Limit Clutter

One of the best things you can do is limit the amount of clutter in your home from the start. Try to avoid buying too many toys and unnecessary items. When relatives gift toys for birthdays and holidays, gently remind them you are trying to keep clutter minimal. Rotate toys by keeping some put away in storage and only leaving a few out at a time. This helps kids focus on playing with what they have, rather than being overwhelmed by options. 

Use Bins and Baskets

Make use of bins, baskets and storage containers to easily tidy up rooms. Have a basket or bin for toys in each room, which kids can dump toys into at clean-up time. If you’re fostering in Milton Keynes, the children in your care may need a special bin just for their own toys. Extra storage bins and baskets can corral craft supplies, books, shoes by the door and other items that tend to collect. Just be sure the bins are easily accessible for kids to put items away independently.

Schedule Clean-Up Times

Get in the habit of scheduling clean-up times, especially before transitions in the day or leaving the house. Before meals, have the children stop playing and put toys away so you can all eat without distractions. Build in 10-15 minutes of clean-up time when getting ready to leave for school or appointments. Make tidying fun by setting a timer and challenging kids to beat the clock. Praise kids for cleaning up well. Foster children may need extra patience and positive encouragement to adopt these habits.

Make Chores Age-Appropriate

As kids grow, give them simple chores suited to their abilities. Toddlers can put toys in baskets. Preschoolers can dust with socks on their hands or wipe down surfaces. Primary school kids can help sort laundry by colours and put away their clean clothes. Tweens can vacuum, sweep floors or clean bathrooms with supervision. Split bigger jobs into smaller tasks foster kids can handle. Link chores to an allowance to motivate older kids. 

Last but not least, keep your expectations realistic. Some messiness is normal with kids! Focus on living in the home happily together.

Balancing a child’s need to play and explore with maintaining household order is tricky. But with these tips to declutter, establish routines and get kids actively involved in age-appropriate ways, you can create a home that’s clean and organised enough for family functionality while still delightfully “lived in” with the joyful signs of childhood.

The post Tips for Keeping Your House Clean and Organised with Kids appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

Getting the right roofing company to handle you new roofing project is not always as easy as YouTube videos might make it seem. You need to go through hundreds of advertising just to find the right company near you that can give you the right balance of what you are looking for. 

Ideally, you will be looking for a company that is in your proximity and which shares the same values as you. This has been something most people who go for cheaper, Chinese companies eventually find daunting. For starters, there is a serious language barrier, and this combined with the delays in material supplies as well as poor customer service, means that only a local solution is best.

Local Roofing Contractor versus Roofing Company

Eventually you might have to choose between getting a local roofing contractor near you, and a company in your vicinity with several outlets. Usually, if you choose the company then you should expect timely availability of roofing materials and the chance of getting custom roofing options. However, getting a roofing installer near you with the right competencies will go a long way in bridging this gap. 

Independent contractors, therefore, have their positives in that an independent contractor likely has several contacts of roofing contractors near me and will source materials that will agree with your budget and to your convenience. For example, a contractor will source cheaper materials from imports before your roofing project even starts and once the materials are in place, then you only need to pay for their labor. They will shoulder the burden of contracting for the materials and provide assurances and warranties on behalf of the materials’ provider. 

When Is The Best Time To Start A Roofing Project?

There are several events that might lead you to seek a roofing contractor or roofing company. Basically, harsh weather conditions lead to faster wear and tear or even complete destruction of your roof. You need to respond immediately if your roof is destroyed since you will need shelter immediately and the costs of getting faster services will eventually balance out with the cost of seeking alternative dwelling. 

One the other hand, if you have been planning to repair your roof or to simply renovate it, then you will likely have several weeks of planning and this allows you time to budget enough funds and to get the right roofing design for your house. 

What to Expect from a Quality Roofing Contractor

As part of your research, make sure to check the building codes in your area and check whether the roofing companies in your area have the right licenses and permits to overhaul your roof. You wouldn’t want to commit to a roofing project and end up with municipal charges and penalties merely because you didn’t enquire whether your preferred contractor has it. So make sure you check all the paperwork including certifications of the contractor, insurance covers and liability covers. 

Overall, roofing should be a fun and enjoyable event and by conducting sufficient research you should be able to limits any stressors that might come your way.

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Moreover, weatherproofing can create a healthier and more energy efficient home and potentially increase the value of your property. Without further ado, let’s look at ten practical ways to make your home more weatherproof.

Pipework

First and foremost, you should check that the pipework and water tanks in your loft are well-insulated. This can help prevent freezing or even the risk of them bursting during the wintertime. If they are not properly insulated or you aren’t sure how well insulated they are, have a heating engineer or insulation expert come out and take a look.

Roof Repairs

Your roof is one of the first lines of your defence your property has against the weather, especially on wet and windy days. Therefore, you should look out for any issues that have arisen and hire a professional to undertake the next repairs.

One easy step you can take is (from ground level) regularly check your roof to see if any roof tiles/shingles are loose or missing. Also, evaluate your chimney pots and ensure any aerials are firmly in place. You could even use binoculars for a closer look. However, don’t get up on your roof or look out a window; either of these approaches are dangerous. If in any doubt about your roof, hire a professional.

If you were to have several roof tiles replaced, it would cost, on average, £150 to £200 to replace clay tiles, £180 to £220 to replace concrete tiles, or £200 to £250 to replace slate roof tiles. If you wanted to replace an entire tiled roof, you’d be looking at paying somewhere in the region of £10,000 to £20,000. 

As your eaves felt, should this need to be replaced, the average cost of replacing eaves felt is around £350 to £500.

Window Frame Replacements

Window frames will deteriorate with time and if they are particularly old or worn down, you may want to have them repaired, or even better replaced. Arguably the most durable option would be to go with fibreglass window frames. 

However, you’d want to ensure it would be a suitable match for your property. Either way, replacing your window frames can make your home more weatherproof and give it a stronger capacity to 

Gutter Cleaning

Clearing your gutters is another way to make your home more weatherproof. After all, if your gutters become too clogged, they cannot function as intended and are more likely to wear down.

You should particularly look out for whether your gutters need cleaning after a storm or other harsh weather conditions.  Also, watch out for any branches, fencing, or roof slates which look like they may fall and cause damage to your guttering.

Exterior Wall Coating

An exterior wall coating is more durable than regular paint and can protect your wall surfaces from weather damage over time. Along with providing an additional layer of protection, exterior wall coating can look great too.

Learn About Your Flood Risk

While it’s a scary thought to consider your home flooding, it’s always good to be safe and prepared.

For information on the UK’s flood risk check out Gov.uk’s web page on the topic. You can also find information on flood warnings via the flood risk service on Gov.uk.

If your home is located in a flood risk area, ensure you have a plan and ideally some sand bags in storage in case of an emergency.

Keep Your Garden Furniture Secured

If you have any garden furniture, you should keep it secured at night or at the very least, in anticipation of harsh weather conditions. 

After all, if you fail to secure your garden furniture it could wreak havoc during stormy weather. You might want to put your furniture away in the shed or you could tie it down if you are concerned about tough weather.

Insurance Concerns

Of course, while preparation is great (and will usually work), sometimes mother nature can take a toll that we simply can’t prevent. For this possibility, it’s smart to ensure your home is insured for such eventualities. Of course, you should confirm that any insurance package covers natural disasters or other weather-related damage.

Basement/Cellar Waterproofing

There are several steps you can take to ensure your basement or cellar is waterproof. Here is what’s involved:

• Ensure the area is totally clean.
• Fill any wall or ceiling holes with a relevant material (e.g., hydraulic cement may prove suitable).
• You should also fill small cracks with materials like a masonry crack filler (if suitable for your basement/cellar).
• Lastly, you can apply a waterproof coating to your basement or cellar’s surfaces.

Weatherproof Your Doors

You can also take steps to weatherproof your doors. There are many ways of achieving this, including:

• Adding weatherstrips to your front door. This will help fill gaps and stop cold air entering your home.
• Adding draught excluders to various doors in your home.
• Installing a letterbox draught excluder.
• Fitting door thresholds.
• Consider having your door hardware upgraded (e.g., new door knobs, fresh latches, or replace the hinges or locksets).

The post Ten Steps to Create a More Weatherproof Home🏠  appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

So, how do you plan a bedroom restyle?  These tips will show you how.

What type of floor would you like?

If a cosy bedroom is your goal, then plan for carpet fitting costs.  If light and airy is more your thing, you’ll need to choose from affordable laminate or splash out on luxury wooden flooring.

Once you’ve decided on your flooring type, you can work out the estimated cost by measuring the length and width of the room.  You can use these measurements in an online calculator to work out the price you’re likely to pay. 

How will you decorate the walls?

Are you thinking of painting the walls, wallpapering or simply refreshing with new artwork?  If you’re painting the walls, you’ll need to work out how many tins of paint you need and if you’re wallpapering make sure you buy enough rolls! 

Doing a quick artwork update or creating a gallery wall is another popular way of restyling your walls. If you’re attempting a gallery wall try colour-coordinating different styles of prints, or mix and match for an eclectic style.  You may want to try visualising your gallery wall and planning where to put pictures before you hammer in any nails.

Restyling the bed

Restyling a bed is a simple and enjoyable task. But before you get carried away buying new sheets, pillow and covers, check whether you also need to spend money on a new mattress.  This will be the most expensive purchase and the most important one. It’s always best to test new mattresses to ensure you pick the right one.

Now you can choose between cool linens, soft cotton or luxurious silk bedding for your finishing touches.  Blend your colour scheme carefully to complement your flooring and walls.

And the bedside table

And lastly, will you be buying new bedside tables to match your restyled room? Or will you upcycle the ones you have?  You could change legs, handles and paintwork to completely renew your tables.

If you already have new bedside tables, you can accessorise the tables to match your new room.  Change side lamps and ornaments to create a distinct new look.

The post How to plan your bedroom restyle 🛏️ appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

Update your Furniture 

Updating your furniture is a simple and clever way to make your home more comfortable. Each piece that you have likely serves a purpose, and one would be relaxation. When furniture becomes worn, it can easily lose its magic and comfort. Check around your house to see which pieces of furniture need to be replaced.

Beds: Unless you permanently sleep on the couch, beds are a great place to get a good night’s rest. Apparently, mattresses can last from 15-20 years, but you’ll know it’s time for a new one when the springs start getting worn, or you wake up with aches and pains. When choosing a bed, go for a pocket spring mattress if you want something luxurious, and that offers more support. 

Sofa: The lifespan of a sofa is said to be 7-15 years, so if yours has reached that timeframe, it may be time for a replacement. Aside from this, if your sofa is creaking, your cushions are sagging, or the lumbar support is gone, those are other telltale signs. Some things to look out for when you’re buying a new one is a good frame, comfy cushions, and fabrics that feel nice.

Make Sure Everything Works 

Another idea for creating a comfortable home environment would be to make sure that everything is working properly. This is an important part of your comfort because if basic amenities aren’t working, it can make you feel frustrated and uneasy. For example, you want to make sure you maintain your cooling systems so that your house isn’t hot and uncomfortable. In the same regard, you want to fix a faulty dishwasher so that you don’t have to stress and handwash dishes. Have a local handyman come around to fix any appliances that are no longer working. Also, regularly maintain them so they last longer. 

Add Sentimental Items

Sentimental items have a way of triggering your memories and reminding you of pleasant times in your life. This is why it could help if you place them around your home to help lift your mood. A common example is to put up childhood pictures or images with your family. Other ways that you could make a house feel like a home would be by hanging art. Choose images that reflect who you are as well as the things that you love.

Create Space

Clutter is one way to make your home feel choked and claustrophobic. For this reason, you should declutter on a regular basis so that you’ve got more space and less clutter. Here are a few decluttering tips that could help. 

• Try the Ten-minute Declutter Exercise: If you’re short on time, try the ten-minute declutter exercise. You’ll need two trash bags, and one will be for items that you’re throwing away while the other for ones you’re giving to charity or anything you want out of the house. If you do this exercise every day for one week, you should find your home becomes less cluttered. 
• Use Multi-purpose Items and Furniture: So that you have fewer items, you should invest in multi-purpose items and furniture. This is effective as one item doubles as two or three giving you more space and less clutter. An example is buying a mirror that can become an ironing board or a bike shelf that’s both a rack and a shelf.

Choose the Right Temperature       

The temperature of your home can affect how you feel physically. Decide what the best temperature is for you and keep it that way. When you’re trying to go to sleep at night, it’s advised that you keep the temperature between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. However, what’s most important is that you choose a temperature that’s comfortable for you, no matter what that may be. 

Having a comfortable home can improve your moods and wellbeing. The good thing is that you can control your environment at home and make it feel however you want it to. By taking the tips above on board, your home should become one of your favorite places to be. 

The post Ideas for Creating a Comfortable Home Environment 🛋️ appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

Earlier this year, I wrote about the launch of the Orient Aerostorm fan. Having a ceiling fan based on aerodynamics seemed like something out of a sci-fi film, but we switched to them earlier this year & I could never go back to regular fans.

A few days ago, Orient also launched their newest range of lifestyle fans in India. These aren’t ceiling fans but rather lightweight & stylish desk / tower fans that can easily be placed anywhere at home.

While pedestal fans have been known to be an eyesore, these have been designed keeping in mind both form & function. They won’t just look good at home, they’ll actually add to the elegance of any interior setting.

New Orient Lifestyle Fans

Orient Bladeless

Orient Bladeless uses a combination of physics & aerodynamics to multiply air without the use of traditional fan blades.

Not only does this fan look unique, bladeless operation also makes it that much safer to use, especially with children at home. It operates quite silently, has a swing function to distribute air across a room & even has a mood light built in with four colour options (off white, green, purple & blue). It consumes less power, is extremely easy to clean, has a timer function & even a remote control for convenience.

Orient Monroe

Another stylish new launch, the Orient Monroe tower fan is not just contemporary & stylish, it’s smaller footprint makes it perfect for tight spaces. It comes with three speed settings, a timer as well as remote control.

The Monroe has three different modes – natural, normal & sleep. When used with an air conditioner especially, the fan will keep your comfortable & cool for longer, without the huge energy consumption.

Orient Auctor

Another first of it’s kind, the Orient Auctor is small fan with 3D oscillation. You can put this rotating fan anywhere in a room & it will cool all corners. Like the others, it comes with a strong & reliable motor that also operates silently.

This even has a remote control, touch panel & built in timer. It’s small & light so as to make it easy to move with you, to any room at your home / office.

Orient Proteus

The Proteus is a box fan featuring a clean & premium look with a strong, silent motor. It features round edges & a three speed control panel along with a timer. With a 30° vertical adjustment, you can direct the airflow to suit your requirements.

Orient has been releasing a lot of innovations in the consumer electronics / home appliances space & this new range of lifestyle fans just add to that.

They are well designed & have a lot of smart features built in, at price points that won’t break the bank.

Summer’s coming soon enough & I think these fans are a perfect fit for anyone who wants better cooling at home without skyrocketing electricity bills.

The new range of fans are available in all major electric shops as well as online on Amazon India. The Orient Bladeless & Orient Monroe are already at the top of my wishlist!

Know more about these lifestyle fans on the website. x

The post Orient Electric Elevates Fan Decor to New Heights 🌀 appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

Incorporate Your Fashion Sense

Select a color palette to guide all of your design decisions. Look to your wardrobe for inspiration to find what colors, textures and prints best represent your personal sense of style. Incorporate these selections wherever you can in your home decor. By sticking within a color palette you can maintain a sense of cohesiveness, and by pulling inspiration from your wardrobe, you can infuse your personality into every space.

Add Inviting Accents

Aim for your decor to draw people in. You can do this by loading up your living room with cozy touches that make you and your guests want to settle in on the couch and stay awhile. Add soft throw pillows in every seating area, and sling a lush heated blanket or throw over the couch to quickly warm up on cold nights. Another way to make a space more inviting is with an array of unique art and unusual bric-a-brac that tells stories of your adventures. Avoid having a ton of framed photos with similar composition. Instead, have a mix of candids and landscape shots mixed in with portraits of family and friends. Arrange your bookshelves with a mix of these items and books on subjects that you are
really passionate about.

Shop Around

Avoid getting too much from one brand or store and instead mix it up for a look that is more intentionally styled. You want your home to look like a place where you’d like to curl up with a good book and a glass of wine, not something out of a catalog. It should represent your past, present and future, so don’t be afraid to mix in some family heirlooms and thrifted art with your new purchases.

Don’t Rush It

If you want your house to look staged and generic, then by all means, decorate it as quickly as possible. To really craft a space that looks like the inviting home of your dreams that really represents you, take your time making design and decor decisions. Allow yourself some time to acclimate to the new space with just the bare essentials so that you can make decisions based on what your actual needs are, not just what you assume you will need. Avoid settling on anything you don’t love; wait until you find that perfect rug, throw pillow or couch, no matter how long it takes. It isn’t worth spending your hard-earned money on stuff that doesn’t positively contribute to your vision for your home.

By using your wardrobe as design inspiration, adding in inviting accessories, shopping around and not forcing or rushing design decisions, you may be surprised to discover that you have an interior design prowess that you didn’t know about. When you find yourself opting to stay in and entertain at home instead of going out, you know that you’ve really done a fantastic job transforming your house into a home. x

The post 4 Design Secrets to Transform Your House into a Home 🛋️ appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

One way design impacts us is the colors we use; a blue room can make you feel calm and relaxed while red can make you feel energized and strong. But adding in your own signature style can also make your home look and feel more like you and make you feel more engaged and anchored. From the way you tackle your decorating challenges to the lighting you use, here’s how to transform your decor to feel more like you.

Take a DIY approach

There’s no better way to show off your true self than tackling your home projects on your own. Whether you’re creating a mosaic table your entryway or recovering an antique chair with your modern fabric, you can add all the personalized care and love in your home with your own hands. If you’re looking for a smaller project to start with, consider re-potting plants into colorful planters or putting together a terrarium.

Illuminate your style

Strategizing the lighting can bring more personality and creativity in your home without breaking the bank. Start with a smart bulb like Philips Hue that can create a color scheme based on your favorite colors, like the ones found in the sunset photo from your last vacation. Next, add the right light fixture that goes beyond the standard lamp or overhead light.

Mix and match fabric

Instead of agonizing over which patterns and fabrics to choose, you can blend them together instead. Going eclectic combines your favorite look in one place. Start in your bedroom with textured throw pillows and quilts coupled with patterned sheets and throw rugs, suggests MarthaStewart.com. Your living area is also a good place to combine bold throw pillows, shag rugs and textile wall art to transform it into a unique entertaining area.

Add more Artwork

Your artwork is a window into your creative side and should be showcased in your home. Skip the generic artwork from the department store and source unique paintings, pottery and photos from antique stores and garage sales. If you’ve got a creative streak of your own, display it on the wall for all to see. Take old frames and spray in cobalt blue lacquer or gold for flair. Add your favorite photographs, a wall sign from Neon Mama, or some travel postcards and turn them into a work of art.

Put your Hobbies on display

There’s no need to put your hobbies in a box or tuck away in a closet until you have time to work on them. Whether you’re a shutterbug or learning to play an instrument, put your interests on full display throughout your home. You can go big in a single room like the den or opt for understated with a peppering of your favorite items throughout the entire house.

Remember that your home is a reflection of you, and likely the place you spend the most time. Make the effort to put your whole heart into it to make it look more like you.

The post How to Make Your Home Look Like You 🖥💡 appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

All of us have ceiling fans at home. Probably a minimum of one in every room. But we’ve never given them much thought. They look the same (with very minor variations), they perform the same. I feel like other than very minor aesthetic changes (usually just the color / print & not shape) fans haven’t changed much my entire life. And I appreciate how Orient’s trying to change that & innovate a lot with their newest fan, the Orient AeroStorm.

Something we heard about a lot at the event was silence. Our outdoors are noisy – our homes don’t have to be. Most ceiling fans actually generate a lot of noise that we’ve just learnt to live with & we hardly notice until the fan’s switched off.

To demonstrate, Orient set up a booth where we could experience a normal fan alongside the new AeroStorm. The difference in noise level was astounding. At lower number, there’s virtually no sound. When you set the fan at maximum speed, there is some sound but it’s still so much quieter than ordinary fans. But of course, lack of noise isn’t the only thing they’re innovating with. In fact, the AeroStorm is designed from the ground up to look like no other fan out there. It’s eye catching & attractive, with the blades actually inspired from aircraft wings! The end even has a tipped winglet design, something that helps to minimize vortex & noise. The fans aren’t metal, but made of high quality ABS with PU paint – the biggest benefit being, they won’t rust (something we experienced with our current fans already!) & the paint will stay glossy and be very easy to clean. There’s also this stylish metallic UV ring in the middle that just adds a bit of pizzaz to the design.

Although the new AeroStorm was undoubtedly the star of the show, Orient Electric has also expanded the existing AeroSeries fans – the AeroQuiet, which was originally available in white has a range of attractive colours, including caramel.

There’s also the AeroLite that adds a light fixture to the fan & AeroBLDC which even has a remote control function.

The new Orient AeroStorm is currently available online on Amazon India at an attractive launch price, it’ll also be in stores really soon.

I blog about lifestyles, electronics, décor & homes pretty often, but I’ll be the first to admit, I never thought I’d get this excited about a ceiling fan. I always love when brands innovate to bring us better, more efficient products. I was quite awed by the fans at the demo, & I’ll be switching to AeroStorm fans in the living room later this week & I’ll be documenting the switch on YouTube! x

The post Unveiling the #SilentStorm with Orient Electric! 🌬 appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.