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So many houses for sale in my neighborhood!

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It seems that the real estate market here in Toronto is booming. I keep hearing on the news all the doom and gloom predictions about how the real estate market is set to crash here in Canada, but it seems that each year the price of houses just goes up higher and higher and the demand for them is not going down. Not at all.

I mean .. usually by this time of year – almost mid- December, house sales in the city are down. I’m not in real estate but just going by what I see on the news and what I see either driving around the city or walking around the neighborhood most years it seems house and condo sales do best from Spring through to late summer. I imagine it was the same this year, but oddly enough this month I’m seeing more and more signs, even in my own neighborhood, for homes going up for sale and the houses are selling very quickly.

This seems odd for this time of year. I’m seeing signs from all the big popular companies like Royal Lepage, ReMax, Century21 and then a few I haven’t really heard of before like Levein Team real estate which must be smaller firms.

Just down the street from me there are three houses in a row up for sale and I’m sure they’ll all be sold within a week or two even though we’re in the midst of the holiday season!

Don’t you think this is strange?






5 Key Special Occasions to Save up For Throughout the Year

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Doesn’t it always feel like as soon as you’ve saved up for one occasion, another is just around the corner? For some reason, these events seem to come round faster than pay day does, so it is important to be organised with your savings to make sure you can make the most of your money.

A really useful tip is to have a timescale of how long you need to be saving up for certain events, so you savings become either short-term or long-term. If something does come up out of the blue, you can always take a payday loan, but have a bit of savings is always a great idea.

Here are a few examples of special occasions that happen throughout the year, starting with short-term and increasing to longer-term saving, and a suggestion of how long you may want to consider saving for them:

  1. Birthdays: Gifts are a way of treating someone, so it can always be tempting to spend a little more than you can actually afford to, and the amount that you spend on gifts throughout the year can really add up. Try alternative presents that may cost less in money but more in time to manage your costs, like baking a cake or using any skills you have to make a gift. But for a very special someone, make sure you save up for a couple of weeks so you can really afford to splash out. Save for 1 – 2 weeks.
  2. Weekend city break: Everyone needs a weekend away every now and again, and with the temptation of cheap flights across Europe, there’s no excuse not to have an adventure! To cut down your costs and make the most of your trip, try staying in cheaper alternative accommodation to hotels, like hostels which often have their own cooking facilities. Save for 1 – 2 months.
  3. Christmas: It is so easy to spend a lot at Christmas because there are so many people to think about! But be organised by saving up beforehand. Write a shopping list so you can plan how much you intend to spend on certain gifts and people. Try not to be tempted to overspend because with so many presents, little extra costs can really add up! Save for 2 – 3 months.
  4. Summer holiday: This is the big one – the holiday you’ve waited and saved for all year. There are a lot of costs to think about; you need to save up for flights, villa or hotel, any daytrips you might want to take, as well as saving for a good food and cocktails budget. Cut some costs by booking things far in advance and looking into package deals, but otherwise save up so you can really enjoy yourself without worrying too much about you bank balance. Save for 4 – 5 months.
  5. Wedding day: This is probably the biggest single-day occasion that people will save up, so understandably it’s going to take the longest! With a million different things to account for, a wedding day is no small undertaking! Save up and budget meticulously to avoid feeling the sting of the price tag long after the day. Save for 12 – 18 months.

Hopefully we’ve provided you with a few ideas of how to make it a bit easier to save up for special occasions.

Louise Jenkins writes about payday loans, for more information see https://www.communitypayday.com/

I love my indoor flowering plants

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All of my indoor plants are beginning to bloom. There’s something special about this time of year.

My Thanks Giving Cactus has flower buds that are growing every day. I don’t think they’ll open in time for Thanks Giving but they’ll bloom shortly after. Then there’s my Christmas cactus. Thanks to leaving it out in the cool weather for an extended period it’s already got tiny pink flower buds all over it. I think it will be in full bloom well before Christmas. Hopefully both cactus bloom a couple of times this winter season.

I also have three Amaryllis plants. Mine usually bloom in March of each each or at least somewhere between February and March. I have an African violet and I could never get it to bloom for years. You’d think that would be blooming it’s head off since they are supposed to be easy but mine wouldn’t bloom until I accidently forgot to water it once or twice. It seems they like to be very dry or at least mine does as ever since I’ve let it be mostly dry it’s been blooming and blooming.

My orchids will also start blooming sometime in the next month or so as well. I love having live orchids in the house. They’re so beautiful. Lovely delicate blooms. The flowers last for such a long time once they bloom too! I have three or four orchids.

Do you have flowering plants inside your home? What kinds do you have? Aren’t they lovely, especially when it’s cold and drab outside.

Organize Your Closets To Create More Space

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It seems like it would be fairly easy to organize the closets but as it turns out it can actually be rather difficult if you have a lot of items or clutter to organize. Have you looked at your closets lately or do you just throw your stuff in there and try to ignore the mess that it’s become?

If your closets are taking on a life of their own there are professional closet organizers that you can consult. They will come in and help you organize your closet and you’ll end up with a neat and tidy closet. You’ll somehow end up with more storage space. Probably because some items have been thrown out, but also because the professional has come up with some nifty shelving or storage ideas.

You don’t necessarily need a professional to help you out. You can get some fantastic ideas online. You’ll find all kinds of ideas as to how to organize your closets and drawers. I especially like the idea of using drawer dividers to separate things like undergarments, and socks that are usually kept in the same drawer. It would just make it all the more neat and organized.

My closets and drawers aren’t the tidiest but one thing that I do that helps is that I have hideaway storage boxes on rollers that I store under the bed. Each spring and fall I go through my closets and drawers and change out my winter and summer wardrobe placing items that had been in the hideaway boxes for winter into the drawers and closets once cooler weather starts to set in, and then once warm weather returns I take the cold weather clothes out of the closets and replace them with shorts and cotton blouses and lighter clothing.

I also use hooks in my closets to hang robes and organize my closet. It really helps and it uses up that tiny bit of extra space. I even have a couple of hooks on the outside of my closet door too.

There are stores dedicated to storage space and making life easier for those who are finally getting various rooms or parts of their homes organized. You’ll find customizable closet organizing systems in these kinds of stores. They’ll certainly get you off to a good start if you have a standard sized closet. I have a very old house with very few closets and the one in my main bedroom is tiny tiny tiny … so I’m on my own as far as organizers go.

Have you organized your closets? Was it a lot of work? Was it worth it?

I think I need new windows

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I think I need to have new windows installed in my home. When I first bought my house 11 years ago we were told that the previous owners had had new windows installed about two or three years previously, but if they were new they weren’t installed all that well.

I’ve always noticed a little bit of moisture or humidity between the panes in the summer time and I knew that wasn’t supposed to happen if the windows had been installed properly. In the last few years the moisture between the panes has been getting worse in a few of the windows. It doesn’t happen in all the windows in my house, mainly in the upstairs windows – but either way, I don’t like it. You’re supposed to be able to see out of your windows all year long aren’t you? I can’t fully see out of my windows in the the fall, winter and spring. That’s not right!

So I’ve been starting to look at some companies that I can get to come and replace my windows. It would probably be cheaper for me if I could do it right now, but I think I’ll have to wait until spring. One company that I’m looking at is richmond windows as they have Pella windows. I’ll have to compare their prices though as I want the best price.

I wonder if I could just have my current windows re installed – properly? I mean, there’s nothing wrong with my windows, it’s the installation that has a problem. I should ask about that when I’m calling around. Yes – I could save a ton of money if I could just get the installation fixed. Maybe … Have any of you tried that? Have you had moisture between the panes problems with your windows too?

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