At Home With MrsC

Raising a family, making a home.

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4 Tips to Planning for an Electrician to Come Over

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Whether you want to remodel your home or fix a flickering light, you will always need an electrician. Many electricians are waiting for your call, but you need to hire a licensed professional. This guide walks you through the things you need to consider when planning to hire an electrician. You will learn about the cost of hiring electricians and means of keeping the project cost down. Most importantly, you will learn about the questions that you need to ask your electrician before and after the job. Here are four tips to planning for an electrician to come over.

1. How to hire an Electrician. Before you make the first call, you need to research and arm yourself with information that will give you the confidence to hire the right professional for the job. Knowing about some basic wiring techniques will help you understand the problem you are experiencing.

Familiarize yourself with the costs per hour specific to your project. Knowing what charges to expect makes you plan better when bidding. Consider finding local professionals near you. An excellent way of searching for professionals is to read reviews. Sites such as Houston electricity rates will provide a link to several professionals. Always get multiple quotes and callbacks.

2. Don ’t be Misled by an Electrician’s Hourly Rate. Do not pay too much attention to the hourly rate charged by electricians. The charges should go hand in hand with the firm’s quality of work, equipment, and experience. A skilled and well-equipped professional with higher costs is better than an inexperienced electrician with inadequate tools who is charging less. Experienced electricians will get the job done quickly with warrantied work.

3. Bundle repair jobs together. A good strategy of saving up on money and time on electric work is to bundle your projects together. Write down any electrical problem you discover in your home. When you feel it is time to do the repairs, review your list and inspect your home for additional issues. When the electrician arrives, get everything taken care of at once.

You can also save money by comparing the travel charges. Many professionals spend much time navigating traffic on their way to a job site. Every electrician must find a way to pay for the travel expense.

4. How to Prepare Before the Electrician Arrives. The following tips will help you prepare your project and deal with inconveniences.

  • Explain your needs to your contractor when you make the first call. The more they know, the more prepared they will get and the quicker the job will go.
  • Ensure that the electrical panel box is accessible.
  • Remove any fragile item from the area where you expect them to work.
  • Ask any question before the job starts. Most electricians will walk you through the problems and the fixing process.
  • After the work is complete, ask about potential issues. Professionals will always spot potential hazards as they work.
  • Prepare to lose power while electricians are working.
  • Prepare to either pay at the time of service or have a bill sent to you. You can either pay with cash, credit or write a check.

Now you have the confidence to call an electrician and have all of your problems fixed. Remember to ask if the firm is licensed and whether they have a warrant for their work before hiring.

What Does It Mean To Be A Homemaker?

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As women, wives and mothers, I feel that we will always, in a way, be homemakers. Always. Whether we stay at home, work from home, spend our days at an office or run a business, many of us choose to put caring for our families and managing our households first, before everything else. This makes us homemakers. As far as I’m concerned, It makes me a homemaker. 

As a homemaker, my life’s focus is this: To raise a family and to make a home. This means making sure that everyone is well fed, safe, and happy. It means keeping our house as clean and orderly as I possibly can, and staying on top of laundry loads and piles of dirty dishes. It means making sure that the home we live in is filled with positivity, openness, trust and love. 

It means learning to let go when things fall through the cracks, and not freaking out when our stack of dirty clothes becomes taller than I am. It’s taking things a day at a time, one task at a time, until everything is done. It means staying positive when money is tight, and planning fun family activities when we have a little extra to spare. This is what being a homemaker means to me.

Back when this was just a house, not yet our home.

To others, homemaking may look a little different. Some manage their households and care for their families by expertly commanding a troop of helpers and household staff. Some are hands-on, full-time, efficient and precise. Others do what they can in between the time they spend in the office and the hours they have at home. Some homemakers are parents, and some are spouses, while others actually live alone. 

Regardless of the type of homemakers that we are, we all try our best, both for ourselves and for the loved ones that surround us. It isn’t easy, not in the least. Feeling overwhelmed is natural, as is the feeling that we could lose our minds at any given time. But we don’t quit, because we know that our families depend on us. We do it because we enjoy living in a home. Not just a house, but a home. We do it because we understand that what we do matters, and ultimately, because we love what we do.

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Side note! I’d love the chance to connect with fellow Filipino homemakers out there, whether you’re currently residing in the Philippines or elsewhere. Everyone’s welcome – Girls, guys, singles, married people, parents, anyone! Just as long as you see yourself as a homemaker.

Less Thinking, More Doing

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Today’s realization: If I keep thinking about what to write about instead of just sitting down and writing, nothing is ever gonna get written.

I’ve spent the last two weeks trying to figure out what my next post ought to be about. I’ve been making an issue out of this because (1) I know for sure that I want to make some content changes around here to suit the stuff I have going on in my life right now, (2) I feel like I want to hide my archives, not all of it but most of it, and (3) I want to have my blog re-designed. This facelift is long overdue but I simply (still) cannot afford to do it right now. 

It’s gotten to a point where I’m stuck in a sort of analysis paralysis phase, and I know that the only way to get out of it is to write. Just write. I don’t think it matters much what I write about, as long as I do it. So here I am writing about writing. Or writing about not writing, is more like it. 

To be honest, a part of me also considered giving up and just closing this blog. Most days, I don’t feel like sharing anyway, even on social media. I’ve been enjoying the quietness of my life lately, and keeping things to myself has helped to maintain that wonderful quiet. I also haven’t had the time to write simply because I’ve chosen not to make time for it. There are so many other things I’d rather do instead, like read and binge-watch Netflix (I know, so bad!) Plus, there’s the never-ending list of chores and errands that (apparently haha) comes with being a stay at home mom. 

Given all of this, I realized that I needed to take a break from writing, and I’m glad that I did. That brief pause actually allowed me to miss it, a feeling that I hadn’t felt in a long time. Writing for a living tends to burn you out that way, I think. And sometimes you just need to take a step back. It’s not for forever, because that pull, that nagging desire to write eventually becomes too strong to ignore. Today I am answering that call with a post that I know is pretty pointless. But hey, it’s a start.

Don’t worry, I will be writing about things that make sense again soon. On my list, just so you know (and so I don’t forget because #tanders,) are:

  • Various musings, learnings and realizations about being a housewife and stay at home mom, 
  • Our attempts at decluttering, and generating less waste at home,
  • The rollercoaster ride that is tween parenting,
  • And the yummy new food I recently tried at Earth Origins. Sneak peek below! 

Writing soon, I promise, and I hope you’ll be there to read when I do. Hiatus, over!

5 Tips To Finding Air Conditioning Services In Sydney

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Sidney is a beautiful city filled with exquisite scenery and friendly residents. It often gets hot during the summer, so most residents prefer installing air conditioning systems in their homes. When your unit gets broken, you might be left wondering where you’ll get an expert who can fix it quickly and perfectly.

Finding a professional who can provide the best air conditioning service is tough, but it isn’t impossible. However, you shouldn’t compromise on quality of service. After all, you want a permanent fix to your air conditioning problem rather than a temporary solution.

Here are 5 tips to finding air conditioning services in Sidney:

   1.   Conduct some internet research
Before you start globetrotting trying to look for an experienced professional to install or repair your air conditioning system, do some prior online research. The internet is filled with an overflow of information, all of which is at our full disposal. You can get a wide array of air conditioning services online. However, you’ll need to determine which ones to pursue. Check for the credibility of company websites by checking the customer reviews and testimonials section.

   2.   Ask for recommendations from loved ones
The best way to know which air conditioning team offers the best services is by inquiring from family and friends. You can’t go wrong with a good recommendation. First find out who among your friends and family members has benefited from the services of an air conditioning professional before. Later, ask them whether they’d recommend the service or not. This technique will help you get at least two good referrals.

   3.   Look for companies with experience
Before hiring any air conditioning expert to fix your broken unit, investigate how much experience they have under their belt. You can achieve this by either checking their websites or calling them. Here are some things to consider:

   •     Do they work part-time or full-time?
   •     How many years have they been operating?
   •     Do they specialize in a certain area of expertise?
   •     Are they always diversifying to keep up with the rapidly changing technology?

If you conduct the appropriate research, you will certainly be able to identify the best air conditioning services to meet your particular needs.

   4.   Consider the total cost of the service
Sidney is endowed with a wide range of air conditioning services. However, some of them offer lackluster services while others are just too expensive. But with this air con service in Sydney , you’re guaranteed of receiving an exquisite service that’s both affordable and of top quality. Although there are several factors to consider before hiring a qualified professional for the job, affordability should be among the top.

   5.   Check for legal compliance
Hiring an air conditioning service provider who doesn’t have a license is extremely risky. The professional could offer you a terrible service expensively, then disappear without a trace. So before hiring anyone, ask to view their license number. This is a unique number awarded to air conditioning experts once they complete leaning the required course. Also check for relevant documents such as certificate of insurance and permits.