The warm weather may be here for now, but it won’t be long before the temperature drops and the snow falls. To make sure you aren’t caught unexpectedly without the right clothing, jackets, and shoes, start transitioning your wardrobe and organizing your closets for the fall season! Below, we’ve got some suggestions on how you can get the process started: DON’T SWITCH EVERYTHING AT ONCE Once September hits, you may be tempted to put away all your summer clothes, but the truth is Calgary can still get warm weather right up until the end of the month, but we can also get cold weather as well! No one can predict what kind of clothes you’ll need, but it may be a good idea to keep a few pieces from your spring and summer wardrobe, like t-shirts and darker-coloured blouses or tank-tops, just in case it stays warm outside. It also wouldn’t hurt to keep a pair of flats or lighter shoes for this reason. As we get further into the season and the warm weather is gone for good, these items ...
How to create a relaxing bathroom
With toiletries scattered across the counter and towels tossed in the corner, your bathroom doesn’t feel like a place to get clean. But when your bathroom is orderly, your bathroom can become a place of both cleanliness and relaxation. See how with these 3 tips. Utilize your storage space. Close your eyes and picture a relaxing spa. Chances are, this space doesn’t have makeup or cleaning products cluttering the counter space. Rather, relaxing spaces are clean and open. To make your bathroom feel more soothing, be sure to utilize all your storage space. ShelfGenie can bring more organization, space, and access to your cabinets and drawers with pull-out shelves, tip-out trays, risers, and more. Toss out old toiletries and makeup. Using old makeup, lotion, medicines, and other toiletries can be both unsafe and ineffective. As well, these items can take up a lot of space in your cabinets and drawers! Go through all your loose items to see what you should toss. This will clear ...
The Costs vs. Benefits of Hardwood Flooring Repair
Learn how to decide whether to repair or replace hardwood flooring in your home. Hardwood floors provide a warm, classic feel for your home. In kitchens, living rooms or entryways, hardwood flooring offers benefits over carpet, including easier clean-up and lower maintenance. Treated well, wood can last for decades. But no flooring is invincible, and eventually you'll need to repair or replace your existing hardwood. Both options come with a price. How you want to tackle the project and the extent of the damage will determine which choice is cost-effective. Types of hardwood flooring Wood comes in a host of colors, grains and hardness. One of the hardest woods used in residential flooring is Brazilian cherry. Using what's known as the Janka hardness test (the measure of how much force is required to embed a 0.444 inch steel ball into the wood), Brazilian cherry gets a score of 2,350 pounds. In other words, it can stand up to its fair share of damage. The wood has an interwoven ...
Curb Appeal: First Impressions Add Value
Curb appeal is everything in Real Estate. Whether you’re about to sell your house, or you just bought a new house, changing simple things in your yard space is a sure way to get people’s attention – the good kind. The best way to capture attention also happens to be relatively inexpensive. The first thing people see on your property is your yard. Whether we like it or not, people begin to judge the entire property as soon as they gaze up the front steps. The outside appearance can make or break their opinion. Have you ever driven by a restaurant that looks beat up and run down on the outside only to find out that it’s a beautifully furnished and romantic setting inside? Probably not, since you most likely kept driving without ever wanting to find out! The outer appearance had you cast your judgement before ever stepping foot inside. The same goes for your house when you’re trying to sell; if the yard is run down or overgrown, potential buyers are instantly losing some ...
Top Tips for busy moms to stay organized
Life can be extremely busy for all of us, whether you are a working mom or a stay at home mom. There is always something to be done and it can start to have an effect on our health, state of mind and our family connection. Clutter can cause you to feel overwhelmed or depressed, it can rob you of your energy and cost you money. Try this exercise: Focus on a cluttered area. How do you feel when you look at this area? Stressed? Overwhelmed? Depressed? Getting organized will help you feel better emotionally and physically. This is why we want to help others get organized, to help them overcome the emotional side of removing the clutter from their life and show them how it can benefit you in many ways. The sense of freedom we see on a clients face when they realize they now have things under control and can see themselves having more time to do the things they love is priceless. Being a mom myself and running a business, I have had to put systems in place to help me stay “on top” of ...
How often and why should you change your furnace filters?
Changing your furnace filters Furnace filters help to safeguard the furnace, they also contribute to good health and well-being by cleaning the air circulating through the house. Air filters capture many of the contaminates that aggravate allergy and asthma symptoms. Molds, pollen, and dust are found in all households and are drastically reduced by using a good quality furnace filter. The filter will also help keep your heating or air conditioning system coils cleaner, which can save you money on your energy bills. How often should filters be changed? As general rule you should check your filters monthly and change the filters approximately every three months to keep your furnace running at maximum efficiency. If they are especially dirty change them more often. Follow the manufactures instructions and use the furnace filter they recommend, make sure to read the owner’s manual for the care instructions. Here are a few factors that affect the life of a filter: • Dirty ducts • ...
Vacation Safety
Summertime is almost upon us and no doubt, you are thinking about a summer vacation. A nice quiet retreat to a lake front cottage or a golf vacation through the Okanagan, or maybe even a wine tour. What things do you need to consider to enjoy a fun-filled vacation and remain safe while away from the comforts of your home? First off, there are a few things that you can take with you to keep you safe. Taking your cellular phone and charger will ensure that you can call for help or assistance where ever you are. Also, a cane or walker are great to take with you for longer walks, or even if you are walking on a hot day. The walker can also double as your chair allowing you to rest anywhere along the way. Walkers also quite often have baskets to carry your groceries and other things you purchase. Don’t forget water – keeping hydrated is very important and often forgotten on vacation. If you are staying at a hotel during your vacation, many locations now have universally designed ...
Improve Air Quality with These Tips
Canadians love the outdoors, big sky and fresh air but increasingly we’re spending more and more time indoors. We often think of air pollution as something outside – smog or ozone, especially in summer. But the truth is, the air inside homes, offices, and other buildings can be more polluted than the air outside. With more than 70,000 synthetic chemicals in use today, many are affecting the overall indoor air quality of residential, commercial, educational and industrial buildings. Alberta Health in their Environmental Public Health Indoor Air Quality Manual: A Guide for Environmental Public Health Professionals published August 31, 2012 note that “Air quality affects human health. In a 1996 survey, nearly two out of three Canadians said that their health had been affected by pollution and more than one out of two people were very concerned about air quality (Environics 1997)… Recent indoor air quality research has garnered increased public and government attention as the quality of ...
The ABC’s of vinyl siding installation
PREPARATION IS THE KEY TO HOME IMPROVEMENT, ESPECIALLY FOR MAJOR RENOS LIKE VINYL SIDING Good preparation is everything if you want the job done properly. Here's the Greg Martineau checklist. Pre-installation checks for straight, watertight walls For a re-siding job over existing wood siding, nail down loose boards and replace any rotten or damaged ones. Check all walls for evenness and install furring strips where necessary, making sure to establish a smooth, continuous surface. Remove loose caulking and re-caulk around windows, doors and other areas first to ensure a watertight seal. This is also a good time to add insulation, bringing up the R-value and levelling the walls. Begin installation with a house wrap barrier Waterproofing measures are important for your siding’s longevity and performance. Vinyl siding is designed as an exterior cladding, not a water-resistive barrier. Because vinyl siding is designed to allow the material underneath to breathe, it ...
Do You Need a Designer Garage?
When it comes to garage organization, most of us invest in some shelves, throw out the trash and maybe get a couple of new cabinets or some overhead storage. But that’s not always enough! When it comes to those with money to burn, getting simple metal and white storage isn’t enough- creating a designer garage is where it’s at! What is a designer garage and do you really need one? Designer garages are relatively new phenomena, gaining steam in the new millennium with the explosion of several businesses offering high quality glitz and glam for the garage. These things can range from handmade, wood crafted garage doors to polished countertops, high quality cabinetry and even porcelain tiles to get that showroom look. Most of these designer garages are now attached to your home instead of being detached and they are more often than not used for things other than storing a vehicle. Some of us may shake our head and wonder whether these designer garages are even useful for holding cars ...
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