November 4th, 2020 by tisner
Very few things in a home can make such a difference to both form and function as new floors. Flooring reflects not only your style and personality, but also your lifestyle. The right floor can make it easier to keep your home cleaner, hide imperfections, and set the mood for a cozy living space. And although flooring has generally been an “anything goes” environment for a while in home design, there are certain trends that have been a lot more popular than others. Here’s a brief round-up that should make your flooring search a little easier.
Hard Flooring Options
Hard flooring is any kind of flooring with a solid, and generally non-porous, surface. It’s a pretty big group of materials, really. Hard flooring offers many benefits. The materials are more resilient to regular use, so wear life is longer. And cleaning is easier because there’s no fibers to capture things like pet hair, loose skin cells, dirt, and microbes. Some of this year’s most popular hard flooring options include:
- Vinyl Plank. Vinyl plank is designed much like laminate flooring, with a tongue and groove locking system that creates a watertight seal when properly installed. The difference between vinyl plank and laminate flooring, however, is that vinyl plank is made from solid vinyl, rather than being several layers of different materials sandwiched together. It’s a great choice for wet areas like kitchens and bathrooms, and for households with pets and children. As a bonus, vinyl plank is available in a huge range of patterns, from synthetic marble to the super hot high variation wood-like floor patterns. There’s a vinyl plank product for basically any situation.
- Wood-Look Porcelain Tile. If you want something that will last longer than vinyl plank, but still look like wood, wood-look porcelain tiles are a great option. They look like wood planks, but are made from extremely durable porcelain. It’s an option that’s very permanent and will last for many, many years to come. They can also be purchased in the high variation wood patterns, though the effect is less obvious than with vinyl plank since there is grout between the tiles.
- Terrazzo. This might be the coolest flooring you’ve never heard of. Although it’s popular, many people don’t know the term for it. Terrazzo is that tile flooring that’s made from concrete with lots of inclusions like glass, shells, or other interesting bits mixed in. It looks great in mid-century modern homes, or those decorated in the style. And since concrete is extremely durable, it will last and last.
- Reclaimed Wood. There are lots of places you can go to buy reclaimed wood, sometimes referred to as “architectural salvage.” When a building is being torn down, firms can sometimes acquire the materials, especially if the building is historic. You can also talk to individuals you know who are looking to commit crimes like removing all the original hardwoods from a home they’re remodeling, and pick up the flooring for cheap. It can be labor intensive to install reclaimed wood floors, but you’ll end up with a totally unique look and keep building materials out of the landfill, so it’s kind of a double win.
What About Carpet?
Homeowners have run hot and cold about carpet across the generations. Sometimes they’re in, sometimes they’re out, and usually there are some people who are still really into them even when their popularity is waning. Right now the trend in carpets is to opt for carpeting in limited spots, like using carpet runners for stairs. Carpet tiles are seeing some popularity, especially since they come in a ton of fun colors and tend to have a very low nap, making them easy to keep clean. If you want more carpet, look for large area rugs or keep your carpet in low-use rooms like bedrooms. “Maximalism” is making a big comeback, encouraging big patterns and colors with big personalities. Clashing is the new matching, it would seem.
How About a Flooring Installer?
Once you know what kind of flooring you’d prefer, you’ll need to find someone to install it. Some flooring shops have an in-house flooring installer, but you can’t always rely on these experts to be as expert as you’d like. That’s where HomeKeepr comes in where you’ll have a list of flooring experts who can help you. Not every flooring installer installs every kind of flooring, so be sure to ask them about their areas of expertise before you make your final decision.
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Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.
You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.
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Tags: flooring, flooring option, floors, homeowners, Hot Flooring Trends for Homeowners, orlando avenue top team, Teri Isner
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October 30th, 2020 by tisner
Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.
Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.
You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.
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Tags: escrow, orlando avenue top team, Teri Isner
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October 22nd, 2020 by tisner
There are several so-called “smart assistants” on the market now, providing users with hands-free access to information and services from their smartphone or dedicated smart devices. One of these, the Google Assistant, has recently introduced a number of new features that can be used with Google Home devices. If you have a Google Home device or are thinking of getting one, here are some of the new features that you can look forward to using.
Making the Smart Home Smarter
One big focus of the Google Assistant’s changes for Home is expanding the number of smart home devices that Google Home is compatible with. There are a lot of companies selling devices for smart homes these days, including both major companies and new startups. Google is trying to accommodate more of these devices than ever, making sure that small but innovative companies aren’t left out when people try to automate their homes using Google Home.
Easily Adding Devices
Along with adding compatibility with more devices, the Google Assistant is also streamlining the process by which you add devices. This is done both to reduce the steps required to add devices and to prevent confusion for homeowners who might not be quite as tech savvy. By streamlining the process, Google hopes to make the Google Home into a device that anyone can use effectively even if they don’t have a lot of experience with technology or the Google Assistant app.
Scheduling Actions
A big feature being added to the Google Assistant is the ability to schedule actions on connected devices more naturally through Google Home. By simply telling it what action you want taken and when, Google Assistant can schedule the connected coffee maker to start brewing before your alarm goes off or the connected thermostat to change the temperature in the middle of the night. The goal is to make scheduling actions easier and more intuitive for Google Assistant users.
Improved Privacy
As data breaches and other privacy concerns continue to make headlines, the Google Assistant has taken steps to improve the privacy and security of Google Home devices. In addition to overall better security, these changes also make it easier to remove searches and other bits of your history from memory. Instead of having to go in and manually remove items from the app or a website, you can use voice commands to remove these items directly from a Google Home device. You can even tell Google that something you said wasn’t meant for it and the Google Assistant will go ahead and delete the last item right then and there.
Smart Display Notes
One neat feature being added to Google Assistant is the ability to add virtual notes to compatible smart displays from anywhere in the house. The notes are viewable to anyone who has access to the displays and are left simply by telling Google Home to leave a note and providing what you want the note to say. The notes then appear and remain until someone removes them after they’ve been read.
Workday Routines
In response to the large number of people who have started working from home this year, Google has added workday routines to the Google Assistant. This doesn’t mean that they’re only intended for those working from home, though. These routines break down your day into a variety of activities, including appointments, reminders to get up and stretch, lunch dates, and more. Working with both the Google Assistant app and Google Home devices, these little reminders help to give structure to your day and make sure you don’t miss out on anything important.
Smarten Up Your Home
Smart homes are becoming increasingly mainstream, making devices like Google Home increasingly more convenient. If you would like a smarter home but aren’t sure where to start, HomeKeepr can help you find the pros you need to recommend and install a wide range of Google Assistant-compatible smart devices. Sign up for a free account today to get started.
Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.
Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.
You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.
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By: Homekeepr, Rob Morelli
Tags: google, Google Home Assistant, orlando avenue top team, smart assistants, smart homes, Teri Isner
Posted in Home Tips from Teri | No Comments »
October 14th, 2020 by tisner
Good lighting is important in many places in the home. When you’re working in the kitchen, though, having sufficient lighting to see what you’re doing is vital. Poor lighting in your kitchen can make cooking and other tasks a pain, especially if the lighting leaves shadows in areas that you use a lot. Fortunately, there are a number of options available when it comes to adding new lighting to your kitchen. Here are some of the best for you to consider.
Recessed Lighting
One popular lighting option for kitchens is recessed lighting. This is especially useful if you have relatively low ceilings, as you can have multiple light sources in the kitchen without having large fixtures hanging down. Recessed lighting can also be used to accent other lighting solutions as well, giving you more light where you need it while only taking up a small amount of space on the ceiling.
Under-Cabinet Lights
Cabinet space is a must-have in the kitchen, but if you have a lot of cabinets then they can actually block some light from reaching your countertops and stove. A great way to take care of this problem is to install under-cabinet lighting that can provide some extra light right where it’s needed. Similar lighting can also be placed under stove hoods or other overhead spaces to ensure that you have the light that you need in the parts of your kitchen that you use the most often.
Track Lighting
If your lighting needs change depending on what you’re doing in the kitchen, track lighting might be a good option for you to consider. As these lights are mounted on tracks and can be moved and turned as needed, they let you adjust the lighting to meet your current needs. While the concept of track lighting often brings to mind clunky light units that seem more like theater spotlights than a kitchen lighting solution, modern track lights for the kitchen can provide the light and adaptability you need while also creating some tasteful accents that match your personal style.
Oversized Light Fixtures
Sometimes you want more than just ensuring sufficient lighting in the kitchen. If you want to light things up while also contributing to the overall decorative look of your home, you might consider some oversized light fixtures to get the job done. These fixtures are designed to stand out and draw the eyes so that they become as much a part of your decorating style as a source of light for your kitchen area.
Pendant Lighting
Lighting can play a big part in your home’s look and feel, which is why there are so many different types of lighting fixtures available. If you have higher ceilings in your kitchen, you might consider installing pendant lighting to give you the light that you need while also adding a touch of elegance to your kitchen area. These fixtures are suspended from the ceiling by cables or pipes, bringing the light closer to where you’ll be working without the need for stronger bulbs or harsher light. There are a number of styles of pendant lights available to help you illuminate your kitchen while also customizing the overall look of your home.
Tube Lighting
A lot of people think that tube lighting is ugly and out of place in the home, but modern tube lights have come a long way from the fluorescent lights of old. Many of these lights have switched to LED lighting, providing more consistent lighting at a fraction of the energy cost. The tubes and enclosures themselves have also evolved, offering stylish accents that illuminate while still adding to the overall look of your home.
Installing Your Lights
Need to find a pro to help you get your kitchen lighting issues solved? It’s time to check out HomeKeepr. We can help you find the pros you need based on real recommendations from people you trust. Sign up for a free account today to get started.
Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.
Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.
You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.
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By: Homekeepr, David Weinstein
Tags: house lighting, lighting, orlando avenue top team, Teri Isner, Top Lighting Options for Your Kitchen
Posted in Home Tips from Teri | No Comments »
September 24th, 2020 by tisner
Remodeling can be serious business, especially if you’ve got several pet projects on your list and a limited budget with which to work. It can be tempting to go straight to the items that you find the most important, but if you’re considering reselling your home in the not too distant future, the return on your remodeling investment is really the thing to watch. Luckily, Remodeling Magazine has been tracking remodeling trends and returns for the US market since 2002 and has amassed a great deal of data on which projects you should focus your money on if you’re concerned about how well it will return.
A Note on Cost Return Versus Resellability
It’s important to note that there is a distinction between items that will be reflected in your home’s value and those which will help your home sell. These aren’t always the same thing. For example, you might find that adding a pool is a lot of fun and that people are drawn to homes with pools in your area, but a pool doesn’t necessarily increase the amount of money you’ll be offered for your home. On the flip side of that, new kitchen cabinets almost always both increase value and help make your home easier to resell.
This Year’s Top Remodeling Items for Returning Your Dollars
Remodeling Magazine’s 2020 numbers are in, and much of what they have to say isn’t too surprising. Over the last several years, trends for return on your investment dollars have been mostly holding steady. Consider these items if you’re planning a remodel before you sell your home:
- Manufactured Stone Veneer. This year it’s number one on the list, though it was ranked second in both 2019 and 2018 for percentage of cost recovered. At an estimated $9,357 for the average stone veneer project, you’ll see an average of 95.6 percent return.
- Garage Door Replacement. Bumped from number one for 2018 and 2019 to a still respectable number two, garage doors will provide an average of 94.50 percent return for your average $3,695 project. Garage doors can change the entire face of your home, so they’re still a great choice for a quick facelift if you don’t have stone veneer money this year.
- Kitchen Remodeling. It’s no surprise that a nice kitchen can pay for itself, but you have to be very careful in how you spend your money. A minor, mid range kitchen remodel might include small updates like replacing the drawer, door fronts, and hardware on cabinets, as well as new appliances, flooring, and sink and faucet, plus a fresh coat of paint. That’s estimated to cost about $23,452 this year, but the return on it will be about 77.6 percent. This is also one of those items that will absolutely push a buyer to choose your home over another, so there’s value beyond simple dollars and cents.
- Siding Replacement. In the past, Remodeling Magazine has grouped all major siding types (excluding stone veneer) together, but this year it has separated them into two categories: fiber-cement and vinyl. Both are popular, durable choices for a home, and both return quite well. Fiber-cement should recoup about 77.6 percent of the $17,008 bill; vinyl returns about 74.7 percent of an estimated $14,359.
- Vinyl Replacement Windows. Replacement windows can be a huge selling feature, especially if your home is in a neighborhood where a lot of houses still have their original windows. They can be ordered with a myriad of design elements to make them just as charming as the windows you’ll be replacing, down to the tiniest details. You’ll be looking at a cost of around $17,641 for the project, but you’ll recover about 72.3% of that when you sell your home. As a bonus, the new homebuyers will have plenty of incentive to choose your home, since energy efficiency is still a major decision point.
Ready to Remodel? Not Sure How to Start?
Don’t sweat it, you can connect with an army of professions through HomeKeepr. HomeKeepr has your back. Login today to find home pros ready to help you get the most out of your remodeling budget.
Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.
Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.
You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.
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By: Homekeepr, David Weinstein
Tags: home remodel, home sellers, homeowners, orlando avenue top team, Orlando Sellers, Remodeling for High ROI, remodeling your home, return on investment, ROI, Teri Isner
Posted in Home Tips from Teri | No Comments »
September 22nd, 2020 by tisner
Drip. Drip. Drip. It is pouring rain outside, and you hear that dreaded sound coming from somewhere inside your home. Grabbing the mop bucket to place under the leak will save you from a mess but drying the floor and putting the bucket close by for the next rainstorm is not where you need to stop. Leaving a leaking roof untouched can be detrimental to your health, home, and investment.
- Sometimes you may not notice dripping water, but will see bubbling drywall or plaster, or simply a change in the color of the paint.
- If you find a drip and have retrieved something to catch water, your next step should be to try and find where the leak is. Open the attic door, and with a flashlight, look around for the dripping water or wet areas.
- Do not be tempted to place something to catch the water in the attic. The container can become too full and heavy, and come crashing through the ceiling.
- While a downpour or thunderstorm is not the time to go outside, once it is safe to do so, go outside and look up the roof’s slope from the area where the leaking was.
— If it is not obvious, you may have to wait to create your own “rainstorm” with a water hose or call a pro to locate the problem.
- If the leak is on a flat area of the roof, secure a tarp over the leak to stop more water from coming in. Sometimes the leaks are around a vent or chimney, and those can be tricky, so you may not be able to make a temporary fix until the roofer arrives.
- Whether you DIY the roof repair or call a roofing contractor, the attic will need to be dried out.
— Use a dehumidifier to absorb the moisture in the air coupled with a large fan to dry the area.
— Inspect surrounding insulation and make certain it is completely dry before you put it back in place. If it has become compacted, it will need to be replaced with new insulation.
- Leaving a leaky roof with a temporary patch, or worse, doing nothing at all can cause expensive and dangerous problems.
— Mold and mildew can grow not only on the roof, but inside the attic, and possible down to the ceiling and walls.
— Wood under the shingles and on the roof, joists can rot, causing an expensive replacement.
— Drywall and plaster are not meant to be wet, and the moisture can cause them to become weak. No one wants collapsing ceilings or walls.
— Water can get into the home’s wiring, causing copper wires to degrade, and in turn causing an electrical short or even a fire.
As soon as a leak is discovered, repairing it yourself is fine if done correctly. You may be pleasantly surprised at how easy it can be for a pro to stop a small leak, and the price of the repair will not be very high. However, the cost of a professional making a repair to a leaking roof cannot compare with keeping your home’s largest and most important structure safe and sound as well as keeping your family safe and healthy.
Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.
Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.
You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.
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Photo credit: remedy roofing
Tags: Fix That Leaky Roof, homeowners, homeownership, orlando avenue top team, roof maintenance, roof repair, roofs, Teri Isner
Posted in Home Tips from Teri | No Comments »
September 15th, 2020 by tisner
Today, when news travels about a Homeowner’s Association (HOA), the news is not positive. Owning a home in an HOA has many benefits, however! Home hunters must remember that living in any managed property is a choice, so doing the “home” work is vital to being certain you are in the right home for you and your family.
- When you purchase a home in an HOA, an organization that creates and enforces rules in a subdivision or condominium, by default you are a member of that HOA and must pay fees and follow their bylaws.
- HOAs have rules and bylaws in place to protect property values, as well as to maintain a certain quality of life for the homeowners.
- Do not think about living in an organized community as a place that keeps homeowners from expressing themselves in their landscaping or house’s exterior. It is more about protecting your investment because of the home-maintenance regulations. You will appreciate this if you ever decide to sell the home.
- While searching for houses online, read the listing information carefully, and if the property is in an HOA, you will find the association’s name as well as the neighborhood’s fees. HOA fees can be high, but in comparison with what amenities they offer, it could save you money in the end.
- Performing an internet search for the specific name of a community should result in finding their website, complete with photos of homes and amenities. Some HOAs offer a readable file with more specific information, such as the community bylaws, covenants, restrictions, and fees.
- Not all HOAs are the same: amenities vary from community beautification, playground, swimming pool, or tennis courts to a neighborhood walking path or gym.
- Some associations provide security, trash pick-up, pest control, as well as street sweeping and snow removal.
- Choosing to live in a condominium community may be more to your liking: the HOA usually handles all landscape maintenance, as well as exterior home maintenance. You are responsible only for the interior of your home.
- The organization’s board members live in the neighborhood, so they are aware of needs specific to the area and can better handle solutions to any problems.
Do not pass on a home just because it is in a homeowner’s association community. Do careful research, talk to residents in the neighborhood, and ask your Realtor, as they are your first source for community information. There are many different aspects to different organizations and finding the right one for you and your family just takes a little research and thought.
Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.
Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.
You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.
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Photo credit: HOA Management
Tags: HOA, Homeowner’s Association, homeowners, living in an HOA, orlando avenue top team, Pros of Living in an HOA Community, Teri Isner
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September 10th, 2020 by tisner
With more people staying at home and avoiding crowds, a lot of homeowners are turning to home prepping as a way to cut back on trips to the store and avoid shortages. Unfortunately, many people find themselves overwhelmed. Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what to stock up on. And once the pantry is fully stocked and prepped, maintaining it, and finding what you need among all the other things, can be difficult. Organization is a key part of successful prepping, so if you want to have an effective pantry, here are a few organizational tips to keep in mind.
What Should You Store?
First things first: What should you store in your pantry? Obviously, you want things that are shelf-stable and will last a while. Pick up or prepare staples like canned vegetables, canned fruits, crushed tomatoes and dry goods like pasta, rice and beans. Add cooking supplies like cooking oil, flour and cornmeal, plus sweeteners like sugar and honey. Beyond that, round things out according to your family’s tastes. This is where you add your taco shells, your pasta sauces, cereals, popcorn, condiments and dressings, canned meats and anything else that you know your family uses regularly. If you have pets, you can also set aside a section of your pantry for pet food as well.
Organizing for Easy Access
When you start organizing your pantry, don’t just stick things wherever you can find a space for it. Take everything out, clean the area so that you’re starting fresh, then put things back in a reasonable and organized way. Group similar items, like different types of canned vegetables, together so that everything is easy to find. Avoid just shoving a bunch of things together to make more room, since that will cause confusion and make some of your items a lot harder to find when you’re looking for them.
Label Everything
Place labels on your shelves once you have everything organized so you’ll know what goes in any particular space in the pantry. That doesn’t mean that you have to micromanage and label each individual type of item, of course; create categories like “Jelly” and “Vegetables” to simply mark the general area where those items go. If you want to be really efficient with your labeling, take the time (or recruit family members to help) and place an easy-to-read sticker or label on the top or front of each item, and write the expiration date on it for reference.
Remember FIFO
Where a lot of people run into problems is rotating stocked items as new items are bought or made. Keep the FIFO principle in mind as you restock your pantry: First In, First Out. New items should always go to the back, allowing the older items in the front to be used first. As you take items out of the pantry, move up the items behind them so that they’re closer to the front and you have room to place things behind them later.
Shelving and Storage Additions
If you need to add shelving or other storage types to your pantry area, try to do so in a way that makes stocking and access easier. Standalone shelves that you can walk behind or rollout shelves that you can pull toward you make it a lot easier to place new items at the back, while sliding shelves or rotating units make it easy to reach stored items that otherwise might be hard to get to.
Emergency Storage
In general, your pantry should be filled with items that you’re actually going to use and that will be rotated out over time. If you really want to make sure that you’re good in case of a disaster, though, you can set aside a space for some additional emergency storage as well. Consider this sort of a “backup pantry” and focus on items with very long shelf lives such as freeze-dried rations, vacuum-sealed grains and bottled water. You should check expiration dates at least once or twice a year and move items about to expire to your main pantry, or use them for activities such as camping trips, hiking excursions or other adventures.
Building Out Your Pantry
Building a new pantry or adding onto an existing one can be tricky. Fortunately, HomeKeepr is here to help. Sign up for a free account today and to find pros based on recommendations from people you trust so that you can find the right person to give you the pantry of your dreams.
Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.
Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.
You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.
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By: Homekeepr, Rob Morelli
Tags: home organization, orlando avenue top team, pantry organization, Pantry Organization for Preppers, Teri Isner
Posted in Home Tips from Teri | No Comments »
September 3rd, 2020 by tisner
As a part of maintaining good social distance, many people are limiting who they bring into their homes. But this can lead to a bit of anxiety when you need to bring in some extra help to do jobs around the house. Plumbers, electricians and other contractors can’t do their jobs without access to your home’s internal space, but is it safe to bring workers inside when they also have to visit other homes and businesses as a part of their job?
Contractors want to keep themselves and their crew safe on the job, so almost any contractor you hire can be expected to follow appropriate safety protocols while in your home. With that said, there are things that you can do to help ensure that everyone remains safe when you have to bring in workers for necessary tasks around the house.
Necessary Questions
Before hiring a contractor or anyone to work inside your house, take a few moments to ask about their safety policies. You can ask about things such as whether they or their crew wear masks or ventilators when on the job or while dealing with customers. You can expect most contractors to have a safety and masking protocol in place, though it’s possible that you may encounter one or two who don’t want to take these precautions on the job. Asking them a few simple questions can help you identify those contractors and workers who will respect your desire to stay safe, and who will be careful the entire time that they’re in your home.
Cleaning and Sanitizing
Before contractors and in-home workers are scheduled to show up, take the time to clean up the area where they’ll be working and sanitize any surfaces that they’re likely to come into contact with. This makes it easier for them to do their jobs safely. It also demonstrates that you are willing to show others the same considerations that you wish to be shown as well. Some contractors will sanitize the areas they work in at the end of the day as a courtesy, but if they don’t, then you should carefully sanitize the area after any workers have left each day.
Masking and Distancing
Ideally, any workers who are in your house will wear a mask or other protection while they are inside. At the same time, you and your family should put a mask on whenever you’re in the same part of the house where work is going on. Additionally, while you should stay away from work areas whenever possible, it’s important to maintain proper social distance from workers when you do have to go into that part of the house. If you need to talk to the contractor or other workers, be sure to do it from at least a 6-foot distance or take the conversation outside if the work is happening in an area where proper distance is difficult to maintain.
Post-Work Cleanup
Once work is wrapped up and the work crew is gone, be sure to check the work area to see if there is any additional cleanup needed. Most if not all of the cleaning should have been done by the workers while wrapping up, but it’s possible that some materials will remain that need to be disposed of. Wear gloves and a mask when handling any packing material or other items that were left behind by the work crew. You should also sanitize the entire work area unless you know for sure that the workers sanitized everything just before they left. While it may seem like extra work, it helps to ensure that there aren’t any contaminated surfaces left behind.
Finding the Best Contractors
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Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.
You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.
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By: Homekeepr, David Weinstein
Tags: home safety, Is It Safe to Hire In-Home Workers, orlando avenue top team, safety protocols, Teri Isner
Posted in Home Tips from Teri | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2020 by tisner
Fire pits are becoming a backyard staple, and they provide a great place to cook outdoors or wind down at the end of a busy day. While a fire pit is meant for pleasure, we must remember that we are “playing” with fire, and precautions have to be taken so it remains so.
- The location of your fire pit should be at least ten feet from any structure, neighboring property, or fence, with the best distance being twenty-five feet.
- A wide-open spot is best for placement, away from hanging tree branches, and never on a covered porch. In choosing a fire pit for a covered location, propane should be your choice for fuel. The flames will be easier to control and extinguish, if necessary.
- Use non-flammable materials as a base for the fire pit: rock, cement block, or fire-resistant composite material should be spread at least twenty-four inches out from where your fire pit stands. Never sit it directly on the grass or a wooden deck.
- While looking through the many options when purchasing a fire pit, you need to make certain that it is at least six inches deep, and a minimum of two feet in diameter. A removable screen is another great asset for the fire pit, as it will help contain embers from floating up with the flames.
- Extinguishing a wood fire in your fire pit is simple enough: douse it completely with water and stirring the ashes with a shovel to be certain the fire is out completely. Use only a metal container to dispose of ashes.
- If a full-on fire pit is not a possibility, a tabletop version may be your best choice. Fueled by denatured alcohol gel or bio-ethanol, these tiny fireplaces can be used anywhere, anytime.
Always check with your municipality to get the proper permits and give your insurance agent a call to make sure you do not need extra coverage on your homeowner’s insurance. Once you get all your safety precautions taken care of, you can enjoy your new retreat, knowing it is not only relaxing but safe as well.
Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.
Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.
You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently. You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.
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Photo credit: BobVilla.com
Tags: Fire Pit Safety Tips, fire pits, orlando avenue top team, Teri Isner
Posted in Home Tips from Teri | No Comments »
