Month: September 2020

Best Weekend Projects for Homeowners

Written by Marybeth Heckler on . Posted in Home Improvement.

Now that fall is arriving and the temperatures are dropping, but not too cold, it’s a great opportunity to break out the tools and start working on some of those weekend projects. If you are the type of person who loves tinkering around the house when you have a little downtime, then you probably already know that these projects can be a kind of “Zen-like” activity that lets you relax while also doing something beneficial.

Here are some of the best weekend projects for homeowners to take on now that the sweltering heat has faded:

  1. Do some painting — If you’ve got the time and inclination, now is a great opportunity to get that touch-up painting done you’ve wanted to do all year. This doesn’t mean you have to devote a whole weekend to paint an entire room. Instead, you can do a bit of restoration painting by giving your front door a new coat (or even trying out a totally new color). If you have built-in shelving, try painting the interiors of the shelves a contrasting color to give it a nice visual pop.
  2. Lawn care maintenance — Now that the summer is over, it’s probably time to do some maintenance on your lawn equipment to make sure that it is ready to run when the spring rolls around again. This is the perfect opportunity to check the plugs and engine of your lawnmower and to sharpen its blades. Then, you can put it aside for now knowing you will have it ready when the grass starts growing again.
  3. Do some redecorating — Not all weekend projects are of the “handyman with tools” variety. You can also do simple redecorating of your home to give it a new look. Just reorganize a family room or moving around a few pieces of furniture can do wonders to rejuvenate the place. Also, consider replacing some of that tired artwork you’ve had up for years with something more personal that you make yourself.
  4. Install new shelves — Chances are there is a part of your room that needs more organization. It could be the garage, the pantry, the laundry room, or even your master closet. Regardless of where you need them, take a weekend to organize your home a little better with shelving units. These can help you keep everything in nice, neat rows without having to stack stuff up on the floor.
  5. Plant a garden — Just because its fall doesn’t mean you can’t do some gardening. Goldenrod, sumac, and sunflowers are just a few of the great flower options that will do well in a fall garden.

Weekend projects are a great way to not only keep your house looking great, but also to help keep you active. This fall, try out some of these weekend projects to help you relax with a little work.

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Whether you’re buying, selling, refinancing, or building your dream home, I’m here to help you explore the many financing options available. Ensuring that you make the right choice for you and your family is my ultimate goal. I am committed to providing my customers with mortgage services that exceed their expectations. Find out more by visiting my website.

Celebrating Halloween During a Pandemic

Written by Marybeth Heckler on . Posted in Holidays.

For some of us, our fondest childhood memories of autumn have always been the memories of trick-or-treating and celebrating Halloween. And as parents, we want to share those experiences with our children so that they can form great memories as well.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine have pretty much destroyed some of those opportunities this year. But parents shouldn’t just throw in the towel and cancel Halloween just yet. Instead, you should plan for some pandemic-friendly activities for your little ones this fall.

Try some of these great Halloween activities with your family:

  1. Go Trick-or-Treating (From a Distance) — First, Halloween and trick-or-treating may not be safe in all areas, particularly where COVID has flared up heavily. However, you may be able to have a “socially distanced” trick-or-treat experience by wearing surgical masks with your Halloween costume and going to neighbors who are leaving the treats out on the lawn in separate packs for the kids to pick up. Also, be sure to include lots of hand sanitizer to use in between homes.

 

  1. Have a Zoom Costume Contest — If you are stuck at home and have lots of friends and family that you miss, one way to get in touch on Halloween is with Zoom. You can have an online party with all of your friends and their children and have the kids model their Halloween costumes for the adults. You can also get others to be impartial judges and pick the best or scariest costumes. During your modeling, be sure to throw on a Halloween soundtrack like “Monster Mash” or “Thriller.”

 

  1. Have a Scary Movie Double Feature — There are lots of streaming options out there that have plenty of scary movies you can watch no matter what age you are. For the little kids, you might want to choose a tame film like Hocus Pocus or The Addams Family. But for the older kids (or the adults when the little ones go to sleep) you can try classic horror films like Night of the Living Dead or Friday the 13th.

 

  1. Carve a Jack-O-Lantern — This is an activity that is always a Halloween winner but is also possible to do during quarantine. There are hundreds of different jack-o-lantern patterns available online or for purchase. Just be sure to get a good carving tool kit that can make it easier. And, for the little ones, consider getting glow-in-the-dark paint and other craft materials that you can glue onto the pumpkins without having to carve them.

This Halloween, you don’t have to let the pandemic ruin your plans to make lasting memories with your family. Instead, just do some careful planning and enjoy some of these safe activities with your friends and kids.

 

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Whether you’re buying, selling, refinancing, or building your dream home, I’m here to help you explore the many financing options available. Ensuring that you make the right choice for you and your family is my ultimate goal. I am committed to providing my customers with mortgage services that exceed their expectations. Find out more by visiting my website.

Are You Making Any of These Closet Mistakes?

Written by Marybeth Heckler on . Posted in Homeowner.

If you’re like us, you’ve probably been binge-watching shows and reading books on organization from luminaries such as Marie Kondo. While these organizational gurus make it look easy to bring order to a chaotic environment, it’s actually a little harder than it appears.

Probably one of the worst organizational areas for many people is the bedroom closet. After all, you can toss things in there willy-nilly and not have to look at it again. But there are habits you may be doing that are making your closet a disorganized mess.

Here are a few tips to keep your closet organized:

  1. You’ve got too much stuff — The biggest mistake for most people is keeping too many items in your closet. If you’ve been watching Netflix’s Get Organized with The Home Edit, you know the first step to any organizing process is to edit. It’s another way of saying, start your process by decluttering. Take all of your clothes and accessories off the racks and shelves and put them in your bedroom. Then sort it into three piles: keep, donate/sell, trash. Once you go through, you’re going to find some real fashion emergencies that you should have never bought in the first place, much less held onto. Get rid of them and see how much room you have left.

 

  1. Place like items together — The best organizational system is to place all of your like items together. Put pants together with pants, dress shirts together with dress shirts, summer blouses together with summer blouses…you get the picture. This creates a neat organizational system and makes it easier to find things.

 

  1. Use the rows appropriately — If your closet has two rows of hanging rods, then chances are you aren’t using them right. Most people put the shirts on the top and the pants on the bottom. (After all, that’s how it goes on our bodies.) Instead, place the shirts on the bottom and the pants on the top. Generally speaking, pants folded on a hanger take up less space than shirts. If you keep the shirts on top, you will be covering up part of your bottom row and making it harder to see and access.

 

  1. Don’t bury things — Make sure that you set aside a specific area for your shoes so they don’t get buried. If you cover these up with luggage and other items, you will (at best) not be able to find them and (at worst) damage them irreparably.

 

  1. Don’t have boxes inside of boxes — One of the biggest mistakes is that you buy boxes to organize your closet and then put more boxes inside of them. Instead, we recommend using clear plastic containers that are labeled with “shoes” or “purses.” This way, you can actually see what you are looking at before you start digging through the boxes.

 

If you follow these steps, your morning sojourn into the closet to find your clothes will go a lot smoother. And you will have the peace of mind that comes from having an organized closet instead of an untidy disaster area.

 

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Whether you’re buying, selling, refinancing, or building your dream home, I’m here to help you explore the many financing options available. Ensuring that you make the right choice for you and your family is my ultimate goal. I am committed to providing my customers with mortgage services that exceed their expectations. Find out more by visiting my website.

A Guide for Great Coffee Shops in Denver

Written by Marybeth Heckler on . Posted in Denver.

Fall is here and many of us are relishing the cooler temperatures so we can enjoy the local coffee shops with a warm cup of java. But it’s not enough to have a good house coffee. A great coffee shop also has to have that quirky ambiance, friendly baristas, and unusual specialty drinks that make each one unique.

We’d like to share some of our favorite coffee shops in the Denver area where you can be sure to get a great cup of coffee—and yes, that includes pumpkin spice lattes. (While there are some restrictions in place thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak, many of these are still open with mask requirements and social distancing.)

Here’s a list of great coffee shops in Denver you don’t want to miss:

  • Queen City Denver Collective – You’ve probably heard a lot about the whole concept of “farm-to-table.” But have you heard about “farm-to-cup?” Queen City Denver Collective has been around for over a decade as the owners worked in Zimbabwe on humanitarian projects. The café is dedicated to bringing in beans directly from the farmers and roasting them in-house to give you the freshest brews possible. Also, be sure to check out the Dark Star, a nitro cold brew that is mixed with Mexican Coke.
  • Steam Espresso Bar – If you are a fan of microbrew beers, then you might want to try the Steam Espresso Bar, a location that has been open since 2013. Steam only buys their coffee from micro-roasters and are committed to sustainable coffee brewing methods and environmental consciousness. If you don’t believe us, check out the experts—Steam has been named as one of the top 10 coffee bars in Denver by Zagats.
  • Huckleberry Roasters – Another globally responsible coffee bar is Huckleberry Roasters, which boasts two locations in the Denver area and is also selling its roast blends online. But if you can make it there in person, check out the Adventurous Coffee Flight which lets you sample several different types so you can find a new favorite.
  • Black Eye Coffee – This location may have started as a speakeasy during Prohibition, but it now houses some of the best coffee in the area. Black Eye brings in a variety of local roasters (including Huckleberry Roasters) and even features a bottomless cup for $4. But, that’s not where the appeal ends. On warm days, they open up the garage door at the entrance and let the fresh air in and also serve beer, wine, bottomless mimosas, and great snacks and sandwiches including a chorizo burrito.

For many of us, a good cup of coffee isn’t just about kicking off your morning with a burst of caffeine. It’s about enjoying the atmosphere and local flavor of independently owned and sourced coffee shops. That’s why you should definitely check out these four coffee shops in the Denver area.

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Whether you’re buying, selling, refinancing, or building your dream home, I’m here to help you explore the many financing options available. Ensuring that you make the right choice for you and your family is my ultimate goal. I am committed to providing my customers with mortgage services that exceed their expectations. Find out more by visiting my website.