Lori Todd

As we kick off another year, many people tend to make resolutions about their health. Some want to lose weight. Some want to eat better. Some want to increase movement.  Before you can be successful with these types of goals, you need to set up your house to support and promote your resolutions.  We spend nearly two-thirds of our lives in our homes. Therefore, focusing on habits at home can lead to improving your health.

First, you need to determine your space and goals.  If you want to work out, you need to set up a space for exercising. If you want to improve your eating habits, you need to clear out junk food and organize your kitchen to help with meal-prepping.  Perhaps you want to explore meditation. If so, you could create a calm, quiet place where you can sit in silence.

Secondly, you need to make a plan.  Habits, good or bad, don’t form overnight. Whether you need to break some bad habits or you desire new habits, you must be mindful and intentional.  Take some time to look at your calendar and think about the results you want.  How are you going to get there?  By scheduling your plan of action.  Maybe you take an hour every Sunday to do some meal-planning, which helps staying on track.  Maybe you want to workout five days a week, which will burn calories and increase movement.  Whatever your goals, you have to  have action.

Give yourself some grace!  Creating a healthy home and having healthy habits may be a work in progress.  If you veer off plan, quickly acknowledge it, adjust and get back to your goals.

It’s a hard topic, right?  But, we all die.  Sadly, we see over and over again how many people do not prepare for it.  Owning a home and having assets create a lot of responsibility for loved ones after someone passes away.   You’ve heard how families will feud over personal belongings or how a property has to be cleaned out before it can be sold.  Although the timing of our death is usually unknown, the are tasks that people can handle to help others when you’re gone.

As we age, we tend to start de-cluttering. We spend the first half of our lives accumulating only to realize in the second half that we really don’t want stuff.  Getting rid of items or at least identifying who might receive the items when you’re gone can be so helpful.  Estate planning is so important. Do you have a Will? Does your loved ones know how to access your financials or find important papers if something happens to you?  Gathering and keeping the information in one secure place can relieve a lot of stress and hopefully avoid conflict with those who are left to handle your business.

Take a weekend, sooner than later, to do these tasks and make sure to share information with a designated person.  It’s one of the best gifts you can give when you’re gone.

Let’s talk size of home and what we put into it!  You don’t have to live in a Tiny House to be a Minimalist but you should consider the needs and design of space in which you live.  Minimalism is about being practical and efficient; being simple and definitely living within your means.

Decorating a home for a Minimalist usually means focusing on a palette of limited colors and/or patterns.  Decluttering your home is the first step.  I like to think of it as subtracting before adding.  You really need to take away ‘stuff’ so that you can have more empty space. Donating, selling or repurposing duplicate or excessive items will help free up space.  It can be a hard process for those who like to hang on to things, but do we really need a dozen winter coats or four measuring cups or three sets of dishes for company that never visits?

Making a Healthy Home starts with removing chaos so spend time in each room looking around and remove items that are too busy or unnecessary.  You may decide that a Minimalist lifestyle isn’t for you but you may find joy in reducing the clutter.

Owning a home isn’t for everyone.  If you do not have the time or funds for routine maintenance then living in a condo or renting may be better for you.  Winter weather can be hard on a house. It’s very important to take precautions for freezing temperatures. Servicing the furnace annually each Fall is a must and helps the HVAC system run more efficiently. Making sure you disconnect garden hoses from outside spigots and making sure heat reaches to all indoor plumbing will help prevent busted water pipes.

It’s really interesting to think about the construction and maintenance of houses throughout the Country. Depending on what region and climate a home is located will determine how a house is built and what types of materials are used.  Just think about the difference of a house in Alaska versus a house in South Florida.  One probably doesn’t need Air Conditionally while the other one doesn’t use much heat.  And, some houses are made of brick or stone while other houses are wrapped in vinyl siding.  All of these variations of construction affect the maintenance of a house.  And, Buyers need to consider continuous home maintenance when considering a home purchase.

We have a checklist that can help with routine maintenance. Email us for a copy!

It looks good on the surface but if we really look hard, we have concerns lingering around us.  We are excited to see the Seller’s Market bring higher prices and faster sales for our Sellers but that also means that Buyers may be forced to pay higher prices and get into bidding wars with other Buyers if they want to buy a house.  So, the ‘Good Market’ depends on what side of the coin you flip. The stock market is good so some say the economy is good; however, due to the pandemic, we have hundreds of thousands of people out of work right now and not able to pay rent or mortgage. You can only kick the can down the road so far until it falls to the curb.

The CDC’s eviction restrictions expire on 12/31/2020. Congress needs to work on plans before then to help Tenants and Landlords deal with past due rent balances.  Homeowners who requested a mortgage forbearance may have a few months with less expense, but that only delayed the payments and interest is still assessed.  The Pandemic has created so many more problems that just an illness that may be more harmful to some than others. In addition to the health concerns, it’s somehow become a political divider, a destructor to finances, and a stress-inducer.

We sure don’t have the answers but the American People need to come together to help one another. It’s critical for the Housing Market to remain strong.  When the Housing Market is in good shape, we typically see a good economy.

Home has always been a place for shelter and safety but now it’s become a place for work and quarantining.  Creating a work space within your home provides an organized place to work efficiently and allows you to separate work from personal life.  Maintaining a scheduled routine is very important while working from home.  Eat in the kitchen, not in your work space. Keep your work space separate from other functions so that you can mentally prepare for work and check out when it’s personal time.  Make sure you have good lighting in your work space and keep your computer backed up, virus and password-protected.  If you have a room or space area in your home that could be set up for a work space, take some time to rearrange and decorate so that you are happy to report to work and avoid being distracted by house chores.

Although you might expect the real estate market to slow down during a crisis such as a pandemic, there are no signs of any slowing.  Interest rates are at an all-time low. Affordable Housing is nearly extinct.  And, there are fewer listings on the market while there are plenty of buyers searching to make a purchase.  Statistics show a decrease in sales but that is more to do with the lack of listings than the lack of activity.

Here locally, we are seeing multiple offers within hours. That sounds wonderful for Sellers but that means Buyers are forced to pay higher prices and must be prepared to write an offer on the spot. If Buyers decide to ‘think it over’, they will most likely miss out on the house.  Agents must be paying attention nearly every minute to the new listings and Buyers must be pre-approved and ready to write an appealing offer.

As we look ahead to the 4th quarter, we expect a bit of a slowdown as we get through the Elections but we believe the market will continue to be strong through 2021.

Have you thought about all the toxins in your house?  Cleaners, candles, carpets, dust, and allergens can cause toxins in your house.  Getting rid of toxins can be overwhelming and also very expensive.  You can start by taking one room at a time and making small changes.

Candles can be warm and inviting but they can also give off toxins. If you’d like some aromatherapy, consider diffusing essential oils instead of burning candles.  Cleaning a house is important but using natural products instead of chemicals can easily leave your home not only clean but also toxic-free.  Bathroom toiletries can also be quite toxic. Take a look at the products in make-up, deodorant and shampoo.

Learning to read labels and making product changes will lead to less toxins.