome home sign, clean the door, and put a nice door mat in place. You deserve a nice welcome home!
And remember: “Every time you put something back where it belongs, it’s a gift to yourself.”
Looking for a way to shed a few pounds this summer? If you start with your home, you will gain more than weight loss benefits. Consider the excess weight that is in your home in the form of clutter. Clutter not only adds pounds, but drains your finances and takes a toll on you and your family – physically, mentally and emotionally.
Take a guess at the approximate weight of these items (answers below):
By taking time to de-clutter your home this summer, you will enjoy these benefits.
Physical
Mental & Emotional
Financial
Shed some weight in your home this summer and you might find that the space you create promotes healthy changes in other areas of your life.
Answers to above: 1) 30 pounds 2) 15 pounds 3) 17 pounds.
Selling your home? Put your best foot forward from the very start!
“You never get a second chance to make a first impression” are words of advice often attributed to Will Rogers. If you are planning to put your house on the market, now is the time to take heed.
The Facts
Putting in the time and money before listing a house pays off – literally. The more time your home spends on the market, the more it will cost YOU. Alternatively, the quicker the sale, the more money you walk away with. See some startling statistics on the benefits of home staging on realestateagentu.com.
Starting off on the right foot is worth more than you may have thought. Sure, you may be able to sell your home “as-is”, but if you are hoping to get the highest value, putting in the extra effort prior to listing it is a must.
What can you do to quickly prepare your home for sale? Here are three things to tackle.
1. De-clutter and Clean
De-cluttering and cleaning are two different things and they BOTH need to be done. Barbara Ballinger, author of several books on real estate, architecture and remodeling, warns “Many buyers equate clutter with messiness and disrepair, and they may quickly move on to the next listing.” If you want folks to know that your home is not going to be a headache or money pit for its next owners, make it shine! I know that you use your toothbrush every day but your buyers don’t want to see it. And sure, the dryer lint gets all over the top of the dryer. You have kids – of course there is stuff around! But trust me: Clear out the clutter, put things away, store extra stuff and clean (or hire house cleaners) before the first showing.
2. Downsize and Organize
Step it up a notch! Do you want to really make an impression that will put your home ahead of the one down the street? Downsize and organize. Your stuff may be out of sight at first glance. But the minute a closet is opened (and closets will be opened), buyers might be concerned about a lack storage space. According to Realtor.com, “Even if your house is clean, having things crammed in every nook is a visual turnoff.” This is the time to pack up out-of-season items and extra decor for a while. Don’t overlook the furniture in this process. The more floor space that can be shown, the larger your home will look and feel.
3. Odors and Fragrances: Yes or No?
How your house smells makes a visceral impression on home buyers. If they walk in and it smells like Mom’s apple pie, it can help them feel “at home” and make the house more attractive. If they smell cat, dog or last night’s fried chicken, it may be a turn-off. Many people are sensitive to odors. Even scents that you love might turn them off. While your home is on the market, avoid frying food, wearing strong perfume or lotion, and using strong-smelling cooking spices. Since you may be “noseblind” to the regular smells in your home, ask a friend, neighbor or your real estate agent to give you honest feedback about any odors they smell when they enter. A few drops of cinnamon, lavender or citrus essential oil can help.
Show buyers that your home is worth the value of your asking price and they will clamor to be the next owners!
Professional Organizers have tips to streamline your daily activities and food prep in the kitchen.
Going a step farther, I wanted a few tips from a professional chef. Chefs know how to prepare beautiful and safe food. Cross-contamination and improper temperatures can mean the difference between life and death.
Chef Michael Sultan of Revolution Taco gave me four simple tips:
We know professional organizers love label makers; labeling food is an easy way to ensure you’re not eating expired food. When the health department goes into a commercial kitchen, one of the first things they look for are labels with dates. So why aren’t we doing this at home? Labeling is as simple as using masking tape and a Sharpie. When you return from the grocery store, write the date on your purchases. After making dinner, label leftovers with the name of the dish and date before putting in the fridge or freezer.
Once things are labeled properly, it will be easy to follow the “first in, first out” rule. First thing in the fridge should be the first thing out of the fridge.
If you pay attention to dates and plan meals accordingly, you will save food, money and space.
Everyone has food staples they stock in the fridge. Mine are garlic, onions, rice and tons of hot sauces. Others may have eggs, milk, lunch meat, cheese and yogurt. Whatever yours are, it can be helpful to keep an inventory sheet of must-have items. Restaurant owner, Mike explained, his menu generally stays the same aside from specials. He keeps an inventory of things he always needs on hand so any employee can order food.
Mike recommends typing and laminating the inventory, and posting it on the fridge. Keep a dry erase marker handy to mark your laminated Inventory Sheet. When someone uses the last drops of milk in their coffee, they can put a checkmark next to ‘milk.’ That way, whomever does the shopping knows what to get. Leave space at the bottom to add extra items, take a photo of your Inventory Sheet before running to the store and you’ll have a foolproof shopping list!
Proper food storage is crucial to avoid cross-contamination and foodborne illness. If you only take away one thing from this post, remember to store raw meat at the bottom of the fridge. To prolong freshness, make sure raw meat is tightly sealed with as little air inside as possible. If you aren’t sure how tight the seal is, put it on a plate to avoid dripping and therefore contaminating other surfaces or food. Label and date packages so there is no guesswork on freshness.
I confess – the chef I interviewed is my boyfriend, Mike. Before I adopted some of his foodie chef habits, my fridge was the place food went to die. Now I have a clean, spacious fridge and save money because I am not tossing food I forgot to eat in time.
If you use these four chef-approved tips, you too can have a safe and streamlined kitchen!
After a bitter winter, the trees are flowering, the temperatures are climbing, and the sun is shining. You know what that means. People start visiting!
As surely as everyone mysteriously disappears during the cold weather, they reappear in force after the thaw. They want to drop by for coffee, hosting wine and cheese parties, and throw barbecue parties at the drop of a hat.
I have two major beliefs in life. The first, as an organizer, I believe in being proactive. Nothing feels better than opening your door to unexpected guests feeling prepared. Second, carpe diem, enjoy or seize the moment. We never know what life has around the corner. To live without regrets means to open your door to opportunity now.
Does your home need a little organizational catch up? No worries. You’re not alone, and you still have time.
If entertaining is your priority, begin with your “public spaces.” By that I mean, any spaces guests would normally walk through during a visit: foyer, the living room, kitchen, dining room, and powder room.
Next, list those rooms in order of priority. You may want to start with the easiest first. Accomplishment breeds motivation. Tackling one room at a time, methodically work your way around the room.
Instead of mentally searching for each item’s purpose, try looking at the reverse thought pattern. Ask yourself, “When was the last time I used this?” This is truly the best way to predict the usefulness of an object.
You will want 4 bags for things: 1) staying in the room, 2) going elsewhere in your home, 3) things being donated, and 4) things being tossed. You may also consider selling items. The desire to do so varies from person to person. Selling things via consignment stores, Craig’s List, eBay, or other sources is up to the individual. Always consider the time involved and shipping expenses in each transaction versus the estimated value of the items being sold. Another consideration is safety. Do your homework. Research safe practices. Take the same safety precautions when selling a $15 item as you would with a $1,500 item.
When you’re finished sorting a room, take a moment to place the items you selected to remain in the room. Find homes for the things going elsewhere. Put the bag(s) of donations in the car, and toss the trash(s). Then, begin room two.
It’s much easier to maintain order when a room is fully organized than if it’s partially complete. In addition, it’s easier to maintain order if we have organization “behind the scenes.” This refers to drawers, closets, cubbies, etc. If everything has a place to go, and that place is convenient, organization is easier to maintain. Storage spaces should always allow a little room to grow. Nobody likes shoving things into a tightly packed drawer. Order will deteriorate quickly.
Adding ten minutes of organizing maintenance time to each day helps keep that clutter at bay. It’s similar to brushing your teeth to maintain oral health, or exercising to maintain your fitness. A few minutes of putting things in their place each day goes a long way.
Lastly, make a list of pantry items that won’t soon perish and add them to your grocery-shopping list. Soft drinks, wine (if you imbibe), nuts, cheese, etc. If you always have fruit in the house, all these items can quickly be thrown together for a spontaneous visit. Do you have a favorite play list of music you can delegate to someone in the family? If not, go to www.pandora.com to select some background music.
Embrace the unexpected. Your guests will think you’re so organized.
