Archive for the 'House & Home' Category

If you’re not fortunate enough to be living in a gated and guarded community, or  you don’t live in a condo, then you’ve probably heard of a security patrol team by your local Residents’ Association. These have mushroomed all over our urban residential areas or housing estates in recent years.

In the past, there was never a need for such things and I’ve never heard of them before but now, you can see security patrols  by guards hired by residence patroling the housing areas. A sure sign that crime is on the rise. Many homes now carry stickers that their house is subscribing to a certain security patrol, paying an extra RM30 to RM40 a month if I am not mistaken. My house is one of them.

However, I wonder how everyone feels about this. We feel that we want very much to improve the security in our area and that is why we dutifully pay the subscription fee for extra security surveillance. We feel that since it is a community kind of thing, it will only be successful, if everyone contributes or does their part by subscribing and so we subscribe faithfully even though, its hard for us to even pay up and after paying we don’t even have a receipt.

The excuse is that since the team is manned by volunteers and so… we’re not to have overly high expectations (like getting a receipt?). Oh well…. We do receive quarterly reports about the security in our area and we feel a (perhaps a wrong) sense of security seeing the guards patrolling our area in their motorbikes and cars and having an emergency number to call, just in case.

Yesterday, I met a friend who stays in a “crime zone” (which area isn’t that now). His neighbour’s houses had been broken in (both side and opposite). He does not subscribe to the security surveillance service that is available though. His feeling is. “What is the point anyway?” Besides, “you don’t even know if the security team is in cahorts with the burglars or thieves.” he added.

I wonder what does everyone else feel about such security patrols? Are you paying extra for it? How do you feel about this? Do you think it has reduced crime?

I keep on receiving scary emails about people being hijacked from their cars and houses being broken into. I know some of these emails may not be true but some of them come from people we actually know. I used to feel safer living in a condo but apparently even living in a condo is not safe anymore. The other day, I visited the old condo where I used to live. The maintenance person there told us that they are now stepping up security to have the guards going around floor by floor every hour because of crime. According to the guy some tenants do not like this but they have no choice. The burglars now come from within ie the modus operandi is to rent the premise for a few months, then strike when their neighbours are out.

Almost everyone I know has witness a crime or has had some personal experience. I feel so unsafe. The other day, I happened to be eating at the roadside with my handbag (I normally don’t carry my handbag when I eat at the roadside) and I was very distracted throughout my meal because I have to keep on clutching my handbag close to me and glancing around every few minutes. (I’ve had friends whose had their handphones or bags snatched while they were enjoying their meal, thats why I have this paranoia). Afterall, crime happens partly because of opportunity and we can reduce that opportunity by being more aware of our surroundings and it doesn’t hurt to be extra careful, right? Can you tell me what you have done to reduce the opportunity of crime to your person, car and home?

Last weekend we bought plants for our home. I’ve always felt that our home was incomplete without plants. The previous owner had tiled up the entire front porch and cemented the whole backyard. Not wanting to spend too much on renovations, we didn’t change a thing. So that meant that we did not even have a little patch of green. I’ve always imagined that a house should have a small patch of green grass so you can do some gardening.

We’ve moved in for almost 1 1/2 years now but still no greens. Finally we got some plants. Yeah! We didn’t get many but I tried to get as many varieties as I could in the few that we got. So we got little ones, medium ones, leavy ones and flowery ones, green leafed ones and red leafed ones, big leafed ones and small leafed ones. So many varieties in so few plants. Haha. Like Rojak like that.

Still I am pleased with my new mini garden. We bought the kids watering cans so they are naturally pleased too. Hopefully the plants will stay lush and beautiful as it is now and not yellowed and wilted a month later.

I’ve just finished mending my duvet cover which was badly torn. At first it had a little tear, then little curious fingers made it worse. Finally, hubby reminded me to sew it before it became worse. I finally did it. I finally did. After that was done, I took out the matching pillow case but that was irreparable now. It was torn beyond repair. It had a little tear in it as well but I just left it and I never handwashed it because I never had the time. I just did what I could. I threw it in the washing machine again and again and with each wash the tear just got bigger and bigger and bigger and now its beyond repair.

“Just do whatever you can” my hubby is always telling me. I am glad that he is so understanding and not demanding in getting good meals and making sure that the house is clean. He knows that my priority is the kids and housework is second. So he doesn’t mind if the house is not spick and span.

He would gently remind me if he notices that the dust is 2 inches deep on the shelves or the toilet is beginning to look like a public toilet. Apart from that he never pressures me to make sure that the house is clean or to have good meals waiting for him and the kids. He does not mind that I sometimes ask him to “tapau” after a hard day’s work instead of coming  home to piping hot home cooked food.

He would rather I spend time playing with the kids than to see me sweating it out in front of the ironing board. So he never complains if his shirts is less than perfectly ironed with not a single crease.

Thats how I survive. I just do whatever I can. Having an understanding husband helps A LOT or else I would go mad. Hahahaha.

This post is to answer some readers who asked the question: “How do you manage?”

Coming up next: How to be the Perfect Wife

To me a mailbox can serve both the functions of beauty and security at the same time. Beauty because a mailbox is the first thing that greets the visitors to your home. A worn out, drab looking or rusted old mailbox tells me that your home is not very well kept inside. That may not be the case, I know, but it gives me that impression.On the other hand a classy or pretty looking mailbox is like a welcome mat, a well thought of little detail, that gives that extra touch to a house deco. It may not be a very fansy looking mailbox, just a plain one will do but it should be classy and elegant.

Having said that however, I must stress that looks are not all that I would want from a mailbox. Security comes first. The mailbox must be tamper proof and your mail should be protected from theft. A good investment in a locking mailbox or a locking insert used to convert a formerly non-locking mailbox to a locking mailbox should be good for security purposes. I hate to deal with missing letters especially important documents so security is a must when shopping for mailboxes.

Another thing to consider is the type of material used. It should be hardy enough to withstand sun and rain especially if its an outdoor curbside mailbox. So when choosing mailboxes to me the three most important things are security, durability and appearance, in that order. Happy Choosing.

I’m cleaning out my bathroom today in preparation for the Chinese New Year festival. In our Chinese culture we must clean out our house from top to bottom sort of like getting rid of whatever illwill or troubles to greet the incoming New Year.

Speaking of “out with the old and in with the new”, I think I need a new double bathroom vanity. When I look at the wet mess my husband left behind on the sink, I don’t know where to start cleaning! Oh, I love the man dearly but he loves to leave a wet mess at the sink. When he washes his face, the vanity mirror, the sink, even the surrounding wall and floor areas get wet. With double bathroom vanities this can be avoided.

I’m ogling at this site of bathroom vanities and dreaming about how my bathroom should look. No, no, single bathroom vanities are not for me. I need a double bathroom vanity like the one in the picture above. Then he can have his side all wet and mine will be spick and span and clean and beautiful. Oh, and I love the drawers and cupboards space which I presently lack. They will be great to store my make-up and stuff and I can display my perfume and little nick nacks on my side and hope that they won’t get wet by his splashing water.

Well, enough daydreaming for now, its time to get down to some real work in the bathroom.

No. No. I’ve not started yet another blog. Hehe. However, I do think its a good idea to write and maintain a home security blog. Well, actually the blog I’m talking about not only covers home security, it includes articles on home safety as well.

In it, you’ll find articles or blog posts on home security alarms, home surveillance and monitoring, computer security, vehicle security etc. These are the security categories. On the home safety aspect, you’ll find articles on ladder safety, smoke detectors, wall plug safety, lawn equipment safety etc.

My husband is constantly searching for articles about home security on the net. So this is great. I shall email the url for him to read. He just loves articles on this aspect of taking care of our home. Well, I shall let him concentrate on this area ie home safety and security, while I take care of decorating and beautifying the home.

“Apartment for Sale”. I put up two of those. I bought a sales sign from a Hardware shop and put that on the front door. Then I used a black marker pen and yellow highlighting pen and drew up another sign and put that at the side window of my apartment. I decided to try this option first before putting up a listing like the ones listed here - denver homes for sale.

As soon as I drove away from the apartment my handphone rang. It was from the neighbour opposite calling up to enquire. When I finished the conversation, I received a few more calls, all from neighbours. I suspect that some of them were merely trying to find out how much the apartment is going for so that they have some idea how much their unit is worth.

Anyway, I must have been lucky because I managed to sell my apartment within a week - on my own and at a reasonable price too. I did speak to several real estate agents but eventually I received a good offer from a neighbour. To my surprise I even had a counter offer. With so many new developments that offered apartments with some sort of facilities (mine did not have any) I was expecting to list my apartment for a few months before concluding a sale so I was very happy indeed to have sold it within a week. Perhaps it still had a niche of its own. I noticed that 90% of my callers were elderly men and women. Hehe. So that must have been the niche.

I wish that our snail mail was a little bit more secure. Perhaps we should consider getting a Locking Mailbox to solve our mail woes. Just the other day, I received an important mail that looked like it had been torn open from one side. Some curious neighbour had taken a peek at my mail before placing it back. Well, the upside is they decided to put it back in the mailbox after peeking.

Quite often, I’ve had to deal with missing mails and important packages. Its really tiresome. I suppose an ordinary mailbox as opposed to a Security Mailbox is an invitation to treat to the petty thiefs. Its just much too tempting when its so easy to reach out and just help yourself.

Locking Mailboxes could perhaps solve some of my missing mail problem. Now I’ve got to think of another way to solve the problem of the frequent wrong mails being delivered to my home. Perhaps I should get some really big number plagues for my home so that the postmen won’t always be mistaken. Lol!

Does your bathroom need a makeover? Its nice to redecorate or refurbish your house every once in a while and one good place to start is the bathroom. Especially if you are the type who like to take a long time having a bath or perhaps you like to read while……Lol! Whatever it is, its nice to have a bathroom that is both comfortable and practical.

If you are thinking of a bathroom makeover, you can head on over to the online bathroom shop http://www.tapsforless.com/ to look for your bathroom fixtures and furniture. There are over 4000 products to search for. From heated tower rails to designer taps, interesting showers to matching accessories. Take your pick. Theres plenty of choice.

One good way to upgrade your bathroom easily is to pick bathroom accessories that match your bathroom furniture. Some of them are free standing or can be fixed or attached easily with minimal work involved and lo and behold you have a new look for your bathroom. Why not give it a try?

I have seen many beautiful homes….. beautiful from the inside that is, but outside is another story. I’m not sure why but the homeowners did not seem to think that their Outdoor furniture was very important.

That is something I don’t quite understand. To me, the outdoor furniture is equally important. It is afterall the first thing that greets the visitors to your home. It is a part of your home. 

If you think that Outdoor furniture is rather important and should be chosen with care as part of your home’s deco, then you should visit CedarStore.com which sells Outdoor furniture and Patio furniture. You will find garden structures, outdoor furniture such as the porch swing you see in the picture and home and garden accents, you know those little cushions, decorative mailboxes and other things that add the finishing touches to your home.

I just love their porch swings. With the added little cushions, it gives such a relaxing feel. I can imagine myself sitting here with a book and a cool drink. Aahhhhh. Back to Cedar Store, I read some of the customer reviews and things like prompt shipping, good friendly customer service, well packaged and easy assembly were mentioned. These are very important for any business that has online transactions, more so for a furniture store.

Navigation is simple too. Take the porch swing for example. When you click on the porch swing link listed under Outdoor Furniture, you will find a list of popular choices. However, you can also choose to browse by material, style, price range, length or other categories. You can also learn how to hang a porch swing by viewing the pdf info about hanging swings. 

Cedar Store was established in 1992 in the Suburbs of Pittsburg and later on in Western Pennsylvania as well. With their online store their outdoor furniture and gazebos can now be enjoyed globally so yes, for those of you who are wondering, they do International Shipments.