3 Ways to Organize Your Home For Optimal All-Around Health

Year after year, many of us pledge to have a healthier year. Whether it’s for weight loss, better habits, or overall wellness, more often than not it feels like by the second or third month we fall off the wagon. While we may not always notice it, a lot of the time we put ourselves in a position destined for failure. Maybe we continuously keep sugary sweets in our pantry or focus more on a comfy place to lay down as opposed to a space for working out. In order to keep up our resolutions of healthy living, we need to optimize the environment around us for success. There are many modifications that we can do to our homes whether it's a house, a condo, or an apartment that can help us achieve our health goals.

Workout Space

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a gym membership or a fully stocked home gym in order to get a good workout. Organizing just a small section of your living room, bedroom, or home office with some simple pieces of equipment like a yoga mat, a couple weights, and a jump rope is all you need. If you feel like you want a little more, there are easily installable pull-up bars that can hang over the door frame. There are plenty of at-home workouts available on YouTube, Google, or even in an app on your phone. Some of which are even equipment-free! Using bodyweight to train has been shown to provide just as good of a workout as using weights. Making working out accessible and easy is the first step to integrating it into our lifestyle. If getting a workout becomes difficult to access and hard to complete, chances are we won’t even start in the first place. Additionally, choose a workout that matches your fitness level. While it’s good to push yourself, if you start with something too intense, you may feel defeated and not want to continue on.

Make Healthy Eating Easier

The kitchen can be a place where all dreams of healthy living can go to die. For many of us, eating well is the hardest part. Especially when life becomes chaotic and time seems in short supply, hitting up fast food joints or reaching for overly processed frozen meals can feel like the only option. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Organizing the kitchen to encourage healthy eating is not as daunting as it may seem. The first step is looking in the fridge. Oftentimes we reach for pre-made foods because of their convenience. But pre-made foods don’t always have to be the only convenient option. By pre-washing and cutting all your fruits and vegetables at the beginning of the week, you can make yourself pre-made healthy, unprocessed snacks that are not only better for you, but often less expensive. If you’re anything like me, the second spot to tackle is the pantry. If you’re really trying to cut back on the sugary and fatty snacks, one option would be to not buy them at all. But if you still want the option to treat yourself, try organizing your healthier snacks like nuts and crackers at eye level, and put the rest of the treats up high and out of your immediate eye-line.

Mindfulness Corner

Mental health is just as important, if not more important, than your physical health. Often when we think of living a healthier lifestyle we only really focus on eating well and working out. But having a healthy and happy mind can help elevate our quality of life more than anything else. Clearing out a corner of your home to put together a meditation space is an excellent way to incorporate mindfulness habits into your life. If meditation isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other mindfulness activities that you can do in this special space. You can opt for reading, journaling, listening to music, visualization, or even painting. There are a few easy tricks to make this space different from the rest of your home. Opt for soothing colors, like whites, greys, creams, and even blues to evoke a feeling of relaxation. Try to make it comfortable and inviting, this is a space that you want to be in. If it’s uncomfortable or not relaxing, you won’t want to spend time there. Some people emphasize the importance of scents to promote a feeling of tranquility. Lavender, sage, juniper berry, and yuzu are all essential oil scents that have been recognized for their ability to relax the mind.

Bottom Line

The beauty of home organization is that you can customize it to facilitate any type of lifestyle that you want. Healthy habits can be difficult to instill, especially if we have spent a lot of our lives putting healthy living on the back burner. But by optimizing our surrounding environment to promote wellness both physically and mentally, our goals can be more easily achieved. These are just a few tips to get you started on a healthier lifestyle. There are plenty of other options and modifications that you can choose to personalize your space to your specific lifestyle.

Guest Post - The Most Common Home Improvement Myths Busted

A home improvement project is one of the best things you can do if you want to increase the value of your property. It’s also an ideal option if you're going to reinvest in your home – remodel, renovate, or update it. While you’re guaranteed to reap benefits from improving your home, there are several things you need to consider before getting into action. You need to know precisely what you are doing or are supposed to do. 

Before anything else, you should go around your property and try to assess its overall condition. If possible, have the exterior and interior parts of your home check. Get a professional to do a roof maintenance inspection, HVAC tests, and even furniture and appliance checks. Once you have an idea of what has to be corrected and improved, you can start planning your home improvement project. 

However, some homeowners hesitate to put their plans into action because of some home improvement myths they’ve heard from family and friends. Myths are widely believed stories and ideas, but they are false. To ensure that you don’t fall prey to misconceptions, it’s essential to know what these home improvement myths are. 

Home Improvement Myths 

Do-It-Yourself home improvements will save you money.  

Home repairs are simpler compared to home improvement projects. So, yes, you can do all the DIY repairs you want and save on your expenses. Home improvement, though, is different; it’s more complex because you’re dealing with the entire house, not just parts of it. While there are numerous tips available online, it’s still best to get help from a professional. If you want to be hands-on on the renovations, the two of you can work together. 

If you prefer to do everything on your own, you may end up spending more when things don't turn out the way you wanted them to (ex. when you add more damage to your roof instead of fixing it). 

All home improvement projects are the same. 

What a home improvement project is to you may not be what it is to your friend or neighbor. You might like the updates and changes, but a potential buyer may look at them in a different light. So, if you’re planning to remodel or renovate for future selling, you should hire a good and experienced contractor to ensure that you’re doing the right thing. 

Anything trendy is good. 

Minimalist, Japanese, and Scandinavian-inspired interiors are trends in home designs. While they all make homes look and feel beautiful, they are not for everyone. You have to consider several factors, like does it suit your personal preferences? If you’re married and have children, is it a practical choice?

You shouldn’t base your home improvement choices on what’s popular or trending; you should match them with what you believe is suitable for your home, for you and your family, and your style. Remember, your home is your sanctuary, so it should be something that you would want to be in. 

Instead of focusing on what’s trendy, find time to do some research by visiting showrooms and going through websites and home improvement magazines. It is also important to get advice from an interior designer and a contractor. 

Home improvement projects don’t take a lot of time to finish.

Home renovations are not a 24-hour, two-days, or over-the-weekend thing; it takes time. Some remodeling projects can take a week or more; others may even take months to complete. It usually depends on your home size or how big the renovation project is. 

The best thing to do is work with a home improvement specialist before getting to work. 

Home improvement projects do not require permits. 

Whether you’re doing a simple or extensive home improvement project, it is vital to follow the law. Be sure to get all the information about building permits and other legal matters. Your contractor can help you secure all these and whatever else you might need. 

Wallpapers will solve the problem. 

No, it won’t. Wallpapers are temporary fixes; anything that’s temporary does not solve problems. Also, if you slap wallpaper on the cracks on your wall, you’ll eventually end up spending more than you expected after a few years (or months). 

If you really want to use wallpapers, have the cracks on your walls fixed first and ask someone to help you install them. 

Paint can hide the damage. 

While a fresh coat of paint can hide cracks and other damage to your wall, it cannot fix the problem. The right thing to do is find the root cause of the problem and have them fixed. If you simply cover your wall with paint, the small crack can develop into more serious issues like termites and molds. 

All renovations and improvements will add value to your home. 

Home improvements and renovations will only add value if they are done right, which is why you should work with a reliable contractor. 

Author Bio:

Rachel Porter is the content specialist for Custom Contractors Insurance, LLC, an Arizona roofing and contractors insurance company. When not writing, she enjoys reading and mountain biking with her friends.

3 of the Best Ways To Keep Your Home Workshop Organized

Keeping your workshop organized can be difficult, especially at home. Your workbench is clean one minute and being used for storage space the next. If your workspace is all clutter with no room to work, keep reading for three of the best ways to keep your home workshop organized. With these tips, you’ll be more efficient than ever before.

Take Inventory of Your Tools

The first thing you want to do is assess your tools and equipment. What materials do you need to keep, and what can you toss or donate? If you minimize clutter in the first place, finding homes and storage space for the rest of it will be easier. You can also keep tabs on which equipment is most important for your tasks. You’ll want to keep these tools nearby and within reach, while you can store away less important or more situational equipment for future use. Just make sure to label any boxes for reference when you do need those tools.

Build Upward

Speaking of storage, if your workshop is situated in the garage, the shed, or another confined space, you want to be as smart with your storage as possible. Decrease the use of your precious floor space and foot room by building your storage solutions upwards. Add storage options to the walls by installing shelves, hooks, racks, and pegboards. All of these options are great for organization purposes and for clearing clutter. Plus, you don’t have to sacrifice any of the minimal space you’re working with.

Tool Chest for the Essentials

If you don’t already own one, consider investing in a toolbox or chest to hold your smaller hand tools. Tool chests are great for organizing essential tools such as drill bits, screwdrivers, and measuring devices. Plus, you’ll likely need these items for many of your projects, so keeping them organized and easily accessible is ideal.

Now that you know three of the best ways to keep your home workshop organized, you’ll never have to go searching for a tool again. Clear that clutter and tackle organizing your workshop head on—you'll be glad you did when you see the results.

How to Protect the Pipes in Your Home During All Seasons

Domestic water pipes supply water to most facilities and need protection from adverse weather conditions. In most homes, pipe leaking and incidences of pipe burst occur during the winter due to the freezing of water inside the pipes. Warmer areas are also susceptible to pipe bursts due to insufficient water pipe insulation during frigid weather. A pipe burst can cause colossal damage to individual property. Therefore, homeowners should act once they detect a leak or pipe burst by shutting the gate valve. In addition, homeowners can implement the following tips to protect their pipes during all seasons.

Insulate

Homeowners can offer protection to domestic water pipes by insulating them. Homeowners should wrap insulation material around the line to maintain water temperature above its freezing point.

Repair Frozen Pipes

When the water inside the pipes freezes due to low temperatures, it expands and causes pressure to build up inside the lines, causing the pipe to burst. Therefore, homeowners should have provision for pipe repair to reduce water loss.

Keep the Cabinet Door Open

When the temperatures decrease, homeowners should leave the cabinet open to allow warm air to flow inside the cabinet to keep the water pipe warmer and prevent water from freezing inside the lines.

Detect Leaks

Pipe water leaks can destroy individual property such as carpets and electronics and cause cracking of floors. Therefore, homeowners should deploy technology that will assist in leak detection to correct the problem before it exacerbates.

Leave Your Faucet Running

During the cold period, homeowners should leave water faucets dripping a small volume of water. Although this could increase the utility bill, it helps ease the pressure inside the pipe when water freezes and prevents the line from bursting.

Check Home Temperatures

Homeowners should strive to maintain home temperature above those of the freezing point of water. Homeowners can install a thermostat in their homes to monitor the home temperature and provide a heating mechanism when the temperature drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pipes bursting is a common occurrence in most homes, and it occurs due to lack of adequate planning. During the development of new homes, the owners should seek a local company, like J&S Plumbing Inc to implement mechanisms to protect the water pipes from bursting. This will also enable early detection of leaks and provide repair services. In addition, the partnership will reduce the cost incurred due to bursts of water pipers arising from adverse weather conditions.