5 Home Updates to Save on Energy, Time, and Money

It doesn't matter if your current home is a starter residence or a potential forever home. Wherever you live can stand to have a few updates that save your energy, money, and time while you live there. Putting a little work into your home can spare you even more hassle.

Automate What You Can

From smart fridges that help you generate grocery shopping lists to home security systems that let you lock and unlock doors via smartphone, there's practically nothing about your home that you can't automate to some degree. Every step you take here makes your life easier.

Install a Digital Thermostat

Utility costs are one of your home's biggest expenses. A digital thermostat is something you can program for specific settings for heat and cold at different times. Just swinging the thermostat a few degrees can generate big savings on your monthly utility bill.

Maintain Things as Long as You Can

Finding the right repair technicians can help you get more years out of your appliances. Professionals such as Northshore Appliance Repair Inc others provide services you can trust where you live. Effective technicians can fix up your appliances for a lot cheaper than replacing them. The longer you own them, the more money you save.

Plant Some Trees

If you can grow trees where you live, then it's worth considering. They add serious beauty and charm to a property, and they provide shelter for animal life that makes your yard delightful. Those animals are also likely to contribute a lot to pest control on your property. Better yet, trees can provide shade and absorb humidity to keep your home cooler during the summer. They might even break up the wind enough in winter to spare you from frigid blasts.

Embrace the Sunlight

While the shade of trees is something great, so is direct sunlight on your property. You can go big with solar panels on the roof to generate electricity for the whole home. You can also think small with solar-powered yard lights or solar panels you can mount in the windows to help recharge mobile electronics.

Updating your home does take some time, energy, and money. However, the right updates can also save you all three. Knowing specific home updates that accomplish this helps you make the most of your home now and in the future.

Guest Post - How to Protect Your Home’s Exterior From Christmas Decorations

The holidays wouldn’t be the same without festive decor. There’s nothing quite like hanging ornaments on a Christmas tree while seasonal music plays in the background! But what about those outdoor decorations waiting in your storage bins? Read on to learn how to protect your home’s exterior from Christmas decorations, no matter how you prefer to express your holiday joy.

1. Check Your Electrical Outlets

Most Christmas decorations require electricity. Your yard might quickly become covered in snaking extension cords hooked up to outlets around the outside of your home. Although the cords are weatherproof and able to withstand changing temperatures, the outlets may have become damaged over the past year.

Check each outlet to ensure the covering is secure against the wall of your home and that nothing shows signs of wear or tear. Chips along the outlet or visible burn marks may require a visit from a professional electrician. You won’t have to worry about burns along your siding or potential house fires if your outlets get a thumbs up from an electrical expert.

2. Use Removable Mounting Equipment

Instead of nailing lights or other decor to your siding, look for removable mounting equipment that doesn’t make holes in your home. Sticky hooks can hold signs and gutter clips can hold various types of light strings depending on the cord size and bulb weight. Find your decorations before buying mounting equipment so you can feel confident you’re getting the best hanging tools.

3. Rethink Your Lawn Care

Inflatable snowmen and wired reindeer take up lawn space, so they’ll leave brown spots behind when they go back into storage. Brown spots indicate dead grass, but they can also reveal fungal problems. If you have zoysia grass, it’s susceptible to the Rhizoctonia Solani fungal strain that spreads outward from a single point and quickly takes over a yard.

Spray your yard with antifungal solutions now and you’ll prevent outbreaks through the spring. If you’re unsure what will do the job, professional lawn care teams can locate signs of fungus growth and make your yard look perfect for holiday parties.

4. Wear Soft Rubber Shoes

If you want to put decorations on your roof, you can combine your safety with additional home protection. Wear rubber shoes to avoid slipping while positioning decor and you’ll stop your footwear from potentially damaging your shingles. It’s an easy fix that prevents numerous types of damage.

5. Find Decorative Ties

Traditional string lights and garlands look fantastic when they wrap around porch banisters. Unfortunately, they might scratch the paint or crack the wood if they hang by nails or harsh metal wires. Decorative ties are the perfect solution for this problem. They often use soft rope or ribbons to tie decorations to banisters without damaging anyone’s home. You can also use them throughout the year to pull curtains back or hang indoor decorations after the holiday season ends.

6. Use Wire Hangers

When someone puts a wreath on their front door, the wreath might scratch the paint. It happens when wreaths use small hooks or nails to stick closely to a door. Removing the hanging equipment could strip the paint away, but not if you use a wire hanger.

It’s easy to cover thin wire hangers with garlands, a wreath, or ribbons. Use one to hang decorations you already have or make a wreath at home before using the hanger to place it on your door knocker or a nail in your siding. The decorations will hang gently against your home and won’t tear the paint away when it’s time to take everything down in January.

Protect Your Home From Christmas Decorations

Your festive decor doesn’t have to create costly repair projects. Use these tips to protect your home’s exterior from Christmas decorations, and your property will look great without risking any damage.

Author bio: Rose Morrison is the managing editor of Renovated, where she offers advice on home renovation, maintenance, and organization.nd slow-paced lifestyle now, because your little ones will be back in school before you know it!

6 Ways to Make Your New Nooks and Crannies Cozy Quickly

Seniors often move into smaller homes to cut back on costs, eliminate maintenance, or to be closer to family. But even if the move is a much-anticipated event, it takes time to settle into a new house — and this is especially true if you’re running a business while you’re moving. Fortunately, House To Home Organizing is here to share five tips on how to make your new walls feel as welcoming as the ones you left behind.

1. Make safety a priority. Maybe you’ve just begun to notice little twinges of pain when you walk, or perhaps you’re already using a mobility device. Regardless of your current abilities, if you don’t feel completely safe in your new house, you won’t feel at home. Before moving in, evaluate potential dangers such as high bathtub walls and stairs that are too steep. Home Security List explains that simple modifications can make your home much safer. These include grab bars in the bathroom, extra lighting in dim areas, and making repairs to torn or uneven carpet. It’s also important to have your locks changed. Search for locksmiths in your area who get top marks and have been in business for a while. 

2. Consider the things you can’t see. Lead, mold and undiscovered rodent or roach infestations can all trigger health complications ranging from allergies to decreased brain function. The presence of airborne particles can cause respiratory disorders and exacerbate other conditions.  The EPA reports that moving into a new home may cause serious health effects and notes that indoor pollutants may be caused by human activities – you have no way of knowing what went on in the house before you arrived, making this danger almost impossible to determine until it’s too late. ScienceDirect reports that, “Seniors spend 95 percent of their time indoors,” and that means prolonged exposure to potentially toxic air. 

Have your new home’s air checked for issues; even if none are currently present, the easiest and least expensive way to prevent air quality problems is by simply replacing your HVAC filter. Failure to do so will allow harmful dust and debris to pass right through ducts and circulate throughout the interior. If you can’t locate the size, simply use a tape measure to determine each number.

3. Organize your space. One of the best ways to settle into your new home is to get everything organized and put in its place. This includes knick-knacks and decorations you want to show off (more on that in a minute). If you have a lot of important documents and paperwork taking up a considerable amount of space, consider digitizing that content into a PDF file. You can store PDFs on your computer, allowing you to quickly access the info whenever you need. PDFs file sizes can get pretty big, so use free tools online to reduce PDF file size whenever necessary.

Don’t forget that if you want to give your organizing efforts a professional touch, then you need to get touch with the pros at House To Home Organizing.

4. Showcase your favorite things. You might be proud of your new home and want a clean and modern look, but empty walls and barely cushioned couches don’t make a home. Tossing all of your personal belongings in lieu of impersonal décor is a huge mistake.

5. Host a family dinner. Nothing endears a location more than making memories with the people you love. And there are no better ways to make these memories than by cooking and eating a meal together. As soon as you get settled, ask your friends and family to come for Sunday supper. A long afternoon surrounded by smiles and laughter will infuse the atmosphere with happiness and joy.

6. Get involved with the community. Aside from the interactions you enjoy under your new roof, you’ll also feel more at ease by getting to know your neighbors and meeting other like-minded seniors. A quick online search for local senior centers will open up a new social network that can enhance your quality of life both at home and when you’re away.

It’s possible to get comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings. Make safety your top priority and don’t neglect the issues that can blindside you later down the road. Keep your beloved personal items close and your family even closer. In no time, your new home will feel like you’ve had it forever.

Things to check before moving into your new house

Buying a new home must be one of the happiest events in someone's life. So, if you just purchased your dream home in Connecticut - congrats! You probably can't wait to move in and start a new chapter in your life. However, before you do that, you should make absolutely sure everything's in perfect order in your new house. One last final inspection can make your life much easier once you move in. In addition, this will make you more comfortable from the very beginning. Tackling these final tasks will help you turn your new house into a home. Therefore, we decided to make a list of things to check before moving into your new house. Let's scroll!

Do a final walkthrough 

There are many things to check before moving into your new house, so you mustn't skip the final walkthrough. And there's no better time to do this than before you fill your new home with furniture and other items. So, visit your new home while it's still empty and make sure to check out the following:

• Make sure the former owner did all the agreed-upon repairs in the house.

• Inspect all outlets, fixtures, and switches and see if they're working properly.

• Finally, check your contract and see if everything the previous owner said will be included in the sale after the closing. 

Sometimes sellers don't abide by the sale contract, and you can find yourself without a stove or washing machine even though they agreed to include them in the sale. In situations like this, you have every right to put in a complaint and get what you agreed on. On the other hand, there may be some other repairs that weren't in the contract you'll have to do, so it's always better to do them before you move in. This can even imply a home renovation such as kitchen or bathroom remodel.

Set up utilities 

Spending the first day in your new home in the dark and with no running water is something you don't want to go through. That's why you have to set up the utilities beforehand. Your priority should be electricity, gas, water, and heat. If your company allows you to transfer these utilities from your former address to your new one, make sure to cancel the ones in your old house first.

Besides these, you'll also want to set up the Internet, phone, and cable before you move in. We live in the 21st century, and you can't pretend like you won't need them as soon as you relocate. So, don't wait for the 11th hour; make the appointment on time and let them be move-in ready. Additionally, contact your local waste management company to arrange your new house for regular garbage pick-ups. So, make sure to put all this stuff on the list of things you should check before moving into your new house.

Decide on furniture layout 

You may have a general idea of what's going where in your new home. However, drawing up the actual layout will make your move-in day so much easier. By doing this, you won't have many bulky furniture pieces and moving boxes lying in the middle of every room. Instead, you'll be able to make the furniture arrangements as soon as the moving crew starts unloading their trucks. This is especially helpful if you're making a long-distance move in Connecticut because you'll want all the help you need. When it comes to relocation, skilled teams can jump in and help you set up your furniture according to your wanted layout. So, not only will this save you a lot of energy, but it will also save you a lot of time.

Child or pet-proof your new home

Your new Connecticut home may be move-in ready for you, but what about your child or a pet? If you have one, you'll have to make time for child or pet-proofing. Fortunately, this is not a timely or costly process. So, what you need to do is make sure your new house is safe for them the second you set foot into it. You can create a moving-free zone in the corner of the living room or any room where you can keep your eye on your kid. In this area of the house, you won't put any moving materials, boxes, or tools. Throw a cozy blanket and a few toys and try to entertain your child as much as possible. This will make this process so much easier.

Locate essential functions in the house

Looking for things like a fuse box, water valve, and circuit breaker all around the house when you need them the most is something you want to avoid. That's why you need to locate them before you actually move into your new house. You usually find a fuse box in the garage, storage space, or basement, while a water valve is typically positioned someplace around the perimeter of your property. Additionally, make a note of where your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are located and test them to ensure they're working correctly.

Do a deep clean

The last thing you want to do on the first day in your new home is cleaning. Since you can't skip this step for logical reasons, we suggest setting aside one day before the move-in day to deep clean the whole house. This way, a clean and fresh place will be waiting for you from the very beginning. Now, the relocation and renovation process tends to be pretty dirty, so it would be best if you hired a professional cleaning service to help you with this. You'll just be sure everything is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.

Secure your home

The one thing you definitely want is to feel safe in your new home. That's why one of the first things you should do before moving into your new place is changing the locks. You never know who has the keys to your place, so this is a smart thing to do. Additionally, if you want to feel extra safe, you can install a smart security system and even cameras. The choice is yours as long as you feel safe.

Check out your new neighborhood 

So, the last thing you should check before moving into your new house should be your neighborhood. Since Connecticut has fantastic neighborhoods, we're sure you'll love yours, whichever you choose. But it never hurts to meet your neighbors before you start your new life there. Ask them what they love about this area, are there any community activities, which schools are the best, etc. In addition, explore surroundings and discover what it has to offer. This will help you adjust to your new neighborhood and, thus, home.

Final thoughts 

Moving into a new house is a big and exciting step for everybody. So, in order to feel at home from the very first moment in the new place, you'll have to make sure everything is move-in ready. We gave you the list of things to check before moving into your new house. Try and do all of them. Crossing everything from this list will not only make relocation easier but also the whole adjusting process.