This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
1099 independent contractors arenât eligible for standard W-2 employee benefits or workplace protections, including health insurance, workers compensation, paid time off and more.
The company did not share when the new type of orders will go into effect for gig workers.
What Do the Instacart Layoffs and Changing Services Mean for Your Side Gig?
Adam Hardy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. He covers the gig economy, remote work and other unique ways to make money. Read his âlatest articles here, or say hi on Twitter @hardyjournalism.
In an announcement following the news of the Instacart layoffs, Kroger â a grocery chain that partners with Instacart â said it had no part in the decision to cut the in-store shoppers working at its locations. The grocer welcomed affected shoppers to apply to a host of job openings.
Instacart did not clarify whether it plans to cut more in-store shopper positions in the future as the company continues to implement its new Partner Pick model.
Going forward, grocery store employees will play a larger role in preparing pickup orders that customers place through the Instacart app. The result is that the current in-store Instacart employees will no longer be needed at many locations.
Grocery delivery service Instacart is laying off nearly 2,000 employees in the coming months as it shifts away from having shoppers embedded in stores.
Throughout the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of people have supplemented their income with Instacartâs flexible delivery gigs.
Pro Tip
In a statement to CBS, Kroger said: âFor those who are looking for a career opportunity, we have thousands of retail roles available on jobs.kroger.com.â
As of March 2020, Supermarket News reported the company employs about 12,000 in-store shoppers. The layoffs mark an estimated 15% reduction in these types of jobs.
Soon, full-service gig workers will start taking over the new shopping-only orders that will become available on the Instacart worker app. Source: thepennyhoarder.com
In-store shoppers are W-2 employees of Instacart, and they work embedded in partner grocery stores around the country. Typically, they shop and prepare orders for pickup â either by a customer or an Instacart delivery driver who then takes the order directly to the customerâs doorstep.
âAs part of this pilot, full-service shoppers at select retailer locations will be able to choose orders to pick, pack and stage â no delivery required,â Instacart said in an announcement.
âWe know this is an incredibly challenging time for many as we move through the COVID-19 crisis, and weâre doing everything we can to support in-store shoppers through this transition,â Instacart said in an emailed statement to The Penny Hoarder. âWeâre also providing all impacted shoppers with separation packages based on their tenure with Instacart.â
The March 2021 wave of layoffs is primarily focused on one of the two major side gigs Instacart offers: in-store shoppers. The other major side gig, full-service shopping, is indirectly affected.
The cuts have a rippling effect on the more popular grocery-delivery gigs, known as full-service shoppers. These positions are 1099 independently contracted roles. The folks who work these app-based gigs are not employees of Instacart, technically speaking. The âfull-serviceâ part generally refers to the grocery shopping and delivery responsibilities. Instacart unveiled the shift to a new âPartner Pickâ model in a post on Medium. Under that model, Instacart will rely more on grocery store employees to fulfill orders. The announcement didnât say how many in-store shoppers are being laid off, but CBS News reported that 1,877 Instacart employees who work embedded in grocery stores across the country will lose their jobs by March.
The second stimulus package is tightening the rules for millions of gig workers, independent contractors and self-employed workers receiving unemployment aid.
On Dec. 27, the $900 billion stimulus package extended Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a critical benefits program for folks who donât typically qualify for regular unemployment aid. The deal lengthened PUA benefits for at least 11 weeks, but it also created new filing rules that affect current recipients and new applicants alike.
Chief among the new rules: You will need to submit income documentation to your stateâs unemployment agency if you are a gig worker or self-employed worker â or risk losing future benefits and having to return any benefits collected after Dec. 27.
âI think they are a real pain,â said Michele Evermore, an unemployment policy analyst for the National Employment Law Project, regarding the new PUA filing rules. âNot just for recipients, but for state agencies to collect. Every burden we add to state agencies slows benefit processing for everyone.â
The new requirements are intended to combat fraud. According to the Department of Labor, more than 7.4 million people are relying on PUA and are subject to the changes.
New Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Rules and Deadlines
The new deadlines established by the second stimulus package are different for current PUA recipients and new applicants.
As a current PUA recipient, you have until March 27 to submit income-related documents to prove your PUA eligibility. If you apply for PUA before Jan. 31, you also have until March 27.
If you apply for PUA Jan. 31 or later, you will have 21 days from the date of your application to submit income-related documents.
Need to apply? Our 50-state Pandemic Unemployment Assistance filing guide includes an interactive map and the latest information from the second stimulus deal.
The Department of Labor requires each state to notify you of your state-specific rules. Your state may have different deadlines. In that case, refer to your stateâs instructions. The DOL is also leaving it to each state to determine exactly what documents are required to prove your eligibility.
Here are some examples of documents your state may ask you to file:
Tax forms such as 1099s and W-2s.
Ledgers, recent pay stubs and earnings statements from gig apps.
Recent bank statements showing direct deposits.
If youâre self-employed, you may be required to submit:
Federal or state income tax documents.
A business license.
A 1040 tax form along with a Schedule C, F, SE or K.
Additional records that prove youâre self employed, such as utility bills, rental agreements or checks.
If youâre qualifying for PUA because you were about to start a job but the offer was rescinded due to COVID-19 related reasons, you may be asked to submit an offer letter, details about the employer and other information related to the job to verify your claim.
Another new rule is that you will have to self-certify that you meet one or more of the following PUA eligibility requirements on a weekly basis:
You have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have symptoms and are seeking diagnosis.
A member of your household has COVID-19.
You are taking care of someone with COVID-19.
You are caring for a child or other household member who canât attend school or work because it is closed due to the pandemic.
You are quarantined by order of a doctor or health official.
You were scheduled to start employment and donât have a job or canât reach your workplace as a result of the pandemic.
You have become the breadwinner for a household because the head of household died due to COVID-19.
You had to quit your job as a direct result of COVID-19.
Your workplace is closed as a direct result of COVID-19.
Self-certification means that you swear the reason(s) you are on PUA is or are true at the risk of perjury. Previously, PUA applicants had to self-certify only once at the time of their initial application.
FROM THE MAKE MONEY FORUM
Passive Income Strategies
Help
Need Help: Prices for Personized Poems
N
See more in Make Money or ask a money question
Evermore says that since current PUA recipients werenât asked to submit all this information when they were first approved, they might no longer have access to the requested documents.
âPeople who were told they donât need documentation may have lost it, and this will create panic resulting in more stress on people who have already had an unimaginably bad year,â she said.
The good news, Evermore says, is that states have leniency to waive some of these requirements if you can demonstrate âgood causeâ for not being able to submit the requested documents. Whatâs considered âgood causeâ is also determined on a state-by-state basis.
âPeople who got approved for benefits in the past wonât necessarily get cut off from benefits simply because they are unable to produce the requested documentation,â Evermore said. âJust follow all of the agencyâs instructions carefully.â
Adam Hardy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. He covers the gig economy, remote work and other unique ways to make money. Read his âlatest articles here, or say hi on Twitter @hardyjournalism.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
As simple as it sounds â and actually is â most people are overwhelmed by the thought of taking hundreds or even thousands of photos and organizing them into searchable, digital files.
Then there are the videos filmed on various versions of clunky cameras over the decades.
Perhaps the most daunting version of unorganized photographic memories are slides. Once the butt of so many jokes about boring dinner parties, now they are covered in dust with no hope of ever seeing the light of a projector again.
Well, anyone armed with a $229 scanner and a computer can make searchable digital files of photos and slides. To turn videos into digital files, it takes the original camera they were filmed with or a VCR, an $87 adapter and a computer.
Hereâs how to make photo scanning and digitizing your new side hustle.
Five years ago, professional photo curator Sabrina Hughes decided she could make a business out of helping people organize their photos, videos and slides. Her company, PhotoXO, has a compelling slogan: âShow your photos the love they deserve.â
Her years as a photographer, plus a graduate degree in art history and experience as a curatorial assistant at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Fla., combine to make her an astute photo archivist. But all of this expertise and experience is not required.
âThereâs a certain point when Iâm not doing anything you canât figure out on your own,â she said. âA college student or really anyone could do this to make extra money.â
Hughes offers a self-paced online class called Disaster to Done for $297, which includes lifetime access to course materials. But sheâs also sharing her tips with The Penny Hoarder.
Get the Right Equipment
Scanner. There are hundreds of scanners out there, but she prefers the Epson v600, which sells for $229.
Video adapter. Hughes uses the Elgato Video Capture for digitizing VHS tapes. It can be bought online for $87.
Storage. âWhen I first started out, I was giving everything back on hard drives,â Hughes said. âI was trying to get away from DVDs, since most computers donât even play those anymore.â She then offered flash drives filled with the photos. Though they are also becoming less common, this is still probably the best tool for beginners. Hughes now uploads everything to her website, which offers permanent storage.
Software. Hughes uses Adobe Lightroom ($119), which enables her to label photos so they can be searched and has photo editing functions. Software isnât required to organize unlabeled photos into folders, however.
Develop and Perfect Your Process
The first step to starting your photo scanning business is setting aside a space in your home. It can be as small as a corner of your bedroom or a desktop if an actual office or spare room isnât possible.
Next, create a storage system for clientsâ photos and video tapes while your work is in progress. Of course clear boxes that stack are great, but they come with a cost. Cardboard shipping boxes work just as well. Place white adhesive labels on the ends with the name of the client and the date the work started. You can place new labels over these when one project is done and the next clientâs photos go into the boxes.
To digitize photos and slides, scan each one with the scanner to upload it to your computer. Make files for certain years or topics such as â1970s beach tripsâ or âkidsâ birthday parties.â Drag and drop the photos into the appropriate file.
Passive Income Strategies
Help
Need Help: Prices for Personized Poems
N
Mobile Apps
See more in Make Money or ask a money question
Deciding What to Charge
Itâs smart to charge by the hour when you start out, and give an estimate of how long the project will take.
Determine ahead of time how many photos you can scan in an hour. If you are sorting and scanning, that may be harder to estimate, but it probably adds another 30 minutes onto each hour of scanning. Say you can scan 40 photos an hour, then it would take you five hours to digitize 200 photos that donât require sorting.
A high schooler or college student might charge $30 to $50 an hour, or approximately $150 to $250 for 200 photos. Allow an extra hour for computer glitches, labeling files and calling the client with questions.
Hughes started out charging by the hour, but found clients were spending so much time âpre-organizingâ their photos themselves to save money, it would take them six months or more before they were finally ready for her to start archiving. So she switched to a flat fee of $2,222 for unlimited archiving of slides, photos or videos. To do all three formats, she charges $7,777. She also offers small projects a-la-carte based on the amount of work.
How to Attract Clients
You might have to offer to digitize photos for one or two friends at no cost first to get an idea of how long the process takes and what you will charge.
Then spread the word on social media. Give an estimated price of how many photos you can do for a certain price. Ask your early clients to share something about how wonderful it feels to finally have photos organized and saved forever.
Digitized photos make a great Motherâs Day, Fatherâs Day or Christmas gift. Promote your business online and in emails during these times and throughout the year.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
Chipotle is kicking off the new year with a nationwide hiring blitz.
With hundreds of new restaurants in the works, the fast-casual Mexican food chain plans to fill 15,000 new openings, according to the hiring announcement.
To make headway on those recruitment efforts, all Chipotle locations are holding a âCoast to Coastâ career event Jan. 14. On-site interviews are taking place from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time.
As a safety precaution, outdoor and curbside interview accommodations are available.
âPlease bring a mask and follow all safety protocols while youâre in the restaurant,â the company said.
Pro Tip
To participate in the hiring event, you must fill out a brief application and select an available interview time slot at your local Chipotle. Do not show up without requesting an interview.
Compared to the overall restaurant industry, Chipotle has fared well throughout the pandemic. The company hired 10,000 new workers in July as it added new locations and built drive-thru windows at many existing locations. In November, Chipotle unveiled its first ever âdigitalâ restaurant in New York to experiment with only providing drive-thru and pick-up orders.
Job Openings at Chipotle
Chipotleâs recruitment spree is focused on hiring new restaurant team members, which primarily consist of line cooks, food preppers, and cashiers. These positions are entry level.
According to job listings on the companyâs career board, the main crew-member requirement is that you must be at least 16 years old to apply. All training is provided.
Chipotle doesnât have a company-wide minimum wage. On average, crew members earn about $10 to $11 an hour (or local minimum wage if higher) according to thousands of self-reported wages on Glassdoor.
To entice new workers, the burrito chain has been experimenting with new perks and benefits available to all employees, part- and full-time:
Medical, dental and vision insurance.
401(k) retirement plan after one year of employment.
One free meal per shift.
100% tuition coverage for select degrees and universities through a partnership with Guild Education.
Tuition reimbursement of up to $5,250 for schools and degrees outside that partnership.
Paid time off including parental leave.
English as a second language training.
If Chipotle meets its hiring goals, the companyâs workforce is set to exceed 100,000.
Check out these other employers that offer health insurance and cover college costs for part-time employees.
Adam Hardy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. He covers the gig economy, remote work and other unique ways to make money. Read his âlatest articles here, or say hi on Twitter @hardyjournalism.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
What will 2020 bring? These four trends are expected to impact luxury buying and selling in the new year and decade ahead.Â
1. Luxury Housing Holds Steady
This year, expect âguarded optimismâ to replace last yearâs uncertainty over fears about a global economic slowdown, a U.S.-China trade war and a potential U.S. recession, according to Mansion Global. This is encouraging news for luxury real estate, which has traditionally been tied to global economic growth, yet is generally more insulated from market fluctuations. Many U.S. luxury housing meccas are generally stable, while some high-end hotspots like Los Angeles and Miami could be poised to rise or make a comeback in 2020.Â
2. The Rise of the Mid-Sized Luxury MarketÂ
When realtor.com released its annual list of the hottest markets last December, surprise cities like Boise, McAllen, Texas and Tucson topped the list. “The cities that we expect to do best in 2020 are not necessarily big, fancy, coastal cities, but secondary markets where the job market is still pretty good but housing is affordable,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist of realtor.com. Affluent buyers from high-cost cities want a good deal as much as anyone â so we expect to see midsized cities with stable and solid economies and more affordable housing as the top performers in 2020.Â
3. Less Square Footage
âLessâ is becoming âmoreâ â even in the highest price segments. Consistent with NAHB data that found the average new single-family home size has been trending lower since 2015, realtors in some luxury markets are reporting that a growing number of affluent buyers are willing to “trade space for place.â This is especially true in the luxury condo segment, where buyers are increasingly getting flexible on square footage if a building has amenities or hospitality programs attached to it.Â
4. Urbanization of the âBurbs, Emergence of âHipsturbiasâ
People are moving back to the cities, itâs true â but as millennials start families another phenomenon has emerged, according to Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2020, a report released by Urban Land Institute and PwC: âhipsturbias.â Hipsturbias are suburban markets with hip or cool live/work/play environments offering walkability and/or transit access. Brooklyn is a prototype, but hipsturbia examples are beginning to crop up across the U.S. â from New Jersey communities such as Hoboken, Maplewood, and Summit, to New Yorkâs Yonkers and New Rochelle, to Evanston, Illinois and further out west â Santa Clara, California, and Tempe, Arizona.
Which trend do you see impacting your community?
The post Luxury Real Estate Trends to Watch in 2020 first appeared on Century 21®.
I don’t know about you, but for me, a bathroom goes well beyond its practical uses; within the past years, I’ve come to think about it as a sanctuary of sorts, that room of the house that’s dedicated to pampering, relaxing, and deconnecting — a place where I can enjoy some alone time and use that alone time to take care of my skin, hair, body, and mind.
And just like any other space in my house, the more beautiful my bathroom is, the more I can enjoy the time I spend in it. But re-designing a bathroom or remodeling it altogether is quite an investment. That’s why today we’re going to look at a few handy ways in which we can improve our bathroom’s design without having to spend a ton of money in the process. Here are some tips to help you maximize your bathroomâs function and style while saving money — both on the short and long run:
For example, solid wood or plywood may not be a good choice for furniture, as it will likely warp and crack (and it can even lead to mold). Instead, a way better — and longer-lasting — choice would be PVC, which is extremely durable, completely waterproof and offers a great look and feel as well for bathroom cabinets. When buying blinds for your bathroom windows, choose waterproof blinds because they are stain and mold resistant, as well as fade-free. When picking appliances, make sure to avoid any metal that might rust, and preferably stay away from plastic; some of your best choices are brass, stainless steel, and zinc (or zinc alloys), as they stand the test of time and add a note of style to your bathroom.
Overall, focus on materials that can withstand humidity and water. This way, you donât have to spend money replacing them and you can rest assured that your bathroom will maintain its clean and brand-new look over the years.
#2 Widen and brighten your space with mirrors
Instead of adding a skylight or a new window to brighten a rather gloomy bathroom (which would call for a pricy renovation), consider using a large mirror, re-painting your walls in a light color, or adding extra light fixtures. These can all help create the illusion of space, making your bathroom look wider and brighter. Obviously, this technique is much more affordable than having to install an additional window to your bathroom space and you’d be surprised at how much of a difference adding a large mirror can make.
If you feel like you don’t have the space to add an additional mirror to your bathroom, consider replacing the mirror above your vanity with a far larger one. Bonus tip: choosing an unusual shape or a unique frame for the vanity mirror (like the one in the image below) can give an impressive look to your bathroom, and act as the centerpiece of the room.
#3 Update by regrouting
If youâre looking to update your bathroom quickly and on a tight budget, consider replacing the existing tile grout. Regrouting is a two-step manual process by which you first remove the hardened old grout from the seams, or joints, between the tiles in your bathroom, then apply fresh new grout to make it seem like you have just installed your tiles (here’s a full walkthrough of the process). You’d be surprised how big of a difference this fairly simple update can make — especially since tiles rarely show signs of wear and tear, but the grout’s initial color fades away, and often gives a sense that it’s dirty, discolored and old.
This idea works best if the tiles in your space are still in great shape, that is, they donât have cracks or missing pieces. Although it may take a bit of work, itâs surely faster and cheaper than a major bathroom overhaul. Fresh grout will make the tiled area look brand new, and you can even apply a new grout color to make a more dramatic change to your bathroom.Â
#4 Get creative with designer tiles
Now, if you’re looking to add a splash of sophistication to your shower or bathroom tiles, but don’t have the budget to splurge on designer tiles, there’s a super easy trick you can turn to: use regular, budget friendly tiles across the walls of your bathroom, then add a pop of design and color in a small area using more expensive designer tiles.Â
Or, you can keep it simple and use classic tiles, but arrange them in an unusual pattern or install them at an angle to create an eye-catching effect. If you’re looking for the maximum effect, create an accent wall (preferably right where either the shower or bathroom vanity go, to highlight that space), like the one pictured below. It won’t cost as much as replacing all of your bathroom tiles, but will definitely give your space a great, updated look.
#5 Try to avoid current trends
We all like to think that we’re aligned with the latest trends and fads. But the truth of the matter is, the best way to waste money is to follow fads that in a couple of years will seem so outdated that youâll feel the need to renovate your bathroom all over again. You can make your design last way longer if youâll use natural finishes and neutral colors.
Classics also tend to be considerably less expensive than their trending counterparts, and they’re much more likely to stand the test of time. See below for a marble-themed bathroom that was all the rage a few years back, but that seems a little out of place in the more minimalist-inclined era that we live in today.
Because of this, you may be forced to buy new coordinating pieces, too. However, if youâll stick with traditional finishes, it will be simpler for you to create a cohesive look while still sticking to your budget.Â
#7 Re-use old furniture to create a unique look
If you have an old desk, table, dresser, or TV stand, consider using it in your bathroom (provided it can withstand humidity and isn’t easily prone to water damage, as we’ve stated above). Repurposing old furniture will give you a chance to show your personality while adding much-needed bathroom storage. Consider doing this as a DIY project, which can help you save money while also being earth-friendly.Â
Replacing bathroom elements will usually require removing or replacing plumbing fixtures, which comes with additional costs. It can also involve construction changes, demolition work, and new installation. Before deciding on replacing any of these fixtures, determine if they really need replacement. If youâre replacing them for aesthetic reasons, you might have the option to refinish them instead of replacing them altogether.Â
For example, you can refinish your old tub with a nice-looking, protective coating instead of completely replacing it. You can also paint your cabinet anew instead of purchasing a new one — and you can even get creative with the color you use. Check out this elegant bathroom below, whose owners chose to refinish the bathtub and paint it in a slight pinkish hue. Isn’t it just lovely?
Final thoughts
The bathroom is one part of the house that needs some upgrading every now and then, and said upgrades can turn out to be quite expensive. However, with some rather small, but well-thought changes, you can spruce up your bathroom design without spending a pretty penny. And if our suggestions are not to your liking, there’s tons of helpful resources out there that can give you some great ideas to get you started.
More interior design tips
Hereâs Everything You Need to Set Up a Meditation Corner in Your House How to Turn Your Kitchen Into Every Coffee Loverâs Dream Design Trends that Add Extra Flair to Your Fancy Home How to Add a Touch of Luxury to Your Home without a Costly Renovation
The post 8 Money-Saving Tips for Improving Your Bathroom’s Design appeared first on Fancy Pants Homes.
What makes Travis Scott’s house so unique? The 17,000-sq-ft futuristic mansion is perched high atop the Los Angeles hills; and that’s just the beginning.
If you’re a fan of the mountain farmhouse aesthetic, you’re in for a treat. Nestled into a hillside just minutes away from Aspen core sits the Mount Daly House, one of the eight modern ranch retreats at the 800-acre Aspen Valley Ranch.
The massive Colorado ranch — owned by oil and gas executive Charif Souki — was initially listed back in May 2020 for $220 million, which propelled it to the top of the list of most expensive residential properties for sale in the U.S.
Since then, marketing efforts for the property, led by Souki’s son, Chris Souki, along with Carrie Wells (both with Coldwell Banker) have shifted, with the massive ranch being divided into more manageable assets. One of which is the biggest home on the ranch, Mount Daly, which has been listed alongside a future homesite (so far simply titled Lot 9), which has a 13,000-square-foot proposed floorplan that would outshine all the other existing homesteads on the property.
Inside Mount Daly, a luxury ranch home in Aspen, Colorado. Image credit: Coldwell Banker Mason Morse Real Estate
The asking price for the two properties — Mount Daly and Lot 9, the future homesite of a 6-bed, 9-bath dream ranch home with a generous 13,000-square-foot floorplan — is a whopping $30 million, but that’s not above the mark for properties in the area, especially considering that the lots total 82 acres (in what’s undoubtedly a phenomenal location).
Mount Daly house has 5,373 square feet and comes with 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, and a barn. Designed by Michael Fuller, the residence beams with mountain farmhouse aesthetic, with its interiors paying homage to western culture and history, boasting reclaimed beams, barn wood, stone features, and other traditional ranch-style elements.
Inside Mount Daly, a luxury ranch home in Aspen, Colorado. Image credit: Coldwell Banker Mason Morse Real EstateInside Mount Daly, a luxury ranch home in Aspen, Colorado. Image credit: Coldwell Banker Mason Morse Real EstateInside Mount Daly, a luxury ranch home in Aspen, Colorado. Image credit: Coldwell Banker Mason Morse Real Estate
Best of all, the home rests on the valley floor at the confluence of two mountains, offering some of the best Elk Mountain range views. The massive windows carefully placed throughout the home make the most of these views, and invite calm and relaxation.
Inside Mount Daly, a luxury ranch home in Aspen, Colorado. Image credit: Coldwell Banker Mason Morse Real EstateOutdoor entertaining area at Mount Daly, a luxury ranch home in Aspen, Colorado. Image credit: Coldwell Banker Mason Morse Real Estate
More luxury properties for sale
Charming Estate With Ties to The Beatles On the Market in Connecticut This Stunning Modern House Was Built With Fire Safety in Mind New Jerseyâs Gloria Crest Estate, Once Home to Hollywood Silent Film Starlet, Is on the Market Morgan Brown Re-Lists Stunning West Hollywood Home Amid Split from Actor Gerard Butler
The post This Dream Getaway Home is Part of a $220 Million Aspen Ranch appeared first on Fancy Pants Homes.
Regardless of the direction you plan on taking with your overall home design, the color scheme, furniture and accents will all play a major role in creating that spotless look you’re going for. One element that can help you bring everything together is a carefully picked accent chair — which is one of the quickest ways to create a focal point. A beautiful piece of furniture will draw your eye as soon as you walk into the room or complement the space in a way that highlights the rest of its features. And when it comes to nice chairs, both modern and traditional styles offer
Many lines have been written on the importance of cleanliness and household chores (remember that iconic speech by U.S. Admiral McRaven, urging us all to make our beds in the morning?) and the role they play in maintaining our mental and physical health.
And since we now see ourselves in a position to spend far more time in our homes (whether we want to or not), we can think of no better time to circle back on this subject, and focus on what’s arguably the first room of the house to get messy: the kitchen.
Naturally, with more of our family members inside, our kitchens are bound to become dirtier and more cluttered. And while there’s no way we’ll reach that perfect, Mr. Clean sparkling kitchen anytime soon (and you definitely shouldn’t feel the pressure to take it to that extreme), keeping your kitchen tidy and clean can have positive effects on your state of mind, especially during these troubling times.
According to a 2010 study published in The Personality and Social Psychology bulletin, higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol were observed in women who felt that their homes are cluttered and who had lots of unfinished projects around the house.
That’s why it’s vital to keep your house clean to reduce stress levels and help you feel more relaxed and comfortable at home. In addition to reducing stress, maintaining a healthy cleaning regimen for the home also makes you more productive, helps you sleep better, and protects your family from illness-causing bacteria and pathogens.
However, maintaining a clean home is easier said than done. This is especially true when it comes to the kitchen. And that’s because the kitchen requires more attention than any other room in your house, especially if you have more family members and young children. After every meal, there are spills that need to be cleaned, dishes and utensils to be washed, and lots of tidying up to do. Not to mention that if any dirt or spills are left unattended, there may be a buildup of bacteria that poses a significant health risk for your family. After all, this is the room where we keep all of our food.
Maintaining a clean kitchen requires a systematic approach, and that’s why it is vital to create a kitchen cleaning checklist. Taking a structured approach to your kitchen cleaning will ensure no cleaning task skips your mind and your kitchen is spotless at all times — without making you feel overburdened by all the chores that comes with kitchen maintenance.
Read on to find out what to include in your kitchen cleaning checklist and the tasks that you should schedule on daily, weekly, and monthly basis — so that you don’t feel all the tasks weighting on you without having a clear plan to address them.
#1 Tasks to include in your daily kitchen cleaning list
To ensure that food is not contaminated during preparation, and that your family enjoys meals in a clean and safe environment, there are a few cleaning tasks that must be carried out daily. Don’t worry, they’re not the type that take hours to get out of the way, but they’re crucial to keeping a clean kitchen. Here are the things you should watch for on a daily basis:
Cleaning spills on counters, tables, floors, and appliances as soon as they occur
Washing dirty dishes immediately after meals
Emptying the dishwasher and dish drainer as needed
Putting everything back in their rightful place after usage (think condiments, cooking ingredients, pans and pots, and utensils)
Checking fridge and kitchen counters for expired/spoiled food and throwing them out if you suspect they might have gotten bad
Sweeping the floor whenever something gets spilled
Cleaning the sink with a multi-purpose cleaner so that bacteria doesn’t get a chance to form
Removing items that don’t belong in the kitchen (like the kids’ toys)
Taking out the garbage
Making a habit out of these tasks will ensure that your kitchen is always tidy and will make your weekly and monthly cleaning easier.
Something else that might help, but that might need some advance planning, is choosing an easy to clean and maintain countertop material, which will also reduce your workload. Quartz is not only easy to clean, but is also visually stimulating. Read more information on kitchen countertops to understand why quartz may be a good choice for your kitchen and to find good alternatives that are easy to keep clean.
#2 Tasks for your weekly kitchen cleaning list
Depending on your weekly schedule, pick a day to schedule your weekly kitchen cleaning. Setting a specific day is the first step to ensure you do not bail on your weekly kitchen cleaning checklist — and it really doesn’t have to be in the same day you clean up the rest of your house. Having a separate schedule for the kitchen makes sense, and will allow you to spend more time on this crucial room of the house.
For your weekly kitchen cleaning, you’ll want to go a bit deeper into it than you do on your regular daily cleaning routine. Tasks to include in your weekly kitchen cleaning checklist are:
Mopping the floor (if you have small children or pets — or just a clumsy husband, like me — you may need to do this more often)
Cleaning the exterior of appliances thoroughly
Sorting out leftovers in the fridge and throwing away those that have stayed too long
Cleaning off smudges and fingerprints from drawers and cabinets
Cleaning your dishcloths and towels
Cleaning and disinfecting the sink and faucets
Cleaning the interior of your microwave
#3 Tasks for your monthly kitchen cleaning list
If you are thorough with your daily and weekly kitchen cleaning, you’ll breeze through your monthly cleaning. Monthly cleaning should be set for the first or last week of the month to make it harder for you to skip it, and should cover some essentials that don’t need to be checked on as regularly as the other items on our list.
Monthly kitchen cleaning tasks can include, depending on your home setup:
Checking your pantry to see what needs to be tossed out and which items should be restocked
Checking the freezer to see if there are any items that should be eaten soon, and those that need to be thrown or restocked
Cleaning the oven and stove
Cleaning your refrigerator and disinfecting the drip pan
Targeting the dirt and crumbs that hide between cabinets and floors during your daily and weekly cleaning
Dusting light fixtures as well as cabinets and the refrigerator
Cleaning the dishwasher and dish drainer drip pan
Spot-cleaning grout
General tips to make kitchen cleaning easier
Thereâs nothing more daunting than cleaning a kitchen that’s been neglected for some time. So that you’ll never have to face this challenge, follow the following tips:
Create visual checklists with your daily, weekly, and monthly kitchen cleaning tasks — use our suggestions above to create your own, personalized list with areas that require more attention in your household
Post your checklists in a visible place and encourage other members of the family to take cue on the things that have to be done on a daily basis
In fact, you could take things a step further and assign minor tasks to different family members
Make a habit of dealing with spills immediately and sweeping the floors each meal
Keeping your kitchen clean and safe for your family begins with healthy cleaning habits and a good tidying up regimen. Create a system that works for you and put it in a checklist so that you can keep your mind off all the things that need to be done, and instead, enjoy your time at home with your family.
Keep reading
These Luxury Bar Stools will Take Your Kitchen to the Next Level The Importance of Housekeeping for a Comfortable Home 5 Types Of Home Improvement Permits You Should Know About Pergolas â A Pleasing Addition to Your Outdoor Living Space
The post Kitchen Cleanup Checklist: A Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Breakdown of Tasks appeared first on Fancy Pants Homes.
