Real Estate Decoded

Labor Day weekend is almost here! Labor Day weekend, not Memorial Day weekend.  I hear so many people call it that. If you’re trying to think of ideas on what to do for the weekend, here are five: ONE Catch up on movies or a TV show or read some books. TWO Treat yourself to a massage or manicure/pedicure or a nice bath.  Lush has some great bath bombs ! THREE Invite family or friends over for a cookout.  For a few recipe ideas, check out these from Real Simple  or these 15 Vegetarian and Vegan recipes from the nest ! Image Source here If you’re looking for some tablescape inspiration, check out this article from Elle Decor . FOUR Spend time outdoors, whether it’s a local park, a  state park , a National park , a theme park . Image Source here Image Source here FIVE Continuing with the outdoor idea, spend time at a pool or lake if the ocean is too far. Can you think of any other ideas for the weekend? The main ide...

It’s always a good idea to have a plan and plan ahead. Image Source here For some of us, the temperatures have dropped and the weather has been changing.  Having a great lawn is a lot of work and requires planning and patience.  “The grass I grow this fall is what will be there next spring,” says John Dillon, who takes care of New York City’s Central Park.  He recommends these four steps: Pin this! 1. Aeration Aerating your lawn allows for water, oxygen, and nutrients to reach the roots.  You should aerate your lawn once or twice a year. Image Source here 2. Seeding Seed your lawn when the soil is approximately 55°F in temperature.  Water the seeds every day until they germinate. Image Source here 3. Fertilizing Fertilize your lawn during the late fall season, and choose a product high in phosphorous. 4. Mulching Mulch your leaves, instead of raking them.  If you’re looking to buy a new lawn mower, look for one that has the...

For some of you, school is back in session for you or your kids!  Life can get busy, and taking care of more than just yourself can be a lot of work. Image Source here Image Source here Image Source here Thinking about cleaning your entire home can be overwhelming.  I created a weekly checklist that divides the work.  If you have family members who can help you, that means less work for you! A good rule to ask yourself when it comes to a cleaning task is, " Will this take me less than five minutes?"   If so, you should probably go ahead and take care of it then.  I find myself asking that question once I've finished a cup of coffee or once I've eaten a bowl of yogurt.  I dislike doing dishes, but as soon as my mug or bowl hits the sink, I look at it, and then tell myself I should wash it then rather than later.  Another thing I do is I try to take out a bag of trash every time I take my dog outside or if I need to head out...

Make the most of the rest of summer! Fall is coming!  I already noticed crunchy red-orange leaves at the end of the driveway after mowing the lawn this weekend. Image Source here Image Source here How can you prepare your home for fall?  Think about what seasonal changes mean.  Think heating and cooling, think maintenance cleaning. Here's a checklist: 1. Examine the exterior of your home (roof, siding, driveway, gutters, trees, etc.).  Repair what you can, otherwise make note of it. 2. Examine the interior of your home (fireplace, crawl space, heating and cooling vents, windows, doors, etc.).  Replace filters, replace old insulation, caulking, etc.  Schedule a check-up for your heating system. 3. Update your emergency kit or plan. 4. Test your emergency generator. If you're not sure who to call for the repairs you can't do yourself, ask your neighbors for suggestions.  There's a great private social network for neighborhoods and su...

If you missed Part 1 and 2, the links are here: Part 1 of 3: What brings you joy? Part 2 of 3: Less Than 20 Things for Your Moving Checklist And now for Part 3!  You've finally moved all your things to your new home!  Now comes the fun part of decorating your space! Every year, I like to rearrange my space.  When coming up with ideas, my method usually consisted of perusing through similar spaces on Pinterest and thinking about it for a few weeks, before actually moving my things. This year, that method was not going to work.  After rearranging my things the first time, I half enjoyed the change for about a week.  I wasn't satisfied, so I moved things around for a second time.  I still wasn't satisfied, but I knew I couldn't rearrange again unless I knew it would be the last time. Suddenly, a light bulb went off, and I realized I could model up my room and rearrange all I wanted from there! I researched floor planning software and skimmed through...