Is it a dresser or shoe cabinet?

From Mary Williams Interior Redesign 

Sometimes there just isn’t enough room for storage. Rooms start looking cluttered, things get harder to find and the entire house starts feeling unorganized. Below are some clever ideas to keep your home running smooth, organized and looking great.

Guest Picks: Space-Saving Multipurpose Furniture

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General contractors, home builders, and more. Consider a versatile murphy bed when looking for guest bed furniture, find well-designed task chairs, and work with a contractor in your area to create a fun yet functional home office. Work with a home decorator when choosing area rugs or hanging new window treatments in your home.

If you are thinking about a remodel, redesign, or reorganizing; then I am your redesign professional!

 If you are considering selling your property, and you think it needs staging; I am your neighborhood professional!

 Call me at 760.567.7282!

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Where do you use the most water?

It’s never our intension to waste water, but water waste can show up in the simplest  places.

Even though the Desert has a very good supply of water close by, we still need to conserve.  According to a recent Desert Sun article, "We're not going to make normal rainfall this winter," said Richard Minnich, a professor in the Earth Sciences Department at UC Riverside. "We are in what's called a La Nada — the neutral phase of the El Niño cycle. Neutral behaves like La Niña. The last El Niño, the last wet year was 2010-11, and we've been dry ever since."

• The Governor has urged the state to conserve water.

• The Coachella Valle Water District has a lot of information on how to conserve water.

• The Desert Sun has launched a new column that takes a closer look at how we use — and abuse — water in the Coachella Valley.

Other Ideas how to save water in the Desert:

From Waterusitwisely.com:

• When washing dishes by hand, don’t let the water run. Fill one basin with wash water and the other with rinse water.

• Dishwashers typically use less water than washing dishes by hand. Now, Energy Star dishwashers save even more water and energy.

• If your dishwasher is new, cut back on rinsing. Newer models clean more thoroughly than older ones.

• Time your shower to keep it under 5 minutes. You’ll save up to 1,000 gallons per month.

• Toilet leaks can be silent! Be sure to test your toilet for leaks at least once a year.

• Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the bowl without flushing, there’s a leak. Fix it and start saving gallons.

• When running a bath, plug the bathtub before turning on the water. Adjust the temperature as the tub fills.

• Upgrade older toilets with water-saving WaterSense® labeled models.

The National Geographic website has some great tips and ideas for conserving water –

• Did you know a professional car wash uses 35 gallons per wash – washing it yourself can use up to 140 gallons! Plus it washes oil and gunk into the city drains.

Click here for more National Geographic Tips

The Desert's February Housing Market

[social]Statewide home sales in California fell in February; however, more homes were listed statewide during that same time – showing sellers are gearing up for a robust spring selling season.

Even though 2014 started with weaker sales numbers, “The slower sales in February reflects diminished housing affordability after three years of solid price increases and interest rates that are nearly a full percentage point higher than a year ago,” said C.A.R. President Kevin Brown.  “With the interest rate difference alone, home buyers this year would have to pay $150 more per month on their mortgage payment than last year, a substantial amount for many would-be home buyers trying to get into the market.”

The median home price was 1.6% lower in February ($404,250) than in January ($410,990). HOWEVER, February 2014 median price ($404,250) was 21.3% higher than February 2013 ($333,180).

“Supply conditions in the housing market have shown some improvement since the end of last year, except for the lowest price range where the inventory for distressed properties is depleted.  In the mid-priced range of $300,000-$750,000, which covers nearly half of all home sales, inventory is up 27 percent, while the supply of high-end homes – properties priced at or above $1 million, also is up 13 percent from a year ago,” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young.  “The improvement in these prime price ranges will benefit trade-up buyers who are expected to dominate the market in 2014, as many of them will be searching for homes in these price categories.”

Other key facts from C.A.R.’s February 2014 resale housing report include:

• Housing inventory improved in February, with the available supply of existing, single-family detached homes for sale rising in February to 4.7 months, up from January’s Unsold Inventory Index of 4.3 months. The index was 3.6 months in February 2013.  The index indicates the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.  A six- to seven-month supply is considered typical in a normal market.

• The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home fell to 40 days in February, down from 44.3 days in January but up from a revised 34.3 days in February 2013.

• Mortgage rates were lower in February, with the 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaging 4.30 percent, down from 4.43 percent in January but up from 3.53 percent in February 2013, according to Freddie Mac.  Adjustable-mortgage interest rates in February averaged 2.54 percent, down from 2.54 in January and down from 2.61 percent in February 2013.

How would your home do in today’s housing market in the Desert? Contact me today and I will go through your entire home listing details and what I will do to sell your home now.

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Mary's March Newsletter

Spring Ahead Sunday March 9th!

Daylight Savings Begins March 9th Turn Your Clocks AHEAD an Hour!Change your Batteries in your Smoke Alarms, too!