Essential Home Maintenance Tasks To Complete Every Year

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Taking good care of your home can help ensure it functions well, keeps you comfortable and increases in value over time. There are numerous categories of home maintenance that are important. Some require frequent attention, but others only need to be completed once a year. Here are some of the most vital yearly maintenance tasks to place on your list.

1. Air Conditioning Tune-Up

Your air conditioner works hard during the summer months, and a tune-up service can help reduce the chance of problems during times of continual operation. When you schedule an annual maintenance appointment with an air conditioning magnolia tx professional, he or she can check for repairs, modify settings for optimal performance and change air filters.

2. Pressure Washing

You may not notice how your home’s siding builds up debris and dust over time, but chances are you will notice a significant difference after pressure washing the exterior. Pressure washing can effectively clean dirt and dust off your siding, improving the appearance of your home and reducing the chances of long-term damage from caked-on debris. A pressure washer can also be an excellent tool for cleaning your deck, driveway and concrete walkways.

3. Gutter Cleaning

Your home’s rain gutters are designed to move rainwater and snowmelt from your roof to the correct drainage systems. However, gutters can easily get clogged with leaves, twigs and other debris, making them unable to drain water effectively. Clogged rain gutters can cause rain to leak off the sides of your roof. By cleaning your gutters every year, you can reduce the chances of flooding in your yard and potential damage to your foundation.

Most annual maintenance tasks don’t require a significant investment of time or money, but they can have long-term benefits. Cleaning your gutters, pressure washing your siding and scheduling a tune-up service for your air conditioner can ensure your home looks great and functions well all year long.

Have You Found the Right Part Supplier for Your Next Project?

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It’s rare to find a manufacturer who does everything in house. What’s far more common is in-house assembly, with the components coming from a variety of trusted suppliers who have demonstrated a high degree of skill at building the components you need to your design, and within the margins of error you specify. Often, businesses do their best to consolidate their contracts with a few companies that can each deliver great results, but that’s not the only way to do it. If you have multiple assembly plants around the country, you’ll need fabrication resources relatively close to each one, to streamline shipping costs, and that can mean finding high quality operators who can reproduce the work of your original supplier at your home location.

Consider Your Options

While it’s tempting to work with a very limited range of suppliers, you can wind up leaving a lot of money on the table if you don’t periodically review your costs and solicit competing bids. The best time to evaluate your costs is when you have a new project, because you might find that between the turnaround time, shipping, and quality, a dedicated metal fabrication Portland Oregon solution for the new project could give you the best overall ROI. Giving a new supplier a single project contract is a great way to assess their suitability for more work in the future, too.

Remember, as much as you might want to put all your contracts together, you’re competing against your own deadlines if you don’t find the best fit for each individual project, spreading your supply lines enough to get everything you need efficiently, without making things overly complicated. It takes time to get into a good rotation with all your suppliers, but it’s worth putting in the effort to get the results if it means your manufacturing process is improved overall.

3 Potential Real Estate Career Paths

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If you’re interested in a career in real estate but don’t really see yourself trying to sell homes for a profit, you may benefit from investigating other career options in the field of real estate. If you’re a detail-oriented person a little on the introverted side, here are three potential career paths that might be a better fit. 

Home Appraisor 

One essential part of the home buying and selling process is the appraisal. Search for certified appraisal license courses to get the training you need to appraise houses, and you’ll get to experience all the benefits of looking over new homes every day without the hassle of haggling over price or networking with clients. In addition, you’ll have a skill that will help you see the true value of potential homes as a personal home buyer. It’s also an excellent skill to have if you choose to pursue the entrepreneurial enterprise of house-flipping. 

Closing Attorney

If you have a background in law or are interested in working towards a lucrative career, and you don’t mind investing in a significant amount of education, looking into becoming a closing attorney might be for you. Closing attorneys play an integral role in a smooth transition from a seller to a buyer, and working for a real estate law firm is a great way to interact with people on a regular basis without the sales aspect. 

Home Inspector

If your personality is more hands-on, another potential career that would allow you to see the inside of all kinds of homes is that of a home inspector. If you have an interest or background in engineering or construction, this career path might fit you exceptionally well. Keep in mind, a key aspect of this job is great attention to detail and a willingness to go into dark corners and dirty crawl spaces to dig up the truth about the homes you’re inspecting. 

When it comes to your career path, it should be something that excites you and keeps you going even on the hard days. For someone interested in a career adjacent to real estate, these are some great options that will always have a market demand. Take a look at these job descriptions and any others you may come across, and you’re sure to find your place in the home buying marketplace even if you dread the thought of living on commission based on flaky clients. 

4 Career Options That May Surprise You

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If you are ready to begin a career or looking to change your current professional pursuits, you may find it challenging to know where to start. The standard list of options might not appeal to you, but finding alternatives to the jobs on the sales floor or at a desk are proving difficult to find.

To get pointed in a different direction, consider these four career paths that may prove to be just what you have been looking for all along.

1. Truck Driving

This transportation field is full of options ranging from drayage services at the port to North Dakota water hauling on the plains. Presenting a rarely seen return on investment, getting your commercial driver’s license is affordable and quick, allowing you to get right to work with little debt to pay off. With trucking jobs expanding at an accelerated rate, while the industry faces a shortage of drivers, there has never been a better time to hit the road.

2. Heavy Equipment Operator

If you find yourself mesmerized by the impressive heavy equipment at construction sites, follow your fascination and learn how to operate these machines like a pro. Regardless of economic fluctuations, construction of all types continues across the country and gaining the specialized training and skill needed to break ground is a precious commodity. Whether it is close to home or on the opposite coast, your talents are yours to take with you wherever you go.

3. Welding

Vital to a variety of industries, certified welders are irreplaceable laborers who enjoy creativity and utility in their profession. Training programs are intense but are generally part of an internship program that includes on-the-job training. From shore to shore and every place in between, your welding skills can be applied to the shipyard, oil fields, construction sites, and more. Unlimited potential and exciting opportunities continue to keep welding a viable career option.

4. Auto-Mechanic

There are fewer people entering the trades, yet our need for services like auto-repair will not disappear any time soon. If you possess an innate interest in how vehicles operate and love bringing a sluggish motor back to health, there are no reasons to deny yourself a full immersion into the craft. Auto-mechanics have the fortunate opportunity to specialize, become self-employed, and keep drivers safe and sound on the road.

Though only four choices out of dozens, the professions listed here provide an excellent example of the possibilities that await you on your journey of growth and development.

A Guide to Reducing Moving Stress

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No matter how far you are going, moving can be a stressful, hectic experience. From finding a place that suits your needs to packing your beloved belongings, the moving process sometimes feels like a harrowing task.

Changing where you live doesn’t have to be exhausting. With a few simple tricks and the help of moving companies Tampa FL, you can make your move quick and easy. Here are a few tips to help reduce your stress while you’re in the process of moving.

Take a Minimalistic Approach

The fastest way to reduce your moving troubles is to reduce what you are moving. Use some minimalist tricks to decide what you want to keep. Moving is the perfect opportunity to sort your treasures from your trash. After all, you have to go through it all anyway.

You might host a traditional yard sale to get rid of treasures in good condition that you don’t want to take along. You may want to check out classified ads or online yard sale options as well. Any of these can bring in a bit of revenue to help with the move.

Moving as few items as possible won’t just make packing easier, but it will also simplify the unpacking process after the move is done. Plus, you’ll be making the process easier not just for yourself, but for your moving company too.

Organize and Label

Cut down on the confusion and chaos of moving by organizing everything you pack. Instead of haphazardly throwing your clothes into a box, try neatly organizing them. Pack your T-shirts separately from your jeans, your socks separate from your shoes, and so on. Don’t be afraid to use several boxes!

Once you fill up a box, label it. Putting a label on each box will help to minimize any confusion about what you packed.  Then, you can let the moving company take over from there. Once you’ve settled in, you can easily unpack your belongings without stressing over where everything belongs.

When in Doubt, Donate

If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, purge your home (especially your closet) of unwanted items with the mindset of giving them away. Get rid of the clothes you don’t wear and the books you don’t read. Instead of stressing over what to do with your items, donate them. You can take them to a local shelter or thrift shop where someone else can fall in love with them.

Don’t over-complicate your move. There is a low-stress solution to every step of the process.