5 Items Pros Say You Should Never Store in Your Boiler Room

Even for the most organized, attempting to declutter our homes isn't always something we look forward to. While we may feel at ease having cleared surfaces and polished presentation, decluttering isn't everyone's strong suit.

Clutter is a normal pain that almost everyone faces, especially when you’re juggling a busy work schedule, kids, pets, and all other facets of life. But with a new year comes a new opportunity to get your home in order and make a resolution (or two) to keep clutter at bay.

If you've ever wondered how professional interior designers tackle rental homes—whether designing their own space or working on a client project—we're here to provide you with the inside scoop.

Before you list your home for sale, you must be aware of all its potential problems. Major and minor issues inevitably crop up on inspection reports, and fixing the big ones (and some of the small ones) will help you get your money’s worth on a home. 

Whether you have a busy calendar full of parties to attend or plan to host a gathering of your own sometime soon, it's never a bad idea to refresh your entertaining knowledge.

As it turns out, not all home organization products are created equal, and professional organizers are strongly against purchasing eight particular types of items that they do not find to be functional or well-made.

Those of us who have spent a few years (or more) in the American West know that winter here doesn’t look like winter in much of the country. As far as I’m concerned, this is a good thing; I don’t enjoy days of gray skies and persistent snow cover. Our woody landscape plants, however, would say otherwise.

Broken ornaments, tangled lights, dusty stockings—sometimes, pulling your holiday decor out of storage isn’t as enchanting as you intend it to be.

If you’ve ever thrown your brand-new jeans in the laundry only to find that they don’t fit as well or the fabric has faded, then you are likely aware that denim can be tricky to clean properly. While it may appear to be a tough fabric that can withstand a lot of wear and tear, the truth is that cleaning denim is a bit of a balancing act.

When you’re in a deep-cleaning frenzy, it can be tempting to tackle everything with soap. But soap isn’t the best fit for every item in your home, and it can even cause further damage in some cases. Here are some common household objects that shouldn’t be cleaned with soap (and how you can wash them instead).

ADAM ALBRIGHT

Every year, new trends and tricks pop up for holiday decorating. And this year, one holiday question that is perplexing us is: should you be washing your artificial Christmas tree?