7 Tips for a Smooth Move

Well, it’s that time of year again! And with the summer months come all the usual challenges and rewards- the kids are home from school, the patios are open, the barbecue’s out of storage, and of course, it’s moving season. More moves take place over the summer than any other time of year and keeping that in mind we wanted to provide you with 7 top tips to help make your move worry-free.

1. Keep your home in tip-top shape

To avoid last-minute scrambling, keep your home respectably clean year-round. If you know where everything is and can access it easily, you’ll see a huge reduction in stress around moving time.

2. Labels, labels, labels

We aren’t just talking scrawling “kitchen stuff” or “old dvds” on the outside of the box with an old sharpie here, put some time into this. Try to give each box a general title and list each individual item packed in it; it sounds like a lot of work, I know, but you’ll appreciate it when you arrive at your new house, it’s dinner time and you can’t remember which box you have your favourite frying pan squirreled away in.

3. Tap into your local LCBO or Beer Store

One of the best ways of obtaining the boxes you’ll need for a move is to raid your local LCBO or Beer Store (with their express permission of course). Both stores keep a number of large boxes on hand and employees are often more than happy to pass them on to you for your moving needs if you just take the time to come in and ask.

4. Start With the Basics

This is going to sound crazy, I know, but bear with me. If you’re on a time crunch when it comes to your move, consider packing your essentials first and unpacking them last. If you really need to get to your toiletries before you go to bed on the day of your move-in but you’ve sworn you won’t unpack them until the rest of your stuff is successfully moved in, believe me you’ll dig deep and find some extra motivation.

5. Organization is the Key

Be sure to optimize your packing in each box and when packing your boxes into your move-in vehicle of choice. A tight fit could be the difference between 10 boxes and 7 or 2 moving vehicles and 1.

6. Phone a Friend!

That’s right, “phone a friend” is good for more than just contestants on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”. Rather than letting moving be a drag, tap into your friend circle and trade someone a case of beer or a nice dinner out for an afternoon’s worth of work. Packing away and moving your whole life can seem daunting to say the least, but with a good friend at your side to chat, laugh and generally have a good time with, the hours fly past faster and your move will be much less stressful.

7. Take Your Time

 It’s almost impossible to put the value of a smooth, worry-free move into words. Take some extra time while you’re packing and take it again while you’re unpacking- rushing is when the job gets sloppy and things get lost and broken. There’s no sense in breaking Great Aunt Betsy’s heirloom China because you’re trying to rush things (unless you’ve been looking for an excuse to- and don’t worry, we won’t tell).

Gift Ideas for Dad: DIY Tips for Organizing the Outdoor Man Cave a.k.a. the Garage

Organizing the Man Cave

Some men like to call the garage the ‘man cave' while women like to think of it as a place where their significant others try to fix the household items that break or build something from scratch.

With Father's Day approaching, it's a great time to think of ideas or plans to organize the garage/‘man cave' to make the space a sanctuary. It's hard to get motivated if your garage is a complete disaster. The last thing one wants to do is look for their toolbox that's hidden, a rack, or even the snow shovel. Organizing the space with shelving racks and a dozen drawers can help with easy access and can make room for more storage in the space.

Here are some ideas for DIY simple tricks to help your start your process:

Magnetic Strip for the new Tool Bar

- The magnetic strip for the tools is the new concept chef's use to adhere their knives. The concept makes the kitchen organized, so why not bring it into the garage. Instead of rummaging through drawers trying to find the correct bit, screws, or nails; it will be within arms reach. It also looks very decorative in the space if it is okay to say decorative when referring to a 'man cave'.

Photo Credit: BHG

Recycle Bin Hangers

- Take a few pieces of scrap wood, blot them to the wall for easy access and removal, instead of stacking each on top of one another. "Check out the detailed instructions over at Handyman."

Reuse the Paper Towel Holder (On Wall or Counter)

One clever idea that can make your life more organized and make ti easy to throw away items is to use an old paper towel holder. Whether it's bolted to the wall or on the counter space, use the tool for your garage bags and recycle the box. You will also need a skinny rod to ensure that it will fit through the small opening in the center of the garbage bags.

Photo Credit: Uploaded to Pinterest

Tin Can Wall Storage

- People usually recycle food cans after they have opened them. How about using them as storage in the garage? You can drill a hole in the center of the top of the can. Cans may be fastened to the walls using a pegboard and used to hold brushes, sponges, and other tools.

Photo Credit: hi Sugarplum

Screw Organizing

- Start saving those mason jars. Using these jars, you can store and label all your nails, screws and bolts or any small parts. Storage these jars on your storage shelving.

Photo Credit: Chez Larsson

DIY Tape Dispenser

- Tape is always hard to find. Scrambling through drawers tends to be annoying. This DIY tape dispenser will make your tape problems a solution, especially for the garage or workshop!

Photo Credit: American Woodworker

DIY Screwdriver Rack

- Nothing looks more organized than all your screwdriver tools organized in the 'man cave'. Drill a few holes and cut brackets for mounting, and you're done. Go check out the details and instructions over at Fresh Crush.

Photo Credit: Fresh Crush

Those are just a few highlights from a list of 28 ideas. You can see more of them in the slide presentation here. If you have ideas to add to the list then add them in the comment section below.

How To Get Organized Over The Summer

Summer is either the busiest season for an individual or the most relaxed, with countless free time. All this free time provides an opportunity for an organization. With the long winter gone, cutting the clutter is frankly the first step for an individual and their summer organizing. There are many strategies on how to cut clutter, whether it’s having a yard sale, preparing boxes for storage or just throwing a cutter in the trash; there are countless solutions to solve the problem. Clutter is evidence of several issues: poor habits, lack of organization, sentimental attachment, or frankly too much junk. Each item one holds onto is a delayed decision.

Start off your cleaning with knowing what you want to do. Planning a schedule is one way to get organized before completing the tasks. Having a schedule such as:

• Monday: Basement
• Tuesday: Closet
• Wednesday: Kid’s Closets
• Thursday: Kitchen
• Friday: Office Space
• Saturday: Packing 
• Sunday: Yard Sale

A simple schedule will help you plan and organize your time wisely, which will help you get the job finished in a timely manner. When it comes to packaging and letting go, organizing your boxes can make the process much easier. Take three large boxes and label them “put away”, “give away” or “storage”. "Give away" boxes can me put aside and used for future yard sales or donations to local charities in your community. You may be giving and taking, but having both a yard sale and donating to local boxes in your neighbourhood helps you get organized. When it comes to scheduling, complete the easy tasks first before the more difficult. Cleaning toys, boxing, and organizing are easier tasks to start with because it’ll clean the space for the next task. The estimated time needed for packing can take from 5 hours – 2 days depending how the amount of people assisting.

In regards to a yard sale, there are simple tips one can follow to have it run smoothly and make the organization and decluttering process easier for the individual.

1. A group sale is better than selling alone. More stuff draws more traffic
2. Be prepared. Be ready to go the night before so that you don’t have to rush around in the morning
3. Plan your sale layout with customers in mind. Use marketing tricks to make your customers more likely to purchase your stuff!
4. Price things carefully
5. Label things well
6. Be friendly. Greet people as they arrive — chat if they’re chatty
7. Do not bad-mouth your items
8. Be willing to bargain, but be less flexible at the start
9. Keep a ledger. Jot down a description of each item and for how much it sold
10. Do not use a cash box. Keep your money on you at all times.

Here is a useful video on more tips when throwing a yard sale. Summer is the perfect whether to enjoy a yard sale because your customers will be more active to attend and be patient to look around at every item to find its value. Listen to each tip wisely, and happy organizing!

National Garage Sale for Shelter

On May 9th, 2015 we had the privilege of participating in Royal LePage's National Garage Sale for Shelter supporting a great cause. The following video highlights the national event, with 100% of the proceeds going to help women and children who have experienced family violence.

We had a great turnout of people looking for hidden treasure amongst the various items on offer near Royal York and Eglinton but, as you can see from the maps below, the event was across the city and nationwide.

Our friends from the Furniture Bank and Collins & Greig Cartage were there to do their part and support the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. 

As previously mentioned, 100% of the proceeds go directly to helping the more than 30,000 women like Margie and children who seek shelter and support through the programs the Shelter Foundation funds. Since 1998, the Shelter Foundation has raised more than $20 million and currently supports 200 local women's shelters and national partners.

David Roney, a Royal LePage agent from Whitby, wrote a song entitled We'll Be There. You can buy a CD of the song for $10 by emailing shelterfoundation@royallepage.ca (100% of the proceeds go to the Shelter Foundation). Here is the music video.

It was a wonderful day working with other organizations to raise funds for a great cause but if you missed the garage sale or would like to know where to donate then please click here to learn more. You will be glad you did.

The Key to Organizing

Making a space clean and organized is important to some, but maintaining the cleanliness is a task in it’s own. Bloggers are passing over their own tricks and ideas on simple mundane objects that can be used towards organizing the clutter in your space.
This Buzzfeed post gives readers several ideas on household objects that turn into organization saviors to decrease the clutter.

Throughout Toronto, there are several home organization stores, which can assist the customer in their spring-cleaning, or general home organization. Take Neat Space located in Queen West and Bayview Village Mall. The store specializes in home organization, keeping the home neat and sell products in which are considered ‘neat’.

Solutions on Yonge and Eglinton is another alternative to finding organization kits for spring cleaning and general house organization. Using these simple innovated products, your space will be tidy, which will brighten the space.

Alejandra Costello, is a youtuber who specializes in home organization, giving her (466,657) subscribers tips and useful advice on keeping a small or large space organized and showing new innovations and products that a consumer can purchase to achieve this goal for their home. 

Given that Spring is upon us and we will be putting our winter coats away, here is a video from Alejandra that could help you organize your coat closet.

With her 157 videos, posting every week, she vlogs about make-up storage, DYI ideas, closet organization, office, toiletries, traveling and many more. Her training system is a 3 video series, teaching her viewers simple easy tasks and ideas to resolve their problems within their homes.

Using all these tips, your home should be extra clean for summer. Enjoy getting organized this Spring.

Teach Your Children Well...Err...To Compost

As spring is upon us and we begin to think about preparing our gardens, it may be worth considering composting. If you are already accustomed to composting then how about teaching others, like children, about it?

These days children are becoming enthusiastically involved in caring for our earth. This is being driven by education, these days children are being taught the importance of composting and how the results affect the earth. While many are not composting at home they are learning composting habits at their school where composting and recycling are enforced in the classroom.

Children as young as 18 months, and up to 5 years, are being introduced to recycling from Peppa Pig, a pig tv star whose adventures with family and friends demonstrate how easy the basics of composting are, and how it affects the environment. With children learning from a young age the importance of composting from the media it stands to reason that they will continue these practices as they grow.

Getting Organized For Spring

The words "spring cleaning" are stress-inducing to many. If you are one of these people, don’t fret, there are steps you can take to simplify the process. Plan and follow a schedule to declutter, clean and organize. Organize your time, plan different tasks on different days and watch how easy spring cleaning becomes.

1. Make a schedule: select a different task for each day, including as vacuuming, organizing, sweeping, closets and kitchen.

2. Donate unused items: a great way to declutter is donating unused and unneeded items. Donation bins are found throughout most cities, many shelters also accept clean items in good condition.

3. Host a garage sale: Make some cash while you clean, and buy yourself a treat when all of your tasks are complete. Drive more traffic to your sale by getting your neighbors to host their sales on the same day.

CBC’s Steven and Chris demonstrate some inspiring ideas and tips for preparing your home for spring.

Lending a Helping Hand and a Truck

For those who know us and our work within the community, you know how proud we are to support the Furniture Bank and the work that they do. We were very upset to hear that the Furniture Bank’s fleet of trucks had been vandalized leaving many of them immobilized and the charity in a difficult situation.

Not to be defeated, the Furniture Bank had help from their community of supporters. We were happy to join others like Tallman Truck Centre, Elegant Kitchen Gallery, Leon’s, CanadaHelps, 1800GotJunk, and YouMoveMe.

We all chipped in and those with trucks made pickups and deliveries. Our efforts paid off. Not a single household was affected and all of the Furniture Bank's commitments were met. The Furniture Bank still needs assistance and Canada Helps is leading the charge to keep them truckin'.

The Furniture Bank needs $20,000.00 to help deal with this situation. $13,730.00 has already been raised so please help if you can to raise the remaining $6,270.00. You can make a donation here. Please help us raise awareness about the Furniture Bank's situation by sharing their story.

Thank you on behalf of the Furniture Bank.