Four Common Home Repairs Your Exterior Needs

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There are plenty of problems that can occur with your home, and not all of them are interior problems. In fact, most of the problems that occur within the home actually stem from the outside. Issues such as loose tiles on the roof and damp in the walls, may not seem very serious at first. If you don’t attend to those problems quickly, however, you need to think about the fact that they can build into much bigger issues that you will have to fix.

One of the best ways to combat some of these exterior problems, means using companies like RPS Metal Roofing & Siding, Inc to help you with them. For example, you’re not going to know how to replace your roof – and if you do then you probably don’t need to hire somebody else. You also may not know how to find the source of damp in the walls of your home. Calling an expert there’s always a smart plan, so before you descend into DIY, ensure that you know what you’re doing.

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• Repairing the roof. Very few homeowners take the time to look closely at the roof, trusting that the roof is going to stand the test of time against all of the things that climate can bring. The problem is that this is not the case. While things might feel fine in the inside of your home, you need to know if your roof is in good condition. Having an inspection done every year or at least every couple of years, it’s going to help you to keep your roof in the best possible condition. If you don’t know how to inspect your roof, call in an expert!

• Cleaning the gutters. Climate change has brought about a drastic change in weather patterns, and the wind and rain most places are experiencing lately has been quite alarming. You might find that a lot of debris is kicked up from your front yard or backyard into your gutter, and when this is blocked water builds behind the blockage and can cause a split. It could mean the reason for the damp in your walls could be down to gutter issues, and you will find that your dreams are backed up for the same reason.

• Damage to the walls. You have to check the exterior walls for damage, because if you leave it too long you might find a leak inside the home far too late to be able to fix it. When you’re checking your exterior walls, don’t just look for places water can get in, but for peeling paint and other cracks and issues that need to be fixed.

• Check the windows on the doors. You need to be looking for signs of rust and rot, as well as cracks in the patio plaster around the edge. When you do this, you’re going to ensure that your home is insulated properly and your windows and doors are doing what they should be doing.

Beautiful Home, Happy Mind: How To Rig Your Accommodation For Wellness

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Collectively, we spend a considerable amount of time in our homes. In fact, since the advent of remote work, most of us are surrounded by the same four walls, twenty-four-seven. 

For this reason, it’s critical that we find ways to rig our accommodation for happiness. We need surroundings that make us feel content, relaxed, and rested. Our spaces can significantly impact how our days unfold and what we feel like most of the time. 

So what can we do to make our homes better places to live? And how can we modify them to support our happiness and wellbeing?

Switch Up Your Bedroom To Promote Sleep

The vast majority of people in this country aren’t getting enough sleep. Given the pressures of work and family, most people are lucky to get six hours, which simply isn’t enough. According to research, seven is the bare minimum. Less than that, and you’re asking for trouble.

On the flipside, getting enough sleep brings all sorts of benefits. These include better heart function, reduced stress, lower inflammation, and improved memory. You’re also far less likely to develop depression. 

Here’s how to improve your bedroom for sleep:

• Ensure that it is dark at night. If you live in an area with street light pollution, install blackout curtains

• Allow natural light to wake you in the morning. Either allow it to stream through the window, or use a synthetic natural light beside your bed and set it to a timer

• Add the scent of lavender to the room. This will help you relax

• Make sure that your bed is firm enough to provide support

• Don’t allow any electronic devices in the bedroom and don’t use the time before you sleep to check emails

Allow Natural Light To Enter Your Home During The Day

Not getting enough light during the day is linked to a host of problems, including poor sleep quality, seasonal-affective disorder, and depression. Therefore, it’s essential to open up your rooms and let sunlight in, particularly during the morning and noon time. 

So what can you do? Firstly, you can begin by opening your curtains, allowing as much light in as possible. This is an instant solution that will immediately make you feel better. 

Next, you install new windows and doors here and there that will increase the space light has to enter. Large bi-folding doors at the back of your home can illuminate the entire ground floor of your property in the morning, particularly if they are south-facing. 

Put Up Photos That Mean Something To You

You can also try putting up photos that have special meaning for you. This way, you can feel like your property is your own. Photos elicit positive memories in your mind which can unconsciously boost happiness in your home. 

Sort your photos one at a time and go through each of them. Look at photos on your phone or computer and ask which of them you would like to print out and frame. Choose photos that depict good times. 

Set Up A Place Where You Can Meditate

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The benefits of meditation are extraordinary, and yet relatively few people actually practice it. It’s only a daily practice for around one percent of the population, with only 15 percent dabbling in it from time to time. 

One way to encourage meditation is to set up a space in your home for it. Having a beautiful environment in which to relax is essential for anyone looking to achieve lasting peace of mind in their home. 

When you meditate, you bring all sorts of benefits to your life. You can: 

• Release things that are outside of your control

• Feel fiercer and bolder in daily life

• Take steps towards your goals or life ambitions

• Embrace change and realize that all things are impermanent

• Accept negative thinking patterns and allow them to pass by

• Realize that there will always be more money in life

• Make peace with your personal imperfections

• Accept that life is about progress, not perfection

• Practice acts of self-compassion

• Allow yourself to feel a deep sense of bliss, independent of your circumstances

Make Your Bed

Many internet gurus swear by making your bed. But what’s the reason for this? 

According to research, only 27 percent of people make their beds. However, those that do report being happy an astonishing 70 percent of the time (which is pretty good in our society). However, among those who didn’t make their bed, only 38 percent were happy.

Making your bed only takes a few seconds, but it can have a remarkable impact on your day. Try it for yourself and see what happens. 

The Astonishing Benefits Of Indoor-Outdoor Living

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Imagine if your home blended naturally into the surrounding environment. Not only would you have more space, but you’d be able to live in a more natural way. You wouldn’t be cooped up indoors all day long. Instead, you’d be out in the open air, catching a few rays and listening to the sound of birds. 

For this reason, indoor-outdoor spaces have become tremendously more popular. These days, hardly a single luxury home neglects them. 

The form they take can be quite different. Some are, for all intents and purposes, outdoor living rooms, equipped with fireplaces, chairs, recliners, sofas and coffee tables. Others are dining rooms, usually under some sort of shade, while the most extravagant attempts to bring the kitchen outside as well. 

If you’re on the fence about indoor-outdoor living, then this post may help to change your mind. We discuss some of the benefits that such arrangements bring and how they can help you live a better, more fulfilling life at home. Here’s what you need to know: 

It Makes It Easier To Have a Staycation

Getting away on vacation is not only expensive, but it can be physically difficult as well, thanks to all the international restrictions in place. For that reason, many people are turning to their own backyard, often quite literally, to make the most of their time off from work. 

There are many ways that you could give your outdoor spaces more of a vacation feel. One obvious idea is to add a pool. Here, you can mimic what it would be like to be sitting around a hotel pool, enjoying the sunshine and warm air. 

Some people turn their outdoor spaces into spas. These are over under cover, just next to their sliding patio doors. 

You could also invest in a sunroom. These allow you to experience the warmth of the sun but, at the same time, protect you against the cool breeze. They’re similar to greenhouses. 

It Gives You More Options When Entertaining Guests

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Standing around with your guests in the kitchen or sitting with them in the living room is okay in the depths of winter. But when the summer arrives, people want to be outside, enjoying themselves in the fresh air.

While a patio will suffice, having a bespoke indoor-outdoor area can make the whole experience so much more enjoyable for your guests. First, you can physically accommodate more people. You might only be able to fit twenty guests into your home itself, but you might have space to entertain fifty outside. 

You can also take advantage of outdoor kitchens. These allow you to prepare food and service drinks to guests outside, without having to run in every five minutes to check on your cooking.

Modern outdoor kitchens actually rival those you find on the inside of your home. These days, they’re much more than just BBQs built into a countertop with a few cabinets. Instead, they come with running water, sink with plumbing, dedicated gas lines, and even pizza ovens. What’s more, they’re all protected by suitable roofing and come with options that let you batten down the hatches when the weather turns bad. 

It Increases The Value Of Your Home

As discussed in the introduction, indoor-outdoor living is in high demand. Everyone wants to experience it. 

Because of this, homes that offer functional exterior spaces are worth more than equivalent properties that don’t. Buyers want opportunities to go outside and enjoy being in nature because they know that it’s good for their health and wellbeing. 

Buyers are also looking for properties that offer space. Therefore, if your home doesn’t have much interior square footage, you can add to it in a practical sense by expanding into your garden. What’s more, creating outdoor space is a significantly less costly way to increase your home’s value than adding a conventional extension. 

Remember, when it comes to buying a new home, buyers want you to wow them. It doesn’t actually matter how you do this, whether with giant interior rooms at your property, or by increasing the space available to you outside. Remember, something as simple as adding a patio or veranda could be the difference between a buyer choosing your property and the next-best alternative. 

It Is Good For Your Health

The average person only spends around 15 minutes per day outside in the open air. Unfortunately, that’s bad for our individual and collective wellbeing. If we’re constantly in built environments, it separates us from nature which is so beneficial.

For instance, NIH studies show that being in nature may help improve your cognition and memory. You may be able to think more clearly and better recall what people have said to you.

Being outside may also reduce stress, something that researchers refer to as “biophilia.” Our natural love of the outdoors appears to have a powerful effect on how our secretory hormones in the brain work, reducing the level of cortisol in the body. It’s one of the reasons why most people feel better after a weekend of camping, even if they’ve been sleeping on the uncomfortable ground. 

It Expands Your Living Space

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We’ve already alluded to this perk above, but it’s worth repeating. Building an indoor-outdoor area expands your living space. It gives your home more square footage and can make even a small chalet feel considerably larger. 

The current trend is towards “multi-use” spaces. Homeowners, for instance, are trying to create “rooms” outdoors that can fulfill all the functions of spaces inside their homes. 

With some clever architectural tricks, outdoor living areas can also blend effortlessly into the rest of the home. Creating a common theme between the indoor and outdoor space creates unity and ensures that everything makes visual sense. 

Some property owners, for instance, keep the indoor and outdoor floor heights the same, eliminating any need to step down. Others use sliding glass panels for doors that make it feel like indoor and outdoor spaces are one and the same. When there are minimal visual boundaries, outdoors areas feel like a natural expansion of your home. 

5 Tips for Getting Your Business More Organized

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Organization is essential to any business. It helps to keep things running smoothly and efficiently, and it’s what keeps the place staying productive. With less time wasted on looking for files or other items, employees are able to spend more time focusing on their work. Organization also helps with accountability because there should be one clear person in charge of every task so that nothing falls through the cracks.

 Organization also makes it easier for you and your employees to find necessary files or information when needed which saves time as well as prevents mistakes from happening more often. In general, organization is going to make the organization run much more smoothly. So these are some ways you can improve it.

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Have an Action Plan and Strategy in Place

It is important to have an action plan and strategy in place before you start writing content. It’s the best way to keep things running smoothly for you and your business. A classic way to organize all of these plans would be to have an old fashion planner, but there are even apps nowadays that you can use for this too. Just try to get your thoughts organized, and the best way to do it is by writing them down in the order that you’d like to tackle them. This is especially handy when you’re planning out a business trip, as those need plenty of organization.

Create Some Priorities to Do First

When it comes to your business, where do your priorities lie? What sort of tasks do you do each day? Have any big projects that you’re needing to tackle? It is good to have some priorities to do first. One of the reasons for this is that it will help you stay focused and not get overwhelmed by too many tasks. Priorities should be based on what needs to be done, what can wait, and if something needs to be done as a priority then it should be given that priority.

Don’t Be Afraid to Take Some Notes

Note-taking isn’t just for students, it’s something that business owners can do as well. If you’re someone who is a bit scattered brain, it can be something that helps. It can also help with gentle reminders such as setting up WebX360 so your business can have a proper website.

Tackle On One Task at a Time

Chances are, you’re going to feel far too overwhelmed if you’re multitasking. By the end of the day, you’re just going to be mentally exhausted. This doesn’t have to happen and there are better solutions out there. It is important to focus on one task at a time and set aside the other tasks for later. This will help you get through the day more efficiently and it’s a great way to cut down on the distractions as well.

Clean up your space

This may seem overly simplistic, but whether it’s your office space, desk, digital files, or anything else, you need to get those organized. If you’re working in a clean and tidy space, you’re going to feel more productive. 

Smart Features To Boost Your Home's Exterior

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The exterior of your home matters as much as the interior. It will help sell the home as well as act as a safe haven for you to relax and spend your time. If you feel that you have neglected your garden over the years, then don’t worry. Today, we are sharing the best features to add to your home’s exterior to boost its appeal.

Image by Stanly8853 from Pixabay 

Lights

Lighting up the home will make it more inviting. It will also ward off intruders when you are not in during the evening. 

Furthermore, adding lights to your back garden is a great way to increase the time you spend there. The best solar landscape lights will light up your garden and make the work you’ve put in stand out no matter the time of day. You will be able to show off your garden day and night when the grass and surrounding flowerbeds stand out. You will be able to host a gathering or simply sit and enjoy nature yourself in the evenings. When the evenings draw in the garden will stay alight and enable you to spend as long as possible out there.

Utilize the spare space to produce

Growing your own produce couldn’t be easier if you have spare space in the garden. Even if you have a small flower bed spare, you can grow enough vegetables to feed a small family. There, you can grow your favourite fruit and vegetables. 

Adding a produce patch will encourage you to spend more time in your garden, boost its appeal, and increase the sustainable solutions in your home. Sustainable solutions will make your life more eco-friendly and be great for future buyers. Furthermore, it will also educate you on how to plant, grow, and harvest.

Tidy up the path with stones

A messy pathway will not look attractive to you, guests, or future buyers. The best way to maximize its appearance and your time is to add stones. You won’t need to attend and cut down stones as you would grass. 

Adding stones will make the pathway clear and inviting. It will act as a guideway to enter the house, which will boost its overall appearance. If you align the colour of the stones with the rest of your exterior, it will tie in well and make your home look well kept.

Along with the stones, you could add small flowers. These will brighten the pathway and make it appear more inviting. Faux plants may be ideal for those with little gardening skills or time.

A fresh front door

Your front door is one of the first features that you and your guests see. Thus, refreshing it will make a huge difference. A quick paint refresh will make it look brand new. 

Furthermore, you could add smart features to enhance the modern feel of your home. You could add a smart doorbell that allows you to see who is at the door from your phone. These features will also enhance the safety of your home as you can always keep an eye on your front porch.

Helping You And Your Family To Be The Best Versions Of Yourselves

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When you have a family, you just want everyone to be the best versions of themselves. You want everyone to be happy, healthy, and successful. It’s only natural to care about your loved ones. Of course, it can be hard to be the best version of yourself and ensure that your family members are striving for the same goal. But you shouldn’t have to support your family on your own, as we’ll discuss in this article, a group effort is needed. The following pieces of advice should help you and your family to be the best versions of yourselves.

Enhance Your Blog's Image with These Visual Tips

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Making your blog visually appealing is key to getting people to read it. If it looks boring, cluttered or out of date, it can put people off. Whether you write about your life or you try to offer informative posts about a specialist subject, your readers will be more likely to stick around if everything looks good. Don't worry if your blog isn't currently looking its best or you're just getting started with a new blog. You can create a beautiful blog that is pleasing to the eye and encourages people to keep reading. Here are some things you can do.

So You Want to Start a Blog? Blogging Platforms - A Simple Review

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If you have ever read anything on starting a blog, you've likely heard of Blogger and Wordpress.  Blogger was one of the first platforms created for the blogging world in the sense we understand it today.  It was also acquired by Google in 2003.  In 2003, Wordpress also began.  The latest statistic is that Wordpress.org runs 30% of the world's websites including big companies like CNN, Fortune, NBC, and TechCrunch.

Best Places for Cheap #Bujo Supplies

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As you might be able to tell, I really love all things journaling.  I love pens, washi tape, glue sticks, glitter glue, markers, brush pens, notebooks of every kind, paint....you get the idea.  I am also very cheap; not to mention, if I bought every journaling supply I wanted, I would be broke.  I don't know why these supplies are so expensive but they are!  It's annoying, but I've found some workarounds.


The Wish App or Wish.com has been the best find I've found so far.  Now, granted you have to be patient.  The stuff I've received has shipped direct from China which means it takes 6 plus weeks to get to you.  That being said, Frixon erasable pens are $1 a piece!

A pack of 10 fineliners for $4!!!

Black Fine Line pens (6) for $5!!!

These I've all purchased myself and DO NOT get a commission if you purchase.  They all work fantastically.  Although the white writing on the outside of the black pens is starting to rub off within 2 months, but who cares?  The pen still works!!



Dollar Tree has great stuff and EVERYTHING is a buck!  They have washi tape, pens, glue sticks, markers, colored pencils, crayons, every type of school supply you could want.  The washi is cute too!  Just look at the picture below!

They even have PRINTABLES!  I didn't know that Dollar Tree had a loyalty program, but they do which is where I found the printables and TONS of other ideas for stuff!

They even have recipes!  Think I'll make these egg cups tonight!

Clearly, I love the Dollar Store!  💗💗💗❣

Of course, I have to mention Dollar General if I'm going to mention Dollar Tree.  The selection can be a bit limited, but for basics it's awesome!

$5 for a portable art set - sign me up!

They even have art pastels for $3!  I haven't purchased these yet because I didn't want to invest in pastels and end up hating them.  For $3, I'll try it!

  Last, but not least, there's Amazon which of course has everything!  However, it isn't always the cheapest.  That being said, the huge value add is you don't have to leave the house and go to the store and search through a bunch of crap you don't need or want.  You type in the search bar and voila - there it is!  Here are a couple of my recent favorite finds for under $5:

Have I mentioned the Frixon Erasable Pens?  Oh Wait I Have, but I LOVE THEM!!

So, there are my top picks for cheap journaling/bujo supplies!

What are your favorites?