Is This Area Right For Me?

Choosing a new house can be tricky. It doesn’t matter if you’re renting or buying – the same principles apply. There are so many questions that need answering before you can even think about making a decision. Is the property in a good condition? Does it have any problems that need monitoring? Is there enough room to turn the back bedroom into a nursery one day? What’s the neighbourhood like?

These are all important questions, questions that need answering before a young couple or family can be expected to place their trust and their future in a property. It, of course, makes sense to worry about the inside of a house first and the outside later. Yet, many first time buyers become so enamoured with certain properties that they forget to ask themselves whether or not they could feasibly live in the area in which it is located, says Yahoo Homes journalist Bethany Lyttle. When it comes to choosing a new home, it is vital that you consider its surroundings too. There’s nothing worse than believing you’ve picked a dream house, only to find that there’s a crime hotspot round the corner. 

Here’s a guide to picking the right area for your new home.

Know What You Want

Picking the perfect house, in the perfect location is going to be almost impossible if you don’t have any notion of what it is you’re looking for. If you’ve got your heart set on a chocolate box cottage far from the confines of the rat race – you might have to move quite a distance, depending on where you’re moving from. Similarly, if you’re looking for a chic city apartment – do be aware that you’re not going to find one if you live in the Yorkshire Dales and staunchly refuse to move away. Decide what you want and how much you’re willing to compromise, say the experts at Forbes magazine.

Check For Connectivity

Do bear in mind any transport needs that you might require from a prospective new area. If you’re moving house but keeping your old job – can you sensibly commute from the new location? If not, are you able to work from home? What about the kids - will they ride the bus to school or will you take them? Check out bus services, train services, road conditions and any traffic issues in the area. Factor everything that you find into your decision. It can be tempting to buy or rent a home that’s a lot further out than you’re used to. However, if you can’t get to work or get the kids to school – your brand spanking new home won’t seem so perfect anymore.

Be Aware Of Local Developments 

It’s extremely easy to find information about local developments in a specific area – most places have their own local authority which regularly publishes lists of individuals who have applied for planning permission. These lists include the name of the applicant and the location and nature of the planned build. If you ask, most estate agents will tell you whether or not there are any big developments planned for the area that you’re considering moving to. There’s no guarantee though and an estate agent has no legal responsibility to inform you of such things, if you haven’t asked them directly. The last thing you want is to move into a new home, only to find out that there’s a shopping precinct planned for right next door, say the experts at WikiHow.com. 

Long Term Potential

Ask your estate agent about the future potential of the area that you are considering. The best areas to move to tend to be those that are still ‘in development’ and those that are investing in infrastructure and commerce. These locations tend to be at their most affordable, just before they become wildly popular and get a whole lot less affordable – so to speak. Catch an area like this whilst you can. You won’t regret it.

Author Bio: Lisa jane has been a property developer for seven years. She recommends Balgores Property to anyone looking for a reliable, trustworthy estate agents in Basildon area. Lisa likes to blog about various topics on selling your home, from interior design to finding a reliable estate agents.

Finding Ways to Organize a Small Dorm Room

Most students are faced with the mammoth task of how to arrange the furniture in their cramped dorm room while still being able to see the floor. You’re used to having a big room where you can store everything that you own, but when you move off to college you’ll find the room infinitely smaller and therefore unable to contain all of your possessions. There are, however, some alternatives to having to leave everything at home – here are some of the ways that you can organize a small dorm room most efficiently.

Buy some boxes

A great tip on saving space is to use boxes as much as you can. If you don’t use things on a regular basis, such as your Friends box set that you decided you had to take but haven’t watched in three months, then you should place them into a box and seal it up. The best option is to buy boxes which can be stacked and fit in the small crevices, such as under your bed or next to your bookcase, where they won’t get in the way. You’ll find that if you stack them high your room will look a lot tidier and therefore you’ll have a lot more space to play with.

Put your junk in a drawer

As a student you’re probably always losing pens and your stapler, and it’s only when you most need them that your realize how disorganized your dorm room is. Fill a drawer in your desk up with all the junk that doesn’t really have a place but you use on a regular basis. Between this drawer and the boxes for your irregularly used items, you’ll create a lot more space which can be filled with furniture. And boys, let’s face it: girls like a tidy room.

Avoid putting your desk in the corner

The natural instinct of students (and their parents!) is to immediately shove your desk into the corner. This is a big mistake – while you think that you’ll end up leaving more space, you’ll find that the space along the middle of the wall doesn’t get used for anything else, whereas a desk would fit nicely. If you have your desk out from the wall you can put your paper bin there or stack some boxes up to save even more space. In fact if you don’t want the desk to look out of place, get some boxes the same color as your desk and stack them up to be the same height: you practically extend your desk space and keep things tidy at the same time.

Use your walls

As soon as you walk into a student’s room you’ll either see one of two things: blank space or TV/movie posters. While posters might look great, they don’t help you to stay organized. Take down your posters and replace them with a pin board so that you can stick up notes to yourself, or hammer a nail in the wall (with permission!) to hang your keys on. You don’t have to strip your room back entirely, but some practical use of wall space is a great idea for most students. You can even go beyond what people would expect: could you look into mounting your computer monitor on the wall so that you have more room on your desk?

Hide your pots and pans

If you’re expecting a lady friend (or a guy friend!) over but don’t have time to tidy up the kitchen, just throw the pots and pans that you haven’t had time to wash up into the cupboard or oven. As long as she isn’t expecting you to make her dinner she’ll never know that you have plates spawning mold hidden in that oven. Just make sure that you wash them up before they start to smell…

A junk area

When you’re doing your own laundry you’ll notice how annoying it can be to find scraps of paper in your pockets that have been through the washing machine. Create a junk area in your dorm room where you can throw these scraps before your clothes go into the wash – you’ll never kick yourself for throwing that guy or girl’s number away again! Not only will this area be useful for scraps of paper, but you can throw your books or folders on there too so that you know where they are when you next need them.

Have a trash can near your desk

The vast majority of your trash will come from the time you spend studying (or playing online games) at your desk. Whether it’s the odd packet of sweets or a piece of paper that you were using to study, by having a place to throw your rubbish you’ll save yourself lots of time picking up endless bits that you were too lazy to put into the bin. It’s a good piece of advice to also avoid getting a bin with a lid: 9 times out of 10 you’ll be too lazy to take the lid off and so you’ll still end up throwing it somewhere other than the bin!

Replace a hamper with plastic bags

Your mom probably told you that you need to invest in a good washing hamper, but in reality they take up far too much space in a tiny dorm room. Instead you should just keep them in a plastic bag which you hide in a box or your cupboard when your parents come round. That way you’ll save space and also not have to try and transport a heavy washing hamper to the laundry room with you. The bags can then be piled up if you have enough clothes to not wash them every week, saving you even more space.

Let’s be serious

While a lot of the tips here have contained jokes about hooking up with girls and guys, making sure you have a tidy room is more than that. This is the place that you’re going to sleep, work and sometimes even eat. You should feel completely comfortable, and for that to happen you need a clean and clear environment. There’s no point in having a desk if you can’t actually write an assignment because there’s too much junk – by using a junk table or drawer you’ll be able to concentrate on studying a lot more easily. Your room should reflect you: if you want to be organized and graduate with highest honors, you’re going to have to reflect that with your room’s organization! A messy dorm room leads to a messy mind. 

Bio: Hi! I'm Nellie and currently work as a lecturer in programming and accounting. I'm always eager to find out something new and become familiar with it. I love to deal with researches and want to develop in the field of writing. Moreover, I started moving in this direction! I work as a writer for Homework-Desk.com, which provides even biology assignment help. If you have any questions concerning education, I'm always ready to help. Here are my contacts: FB (https://www.facebook.com/nellie.aldridge.3) and G+ (https://plus.google.com/u/3/100898603848701478113/posts).

Ideas for Updating and Refreshing Your Floors

There are many options available to people improving their homes when it comes to flooring. Sometimes it can be difficult to choose between the styles, but ultimately it comes down to weighing up your needs against your preferences and arriving at a decision which comes close to meeting both.

Flooring options

Broadly speaking, you are looking at three choices when it comes to flooring: carpet, wood or tiles, although within these areas there are many different styles and permutations. For example, you can purchase carpet tiles to go within your room, have a wooden floor laid or have tiles which have a wood effect. As you can see, there are many ways in which your floor can be presented, so it is important you choose the correct option for your circumstances.

Wooden flooring explained

When considering wooden flooring, there are a range of considerations to bear in mind, in order to ensure you are making an informed choice. Firstly, there are three main ways in which to get a wooden floor effect within your house. Perhaps most convenient is to check the actual floorboards in your home to see if they are suitable to be varnished and polished to have a beautiful and natural effect. Alas, this will not work in many homes, so you are looking at a suspended flooring option, either real wood or laminate flooring. When looking for real wood floors London or any other city, a professional installer is necessary, whilst laminate flooring can be laid without resorting to the pros.

When comparing real wood with its laminated cousin, there are some key differences. Laminate flooring is generally far cheaper and easier to install than a real wood floor, but on the other hand, it is far less hard wearing and tends to age far quicker than solid wood flooring. Similarly, real wood flooring can be varnished in a choice of shades, or even painted if required, whilst laminate flooring is far less versatile.

Carpets for the uninitiated

Carpets have fallen out of favour as wooden floors have grown in popularity, although they are still preferred in bedrooms and other upstairs rooms due to the fact that they tend to absorb much more noise. The choice of colours, piles and designs of carpets is almost unending, but this choice should make it much simpler to choose a carpet which will match the rest of your ddcor without too much fuss.

Tiling over the floor

Floor tiles are often favoured in kitchens, bathrooms and toilets, due to the amount of water often used in these areas. Again, tiles are available in a range of materials: vinyl tiles are incredibly waterproof, but often don't last as long; ceramic tiles can break if subjected to large impacts and slate or granite tiles can be very expensive. Ultimately your budget will have a large bearing on your decision if tiles are the answer.

Of course, mixing and matching could be key for your house, there is nothing wrong with a wooden floor coupled with a cosy rug.

AUTHOR BIO

Peter Smith writes articles for sites such as http://www.pro-fitflooring.co.uk and other companies on a range of subjects. When he is not writing, Peter can often be found looking for the ultimate space for a game of Frisbee with his young children.

The Power of Aluminium!

It is the great modern industrial product; and lends itself very well to home renovation, thanks to its diversity. Aluminium is affordable, safe, and it is really appropriate, it can be used more than almost any other metal. If it is alloyed with different materials, it be made variably stronger or more malleable, heavier or lighter, depending on what you need it for, and is therefore often used for foundations, fittings, and finishes in the home, because it is light and durable. So, if you are doing a home construction or renovation, you should consider how you can incorporate aluminium. You can get creative with aluminium thanks to its versatility. Speak to your builder about how to incorporate it.

It is inexpensive, durable, widely usable and versatile, nontoxic, easily alloyed and easily worked with, and naturally abundant, it is so popular in modern building.Aluminium has scientific  advantages too. It is a wonderful thing to use in home construction and renovation due to its high strength to weight ratio, corrosion resistance and recyclability. The recyclability of aluminium is of particular importance to its sustainability, especially because of how widely used it is. The buildings of today can be used as aluminium resources for the buildings of the future, meaning that it has major energy and resource advantages. Being a flexible metal, it can be alloyed and worked for all sorts of different purposes and into almost any form or shape, while still retaining strength. When alloyed with a metal like magnesium, aluminium is virtually as strong as steel. Aluminium is durable, and it is also impermeable, so very effective for keeping out light and air.  Being non-magnetic and non-sparking means that it can used near explosives without a problem, and is also an effective thermal barrier, which means both that it can act as a barrier against heat, and a conductor of heat, depending on its application.Aluminium reflects heat and is impervious to rust, so you can be confident in using it in any outdoor capacity, it will last a long time without a problem.

Suppliers like Aluminium Trade Centre in Melbourne can show you the different types of aluminium available. Aluminium is very safe to work with so you can incorporate it into your DIY projects without a worry for health and safety. That's more than you can say for some cheap building materials! Here are some ways in which you can save money, save the environment, and make sure that your renovation is long lasting and easy to maintain.

Aluminium can great to use in the following ways:

·         Window shutters

·         Gates

·         Joinery

·         As cladding or as a gutter. Aluminium doesn't rust, so it will make a good gutter. It is also light and sturdy, so even if your house is surrounded by trees it should hold.

·         Stairs and verandahs

·         Furniture

·         As a shed or shelter or pagoda. Sheet aluminium is the best outdoor material.

·         Bathroom fittings and fixtures

·         Air conditioners

·         Humidifiers

·         Any kind of frame, particularly for solar panels

·         Beams

·         Garages

·         An outdoor patio or outdoor fittings like benches

·         Ponds

·         Doors

·         Door frames

·         Swimming pools

·         Child-proof fences

·         Slides, swings, and play equipment for children

·         Tables

·         Pagodas and shade givers

·         Planter boxes and pots for your plants

·         Fencing and balustrades

·         Windows, doors and other opening. Doing your windows right is a great way to save energy

·         Scaffolding

·         Use it to make your letter box! Make this a DIY project!

·         Security screens and doors

·         Use aluminium to glaze.

Easy and Affordable Landscaping Ideas

I will always remember a sentence that one of my design instructors used frequently: if the eyes are a mirror of the soul, a garden is a mirror to the owner's personality. If you think this is a bit extreme, think about what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you drive past a neglected garden or front yard. And don't get me wrong, it does take a fair deal of effort to keep a garden in decent shape, and considering the hectic schedules that most of us have today, the last thing you want to be doing when you get home from a busy day in the office is to don your gardener gloves and start digging or transplanting. And if you cannot relax and take a day off on the weekend, when can you?

Over the years, I developed an interest in coming up with creative and simple landscaping ideas. And although we all would like to have thousands of pounds available to invest in landscaping, most of us have to make do with a rather limited budget. If this situation rings a bell, read on for some tips on how to make the most of your garden easily and without spending all your savings in the process.

Know your garden

Next time you have some time off, observe carefully your how much light your garden receives and in which areas. Unfortunately, common mistakes like planting a tree that requires full sun in a less than optimal area can turn out to be costly. So the first step to save money in your landscaping projects is to know your garden like the back of your hand.

Minimise lawn care

Admittedly, there is much pleasure to be drawn from owning a lawn where the grass is perfectly green, lush, and cut to the right height. But did you know that British homeowners spend more than £400 million a year on lawn care? Personally, I have no quibbles in recommending artificial grass for that perfect grass look. There are some great companies out there, like Perfect Grass Ltd., that sell high-quality artificial grass that looks just like the real thing. Even some National Trust venues have resorted to artificial grass recently!

One plant, two (or more) functions

So you want your plants to give your privacy from neighbours and passersby while adding a touch of charm to your garden, and if they give any fruits, so much the better. To do all that on a budget, you need to go for double-duty plants, such as apple trees, blueberry shrubs, thyme, and the underrated chive, which produces eye-catching lilac flowers in addition to being one of the most versatile herbs.

Colour me beautiful

Regardless of the size of your garden, make sure to use the colours of plants, flowers, and ornaments to create contrasting patterns. This simple solution will immediately light up any garden and make it look like a dream come true. And you don't need to break the bank to get a few begonias, pansies, lavender, artemisias, or Jerusalem sage.