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It is now the beginning of a new year! I want to challenge you to think about how you will make a change in how you process and recycle trash in your home. In order to consider this challenge and succeed, you will need to think about a few things first:

1. Where will I place recycling receptacles? You will need to have collection space(s) available in order to store items. A corner in the garage, concealed under a counter or table, outside along a wall, or in a specific part of the basement.

2. What kind of receptacles do I use? You can use anything in which to hold/collect your recyclables. Consider what you’ll be recycling and decide what type of container you will need to hold it. For instance, cardboard boxes work great, however, you may want to add a plastic bag liner when you deposit rinsed glass bottles/jars in it. Some people like open receptacles to toss things into, others prefer to have them covered. Either way, be creative and look for things you already have that are similar in size. Label them so the whole family can locate and use them.

3. When do I begin? You can begin this process only after you have set in place a plan. If a system is to work for you, thought has to be put into it. The process needs to be easy, fluid, and convenient to use. If you are lucky enough to have roadside pickup, then you will be given some receptacles to use. Larger families usually need more receptacles since more trash is recycled. This means more room will be needed for collection.

4. How do I begin?
a. Get the family together to collect ideas about what the family will recycle.
b. Explain to them how they will be involved in the new recycling plan. Make sure everyone is on the same page and understands the complete process.
c. Learn what the recycling numbers are and what you plan to recycle. Know what recycled items your community accepts, and where collection spots are.
d. If your home has a number of levels, you may want to have collection points for paper products on each level for convenience.
e. Learn how to recycle things correctly – rinse all containers out, separate plastics, crush everything possible to compact space, and set specific days for removal.

5. Why should I commit to recycling in my home? It’s your opportunity to do your part to begin thinking about how you can help. All of us should be more responsible for our planet’s future. It also awakens you to think about how things are packaged. Then you begin thinking about what’s contained inside that packaging and what companies are trying to package healthier product options in recyclable containers. In other words, it begins a whole ripple effect with how you will begin to think about and purchase products. Suddenly you’ll find yourself reading all product labels and learning that many companies use advertising key words to get consumers to buy things. Words like “natural, organic, lite” and many other select words let you think companies are making a change in their products, but the change can sometimes be simply in the new packaging catch phrase words that were added, and nothing else. Take time this year to be a better consumer!

It’s time for all of us to consider how we can teach our children to care for their planet. I hope you will take on this challenge for this year. I KNOW you will be a better person for it! If you ever need ideas or help with your recycling efforts, please contact me and I’ll help you get started. It’s really very easy. All you have to do is BEGIN.

Cathy Dick
Final Touch Designs, Inc.

http://www.final-touchdesigns.com

Now that Christmas is over and guests have gone and our living rooms are filled with a variety of papers, peanuts, boxes, and ribbons, how do dispose of it all correctly? Here are some useful tips to help you dispose of your tree and everything else.

Before you begin, you will need to sort through everything. This is a great way to see if you’ve accidentally tossed something you should not have. It’s also a great way to keep the recycling places happy.

1. Prepare your live tree by removing everything from it. Be sure there is no metal attached, take tree out of stand, and only wrap in bags if instructed to do so. Know what size of tree is accepted as well and cut if necessary. Flocked trees usually can’t be recycled, so put these in the garbage. Artificial trees will stay in the landfill forever if sent there, so consider recycling by donating to charity or give it away on Craigslist or Freecycle.

2. Gift wrap needs to be sorted well. Any metallic or glittery papers need to be separated from paper. Tear off any bits of tape, ribbons, bows, and metal. Now the paper is ready to be recycled and can be mixed with other papers in most communities.

3. Bubble wrap can be reused if you have room to store it or you can give it someone who ships a lot. Consider taking it to your local mailing center (UPS Store or Mail Boxes, Etc.). Some suggest to use bubble wrap to remove frost from windshields, and even insulation.

4. Packing peanuts can also be saved to reuse, but if you can’t reuse them yourself, give them away to someone who can. Shipping stores take them back as well.

5. Cardboard boxes can be recycled with mixed paper in most communities. Just break them down once all the tape has been removed. Again, large boxes can be given away to someone who is moving or storing large things. Some U-Haul stores take boxes and other places re-sell them.

6. Next year, consider using wrapping paper that is made from recycled paper or try gift bags made of fabric, reusable bags, and recycled wrap as other options. Get creative and wrap box tops and store carefully to use over and over again. You can reuse tags, ribbon, and other objects to decorate your gifts. Handmade gifts and handmade wrap is not only fun to create, but they are great to get.

Let your creative juices flow next year and reuse what you can. Re-gift, re-wrap, and re-cycle what you can during the whole process. When guests come to visit, we accumulate a lot of glass, cans, paper and body fat in such a short time. Look for healthy alternatives to what you eat and give, as well as how you prepare and clean up after the holidays. This coming new year will have even more smart ways to be greener when shopping for, during, and after the holidays.

Final Touch Designs is located in Roanoke Virginia. We offer workshops on living green, staying organized, and many other topics. Visit our website for more information on all of our workshops.

Celebrate this Christmas season by reducing your environmental impact. Whether you seek out eco-friendly gifts and decorations or choose to serve an earth-conscious meal to friends and family, there are many ways to cut waste and add a little green to the occasion. Start small and over the years, you’ll be able to cultivate festivities that honor your guests as well as the earth.

1. Buy green holiday gifts
Regardless of who you’re shopping for, we’ve got a nearly endless list of ideas to get you on the green gift giving track. Consider purchasing from energy saving companies and look for products that have renewable and biodegradable materials and packaging, green certifications, and free of any pesticides.

2. Choose a real Christmas tree
The artificial versus real Christmas tree debate can be a bit confusing. We vote for the old fashioned traditional live tree but research before you buy. You have many options like purchasing “Certified Naturally Grown” or buying your tree locally. You may consider growing your own tree, planting it in a container and bringing it inside each year, and you can even rent a tree on the west coast of the US.

3. Illuminate with eco-friendly Christmas lights and candles
Using LED Christmas lights or eco-friendly Christmas candles will not only reduce your electricity bill, it’ll also help keep your indoor air quality. Look for Energy Star qualified bulbs that use 75% less energy than regular lights. The use of a timer is a great way to not have to worry about forgetting to turn your lights off.

4. Choose eco-friendly holiday gift wrapping and cards
Reduce your holiday garbage pile by opting for reusable, recycled, and recyclable options for gift wrap, cards, tags, and party invitations. Consider other materials to help save you money. How about wrapping your gifts with fabric or making fabric bags that you can reuse? You can purchase paper and tags made from bamboo, hemp, cotton, and kenaf for a more reusable option. When finishing your gifts you can opt for fabric ribbon and others made from organic or natural fibers. There is even biodegradable tape to use!

5. Serve local and organic food for Christmas dinner
Cook up a truly sustainable Christmas meal filled with locally-sourced and organic foods. You’ll delight both your guests and the earth with green Christmas meal choices that are in your community. Consider free range, Heritage, or pasture-raised turkeys. Purchase your produce from local farmers or buy organic.

6. Reduce your holiday travel carbon footprint
Keep your carbon footprint to a minimum while visiting with family and friends by traveling by train, bus, or public transit this holiday season.

7. Make eco-friendly holiday baking
Make healthy snacks and eco-friendly baking from organic ingredients like flour, chocolate, nuts, and honey. And don’t forget the apple cider and popcorn balls! Purchase Certified Organic and Certified Fair Trade products whenever possible. Consider other sources for sweetening your foods, found at your local Food Coop.

8. Choose eco-friendly dinnerware over paper plates and plastic cups
If you’re hosting Christmas dinner this year, plan to use reusable dinnerware and cups, as well as cloth napkins, to reduce the waste your meal creates. Okay, so you have to wash them, but it will help to digest your food quicker after eating! You can now buy recycled content and biodegradable disposable options. We toss out about 25 billion polystyrene cups per year, and plastic and paper trash makes up 11% and about 35% of municipal solid waste in the US.

9. Recycle your Christmas tree
Don’t waste your Christmas tree (real or artificial) by throwing it in the trash. There are great ideas for how to recycle your holiday tree this year! For artificial trees (made with PVC), reuse the bows to decorate mantels, railings, and doorways or donate it to a school, church, or family. Recycle real trees by putting them out on the curb for pick up by your community recycling program. They will mulch the trees for uses around town.

10. Compost your kitchen scraps
After the big holiday meal, be sure to collect all of your kitchen scraps and either feed them to your worms or your indoor or outdoor composter to keep organics from landfills and create rich, free fertilizer! If you don’t have a composting system, this year is a great time to start one. You can purchase or make small composting bins that are inexpensive and a great tool for teaching kids the process. If you don’t have one, then go online and look at the number of ways you can use scraps in your garden and yard.

From GreenYour

You’ve probably heard me say many times that living in a home that is on the market to sell is not the same as living in a home that is not. The thing I usually run into is that the home sellers really need to understand the importance of that statement. When you live in your home, you have made it your sanctuary–your retreat–that [hopefully] you love truly enjoy living in. Your home should surround you with the colors and things you love. This may be reflected in the many photos you have of you on your favorite motor cycle in various parts of the country. You may even have that favorite motor cycle showcased in your family room (yes, I have seen this!). Or you may have your favorite collection of Indonesian artifacts in only four rooms of your home from your many trips there. Obviously, there are a number of ways you or your family can “showcase” your many years of living in your beloved home. But when that beloved home has to be put on the market to sell, it no longer is a beloved home; it now becomes a product that you intend to put on the market to sell—a house.

Many home sellers believe that cleaning inside and out, picking up a few things and strategically placing them in closets, and taking down family photographs is enough to prepare their home before selling. But there is so much more to it than that. Place in your mind the image of a model home. Remember those homes that are all dressed up in new housing developments? Developers do that to help you get a vision of how you might arrange your own furniture in rooms, to provide warmth to the space, and to help you gauge the size of the rooms better. There is a method to their madness—it’s called staging a home to sell.

Here are some things to consider when you’ve lived in your home for a long time or you simply have a lot of “treasures” that are taking up valuable real estate in the home that you plan to sell.

1) First of all, pretend that you have to move into an apartment for a month and you need to collect only the essential things you would need.

2) Ask yourself what things you would truly have to keep on hand to survive. What would you need to get ready for work, to cook with, to wear, and to keep yourself comfortably occupied?

3) Anything you would not use in that month should find a new home. Seasonal and stored things should go. All extra or mismatched furniture that is not in use or in good condition should also go.

4) Strongly consider renting a storage facility for a few months. This may be the smartest move you make toward packaging your home to sell! Move all unnecessary items to this facility.

5) Then hire a professional Home Stager to help you create the desired look and feel that will help the home look like a million bucks to potential buyers.

Once your home is packaged and ready to go, we will take beautiful photos that enhance the size, feel, and function of each room. Since 80% of home buyers shop online before they ever physically see you home, the quality of those photos is very important.

Choosing a home is an emotional process for buyers. They are looking for an emotional connection—a feeling of comfort and of HOME. This personal connection is vital because it helps the buyer to engage all their senses. When the connection is made, the buyer takes that home with them. There they actively remember not only what they saw, but how each room in your home captured a sense of how they could live within that space comfortably. This is what home staging is all about. This is what separates your home from an ordinary home that is simply spiffed up a bit before being marketed.

The kitchen is often the busiest room in the house. This is where the family and extra things gather and get unloaded daily, and as a result it quite often takes a lot of abuse. Cupboards get scratched, back splashes get stained, walls get knocked into, and water gets splashed all over. The good thing is that there are a number of things you can do to update a kitchen without undertaking a huge renovation.
You can do a little or a lot depending upon your budget, but if you want your house to sell quickly, consider some or all of the following options so potential buyers will be drawn into your kitchen. Remember, a buyer will form an opinion about your home within 15 seconds of entering through your front door, providing your home’s curb appeal naturally invites them in. Let the “heart of the home” make a statement so buyers will want to see more.
First, begin with replacing kitchen lighting. Many old kitchens have only one ugly overhead fixture that never provides enough light to work effectively. Try to incorporate both task and ambient lighting into the plan if possible. A professional home stager is most helpful with this. Now that you can see, begin to tackle other things that buyers will truly appreciate.
Paint walls and cabinets a light color. Painting the walls is the easiest way to update the look of any kitchen. A new coat of paint will freshen the look of dated cabinets quickly and easily. This is an inexpensive and effective upgrade that can be done in a day. We can help you achieve a great look whether you paint or re-stain.
Replace the cabinet hardware. This is the fastest and easiest update you can do for your kitchen. There is a huge variety of inexpensive styles and colors to choose from. Keep your selection simple and make sure they coordinate with the hinges and other fixtures in the space. Make a template for the hole spacing and take it with you when you shop.
Change out old appliances. Even though it seems of little importance, the combination of old and new appliances does turn most buyers off. If your budget allows, consider getting rid of the old and bring in the new to complete the look of your kitchen. After all, would you want a mixture of appliance colors in your new home? Energy star certified appliances will be a great selling feature and the cost will pay off in the end.
Take care of the backsplash. The backsplashes of your kitchen takes a lot of abuse from food and water splatters. Even though it covers a small area, it plays a vital role in the overall look of a kitchen. There are a variety of materials you can use to bring in more color and functionality to this space. If your budget is small, consider a simple painting technique or stenciling to add an unexpected element of charm.
Reface the cabinets. If the cabinet boxes are structurally sound and in good condition but the doors and hardware are what needs to change, this is a great alternative to replacing old cabinets. This involves removal of doors and drawer fronts and adding new veneer to the fronts and sides of the cabinet boxes. It’s best to hire a reputable professional to do this, but it is well worth it as the cost is about half the cost of replacing old cabinets completely.
Final Touch Designs can offer many suggestions to enhance your home’s best features that will save you time and money. We can update the look of your kitchen by taking care of most of the tasks above. Call us for a free consultation today.

Many times when people get their homes ready to sell, they focus on the large rooms of the house and neglect the bathrooms. Maybe they think potential buyers will overlook the curling vinyl, outdated lighting, or the pink tiles that match the toilet and tub. Well, think about it – if you have to retile or change out large fixtures, you’re going to be spending large bucks. But there are many things you can do that won’t cost you much money.

Believe it or not, it’s the little things that can make the largest difference so focus on updating the incidentals. Purchasing new and stylish towel and lighting fixtures, faucets, and switch plates are all good places to begin. Keep it simple and consider the style of the home. Also consider purchasing a timer for the exhaust fan. It’s a very easy update that buyers will appreciate.

A fresh coat of paint can also give an instant uplift to a bathroom. Remember that this is a wash-down space, so use a few coats of eggshell or satin paint. Don’t ignore any areas that need to be primed, especially over the shower.

If your home is older, consider updating the vanity and/or top to obtain as much storage and surface space as possible. When choosing materials, always choose quality, yet inexpensive products. Depending upon the price range of the home, you may be able to get away with using less expensive materials such as laminate for the top, instead of a higher priced solid surface product.

Do a little homework and become familiar with the latest trends. Knowing what is now “out” and what is now “in” is very important when selling your home. Purchasing taller toilets, updated shower doors, modern fixtures, or ceramic tiles are all in tune with the latest trends. If your budget will allow these changes, that’s great. If not, focus on the small changes that will give you the most bang for the buck.

Always remember that the master bathroom is an extension of the master bedroom. Buyers are looking for a spacious sanctuary where they can relax and let down. Putting more money into the master bathroom will provide you with greater returns later.

Whether you are at work or at home, email messages bombard you every second it seems. People wanting answers to questions, newsletters you subscribed to, promotions, ads, family’s long-winded letters about their lives, jokes, people answering questions that you’ve asked them (well maybe one out of three questions gets answered), and then a few relevant emails that you’ve been waiting for. Like junk mail that you physically have to open, email overload can cause you to go crazy! So what can you do to effectively manage all that email? It’s not really that difficult. What IS difficult is turning your attention away from it and telling yourself that it’s okay.

1. Set up a couple of Gmail or other accounts

If you don’t already have one- or two- or three different accounts, it’s a good idea to create a few. You can use a separate account to accept all newsletters, junk mail, and when a site asks you for an account and you don’t want to use your home or business account. That way, you can check it when you WANT to and those emails don’t clutter your primary account(s).

2. Check email at defined times each day

In your advanced email options, you can turn off the sound when you receive email. It is much less distracting. If you begin the habit of not checking your email constantly, you will be amazed how much you can get done. “But it will pile up on me!!” Trust me, we’ll get to that so you don’t get overloaded. If people know you are going to give them immediate return responses, they will begin to expect it from you all the time. Have them use the phone and let them know when you will be available by phone. When it is email processing time, then you can turn the world aside for a few minutes and blast through them quickly.

3. Create email folders to keep you organized

Use your organizing tools that your email programs provide for you. Just as you would file a document, file your emails according to topic, people, or job. Use the label/categorize features and label them ‘To Do’, ‘Follow Up’, ‘Reply ASAP’, etc. Once it’s been taken care of, you’ll want to have more relevant folders set up to move emails into that you want to archive. Just be sure you label them appropriately so you will remember where they are and what’s in each folder. Then drag and drop. Delete all emails you don’t want immediately.

4. Use paper and pencil for a “response list” to process email in batches

Sometimes writing down who emailed you and what you need to do with it puts it all in one place. You can put the list aside to follow up on later. It’s quicker to zip through a list of emails that ALL need to be replied to, than a list with many irrelevant emails in between. Always try to get your inbox down to zero by the end of each day…okay no more than 100! If you can do that (and I know you can), you will feel so good when you enter your office each morning.

5. Read email, answer briefly, then move to the next

Some emails require only a quick answer. For those emails that ask a simple question, read the email once, and reply quickly, then delete it and get it out of the way. This does not apply to the massive long-winded emails that require you to hunt for the questions. But please remember one thing: Be sure the question that was asked is either in front of, on top of, or under the answer! There is nothing more frustrating than getting an answer back and having no idea what or where the question is. So make sure it is clearly visible within a line or two (max) of your answer.

6. Keep emails and responses short and sweet

Remember, people tend to remember the beginning and end of a long message, story, or article, and forget all the content in the middle. Use bullets whenever possible, begin with RE: and the subject or topic as a quick reference, and cut out unnecessary words and sentences. In this way you can train people by example. I personally like to respond briefly at the ends of either sentences or paragraphs. That way the recipient knows I’ve taken time to read what they sent and all questions get answers. Have you ever sent an email to someone with a number of questions only to have the last one answered? Bullets are great for one sentence questions, one after another. If you have lengthy questions that require lengthy answers, CALL the person!

7. Use bridging emails when necessary

Have you ever sent an email to someone only to receive a reply a week later, if any at all? Do you wonder if they ever got it, read it, or cared about responding back to you? Well, you’re not alone. It only takes a few seconds to send an email that tells them you received and read their email but don’t have time to answer it at the moment. Now, how easy is that? Taking time to respond to an email that may take time to draft later can mean the difference between leaving a positive or a negative impression with people. People can appreciate that you’re busy, and they’ll also appreciate the fact that they aren’t being ignored.

8. Use email threads only when necessary

In a business office it is often necessary to reply to an email while keeping the sender’s message at the bottom. But there are many cases where you don’t want to do that. Be careful when you hit that ‘Reply’ button. There may be times when the content should not be shared if sent to another recipient. And when you receive an email that shows the other 20 people who’ve sent it prior to you with a joke or link or video at the very end, please, please, please, take all the irrelevant lines off and only send out what IS relevent. It is so frustrating getting a message with Re: Re: Re: Re: White Socks in the subject line and you have to scroll for five minutes to see what the heck the person was sending you.

Just as you can learn to turn the ringer of the phone off, you can also learn to turn your eyes away from your email. So what if it accumulates 100 more emails in an hour. At least, if you used your hour productively, you can look back at that last hour and see what you accomplished. Choose your phone and email times to suit your work day and stick to them as much as possible.

There are already so many things that take our minds and thoughts away from the tasks we have to do each day. Many studies have shown that multi-tasking is not very productive. So let people you work with or live with know that you have work to do and don’t wish to be disturbed with emails or phone calls during certain times of the day — it can be for a few minutes or longer. It takes determination, discipline, and will power to turn it off. But in the end, you will be less stressed and much more productive–honest.