9 Questions to ask before signing a cabinet contract

 

            Are you considering purchasing some cabinets for your home? Have you stopped to think about some questions you should ask before signing on the dotted line? Cabinets are a big investment and it is important that you have all the information before committing. Below are nine questions I suggest you ask before starting.

 

1. Are you insured? (These people will be in your home, potentially dealing with electrical and plumbing items. Make sure you are protected!)

 

2. Do you have any professional affiliations or certifications? (This will give you a hint about how serious they are about their business or if they are just in it for fun.)

 

3. May I have a list of references from past completed projects? (This is a big one! How their past clients speak of them says volumes!)

 

4. Ask yourself if you are comfortable with this person being in your home? (If you feel unease in your gut, maybe you need to think twice.)

 

5. Do you communicate well with the designer? (How well the two of you communicate will directly reflect how well and to your specifications the project will be completed.)

 

6. Do they have a concrete grasp of your project and have they shown they can listen to you and your ideas? (This is your home and you need to make sure you are getting what you want.)

 

7. Is the price you’ve been given firm or subject to escalation? (Someone who will bait and switch you, may not be who you want to work with.)

 

8. What is your warranty? (If you have an issue in a couple of months, you want to know that they will back up their work.)

 

9. How long have you been in business? (This speaks to their credibility and their ability to satisfy customers of the years.)

The Clutter Cure: Laundry & Baths

Continuing on with our series on clutter, today we will look at the laundry room and bathrooms and some specific things we can to do start 2013 off on the right foot.

 

Laundry Room:

            Cleaning Products- did you try a detergent and not like it? Don’t keep it around                          any longer. Give it away to a friend or donate it. No need for it to clutter up

                         your cabinets.

            Miscellaneous socks-we all have them. The washer or dryer eats sock and you

                         hang onto the spares, waiting for the match to appear. Do yourself a favor 

                         and throw them away.

            Brooms & Mops-clear out the stack of brooms and mops and throw away  anything

                        you are not using or no longer works. Hang hooks behind the door to hang

                        these items and keep them looking neater.

 

Bathroom:

            Beauty Products-Remove all bottles and jars from the counter. Store everything                           in drawers or baskets under the sink. Throw away expired items. Give                           away duplicates or place in a nice basket in your guest bath for guests to use.

            Linens-Toss threadbare towels and mismatched bed linens or cut into smaller                                squares for cleaning rags.

 

When in doubt, ask yourself these questions.

1. Do I really need this?
2. Do I love it?
3. Do I already have something else that will work?
4. Do I use it regularly?
5. Where am I going to put it?
6. How hard would it be to replace this item someday if I needed to?