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Why Clean Your House? The True Cost of Being a Slob
As children, most of us were born slobs. Let’s face it – there are a lot more fun things to do than clean and when we were young our parents cleaned up for us. In my generation we were responsible for doing chores when we got a little older and at the very least, tidy our rooms. This was not…
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Fireplace Wall Transformation
In 2014 when I moved into my home, I had a vision for the fireplace wall. Last winter the fan in my older style gas fireplace went kaput. Yes, I could have paid $500 to have it fixed, but I had been planning to buy a new fireplace insert this year anyway. And $500 is a big chunk of money…
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Welcome to Church Hill Haven Guest Suite #2
I finally got Church Hill Haven Guest Suite #2 ready in August. I had already painted the main areas last year in neutral greys. The main kitchen, living, and dining room had red and green accent colours. Guest Suite #2 Entrance and Mudroom… Guest Suite #2 Furniture Transformation… I commandeered a couple of pieces I had in my shed, left…
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Church Hill Haven Guest Suite #1 (Before and After)
Recently, I decided to turn my basement apartments into guest suites. (I’ve always loved an excuse to decorate.) During my travels I stayed at some accommodations on Airbnb and I was impressed at how easy it was to use the site. They handle all the payments in a safe, secure manner, submit the taxes where applicable, and then pay the…
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How to Have a Great Yard (Garage) Sale this Summer
Summer is finally here and you know what that means. After all your decluttering and spring cleaning you may want to have a yard (garage) sale to get rid of your unwanted, but still very useful to someone, stuff and make a little money in the process. Have a goal in mind for what you would like to do with…
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Before and After Whole House Makeover
It’s finally done! As some of you know, I have been renovating one of my rental properties for several months to get it ready for sale – giving it a complete makeover. Ninety percent of it took four months with the help of a few different contractors. Unfortunately, due to the untimely death of my mother and some other unfortunate…
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Top Ten Tips for Selling Your Home
Looking for tips to sell your home? If you are trying to sell your house quickly and for top dollar you need to present it in it’s best possible light. We tend to become desensitized to our homes because we are there all the time. We don’t see the clutter or out-dated decor or smell the smoke, pets or strong…
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What To Expect When You Are Renovating
Congratulations! You have decided to renovate, but what should you expect? This is an exciting time for you. When your project is complete it will bring you much joy and help you live the life you envision for yourself. Whether it is a small renovation, or a large one, there are things you need to know to get through it.…
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“In Case of My Death” Plan
We all die someday, hopefully after a long, happy and fulfilled life. A death plan will help your loved ones navigate through when they are already grieving for their loss. It will be extremely helpful to have your affairs organized and to communicate where to find all the important information they will need to know. For Your Death Plan, you…
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Organizing Papers- Create a System that Works for You
Tax season is almost upon us. If you haven’t already organized your papers and created a system to keep track of those papers, now is the time. If you have a home-based business your needs will be a little (or a lot) more complicated than if you don’t. I like to go through my filing cabinet every year, usually in…
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Simplify Your Life by Adopting a Minimalist Mindset
What can you do to simplify your life? Adopt a minimalist mindset… Life is crazy. We get busier and busier until we wake up one day, feeling totally overwhelmed. How did things get so complicated? Maybe you are doing just fine or maybe you are on the brink of losing your mind. Simplifying your life and getting back to basics…
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Gift Wrap Organization
How do your store your gift wrapping supplies? I used to keep my gift bags, bows, tags and odd papers in this red organizer bag. The cardboard box held all the tissue paper that I had left over from when I had a store years ago. Any long rolls of wrapping paper were just stored beside them in the closet…
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Organizing Christmas Decorations
The Feast of Epiphany or the Twelfth Day of Christmas (January 6th) is traditionally the day all the Christmas decorations need to be down. Well I have finally done it! I un-decorated, took my tree down, and cleaned up the Christmas holiday mess. The bins and containers I used were the same ones I have used for years. My goal…
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How to Make a Shadow Box Display
Honor your sentimental mementos in a shadow box… If anyone has little mementos or sentimental items in storage, it’s time to bring them out. It is time to honor those precious items and display them where you can see them and enjoy them every day. A shadow box is a display box with a glass-fronted picture frame that is deep…
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Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes with Maple Syrup
Brussel sprouts with sweet potatoes and maple syrup is now one of my family’s all-time-favourites for holiday meals. We have it for Thanksgiving, Christmas and sometimes Easter too. Try it and let me know what you think. Ingredients for Brussels sprouts and Sweet Potato Dish…(and yes, there is bacon)… Makes 8 Servings: 4 Strips Bacon (or a whole package if…
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Make a Favourite Family Recipes Binder
Where do you find your recipes? Do you still like to have an extensive cookbook collection or do you just have a few that you actually use? Today you can Google almost any recipe you want, but you may want to keep some old family favourites in print form. I recently learned how easy it is to use a laminator.…
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How to Pack Carry-on Only For A Week or More
Going on a trip somewhere? Lucky you. There are many benefits to packing in carry-on only these days, especially if you are flying. You don’t have to worry about losing your luggage or wasting time waiting for it to come off the conveyor belt in the airports. You will have everything you need handy on the plane. Also, it won’t…
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Budget-Friendly Holiday Planning Tips
It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas… Christmas is just around the corner. If you were really on top of things, you already started your Christmas shopping long before now. Hopefully you at least incorporated it into your budget. In a perfect world you would already have a nice, little nest egg saved up for it. For the rest…
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Holiday Planner DIY
Make a holiday planner to help you stay organized for the festive season. With a few inexpensive items you can be on top of all your holiday plans, from gifts to menus. I put together this holiday planner to help me stay organized at Christmas. I embellished it with a fringe and pom poms. Both were purchased at Michael’s craft…
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The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy – Reflections On the Kon Mari Method
By now, I’m sure almost everyone has heard of these books by Japanese author Marie Kondo. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up was translated into English in 2014, and it’s sequel “Spark Joy” was translated to English in 2015. Her unique spin on decluttering and organizing is called the “Kon Mari Method” based on the author’s name. I didn’t…
