Chance Gates' Blog

Making the Most Of the
Basement/Laundry spaces

If you have a basement or laundry room, you want to make the most of the space by brightening it up and making sure it’s clean and inviting.

Nobody wants to go into a dark and crowded room to do laundry, so do your best to make it as inviting as possible.

Here are some simple tips:

• Tidy up and organize your basement.  Discard, donate, or recycle items you can give away.
• If you have unfinished concrete floors, paint the concrete to give it a cleaner look.
• Be sure to clean and polish the washer and dryer to give them a bright and shiny look.
• Put all detergents, laundry items and irons out of sight.  Remove any residue that may have accumulated in the laundry sink.

• Notes:

  A bright throw rug in front of the washer and dryer will often help cheer up unfinished laundry rooms.

Other related articles:

It All Starts with Creating Curb Appeal

The Entryway Sets the Stage

Tips For Every Room in the House

Making The Most Out Of Your Kitchen & Dining Room

Can the Buyers See Themselves
Living In the Living Room?

Make the Bathroom Sparkle

Look at These Big Beautiful Bedrooms

Create a Clutter-Free and
Functional Home Office

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com or  http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney. For a free copy of my blog titled  “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures.

By Heidi Stevens

RISMEDIA, June 9, 2010–(MCT)–Peter Walsh has you all figured out. You bought the melon baller because it was on sale and, heck, you like melon. You’ve held on to that 3-year-old magazine because you will make the recipe on Page 127. Some night. And those new black pumps do not look exactly like your four other pairs.

You’ve got yourself some clutter, my friend. And Walsh, best-selling author, host of TLC’s “Clean Sweep” and Oprah Winfrey’s go-to organizational expert, wants you to clear it out. Now.

“Later is the best friend of clutter,” he says. “Clutter is really just decisions delayed.”

We chatted with Walsh about tackling five common clutter zones.

THAT KITCHEN DRAWER
“Take the pizza rolling slicing thing and all those other items you bought for less than $5.99 that you just knew you’d always use and put them in a cardboard box,” says Walsh. “Whenever you use one of the items, put it back in the drawer. At the end of the month — with the exception of the turkey baster — whatever is still in the cardboard box you’ve got to ask yourself, ‘Will I ever use these?’”

THE BEDROOM CLOSET
“We wear 20 percent of our clothes 80 percent of the time,” Walsh says. Which means the vast majority of your closet is filled with — you guessed it, clutter. Walsh suggests the “reverse clothes hanger trick.”

“Take everything on a clothes hanger and turn it around back-to-front. For the next three to six months — you decide — every time you wear something hang it back the correct way after you launder it. Whatever is still hanging back-to-front, ask yourself: ‘Will I ever wear this item?’ It’s an efficient, non-traumatic way to see what you wear and what you don’t.”

YOUR SHOES
“To understand how many shoes you have, you have to release them from captivity,” he says. “Find the largest room or hallway in your house and line them up. Every pair of shoes you have. Just the visual of that can often throw people into coma.”

Sort the shoes by type — running shoes, sensible pumps, sandals and so on. Then give yourself a ratio. “Let’s say it’s 10-to-1. For every 10 you keep, get rid of one pair,” Walsh says. “Five-to-1 if you’re brave. Three-to-1 if you’re a true pioneer.”

THE CAR
“One: Get in the habit that whenever you gas up the car, in those two minutes you declutter and throw out any trash.”

“Two: Get milk crate-size containers, and put them in the way back. Whenever the kids bring something into the car — sports gear, book bags — it goes in their crate.

“Whenever you go shopping, put the groceries in the crates. Nobody leaves the car empty-handed when you get home. Everyone has to carry their crate into the house.”

THE GARAGE
“Divide your garage into clear zones: one area for gardening equipment, one area for holiday decorations, one area for luggage, one area for tools,” Walsh says. “Establishing zones is a functional way of keeping the place organized and the volume of stuff in control.

“Say the holiday decorations zone is three shelves that will hold two plastic totes each and that’s the limit for holiday decorations. Once they expand beyond six totes, you have to do some purging and discarding.”

(c) 2010, Chicago Tribune.Chance Gates does welcome any questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or on any articles that may be posted.  Send your  emails  to  chance at ballard-company.com

I believe that every single event in life happens in an opportunity to choose love over fear.
Oprah Winfrey

I don’t believe in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process.
Oprah Winfrey

I don’t think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good.
Oprah Winfrey

I don’t think you ever stop giving. I really don’t. I think it’s an on-going process. And it’s not just about being able to write a check. It’s being able to touch somebody’s life.
Oprah Winfrey

I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.
Oprah Winfrey

I have a lot of things to prove to myself. One is that I can live my life fearlessly.
Oprah Winfrey

I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes.
Oprah Winfrey

I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that’s how I operate my life.
Oprah Winfrey

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional; I encourage all questions and comments, on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.

Image by Keenahn via Flickr

RISMEDIA, June 7, 2010–Once everything is unloaded, you may feel overwhelmed by the stacks of boxes surrounding you. Unpacking in an organized manner can make the transition to your new home less stressful and can save a lot of time. Try these unpacking tips, courtesy of Lowe’s.

1. Unpack Essentials First
You should have a few boxes of essentials marked to be unpacked first. These boxes should include items like toiletries, pet supplies, tools, a couple changes of clothes and so forth. Go ahead and unpack these boxes right away and distribute these essential items to their respective rooms.

2. Clean and Prep Your New Home
Though it’s tempting to dive right in and start unloading boxes, it’s a good idea to clean, prep and get organized. Here are some moving tips to help you prepare to unpack at your new home:

• It’s easier to wipe down shelves, clean windows, and mop under appliances before your belongings are in place.
• Complete any prep work. Line kitchen and bathroom shelves with paper. Consider installing closet systems in bedroom closets, if necessary. Once these jobs are done, you’ll be able to unpack more efficiently.
• Plan where to place certain items. For example, in the kitchen; put dishes and glassware in the cupboards above the dishwasher, coffee cups above the coffee pot, and so on. Deciding what goes where before unpacking will save you time in the long run.

3. Go Room by Room
Focus on one room at a time, and unpack essentials first. Though it can feel like an insurmountable task, rest assured: Your house is going to feel like home in no time!

Kitchen and Baths. In the kitchen, unpack most-used items first. Items that you won’t use immediately can be set aside to unpack at a later time. In the bathrooms, hang shower curtains, unpack toiletries and put out toilet paper and soap.

Bedrooms. In your bedrooms, have the beds set up and made with clean sheets by the first night. Unpacking your clothing and bedroom accessories can wait. Again, now is a good time to install a closet organization system.

Living Room. Unpacking the living room should be a combined effort by everyone in the household. There will be a lot of items to be placed and electronics to hook up.

Garage. Having an organized garage is important. If you haven’t set up shelves and hooks for placement of tools, yard supplies and sports equipment; do so now. Having organizational systems in place will help curb the tendency for making piles later.

4. Play Interior Designer
Place furniture so the room feels open and functional. Strive for balance by distributing heavier pieces of furniture around the room. Create a focal point or use a natural one like a fireplace.

When positioning furniture, it’s a good idea to make a sketch of the room, including desired locations of items. Erasing an armoire, rather than lifting it, could save you a trip to the chiropractor.

It takes time get settled in, but here are some quick and easy tips for making your house feel like home:

• Hang shades, blinds or curtains for instant privacy and a homey feel.
• Consider painting rooms a different color, or stenciling around an archway.
• Brighten up a room with self-adhesive wallpaper borders.
• Refinish old cabinets or add new knobs.
• Hang family photographs, mirrors and framed artwork.
• Add potted plants for extra color or to fill empty corners.

Helpful Tips for Setting Up
• As boxes are unpacked, take an inventory of everything you have to make sure nothing has been lost. If you have any broken or damaged items, make sure to keep them as evidence for insurance claims. Claims usually need to be filed within a set number of days after the move.
• Use a surge protector when setting up a computer or stereo equipment.
• As you unpack boxes, collapse them for storage or recycling.
• Start a log of home repairs and maintenance that needs to be done.
• Create a shopping list to make sure you have everything you need.

Chance Gates does welcome any questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or on any articles that may be posted.  Send your  emails  to  chance at ballard-company.com

Have you ever hear of a little store called “The Proper Fit” located on the corner of S. Virginia and Peckham in the Old Town Mall.   The staff is very knowledgeable about the product; and the owner is a great guy who will actually sit and talk with you for a while.  The product, I found I like the best are the insoles with arch support.  Every pair of shoes I wear now has a pair of those insoles.  My wife who has a job which requires a lot of walking loves the shoes with springs in the soles

As a Reno – Sparks real estate consultant I encourage any question or comments on the Reno – Sparks real estate market or any of the articles I posted here.

I can be reach at  chance at ballard-company.com