Don't Get "Grinched"

Apparently, there are some people who will just walk up to someone’s front porch and steal their packages. I guess nothing should surprise me anymore, but I still have to shake my head and wonder about people. On a news story the other day, it was reported some homeowner’s had even caught the thieves on their security cameras. They just walk right up, take a quick look around, grab the box or boxes, and go! 

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/grinch-christmas-ups-fedex-packages-stolen-135622058.html 

This isn’t a new trend, just popular right now because of all the cyber shopping going on and people like you and me sending gifts to family members.  About five years ago, my husband and I were living in Portland and my sister-in-law was coming for the holidays along with other family members. She decided to ship her gifts ahead of time so she didn’t have to lug them on a plane in her luggage. Well, they were verified as being delivered, but we never saw them. Apparently, some Grinch grabbed the box from our front porch while we were at work. My poor sister-in-law felt bad, we felt bad. From then on, we had all deliveries go to our work places.

My theory is that particular neighborhood was a prime target. The houses were close together and front yards very small which made the view to the front porch very visible from the street. I figured someone could easily drive by lots of houses in a short amount of time and see if packages were sitting by the front door all from the comfort of a warm car.

Don’t be lured into thinking you can ask UPS or Fed Ex to put your boxes behind a bush or an envelope under the doormat (which they will do) so it’s not visible and therefore safe. Many of these Grinches drive behind the delivery trucks to see exactly which houses they are going to, then walk right up to the doors to snatch the goods.

Ask a neighbor to help out, have packages delivered to your work or pick up at a delivery center. Also, I understand FedEx offers nighttime delivery or a designated delivery day or delivery by appointment. Don't let the Grinch steal your Christmas!

No Thanksgiving Disasters, please....

I was just thinking about all the holiday dinners that I’ve cooked for family and realizing there have been very few kitchen disasters. Well, other than when I decided to carve the ham (with a sharp, pointy knife) while it was still in the foil pan and gooey, sticky ham juice went everywhere, but we won’t bring that up.

Maybe I’m just a worry-wart, but I’ve been gathering tips that might help avoid disaster!

For the cook:  Still frozen turkey:  If you’ve waited too long to defrost your turkey (who hasn’t done this?), the cold bath in the sink trick always works, but still takes time. For a 10-12 lb. turkey, it takes about 4-6 hours; for 12-16 pounds allow 6-8 hours. If you are then running really short on time, you can always cut up the bird like you would a chicken and roast the parts.  Lumpy gravy:  I’m not sure I’ve made gravy that wasn’t lumpy. Get out the mesh strainer and strain the gravy into a new pan and get over it.

From the plumber:  Be nice to your garbage disposal!  Don’t dump grease, large amounts of food or especially stringy foods like celery and rhubarb.  You could end up with a clogged sink. Pour grease into a disposable container; run hot water over greasy food dishes and continue to run a bit afterward to wash all the grease down the drain. Be sure also to run water while using the disposal. Keep area around sink clear so that utensils or large food pieces don’t drop into disposal.

From the Fire Department:  Don’t deep fat fry your turkey. 'Nuff said.

Not necessarily disaster subject, but for the “green” in you:  Use your china!  Avoid using paper, plastic and Styrofoam, most of which will wind up in the landfill. And by using cloth napkins, your table will look even more beautiful without all the paper wasted.  And finally, compost any leftover food. If you don’t have access to composting, ask friends, family or neighbors. Food does not break down as you would presume in a landfill because there is not enough oxygen present for it to decompose naturally.

For our dogs:  They have been smelling food cooking all day and you are driving them crazy. They are on high alert for falling food, treats passed under the table….anything! Here are some foods to avoid:  Turkey bones – like chicken bones they are brittle when cooked and can splinter in your pet’s stomach. High fat foods like Turkey skin, cheeses and sausages; a sudden high level of the in the GI system can lead to a painful condition known as pancreatitis. Other toxic foods that you might see at holiday time are:  macadamia nuts, grapes and raisins, onions and garlic, nutmeg, sage and sugar free products containing xylitol.

I have a lot to be thankful for and I’m sure you do too. I like this quote from Brother David Steindl-Rast (a Benedictine monk):  Love wholeheartedly, be surprised, give thanks and praise… then you will discover the fullness of your life.

Money Saving Tip for Dog Owners

As some of you may, or may not, know I am the coordinator for the Olympia Dachshund Meetup Group. Now, before you laugh to yourself and picture a bunch of little wiener dogs running around a park and chasing each other in circles...well, go ahead. Why would I do such a thing? Well, because I own a dachshund and I thought it would be interesting to see how many would like to spend an afternoon once a month meeting other Dachshund owners. As it turns out, quite a few people wanted to do this. My Meetup website actually has 145+ members now. We always get at least a dozen or so dogs (along with their peoples) every month and some months as many as 25!

So what in the world does this have to do with Diaper Disposal Bags? And saving money?

Our Meetup group raised money for a dedication brick at the new Hawks Prairie Off-leash dog park and we had $15 left over. We decided to buy and donate doggie bags for the stations in the park. A member suggested buying these Diaper Disposal Bags from the Dollar Store, which have 75 bags per box. That’s 1,175 bags! The “Doggie” Disposal Bags (which look suspiciously similar to the “Diaper” ones) only have 50 per box. I guess that proves the theory that pets ARE more expensive than kids.

Okay, so a long way to go for this tip:  if you are a dog owner and you buy plastic poop bags, do yourself a favor and go to the Dollar Store and get the “Diaper” bags instead of the “Doggie” bags. They look the same and smell nicer. I swear, your dog will never know the difference.

Are you a germaphobe? I am....

On the lookout for germs in your kitchen? (Or am I the only one….) Look no further than your kitchen sponge or scrubber or whatever you use on a daily basis to wipe down counters, clean up spills and wash items that you don’t run through your dishwasher (not many of THOSE in my kitchen). I’ve tried different methods of sanitizing, like microwaving and using bleach and did some research to see which was the most effective. It turns out both can work very well in getting rid of bacteria. In my own experience, though, I’ve found that occasionally my scrubber will partially burn in the microwave, which of course smells up the kitchen and gets one sponge in the garbage. Oh, and I had to learn the hard way to remove the wand part because it will melt in the microwave.

Mostly I just use bleach (3/4 cup to one gallon of water and soaking for 5 minutes). According to Good Housekeeping and the EMSL Testing Lab, this method apparently removes 99.9% of bacteria.

Another method is putting the sponge in the dishwasher. You can just pop it in one of the utensil sections each time you run your dishwasher. Be sure to let it stay in throughout the entire wash AND dry cycle.  How easy is that?

Also, don’t use your sponges or scrubbers to clean up cutting boards or counters where raw meat has been. Use paper towels or kitchen cloths that can be laundered. For convenience, we now have those great “pop-up” disposable cleaning cloths or to save money, keep a spray bottle with diluted bleach and use with reusable cloths. How easy is that?

None of the research gave a definitive answer on how often you should replace your sponge or scrubber. I don’t need a study to tell me, but I’m thinking if it’s been in your kitchen for a year, it’s technically “gross”.

Is Staging Really Important?

If you are considering selling your home, you've probably been thinking about staging and where to begin, where to end, where to start. Staging is talked about A LOT among brokers. There are TV shows about it, magazine articles about it and businesses devoted to it.

Just how important is it really?  VERY!  I view properties all the time and, believe me, I can tell by the pictures of the home how it's going to present itself. I have an opinion just like the buyers who are walking through the door and it is formed VERY quickly. It's about sight AND smell.

I want to start with the one thing that is so basic, everyone is qualified to do it:  CLEAN! Your home must be spotless, from the front entry, through the kitchen, to the corners of the bathrooms. I'm not just talking picking up the clutter (although you need to do that too). I'm talking sweeping, scrubbing and making-windows-shine clean. The stovetop looks good enough to cook on; the bath looks clean enough to take a bath in; and the buyer will WANT to take-their-shoes-off-in-your-house clean.

And here's another tip:  your house needs to smell clean. No cooking odors, pet smells or smoking residue. Be careful not to overdo the air freshener or any type of perfuming of the air either, which can be offputting and make buyers wonder what you are trying to cover up.

A clean house tells the buyer that you care about your home. That it's been well cared for. It is smells good enough to hang around.

So, yes, staging IS important. But you need to clean first.

It can seem overwhelming, but with the guidance of your broker or a professional stager, you can accomplish a lot more than you think fairly easily.

Mole Mounds, Mole Trails - Not Again!

Let me start this by saying that I would never hurt a fly. You’ve heard that one before, right? Well, at least I wouldn’t hurt a fly on purpose. I’d rather open a door or window and let it out than swat it with a newspaper. Of course, it wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that by swatting a fly, you then have to deal with the consequences of a fly carcass.

But this blog is about moles. The kind that invade your yard. The kind that create large mounds of dirt that leave you scratching your head saying “what the….how the…” and the kind that dig tunnels under the grass disconnecting the roots and leaving streaks of yellow all over your beautiful lawn.

Mole Trail

Those moles. Apparently one (or two) can do major damage – enough so one would think a whole family was living under your yard. Yes, we’ve tried the remedies:  gum, blood meal, sticking a water hose in the hole, you name it. We even tried solar-powered tubes you stick in the ground that emit a high frequency noise that are supposed to chase the moles away. No luck. My husband was beginning to remind me of the Bill Murray character in Caddyshack trying to get rid of the gophers.

I finally found THE solution. It’s called Mole Busters. No, it doesn’t come in a can or a box. You can’t find it at the store. It’s a guy. He comes to your house. Sets traps. Returns in a couple of days. Case closed. You pay for each dead mole. (Now you know why I started out with the fly story.) I hate killing the little guys, but, well, darnit, they gotta go. So, you got mole problems? Call me – I know a guy….

Who do I call???

Have you ever experienced this:

It's the day before Christmas Eve, family will be arriving shortly to the tune of about eight people and the washing machine seizes up? Oh yes, it's also been snowing outside and the roads are icy.

Or this:

You are pulling weeds in your yard and your septic alarm starts to go off and you are thinking, "what does that mean?" I'm scared to death that raw sewage is about to blast out of my bathtub drain in the house.

Speaking of pulling weeds, you have a bunch of them and no time to get rid of them and you need to sell your house and market it for the beautiful and carefree landscaping that it has?

Well, it's all happened to me. And more. Yes, I'm a homeowner and the darndest things happen that I either don't know how to fix or just don't have time for.  As a REALTOR, I also get involved in my clients "experiences" as well. So, I have been creating a list of companies and people that provide services that can help my clients AND me when the need arises. Many people I have called on personally and have had a good experience with. Others have been highly recommended by other real estate professionals and I have dutifully kept their name and phone number just in case.

I'm always adding to my list. Feel free to check it out and get the help you need when you need it!
http://katycrofts.yourkwagent.com/atj/user/VendorsGetAction.do

Ripe Bananas

Okay, so this might be a weird subject to start my new home selling/buying blog, but here goes. I recently included some household tips in my monthly newsletter that I send monthly to clients, past clients, friends, family and well, anyone I think might possibly read the darn thing.

This tip said:  Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected, they ripen faster.  This was intriguing to me as I would prefer my bananas to stay at the slightly green-around-the-edge phase until I have eaten them all up. I included this tip with all the confidence that "if information comes to me in an email, it must be true". Afterward, I realized I had a bunch of bananas in my own kitchen, so I went and pulled off one banana to see if it would ripen at same rate as the remaining bunch. After 3 days, all the bananas looked exactly the same.

Okay, well maybe I didn't do the experience correctly since I didn't take them apart right when I got them home from the store. So, with the next batch of bananas, I immediately picked one off (after taking my first photo of course) and began my experiment anew.  I took pictures after three days to see how the ripening of the bananas was progressing.

Hmmmmmm, they ripened at EXACTLY the same rate. I now know that I can't always believe every thing I get via email. And NO I have not fallen for the million dollars in a bank account in Ethopia thing either.

What harm can passing along bogus information about bananas do? Not much, I agree. But I just wanted all the world to know (or at least my Newsletter followers) that if I pass along incorrect information, I promise to correct it.