Empty Nest: 4 Tips For Transitioning Into A Smaller Home

If you are planning on moving into a smaller home, you are in a unique moving situation compared to most people. Space may formerly have been in excess and now it is scarce. Do not let yourself get stressed out before the process even starts. Moving can be an entirely painless process as long as you make sure to think ahead and plan accordingly for your new home.

4. Organize And Plan Your Space

The key to a quick move is knowing what goes where. That means putting stuff into boxes and labeling them. When you label don't just put what is inside the box, but where the box is going. It is recommended that you draw up a sort of rough plan, so you have an idea of how your home will be laid out when all is said and done.

3. Prepare For Downsizing

As much as you might want to bring along everything, you are not going to be comfortable in a smaller house packed to the brim with stuff. Now is as good a time as any to let go of some of those items that you just don't need. You will feel better about it, and your home will look a lot better. A garage sale is always a great way to get rid of some extra stuff.

2. Consider A Storage Unit

Storage units can be a huge asset in the moving process that people don't always make use of. You may not have the time to fully go through every single item that you have lying around. A storage unit is a good intermediary for that stuff you are not sure about. Alternately, you can simply put your extra stuff that you don't want hanging around the house in the storage unit. A tidy storage unit can fit quite a lot of different items. Consider the Storage Center to see the variety of different sizes that storage units are available in.

1. Consider Alternative Decor

Not only is the house you are moving into smaller, but it is an entirely different house. Those huge couches in your living room might be too big, but they may also just not look appropriate in your smaller sized home. Look at this as an opportunity to get a new look going if it seems appropriate. Your old stuff may actually fit in quite well with your new home. However, it will be clear to you if things just do not look right.

How to Form a Marketing Plan for a Successful Business

To become a successful business, you need to have a feasible marketing plan that will attract potential customers. Without it, you are stuck with whatever it is you are doing, with the hopes that it will continue to work. But if you are looking to take your business by the reigns and get as much attention as your business deserves, you can create a marketing plan that will attract many more customers and potential clients. Here are some tips on how to form a marketing plan for a successful business. 

Set Your Goals

If you have no destination in mind, then you’ll never know where to set your sails. When you begin a marketing plan, it is important to set attainable goals that will give your business an idea of where you want to be, and also keep you motivated during the process. With your marketing plan goals, you should specifically state exactly what it is that you are trying to market, and who you should market it to. Defining these few elements can help form a marketing plan much easier than not having any idea of where it is you want to be. Make sure everyone you work with understands the goals and is as motivated as you are in achieving them.

Budget Your Plan

Marketing should be a valuable part of your business. That said, it deserves money to be spent on it and should be considered just as valuable as other elements that make up your business. However, its important not to throw money into marketing that won’t work. If you put all of your money into marketing that no one will hear or see, your money would be spent better elsewhere. Make sure that you know how much money to spend, and where to spend it when marketing. Come up with a variety of ideas and choose the one best for your company.

Innovative Marketing Techniques

With the advancement of technology, there is always something new and exciting that a business can implement to set themselves apart from other companies. This includes social media integration, SEO services, pay-per-click marketing and more. There are ways to get images for your company and present a marketing plan with resources like infographic world. A well-created image will be able to generate interest and provide detailed information that other marketing techniques cannot comply with. Being aware of technology and the possible elements around you will certainly help with a marketing plan.

Accountable Actions

When you make a marketing plan, be sure that everyone in your business is aware of what their responsibilities are and how they can help. Your team must be accountable for the things that they do, the time line in place, and the results that are expected. Having this accountability for your team will organize everything much more clearly, which will have long-lasting results for your marketing plan.

Marketing is one of the most valuable parts of any business. But in order to maximize your efforts, it has to be done right. Keep in mind the tips on this list on how to form a marketing plan for a successful business and you will stay on the right path to attract your customers.

How to Save on Water to Save on your Finances

Water conservation is one of the most important environmental issues that we face today. Every year, thousands of people die due to a scarcity of clean drinking water, when the amount of water wasted in urban areas grows every day. Most of us don’t think about the fact that the water that flows out of the tap in our homes is treated at a plant, and should be used wisely.

Even those of us who intend well may not understand how to conserve this precious resource. Basic steps like fixing leaky taps or turning off the faucet while brushing our teeth may be all that comes to mind. Surprisingly few people actually bother to do either of those basics, but there are a few more things that each of us can do to prevent water wastage.

How to Conserve Water and Prevent Wastage

Within our homes, in our daily lives, there are a few steps we can all incorporate to prevent the loss of water. Even a small quantity of water, saved by each household, adds up every day. Over a period of a year, your house alone may prevent the wastage of thousands of litres of clean water!

Let’s take a look at how this can be accomplished:

1. Fix the Leaks – This is the simplest way to ensure that clean water is not running into the drains, without even being used! Plug all the leaks in water pipes, replace or repair dripping taps and turn off the garden hose from the tap when it is not in use. 
2. Collect ‘Clean’ Water – When you rinse vegetables or fruit in water, don’t throw it down the drain. You could either use a separate sink that drains into your garden or wash these items in a bowl and use the water collected for house plants or garden. Do not use the water from your dishwasher or anything else that uses soap or chemicals for this. 
3. Collect the Rain – Install rainwater tanks to catch the clouds’ bounty and use it in the house. Since piped water is chemically treated and processed, you will be doing the environment a great favour by reducing your consumption of treated water. Rainwater Tanks Direct offers tanks that are quite affordable and suited to your needs. 
4. Install Two-Flush Systems – These nifty devices are not as complicated as they sound, as they can be fitted into your existing toilet. They offer two flushing modes instead of one, the first is a ‘light’ flush and the second a longer ‘heavy’ flush. Traditional toilet flushes use much more water than is generally required, resulting in huge amounts of wastage! 

Other things you could do at home include running large loads of laundry instead of multiple smaller ones, washing your car with a bucket and sponge rather than hosing it down and turning off garden sprinklers when it rains. With simple changes like these, you can conserve water on a daily basis and reduce the load on the environment too!

Guard Your Small Business: Get Legal Protection!

Operating a small business involves risks and different issues. Some of them would be manageable, but there are few that can only be resolved through legal actions. When you are starting a small enterprise, you need to work hard and make decisions mostly on your own. This means that your excellent training and comprehensive knowledge about business, finance and other significant areas do not guarantee absolute business success. 

First times are always the hardest, where crucial decisions have to be made and expect that some of them wouldn’t work and may lead to failure. But according to author Robert H. Schuller, “Tough times never last, but tough people do!” So be strong and be positive that you can achieve your business goals. 

Before you started your operation, you have definitely studied your market extensively. Careful consideration of your capital requirements and other essential matters was done. If you had laid out your business plan perfectly and have made a remarkable start, then all you need to do is focus on your goal, keep on studying, always check on business weather forecast, prepare for the storm, get your business well protected, and let it grow for a much bigger success!

But before you imagine success, you have to know some of the common legal issues that could affect your business. 

Hiring. A budding enterprise usually cannot afford the luxuries of maintaining an in-house legal counsel and human resource department that could flawlessly implement the legal rules on hiring employees. So, it is important that you know fundamental guidelines, especially on the issues of discrimination, respect to applicant’s rights, wage, benefits, and related rules. From the interview to background checking to job offer and to outlining and signing of contract, you have to be careful; otherwise, you will be stepping on a landmine that could explode and damage your business. 

Firing. In firing an employee, diplomacy is very important. There are existing termination guidelines to be observed, policies to be followed consistently, proper documents to be prepared, and legal ways to be done. Know the legalities and avoid the explosive problems when it comes to employee termination. 

Intellectual Property. In various circumstances, to have a license for intellectual property rights will effectively help in achieving your business goals, especially when you are starting a new business, expanding it or upgrading the quality of your goods or services. In order to avoid losing your intellectual property rights, you should know the legal ways to protect it. You can do a research, visit online sites like LegalShield wordpress site, or consult a business lawyer, to ensure that you are far from the risks.

Small Claims. When a debt involves only a comparatively small amount, small claim rules is seemed to be a practical solution than suing the debtor. Of course, litigation expenses plus the inconvenience of filing a case to court are quite overwhelming and impractical. Again, there are proper legal procedures on how this matter works and is done so it is better to be informed. 

Workers Compensation. Statutory compensation law protects and secures the employees in case of emergency that happened on duty. The law ensures that they are subsidized when they are injured, ill or become disabled caused by situations while they were at work. The law does not protect the employees only, but also the employers. The financial demands or assistance required to be provided to the affected employees will depend on some factors specified by law. Thus, you have to do some homework to fully understand this subject.

The aforementioned items are just few of the many legal issues that could possibly affect your budding enterprise. Issues like customer complaints, incorporation, identity theft, government compliance, verbal contracts, city zoning, bad check recovery, and many others are best explained by lawyers who really have extensive knowledge on the field of business law. 

If you would want your small business enterprise to boom and to succeed at first try, get it legally protected. Consult your business attorney for guidance and legalities on how to run your business without worrying on different legal issues that may arise. 

Brandon Peters is an entrepreneur, writer and gadgets and outdoor enthusiast. He loves to travel, collect hi-tech gadgets and write just about anything under the sun. 

Protecting Your Home Investment: How Window Tinting Saves You Money

Window (Photo credit: Rameshng)

Planning for your retirement involves more than contributing regularly to you investment savings accounts; it involves protecting the investments you already have. If you are like most people, your home is your biggest investment. 

It can be challenging to meet all of the financial demands owning a home brings while you are still in the workplace and receiving steady income, but it is even more of a challenge when you are retired and living on a fixed income. 

One way to hedge against ever increasing maintenance and utility costs in the future is to install protective tinted window film on your home’s windows. 

Lower Utility Bills 

English: Series of air conditioners at UNC-CH. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Implementing energy efficient devices will lower your utility costs now and later. One of the easier ways to cut energy costs is to install window tinting in your home. The biggest savings, of course, comes in the form of lowered air conditioning bills. Summer heat and sunshine pouring through your windows will take almost 50% of your utility bill to cool the house to a comfortable level. 

Using window tinting will control the amount of solar gain that leaks into your home by as much as 80%. This in turn, reduces the load on your air conditioner, and your utility bill is greatly reduced. Additionally, there is a qualifying energy tax credit available until December 31, 2013, which could give you a direct tax reduction on next year’s taxes. 

Greater Security 

Window tinting provides more privacy, which increases your security at home, but the tinted window film also dissuades burglars in another way. The adhesive used to apply the film prevents windows from being smashed open: the glass actually remains intact even if it is shattered. 

This is not only a great deterrent to forced home entry, it also means anyone inside the house is protected from flying glass—and that includes flying shards due to destructive weather from hurricanes and earthquakes, in addition to vandalism. 

Hidden Benefits 

A cheaper utility bill arriving every month for the rest of your life is certainly the greatest motivation for installing window tinting, but there are other ways you and your family benefit from installing window film. 

The harmful UV rays are not stopped by ordinary glass (think sunglasses with UV protection vs. regular glasses). Window tinting will block the harmful UV rays and protect you and your family to overexposure. 

The money you have invested in furniture will be protected because those same UV rays that damage the skin also cause fading and deterioration of upholstery and wood furniture. If you have ever seen a “weather-beaten” barn or house, you know what the sun can do over time; it has that same effect on your furnishings; it just takes a bit longer to cause severe sun damage on the inside of a house. 

Your Home is Your Castle 

Your home is your refuge, and it is meant to last a lifetime--and it can if it is well taken care of. Medieval castles still stand today because measures were taken to protect the castles at all costs. Taking pro-active measures, such as installing window tinting, before you retire will reduce your current energy costs as well as save you money in the future. 

Most people have a fixed retirement income, or income that has the potential to fluctuate wildly due to the types of retirement investments one has undertaken. In any case, monthly retirement income is not likely to increase, so the more you can do to protect your biggest investment, your home, the better. 

About the Author: Mark Manning is a freelance writer and home improvement buff - he loves taking care of the small projects around his home, but always calls in the professionals for the most important, bigger projects. He suggests checking out this window tinting in Houston resource for more information.

How to Survive Travel in Your Retired Years – With a Dependent

Travel Guides (Photo credit: Vanessa (EY))

For most retirees, freedom from watching over little ones while at home and abroad is what puts the golden in “golden years.” While caring for dependents has its own personal rewards, isn’t getting away from that sort of responsibility what retirement is all about? 

Unfortunately, retirement doesn’t mean absolute freedom from caring for dependents for many retired individuals. This can be complicated enough at home, but it doesn’t need to impede on the dreams of most retirees to travel the world. To make caring for dependents while overseas more manageable emotionally and fiscally, here are a few reminders anyone can follow.

1. Take the risk out of traveling abroad with proper insurance

While traveling abroad, you and your dependent will be exposed to all sorts of new and exciting places and events. But the unintended consequences of travel can be dire, too. Considering that young children and elderly adults are among the most vulnerable to physical injury and disease, it’s more recommendable for these travelers than anyone to invest in traveler’s insurance.

This form of insurance can cover accidents, illnesses, disablement, return of a minor, and even overseas ceremony expenses in the case the worst happens. Make sure that your provider is very familiar with the region that you’re traveling to; when traveling to the Carolinas, for example, it would be prudent to get coverage from Charlotte insurance agents rather than European providers.

2. Find activities that will keep both of you entertained

Most conflicts that happen between travel partners in any trip results from a conflict of interests. Naturally, limited time in exotic locations can leave travelers feeling pretty divided on the best way to spend time abroad. This might seem to be even more exaggerated between young children and their elderly caregivers. As difficult as it can be to compromise, making accommodations for any dependents in your party is necessary (because no child will ever, ever behave themselves in a country club or art museum.)

Finding common interests and making the most of your journey is one way to approach attending to their needs. Spending time on your various flights to brainstorm some potential destinations together can work wonders down the line. If there is another caregiver in your party, taking shifts to experience things individually might be the best approach in making sure that you can make the most of your trip without compromising too much to provide care.

3. Always have a back-up plan for when compromise won’t work

While it’s comforting to think that there will always be something available for a child to keep themselves busy while you enjoy traveling, you might find that compromise isn’t always possible. Keeping activities readily available with you in order to make traveling more entertaining for children could be a good alternative; but while portable game consoles and coloring books might help wile away a few hours, engaging your dependents more meaningfully about their travels will help them enjoy the more “boring” aspects that they might otherwise prefer to avoid.

If you’d like to see a museum, become your party’s own tour guide. If you’d like to enjoy local cuisine, become your group’s taste tester. You don’t need to be an expert; rather, engaging your children as a cooperative learner as you explore new environments and experience new things can provide a world of perspective for children to take in their surroundings more meaningfully.

Having them take notes and learn from their journeys will not only actively engage them in the traveling experience, but it might garner their appreciation of traveling and of the world as a whole. And while traveling should certainly be more about “you” in your golden years, there are few lessons that match that importance.