Let us take the worry out of your vacation or primary residence.

20 Jan Tips to Prevent a House Fire in Uncategorized by Gulfshore Home Watch and Concierge A recent report by the National Fire Protection Association found that in the years 2014-2018, fire departments responded to approximately 353,000 home structure fires per year. Perhaps not surprisingly, the most common causes of fires included cooking, electrical distribution, lighting equipment, heating equipment, and smoking materials. Fires started by smoking materials, such as cigarettes and cigars, were the leading cause of home structure fires. The second most prominent cause of fires was heating equipment, such as including central heating installations, portable heaters, and space heaters. Fires started by lighting equipment, such as plugs, cords, extension cords and electrical wiring, ranked third. Suffice to say, if you’re a part-time resident (or you’re a full-time resident who plans to travel for a few weeks), you’ll want to make sure your home is protected in your absence. Below are just a few of the things you can do to keep your household safe. Maintain your yard Have the shrubs or plants along the exterior back wall of your home started to die? If you’re unable to revive them, have them removed. Additionally, you’ll want to keep your trees, bushes and lawn maintained and trimmed. Protect your roof by using fire resistant materials when you reroof your home Is it time to reroof your home? If so, be sure to talk to your roofing contractor about the pros and cons of a tile roofing system. In addition to being resistant to foul weather (such gale force winds), tile roofing is also fire resistant. Don’t use combustibles materials near the house Lots of people enjoy cooking outdoors- but if you use your barbeque too close to your home, that could pose a danger. Don’t keep or use combustible materials, including barbeques and tiki torches, in close proximity to your home. Consider a fire alarm that links to a mobile app Did you know that there are “smart” smoke detectors that can send notifications to your cell phone? If your home starts to fill with smoke, you’ll be alerted immediately. (You can also get a smart-device that doubles as a carbon monoxide detector.) Hire a home watch service If you’re going to be out of town for a while, you might want to consider hiring a home watch service. At Gulf Shore Home Watch & Concierge we have years of experience in helping our clients keep their homes safe. For more information about how we can help protect your home when you’re out of town, call us today to get started. TAGS: benefits of home watch, fire safety, home safety, home watch southwest florida

13 Jan How to Organize and Declutter Your Garage in Home Cleaning by Gulfshore Home Watch and Concierge Last week we provided some tips aimed at helping people organize their closets and kitchens. For this post, we wanted to offer some tips for organizing and decluttering your garage. But before you get started, you’ll want to gather a few things, including a broom (or shop-vac, if you have one), heavy-duty trash bags, and plastic storage bins. Establish zones When you’re starting this project, you’ll want to establish zones, such as recycling, tools, car supplies, beach equipment, sport equipment, and storage. Once you know where you’ll be keeping everything, you can start planning your storage space. Additionally, if your current bulk storage items (i.e., clothing, holiday decorations, etc.) are stored in boxes, move those items into large plastic storage bins. Not only are plastic bins easier to stack, they’re more durable than boxes and will better protect your belongings from moisture, bugs and rodents. Clean and sort as you go As you start reorganizing your garage, be sure to look for things that can be thrown out (i.e., mismatched sneakers that haven’t seen the light of day in years) and things that can be donated, such as unused / unwanted kitchen appliances and sports equipment. Once your items are sorted into “zone piles,” you’ll be able to determine how much space you need for each zone. Don’t forget to utilize vertical space. If you have kayaks, or paddleboards, you might be able to hang them on the ceiling. Lastly, as you start organizing the tool section, consider moving loose nails/ screws / bolts in small, plastic drawers. Not only will this make these items easier to find, it can prevent them from winding up on the floor. Determine your storage needs Could you benefit from new shelving? Do you need a new step stool? Do you need additional storage bins? If so, determine your needs, make a list, and order it. If you don’t want to order from Amazon, Walmart offers free delivery for orders of $35 or more. Store dangerous items securely If you have children, you’ll want to store things such as chemicals, motor oil and dangerous tools in a locked cabinet. Be sure to keep the key to that cabinet in a place where your kids can’t get to it. Plan maintenance Once your garage is organized, you’ll want to keep it that way. In most cases, this can be done by giving your garage a quick sweep once a month. Good luck and happy organizing! TAGS: clean your garage, garage cleaning tips, garage organization tips, homewatch, organizing a garage