Spring cleaning tips and things you may be missing...

As self-isolation and social distancing stretches on, you may find yourself a bit bored just staying at home. Since there’s a big difference between choosing to stay at home and having to stay at home, even those who enjoy spending time at home may be struggling. This is why many people are starting to look for things that need to be done around the house – if you’re going to be stuck at home every day, you might as well be productive.

Fortunately, there are a number of spring-cleaning tasks that can keep you busy for a while. Don’t just dust, vacuum and call it a day, though. Consider tackling the following jobs as well to reduce your future maintenance needs and ensure that you’re ready to face the summer.

Clean the Windows (And the Screens)

Cleaning the windows is a classic spring-cleaning task, but it’s one of those tasks that’s all too easy to only do halfway. When you clean your windows, be sure to clean both the inside and the outside with a quality glass cleaner. You should also remove the window screens and clean them as well, especially if any of them have dirt or other icky stuff stuck in them after the winter.

Pressure Washing

Dirt, mold, mildew and moss can all degrade the materials of your home over time. That’s why it’s a good idea to break out the pressure washer and give your home a good ol’ scrubdown at least once a year. Spring is a good time to do this since it’s usually still a bit too cool for things that grow on your house to get out of hand. While you’ve got the pressure washer out, you should also look to see if there’s anything else around the house that could use a good deep clean. Check out picnic tables, fences and any other spots where dirt and other contaminants might accumulate.

Gutter Cleaning

A lot of people view gutter cleaning as a fall task, associating full gutters with fallen leaves. There are a lot of things that can clog up your gutters, though, including debris that gets washed off your roof by spring rain and melting snow. To reduce wear and tear on your gutters and make cleaning them easier overall, make cleaning your gutters into a task that you do at least twice a year, in the spring and fall.

Check Out the AC

As things start to warm up, a lot of people prefer to open their windows instead of cranking the air conditioning. You should at least give it a test run to make sure that it’s working properly, though. Clean your AC as best as you can, let it run for a while to make sure that it’s able to maintain the air temperature, and change any filters that need to be changed. If there’s a problem, it’s better to find out now and fix it than discover it in a few months when temperatures peak.

Don’t Forget the Furniture

A lot of dusting goes on in the spring, but it’s easy to forget that dust and dirt accumulate on furniture too. Break out the vacuum or a steam cleaner to give your furniture a good cleaning as a part of your spring-cleaning routine. Not only will this keep your furniture looking good and in good shape for longer, but it can also reduce allergies and other health issues within your home.

Test Those Smoke Detectors

It’s easy to forget smoke detectors if they aren’t beeping randomly in the middle of the night because they have a low battery. To keep your home safe, though, you should test your smoke detectors and replace their batteries every six months. Spring cleaning time is a great time to do this (and then do it again in the fall when you start preparing your home for winter). Don’t settle for just replacing batteries, either; if a smoke detector doesn’t work or seems to have a larger problem than just dead batteries, replace the entire unit.

Working from home tips

Working from home can be a challenge, especially when you’re not used to it. There are a lot of distractions that can interfere with your work, sometimes causing you to get so off track that you end up behind on important tasks. While many consider working from home to be a great perk, if you’ve never worked from home before then you might be surprised at just how stressful it can be!

Fortunately, you’re not on your own. These are stressful times, and HomeKeepr is here to help you get through them. To that end, here are some tips that will make working from home for the first time a lot easier.

Set Up Your Space

When you think of working from home, you might picture yourself lounging on the couch in your pajamas with a laptop on your lap. While some people do choose to work like this when working from home, for most home workers this sort of setup is going to kill any productivity they might have. Instead of taking a “work wherever I end up” approach, set up a desk or office space that’s intended solely for work-related activities. This will help you to stay on task when you’re at work and will keep work activities from bleeding over into leisure time.

Check Your Equipment

If you’re used to having in-person meetings during the week, getting used to remote meetings via a video service like Zoom or Skype can be a bit of an adjustment. To make this easier, check your equipment beforehand to ensure that everything will work correctly when it’s time to start a meeting. This includes checking your webcam, your microphone and your speakers to make sure everything functions properly. There are websites and software solutions that help you with this, and some platforms like Zoom have built-in tests as well.

Keep to a Schedule

One common misconception about working from home is that you automatically gain the freedom to work whenever you feel like working. While this may be true for some industries, if you’ve been working 9 to 5 for the last 10 years then that isn’t likely to change much just because your office is now in your guest room. Keep as close as possible to your regular schedule, allowing for possible reduced hours or other differences brought about by working from home. It can help to print out a copy of your “office hours” as well, both as a reminder to others that you’re busy with work and a reminder to yourself that you’re supposed to be on the job.

Avoid Distractions

It’s said that one of the hard things about working from home is the fact that home is where we keep all our favorite distractions. This includes a lot of things, ranging from games to books to the TV. It also includes family members, who can be hard to ignore when you’re supposed to be on the job. As much as possible, try to avoid interacting with the people and things in your home unless you’re taking a break from work activities.

Don’t Make Deals

It’s easy to tell yourself that if you do something unrelated to work now, you’ll make up the work that you’re supposed to be doing later. Unfortunately, this tends to snowball, and the next thing you know you’re behind on everything you’re supposed to be doing. Avoid making these sorts of deals; instead choose to do those things or have those conversations during your next scheduled break, just like you would do if you were still going in to work. If there’s something you want to do that won’t fit into a regular break, try to get your current tasks done BEFORE you take the time off instead of bargaining that you’ll wrap it up after.

Stay Connected

Isolation is difficult, especially if you’re used to working closely with your coworkers. You can fight this by calling them up, collaborating over video or even sending out daily emails or texts to check on everyone. Even though it’s not the one-on-one interaction you’re used to, the contact you have with your coworkers can still make a huge difference.

Is wallpaper making a comeback?

Wallpaper has been around for thousands of years in one form or another, with wallpaper-like wall coverings being used in China in 200 B.C. Modern style wallpaper with repeating patterns on continuous sheets was created by Jean-Michel Papillion in 1675, and it has remained a popular option ever since. With that said, wallpaper hasn’t been consistently loved since its invention; like most home décor trends, its popularity has waxed and waned over the years.

In the past couple of years, it’s been looking like wallpaper is poised for a comeback. As more and more homeowners turn to wallpaper as an element in their home decoration plans, new trends are starting to emerge. Does that mean that wallpaper is really making a return? It certainly looks that way, and modern wallpaper is definitely leaving its own mark on interior design.

Wallpaper Textures

Textured wallpapers are nothing new, but there are several newer wallpapers that take texture to an extreme that would make older wallpapers clutch their pearls. Embossed designs, brick or wood textures, faux bamboo and even delightfully smooth and satiny wallpapers are changing what people think of when they consider what wallpaper feels like. Not only does textured wallpaper give your walls a novel tactile sensation, but some textures can even change the way the wallpaper looks by creating a 3D effect.

Gradients

Most people think of wallpaper as having a more or less consistent repeating pattern. This doesn’t have to be the case, however. Many modern wallpaper designs incorporate gradients that let the colors on your walls change from floor to ceiling. Sometimes this effect can be subtle, but other wallpapers incorporate transitions between bold colors that really stand out. These can be a great way to accent specific colors in your décor or help direct attention to key pieces of furniture.

Bold Prints

In the past, wallpaper has run the gamut from subtle coloration to full-on tackiness. Some manufacturers are now inching as close to the latter as possible without crossing the line, offering up some bold prints that really capture the eye. Complex florals, colorful graphics and even wallpapers that create volumetric effects might seem like they’re too much, but in the right room they can really bring the décor to life.

Metallics

Wallpaper that incorporates metallic tones isn’t new, but some modern wallpaper is taking it a step further. Instead of simply using metallic tones as accents or working with flat metallics, modern wallpapers use metallic coloring along with texture and design to create effects like brushed steel, metal plating and other metal-like designs. This can let you capture the look and to an extent even the feel of metal without the substantial cost and hassle that can be involved with installing actual metal plating on your walls.

Combining Wallpaper Styles

One trend that’s really coming to the forefront with modern wallpaper is combining different wallpaper styles within the same room to really make the room stand out. Similar effects were created in the past using paint and wallpaper, but the modern trend uses contrasting wallpaper styles to better incorporate the textures and other features of wallpaper within the room. This can profoundly change both the look and feel of the room, transforming it from just a basic living space into an experience that really has to be seen to be believed. Even if you don’t take things quite that far, you can use this same technique to help match that couch that never really seems to go with anything.

Don’t Call It a Comeback

While wallpaper may have been less popular for a while, it never really went away. If you’re ready to embrace some of the modern wallpaper trends that are emerging in interior design, HomeKeepr can help. Sign up for a free account today and find a painter or other wallpaper expert you need to help you create that unique look that you’re searching for.

Organization pro-tips

Have you heard of Marie Kondo? Even if you can’t quite place the name, there’s a good chance that you’ve run across some reference to figuring out whether things “spark joy” when cleaning up your house. The idea might seem simple, but it’s a central part of her organizational philosophy, repeated again and again in her books and on her Netflix show, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. If something doesn’t bring joy to your life, why are you keeping it around?

Organizing Your Life

There are a lot of reasons that you might choose to try and organize your life and get rid of some unnecessary things around the house. It might be that you’re just trying to get rid of clutter. Maybe you’re going to downscale and need to get rid of some of your belongings. Maybe you want to make it easier to find the things you care about by getting rid of a lot of unnecessary things. Perhaps you’re planning a yard sale and want to figure out what to sell. Or, maybe you’re anticipating a move and only want to have to pack the essentials.

Regardless of the reason, sorting through your belongings and figuring out what you really want to keep can be a major undertaking. This is where Marie Kondo’s method can come in handy, because it helps you to evaluate exactly how you feel about the things you’ve surrounded yourself with. By bringing those feelings to the forefront, it can make it much easier to get rid of what you need to get rid of while keeping the things you actually enjoy.

The Marie Kondo Method

You’ve probably seen the basics of Marie Kondo’s method referenced even if you’ve never read her books or watched her show. She encourages people to pick up the object they’re evaluating, consider it and ask whether it “sparks joy” within them. This causes you to stop and think about your actual feelings for the item and helps you to separate those things that you hold on to for no reason from those that you actually enjoy.

Does It Spark Joy?

When it comes time to go through your own belongings, you can easily implement some of Marie Kondo’s techniques into your organizational methods. You obviously don’t have to do it for everything in your house; there are some things that you know you want to get rid of, and others that have long outlived their usefulness. Go ahead and get those out of the way, by recycling them, giving them away, or otherwise ridding yourself of them.

Marie Kondo’s techniques are most useful for those things that you’re not sure about, such as items that you’ve had for years and never use. You may never even touch them unless you’re dusting or need to find something that they’re in the way of. Some of these items might have sentimental value, but that’s different than sparking real joy within you. You don’t have to rush yourself; take some time and really consider whether you have an actual use for these things or if you’re just holding on to them because they’ve always been around. You might be surprised what you’re willing to let go of once you really put a little bit of thought into it.

Making Positive Changes

Decluttering and otherwise cleaning up your house can be a big chore. Sometimes you’ll find that you need to bring in some outside help after you’ve figured out what you’re keeping and what you’re getting rid of. You may also realize that you’ve finally gotten rid of enough stuff to start an exciting new project but need the help of a painter or other contractor to make it happen. Regardless of your need, HomeKeepr is here to help! Sign up for a free account today and find the cleaners, contractors and other pros that you need to help make sure that everything in your home sparks joy.

Should you hire a house cleaning service?

Cleaning up around the house isn’t a task that a lot of people enjoy. It can be especially harrowing if you have a big family or just have a schedule that seems constantly packed. There are probably times when you’ve thought that it would be so much easier to just hire somebody to come in and do the cleaning. And you totally can! There are a number of cleaning services that can provide you with the cleanliness and sanitation you require. The question is, should you hire someone?

There are several factors that can go into the decision to hire a cleaning service. If you’re not sure whether you actually want to call in a cleaning service or not, here are a few things to consider.

How Much Cleaning Is Needed?

The first thing that you should consider is exactly how much cleaning there is to be done. If you only have a small amount of cleaning that’s needed at any given time, there may not be much of a benefit to not just doing it yourself. If you need more cleaned up, though, the benefit obviously grows with the workload.

How Often Is Cleaning Needed?

Another factor in how much of a benefit there is to hire a cleaning service centers around the frequency with which cleaning is needed. If you find that you really only need things cleaned up once every month or two, that probably isn’t an insurmountable task and there’s relatively little benefit based on frequency. If your home could use a good cleaning every week or possibly even a few times a week, however, there could be a huge benefit to hiring it out.

Of course, this should also be weighed against the amount of cleaning required; needing a significant amount of cleaning once a month might still provide a strong case for hiring a cleaning service. Even if cleaning amounts differ, such as one large cleanup followed by periodic maintenance cleaning, the overall benefit could still be substantial.

Do You Have Time to Clean?

The amount of free time that you have can affect the degree of benefit you’d see from hiring a cleaning service. If you’re constantly busy and have very little free time, having someone else do the cleaning would provide a significant benefit. On the flip side, if you find yourself with hours of time in which you don’t have anything to do, you could put some of that time toward cleaning tasks; this would reduce the benefit of hiring a service.

Can You Afford a Cleaning Service?

After you have an idea of how much benefit there is from hiring a cleaning service, compare that against the cost of bringing cleaners in. Look up prices or request quotes from some cleaners in your area to figure out how much of a financial burden the cleaning service would be. You might even want to develop a few different cost models, figuring out how much it would cost to bring them in weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or even on demand.

Should You Hire a Cleaning Service?

Once you have both your approximate benefits and costs figured out, it’s time to compare the two and make sure that there’s enough benefit to justify the cost. If the cleaning service would cause you a financial strain, then there would obviously have to be a substantial benefit for you to hire them. If it would be easy enough to fit their services into your budget, however, the requisite benefit to make it worth your while will be much less. Comparing these two factors will make your decision much easier and can provide insight into how often and to what degree you’ll want their services as well.

Finding the Best Cleaner for Your Needs

If you decide that you do need a cleaning service, you’ll obviously want to get the best one in your area. HomeKeepr can help! Sign up for a free account today and find a cleaning service that will do a great job for a great price, based on the recommendations of people just like you.

Single Home Buyers

When a lot of people think of buying a home, they picture it as a part of settling down and building a family. There’s a pretty good reason for this; couples and families do make up a significant portion of the home-buying population. But there is a growing trend among buyers that bucks this tradition: Single people have become increasingly likely to shop for a home in recent years.

The Importance of Singles Buying Homes

There are multiple reasons why the increase in singles buying homes is noteworthy. The uptick may be due in part to overall changes in society, with individuals marrying or starting families later in life, after trying to achieve stability. It also speaks to the increased economic power of the Millennial generation, with those in their 20s and 30s able to buy a home of their own even as they’re working on building a career.

Of course, there is one other important thing about more singles buying homes that is easy to overlook. Those looking to sell their home may focus on making their property as appealing as possible to older buyers or those with families, missing out on this growing segment of homebuyers. Realizing that more singles are buying homes allows sellers to market their property to a wider range of buyers, increasing the likelihood of selling a home quickly and without having to compromise substantially on asking price.

Women as Homebuyers

One specific aspect of the increase in single homebuyers that is worth noting is the fact that single women are significantly more likely to buy homes than single men. In fact, as many as 1 in 5 potential buyers is likely to be a single woman according to recent trends. This is around twice as likely as a buyer being a single male. This difference is especially noteworthy when you consider that, on average, women typically earn only around 80 percent as much as men working in similar roles.

This is another point that sellers should consider when putting their homes on the market. Not only is it increasingly likely that singles will be interested in the property, but when they are, they will probably be women shopping for a home. This really shakes up old mindsets that focus on married couples buying with the husband as a negotiator trying to get the best price on the home purchase.

Attracting Single Buyers

Single homebuyers may have different criteria when shopping for a house than couples or families. They may look for smaller properties, homes with large yards for gardening or other characteristics that might not be as important to couples or families. Location can be viewed differently by single buyers as well; they are less likely to be concerned with school districts and proximity to parks or other family destinations, and more likely to consider proximity to work or attractions that appeal to singles.

Realizing how the priorities differ when it comes to buyers who are single versus couples and families can affect how you advertise the home you have for sale. Listings in areas that aren’t ideal for families can be targeted toward single buyers instead, focusing on those aspects that a single woman or man might find appealing. Even if you don’t target your sales specifically toward singles, being mindful of the differences can help you to create home listings that have a wider appeal across a range of potential buyers.

Prepping Your Home

If you’re putting your home on the market, it’s important to keep single buyers in mind. If you aren’t sure how to do this, you might consider bringing in a decorator or interior design expert that can help you to make your home as appealing as possible to a wider range of potential buyers. Sign up for a free HomeKeepr account today to find the pro that can help you find the buyer that’s right for you.

Is your fence really on your property?

As Robert Frost (somewhat facetiously) said, “Good fences make good neighbors.” While many people have much better relationships with their neighbors than the saying implies, there is something to be said for a good fence on your property. Not only can fences add some visual appeal to the property, but they can also be functional. Fences are often a godsend if you own animals and don’t want to keep them chained up outside, and a fence around your backyard can afford you some privacy with your family or friends as well.

Sometimes, though, fences need to be updated, removed or replaced. At these times, homeowners have found themselves in conflict with their good neighbors over the question of who actually owns the fence between their properties. While this might seem like an odd question, if the fence was already there when you moved in, are you completely sure that it belongs to you? Just whose side of the property line does it really fall on?

Figuring Out Ownership

Before you start tearing down an existing fence, it’s important to figure out if you actually have legal ownership of the fence itself. Friendly neighbors can become bitter enemies pretty quickly if you start tearing down a fence that belongs to the people living next door. You can also cause some hurt feelings if you start taking the fence down and accidentally tear up gardens or other plants that grow next to or on the fence. This is why it’s essential to determine ownership before you make any move on the fence. Not clearing things beforehand can not only cause hurt feelings and ruin a neighborly relationship, but in some cases a neighbor might even get the police or lawyers involved.

A Neighborly Conversation

One of the first things that you should do if there’s any question about the ownership of the fence is go over and have a chat with your neighbor. Explain that you want to replace the fence, provide your reasoning on why the fence has to go, and ask if they know whose property the fence falls on. If the fence is on your property, the neighbor should tell you; if it’s on theirs, then you can open up a larger conversation about replacing it. This also gives you an opportunity to talk about any plants or other features that might be disturbed during the process and make accommodations for pets or other animals that gaps in the fence might put at risk. Be sure to approach the topic casually and with a friendly tone; if you come across as too aggressive or seem defensive about the question then it can cause the conversation to head south pretty quickly.

Checking That Property Line

Unless your conversation with your neighbor sorts things out neatly, it’s a good idea to get a survey done to settle the matter of where the fence lies. A surveyor will ensure that the property line is clearly marked so you can see exactly where the fence lies on the property line. In some cases, it will clear the matter up readily, since the fence will obviously fall on one property or the other. In other cases, you might find that the fence actually straddles the line or moves from one property to the other. In this case you may need to discuss the issue more with your neighbor or consult the property deed or other official description of the property to see whether the fence is mentioned. Regardless, knowing where the property line falls gives you a lot of leverage in solving the issue.

Solving Your Fencing Woes

Whether you’re in need of a surveyor to help you figure out ownership or a contractor to replace the fence, HomeKeepr is here to help. With a free HomeKeepr account you can connect with professionals in your area that will assist you in getting your fencing issues cleared up in no time. Sign up for a free account today so you can get started on your fencing project tomorrow.

Holiday gift ideas

Figuring out what to buy for friends and loved ones during the holidays isn’t always easy. While some people are easy to shop for, there are always a few people on your list who seem to already have everything they might want. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can get for around the home that they might never buy for themselves. Here are a few suggestions for things that they’ll not only appreciate, but actually USE.

Digital Assistants

Both Google Home and Amazon’s Echo smart speaker with Alexa are pretty common these days, and both platforms are adding new features frequently. Not only can you use one of these digital assistants to play music or find out the weather forecast, but you can also have them tell you jokes, cast video to smart TVs, look up recipes and even set timers or access your calendar. Companion apps for smartphones will even let your recipient take their assistant with them when they’re away from the house as well.

Smart Thermostats

Heating and cooling costs are a major expense. Fortunately, there are an increasing number of options out there for smart thermostats that adjust temperatures automatically to help keep costs low. These thermostats can not only make changes based on their programming, but some can even make adjustments on their own when they sense that no one is in the house. Connecting them to smartphone apps would even allow your recipient to control the temperature while away from home so that everything’s just perfect when they get back.

Home Automation Accessories

Digital assistants and smart thermostats aren’t the only home automation options out there. Smart lighting, smart locks, window sensors, leak sensors and even smart smoke detectors are all available to give your friends or loved-ones new ways to interact with their home. Best of all, most of these devices can be configured to work together to achieve effects like automatically turning on lights when the door is unlocked.

Alternative Appliances

The modern homeowner deserves so much more than an oven and a microwave can give them. Fortunately, there are a number of options out there that offer up new culinary options while also being extremely giftable. Instant Pot cookers, sous vide cookers and even air fryers offer new options for fixing meals that your gift recipient might never have considered. Many of them are programmable as well and can even be monitored or controlled remotely via dedicated apps.

High-Quality Streaming

More people are “cutting the cord” and moving away from traditional cable television than ever before. In addition to Netflix, consumers looking for quality digital content have options with Amazon, Hulu, Disney+, CBS All Access and more, and the forthcoming HBO Max streaming service will be here next year. This could be a great time to get your recipient ready for all of this content with a Roku or other streaming device capable of handling HD or 4K streams without buffering or losing picture quality in the process. Pair it with a sound bar or other sound solution to really take their entertainment experience up a notch.

Clearing the Air

There are a number of common pollutants that can foul the air we breathe. Help your recipient to breathe a sigh of relief by giving them an ionizing air filter or other air purifier to cut out a lot of these unwanted smells and irritants. This will help to keep the air breathable and odor free, and the units themselves are easy to clean so it won’t add a significant new chore to their routine.

Take It to the Next Level

If you really want to blow somebody away, don’t just get them a smart device or pieces for home automation… get a professional installer to come and set things up and walk them through how everything works. HomeKeepr can help you find a pro in your area who’ll be more than happy to help with the surprise. Sign up for your free account today to find your pro and plan the perfect holiday gift.

Winter pests

You’ve likely heard the phrase “if you’re cold, they’re cold” in relation to pets. Unfortunately, the same reasoning can also apply to pests that might see your home as a source of warmth and food during the winter months. Squirrels, mice, bugs and a number of other pests can find their way indoors if you aren’t careful. In some cases, it can get so bad that you need to call in an exterminator to take care of the problem.

It doesn’t necessarily have to get to that point, however. There are a few different ways that you can stop pest problems before they start as you get your home ready for winter.

Cover Your Trash

One easy way to cut back on pest issues is to make sure that trash cans and other receptacles are in good condition and covered. Old food and other garbage can be a big attractor for pests, and once they’ve accessed your trash can it usually isn’t a very big leap to your house.

Empty Your Feeders

Some people like to keep their bird feeders stocked over the winter to make sure that birds don’t starve during the cold winter months. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with this idea, but it’s important to remember that birds aren’t the only creatures that are attracted to filled bird feeders. If the feeders are out in your yard and far away from your house then it might not cause an issue, but if you have feeders mounted near the house so you can see the birds then you may be inviting trouble. The same goes for hummingbird feeders or any other sources of food too near your home: Empty it out and clean it up if you don’t want it to attract pests.

Watch Your Scraps

Just like you need to watch food sources outside of the house, make sure you’re not leaving inviting sources of food out inside the house either. Whether it’s in a bin for compost or just scraps left on plates that haven’t been scraped off yet, if there’s food in the house then it could attract a number of uninvited guests.

Fill in the Gaps

Before the weather gets too bad, take the time to go around your house and try to identify any cracks, holes or other bits of damage that could let in unwanted pests. Make sure that your inspection covers the foundation, areas around windows, the garage, the gutters and the roof, as well as other features of your home that don’t typically get much attention through the year. Fill in holes with steel wool and make repairs as needed to close off those potential access points into your home.

Use Plastic Storage Containers

If you keep bags of cereal, dry pet food or similar dry goods out in the open in cardboard boxes or bags with clips, it might be time to upgrade to a tougher storage solution. Even though these items are technically put up, thin plastic bags and cardboard boxes don’t offer much of a defense against pests. Put these items in hard plastic storage containers instead. This can even go for boxed dry goods in your cabinets if you don’t access them often; get sealable plastic containers that will fit on the shelves and put dry goods in them – box and all.

Be Careful with Wood Piles

Fireplaces and wood-burning stoves are popular during the winter, but if you aren’t careful, they can make your pest problems worse. Insects and other critters can burrow into wood piles, hitching a ride indoors when you bring in a few extra pieces for the fire. While some may get caught in the wood when you burn it, other pests can escape into the home before that log hits the flame. Be sure to rotate your wood piles frequently and inspect wood before bringing it into the house.

Call for Reinforcements

Even with careful planning, sometimes it helps to call in a pro. You can find pest control experts on HomeKeepr who can give you a pre-winter inspection or help you deal with pests before they get out of control. Sign up today for free to help guarantee a pest-free tomorrow.

Holiday home tips...

The holiday season is one of the most-traveled periods of the entire year. People drive and fly across the country or around the world to visit friends and loved ones. It’s wonderful to have those you care about coming to visit, but it can also be very stressful if your home is in disarray. Even though you tell yourselves that people won’t really care about what your home looks like, there’s always that fear that they’ll judge you if your house isn’t ready for guests.

You don’t have to worry, though. There are a number of ways that you can make your home more festive in preparation for holiday visitors. Here are just a few suggestions to help get you started.

Rearrange the Furniture

Even something as simple as rearranging some of the furniture can have a big impact on the look of your home when company arrives. Changing the positioning of couches, chairs and other large pieces can open rooms up and make them seem more inviting to your visitors. Best of all, you can easily focus the changes around a Christmas tree or other holiday centerpieces to really tie things together and create a unified holiday look. Once your guests leave, you can either move the furniture back to its usual spots or leave it where it is to keep the new look going throughout the year.

Clean Up the Outdoors

Another place that you can make a big impact is cleaning up around the outdoors. Rake and mulch leaves, clean up flower beds, trim back trees and bushes… do whatever needs to be done to get everything looking great before the temperatures drop too low. If possible, you may even want to clean the bricks or siding and clean out your gutters. While you’re up there, you may as well install some hangers for holiday light strings, too!

Update Your Accents

One seemingly small change that can make a big impression is to change the accent colors on your home by painting the doors and shutters. This option isn’t right for everyone since it’s a permanent change, but for those wanting to update the look of their home it can make a big difference. While the color you choose is dependent on the color of your home and your personal preference, going with red or green can add a splash of holiday flair that will still look great the rest of the year through.

Spruce Up the Floors

If your carpets are stained, worn or otherwise need a refresh, don’t just install a similar carpet in their place: Consider going for woodgrain vinyl slats or laminate wood flooring instead. These flooring options add the beauty of a natural wood floor without the frustration, standing up to stains and other issues while requiring significantly less work to maintain. Best of all, a change to a wood look near the holidays can enhance the charm of your home when your visitors finally arrive.

Change Your Decorating Style

Consider ditching the tired old holiday decorations that you put up every year and go with a bit of a different look this time around. If you usually go cartoony, consider something classier like white lights and pine accents. If your decorations are usually sparse, do something a bit more over the top this year. It doesn’t matter how you refresh your decorations, just give your visitors something to see that they haven’t seen before. While this is especially effective if combined with other updates to your home, you can still wow your guests just by subverting their expectations of your holiday décor.

Bring in the Pros

If you can’t come up with a solution you like, consider bringing in a decorator to help you find the holiday updates that work best for your house. HomeKeepr can help you find the perfect decorator to wow your guests when they arrive. Sign up for your free account today!

Mischief Night

If you haven’t heard of Mischief Night, it’s possible that you’ve lived in an area where it’s not really celebrated. It’s also possible that you lived in a city such as Detroit, Baltimore or New Jersey where it might have been known by a different name like Devil’s Night, Goosey Night or even Moving Night (which is supposedly a reference to stolen porch furniture). Assuming that you’ve never heard of it because it isn’t a big deal where you’re from, you might think that you don’t need to know anything about it. Watch out, though – that line of thinking could be ill-advised.

With more details about Mischief Night pranks being shared online, more and more young people participate in the festivities every year. This includes some areas that had never experienced Mischief Night pranks before. You also might need to know about it if you’re considering moving to a new area, since just because they don’t celebrate it where you’re from doesn’t mean they won’t celebrate it where you’re making your new home. Either way, this is what you should know about this unofficial holiday.

What Is Mischief Night?

Though it’s gained more popularity in recent years, Mischief Night as a holiday dates back at least to the late 1700s. The holiday consists of children and teenagers engaging in a variety of pranks and other activities, up to and including theft and vandalism in some cases. Common activities on Mischief Night include tossing toilet paper into trees, throwing eggs at houses and cars, setting off fireworks, ringing doorbells and running away, and smashing pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns. More destructive practices sometimes include spray paint vandalism, breaking car or house windows and other acts of vandalism, though these are much less common.

In New Orleans and some other communities, in recent years, Mischief Night has also involved walking parades with floats and people in costume. These parades are typically unorganized and not officially sponsored as part of any holiday’s festivities, however. Fortunately, these more violent parades and demonstrations are not common in most areas where Mischief Night is regularly observed.

When Is Mischief Night?

In most places, Mischief Night is celebrated on October 30th as something of a pre-Halloween celebration. There are some areas, especially in the United Kingdom, where Mischief Night is celebrated on November 4th instead as a precursor to Bonfire Night; for those who aren’t familiar with this celebration, it is also known as Guy Fawkes Day and is a day of remembrance and thanksgiving for the failure of the Gunpowder Treason Plot perpetrated by Guy Fawkes and others. The holiday is celebrated much the same as it would be on October 30th, however.

Interestingly, there are some areas (primarily in Germany) where Mischief Night is celebrated on May 1st instead of falling in either October or November. This is because of an old connection with May Day which was part of the holiday’s origin; no one is really sure why Mischief Night moved from May to October or November, but the change appears to have occurred sometime in the 19th century. The fall dates seem a much better fit for the holiday, however – and that’s when Mischief Night takes place for nearly every observing community these days.

What Can You Expect on Mischief Night?

In most cases, Mischief Night is a night of largely harmless pranks and practical jokes. Egging and toilet papering properties are the most common pranks, along with smashing pumpkins and ringing doorbells. Most of the perpetrators are children and young teenagers, as older teens and adults might face legal penalties for actions that younger children would only get a warning for, if caught. For the most part, the worst you’ll likely see on Mischief Night is a mess to clean up the next day.

It’s important to be aware of occasional larger problems such as vandalism and destruction of property, however. Mischief Night is a good night to park your car in the garage and bring in loose porch furniture, just in case. Even though you’re unlikely to experience any major problems, it never hurts to be prepared.

Recovering from Mischief Night

If you do wake up to a mess after Mischief Night, you don’t have to clean it up yourself. From causal cleanups to paint removal, you can find pros who are willing to help on HomeKeepr. Sign up for free to make sure you’re ready for whatever Mischief Night might throw your way.

What color do I paint my walls?

Painting your home is a great way to express yourself and let your personality shine through in your living space. The colors you choose for your rooms can really bring them to life in ways that few other changes can. However, a fresh coat of paint can do more than just give your rooms some personality. With the right colors, the paint you choose can even increase the likelihood that your house will sell at a good price when you put it on the market. To maximize this effect, there are a few colors you should consider (and a few you should avoid.)

Picking the Right Color

If you’re looking for a good color to apply throughout the house, consider a light shade of gray or beige. Both of these colors help to liven up rooms by adding just a bit of color but are neutral enough to let each room’s other accents take command. If you want something a bit different, taupe or so-called “greige” colors (mixes of gray and beige) can also work well. Some off-white colors, especially those with hints of brown or other warm shades, can also brighten up your rooms. Many of these colors pair well with white or beige baseboards and trim.

Good Kitchen Colors

If you’re going room by room, the kitchen is a good place to add a bit of darker color. Darker grays and grays mixed with darker blue shades do well in the kitchen; in fact, some reports have shown that homes with a gray-blue shade in the kitchen sell for an average of $1800 more than similar homes with other kitchen shades. Depending on the size of your kitchen and the amount of wall that’s actually visible behind the cabinets and appliances, you may be able to get away with hotter colors such as deep red or dark orange. Just avoid going too bright with whatever color you choose.

Living Room and Bath Colors

The living area and bathroom both benefit from more neutral shades such as beige and gray, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change things up in some cases. Consider the flooring and other fixtures as well as the amount of natural light that comes into the room and look at colors that take advantage of what’s already there. Light green, blue or brown can sometimes work wonderfully, especially if they include hints of gray to keep them from being too bright. You can even choose a bit stronger blues in the bathroom as homebuyers tend to respond well to blue there, just so long as you don’t go for too bright of a shade.

Bedroom Colors

Blue is a popular bedroom color, especially in shades such as cerulean. There are several bold color choices that you can get away with in the bedroom, though. Don’t go crazy with the bedroom colors and avoid anything that’s too bright – but giving the bedroom a splash of color in blue, green or even red or brown can work well so long as it’s not too much of a departure from the rest of the house.

Colors to Avoid

There are, of course, a few colors that you should avoid when painting your walls. Anything too bright or garish should obviously be avoided since it could turn off potential buyers. Black is another color to avoid; not only do many people find it depressing, but it will also be difficult for future homeowners to cover up. Also on the list of colors to avoid? Bright white. You might think that this would give your home a clean look or make it ready for a new homeowner to customize, but bright whites (especially when paired with white trim) often create a clinical look that actually makes buyers less interested in the space.

Making the Choice

If you’re not sure which colors will work best in your home, consider bringing in an interior designer or painter to help you pick the perfect hue. Sign up for a free HomeKeepr account today and you can find the perfect helper for your budget and your sense of style.

Creating a family photo wall

One of the best parts of owning your own home is that you can do pretty much whatever you want when it comes to hanging things on the wall. No landlord will charge you $5 per hole you poke through the sheetrock. It’s kind of nice. You can let your creative side have a heyday with a hammer and a bunch of nails.

For a lot of families, putting a family picture wall together is a high priority in their new homes. It can be a fun project that can be the very first of many happy memories in the new place.

Planning Your Picture Wall

If you hop on Pinterest and search for “family picture wall,” you’re going to find an overwhelming number of ways to put one of these together. There’s no one way to do a family picture wall, since every family is different. There are lots of things to consider while you’re planning your wall, though.

Don’t just start hanging pictures willy-nilly. Do some real prep work to ensure that your wall turns out as special as what you have envisioned rather than yet another #PinterestFail. These tips should help:

Pick a theme. You need something concrete to get you started in the planning stage. Choosing a theme can be a good place to start, since it’ll inform your image choices as you go through your Google Drive. A theme could be anything from “vacation photos” to “photos with the color blue in them.” The best photo walls have some kind of unifying theme, choose one before you get started.

Use technology to simulate your photo wall. Art.com’s iOS app gives you the capability to not just imagine what an image or set of images will look like on your wall, it actually can virtually add those photos to the wall using augmented reality. The same technology that powers Pokemon Go can help you get great results with your family picture wall.

Choosy kids choose cool frames. The frames you choose are just as important as the images. If you’re looking for something pretty unusual, scour flea markets and antique shops for old frames with unique designs. If you can’t find anything that tickles your fancy, your home improvement store’s trimwork aisle will have some really fancy trim that you can use to build your own frames!

Incorporate more than photos. Sure, it’s called a “family picture wall,” but who says you have to stop there? Memorabilia from favorite spots, items that reflect interests and hobbies, even accolades like medals have a place on a wall like this. Just make sure that you’re using sturdy materials and secure shelves tightly to the wall to avoid long term issues.

Sometimes, fewer is better. Family picture walls can get pretty overwhelming fast. Instead of hanging every photo you’ve ever taken of your kids, pick the two best from now and the two best from their early childhood. Capture those moments that really meant something and remember that sometimes less is way more. Besides, you’ll want to save some of those embarrassing pictures for leverage later.

When It’s Time to Start Decorating…

Some people love the process and others love the results when it comes to redecorating their homes. If you’re more of a looker than a doer, you’re in luck. Your HomeKeepr community can help you meet interior designers who will put together a killer family photo wall that you’ll love to look at every day. Just ask your real estate agent to introduce you and you’ll be on your way to a wall full of memories in no time!