7 Tips for Home Renovations this Year

7 Tips for Home Renovations this Year

Renovating your home can be a time-consuming and expensive process.  That’s why it is important to plan for this before you start the process.  So how do you renovate with success?  This blog post will provide seven tips that will help make sure your renovation is successful.

Photo by Monica Silvestre from Pexels

1) Plan Ahead

The first step in any renovation project is to plan ahead.  This means creating a budget and timeline for the project.  It’s also important to decide what you want your finished product to look like.  By taking the time to plan, you can avoid costly mistakes and make sure that your renovation goes as smoothly as possible.  Another thing to consider when planning your renovation is the weather.  If you’re renovating during winter, make sure you have enough insulation and heating to keep your home warm.  And if you’re renovating during summer, be prepared for the heat by installing air conditioning.

2) Set a Budget

The most important part of planning your renovation is making sure you have the funds to complete it.  This means creating a budget and sticking to it.  A good way to save money when renovating is by doing as much work as possible yourself.  If you’re not experienced in construction or landscaping, take some time at home improvement stores like Home Depot (HD).  This will give you an idea of what materials are needed for your project and how much they cost so that you can plan accordingly.  Another thing that many people don’t think about is getting quotes from multiple contractors before starting the renovations. 

3) Choose the Right Contractor

One of the most important steps in any renovation project is choosing the right contractor such as a window replacement service.  This means doing your research and asking for referrals from friends and family.  Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, it’s important to interview each contractor and get a written estimate.  Make sure that you understand what is included in the estimate before signing anything.  It’s also important to be aware of scams when hiring contractors.  One common scam is when a contractor asks for money upfront and then never returns to complete the job.  If this happens, report it to your local police department immediately.

4) Work with Trusted Professionals

When renovating your home, it’s important to work with professionals in each field.  This means working with only licensed and insured contractors and hiring a good architect or designer when you want something custom-made.  In addition, if possible, use materials that have been tested for safety by an independent lab, such as the Underwriters Laboratories (UL).  By following these tips when choosing professionals for your project, you will be able to enjoy peace of mind knowing that all necessary precautions have been taken during construction.  Working with reputable professionals also makes things easier because they already know what is required under local building codes. 

5) Choose a style and stick to it. 

Choosing a style and sticking to it is important when renovating your home.  This will help create a cohesive look throughout your home.  If you’re not sure what style you want to go with, browse through magazines or online galleries for inspiration.  Once you’ve chosen a style, make sure all of the renovation decisions you make are in line with that style.  For example, if you’re going for a rustic look, choose materials like wood and stone instead of modern materials like metal and glass.  And be sure to use colors and textures that complement each other well.

6) Try to use recycled items 

Another way to save money when renovating is by using recycled items.  While it’s not possible to use all of your renovation materials in this manner, you can try repurposing things like doors and sinks.  It also helps to reuse lumber if the existing structure isn’t too damaged.  If a piece doesn’t need replacing, consider trying an “upcycling” project such as building furniture instead.  This will allow you to create custom-made pieces that suit your style perfectly while saving significant amounts of space and money over buying new goods off the shelf.

7) Warn the neighbors in advance 

When it comes to renovations, many people don’t think about warning the neighbors in advance.  This means letting them know what you’re planning on doing and asking for their cooperation when it’s time to do construction work.  In particular, if your renovation involves a lot of loud noise or dirt going into the street utility lines, let them know ahead of time so they can plan accordingly

In conclusion, renovating your home is a great way to improve the value of your property and give it new life.  However, in order to do this successfully without running into problems, you need to be prepared. 

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com is trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good, from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip email me! Be sure to Like and share on Facebook or Follow on Twitter or Instagram.

5 Ways to Improve Your Outdoor Space for Spring

5 Ways to Improve Your Outdoor Space for Spring

Spring is the perfect time for taking care of outdoor spaces. Not only is it the first time of the year that you’ll be able to enjoy your backyard, but it’s also a great chance to spruce up your front yard to make it more welcoming. Here are some easy tips on how you can improve your outdoor space for spring.

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Clean Your Yard

Start by cleaning up your yard. Cleaning up leaves and raking the lawn will give you some time to think about what you want to do with your space. It can also help you notice any damage or problem areas that need to be fixed.

If you have a weedy garden, the best way to get rid of them is by pulling them out and discarding them in a compost pile (make sure they’re not poisonous!). With weeds like dandelions and thistle, make sure to spray them with weed killer before throwing them away.

Trim Your Trees

Most people spend their time trimming hedges and bushes, but they often neglect to trim the foliage on the trees. There is no reason for this! Just like your bushes and hedges, you should cut your tree in the spring. 

You’ll want to trim any branches that hang out over sidewalks, driveways, or walkways. It’s also essential to remove any dead or diseased wood from the tree. Contact a professional tree care company such as Tree Doctor to ensure all work is carried out correctly and legally.

Why not get creative with your tree trimming projects! If you have a shaggy-looking tree that needs some taming, try wrapping it in rope lights around the trunk. This will give your tree an exciting texture and look that will appeal to homeowners looking for something different.

Plant Summer Flowers

Now is the time to purchase your plants for summer flowers. Start with perennials like hostas, irises, and peonies. These are sure to last through the summer if you plant them now.

Next, consider some annuals that will bloom in the spring and throughout the summer. This includes impatiens, petunias, marigolds, sunflowers, salvia, and zinnias.

Finally, buy some seasonal bulbs that will flower in the spring by looking for tulips or daffodils.

Add New Furniture

Every part of your outdoor space needs to be usable. If you don’t have any furniture, now is the time to purchase some. There are plenty of options for outdoor furniture available at your local retail store or online. Consider what you want to use your outdoor space for and choose furnishings accordingly. For example, if you spend a lot of time cooking outside, you might consider getting an outdoor kitchen set with a table and chairs.

Paint Fences or Walls

For many homeowners, painting fences or walls is an easy, inexpensive way to spruce up the exterior of their home. Painting your fence or wall can help to brighten up your outdoor space and make it more welcoming for guests. Plus, you’ll be able to enjoy the outdoors even more because you won’t have to worry about stains on your walls or damaged paint from tree branches.

One idea is to paint the back of your house in a bright colour. Painting just one side of your home will allow that side to soak up all the sunlight coming through.

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com is trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good, from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip email me! Be sure to Like and share on Facebook or Follow on Twitter or Instagram.

Making Your Home Energy-Efficient

Making Your Home Energy-Efficient

We hear the terms energy-efficient, eco-friendly, and sustainable a lot when it comes to our homes. The truth is, unless you are looking at a new build, the house that you’re in might not be any of those things. 

And it might be down to you to make sure that your home has all of the necessary technology or structural changes to ensure that it is energy-efficient.

We are talking about making sure that your home doesn’t use and therefore waste the energy your family needs. This could be running the tap for too long, but it could equally be having the thermostat up a little bit too high. 

It is essential to keep in mind that some of these changes could cost more than others. For example, having things like solar panels, replacing windows, and ProVia entry doors installed. But the overall saving is typically a lot more than the initial cost.

Now let’s take a look at some of how you can save cash and make your home energy efficient.

Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash

Insulation

Before you start making any other changes to how you use the energy around your home, you should ensure that it is well insulated. One of the ways that you could tell that you have good insulation is that you will not have a steep cost rise over the winter months.

If you find that your heating bill rises dramatically over the months, there could be a lot of heat leaving through your roof. 

Some insulation techniques are better than others but it is essential to have somebody look and see if you are as insulated as possible. Some of the critical areas you should look for are the crawl space, basement, attic, ceilings, windows, and doors.

CFLs

If you still have old bulbs in your home, you’re going to be using a lot more energy than the average. Older bulbs have a much shorter lifespan, and when you switch them out to fluorescent bulbs or perhaps even LEDs, you will notice that they could last up to 12 times longer than a regular incandescent bulb.

You do not need to switch all of your light bulbs in one go as this can feel rather expensive. You can mix and match your light bulbs around your home while slowly switching out to energy-efficient models.

Appliances

If you are looking for new appliances for your home, you must look for appliances with a B or A grade in terms of efficiency and energy star certification. Where appliances have the energy star certification, they are proven to use less energy and cost less in the long run.

Of course, when things have better technology, inside tend a little bit more money upfront. But you can compare this to the amount of money you will save over time from running at the energy-efficient appliance.

Solar panels

Solar panels are an investment, but you will only need to make them once. Solar panels help produce your energy costs over bright and sunny days. Solar panels turn solar energy into energy to run your home. 

This means once you have these fitted, things like running washing machines, dryers, and any other electrical appliances during the day will cost almost nothing.

It is also not uncommon to notice that you contribute energy to the energy grid after having your solar panels fitted for a short while. 

Self-audit

Only you know how much you spend on energy in any given month – and what is or is not usual. It is essential to go back over bank statements or bills for the power you have used in the last few years. You will be able to see any dramatic changes that you may not have considered before. 

Of course, there should be some expected rises as energy prices also rise, but anything dramatic might point to the fact that you have some lapses in your insulation that you are turning up your heating too high.

It can also be that some of your appliances are using power unnecessarily when they are not in use.

One of the most significant power users is that most of us do not turn electronics off correctly at the switch. Instead, we will leave them in a standby mode all this time, but they are still using power when you don’t need to use it. 

All of these small changes combined will have led to a healthy improvement and how much are you spending on your energy per month and year. For even more money-saving tips at checkout at this blog post, Is your home as energy efficient as you think? 

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com is trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good, from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip email me! Be sure to Like and share on Facebook or Follow on Twitter or Instagram.

Becoming Part of the Ted Talk Alum

Becoming Part of the Ted Talk Alum

It was so exciting, stressful and challenging once I was selected to give a Ted Talk for TedX Women’s Conference. Taking many painstaking hours to become prepared for this remarkable event, I’ll admit it was hard, scary and absolutely wonderful, to say the least. There were times I would think that I had nailed it. Then, I would get into my own head about every little detail I was presenting. I even repeatedly questioned the right thing to wear. But how could I promote stress relief if I was totally stressed out? I put my own advice to work, hard. And now, as I look at the video on YouTube, it was all SO worth every moment.

Coming up with a topic WORTHY

The Ted conglomerate has a ton of lectures out there given by really smart people. It can be intimidating just putting yourself out there, let alone, trying to pick something worthy enough to end up with the Ted logo attached to it. The committee is very selective in choosing someone, and their topic, for the honor to be spotlighted on the red circle. So, when I was asked what I thought I could possibly talk about, I had five topics ready to go. I pitched each topic with precision as if I could have done a full talk on each of those topics at that very moment.

STRESS won, this time

The topic of stress is so prevalent at this time with a pandemic still raging on and off. When the topic of stress was chosen as the topic that I should give my talk on, I did some new research. This time on previous Ted Talks that are already out there. I didn’t want mine to compare to anyone else’s. This is how I can up with a new route on an age-old topic.

The Frazzler vs. The Silent Stressor

My talk begins with stress and how it is bad for everyone, but I then focus on what kind of stressor you are, personally. People tend to favor one style over the other. That being said, there are ways to downgrade or prevent stress. Depending on what type of stressor you are, there are more favorable ways to manage it.

Stress is bad; My Ted Talk is Good

By the end of my talk, I was thrilled to have the audience with me, laughing and relating to what I was offering. At the end of the night, I had just about everyone in that theater stop me to tell me what kind of a stressor they are. Afterwards, I went out for a nice celebratory meal. As I was entering the restaurant, I heard yelling down the street, “Tia, I’m a Frazzler!”. I couldn’t see them, exactly, but I yelled back, ‘Okay!”. Next, I heard a blare of over lapping ‘Thank you’s’ ring into the cool night air.

It was awesome, I must say.

As we enter in a new year, it is time to reduce the addiction to stress. Find out what kind of stressor you are. Make changes. Practice self-care. The truth is, your body, heart and mind will thank you for it!

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com is trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good, from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip email me! Be sure to Like and share on Facebook or Follow on Twitter or Instagram.

5 Simple Ways to Boost Your Business’ Online Reputation

5 Simple Ways to Boost Your Business’ Online Reputation

If you want your business to succeed, you need to take care of its reputation. Whether you own a small local business or an international corporation, customers can use anything you put out on the internet against you. 

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That’s why it’s so important to keep your online presence as squeaky clean as possible. Many things can go wrong if your online reputation takes a hit, but luckily, you can do many things to protect yourself and make sure your business is well-known for all the right reasons. Here are six ways that will help boost your business’s online reputation.

Monitor your online reputation

The first thing you need to do is monitor your online reputation. If you know what people are saying about your company, then you’ll be able to respond with the appropriate messaging quickly.

Monitoring the conversations happening about your company is also an excellent way to get feedback on what people are thinking. These conversations might not always be positive, but it will be challenging to know what customers are talking about if you don’t monitor them at all.

You can monitor these mentions using Google Alerts or another social media monitoring tool. You can also assign staff members who have the skills and time to keep up with social media channels around the clock.

Read: SMART BUSINESS TECHNIQUES THAT WILL HELP YOU SAVE TIME AND MONEY

Have a review strategy in place

It’s never too early to start thinking about your review strategy and how you want to protect your business. Set up a Google My Business page and claim your listing on sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Foursquare, and so on.

Then, respond quickly to all positive and negative reviews to show customers that you care.

Reviews are an essential part of the shopping experience for many consumers as they help them decide where they should shop. When you respond positively or constructively or leave a comment on a negative review, customers see that you care about their opinion. It can be tempting to ignore those negative reviews, especially in the wake of yelp extortion tactics- but by doing so, you also overlook the opportunity for improvement that those reviews might offer. 

Provide excellent customer service

The first step to building an excellent online presence is providing excellent customer service. This will help you gain your customers’ trust and keep them happy about their business experience.

Whether you’re handling phone calls or responding to questions on social media, customer service should be prompt, effective, and personable. You want to make sure that your customers feel like you care about them and their problems. That way, they’ll be more likely to come back to you in the future.

Providing excellent customer service can also include something as simple as keeping your website up-to-date with all of the latest contact information for your company. Make it easy for people to find you!

Have clear and concise company branding and ethics

First and foremost, you need to make sure that your branding is clear and concise. When people visit your website, they should understand what your business is about in a matter of seconds. This will also help with the next point: company ethics.

People want to feel like they can trust you when it comes down to it. It’s all too easy for them to do online research and find out things about your business that you might not want them to know. If they find out that you don’t have a good reputation or scrupulous ethics, then chances are they won’t be very inclined to do business with you. You need to allow them to determine whether this is the right business before they even get started.

That’s why companies need to clearly define their brand and ethics from the get-go. Your goal should be that no one has anything negative to say about your company if they come across it on social media or elsewhere on the internet. 

Work with a branding expert.

When it comes to protecting and maintaining your company’s online reputation, you can’t do it all on your own. That’s where a branding expert comes in.

A branding expert will help you find ways to promote your business and share the correct information with the right people. They will also be able to create a system for monitoring what is said about your business so that you can quickly respond to any negative comments or reviews. Your branding expert will also provide an outside perspective – which is often needed – and help you understand how others see your business.

Branding experts know how important it is to maintain a positive online presence, and they can offer their expertise and guidance to make sure that happens. You don’t have to worry about doing this on your own! Of course, a branding expert will probably tell you that your local reputation is just as important as your online reputation. For this reason, it helps to explore ways to push your brand in a positive way. One tip would be for you to look into Adrenaline Luxury Car Rentals when driving high-profile clients or to step up your attire so you look more professional when spotted on the street.

Tia and TipsfromTia.com are trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip, email me! Be sure to Like and share on Facebook or Follow on TwitterTikTok, or Instagram.

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