C21 Life Hacks

How To Create A Hobby Space In Your Home - Big Or Small!

Hobbies are a great way to relax, hone your skills, and unwind after a long day. Having a dedicated space in your home for your hobby can keep supplies organized and give you a place to enjoy your favourite pastime. Whether it’s a whole room, or just a corner, here’s how you can carve out some space for your hobbies:

1) Double Check The Space You Already Have

Do you use each room in your home every day? Take a moment to consider whether a storage room can be cleared out if it’s full of junk, or if a corner is being occupied by a side table that could be a small desk instead. Maybe consider changing up one of the larger rooms if it’s not used often – do you often use your dining room, or eat in the kitchen?

2) Organize Your Tools…

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8 Ways to Reduce Food Waste At Home

Tomorrow (April 28) is National Stop Food Waste Day. That's why we're dedicating this week's blog entry to food waste reduction in the home! Waste Reduction in Canada is a year long program formed by recycling councils in each province. By their compiled data, it's estimated that 58% of the food produced here in Canada is lost or wasted each year. That means 35.5 million tonnes of food goes to waste! Can you even imagine what that would look like if you piled it together?? Financially, this means that the average Canadian annually spends $1,766 just to throw out food. 

With more people becoming aware of this issue, more people are sharing their advice on how to reduce food waste. Today, we're going to share our 8 tips that you can use everyday to…

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The 3 Selling Strategies for Move-Up Buyers

If you're reading this because you're looking at purchasing another home, potentially your "forever" home, you are at an exciting time of your life! This is why we like to call you a Move-Up Buyer - because you're movin' on up!  When you were a first time home buyer, you were probably young, broke, and a tad naive. You had to make some sacrifices for the sake of your affordability, and that's okay. That's life! But now, you've got some savings and some home equity on your side. Looking at homes this time around will feel a lot less like compromise, and more like mindful selection. With that being said, there are still some challenges you'll need to face with a strategy. Here are the three selling strategies for you:

1) Sell Current Home…

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Last Minute Ideas For Easter Gatherings

Kids aren't the only ones who should have all the fun on Easter! If you're stuck on what to do this year, take a look at these activities:

1) Easter Dessert Exchange

Host a baking exchange with your family and/or friends! Each guest brings/creates an Easter themed dessert. Set up a buffet table, where each person can grab a small plate of each dessert. Then, get everyone to vote on their favourite - you can do this by a simple show of hands, or by giving each guest a token to place in solid jars beside their respective dessert. The jar with the most tokens wins! You can make the winning prize treats, a Tim's card, wine, or a gift certificate to a local shop. This exchange is inclusive to all ages and cultures, and is just plain old…

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5 Home Projects To Take Up This Spring

A new season means new projects if you're a homeowner. Your work is never finished! It doesn't matter if it's regular maintenance or time for a renovation, all of your work as a homeowner goes towards maintaining your investment. Instead of having projects take up your valuable Summer, use this Spring to work on the place. Besides, the temperature will be cooler and the breeze comes around often. Once the hot weather comes, you can fully soak it up outside or hide away in the cool confines of air conditioning. That being said, we've taken the liberty of doing some project brainstorming for you! Here are five home projects you can take up this Spring:

1) Install a Security System

If your plans include getting away from the house this…

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They're Coming: Higher Interest Rates

We saw with the global pandemic a major drop in interest rates for homes (this wasn't limited to houses, but for the sake of this topic, we'll limit it to houses). The cost of borrowing money was lower than it had ever been before because of the unprecedented situation. Among the negative crap storm of the world being affected by COVID-19, low interest rates were a positive ray of sunshine. Buyers were able to take advantage of this side effect, which made affording a home easier than it had ever been before.

Now, as the world adapts to live despite this virus, the economy is adapting to be able to recover. This means that interest rates will be on the rise, affecting all types of borrowing. We are already seeing banks here rise their rates, though in…

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Downsizing: More Common Than You Think

When you think of downsizing, you think of empty nesters or retirees, right? Well, it's actually becoming more common to downsize for other reasons. Small families, couples and singles of all ages downsize in order to enjoy life, reduce expenses and help provide opportunities for their children. It's all about their needs and life situations that lead them to make such a decision. Here are the main reasons why more people are looking at downsizing before becoming empty nesters and retirees:

1) Reducing the Cost of Living

Reducing cost is the number one way to save money, whether you're a business or an individual. In recent years, people have opted to ditch landlines in favour of their cellphones. They've cancelled their Satellite…

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Can I Buy A Home Without A Realtor?

This is a topic we get sad about - but it gets asked frequently, so we better answer it! The short answer, regrettably, is yes. You can buy a home without a Realtor. However, the real question to ask is "What should I consider if I decide to buy without a Realtor?" This is where you'll get your proper answer. It's possible to buy a home without a Realtor, but is that wise? Here's what you'll have to consider if you go solo:

There's Quite a Bit of Paperwork Involved

Purchasing a home requires a lot of documentation. There's inspection reports, purchase offers, disclosures, bank statements, lender documentation, approvals, estimates, closing costs, taxes, insurance, mortgage docs, appraisals....and even more! Are you able to understand…

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4 Insurance Tips for New Homeowners

If you've come here, you're either a new homeowner, or you're looking at buying your first home. May we be the first to say Congratulations! This is a huge step, and we hope our advice can help take the fear away from this large transaction. One of the most important responsibilities when becoming the owner of a home is making sure it's protected (financially speaking). A home insurance policy not only protects the structure, but the contents within should anything horrible happen. The following four tips will help you find the right plan to fit your needs, as well as ensure all of your belongings are protected. Once you go ahead with the policy, you'll be able to sleep safe and sound in your new space.

1) Shop Around

Insurance…

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Future Proof Your Bathroom Reno

When it comes to the home, most people want to stay in it for as long as possible. Trouble arises when their home doesn't age as well as they do. Take the bathroom, for example. A study released by the CDC in 2020 showed that falls are the leading cause of injury in adults over the age of 65, with 3 million ER visits per year. 79% of those falls take place in the bathroom. Despite these numbers, many homeowners resist changes that would make the room safer for fear that it would look too clinical or remind them of a hospital. Even those selling their home resist these kinds of changes for fear of affecting their ROI. 

But now, that's changing. The things designed to make the bathroom safer, like large showers, higher toilets, grab bars, improved…

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