A New Year, A Fresh Start!

A new year is a great time to make a fresh new start, and what better place to start than by giving your living space a fresh new start. January seems to be a time to sit back and look over all the festive accumulations/great boxing day deals and say, “What do I do to make my living space more liveable…or saleable??” (These handy hints will also make any future moves so much easier)


· Start with removing all the festive decorations. For easy storage and an even easier way to find them again next time you need them, store them in see-thru plastic storage containers. They will stack nicely on top of one another, and you will be able to see the items packed in each container. Once the decorations are removed you will find it less overwhelming to deal with the rest of the house.

· During this time of year, gifts can add to the clutter. A good rule of thumb is out with the old, in with the new. When you have a new item to bring into the house: be it an appliance, an item of clothing or piece of furniture, don’t keep the old one *and* the new…do you really need 3 electric can openers?

· If these replaced items have only been gently used don’t just toss them in the garbage. Instead donate them to a local charity or you can post them for sale on a website such as craigslist.org or have a garage sale. In the spring contact me, Elli Davis, regarding free signs to advertise your garage sale!

· Label boxes for “Donations” and/or “Garage Sale” and designate a corner of one room for these boxes. As you gather items from the other rooms it will make your donation drop off one simple trip, and your garage sale more organized.

· A simple tip to help decluttering is to tackle just a small area and move on…don’t think of the daunting task of the whole house. Pick one room to start with, one day sort through the surface areas: countertops, floors, etc., the next day choose a cupboard or two, the next day a couple of drawers…you get the idea! Decide which items you really truly want to keep, which won’t be used for awhile and need to be stored and which are on their way out the door: donation, sale or garbage.

· When you choose items to be stored: mark the box with the date. If you have not needed to open that box to retrieve the items inside in over a year, drop that box off at a donation centre without opening it. If you didn’t need them in a year, you won’t need them.

· Finally: once you have done this great job weeding out unnecessary items and organizing what has been left…resist the temptation to bring more clutter into your home! Every time you go to make a purchase, stop and think, really think, “Do I need this, or do I just *want* it?” and remind yourself of all the effort you just went to to minimize the amount of clutter in your home…is that fourth electric can opener really worth all the aggravation??


These tips can be used at any time of year, but sometimes the inspiration of a new year is a helpful nudge in the right direction.

Save Money? And Help the Environment? Tell Me More!

Whether you have just bought a home and wish to upgrade appliances or you are looking to increase the value of your home before a sale or you simply wish to conserve water and reduce monthly bills…I have some good news for you!

On a daily basis each of the 2.9 million people living in Toronto require an average of 253 litres of residential water use per day…that’s about 77 million toilet flushes EVERY DAY! In an effort to curb water usage, the City of Toronto has a variety of programs and resources, from cash back rebates to retrofit packages, available to the public.

As an incentive to homeowners to replace inefficient models, the City is offering cash rebates on 2 water saving appliances. If you are thinking of replacing your toilet or washing machine you may be eligible to receive the rebate in addition to saving thousands of litres of water every year.

- Ultra low-flow toilets use only 6 litres of water per flush, where a typical model uses up to 20. They work just as efficiently, and savings will add up on your monthly water bills. Rebates of up to $75 are available.
- City-selected, high-efficiency front loading clothes washers use 40% less water and 60 % less energy. Washers are easily recognized by a sticker indicating they are approved by the City of Toronto and sold in local stores. Rebates of up to $60 are available.

Click here to find out if you qualify for these rebates or to find out more about the programs.

If you are not ready to make a large purchase, there are still many things you can do to help ease water usage, including picking up an indoor water efficiency retrofit kit. It costs only $10 and includes items such as a high efficiency shower head, kitchen swivel aerator, 2 bathroom aerators, installation instructions and more! Your water consumption and bills will both be reduced, and who doesn’t want to save a little? Click here to find out where these kits are available.

Money saving tips are always useful, but ones that benefit the environment as well? It’s a win/win situation!

Preparing Your Home Before Winter Arrives

With the temperatures this past long weekend hovering in the low 20's, it almost seems absurd to be preparing your home for the winter, right? Not so! This is the perfect time to do the cleaning and maintenence that will help keep your heating bills down in the following months, as well as prolong the life of your home and appliances.

Here are some simple things you can do:

1. Furnance maintenence includes:
- Clean or replace filters.
- If forced air, have ducts vacuumed.
- Bleed air from water radiators, if necessary.

2. Make sure smoke alarms & carbon monoxide detectors are in working order, with new batteries.

3. Humidity levels will drop in the winter months, so you will want to be sure you have a humidifier of some sort. If you have a humidifier on your furnace, check that it is scale free: either clean it with a de-scaler or purchase a new filter.
If you are humidifying your living space with a portable unit, make sure you do some research before purchasing. The larger the humidifier, the more maintenence required, but you must also keep in mind the size of the rooms, and also the energy efficiency of the unit.

4. Give your home a really thorough cleaning, so when you seal out the cold, you aren't trapping in all the dust that has blown in with the autumn winds!

5. This is the time for a switch of wardrobe as well: wash your summer clothes before you pack them away, and place some cedar balls in your drawers, and cedar blocks in your closets to protect your knitwear from moths (and avoid the chemicals and strong odours of moth balls!)

6. Keep out the drafts!!!

Doors:
- Install a sweep along the bottoms of your doors, the rubber edge will seal out the wind.
- Apply "sticky foam" on the edges of the door trim
- As extra assurance, install weather stripping to the outside edge of the doorway.

Windows:
Replace window screens with storm windows, then prepare to keep out the drafts:
- One option is removable caulking (be sure to follow directions exactly so as not to damage the window panes or walls).
-Removable draft seal works in much the same way, and is just peeled off like tape in the spring.
- The old standard plastic (just blow-dry to apply) works also.
Heavy drapes can help keep the cold at bay...and remember not to seal *all* the windows, as some fresh air is good to let in once in awhile.

7. Check chimneys for obstructions.

8. Clear eavestroughs of debris.

9. Drain and store outdoor hoses. Close the valve and drain the exterior faucet.

Even these few simple tasks will help winterize your home: keeping you comfortable, lowering monthly bills and maintaining the value of a homeowner's most valuable asset!

Take advantage of these crisp autumn days to talk a walk through the neighbourhood, enjoy the leaves changing colours, and maybe stop into some of the many Toronto homes with an open house!

Summer Home Maintenance Tips

The warm summer months are upon us and most of us have finished spring cleaning and de-cluttering of our homes. However, did you know that there are steps that homeowners should take to protect their investment? The summer months is the best time to get those tasks completed.
Below is a list of items that should be tended too.

1. Clean and check range hood filters over stoves on a monthly basis.

2. If necessary, use a dehumidifier to keep the humidity in the basement at or below 60%.

3. Check basement pipes for condensation or dripping.

4. Refill floor drain in the basement if it doesn’t have enough water.

5. Run water in fixtures that aren’t used on a regular basis (i.e. laundry tub, spare bathroom sink and tub or shower).

6. Deep clean carpets and vacuum the bathroom fan grille.

7. Clean the duct connected to the dryer by unplugging the dryer and disconnecting the duct connected to the dryer. Then take your vacuum and clean the duct.

8. Check windows, door hinges and garage door openers for smooth operation and lubricate if necessary.

9. Make sure water is not leaking into your house along the electrical conduits.

10. Check all paint and caulking.

11. Repair driveways and walkways as needed.

For more information on home maintenance or other free reports, contact Elli or leave a message on the blog.