Is it Christmas yet? Transitioning your Home for the Season

Our homes work extra hard in the last few months of the year, so let's talk about transitioning them to be the most hosting friendly, beautiful, and fun that they can be.

Halloween is officially over so we are firmly in the holiday season. We're so excited for the season of hosting, celebrating, eating and gifting, and we're going to give you a lot of thoughts, tips and tricks on how to make your home work for whatever the goal is for you. To kick off our 6 holiday tips we’re going to talk about sales!

Tip #1 Buy What Is Helpful

A lot of us are thinking about shopping as Black Friday nears, and I think more people this year will be opening sales up early. Keep in mind just what would be helpful to you and how you can use sales specifically to your advantage.

And think about the needs that you have specifically for this season. Do you need a popup table because you're going to have extra guests over for meals? Do you need to have some extra chairs to fit at that Pop-Up table? Do you need an air mattress? Think about what you need, what could help make your life easier, and shop smart!

Tip #2 Remove decor before adding more!

You can easily get overwhelmed in the holiday season, especially if you're a big gift giver with all the stuff in your house it can easily get pretty cluttered. That is why our next tip is so helpful: Remove some decor before you get out the seasonal stuff. Take down some of your mainstay simple stuff. If you have coffee, table books, knickknacks, different even pieces of art, if you want to add more things to the walls, sometimes providing a blank slate to then decorate for the holidays can really help you from feeling completely overwhelmed in your home. Getting the clutter out of the way would definitely help as you have more people and more things inevitably in your house.

And a bonus is that at the end of the holiday season, when you're putting your regular décor back, it feels fresh and  it's exciting to put the seasonal decor away and take your regular decor back out.Now, I want to be clear. We're not putting pressure on you to go buy all of HomeGoods and put it in your house. Now, if you want to do that, we're in full support, but decor does not have to be so overt.

Tip #3 Subtle Seasonal Decor 

When you walk into the front door of your home it doesn’t need to say “It’s Fall” or “It’s Christmas Here”, your decorating can speak for itself by being subtle instead of overt. If you want a change, that 's a change in all of the senses, it's not just visual decor, but it's also things having to do with smell, taste, feel. So seasonal snacks, seasonal fabrics, think flannel sheets or plaid blankets. Since we know that we love a good candle, those can be just as impactful as visual decor and making sure that your whole house isn’t decorated in red and green. Small changes can really make it feel more like the season.

Tip #4 Pick a Holiday Color Scheme 

One of the easiest ways to decorate is to decide on a general color scheme, Christmas decor, if we're talking specifically about the Christmas season, does not have to be all red and green. You could be regal and still be Christmas-y. Decide on that general theme and keep in mind you don't have to use all of the Christmas decor that you have this year. You can save some of it and bring it out next season. Add a little bit here and there! Even wrapping your gifts could coordinate with that scheme and that you could treat your gifts as part of your decor, so your gifts wrapped under the tree can be totally part of your decor. (A rule of thumb should be, if they're not fun for you to put up, it's time for you to get rid of them.)

Tip #5 Outdoor Decorations Are Fun For Everyone

Let's talk about decorating the outside of our house for the holiday season. It's kinda part of being a good neighbor - helping make it fun for everyone. A lot of times it just exemplifies that people care for their homes. I live in a community where a lot of houses look pretty similar, because they're newer in our small little community and it brings me much joy to see the Christmas lights. Some people are all out and decorating the exteriors in different ways. 

Go big with an inflatable, because they sell one for everything OR a simple wreath, which is also so nice and seasonal. Outdoor decor is fun and we encourage you to be a good neighbor and put something outside!

Tip #6 It’s About Celebration, Not Perfection

It's really common for people to feel extra pressure about having this Instagram worthy Christmas tree, etc, etc. We do not want to be adding that pressure to you! It's about fun, enjoying and celebrating, not perfection. If there was a huge home project that you didn't get to this year, just let it go, reschedule it for the spring. Enjoy the season. I've had a couple of friends that have done kitchen renovations in October that all of a sudden ran into Thanksgiving, and they were so stressed out. Just enjoy your house exactly where it's at by looking for the good, instead of what it’s not. 

When do you put up your tree? Are you a...

Thanksgiving Tree: Nostalgia, traditions, and wanting as much time to enjoy the joy that Christmas brings as possible.

Christmas Tree: Fall is for Thanksgiving and Winter is for Christmas, enjoying each individual season/ seasonal decor. 

We'd love for you to head on over to social media, give us some comments, vote on when you like to decorate, and we'll see who's in the majority here! Which one are you?

Reason For the Season

This season is just all about celebration and it is so sweet to just remember the reason for the season. Take or leave whatever advice really suits you today. We hope this season provides a little reprieve from the weight of this year in particular. If you need some direction on preparing for hosting, we've got a blog for that, so check out our blog called 10 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Guests at WhereWeLivePodcast.com. Lastly, don't forget to tag us in your holiday decor photos, we would love to see them!

Happy Holidays! (too soon?)

Brianna & Keelie

Preparing your Home for the Winter Months

For many of us, home maintenance is not on the top of our minds. We’ve compiled a list of things you should be thinking about as the winter season approaches. 

Pier & Beam Foundations often have covers on the vents. Old school thinking was that you should cover the vents during cold months. Instead, you should remove the covers to let it breathe freely to prevent moisture issues beneath your house.

Your sprinkler/irrigation system should be turned off in cold months! If you have a rain sensor, this will detect freezing temperatures and make sure that your system isn’t running if the temperature is below freezing. 

Should I leave my faucets dripping if the temperatures are below freezing? Actually, YES, if it’s going to be really cold for several days. Especially if you have a tankless water heater that is on an outside wall. These tend to freeze, but keeping a slow drip will maintain the water movement. 

Speaking of water heaters, yours should be serviced once a year. Now is a good time! HVAC systems should be serviced twice a year, so now is also a good time for that. While you’re at it, test your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors now too.

Cover your hose bibs, have your chimney swept, clean your roof and gutters from debris.

We hope this was helpful and reminded you of a few items to add to your to-do list. If you have any further questions, contact us!