Home Safety: How To Make Your Home Safe

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Making your home safe is one of the most important things you can do to protect your family. There are several steps you can take to make your home less dangerous and more secure. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the most important ways to make your home safe. We will cover topics such as fire safety, childproofing, and security measures. You can help keep your loved ones safe from harm by following these tips.

Smoke Alarm and Fire Extinguisher 

One of the most important ways to make your home safe is by installing a smoke alarm. Carbon monoxide is a deadly gas that can be produced by burning fuel. It is odorless and colorless, so you may not know it is there until it is too late. A smoke alarm can help save lives in the event of a fire. It is also essential to have a fire extinguisher in your home. Then, if a fire does break out, you will be able to put it out quickly and safely. You can also research some top tips for a fire-resistant bathroom and other areas in your home and implement them. 

Light it Up
Another way to make your home safe is by keeping it well-lit. Ensure all entrances and exits are well-lit and consider adding motion detector lights near doors and windows.

Securing Valuable Items 
You can make your home safer by securing valuable items. For example, keep expensive jewelry and electronics hidden away, or install a safety deposit box to store them in. If burglars can see valuable items through your windows, they may be tempted to break in. 

Childproofing
Another way to keep your family safe is by childproofing your home. You can do many things to childproof your home, such as installing safety gates and covers on electrical outlets. You should also keep dangerous objects like knives and chemicals out of reach of children.

Case of an Emergency Plan 
It is also essential to have a plan in place in case of an emergency. For example, you should know how to get out of your home if there is a fire and where to go if there is an earthquake or another disaster. You should also have a list of emergency numbers, such as the police, fire department, and ambulance, handy in case you need them.

Get to Know Your Neighbours
Neighborhood watch programs are a great way to deter crime. Get to know your neighbors and be on the lookout for suspicious activity.

How to Protect your Vehicles at Home

It’s no secret that Britain is a nation filled with motoring enthusiasts. Unfortunately, car crime is still rife, and many cars get stolen or broken into each month across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

You may live in an area with a reasonably low crime rate. But, that doesn’t mean crime rates won’t rise in the future. You’re obviously reading this article because you care about your cars, and you want to make sure they’re safe and secure while they’re outside your home.

But, what steps can you take to ensure their security? Check out the following suggestions for some inspiration:

Park Your Cars Out Of Sight

The first thing you need to do is find a way of storing your vehicles out of public view. That means parking their cars in two bay oak garages for most people. The thing about parking cars in garages is they aren’t visible to people in the public eye.
Let’s face it: you can’t steal something that isn’t there, so hiding your cars in plain sight is a brilliant way to thwart any potential theft attempts.

Use A Steering Wheel Lock
If you can’t park your cars in a garage, another thing you can do is consider a visual deterrent like a steering wheel lock. They are simple devices that fit through the gaps in steering wheels and get made of solid metal.
What’s more, their design makes it virtually impossible to remove forcibly. An opportunist car thief is unlikely to steal a car if they have to spend a lot of time trying to achieve that goal. They’d rather opt for a vehicle with no steering wheel lock fitted.

Store Your Keys In A Faraday Pouch
Many of today’s modern vehicles feature keyless entry systems. The trouble with such systems is they are incredibly vulnerable, and a pair of car thieves can easily steal such a vehicle in seconds.
If you store your car keys in a Faraday pouch, the signals from the keyfobs will get blocked, meaning car thieves cannot duplicate the signals that would enable them to unlock vehicles and start their engines.

Install CCTV
CCTV is both a visual deterrent and an excellent way to capture any criminal activity, such as attempted thefts of your vehicles. If you invest in a high-quality HD security camera system, you will have visual evidence of people trying to steal your cars.
What’s more, modern CCTV systems allow you to record footage at night thanks to night vision, infrared technology. Today’s CCTV security systems can often get linked to the cloud, meaning you can view footage from anywhere around the world.

Install A Fuel Pump Cut-Off Switch
Lastly, consider installing a hidden fuel pump cut-off switch. It’s a simple security measure that you can fit to any vehicle, and if you hide the switch, no one will know it exists! With the switch enabled, no one will be able to start your vehicle.
Make sure when entrusting someone with your car, give it a refresh or service, for example, that you keep your fuel pump cut-off switch disabled.

Final Thoughts
If you want to ensure people won’t try to steal your vehicles, the above ideas will help you achieve that goal.

As Fresh As A Daisy: The Secrets Of People Who Have Homes That Smell Beautiful

Do you ever walk into somebody’s home and stop in your tracks to think: “this smells beautiful”? If so, you’re not alone. It turns out that making indoor spaces smell as wonderful as a lavender meadow is something that you can achieve yourself. It’s just a matter of know-how. 

Find out what to do below: 

Light A Candle

If you have a lot of stinky smells in your home, light a candle. Candles have a wonderful ability to transform how rooms both feel and smell. 

When choosing a candle, be sure to pick one with essential oils and made of soy wax. This combination offers the ultimate in terms of health, wellbeing and effect. For a relaxing scent, choose either frankincense, lavender or eucalyptus. 

Clean The Carpets

Vacuuming will only remove so much debris from your carpets. If you really want to remove all the odour-causing particles, you’ll need to do some proper carpet cleaning. 

When it comes to cleaning your carpets, you have two options. You can either try doing it yourself with a wet vac, or you can get professionals to do it for you. Once the job is done, you’ll notice just how much fresher and lighter everything smells. For some households, it can make a tremendous difference. 

Deodorise Your Shoes

Stinky shoes left in the hallways can produce bad smells that flow throughout the home. If you have a shoe rack, keep some deoderiser nearby, particularly during the summer when people are sweating more. 

Open The Window

You can also reduce the number of smell particles in your home by opening a window. Just leaving it slightly ajar will allow the air to diffuse, with any bad smells eventually making their way outside. 

Clean Your Sofa Upholstery

Just like carpets, sofas can become a magnet for bad smells. Their fibres trap odour-causing compounds and then release them slowly over time. 

Again, to clean your sofa, you’ll need to hire a professional. They follow a special technique that allows them to essentially dry clean your furniture so that it’s ready again for you to use the next day. They also impregnate it with odour-cancelling particles so that it stays smelling fresher for longer. 

Use Essential Oil On Your Air Conditioning Filter

Essential oils smell great when placed in regular diffusers. But you can also combine them with your air conditioning system. As air circulates, it will pick up scent molecules from the oil and distribute them around your home. 

You don’t need much essential oil to create the desired effect. Just a few drops will suffice. 

Use Vinegar While Cleaning

Plain white vinegar smells quite pungent when you use it, but it is actually one of the best cleaning substances there is for making your home smell great. Its chemical structure allows it to grab onto odour-producing molecules and sweep them away. It is well worth using in both the kitchen and bathroom. Don’t worry: that sour smell will soon evaporate away, leaving everything looking and smelling fresh. 

Why People Sell Their Homes

Selling a house is a huge deal. You are going to spend a lot of time packing, cleaning and decorating to ensure that your home is perfect, and that takes some time. Selling your house isn't going to be the easiest thing to do, but if you know why you’re doing it it becomes much more of a simple process.

There are plenty of reasons that people choose to sell their home, and getting rid of a house can save you time, money and above all - stress! It could even stop your bank from repossessing your house if you’re at risk of that. If you want cash in your pocket quickly, selling your house for over market value is going to make a big difference. It’s a sellers market right now and having your home valued is the first step. Below, we’ve got some of the reasons that you should look at selling your house at last!

• Repairs. Your house might be falling to bits and while you can invest the money to make the repairs, you might just want to sell the house and get rid of it. The best thing that you can do, however, is make the right repairs and then sell it so that you can upgrade it. If your house is always falling apart, you might want it off your shoulders so you no longer have the stress all over it. 
• You inherited it. If you have been given a house in a Will, you’re likely going to choose to sell it so that you can benefit from the money you get. You might not have a need for a house, and if you don't you can sell it off and not worry about it anymore! You will benefit from the cash, too.
• Avoiding more taxes. Owning a property can mean more taxes to pay, and failure to pay this means that you are going to end up with more being paid out than you could want. Selling as soon as possible means that you can stop paying property taxes on a house you don't even use. 
• You can’t keep up with the payments. People lose their jobs all the time and if you are one of them, then you need to think about how you plan to pay your mortgage. If you can’t do it, you might think about selling up and downsizing to a property that’s smaller and easier to manage.
• You need more space. If you are growing your family or your teenagers seem much bigger than they used to, then selling your house and moving to a new one is a smart thing to do. Buying another house can make a huge difference to your bank balance and it can be so much easier to move somewhere smaller. 

There are many more reasons than this to sell your home, but if you know why you’re doing it it’s going to be so much easier to go ahead and let it go!

Top Tips for Redecorating Your Home

Your home is where you are going to spend a lot of your free time, so make sure you like it and you are happy in it is really important. However, it can be hard to know what you can do to spruce up the home and redecorate to make sure you are happy with it, there are a few different things you can do to help redecorate your home and make it somewhere you are happy to live and that you want to spend time in. It is easy to get bored of your home so redecorating is an easy way to refresh the home. 

Although it might seem overwhelming to start with, it doesn't have to be a huge job because you can make some really simple changes which make all the difference to the look of your home; whether it's a fresh lick of paint or a few decorative bits such as some funky prints or maybe even a neon sign. Here are a few tips on how you can prepare and redecorate your home to make it somewhere you are happy to live in.

Make sure you plan

The best thing to do when you start renovating or decorating is to plan out everything you are looking to do. By planning this out properly you are less likely to have issues and you can make sure that you are not going to have to redecorate again anytime soon. When planning take into consideration appliances and other certain aspects of the house that could have issues, although you are not changing them before redecorating, it is best to make sure they are insured and that they are maintained and working. This helps to stop unnecessary redecorating due to faults. Also, make sure you are planning your themes and everything you want to change too.

Start with the big things first
When redecorating it is best to start with the big things first, things like furniture, walls, and floors are a great place to start. This is because it sets the tone for the rest of the house, making it easier to guide you through the theme and make sure you know what you want. For example, if you have a particular theme but you are stuck on colour then buying the furniture you want first and deciding on that colouring will help you determine how to decorate the rest of the room. You could get the lion knocker chairs you wanted for example and then build around them to help build up the theme and colours you were looking for.

Make sure to utilise good lighting
When it comes to redecorating or decorating in general the thing people can tend to overlook is the lighting in their home. If you look at what the professionals do they are always utilising good lighting for their designs. This can be done by adding decorative mirrors to a room that has bright lighting to make it shimmer and reflect the light around the room and increase the lighting in that room. By doing this you are utilising the lighting you have without having to add more and also decorating the room at the same time.
If you are looking to redecorate your home and give it a bit of an uplift, but you are unsure where to start or what you can do to make this happen. Then hopefully, these few tips will give you some ideas of what you can do to get started with your redecoration.

Top Tips For An Easy Stress-Free Home Move

Whether you have decided to move across the world to pursue your dreams, or have decided to downsize your home - moving is a big deal. After all, even if you are only travelling a short distance away, you have to uproot your family and move away from a familiar space into somewhere totally new. In addition, the entire process - from finding the right home to signing the contract - can be incredibly time-consuming and expensive.

As a result, many people associate moving with intense levels of stress. However, it doesn’t have to be that way - you just need to be plan ahead. With that in mind, here are some simple steps you can take to make the process as stress-free and exciting as possible! 

Put together a moving timeline. While you may be excited to move into your dream property right away, it’s important that you do not try to rush the process. Doing so could cause you to make mistakes that cost you further down the line. Furthemore, it’s also likely that you’ll need to save up some money ahead of time  - especially if you are a first-time buyer.  

Know what you are looking for in a property. Every day, hundreds of properties are introduced to the market - meaning that you can easily spend hours browsing real estate sites or attending open houses. Therefore, in order to streamline the process, you need to have a clear idea of what you are looking for ahead of time - think location, size, and amenities. The more specific you can be, the better. 

Don’t do the paperwork yourself. Very few people actually enjoy doing paperwork, however, when you are prepping to buy a house and completing the necessary documents it’s important that you don’t make any mistakes. One faulty transaction could result in you losing the home and having to return to square one. Therefore, you can save yourself a great deal of time and stress and ensure you get it done right by utilising conveyancing services - such as those offered by Gorvins Residential.

Pack a little bit at a time. Packing is boring - there’s no denying it. However, this does not mean that you should put it off until the last possible minute - otherwise, you’ll be stood surrounded by boxes, ready to scream by the time that the movers pull up. Instead, you should aim to give yourself a headstart on the packing by beginning to pack a few weeks before the big move. Start small, and begin with the items you won’t need ahead of time. The earlier you start, the easier it will feel. 

Find an outlet for your stress. While the above steps are a great way to reduce any pressure you may feel when moving, it’s important that you find a necessary outlet that helps you let go of your stress too. For example, if you feel like you simply cannot look at any more paperwork - give yourself a break and do something that you love. Alternatively, you can remind yourself exactly why you are moving in the first place - and that a fresh start is just around the corner.

3 Essential Tips for Selecting Where and How to Move House

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While moving guides are often important, it’s not uncommon to see many blogs taking something of a reductive approach to it. We know that moving is quite stressful for many people, so it’s no wonder writers wish to calm their audience, by showing them how to pack before the removal company comes, or what to do on moving day.

But the truth is that a good house move is something that is planned for, not focused on in the moment. You have time to plan, just as you have time to decide what kind of forward progress you’d like to take. Often, taking the first steps as well as you can will make all the difference. This all depends on how you approach the moving process from the offset. If you do this well, you will no doubt give yourself much in the way of positive wriggle room going forward, and may even be able to avoid the pitfall of having too little time and energy to make good decisions.

But this is just preamble. Let’s focus on what matters:

Finding The Best Price

Finding the best price for your property seems like an obvious priority to have. Most people want to be paid the most. But this doesn’t mean driving a hard bargain and being opposed to the essentials of negotiation. That almost never works. What it does mean is taking some time to allow a proper service with the inclination of marketing your property as well as possible to take the reigns. Some specialist estate agents may also give you the chance to sell to corporate clients, too. Keep your options open and don’t be afraid of a second opinion.

Considering How Much You’re Willing To Invest

How much are you actually willing to ‘do up’ a separate property? It might be that you’re happy to do that provided it means you can get a good deal on the baseline house itself. But what does this mean for your ability to move in? Might you have to delay that for a couple months? Is the house livable while you reorient and redesign other non-essential rooms? Consider if you’re willing to invest in making a property yours, or if you’re most drawn to a feature-complete, recently repaired and competently maintained build. It will define your entire approach thoroughly.

It’s All About The Commute

Many people say that location is the main consideration, and that’s true, but we’d recommend that you focus on the everyday matters of how you’ll operate near the home and how much you’re willing to give in either direction? Is ten minutes less of a commute to your new job worth £10,000 for a different property? Perhaps, if you add ten minutes either way each day over months, you end up saving hours of your time. Is your time over five years worth £10,000? It may possibly be. Keeping the commute in mind may not define your decision, but it really does help you structure the baseline needs you have.

With this advice, we hope you can select where and how to move with confidence, allowing you to transition into the moving process with incredible momentum.

Should You Buy an Investment Property?

 Buying an investment property is a long-term investment that many people are now considering. There are many reasons to buy an apartment as an investment, including the fact that it will provide you with a fixed asset. Investment property can be seen as a good alternative to other investments, such as stocks and bonds. This type of investment is less risky than stocks or bonds, but can still provide you with appreciation in value over time.

Investment properties are often bought with a buy-to-let mortgage that is designed for people who want to use their home as collateral for loans. Potential buyers should consider the purchase price, the rental income, repayments on both loans, and any other expenses before deciding which type of property to buy. If this is something that you’re considering doing, we’re now going to run through what you need to keep in mind to work out whether it’s right for you.

The Investment

First of all, when you make an investment in a property, it’s likely that you’re going to want to get a buy-to-let mortgage. It is a property loan that lets you purchase a property as an investment. You can then rent out the property you own and make money from it.

 

When it comes to calculating the amount of money you will need for an investment property there are two main components that need to be considered. There’s the purchase price and your deposit. The downpayment on an investment property is typically 25% of the purchase price but can vary between lenders (and depending on the climate and circumstances etc). It may also depend on the cost of the property, so bear these factors in mind.

Renting It Out

Renting out your property can provide a passive income stream. You can rent it out to students, international workers, or people who are looking for temporary accommodation. The process of renting out your property starts by finding a tenant that meets your requirements. You then work with them to create an agreement that outlines the terms of the rental - length of stay, rent, and any other details that may be necessary.

If you need help with deciding on what type of contract to use, you can find a list of possible types of contracts online. But you could turn to letting agents for help too. Then, you can also get tips on how to prepare for your first tenants and how to manage the property too (or get them to do it).

Adding To Your Portfolio

A property portfolio is your collection of properties that you’ve bought and the total number of properties you own. It can be a single property, or many properties. It's never too late to start building a property portfolio if you've been thinking about it for a while. The best way to begin is by starting with one residential home, renovating it, and building up from there. So now, maybe it’s time for you to think about picking up a second property or planning for when you want to.

Date Night Ideas for when you don't want to Leave the House

I know lots of us have been rejoicing at the fact that things are finally opened up again and we can return to some resemblance of normality but I'm also conscious of 2 other things: the fact that we're spending WAY more money than we have over the last 18 months and some of us need to tighten our belts and secondly all this socialising at once can be a little bit overwhelming and sometimes we just want to have a night in. 

It's been really fab to be able to get out and have date nights out of the house but if, for whatever reason, you want to organise a date night in, here's some ideas:

Cook a meal together

You don't have to be a Michelin star chef to rustle up something tasty in the kitchen and it can be a really nice experience to actually cook together and sit down and eat in a quiet environment, away from the crowds. Alternatively, if you don't fancy cooking from scratch, M&S have some fab dine in deals to be had which often comes with 2 mains, sides, a pudding and a drink for a set price.

Create a drawing/painting using a YouTube tutorial

Whether you're arty or not, anyone can follow a drawing tutorial on YouTube and I think it would be quite funny to see how each others creations turn out! You don't have to spend a fortune on equipment either, there are hundreds of simple pencil drawing tutorials.

Bring the fairground into your living room

If you love going to the fair but aren't quite ready for the crowds or the expense that comes with it you could get a date night in box from Box42 which helps you to create your own fairground experience at home. 

As you can see, the box comes with lots of goodies inside to help you to create that fairground experience at home with games, drinks and snacks. It even comes with face paints which could definitely get interesting after a few drinks! Box 42 have a full range of date night boxes to help you to create an experience that suits you including pottery, picnics and undercover agents.

You can also set up a subscription to Box42 which would be a fab anniversary gift. Individual boxes are priced at £34.99, however they are £31.99 if bought as a subscription. 

Camping in your back yard

If you already own a tent and all the equipment that goes with it why not take yourself back to your childhood and camp in the garden for the night; get the bbq and cook your dinner outdoors and later on get your marshmallows toasting while you look up at the stars. 

So there are some date night ideas if you're on a budget or you just don't want to be in a crowd right now. Let me know on Instagram if you've got any other date night in ideas!

*this post contains a PR sample

HOW TO MAKE MINIMALISTIC DECOR MORE HOMELY

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Minimalist decor is very popular right now and when done right, it can look amazing. However, a lot of people find that it feels a bit cold and unwelcoming, especially when compared to rustic decor with lots of soft furnishings. When you have a lot of sleek metal surfaces and hard lines, spaces tend to feel quite clinical and you don’t get the relaxing atmosphere that you are looking for in your home. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way. If you change a few details and make a few additions, you can easily create minimalist decor that feels homely. Here’s how you can make minimalist decor feel cosier.

Add Some Curves
Minimalist decor is characterised by straight lines and hard edges, which is fine, but it can look a bit dull and it doesn’t create a very comfortable atmosphere. People often take it too far and remove anything resembling a curved edge from their home, but you don’t need to do that to create great minimalist decor. You can still create a design that leans heavily on hard edges but introduce some soft curves in certain areas. For example, when you are choosing a sofa in the living room, go for something with rounded edges. A circular coffee table is another simple way to break up the hard lines. You only need to introduce a few carefully selected pieces and it makes all the difference. 

Install A Fireplace
People tend to associate fireplaces with rustic decor, but they’re just as effective in a minimalist setting. You can find some of the most realistic flame effect electric fires, which can be installed into the wall, giving a sleek minimalist look. But the flame effect also creates a brilliant cosy feel to the room, so you get the best of both worlds. This is a great way to take a very cold room and instantly make it feel homely. 

Get Some Plants
Bringing nature into the room is another great way to soften the edges of your minimalist decor. That’s why plants are one of the most desirable changes in the living room. By putting a few plants around the place, you can add a burst of colour and introduce some more interesting shapes to offset the hard lines. Plants also clean the air in your home, which is an added bonus. 

Play Around With Light
Lighting is the best way to transform the aesthetic of a room in an instant. During the day, natural light makes the room feel nice and bright and welcoming. In the evenings, try not to rely too heavily on the main lights in your home. Instead, add lots of floor lamps to create low lighting instead. Go for bulbs with warm light rather than cool light too. By adjusting the lighting in your home, you can make it feel a lot more relaxing, even if the decor is very minimalist. 

Minimalist decor doesn’t have to be cold and drab. Just make these simple changes and it can be just as homely as rustic decor. 

How to be a Good Landlord

While it can be an incredibly lucrative and rewarding undertaking, managing a rental property is also rife with stress. This is obviously most often the case because of unvetted or poorly paired tenants, but you can have a picture-perfect family living in your rental, and you’ll still likely experience some issues along the way. After all, far from simply letting out a property and forgetting about it, landlord responsibilities mean that said family's quality of life, and enjoyment at home, also rests on your shoulders. And, as is often the case with homeownership in general, things have a habit of getting in the way of that. 

Regular home checks and easy communications are, obviously, the best possible ways for landlords to directly prevent escalating problems from taking their toll. But, even before tenants have moved in, there are a few simple steps that landlords can take to keep their properties in the best possible shape for longer, and those include – 

Investing in high-quality appliances

Countless landlords will opt for cheap appliances without thinking about how this impacts functionality, or how much it increases the risks of breakdown. Unfortunately, issues including boiler breakdowns and broken washing machines are one of the main reasons that tenants have to contact their landlords, and if they keep on happening, it can either lead to lost tenants or escalating repair costs that never quite leave the problem in the past. By comparison, investing upfront in high-quality, tested appliances that will surely stand the test of time is a far more lucrative and honest way to operate, ensuring not only that tenants stick around for longer, but also that repairs are a far less regular requirement. 

Removing soft furnishings

Furnished apartments will typically attract higher monthly rates, but it’s important to note that keeping soft furnishings in an apartment from one tenant to another can be problematic, especially as general wear and use create questions around hygiene and appearances. With this in mind, it’s worth removing soft furnishings that could quickly get grubby, including cushions, sofas, mattresses, and even curtains, in place of ready-made bed frames, quality television stands and blinds like those offered by the Great Shutter Company. This way, landlords can quickly and efficiently clean all furnishings for quality, safe appearances that stand the test of time even between tenancies. 

Replace carpets

Carpets can add a real sense of warmth to any rental property, but they also have a habit of getting grubby pretty fast. In fact, with most carpets needing replacements roughly every five years or so, carpet investments are often ruined in as little as two tenancies and can bring monthly rental rates rocketing down. By comparison, laminate or wood floors that stay looking fresh for much longer are again transferable across tenancies and are far less likely to need replacing each time you accept a new family. 

Given that the quality of a rental property is essential for ensuring high rents and landlord compliance, these steps towards longevity are no-nonsense ways to secure this investment in the long term.