Category: Home Improvement

Spring Cleaning Time is Here

Spring is almost here, which means it’s time to start thinking about spring cleaning. This annual tradition is a great opportunity to refresh your home and get rid of the clutter that has accumulated over the winter months. Spring cleaning can be a daunting task, but with a little planning and organization, it can be a rewarding experience.

The first step in any spring cleaning project is to declutter your space. Take a look at each room in your home and identify the items that you no longer need or want. This could be anything from old clothes and toys to outdated electronics and appliances. Make a pile of these items and decide whether to donate, sell, or dispose of them. Once you have decluttered your space, you will have a better idea of what needs to be cleaned and organized.

Next, it’s time to tackle the deep cleaning. Start by dusting and wiping down all surfaces, including shelves, countertops, and furniture. Don’t forget to clean hard-to-reach areas such as the tops of cabinets and ceiling fans. Vacuum carpets and mop hard floors, and don’t forget to clean your windows and blinds.

If you have a lot of items to organize, consider investing in some storage solutions. There are many options available, from plastic bins to decorative baskets and shelves. These can help you keep your space tidy and make it easier to find what you need.

Spring cleaning is also a great time to do some home maintenance tasks. Check your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they are working properly. Replace the batteries if necessary. Test your HVAC system to make sure it’s running efficiently, and change the air filters. Clean out your gutters and check your roof for any damage.

Finally, don’t forget to take care of yourself during spring cleaning. It can be physically and mentally exhausting, so be sure to take breaks and stay hydrated. You can also enlist the help of friends or family members to make the task more manageable.

In conclusion, spring cleaning is a great way to refresh your home and start the new season off on the right foot. By decluttering, deep cleaning, and organizing your space, you can create a more inviting and functional environment. Don’t be afraid to tackle the task, and remember to take care of yourself along the way. Happy cleaning!

5 Ways to Refresh Your Kitchen

If your kitchen looks a little dull, it’s time to refresh it. From small changes to big overhauls, it’s easy to give your kitchen a facelift without breaking the bank! In this article, we will explore five ways to instantly refresh the heart of your home: your kitchen. From new hardware to a fresh coat of paint, you’ll soon have a kitchen that feels completely renovated, but at a fraction of the cost of a full renovation. Keep reading to find out all the best ways to refresh your kitchen.

Add Storage Space

The first way to make your kitchen feel almost like new is to add storage space. Consider investing in organized shelving systems or hanging solutions such as hooks for pots and pans and racks for utensils. Are you using available storage space close to the ceiling?

Anything you can do to get items off of your countertop makes cooking easier. And everyone loves a kitchen with countertops that are clutter-free.

Get the right kitchen tools

A second way to make the most of your kitchen doesn’t involve a physical renovation at all. Investing in quality kitchen tools can make your kitchen feel new by making it more productive. If you select durable tools and kitchenware that can stand up to frequent use, and that make hard tasks feel easy, you have made an investment in how you feel about your kitchen and cooking. This is priceless. It’s worth the extra money to buy quality items that will last.

Try a new coat of paint

A new coat of paint can make your kitchen look energized and refreshed. The colors can draw attention to certain architectural features like trim and doors, and they can hide the. The clean lines of a wall painted with a fresh coat of paint can give the room a brand-new look. Depending on the color chosen, paint can transform a room from looking outdated and worn to modern and stylish. The entire design of the space can seem more open and bright with a new coat of paint.

Subdivide your shelves

Do you have stuff stacked on top of stuff in your pantry? Are your shelves layered like an archeological dig? Invest in smaller shelves or separate matching containers to hold all the random stuff that accumulates on your shelves over time. Not only will your kitchen look cleaner. but it will be easier and more fun to use, making the whole kitchen experience more enjoyable.

Sort and toss

And maybe consider that you just have too much stuff. Throw some of it away. Do you have items that do the exact same thing as others? Keep the one of highest quality and liberate your kitchen by donating the other one or throwing it away. Not sure how old that ingredient is? Maybe that means you don’t use it often enough to justify keeping it on your shelf for future generations.

A couple of simple changes can help transform your kitchen without investing in a messy and inconvenient renovation.

New Wood Flooring is a Huge Return on Investment – Here’s How to Dispose of Your Old Floor

When sprucing up your home or flipping a house, redoing floors is an investment that pays for itself. As an example, new wood flooring offers as much as 118% return on investment.

 

And replacing a floor is both functional and beautiful.

 

But when replacing a floor, you can create a great deal of waste. Properly disposing of an old floor is an important part of the process. Here are suggestions for how to dispose of different types of floors as you replace them.

Wood flooring

 

Wood flooring is beautiful and durable, but requires maintenance. This means that some part of figuring out what to do next means assessing the viability of the existing wood floors. Are they in pretty good shape? Are they rotted through from years of neglect or exposure to water? Here are the possibilities.

 

Re-using your wood floors – If the floors are in relatively good shape, there is a better option that replacing them. Reconditioning and restoring old wooden floors not only adds to the charm and beauty of an older house, but it also saves the work that comes with removing an old floor and putting in a new one.

 

Re-cycling your old wood floor – if re-using doesn’t fit your needs or skill set, there might still be a little life left in the old wooden floor. Many communities have re-purposing sites that take your old items, sometimes even paying you for them. Then they resell it to an interested buyer.

 

Throwing it away – of course, the last option is the one that is always available. You can throw away your old wooden floor. In this case, you might need to rent a dumpster.

 

Vinyl or laminate flooring

 

In many cases, vinyl or laminate flooring is nearly impossible to reuse or recover. Trouble matching with new pieces, and permanent staining mean you have to start with the strongest response: throwing it away. If recovery isn’t possible, rent a dumpster to dispose of the old floor after checking with your local waste disposal company to make sure they take that particular style of waste.

 

And always check for asbestos. In many cases, older floors will have trapped asbestos beneath them, and the cost of removal with asbestos treatment is astronomical. Check before you make a costly mistake!

 

Photo created by author on Dall*E

How to Dispose of Old Insulation

One of the most cost effective improvements you can make to an old house during a renovation or flip is to replace or enhance the insulation. In some cases, this means the relatively simple task of adding blown insulation or another roll of sheet insulation to existing layers.

 

Other times it involves the challenging task of removing a lot of old insulation. And that means finding out how to correctly dispose of it in a safe and economical way.

Fiberglass

Perhaps the most common form of insulation used in the United States is fiberglass. Whether blown into walls and cavities, or laid in sheets in walls and crawl spaces, fiberglass is a lightweight and efficient insulator.

 

 

For that reason, many new insulation jobs involve simply adding to the existing fiberglass and leaving the old stuff where it is.

 

If you must replace good fiberglass insulation, perhaps to achieve a certain LEED rating; you can examine donating existing insulation to a cooperative or recycling center in your area.

 

However, time, heat, dust and humidity – or water and mud – can take its toll on fiberglass and render it useless. When this happens you will need to dispose of it.

 

Fortunately most communities accept fiberglass insulation in their dumps. You should always do a reality check, and communicate with your dumpster supplier to confirm. But you can usually cheaply and safely simply carry the fiberglass insulation to your rented dumpster.

Mineral Wool

A less commonly used form of insulation is mineral wool. Often used to combine soundproofing with heat and cold insulation, this product can also be blown or come in sheets.

 

There are various types of mineral wool, made with different ingredients. There is no general advice about this. It is your responsibility to determine whether it complies with your community’s waste disposal requirements.

 

The experts who rent you your dumpster can help with this identification and in making sure you are following community guidelines.

Vermiculite

A final commonly used form of insulation in old homes is vermiculite. This is a most problematic form of insulation because it often includes the hazardous material asbestos. In the case that your vermiculite has asbestos, you should proceed with caution. Your project might involve trapping the asbestos in place and working around it.

 

If you have expert help who confirms no asbestos content, again check your community’s waste disposal guidelines to determine whether you can safely rent a dumpster and fill it with your old insulation.

Image created by author on Dall*E

Great Ideas for a Closet Renovation

In an era where good housing is hard to find, and not enough is being built, families are working to maximize the space they have. This means making the most of every bit of space under their roof.

 

After kitchens, basement, and other major room improvements, many homeowners find they need more storage space. One option is to rent a garage in a climate controlled facility where you store the stuff you don’t want to think about. The other is to renovate your storage space and get the most out of every inch.

 

Here are some ideas to help you make the most of your available space.

Hanging Shelves

Hanging cloth shelves is a great way to make the most of space dominated by a single hanger pole. Their smaller size allows each shelf to hold a little something – or slightly more than it seems like it should. Go vertical and economical to expand your storage space.

Add shelves up high

Too often, the space above your hangers goes to waste. This awkward space is too tall to hold a lot, and too “overhead” to hold anything big or heavy enough to take up that space. So why not break up that space with shelves? Small, light boxes can hold seasonal items or seldom-used accessories. Be sure to clearly label them to save time and energy. Best yet, they won’t throw your back out when you lift them down.

 

Don’t forget to add a small foldable footstool to make those items easier to reach!

Add a row of small specialized shelves

One problem with shelves and cubbies is that they are often exactly the wrong size. Too big for some items, too small for others. Giving yourself various options of shelf sizes means that not everything needs to be the same size – and that means less wasted space.

Hire a professional closet designer

Of course, if it fits within your means, you can hire a professional closet designer to remake your closet to get the most out of every inch. A professional designer will have access to all sorts of ideas you might not encounter on Pinterest, and have experience with solutions. Better yet, they will be able to let you know what will and won’t work before you make a mistake.

 

Photo by Max Vakhtbovych: https://www.pexels.com/photo/design-of-modern-white-wardrobe-with-shelves-6782348/

Are You a Property Manager? You Need a Dedicated Dumpster Company

Whether you are managing one property or dozens, the work can seem never-ending. Every day there is an endless stream of tasks and decisions coming your way.

Some are small and make almost no visible difference in the property or the profitability. Others are hidden but have a huge impact. And occasionally it is your job to make the final call on really big decisions that can shape the whole property or business for years to come.

Putting some of those daily decisions on auto-pilot by contracting with trusted vendors helps make the small decisions easy. This frees up time, energy and resources to dedicate to the big decisions that can shape your future.

Develop a partnership with a trusted dumpster company

Whether you need to contract with companies for cleaning, painting, waste removal, paving, or other tasks, it makes sense to find a dependable partner and stick with them. Once a team has proven themselves to be trustworthy, dependable, and pay attention to details, you will want to keep them in your phone for years to come.

This will save you time and energy over and over again.

One area where this is abundantly clear is in choosing a dedicated dumpster company. Chances are that your dumpster needs happen in a similar way every time. You want a certain size dumpster delivered to a specific location. It should be there a specified amount of time, and picked up the same number of days later.

Because these patterns are repeated, you can save yourself a lot of time by sticking with one specific company that knows you and knows your expectations.

The alternative is having to spend time on the phone explaining the whole thing in detail each time you need the work done. Then you have to manage the problems that come with not having it done right the first time. But instead of having to do that once, you have to do it every time you need a dumpster.

Doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results is how Einstein defined insanity.

Don’t do that to yourself.

Instead, for your recurring dumpster project, choose Big Daddy Dumpsters. Explain it to us once, and then … call us back when you need us. We can pull up your recurring order and save you time and energy. Our experienced and friendly staff will replicate that order and confirm specific details – saving you from having to explain the whole thing over and over.

Set it and forget it (mostly). And spend that time doing something else, like working on your golf game.

Photo by Tobias Bjørkli: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-concrete-high-rise-building-2119714/

Rent a Dumpster for Your Massive 4th of July Party

You’ve rented the tents. You’ve ordered the ice cream. You’ve designated who will bring the ice, and who will bring firewood.

You have planned a birthday party for America that the country, and certainly your friends and family, will not soon forget.

You’re going to make a mess, and you don’t want to make dozens of extra trips hauling full garbage bags to the curb. Or worse, you don’t want all that mess sitting in your garage or back yard for days until garbage pickup day – a day that has been delayed because of the holiday.

You should rent a dumpster.

Why a dumpster is a better option

Sure, you could just buy a bunch of trash bags. After all, you will have help cleaning up. Aunts and uncles, friends and neighbors will all be willing to take a bag or two and walk around the area.

But then what?

Where will you put them? This is not ordinary trash.

After all, most of what made it a fabulous, unforgettable blowout party is also what will bring raccoons and cats, flies and bees, and all sorts of other critters to the pile of trash.

You will want to put those bags in a dumpster.

Designed to save you time and energy in just this sort of situation, a dumpster will also save you headaches and even greater mess.

If you tried to shove all those bags into your trash cans, you would run out of trash cans. Additionally, a lot of communities have limits on how much trash they will pick up at one location on trash day.

Worse yet, even if you could leave all those bags piled up on the curb, one night of neighborhood critters could create a massive mess as the critters attempt to open, eat, and drag those bags back home to their young ones. It could end up looking like a bomb went off, even after your efforts to clean everything up.

In this case, while renting a dumpster might incur a little extra expense, it more than makes up for it in making a more enjoyable party, and easier clean-up and a smaller trash hangover.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska: https://www.pexels.com/photo/waving-flag-of-united-states-of-america-4386426/

 

 

Get a Bigger Dumpster Than You Think You Need, Here’s Why

Sure, a dumpster rental place is going to tell you to get a bigger dumpster than you think they need. Of course they are, right? It’s called an upsell, and every company does it.

Except there’s more to it than simply upselling.

Getting a bigger dumpster than you initially think you need is good planning advice for multiple reasons. The bottom line is, in most cases it will ultimately save you time and money. Here’s a list of reasons, some related to each other, and overlapping, but each unique.

Your estimation skills are strong

Years of experience have taught you that you have a strong sense of spatial reasoning. You can see how things fit together. You have planned it all out and this will  fit perfectly in the dumpster you have picked out.

Here’s the problem. The act of tearing things out, breaking them down, and throwing them in the dumpster creates space. It creates jagged edges and ill-fitting corners that don’t settle.

That means your project has air pockets in it.

If you’ve planned for that, great. However, if you imagined a compact dumpster neatly packed tight with your rubbish, like a truck on moving day, that is not what you are getting.

Consider rounding up to the next biggest size to allow for the spaces you can’t fill.

You’re a good neighbor

Over the years, or even the past few weeks, you have developed a great relationship with at least a couple of your neighbors. You’re a good person, and you understand the value of getting along with the people who live closest to you, and can keep an eye on things when you’re not around.

So you might offer to let them throw a few things in your dumpster. Or they might assume, because you are so terrific and welcoming, that there is an open invitation to throw their own stuff in there.

That means you are going to have more in there than you ever planned. Maybe a lot more.

You want to do this once

You are a planner, and this event is planned. One trip in, one trip out. You know you have saved yourself a lot of time and energy.

But with space taken up by air, neighbors contributing, and the potential of someone adding another project around the house, you don’t want to do this again.

And you definitely don’t want to stack bags of debris in the garage to bring out on trash day.

Do it once. Account for these factors when choosing the size of your next dumpster rental.

Photo by Markus Spiske: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-trash-bin-with-full-of-trash-3806764/

 

 

Rent a Dumpster for Your Next Big Home Project

HG TV has filled you with great new ideas. You have saved and planned. And now it is time to create your dream renovation. Whether it is your bedroom, dinising room, kitchen, basement, or garage, you have big ideas.

Things are going to change.

But you will need to rent a dumpster.

Order too small, and you will have more of the same problems you were trying to avoid in the first place: piles of bags at the curb, complaining neighbors, and an unsightly front lawn. Go too big and you might overpay and use up some of your precious budget unnecessarily, leaving you less able to fill your new space with needed items, or having to cut corners elsewhere.

Here are the steps you must take in order to make sure you get the right dumpster for your project.

Figure out your dumpster size needs

This is often the most challenging part of ordering a dumpster: looking at the project and anticipating how big of a dumpster you will need to hold it all.

First, start with what you can see. Everything will take up more space once you have torn it apart, crumbled it up, and piled it loosely into a dumpster. The mess generally expands the more times you move it.

So is some of the furniture going out? Wallpaper? Structural materials? Will that include lathe? Concrete? Some soil? Objects unearthed during the cleaning phase?

But also remember that you will be throwing out packaging and waste from your new items too. Will you be scraping and painting? Don’t forget that there will be blades, brushes and more going in. The packing material for new fixtures often retains a lot of its original size and shape.

Imagine these items loosely jumbled together. That’s just about the size you need.

Figure out your dumpster schedule

Of course, there is a second factor in your rental: how long will you need it? It makes sense to have a dumpster onsite for the entire length of your project. Last minute supply arrivals will generate trash just like the first items did, and you don’t want to be caught off-guard, or violate your HOA or anger your neighbors.

Plus you don’t want to have to do the work twice.

You will need the dumpster on site for the first day of tear down, or else you will spend valuable time and energy moving your debris twice.

With these two factors in hand, contact Big Daddy Dumpsters at (937) 915-3984. Our friendly and experienced staff will help make sure your project goes as smoothly as possible.

Photo by Emmet

 

Build A Shed This Summer

Your home and your yard require a large number of tools and supplies to keep in normal working order. Tools, supplies, seeds, mowers, and blowers … the list is long. After a while they outgrow your basement or your garage and need to occupy their own special, dedicated space at your home.

You need a shed.

And while there are a wide range of prefabricated sheds available at local hardware and feed stores, you can build a shed this summer by following these steps.

Measure and make space for your new shed

First, examine your storage needs and map it out. How much floor space do you need? Think about your wall space, and remember that you lose room at the corners. You also need space around each tool so you can grab it or take it off the wall.

Once you have measured, look at your yard and make space for your future shed. Do you need to take down some shrubs? Cut into your existing garage? Remove the old shed? Either way, out with the old, and in with the new! This might be the excuse you needed to rent a dumpster!

Choose a style and download a plan

Sheds come in a variety of styles. Are you looking for a lean-to, the most common and simplest structure? Perhaps you prefer a carefully crafted look, and want to build a model barn?

Or will you get really adventurous and make a mini-model of your home?

Whichever it is, there is definitely a plan for it online. These online plans are often downloadable and printable. Some are free, and others come with more detailed print plans for a small cost.

Buy the materials and build or assemble your shed

Following the plan you’ve purchased and downloaded, head to the local lumber company. Use the supplies list as a buying guide, and make sure you come home with everything you need.

And the hardest part requires the fewest words: build it.

Though it may take an afternoon or two, your new shed will free up space in your garage or basement, make it easier to do yardwork, and be an attractive conversation piece for years to come.

Photo by Pixabay

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