Lee Morof's Real Estate Blog

Every holiday season when you get out the decorations, there always seems to be a period of organization where you need to untangle lights, sort out the broken ornaments and just get all of the trimmings in order.

Next year, skip the hassle of sifting through everything. The year-to-year holiday storage strategies below will help make next December’s decorating easy.

Hide Paper Up High

Utilize a space that is always vacant — the ceiling of your closet. Attach two strings of wire from the front wall above your closet door to the back wall. Make them parallel to each other and about two feet apart. Then you can slide your wrapping paper tubes across the two wires. No more crinkled or torn paper! 

Bag Your Lights

The hassle of untangling holiday lights every year can become a dreaded tradition. A smart solution is to invest in inexpensive gallon-sized sealable bags. Label what each bag’s lights are for, such as the tree, mantel or outdoors.

Wrap individual strands around your arm and them place them inside the appropriate bag. Put all bags in one holiday storage container.

Recycle Wrapping For Your Breakables

After you’ve ripped off the wrapping and gotten to the goods, don’t just throw your pretty paper out. Reuse it! Run it through the shredder to create fun filling for the boxes that hold your ornaments and breakable decorations.

Get Crafty With Labels

Instead of writing straight onto the holiday storage bins, tape or glue festive envelopes to the side. Then you can write a list of everything in that box and put it in the envelope.

For those who like everything clean and organized, this means that if you switch out anything in the box, you don’t have to mark it out on the side — just change the paper inside the envelope.

Display Holiday Cards Creatively

Receiving holiday cards is a great way to keep in touch with distant family and friends. Instead of throwing the cards away each January, use a hole punch to create two holes in the sides of the card.

Then insert jump rings to make little picture memory books that you can display on the coffee table every year. For more around the home tips or if you are looking to buy a home with plenty of storage space, contact your trusted real estate professional.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and if you’re opening your home for the family get together, that usually means you’ll be decorating. 

If you’ve racked your mind for ideas and none sound just right, here are a few decorating ideas that might help you along your way.

Fall Leaves

Decorations don’t have to be expensive, just look outside the door of your home. Brightly colored fall leaves, either randomly placed on the table or bunched in small arrangements, can really brighten up a table.

Turkey Napkins

Folded turkey napkins is a simple way to spruce up your Thanksgiving table. Use linen napkins for a classy touch.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece 

A cornucopia is a great idea for the centerpiece. Filled with leaves, small pumpkins and other fall foliage or fruits, cornucopias remind us to be thankful for nature’s bounty.

Candles 

Candles can add a warm touch to any Thanksgiving dinner. The key for candle placement is to arrange them in places where a person’s breath won’t blow the flame out, generally between where people sit instead of in front of them.

Thanksgiving Wreaths

Thanksgiving wreaths can be fun to make, and a well-made wreath may even bring some surprising compliments. Tasteful and elegant at any time, wreaths made in fall colors are a beautiful addition to your decorations.

Thanksgiving Baskets

Thanksgiving baskets can be simple, inexpensive decorations for your home.  Acorns or other nuts, mixed with fall leaves and a few flowers from your garden, will brighten up any room.  Hang small baskets from wall hooks, or place larger baskets in corners.

No matter what Thanksgiving decorations you use, whether elegant or fun, hand-made or store-bought, the key is not to overdo it.  Don’t let yourself get so caught up in making the decorations perfect that you forget to enjoy your friends, family and food. 

May you have many things to be thankful for in the years to come. Happy Thanksgiving!

Summer has been over and Fall is really here, temperatures are beginning to drop, and you’re dreading having to turn the heat on for the first time. Firing up the furnace can burn a hole in your pocket, but there’s something you can do about it. Consider these tips to help lower your heating bill.

Replace Your Air Filters

Get new air filters for your central heating and cooling. The filters get clogged and it takes more and more energy to keep your house warm. Be sure to clear out any dust bunnies or cobwebs from behind the filter. Use a vacuum if necessary.

Does Your Attic Need Insulation?

Heat rises, and if your attic is not adequately insulated, then your central heating system will be stuck sending all your hot air (and your heating bill) straight through the roof. There are three options for attic insulation: roll on insulation, spray on insulation, or polyurethane foam. Roll on insulation is the best option for the do-it-yourselfers out there, but you might consider using polyurethane foam if you plan to turn that attic space into a bedroom.

Caulk Up The Windows

Cold air is constantly sneaking into your house through the cracks in your window. Use a temporary silicone caulk to seal up your windows during the winter. When you’re ready to open them up again in the spring, the silicone caulk will crack right off without damaging the paint.

Wrap Your Pipes

Wrapping your pipes will insulate them from the cold to prevent freezing, as well as saving you money on energy bills. Use a special insulation sleeve from the hardware store or do it the old fashioned way with heat tape. This is especially important if you have pipes in an crawlspace or basement that isn’t insulated.

Let The Light In

You don’t have to buy special panels to take advantage of solar power. Open the curtains on south-facing windows, and heat up your house the natural way. With the sun’s help, you won’t need to bump your thermostat up as often.

Be Smart With The Thermostat

Don’t be afraid to turn your thermostat down a little bit. If you’re leaving the house for a while, bump it down a few degrees and give your system a rest. Try throwing an extra blanket on the bed and dropping a few degrees before bed. You’ll only see a difference on your bill. You might try a programmable thermostat as well!

Now that it’s getting cold, you can finally make some hot chocolate and put on your brand new coat, but you shouldn’t have to wear it inside. With these easy tips you can learn to keep your house warm without having to crank up the thermostat.

Your living spaces are the most important rooms in your home. They’re where you read bedtime stories, have family dinners and make many memories.

However, most of these rooms wouldn’t be as inviting or function well without their valuable out-of-sight storage spaces — their closets.

Imagine clothes thrown across bedrooms and toys scattered all over the living room. Closets are essential to keeping your home organized, clean and livable.

So set aside one weekend this month to tackle your mini storerooms and turn them into orderly spaces with the tips below.

Designate A Theme For Each Closet

Every closet in your home should have a specific purpose, such as a space for only linens, cleaning supplies or coats. Don’t cheat and put the vacuum in the hall closet just because it’s the nearest.

Make sure you return items to their proper closet, so you always know exactly where tools or shoes can be found.

Create Specific Spaces

Whether this means adding shelving or dividers, you’ll want to designate a space for each item. To do this, take everything out of the closet and prioritize it by importance. Then place the most important things within easy reach.

This might require a trip to purchase a closet storage system or bins. If there’s anything at the bottom of your priority list left over, get rid of it.

Make It Look Good

If it’s a space you utilize daily, such as a walk-in closet, then make it a pleasure to be in it. Every closet should have good lighting; so install bright bulbs that allow you to see what you’re selecting. If you have a large walk-in closet, you could glam it up and add functionality with funky chandeliers, a built-in ironing board and a specified shoe cabinet.

Divide And Conquer

If you have children who need to share a closet, then get creative. Assign them different colored hangers and bins with labels. From bedroom and toy closets to craft and coat closets, you’ll reduce confusion and frustration when everyone has their own space.

Reduce your clutter confusion by giving everything in your house its own home. By following these tips you’ll soon have well-organized closets that serve specific purposes and make it easy for anyone in your family to find what they need.

Every week the trash truck comes to pick up our garbage and unwanted items, which are promptly taken to landfills. Instead of filling landfills and just buying new items to stuff our homes, we can help the earth and recycle everyday household items.

Below are a few fun and creative ideas for recycling things around your home that you might be ready to trash.

Coffee Table Into Bench

If you just purchased a new coffee table, don’t give away the old one — repurpose it. Find a space in your home where you could use some additional seating, like at the end of your bed or in the entryway.

Push it up against the wall so that any drawers and shelves are facing out. Then add some cushions and pillow. Tada; a bench!

Copper Piping Into Bathroom Hardware

Whether you’re going for a modern industrial look or a French country theme, old copper piping can add an attractive and interesting conversation piece to your restroom.

Utilize a U-shaped piece of piping as a toilet paper holder and long pieces of pipe as towel racks. Polish the copper and then seal it with spray lacquer so that it keeps its sheen.

Light Bulbs Into Decorations

Recycle filament light bulbs with a fun little craft project for your children. Grab paint, twine, glitter and glue. You can make flower pots and hang them in the yard as a simple green accent.  Use the twine to create loops for hanging.

Pillowcase Into Shopping Bag

Take an old or vintage pillowcase, lay it flat and cut the top corners off of the open end. You’ll want to cut the corners off in a half-C shape so that that there is only about a two-inch strip left in the middle at the top.

Sew that two-inch strip together and you’ve got your handle. This reusable shopping bag rolls up tight and is easy to wash.

Drawer Into Dog Bed

The size of your animal will dictate the size of drawer you should repurpose. A cat might like a kitchen drawer while a bigger dog would use a large dresser drawer. Strip the wood off the drawer and repaint. Remove the hardware.

Maybe stencil your pet’s name on the front of the drawer. Then create a mattress using foam, batting and a soft and durable material.

Before getting rid of that broken side table or trashing those carry-out chopsticks, take a second look and tap into your creative side to see if you might be able to recycle and give them a second life. 

The kids are back in school, the weather is getting cooler and your yard is covered in a layer of fallen leaves. Yep, it’s that time of the year again, but don’t think of fall leaves as a chore. They can be a useful resource for fertilizing your lawn or even decorating your home for autumn.

Finish The Raking

It’s tempting to just let the leaves lie in the yard. It’s good fertilizer anyway, right? Wrong. You should rake everything up as soon as the trees begin to look bare, or else risk the blanket of leaves smothering your lawn over the winter season. Gather them up in plastic bags and put them to use.

Refuse To Rake Leaves

If you can’t bring yourself to pick up a rake, you do have an alternative. Wait until the leaves are dry and crunchy and fire up the lawnmower once more before winter. Many mowers have a mulch setting that will chop the fallen leaves to bits.

The smaller pieces won’t suffocate your lawn, and the crushed leaves make a good fertilizer. If you’d rather use the leaf bits in the garden or a flowerbed, use a grass clipping catcher with your mower to gather up the pieces as you mow.

Use Mulch And Fertilizer

Fresh chopped leaves are a good homemade mulch. Put a layer on the garden and the flower bed to replenish the soil over winter. Also, be sure to put a thick layer around young trees and shrubs to keep them warm. If you really want to get the most out of your leaves, then take them to the compost pile.

Mix the leaves in with the regular green yard waste, and the leaves will boost the composting process into overdrive. The fully composted material makes a potent fertilizer.

Get Crafty

Set some leaves aside to take indoors. The changing colors of the fall leaves are part of the beauty of autumn. Why not bring some of that beauty into the house?

Fill a vase with leaves for a seasonal centerpiece, or use a wire frame to make a wreath for the front door. You can make leaf etchings with the kids or simply use one as a bookmark.

It’s sad to see so many fall leaves burned up in piles, or put out with the trash. The leaves on the lawn aren’t just a mess to be cleaned up. Inside or outdoors, autumn leaves are an easy, natural, and free material. Be sure to put them to use!

As the temperatures start to drop, we spend less time outdoors and more time inside where it’s warm. Unfortunately fall pests have the same idea. This is the season when rodents and cockroaches seek shelter from the cold.

They can carry diseases like salmonella and Hantavirus as well as cause damage to your wiring; so make sure you take precautions to keep the pests away from your home.

Seal Up Your House

Pests have an incredible ability to sneak into your home through the tiniest of holes. A mouse can squeeze through even a dime-sized hole. Double check the screens on your windows for any tears or holes, and replace any damaged screens.

Caulk the edges of your windows and inspect the weather stripping under doors to make sure there’s no way for pests to get in.

Keep The Firewood Away

Don’t stack firewood against your house. A woodpile serves as a safe haven for rodents, and if it’s too close to your house, the mice will find a way in. Keep it at least twenty feet away. Overgrown bushes and shrubs can have the same effect so keep them trimmed and weeded.

Check Your Dryer Vent

A common entry for pests can be the laundry room. When a dryer isn’t installed correctly, the vent can be left open to the outside air, and this open vent can be an open door for critters. Double check your vent to make sure it’s fully sealed. It could be raising your electric bills as well.

Keep Your Food Out Of Reach

Nothing attracts pests more than food. Don’t leave crumbs on the floor and be sure everything in the pantry is closed and sealed. A common mistake is to leave dog food out. Keep the bag sealed, and empty the bowl. You’re feeding your dog after all, not the fall pests.

Moisture Is The Enemy

Moisture breeds pests. You don’t want any standing water around your house, so clear any clogged drains or gutters. Rake moist soil and mulch away from the house a few inches as well to keep the bugs away from the walls.

Monitor For Infestation

Put some mousetraps and glue traps in your attic and basement. Hopefully, there won’t be anything to catch, but if you keep traps out, then you’ll know at the first signs of infestation.

As it gets colder, fall pests are searching for a warm, dry place to stay. With a few simple measures you can make sure that warm, dry place isn’t your house. Take the time now and boost your defenses against the fall pests, and avoid an infestation later.

From crunched-up leaves stuck to bottoms of shoes to bulky coats shed as soon as kids walk through the door, mudrooms are ideal for keeping outdoor dirt, wet clothing and outerwear from being strewn throughout your home.

Mudrooms not only keep the rest of your house clean, but they also designate a spot for those last-minute grabs, such as coats, umbrellas and purses, when you’re running out the door.

These rooms are great catchalls. However, an organized mudroom can make your life and those hectic mornings much less stressful. Below are smart tips for getting your mudroom ready this fall.

1. Put In Seating

After shedding outer layers, the next thing anyone wants to do after coming inside on a cold, wet day is to take off their mucky shoes. So make sure there is a built-in bench or convenient chair for people to sit down and tend to their tootsies. Whether taking off or putting on shoes, it makes life a little more comfortable.

2. Install A Sink

A mudroom is supposed to be the catchall for everything dirty from the outdoors. With this in mind, a sink for washing off the grime and mud makes sense. Then you can clean your clothing in the contained space without having to haul them to the kitchen sink or laundry room.

3. Create Cubbies

Even though this space is designated as a drop-off point before entering the main living space, you don’t want everything just thrown into one big confusing pile. Create individual cubbies for every person in your household. Each cubby should contain a shelf for purses and backpacks, hooks for coats and a low place for shoes.

4. Splurge On A Boot Warmer

While electric boot warmers can be a little expensive, you will definitely think it’s worth the money when it’s freezing outside and your shoes are damp. Electric boot warmers heat your shoes on pegs and dry them out at the same time. They also work well on gloves.

Fall is a mudroom’s busy season; so get it in shape with the tips above. With all the coats hanging on their hooks, shoes in their cubbies and dirt contained to this designated space, your life will be a little more organized and much less stressful!

Whether you just got a puppy, have newly mobile children or built a pool, there are a multitude of reasons for wanting to keep people and animals in your yard, while preventing other from entering.

Picking the perfect fence can be difficult, so below we’ve outlined the main fencing materials to choose from and characteristics to consider about each.

Wood

Wood seems to be the most common material used in yards across the country — especially when wanting privacy. Depending on the type of wood you purchase, you’ll probably want to stain the planks to protect them from rot and ultra-violet light. Be prepared to retreat and maintain your wooden fence about every four years.

Chain Link

This economical option does its job well as a security fence. It’ll keep pets in and people out. And with the new black or green plastic coating chain link comes in, it almost blends into any background.

Chain link fences shouldn’t require any maintenance for at least 10 years, and they usually come with warranties for at least that long.

Wrought Iron

If you’re in the market for an ornate fence that you can see through and provides high security, then wrought iron should be your pick. These fences are actually made from steel and aluminum and need virtually no upkeep. Don’t expect to see any issues for at least 20 years.

Vinyl

You like the look of wood, but you hate the upkeep. Well, if you’re willing to spend the extra dough, usually four to five times the cost of wood, then you can have a man-made product that looks like the real thing.

Faux-wood fencing is usually seen in white, but can come in a variety of colors and even look almost identical to actual wooden planks. The best part is — no maintenance required!

Whatever your reason for building a fence, such as privacy, security, safety or to add curb appeal, you’ll have hundreds of options to choose amongst. Be sure you carefully consider each of the main fencing materials above, along with their look and maintenance requirements before you make the investment.

Making the decision to build a home might be one of the biggest you make in your life. You’ve found the perfect plot of land and have a vision of what type of home you want, but you need someone to bring your dream to life.

That means it’s time to start interviewing architects.

Hiring an architect isn’t as simple as just calling up a few and seeing who might have the time.

You’ll want to ensure you choose a professional that understands your design aesthetic, communicates well, can design on budget and has an upstanding reputation.

Below are a few key questions to ask when deciding whom to hire.

Do You Have A Specific Design Style?

When interviewing architects, be sure to ask each one if they have a specific aesthetic and if you can see a portfolio of his or her work. While most are adaptable, they usually all have design themes that recur in their projects.

Whether you want a minimalist structure or LEED certified construction, you’ll want to know they have the experience.

What Is Your Fee?

You’ll need to inquire whether they charge a flat fee for their designs or a percentage of the total building cost. Most architects charge a percentage of the overall cost of your home, usually ranging from 5-20 percent.

This is important to know because it means that for every floorboard installed, you’ll need to add on the architect’s additional percentage.

Do You Provide Project Management Services?

There are many services that architects should include within their contract, such as checking the contractor’s work, making adjustments as the construction moves forward and obtaining lien waivers.

Get a list of what each architect you interview includes in his or her fee. Additional charges can add up and might play a part in who you choose.

Interviewing architects and finding the right professional can make all the difference when it comes to building exactly what you want. One you work well with can make the construction experience extremely pleasant, while a negative relationship can leave you hating your new home.

So do your research and be sure to get references.