Category Archives: Anything & Everything

Jan26

Get Ahead of the Game

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There is no time better to get everything ready for the winter months than in the winter months. That may sound a bit confusing, but it is the only season that you both start and end the year in (unless you’re in Australia, and then it’s flipped around … lucky!). So while you’re stuck firmly in winter at the start of the year with not much to do, think about the future and how you can get ahead of the game.

Sort the Heating: There may not be anything wrong with your source of heat now, but it’s best to make sure that everything is in tip-top working condition before you lessen your uses of it. You may not be using your furnace as much as you have this season over the next coming months, so it’s always good to get a furnace repair or inspection organized to make sure that everything is working as it should be. If you use a wood burner to provide your home with warmth, start looking for your wood now; it gives it plenty of time to dry out over the coming months and you’ll get a good stash of it ready and available. You also will save yourself quite a bit of cash by not outsourcing for it.

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Burn baby burn!

Buy the Gifts: You may have just exhausted the contents of your purse or wallet with Christmas, but the sales are still happening and now is the time to grab a bargain ahead of the next time the festive season rears its head up. How many times have you been left flapping and panicking about a present, resulting in your impulse-buying an expensive gift that you’re not really sure why you picked up in the first place? Maybe because it kind of resembled something that the other person liked once upon a time? If you spot something now that you know the receiver will love and admire, buy it before it returns to its pre-sale price.

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Pixabay Image

Tackle the Odd Jobs: Does the bathroom need a lick of paint? Gaps in the wall that need filling? Pictures that need hanging up? Do them all now. Stop thinking about a time to do them and increase your productivity levels by getting the jobs done. Actively look around the house for things that need fixing, cleaning, or even just checking-over to make sure that the batteries work (smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are a great example). It doesn’t matter what time of the year it is to get stuff sorted; if you set next winter as your goal, it gives you plenty of time to get it all done.

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Handy is dandy!

Don’t just read this and move on; think of all of the things that you could achieve before the coldness settles upon us again and get to work! You’ll look back on the past you and give yourself at a pat on the back – you deserve it, you handy and magnificent human, you.

Jan24

Clearing Out The Cobwebs: How To Clean Up Your Home

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Clearing Out The Cobwebs: How To Clean Up Your Home

Spring creeping up around the corner can only mean one thing: Spring cleaning! Here’s how to make the most out of your spring cleaning sesh to get your house spick and span in no time:

Throw Things Away: If your closet is full of things that you never wear any more, it’s time to wave goodbye to them and get rid of them. Not only will this free up space but it’ll also allow you to see the things you like and want to wear more often. If you donate them to charity, you’ll also feel as though you’ve done something to be of service. If you can’t decide which clothes you want to keep and which ones you want to throw away, why not turn around the hanger every time you wear something? By the time a year is up it’ll be obvious which clothes you haven’t worn in a long time and which you don’t need any more.

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Cleaning out my closet 8)

Declutter: If you feel overwhelmed by how many things are on the surfaces inside your home, it’s time to start getting rid of them. In busy family homes it’s easy to let clutter pile up – but this can make you feel even more scattered and disorganized, and what’s more, frustrated at the state of your home. Marie Kondo says that you should throw away everything that doesn’t spark joy in you – and you probably should at least clear up the possessions cluttering up your house that either aren’t beautiful or that don’t serve a purpose. Put them all in a box and if they aren’t claimed by a family member in a week, trash or donate them – you could even go for skip bin hire!

Assign Chores: If you’re the only person doing any cleaning, you’ll get very resentful very quickly. Make a rota to ensure that your partner does their fair share and give your kids jobs to do in return for their pocket money. If you have a pet, it’s important to make sure you take turns with feeding and bathroom breaks.

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 Perfectly decluttered!

Do It Gradually: The worst thing about cleaning is when you have an entire day of it ahead of you. If you work full time it’s very easy to resent a Saturday morning spent scrubbing out your bathroom sink. It often makes it easier to bear if you clean gradually as you go along – this means that you won’t have any huge jobs left hanging over your head that you’ll have to devote an entire weekend to. If you do something small every night when you get home from work, like changing all the bedsheets, doing a couple of loads of laundry, or throwing out all the old food from your fridge, it’ll seem a lot more bearable come the weekend.

Hire A Cleaner: It is absolutely not admitting defeat if you hire a cleaner. Sometimes cleaning just isn’t a top priority – and sometimes it shouldn’t be. You should be enjoying spending time with your kids and your partner instead of worrying about the state of your oven or bathroom. If you have enough spare money, then hire a cleaner to at least give a good once over of your home. Just make sure that the surfaces are free of clutter before they come and you’ll feel a lot more happy and content with the state and cleanliness of your place!

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Jan19

Back Up! Let’s Talk About Backup.

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Back Up! Let’s Talk About Backup.

Anything can go wrong at the drop of a pin nowadays. We are always told to back things up;  to make sure that there is a ‘Plan B’ should anything fail, an emergency route of sorts to go down. But what if you don’t know how to prevent the unexpected? Realistically, there are a number of things which can require back up in your home. Some, however, are more major than others – mainly in order to preserve your lifestyle, your health, and on a more sentimental note, your memories.

Start With the Memories: Any picture can now be uploaded onto a computer to preserve it. Old photographs can be scanned in and saved, forever immortal in cyberspace. Whatever you choose to do with them, remember that your laptop or computer is not the be all and end all in keeping these memories safe; the average lifespan of a laptop is actually just five years. You could consider investing in an external hard drive or buying up some cloud space to keep the photos alive for generations to come – just remember to pass on the password to your account to keep it going and have the files accessed forever.

Next, Your Lifestyle: Backing up your lifestyle? That’s a weird one. But, when you think about it, it’s not – that’s what insurance companies were born to do. Make sure that you are properly and fully covered for whatever is to happen. If you lose your job and have a mortgage, it is vital that your insurance will pay out any premium required to save you from having to sell up, rent out, or lose it altogether. Then think about even more material things to do with your lifestyle, such as all of your electrical equipment. What if something was to happen to your power supply? It wouldn’t be the end of the world until you needed an appliance, and we are all too reliant on such things in this day and age. Consider purchasing whole home generators to make sure that everything is covered when things get critical.

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Finally, Your Health: Health is a funny one. You can’t really back it up, but you can take drastic measures to ensure that you are living the healthiest lifestyle possible. Health insurance is the classic way of backing yourself up, so invest in a premium plan which will cover whatever life throws at you

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🙂

Featured Image By: Pixabay

Jan18

Having A Movie Night? Make It Simple

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Having A Movie Night? Make It Simple

Okay, so everything has gone to plan. The friends you have invited over have said yes, the pizzas have been ordered, the snacks are ready to go, your place looks presentable – like it always does – and the children have been put to bed. You are looking forward to a movie night with your friends who you haven’t had a chance to catch up with properly for weeks. It is only then that you realize you haven’t got the movies ready and worse still, nothing to even put DVDs into. Your laptop is in for repair, and you don’t own a DVD player. You start to panic but then, you realize it can be sorted out quickly. Disaster averted.

It is now really simple and easy to watch movies on your TV through your smartphone, if you have the right equipment. All you have got to do is open up MovieBox on your phone, connect to the Wi-Fi and connect with your DNLA television. Select your movie or movies and then sit back, relax, and enjoy the film. This also means that it’s much easier to find your children’s favorite TV shows, so you can have a moment to yourself while they are engrossed in the latest kids show. You also haven’t got to worry about irritating breaks in the film, as you would when watching a film on a TV channel, so you and your friends can completely enjoy the movie without an advert coming up to steal your concentration.

The ability and magnitude of the internet is now the norm. We can order food, search for the latest breaking news and the live score in the sports game, video chat with family living far away, and even turn the heating at home on or off when we are out and about. It is satisfying to know that our children will grow up in a fast paced world, knowing and growing up with the internet. A lot of us had to educate ourselves about the web when it first started to come to the fore of the masses, and some of us are still learning the basic tools of how and why we should use the internet.

Say, for example, if you really need to go grocery shopping but you can’t leave the house as you have a delivery arriving at an unspecified time. All you have got to do is an online shopping order from a supermarket and your shopping can be delivered to your door on the same day. So, while waiting for that delivery, you can do the cleaning chores before the children get home from school, cook dinner, and surprise them with treats that were delivered just before they arrived home.

Even if you are not a fan of the internet, it is hard to deny that it takes a lot of pressure off of us in terms of getting things done. You can do three, four, five things all at one, with the mere click of a button and your ability to use the world wide web.

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Jan16

Need More Space in Your Home? Try These Storage Ideas!

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In every home, there tends to be a need for more space. We have more things that we need to store or our home needs to function for a few purposes. With more and more people working from home at least one day a week, you need a spare room that doubles up as an office or a dining room that will work as a study, too. Additional storage is a must for this kind of thing. So if you are short on storage space and looking to make your home more functional, what can you do? Here are a few ideas to help you maximize the space in your home.

Convert the Garage: Are you someone that doesn’t really use the garage to it’s full potential? Do you just use it to park your car but nothing more? If that is the case, then it can be a huge space for you to convert and create an additional room in. First of all, if you have a driveway, then does your car need to be stored in the garage at all? Second of all, you need to think about getting some storage units in the garage. Maximize the space that you have by using shelving in the garage, as well as using hooks to hang things from the ceiling. When you aren’t using the floor space, it really does make a difference. You could use the garage, or at least half of it, as a family room or office. Just make sure that you put in more insulation or heating and get good rolling garage doors & gates. Otherwise, it could be a bit cold in there!

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Open Up Your Entryway: The entrance hall can be a busy space in the home. It can get cluttered with shoes, coats, and book or work bags. This can make it can look messy and smaller than it actually is. If you have space, then think about getting something like a bench. Then people can use it to put shoes on and spread out a little bit. If there wouldn’t be room for that, just make sure that you have got plenty of space for shoes and coats by using things like hooks and racks. When an area is organized, it looks much better and makes the space look larger, too.

Create More Storage with Furniture: In rooms like living areas or dining areas, you need extra storage space. These are the rooms that get the most cluttered, aren’t they? They are high traffic areas and where most people gather. So think about ways to use your furniture wisely to create more space. Think about ottoman style coffee tables. They can be lifted to store things like remote controls, games consoles, and magazines, for example. You could get a TV cabinet or coffee table with shelving built in. Then you can store books, DVDs, and video games. Wooden boxes could also be used to store things in like kids toys or throws and blankets. Personalize the boxes to make them your own and you will have a one of a kind bin for all of your odds and ends.

Jan4

Let’s Get Cooking! Check Out These Easy Kitchen Renovations

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Let’s Get Cooking! Check Out These Easy Kitchen Renovations

Christmas is finally over, and hopefully you and your family had an incredible time. If you hosted Christmas this year, you probably had a more stressful time than most people who were guests at other people’s houses. When you invite guests into your home and you have to cook a big dinner for them, you might realize that your kitchen isn’t quite up to scratch. If the holidays shocked you into wanting to make some changes to one of the most important rooms in your home, read on for some tips…

Storage: If you’re finding it hard to find everything in your kitchen, it’s time to improve your storage. A lot of the time, drawers that pull out will make it easier to find items like pots and pans than it is to rummage through cupboards. Make sure that everything is clearly labelled so you know exactly where it is. If you simply don’t have enough cupboard space, go for shelves instead – decant your flour, sugar and other ingredients into labelled airtight jars so they’re a feature of the room as well as easy to use. Break out the label maker or post its until everyone in the home gets the hang of where things go!

Sinks: If your sink isn’t quite big enough, it’s time to get a new one installed. It’s important to have enough space to comfortably be able to do your washing up in the evenings. If there are other issues with your sink like water pressure or the general look of it, you could have the faucets replaced – check out a site like Faucet Assistant to find the faucets to best suit you and your family.

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Get yo clean onnnn

Cabinets: A lot of the time, your cabinets can make or break the look of your kitchen. Replacing them is a huge and expensive job that can take up a lot of your time and money, but it’s definitely possible to revamp them without doing anything too major. If they’re made of wood, you can sand them and strip them down, before revarnishing or repainting them to make them look how you want them to. You could also replace the handles or knobs with new ones that you’ve bought online. Find some quirky cool ones and it will be an instant conversation starter when you’re hosting guests.

Floors: It’s very important that you stay safe in the kitchen, where you might be walking around carrying knives, boiling water, and heavy serving plates. It’s important to make sure that the floor is even and not too slippery. If you have any rugs and mats on the floor, make sure they’re fully flat and fastened to the floor so you don’t trip over them. What a disaster that would be!

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Seating: Before you invest in new seating, it’s absolutely crucial that you consider your individual family’s needs and how you use the kitchen. If you don’t eat in there, or if you prefer your dining room, then there’s no point in taking up a lot of space with a huge dining table! In that case, a breakfast bar and a couple of stools might be a better option. If you want to turn your kitchen into the hub of the house and tempt your recalcitrant teenage children to have dinner with you, make sure that your chairs are soft and cushioned for those sullen, hunched shoulders!

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Breakfast nook!! <333

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Jan3

Two Awful Things You Don’t Want In Your Home, And What To Do About Them!

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There are always so many posts about what to do in our home, giving us advice on paint colors, decorations, and fabrics to create a wonderful living space. But sometimes this can mean that the things we don’t want in our home get overlooked when creating a perfect space. Just read the post below to find out more:

Pest Infestation: One thing that no one ever wants in their home is a pest infestation. Whether you are scared of bugs or not, having an excess of creepy crawlies wandering around in your house can be very distressing. As can having an issue with vermin like mice and rats.

Both types of infestation can cause health issues, as some bugs like wasps sting and others spread disease like flies or cockroaches. Of course, vermin are well known to get into your food stores and walk their filthy little feet all over your counters, too, so they need to be rid of as soon as possible.

So how can you deal with an unwelcome infestation? Well, there are lots of pest specific advice on the internet. For example, you can help to stop pests gaining access to your home by sealing up any cracks in walls or vents. You can also help to prevent any infestations by ensuring that you keep your kitchen and waste areas clean and store any rubbish in proper bins that are well away from living quarters. But that is not much help if you already have a problem, is it? If an infestation is happening, then you will need to call a professional exterminator. They will have the tools and skill to identify the issue and treat it specifically as well as to help prevent it from reoccurring.

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He’s so wittle!!!

Damp and Mold: Have you ever lived in a home or visited one that is suffering from a damp problem? If so, you will know just how unpleasant it can be. There is often a funny smell and the air inside never quite feels dry enough. In fact, if you have breathing difficulties like asthma it can really exacerbate them. That is why you don’t want damp or mold in your home.

Of course, damp is the perfect condition for mold to grow, as well. Mold is actually a fungus that grows on the walls of your home. Not only is it (very!) unsightly but it can pose a risk to your health, as well, and it really means that you aren’t living in the best conditions. But what can you do about problems such as mold and damp? Well, first of all, you will need to identify where the damp is coming from. If it is due to a flat roof or a crack in the walls it may be fairly easy to fix. But if it is rising damp, it is caused by the foundation of your home sucking up water from the land surrounding it. This is a lot more costly and time-consuming to deal with and needs to be addressed by a professional.

Jan2

Monday Update: Car Crash Edition

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Monday Update: Car Crash Edition

Hii everyone and happy Monday! I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend and a great time ringing in 2017. Unfortunately for me, my weekend kind of sucked because on Friday I got rear ended and I’m STILL annoyed about it! My beloved Little Red Love Machine, AKA my 2012 Mazda 2 hatchback, got a bit of a bumper boo boo but thankfully the other guy and I are okay. Let’s discuss and I’ll tell you how ridiculous this accident was:

So, I’m returning home from dropping my sister off at her apartment and am literally THREE MINUTES away from arriving back at the home front. (I guess it’s true when they say that you’re more likely to get in an accident when you’re closer to home.) Anyways, I am sitting behind at least eight or more cars at a red light just minding my own business and listening to my Learn French In Your Car tapes.

As I’m doing my thang and getting my French on, I decided to take a look see at my rear view mirror just out of habit. That’s when I see a car approaching at at least thirty-five miles per hour and he doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon. I legitimately didn’t know what to do. It was crazy, because I knew as soon as I saw the car coming that I was going to get hit so all I could do was lay down on my horn and brace myself for the inevitable.

CRASHHHHHHHHH.

Just as I secured my foot on the brakes and hoped that they would stay there so that I didn’t run into the car in front of me, the Little Red Love Machine was hit. The guy driving the enemy vehicle and I pulled over into the parking lot that we were in front of and after making sure that we were both okay, I phoned the police. It was weird. I’ve never been in an accident before, let alone called 911, so as soon as I hung up the phone I awkwardly told the guy that I was going to wait in my car. To put in mildly: I was freezing my nads off.

In my defense – all I had on was my slippers, a pair of leggings, and a long sleeved top because I wasn’t anticipating waiting outside with a person who hit my car and it was freezing, as Ohio tends to be in the winter. Rather, I was planning on being in my nice, warm car until my return home. Because I was clueless on “what to do after my car has been hit” etiquette on top of being cold and friggen annoyed, I don’t think I said ten words to the guy. Lol, whatever.

Long story short, the police came to where we were located, looked over our cars, talked to both of us, and then gave us the go ahead to go home. Honestly, it looks like the guy who hit me got the shittier end of the stick, if you will, because I am pretty sure he had to get his car towed. Sucks to suck!

But, the worst thing of all is that I am 99.99% sure that I heard him tell the police that he didn’t have insurance and that’s what really pissed me off. So, let me get this straight: you were blatantly not paying attention to the road to the point that you didn’t notice a red light and a significant line of cars and I’ll be the one paying my deductible if I chose to get my car repaired? SO. STUPIDDDD.

The only good thing that came out of that evening was that my dad got me post accident Taco Bell but other than that I was mad. Getting rear ended is dumb. It’s seriously the lamest type of a car accident because 1) The person being hit did nothing wrong and 2) It could have been avoided if people just pay attention to the road. Jesus!

I guess in conclusion to this long rant I will say that I encourage everyone to be a lot safer when they’re driving. Wear your seat belts. Don’t text or talk on the phone. PAY ATTENTION! Then, maybe you won’t wind up hitting a girl who worked her ass off to afford her dream car and has to write a long blog post afterwards to deal with it!

So, there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Car Crash Edition. What is your biggest pet peeve while driving? What do you do to ease a case of road rage? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec28

Make Your Home Life Easier By Getting To Grips With These Great Gadgets

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Technology is an amazing thing. The achievements of the modern day make life a lot easier than it used to be. It’s not just everyday life that gadgets can help with, either. Installing some devices around your home can take the hassle out of those jobs that we all love to hate. All you need to do now is know which ones to install. We’ve got a rundown of a few things you need in your home right now. Don’t do things the hard way. Get connected to get on top!

Garage Door Openers: The garage door has long been a point of contention. Having to get out of the car to open the door is always a chore. Not to mention that you have to maneuver the vehicle so that you have enough space to get that door open! Garage door openers are the oldest gadget on this list, but they’re one no home should be without. Openers, like those found at www.garageautomatics.com will take the hassle out of parking. Some options use a remote control while some work automatically. Whatever you choose, it’s an investment worth making. Entering and exiting your home won’t be the chore that it once was with one of these in your life!

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 Wikimedia Image

WiFi Thermostats: Do you often find yourself returning to a cold house? Do you dread getting out of bed in the morning because of the cold that is lurking outside your duvet? You needn’t suffer anymore. With the invention of the WiFi thermostat, it’s never been easier to turn the heating on. For years, thermostats have given the option of timed heating. That’s not always practical, though. The amount of heat you waste with this option is insane. Plus, it’s never warm when you need it to be!

With a WiFi thermostat, you can connect your heating straight to your phone. That way, you don’t even need to be at home to turn the heat on! Turn your thermostat on when you leave the office and return to a toasty warm house! Forgetting to shut down the heating won’t be a problem with one of these, either. You can just open the app on your phone and turn the heat off from wherever you are. Save time and money with one of these bad boys!

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 So Handy!

Automatic Vacuum Cleaners: Cleaning is a chore that none of us relish. We may all be dreaming of robots that can clean the whole house, but technology isn’t quite there. The good news is, is that it’s not far off. If you hate vacuuming, then you need an automatic vacuum cleaner in your life. With one of these, you’ll never have to worry about the job again. Just set your automatic cleaner to roam your house, and it’ll clean as it goes. You can connect these to your phone too so that you can ensure a clean room for your return! Automatic vacuum cleaners have been around for a while now, so there are many options. If you’re unsure of which one is best, sites like  www.toptenreviews.com can give you an idea of the top products on the market.

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DJ Roomba! Parks & Rec, anyone?

Dec28

The Cleaning Musts That Most Of Us Forget

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With Christmas gone, spring is literally just around the corner. It may be hard to imagine when the days are short and we’re all so cold, but it’ll be here before we know it. That’s why it’s time to turn our attention to spring cleaning once again. We all associate spring cleaning with scrubbing out cupboards and washing the floors. There’s nothing wrong with that. It is, however, important to remember the other things that need attention. Here’s a lowdown on the spring cleaning musts that most of us forget.

Clean The Cleaning Cupboard: We fill our cleaning cupboard, yet how often do we check through what we have? Remember that you’re cleaning your house with the products that you’re storing there! If they’ve gone off, or become contaminated, it’ll affect everything. With that in mind, get cleaning. It’s important to scrub the cupboard itself, too. Cleaning cupboards always end up with a sticky residue (Ew!) from accidents. Don’t allow your cleaning stuff to become infected with bacteria. Keep the space clean!

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Keep The Air Clean: It may sound strange, but it’s important that you keep the air in your house as clean as possible. Damp or stale air can cause major health issues if you’re exposed to it for a long time. It can be hard to get your home fresh during the winter, but as soon as the beautiful days come, it’s essential that you get to work.

Throughout the whole year, you can avoid damp air by using a dehumidifier like those reviewed by Dehumidifier Web. During the spring, though, you can take literal air freshening even further. Open windows as often as possible to stop mold growth and staleness. It’s amazing what a difference a breath of fresh air can make. Clean your windows to ensure that they go into summer without any mold spores growing!

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Look After The Outside: It’s also easy to forget the outside of the house when we get stuck into the cleaning. Indoors isn’t the only place that needs a little attention once the winter ends. In fact, the outside of your house will need you more, as it will have been exposed to the elements! Getting the house pressure washed will be an instant facelift for your home and is a cost effective way to make your property shine. You can find pressure washing pros by entering a search for “Pressure washing service in the Waynesboro, VA” or your local area. You should also turn your attention to drains and gutters as soon as possible. During the autumn and winter months, they will fill with leaves. Not clearing these could cause a major backup.

Once that job is done, turn your attention to your garden. It’s bound to have suffered through the winter months, so you may have a fair amount of work to do. Start by clearing any dead foliage, then get to working on making the space beautiful again. For the most part, a little clearing up will ensure that your flowers will grow through as they should. Think, too, about when to start cutting the grass. It’s always worth listening out for when your neighbors start doing theirs!

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You don’t even have to wait until spring to transform your house. Why not get ahead of the crowd and do your spring cleaning in time for the new year? #2017goals !!