October Newsletter
Happy October! Have the leaves started falling in your neighborhood? If so, check out the leaf raking tips below to make sure you're getting the job done as quickly and easily as possible! You'll also find a roundup of fun Halloween printables, tips for your kitchen remodel, and a quick look at the national housing market.
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9 Lessons Learned From A Kitchen Remodel
Kitchen remodels rank among the top renovation projects for return on investment. In an article for Curbed, homeowner and journalist Stephanie Krikorian shares what she learned when she embarked upon her kitchen renovation. Here are her tips and insight on what to expect:
Get professional design help. Someone who has done this a million times will know all of the tricks and what-not-to-do’s. Krikorian recommends asking about pricing right away: “Do they bill for the design plus a markup on everything you buy, and can you order things on your own to save money?” You might even be able to get professional help free of charge—Krikorian used the free design services offered at the building supply store where she purchased her cabinets and countertops.
Brace yourself for life without a kitchen. Your kitchen will be out of commission early in the process, even before you’ve started shopping for the new pieces. “An advance demolition of the old kitchen is critical because it allows for the most precise measurements for the new one,” says Krikorian. It also allows you to discover any hidden problems, such as pipes that need to be removed.
Pick out your appliances and sink early. “Appliances have big implications on layout,” Krikorian explains. For instance, you might need up to three inches of clearance on the side of your refrigerator to be able to open the door and pull out the interior drawers. You’ll need space above your range for a vent hood. And Krikorian ended up having to move her dishwasher from its original location because of the new sink she chose. “Find an appliance store that will let you buy early but will hold them until you’re ready to install,” she says, “because appliances go in last.”
Make one show-stopping design choice. “But only one,” Krikorian urges. She chose to make her floor the focal point—she used graphic, French Mediterranean-style tiles—so she kept her cabinets and countertop simple.
Look at all of your tiles before adhering them with mortar. Some tiles will likely have subtle variations in color, so you’ll want to space those out (or hide them in less visible areas) to avoid having an entire row that’s a different color.
Carry all of your samples with you while shopping. That’s right, all of your samples: tiles, hardware, countertop, cabinets, and paint chips. It’ll be a heavy bag, but you’ll be able to make sure all of the pieces you choose to work well together.
Use pull-out drawers wherever you can! In Krikorian’s kitchen, almost everything is easily accessible by opening up a cabinet and pulling out a drawer. Plates, pots and pans, plastic containers—they can all be stored in drawers!
Add a natural element. Whether it’s a wood cutting board, leather bar stools, or a houseplant, a natural element will add warmth to a modern space.
Make it easy to clean. Keep open shelving away from your range to prevent grease buildup; use silicone in the seam between your counter and backsplash behind the sink to prevent water damage, and figure out a convenient spot for your garbage can.
Our Favorite Halloween Printable: Cards, Decor, and Kids Activities
Raise your hand if you love Halloween and free stuff! I looked around online and picked out my favorite free printables for Halloween to share with you. (And, okay, one of these actually costs $3, but I included it because it’s so nice). Listed below, you’ll find links to printable cards, decor, and kids activities!
Halloween cards: Want a little card to send along with your Boo Basket? These beautiful cards from The House That Lars Built are perfect for taping onto a bag of treats. They would also look great enlarged and framed!
Spooky paper bats: Once you’ve downloaded this bat template from Lovely Indeed, all you need to do is print them out on black cardstock, cut them out, and use tape (or removable glue dots) to attach them to the wall. In addition to creating your big swarm of bats, you could also hide little bats throughout the house for your kids to find!
Halloween garland craft for kids: Molly from Almost Makes Perfect created a sweet little craft for her son that turned out to be a lovely, subtle Halloween decoration. Download the template of Halloween shapes (pumpkin, ghost, skull), let the kiddos decorate them with watercolors (so the colors will be more toned-down) and googly eyes, then cut them out and tape them to a string to make a kid-friendly—yet aesthetically-pleasing—Halloween garland.
Rustic maple leaf wall art: If you’re looking for some wall decor that will last beyond Halloween, you might like this free printable provided by A Night Owl—especially if you have a particular fondness for crunchy fallen leaves.
Halloween Lunchbox Jokes: These silly little Halloween joke cards are perfect for sneaking into your child’s lunchbox. Check out the printable at Kristen Duke Photography for gems such as, “Why was the jack-o-lantern afraid to cross the road? Because it had no guts!”
Halloween neighborhood scavenger hunt: This scavenger hunt list from Studio DIY includes a picture below each word, so even the littlest of littles can participate. Print off this list and go for a walk in your neighborhood to search for bats, black cats, pumpkins, and other fun Halloween decorations!
Halloween coloring pages: There are coloring pages for everyone at Happiness Is Homemade—cute bats and ghosts for the kids, intricate spider webs, and sugar skulls for teens and adults!
Playful and modern Halloween wall art: You can print just one or all three of these fun Halloween prints from Clementine Creative. Choose from “double double toil & trouble,” “BOO,” and “Trick or Treat.”
7 Pro Tips for Cleaning Up The Leaves In Your Yard
As yard work goes, raking up crisp fallen leaves isn’t the worst way to spend your Saturday afternoon. Just make sure you’re doing it the right way, with the right tools, and you’ll be done in no time. (You might even enjoy it!) Check out these leaf-cleanup tips from Bob Vila:
Wait until most of the leaves have fallen. It’s important to get those leaves off your lawn if you want the grass to survive through winter and come back in the spring. But do yourself a favor and wait until the trees are almost bare before you start your cleanup.
Wear the right gear. Opt for long sleeves and pants, as well as heavy-duty gloves to prevent blisters. And if you have allergies, wear one of your cloth face masks to avoid breathing in dust and pollen.
Use the right rake. To get the job done as fast as possible, make sure you use a rake labeled “no clog” that has a wide tine spread—30 inches or so. Make sure the rake is long enough that you can use it while keeping your back straight.
Check the weather. Get your leaves cleaned up before it rains, because wet leaves are harder to move. And avoid raking on really windy days. You can take advantage of a light breeze, however, by raking in the same direction as the wind.
Rake in rows. Separate your yard into rows (or quadrants) and focus on one area at a time, raking from one end to the other. Bag the leaves as soon as you finish a section (so the wind can’t undo your hard work). You’ll work faster this way, and you’ll end up with a cleaner lawn!
Rake onto a tarp. If you prefer to make one big pile, rake all of the leaves onto a tarp. When you’re done, you can tie up the ends and take the bundle to your community collection center. Or, if you need to fill lawn bags, you can roll the tarp into a cylinder and use it to funnel the leaves into the bags.
Make mulch. One alternative to raking is turning your leaves into mulch. You can do this with your lawnmower (if you don’t have a mulching function, just set the blades to the highest setting) or with a yard vacuum that has a built-in shredder. The shredded leaves will slowly break down over the winter and provide nutrients to your lawn.
Housing Market Update
Here is some recent information on the national housing market, courtesy of Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale and Freddie Mac's Economic & Housing Research group:
Prices are still growing, but at a slower rate. The week of September 4 marked six consecutive weeks of “single-digit price growth after a 50-week streak of double-digit price growth,” reported Hale.
Homes continue to sell faster than they did a year ago. In August 2021, the average time-on-market for a typical listing was 39 days (which was 17 days less than last year).
The number of new listings has been mostly growing in the last several months, shrinking the gap between this year’s numbers and those of the more "normal" 2019 season. New listings did slip 8.1% the week of September 4, but that could be due to back-to-school interruptions.
Active inventory is still down from a year ago. The week of September 4, it was down 24%. At the same time, “buyers are still actively looking for homes, ensuring that homeowners deciding to sell will see interest.”
On September 9, Freddie Mac reported that mortgage rate growth remained relatively flat. The economy had been steadily on the rise until the Delta variant brought an increase in new COVID cases in July and August. Due to “weaker employment, lower spending, and declining consumer confidence… mortgage rates dropped early this summer and have stayed steady.”
Find more data at realtor.com/research and freddiemac.com/pmms.