Decluttering In the New Year

 5 Tactics To Get the Clutter Under Control

It's the end of January, and that means the buzz of the holidays is wearing off and now we're well into the "need for getting things done." Your resolutions for the year may or may not have fallen by the wayside, but the gifts you were given are still scattered around your home. Some have found places where they belong, some might not have. So what are you supposed to do? The 'easy' answer is to do what many busy people do, ignore it. The more realistic answer might be to stare at it until you get annoyed and chuck it out. For some, though, there is a third option. 'Organizing' or 'decluttering' depends on your search term of choice. Many of us struggle with it, so we're tackling 5 different ways you can declutter your home as we go through the new year. 

Courtesy: Andrea Picacquadio

A quick note. Some or all of these methods might not work for you. They might work for specific types of items and not for others. The point of this article isn't to force you to stick to one method for the rest of the time. The point is to help you to find a method that works for you and your home. To find organization and peace with what you have in a way that is uniquely yours. 

The Ski Slope

Let's start off looking not at individual items but at the mess as a whole. For many of us, that's overwhelming and can lead to putting off cleaning for longer than you meant to. One way to tackle that is the Ski Slope method. This method was developed by therapist-turned-interior decorator Anita Yokota. Instead of focusing on one type of item, Anita suggests working your way across a room from one side to the other the way you might tackle a mountain. You let your brain focus on tidying up and decluttering one area before you cross the room and work on a different area. As you go from area to area, you'd be sorting things into one of three categories, keep, give or dump. You can have boxes, or you might label different items with sticky notes. Whatever works for you.  As you work your way through, you not only declutter your space, but you also end up decluttering your brain as well. 

The Flow Method

Courtesy: Tatiana Syrikova

The Flow Method is our next concept. This one focuses on organizing what you have instead of decluttering. Here, we're working under the idea that you already have your room decluttered, and now you're trying to put everything into a specific place. The flow method works from the concept that every room has a certain 'flow' to it, the way a river would. You flow around a room, moving from place to place working in different areas at different times. You might go back and forth between areas, but you'll still keep the relevant items near to where an area is. So if you're working in your kitchen for example, you might keep your dishes near your dishwasher, all of your pots and pans near your stove, and all of your spices in the same area you do your food prep. This keeps everything together for when you're working on specific projects. 

One In One Out 

Courtesy Emre

This one is an interesting take compared to the others as it's a much slower way of looking at things. For every new item you bring in your home, you need to remove something else. Now, this doesn't apply to things like food, or repairing something. But books? Clothes? Shoes? Blankets and pillows? All of those can have this rule applied to them and it helps you to question "do I need this, or do I just want to splurge on something?"  

Quarantine Method

Although the term might not appeal to many of us, the concept is one we're all familiar with at this point. Take a selection of things you can't quite get rid of and pack them up. Write a date on the outside of the box and set a reminder in your calendar of choice, say six months. If after that time has passed and you can't remember what's in the box, and you haven't needed what's in it? Then feel free to donate it or gift it to someone else who can make better use of it. 

KonMari Method

Courtesy Andrea Piacquadioa

This might be the most popular method currently. Between her books and her tv show with Netflix, and the various magazine articles, many people know Marie Kondo's philosophy of "does it spark joy?" Now, the question is, what does that mean for those of us that haven't deeply interacted with Ms. Kondo's world? The idea is, "does this thing make you happy?" For every item in your home, you should ask this, and if the answer is "no," then you donate it. Now, for the items that you say "yes" to, you find a place for them. The idea is to go through every 'category' of item over time and remove anything that doesn't make you happy. From there, you will find a place for each of these items. In theory, you will end up with far fewer items to find space for. The flip side, though, and the one that many people miss, is that you're not getting rid of everything. You're just getting rid of things that you don't love. If you love your entire library? Then keep it. If you love all of the tiny ceramic frogs that you own? Keep them. It's not a matter of "keep only the best" or "keep only X number of things." That is why this method seems to have gained so much attention, at least from where we're sitting. 

Do you think any of these will work for you? Which one are you interested in trying? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. As always, we love to hear from you! 

If your appliances are driving you insane and not the items scattered around your house, we can help with that. You can reach out to us via our contact page or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055). We'll work with you to find a date and time that works with your schedule to ensure we get your appliances running again. A stove smoking when you're just preheating the oven? Is your refrigerator not getting cold enough? Is your dryer sounding like it's trying to shake the house apart? It doesn't matter. At Appliance Rescue Service, we aim to get your home running smoothly again. 

Christmas Gifts We Won't Be Giving

This year or next, these gifts just don’t work.

Have you ever read a list of gifts that no one wanted? No? Neither had we. We’ve seen all sorts of “Best of XXXX Gifts For Everyone On Your List”, “X Gifts Everyone Will Love” etc.” But who thinks about the gifts you shouldn’t give? This year, we did. We hope you find them as amusing to consider as we did. 

Weird Food-Based Sodas

 Weird Food-Based Sodas

Sometimes people love getting a sampler pack to try something new. Sometimes people enjoy weird flavors. BUT drinking sodas of questionable food based flavors? Ranch soda? Bacon soda? No, we’re good.

Blooming Tea Sampler Sets 

If someone likes tea, they aren't going to want just a few cups and for this price, you can get them tea that tastes much better. 

Christmas Tree Dress

We've seen a LOT of questionable outfits. Many of them that are supposed to be attractive. Elf on the Shelf. The Grinch, Santa's Hairy Chest. The list goes on far longer than we want to admit. However, this one is entirely modest but somehow even more horrifying. Not only does it have present 'shoes' but it also has tinsel that you're going to be finding everywhere for the next year. We just... we cannot condone that this one even exists let alone that someone would give it as a gift. 

One Pound of Powdered Cheese

 While we do agree that prepackaged pasta hardly ever gives you enough cheese, this isn't a gift, unless you're giving it to a college student. 

A Jerky Bouquet 

We actually llve this idea, but who sends a bouquet for Christmas? Wait till Valentine's Day when you can tell them you love them as much as they love jerky. 

Basic Socks 

We're not talking about the cool ones that show off or support their interests. We're talking about basic, plain, bought them in packs of 10-20 low thread count socks.

Beard Ornaments

Beard ornaments. Beardments? Last we checked the majority of men don't like having things tug on their beards. Doors, zippers, sweaters, children, it is generally a painful feeling. So adding things intentionally to your beard, that is also going to get caught on things and tug at your face, just seems like asking for trouble to us? 

A Food Storage Set 

Unless they've been drooling over it for months, it just isn't worth it as a gift. They're awesome and practical, but as a 'Christmas gift' instead of a 'just thinking of you gift' we wouldn't suggest it. 

Any Type Of Cleaning Products 

Just, avoid this one, at all costs. Unless it's tied to something specific like "hey I found this miracle product to save your favorite leather coat!" This is just asking for trouble. 

Mini Food Makers

Let's be clear here. We're not talking about 'small' waffle makers and the like. We're talking about the ones that only make a waffle the size of a small coffee cup and inevitably burn out. Even more frustrating, how often do you want just one thin waffle or one tiny donut? And shrinking down a recipe that small means it never tastes quite right either. 

A Toaster

Who…. Who thought one of the single most utilitarian kitchen tools would make a good gift? Really? In general we discourage gifting of cooking appliances. Tools? Spices? Yes and yes! But appliances? Not so much. 

A Pasta Timer

On one hand if they're a big fan of puns or the Godfather franchise, this could go over well. On the other hand. Have /you/ ever tried telling someone their pasta is overdone? No? We don't advise it.

Cat Butt Tissue Holder

Unless they’re really into gag gifts or cats, this one isn’t likely to go over well. Not everyone is into toilet humor.

Dip and Fry Holders for Their Car 

We’re just not following on this one. They’re useful, sure. But do you want to tell someone that they don’t matter?  We can't even pretend this is great for an office White Elephant, it just.. it doesn't seem like a gift. 

Mouse

Wine Bottle Stopper That Looks Like A

Some people love wine. Some people also love cats. There are also people who love wine AND cats. (We hope that's not a shocking revelation.) However, we can't imagine that having your cat trying to get the stopper out of your wine bottle and either smashing the bottle or dumping it all over the floor is going to be a gift many people want. 

What did you think? Would you want any of these gifts? Do you have more horrible ones that you wouldn’t want, or wish you hadn’t gotten? Let us know over on our Facebook page or in the comments below. As always we love to hear from you! 

Disclaimer, this post is meant in good fun, and we admit that for every item on here there is almost certainly going to be at least one person who will purchase it. 

If you’re here not to gift appliances but because you need help with yours, we’re here for you! At Appliance Rescue Service our goal is to get your home running smoothly again. Whether you’re fighting with your oven or you need help with your dishwasher, we’ve got you covered. You can reach out to us via our contact page or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055). We’ll work with you to find a time and date that works for you and send one of our technicians to work with you until you’re satisfied.

Ways to Update Your Bathroom, and Ways You Shouldn’t

Some of these were great and some didn’t make sense

We just survived Black Friday and like many of you, we were looking at all of the articles shouting about the greatest products for your home. But, have you ever really thought about the items? Or do you  just scroll past? This week we’re taking a look at a popular article over on Buzzfeed and giving our breakdown on whether or not we think you should add these to your bathroom. We’re looking at this article, so if you want to check it out before we get to it, have at it! 

Before we get started, this is our rating system. We did a rating of 1-10, with 1 “Being no way am I buying this” and 10 being “absolutely, you should get it”.

1. 1 - NO, these look beautiful for about a week before the hot water makes them lose their shine. They also don’t hold everything that you need if you have a household of more than 1 person. 

2. 5 - We are split on this one because, on one hand, you can DIY this look for yourself much more easily, BUT if the bamboo lids fit with your current decor, it’s an easy purchase. 

3. 1 - We have been warned to absolutely NOT do this, as it will actually ruin the finish on your tub. If you turn a normal cleaning into an attachment that’s one thing. The brushes that are designed for your drill though, are typically made with metal or wood in mind and will ruin your lovely tub. 

4. 10 - Utilize that vertical space! Poor design choices of homes often leave us with large gaps of useless space, so we love finding ways to solve that issue. 

5. 10 -  We love the idea. 

6. 6 -  Definitely useful if you choose the right one, but there are also definite possibilities of smacking your head against it. 

7. 10 -  Verified cleaning products are always a win in our book! 

8.  7 -  Bubble baths are a definite win as far as we are concerned, but we will say that with smaller tubs, such as builder grade, we will caution a need for awareness of your space so that you don’t tip it over or get hurt trying to get in or out of the tub. 

9. 1 - WHY? What is the purpose? 

10. 10 -  We’re not really concerned about the look of this one, but for ease of access and cleaning, we are all over it. 

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

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Nine

Ten

11. 10 - Not only does adding mirrors make a room feel more expansive, but it also makes it ~breathe~ more. 

12. 10 - Although not relevant to making your bathroom more organized, luxurious, or even magazine worthy, a squeegee is very useful for getting it clean. 

13. 10 - Dead useful for getting ready in the morning. 

14. 2 - It’s pretty, so it gets a point, but… why?

15. 10 - We absolutely agree on this one for several reasons. Your light fixture absolutely affects the way the rest of the room looks. The clarity of the light or how diffuse it is will also reflect on the space and how you use it. 

16. 8 - We love the idea of this one, but we won’t say it’s a need, more of a next step up for the look of your bathroom. 

17. 5 - Having a  set in your bathroom can absolutely tie everything together. But pastels? No. 

 18. No. We’re not even dignifying this one with a rating. Instead, we suggest a simple tray or a tiered system that will actually make use of the counter space that it sits on. 

19. 3 - Peel and stick tile is great for the kitchen, and we have sung its praises many times in the past. But in the bathroom, it is too likely to be damaged by humidity and water from the bath/shower and will need to be replaced frequently. If you’re up for that challenge, we so go for it, but be aware of what you’re signing up for. 

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

20- 23  10 All of them do what they say, and are great for cleaning

24. 8 - This is very tiny, and might not work for all bathrooms, but we do appreciate what it does and how well it does it. 

25.  7 - Cute, good for aesthetic but is small and easy to trip over. 

26. 8 - Definitely a luxurious upgrade to your shower experience, but we do prefer having options for the pressure that this waterfall shower head doesn’t seem to supply. 

27. 5 - Although definitely very useful, we would argue that this has little to nothing to do with aesthetic or looking like your bathroom is more spalike or luxurious. 

28. 6 - Much like the peel-and-stick tiles, this one can quickly deteriorate due to the humidity of the room. However, if you choose the right adhesive, you’ll gain the balance between “Sticky enough to stay on the wall for years to come” and “So sticky that it will peel off the paint AND the drywall when you want to replace it for something else.” 

29.  5 -This one just seems like a given to us? 

30. 10 - Mix it up with different colors, and we love this one. 

31.  15. For our final one, this is definitely one to round out the article on, as it is absolutely a fantastic way to finish any shower. If you’ve got the space in your bathroom for this, go for it. You will absolutely thank yourself later. 

Twenty Four

Twenty-Five

Twenty-Six

Twenty-Seven

Twenty-Eight

Twenty-Nine

Thirty

Thirty-One

With that we have finished out this article and we want to know what you think! Reach out to us on our Facebook page or in the comments below! We’d love to hear from you on what you agree or disagree with. 

If you’ve got issues with your major appliances and you found our blog by accident, no worries! Check over at this link and that’ll take you straight to our contact page. Or if you’d rather talk to us directly, you can give us a call at ((214) 599-0055). At Appliance Rescue Service, we’re here to help you get your home running smoothly. 

This is all in the interest of fun and discussion, and we don’t have anything against Buzzfeed or the author of the article. 

Organizing Your Home Before the Holiday Daze

Getting Your Home Ready Before the Holidays Hit

Raise your hand if your house becomes a mess every year during the time between Halloween and Christmas?  If you did, you’re not alone. Your Blogger is there right with you. What if though, you had a handful of tips and tricks to tackle this holiday season without losing your mind, the gifts you’d bought, and every square inch of space in your home? Well, that’s where today’s post comes in. 

First up, the general things. 

Courtesy of Alexa

-Use Bins and baskets around the home to contain mess and clutter. Sure it’s a cheat, but if you have designated spaces to put things, they’re less likely not only to go missing but end up scattered over every other available surface. 

Courtesy of C.M. Zijderveld

- You can also use bins and baskets to sort gifts if you purchase as you go through the year purchasing. We like having a row of baskets at the top of the closet. It looks good all year long, and so long as you don’t label the outside, you’re the only one that knows that you’re hiding gifts and not your out-of-season clothes. 

-Clean stuff up! Get rid of stuff and do a pre-holiday donation blitz. 

Go through and trim stuff down. Do you hate that ornament? Donate it. Is a wreath falling apart? Either deconstruct it for craft materials or send it to the recycling center. 

Essentially, if you don’t love it, don’t keep it. 

Have a plan! 

Whether you’re breaking down your decorations from Halloween, setting up for Thanksgiving, or getting organized for Christmas, having a plan saves you time and headaches. 

Play Tetris! 

When it comes to storing things away, unless it’s breakable, it’s better to store smaller things inside larger things. Two examples here. 

This would be a very bad example of storing things inside one another. The only reason nothing is broken is because it’s cardboard.

• A good example would be storing small details like tiny skulls, potion bottles, and bats inside a larger fake pumpkin. By doing this, you maximize the space that the pumpkin is taking up, and you ensure that you don’t lose or break the smaller items. 

• Storing glass ornaments inside your grandmother’s trifle dish without wrapping or protection. Doing this means that you’ll end up with shards of glass given enough time and movement. 

-Think about where you’re going to store things before you go shopping. If you already know exactly where it’s going, it’s more difficult to lose it in the holiday daze, and you know if you have the space for it. 

Store the specifics together. Don’t just toss everything into 1-2 boxes and call it done. Put together like with like and protect the things that need it inside that storage. We will always suggest storing everything in totes that are labeled on the outside and the lid. 

- Also make sure to make a list of everything that’s inside the tote and tape it to the inside lid of the tote. This lets you ensure that you know exactly what’s inside them. 

-Separate out your Halloween decorations, store your costume pieces in their own plastic sealable bags, and those organized into totes. You can also store all of your decor in totes as well.  (You can also do the same with fabrics for other holidays, but we’re still thinking about Halloween and Halloween costumes here at ARS.) This is to protect your papers, plastics, and fabrics from moisture, bugs, and other rodents. 

What about Christmas? That’s a lot of very specific items that need careful handling. 

-Glass ornaments? Wrap them in paper towels before storing them in an ornament carrier (even if that is just  a photo box.) 

-Egg cartons and cupcake boxes are also great for storing ornaments of all shapes and sizes.

-Loving on the Christmas lights? Turn a sheet of cardboard into cord storage, keep them all separate, and put them into their own bin. 

- Fake Christmas tree? We haven’t figured out anything more straight0forward than the totes made just for this, but let us know if you do. 

- What about wrapping? Do you love it or loathe it? 

Try setting up a station for gift wrapping. Have a container for wrapping papers and keep all of them in that container. 

Keep everything sorted so that it’s close to hand. That can mean a large tote box that has everything inside it in trays that you only pull out when you need it, or it can be a table in a corner with everything stored away.
Your Blogger’s setup contains the following. 

Tape

Sharp scissors

A flat open area

Wrapping paper

Notecards and pens

Power cable, an outlet, and the phone (for entertainment AND wrapping help.) 

Rounding out our tips in the kitchen, let’s get sorted!

-Store your baking supplies together. It is a fantastic way to keep your kitchen organized and your life nice and easy. Plus, when you pull out the baking supplies every year, you’ll get excited knowing that all the fun of the holidays is just around the corner. 

-Sort and store cookie cutters in photo boxes. The small boxes with their labels on the outside make it easy to find just the ones you want and store them away when you’re done. 

-Baked Gift Supplies can also be stored together. If you keep everything you need in one box or tray, it’s all there when you’re ready to pack up the cakes and cookies. Bakers' twine, cookie bags, cupcake liners, and tags, everything is right there for you. 

Thanks to Bernadette Wurzinger

And there you have it! Our tips for how to make the holidays run more smoothly and keep you from pulling your hair out this winter. Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page how you make the holidays easier on yourself. 

If you wound up here because you pushed the dreaded button (no, not that one, the one on your oven labeled ‘Self-Clean’,) we’re here to help. First up, step away from the oven. Next, set up an appointment with us via our contact page or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055). We’ll work with you to select a time and date that works for your schedule and send one of our technicians to get your oven working again. In the event it’s not because of your oven but instead one of your other major appliances, it’s ok; we can still help. For any of your major appliances, Appliance Rescue Service is here to help get your home running smoothly again. 

9 Gorgeous Plants That Are Texas Natives!

And Why A Native Lawn Is Better Than A Grass Lawn

We've talked before about the idea of more natural landscaping and turning away from having your yard or garden as just a lawn of grass. More than being a "popular" idea, it's also better for your home and your water bill. This week we're taking a look at turning the land around your home into a garden that's more representative of native Texas plants. Since planning something like this can take all winter to plan and source, if not longer, we figured we'd get the ball rolling now. Some of these plants are decorative, some are edible, and many are attractive to different pollinators. 

What does "native" mean here?  

So what exactly does "native" mean? A native plant is one that has lived in Texas prior to Europeans coming to the continent. The spread of Europeans across North America brought all sorts of plants over, and while many have adapted, not all of them have. More important is that some of them have negatively affected the pre-existing flora and fauna of Texas and North America as a whole.  If you're looking to replace invasive species in your yard, or you just want to know what to avoid, here's a quick list. Japanese honeysuckle, Brazilian pepper, Chinese tallowtree, musk thistle, Macartney rose, scotch thistle, yellow star thistle, Malta star thistle, blessed milk thistle, jointed goatgrass, Christ-thorn, Camel thorn, and Chinese privet are all examples. Again, invasive plants are those that spread naturally in an area because they don't have predators in the new area. More importantly, they can easily take over an area and displace the native plants.

We will say that so long as something isn't invasive (consider something like kudzu which will choke out all other plants) you can plant whatever you want. 

A quick note, we have included the Latin names for most of the plants we're suggesting so that you can search for that variety specifically. 

Courtesy of Baker Creek

Wild Petunia 

Many of us want to switch over to different options for ground covers so as not to lose our precious topsoil. For that we suggest the Wild Petunia, a low, wide-spreading plant that loves to  bloom all throughout summer. You'll get beautiful pale lilac blooms from the Ruellia nudiflora without having to fight with it.

Lemon beebalm

Many of us are using our gardens to grow plants that can supplement our tables or our medicine cabinets these days. If that's you, or you just want a beautiful flower, you might enjoy the lemon beebalm or lemon mint plant. Also known as Monarda citriodora, this plant puts out beautiful blooms early on in summer to draw in all sorts of pollinators.

Courtesy of Baker Creek

Courtesy of Texas Beyond History

Yucca 

When you want a plant that can thrive as a hedge, a container plant or a border plant, a yucca is a great addition to your garden. You could even go so far as to include several different varieties of yucca in your yard as the plant comes in a large variety of shapes, sizes and colors.

 Texas Redbud 

If you're looking for a shrub that will flower all through summer, check out the Texas Redbud. Although they're really more of a pink than a red, we think that the blooms are absolutely lovely. To learn more about it and what it needs, you can look up Cercis canadensis var. texensis.

Courtesy of North Carolina State University

Courtesy of Baker Creek

Purple coneflower 

When looking at this plant, you'll quickly understand how it gets its common name. The Latin name, though is Echinacea purpurea, which gives a clue to just how useful it is in your home. Purple coneflower is part of the echinacea family and is commonly used for treating pain and inflammation alongside the cold or flu. The flowers are easy to grow, with their blooms starting in early spring and lasting all through summer.

Beautyberry 

Who wouldn't love a plant called Beautyberry? The plant creates stunning clusters of berries that can feed local birds and animals.  Although technically edible, we don't suggest eating them raw as the beautyberry is rather astringent. The Beautyberry or Callicarpa americana also has lovely long, arching branches and bright green foliage to attract the eye even when the berries are no longer in season.

Courtesy of Amazon

Courtesy of Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Crossvine

You might be looking for something to bring in a pop of color to a gazebo or trellis, or your outdoor kitchen. There we're going to suggest the Crossvine or Bignonia capreolata. These beauties are a climbing vine that are colorful all year long. In spring, you get beautiful blooms in fiery yellows, oranges, and reds, while in cooler months, you see the leaves shade from vibrant green to a beautiful purple.

Winecup 

These cup-shaped, deep purple wildflowers have stems and foliage that spread along the ground and form a thick mat, making them a great choice for ground cover in landscaping. The drought-tolerant winecup, aka purple poppy mallow, blooms in spring, when its flowers open each morning and close each night.

Courtesy of Nana’s Bloomers

Courtesy of Native Backyards

Texas Mountain Laurel

If you're wanting something that will impress friends and family, both with its height and with the beautiful blooms, look no further than the Texas Mountain Laurel. Also called Sophora secundiflora, this tree blooms in beautiful shades of white and purple in spring and summer. 

Which ones are your favorites? Do you know more about native plants in Texas? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. As always, we love to hear from you! 

If you're here because your appliances are costing you money, not your yard, it's cool. We're actually specialists in appliance repair. (You couldn't tell, could you? haha.) So no matter which of your major appliances are making your day chaotic, don't fret; we can help. Just reach out to us via our contact page or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055). We'll work with you to set up a date and time that work for you to have one of our professionals come and fix what's wrong. At Appliance Rescue Service, our goal is to get your home running smoothly again.