5 Space-Saving Hacks For Your Home Office

To set your mind right to work, the best thing to do is to make your home office comfortable and prep it for a busy day ahead. You’ll find that having a clutterless desk and enough space to move around can help increase your productivity. In fact, an article explaining what clutter can do to your creativity mentions that “mess creates stress.”

So, work on maximizing your office space and organizing it to have a perfect desk. Here are four space-saving hacks for your home office:

1.   Clear and Organize your Papers

The best way to start space-saving is to go through that pile of papers you have building up dust over the months. It’s time to get rid of unwanted papers and organize the important ones. Put them in colorful folders with multiple compartments.

Avoid having too many folders by just using one big one and adding labels or colors to segregate your documents.

2.   Add Creative Storage

Go all out for this one! You can have fun with creative storage, as there are tons of multipurpose storage boxes you can utilize to help you get rid of a messy desk.

You can also place it on the walls, underneath your table, or next to your desk—depending on your need and preference. Experiment with this and find a shelf or even shelves that can store everything you need at arm’s reach. 

3.   Maximize all Areas of Space

Be smart with this one by picking the right furniture to use up your home office space. Avoid using chunky furniture unless deemed necessary. All you need is furniture that can help you make progress at work.

You may also opt to have small LED lamps to create a brighter working space. Floor lamps, however, can take up unnecessary space.

When it comes to flooring, as it also affects how your space looks, choose flooring that’s easy to clean and maintain, especially if you don’t have the time to look after it.

4.   Start Clipping

An awesome way to save space is to clip all the reminders and documents you need daily. Simply clip your to-do lists together and hang them next to your desk. This way, you don’t only declutter your desk, but also avoid missing out on important tasks.

5.     Organize your pull-out desk drawer

First thing to do is to collect any obvious trash like old receipts. Bundle all things that are similar such as business cards, Post-it, and other things that you want to keep. Fit the drawer with multi-sectioned inserts. You may also use small transparent plastic boxes to group little office tools and supplies such as paper clips, ballpens, Sharpies, glue, scotch tapes, etc.

Before you start working, try out these hacks and see an improvement in your work. You’ll surely feel more comfortable now and won’t be stressed out from all the mess. 

5 Home Improvements to Make before You Move In

We can all agree that moving to a new home is very exciting but, at the same time, fairly stressful. All of those pre-relocation tasks such as packing, downsizing and hiring a moving company can be very tiresome.But your job doesn't end there. You need to make sure that your home is completely move-in ready, and you will have to tackle some home improvement projects before all the boxes and furniture get in away. Virtually all new homeowners have to make some home improvements before their moving in. You may, however, not know where to start if you are purchasing your first home. To help you out, here’s a list of 5 home improvements to make before you move in.

1. Get rid of popcorn ceiling and walls

If you bought an older home built anywhere from the 1950s to the 1980s, you may have to deal with the heavily-textured ceiling and walls known as popcorn ceiling or cottage cheese. This style used to be popular for its aesthetics and ability to hide imperfections, but this texture may contain asbestos, so it is better to remove it.  Removing the popcorn ceiling and walls is relatively easy.All you should do is spray the texture with water and scrape it off with a putty knife. Even though the process is easy, it is messy, so it is better to do it before your movers help you move all your household items in the house. We advise you to hire professionals to deal with your popcorn ceiling, given that asbestos is toxic.

Painting is one of the more straightforward home improvements to make before you move in your new home

2.Interior painting

When you are moving to a new home, interior decor is vital. Adding a fresh coat of paint is an easy and affordable home improvement to make before you move in which can add color to your living space. The benefits of repainting your new home are:

·         Personalization–the colors of the walls may be fine, but they might not suit your style, or perhaps the color is outdated, so you can personalize your home to suit your tastes

·         Clean and protect your walls - dirt can accumulate on the walls, so before the walls are painted, they should be cleaned and prepped; once the new paint is applied, your walls will be protected from moisture and dirt, and they will be fresh and clean

·         Easy home makeover -  painting is among the most necessary home improvements to make before moving in; clever color choices will transform your home, and your room will pop with the fresh color

Whether you are going to do the work or you are going to hire professionals, it is a lot easier to paint an empty room. Also, renovating your walls before your moving day means that you will not have to live with the smell of drying paint in your home.

If you have bought an old house, you should refresh the floors 

3. Flooring

If you bought a brand new home, you may not need to make any improvements to your flooring. However, if you bought an old house, you may want to refresh the floors since the flooring takes on a lot of wear and tear. And moving in involves even more scraping and heavy furniture sliding around. Of course, experienced, professional movers (Zippy Shell of Greater Philadelphia are pretty great, unless you already hired someone else) have the tools and skills to make less of a mess, but a little bit of wear is inevitable.

However,flooring is amon g the more expensive home improvements to make before you move in. So,you may need to save up some cash. Many homebuyers choose to do their re-flooring later.  But you can keep your costs lower if you schedule your interior decorating of the floors before move-in day. Plus, if the flooring company doesn't have to take the added task of moving all of your furniture, they will finish the job quickly.

4. Electrical upgrades and smoke alarm systems

Although you can do electrical upgrades anytime, it will be easier to be done with these home improvements before you move in since the rooms are empty. If you are moving to a home made in the mid-90s or earlier, think about installing extra electrical outlets or upgrading the existing ones.  Adding additional outlets will make it easier to arrange your furniture, including computers, speakers and gaming systems. Also, consider installing properly functioning smoke detectors in your new home. Many old houses don't have smoke detectors, so it is crucial to install them. Smoke detectors will not change your home decor, and it is always better to be safe than sorry.

A lovely fence will make your house look like more a home

5. Install fencing

If you bought a home without proper fencing, and you have pets and children, then you should consider installing a fence. Of course, it can be done after you move in, but it is better to do it before your movers get your belongings to your new home.Otherwise, it might be pushed down on your home improvement to-do list.  The fence will make your new house feel like home even before you move in.But more importantly, it will provide safety for your family, protect your landscaping, give you privacy, and much more.

Moving to a new home is a challenging task especially if you have some home improvements to make before you move in. Renovating your home may be a time-consuming and expensive endeavor at times, but you will also benefit a lot from this investment. With these small home improvements, you will make your life in your new home comfortable, safe, and fuss-free.

One-Third Of Dog Owners Believe Plant-Based Pet Diets Are Better

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Research shows one-third of dog owners believe a plant-based diet is better for their pets. The plant-based trend seems to be everywhere with alternatives such as plant-based burgers and kinds of milk for humans. Did you know that plant-based foods can also positively impact your pet’s health too?

More than 4 in 10 (43 percent) of dog food buyers think limiting red meat eaten by pets is healthier than not limiting it at all. So what’s driving these beliefs and what are the potential health benefits of feeding pets plant-based foods?

Plant-based foods for humans are undergoing rapid growth and it’s outpacing overall food growth by more than five times in grocery retailers. Even major companies such as Purina, Pedigree, and Natural Balance have started offering vegetarian and vegan foods for dogs and cats, using ingredients such as brown rice, barley, peas, spinach, and potatoes. Startups such as Wild Earth are sourcing protein from yeast for their dog food. In the future, pet food could be made from sustainable ingredients such as duckweed and algae.

Younger dog owners (aged 16 to 24) might be more likely to reduce the amount of red meat in their dogs’ diet compared with older dog food buyers (older than 45). 40 percent of younger dog food buyers (age 16 to 24) were in favor of regularly dishing up plant-based meals compared with just 21% of those older than 55.

Research by the American Veterinary Medical Association has found little evidence to suggest vegan or vegetarian diets are beneficial to animals. However, anecdotal evidence and testimonials from pet owners suggest some pets could thrive on plant-based diets. Industry players such as V-Dog, a vegan dog food company, believe vegan diets could lead to longevity, increased mobility, decreased allergies, better bowel movements, and excellent weight maintenance.

More generally, in terms of health outcomes, 76 percent of pet owners are looking for better digestive health and 44 percent believed pet food with good bacteria, such as fermented foods, could support pet health. 71 percent agreed a pet’s diet had a direct impact on the animal’s emotional well-being and 51 percent were interested in foods with calming ingredients such as hemp/CBD and chamomile. The environmental impact of meat is also one of the driving factors.

These trends, as with the plant-based pet food trend, could be a reflection of the humanization of pet trends, where owners are looking for ways to adopt the same diet and health trends for their pets. These days, pet owners travel with their pets, allow them to sleep in the same bed, and generally treat their pets as family members. Pet diets tend to reflect the choices of their human owners. As more people eat less meat and embrace plant-based diets some or all of the time, they’re exploring ways to adopt a similar diet for their pets, whether it’s for digestive and gut health or other well-being benefits.

Experts such as Megan Shepherd from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, say it’s critical to keep in mind dogs are omnivores, not herbivores, and they have different nutritional requirements to humans. Dogs tend to struggle on high-fiber and can be at risk of nutritional deficiencies if fed a vegan diet. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they can develop serious health conditions if they’re fed a plant-based diet. For example, cats can absorb the essential amino acid taurine only from animal sources.

Shepherd says owners who feed their dogs plant-based diets should be careful about choosing foods with the right nutritional profile. This is especially true when it comes to amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, and fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A and vitamin D. She says vegetarian diets can be low in the amino acid methionine. Nutritional biochemist Wanda McCormick from the University of Northampton adds dogs have very specific nutritional requirements based on breed, age, size, and sex.

While more pet owners are looking for plant-based pet foods, dogs might need some animal products in their diet to thrive. Cats undoubtedly do need a carnivorous diet to be healthy. Supplementation could offer an option for dog owners, but issues such as bioavailability and interference with other nutrients would need to be carefully studied first.

Health promotion along with environmental and ethical guilt could be driving the trend. As such, the future of pet food could be slaughter-free meat grown in labs that’s both cruelty-free and environmentally sustainable. Insect-based pet foods could be another alternative for environmentally conscious pet owners to consider in the coming years. 

Related article: Plant-based meat