Found 14 blog entries tagged as Storage.

Some people love living in condos, while others swear by detached homes. When it comes to deciding between the two, however, you can't always rely on someone else’s word. Sometimes it's as simple as understanding and assessing your lifestyle to make the best choice, since condo living and home ownership are two radically different experiences, and thereby serve two very different types of lifestyles and personalities. Here are a few considerations if you’re trying to decide whether you should invest in a house or a condo.

House: Best If You Have A Furry Friend

Do you have a furry friend or two that are an integral part of your family? Depending on their size and species, you may want to consider a detached house over a condo, simply for the amount…

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Spring is around the corner, and it's time to get your home in order! Spring cleaning can be fun and easy if you follow some general guidelines, which are sure to get your home ready for the nice weather and looking as beautiful as the weather is about to. Kick the winter clutter to the curb with these spring cleaning tips.

Start With The Closets

Spring is here, and winter wear is no longer needed! It's time to box up all of the winter boots, jackets, gloves, and scarfs until next season. Starting your spring clean with your closets is a good tip, and will get you prepared for the rest of the process while creating more space and organization in the bedrooms of the house. This is also the perfect opportunity to create a "give away" box full of…

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If you have started working from home, whether you are a freelancer or running a business, having a home office in your Santa Cruz home is very important.

It is a place where you can separate your home life and work, so that you can get “in the zone” and concentrate on the important work tasks that you need to complete. But where should you place your home office?

If you have a spare bedroom in your home, the answer is easy – but what if you don’t have this extra space? Is it possible to squeeze a home office into an already full home? Of course it is, you just have to think outside of the box. Here are some ideas:

Convert Your Attic
If you have an attic in your home, why not use that space for a quiet and private home office? It will be separate…

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The kitchen is one of the most important rooms of your Santa Cruz Home. It is where you prepare all of your meals and it is often a hub of family activity. When you host a party, the action often ends up in the kitchen – where drinks and snacks are enjoyed into the early hours of the morning. It’s crucial that your kitchen functions well because you will use it every day, but you also want to make it beautiful and stylish.

Renovating and decorating your kitchen can also be one of the best ways to increase the resale value of your home. If you are planning on a kitchen makeover, here are some dos and don’ts to keep in mind:

• Don’t forget to consider the proportions of everyone who will use the kitchen. Don’t choose kitchen stools that are too high…

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Kitchen space is a valuable commodity. If you feel stretched for storage space, you could throw away all the flatware your mother-in-law gave you, or you could keep the flatware and learn to use the space you have – more efficiently. The number one most likely spot to find extra storage space is right under your kitchen sink. Organize your under sink area and it will free up space all over your kitchen.

Clean It Up
The cabinet below the sink has a nasty reputation. It’s home to rusty pipes, water stains, and dead ladybugs. First thing is first -- clean it up. If it still looks a little dingy, give it a fresh coat of white paint. That will lighten things up. You can also get a simple cloth mat to lie down. You can find one for less than five bucks.

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Every holiday season when you get out the decorations, there always seems to be a period of organization where you need to untangle lights, sort out the broken ornaments and just get all of the trimmings in order. Next year, skip the hassle of sifting through everything. The year-to-year holiday storage strategies below will help make next December’s decorating easy.

Hide Paper Up High
Utilize a space that is always vacant — the ceiling of your closet. Attach two strings of wire from the front wall above your closet door to the back wall. Make them parallel to each other and about two feet apart. Then you can slide your wrapping paper tubes across the two wires. No more crinkled or torn paper!

Bag Your Lights
The hassle of untangling holiday lights…

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Your living spaces are the most important rooms in your home. They’re where you read bedtime stories, have family dinners and make many memories. However, most of these rooms wouldn’t be as inviting or function well without their valuable out-of-sight storage spaces — their closets.

Imagine clothes strewn across bedrooms and toys scattered all over the living room. Closets are essential to keeping your home organized, clean and livable. So set aside one weekend this month to tackle you’re mini storerooms and turn them into orderly spaces with the tips below.

Designate A Theme For Each Closet
Every closet in your home should have a specific purpose, such as a space for only linens, cleaning supplies or coats. Don’t cheat and put the vacuum in the hall…

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So you have just purchased a brand new Santa Cruz home and you are packing up your things and preparing to move in? Make the move easier by getting rid of any unnecessary stuff and clutter that has collected at your old home.

Let’s face it, we all have a surprising amount of stuff that we don’t really use or need. Why spend the time packing these extraneous possessions, pay to have them transported and spend time unpacking them just so they can sit in your new storage cupboards or garage collecting dust? De-cluttering before a move will save you a lot of valuable time and money and the less stuff you have the more space you can enjoy in your new home.

However, getting rid of stuff can sometimes be an emotional and difficult process. Here are some…

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In almost every Santa Cruz home, there are awkward spaces that are difficult to utilize. In older houses especially there are rooms, closets and nooks that once had a purpose that is now outdated. So before you try to cover it up or fill it with junk, take a look at the smart solutions below to see how you can revitalize those problematic spaces and turn them into something useful.

The space under the stairs
While this is likely to be more of a hiding spot for dust-bunnies than teenage wizards, it is valuable space that you don’t have to board up. Use it for storage! Create cabinets, or if it’s near the kitchen, build in a wine refrigerator or display shelves for china. Build in a coat or shoe closet if the stairs are in the front entryway.

The…

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Your home can run like a well-oiled machine, if it’s well taken care of. You maintain your car on a regular schedule so why not do the same thing for your biggest investment – your Santa Cruz home.

It’s important to keep track of your home maintenance schedule, including what was done and when it’s due again. You also want to be able to easily find instruction manuals, appliance warranties and receipts. In most homes, those important documents are stuffed in a drawer, jammed in a filing cabinet or lost in a pile of papers.

If that sounds familiar to you, get organized by creating a three-ring home maintenance binder. When you sell your Santa Cruz home, give this binder as a gift to the new homeowner. Here are some of the documents you might want to…

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