 Winter Is Coming! (Preparing Your Home For Colder Weather)
Winter is right around the corner, which means it is time to get your home ready for colder weather. If you are like me, being cold is one of my least favorite things so I try and make sure my house feels nice and cozy for when those freezing temperature hit. I also like to try and use the heat in my home as little as possible to decrease that always increasing electricity bill. If you are looking for some ideas on how to warm your home while avoiding the heater as much as you can, check out some of these tips. Blankets, Blankets, Blankets One of my favorite things about winter is snuggling up under a cozy blanket. I have more blankets in my home than I know what to do with. Whether they are fluffy, soft, big, small or just used for decoration, I have blankets everywhere. You can use blankets as a nice touch for decorating for the holidays but you also want to make sure they are cozy too for when you need to snuggle up under them. The key is to have a basket or a bin that you can keep all of the blankets in. This will help prevent blankets being strewn all over the house and making it look messy. Get Your Fireplace Ready Whether you do it at the end of the winter season the year before or before it begins, you want to make sure you fireplace is clean before the cold weather hits. One day it will be chilly and you will want to run and turn the fireplace on, but you have to make sure it is clean first or else you will have a smoky, bad smelling home from the dirt and dust that has accumulated in your fireplace. Whether it is wood burning or gas, you want to make sure you check your fireplace and make sure it is all clean before you use it. Once it is, make sure to use it as much as you can. There’s nothing better than cozying up by the fireplace on a snowy day. Turn Your Fans If you have fans in your home, don’t be afraid to use them in the winter. While it may seem like using a fan would only add to the cold, you can actually use them to help distribute the heat in your home while also decreasing your heating costs. The key is to make sure your fans are turning clockwise. This will cause the cool air to go upward, causing the warm air to be brought down into the warm. If you are worried about still feeling the cool air from the speed of the fan, turn it down to its lowest setting. This will still help add heat to your home and is a great way to cut back costs. Candles Aren't Just For Smelling One of my favorite things to do during winter is to light some festive candles and make my home smell wonderful. While the scents of winter add an extra touch to my home, the candles are also great at helping keep the house warm. I do not suggest going out and getting an enormous amount of candles because they can be expensive, but a few on each floor of your home will add a decorative touch and will also help to keep the heat. Winter weather does not have to mean always being cold. If you try some of these tips, you will be able to help keep your house nice and warm while also keeping it neat and tidy. Stay warm and enjoy this winter season!
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 Preparing Your Kitchen To Host Thanksgiving Dinner
November is finally here which means Thanksgiving is right around the corner. If you are hosting Thanksgiving at your house this year, you may want to start preparing since the cooking process can take a while and the mess will take a toll on your kitchen. While Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, it can also be stressful making sure to keep my house clean while trying to make the perfect meal to entertain friends and family. I try my best to split the process into steps and prepare things early if I can to prevent my kitchen from becoming a mess. The nice thing about Thanksgiving is that some of the foods that are typically eaten on this holiday can be prepared ahead of time. This allows you to have more free time for your guests the day of and the extra focus on the important items, i.e. the turkey. The week of Thanksgiving would be the best time to start preparing your sides and desserts. Before you begin though, make sure your pantry is stocked and your refrigerator is clean and organized. With so many dishes to prepare and get ready for the big day, it is important that you have everything you need. The weekend before Thanksgiving, you may want to stop at the grocery store and pick up all of the ingredients you will need for your Dishes. If you wait too long and try and go closer to Thanksgiving Day you will find yourself in an overcrowded store while you search for the items you need. If you go ahead of time, you can decrease your stress and be more prepared. Once you get home from the store, you will want to make sure your refrigerator is clean and organized. When you begin cooking the dishes that are going to be prepared a few days before, you will want to have room to store them until the big day. If your refrigerator is not clean, you will find yourself stacking pans and making it hard to find things. Even though it may take some time to clean out your refrigerator, it is definitely worth it once you start cooking. Once Thanksgiving Day is here, the real work begins. If you want the day to go smoothly, I suggest creating a List or at least taking the time to plan out how you are going to cook and when things need to be in the oven. As you prep and start the cooking process, you can begin to clean up in steps. If you wait to do all of the cleaning at the end you will be left with hours of dishes and a very dirty sink. If you begin cleaning after each dish has been prepared you will find you are much more organized and you will have a clean home much faster. If you are like me and only have one oven, even beginning the cooking process a few days early is not enough to stop from having multiple dishes to prepare the day of. If you are having a lot of guests at your table, suggest that they each bring a dish of their choice and make sure to have them tell you ahead of time what they are bringing so that there is no overlap. You will soon find that you have less work for yourself and that your friends will even be happy to contribute their favorite traditions to the meal. When the night is over and everyone has gone, don’t let the turkey lull you to sleep just yet. If you want to wake up the next morning and feel refreshed and with no cleaning to do, make sure to clean up the night before. Since you will have been cleaning as your prepare the meal, you should only be left with plates, silverware, and serving dishes from the meal itself. Even if the last thing you want to do is clean, take the extra hour and get everything put away. Maybe even wrangle the kids or your spouse to help out and make the job go faster. Once the dishes are all day and the day is over, your house will be clean once again after a wonderful day filled with family, friends, and Delicious Food Happy Thanksgiving! |
