5 Electrical Safety Tips Every Homeowner Needs To Know

As a homeowner, it's essential to understand that there are several safety concerns relating to your home's electrical system and appliances. Your electrical system is present in almost every space of your home. There are five electrical safety tips every homeowner needs to know.

1. Protection for kids. Take note of any unused outlets in your home. If ignored, they can cause serious harm to children. You can prevent an electrical shock by using plastic inserts to cover the outlets, which will also save energy by cutting down on drafts. You should also hide cords and keep all dangerous electrical devices are out of reach of children.

2. Fuses. If a fuse in your home blows, it is essential to turn off any appliance that is on the same circuit as the blown fuse. A fuse often blows when there is a power surge or a disruption in the electrical flow. You can protect your valuables by using a surge protector. Just make sure you get the right surge protector for your needs and don't overload it. Furthermore, when you replace the fuse itself, replace it with one with the same rating to avoid any problems.

3. Overload. As mentioned, putting too much strain on an outlet is one of the most dangerous things a homeowner can do. Doing so has caused thousands of fires in American homes. If you notice flickering lights or discolored wall outlets, that may be a sign that you have an overloaded outlet in your home. Reduce the use of all multi-line converters and plug major appliances directly into the wall.

4. Extension cords. There are a few tips for extension cords that you likely have around the house. Always pull the plug itself, not the cord. Removing the plug will prevent fraying and stress on the end of the cord itself. Also, keep extension cords out of wet or damp areas. A situation like that is a recipe for disaster.

5. Fire. If you have to face an electrical fire, it is essential to remember one thing: never try to put it out with water. You run the risk of electrocution and harming yourself even more. Make sure you have a household fire extinguisher with an A-B-C rating. This substance is safe for electrical fires.

Just like any other part of your home, it is essential to pay attention to your electrical system. We hope these five electrical safety tips every homeowner needs to know will help you understand your home’s electrical system a little better and keep you and your family safe for years to come.

The Psychology Behind Staging a House and Selling

When you are selling a home, you might be wondering if it’s worth staging a house or not. Well, according to Forbes, the average staged home sold for 17% more than a non-staged home. The study also cited that staged homes sold 87% faster than non-staged homes. So, it’s worth putting in the time to organize and stage your property before selling it. Here at House to Home Organizing, we can help you stage at a lower cost than a realtor might charge for staging. 

To correctly organize and stage your house, understand what prospective buyers will want and need by understanding the psychology behind staging and selling. Keep the tips and tactics below in mind when staging your home.

1. How to Use Colors

In larger rooms, you want to use warm colors. These warm colors will make people subconsciously think of sunlight and heat. Warm colors are shades of red, orange, and yellow. They should be used in living spaces such as the dining room, living room, and foyer.

Cooler colors such as blue, green, and purple can create a sense of calmness and can be soothing. Just make sure you use lighter shades of cool colors. Also, cool colors give a room more depth and should be used in smaller rooms to help expand them. 

2. Organize in Threes

Use the rule of three when organizing and planning the layout of a room. When staging a house, you should arrange items in three because three is the lowest number to begin a pattern. Human brains like patterns and prospective buyers will tend to gaze longer at items in three compared to even or symmetrical groupings. 

For example, in the living room, you can group the couch, rug, and coffee table as a trio. While in the dining room, you ought to showcase the dining room table, chairs, and overhead light.

You should also consider textures when it comes to the rule of three. For instance, a room can have wood-accented side tables, a blanket with a soft texture, and a metal chandelier or table to giving off a sleek finish.

3. Organize to Minimize 

Millennials make up the largest generational group of buyers (25%). Millennials, and other generational groups to an extent, want minimalism. They would rather spend money on experiences than physical things or objects. Millennials also understand they are paying much more per square footage than previous generations did so they’re looking for smaller homes.

To help appease millennials and others, you should organize to minimize when staging a house. One way minimize is to remove your personal belongings from the household. Prospective buyers want to visualize themselves living in the house, not imagining someone else doing their daily habits like brushing their teeth or making the bed. 

For more tips on staging a house, checkout RentSpree’s visual below:

Safe Indoor Plants

Considering nearly 70 percent of American households have a pet, it’s fair to assume many homeowners are also pet owners. This means when it comes to putting the finishing touches on our homes we have to keep our pups, cats, and other pets top of mind. This can include everything from flooring that can withstand scratching, cabinet hardware that can take the gnawing, and even the indoor plants we keep —  after all, we’ve long turned to greenery to spruce up our space, but how often are we really considering whether it’s pet-safe?

With March marking Pet Poison Prevention Month — and with plants among the top 10 most reported pet toxins, according to the ASPCA — the time is now to reconsider how to help our plants and pets live in harmony. Consider this your gut check that, as homeowners, we needn’t subject our pets to toxins to create a feel-good oasis. We just need to opt for pet-safe plant alternatives. 
To help, Honest Paws curated an ultimate guide to pet-friendly plants and compiled some of them into the infographic here. Scroll through the pet-friendly finishing touches, as well as the health benefits of incorporating both pets and plants into your abode.

Tips To Help You Choose The Right Glass Repair Company

Considering that many parts of our home are made of glass or have glass components, it’s only right that we have a glass repair company we can trust.

After all, our glass windows, doors, cabinets, coffee tables, balcony railings, walls, and shower boxes could break at any time for a variety of reasons.

With a reliable glass repair company on our speed dial, repairing or replacing damaged or broken glass in our homes should be fast and easy enough.

If you don’t have a trusted glass repair company just yet, here are some tips to help you choose the right one for your needs.

Check For Proper Licenses

It doesn’t matter if you’re seeking someone to fix damaged glass fixtures at home or perform windshield replacement and repair. If you need glass repair or replacement done, it’s incredibly important that you choose a company that is actually licensed to work with glass.

Never hesitate to ask a glass repair company for proof of their licensing. Since licensing requirements may differ from state to state, it’s always best to check with concerned government agencies to see if the company you’re eyeing meets them.

Make Sure They’re Insured

Given the risk that comes with working with glass, you would want the glass repair company you’re dealing with to have contractors insurance coverage.

As long as the company is insured, you won’t be held liable for any injury or property damage that might occur while its workers are doing glass work inside your home.

As with licenses, always ask for proof of insurance coverage, such as a copy of their contractors insurance policy.

Check If It Has An Updated Website

Today, just about every company in all industries has a website.

If a glass repair company doesn’t have one, you might want to skip it and move on to another company that has a presence online.

A website is essential for a glass repair company since it provides them a platform to inform audiences about their services and corresponding rates.

They can also use their website to offer quotes to potential customers. If you want more information about residential glass, a glass repair company can post relevant content to its website to answer your questions and solve your glass-related problems.

Find Out Their Reputation For Customer Service

Some glass repair companies may have the most experienced and highly-trained technicians in their employ but are way behind the curve when it comes to customer service.

A glass repair company that doesn’t charge you for fixing a window they incorrectly installed provides good customer service. The same goes if it promptly answers all your queries regarding your replacement glass options. Offering a free in-person estimate for the job is also part of excellent customer service.

If you have a few glass repair services in mind, you can start by finding out how good—or bad—their customer service is.

You can ask friends or relatives who have hired them before. You can also check out business review sites where past customers have no qualms about telling the truth about their experience—customer service or otherwise—working with a particular company.

Check If They Work With Your Insurer

As long as the damage to a glass window or door was caused by a covered peril like a windstorm or fire, your home insurance will pay for its repair or replacement once you file a claim.

However, before making arrangements with any glass repair company, you have to inquire whether they work with your insurance provider or not.

If your insurance coverage is no good to the glass repair company you’re eyeing, but you avail of their services anyway, you will have to pay them out of pocket.

If you don’t like the idea of shelling out money for the job, you can always try to find a company that will work with your insurer.

Finding the best glass repair company for your needs takes some time and effort, but putting in that kind of work has its rewards. Once you check all the boxes, you can be sure that the glass repair or replacement job they’ll be doing for you will go smoothly and quickly.