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April 2019 - Perry Hood Properties, Inc.
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15 Packing & Unpacking Tricks To Save You Time, Space, Effort, & Sanity

Moving to a new home is exciting, but packing, moving, and unpacking is the pits. Here is a list of some moving tricks and hacks to hopefully make your move to your new home a little less stressful.

1. Plan your packing with a schedule.

Procrastinating can make packing chaotic. Packing an entire house can feel daunting. Reduce the size of the job in your mind by creating a packing schedule. Starting weeks out and working from least essential to most essential items, make a schedule of what you will pack when to pack it. Instead of one huge task over the course of a few days, this can make it into many very small jobs over the course of several weeks or even months.

2. Downsize before packing using the Marie Kondo method.

Being that you will be going through virtually every single item you own in order to pack, this is a great time to downsize. You may consider using the method employed by famed decluttering expert Maria Kondo. Take the item in your hands and feel if the item sparks joy. If it does, keep it. If it doesn’t, thank it for its existence and either sell, donate, or dispose of the item.

3. Downsizing to picture books.

When decluttering and downsizing our belongings, there are many items that we will absolutely never use ever again and are simply taking up space. Still, we don’t want to forget what the items represent. These could be nicknacks, meaningful yet useless gifts, old varsity jackets, trophies that never leave boxes or other items. In order to keep the memory of these items while not giving them free rent in your home any longer, take a picture of each item and then get rid of them in the appropriate fashion. After you have the pictures of these items, you can easily make a picture book containing all of these items to keep with you (you can usually do this online these days for under $10). As you acquire and get rid of more items, you can make more books. A few picture books will take up much less space in your home than an entire closet of treasured-yet-useless objects. You’ll probably also actually look through the pictures more than you would a dusty closet of trophies or great-grandma’s needlepoint.

4. Put t-shirts, lines, and towels to use while packing valuables.

Instead of buying packing paper for glass valuables, use what you’re going to pack anyways. T-shirts, wash clothes, towels, and linens make for great padding in boxes that contain fragile items.

5. Pack books and other heavy items in rolling suitcases.

Books are probably going to be among some of the heaviest items you’ll need to stow away, so it makes sense to stow them in sturdy rolling suitcases. The wheels will also make the books easier to move in and out of the house onto the truck.

6. Pack smaller kitchen items inside pots and pans.

It doesn’t make a lot of sense to pack air inside your pots and pans. Fill them utensils, seasonings, and the like for maximum efficiency. After all, they’re going to wind up in the same place on the other side!

7. Mark packed boxes by room.

There’s nothing more frustrating than having to direct traffic when you’re moving into a new home. Instead, as you pack, mark the top of each box with the room where it will wind up. When moving into your new house, mark each room for what it is (office, bedroom 1, bedroom 2, bathroom, etc.). This will allow those helping move boxes in know where to take boxes without any direction.

8. Pack an essentials bag first.

Before start packing things that you can’t live without, pack bags for yourself and your family as though you were going camping. Not vacation — CAMPING. Remember toiletries, towels, and toilet paper.

9. Before unhooking electronics, take pictures of how they were wired.

Some stereos or television accessories are plugged in rather elaborately. Instead of having to bust out of the manual in order to plug the items back in, simply snap a picture of the way it is wired before unplugging it. Use a flash to make sure everything is easy to decipher.

10. Have a plan for your children and pets.

As much as we think they will be helpful, younger children and pets only slow down the moving process and make it more stressful. Plan something fun for your children outside of the house on moving day — preferably something that will wear them out as you will be equally exhausted upon getting them back. Also, ask a friend if your pets can stay with them as there are few things more frustrating than attempting to wrangle lose pets before you want to hit the road.

11. Start unpacking the fridge weeks out…with your mouth.

Moving food is a pain. Throwing food out is wasteful. The weeks leading up to your move, make a special effort to consume as much of the food that is in your fridge and pantries without bringing in any new food. Your meals may be slightly, ahem, creative for a while, but at least you won’t be lugging around boxes of food and hoping they don’t spoil before getting to your new house.

12. Remember to unplug your fridge 24 hours before moving.

In order to let it de-ice, you’re going to want to unplug your fridge at least 24 hours before a move. If you don’t, moisture from in the fridge will likely thaw and leak out into your moving truck. Nobody wants soggy boxes.

13. Pack a cooler for the move.

Remember to pack food in a cooler that is easy to prepare and consume on the go. Also, remember to pack plenty of fluids as your water may be turned off on the day of your move and may not be yet running in your new house.

14. Unpack the kitchen first.

The kitchen is typically one of the more frustrating areas of the house to unpack, so bite the bullet and do it first. The rest of your unpacking will feel like breeze in comparison. You’ll probably also need more items from your kitchen boxes, so this is also just fairly practical.

15. Consider taking the opportunity to downsize again.

If you didn’t Marie Kondo when you packed, then you can Ryan Nicodemus when you unpack. Ryan is one-half of The Minimalists. Ryan’s decluttering approach is to pack up your entire house in boxes as if you were moving and then only unpack items as you need them. When Ryan did this, he found that about 80% of his items were still in their boxes after 3 weeks. He ended up selling or donating it and living a much more minimalistic existence.


If you’re considering a move for your present home into a new home, we invite you to discuss what it would take to build the home of your dreams. Building a new home has never easier than it is with the help of the home building professionals at Perry Hood Properties.

Using Recycled & Repurposed Building Materials

Whether you’re looking to build a new home or commercial building, the materials used in construction are nearly infinite. Instead of looking to the future, many are looking to the past. In the past few decades, using recycled building materials has become quite popular and in this piece, we’ll examine why.

“What are the benefits of using recycled building materials?”

The perks of using recycled materials range from the economic to the environmental to the aesthetic.

Environmental Benefits

The environment is one of the main reasons why people started using recycled construction materials. The process of manufacturing many construction materials is environmentally taxing. Mining operations in order to manufacture cement and bricks use an immense amount of energy usually in the form of fossil fuels. Logging operations in order to manufacture wood products are a leading cause of deforesting. Using recycled building materials drastically reduces the number of environmentally harmful processes as well as keeps these materials out of landfills.

Aesthetic Appeal

Try as much as we like, it is extremely difficult to replicate the look and feel and of historic structures. This becomes a unique issue whenever we want to maintain the historic look and feel of a certain neighborhood or city district. Using recycled materials allows builders to construct new structures that do not detract from the established historic aesthetic of the neighborhood or side of town. Even newer homes can achieve a timeless look and feel with help from recycled materials.

“Which building materials can be recycled?”

Wood

Certain wood elements can be repurposed for a variety of uses. Undamaged wood can often be re-milled, refinished, or possibly even ground into engineered materials.

Metal

Among some of the most easily recycled, scrap metal from building materials is a huge industry. Aluminum, steel, and copper can be recycled and turned into a variety of products.

Concrete & Bricks

In order to reduce the impact of mining, the recycling of cement and bricks is very prevalent. Whole bricks can be recycled to give newer homes a more historic feel. Cement is typically ground down to make new cement, bricks, or other similar mineral-based building materials.


Interested in learning more about incorporating recycled building materials into the design and construction of your ideal home? Let the home construction professionals from Perry Hood Properties answer any question you may have. Learn more about how to get started designing and building the home of your dreams today.

The Benefits of Opting For a Dual-Flush Toilet

You may have been in a friend’s bathroom or the bathroom of a business in the past few years and noticed something interesting about the toilet — options. As Americans, we’re used to multiple options in daily life, but deciding how much water we want to use when we flush our toilets is fairly new for us. In this piece, we’re going to look at some of the benefits of a low-flow dual-flush toilet and why you may want to consider one for your home.

How a Dual-Flush Toilet Works

If you’ve never used a low-flow or dual-flush toilet, the operation is fairly straightforward. Using either a lever or mechanical push-button flushing mechanism, you have two options: (a) an option that uses about half or less of the water in the tank and (b) an option to use all of the water in the tank. The idea is that different uses of the toilet require differing amounts of water (ahem, #1 or #2). Let’s dive into the features and benefits of a low-flow dual-flush toilet in your bathroom. (Ok, maybe “dive” wasn’t the right wording…)

Dual-flush toilets save water.

North America is a fairly water-secure place, making the amount of water we use not being of major economic concern in past decades. Most Americans are now seeing the economic benefit of becoming more efficient with how we use energy and resources. Between LED bulbs, energy-efficient windows, and advanced insulation, we’re seeing green — both in terms of environmental responsibility and longer-term economic savings. For standard toilet tanks, anywhere between three to four-and-a-half gallons of water is used with every flush — much of that water unnecessary to accomplish the desired result. In the average dual-flush toilet, one flushing option uses about just under a gallon of water while another option uses about two gallons of water, depending on the model.

Dual-flush toilets save time.

It may seem odd to think about the time-saving element of a toilet, but it’s true. If you’re honest with yourself, waiting for a tank to fill up for an additional flush can be awkward at best and frustrating at worst. The fact that you’re usually in a precarious position certainly doesn’t help the situations. Because dual-flush toilets hold significantly less water, the time it takes for them to refill is usually just a few moments.

Dual-flush toilets save money.

When compared to a standard toilet, the cost savings in the form of your water bill means that a dual-flush toilet will pay for itself in around six years. Also, as the demand for dual-flush toilets has increased in the last decade in the United States, they have become increasingly affordable — usually on par with standard toilet prices or sometimes even more affordable.


Whether you’re looking to remodel your home or build your dream home, a dual-flush toilet is a great environmentally-friendly accent to your bathroom that will also save you money for years to come. For additional help building your next home, consult the property building professionals from Perry Hood Properties.

4 Ways a Backyard Patio is Good For Your Health

There are fewer better ways to bookend your workday than by spending time outside. Whether to help you wake you up or to decompress after the end of a busy workday, spending time outside feels great. Did you know that spending time outdoors, such as on an outdoor backyard patio, is also tremendously good for your health? In this piece, we’re going to look at four the health benefits that come with an outdoor backyard patio.

1. Vitamin D Absorption

While getting vitamin D from your food is important, specialists also recommend getting a healthy dose of vitamin D through your skin from the sun. Even just spending 20-30 minutes in the sun a few times a week is a great way to get the necessary vitamin D. This could mean enjoying a backyard patio space with a cool drink and a good book a few times a week.

2. Getting Fresh Air

Between our offices, cars, and houses, we spend the majority of our time indoors. Occasionally getting the fresh air that a backyard patio can provide can do wonders for our health. Not only does getting fresh air give your immune system a break from combating germs that exist indoors, but it has also even been shown to improve your mood. Getting your daily dose of fresh air may be just what the doctor ordered.

3. Sleeping Better Through the Night

It may seem strange to say that spending time on an outdoor patio can help you sleep better, but it’s true. Your body’s natural circadian rhythms that determine when you should sleep are very delicate. Imagine trying to set your watch when you don’t have any other clocks. When you spend time outside, your body gets a break from artificial lights and screens to properly reset itself according to the amount of daylight that is available.

4. Improving Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Have you ever noticed a sense of tiredness, gloominess, and even depression during the fall and winter months? Well, it’s not just you — Seasonal Affective Disorder is a condition that can make you feel morose during periods of decreased sunlight. One way to keep the winter blues at bay is by spending time outside. Doctors claim that spending time outdoors can increase your mood during these times of year — even if it’s cloudy or overcast.


When you’re building a new house or looking to make improvements on an existing home, consider investing in your health by building a outdoor backyard patio. For help building this and any part of your custom dream home, look no further than the home building specialists at Perry Hood Properties. See how we can make your dream a reality today.

 

 


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