In General

Make Your Home Smell Fabulous

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on
Make Your Home Smell Fabulous

Nothing is worse than working into your home and being greeted by a bad smell. It could be your bins, a blocked drain or any number of other things creating the nasty aroma. There are ways to make your home smell fabulous all the time. It just takes a bit of effort and forethought to do this.

Just think about smells for a short while and decide if you would rather be greeted after a hard day at work by fresh air that reminds you of a spring day, or food smells from last night’s meal.

Fresh Air

Even on a cold day, open your windows for just five minutes and let some fresh air in. This will get rid of any stale smells that have accumulated, especially overnight. It will be much easier to give your home a pleasant smell if you have disposed of the bad ones before you start.

Bins

Cleaning bins is a job that can easily be forgotten. Most people use bin liners and just pull them out and replace them without a second thought. The problem is that bin liners will let smells through them and eventually your bin will smell all the time.

All it needs is some warm soapy water to clean the bin, and then perhaps a fresh air block left in the bottom. This will stop your bin developing nasty aromas.

Have Your Drains Cleaned

Blocked drains can create some very unpleasant smells that will soon seep into your home. Have them cleaned at least once a year to reduce the risk of this happening. It is not just the smells they create that can be bad either, they can make a pipe burst if the blockage is really bad and then you could have even more problems.

Deodorise Your Carpet

Carpets can hold smells in their fibres and this can be even worse if you have cats or dogs. The problem is that you do not always notice that your carpets are giving off a stale smell, but if you deodorise them every few weeks, this will not happen. In most cases, all you need to do is scatter the powder onto the carpet and leave it for half an hour. Then you vacuum it up and hey presto, a nice smelling carpet.

Candles

Candles are a great way to make your home smell pleasant and some of them do not have to be lit to achieve this. They will give off an aroma anyway and they can be used to suit the room they are in. There are many different types of candles on the market, but if you want to be eco-friendly and have some that do not give off smoke or toxins, soy candles are the best option. They burn far more purely than most alternatives.

You could use lemon or orange in your kitchen and maybe lavender, which is relaxing, in your bathroom or bedroom. There is no end of fragrances to choose from and they could have your whole house smelling beautiful in no time at all.

Flowers

Fresh flowers and flowering plants will have the same effects. They will not only make the room they are in smell really nice but also they will add some colour and interest too. It is great if you can cut some from your own garden, but if not leave it until the end of the day to shop for them. Often the supermarkets discount the prices then so you will get better value for your money.

Cleaning Products

The smell of the chemicals from cleaning products may well remind you of when you were a child and your mom cleaned the house, but you do not have to use products that are full of chemicals anymore. The natural cleaning product market has become huge and there is no end of choice of different products for you to choose from.

Instead of your children relating chemicals to cleanliness, use one of the ranges that have fruit, for example, as its base and then when you clean your home could smell of grapefruits or oranges. There are also some things that you possibly already have in your kitchen cupboards that are great for cleaning. Bicarbonate of soda, vinegar and lemon can all help to remove stubborn stains, for example.

Change The Beds Often

We can become accustomed to our own smells very easily and these are transferred onto our bed linen at night. You do not notice this yourself, but changing the bed linen often will mean your bedrooms always have a nicer smell to them.

Ironing Spray To Freshen Your Laundry

Fetch your washing in off the line and it smells lovely and fresh. However, if you then leave it in a laundry basket for a few days before you iron it, that freshness will have gone. You can put it back by using a scented ironing spray. This will work well for bringing the freshness back and can also be sprayed onto your beds to give them a pleasant aroma too.

Fabric Freshener

A quick spray of fabric freshener on any materials, such as sofas and curtains, can help to make your home smell as fresh as the day these things were new. Materials do tend to cling to smells from around them, but they do not have to stay if you use a fabric freshener.

Use Laundry Conditioners

There are two ways to help your fabrics stay soft and smell nice when you are doing your laundry. You can use dryer sheets or fabric conditioners, and both of these can be used in other ways too.

The dryer sheets can be left in wardrobes or drawers to make them smell fresh and clean.  Just change them occasionally as the pleasant smell they give off does eventually disappear.

Mix a little of the fabric condition in some water, wring a cloth our as dry as you can and then wipe your skirting boards and door frames with it. They will be nice and clean and smell very good as well. You do not need much as the fabric conditioner, as then the areas you clean with it will be sticky.

Clean Shoes And Coats

Sometimes the bad smells are brought into our homes from outside. It could be some mud that has dried on a pair of shoes or a coat that got wet in the rain and is now smelling damp. They key here is to clean and dry anything that has been outside before they get to that point and then you will avoid the unpleasant smells they can create.

Wet umbrellas are another thing that gets forgotten, but they need to be dried when they are brought indoors as well.

Pillow Spray To Relax

This one does not suit everybody, but if you spray your pillow just before getting into bed, it can make relaxing after the challenges of the day much easier.  It has the same effect as getting into clean sheets after a bath or shower and using a natural one with something such lavender, will have you dozing off in no time at all.

Need A Quick Fix?

If you have short notice of some guests arriving and need a quick fix, there are several things you can do to make your home smell inviting. Getting some coffee brewing is one way. A freshly baked cake will always smell delicious or if you are really stuck and do not have the time, cut some lemon slices and put them in a bowl of water. Microwave them for just one minute and the aroma will fill your kitchen when you open the door. This will clean your microwave at the same time, so two jobs were done at once. I wish I was a baked cake kind of gal but I’m more your burned bun, so lemon it is.

Make Your Own Air Freshener

Air fresheners can be expensive, but you do not have to spend a fortune if you make your own from natural products. All you need is three-quarters of a cup of water, either 2 tablespoons of vodka, rubbing alcohol or real vanilla extract and a few drops of essential oil for the aroma you want to create. Combine them all in an 8oz spray bottle and shake well before each use.

Now you can freshen your home without any of the nasty chemicals that commercial air fresheners contain. Not only will your home smell nicer, but also you will have the health benefits of fewer chemicals in the air of your home.

Make Your Home Smell Fabulous

The tips above are not new and you may already use some of them to keep your home fresh. If you have not tried some of them before, give them a go and see how much nicer your home is to come home to after a hard day at work. What top tips do you have to make your home smell fabulous

 

In Business & Blogging

Business Finance: Avoid These Pitfalls

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on
Business Finance: Avoid These Pitfalls

When people have never owned a business before it is easy for them to get carried away by the financial side of it and make some glaring errors. This is part of the reason that nearly 50% of businesses fail in their first year, and why another 50% of those left have ceased to trade before three years. Some of these businesses are underfinanced to start with, and then compound the problem by not being sensible with their money. It’s easily done, trust me. I learned a few hard business finance lessons in the beginning.

People starting new businesses have to be prepared to take risks and to work hard for long hours without much reward in the early days. Just look at some of the billionaire business people that started with very little and you will see that is was several years before they started to spend money of any significant amount. It is this that contributed to their huge success, and here are a few of the tips people like them have given when it comes to the finances of a new business.

Keep Business And Private Bank Accounts Separate

This can be a really important rule to follow, especially as your business starts to grow. Pay yourself a set amount and remember that you have to live off that. If money is building in the business finance account that is good because you will have the funds for further investment to make it grow even more.

It can be convenient to have everything paid from your business account but it can also be easy to lose track of just how much you are spending. This can lead to too much money disappearing and then when you have a business finance bill to pay you will not have the money.

As the business improves, you may be able to increase the amount you take as a wage, but don’t rush into that until you are sure the sales are consistent.

Do Not Spend Big Money On Equipment

It is only natural that you want to be working with the best equipment, but don’t rush out and buy new computers or anything else. Manage with what you have or buy used until the business has made some profits, and then you can invest some of those. You do not need everything at once either. It can be tempting to buy all new office furniture, for example, but you can buy a new desk one month and a new chair further down the line.

Some new business owners take on business finance leases and hire purchase agreements before they have made their first sale. Then the business takes longer to get off the ground than they hoped, but they still have to make those monthly payments. Often these agreements are for items they could have waited for, but once you have signed on the dotted line, you are liable for that debt whether your business succeeds or not.

There are some expenses that are very important such as the building of a user-friendly and engaging website. Things such as this should have priority if you want your business to succeed.

Don’t Make Large Personal Purchases

Making large personal purchases, such as a new car, can send your business under before it even starts.  Even with separate bank accounts one for business and one for personal matters, there may be occasions when you need to dip into your business funds, but that should never be to fund a large personal purchase.

The luxuries can come later when you have made some money, but in the meantime, manage with the car you have and your business will stand more chance of success.

There are times when a personal purchase in unavoidable, but then you need to be able to pay for it out of the money you take each month and not put an extra burden on the business bank account.

Don’t Forget The Tax Man

None of us like paying tax, but as someone once said ‘I would love a tax bill of a million pounds because think how much money I would have made to get that’. It is a fact of life that the bigger your profits are the bigger your tax will be. In the UK, it depends on whether you are a sole trader, a partnership or a limited company as to when your tax bill will be due, but it will be far better if you have saved for it.

Put some money into an account that pays you interest, so that your tax makes even more money for you. Some people invest it into premium bonds in the hope of a big win while it is waiting to be paid.

Because the laws change every year, it is best to use professionals to calculate and guide you in matters relating to tax.  For some professions, there are HMRC disclosure facilities if an error has been made, but for others, a mistake could be the trigger that starts an investigation into your affairs, and that is more likely to be avoided if a professional has dealt with tax matters on your behalf.

Small business owners have many tasks to do and this includes bookkeeping and accounts among them. You should consider outsourcing these jobs for several reasons. It will free more of your time, you will know they are being done correctly and outsourcing them is the cheapest way to access the expertise these type of tasks need. I wouldn’t be without my accountant!

Forget The Business Credit Cards

Business credit cards can seem a handy thing to have, but they can also cost you a lot of money. They can give you a false sense of security when you are buying things with them, but knock you for six when you see how much interest you are being charged.

Suddenly those office supplies you bought can double in price if you are not able to pay the full balance every month. As a new business you need to steer clear of as many debts as possible, and that includes business credit cards.

Business credit cards are just like any you may have personally. They are one of the most expensive ways of financing anything and you are better off without them.

Save For Emergencies

Get into the habit of saving a small amount each month. This will soon start to build and then you will have an emergency fund if a disaster happens. No one can predict a flood or fire for instance, or what if you have a power cut the breaks your computers. These things happen to businesses every day, and although you should have insurance to cover them, the payout will take a while to happen.

You need some money behind you so that you can be up and running again with as little delay as possible, and then when the insurance pays out you can replace what you have had to spend.

Enough to cover three months expenses seems to be the amount most business people aim to keep behind them, but anything is better than nothing.

Have A Budget For Your Business

You should have a budget for your business so that you know what the outgoings are going to be every month. This will make it easier to plan for and let you see if you have anything spare to spend or invest. If you can have a realistic prediction of your income, that will help you to plan your budget too. If the sales exceed your expectation, that is great, you just do not want the expenses to do the same.

The main part of your job is to steer your business to success, and you can only do that if you are aware of all the money that has to be paid out, and what is likely to come in.

Master Your Finances

It is far easier to lose money than to make it, and too simple to spend more than you have. No one would ever suggest that you do not need to raise some finance to help your business grow, either by a bank loan or from some other financial institution, but you should only do that if it is really needed. This all needs controlling though and learning to master your money is crucial if you do not want to face financial ruin.

Have a clear budget plan, steer away from unnecessary debt, save for unforeseen circumstances and keep a line between your own and the business finances, and you are well on the road to avoiding many of the mistakes that some new business owners make. With financial worries out of the way, you will be able to concentrate on growing your business instead of wondering how this bill or that bill will be paid. Putting all their efforts into the growth of the business is how people such as Bill Gates and Richard Branson became so successful, and there is no reason at all why you should not do the same. We will not all become billionaires as they have done, but for most people, making a good living from their own business is all they are after.

 

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