Homeownership » Sunset Beach and Beyond Realty

10 Spring Cleaning Tasks to Complete While Staying at Home

March 24, 2020 by Karen Baker Leave a Comment

This is a weird time right now and we all are in it together, which is a little bit comforting, but you might be starting to go stir crazy and if so, now is the time to roll up your sleeves and do a little spring cleaning. Here are 10 spring cleaning tasks to complete while staying at home.

Wipe down or spray all electronic devices, remote controls, handles, stairwell rails, windowsills, refrigerator handles, cabinet handles, and pretty much any other thing your hands touch on a regular basis. Don’t forget the underneath side.

Sweep or vacuum under all couches and chairs. This is often the place that gets forgotten a lot.

Clean out the garage and throw away or organize a lot of the clutter that fills up your garage during the winter.

Put all of your reusable grocery bags in the washing machine.

Disinfect, clean, or put your shower curtains in the washing machine.

Clean all of your cutting boards by rubbing a cut lemon all over them and sprinkle with salt or baking soda for a stronger clean, better scent, and to combat stains.

Clean out your refrigerator. Wipe down the interior and all the shelving with white vinegar.

Clean out and organize your junk drawers.

Vacuum your furniture and underneath the cushions.

Wipe down blinds and ceiling fan blades.

Reorganize bookshelves.

Wash, spray, and clean kids toys and if they are safe, put them in the dishwasher without the heated dry option.

Clean out your dishwasher and the washing machine.

More: 10 Tricks to Get the Most Out of a Small Closet

If we try to keep busy, who knows, at the end of all this will have sparkling clean homes to impress our friends… That is, when we’re allowed to see the big kid. Stay safe out there and stay home!

10 Tricks to Get the Most Out of Your Small Closet

January 13, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

Whether you’re selling or just trying to Declutter your life, finding new and unique ways for storage and organization can always make your life a little bit better. Here are 10 tricks to get the most out of a small closet.

#1. Purge.

Before you start to organize, it’s time to take absolutely everything out of your closet and purge items you haven’t worn in over a year. If there are items that you love or are nostalgic or if you gain weight or lose weight, pack them up into a Rubbermaid container and store them somewhere else rather than in your closet, which you access daily.

Great Post: What to know about the first year of homeownership

#2. Organize the storage underneath the clothes.

Your clothes may be stacked so tightly you can’t get another hanger on the rack but are you utilizing the space underneath the clothes? A small dresser or shoe rack beneath hanging clothes can free up a lot of space and you can still use it vertically rather than just the floor footprint.

#3. Install sliding doors.

If you have bi-fold doors or doors that go from one to the other and cover up half of your closets, it can be difficult to really see everything you have in your closet. Consider either a curtain rod, a barn door that opens all the way or sliding doors that completely move out of the way so you can get everything in your closet at one time.

#4. Baskets are your friends.

Whether it’s shoes, bulky sweaters, or jeans, baskets can be your best friend for organizing certain items of clothing. They make them in so many different shapes, colors, and sizes now, you can really tailor them to fit every shelf in your bedroom and closet.

#5. Hang all accessories.

And you don’t have to just hang them in your closet either. Hang purses, belts, scarves, and bras all on unique hooks a fixed to the wall or on one large hanger that holds everything.

#6. Add another bar.

You know, you don’t have to have just one bar in your closet. You can double up the number of clothes you store in your closet by adding another clothing rack.

#7. Use a coat rack outside of the closet.

A decorative coat rack in the corner can house a lot of items including coats, of course, purses, scarves, and sweaters and jackets that you use most often.

#8. Reorganize shoes.

Don’t stress over trying to figure out where to put all of your shoes. You can typically fit more pairs on the shelf we position each shoe facing the opposite direction. Think of how they are stored in a shoebox. Tiny cubbies and cubicles can actually store more than you might think.

#9. Go vertical.

Additional shelving above the bar, baskets, containers, and other items can be stored all the way to the ceiling in your closets. You can even hang up hats and scarves on the outside of your closet right above the opening.

#10. Go high-tech.

Now, this is for those of us that really care a lot about their closets. There is an app called Stylebook. It helps you log everything you own and makes it easy to create new looks you didn’t even know you had. Where has this been all my life?

If you’re looking to organize your home or looking to sell, you’ll want to get it organized, de-cluttered, and staged as best as you can. Call us today for more specific tips on your home or to find out what your Sunset Beach area home is worth today.

How to Keep Your Home Safe This Season

10 Ways to Keep Your Home Safe from Burglars

How to Keep Your Home Safe This Season

December 16, 2019 by admin 1 Comment

There’s nothing worse than coming home from vacation only to find your home is been violated. There are ways to stay safe even if you’re not to be home this season. You want to protect your home and with the holidays approaching, break-ins are more common than ever. We hear nearly every day of people getting packages stolen off of their porches or news stories about a burglary. There are ways to avoid vacation violators this season.

#1. Get to know your neighbors.

If you don’t already know your neighbors, now would be a great time to build some trust, maybe meet a new friend and develop a bond that can protect both you and them. Now would be a great time to take them a plate of cookies and introduce yourself. While you’re doing that, you might also suggest keeping an eye on each other’s property and if enough trust develops, set up an arrangement to have them help you bring in the trash or collect packages if they see them on your front porch to save them for later. If you develop enough trust, you can let them know that you’re going to be away for certain amount of time and to keep a special eye out for any suspicious activity.

#2. Have automatic lights.

Set up automatic motion sensor lights on the outside of your home. Burglars won’t know that their automated and may be enough to scare them away should they come on in the middle of the night.

#3. Hold any mail or package delivery until your home.

You can simply notify the post office that you’re going to be gone for a certain amount of time and to simply hold all the packages until you return.

#4. Leave the Car in the Garage

If you’re planning on leaving a car at home, park it in the garage so that it is not a temptation for burglars to break into while you’re away. Also, take any extra keys with you just in case there is a break-in.

#5. Be proactive and take pictures of valuable items

Take pictures of items in each room making note of it and its value. This is simply a way to protect yourself if something should happen.

#6. Request a signature for all delivered packages.

The UPS has a program called UPS My Choice, and it allows customers to receive an email or text before a package arrives. Take advantage of tracking and delivery alerts to be notified when a package has been delivered.

#7. Invest in an alarm system.

It not only protects your home in case of a fire or a break-in but simply having the sign in the front yard is enough of a deterrent to any would-be burglars. Nest, Ring, and others offer great protection.

#8. Trim away any large trees or bushes

Trim bushes by interior or exterior windows and doors. Most of these should be below 3 feet to keep visual clearance.

#9. Conceal exterior wiring.

It’s been known that burglars will look for ways to cut the electricity in order to remove lights and security systems.

#10. Get a four-legged security system.

Dogs are some of the best ways to deter burglars and sometimes simply leaving out a doormat that says “beware of dog” even if you don’t have a dog can be enough of a deterrent.

We want you to stay safe this holiday season and by the simple tips and tricks, you can protect your home whether you’re there or not. Have a great holiday!

Thanks for being such valuable customers and friends this year! From our house to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Great Tips for Buyers and Sellers:

10 Ways to Keep Your Home Safe From Burglars

October 4, 2019 by Karen Baker Leave a Comment

Obviously we want to lock up our homes and keep our possession safe but there are extra things you can do to keep your home safe from bandits, burglars, and anyone looking to cause mischief. Here are 10 simple ways to keep your home safe from burglars.

#1. High-tech doorbell.

These new doorbells by Ring are a great way to keep your home safe and videotape any suspicious behavior. They connect to your phone so you can see who’s at your front door or activity going on in your neighborhood. It also connects with neighbors that have similar devices so you can share if there’s been suspicious activity or a suspicious person, package stealer, or just what’s going on in the neighborhood when you’re not around.

#2. Double-check before leaving the house.

It can be stressful when you’re in a rush to leave on vacation or for the holidays but make sure you have a checklist of things to verify before leaving the house. Go through every door and window in the house making sure they are locked, secure, and if you’re going to be gone for a long period of time, put a stick or board in the tracks of sliding windows and doors.

#3. Know your neighbors.

If you’re planning on being out of town for long periods of time, get to know your neighbors so they can keep an eye on your home when you’re not around. If you trust them and they know you’re gone for several days or even weeks, they’re more likely to pay attention if they see suspicious activity near your home.

#4. Have someone collect the mail.

If you have an open mailbox were people can see if the mail has not been collected, have a friend or neighbor collector mail every couple of days.

#5. Don’t have burglar friendly landscaping.

Bushes and trees close to the house or Windows are prime places for burglars to hide. Once you cut away all of these bushes, you make it a little bit harder for someone to sneak up.

#6. Have motion sensor or timed lights.

Keeping motion sensor lights on backdoors, garages, side entrances, or dark spots in your house is a great way to deter burglars. You can also time the lights when you’re gone for long periods of time so they come on at night and go off in the morning making it look like someone is home.

#7. Pretend like someone’s home.

You don’t necessarily need a cardboard cutout in the window of a person but you can actually buy Fake TV, which throws colored lights up against the walls and mimics the TV being on but uses a lot less electricity.

#8. Turn down or turn off your phone ringer.

Most of us nowadays have cell phones but for those that still have a landline, turn off the phone ringer or turn it down so that it doesn’t just a ring constantly indicating someone’s not home.

#9. Don’t post on social media that you’re gone.

Seriously, just wait until you get back.

#10. Have a security system.

This is the most obvious one, but a security system that you can set and monitor while your home, away, or can be monitored by a professional, is really one of the best ways to protect your home not just from burglars but from fire or natural disasters as well.

We want you to have a safe and protected home and remember, anytime you’re buying or selling real estate around Sunset Beach North Carolina give us a call.

More Good Stuff for Homeowners:

How to Winterize Your Beach Home

September 27, 2019 by Karen Baker 3 Comments

Now that we’ve just settled into the fall routine either with school or considering moving back to warmer clients, you might be looking to winterize your beach home. There are certain tasks to complete before winter hits regardless of whether or not you have oceanfront or beachfront home, but this checklist is specifically for beach properties. You want your home to be just a safe and secure next year as when you left it now so here’s a good checklist of things to remember. How to Winterize Your Beach Home

#1. Systems check.

Test your heating system if you haven’t turned on the furnace or heatpump yet. Before the cool winter months arrive set your thermostat to 80° or until you hear the furnace kick on and feel the warm air blowing. If there’s no issue, set it back to your desired temperature.

Winterize your air conditioning. Check the condensing unit of your air conditioning system and clear any debris, rinse it off, and protected for the winter.

Protect plumbing and pipes by insulating exposed pipes in crawl spaces, attics, and outside walls. Shut off all the water and cover faucets and drain the water from each.

Winterize your sprinkler system by turning off the sprinklers and blow compressed air through the holes to purge them from water and prevent any damage from freezing over the winter.

#2. Exterior.

Clean and clear all gutters and downspouts. Examine all the doors and windows for gaps and re-caulk or weatherstrip any problems around doors or windows.

Clean and inspect your fireplace flue or chimney and make sure that the damper completely closes to prevent any cold air from coming down. Consider having the chimney cleaned and/or your furnace serviced.

Cover and clean your grill, outdoor furniture, and cover or bring in any plants that need protection against freezing temperatures over the winter. Drain any and all fountains and water features as well.

#3. Interior protection.

If you’re going to be gone for long periods of time making sure your home looks like it is occupied. Install outdoor motion sensor lights and interior timer lights to give the appearance of occupancy when you are not there. Forward your mail and newspaper delivery so it doesn’t pile up on the deck.

Consider having a neighbor or trusted friend check on your home from time to time. Give them access to the home so they can make a quick check inside that nothing has flooded, broken, or been broken into.

Set the thermostat to a temperature that will keep the pipes warm enough to prevent freezing but cool enough that it won’t cost you an arm and a leg over the winter. Consider having security measures in place and check windows and door locks to alarm your home. Inspect smoke detector and CO detector batteries and make sure they’re all working correctly.

We want your home to be safe and secure all winter long so that you can enjoy it without skipping a beat next year. Looking for a winter home in Sunset Beach North Carolina? Give us a call or browse through our website for more information on local events, buying and selling, and to get a good sense of the Sunset Beach area real estate market.

More Resources:

4 Ways to Keep Your House Pest-Free

September 10, 2019 by Karen Baker 2 Comments

Many of us are heading back to our homes and many stayed and weathered the storm. Regardless, you may have some cleanup, and during that time, rodents and other pests may have found shelter in your home. This prompted this post today because we’ve talked to a lot of our neighbors that are dealing with rodents and pests in their homes seeking shelter after the hurricane. But how do we prevent these pests in the first place and what do we do once we have them?

Here are 4 Ways to Keep Your House Pest-Free

Keep the home clean.

Obviously, cockroaches and other pests gravitate toward dirtier homes but it doesn’t necessarily mean your home is dirty if you find a pest or two. This could mean a wayward roach, wondering mouse, or a curious rat. But, keeping your home clean is a great way to start. Keep pet food containers sealed and closed, seal off or put screens on roof vents to prevent rats and birds from making nests, and pick up any fruit that may have fallen off of fruit trees around your area. Pests will come where there is food and water and if they’re finding both of these items out in the open on your property, the more you’re going to have.

Stay on top of it.

Being a proactive homeowner can keep pests at bay. Termites are one of the most common type of past for homes in it typically enters the home by constructing mud tubes on the foundation. These termites can get into the attic, the walls, foundation, and insulation causing havoc wherever they go. Simply staying on top of these potential infestations can keep them at bay. Check for beehives underneath eaves, in the walls of your garage, or through cracks in stucco, under decks, and siding. If you see one or two aunts, there’s probably thousands more. Follow them to see where they’re going or where they’re coming from and spray around the foundation of your home at least twice a year.

Seal of the house.

Ceiling your home is one of the best ways to keep all types of pests out. This could mean blocking off common entry points, caulking gaps in stucco and around doors, window screens, and window frames and cutting off any easy entries to the home for crickets, cockroaches, ants, bees, mice, and rodents.

Get a professional opinion.

Talk to a professional pest technician to find out the best way to not only handle current problems but preventative measures that you can do at home. They will tell you what to be looking out for, red flags to be aware of, and what to do when you see a certain type of pests in or around your home.