1st Place Home

If you are like a lot of folks, space is at a premium in your home, and storage is no exception. How quickly spaces underneath sinks become cluttered with cleaning products, and they create such an eyesore each time the doors are open. There is an option, which is of use whether you are eager to free up concealed storage space, or you simply want what is behind those doors to look a whole lot better.

Purchase some appealing glass bottles with spouts for pouring, and make them the new tidier, and more attractive holders of certain products. Now, take heed some cleaning products have ingredients that are best left in well capped, opaque containers. But for those that are not potentially harmful to small children, and do not lose strength when in contact with air, decorative bottles are a positive visual change.

One quick side note. If you are interested in using vintage bottles, or bottles that have been previously occupied, they need to be cleaned properly before transferring the new liquids.

I do wish there were a quick fix to the economic woes we have been facing, and are bracing ourselves to continue experiencing. Saving money, planning responsibly for the future and a ton of other activities used to be more cut and dry for the workingman and woman. It seems like everything has gone topsy turvy and changed. Currencies flounder leaving us in a tailspin, and living out an entire career with one employer seems to be strictly a thing of the past. I for one hate all of this change, and do what I can to make sense of this fast and furious world by locating things that have roots in the past. For me, one thing that felt right and familiar was a pension plan. I familiarised myself with UK Sipps pension rules and felt satisfied with what it provided.

As a father of three, and husband of eighteen years, these things fall upon my shoulders. It is an on going role to save money for paying off prior debts, to save money for the present, to save money for the near future, and to save money for the long term. This means I must make choices that will give me the highest return, provide security, and benefit all those I am responsible for. This was not easy for the men who came before me, and it can be expected that it will not be simple for those that follow. But right now things are in my hands as far as personal finances are concerned, and things like the Sipp is checking off all of the important boxes for me. Now, I can move on to other responsibilities, and hopefully a good nights rest will find me soon.

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.

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.

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.

If you have any extra check book wallets lying around, make use of them. They are just the kind of thing that we seem to collect two and three of thanks to the generosity of banks when you receive your checks. Well, pull them out from your junk drawer, or retrieve them from the filling cabinet and put them to work. Two things that I like to use the wallets for are business cards and coupons. I find that the ever-growing collection of business cards I have make my regular wallet too bulky. So, a separate container makes things much more manageable. And I used to carry coupons around in a plain old Ziploc, but they do not last too long in the bottom of my purse. Thus, the more sturdy frame and material of the check holder works incredibly well.

A friend of mine was kind enough to dedicate his Saturday afternoon to help me paint my kitchen. Normally, I would cave in and get an experienced painter or decorator to do the job, but this time around I thought, why not? Now, you may be surprised (or not) to hear that not everything quite went according to the manual book, if there is such a one for a kitchen paint job, this one only has 9 steps. Easy for us to follow? Not quite. While I remain forever grateful, he unfortunately spilled paint down the side of my oak cabinets. Whether he noticed or not, I am unsure, but I realized it a few hours after we finished the work.

Luckily the time that elapsed from the moment he put the paint on the cabinets to the point in which I became aware of it was inconsequential. I knew that the wood had been finished in oil based varnish, but still I tested the wood in a concealed area to confirm that alcohol would not soften that coating. Since there was no visible reaction, I rubbed a alcohol dampened towel onto the spilled paint. There was some residue, and I removed that with a dry towel.

All has been cleaned off, and nobody can tell anything untoward occurred at all. Now, I can go back to being thankful that my mate donated his time to this project, and not being rather miffed that he made a blunder.

Clutter can make you want to scream for help to get organised. Having been one of those people I have collected helpful tips that I enjoy passing on. If your closet is filled to the gills, and your clothes are constantly falling off the hangers, then you may want to try this quick fix. Take out that ratty collection of rubber bands you have in your drawer and use them on the ends of your clothes hangers. Wrap them around the ends to prohibit your shirts and dresses from falling to the floor below. In one action you have eliminated the need to rehang things over and over, and gotten rid of that unsightly stack of rubber bands.