How To Find The Perfect Gift For Senior Family & Friends

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Seniors are a discerning bunch; they have often lived rich lives, developed a wide range of hobbies, and probably have all the equipment they need at home and in the garage. This can make gift buying a challenge. How to ensure you don’t succumb to the typical present of perfume or socks this year? By thinking a little out of the box and getting them something they never expected – including art, fitness and experience based gifts!

Art is the Gift that Never Fades

The effect on art on the human psyche has long been studied, with recent studies showing that both contemplating and creating art, can help put us into a mindful mood, lower stress, and make us feel more positive. Imagine the face on your parent or grandparent when they realize that you have bought them a gift that will engross and entertain them for many years to come. Art has a wonderful ability to adapt to our frame of mind, and keen art lovers know that the way we view particular paintings or sculptures changes as time goes by.

Keeping them Fighting Fit

Doctors are constantly warning us of the dangers of the sedentary lifestyle; in seniors, it is particularly important to stay active, since strengthening muscles and bones will help them avoid falls and fractures, and a bit of daily cardio will ensure they keep obesity at bay. One cool gift mature persons love is a fitness tracker, which will indicate how many steps they have taken on a given day, and also track their heart rate and other statistics. Most trackers are lightweight and come in a number of colors, so finding the right model for your loved one will be easy.

Giving an Experience

Find out what items on your friend or family member’s bucket list they have yet to achieve. While buying them a ticket to the Maldives might be a little more than you bargained for, they may list down experiences that you can make possible – for instance, a soothing massage at a luxury spa, a lovely meal at a romantic restaurant, or a night at a hotel they have always dreamed of staying at. Another gift mature people love, is entertainment – tickets to the opera, perhaps, or to a classical music concert. Do they love a band they haven’t seen perform in ages? (e.g. the Rolling Stones or similar)? Nothing is quite as fun as watching one’s favorite band perform!

Gifts for seniors can be so much more exciting than unimaginable gifts such as ties, socks, or grooming products. Would you like to receive any of these gifts? Probably not. Give the mature person in your life something that will ignite their imagination or improve their health. If you can, surprise them with an experience that will provide them with a wonderful memory for many years to come.

Ways to Modernize Your Victorian Home 

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The best part about older, traditional homes is their character. The aged interior and exterior characteristics often date the rooms and inspire a lovely sense of nostalgia. Victorian homes, especially, are known for their unique features, including complex and decorative interior trims, steep pitch roofing and asymmetrical architectural details. Still, there’s no reason why your Victorian home has to remain fixed in the 1850’s. Instead, there are many simple ways to modernize your old Victorian in a way that brings your rooms into the 21st century. Your new “Modern Victorian” home will look fantastic, emphasizing both the Victorian-era characteristics and some chic, contemporary designs, too.

Bring Your Fireplace into the 21st Century

Fireplaces will either instantly date or modernize a space. Victorian-era fireplaces can make a room feel heavy, dark and extremely traditional, so why not renovate it to make it look a little more contemporary? By installing a wall-hanging model that’s electric or ethanol burning, you can integrate a chic, simple design that will make the space look entirely fresh. Modern fireplaces, even in a room with other Victorian elements, will give the entire ambiance of the space a renewed feel.

Install Modern Light Fixtures 

Another way to showcase the old architecture of your Victorian home in a creative, 21st century style is to install modern lighting. While not all modern light fixtures will fit with Victorian designs, something that is more mid-century modern or Scandinavian modern will do the trick. Remember to mix old with new and new with old. Mixing the styles of lighting and eras will lead to a unique final product that flows together in a contemporary fashion.

Incorporate Cutting-Edge Artwork 

A final idea for modernizing an older home like a Victorian is to incorporate some interesting, engaging, cutting-edge art pieces. Picture this: You have a classic Victorian room that’s square and lined with dark wooden trim, and you add a colorful, abstract painting to the middle of a white wall. The artwork will instantly raise the level of your home’s aesthetic and make it more intriguing, rather than classical or predictably Victorian. Just because the architecture looks one way doesn’t mean that every detail in the interior of your home has to reflect the era.

By installing a wall-mounted fireplace, hanging some modern light fixtures and incorporating cutting-edge artwork, you can revamp your Victorian home and transport its interior design into the 21st century.

Maintenance Tips: Extend the Lifespan of Home Appliances

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Quality home appliances are not cheap, particularly if you have decided to get the new generation, energy saving ones. If you want to get the most bang for your buck, you should invest a bit of effort into making them last as long as they possibly can. This can be achieved with good maintenance.

Read the instruction manual

Before you start using your new appliance, make sure you read the instruction manual first. Apart from telling you indirectly how you can repair certain minor issues, you will also find proper ways of handling the appliance. This will help you prevent those minor issues from happening. If you no longer have the manual, don’t worry, everything can be found online. Each of the appliances has instructions on how it should be cleaned and that is the most important part of regular maintenance. By rule, if an appliance has a filter, it should be cleaned regularly (find the frequency in the manual). The same goes for tubes, ducts, vents, and drains.

Refrigerator coils

If you don’t know what these are, then this piece of maintenance is way overdue. The coils look like a radiator and are located at the back of your fridge, usually covered with a mash. Alternatively, they could be located at the bottom of the front side behind a press-and-pop type of cover. Use a vacuum to get the dust and the dirt out. Buy a coil brush specially designated for this type of work and remove the fine layers of dust left over after vacuuming.

Watch the washing machine load

When discussing the most common types of repairs with people from a washing machine repair Sydney service, they have pointed out that most issues arise from improper loads of laundry. Most commonly, people tend to overload the machine. This puts extra strain on its engine and causes it to wear off quickly. As a general rule, try filling it until it reaches only about half-way through the window. Bear in mind that not all laundry acts the same when you soak it in water, so a load of underwear is not the same as a blanket. On the other hand, try not to underload it as it is a waste of energy and it can cause strong vibrations.

Washing machine - drum

Image source: Pixabay

The Oven

All of your home appliances should be cleaned regularly if you want them to last longer, however, ovens need it possibly more than others. Clean your oven thoroughly and regularly but as a most important piece of advice, watch what you clean it with. A lot of cleaners are composed of strong chemicals and can damage the inner surface of the oven. When applied directly, especially around the buttons, the chemicals could find their way to the electrical components and cause a short circuit. Use only safe designated cleaners and make sure you ask for recommendations first (also, consult the instruction manual).

Oven

Image source: Pixabay

The Dryer

Some of the most important tips regarding dryers, is to watch what and how much of it you put inside, as well as regular cleaning. If you want to reduce strain on its engine, you will put in the same amount you had in the washing machine. So, one load of washing should be one load of drying, provided that you didn’t overload the washing machine in the first place. Furthermore, if you look at items such as shoes, which are not recommended for dryers, but you can use it if you are in a hurry, you should make sure to put it inside along with something else. It bouncing around could snap the dryer drum belt.

What seems to make the greatest difference is simply taking a couple of minutes to think before using and maintaining. This is important to point out as most of us are on autopilot when using them.  Read the manuals and read out maintenance tips, apply the knowledge and get years out of your appliances.

5 Realistic Resolutions to Make This Your Home’s Cleanest Year Ever

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Every one of us wants to live in a clean, sparkling home. But most of us hate doing all the work that comes with keeping homes neat and tidy. If you are someone who hates cleaning and dreads the overwhelming feeling when it comes time to tidy up, there is a good chance you are approaching the issue wrong.

With a few simple tweaks in your daily, weekly, and monthly habits, you can have a bright, clean home without needing to waste eight hours in one day.

Here are five realistic resolutions to make this your home’s cleanest year ever.

1. Plan a daily, weekly, monthly system to keep your home clean.

The main problem for most people is that they fail to do small tasks each day and then end up with an overwhelming job in front of them. This year, you are not going to be one of those people. Instead, you are going to devise a daily, weekly, and monthly plan to keep your home clean.

This plan is going to be unique to your home and your lifestyle. You can come up with a good plan by dividing all the work with the other people who live in the house. In fact, many roommates find it beneficial to set a weekly time when all members know they have to clean (2 hours on a Sunday morning).

Having everyone do it together means it will get done in no time and you can all reward yourself with brunch after!

2.  Commit to tidying up for 15 minutes every evening.

On a daily basis, resolve to tidy up for 15 minutes before getting to bed. You will be amazed at how productive those 15 minutes can be!

Each evening, wipe down your bathroom surfaces. You will thank yourself when you walk into a sparkling bathroom each morning!

Additionally, always clean the kitchen after cooking, hang up your clothes when you change, and put things away after you have used them.

Getting in the habit of doing these small tasks will help keep your house clean overall because you won’t want to start messing it up when it is already tidy.

3. Live by the “one-in-one-out” rule.

This year, to truly have a clean and organized home, make a promise to yourself that you will live by the “one-in-one-out” rule. This rule states that for every new item you bring into your home, you also have to remove something similar.

So, if you buy a new pair of boots, you need to remove a pair from your wardrobe. If you buy a new candle, book, pillow, etc., you must donate one of your old candles, books, or pillows (see #4).

Not only will this make you take a step back and think a bit deeper about impulse purchases (are there really any boots you want to get rid of?). But, if you do decide to buy something new, you know that no more space is going to be taken up.

4. Have a donation box readily accessible.

Unless you are a through and through minimalist, there is a good chance that you have some clutter around your home that you would like to do something with. Decluttering is one of the most overwhelming parts of organizing a house (it takes a little bit more than 15 minutes). But, if you break it down into monthly tasks (see #1), then you can focus on a specific area of the house each month.

If you focus on a specific area each month and live by the “one-in-one-out” rule, then in a couple of months you will have a completely de-cluttered space.

An additional resolution to make this year is to have a donation box readily available. That way, when you come across something in a drawer, or a cupboard, or in the back of your closet that you don’t like, toss it into the donation box. When the box is full, you can donate it to your local charity shop.

5. Buy cleaning products with fragrances you want to smell.

Last but not least, a simple resolution everyone can all get behind! Only purchase cleaning products that come with scents you actually enjoy smelling. After all, you are much more likely to clean regularly with something that produces a smell you enjoy!

Do you think you can commit to one or all of these resolutions this year? Or do you have your own cleaning resolutions? Let us know in the comments below!

AUTHOR BIO

 Mohamed Samad is the Founder & CEO of Matic Services. He started the company in 2016 after a series of small start-ups within the home services sector. Prior to that, Mohamed was Vice President at Greenstone Equity Partners, where he spent 24 months building the UAE business from 2011-2013 with its founder.

Great Information If You Are Interested In A Robot Vacuum

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Keeping a safe and orderly home has been shown to be drastically correlated to staying healthy, maintaining lower stress levels, and of course an overall happier household. However, even though we clearly know the benefits to keeping our homes safe and in order, it’s not always the easiest thing to achieve while living a busy lifestyle. Luckily, advancements in technology and the rise of automation have brought us things like home security systems, smart thermostats and of course things like dishwashers and robot vacuums. These products and services are all designed to allow us to maintain our busy lifestyles all while keeping our homes safe and in order.

With all of the excitement and potential it’s natural to want to rush out and buy these home-helpers, but it’s important to do your research first. Reviews.com is a great place to start your search. They offer tons of help on what to look for, tips for use, and recommendations. Robot Vacuums for example, when purchasing your own there are many factors to consider and some key elements to watch for:

What it should do – A robot vacuum should take care of basic cleaning with minimal human intervention. It should suck up every day dirt build up with ease.

What to watch for – When selecting a robot vacuum there are a few major factors to consider; brush design, battery power, navigation algorithms, strength of brushes and section power. Anything that feels dinky, has plastic discs, or is overall an unimpressive clean won’t save you any time at all. You’ll spend twice the amount of time re-doing the vacuuming and searching for missed spots.

What do you want – Is budget important? Or are you willing to spend whatever for the ultimate device. Obviously not everyone has $1,000 laying around for a top of the line robot vacuum but that certainly doesn’t mean you can’t afford a really great one for your own budget. Also watch for things the robot vacuum does, if you have all hardwood floors, you should probably look for one that specializes in that. If you have pets, you probably want to know which ones can suck up the most pet hair.