Property Management Blog

Indiana has been experiencing summertime temperatures and if you are not careful, this heat will wreak havoc on your electricity bill. The easiest way to save money is to set your air conditioner above 78 degrees. I know it seems pretty high, however, every degree below 78 adds 8% to your cooling cost. Making sure that your furnace filter is cleaned will also help the air flow through and will not overwork your a/c unit. The lower you turn your unit, the harder it works to stay caught up. Never set your air conditioner below 68*. Ways to help keep your home cooler is by getting a ceiling fan. This helps circulate the air in your house. Another way is to make sure that you have sealed up any leaks in your home from your window and doors. Last, but certainly not least, get proper blinds, shades, or curtains for the rooms facing the sun. If you are lucky enough to have the day off, pack a lunch and go to the park. Go creek stomping or to a splash pad. Nothing cools you off like the coolness of ice cold water. If outdoor isn't your thing, check out these indoor events. 

Many places have FREE MUSEUM DAYS. You can check that list out by clicking here 

Kids Bowl Free program is available. Check it out here

Go to the movies for just $1.00. Found out where by clicking here
Don’t let the rainy days deter you!  Check out “The Park”, a giant indoor playground, at Trader’s Point Christian Church. Click Here 

Here is a list of places where your kids eat free. Click HERE

Hope this helps you beat the heat. Until next time........

Now that the temperatures are dropping it is time to get prepared for those winter months. These steps, most of which you can do yourself, will help you survive the winter months.  

1) Have a technician inspect your furnace to make sure that it is clean and in working.

2) If you have a ceiling fan, reverse it. This will allow the fan to push down the heated air. 

3) Caulk around window

4) Clean the gutters 

5) Divert water. Use an extension to your downspouts so that the water runs 3-4 ft away from the foundation. 

6) Turn off outside water faucets

7) Make sure all the doors have weather stripping 

8) Prepare an emergency kit

 ***Indoor Candles and matches or lighter. 

 ***Find and store utility companies phone numbers in your cell phone

 ***Buy batteries for flashlights and any other battery operating devices

 ***Store extra bottled water and non-perishable food (be sure to include pet food if you have animals)

 ***Blankets

 ***First Aid Kit

 ***Portable Radio

Also, remember to change and keep your furnace filter clean. On top of that, make sure that you leave all your faucets on a drip. This will help the pipes from freezing. Keep cupboards open so that the heat can get to the pipes. 

To help keep the gas bill low, set the thermostat to an agreeable temperature and wear extra clothing or cover up with a blanket. I have a great heated blanket that I like to snuggle up with and it helps keep me warm. Socks will also help your body keep in that body heat. 

Warm yummy food will always warm the soul and is good for the body. I'll share some of my favorite receipts next time. 

Until next time.........

I don't know about you but the change in time as really thrown my body for a loop. I always found it hard to get out of bed because it was so dark and it still felt like "night-time" to me. I just wanted to say in my bed and snuggle with my doggies. It was also harder for me to fall asleep because when I went to lay my head down at night time, it just didn't feel like night time. Now, with the change, I am hoping out of bed every morning and ready to go. The nights are where I am finding it super hard. When I get home from work it is almost 5ish. We get dinner done about 6ish. It is super dark out and I am so tired that I am ready to crawl in bed and go to sleep but I can't. I look at my clock and I find myself stunned that it is only 7pm. I know I am "old" but I am not THAT old. 

I also don't like the colder weather. I thought fall meant like low 60s not low 40s. I feel like it is getting colder sooner rather than later. Does this mean we are in for an early winter with lost of snow???? I sure hope not. I am not a BIG snow person. I can't wait until I can be one of the winter birds that head to Florida for the winter. With it getting cold make sure you check your furnace filters. I can say that enough. A dirty furnace filter can lead to all sorts of problems. Also,. make sure your gutters are cleaned. With the leaves falling like they are, you don't want to have a leak on your hands. 

One of my favorite things about fall is the smell. My husband brought home pine cones a few weeks ago and every time I walk into my house it smells like cinnamon. It is so good. Baking is another smell that I just can't help but love. The smell of cookies in the oven, YUMMY!!! I love making chocolate chip cookies from scratch. You want to know something funny? I can't make sugar cookies to save my life! They are one of the hardest things I have ever tried to make. Now, I can make a mean peanut butter pie but there is no baking involved in that. 

Thanksgiving is coming up and it is one of my favorite Holidays ever. It makes me happy to be around so much food and family. We have a lot of food. We do a turkey and a ham, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, rolls, and tons of desserts. We talk about how well all the kids get along and how much they have grown. We talk about remembering when we were their ages and how the world has changed. One thing that amazes me still to this day and I love.....the kids aren't on their devices. They are actually talking and playing with each other. It is so awesome. 

I have checked the forecast for the next several days and it is going to be cold. 

Check your furnace and make sure that it is running properly. 
If you have ceiling fans make sure you reverse it to push the heat down

Clean the gutters

Make sure all the water pipes on the outside are shut off. 

Well, July was a great month for us. Not only was it the 4th of July and we spent it with our friends and family celebrating with food and fireworks but, we were able to take our children on two nice vacations. It is GREAT having a large family that lives throughout the United States so you can have a place to stay for free. Makes for a cheaper vacation when you don't have to pay for lodging. 

The first one was to the Adirondack Mountains in New York. We stayed in a house that gave us the most beautiful view of a private lake. We were able to lounge around and enjoy the view. It was extremely peaceful. All you heard was the beautiful loons making the most amazing noise. It was unlike anything I had ever heard before. The kids got to go on a hike and go creek stomping. They swam and kayaked. We had the lake all to ourselves. We drove up to Gore Mountain and saw some stunning views. We drove into town and went shopping. We were able to make a lot of wonderful memories. I can't wait to go back. 

   

We were home long enough to wash our clothes, kiss our dogs, and go back to school shopping. We were off again for a long weekend to Michigan. We have been a few times before but, each time is even more wonderful. We go Jet-skiing, tubing, fishing, and we get to spend time with lots of family that we don't get to see and we get to eat the BEST ice cream. Oh and the view is breathtaking. From the moment you wake up until the moment you go to sleep. 
 

Now that I am finally back to Indiana and here to stay for awhile I really need to get some house cleaning done.  
Here are some quick tips to help you get a better looking home. 

1) If you have 1/2 of a lemon you can use it to clean stainless steel. 

2) Clockwise cleaning. Move clockwise around each room, putting away clutter and mislaid items. Stash any stuff that doesn't belong in the room outside the door to sort and put away later. Don't get side tracked. 

3) Change bedroom linens. Wash linens in hot water weekly to clean and disinfect them.

4) Prevent shower mold and mildew by simply keep your bathroom exhaust fan running while you take a bath or shower, and for 30 minutes afterward. You can also use your towel after you are done drying off to wipe of the walls. 

5) Spray down trash cans outdoors with a hose and a little dish soap. This will help prevent unwanted odors. 

I know some kids have already started school and I am waiting for mine to start. They don't start until the 15th of August. The last fun thing of the summer we get to do is go to the Indiana State Fair. I can't wait to try all the fall foods however, I think we will stay away from the rides this year. 

Until Next Time.............

I feel like, no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to find the time to catch up on everything. Between both kids being in sports, working full time, and all of our daughter's appointments, WHEW! It is hard to catch my breath. For the past several weeks I have been coming into work early and leaving late just so I can get caught up. Now that my work schedule is back to normal I can work on getting my home life back. One thing I can't seem to ever catch up on is LAUNDRY :( it is super frustrating. I get so close and then it is like both my children come to me with a month worth of laundry that they have been hiding in their bedrooms and I just want to fall to my knees and cry. 

I was hoping to get some SPRING Cleaning done but goooooooood grief that ran hasn't let up and the sun hasn't come out to play. I have so much winter yuckiness still in my house that I want to get rid of. I am needing to trash some old stuff and get some new stuff. I am really wanting to get new patio furniture so that I can enjoy my back porch when it isn't 100 degrees out side but I need to fix the screens first. It is always something ya know?

Mother's day is coming up and I am really looking forward to it. My mom and mother in law are all going to get tattoos for Mother's Day. We are all going to get the infinity symbol with the word "Family". It looks super cute. Hope it doesn't hurt.

The next few months are going to be heartbreaking for me. May 7, 2016 my sister in law suffered not one but two massive strokes. She survived but she is paralyzed on her right side and has global aphasia. That means she can think of what she wants to say but can't get the words to come out. It was a long battle for many months just to get her well enough to come home. In those dark days we unfortunately had to put our "baby" Marley down. He had a tumor in his spleen the size of a softball. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Marley was our first family doggie and was like a 3rd child to me and my husband. Still to this day I miss his sweet face. 

Both of my kids are playing soccer right now which in a way is super cool because they both play at the same fields so I don't have to drive all over the place but the bad news is that Ali's is at 8:30am and Julian's is at 11:30am. So I am at the fields from 8am until 1:30pm. It wasn't bad the first week but the second week was super COLD. 

Tips: 

Make sure to clean out your gutters. 

Change your linens~Put away your heavy blankets, change your sheets, and renew your pillows.

Mow your lawn~Don't wait too long or it will be too long for you to cut it. 

Until Next Time.........

Hello,
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. I had 2 wonderful Thanksgivings. I had one with my husband's side of the family on Thursday. My daughter, niece, and mother in law make their homemade sweet potato soufflé. It is a family tradition near and dear to their hearts.


My second Thanksgiving was with my side of the family on Friday. Below is my 2 nephews (blue and Yellow)
my cousins (purple and no mask)
and my daughter (Red mask)

We ate lots of food and did the kids did the mannequin challenge. It was super cute.

Thanksgiving has ALWAYS been my favorite Holiday. When I was younger it was because I loved Mashed Potatoes. Don't ask me why that was the only thing that really stuck out but it was. Now, I love it because it is all about family. I love just spending time with Family. I am lucky that I have so many family members that live so close so I get to see them all the time but there are some that live far away and I don't get to see a lot. I love seeing my cousins and my kids playing together. I love hearing the laughter coming from everyone. For my son this year, I love football. My son is a Freshman in high school and he was able to practice with the Varsity team for a few extra weeks. It paid off because they ended up going to State for their division and they won State in OVERTIME! It was a nail bitter. Both teams played GREAT!!!!

Yesterday, our family decided to hang our outdoor Christmas lights. They ended up looking really good. We don't do anything super fancy. Just blue and white lights but they really do look beautiful together. I have barely started my Christmas shopping and really need to kick it in high gear. I am normally the one that waits til the VERY LAST MINUTE and it drives me crazy every year and I keep telling myself that I am going to start sooner but something always comes up. Maybe next time, right?

Until next time........

So a lot has gone on since I last did a blog. It has now gotten a lot colder. My son was asked to stay on and practice with the varsity football team which is great and all but GOOOOOOOD LORD! They practice 4 days a week and until 6:30. I kind of wanted a break before basketball season started but it doesn't look like I am getting that. It is really good for him because they are working towards playing for State and that would be awesome for him to be apart of.

My daughter has me running around all the time. I am so thankful for my grandma because she has been a big help. Ali has a lot of allergies and those allergies cause her to have asthma. She is on so much medication. We have been to a few specialist and they have decided to fight the allergies by pumping her full of what she is allergic to and hopefully she will become immune to them. She goes twice a week to get 6 shots in the back of each arm. She is pretty brave. She was also recognized as a "Special Person" by one of her teachers. He said that Ali Consistent achievement to the best of Student's ability, having a positive attitude towards learning, and contributes good nature and spirit to classroom atmosphere in a positive way. She is keeping to the family tradition. Her brother got one last year and I got one when I attended there years and years ago. 
                                                                 
We also got to celebrate our Famaiversary. I know you are like "What is a famaiversary" so let me tell ya. It is the day we legally became a family. We celebrate each year by having a wonderful dinner and dessert. We normally do something fun as well. This year my husband made homemade chicken fried rice, steak and chicken. Kind of like Benihana.

Then we had Halloween. Our daughter was the Statue of Liberty. I love how she really takes time and effort into her costume. She doesn't like to be the "norm". She always looks so cute too. She got SOOOOO MUCH CANDY. The problem is because of her braces she couldn't eat half of it. Luckily, my husband and son are helping her out.

                        
To start of the Holiday season we got out kids new pjs. How cute are these. My husband and I got some too but we are going to safe those embarrassing pictures for another time haha!


Now that all the cute pictures and family update is out of the way lets start talking about Fall. Here are a few chores you need to do around your house to get ready for the cold weather.

1) Rake your leaves~ you can also just mow over them while you can and use them for mulch

2) Clean out your gutters~ make sure you get your downspouts as well

3) Change your furnace filter~ this is important to do. Using a dirty filter can ruin your heating

4) Remember when it gets below 32* you need to leave your water at a slow drip

5) Now is the time to plant for your Spring Blooms and remember to cut down your annuals.

Until next time..........

I can't believe how long it has been since I last blogged. So much has happened. So lets just get started.

My son started his freshman year of high school ;( and he is on the football team:)  He practices 5 days a week and has a game on Saturday.

Our daughter is playing soccer and is currently a 7th grader. She is involved in choir. Seems to me that time is flying by. My very active kids have me staying busy.

The past few months have been a super crazy ball of emotions. We had to put one of our dogs down. Bob Marley had a tumor in his spleen the size of a softball and the doctor said there was nothing we could do. It broke our hearts because he was our baby. We had him for 7 years and thought we would have him much longer. I can't tell you how much we loved that dog. If I write any more about him I will be sitting at my desk bawling my eyes out.

Shortly after we said our goodbyes to Marley (the white dog), we received Hunter (the black dog). He came to us through a friend of a friend and he has brought so much happiness into our lives. He is so cute. I love his floppy ears. His personality is coming in and he just makes you fall in love with him daily.

Right after we got Hunter I found out that I had a massive kidney stone that needed to be surgically removed. It was really fast. It couldn't have come at the worst/best time. Worst time because we had planned a family trip to Michigan and my husband was NOT going to let us go on because of it. Best time, well frankly, my family needed a break. We consulted with the DRs and they cleared me to go sit by the lake and do nothing but relax so, that is what I did.

I wasn't able to get into the lake but it was okay because I got to enjoy a relaxing and peaceful weekend with my family. It was great seeing my kids laughing.

We also took a short one day trip to Chicago because 1) the kids have never been 2) I haven't been in like 20 something years. We walked around and ate at some of the "HOT SPOTS". I was super excited because we got to see the Firehouse that they use in Chicago Fire. We saw the "Bean" and many other great things. 

We are currently ripping the carpets out of our house and installing laminate floors. In doing so, I am realizing that it would be a good idea for me to do some Fall Cleaning. So if you get the bug and want to join me here are some ideas.

~Wash your windows inside and out (with 3 dogs and their noses pressed against my windows this might seem like a pointless task but one that should be done)

~Dust and wash your blinds

~Dust and wipe down your walls and baseboards

~Dust off the refrigerator condenser coil. You can use your vacuum brush to assist you.

~Declutter and reorganize your closets

~Replace your furnace filter

~Check your some detector

~Check weather stripping and caulking around your windows and doors

~Clean out your gutters and down spouts

Do a little at a time. Don't overwhelm yourself. You can do one room a day or a weekend, depending how much time you have. Good Luck and Until Next Time........