Every Good Move Deserves a Housewarming

Moving into a new house can be a time consuming process of settling your removalist fees, unpacking boxes, reconnecting your utilities, updating your home insurance policy and redecorating. But before you get lost in all the drudgery, don’t forget that it’s also an excellent excuse to throw a big bash. Yes that’s right, a housewarming party!

A housewarming party is a great opportunity to celebrate moving into your new place with family and friends. Some people will be inclined to wait until they have the house in picture perfect condition, while others will be happier to hold it sooner rather than later, relying on the laurels of, “We only just moved in”.

While you can rest on these laurels, it is important to ensure that your house is fairly presentable and clean. Yes, this means putting all of your furniture in its intended space and moving any unpacked boxes to one room.

Getting a guest list together is the first step to organising your party. Because housewarmings are typically informal occasions, you’ll find that your guests will often arrive with a partner, friend or family member in tow. The good thing is you won’t really need to worry about seating or catering too much because guests will be too busy taking tours of your new place to really concentrate on where to sit or what to eat.

While you are throwing the doors open to your friends and family, why not get your new neighbours around? It’s a great way to get to know them.

In this day and age, there are plenty of ways to spread the word that you are having a bash. You can do this digitally over a social networking site like Facebook or email; or more traditionally with printed invitations sent by good old snail mail. Whichever way you choose, make sure you get a little creative and incorporate photos of you and your family in the new place and include a map plus helpful driving instructions.

Some people prefer to be extra organised and allocate a start and finish time for their housewarming, while others are more flexible and happy to open up their doors to the ‘world’ for a whole afternoon and evening. This is your party so choose whatever format you are happy with.

If you choose to have a relaxed open door policy to your party, you should choose food and drink that will withstand the elements and still look appetizing for guests that drop in late. Because you have just moved in and are still getting use to the appliances in the new house, this is not the time to be experimenting with tricky oven baked goods so swap the show-stopping recipes for some simple crowd pleasers. Think antipastos, cheese and crackers, chips and dips and mini quiches or better yet, if it’s a sunny day, bring on the BBQ.

When it comes to drinks, you need to be well-stocked with all the faves - think beer, wine, champagne and soft drink. If the oldies are coming along it’s also a good idea to have coffee and tea available.

While decorations are generally kept to a minimum at housewarming parties, some leave a guest book out so that their guests can leave fond messages. It’s a great conversation starter and a fantastic way to document your event. You can buy a traditional guest book from a department store or the alike or opt for a plain scrapbook – either way, it’s a nice touch.

Ways You Can Lower Your Power Bills

When planning your household budget you need to put towards the electricity bill. With the ever increasing cost of electricity you will soon need to put aside even more. There are a lot of things in your home powered by electricity, such as your appliances, lights and heating and cooling systems. We can't avoid our power bill as electricity is something we use everyday. Choosing the right electrical services can help save you money as well as having an electrician come in to check that your appliances are running efficiently and not wasting power.

Switch off appliances

You can save electricity by simply switching off appliances at the wall when they are not in use. Don't just turn off you television with the remote, or at the button on the television, but switch it off at the wall at the end of the day once you have finished with it. Don't leave your microwave switched on at the wall either. Once you have heated up your meal switch it off at the power point. You will find that there are other appliances you need not leave switched on when they aren't in use, such as the computer or printer.

Energy saving appliances

When buying your appliances go for those that have a high energy saving rating. You can buy everything from fridges, washing machines, dishwashers and dryers, all with very different energy ratings. Most new appliances will have a sticker on them in the store with a number of stars on it. Basically the more stars on the ticket the better the energy rating. When shopping for things like a dishwasher or washing machine you can also choose brands that use less water. You may find that you pay a little more for more efficient items but in the long run you are going to save money by having lower power bills.

Lights

Don't forget to turn off your lights. Make sure that when you leave a room that you switch the lights off and don't have them on during the day if you don't need to. It is a waste of electricity to have lights on in unoccupied rooms or if there is enough natural light coming in through the windows. Instead of switching on lights just open up your curtains. If your home is dark, even during the day, you could install a skylight.

Heating and cooling

Your heating and cooling system can use a lot of electricity particularly if you over use them. Switch off your heater or air conditioner when you go out and turn them off at night. Keep warm by putting extra blankets on your bed, wearing warmer pyjamas or taking a hot water bottle to bed. If you want to keep your children's rooms warmer get a bar heater and heat only their rooms. Have your heater and cooling system running more efficiently by shutting the vents in rooms that you aren't occupying so the heat or cool air is being blown into these rooms. You will save a lot of power.

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5 Important Things to Check When Buying a New Home

Buying a new home can be a stressful time because as well as organising finance and finding the right home you also need to check a few things about the home before you decide to purchase it. As well as going through your check list you also need to do some research into home insurance and find a good removalist to move your furniture and possessions into your new home.

Building Structurally Sound

If you are buying a home, particularly an older home, you will need to check that the building itself is structurally sound. It can be a good idea to have a fully qualified builder come and go through the building for you to check that it doesn't need major work done to it, like re-stumping or that it needs all the electrics re-wired. A builder will be able to let you know whether any parts of the home needs renovation and should be able to give you an estimate of what that would cost you. Any repairs need to be factored in to the total cost of the purchase of the property.

Pests
Before you buy a property you also need to make sure that it is not infested with pests, such as termites. These sorts of pests can be extremely destructive to a building and if the house is infested it could require huge sections to be demolished and replaced or you could find the framework of the home is beyond repair.

Vacant Block Next Door

If the home you are interested in has a vacant block next door you might want to find out who owns the property for several reasons. You may need to erect a fence, which is a shared cost between you and your neighbour. Depending on where you live a vacant block could be used for all manner of things, including apartments or even more commercial structures like a car park or shopping centre. It would be a good idea to contact the council and find out who owns the land and if they can tell you if there are any building plans in place for the block. If you have the choice you might not want to live next door to a shopping centre.

Location
As well as liking the look of the house you have to be happy with the location. A home needs to be close to shops, the right school if you have children, public transport and be easily accessible to your place of work. There might be other things that you want in your neighbourhood, like easy access to cafes and restaurants, you might want to be a walk to the beach or be near plenty of park land.

Will it Suit Your Lifestyle?

The home will also need to suit your lifestyle. It will need to be big enough to house your entire family comfortably. You may be retiring and looking for a smaller home to down size to. You might entertain a lot so need large open rooms and an area for an outdoor kitchen in your back garden. Some couples are very career focused and prefer a property without a garden so they don't have to do much maintenance on their property, or a family could want a garden for their kids and pets.

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Yellow Flower

Captured inside Nusantara Flower Park (Cipanas, West Java, Indonesia)

Little Fire

Little fire
little light
little warm

The Weekend in Black and White

5 Ways to Feel Safer in your Home

Feeling safe is one of the most important things for a person, though sometimes it is hard to feel totally secure even in your own home. Quite often there is actually nothing to worry about however that doesn't make you feel any safer. The following ideas will help you worry less, feel safer and relax more when you are at home.

1)Have a security system installed – Whether it is security doors, security screens, or an alarm system, having that extra line of defence between you and the outside world can make a huge difference. Not only is your place less likely to be targeted, but if it is, it will be way less chance that anyone will be able to get inside. Investing in a security system will mean you can rest easy knowing that you are safe inside your home.

2)Get to know your neighbours – There is nothing quite as secure as a community where people know each other. Make a point of getting to know your neighbours and looking out for one another. Introduce yourself, drop by with cookies or muffins, and take an interest in their lives. Some people are way more vulnerable than others so they'll feel safer too knowing that you are looking out for them. It will also be much harder for an intruder to sneak in or out of your community if people realise they don’t live there.

3)Learn self defense – Knowing how to defend yourself is an invaluable skill and even just a move or two can make all the difference. Regardless of your age, it is always handy to know what to do if you are attacked and it can be as simple as knowing a few vulnerable areas to strike out at. Taking a self defense class will give you the confidence to know what to do in an emergency and you will feel much safer both in your home and out on the street.

4)Get a dog – Dogs are great companions and are also quite territorial. Having a dog in your place will be great at both alerting you if someone is nearby as well as deterring possible intruders from targeting your place. Apart from this, just the great company provided by your dog will have you feeling less alone and way less vulnerable.

5)Choose your late night movies carefully – Whether you are actually totally safe or not, watching scary movies when you are home alone at night can make it really difficult to feel safe. Scary movies can be loads of fun, though maybe keep them for during the day or for when friends are staying over. You dont want to think every shadow in your place is hiding an intruder or a monster!

Everyone should feel safe whether in their home or not, though it's often the feeling of isolation that adds to our fears. Adding a few practical safety measures to your home will help a lot, though the real safety will come from knowing that your community is one where everyone looks out for each other. Use a bit of common sense and involve yourself in your community. Don't feel scared and isolated in your home.