Decluttering - Help your loved ones

Q: What problems does keeping too much stuff cause your loved ones after you're gone?

A: It's very time-consuming.  Why should my family take so much time - to take care of my things?

Q: How do you decide what to keep or discard?

A: Talk about it with your family.  It's a delight to go through things and remember their worth.  But if you don't remember why a thing has meaning, then it has no worth, and it will be easier to part with.

Q: Get rid of "private" items - such as diaries.  Why?

A: If you think a secret will cause your loved ones harm or unhappiness, then make sure to destroy such items.  Make a bonfire, or shove them into a hungry shredder.

The Color of Money

It "used to be" off-white walls sell houses.  Real Estate website Zillow analyzed 32,000 photos of homes sold around the U.S. and determined which colors correlated to higher-than-average sale prices.

1. Kitchen

• Do paint: Soft blue-gray
• Don't paint: Straw yellow/marigold

2. Living Room

• Do paint: Light beige/taupe
• Don't paint: Pastel gray/light blue

3. Dining Room

• Do paint: Slate/pale blue-gray
• Don't paint: Brick red/copper red

4. Bedroom

• Do paint: Cerulean/cadet blue
• Don't paint: Light pink/antique rose

5. Exterior

• Do paint: Greige
• Don't paint: Medium brown/taupe

Minimize dust fallout - having wood floors refinished

Many dustless companies connect their sanders to tubing that carries the dust to bags outside, thanks to vacuums mounted on trailers. Others use indoor vacuums equipped with filters that trap even the extremely fine particles that cause the most lung damage. To locate these contractors, start with the "find a professional" service on the National Wood Flooring Association's website, woodfloors.org Then call a few companies and ask what equipment they use, as well as the questions you'd use to screen any contractor, such as how much experience they have and whom they list as references.

Hire someone who is certified: Hiring a company with good equipment will go a long way toward minimizing dust.

If you need to move furniture and other items: Storing them in a room that won't be sanded makes sense. To minimize dust, close doors and cover gaps under doorways with towels rolled into snake shapes. Cover doorways that you will need to use with zippered plastic, such as ZipWall ZipDoor  Commercial Door Kit for Dust Containment, $36 on Amazon.com.

Scam emails?

• Do not click on any links in the scam email.
• Do not reply to the email or contact the senders in any way.
• If you have clicked on a link in the email, do not supply any information on the website that may open.
• Do not open any attachments that arrive in an email that you don't recognize. 

If you have compromised the safety of your bank details and/or have lost money due to fraudulent misuse of your cards, you should immediately contact your bank.

If you've been a victim of fraud, report it to nxg@rimits.com

Fake emails often (not always) display the following characteristics:

• Sender's email address doesn't match the trusted organization's website address.
• Email is sent from a completely different address or a free web mail address.
• Email does not use your proper name, but uses a non-specific greeting like "dear customer".
• A sense of urgency; ie: The threat that unless you act immediately your account may be closed
• A prominent website link. These can be forged or seem very similar to the proper address, but even a single character's difference means a different website. 
• Request for personal information such as user name, password or bank details.
• Email contains spelling and grammatical errors.
• You were not expecting to get an email from the company that appears to have sent it.
• Entire text of the email is contained within an image rather than the usual text format.
• Image contains an embedded hyper link to a bogus site. 

Before selling your home

The condition of the home can bring you as much as 10 percent more in the sale price and determine how long it's likely to stay on the market. 

Your screen or storm door should be in good shape and any muddy paw or nose prints should be scrubbed. The glass panels in the door should sparkle, as should every window in the house.

The Front Hall: Should be free of clutter. In the closet, remove out-of-season clothing and unneeded storage. All your closets will look larger if they are orderly and uncrowded. 

Living Room: Remove distracting personal possessions, trophies, family pictures, political and religious items to create a space buyers will picture their own furniture. Large pieces and excess items can be packed away. 

If you don't repaint your home's interior, you must attend to cracks and water stains in the ceiling, small cracks in walls, and broken windowpanes. Fresh paint always looks good!

Kitchens and Bathrooms traditionally sell houses: Fix leaky faucets and bleach stains in the sinks. To show off your expanse of kitchen counters, remove most items, leaving only one or two decorative pieces or basic appliances. Someone will be sure to open the oven, so keep it spotless. Doors on the oven, toaster oven, and microwave should shine.

Make your bath sparkle, replace shower curtains with sparkling, inexpensive new ones in a solid neutral color. Replacing a chipped or damaged toilet seat as well. Bring in a potted plant. Check the grout around the tub and shower. Remove tub mats. A set of nice or new solid - colored towels and washcloths can be set out at the last minute. 

Bedrooms: Straighten closet clutter, use your best bedspreads and remove crowded furniture if possible. Check light bulbs, wipe doorknobs & light switches, and tighten handrails. 

Your best investment - after soap - is probably paint. Choose a light neutral color to make the rooms look larger. 

Happy selling!

Neglected Cleaning Tasks

Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans should be cleaned every other month.

Baseboards
Vacuum up hair, dust, and debris using a horsehair-brush attachment.

Shower Heads
Shower heads should be wiped down at least once every two weeks and deserve a deep clean twice a year.  Pour one-half cup each vinegar and water into a quart zip-lock bag, then place the shower head inside the bag, twisting a hair elastic or rubber band around the bag and the pipe behind the head to hold the bag in place.  Let the shower head soak for at least 10 minutes, then remove the bag, scrub, rinse, and wipe down.

Inside the Washer and Dryer
Mold, mildew, and lint can build up inside a washer and dryer.  Run an empty cycle with a quarter-cup of bleach.  Attention should be paid to the rubber seals around the washer door.  Clean the dryer's lint trap after each use to prevent odors and lessen the risk of fire.

Dishwasher
Place a small dish filled with a cup of white vinegar in the top rack and run an empty cycle with hot water; open the door afterward to let it air-dry.


Refrigerator coils
Cleaning your refrigerator coils can improve its efficiency.  Most new refrigerators hide the coils behind a metal plate in the back that has to be unscrewed.  Loosen the dust with the brush and then suck it out with the [vacuum's] crevice tool.

Courtesy of Home Warranty of America: Spring Home Maintenance

Courtesy of Home Warranty of America:

Spring is drawing near! Springtime is a critical time for home upkeep. When the winter frost finally thaws, making a little time for spring maintenance can help you save energy, avoid hassle, and extend the lives of some of your home's most valuable components and systems.

3 Tips for Spring Home Maintenance:

• Run your cooling system to ensure it's working. If not, call a certified HVAC technician before the busy season begins.
• Clean your roofs and gutters to avoid damage from heavy spring rains and reduce the risk of leaks.
• Take time to reapply exterior caulking around windows and weather stripping to avoid costly gaps and higher A/C bills.

A Better Complexion

What you eat really does affect your complexion.  Yellow or orange fruits and vegetables help prevent damage.  These are packed with beta-carotene and antioxidants like vitamins C and A.  Combined, they act like a natural sunscreen.  Drinking green tea can also prevent sun-induced skin damage.  Green tea contains polyphenols, which reduce cell damage caused by ultraviolet radiation.

To combat wrinkles, include almonds, brown rice, and olive oil in your diet.  These contain high amounts of vitamin E, which can protect the cell membranes of the skin.

To improve the skin's elasticity and prevent thin skin, eat whole grains, seafood, and garlic.  These are rich in selenium, which can slow the signs of aging by preserving suppleness of skin tissue. (Source: Reader's Digest)