I always know that I have made a good choice about something when I continue to receive comments and source questions about it for a long time after I post about it. One example of this is the framed Stain Removal art I added to our laundry room.
I had purchased the art from a shop that was new to me at the time, but has since become one of my favorites and also a very long time blog sponsor. Say hello to Lettered & Lined. Lettered & Lined was founded on the idea that information can be beautiful, and art can serve a purpose beyond the aesthetic. They passionately create art that compromises neither form nor function. Today, we are partnering up in a BIG way! One lucky iHeart Organizing reader is going to receive a $200 credit to Lettered & Lined and this excites me to no end! a Rafflecopter giveaway From now through Wednesday, September 30th, Lettered & Lined is offering 10% off to iHeart Organizing readers with the code iheart10 at checkout. No time like the present to get your home decked out with fabulous prints! Good luck everyone! Must be 18 years old or older. Open to US residents only. No purchase necessary to win. All rules and entries must be followed to be eligible to win. Winner will be selected at random using rafflecopter.com and will be announced on original blog post upon drawing. IHeart Organizing official giveaway entry rules can always be found here. via IHeart Organizing http://ift.tt/1Ft1JWr
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The kitchen seems to be the most difficult place to clean from the entire house. Women would rather dust the furniture for hours than clean the appliances in the kitchen. However, by taking into consideration the following tips for kitchen cleaning, you will be able to do the job in no time, without considerable effort and even without spending money on expensive cleaning products. Here is how to clean the most problematic appliances: The blender. Most people who have one love it because it gives them the chance to consume healthy foods. The downside of using it is the fact that it needs to be cleaned. Fortunately, this does not have to be difficult. Even though it is tempting to put the pitcher aside after emptying it, add some water and a few drops of liquid soap. Then put it back on the blender and start the machine for half a minute. All that’s left on the walls of the pitcher will be easily removed and a simple rinse with water will finish the job. The microwave oven. When it comes to kitchen cleaning all housewives hate the microwave oven. This is because they don’t know how to clean it easier. Placing some wet paper towels in it and turning it on for several minutes will do the trick. The steam they produce will help remove the stains and the dirt easier. Only take the towels out of the oven when they cool down and use them for wiping the interior of the oven for removing all dirt. If the oven smells bad, put a cup of water in which you have mixed half a cup of lemon juice in it and start it for several minutes. Leave the mixture in there for another ten minutes. The coffee pot. Unless you do something to this pot, it will soon start looking brownish and ruin all your kitchen cleaning efforts. Ice, salt and lemon is all you need. Put ice in the pot up to its quarter; add the juice from half a lemon and two tablespoons of salt. Swirl the pot containing this mixture for a few minutes and then rinse it with water. You will then have a clean pot. The cast-iron pan. This is a tricky part of the kitchen cleaning process. Extra care is needed with the cast-iron pan in order to keep its non-stick surface intact. This makes it hard to clean, but not impossible, if you keep in mind the following trick. If plain water and a dishcloth don’t clean it completely, use some paper towels and a few tablespoons of salt for rubbing it. Don’t worry about the oiled surface because you can have it back by spraying some cooking oil on the clean pan. Garbage disposal. This is not necessarily the most difficult, but definitely the most unpleasant part of kitchen cleaning. It can only take a minute if you use some ice cubes made of water mixed with vinegar in equal proportions. Grind these cubes in the garbage disposal and you are done. Share with us your kitchen cleaning stories; we’d love to hear how you’ve done it yourselves. See you in the comments! via Dust Busters Blog http://ift.tt/1L3b2Pe We have finally 100% completed our flooring install. It was about 90% done for a few months now, only waiting for some specific finishing cuts and transition pieces... Funny how we get a project to a point of being done enough to use it and work around it and then put off those last few hours of finishing work. Don't follow our lead on that. #wink We have been receiving quite a few emails with questions regarding our upper level flooring selection. Why didn't we install it under the cabinets? Why did we select laminate? Does it show dog hair and dirt? Is it loud? How has it been holding up? How did we install it? And now that we are finally finished with the installation process, we are finally going to answer all of those questions and more today. Our first step was to source and purchase the flooring. Here are some of the items we considered while searching for our floors:
We sourced flooring samples from Home Depot, Lowes, Lumber Liquidators, Build Direct and Best Laminate. Some samples were ordered online while others were picked up right within local stores. We continuously compared samples in different areas of our main living spaces at different times of the day until we whittled our pile down to all of our favorites. We fell in love with a pre-finished oak hardwood, however, it was the first one to fail our key test. And it failed badly. We took a key and rubbed it across the surface of each sample to see how easily it would be scratched and marred. The true hardwood took on the most damage while the floor we ultimately selected fared quite well. After considering all of the items above, we ultimately selected Home Decorators Collection Cotton Valley Oak Floating Laminate. It was nice and thick, wasn't too orange/red, seemed quite durable, matched well with our existing flooring, looked similar to the inspiration oak hardwood and we could install it ourselves. To top things off, the price was great and came in far under our estimated flooring budget. Winner, winner! So what is a laminate floating floor? Here is the technical definition I found on Google for you - "A floating floor is a floor that does not need to be nailed or glued to the sub-floor. The term floating floor refers to the installation method, but is often used synonymously with laminate flooring but is applied now to other coverings such as floating tile systems and vinyl flooring in a domestic context." To prepare for our order, we measured our entire upper level square footage, and did not subtract out anything the floor would be installed around. We knew there would be some waste and we didn't want to end up without enough, so we over-purchased. We ordered a total of 42 boxes of flooring, 6 rolls of underlayment foam and two transition pieces (to install where our laminate flooring meets carpeting). The first step was to install the underlayment foam. Some floating floors will have this pre-attached, however, ours did not. The underlayment acts as a barrier between the floating floors and the sub-floor. The thicker the foam underlayment, the quieter and cushier your floor will become (the underlayment is available in a variety of thicknesses and qualities at various price points). Our underlayment foam had an adhesive edge, however, we also opted to staple it down to prevent any shifting during installation. As you can see above, we decided to install our flooring to run parallel to the longest main wall. Our previous floors were installed in the same manner and we preferred the look and felt it made the room appear longer and wider. The first row was installed with the flooring tongue facing the wall, about 3/8" away from wall edge to allow for expansion. We also started the row with a piece cut in half to ultimately create a staggered effect. The best part? The only tools we needed for the majority of the installation were:
I know right? And to show how truly easy it was to click the floor together, I made you the most anticlimactic video in all of the DIY land. But as you know, anticlimactic is a VERY good thing in the world of DIY! We don't want challenges and frustrations, we want easy-to-install floors! Just measure and cut... And then place and lock by sliding each new piece of flooring into the over-lapping end joints and pushing down to engage (the image above was a specific angle cut for the hallway, majority of the cuts in the main living areas were 90 degree angles). One piece after another, pulling from random boxes and staggering along the way for a good grain variation. When it came to the kitchen, we actually had to install our cabinets and island first, and our flooring second. It is important to remain cautious of the amount of weight being added to the tops of the floors because they will naturally expand and contract with the weather/temperature changes. This is also why it is important not to place the flooring tight up to any of the wall or cabinet edges. The inability to naturally expand and contract may cause the floor to buckle, and that is not a risk we wanted to take knowing how heavy our cabinets paired with the quartz counters would become. Our cabinets were installed on legs (that were provided with the cabinets), while our custom center island came with a built-up base. To ensure that our dishwasher and fridge panels were installed at the appropriate heights, we did place temporary pieces of flooring down for measuring purposes and to keep things level until the remainder of the floors were run through the kitchen. As you can see below, the floors were installed up to the legs under the outer cabinets and with a very small gap around the island base. Once our oven/downdraft situation is finalized and installed correctly, we will add the final pieces of toe-kick to our island, as well as matching quarter round. The IKEA white toe-kick is designed to clip right to the legs below their cabinets, yet on top of the floors (we had to rip the toe-kick trim to the correct height). Although we did not install the cabinets on top of the flooring, our appliances sit on top of the floors for a seamless look (and to make appliance swap-outs and repairs easy down the road). The image above is how we had been living with our hallway for the past few months. Up until the hallway, the floor only required straight, 90 degree cuts. However, our hallway was a combination of doors and angles and took almost as long as the living/kitchen area combined. Bryan tried installing the flooring both with a door jamb installed and with it completely removed. Although he thought he would save a little time but not removing the jamb, he ultimately decided it was much easier to just take them out all together until the floors were done. Above is our guest bedroom door with the jamb still attached. The floor needed to run under the jamb, so the jamb had to be shortened with our oscillating tool to slide over the top of the floors (ultimately making it easier to just remove future doors). When it came to the smaller angle cuts, he had to get a little more creative. For those with a straight edge, he used his sliding t-bevel to determine the exact angle and measurements. While smaller pieces and those with multiple points were planned and cut on scrap paper first. A combination of his jig saw, miter saw and table saw helped him with the more intricate cuts. Door jamb completely removed and much easier to work around! Once the floors were completely installed, it was time to install the new transition pieces. Although we had transitions with our previous laminate, they were not the same/compatible with the new flooring. We began by removing the old metal strips and screwing in the new ones (which are included in the packaging with the transition pieces).
And celebrate, because you just finished installing your floors! Here is a shot of the new laminate floor paired with our previously existing bathroom vinyl plank flooring. The floor and door trim can then be installed on top of the floating floor (affixed to the walls, not to the flooring). We went with this base trim and casing from Home Depot. We used a jig saw to cut out our heat registers, which we then glammed up with pretty covers. Once our project was complete, we had a total of five extra boxes and one extra underlayment roll, which we were able to return to the store. Total cost of the flooring, transition pieces and underlayment came in at around $1300.00. Now, let's take a moment to chat about how happy we are with our flooring choice. I wouldn't trade them for any other floors as of this very moment. These floors have held up really well to our daily use, even as we continue construction on top of them. Not a single scratch has been found yet, they look as beautiful as the day we installed them (even if that was just last week for some of the pieces, ha). They hide dirt which is probably a good and bad thing, but I appreciate that I am not worried about sweeping/mopping around the clock. We do have dogs and if they come in with wet paws, the prints do not completely vanish once dry. And the white dog hair is easily spotted. We are happy with the overall sound barrier the underlayment seems to provide, our large dogs will most likely sound like horses on any flooring. However, our open concept does tend to bounce sound a little more, while the floors do a good job absorbing much of it. I keep telling Bryan more rugs are also the answer. To maintain the floors, I was using a homemade mixture and my spin mop, but I wasn't 100% happy with the results. After some reading, I learned that many home solutions can slowly dull the protective floor finish, as can using too much water. So I made the switch to Bona from Home Depot and it cleans so much better than anything I had made myself prior. Every day or two I use a microfiber dust mop just to pick up hair and dust. And every week or two (or as needed), I use a spray mop paired with a microfiber head and the Bona. The floors dry polished and completely streak free. We are "floored" at how much we love these new floors, and how they have really created an expansive and cohesive flow throughout our upper level, and even throughout our entire home. I hope I answered all of your questions, but if not, feel free to leave any new ones in the comments below and we will do our best to keep the post updated with anything we may have missed. This post was in no way sponsored. We personally purchased all of the items we talked about today and are happy to share our true experience. via IHeart Organizing http://ift.tt/1KIvnaA Cleaning product companies will always try to convince you that your house, especially your kitchen, is full of harmful bacteria that won’t go away unless you use their cleaning products. But truth is you can deal with kitchen cleaning using only some cheap natural ingredients that won’t put you or the environment in danger. Instead of expensive and highly toxic cleaning products you can use cheap ingredients that will get you rid of dirt and bacteria without posing any threat to your health and without affecting the environment. You will never have to worry about putting on gloves and avoiding skin contact with these ingredients. Kitchen cleaning can be accomplished with only baking soda, table salt and vinegar. Buy them from the grocery store in considerable quantities and keep them around. Baking soda can be trusted for all sorts of surfaces and it can be of help in the entire house. It is not as abrasive as regular cleaning products, so even precious surfaces can be cleaned with it. The best part about baking soda is that it won’t leave any odor and you won’t have to worry that it will contaminate food. Another ingredient that you need to keep in the house is lemon juice. Its action is similar with that of vinegar, only that it smells more pleasantly. Here are some examples of how these environmental friendly ingredients work when it comes to kitchen cleaning. The sink drains are not recommended to be cleaned with drain cleaners. These are harmful for the environment and they aren’t gentle on the pipes either. In most of the cases clogs will go away if you flush some boiling water down the drain. If it doesn’t work, choose cleaner containing enzymes rather than acids. In order to prevent problems, pour some baking soda and then some lemon juice on the drain and leave it there for twenty minutes. Afterwards, flush some boiling water. Do this weekly and it should keep clogs away. From time to time, when you consider you have had many greasy dishes, mix baking soda with salt, let it there for some time and then flush it away with hot water. The oven is sometimes the most difficult part of the entire kitchen cleaning process. As you know, oven cleaners are pretty aggressive and you are advised to leave the room while they do their work and to avoid skin contact. Under these circumstances, it makes perfect sense to consider them toxic and unfriendly with the environment. The baking soda is definitely a greener option. Sprinkle it on the oven and then spray some water on top of it. Continue spraying water every several hours to keep it moist and leave it overnight. All you have to do in the morning is to wipe it off with a sponge. It will come off with the dirt on the oven. The stove tops are not a lot of fun either when it comes to kitchen cleaning. The good news is that salt will absorb any spill without leaving marks on the surface. For spills on electric burners, just mix the salt with cinnamon. On the other hand, baking soda works better for ceramic glass stove tops. Use an old tooth brush for removing stains and dirt. via Dust Busters Blog http://ift.tt/1L0G5LI Besides the obvious benefits it brings for your image, thorough office cleaning also helps employees stay healthy. Ignoring the cleanliness in your working place can prove disastrous both from the professional and the personal point of view. Studies were made in order to find out which is the most dangerous office germ hotspot. It appears that there are several such places in an office. If you think guessing them is easy, think again. Some of them might come up as a surprise. You have probably never thought that the buttons on the water fountain can be a haven for germs. In fact, they are one prominent office germ hotspot. Both the attached and the incorporated ones are filled with bacteria and germs. The buttons were tested for ATP, a particle found in various living bodies, bacteria, mold and yeast. Approximately 23% of the tested buttons had results that exceeded 300. This means that they are actually infested with ATP. Over half of the buttons obtained results over 100. Even though these are less dangerous, they are not good either. When you deal with office cleaning you probably ignore the fridge door handles. This is somehow a paradox because the fridge is after all the place where you store food, so you would want it to be as clean as possible. Over 25% of door handles obtained extremely poor results in testing for ATP and almost 70% were rated over 100 (meaning they really need to be cleaned). Fridge door handles are probably an office germ hotspot you will want to consider from now on. You are probably expecting your keyboard to be considered one dangerous office germ hotspot. It’s no wonder it should be included in all office cleaning schedule because you touch it with your hands all day long and you often eat on top of it. 30% of all tested keyboards obtained 300 in the ATP testing while 72% obtained 100. Just like refrigerator door handles, microwave door handles are an unexpected office germ hotspot. Tests results are pretty scary because almost half of the tested handles had results exceeding 300 when tested for ATP. Results over 100 were found in 80% of the handles. It seems like the pantry should be given a special importance when it comes to office cleaning. The most dangerous office germ hotspot of all is the sink handle from the break room. This is a space that everybody loves, but nobody includes in the office cleaning routine. Results are astonishing, to say the least: 75% of sink handles have ATP of over 300 and over 90% have results that exceed 100. Do you want to know more on how a green cleaning service company could be of value to your office cleaning needs? Use our online cleaning estimate to see how a green cleaning service company fits your budget. via Dust Busters Blog http://ift.tt/1ioOj3b What can you do to prepare your house for sale? Plenty - and it starts from the outside. Here are some tips to help spruce up your property and optimize its curb appeal. Start With The Lawn They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. This may be true, but that rule can and should be overlooked when trying to sell your home. You can change the cover easily by first cutting the grass and then working from there. Tighten up your bushes with a trim, get rid of all yard clutter, and add fresh mulch to flowerbeds. If you don't mind spending the extra cash on hiring a landscaper, do it. A job costing you a few hundred bucks could actually add a few thousand dollars to your property's value because of the "curb appeal" phenomenon. The idea is this: if the outside looks good, the inside must look fantastic. Walkways and Fencing You can make your walkways look really sharp with a lawn trimmer. The technique is simple: flip the blade sideways to carefully trim the edging, crafting a tighter, more professional appearance. Plant some colorful flowers in areas that need brightening. Indeed, preparing your house for sale can be dirty work, but a few dollars worth of flowers also can add value to your property. Clean up your fence with a fresh coat of paint. Be sure to spray it down first to remove any lingering dirt or dust, and make sure to paint only after the surface has dried. Make sure your address is easy to see - consider purchasing new numbers if it would improve the look from the street. And speaking of addresses, you might consider buying a new mailbox too. Finally, thoroughly clean your windows inside and out. They should be sparkling! Let's Move Inside Preparing your house for sale also requires some inside work. The entryway sets the stage for potential buyers. Install new light bulbs and clear out all cobwebs, dust, and dirt. If you have a doorbell, make sure it works. A broken doorbell, believe it or not, can break a deal way too early. Make sure the door is in perfect working order: no squeaking, jamming, or sticky locks, and certainly no quirks requiring a physicist to figure out. Once inside, make sure the entryway is clutter free: shoes, umbrellas, toys, and anything else that gets in the way. A nice coat rack and/or shoe rack can actually add appeal to an otherwise boring setting. Give your closets some space by removing any unnecessary items, including extra hats, coats, and clothing you should have donated to a shelter years ago. Make Your Kitchen Shine Now is a good time to throw those leftovers in the trash. Potential buyers are going to go through all the cabinets, and, yes, the refrigerator too. Having to eat out for a while will amount to peanuts compared to the value a tight-looking kitchen brings to your home. Clear away the counter tops. You want these, and your kitchen, to look as spacious as possible. For those of you with wooden floors, a quick waxing will do. The idea is to add space and beauty, not only to the outside of your house for sale, but also to the inside. If you're not sure where to start, and you've hired a realtor, ask them for suggestions. They'll be more than happy to get your place ready for the market. When looking for a house for sale, Middle Tennessee residents turn to Realty Professional Steve Jernigan of Coffee County, TN. Learn more about his service at http://ift.tt/1KqKcdv. Be sure to tell him Dust Busters sent you. via Dust Busters Blog http://ift.tt/1F6E5yY
Although we have discussed picking up and moving a few times over the years, it has just never felt right to leave our abode. Sure, we can never predict where the road will lead us and know that things can change in an instant (never say never right?), however, we are content staying put for quite awhile.
Yet one of the hottest email topics I receive on a frequent basis, is more Fall greetings, iHeart Organizing friends. As always, I’m over-the-moon delighted to be back on Jen’s corner of the blogosphere, which always feels like a home away from home. Speaking of homes, my husband and I were fortunate enough this year to build and move into our dream home. For those of you who have built your own home, you know that this can be a prolonged process. We were fortunate that it only took about 5 months from initial planning to closing, and it would have taken longer if we hadn’t managed to sell our house in 3 days. I attribute this success to doing our homework when it came to prepping and staging our home. I spent hours combing the internet for the best tips on staging a home for sale. I’m sure you’ve heard some or all of these:
When I packed the 20 or so boxes we put in storage before listing our home, there were a lot of unknowns: how long would it take to sell our house, how long would it take to finish the new house, would we have to stay somewhere temporarily, was I going to lose my mind? I knew some of our stuff might be in storage for a long time and many boxes would remain packed for a while even after we moved into the new house. So I knew I needed an excellent system for packing and moving that would enable me to keep track of where things were during this prolonged process and allow me to quickly locate exactly what I needed after we had finally moved into our house. In the end, I landed on a three-pronged system: color-coding, a numbering system and a packing manifest. STEP ONE: COLORED DUCT TAPE The first part of the system was marking each box with a piece of colored duct tape. Every room in the new house was assigned its own color of tape. After I was finished packing a box, I would grab the appropriate color of tape and stick a piece on the top and on two sides. If you pick up nothing else let it be this: don’t just place the tap on the top of the box. You know what happens with boxes? You stack ‘em. If you only put tape on the top of the box, bye-bye super awesome, easy to see color-code system. I also wrote the room name across the tape, just so the people helping us move wouldn’t have to refer to a color-key to know what room to head to. As a result, the movers quickly got into the groove and everything ended up in its rightful place. I opted for duct tape versus just coloring a corner with a marker or using small office labels because I wanted the label to be highly visible. I picked up two packages from Amazon, spending about $30 to get 12 different shades. I wrote the room name on the inside of each tape roll, to make it easier to remember which color to use. I dumped the duct tape rolls into a bucket along with scissors, a packing tape dispenser and a couple of markers. Thus I could carry everything I needed with me while I was moving around the house packing, without having to go in search of items or run up and down the stairs. I recommend both a regular black sharpie and a white sharpie or chalk pen. The white works better on the darker colored tape, helping to make the room name much more visible. I also kept a color key in the bucket for my husband’s reference. In addition to a roll of tape for each room, one roll of duct tape was reserved for our “Day One” boxes. These boxes included the items we would need the first day and night we spent in the new house, to make sure we could address our immediate needs without having to unpack a lot of boxes or go out a buy items. This amounted to 3 boxes included:
As a general rule I recommend packing things by the room, but these Day One items were an exception. As I was packing, I had a cloths basket set aside to corral these items as I came across them. I didn’t pack these items until the final day and I didn’t tape the box closed until we were literally heading out the door for the last time, to make sure I had everything. The first thing we did after closing was open these boxes. Well, after walking around and admiring the house. I had never done this for any of my previous moves and it made move in day so much easier. STEP TWO: NUMBERING SYSTEM In addition to assigning each room its own color of duct tape, each room got its own unique number. Like the duct tape, the number was added to the top and 2 sides of the box. Some of you are probably like… um, you already color-coded, why did you to number all your boxes, too? Good question! While the duct tape was about getting boxes to the right room, the number series was about knowing what was in each box. By the time we closed on our old house, our belongings were spread across our storage unit, the garage of the new house and our temporary lodgings. When move in day arrived, I wanted to be able to quickly access the items I needed to unpack immediately, like dishes and glasses, and be able to identify which boxes fell into the I’ll-get-to-it-when-I-get-to-it category, like books and décor items. It was the numbering system that enabled this and it saved my sanity time and again. Rather than just labeling the first box #1 and going on down the line, each room got its own number series: the basement was the 100 series, the kitchen was the 200 series, and so on. This again was about making things easy to find. Our basement ended up with 37 boxes. Did I mention I have a lot of books…? If I had just gone in chronological order, those 37 boxes may have been #1, #47, #108, #205, etc. It would have made it a lot harder to quickly locate the box I was looking for. For example, when I recently went in search of my sweet niece’s birthday gift, I’ll I needed to do was scan the stacks of boxes for the one ending 36, which made it super easy to find. Without the numbering system, I would have had to unpack a ton of boxes or go buy her new gifts and hope those size 24 months clothes would still fit her by Christmas. Which reminds me of a side tip on packing: be strategic about how you pack. Rather just going through each room and boxing up its contents, think about how your items will be used and stored in your future home. Will they live in new places in your new home? For example, wrapping stuff lived in my craft room in our old home but was reassigned to our basement storage room in the new house. Rather than packing the paper and bows with all my crafty bits and bobs, I tucked it in with other basement items. As a result, I avoided carting a whole bunch of stuff down the stairs. Since one of the goals with the new house was fewer stairs for me, this was a huge win and a time saver. I also recommend packing all your storage containers in one box (or in my case, 3 huge boxes). Even if you purchased or created something for a specific purpose in your old home, you may find a new use for it when you move. When it came time to start organizing in the new house, it was so nice to be able to look at my full collection of options and pick the one that worked best. As a result, there was a lot less going out and buying new storage solutions. Using a numbering system and being strategic about how you pack your boxes definitely takes more time. When numbering the boxes, I had to find the next number in the series, label the box and add it to the packing manifest (we’ll get to that momentarily). I avoided so much frustration and wasted time, making any extra effort and time upfront well worth it. As with any good organizational system, time spent in the beginning pays huge dividends over time. And anytime my husband says “Do you know where…,” my reply is always “Yes!” and within minutes I can put my hands on requested item. STEP 3: PACKING MANIFEST And finally, the packing manifest. This is where people sometimes get a fearful look in their eyes and start slowly backing away. Don’t worry, I said manifest, not manifesto. I’m not crazy, my mom had me tested. (Not really… I don’t think). But it is true that I numbered every single box, bag and bin with its own number and added that number and a description of the box’s contents to my manifest. So I supposed that may be its own kind of crazy. I set the manifest up in a spreadsheet and created 4 columns: room name, unique box number, description of contents and location. While I didn’t necessarily name every item in the description, I did get pretty detailed. For example, none of my boxes said “kitchen items.” I wanted to know where the dishes were versus wine glasses versus cook books, so I could unpack boxes in a logical order based on need and organization. Like the unique numbers, this level of detail helped me find exactly what I needed when I needed it. For example, my new craft room doubles as my home office where I work from home 3 to 5 days per week. While unpacking my craft supplies is a work in progress as we build new work surfaces and storage solutions, I needed my office supplies. Being able to quickly search the packing manifest for “office supplies,” locate the exact box I needed using the numbering system and unpack just the items I needed was a huge help in the busy days after first moving in. Here’s another quick tip: if you have to work in a room filled with boxes, and piles of boxes stress you out, pile them behind your desk so all you see is the lovely view out your window. #workslikeadream The final column, location, may not be applicable for everyone. Because our items were stored in a few different places, I wanted to know exactly where everything was in case I had to access something while we had packed away. We made sure we had important items with us when we moved to our temporary accommodations -- like passports, financial documents and items needed for closing on the house – but I didn’t want anything to be temporarily “lost” because we didn’t know where it was. Also, my husband waited about a week or so after we moved in to clean out the storage locker, so it was helpful to know what items I wouldn’t come across in the first week of unpacking. Make sure to print out a paper copy of your manifest. Luckily we did this or a good part of that hard work would have been for naught. My husband is a computer loving guy, so all of our computers are networked in our home and content is saved on a shared drive. Somehow, when we shut the server down for the last time before moving out, part of the tracking spreadsheet didn’t get saved. If I hadn’t had the complete paper copy, I seriously would have cried. As it was, it was frustrating not being able to just pop open the spreadsheet and do a find for all items. There were some occasions where I thought an item had truly been lost because I just couldn’t initially find it when scanning the paper copy. All that being said, you don’t need to do all three to up your moving game. Even the color coding alone, which is pretty quick, makes a big difference. Whether you hire movers or trick wrangle friends & family, color coding allows them to drop each box in the right room without having to go to the trouble of reading. While reading doesn’t seem like it would take that long, this little time savings really add up in the carefully timed dance that is moving day. My boss also liked the idea because she thought it would help get her kids involved in the process. The colored tape is not only fun but would tell them which boxes are theirs so they can help with the packing and unpacking process (if you dare…). But if you will have items boxed up for a while in storage, in multiple locations or just in your home, this three-part system might be worth considering. It just might save your sanity, not to mention your very precious time. If you’re still with me (aren’t you sweet!?), you may be asking yourself: why didn’t she just unpack all her boxes? It’s been 4 months… Our project list has been quite long since day one. Part of my vision for our dream home of course involved a lot of great custom storage options. Rather than going with the builder basic installs for closets, which let’s be honest totally fail to maximize space, we wanted to design and install our own storage solutions. Ditto for the mud room, laundry room and bathrooms. The combination of the color-coding, numbering system and packing manifest enabled a just-in-time system, allowing us to unpack only what we needed exactly when we needed it, rather than having to unpack everything just to get on the items we really needed. This freed us up to spend the majority of our time on the projects to make our house feel like a dream home. Would I use this system again? 100% without a doubt. But hopefully I shouldn’t have to any time soon, because the only way I’m leaving this place is kicking and screaming. One final quick tip before I go. My brilliant husband discovered that we could purchase gently used boxes via Craig’s list. They were delivered right to our house and were a fraction the cost of new boxes, plus reusing boxes made me feel slightly less guilty about all the packing materials I was going through. We still had to purchase some boxes from the big box store, but we definitely saved money on the move. We’re just now getting the last of the boxes unpacked and when we’re done, we can call the same industrious young fellow to come collect the boxes. If you decide to use all or part of this system, I hope it helps makes your moving experience a little less stressful. I would love to hear about any improvements you discover. Or have you already moved and landed on a system that was the bomb-diggity? (Are we still saying that?). Thanks to Jen for letting me stop by and I hope everyone has a lovely fall! "My name is Sarah and I live in a suburb of Minneapolis, MN with my husband of almost two years, Eric, and our two adorable Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Hermes and Brontë. I am a Communications Consultant by day and by night/weekend/any spare moment, I indulge in my passion for writing, crafting and organizing. I am honored to share with all you dedicated iHeart fans my tips, tricks and secrets for organized crafting, which will not only help you get control of your craft clutter but also allow you to make more efficient and productive use of your precious crafting time. While I am blessed with an entire craft room, I promise to explain how all the solutions I share can be tailored to your specific situation, whether it be a dedicated room, a small storage space or mobile crafting. In the meantime, Happy Crafting!" via IHeart Organizing http://ift.tt/1UXlffr As popular as carpets are in decorating home spaces, they also add a style quotient in the rooms where they are placed by enhancing the space and texture. Apart from adding the style to the room, carpets are hugely ornamental in the interior design of the space in relation to the furniture. As precious and appreciated carpets are, unfortunately, they are also victims to dirt, spills, tear and wear. It is a plight, for the owner, to witness their favorite carpet undergo such unavoidable atrocities, and thus, it is important to understand secrets from the carpet cleaning pros, that help in maintaining that piece of décor ever so clean and admirable! 1. Avoid rubbing stains - The pros vouch for this technique! Blot cleaning the stains helps lighten the marks while rubbing the stain may cause it to go deeper into the fiber of the carpet. Blot with a mild pressure using a wet towel cloth. 2. The magic of vinegar and soda - Blotting the stains of wine and beer with soda works wonders. However, you can add one portion of white vinegar with water and spray on the surface with stains. Let it soak and blot with a towel cloth. Rinsing with warm water thereafter is highly recommended. 3. The shaving cream wonder - Top cleaning experts claim that rubbing a shaving cream can help remove almost any stain. Let the shaving cream sit on a stain for a while and blot it away with a dry cloth. 4. The dreaded gum! - How heartbreaking when you accidentally spill a gum on the carpet and it sticks there! Worry not, experts say let it dry at its position and easily remove it with an ice-cube! 5. Grease with ease! - Dishwasher liquid can be used to remove stubborn grease marks, mix a few drops with water and spray over the grease, and blot it away with utmost ease. 6. Candle wax on carpets - Do not dread that dripping candle on your carpet, the wax can be removed by placing a cloth over wax stain and heating it with an iron. Heating the wax helps it to be easily scraped off the surface. Do not directly use the iron on the carpet and do not heat for more than 30 seconds. 7. Blood stains - Blood stains are as painful as the cuts that caused them. Do not worry. Mix a portion of water and detergent and scrape out as much as you can. If the stains persist, use hydrogen peroxide on the stain- it foams up and then it can be blotted away with a cloth, leaving your carpet clean. 8. Pet stains - As adored and trained our pets are, accidents can happen. Only organic cleaners should be used with sufficient scrubbing to do away with the stains and smells. 9. Candy crushed at a wrong place? - Do not fret. Scrape off the candy with a butter knife and gently scrub the area with a mild liquid detergent and water. However, do it urgently to avoid dirt and debris. Blot dry with towels. 10. Maintain hygiene by regular cleaning - Clean the carpets with a vacuum cleaner regularly to avoid dirt settling in the deep strands. Adore your carpets and get admiration from visitors all the time with these great and simple hacks! Happy cleaning! via Dust Busters Blog http://ift.tt/1izd6lV Carpets are generally spread all over the floors of our homes. We walk upon them day & night, spill all kind of food and our pets often make the carpets dirty. Due to this extreme usage, carpets usually become a home for all types of bacteria and allergens that thrive and spread to all parts of the home. Flooring and rugs that are kept dirty and aren't cleaned on a regular basis can play an important role in creation of harmful air inside the homes. This can be a major issue for people who suffer from asthma and other respiratory problems. Most of the carpets are generally dark in colour or shades and that's why they might look clean, but they're far from cleanliness. After years of accumulation of dirt, spilled food, sweat and pet urine, the shade and colour of the carpets become extensively off or dull. People are amazed to see the bright colours and shine of their own carpet after the cleaning process done by professional cleaners. Therefore, it's highly recommended that you should only hire professional carpet cleaners to get effective cleaning. Here are some common health hazards caused by dirty carpets:
Sneezing, coughing and wheezing are caused by breathing in the dirt which is mixed in the air and this dirt comes from filthy carpets at our homes. If there has been a rise in cases of allergies at your home then there's a high chance that your dirty carpets are the reason behind it.
Pests like dust mites, carpet beetles and fleas like to live in filthy carpets. Flea eggs remain in the carpets for many days waiting to hatch when the time is right for them and later these fleas cause major problems for your pets. Dirty carpets have abundance of dead skin particles and other food sources, which makes them ideal breeding ground for dust mites.
Filthy rugs harbour microbes that destroy the quality of indoor air. Cold like symptoms and other respiratory problems are caused by the mould which thrives in different parts of a home including carpet. Children and elderly at homes are more vulnerable of catching diseases, so you must understand the importance of having clean carpets at your home. These health hazards clearly state that it's quite important to clean the carpets on regular intervals to ensure safety of your family members. There will be hardly any dust, dirt or grime on the carpet if it is cleaned by professional carpet cleaners. Hire a professional carpet cleaner today to make your carpet fresh and healthy. via Dust Busters Blog http://ift.tt/1KRQskX Food stains are part of everyday life; dropping pizza, spaghetti, and the like on our clothes or the carpet while eating is an incident we're all familiar with. These are greasy stains. If not dealt with immediately, they can permanently ruin the clothing or carpeting. However, the good news is that there are many grease stain removal techniques that work exceptionally well. Often, you can perform these techniques using the products you already have had home. Treating the stain as soon as possible is the key to eliminating it when looking to remove greasy stains from your matting. You will get a better outcome if you treat the stain quickly. Before you begin with the mentioned options below, apply one of the pre-treat products available on the market and let it set for a while. The following are tips for greasy stain removal: Things you will need Before we get to the process of removing the stain, it is important to know the things you'll need to make it happen. • Dry Cleaning Solvent Removing Greasy Stain • In order to remove as much of the grease as possible, blot using a clean cloth to start off things. Make sure you only blot and do not scrub. • In order to keep the stain from spreading, work from the outside of the stain towards the center. • Spray stain with appropriate cleaning solution for your carpet type. • Until no more stains show on the matting, blot with a clean dry cloth. In order to ensure that you do not spread the stain, use a clean patch of the towel for every spot. • Keep repeating the process until the stain is no longer noticeable. • In order to rinse, spray with clean water. • Blot until you are sure that you have removed all cleaning solution. As it can collect dirt quickly, you'll create another situation for yourself to deal with if you allow residue left from cleaning solutions to settle. • Put heavy weight (books, dish) on top of the stain after covering it with clean cloth or stack of paper towels. • In order to ensure it absorbs any remaining liquid, leave it for several hours or overnight. • Dry the area thoroughly. • In order to return fibers to normal texture, vacuum the matting. Greasy stains can often be difficult to remove. However, if you act quickly, you can avoid them from ruining your floor covering. If you have any questions about carpet cleaning or are looking for carpet cleaning solutions, simply click here to connect with a local professional. via Dust Busters Blog http://ift.tt/1MbJbK0 |
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