RSS

Beyond Four Walls and a Roof: Investing in Your Community

 

Author photo 

REALTOR.ca Team

When you're ready to find a new home, where do you go … besides REALTOR.ca (obviously) What do you look for? 

Beyond the number of bedrooms or bathrooms, stainless steel appliances or proximity to transit, sometimes it's more than the tangible. It's the space itself. The people in that space. The activities and atmosphere those people provide. It's the neighbourhood or community. 


REALTORS® across Canada live and breathe that sense of community. The team here at REALTOR.ca is proud to help shine a light on those who do outstanding charitable work in the communities where they live and work as the presenting sponsor of this year's Canadian REALTORS Care® Award.

Previous recipients of this award include Vince Mirabelli of Thunder BayLaura-Leah Shaw of Vancouver, and Carolyn Swinson of Toronto15 REALTORS® were nominated by friends, fellow REALTORS® and charity representatives for the honour this year.


While Gregg Bamford of Saskatoon and John Patricelli of Burnaby received honourable mentions, it was Winnipeggers Geoff and Regan Archambault who took home the big prize and whose charity of choice—K.I.D.S. Kenya Initiative for Development & Sustainability Inc.—will receive a $5,000 donation from the Canadian Real Estate Association.

 
Congratulations to Geoff and Regan Archambault of Winnipeg, recipients of the Canadian REALTORS Care® Award 2019 Proudly Presented by REALTOR.ca.
 

Geoff and Regan Archambault are a husband and wife team who are renowned in their city as generous donors, effective board leaders and community builders. When Geoff and Regan started out on their giving journey, they did so by stepping up in areas that affected their family life. They got involved with their local community centre, where their kids played sports. Over the years, they branched out and took on more and more (and more!) volunteer roles for charities and causes that spoke to them. They have left an indelible mark on many organizations, including the Concordia Foundation and K.I.D.S. Initiative.


Simply put, Geoff and Regan are making their beloved Winnipeg a better place to be. “We all know, not only as REALTORS® but as community members that you don't just buy a home,” Regan explains. “You're not just buying four walls and a roof, you're buying into a community, investing into a community.”

When it comes to investing in a community, Geoff and Regan have gone above and beyond. One example is their revitalization of a local park, now fittingly named after them—Archambault Park. It's there that, for the past eight years, the Archambaults have hosted a free family fun day each summer for the enjoyment of their neighbours. 

The wonderful feedback they receive from families who use the park and attend their events is what keeps them going year after year. “Getting a random call from a woman enjoying the park with her grandchild, who calls to say thank you for what you've done, that's what makes it all worth it,” shares Geoff. “It's very motivating to do more because you know it makes a difference,” adds Regan.


Want to get to more involved with your community? Based on Geoff and Regan's charitable experiences, here are three tips:

  1. Start small. “It doesn't always need to be this huge grand gesture,” says Regan. “It can be as simple as stepping up to help your child's sports team, to be involved in your parent council, to see a need in your community and just pick up a shovel and help.”
  2. Don't underestimate the value of what you can bring to the table. “Sometimes the smallest thing is going to have a massive impact,” shares Regan.
  3. Set giving goals and then work hard to meet them. When Geoff decided to make a $150,000 donation to revitalize what would later become Archambault Park, Regan gently reminded him they didn't have $150,000. His response was, “I know, but now we have a goal so let's work at it.”
Read

With spring just around the corner you’re probably starting to prepare your spring cleaning chore list! Make sure to add to the list your homes light fixtures. I’ll admit this is something that I don’t like to do often as its really tedious and time consuming but is defiantly necessary. Unfortunately light fixtures in your home are a huge dust and dirt magnet so it does require cleaning ever so often. Here are just a few easy ways to keep your lights/fixtures shining bright and looking fantastic!

 

To maintain the dust that collects on your fixtures/light bulbs it’s best to do a weekly or even daily dust. A weekly dust should be sufficient enough to keep your fixtures from drowning in dirt! First thing is first as everyone is most likely aware, you should never ever clean your light bulbs/fixtures with the lights turned on. You put yourself at risk of getting burned or even getting electrocuted depending on the type of fixture you have so please remember to turn the lights off before starting to clean. For best results I myself find Swiffer dusters to lock in the dust and dirt most efficiently. If you don’t use/buy Swiffer products then you can use a step ladder or chair whatever works for you to reach your ceiling fans and fixtures, use a microfiber cloth to dust which will do the trick just as well.

 

For a deeper clean whether you have dome lights, pot lighting or chandeliers you should remove all pieces from the ceiling and carefully place them in your sink with warm soapy water and wash them thoroughly. Don’t forget to remove your light bulbs, to clean the bulbs just wet a microfiber cloth with warm water and give it a good wash. Let everything fully air dry before putting back together and installing back onto your ceiling.


To be honest you shouldn’t have to do a deep clean often at all if you are doing a weekly dust. It really does make a difference in your home when your lighting is kept dust and dirt free. I hope that these simple steps will give you a bright new look! 

Read

Besides your home your car is someplace that you potentially spend a lot of time in so it is very nice to keep it clean and tidy! If you have the time and don’t want to spend extra money to get your vehicle professionally detailed then here are just a few tips on giving your car the cleaning it deserves right at home!

 

First you should start with the carpets, if you have an air compressor use it to blow out the dust and dirt in the hard to reach corners then give it a nice vacuum (do the seats as well). You will want to wash the carpets next so if you have a carpet cleaner that would be easiest to use but if not you can either rent one or simply get a strong wash brush with really good bristles and wash the carpets in a circular motion. You can use any type of carpet cleaner soap. Then before doing anything else let fully dry before stepping on them.

 

Seats, you can either steam clean them with a regular carpet cleaner or steam cleaner or do it by hand using the same method and washing the carpets and then let dry. If you have leather seats use a cleaner with aloe in it, it’s easy on the leather and makes them look really shiny!

 

Next get a bucket and fill with warm water and any kind of car cleaner for the interior (dash, doors etc.) Wash everything down completely and I would even take a dry towel and dry it yourself just so that no streaks get left behind! I like to wash everything with a microfiber cloth, I find that they really wash well and leave less marks after.

 

After all of this has fully dried I would do your windows next, this is an easier part cause all you have to do is use your classic window cleaner (Windex) and it will sure to shine. Note after washing the window I would dry right away with a microfiber cloth.

 

Lastly the outside, now you can always go to a car wash to do this but personally there is nothing like a true hand wash on your car to really make sure the job is done right! When you hand wash you can really see if there is any dirt left behind and you can get into those really tough small parts of the car easily. The most important part of washing a car is to DRY it afterward! This is important because after washing it streaks get left behind and it can make it look just as bad as the dirt looked on it. This may take you and extra 10 or 15 minutes but it is so worth it!


Have fun everyone making your vehicles look brand new again!

 

  

Read

No one like to look out a window that you just cleaned and see nothing but water spots all over it. Or even when using house hold cleaners like Windex this can leave water streaks. Here are just a few simple ways to reduce this problem so you don’t have to re wipe them down.


Use vinegar and water. Use an old spray bottle and mix a half and half solution of vinegar and water. Spray onto your window, if you have a few spots that are pretty bad then spray the solution on the spot a few times. Wet or soak a rough cleaning towel with the solution and scrub the windows, after you will want to let the vinegar and water solution sit and works its magic 5-10 minutes should be long enough depending on how bad your water spots are (you can be the judge of that) Then re spray the window with you solution and use a rough dry towel to wipe off.


Toothpaste. Toothpaste is so great when trying to remove tough stains. Make a paste with water and the toothpaste don’t use to much water as you don’t want to dilute it too much. Rub the past onto the spots and let sit for about 5 minutes. Then take a towel, brush or sponge and scrub the spot, then use water to wash the paste off your windows. Last step is to take your everyday glass cleaner that you use and wash normally but be sure to dry the window fully or else you will risk having those spots re appear!


Baking Soda & Vinegar. In an open container mix equal parts vinegar and baking soda, this solution with bubble and you can either wait till the bubbling has stopped to apply to your windows or you can apply while it’s bubbling this won’t affect how it works in any way. Apply to the spot with a towel, cloth or sponge personally I like using an old tooth brush for all 3 of these methods the bristles on the tooth brush help scrub the areas better. Let sit for about 5 minutes and wash away with water. Final step just like using the toothpaste method is to use any traditional glass cleaner and dry completely.


I hope these 3 easy and simple methods and solutions will help you look through a clean and shiny window spot free! 

Read

It is almost impossible to keep your flooring totally free from marks, scuffs or scratches! Kids, pets, furniture and shoes are just a few examples of ways scratches can be caused. Flooring is one of the most important features and looks in our homes, and unfortunately can be a costly thing to replace if it gets to out of hand. So if you do have a busy house hold and have a few scratches that you can’t bare to look at anymore try a few of these steps to minimize the look of the scratch or scuff.


Wood or Laminate – This is for large deeper scratches or scuffs the ones you really want to get rid of! First clean the area with a soft cloth and white vinegar and let fully dry. You will need to buy some wood filler from your local hardwood store, after you have left to dry use the wood filler and fill in the scratch and smooth out with a putty knife and let dry. You will need to go and also buy some wood stain closely matching the color of wood or laminate flooring that you are repairing. Apply the stain to the area that you have filled and let dry. Last step is to seal it so apple a small thin layer of lacquer.


Vinyl – When repairing this type of flooring you will want to make sure that the room is very well vented and maybe even consider opening a window. First you will want to clean the area with lacquer thinner, use a cloth and wipe the area down let dry. Remember to wear rubber gloves when handling lacquer thinner as it’s quite strong, maybe even wear a mask for extra protection. Next step is to place masking tape around the area and apply a small layer of liquid seam sealer to the scratch or scuffed spot and let dry. Remove masking tape and it’s all finished!


Ceramic or Porcelain Tile – This process is for smaller scratches in your tile or porcelain flooring. First clean the area with hot water and white vinegar and let fully dry. With a new cloth rub in a small amount of toothpaste until the scratch is completely filled, don’t use gel toothpaste. Then you will want to sand the area once it has dried until you have a smooth even surface. To seal it spray or paint a thin layer of urethane to coat and seal it.


I hope these simple easy steps save you a little bit of a headache when starring at the scratches on your flooring. 

Read

You usually don’t need to remove your blinds or take them down to clean them unless there are some really tough stains on them. There really is no right or wrong way to shine up your blinds but here are a few steps that I like to use when it comes time to do your cleaning.


One quick note, this method works great with wood blinds, plastic or aluminum but if you have fabric blinds or curtains you will have to take those down and either hand wash them your in sink or throw them in the washing machine.

 

First you will want to use a duster, microfiber cloth or vacuum to dust off your blinds first. If you don’t do this step then when you go to clean you will just be spreading a lot of the dust around and not really getting rid of it. If you have vertical blinds clean/dust from top to bottom, if you have horizontal blinds wash/dust from left to right.

 

Next you will want to fill a bucket with warm water you don’t need hot and add 2-3 drops of liquid dish soap. I always clean with a microfiber cloth I find that it works best to wipe away dirt and really give a deep clean but you can use whatever you like. Then using the left to right method or top to bottom method wipe gently. When you are finished you can let them air dry or dry them with a towel, I like to dry mine quickly after wiping them off just so that no dust sticks!


There you have it, super simple, fast and efficient! And unless you have fabric curtains/blinds you don’t need to take anything down which is way more of a hassle! 

Read

Every year things seem to go out of style or a new trend comes alone, this can either be the way we cut our hair the kind of accessories that we wear, shoes, clothes you name it, it will change. Some of you may not know this but even the way we decorate our homes change from year to year, I know this can be expensive if you are wanting to keep your home up to the new looks but if you are just looking for some new ideas or ways to copy a new look at an inexpensive price well here are a few of those trends to look for this year! 

 

Green colors seem to be the new trend of this year in your home, this can range from green throw pillow on your couch or even a nice green blanket. Something you can also add is a green painting of any sorts now this doesn’t have to be a specific color of green you can go from a nice dark forest green to even a bright lime green. You could also add something as simple as a few green glass vases to your coffee table or shelving unit.

 

A lot of new fashion trends whether it be what you wear or put in your home stem from the runway. So another fashionable look for your home this year is anything with a tropical print. This can be again a throw pillow or if you’re looking to repaint you could always do an accent wall of a nice tropical wall paper. Or anything that you have in your home that has fabric added to it, your bedding is something easy that you can incorporate a tropical print in, even a throw rug.

 

Grey colors were a huge trend in 2016 but it seems to be something that will stick throughout 2017 as well. You will see a lot of greys and whites this year or a darker tone of grey. This color is great to put up on a wall as it compliments a lot of other colors for example a darker colored couch (black or brown). It also goes with a lot of bright colors as well so if you have accents in tones like red or yellow grey would be a perfect fit.

 

Bronze this year will be a winner, it is a huge trendy hit. This one is easy to decorate with as you can get a tone of accent decors in bronze. This is something that you can even do in a less expensive way, you can go to your local thrift store and find loads of metal like objects or statues in the bronze tone. Places like Homesense and Winners also carry a lot of home accents in this color. You can get a metal type picture to put up on your wall that really warms up any space. This color also goes really well with any type of grey color, so if you are really looking to change up a room paint the walls in a grey tone and add a bronze metal type wall ornament.


I hope these trends will help you spice up your home this year and create something refreshing and up to date. 

Read

Did you have a little too much fun with your red wine and accidentally spill on your carpet! Not to worry it happens to the best of us. There are many people who think it’s almost impossible to remove red wine from your carpets especially a white/lighter colored carpet, but try one of these methods and home remedies, they actually work!

 

With any stain always act fast, the longer you let something sit for the more of a chance you won’t be able to remove it. As soon as have a spill the first thing you should do it grab a cloth or towel whatever you normally use to clean with and blotch the area. Don’t blotch from side to side as this could make the stain larger, use and up and down motion. Once you have blotched the spot until almost dry grab some COLD water and rewet the area again and repeat with the same blotching method until dry. This should take the stain out you may have to go over it a few times.

 

Salt. Salt draws the moisture out in the stain, so pour a lot of salt all over the stained area and let sit for a long time. If you don’t have plans for that day it’s best to leave the salt as long as you can. This method will only work if the area is wet, so if it has started to dry before you have poured salt onto it then pour some cold water on the stain to moisten the area. You will notice that the salt will eventually turn a pinkish color, this is a good thing. Once you notice that the stain has been removed simply vacuum up the salt.

 

This method I particularly love, it works on almost any stain that I have ever encountered! DISH SOAP! It honestly works, I just get the stained area wet with cold water and drop a little dish soap over the area and using the blotching method go at it. The only thing with this method is that it’s soap so you will have to get it wet a few times to get soap suds out of your carpet, but in my experience this has proven the best way to get most stains out, it work on clothes, furniture you name it. I use sunlight soap so I haven’t tested any other brands out but I’m sure they would do the same trick! Try it out and see if it works for you!

 

I hope these tricks help when your wine nights get the best of you!

 

Read

A huge trend now a days is to find ways to be more environmentally cautious. This can be riding your bike to work instead of driving your car, or reusing the same water bottle instead buying plastic all the time, composting instead of putting everything in your garbage that goes straight to the landfills which pollutes the air. Another easy way is to simply change certain cleaning products that you are using in your home. There are so many ways to make your own natural cleaning products instead of using ones that have harmful chemicals in them. You can also go and buy green cleaning products as well at your local grocery store, these can be a bit pricey so if you would like to make your own follow this simple process and go green!


Your oven is one of the most difficult appliances to clean in your home so the cleaners for this job tend to be very strong! Instead try this;

 

You can make a paste of baking soda and water, coat the surfaces of your over and I would use quite a bit, then leave this to sit over night to do its magic! In the morning when you wake up simply wash out with a hot damp cloth.

 

Ovens tend to have a lot of baked on grease and grime, try tea tree oil and anything citrus can also help with that mess.

 

Vinegar! Vinegar is used in a lot of naturally made products for your home as it is a very strong liquid and cleans very well. If your oven has a few really tough spots soak it in vinegar for about a two hours at minimum, the longer it sits you will get the best results. Then wipe away with a warm wash cloth.


To prevent how often you have to clean your oven try using an oven cover to prevent the splatter and spillage of whatever you are cooking. I always put a baking pan underneath my dishes in the oven and cover with aluminum foil which works just as well. This reduces the amount in which you will have to clean your oven and use harmful products if you don’t want to try these methods or if they don’t work for you!


Healthy Life Styles Make A Difference! 

Read

Are you tired of looking up and seeing your outdated and old school popcorn ceilng from the 1950’s? I know I am, popcorn ceilings were so popular back in the day but reality is they are almost impossible to clean, they catch and hold onto dust like crazy and are really difficult to repair! If you are looking to modernize your home start with redoing your outdated popcorn styled ceiling. Here is how to redo your popcorn ceiling!


Scraping – This is by far the most popular and used method out there when removing your popcorn ceiling. Use a large, wide drywall scraper or utility knife to chip away at the textured roof, otherwise known as “popcorn” style. Depending on how large the surface area of your roof is this will most likely take some time so make sure to cancel any plans you have for that day! It usually doesn’t take much for it to come off the roof but you will have to re-mud lots of the area after you have removed all the textured parts. Once you are done with the mudding process you will need to then sand everything down to create a very smooth surface, my advice is instead of covering furniture with large tarps or drop cloths I would completely take all of your furniture out of the room, drywall dust gets EVERYWHERE and it can take forever to try and clean up! After you are fully done with all of these steps you can then paint!


Tip – I have heard that some people like to spray water onto their ceilings before scraping them to make it a bit easier to scrape but I would not recommend you do this. First off it creates a gigantic mess everywhere and if you have carpets well… (Enough said right there). Also it potentially can absorb into the roof and make it heavy, this can then start to crack or expand which you don’t want! If you do this it will just be way more time consuming and messy for you! It’s honestly best to scrape dry!


You could always hire someone to do this for you but if you someone who likes to tackle projects on your own then I hope this super simple process helps in updating your home! 

Read

Your fridge is something you use and look at every day and where you store the food that you eat. I don’t know about you but this is something that I hate to look at if it’s starting to get dirty and grimy looking. Refrigerators aren’t always the most fun to clean and can be a challenge to get into all those little spots, but here are a few steps you can try to maintain its cleanliness.

 

If you notice that your fridge is starting to have a certain odor to it from the fruits and vegetables then you can try put some baking soda in a small container and placing it inside the crispers. You can also put some on the shelves as well. To give it a fresh scent you can cut a lemon in half and place it in your fridge as well. This won’t last two long as the lemon will start to dry out but it will last for a while until the baking soda has done its job.

 

It can be hard to wipe the shelves and drawers out while still in the fridge, so sometimes when I do my deep cleans I take all of this out and fill up my bath tub full of warm soapy water, I like to use dish soap than I wash them in the tub and let them air dry on a towel. This ensure that I get all the dirt build up off and it’s cleaned properly.

 

If you have glass shelves and want it to really shine and sparkle clean, then after washing everything and letting it dry fully I would take some glass cleaner (Windex) I use and wipe with that, this just gives it a little something extra!

 

You may notice that the small grate at the bottom of your refrigerator will collect a lot of dust bunnies and quite quickly as well and this tends to look a little unpleasant. For quick cleans you can just use a cloth to wipe the front off as much as possible, but I like to take the whole grate off and clean it in the tub or in your sink. I do this more often than the shelves and drawers because you see it more. It’s also not as much work and isn’t that big or difficult to maneuver.

 

Lastly the temperature, the range should be between 35-38 degree Fahrenheit. The purpose of your fridge is to just keep things cool, if you set your temperature to high then you will notice that all your vegetables and left overs etc. will start to freeze and that’s not a good thing! Or if you set it to low and it doesn’t keep your food cool enough then things will start to go bad as well. So it’s best to keep it between these numbers to ensure its doing its job properly.


I hope these little tricks and tips will help you keep your fridge looking and smelling its best!

 

Read

There is nothing worse than opening up your microwave door to put food you are about to heat up and eat and seeing dirt and old food from previous warm ups covering it. I’ll give you some easy ways to clean your microwave out, but to maintain this problem you can actually buy a microwave lid that goes over top of your bowls or plates to prevent splatter from happening.

 

Fill up a bowl half full of water and add about 1 tablespoon of vinegar to it, you can add a bit more than that as well it won’t hurt anything. Put the bowl inside of your microwave and turn it on for about 5 mins give or take, the water will steam and loosen any of the stuck on food or dirt. Remove the bowl and wipe out with paper towel or any cleaning rag that you usually use when cleaning, the grime should wiper away easily with no hassle or scrubbing necessary.

 

Use a lemon, sounds weird and strange but it does work. Cut a lemon in half and place it cut side down on a plate with 1 tablespoon of water. Place it in your microwave and turn on until you see it get really steamy and hot. Once you have done this simply take the plate out and wipe out, this also gives it a nice, fresh smell too.

 

Last method to try is dish soap, fill a bowl half full with warm water and add as much dish soap to it as you think you will need, really depends on how bad your microwave is. Using the same method as the other two cleaning tips put the bowl in the microwave turn it on until you see it start to steam a fair amount, then take the bowl out. With this method you may want to clean it out with a sponge or something with a rough surface to it.


I hope these few simple and easy tips will make it easier for you to keep your microwave in tip top shape

Read
The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are member’s of CREA. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by CREA and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license.