
A resource for those seeking information on organizing and transforming spaces.
The Best Tips for Preserving Wood Furniture
Wood furniture can be a bit tricky to care for. Make sure you know the best tips for preserving wooden furniture so that your pieces will last longer.
Wood furniture is a beautiful addition to any home. Some interior design styles rely on natural wood furniture and finishes to complete a room entirely. But natural wood can be a bit tricky when it comes to upkeep, as it requires some extra effort to take care of it. Keep reading to discover the best tips for preserving wood furniture to make yours last for years to come.
Treat Wood With Care
Natural wood furniture has the benefit of being resilient and durable, which is why natural wood tables are superior to other materials. However, even the sturdiest wood materials will suffer damage when you don’t take care of them. Common ways that people mistreat wood furniture include chopping and cutting directly on them, leaving damp glasses without coasters on them, placing hot pans on them, and more. Avoid these bad habits around your wooden furniture so that it will last much longer.
Keep It Clean
You must be ready to regularly clean and dust wooden surfaces to keep them shining and sparkling. When dust and debris collect on your wood furniture, they can create scratches. Don’t let dust form a thick layer by dusting regularly with a soft cotton t-shirt, cloth, or microfiber towel. Never use all-purpose cleaners when you need to clean a particularly stained or sticky spot. Only use a specialty wood cleaner or a simple mixture of water and dish detergent with a soft cloth. Always make sure to dry the surface when you finish cleaning.
Protect the Surface
If you want your wood furniture to remain as protected as possible, you can add a layer of polish or wax to guard it against spills and stains. Most wood furniture polishes will also give your furniture a shiny finish, which will help give old wood furniture a much-needed makeover. If you notice the wood has a dull finish after applying these products, that means you need to buff the polish or wax it further. Just give it a bit more elbow grease.
Now that you know the best tips for preserving wood furniture, you can make your traditional wooden pieces last for years to come. They’ll continue to shine like when you first purchased them.
4 Tips When Looking at a New Home
People find new homes for different reasons. Whether you’re relocating to a different location or you’re moving to your new home after many years of paying rent, some essential factors determine how comfortable you settle in the new home. Here’s a list of four tips you should consider before relocating to a new home.
People find new homes for different reasons. Whether you’re relocating to a different location or you’re moving to your new home after many years of paying rent, some essential factors determine how comfortable you settle in the new home. Here’s a list of four tips you should consider before relocating to a new home.
Consider the Renting Option First
The question of what to consider when looking for a new home mainly entails the issue of owning one. However, you should consider renting a house before undertaking the costly venture of owning a home. Whereas it’s the dream of every person to own a home, sometimes renting first allows you to understand the area you want to purchase your home, negating many other factors like acquiring the services of a real estate agent to conduct for you a background search for an area. Besides, you might find that renting satisfies all your needs without having to own a home.
Your Financial Ability
When looking for a new home, you have the option to rent, buy, or mortgage, depending on your financial ability. Besides, you should involve the services of a lending expert to determine the best option that your finances qualify. Although you might have been renting for many years and no longer consider it viable, it’s essential to weigh your options to ensure that you don’t enter into a home loan that could be a challenge servicing it.
Conduct a Background Search
Understanding the area you want to relocate to is the first critical step to ensure you find comfort after finally making a move. Most people use real estate agents who research the new home, its surroundings, and other issues like the climate. Although they play an imperative role, it’s your home, so you’ll need to ensure that you conduct a background search, making sure that the new home will suit your personal and family needs.
Have a Futuristic Planning
When looking for a home, it’s common that your family is young, and there’s a chance that it will grow with time. Many people opt for renting before owning their homes, allowing them time to plan for the most appropriate home according to their family sizes and requirements. However, if you decide to own one soonest, ensure that you plan for the future to fit everyone in your family.
Finding a new home is a daunting task, mainly when you need to own one. Experts recommend that the best option is first to rent one, then plan for ownership as you familiarize yourself with the area.
Getting the Healthy Home of Your Dreams by Making Positive Changes
Prioritizing the health of your home is usually a wise move. It allows you to improve your lifestyle, leading to positive changes that impact every aspect of your life.
Prioritizing the health of your home is usually a wise move. It allows you to improve your lifestyle, leading to positive changes that impact every aspect of your life.
Figuring out how to get the healthy home of your dreams may not seem easy at first. However, even small adjustments can make a big difference. If you aren’t sure where to begin, House to Home Organizing offers some options to explore.
Picking the Right Improvements If You’re in Your Forever Home
If you’re currently living in your forever home, you want to approach any updates with the long-term in mind. By seizing opportunities to simplify daily life, reduce stress, and support better health, you’ll have more success now and into the future.
For a simple way to get started, focus on decluttering. Cutter can increase stress and anxiety, so using a strategy like the KonMari Method can be a smart move. Not only will your home get easier to manage, but you’ll also end up spending less time cleaning when there’s less stuff, too.
Improving your air quality is also an intelligent option. By hiring a professional to install UV solutions into your HVAC or going the DIY route and replacing your air filters with versions with higher MERV ratings, you can prevent germs, pollen, and other contaminants from circulating through your house.
Another excellent project for a forever home is updating your kitchen to make the layout more functional. When your kitchen is easy to navigate, you may be more inclined to create nutritious, healthy meals at home. Since this is a bigger project, you’ll need to hire a plumber somewhere in the $45 to $150 per hour range. Always check reviews, examine ratings, and confirm that they’re licensed and insured before hiring. That way, you can rely on the quality of the work.
Updates You’ll Want to Tackle If You’re Selling Your House Soon
For homeowners preparing to sell, you want to think about what will make buyers happy. That way, your updates increase the value of your home and could help you complete the sale faster.
For inexpensive projects, consider quick bathroom repairs or easy kitchen updates. Replacing a leaky faucet or replacing cracked tile can ensure buyers won’t get turned off by issues they can easily spot. By adding a new tile backsplash and updating doorknobs and handles, you can refresh the look of a space and align it with current trends.
If you have a bigger budget, then certain higher-cost updates may be worth considering. Going with exterior modifications like a new porch or deck might be worthwhile, allowing you to kick your curb appeal up a notch and add more usable space. Updating your flooring is also a possibility. You can go with a hypogenic option to improve the health of your home, all while refreshing the overall look.
Where to Find the Money for Making Positive Changes to Your Home
Home updates can run the gamut when it comes to price. If you don’t have the cash to cover the projects, you do have options.
Of course, you’re probably wondering how to refinance your home. With cash-out refinancing, you can replace your current loan with a new one with a higher balance. Then, you’ll get to receive the difference between the two mortgages as cash, giving you money to use for your improvements.
Usually, cash-out refinancing has a lower interest rate than a personal loan. Plus, since it’s an installment loan and not revolving, it’s easier to budget and plan than a HELOC. You’ll know exactly when you’ll have the loan paid off, giving you more peace of mind than revolving credit alternatives.
6 Ways to Turn Your House into a Smart Home of the Future
So, if you have always dreamed of turning your house smart and getting the taste of the futuristic life you were promised as a kid, now’s the time to do it. Here are a couple of tips to help you along the way.
There was a time not so long ago when smart rooms, voice commands, and AI were reserved only for Sci-Fi shows like Start Trek: TNG. Well, it turns out the 24th century came by much faster than we hoped for. These days, the smart tech has become so affordable and so widely accessible any house can be home can be easily turned into your very own USS Enterprise.
Well, sans the FTL speed of course.
So, if you have always dreamed of turning your house smart and getting the taste of the futuristic life you were promised as a kid, now’s the time to do it. Here are a couple of tips to help you along the way.
Start with the smart lighting
Putting aside the smart lighting fixtures are incredibly cool, useful, and can work independently from other home systems, this upgrade can also produce considerable energy savings so it makes a very good foundation for all of your future efforts. Another perk that comes to mind is the ability to turn the lights on and off while you are away from home which creates the illusion the house isn't vacant and sends away curious burglars. All you need now is a couple of motion-activated outdoor lights and you’re good to go.
Pick your go-to personal assistant
At the moment the three main options you have to choose from are Google, Alexa, and Siri all of which come with some pros and cons. In terms of general knowledge, making reservations and similar chores Google represents the most versatile solution. On the other hand, being tied to Amazon's online empire makes Alexa the best pick for entertainment and online shopping. Finally, although it doesn't perform these tasks on the same level, Siri is best integrated with Apple's services so if you are a loyal user that's the obvious pick for you.
Get yourself a smart life kit
Some people like to build their smart homes from the ground up and pick all of the IoT components they are going to use. But honestly getting a smart home system kit is so much easier. These bundles usually come with top-tier devices like smart cameras, smart plugs, alarms, and door and window sensors, so they pack all you need to get your smart home get off the ground. However, if you are going to use these components with some third-party or preexisting hub be sure to check are all the devices compatible.
Connect to a smart hub
Speaking of the hub these components are incredibly useful so it’s more than recommended to get one in your living room. Essentially smart hubs put all of your IoT devices and virtual assistants under the same roof and allow you to control all of them without having to switch between dozens of different apps. What’s even better, smart hubs also allow you to create customized, automated routines (e.g. turning the music on whenever you use the kitchen) so your life is made as streamlined as you can possibly get.
Replace the old appliances
Smart capabilities have long since strayed from the world of gadgets and found a way into our kitchens so why wouldn't you bring some of that AI in your kitchen as well? Like always the choices are plentiful and you can find some cheaper entries like smart trash cans for less than $100. Installing some of the biggest appliances like vacuums and refrigerators will, naturally, cost more but all these new devices also come with a killer ENERGY STAR rating so if you have already thought of canning your old appliances this is a perfectly good way to go.
Make use of solar energy
Yeah, is there anything more futuristic and smart than ditching the traditional energy sources and doing something good for the environment? Solar technology is the tech of the future and hooking up your house to this renewable source will solve most of the energy problems that are expected in the near future. Granted, although the tech has become more affordable it still entails considerable upfront costs but the investment more than pays off, and government rebates and incentives should make a purchase at least a bit easier.
In the end, we have to point out that these few mentions are only the tip of the iceberg – smart tech is evolving too fast to make putting all the smart home upgrades in one article possible. But, they do offer a good place to start. The tech world is working 24/7 to make our lives more enjoyable and simpler, and faster so there’s no point in waiting to jump on the bandwagon. The future is finally here and you only need to reach out and take it.