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Home Renovation

Home Remodeling: Time To De-Clutter Your Kids’ Rooms – Simple Tips To Get The Process Started

All kids have toys. Kids of all ages. The clutter just tends to creep up and it all begins to blend in with the surroundings. What parent has not stumbled over a toy that they would have preferred not to? With a New Year, comes a new reason to de-clutter your kids’ kids may turn their noses up at first- give them time; they will think their room looks pretty nice once the process is complete.
Clothes, clothes, clothes. Do your kids just toss their clean/dirty clothes on the floor? Make sure you have a special container for them to place all of their dirty clothes in. Maybe it’s a clothes basket, a clothes hamper, or a special box that you have made together. The key sure you have a specific container for their dirty clothes and they know that their dirty clothes go in the container. Most kids from the age of three should be able to grasp this concept. Mom & Dad may have to show a little guidance along the way, but this will work.
Introducing a desk to a youngster is a good idea at around the age of three. This desk can be their work space. From coloring books, puzzles, writing utensils, and homework; this designated area should be well lit and offer your child a quiet setting. As a parent, it will be up to you to determine when, or if, a computer should be used on this desk. We live in an age of electronic apps and our kids are jumping in at all different ages. Ultimately, it’s up to you, the parent, as to when you will decide when to take the electronic plunge.
Make sure you have a kid friendly toy box in the room. If you have a toy box that looks old and dilapidated, chances are that you and your kids will not be encouraged to use the toy box. There are many unique toy boxes in the market place today. Toy boxes that kids will want to use and actually want to store their toys in them. Use some creativity, tie the toy box in with the d?�cor of your kids’ room and you will have a kid friendly toy box.
If space is truly an issue, you will want to make use of the space underneath your kids’ beds. If your kids’ beds don’t have built in storage units, you can use some boxes that fit underneath the bed to store anything that seems to be in the way. From clothes to stuffed animals, this space can be used to your liking. This area would also work as a great place to store an extra set of bedding. What parent hasn’t stripped a bed in the middle of the night and had to hunt down new bedding? This would alleviate the night time hunt!
The clutter does not have to exist. Work with your kids and they will appreciate the fact that you do care. Once you have removed all of the clutter, you will probably notice that a fresh coat of paint and a new floor would really “wow” your kids’ room. Laminate flooring i s a healthy choice when it comes to flooring in your kids’ bedroom, as it is scratch resistant and will not harbor those “crumbs” or dust mites. Make the de-cluttering process a family project and enjoy the fact that the days of stumbling over all of those toys should come to an end!

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Home Contractors

Simple Home Improvement Projects

Generally speaking home improvement projects tend to be costly. This idea has been reinforced by the fact that we hear homeowners take out large loans to pay for their home renovation tasks. However, in this tough economy spending large sum of money for some homeowners may not be feasible. This article will point out some simple and inexpensive home remodeling projects that will improve the overall quality and look of your home
To dispel a myth we need to insert that you do not always have to spend tons of money to make your home look beautiful. Yes, it is possible to achieve beauty with simple home remodeling projects. Home renovation does not always mean knocking down walls or making structural changes. Any enhancement to the look and feel of your home is considered home improvement. Now that we have established this fact let’s look at some simple and inexpensive home improvement projects that can be carried out by almost any homeowner.
Know What You Want to Achieve
Many people end up spending lots of money hiring contractors because they simply don’t know what they want to achieve. If you are uncertain, then take a look at various home decorating magazines to get an idea of what you want to do with your home. Many times a simple rearrangement of furniture or addition of certain furniture or decorative object will provide you with the look you are trying to achieve.
Freshen up with a code of paint
One of the simplest and least inexpensive home improvement projects is repaint your walls with a fresh code of paint. You will be surprised how much a fresh code of paint can do in terms of enhancing the look of your house. Select a different shade for the trims and doors. Check out various magazines and online images to get an idea of what colors are popular and which particularly appeal to your taste.
Get Rid of Clutter
Simple is beautiful and therefore do not be afraid of removing objects that are cluttering or blocking the pathways in your living room. One of the most unruly aspects of a home is clutter and it almost immediately distracts your attention from other parts or objects in your home. Therefore organize all objects and get rid of things you do not need or use.
Lighting
Lighting is another important home remodeling task that cannot be left out. Light is not only important because it controls the amount of light in your home but also because the lamp itself a decorative object. Depending on the layout and your individual taste, you may choose to use a chandelier, track lighting or pot lights. Just remember that you should hire an electrician if you need to run any wiring or make changes to your existing wiring.
Floor Enhancement
Your floor covers a large area and is quite visible. Therefore, you will have to ensure your floors look great. Flooring used to be an expensive ordeal if you did not have good handyman skills. However, with the introduction of laminate and engineered hardwood, flooring has never been easier. You can simply click the pieces together. You can also take free classes at various home improvement centers such as Home depot to give you a better idea as how to install your laminate flooring.

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Home Improvement Contractors

Attn: Contractors: Create a Stress-Free Experience For Homeowners Using These Five Simple Tips

Building or renovating a home can be stressful for your customers. That’s because having a contractor in is just another activity happening in an already busy household. Your customer may be juggling a stressful job, nightly little league practices, a sick pet, or a score of other issues. And now that they’ve decided to have work done to their home, they’ll have to add “inaccessible home” to their itinerary of things to deal with. It all can get very overwhelming for your customer.
Whether you’re a plumber, electrician, home builder or remodeler, it’s important to keep in mind that you do this kind of stuff everyday; for your customer, this may be a once-in-a-lifetime event. And they’re going to stress out about it. Here are five ways to show your customer a little TLC during a home renovation to keep them-and you-stress-free.
1. Educate them from the start
As a contractor, you’re used to the steps involved in a home renovation. They might include things like inspecting the home, pulling a permit, contacting the local code department, and ordering supplies from vendors. You have a system in place that allows you to get jobs done on time and within budget. Your homeowner customer, however, only knows that they want their bathroom remodeled. They may not know all the steps involved or how you get from A to B, so it’s important to educate them from the start. Advice? The minute they sign on the dotted line, hand them a checklist of all the steps you’ll be taking to renovate their home with a brief description of each step. Not only will it avoid confusion later, but allowing your customer to follow along and cross completed steps off the list will let them know that progress is being made. And of course, answer any and all questions they have.
2. Avoid industry lingo
As a contractor you’re used to throwing around words like “below grade,” “back nailing,” and “blind stop.” It’s easy to forget that the homeowner may have no idea what those terms mean. The best way to confuse them and make them stress out even more is to use industry lingo when describing their project without an explanation. Try to avoid slang around your customer, unless he is educated about your line of work. Describing each step and the parts needed for each step in a way they understand (without belittling their intelligence) goes a long way in maintaining a healthy working relationship with your customer.
3. Slow down and spend the time
When it comes to remodeling a home, things can move pretty quickly. You may have to wait for a permit to be accepted, for example, but once it is, it’s off to the races! As a contractor you’ll be ready to pick up the pace and get the project on its way. But slow down a minute. Now that you’re ready to move full-steam ahead, have you informed the homeowner? If not, take a step back and remember the checklist advice we gave in Tip #1. Before moving ahead, take the time to alert the homeowner about the next couple of steps, explain what’s going to be happening, and answer any questions they may have as you prepare to move forward. This will give the homeowners time to process what will be happening and allow them to prepare for the next phase of work. Continue to do this as the project progresses through the various stages. Which leads to the next piece of advice…
4. Keep in regular contact with your customer during the project
A lot of contractors make the mistake of communicating only twice with the customer during a home remodel: in the beginning when they start the work, and at the end when they expect payment. It’s understandable why this happens: contractors get busy, they have other customers and other jobs. But it’s a habit that can-and should-be broken if you want to offer your customer a stress-free experience. If not, your customer will be left holding a checklist of steps that you provided with no idea what step you’re on. The number of times you reach out to the customer will ultimately be determined by the length of the project, and is best determined by you. If it’s a weeks-long project, for example, stay in touch with your customer, say, at least once a week. The last thing you want is the homeowner calling you, saying he was wondering what was going on because he hasn’t heard from you in awhile.
5. Stay in touch after the project is complete
Another mistake contractors make once a home remodel is done is to cash the check and move on. Again, this is understandable because contractors have other contracts and other customers. But by failing to follow up with a customer or keep in contact with them once their project is done, you’re potentially missing out on a key thing that’ll keep you in business-more work. That’s because a contractor who asks to stay in touch with a customer-and then does-will be remembered by that customer, who in turn may have another project down the road, or will refer you to a friend of neighbor. So remember to always stay in front of your customers-past and present. That might mean a monthly newsletter full of home remodeling tips, requests for referrals, friendly emails, follow up phone calls to gauge their happiness with the project, an e-zine, holiday cards, mailers with current offers, etc. It doesn’t always matter how you stay in touch, just that you do.
These are only five ways to show a little TLC to your customers and ensure that they have a stress-free experience with you. They’re simple and easy to implement. Putting them into place will mean you’ll have a long list of happy customers who’ll be happy they signed on the dotted line-and who’ll refer more and spend more on your services in the future.