We’re still a few months out from the holidays, but they’re sneaking up on us fast. Before you know it, you’ll be up in the attic, pulling tinsel out of boxes and feverishly writing cards at the last minute.

Or will you?

In this post, we’re going to take a look at how the pros prep their homes in advance of the holiday season, helping you to alleviate some of that last-minute rush.

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Get Rid Of The Gunk In Your Microwave

Your microwave is a breeding ground for bacteria and disease. Every time you put something in it to cook, particles from it are released into the surrounding atmosphere, inevitably ending up on the walls and tray.

First of all, remove the rotating tray and pop it in the dishwasher along with the rest of your pottery. Then, grab your favorite, non-toxic cleaning spray, and start squirting. Use a soft cloth and a little water to lift all of the splatters out of your microwave and wash it down the sink. The end result should be a much fresher microwave that doesn’t smell like old sausage every time you switch it on.

Prep All Your Appliances

Your appliances take a beating over the holiday season. You probably use your boiler, refrigerator, stove, freezer, and dishwasher more than at any other time of the year, putting them under immense strain.

Ideally, you want all your appliances to be in excellent condition before the first of your guests arrive. If some of them aren’t at their best, look out for holiday appliance repair deals. It’s often easier than you think to find professionals in your local area who specialize in repairing your machinery, ensuring that you’re prepped for the holiday season.

Sharpen Your Knives

Whether you eat turkey, nut roast, or something else over the holidays, it always pays to have a set of sharp knives ready to go in your drawers.

New knives are expensive, so if you don’t want to splash out, then you need to find a way to sharpen your existing ones. But how?

While you can use a sharpening steel, there are far more user-friendly products out there on the market today that don’t risk slicing off the end of your fingers. The best are counter-mounted sharpening stones. Place the knife between the two stones on the device and then pull it backward in a series of long, even strokes. You should notice tiny metal filings shaving off, helping to smoothen out the blade.

Collect Firewood

The last thing you want is to be sitting there on Christmas eve, shivering in your pajamas because you forgot to stock up on firewood.

Bought firewood is usually the best option because of its low moisture content, although you can chop your own, so long as you give it sufficient time to dry.

Put Down Slip-Proof Mats Near Exterior Doors

Things can get a little slippy underfoot during the holiday season, thanks to the mud and ice. Be on the safe side and lay down some non-slip mats next to popular entry points.

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Moving into a new home can often feel like the end of the story. After the excitement – and, admittedly, the stress – of your house search and the moving process itself, your journey has reached its conclusion.

In actuality, the first night you spend in your new home is actually just chapter one of a brand new story – one that will see you and your family turn this new property into a home, sharing experiences and making memories that will last for a lifetime. In order to ensure that that wonderful story gets off to the best possible start, here are four checks you may wish to prioritize as you look to settle in to your new property…

#1 – A maintenance home inspection

The purpose of a professionally-conducted maintenance home inspection is to obtain a thorough overview of the workings of your property, both as it stands today and any issues that might potentially develop in the future. You’ll be able to identify if any upgrades are in order and when they may need to be arranged, so that you can gain a much deeper insight into your new home and budget accordingly for any changes you may need to make.

#2 – A pest inspection

You’ve just moved into a new property, your pride and joy – so naturally, you’ll want to make sure that you’re not sharing the space with any unwanted guests. A professional pest inspection can thoroughly check over your entire property, looking for signs of infestation that have otherwise been unnoticed. If any problems are identified, then you can arrange for the pests to be evicted, so you can enjoy your new home in peace.

#3 – A security inspection

Home security is something that people will rarely analyze when they are viewing a property they are considering buying. Instead, most of us focus on the space and living arrangements the property can provide, imagining ourselves living there, rather than practical necessities. As a result, upon moving in, it’s advisable to see the property through new eyes and check the overall security of the entire building. If you notice any issues (such as weak fencing or a lack of security cameras), you can then consider using these measures to ensure your home is as thoroughly protected as possible.

#4 – An “in case of emergency” check

Finally, a check that is designed to familiarize yourself with your property and ensure that, should a serious or emergency situation develop, you’ll be able to take mitigating action. The most important part of this check is ensuring you know how to turn the water and power off at the main supply, and it’s also beneficial to check the location of existing – or install for the first time – fire extinguishers or blankets throughout the property. It’s also advisable to ensure that all of your family members also go through this check with you.

In conclusion

When all of the above checks are complete – and, if necessary, appropriate action has been taken to rectify any issues – then you can start to enjoy life in your wonderful new home!

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When you’re looking to overhaul your home, make a room serve more than one purpose is a great way to reinvigorate a space. While that spare room can become a home office or reading room, what happens with less practical spaces? Your garage is more than just somewhere to put your car; it is somewhere that can serve many purposes. And it seems that now, garages aren’t used for parking at all. What can you do, seeing as your car is parked on the driveway, with this space that’s very likely, home to piles and piles of boxes?

Guest Room

If you have a two-car garage, you could very well turn this into a guest room. Be careful with this, especially in terms of your city’s zoning laws, but also think about insulating it properly. With something like the garage door, it might be worth getting garage parts from Precision or another supplier to ensure that it is a safe and sturdy structure. You have to make sure that, especially when winter comes, that it’s adequately insulated. Put lots of blankets in there, and a space heater, but also think about the flooring issues. If you don’t put protective flooring down, will flooding or excessive rain put this guest room out of action?

A Game Room

If you spend a lot of time working at home you might want to escape to a room that doesn’t remind you of work. A game room is a perfect fit for a garage because you have the opportunity to do pretty much whatever you want with the space. The great thing about a games room is that it’s not that expensive to implement. You don’t have to insulate it if you don’t want to; if you want to turn it into an extra room of the home, you can add a few more comfortable touches to reduce the garage sensibilities. It doesn’t have to be difficult, you can add family photos, rugs, or a few posters, and the space will feel a bit more like an extra room of the home rather than just a garage.

A Home Gym

It is certainly a very popular option, primarily because a garage lends itself well to that environment. You don’t need to decorate it, just put your workout equipment dead center, put some music on, and off you go! But if you want to add a little bit more to it, you don’t necessarily need a weights bench. If you want to do something different, you can turn it into a place where you can do circuits. Install a pull-up bar, get some hand-held weights, as well as a running machine, and you’ve got a multi-purpose gym without ever having to go go to the real thing! As a home gym is the opportunity to remain in isolation, it can give you the opportunity to truly focus on the exercises. A home gym is a delicate balance to get right, primarily because if you don’t want to exercise, you don’t have to! But by having a diverse set of workstations, you stand a better chance of keeping on top of keeping healthy.

A Home Office

Working from home is most definitely a knife’s edge. If you a busy household it can be difficult to have that focus in order to work properly. But you have to remember that if you want to set up a home office, you need something with a little bit more comfort. A cold garage in the middle of winter could keep you motivated to do your work a bit quicker, but on the other hand, if you have to stay there for eight or nine hours a day, you may want to find another method of setting up a room that’s separate from the rest of the home. You can purchase a shed instead and go down this route. But if your work allows you to go to the garage, make sure it’s comfortable, but not too comfortable.

A Playroom

The perfect opportunity to get the kids “out” of the house! The great thing about a garage is that you can turn it into any space you want! Because a garage doesn’t necessarily follow the aesthetics of your home, this leaves it open to interpretation. On top of this, you might not be so concerned about making a mess! Instead of having your kids play in their room, you can add a few changes, like storage, bookshelves, or musical instruments, and your kids can go for it! Also, remember to insulate the space properly, especially if you send your kids out to the garage during winter. It needs to be comfy, of course!

A Home Theater

For most people, the living room is the place where they watch movies in surround sound, but if the home isn’t big enough or someone doesn’t like it so loud, turning a garage into a home theater and getting people round to munch on popcorn and watch the latest addition to Netflix, surely the garage is the best bet? You could get a large television, a fantastic sound system, but also add that little extra sensation by installing comfy chairs, and it becomes a home movie theater all of its own! And if the garage is particularly chilly, especially in the winter, you can insulate the walls, but also remember to soundproof the space! It’s also worth bearing in mind that if the neighbors know you have a makeshift home movie theater in the garage, that it needs to be secure! Having a proper security system in place is crucial, but also, cover everything in a dust cloth as the garage can tend to attract a lot of it.

The garage is more than a car hole! If you want to make the most of this extra room, especially if your home is getting full, it is a simple way to add a little bit of extra value to the home, while also maximizing what your property can really do.

What is a home overhaul? It’s a changing or updating of the major systems in the house. Things like plumbing, electrical wiring, gas pipes, central heating, air conditioning as well as other aspects like flooring and wallpaper. These parts of the house are important systems but also important decor points. The change of flooring is something that comes around every 10 years or so. However you might need to change your electrical wiring every 10 to 15 years depending on the condition of the home. The design is very important as well because older homes will need to be cared for much more regularly. Central heating is directly linked to plumbing so if you are correcting one system the other will most likely need to follow. But just how do you go about with such massive changes without disrupting the rest of the home?

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It can often be quite worrying when you decide to settle down. This is it, you think. We know you can only settle down for the first time, one time only. This is a similar feeling we have when potentially getting married. We know that we can likely have as many marriages as we would like, but it’s the first that counts. We wish for it to be special. We want it to last for good.

So, settling your fears regarding first-time home ownership can be quite a stressful time. It’s only tolerable due to the extreme amount of excitement and love you will likely feel as you do look around for this future life plan. That love tips the scales to this being a more-than-worthwhile thing to look forward to.

So, let us help you to that end.

When settling your fears regarding first-time home ownership, you may wish to consider:

Give Yourself Enough Time

Giving yourself enough time is crucial if you hope to make this process work for you. Otherwise, it can be that searching nearby houses in the area you wish to live can feel frantic, as if you need to make a decision now lest never live in a home for as long as you live. This is of course untrue, and it’s important to understand this as such. When you give yourself enough time to plan, and select a date you would like to move in by, you give realtors and property agents a clearer picture of what you need, and you can feel less rushed during the process.

Select A Great Mortgage Broker

A mortgage broker such as Altrua Financial can be a tremendous support when it comes to funding and understanding your financial commitments for your household. Without this absolutely ironed out, your contributions completely clear, and your method of payment already assigned and understood, you will have trouble finding a guide through this process, as not all mortgages are the same. They may also be open to helping you through other routes should your financial situation or needs are a little more unique than most – such as investment properties or properties abroad.

Speak To Those In The Know

Speaking to your family, your friends and those you know who have already gone through this process can be a real relief, because it shows you that it’s not impossible, no matter what issues might come up during your planning process. For most people, this can be a truly worthwhile and quite humbling thing to consider, and can make the most difference in the long term. A little reassurance can go a long way, and help you feel more like yourself throughout the process.

With this advice, we are certain that your first time home ownership will remain as smooth as can be.