Tricia's Musings

Random Thoughts about life in general, living in the big city of Toronto



You are here: Home / Archives for Home and Lifestyle / Moving or Organizing

Your Home Looks Great! But Don’t Forget About The Garage…

by

Resale is one of the most important things, however many people neglect to think about it when they are making a home purchase. The proper car taken with your entire home can ensure that you get the most out of your investment, and that your property value goes way up.

 

But one place where most people lose out on some serious cash is with the garage. Many people think about their garage in one simple way; they park their car in it. That is all a garage is for. But that is not true; a garage can be used in many ways.

And if you want to ensure that you do not lose out on any extra resale value when selling your home to a perspective buyer in the future, you are going to want to put in a little extra work.

Keeping Your Garage Clean

One of the biggest mistakes people do is they let their garage go to disrepair. People simply stop paying any attention to that state that their garage is in after a while, especially if they have no automotive hobbies which would lead them to spend any time in their garage.

Oil stains, cobwebs and even mold can all become huge issues with home owners and their garages. The main way to ensure that your garage does not face any of these issues is by keeping it clean.

First off, make it a habit. When you clean your house, take the bit of extra time to then go out and clean your garage after you have finished. This alone can make a huge difference. An occasional cleaning will stop oil leaks or spills from creating lasting marks on the floor of your garage.

And if you wipe out the cob webs and all the spiders, you will have fewer spider issues over time, as they will stop coming in to your garage and instead choose other places for their webs.

Make Garage Cleaning a Chore

None of us like to do chores, but it goes with out saying that we always make sure to get all of our chores done. If you turn garage cleaning in to just another chore, then it will get done when the time comes, just like any other chore.

The main thing is to treat your garage just like you would treat any other place in your home; it is part of your over all house. Thus it should receive just as much attention as your home itself—not less just because you do not sleep in it.

How to Save Money While Cleaning Your Garage

You do not have to buy a whole bunch of new cleaning products simply in order to clean your garage. You can use almost all of your regular house hold cleaning products to clean your garage. So do not buy those ads about “special” garage cleaners; most of them are garbage.

What you want is the basics; a good, friendly cleaning spray that won’t stain; some paper towels; a duster; a big garbage bag for any junk; and a broom, among other basic cleaning implements. Be sure not to leave a single area of your garage unattended; you should do as thorough a job cleaning your garage as you would your own room.

The better you clean, and the more you keep your garage clean, the more you are preserving your investment, and the more steady your property value will be when it comes time for you to sell your home.

Attached Images:
  •  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://morguefile.com/archive/display/31000

Joe Lloyd writes for steel-line.com.au who offer a huge range of garage doors, window shutters, garage door operators, and much more besides.  Visit them today for further details.





Out With The Old – The Therapeutic Benefits Of Regular Wardrobe Clean Outs

by

Seasons change and times change. Changes in life can without a doubt be difficult, but in certain situations it can bring forth a great sense of renewal if you feel unsatisfied or monotonous. Believe it or not, but regularly rewarding yourself with a cleansed wardrobe can therapeutically benefit you and give you a new outlook on life.

Having to wake up for work in the morning with the same clothing options in your closet month after month can become tedious and boring. If you have come to a point to where you’ve tried every possible combination of skirts and blouses, your jeans have snags in them and your favorite purse no longer zips, then maybe it is time to purge and refresh your wardrobe. Neglecting your wardrobe and accepting it even if it does not meet your true personal expectations can drain you of your energy and self esteem.

Although you do not have to completely clean out everything in your closet if you so choose not to, start with clothing that you no longer wear. This can include shirts that are missing buttons or pants you are no longer able to fit. Also, remove clothing that you wore at a difficult period of time in your life, such as a divorce or family death. Casting these clothes out of your closet will also cast out any emotional baggage and ties. You would be amazed at how much better you will feel.

As stated previously, times change. Acid washed jeans and tie-dye shirts are a thing of the past. Getting rid of outdated clothing will make you feel more modern and youthful.

You could sell your old items to a second hand shop and get a small amount of money for them to put towards your new clothing and fashion accessories. You could also throw them into a bag and take it to the nearest donation center. Knowing that you are helping a less fortunate individual will bring about a rewarding sense of self satisfaction. You will also feel less wasteful. The clothing in your closet can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars, you definitely do not want to completely throw these items into the trash.

Cleaning out your wardrobe will provide you with a sense of freshness and freedom to take on any new style that you may want to try, but never possessed the courage to do so before. Become creative and try out new accessories that you never wore before. Become bold and daring with different colors and patterns. Obtain ideas from your favorite fashion magazines and create different looks that you like.

Once you fill your closet with a brand spanking new funky wardrobe, you are going to feel empowered and ready to take on the world in your new clothing and accessories.

Of course personal budget must be taken into consideration when changing your wardrobe. However, you can find some pretty amazing things on clearance racks. Change you wardrobe whenever you feel the need for a fresh start and when you are financially stable to do so.

Article by Noelle Greenwood who owns and operates Australian online fashion stores Accessory Heaven and Wallet Shop.

Back to work or work from home?

by

Well I’m still waiting to find when I might be going back to my job at the hospital. Last Monday I had a nerve-racking meeting with the hospitals Human Resources department and now I’m trying my best to be patient as I wait to hear from them regarding where they might place me in the hospital and when I might be going back to work.

Two of the nurses at the meeting were from the hospitals Oncology Nephrology department. I don’t know if they were just part of the assessment team or if they were there because there’s an opening in that department and they are thinking of placing me there. I should have asked but as I said it was a nerve-racking meeting/ interview. It was about an hour and a half long! I’m assuming that I’ll hear something this coming week, but who knows.

At this point I’m getting antsy to get back to work. If something messes up and I end up not going back to my former full time nursing job perhaps I’ll continue to work on the internet. Well I never planned to give it up. However I’ll need to make more money than I make now if that’s the case.

If I were to truly work on the internet full time I’ve even thought of moving. Perhaps somewhere warm or even to the Outer Banks. I recently saw an ad for Outer Banks foreclosures and if I had the money to do it some of those properties sure sound good!

I do think I’ll be going back to nursing but I have toyed with the idea of working on my own and moving to different country. If not now, perhaps later in life. Have you ever thought of working from home in your dream country/city?

Still cleaning the basement – it will never end!

by

I’m trying to get motivated to do some work downstairs in the basement yet again. Yes it’s time to battle that mess once more. This time my husband is home and he’ll be helping me with the mess. He’s only helped once so far so we’ll see how this goes. He certainly helped in the making of the mess in the basement. I certainly couldn’t have piled all those boxes as high as they are – floor to ceiling! Wow.

I don’t think either of us are feeling much like conquering the basement mess today though. We’re both watching TV – catching up on some Hawaii Five 0 episodes that we have stored on our PVR. I also spent some time talking to an old friend for a while. It’s her grandmothers birthday next week and she was trying to decide what to get her and I suggested that she send chocolate strawberries to grandma as I’m sure she’d love that. Who wouldn’t? She seemed to love that idea.

Ok I guess I’d better see when we’re going to start working in the basement. I should get some extra bags and boxes for all the stuff that needs to be sorted and thrown out. If you don’t hear from me for a while I’m buried in the rubble!

Oh oh I’m on a cleaning frenzy!

by

I’m exhausted! I’ve been on a major cleaning and organizing spree lately. I’ve spent the last four days cleaning various areas of my house.

Actually I haven’t just been cleaning. I’ve been “purging” my house of clutter! Earlier today my husband and took four bags of old clothes to a donation area. We also dropped off a lot of our old electronics at a recycling station. We had a very old computer, computer monitor, two printers, a scanner and several mouses and so on that we’d needed to get rid of forever. I’m so happy that all that stuff is gone now.

Friday I spent about 8 hours cleaning under two beds in our spare rooms (we have a small house with only TWO real closets so space under the bed IS storage space!), sweeping, dusting and mopping on the main and upper floors of our house.

Saturday I cleaned out the big closet in our smallest spare room and completely cleaned the room. By this I mean I went through all of the drawers and threw out a lot of junk! I also turned on the very old computer and removed all of the old personal files since I knew we’d be getting rid of the computer. I tried to format the hard drive but it wouldn’t work. (we eventually took the hard drive out and ran a magnet over it to try to destroy the data, and we also smashed the hard drive – just to be on the safe side. LOL) Then I went into the master bedroom and went through the three storage boxes I have under the bed. This started my clothes donation pile. I then started going through the clothes drawers and organizing them. All in all I think I cleaned for about ten hours on Saturday. I was so busy I even forgot to take my medicines for most of the day.

By Saturday night my leg muscles were hurting. I figured that I wouldn’t be able to move on Sunday and I planed to just rest on Sunday. I mean, I’d been working pretty hard and I deserved a break, right? .. somehow my brain didn’t feel the same way come Sunday … For some reason I decided that the bathroom simply had to be cleaned. Totally cleaned. I mean I cleaned everything – the tub, the walls, the ceiling, hand scrubbed the tiles on the floor trying to make the grout white again … yeah .. I cleaned the bathroom for about 7 hours!

I don’t know why I’m on this cleaning frenzy other than I really have to get the house organized. There are a lot of changes coming up in my life in the near future and organizing and decluttering the house is part of what I need to do to get ready for what’s going to be happening.

Anyway … you’d think that at least I would have taken a break today wouldn’t you? Nope .. I ended up cleaning out the area under my kitchen sink, and then going into the basement and cleaning one small area. I went through some drawers down stairs. I was actually looking for something but ended up going through the whole set of drawers and cleaning them out. It needed to be done. It’s amazing the papers and clutter we hung on to! As I’ve cleaned I’ve found old shopping lists, old Christmas cards, flyers for things like food allergies austin or shopping deals, old business cards I printed out for my former business and for my websites … it just goes on and on. I don’t need any of that stuff anymore.

I have a feeling the decluttering has only just begun. I think that once I’ve gone over the whole house I’ll need to go over it again and get rid of more stuff. We have a LOT of stuff.

Do you ever get on a cleaning and organizing trend like I have in the last few days and find that you just can’t stop until you’ve finished the area you’re working on? Well one good thing about my busy Friday to Sunday was that I had the best, deepest sleep last night that I’ve had in months! I hope that I can sleep that well again tonight.

Meta

Search this site

Tags

blog blogs camera Canada Chris computer crohns dinner dog Family flower flowers Food friends funny garden Gardening Green Thumb Sunday Health and Fitness Health Fitness and Beauty holiday home Home and Lifestyle house husband IBD Inflammatory bowel disease Internet Music neighbors pain photo photos plants puppy Shopping sick sleep spring Toronto TV Video visit website Wordless Wednesday