Family, Home Life, Safety

7 Reasons to Hire a Moving Company

If moving feels like an overwhelming task, hiring a professional moving company is the way to go. Here are seven reasons to hire movers.

1. Efficiency

Packing a dorm room can be pretty simple, but if you have a home or apartment, the number of things to bubble wrap and box increase exponentially. Let professionals pack. They can get you from start to finish in one day.

2. Organization

Moving companies are masters of organization. When asking friends and family to help pack, there are always unlabeled boxes and mismatched items thrown together. When working with professionals, everything will be in its place and clearly labeled.

3. Safety

Lifting bulky or heavy objects can be dangerous without adequate help or expertise. A toaster and microwave are easy enough, but it is well worth hiring help to get the fridge, oven, washer, and dryer moved down and up those stairs.

4. Protecting your investment

Many items it are not worth the risk of moving without proper manpower and equipment. If you are lucky, a grand piano may only take a dolly, several people, and creative tilting to get through doors. A grandfather clock’s complicated mechanisms must be disassembled, carefully packed, and reassembled while wearing special gloves.

5. Insurance

Moving companies are required to offer two kinds of insurance for out of state moves. “Released Value Protection” will cover your property at 60 cents per pound and is included in the quote. Of course, anything worth taking with you costs more than 60 cents per pound, so consider “full-value protection.” This will cover your belongings up to their full value at a cost of approximately one percent of that value. You can learn more information at Premiere Van Lines.

6. Trucks

Unless you have a special license, it may not be possible to drive a truck large enough to fit all of your belongings in one go. Better to let long distance movers drive, worry about special licensing, and find routes in areas you are unfamiliar with.

7. Money

Most people who move without professional help do so to save money. Surprisingly, this is not always the case. Most of us don’t have moving equipment like dollies, and large ramps just laying around. In order to make the move in one trip, you would need to rent a truck, and if you have enough stuff, you may need a truck that requires a special license. Throw in packing supplies and the cost keeps adding up. When deciding which option is most cost effective, also factor in the additional stress, time, and increased risks of damages.

Don’t let moving make you crazy. Hire professionals and get it done efficiently and painlessly.

Family, Home Life, Personal Finance

5 Reasons Why Condo Real Estate is Sought After

Condo real estate is everywhere, it seems like. There are high rises being built throughout downtown Toronto. Various reasons explain why people are leaving the suburbs with single-family homes and opting for condos in the city.

#1: Beautiful View
Many condo buildings are two, three, and even 20 floors high. As you can imagine, this would provide quite the view of Toronto. You might be able to see the CN Tower, the Gooderham Building, and much more from your living room or bedroom window. You can say good night to the skyline every night, providing a view that not everyone gets to say that they have.

#2: Great Layout
Many lofts are found in the downtown area. It’s a chance to go with a layout that is more conducive to the way you live your life. If you don’t like a split floor plan or having a lot of walls up, lofts provide you with a spacious design.

Various sizes of condos are on the market. You can find ones with gourmet kitchens, luxurious bathrooms, walk-in closets, and much more. It’s all about writing out a list of wants and working with a realtor to find what it is that you want.

#3: Countless Amenities
In addition to the amenities that you have inside your condo, there will also be amenities that are offered by the building itself. This can include covered parking, swimming pools, fitness centers, business rooms, and much more. It allows you to have access to all of the shared spaces as a resident. Depending on the amenities, you might save money by not having to go and get a gym membership or rent a business space when you need to hold a meeting periodically.

#4: Valuable Investment
Condos for sale in Toronto have proven to be a valuable investment. They hold their value for a significant amount of time, allowing you to make your money back when you do choose to sell. Condos are available across a number of different buildings, allowing you to find one that is within your budget. From there, you can choose to live in the condo or rent it out to someone.

#5: Incredible Walkability
Walkability has become a highly desirable feature in homes. By choosing condos for sale in Toronto, you have the ability to walk to various buildings for work, countless restaurants, and a wide array of attractions. With public transportation available, you can also choose to get further without having to rely on a private car. It reduces costs as well as your carbon footprint.

As far as where you can walk, it depends on where your condo is located. However, you will be able to walk in every direction. If work is downtown as well, it provides a significant amount of convenience.

Knowing all of the reasons to explore Toronto condo real estate is worth it. You might find the home of your dreams is actually a loft instead of a single-family home. It’s just a matter of finding the right one for you and your budget. There are resources available at Reza Afshar Real Estate if you want more information.

Family, Safety

How to Prepare Your Kids for Their First Overnight Summer camp

If you are like most parents with school-age children, you have been sending your kids to day camps for several summers in a row. These day camps provide your kids with enrichment and socialization throughout the long dog days of summer, and they give parents a much-needed break of several hours or more during the day. You may now be preparing to send your kids to their first overnight summer camp, and you may be wondering how you can prepare them fully for this experience.

Make a Camping List
Whether your child will be camping outdoors in a tent or in a comfortable cabin, you will need to prepare a camping list of everything that he or she will need. The camp counsellor should provide you with a list that you can use as a starting point. However, think about other things, such as a comfort feature your child needs to sleep at night, a flashlight, medication, a cell phone charger and more.

Find a Camping Buddy
Many summer camps have fun adventure sports, summer water sports and other attractions and activities that your child may love. However, nobody wants to be alone at camp. Camping is much more fun when you go with a friend or a group of friends. Consider asking a few of your child’s friends if they are interested in camping on the selected dates. This can dramatically alter and improve your child’s summer camp experience.

Get Your Kids Excited
Some overnight camps may last for a week or longer. If you are nervous about being away from your child for that long, there is a good chance that your child may be just as anxious. Talk about all of the fun adventure sports and activities that your child will get to participate in at camp. When you arrive at camp, give your child ample time to meet the camp counsellor and ensure that he or she is immersed in activities before you leave. Rest assured that experienced counselors know how to keep kids busy and engaged. You may, however, want to give your child a charged cell phone so that he or she can communicate with you through texts and calls as needed.

Sending your kids to overnight camp can be a rite of passage for the kids, and it can give you a wonderful break. During this time, you can take a couple’s vacation or simply enjoy quiet evenings at home without the kids. As soon as you select a camp to send your kids to, you can begin following these steps to prepare your kids for this incredible experience. More valuable information can be found on the Camp White Pine website.

Miscellaneous

What Do You Do When You Realize Your Spouse Hides Debts from You?

It is never pleasant to find out that your spouse lies to you. Especially when it comes to money and loans. It probably makes you angry to find out that your spouse has been concealing a debt from you more so if you though your finances are sound.

No matter how you came to find out about the debt, you are crucial in tackling this mess to avoid a recurrence. You can try these ways out to as you remedy the problem.

1. Calm down

Tackling problems while in a very emotional state is not productive. Cool off then discuss a way out with your spouse.

Don’t hold this matter over your spouse as this can ruin your relationship. Everybody makes mistake.

2. Find out precisely how much damage has been done

Know form your spouse the facts and figures; who is owed, interest rates, minimum payments and the debt remaining. Sort these details in order starting from highest to lowest interest rate.

3. Budget together

Making a budget together will go a long way towards making a workable plan for debt payment. Subtract monthly expenses from your income and use the surplus to pay off the minimum debts and others. You can be in debt if you use your credit cards to make only the minimum payments.

4. Find out the duration until the debt is paid

You can use a debt calculator to figure out the period it will take to settle your debt using your existing available cash on a monthly basis, making payments form high to low-interest rates.

5. Make budget adjustments

You can cut unnecessary expenses if you are unhappy with the duration it takes you to settle your debt. Start freelancing or ask for a raise to earn more money to pay off your debt quicker.

6. Pay off debt together

Make payments on the minimum debts and leftover from the minimum debts to pay off the target account until its cleared. Move on to the following debt and then the next one up to when it’s all cleared up.

Do this together to both be in the know about the financial activities all through the process.

7. Keep an open communication

To avoid a recurrence, be open in your communication with your partner. Fear of you or your judgment may make you partner conceal things from you or the other way around. Avoid future indiscretions by being comfortably open and honest with your partner.

Some couples prefer to keep financial matters separate, which is okay. But, you can agree on the amount of financial openness you want with your spouse. Hidden debts can interfere with joint financial goals, violate financial transparency and cause stress to the indebted spouse.

If it’s a repetitive behavior for your spouse to keep debts hidden, then your spouse is likely to need counseling. This will not only help your spouse but also your marriage as well.

Conclusively, be supportive. Work together to overcome the debt and strive to stay involved financially to prevent the matter from happening again. If it is a common occurrence, then it might help your spouse see a counselor.

Family, Home Life, Safety

How Automation is Changing the Home Security Industry

The latest generation of automated home security systems are providing home and property owners with access to sophisticated features and a level of convenience that would have been unheard of just a few years ago. From being able to configure home alarm systems remotely to home monitoring systems that allow households to access real-time surveillance and imaging though a smartphone or other mobile device, systems that feature a superior level of automation and integration are able to provide a wide range of home security solutions that no household or property owner can afford to overlook.

Remote Operation and System Configuration

Access to conventional home security systems typically required an operator to be on-site in order to make use of a console or terminal. Remote home monitoring systems make it far easier to adjust settings, maintain observation or address any warnings or alerts that the system may produce. The latest systems provide access to home security solutions that are able to afford homeowners with a more convenient way to monitor their environment and ensure that their belongings, property, and household are able to be kept safe and secure. Home alarm systems that are designed to be accessed and operated remotely are ideal for those who are seeking a way to keep an eye on their property and its surroundings whenever they are away from home.

Mobile Applications Provide Superior Versatility

Use of a mobile app to operate a home security system offers a wide range of potential benefits. Operating home alarm systems from a smartphone, tablet or other mobile device can allow used to arm the system, adjust settings, dismiss false alerts and take prompt action to address a possible security threat. The limitations of more conventional home monitoring systems can lead to no end of problems, issues and concerns that households would be wise to avoid. Home security systems that are designed to be accessed through use of a mobile app offer a more versatile and flexible way to protect against concerns like theft, vandalism and even home intrusion.

Smart-homes and Integrated Security Systems

Sophisticated home security systems are rarely the only resource that households may be using in order to monitor and control their surroundings. Equipment options, such as lighting and climate control systems that are designed to be operated remotely or respond to voice prompts are becoming increasingly popular due to their growing level of sophistication and reduce costs of purchase and installation. Home security resources that are designed to be integrated into systems designed to operate a wide range of fixtures and amenities have a lot to offer homeowners. Integrated home security and home monitoring systems can be a valuable asset for those seeking to create a smart-home.

Home Life

The Best Methods of Weed Control for your Garden or Lawn

Weed control methods vary based on the life cycle of the plants in question, the extent of the infestation, environmental factors and objectives of the weed control. It can range from as simple as hand pulling of seasonal weeds such as thistle to the use of bio-control methods in controlling weeds like Dalmatian toadflax. The success of these methods relies on a variety of factors as will be discussed below. Here are some of the reliable weed control services worth considering for your lawn.

Environmentally Friendly Weed Control

Pests come in variant forms such as weeds, molds, insects and fungi among others. One of the most pronounced strategies for controlling such pests is the Integrated Pest Management or IPM. The approach utilizes methods that have the least detriments to the environment. But first, you need to find out your grass variety and the weed control methods associated with each depending on your climate condition. EPA approved herbicides can be used to control the undesired vegetation discriminatively. Before choosing a particular herbicide, it is important to consider whether they are selective or non-selective to avoid ending up with a scorched lawn or garden.

Here are some examples of environmentally friendly weed control techniques:

• Mulching

Application of mulch is helpful to plants as it conserves soil moisture. Other than that, it is a clean method of weed control on farms. Mulch monitors the amount of sunlight reaching the plant under it thus suppressing their growth and development processes. Also, the mulches form a habitat for insects like crickets and carabid beetles that dig up weed seeds to feed on them. Effective mulch should be approximately two inches above the ground to provide enough oxygen supply to the soil while blocking light from reaching the weeds.

• Maintain Narrow Gaps between Plants

Spacing your crops close to each other is useful in chocking the emerging weed by preventing sunlight penetration. However, when spacing, make sure to mind the gap left to give room for the spreading of the leaves upon plant maturity.

Preventive Weed Control Measures

This is an essential lawn care method used to prevent pervasive weeds because when given room, such plants will grow denser hence becoming expensive to control. There is need to find out the sources of weed seeds and the types of weed they will grow into for a more objective approach. Foreign plants from commercial nurseries or landscaping experts may bring in new weed seeds to your garden contributing to their spread.

A thick lawn crowds out the weed leaving you with a green stretch of wanted grass. Weeds are unwanted plants that will take advantage of any open space in your garden or lawn. Therefore, you can use the lawn seeding procedure to fill up any patches in which they may thrive. Today, there are landscape fabrics that can help control weed growth while allowing soil aeration and moisture preservation. You may be able to learn more at the Weed Man USA website.

Safety

How a Locksmith Can Bolster Security on Your Property

Locks and keys are among the most basic yet most important aspects of property security, and almost every property makes use of these features in several locations in the front, sides and rear of buildings for maximum security. If you are like most people, one of the first things you do to secure your home or business is to lock the exterior doors, but you may be wondering if this is sufficient for your security needs. Locksmith companies specialize in all types of door locks, and because of this, they offer many solutions that ultimately may help you to bolster home or business security through locks and keys with exceptional results.

Change Your Locks
Your door locks are only secure when your keys do not fall into the wrong hands. However, in many cases, you may have given a key to another party to grant access to the property previously, but you may no longer want that person to have access. Even if you can get the key back, you do not know if that person made a spare key. In other cases, you may have lost your keys. With this in mind, professional key cutting services can be used to change the locks and to issue new sets of keys. This is often a preferred service when you move into a new home or business, when a roommate moves out or when you terminate an employee.

Upgrade Your Locks
Changing locks may be one of the most common services offered by locksmiths, but you can also upgrade home or business security by upgrading the locks themselves. Some locks are much more difficult for criminals to bypass than others. Through a consultation with a locksmith, you can learn more about different types of deadbolt locks and keyless entry locks that are now being used to protect properties. Some are also installing Keypack lock systems, which are full access control systems.

Install Automated Opening Features
When many people think about an automatic door opener, they think about the commercial doors that are used to facilitate entry into or out of a building by the disabled. While this is one of the more common uses for these features, automated opening features can also be used to bolster security. For example, they can be secured with an access card feature so that the doors will not open unless the individual has an access card.

Locks and keys are a common and necessary part of life, and they are used on residential and commercial buildings alike. When you need to bolster security on your building, you can make changes or upgrades to your locks and keys with incredible and cost-effective results.