Ready to Finish Your Basement? 4 Steps You'll Need to Take

Finishing your basement is a wonderful way to add useful space to your home. However, the process is an involved one, and you’ll want to ensure you avoid potentially costly mistakes. Here are four steps you’ll need to take when finishing your basement.

Apply for Appropriate Permits

The permits you’ll need to pull to finish your basement will vary depending on where you live, but it’s critical to ensure your work is appropriately permitted to avoid potentially costly fines and other sanctions. Note that permits are designed to ensure work is done in a safe manner; improperly done work can lead to serious injuries and potential legal liabilities. In many cases, work done without a permit, even if done well, may need to be removed or redone.

Waterproof Your Basement

Basements are notoriously leaky. Although small or even undetected leaks might not seem to be too much of a problem in unfinished basements, even the tiniest of leaks can wreak havoc on your basements once it’s finished. Basement waterproofing helps you locate and mitigate leaks early on in the process, and it can save you from significant repair bills in the future when done properly.

Focus on the Walls

You have several options for finishing your basement walls, but drywall is the most popular due to its low cost and relatively easy installation. While setting up the frames and before installing drywall, make sure to think about utility hookups and plan accordingly; it’s far easier to place electrical outlets while in the planning phase than redoing work once your drywall is installed. You’ll also want to consider your insulation options beforehand.

Install the Ceiling and Flooring

Make sure to consider your options for finishing your ceiling, but don’t discount the option of having an open ceiling if you like an industrial look. Drop ceilings are a classic option, and drop-ceiling kits give you excellent aesthetic options. Drywall ceiling can also work well, but, again, make sure to consider your utilities before settling. It’s likely that you’ll need to install subflooring as well, which gives you a flat surface to work with. Finally, choose which flooring is right for you; fortunately, there are plenty of DIY-safe options to choose from. Make sure to think about pets and kids when comparing different flooring options.

Whether you’re finishing your basement to create an entertainment center, an office or even a bedroom, make sure to plan ahead. Basement finishing isn’t as costly as some other types of remodeling, but the costs can add up if you make mistakes along the way. Fortunately, there are more options available today than ever before.

What You Need at Home in Case of a Power Outage

Power outages don’t just occur during lightning storms; they can occur for a variety of reasons. Fallen trees, equipment failures, and even extreme heat can cause your power to cut out. Nobody likes getting stuck in the dark without warning, so it's crucial to stay prepared. Since you never know when your electricity may shut off, you need to keep a few essentials on hand. Here's what you need at home in case of a power outage.

A Portable Backup Generator

If you have children, elderly relatives, or people who require medical equipment in your home, it’s crucial that you get your power back as quickly as possible. You should consider investing in a quality portable backup generator that will allow you to keep your lights on even during a power outage. These generators use fuel sources such as gasoline or propane to provide power. As a result, you should keep a considerable amount of fuel around for your generator. If your power is out for a couple of hours, you'll need quite a bit of fuel to keep the lights on.

Candles and Flashlights

If you want to be able to see at least a foot in front of your face, you'll need a light source. Your smartphone will have a flashlight, but using it will quickly diminish your already dying battery. That's why keeping candles and flashlights nearby is a good rule of thumb.

Also, don't forget to keep batteries on hand for your flashlights. Nothing is worse than seeing your flashlight burn out in a power outage with no backup batteries!

Bottled Water

For many areas, water is the next thing to go after the power. It's a good idea to have some extra bottled water at your home just in case your water runs out. Some areas may also be subject to mandatory water boils during power outages. In such instances, you will not only need this bottled water to drink but also bathe and clean dishes or laundry.

Canned Food and Can Opener

When the power goes out, it's a race against the clock for the food in your fridge. If the power stays off for more than a few hours, your food will spoil. Having some canned food on hand at all times is a great way to ensure you can stay fed without needing to use your fridge. Also, don't forget an excellent old-fashioned can opener! Make sure you have one that is manual and not electric.

First Aid Kit

Being in the dark increases your risk of trips and falls. You don't want you or your family members to suffer from a cut or bruise without the proper aid available. That's why you need a first aid kit in emergencies such as these.
As long as you have these essentials, you'll be prepared for power outages no matter when they occur.

Looking for Real Estate? How to Tell Which Houses Are Worth Checking Out

Finding the right home is important for lifestyle comfort as well as budgeting of the mortgage and utilities, insurance, and maintenance. When shopping for a house, there are several important things to keep in mind beyond curb appeal or special features. Check out the following as you start browsing online ads or visiting local properties.

Location

Although you may want to live in a certain area, a real estate agent can explain some of the less-known facts about a neighborhood. Crime statistics, a school's reputation, and local amenities are helpful information that prospective buyers could look for but often don't. A pretty house in an area that is deteriorating could mean that the property will lose value in the near future. If you are looking for a quiet area, find out if a neighborhood of interest attracts families or singles.

Condition

Generally, it is a good idea to get an objective home inspection done for any house you are thinking of buying. You can probably spot major problems yourself, but a professional inspector can find less obvious issues like termites or interior wall mold. Find out about the high-cost aspects of the home, including the roof, electric, plumbing, HVAC, and foundation. While you might be prepared to make some key repairs, you don't want to get in over your head and spend thousands of dollars that you didn't budget for the new home's problems.

Size

Keep the size of home you want in mind while house shopping. Although you might need just a couple of bedrooms now, will that be adequate if your family grows? Do you plan to keep the house for a few years or decades? Similarly, a large house now to accommodate a couple of growing kids could be too big when the teens go off to college or start a career. Some home sizes are adjustable by converting a basement into a temporary bedroom, for example. Make sure the house you buy will fit your needs for the next few years.

Layout

Examine the layout to ensure it will work for your family. If you have an elderly relative staying with you, steep stairs leading to that person's bedroom is probably not a good idea. Safety features like handrails or a walk-in shower can be installed if necessary, but adapting the home's structure significantly could be costly.

Shopping for another house is exciting. But take time to perform due diligence to be sure you get a home that has what you want and need.

3 Tips For Organizing Your Life So Household Chores Never Slip Through The Cracks

When you lead a busy life, it’s easy to let the more mundane things slip through the cracks or get put on the backburner. But in order to live your best life and feel like you can relax and unwind at home, you’re not going to want to let your home get too messy or disarrayed. So to help you find ways to keep up with this part of your life, here are three tips for organizing your life so household chores never slip through the cracks. 

Do Certain Chores On Certain Days

As with most ways of organizing your life, what it really comes down to is creating habits that make it so your organization becomes almost second nature.

One great way to start this, according to Lisa Iannucci, a contributor to Care.com, is to designate certain chores for certain days of the week. For example, you could plan to clean your bathrooms on Wednesday, scrub your floors on Thursday, and do laundry over the weekend. By setting aside a specific day to tackle a specific household chore, you’ll be able to take on these chores in palatable bites rather than feeling overwhelmed by the amount of stuff you have to get done now. 

Create A Buddy System

Another great way to keep yourself from forgetting to do your household chores is to make chores something that gets done with the buddy system.

According to Laura Vanderkam, a contributor to Fast Company, doing your chores with someone else in your household will make it so your chores take a shorter amount of time to complete and will ensure that more than one person is thinking about and being responsible for that chore getting done. This way, if you forget, your buddy can remind you and you can give each other encouragement to buckle down and get your jobs done. 

Find Ways To Afford Help

If despite your best efforts you’re still consistently forgetting to get your household chores done or simply don’t have the time or energy to handle them, Nancy Schimelpfening, a contributor to Very Well Mind, suggests that you find a way to afford help in this area. For some, this might mean hiring someone else to help with the outside chores like landscaping while you take on the inside chores. For others, you may want to hire someone to come in and clean once a week or once a month in case you can’t get to it. So as long as you’re able to organize your budget and find enough excess that you can afford to hire some help, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing so. 

If you’ve been having a hard time keeping up with your household chores, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you find a way to get this part of your life in better order.