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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 1 ,2 01 8 |24 Advertorial House to Home with Debbie Travis: Organize on a dime Does this sound familiar? You have had a hectic day, too many items on your to-do list. You arrive home wanting nothing more than to sit and unwind. However, the general clutter in the living room, the breakfast dishes in the sink, the unmade bed, clothes on the floor, transform your dream of a few quiet moments into a nightmare of here we go again. More stuff to do. Perhaps you are not bothered by mess, or you think you're not. But it is a proven stresser. Unorganized, overstuffed surroundings are difficult to navigate. An "untamed" home creates an environment where everything you set out to do, from cooking a meal to working on a hobby, is boobytrapped. How to manage the mess is the topic of a new book by blogger and author Carrie Higgins, Organization Hacks, Over 350 Simple Solutions to Organize Your Home In No Time! The book delivers both ideas and DIY projects illustrated by line drawings that will guide you in the right direction. The remedies are not just simple, they are inexpensive. Anyone can bring clutter to its knees. If you feel like your life is out of control, take heart. Here's the help you need. To master that tangle of jewelry you have stuffed in a drawer, how about screwing cup hooks into the wall, or paint up a board to hang on the wall and line up the cup hooks on that. (Inside a cupboard or armoire door is another good location.) Hang necklaces and bracelets on the hooks. Easy to match up with your clothes, and makes an intriguing display. Bedrooms, especially if they are small, are always short on storage. Use bed risers to lift the bed and add storage space underneath. If there is no room for a bedside table, hang a row of shoe pockets between the mattress and box springs to hold books, glasses, water bottles, lip balm etc. Higgins includes step by step instructions for this. And you'll never have to wrestle with folding a fitted bed sheet; Higgins shows you the easy method. In the bathroom, use the inside of the vanity cabinet door to hang metal baskets for hair dryer, brushes, and lotions. Turn decorative baskets into shelves, or, shown here, hang them on their sides as a decorative way to hold towels. Electronics are part of everyday life, but oh those cords, so many cords. Hide them by attaching small adhesive backed hooks to the back of your TV stand and/or end tables. Wrap Velcro cord holders around the cords to keep them neat. Raising the cords off the floor not only hides them, but also rids you of the dust bunnies that cluster on the floor around them. Pegboards are a favourite answer to the call "a place for everything and everything in its place" . Not just for the garage walls, pegboards are perfect for the office, kids rooms, mudrooms and entrance ways. Higgins notes that culinary legend Julia Child DEBBIE TRAVIS House to Home not only used pegboards in her kitchen for hanging equipment, but also outlined each piece so that everyone knew exactly where to put what. Higgins has a clever idea for even the smallest challenge. How about matching up socks? There's a DIY project that you can do with your kids. Labelled "Seeking Sole Mates" , a board is painted and colourful clothes pegs are lined up horizontally under the message. Single socks are clipped onto the board until a match is found. Let the search begin. Written by Debbie Travis and Barbara Dingle. Please email decorating questions to house2home@debbietravis.com. Follow Debbie at instagram.com/debbie_travis, facebook.com/thedebbietravis, debbietravis. com. Five forms to understand when buying a new home If you're house hunting th is season, you want the process of finding and buying your dream home to be an enjoyable, stress-free experience. To help, we've made a lis t of five essentia l fo rm s tha t you'll encounter along the way. Buyer Representation Agreement: If you're being represented by a brokerage then you're considered the ir client and th is form outlines the legal agreement between you and your brokerage. It contains an expla­ nation of the many items, including the services the brokerage will provide to you, fees fo r those services, the obligations you have as a client and the expiry date of the agreement. Customer Service Agreement: If you prefer not to enter into a c lien t contract with a brokerage, then you may choose to be a custom er and will receive a differ­ ent service than if you were a client. As a customer, you will be treated fa irly and ethically and will be pro­ vided honest information while your realtor takes care not to m isrepresent any facts. Confirmation of Co-operation and Representation (CCR): This form confirms representation or custom ­ er relationships between the brokerages and the buy­ ers and se llers. This form also deta ils remuneration to be paid. You'll be asked to sign a CCR before mak­ ing an offer or any negotiations on a property. Agreem ent of Purchase and Sale: This form is used in itia lly by a buyer when making an offer on a property. Once the offer is made and accepted, the offer becomes a legally binding contract. Be sure you understand what's in your offer before you sign it. Agreeing on a price is im portant, but make sure you speak to your realtor about other details like the pos­ session date, conditional term s, and which chatte ls or fixtures will be included or excluded with the home. Listing Agreement: This form is the agreement be­ tween a se ller and the ir real estate brokerage. The Listing Agreement form s the basis for drafting an of­ fe r on a home and includes directions about negotia­ tions. Find more information about essential fo rm s and using a realtor by vis iting www.orea.com. (NC) TO P 1% IN CANADA FORROYAL LEPAGE SHEILA BARRY & LINDA ZYLIK SALES REPRESENTATIVE BRO KER u. lerage REALTY PLUSIUI OMlf. BROKERAGE INDEPENDEKTiy OWNED AND OPERATED CALL OR EMAIL TODAY905.467.4745 LINDA@ SHEILAANDLINDA.COM • TO VIEW ALL LISTINGS AND VIDEOS GO TO SHEILAANDLINDA.COM Co m i n g SOON OpEN HOu SE SAT/SuN 3296 Su MMERSET COu RT *$1,189,000 193 w ILDER DR* $2,388,888 234 ALISON CRES • $1,436,000 331 Tu RNING LEAF • $1,389,000 312 Du SKYw ING w AY• $799,988 4 BEDRM, 2.5 BATH. COURT LOCATION DESIRABLE SW OAKVILLE POCKET 4+1 BEDROOMS, 4.5 BATHROOMS O N OUTSTANDING 4 BEDRM, 2.5 BATHS IN UPSCALE FREEHOLD TOWNHOME IN LAKESHORE BACKING ONTO PARk/WOODED TRAIL 95'x150' LOT. 3000 SF + FIN. BSMT 20'x40' SUPERB LOCATION IN LAkESHORE PRESTIGIOUS LAkESHORE WOODS. WALkING WOODS. 3 BEDRMS, 2.5 BATHS. IDEAL MAIN FLOOR m o v e i n r e a d y ! p o o l . r e n o v a t e d i n t e r i o r w o o d s . f u l l y f i n i s h e d l o w e r l e v e l . d is t a n c e t o lake, trails a n d parks. layout. walk to lake, parks and trails. mailto:house2home@debbietravis.com http://www.orea.com DEBBIE TRAVIS