How many of these did YOU know about?

A sealed envelope - Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a
knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed. (Hmmmmmm..)

============
Use Empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. It keeps
them neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to.
==========
For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: Get warm water and
put Dawn dish washing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They
won't refreeze. (Wish I had known this for the last 40 years!).
==========
To remove old wax from a glass candle holder, put it in the freezer
for a few hours. Then take the candle holder out and turn it upside down.
The wax will fall out.
===========
Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag,
dipped in baking soda. Comes off with little effort (elbow grease that is!).
==========
Permanent marker on appliances/counter tops.
(Like store receipt BLUE!) Rubbing alcohol on paper towel.
============
Whenever I purchase a box of S.O.S Pads, I immediately take a pair
of scissors and cut each pad into halves. After years of having to throw
away rusted and unused and smelly pads, I finally decided that this would
be much more economical. Now a box of S.O.S pads last me indefinitely!
In fact, I have noticed that the scissors get 'sharpened'' this way!
=============
Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Just pour a little hydrogen
peroxide on a cloth and proceed to wipe off every drop of blood.
Works every time! (Now, where to put the body?) LOL
==========
Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal
for inside windows. This way you can tell which side has the streaks.
Straight vinegar will get outside windows really clean. Don't wash
windows on a sunny day. They will dry too quickly and will probably streak.
============
Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in any room to create a
lovely light scent in each room when the light is turned on.
========
Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers and your clothes will
smell freshly washed for weeks to come. You can also do this with towels
and linen.
=========
Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least 3
hours prior to burning.
======
To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add the
flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt
and leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm!
============
To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop
or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring
to a boil on stove top.

===========
Spray your TUPPERWARE with nonstick cooking spray before
pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.
===========
Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator
and it will keep for weeks.
=============
When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help
bring out the corn's natural sweetness.
===============
Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half, and rub it on your
forehead. The throbbing will go away.
=============
Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future
use in casseroles and sauces ... LEFT OVER WINE, who writes this stuff
=============
To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area
and you will experience instant relief.
============
Ants, ants, ants everywhere ... Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line.. So, get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or
wherever ants tend to march. See for yourself.
============
Use air-freshener to clean mirrors. It does a good job and better still,
leaves a lovely smell to the shine.
===========
When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to
tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, and
then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.
=====
Now look what you can do with Alka Seltzer... Clean a toilet.
Drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and flush.
The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous China.
========
Clean a vase.
To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water
and drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets.
=============
Polish jewelry.
Drop two Alka Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the
jewelry for two minutes.
==============
Clean a thermos bottle.
Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka Seltzer tablets, and let soak
for an hour (or longer, if necessary).
===========
Unclog a drain.
Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka Seltzer tablets down the
drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar.. Wait a few minutes,
and then run the hot water.
================
Do your friends a favor. Pass this timely (and some not-so-timely)
information! I just did.

Makes you wonder about ingesting Alka Seltzer, doesn't it?

Police Warning (Send to Everyone)



I'm passing this along! People are R E A L L Y crazy! If you are female,

take heed! If you are male and have a significant female in your life

who you care about, whether it's your wife, your girlfriend, your

daughter, your sister, your niece, your cousin, your next door neighbor;

whomever..............pass this along! Always, "Better safe than sorry!"





A man came over and offered his services as a painter to a female

putting gas in her car and left his card. She said no, but accepted his

card out of kindness and got in the car. The man then got into a car

driven by another gentleman. As the lady left the service station, she

saw the men following her out of the station at the same time. Almost

immediately, she started to feel dizzy and could not catch her breath.

She tried to open the window and realized that the odor was on her hand;

the same hand which accepted the card from the gentleman at the gas

station.



She then noticed the men were immediately behind her and she felt she

needed to do something at that moment. She drove into the first driveway

and began to honk her horn repeatedly to ask for help. The men drove

away but the lady still felt pretty bad for several minutes after she

could finally catch her breath. Apparently, there was a substance on the

card that could have seriously injured her.



This drug is called 'BURUNDANGA' and it is used by people who wish to

incapacitate a victim in order to steal from or take advantage of them.

This drug is four times dangerous than the date rape drug and is

transferable on simple cards. So take heed and make sure you don't

accept cards at any given time you are alone or from someone on the

streets. This applies to those making house calls and slipping you a

card when they offer their services.



PLEASE SEND THIS E-MAIL ALERT TO EVERY ONE YOU KNOW!!!!

I am an artist at heart. So I'm more drawn to "decorating" rather then staging. However, I understand and have been professionally taught how to reach a homes maximum potential for price and sale by staging appropriately. And I must admit that I am amazing at it. You can say anything bad about me that you want as I tell others in a joking way -but you can never say I'm not fabulous cook, artist and I can really, really, really stage a home....

Thanks to shows like HGTV, many sellers are now aware of the concept and its important to know that it originated in California- and if you are selling there, you wouldn't consider not staging(both selling and staging go hand in hand).

What makes me good at staging? First and foremost I am an artist. My hobbies are painting , sculpting, refinishing furniture and creating. It actually goes as far back as my days as a dorm student at Niagara University. An artist needs to wake and surround herself to beauty. So needless to say I had a challenge as a broke college student. But I met that challenge with desire and creativity. I would "garbage shop"(rummage through people's garbage), paint, recreate and next thing I knew people were actually offering to buy my recreations.

Fortunately I have created a great lifestyle now and can actually buy my art and furniture at my discretion, but I have to admit I love to estate sale shop (Kottage to Castle-NJ a great find!) and find "pet projects" although my husband gets quite upset when I buy anything "used" or damaged". My reply is beauty is in the eye of the beholder - my eyes....and I can make anything beautiful. Which brings me back to the point of this blog.

Staging is NOT about decorating. I just staged a home this past Saturday. Because it requires me to remove emotional items from the owners eye it becomes challenging. I'm not there to insult your taste in design. As a matter of fact the home that I staged this Saturday did not need to be decorated and if they were selling it with furnishings, we could have left it as is. The point of staging is to create a visual palette for others to imagine the placement of their own furnishings. We are selling a house, not a home and its square footage. Do do so we need to "empty" all unnecessary items. And this scares many folks. I try to convince them that this just gives them a head start on the packing process, but regardless its personal to see someone attack their style and belongings and hard on the stager many times.

So now I've taken on a new job. Virtual staging. Id like to say its easier, but its not. Graphic design requires time and patience. To make a photo "perfectly enhanced" you are talking hours of labor. But I've gotten it to where I can highlight and draw attention within a reasonable time. You can see some examples at http://njtopbroker.com/virtualstaging.html. But unless I'm being paid by the hour rather then doing this in good faith and as a courtesy , you wont see perfection - but you will see results; and that's what this is all about!

A few tips on staging yourself....

remove anything that insinuates illness (diabetes reminders on kitchen fridge e.g., needle boxes) - people insinuate this as a taboo or actually feel guilty about taking a home from a sick person

remove religious items - another taboo to some unfortunately

remove any and all signs of pets

empty all surface and clear corners- this makes rooms look larger

remove dying, dead and artificial plants

find focal points of each room and highlight them by removing competing objects

In closing as boring as this may sound - Keep it plain, boring and bland. Many buyers don't have imaginations so we need to create a bland surrounding to help them out. Your style will only compete with their intentions!

Written by Christine Madalone