Home Improvement – Sources of Mess and Easy Hacks

Home Improvement – Sources of Mess and Easy Hacks

Say, you deep-cleaned your home and decluttered every room, but the house does not feel quite right. A common complaint is that homes may look messy even after repeatedly tidying them up. The problem is as you get used to personal spaces, you can overlook the things that have been around for so long. You start considering them a part of the décor. But they can make the house look untidy to onlookers. 

Things that make homes look messy
Excessive open storage
Open shelves can be great storage solutions for your books, collectibles, or art. However, such shelves work best when they are not filled with a lot of stuff. So, when decorating shelves or bookcases, do not fill every inch of the space. For a cleaner and decluttered look, leave open space between two items. Avoid using open storage for managing cables and electronics or stacking toys, movies, and games. Experts recommend storing these items inside boxes, cabinets, or baskets makes for a less cluttered look.

Tangled cords on display
A simple home improvement and clean-up trick is to get creative with covering up cords and freeing the walls from any wires. You can easily tidy up the space by keeping the tangled wires hidden.

Hanging too many pictures
Having too many pictures on the wall can feel overwhelming. It may make it difficult to absorb all the wall décor when there are too many things to take in. So, whenever your walls feel cluttered, it might be time to take some things off your wall. Give yourself 3-5 days to adapt, and see how you feel with less stuff on the walls. You will realize how it is a breath of fresh air.

Using the fridge as a bulletin board
Children’s artwork and crafts, plenty of to-do lists, and magnets, when displayed on the refrigerator, can make it look messy. Leave your refrigerator doors vacant, and get a bulletin board for the chore charts, invitations, announcements, and artwork.

Inadequate light
Lack of adequate lighting fixtures can also make the home look messy, even when it is not. Improper lighting casts a shadow, which hides the neater, empty spaces in the dark. You can opt for energy-efficient home improvements and add a few LED bulbs to accentuate the light around the house. You can also consider solar energy to save electricity costs. Ideally, you must have three kinds of lighting—task, accent, or general or ambient lighting. You can make your home look cozier and neater by taking these home improvement measures and ensuring well-placed lighting fixtures to highlight the right spaces.

Crowded countertops
It is a common mistake, as excessive clutter on countertops is a complete no-no. Even with just a bunch of small appliances or decorative canisters, the more you add to the counter, the more crowded the space may look. So, do not add more than one or two frequently used things, say, the toaster or the coffee maker, and place everything else in cabinets or closed storage.

Home improvement hacks
Apart from tidying up the space, certain home improvements can make rooms look bigger, cleaner, and more organized. Here are a few tips:

Stick to a maintenance schedule
Experts recommend regular maintenance to avoid expensive repairs. So, the easiest way to do this is to follow a maintenance schedule for almost all of the systems in your home. Also, call for inspection when considering major repairs. Foundation repair experts should be on your speed dial, and there must be a schedule in place to get the smoke alarms, HVAC system, kitchen appliances, gutters, roofing, plumbing, and landscaping inspected and maintained. Routine inspections will help you catch issues in time and get repairs done before the problem worsens. Further, with smaller issues, you can find DIY solutions. For instance, adding gutter guards, like those offered by GutterBrush, can prevent clogging in the gutters. GutterBrush offers brush guards to keep debris at bay and allow the water to flow freely.

Paint the front door
The front door is usually the first thing visitors notice. So, if you wish to make an excellent first impression, paint the door in a bright and welcoming color. This can elevate the look of the home.

Get a few repairs
Not every drippy faucet, clogged gutter, or leaky drain needs professional plumbing. Sometimes installing a few inexpensive tools, such as installing LeafFilters gutter guards , a little patience, and a few informative videos or articles can do the trick. LeafFilter offers micromesh guards to keep gutters clog-free. These fixes are simple and can save you a ton of money, making your home free from drainage and plumbing issues.

Change dated fixtures
You may not realize it, but a new fixture can do wonders for your room. So, ditch the frosted glass pendants in the kitchen and replace them with contemporary globe fixtures, swap the old ceiling fans with modern and energy-efficient fans, or add a chandelier over the master bed. If your wiring is in place, swapping the light fixtures is an easy home improvement measure. 

Get smart home devices
Advanced technology can also elevate the look of your home and increase the efficiency of existing home systems, so why not make the most of it? You can opt for camera-enabled doorbells, self-programmable thermostats, and other smart home attributes. You can seamlessly integrate these changes into your existing systems and update the home aesthetics.

Add a fresh coat of paint
When undertaking DIY home improvement projects, some easy changes, like painting a room in a new color, can dramatically spruce up the space. Opt for a bright pop of color or an accent wall in the bedroom or living room, paint the kitchen cabinets, or make a statement with painted ceilings. While at it, look around and do a quick touch-up anywhere the existing paint is chipped or peeling off. This can make the home look cleaner and brighter.

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Top 10 Tips to Prevent Cyber Attacks

Cyber security is more important than ever in this internet-driven world. With the ever-growing threats to businesses, having a robust security solution like the crowd strike endpoint cyber security becomes quintessential. We have heard enterprises go out of business or pay huge fines because of a simple system lag. There are plenty of risks to ignore, from phishing to ransomware, as one mistake can cost heftily. Here we will discuss ten tips to avoid cyber-attacks. Get cyber certified In this digital landscape, there is a vast demand for cybersecurity professionals. Even though companies are looking for experts with this skill and knowledge, the industry has a shortage. Therefore, certifications will help you land a rewarding job and equip you with the necessary expertise to avoid cyber-attacks. Educate your employees Employees are usually the access points for cybercrooks to steal your data. These trespassers send phishing emails by masking someone from your company to access confidential files or steal personal information. These links might seem authentic to the untrained, making it easy for them to fall into the trap. Thus, awareness is quintessential. So, you must spend time and resources educating your staff on cyberattack prevention. Always keep them informed about the prevalent cyber assaults and ways to keep them at bay. Incorporate zero trust inspection One of the most crucial aspects in preventing cybersecurity is verifying everything and not trusting anything or anyone. It also explains why companies use multi-factor authentication tools like crowd strike endpoint cyber security and encryption. However, some companies tend to misunderstand the zero-trust product or feature. Finally, you must see it as a means to employ a risk-based approach to combat cyberattacks' impact, likelihood, and frequency while prioritizing the highest-value threats. Keep your software and systems updated System and software updates significantly impact your digital security and cyber safety. These updates add new features, fix bugs, and patch the security vulnerabilities and flaws that can be exploited. Malicious cyber hackers create codes that exploit vulnerabilities. Usually, these codes are packaged as malware and can hamper your system. So, please ensure you conduct a patch management system to auto-manage the updates and uphold information security. Mitigate cyber threats on your mobile phone Like computers, even phones have features that make them accessible to attackers. Hence, this device must have crowd strike endpoint cyber security or alternative counter-attack measures. Sadly, not many smartphone users are aware of the security shortcoming. Below we will list a few helpful ways to keep your mobile phone secure: Secure your phone via configuration. You can set the password feature on your device. Please pick a complex password, ideally a combination of numerals, symbols, and characters. Select devices that stress security features. For example, your phone must have a file encryption feature to protect against malicious apps. Never open suspicious links or any malicious pop-ups. Do not post your number on public websites. Configure your web accounts to ensure you are connected to the internet safely. Perform in-depth research before downloading any new app on your phone. Take immediate action if your phone gets stolen. Report the incident to the service provider and the organization. Ensure endpoint protection Endpoint protection tools like crowd strike endpoint cyber security guard your network, remotely bridged to the devices. Laptops, tablets, and smartphones connected to computer networks are the common access paths for security threats. Hence, take measures to guard these pathways with reliable endpoint protection software. Regularly back up the data When your device gets infected by malware or virus or accessed by a cyber hacker, your data is deleted, damaged, or held for ransom by ransomware. Consequently, it becomes impossible for you to access that information. However, if you have a backup or copy of your data, you can easily access it. However, please ensure that the external hard drive you use for data is not connected perenially to the device you are backing up over a local network connection or physically. One of the best remedies against malware is having the ability to restore the information through clean backups because sometimes the attacks do not hand over the decryption key even if you pay the ransom. Thus, having a backup is crucial. It will prevent the need to give money to criminals and is cheaper and more reliable. Encrypt data when uploading or sharing online You can also keep your data protected during transfers from cyber criminals by encrypting it or employing a cloud storage service that offers end-to-end encryption. For example, if you use the software for data encryption before storing it, keep your decryption key safe; otherwise, you might lose your data. In addition, for cyber threat prevention, you can encrypt your network through control panel settings or use a VPN to ensure that your online interactions and data transfers are safe and secure. Companies may gather and store the information employed by cybercriminals, compromising the business data. Check the strength of your passwords Employ platforms like howsecureismypassword.net to assess your password's strength. When picking a password, please note the longer it is, the stronger it is. Typically, a password at least twelve characters long are considered difficult to guess and robust. One of the best tricks is to use a sentence as a password, as that makes it hard to forget. In addition, you must also routinely change your passwords, irrespective of whether you suspect any suspicious activity. Use firewalls For online businesses, the website host has an in-built firewall for the server. Beyond that, you must also get one for your computer. Usually, security plug-ins come with an infused firewall. Thus, anytime a cyber-attack is directed toward your computer, the firewall will notify you and ban any trespasser from coming in.

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7 key things to consider while sending a courier abroad

International couriers are much simpler, faster, and more efficient today. This is because international customs authorities, shipping companies, and courier service providers have all contributed to making the process as customer-friendly as possible. With service providers’ core focus being ease of use, sending a courier no longer requires clients to spend days in uncertainty once their package has gone for shipping. Even then, one must consider certain vital things while sending couriers abroad, including: Being mindful of sending prohibited items to other nations Not every object shipped internationally will be legally welcomed by the country where it is being sent. Specific items are banned in certain countries. One must be aware of the regulations and limitations on the types of goods sent to a particular country. To know more, one can visit the postal website of the destination country before sending their parcel in order to avoid sending banned goods. Being mindful of the customs clearance process Parcels delivered internationally need to go through customs clearance. This process is needed for senders to obtain clearance from their chosen shipping carrier and ensure the delivery is executed successfully. While the process was extensively paper-driven and time-consuming in the past, today, clients can access clearance guidelines from shipping carriers by checking their websites. Customs clearance takes place both in the origin as well as the destination country for international shipments. Keeping tabs on the total cost of sending courier After confirming that the item is safe to be shipped, clients must look out for quotes for the cost of international delivery. One can enter the dimensions of their parcel, its weight, fragile status, and country of delivery into the delivery quote form of any given courier company to know how much they would charge for the services. Alternatively, one can communicate in advance with the courier company and get complete clarity about all the charges applied for delivering an item through international waters. Often, people who send couriers abroad incur additional costs and commissions that were not specified by the courier company beforehand. Providing contact details of the receiver on the package While the courier company will have the address of the parcel's receiver, individuals can put their personal contact numbers, email IDs, and other contact details to make it easier for the service provider to get in touch with the receiver and deliver the parcel efficiently. In this way, the receiver can stay in the loop regarding the delivery and its Expected Time of Arrival (ETA). Also, some countries make it mandatory for courier services to include the receiver's contact details on the package during international deliveries. Many people who send couriers abroad may overlook this key detail. Packing the parcel properly for international delivery When goods are shipped internationally, they go through multiple clearance points, are handled by various individuals, and travel by various modes of transportation such as air, rail, road, or sea. Additionally, the parcel may be sorted and processed in multiple locations. All of this movement and commotion sometimes cause damage to the goods. Packaging the goods ensures that they are not damaged during the transit. Also, it guarantees that they endure climate changes (if the goods are being transferred from a warm country to a cold one) when they are internationally shipped and delivered. Communicating with courier provider about delivery times Shipping delays are a massive problem when goods are being transported abroad. To avoid running into shipping delays (which usually take about a week or two to resolve completely), individuals sending couriers abroad must discuss the delivery timelines with their courier service provider before investing in their services. Clear communication beforehand helps to minimize the risk of delays in the process. Additionally, when goods being shipped internationally reach their intended destination on time, the receiver’s schedule remains intact. For example, if a given parcel is essential to the receiver’s business operations, then a delay in delivery will mean that their operations get delayed as well. Informing the shipping company about fragile goods Certain goods are so delicate or combustible that they can get damaged by the slightest of hits or knocks while being internationally delivered. Therefore, it is imperative for individuals to inform their courier company about the “fragile” status of their parcel. Doing so ensures that everyone involved - the courier company representatives, the shipping company workers, and last-mile delivery workers - handles the parcel with utmost care and consideration.

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