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CLEANING, HOME DECOR, HOME STAGING

Before You Move : An Essential To-Do List

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Before You Move: An Essential to Do List


It’s claimed that moving is one of the most stressful things you and your family will ever undergo. The apprehension of your new home being ready to move into, solicitors fees, and not losing or breaking anything in transit can make the whole experience truly anxiety-inducing. However, to make the whole endeavor more of a seamless transition, there are a few things to tick off first.


Pick out the essentials


It’s likely that your former home will have its contents moved over gradually. When the first load of furniture and items are moved over, what can you absolutely not live without first?
Most removal services recommend prioritizing your removal items and for good reason. If your bed and settee are what makes you feel at home and you think will be a nightmare to live without, put them in the first truck. Toothbrushes, chargers and clothing for a week should also be set aside just to be on the safe side. Treat the first week like a vacation and all bases should be covered.


Move your suppliers over


While you spend the next fortnight or so arranging and then rearranging the new rooms in your house, the last thing you want to be doing is chasing unfinished admin. Letting your current suppliers know well in advance that you’re going to be moving properties is one of the most valuable time-saving tasks to undergo first.


Don’t give the landlord an excuse


If you rent and don’t own your home, then the landlord will need to be satisfied that your house is in good condition. It might feel trivial, but going through each room and checking that cupboards aren’t scuffed, no handles have fallen off and that every appliance still works might be the difference between getting your deposit back or a hefty fine.


The big clean


In the same vein as checking everything in your home was the way you found it, giving the house a decent clean means the landlord is less likely to pick out that one stain on the carpet. Hiring a service to steam clean and deodorize your carpets while you spend valuable time wiping down units and furniture is the most stress-free way of completing this task. Hunting around for a renowned carpet cleaning service is the best way of doing this; companies such as mytechnicare.com will detail what is included in their service.


Visualize your new place


Good Housekeeping recommends imagining the design of your new place before you move in, but actually this is an incredibly smart and proactive idea. The more excited you are to start decorating and plan the layout, the more likely you are to get everything packed away and ready to go. Plotting where to put furniture and hang picture frames means you’ll be keener to speed up the process. It might feel like the process is taking forever, but before you know it, you’ll be safely moved into your brand new home. Never be shy to ask for help, and make sure you undertake time-saving measures in advance. That way, you’ll have plenty of time on your hands to do someinterior design and spend some time getting to know your new neighbors.

Never be shy to ask for help, and make sure you undertake time-saving measures in advance. That way, you’ll have plenty of time on your hands to do some interior design and spend some time getting to know your new neighbors.

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attitude, CLEANING

How to smudge your home

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Have you heard of ‘smudging’?

I started smudging my home about 3 years ago – my husband thought that I was a bit crazy but after the first time I smudged our home he noticed a difference too!

Smudging is a common practice in feng shui and many Native Americans as well. You will also hear followers of alternative healing mention speak of this practice, too! In short, it involves burning certain herbs (I will explain more about the types of herbs , keep reading). The smoke from burning these herbs will fill the air and it helps to clear out negative energy. Don’t be intimated by the practice – it’s quite simple!

The benefits of smudging

I try to smudge my home once a month but we are a busy family and if I’m being totally honest it doesn’t happen every month. One routine I do try to stick to with this practice is – to smudge after having guests over. Why? People carry energy with them and you never know what energy they are surrounded by….so we like to clear it all out!

Photo credit: Apartment Therapy

  1. Clears out negative energy.
  2. Improves mental focus
  3. Clears the air from pollutants
  4. Relaxing effects
  5. Increased energy
  6. Improved sleep

Everytime I smudge my home we all notice a big difference. Everything in the house feels lighter. If you want to read more about the practice and it’s benefits – I found this article to be very useful – 8 Reasons You Should Try Smudging

How to smudge and what you need

There are different herbs that can be used to smudge and they all deal with different aspects that affect your home’s energy in a negative way.

Cedar is said to be calming, purifying, comforting and protect.

Juniper is clarifying, cleansing, helps with focus and centering.

Pine is for renewal, strengthening and cleansing.

Sweetgrass is for healing, purification and encourages positive energy.

Sage is for clearing negative energy and encouraging balance.

Personally I use White sage most of the time. If you are wondering about the smell when you cleanse your home with buring white sage – I don’t mind it (it smells a bit spicy, like Christmas spices).

Photo credit: Cedar Lake

You will need a bundle of dried herbs also known as a ‘smudging stick’. You will also need matches, a candle and a fireproof bowl (if you look online you will see a lot of sheels being used but any fireproof bowl is fine). Some sand – you will spave it in the fire proof bowl (I don’t always use sand, to be honest). You might also see feathers used in smudging. You don’t have to use one (I don’t) if you carry the smoking herb bundle (aka smudge stick) around the home with the fireproof bowls in the other hand (to catch any falling embers that’s just fine). I also keep my windows open while I smudge the house – this allows the negative energy to be released from the home. I’m not sure if this is how everyone practices but this is how I was taught.

So how do you smudge your home?

Start by getting out all of the supplies you need.

Next light your candle with a match – you will use the candle to light the smudge stick. It’s not a torch you want it smoldering. So once lit wave it around. Be sure to have the fireproof bowl under the smoldering smudging stick – for safety reasons and for catching embers that may fall off.

I circulate around my home – smudging room by room and waving the smudge stick around (some use a feather to circulate the smoke but I like to keep it simple). Be sure to focus on corners – it is believed that negative energy ‘sticks’ in the corners of a room. Pay attention to all rooms not just the main or mostly used rooms – laundry rooms, closets and even the garage can have stagnant energy.

So now that you have circulated around the entire home – you need to conclude the session. You will put out the smoldering sage stick in the sand in the fireproof bowl. You can keep the candle burning (I ujsually do for anothwr 30 mins or so). When it comes to smudging be sure to set aside enough time – this process shouldn’t be rushed (15-20 minutes is usually enough time – the time depends on the size of your home).

Shop – Home Smudging

Smudging Kit

Pack of 3 Smudging sticks (white sage) – this is the one that I like to use!

Smudging stick with copper bowl and sand

Smudging your home is a great way to start the new year – a clean slate, a clear energy in your home and peace of mind. I will be smudging this week and I know you will enjoy this practice too!

SHOP CRYSTALS, CARDS + SMUDGE STICKS…

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CLEANING

How to Clean a Burnt Pot

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No matter how great a cook you are, you will likely come across a burnt pot. You let it sit and soak overnight but the next day, that burnt on food is just not coming off….

Last Sunday, I was cooking in my kitchen (as I tend to do most Sundays). I had chili in the crockpot and spaghetti sauce on the cooktop.  Somehow the burner on the cooktop was turned up and next thing you know, burnt sauce! I was able to salvage the sauce but the bottom of my pot was a mess.  I did the typical soaking overnight and managed to get most of the mess off of the bottom but there was still some burnt residue.

My Burnt Pot (Before):

As you can see, my husband was scraping the bottom to try and get the mess off of the bottom of the pot but it was pretty stuck.

So what did I use to save my burnt pot?

I know that vinegar and baking soda are natural products often used for cleaning and I also saw a video on Rachel Ray about removing burnt on food with aluminum foil. I have all 3 of those items in my home – so I thought I would give it a try!

I first tried the balled up aluminum (just like you see in the video) it worked a bit but not as easily as it did in the show.  My burnt on mess was a bit damp and I wonder if that was a factor (in the video it appears that it is completely dry).

So I moved onto the next plan:

  • Mix about 1/4 cup of white vinegar to my pot and about 3 cups of water.  (I didn’t measure precisely, that’s why I’m saying about).
  • Bring the mixture to the stove top and let it to a boil for about 5-7 minutes.
  • Once boiled for 5-7 minutes, return the pot back to the sink (carefully, it’s hot!) and add about a table spoon of baking soda.

And just like science class, it bubbles up like those mini volcanoes we built in class.  I could see some of the burnt pieces rise to the top of my water.  I let the water cool off to a point that it wasn’t scorching hot and I used my kitchen brush to clean off the burnt bits.  With minimal effort, most of it came off.  The little stubborn bits……I used that balled up aluminum and it worked like a charm!

TA-DA! My ‘Burnt’ pot (After):

And just like that…it looks like new! I love knowing how to get rid of a big mess without using harsh chemicals.  Don’t you?

 

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