Guest Post - How To Keep Your Family Safe From Carbon Monoxide Poisoning From Your Heating System

There is no doubt about the warmth and comfort home heating systems provide us whenever winter comes. It’s hard to imagine living a life without the gas furnaces, water heaters, and boilers that keep us from freezing whenever temperatures take a steep dive. It’s even harder to imagine your heater breaking down in the middle of winter because getting heating system repair can get a bit tough in the middle of a blizzard.

Our heating systems, however, are not without risks. Since there is combustion involved in their operation, they produce carbon monoxide, a gas that is deadly to both humans and pets.

One scary thing about carbon monoxide is the fact that it’s odorless, tasteless, and colorless. In other words, it’s tough to detect. You could have a carbon monoxide leak inside your home and not know it.

The consequences of a carbon monoxide leak are unimaginable, and that’s why you have to take all possible measures to protect yourself and your loved ones from carbon monoxide poisoning from your heating system. Here are a few tips to do just that.

Install carbon monoxide detectors

A carbon monoxide detector is the best way to alert a household that there is, indeed, a CO leak at home. CO detectors are affordable, dependable, and widely available. No matter how small the leak, these CO detectors will pick it up and promptly raise the alarm, which should allow anyone at home to get out to safety.

The best CO alarms are those that you can plug into an outlet and has a battery backup.

Since carbon monoxide tends to stay near the ground, plug your CO detectors—which you should have on every floor and bedroom—into outlets closer to the floor.

Keep your vents clear

Your ventilation systems should be clear of debris so in case of a carbon monoxide leak, the CO can make its way outside and dissipate there. Make sure floor vents, dryer vents, and chimneys are free of any obstruction.

Know the symptoms

The better you know the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, the faster you can act to get your loved ones to safety. Those symptoms include:

• dull headaches

• shortness of breath

• dizziness

• nausea

• confusion

• blurred vision

• physical weakness

Contact your local fire department as well to deal with the CO leak.

Conduct yearly inspection and maintenance

An annual inspection of your heating system by HVAC professionals should help ensure that it’s working perfectly and that there is no danger of a CO leak. If they find small issues that could lead to a carbon monoxide leak, they will immediately deal with it before anything untoward happens in the future.

Michelle West is the Senior Content Editor of Precision Air and Heating, a local AC repair company in sunny Arizona. Michelle enjoys writing about topics that help people all over the country make their homes more efficient and environmentally-friendly.

What Retirement Reveals

So you’re finally retired. Wonderful news! Now you can get to all those books you have been meaning to read, take a trip when and where you want, spend more time with friends, children and grandchildren, and volunteer at your favorite charity. Being retired gives you the freedom to make your own schedule, and also means you will be home a lot more than you were in the past.

However, spending more hours at home means having the time to actually look at your home. Often our retired clients will tell us that after a few months of being home they start noticing how much “stuff” accumulated over the years. Collections from no longer living relatives are in the attic, keepsakes from children are in the closets, a garage filled with old sporting equipment and a basement filled with boxes.

Retirees try to figure out how all these piles took over their space while they were at work. What to do? Where to even begin? Maybe it is time to call a professional organizer.

A professional organizer will come to your space and access the situation. You will get a clear understanding of the time and cost necessary to help you sort, review and organize the areas of your house which are cluttered and could benefit from finished organized systems. A professional can assist you in making hard decisions that can be challenging on your own, such as what to keep, where to donate and how to appraise items which may be of value. Many professional organizers will remove your smaller unwanted items at the end of the session, arrange for donation or junk pick up for larger items and set up a walk through with an auction house for possible sale items.

Organizers have knowledge of the best storage solution for your space.  In addition to containers you may benefit from shelves and other storage solutions. At House to Home Organizing, one of our popular services is our concierge shopping service that makes your life that much easier. Shopping in a crowded store overflowing with options can be stressful. Let us bring the solutions to you.

Retirement can be great for relaxing, but sometimes it can be hard to restart physical activities. It is really important to note that Professional Organizers provide manual labor and momentum which is something everyone needs when reducing clutter. It can be easy to start a project but many people get distracted easily and never finish. Organizing requires serious decision making, focus and energy.

Every job is different as to where to start and the time needed to complete. Having a no charge consult at is a great way to understand the process and the time commitment. Spending more time at home should be a pleasure not a burden. So if you are looking to enjoy retirement, want to spend your time doing the things you love as opposed to de-cluttering, do yourself a favor and call a professional organizer. You will not be sorry!

Guest Post - Smart Space-Saving Solutions for a Small Kitchen

Just because your kitchen is lacking space, it doesn’t mean that you can’t create a well-equipped and beautifully-decorated space. Style and function can be achieved even in the smallest of rooms with the help of just a few nifty tricks and hacks.

Listed below are some of the ways you can maximize the efficiency of your small kitchen without sacrificing its functionality, style or design.

Appliances

When choosing appliances, keep the available floor space in mind. It’s worth mentioning that, nowadays, finding the appliances of various unconventional sizes is much easier than it ever was. Therefore, consider the layout of your kitchen beforehand and explore your possibilities. Two-in-one appliances, such as ranges and combined refrigerators and freezers, are the best way to go when it comes to small kitchens.

Sink

Instead of trying to squeeze in a double bowl sink into your small kitchen, go for the single bowl one. This will not only save you a significant amount of counter space in your kitchen but, thanks to the versatility of such sinks, it will also allow you to completely adjust it to your personal preferences.

Furniture

Fitting all the necessary furniture pieces in a small kitchen, especially if you don’t have a separate dining room, can be a real challenge. That’s why you should go with multipurpose furniture pieces, such as a kitchen bench that can double as a storage space solution, as well as foldable furniture. This way, you can simply fold and store away the furniture pieces when you don’t need them, freeing up additional space you can use for something else.

Other elements

The fact that you have a small kitchen should never be used as an excuse not to include some other important elements. A range hood should definitely find its place in your kitchen and, again, when it comes to size, you’ll have plenty of options to choose from. Additionally, installing a reverse osmosis water filter under the sink will save you space but still provide your housemates with fresh drinking water. Finally, placing a recycle bin inside one of your bottom kitchen elements will make it easily accessible without taking up any additional floor space.

Pantry

Yes, creating a pantry in a small kitchen is probably the last thing you had in mind, but we’re here to tell you that it’s not only possible but practical as well. Instead of designating an entire area of your kitchen to create a pantry, you can make use of all the narrow – usually unused – space you have between, for example, your fridge and the wall. Create a slim, pull-out pantry, add a few wheels on the bottom to make pulling it out easier and fill it up with canned, dried and long-lasting food and other items you’d otherwise put in a regular pantry.

Dishes

In small kitchens, it all boils down to making the most out of the space you have and making everything in it serve as many purposes as possible. So, instead of cramping the space with various storage solutions, consider hanging all of your knives, pans and other kitchen utensils on the kitchen wall. This way, they will be both easily accessible and work as a great kitchen decor.

Lighting

Finally, by properly illuminating your kitchen, you can make it – at least – feel roomier. An overhead lighting fixture is an absolute must, but you should also add task lighting to make the meal prep easier, as well as accent lighting, to enhance and accentuate the wow effect your afore-mentioned kitchen decor is bound to evoke.

As you can see, the actual size of your kitchen is not that important when it comes to creating a beautiful and functional space; the way you use it plays a much bigger role.

Lillian Connors can’t resist the urge to embark on a myriad of green living/home improvement projects and spread the word about them. She cherishes the notion that sustainable housing and gardening will not only make us far less dependent on others regarding the dwellings we inhabit, but also contribute to our planet being a better place to live on. You can check her out on Twitter.

Interview - STYLE ADORN

At House to Home Organizing a large percentage of our clientele are people who are moving. Moving can be stressful and before the move comes another potential stressor, putting the house on the market. We spoke with Tracy Marraccini & Kelly Lapadula of STYLE ADORN about how they can help during the home sale process.

For the busy person, what is STYLE ADORN?

In its essence, STYLE ADORN is a home staging/styling company dedicated to “adorning” or embellishing ones’ home in order to gain a competitive marketing edge in the home selling arena.

We believe that every home has a story to tell, a unique spirit within itself. Our customized design approach takes into account the special nuances of each home, as we strive to create inspiring, welcoming spaces.

In guiding sellers through the stressful process of preparing their home, we often share our philosophy which is “As you evolve, your home should too.” We have found that this idea gives home owners “permission” to let go and prepare for change, as they transition from one home to the next.

What is your origin story, how did you get started?

We met a few years ago at the start of both of our real estate careers. We had an instant connection as we both shared a passion for all of the aesthetics of home sales. As we each started to develop our individual careers as agents, we became increasing aware of the impact of how each home was presented. Separately, we were both getting involved with the staging process and were each becoming a resource for our fellow agents, helping them prepare their listings to hit the market.

While we continued to support each other’s real estate careers, our conversations soon became about how we could collectively fill the need to “showcase” homes to promote quicker sales. The timing felt right too, with both of us seeking opportunities to express our art and design backgrounds. We instinctively knew that our styles complemented on another, and we soon realized that our goals and sensitivities did as well. From these ideas, STYLE ADORN came into full bloom!

Why is staging a home important?

Today’s buyers are savvy and particular, making home staging more relevant than ever. When a buyer walks into a home, they are seeking an emotional connection. We are able to address the psychological component of home buying by creating a lifestyle element people can envision themselves “stepping into” and enjoying. In conjunction with this is idea, is the fact that today’s search engines are a driving force in real estate sales. As this is the case, we are very focused on how our staged homes are presented and marketed on-line. While conducting their on-line searches, buyers are making quick decisions as to which properties they will consider, further emphasizing the need to capture their attention.

For these reasons, home staging has become a critical component in promoting the sale of ones’ home.

How involved is the home owner in the process?

With regards to homeowner involvement, it really depends upon the particular situation. If a home is unoccupied, we generally go in without any restraints, and are able to create visually stimulating spaces.

When the homeowners are living in their home, we are sensitive to the fact that it can be intrusive to come in and rework their personal space. Most people love their home, value their belongings, and are essentially trusting us with what is likely their largest asset.

We believe that what sets us apart from our competition is that we are flexible and sensitive to each homeowners needs as they prepare to sell their home. With this in mind, we often will incorporate a homeowners valued pieces into our design plan. Allowing them to have input ultimately creates a comfort level with our clients, as well as a space that truly reflects the inherent features of what makes a home a “home!”

What have been some of your favorite projects?

We have been very fortunate in that we have had the opportunity to work in a variety of different style homes, all with unique challenges. For example, one home was new construction with an unconventional layout. Buyers were confused as to how to utilize the spaces, so we were tasked with helping to define the rooms by staging them. Once staged, that home went into contract within days.

Another project involved a mid-century home that hadn’t been updated at all. We were able to incorporate some of the homeowner’s pieces with our modern pieces to create a cool vibe.

But probably our favorite project was one where the homeowners were extremely cooperative and very accommodating, allowing for maximum creative freedom. They were open to all of our ideas and suggestions regarding new paint color and replacement light fixtures, which yielded a dramatic transformation.