Tips for Stress-Free Holidays

As the holidays approach, the one thing you can be certain of is the fact that your life is about to become more stressful. Your home may suddenly be filled with people, and you find yourself without any time to get your long list of things-to-do completed. Thankfully, there are some things you can do to relieve yourself of some of the holiday stresses. The following are some tips to help you create stress-free holidays for your family members:

Don’t Expect Perfection Everyone bases their own holiday memories on those seen on television. Your holidays are not going to be perfect and this is what makes them so great. Know that you and your family will have a great time, even if the turkey was overcooked or you forgot to buy someone a special gift. Life will go on even if you didn’t do the perfect table display.

Prepare for Anything It is common for things to go wrong, even if you have done everything perfectly. You can prepare for anything; you just have to have a Plan B. For example, if you worry about people showing up unexpectedly on Christmas Eve, plan ahead by having a few extra gifts on-hand that you can give out. Having them wrapped and ready will mean you only have to write a name on the tag.

Get Others Involved Most of the holiday stress is because a lot of people hate to ask for help. If you are expecting twenty extra people for your holiday dinner, make it a potluck dinner. Ask others to bring their own special dish. Not only will it make you less stressed, but it will make them feel important. In fact, most people prefer to bring something when visiting so you will be doing them a favor.

Take a Break You also need to set aside some time to just take a break from it all. During the winter, your body is lacking the sun. Plan a special hike with your family to get some sun and to fight off seasonal affective disorder, which is common in the winter. Taking a break will put everything back into perspective for you.

You may have thought that you are prepared for the cold weather and the approaching holidays, but if you are feeling the stress, take charge and use the above tips to get rid of your stress. The holidays are all about family and fun so don’t let the small things ruin it for you.

Preparing Your Home for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of the most exciting times of the year. People look forward to enjoying a good meal and expending time with their family. However, if you will be hosting a Thanksgiving get-together at your home, then there are a lot of things that you will have to do in order to prepare it. Below is a list of tips for preparing your home for Thanksgiving:

De-Clutter

It is important to de-clutter your home before the guests arrive. If there is anything in your home that you do not need, then you should get rid of it. You may want to bag up the items and put them in an attic or garage if you do not have a lot of time. You can sort through the items after your guests leave.

Clean The Home From Top To Bottom

If you have not done your fall cleaning yet, then now is a great time to do it. Clean the kitchen, bathroom and all of the rooms in your home. Make sure that you sweep, mop and vacuum all of the floors. You should also make sure that all of the windows in your home are clean.

Safety

You want to do everything you can to make your home as safe as possible before the guests arrive. Make sure that the hallways in your home are well-lit. If there will be small children coming to your home, then you should make sure that medications and cleaners are kept out of their reach.

Additionally, you should test your smoke detector to make sure it is working properly. Change the batteries if necessary.

Prepare Your Bathrooms For Your Guests

In addition to cleaning, there are several things you will need to do in order to prepare the bathrooms for your guests. Make sure that washcloths, toiletries and towels are placed on open shelves so that everyone can easily get to them. If you do not have open shelves, then you should consider placing the washcloths, toiletries and towels inside of open baskets.

Place a bathroom mat inside of the tubs because that will reduce the risk of falls. You should also place a plunger beside each toilet.

Prepare The Kitchen

Your guests will likely be spending a lot of time in the kitchen. You may want to place some extra chairs and stools in the kitchen so that everyone will have a place to sit. You may also want to consider decorating your kitchen.

Guest Room Windows - Keep it Comfortable for Friends and Family

As Thanksgiving, Christmas and other winter holidays approach, thoughts turn to family and friends, eating too much yummy food and spending cozy evenings together. Though the holiday bills are higher, thoughts of energy efficiency and remodeling may go out the window in the midst of budgeting for gifts and guests. When friends and family come to stay, you want to make sure their visit is comfortable and relaxing.

One great way to do this is by treating the guest room windows with special attention.

Prevent unpleasant drafts and leaks. Not only are window leaks bad for your heating bills and the environment, but they're not very pleasant for the guests who have to live with one either. Your family and friends should not stay in a chilled room. Test for drafts around guest room windows and use weather-stripping or sealant to stop them.

Add extra protection and privacy with curtain options. Curtains and drapes are usually chosen for their looks more than their insulation properties, but this is another important aspect of window treatment choice. In a guest room, the options should be customizable by each family member or friend who stays over the holidays.

Aunt Mary may like light-blocking blinds and thick curtains to make the room pitch black at night, while your best friend Kate may enjoy seeing the moonlight filter through sheers. Cater to every guest's desire at once with layered window treatments. Then they can choose what works best for them.

Only use safe and sleep-friendly decorations. Never put a candle on the windowsill. While the fire hazard is obvious for real candles, it is a good idea to skip the electric Christmas candle decorations as well. Guests do not want to be bothered with turning it on or off or dealing with the glow all night long. Festive curtain tie-backs, a sprig of faux flowers on the windowsill or an unbreakable holiday knickknack are all great ideas.

Making friends and family feel comfortable in your home requires good food options, a careful mixture of active fun and relaxation and a guest room that serves as a private oasis where they can truly take a break. Proper window insulation, window cover options and safe decor will make the experience perfect for everyone.

Electric Heat? You Can Still Save Money on Electricity This Winter

Cold weather often means you go in debt with the electric company every winter, especially if you have electric heat. However, you don’t have to go in debt if you take the right steps to reduce the amount of electricity used in the winter. The following will help you to get your electric bill lowered and still allow you to keep your home warm this winter:

Lightbulbs The lightbulbs you use in your home are important, especially when you wish to save money. On average, if you have eight lights lighting your home with 60 watt lightbulbs, you could use as much as 480 watts at a time to light your home. By switching to a lower wattage bulb, you can save money. LED bulbs will use less than ten watts. Those same eight lights would only be using 80 watts to light your home. This adds up to a lot over the winter.

Upgrade the Old If you have an old refrigerator, the chances are likely that you are using too much electricity to keep your food cold. A simple upgrade to a new, energy-efficient model could lower your electric bill by as much as $30 a month. Over the winter, this can add up to as much as $150 or more in savings. Upgrade to vinyl replacement windows and you can save even more.

Unplugging to Save If you take a look around your home, how many items do you have that are not being used but are still plugged in? Your television, DVD player, and stereo system, when plugged in, are eating up a huge amount of electricity to keep the lights going. Even though they may be off, they are still using your power and causing your electric bill to rise. Unplugging all items that are not being used will lower your monthly bill.

Adjust Your Temperature Your body will take time to adjust from the warm summer months to the colder weather, but it will. Instead of cranking the heat up to get warm, consider adding another layer of clothing. You may not like to wear heavy socks or a sweater when relaxing, but if you are serious about reducing your electric bill, it is a small step to take that can save you hundreds of dollars in the winter.

By taking the above steps, you can reduce your electric bill this winter. The electric company may not like it, but you will when you see the savings.

Decorating for Cold Weather

The arrival of autumn often ignites the excitement and anticipation associated with the upcoming holidays. The crispness in the air reminds us that cooler days and nights are quickly approaching. You can implement certain decorating ideas and include specific accessories in your autumn decor that will make your home feel warm and cozy.

Layering accessories Just as layering clothing in the winter is a fashionable and practical way to keep warm, layering accessories in your home can create visual and physical warmth. If your decor doesn't include rugs, now would be a good time to add some to each room. If your decor already includes rugs, you can add another layer of rugs to help insulate a room and update the decor. Faux fur rugs are great for layering on top of almost any type of rug. They have a unique ability to complement most decors.

Blankets and throws are a cold weather essential. There are a variety of ways to make them a part of your layered-look decor. You can stack them in an armoire and leave the door open so their beauty becomes part of your decor. You might want to display them on a decorative ladder, place them across chairs or on the beds or stack them neatly on a trunk or bench.

If you notice cold air coming in your windows as the outside temperature drops, you can layer your window treatments to keep a room warmer. With all of the busyness that surrounds the holidays, you may not want to begin any type of home improvement project. However, as soon as possible, you might want to arrange to have vinyl replacement windows installed to increase the efficiency of your home. Your layered window treatments can still be a decorative part of your decor.

Adding warming accessories If your home doesn't have a fireplace, adding a free-standing fireplace to a room would increase its comfort level. Arrange your furniture so that you have a cozy conversation area or reading area near the fireplace. Incorporating candles, lamps and string lights into your decor will warm the atmosphere of your home. Changing the wall art in your home is an easy way to keep your decor fresh and seasonal. For fall and winter, you might want choose abstract designs that include autumn colors or scenic designs that depict the beauty the fall and winter season has to offer.