MLS Magazine

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Controlling Your Cluttered Closet

SeattleSpring 2010MLS

Multiple Listing Service

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Dear Realtor, This is your magazine! MLS Magazine is a creative and exciting new marketing tool that helps you connect with Youe homebuyers. Meant to be handed out to clients or distributed to a target audience, the inside pages feature a trendy mix of homes, condos and product ads, as well as entertaining, informative articles that focus on the home and condo lifestyle. The front and back cover, on the other hand, can be personalized to deliver a message that highlights you as a friendly, knowledgeable realtor. The format you see on this page is just one suggestion out of a wide array of

possibilities. For example, you might use this space to personally recommend the homes or condos and informative articles in this magazine or to talk about your real estate background and what you love about the business. You might even tell about a time when you helped a client find the perfect home for their needs. Finally, you’ll probably want to end with a positive tag-line, a “thank you,” and your signature, such as:

Serving you is my specialty!

Thank you,

Any AgentAny Agent

1234 Main StreetAnytown, USA 10000Phone: (206) 555-1234 MLS: #S123456www.yourname.com

3 bedrooms2.5 bathsOnsite amenities:Full gym, olympic-sized pool, spa, rooftop deck

Your Home or Condo HereRealtors: picture your home or condo ad in this space! MLS Magazine provides you with a creative new tool for effectively promoting your home or condo. Personalized for selling agents and formatted to highlight a handful of choice homes or condos, MLS Magazine delivers your ad to the perfect target audience. For more info, please call: (702) 648-5978.

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Though they never really went out of style, hardwood floors are regaining the reputation of bolstering a room from beautiful to stunning. And if you take good care of your hard-working floors, they can keep your home sparkling well into their (and your) golden years. The most important thing to do in taking care of your floors is to listen to whatever the manufacturer tells you in terms of cleaning and maintenance. Certain types of hardwood floors are best suited for different types of treatment. However, there are some main rules of thumb that should be followed to maintain the floor’s quality and beauty. First of all, it’s important to make sure that furniture is not the cause of nicks or scratches. “Make sure to put felt floor pads on the bottom of the feet of any furniture that will come into contact with the floor,” says Anita Howard, communications director of the National Wood Floor Association, located in Chesterfield, Mo. Additionally, Howard points to metal sports cleats and high heels as potential destroyers of wood flooring. “Avoid people walking on the floor with spiked cleats and high heels when they are in disrepair. If the nail is poking through the rubber part of the heel, you might as well be hammering nails into your floor,” she says. As far as day-to-day maintenance, vacuuming and dusting at least once a week is a must. Keeping the floors dry during the process is important as well. A deep clean about once a month is necessary, depending on the home lifestyle and how much foot traffic the floors see. “Put a light mist of hardwood laminate and floor cleaner on a terry cloth or microfiber mop and lightly clean the floor that way,” says Eileen Hull, a representative with Lancaster, Pa.-based Armstrong, a manufacturer of floors, cabinets and ceilings.

Hardwood Fact, FictionKeep your hardwood floor working hard and

looking even better with a few proactive measures

By Carley Ribet (sample article)

In terms of decorating, it’s never a good idea to put hardwood floors in the bathroom, says David Kaplan, principal interior designer and owner of New York City-based David Kaplan Interior Design. “Even though it could look good, I would avoid using hardwood floors in a bathroom,” says Kaplan. “The splash factor in bathrooms becomes an issue.” Instead, he suggests putting hardwood floors in rooms that get less foot traffic, and where there is little to no liquid or food. “I recommend hardwood floors in living spaces such as family rooms and bedrooms. It’s furthest away from foot traffic,” says Kaplan. In order to curb dust in areas where hardwood floors are exposed to heavy foot traffic, Howard recommends scattering rugs where there is a lot of walking and where dust can pile up. “There is nothing difficult about hardwood floor maintenance. All you have to do is when the floor starts to dull or you see you’ve got kid’s or pet’s footprints on the floor, go over it with wood cleaner as recommended by the manufacturer of your wood, or the installer,” says Howard. “Routine maintenance requires nothing more than sweeping the floor with a dry bristle broom or a dry dust mop.”

1234 Main StreetAnytown, USA 10000Phone: (206) 555-1234 MLS:#S123456www.yourname.com


Realtors: picture your home or condo ad in this space! MLS Magazine provides you with a creative new tool for effectively promoting your home or condo. Personalized for selling agents and formatted to highlight a handful of choice homes or condos, MLS Magazine delivers your ad to the perfect target audience. For more info, please call: (702) 648-5978.

Featured Listing:Your Home or Condo Here


Your products are unique......and so are we.

MLS Magazine is a great way to reach your local target audience. Our exciting new magazine is a personalized, neighborhood-by-neighborhood publication that features amazing homes and condos. Distributed to both past and future home and condo buyers, our readers enjoy learning about a wide variety of products and businesses, such as:

• Neighborhood dining, entertainment and shopping establishments• Home and garden centers• Furniture and interior décor retailers• Gadgets, gizmos and electronics

Get in on the action by contacting us today! Please call (702) 648-5978 or visit www.mlsmag.com.

Learn how MLS Magazine can be the perfect fit for promoting your business.

Appliances Shrinking To Fit Condo Owners’ Needs by Shelley Williamson (sample article)

When it comes to serving up the best appliances to fit the lifestyles and space restraints of condominium living, size matters. And unlike the monstrous kitchen appointments of a generation ago that took a small family to move, bigger is not always better. And while appliances are changing in efficiency and appearance at all price points, the trend toward higher-end condominium ownership has revamped the way consumers are looking at their kitchens, say the experts. “The first thing we’ve seen is condos, themselves, have gone up in price, and it’s not just young professionals buying them. Older people, often

retirees with more to spend are now moving into the inner city to condos priced in the $300,000- to $1-million mark - for the convenience,” says Jordan Fraser, Calgary Home Appliance Gallery sales consultant. “They want nice things and things that are going to fit.” And with the growing number of higher-end addresses comes a tendency to float big bucks into appliances, with condo residents often spending five figures to outfit kitchens alone in things that suit their lifestyle and wish lists, says Fraser. “People are not equating space with luxury anymore. It’s becoming more about convenience and comfort - that’s why you are seeing quieter dishwashers, even in the lower-end condos, so people can run them and also watch TV or go to bed and not be bothered by the noise.” Smaller appliances, such as scaled-down Sub-Zero refrigerators often built in to cabinetry to minimize their appearance, are being combined with over-the-range microwaves paired with hood fans, to free up counter space. And today’s condo developers are often also enlisting the expertise of kitchen designers to make the most of smaller square footages, resulting in a winning combo for both buyers and sellers. But that doesn’t mean condo shoppers all face huge bills for their digs’ appliances. The good news is the healthy competition has raised the bar on what’s being offered even at the most basic level in condos, says Fraser, citing a growing trend in stainless steel, which he deems “now practically as a standard” in the current marketplace. And just as kitchen fare is heating up, not providing laundry appliances will no longer wash with would-be condo buyers - with more and more units tumbling stacked washers and dryers into the mix. “They come as small as 24 inches wide which is great in a small space like a condo,” says Conny Want, senior sales consultant at Trail Appliances South, adding front-loading formats are becoming an industry trend for laundry rooms, and not just for their


206 Condo Magazine | Summer 2009 | 6

water conservation capabilities. “These are all front-loading now, mainly because you are in a space that’s smaller with living spaces and often bedrooms nearby, and you want something that will run quieter,” explains Want. An added benefit of the stacked duos is freeing up room in laundry rooms - which often double up duties as storage spaces - occasionally even leaving area over for ironing or folding clothes. Want says condo residents’ thirst for scaled-down luxury doesn’t stop at the fridge and stove or even built-in appliances. Reverse-osmosis water-filtration systems, for example, are becoming popular...

Jumpin’ Java, this is a great deal! MLS Magazine is a great way to reach your local target audience. Our exciting new magazine is a personalized, neighborhood-by-neighborhood publication that features amazing homes and condos. Distributed to both past and future home and condo buyers, our readers enjoy learning about a wide variety of products and businesses, such as:

• Neighborhood dining, entertainment and shopping establishments

• Home and garden centers• Furniture and interior décor retailers• Gadgets, gizmos and electronics

Get in on the action by contacting us today! Please call (702) 648-5978 or visit www.mlsmag.com.

Closets Under ControlBy Kit Davey (sample article)  Is your bedroom closet filled with teetering masses of clothing ready to fall on your head? Do you have garments you never wear because they’re hidden in piles of clothing? Need more storage space? If so, it’s time to create order out of chaos and organize your closet.

Getting Started Closet organization is a three-step process: getting rid of stuff, grouping like objects together and creatively using your space. You should schedule two to three hours for this project. Before beginning, set up bags marked: Mend, To Cleaners, Give Away, Garage Sale. Keep a bowl close by to hold buttons, coins and other loose objects you find. You’ll be removing and sorting each item in your closet, so clear off your bed and other surfaces in order to pile clothing of one kind together. Now it’s time to get honest. As you remove each article of clothing, ask yourself if you really like it, if you’ve worn it in the past year or if you’ll ever really wear it again. If not, get rid of it! Then sort your clothing by type - dress shirts in one pile, pants in another, etc.

Assess your Space Needs After you’ve narrowed down your wardrobe and you’ve grouped items by type, the next step is to assess what kind of hanging and shelf space you’ll need. • Transfer your hanging garments onto matching

hangers. Having the same size and shape hangers keeps all your clothing in view, helps prevent wrinkles and gives a tidier look. Put suits or other sets on one hanger to save space.

• Hang garments of the same length next to each other: jackets and (folded over) pants next to blouses, dresses next to coats, etc. If you plan on buying a closet system, measure the horizontal space each length of garment type requires.

• Next, fold sweaters, T-shirts, scarves, etc. and stack in 12- to 16-inch piles (overly tall stacks fall over or turn into a gnarled mess when you remove something). Line up shoes and purses, stack up hats etc., and measure how much horizontal space you’ll need.

Once you’ve assessed your needs you can improvise your own closet system, purchase components to make your own, or invest in a customized system installed by a pro.

Get a New System Closet-organizing systems can cost you a few hundred dollars. But if you can’t alter your closet because you have a tight budget (or because you rent and aren’t able to alter the space) you can still: • Use the vertical space under hanging shirts. Found

containers, such as milk crates or sturdy cardboard boxes, stacked on their sides and placed on the floor are perfect as storage for folded items or shoes.

• Go as high up as you can. Create a second top shelf by cutting a board to fit and supporting it on both ends with two sturdy boxes.

• Make shelf dividers out of cardboard and tape them to the shelves.

• Use furniture creatively: store items in the dining room hutch, stack sweaters or shoe boxes under a skirted table or in the credenza in your den.

• Remove out-of-season clothing and store in boxes in the garage, in the cabinet over the refrigerator, under the bed or in another room.

If You Only Have $100 to Spend:• Check out ClosetMaid’s closet organizer at your

local home improvement center. For $24 to $50, you get a simple-to-assemble system that can move with you.

• Visit your local Hold Everything, Just Closets, Target, Stacks and Stacks or Home Depot or other home for system components.

• Shop at home. Order organizing materials through Lilian Vernon (Lilianvernon.com), or Hold Everything (HoldEverything.com).

• Pick up storage books and analyze the catalogs from above and design and install your own system made from wood, screws and braces.

Having a tidy closet can help reduce stress and increase the enjoyment of your home. Be creative with your limited closet space and have fun getting organized.


Interiors

www.mlsmag.com | Spring 2010 | 9



Your Home or Condo HereRealtors: picture your home or condo ad in this space! MLS Magazine provides you with a creative new tool for effectively promoting your home or condo. Personalized for selling agents and formatted to highlight a handful of choice homes and condos, MLS Magazine delivers your ad to the perfect target audience. For more info, please call: (702) 648-5978.



Your Condo HereRealtors: picture your home or condo ad in this space! MLS Magazine provides you with a creative new tool for effectively promoting your home or condo. Personalized for selling agents and formatted to highlight a handful of choice homes and condos, MLS Magazine delivers your ad to the perfect target audience. For more info, please call: (702) 648-5978.


  “Without question, people are moving in a direction of buying green, both at the holidays and throughout the year,” says Tommy Rosen, founder of the Eco Gift Festival, which was held on Dec. 12 -14 in Santa Monica, Calif., and featured more than 200 green companies. “It all comes down to health at the individual level and at the planetary level. We have to bring balance and health back to the planet and back to ourselves.” Retailers big and small - from local decor shops to large furniture stores - are offering eco-friendly gifts, with plenty of ideas this holiday season for each member of the family. “We have everyone from grandmothers in North Carolina to single men in New York City buying our bedding,” says Marisa Mercer, co-owner of Plover Organic, which is based in Portland and sells everything from quilts to pillowcases to table linens in 19 states. “All Plover Organic textiles are made from 100-percent organic cotton, and we use only low-impact, fiber-reactive dyes, so you can feel confident that you’re giving a truly green gift.” “The beds are fantastic. They’re filled with eco fiber, made from recycled post consumer and industrial plastics, anything from a water bottle to a detergent bottle. They sterilize them and grind them up, so no petroleum is used,” she says. “Our customers demand eco friendly.” While bedding is Plover’s top seller, “right now we are actually selling more tabletop (napkins, tea towels and tablecloths) than anything else,” Mercer says. “It’s just the season of entertaining, and you want your table to impress. Tabletop pieces are also inexpensive, thoughtful gifts that anyone would appreciate getting.” Other green tabletop items to consider: certified organic wine, such as Cooper Mountain in Beaverton, Ore., or organic beer, like Butte Creek Brewing from Chico, Calif.

The Gift of GreenHome is where the eco-friendly heart is

By Jeff Schnaufer (sample article)

1234 Main StreetAnytown, USA 10000Phone: (206) 555-1234 MLS: #S123456www.youename.com


Your Condo HereRealtors: picture your home or condo ad in this space! MLS Magazine provides you with a creative new tool for effectively promoting your home or condo. Personalized for selling agents and formatted to highlight a handful of choice homes and condos, MLS Magazine delivers your ad to the perfect target audience. For more info, please call: (702) 648-5978.

Neighborhood

ShoppingD

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Neighborhood Shopping,Dining, Entertainment

Your neighborhoods have many dining options, from pizza to sushi and mexican, and all types of night life and entertainment. To advertise your business on this neighborhood shopping and entertainment page, call an account executive at 702-648-5978, or visit www.mlsmag.com.

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Your Home or Condo Here

Realtors: picture your Home or condo ad in this space! MLS Magazine provides you with a creative new tool for effectively promoting your home or condo. Personalized for selling agents and formatted to highlight a handful of choice homes and condos, MLS Magazine delivers your ad to the perfect target audience. For more info, please call: (702) 648-5978.

Any Agent1234 E 1st StreetYour Town, USA 10000

Your Client1234 Main StreetAnytown, USA 10000

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