1st Place Home

At least once a week I open the fridge door and groan at the thought of having to clean things out, and reorganize all that has been misplaced. Mostly, this annoys me because I share the refrigerator with three other people, and they not only do nothing to make it a better, higher functioning space, but the actually work against me in trying to do so.

Thus, I recently laid down a few basic new ground rules that make the fridge less of a debacle, and hence less to get revised weekly. First off, we no longer put those condiment packets we get from restaurants with our take out orders into the fridge. In fact, we limit the number of those we take, and the rest meet their fate in the bin.

Next, if you put any leftovers into the fridge, you must remove them if they have not been eaten within one week. This means that you use the permanent marker attached to the chalkboard, next to the refrigerator to mark the date of purchase along with your initials.

These are just two changes we have made as a family, and already I have half the work to do on a weekly basis. No more of those spilled condiment containers, and no more marathon washes of those leftover containers for me on Sunday afternoons. Well, unless I was the one who put it in there in the first place.

Many adults think that each and every meal needs to be a big production. This is precisely why so many of us are exceedingly overweight, sluggish and tired of preparing and cleaning. Whew, that was a mouthful. But, if you take a second to think about it, you might just come back from the dark side, and learn a new way of eating at least some meals.

In this exercise I recommend you start with breakfast. Don’t pull out the skillet, the sauce pan, the blender, the knives, spoons or even forks. All you need are basic, healthy, fortified ingredients, and a bowl or plate to lay them on. In fact, once you get the swing of simpler meals, you will be able to set them aside in advance, and take them with you if this makes things more convenient.

I started this new approach with a fruit and cheese plate, yep for breakfast. My choices were a Granny Smith apple, cheddar cheese, and toasted almonds. Aside from recognizing that you need not cook, or even spend lots of time preparing meals, and cleaning up after eating them, but portion control. Stick to one apple, cubes of cheese, and one fourth cup of almonds. After you have consumed this, if you want more, then have more, but by not having put it on your dish you will have to make a conscious effort to take an additional portion. Awareness will get you to a healthier place.

Whether you are a practitioner of astrology, a student of human behaviour, or even just a little bit observant, you will have noticed that there are two types of people. There are those that are naturally inclined to procrastinate, and those that are predisposed to prepare in advance. Having said that, and gotten a nod of approval on this being a truthful declaration from you, there are times when each of these types needs to go against their usual behaviour. A prime example of this arises when making over a home. I will describe for you how this plays out with the example of the purchase of a Rest Assured Trivento Mattress (as it is one I am recently familiar with).

To begin, there will be some items that you will need to buy for such a makeover that must be done on the spot, or close to it. Perhaps, because it is an integral part of your daily life, and without it you and your family cannot function. Or, possibly it is one of those things that just never seems to lower in price, or go on sale. Either way, the conclusion is the same, no waiting on those purchases. So, here those people who like to get the job done asap can follow their common pattern, but the others who wait and wait and wait will have to get a fire under themselves. They will have to avoid delays, and motivate when they would otherwise leave it for another day, week, or month.

But then there is the reverse, as was true for me with the purchase of a mattress. I am a natural born achiever. Up early, and catching the worm, and burning the midnight oil as is required. Or, in some instances as I feel needed. For I admit I feel compelled to get many jobs done before there is any true necessity to complete them. Yet, I have learned that sometimes by going against this compulsion I benefit. It is just a matter of knowing when and where this applies. And no this has not been an easy revelation to adapt to, but the end results are just too friggin good to deny.

Now, back to my mattress example. We already had a wonderful Sealy Millionaire Ortho in our bedroom, so we were set. But, we are preparing to have my mother come and stay with us for several months next year and as such wanted to get the same mattress for the room she will reside in as she has at her home. Knowing there was no rush to get it, I knew it would be in our best interest financially to get it during the summer sales. So I did the nearly unbearable, I waited. The return on that decision was enough to pay for a handmade rocking chair for her room too, and a date night for us. So, know when to hold them and no when to fold them, as the song says if you don’t want to miss out.

Over the past few years, the popularity of memory foam mattresses in the home has soared. This is partially because the cost of these products has decreased due to a general decrease in production cost, but it is also because the benefits of sleeping on such mattresses have become more widely known. Sleeping on a memory foam mattress is beneficial in a number of ways, and you will definitely feel the difference when you wake up from your first night’s sleep on one.

Sometimes, even if you have gone to bed at the appropriate time, and should have slept for the chunk of time needed you awaken groggy. Not the way things should have played out at all. This is because even if you have slept a full eight hours, if you have been tossing and turning during the night then often you haven’t been immersed in full REM sleep (the kind that allows you to become fully refreshed and recharged) for the amount of time required to reach it fully, or at all. This is a common problem, which I am sure we are all already aware of, and there isn’t really any medicinal remedy. Although you are asleep, your body is aware of a level of discomfort, and this prohibits you from getting that deep level of sleep we all long for and need.

A memory foam mattress is one solution. The memory foam is designed to adapt to your weight and to the shape of your body, moulding itself around you so that your weight is evenly distributed. This eliminates painful pressure points that may otherwise form at the places where more force is being exerted. This is why sometimes you may wake up with an ache or pain and are confused over what may or may not have been the cause of the discomfort.

Whether you suffer from an existing condition or are just plagued by minor discomforts, memory foam mattresses can help you to wake up feeling healthy and happy. Sleeping on a memory foam mattress also reduces the chances of you developing aching conditions later in life, including rheumatism and sciatica. So as you can see a lot more is involved than just a good nights sleep.

Though we may not try to eliminate those pesky cobwebs, and dust bunnies that are habituating in hard to reach areas of our homes each and every time we clean, it is something I we must do from time to time. You know, usually right before you have a visit from a white glove clad mother in law, or some self-righteous neighbour that harps on keeping an immaculate house.

The thing is, while we have been using our brooms to wipe off those spider webs, and dust off our crown moulding there is an additional precaution we can take to ensure that those bits do not land elsewhere. Because, really and truly we are supposed to be removing them from the space entirely to create a clean environment, not just moving them to less conspicuous spots. Having flooring like a hardwood floor from Armstrong makes it much easier to clean spills, dust and other items that are otherwise difficult to clean with carpet. To get the job done well, place a microfiber cloth over the bristles of the broom, and then hold it on with a large rubber band. This way those icky pieces will stick to the cloth that you can then shake outside, and later wash properly.

Your outdoor rubbish bin can turn into a breeding ground for germs in the liquid that can accumulate in the bottom of it. The task of washing it out can be made less burdensome if you do one little thing when your first get it. You will never have to lift the container again in order to dump the water out of it.

Drill a bunch of holes into the bottom of the bin large enough to allow the liquids to flow freely out of it, but not too big as to let in creatures. Then when you go to give it a rinse all will get washed away.  Of course, this works equally well on previously used rubbish containers, it may just be a bit messier to complete the drilling.

It is so fulfilling to come across ideas that make life’s dirty work easier. After all, any way to make chores less cumbersome is welcomed by us all I believe. I know they are by me.

Many of us have loved ones that are gardening enthusiasts, and as such when it comes to giving them gifts this fact is never far from our minds. Though it can be difficult to know exactly which tools they might be in need of, or which they have but would rejoice in having new one’s to replace them. And an even more difficult situation is trying to decipher what trees, plants, and flowers they might like. That is why I propose the following, garden registries. You know just like those that engaged couples create for the gifts they would like for their wedding celebration. Only this covers things like garden furniture, fruit trees, and anything else related to gardens.

I am not a shy one, so I will come out and say it bluntly. I think this is a fabulous idea, even if it is mine and I should probably be more modest about it for that reason. Yet, I can see it makes fantastic sense, and would bring a lot of happiness to the recipient, while making the gift giving process exceedingly easier for the giver. And why should this not be in existence already, I mean if you think about it, it really does seem like an untapped market that could feasibly be a major success for any garden center.

Not to mention, just like guest do with wedding registries, big ticket items could be broken down into smaller purchases. For instance, one person could look at the registry and see that the person they would like to give a gift to, say maybe their grandparents for their fortieth wedding anniversary, is interested in an outdoor table and chairs set. Then the gift giver could identify that for right around what they were hoping to spend they could choose one chair from the set. Once the purchase was made it would be reflected on the registry and other individuals could see that they couple could still use three chairs and the table.

The reason this came to attention in the first place is that my own grandparents are celebrating fifty years together and they are holding the party in their favourite place, their own immaculate garden. For as long as I can remember my grandparents have been avid gardeners, but have focused mainly upon what they grow, and not how it is decorated. But since they are getting up there in age an addition to their garden like one of those summer houses would be a huge benefit to them. It would enable them to sit in the covered shade of the little house with the doors and windows wide open. So, they would be outside but comfortable at the same time.

What I would like to do more than anything is to have a summer house all set up in their garden secretly prior to their party. In addition, to have it furnished, through participation of the other guests. If they had a registry then I would know precisely which of the summer houses suits their fancy, and the other guests would know what furniture they would appreciate most inside of the house. Without this information, we will all be going out on a limb in selecting these things ourselves, and these are not items you really want to guess at. So that is precisely where a garden registry would be of tremendous assistance.

The initial idea of doing a home makeover sounds fantastic. Thoughts of new colour schemes taking over room after room in your somewhat outdated, or uninspired interior design are absolutely dreamy. And, if you are contemplating bigger revisions, like adding on a back porch, gutting your master bathroom, or even attaching a whole new section on to your home then the end result can appear magical in your vision. However, let me take this opportunity to let you know that you need to know exactly what you are getting yourself into, from the duration of time it will take to complete the project, to the total that the work will cost. Do not get caught up in how much you want to make a change, or get distracted by picking high end finishing. You need a well thought out plan, someone committed to overseeing the work continuously, and a very detailed list of where your precious pennies are going. Then, and only then should you dive into those helpful magazines and websites for the stuff most people deem as more fun.

We all need to be as well informed as possible when looking for a new home, and as such relying upon some Internet resources can play out to be one of the best things you ever do. A prime example of this very thing is sold house prices, to not research what the properties you are interested in were last sold for is quiet honestly a failure on a buyers part. This can play out to be essential information to evaluate whether or not the asking price is fair, or even in keeping with the chain it has followed thus far. In addition, you will also want to know what similar houses in the area were last sold for too. All of this goes into the formula that you use to evaluate what the house of interest is really worth in the larger scheme of things.

Of course this is not to say that after you have identified the one home you want most out of all the houses for sale that you will not be emotionally influenced. Just knowing what the house should be worth may not be enough to keep you from offering more simply because you want it so very much. There is a lot to be said about ending up with the right house for you and your family. It is altogether exceptionally common for buyers to find themselves thinking with their hearts and not their minds. But no one will deny that being well informed, and knowing exactly what you are doing, right or wrong financially, is the best thing you can do for yourself. The bottom line here is that often the final decision to buy one house over another is frequently based fifty percent upon what one’s heart is saying, and fifty percent upon what their mind is declaring is the way to go.

If your bedroom, dinning room, or living room seem to be lacklustre, then consider making it more visually interesting with some well selected texture. Whether it be the introduction of nubby fabrics, shiny surfaces, or intricate cut outs, these are the very things that can take your space from drab to fab.

These complimentary textures are not relegated to decorative pieces on mantels, or throw pillows. Instead, they can be placed on walls, floors or even ceilings. There are tons of inspired spaces to put these items that make sense and impact the senses. Sharp crystal chandeliers enhance ceiling scapes, and woven madras rugs tickle the toes. As you can see, it is all about bringing in scalloped edges, sensuous curves or any other contrasting element to bring the eye into the room you want to boost from non descript to exquisite.