Sunday, September 26, 2010

7 Baskets That Help With Home Organization

Baskets are a perfect "tool" to use in organizing your home. They're often inexpensive, beautiful and functional items. And baskets are usually made of quite durable materials for the typical person's usage. You can use them in every room of your home. Use them to organize and store everything from your kitchen utensils to your bathroom towels to your child's toys.

In a way, baskets are a magical organizational tool. Why? Baskets are decorative items that hide mess right before your eyes (and those of your visitors). They're your home organization magic wand--the one that makes disarray disappear in seconds.

Here are seven types of baskets and how to use them to organize your home.

1. Stair Basket - A stair basket is shaped like the letter "L" upside down. Set one on your top step or your bottom step of your staircase. Fill the basket ongoing throughout the day with things that need to go up or down. That way you only make one trip. And whichever direction you go with it, up or down the stairs, leave it at the opposite end of the stairs once it's empty. That way your next trip with the basket will include items that go to the opposite end of your home.

2. Bushel and Peck Baskets - These look like wide, round pails and usually have swinging metal handles. They're deep baskets (that hold a bushel or a peck, for example). And unless you're a farmer (or selling produce at a farmer's market), you won't want to fill them with dozens of tomatoes, apples or other fruits and vegetable (unless you have a lot of immediate family members to feed!). Instead fill them with your children's miscellaneous toys divided into different categories for each basket (dolls, soldiers, rubber balls, etc.).

3. Wicker File Baskets - Wicker file storage baskets or boxes are becoming quite popular. You'll find them in lots of mainstream stores or specialty organizing stores. They're sort of square or rectangular shaped baskets (to accommodate hanging file folders or manila file folders). Usually the wicker file storage basket is made of rattan (because it's quite sturdy and durable). And they'll often have a lid and swinging handle so you can go mobile with the baskets from room-to-room. For instance, carry the file basket from your home office closet to the kitchen table to do your work. Just store the file basket on a shelf in your home office like you would a box. Or store the basket in the open; that's okay because wicker file baskets are much more stylish to look at than a plain paper file storage box or traditional metal filing cabinet. A wicker file basket is part of your home decor.

4. Utensil Caddy - You've probably seen these at picnics. They're a caddy or basket with dividers and a handle so you can tote it around. A picnic caddy might be used to separate the knives, forks, napkins, etc. The utensil caddy might be made of rattan or willow or something else even such as plastic. Use them in your kitchen to separate whatever you'd like (anything from straws and coffee filters to plastic forks and knives). These baskets work in the bathroom too for separating and toting toiletries.

5. Hanging Wall Pocket Baskets - These baskets, often wire or rattan, have a flat back so the basket hangs flat against the wall and a pocket opening. Stuff it with oven mitts in the kitchen. Or fill a "pot-bellied" wall pocket basket with a decorative flower arrangement and hang it in the foyer.

6. Wicker Hamper - The best thing about a wicker hamper is it's lightweight and durable. Fill it with guest pillows in storage or your child's large collection of stuffed animals. You'll find many sizes ranging from mini hampers to full-size hampers. Rattan is common in hampers. But look for rag basket/hampers too for ones that are more unique and stylish.

7. Wine Caddy - Store your bubbly in a vertical, cylindrical shaped wine caddy or tote it in one that has a top handle. A wicker wine caddy is an inexpensive way to jazz up a gift bottle of wine (and it's classier than a paper gift bag.). Just line the caddy with some colorful tissue paper that starts at the inside basket base and fluffs up all the way around the wine bottle where you can see it. Then tie some curly, sparkling streams of ribbon to the handle. When your gift recipients are done with the wine, they can use the wine caddy basket to store tall utensils.

So where do you get all these nifty baskets? From everywhere. Here are six places where you can purchase baskets (or perhaps even get them for free):

...from online stores that solely specialize in baskets
...from flea markets
...from yard sales
...from home decor bricks-and-mortar stores
...from home decor online retailers
...from friends who are discarding empty gift baskets (Ask them ahead of time to save them for you year-round.)

And don't forget, even the plainest, ugliest basket (in your opinion) can be painted or adorned and decorated in many other ways. Don't discard these functional, handmade works of art.

Important Things you must Know when Renovating

There are many sad cases of home renovations not going as planned - often going way over budget or schedule, or unforseen complications popping up unexpectedly and ruining even up to years of work. 

Most of these situations would never have gone so awry with some careful planning and early decision making sooner in the renovation process. Below are a few issues that it is vital to think about before you begin your home renovation. 

10 Things to Think About BEFORE Beginning Work
  1. Prepare a budget
  2. Be aware of council regulations
  3. Find a tradesperson
  4. Know your start and completion dates
  5. Selecting Products
  6. Prepare plans
  7. Purchasing products
  8. What should I purchase myself?
  9. What services are available to my property?
  10. What sort of hot water unit do I need?
Prepare a budget
Before you start shopping for your new bathroom or kitchen you must know your spending limits. Whether you are getting a loan or paying cash, you need to work out how much your project is going to cost. Some businesses also offer finance solutions for approved customers. 

Be aware of council regulations
Find out all the information you can before you arrange tradesperson. If your home is heritage listed you will need to meet strict council regulations. Many renovations must be approved by the council before work can commence. Contact your local council for more details. 

Finding a tradesperson
Speak with family and friends who have done renovations or built a home. It is important to find a tradesperson that you can communicate with. Make sure you understand everything they are telling you. Book a tradesperson well ahead of time, as they can be booked for months in advance. Ensure that your tradesperson is licensed. Your product warranties are only valid if installed by a licensed tradesperson. In Australia, Trades@call provide professional, reliable tradespeople for most jobs, and all workmanship is guaranteed. 

Know your start and completion dates
Communicate with your tradesperson and come to an agreement of realistic start and completion dates for your project. If you have a specific date that the job must be finished by, for example you have relatives coming to stay, let your tradesperson know. Keep in mind that unexpected problems can hold up your project, no matter how well you have planned it. 

Selecting Products
It may take a few shopping trips for you to decide on the products that give you the look you desire and are also practical for your needs. Browse through a print or online catalogue. Once you have decided on a style (modern, heritage or easy living) this will narrow down your product choices. Be aware of any size restrictions of the room. Print out or write down product specifications and measure up your bathroom. You may use the online bathroom planner at the Bourne Bathroom and Kitchen Centre website to layout the products you have chosen. 

Talk to your tradesperson about your choices. If the tradesperson tells you that a product you have chosen is unsuitable, find out why. It may just be that extra work is required that they don't want to do. Remember, it is your home and you need to be satisfied once the job is complete. 

Prepare plans
It is important that you draw up plans of your bathroom or kitchen. Discuss the plans with your tradesperson. Let him know what sort of products you would like, so he will know what work needs to be done. For example if you have chosen an inwall cistern, the tradesperson will need to know so he can set up the plumbing correctly before the tiling is done. It is best to have specifications of all of the products you have chosen so the tradesperson knows exactly what work is required. 

Purchasing products
When selecting products, find out how long it will take for delivery. Some goods such as tapware and toilets will be in stock, while others such as spas and vanity units are custom made and can take up to 1 month to order in. Often these custom made products are non-refundable so confirm your product choices with your tradesperson before ordering. Find out from your tradesperson which products they will required first. Generally, the first products needed are the shower base, bath or spa and mixers if they are being installed on the wall. 

As an owner builder, what should I purchase myself?
If you are owner building, make sure you purchase all of the main products for your bathroom, kitchen and laundry. This will ensure that you make all of the decisions and achieve the result you want. There will be things you will not think about when placing an order, such as different handle types on a vanity unit, the pump position of your spa, that you will need to decide on. It is important to make these decisions yourself as they will affect the overall result of your project. Smaller fittings for plumbing can be purchased by your tradesperson. 

What services are available to my property?
It is important to know whether you need gas or electric appliances (hot water unit, cooking appliances). If you live further out from the city, you may need LPG appliances. If you currently have electric appliances and you want to change to gas, speak with your tradesperson to determine if this is going to be cost effective and worthwhile in the long run. If you are building a new home, decide on the appliances you want before building begins, as the plumbing will need to be roughed in based on your product selection. 

What sort of Hot Water Unit do I need?
There is a wide range of hot water units available and it can be quite daunting to try and choose one. If you are replacing an existing unit your choices can be limited, so speak with your tradesperson. The instantaneous hot water units are popular at the moment, but they use a larger gas line than the standard storage units. This can mean major plumbing changes which can be quite costly, though in the long run the instantaneous systems are cost efficient. See the Bourne Hot Water Selection Guide for more detail. 

Many of these points seem somewhat obvious, but the problem arises when you start taking things for granted. When you don't make sure that all your bases are covered, you may find that you have invested a lot of time, effort and money in a home renovation that you may end up unhappy with.

5 Cheap Ways To Decorate Your Kitchen On A Budget

Getting a kitchen remake can be tough on your bank account, but there are some ways that you can give your kitchen a whole new look even if you are on a tight budget. These 5 decorating tips won’t break the bank but will have a lot of impact on the way your kitchen looks.

1.Spruce it up with paint.
Paint has the biggest bang for the buck when redecorating any room and especially for the kitchen. It’s fairly inexpensive and easy to use and can change the whole look of the room in a day! You can use paint to update worn out cabinets as well as adding a new look to your walls. If you are adventurous, you can even try some faux painting to give your walls the look of old world plaster or marble. Your local home improvement store probably gives lessons in this for free.

2.New hardware and knobs.

While this may cost you a bit more than paint, replacing your cabinet hardware and knobs can make a huge difference in the look of your kitchen. There’s tons of different styles and colors to choose from – everything from a 1930’s glass drawer pull to knobs styled like modern aluminum kitchen utensils. If you are planning on redecorating your kitchen, you might want to look at knobs first – you might find a style or color that gives you the inspiration for the whole room!

3. Put Up A Border

A wallpaper border is easy work and can make a drastic change without putting much or a dent in your kitchen decorating budget. Sometimes you can even find a pleasing pattern in the discontinued bin for little money. Just make sure there is enough to paper the area you want before you bring it home! If you don’t like any of the paper borders, find a stencil that you like and use that – the cost of paint for this will be minimal. A traditional place for a border is a the top of the wall next to the ceiling, but it can also look nice at chair rail height and also as a backsplash above your kitchen countertops.

4.Go For A Molding

Want a new cabinet look but new cabinets aren’t in your budget? You can buy moldings for the sides, top and doors of your cabinet that will enhance and change the look of any kitchen. You can even buy little bun feet to put on the edges to give your kitchen a country look. While these might cost a bit more than some of these other ideas it is well worth it for the dramatic change it has on your cabinets. Fancy rope trim, and fluted moldings can be glued on to your cabinets to give them a little pizzaz. Decorative crown moldings can be added to the top. If your doors are too plain, you can even buy moldings to add interest to the door panels.

5. Vinyl Tiles

If your floor is outdated, dirty and grungy then getting a new floor will make a huge difference in the look of your kitchen. You may not even notice how dingy the floor looks and may be reluctant to budget in any money for a floor but try to take a fresh look at it and really notice what it looks like. When I sold my house I thought my kitchen floor was a little old but just fine – my realtor took one look and convinced me that a new floor would help me get more for the house. I put a new floor in and couldn’t believe the difference! You can install vinyl tiles yourself for as little as 50 cents a square foot, of course the more you pay the better quality floor you will get and the longer it will last so a mid range price of $3.00 a square foot is probably more realistic.