1. According to HGTV, you should evaluate each piece of clothing before hanging it up or packing it away. Does it still fit? Do you like it? Do you wear it? Is it current?

2. Before adding a bunch of clothing to your nearly-empty closet, clean it out. Vacuum the floor, dust the shelves, make sure there aren’t any insects, and clean carpet stains.

3. Get rid of the wire hangers. Even lightweight clothing should be hung on high-quality hangers. If you want to keep certain items on hangers even while storing them for the season, put them in a breathable garment bag. The best way to store hanging clothes is on a rolling garment rack. Knit items and heavy pieces should be folded and stored.

4. Never use cardboard boxes to store your clothing for the season. Cardboard can break down over time and attract insects. Cardboard is okay for short-term storage, but if you’re packing your clothing away for a few months, opt for plastic containers that have secure lids. The containers shouldn’t be airtight, though – air circulation helps fend off mildew and mold. If you’re not sure if your plastic containers are breathable enough, drill a few small holes in the top and sides of the container.

5. Don’t store clothing in the attic or basement. To keep your clothing in the best condition possible, you have to think about climate control. Either keep your clothing in the main part of the home or rent a climate-controlled storage facility. Attics and basements tend to be humid, which can attract insects, mold and mildew.

6. Never store clothing in a wooden container, especially if it’s cedar. If you have to store your clothing in a wooden container, line it with cotton bed sheets, muslin, or acids-free paper. If wood comes into contact with your clothing, it could stain.

7. Preserve your most precious pieces. If you’re storing special occasion clothing, you may want to have them preserved professionally. To do it yourself, make sure they’re clean, wrap them with acid-free tissue, and then put them in an archival storage box.

8. Before storing your clothing for the season, Rubbermaid suggests washing your clothing, particularly if they’re stained. Treat the stains before storing so that they don’t set while packed away.

The changing seasons are a great cue for evaluating your closet. If you’re able to give your wardrobe a once-over every season or even twice a year, you’ll keep your closet de-cluttered, making it easier to find your favorite pieces. Don’t try to squeeze everything into the same space – making room for your seasonal clothing will keep them wrinkle-free and in good condition.

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1) Customers React Better to People Than Machines

No matter how much technology changes our lives, people want to interact with humans who understand how to use a product or get the most out of a service. While machines may offer convenience and speed, a person is more approachable and helpful from a technical perspective. This could help win new business or keep old customers coming back for more.

2) You Can Offer More Timely Service

When a person is on-site and ready to help a customer right away, that person gets faster and better service. Instead of wasting time waiting for an answer that may or may not be correct, a service rep and the customer can work through a problem and get it right the first time.

3) You Control How Service is Rendered

When you are the one offering the support, you control the process of rendering that support. Instead of relying on a third-party that may or may not share your customer culture and level of quality, you can make sure that your customers get the help that they need and expect from your people.

4) On-Site Support Can Be Cheaper

In some cases, you may be able to cross-train a few of your own employees to create a support team. This allows you to control how much you are paying for support services while ensuring that you have the right people to do the job.

5) Have Access to all Relevant Documents in One Place

If you need to access customer records or keep a log of previous conversations, you can do that and store all of the information in one place. In the event that a problem comes up again or takes multiple conversations to rectify, you don’t need to start over from the beginning even if a customer doesn’t talk to the same person each time.

6) You’re Giving the Customer What He or She Wants

The customer should always get what he or she wants in exchange for the money that he or she provides your business. By providing on-site support, you are providing convenience and a great customer experience at all points of the sales process. For those who may be budget conscious, they will pay more for a good or service if they get good service in return.

You always want to make sure that the needs of your customers are met at all times. By offering on-site support, you can control the service process, who provides service and control costs for your business. That allows both sides to get what they need without paying too much for it.

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Not Knowing Medal Types

You should always have a good idea of the kind of medal you would like to purchase. This means taking the time to learn about the different military medals that are available and how much they have sold for in the past. Having some basic knowledge can make it much easier to decide what your budget can afford to purchase, since different medals are worth different rates.

Buying from Anybody

You cannot purchase military medals from just anybody. There are many sites and sellers online that boast of the kinds of medals they can acquire, but if they are not verified sellers, it is not worth the effort buying from them. Many sites only allow verified sellers to advertise their goods, so taking the time to turn to respectable dealers is what you have to do in order to be sure that you are getting the kind of products you want.

Not Verifying Authenticity

This is probably one of the most common mistakes that people experience when buying military medals online. No one wants to buy a fake medal, but it can happen if the buyer does not take the time to have an expert check for authenticity. It is harder to do online since you cannot physically touch or handle the medal, but with detailed information and with lots of pictures, an expert will be able to advise you correctly.

Only Wanting Rare Medals

The joy of collecting can be lost if a buyer is only interested in the rarest military medals. All of these medals are beautiful to own, and they are all a piece of the country’s history. By waiting only for the most expensive and rarest decorations, you may miss out on the pride of having different ones in your possession.

Buying at Random

If you are someone who collects medals from all over the world, it can be a good idea to focus on a certain area or country at a time. It can be overwhelming to try to purchase medals from all of the different countries. To avoid making the wrong purchases, collecting slowly and allowing yourself to learn about each country’s military medal system can be the best thing you do for your collection.

By taking the time to authenticate the military medals you are considering and by making sure that you know about military medals in general, you will have an easier time collecting them. Choose the best dealers with strong reputations and know the kind of budget you want to spend before setting out to find medals.

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1. Adult Acne

According to Good Housekeeping, the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that one out of every two adult women will deal with acne at some point during their life. When your skin is aging, the last thing you want to deal with is acne on top of everything else – isn’t that for teenagers, after all? Unfortunately, it does happen quite often, and people who never had acne issues before all of a sudden find themselves facing those ugly bumps in adulthood. The best advice is to not go crazy on your pimples – cleanse them gently instead of scrubbing them. Blackheads and whiteheads are clogged pores and they need to be cleansed, not sloughed.

2. Rosacea

Rosacea tends to affect the skin on the face, often causing redness on the cheeks, chin, nose or forehead. The redness can worsen over time and sometimes blood vessels will become visible. Rosacea may also appear on the neck, back or chest. In extreme cases, the rosacea can affect the eyes or cause pus-filled pimples on the skin. Certain medications may help with rosacea. Your doctor may prescribe either a topical or an oral medication to treat the redness, bumps and pimples. At times, surgery is used to remove the blood vessels. While rosacea can’t be prevented, avoiding exposure to sun, wind and extreme temperatures can help lesses its effects.

3. Dark Spots

Hyperpigmentation spots can be caused by sun exposure or acne, but they don’t have to stay on your face for good. According to Cosmopolitan, you can fade those spots quickly and get your even skin back by using a retinoid. This powerful Vitamin A product increases the rate of cell turnover, which means those dark spots will disappear quickly. Your complexion will also be smoother thanks to the collagen-producing effects of retinoids, which help smooth out wrinkles.

4. Eczema

Eczema refers to a number of skin conditions that may cause your skin to become irritated, inflamed or both. Treatment for eczema aims to relieve the discomfort and prevent itching. Since itching can lead to infection, it’s important to do whatever it takes to resist the urge. Lotions and creams can help, because eczema makes the skin itchy and dry. Applying moisturizing products when your skin is damp will help it to retain moisture. Cocoa butter and oatmeal are two ingredients that you should look for in moisturizers when you have especially itchy skin. Cold compresses can also be used to help itchy skin.

Don’t let your skin problems go for long before you find a way to treat them. Between holistic remedies you can do yourself and visiting a professional, there’s a way to handle almost any skin problem.

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1. Stick With Gender Neutral Clothing

According to Real Simple, you should always opt for gender neutral clothing. Your future son or daughter will be able to wear hand-me-downs, including warm PJs, winter coats, raincoats, sweaters and boots. Yellow and navy are great gender neutral colors. A bonus is that when most of your kids’ clothing is within the same color scheme, it’s easy to mix and match outfits, and you’ll new fewer pieces altogether.

2. Don’t Purchase Something Just Because It’s Cute

Far too often, parents fall for “cute” and end up spending more money than they wanted to. There’s a ton of adorable children’s clothing out there – you can’t possibly buy it all. In the wintertime, your kids should have a couple pairs of sneakers and one or two pairs of boots. You can make those core shoes cute, but don’t buy more than you need. The same goes for jackets, sweaters and snow pants.

3. Shop In the Off Season

According to Frugal Rules, one of the best ways to save money on your kids’ winter clothes is to buy them during the off season. When the winter’s over and the spring sets in, stores want to get rid of their winter stock, so they end up lowering the price. Just make sure you’re buying clothing that will fit the following year. All throughout the summer, check your favorite stores to see what they have leftover. It may take some digging, but you could end up with a full winter wardrobe at half the price.

4. Take Care of Your Kids’ Clothing

The better you take care of the winter clothing your kids have, the less you’ll have to spend to replace necessary items. Plus, you’ll be able to pass down the clothing when you have another child. Weather-treat boots and shoes so they stay in good condition throughout the winter. Treat stains immediately so they don’t set. When washing clothing, opt for cold water and dry on a low heat setting. Whenever possible, hang clothing to dry instead of tossing it in the dryer. Drying can add to the normal wear and tear clothes endure.

Before you head to the store to replenish your kids’ winter gear, take a good look at the items you already have. You’ll probably be able to reuse some items. What you can’t reuse because it’s too small, you can donate or sell. You may even be able to repurpose summer and spring clothing for the winter by layering.

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Donate to Good Causes

Unwanted cards are the perfect way to help out charities, homeless shelters, soup kitchens or animal rescue centers. Many of these businesses will gladly accept your donation of a gift card, and they can put it to good work.

If the charity or organization cannot accept the type of card you have, you can easily have the card converted to cash, and make a cash donation to any organization of your choosing. In addition, cards that are good at large retailers could be used to purchase goods like dog food for animal shelters or clothing that homeless shelters would be glad to receive.

Convert Gift Cards to Cash

If you’ve received a card for a business that you won’t be able to use, consider converting the card into cash. Several gift card exchanges online are more than willing to purchase gift cards. You’ll end up getting some value and it won’t go to waste.

Selling unwanted cards to reputable websites that deal in exchanges makes it easy for consumers. Depending upon the site and their current inventory of cards, you may receive a cash value from about 70 percent to 90 percent of the card value.

Check the terms of use on sites you’re considering. Some sites may pay by check through the mail or credit a PayPal account.

Re-gift the Card

Fortunately, gift cards really are versatile and can easily be re-gifted. If you’re doing fine financially or just don’t have a need for a particular card, there is a good chance that someone would be delighted to receive a card you can’t use.

If the card looks worn after carrying it around in your purse, ask the retailer to exchange it for a new one before re-gifting the card. Double check the value on your card to verify the balance. Consider adding more money to make it a worthwhile gift.

Get Creative

Using your gift card to buy gifts for other people is an excellent way to get value from your card. You’ll save money by buying gifts with the card, and you’ll have your shopping done for some birthday or Christmas presents.

If you aren’t planning on using a card at a retail store or restaurant, hand it to a cashier at the store, and ask them to apply the credit on the card to the next customers making purchases. A stranger may be overwhelmed by your generosity and the card won’t be lost or collecting dust.

If you’ve received a gift card you just can’t use, put it to good use by donating, giving it to a stranger or re-gifting.

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Here are three spiritual gifts that your loved ones will appreciate:

1. A meditation cushion. If you think only Buddhist monks sit in silence, you’re very wrong. The Huffington Post reports that meditation offers people the gift of compassion, humility, awareness, and patience among other things. It instills a sense of playfulness in a person, allows them to see beauty in everyday things, and to let go of the past quickly and healthily. Meditation trains the mind and conditions the body. Anyone who undergoes stress regularly will appreciate the thought behind such a mindful gift. When they’re counting their blessings, they’ll make sure to count you twice!

2. A worry box or prayer vessel. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, stress often leads to serious health problems including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, anxiety, and depression. Sudden negative lifestyle changes as well as personal and professional pressures strain a person’s mind and cause them to experience headache, insomnia, and fits of anger. Why not give people a safe place to put their worries or prayers? A worry box or prayer vessel needn’t be expensive but it should be gifted with intention. Let the person you give the gift to know what it’s used for and encourage them to fill it often to combat life’s stresses.

3. A journal. Documenting life events is a sacred practice followed by hundreds upon thousands of people yearly. One of the most thoughtful spiritual gifts you can give a loved one is a journal that reflects their interests and personal preferences. It’s a place where they get to explore their hopes, dreams, triumphs, and failures. It gets them into the practice of coming to the page without any expectations and letting their spirit guide them through life’s most amazing and frustrating experiences. Spending time with a journal gives a person a sense of purpose and something to look forward to each day which is why it’s among the most deeply personal spiritual gifts there is.

Spiritual gifts benefit the giver and the receiver. The next time you’re shopping for a loved one, think about what they need most in their life. Then find a way to appeal to their spiritual side by giving them just what they asked for, a sacred gift given with love, appreciation, and encouragement. A meditation cushion, worry box or prayer vessel, and journal are mere suggestions that foster hope, facilitate understanding, and provide a healthy outlet for stressors related to work, school, illness, and life changes such as divorce and moving.

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Productivity
Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.” Adding shelves to your mobile shop automatically increases your productivity because all your tools, parts, and paperwork will stay in an organized space, even while you’re moving. Instead of spending time looking for a certain tool, you’ll be finishing the job and moving on to the next.

Professionalism
Like it or not, your clients form opinions about your abilities based on the way that you present yourself. Showing up to a job site with a disorganized van has the same effect on your future as showing up to a job interview in a dirty, ripped t-shirt. Upfitting your work van with shelves tells your clients that you are disciplined and capable of handling the work they hired you to do. Once they form that opinion, it is easier for them to tell their friends and family about what a great job you did. As word spreads about your professionalism, you’ll be building your brand in a positive way.

Safety
Having your work gear loose in the back of the van poses a serious safety hazard. Every time you brake, that gear slides forward. If you don’t have a partition in your van, it may even slide under the brake pedal or lodge itself under your foot at a critical moment, resulting in a crash. Depending on the type of equipment and tools you haul, loose gear could result in serious injury to you or your partner, even if no accident is involved. Commercial van shelving will eliminate the safety risks associated with unsecured gear.

Inventory Management
When you show up at a home or business without the necessary parts, you lose professionalism points with that client, especially if it is a routine job. Installing shelves in your commercial van allows you to keep track of your inventory quickly and efficiently. Because you’ll easily know what you have and when to reorder, you’ll be able to get more work done in a day and score points that lead to repeat customers.

Health
Imagine that the tool you need has migrated to the middle of your van. It’s heavy. Do you climb in over all your other gear, or do you reach in and lift it out? Either scenario is a recipe for personal injury. Lifting something at arm’s length could strain your back, especially if you have to do it several times a day. Climbing out of the van with the heavy tool could cause you to trip over the other unsecured gear and fall out of the van, breaking bones or straining muscles. Commercial shelving will eliminate these types of risk.

The post Commercial Van Shelving: 5 Major Benefits to Obtain appeared first on Ideas and Angles.

 Improves Mobility
Patients that have suffered a serious injury recently or have undergone surgery may experience difficulty with movement. Although scarring is an expected part of the healing process, it can also be detrimental to a patient’s mobility. Often, within 12-18 weeks, the scar tissue that forms may impede movement permanently.

Physical therapy helps improve the patient’s motion range and flexibility before the scar heals completely. The physical therapist may use stretch exercises to limit the development of the scar tissue. Exercises that strengthen the muscles, ligaments and tendons adjacent to the scar may also be helpful. However, it is crucial that the physical therapy starts right away for the best outcomes to be experienced.

 Alternative to Surgery
There are cases where physical therapy may be used as an alternative to surgery, especially to relieve pain the patient may be experiencing. Such patients are able to reduce their healthcare costs by avoiding surgery.

Other times physical therapy may be beneficial to a patient even if surgery is still needed. The therapy may prepare the patient physically for the surgery or reduce the work to be done during surgery. This increases the patient’s chances of survival and recovery is also much faster.

 Manage a number of health conditions
Physical therapy is part of the overall diabetes management plan of Diabetic patients. The exercises serve to control the patients’ blood sugar. In some cases, Diabetic people may experience issues with sensation in the legs and feet. They are able to receive education on proper foot care practices that will protect them from such problems in the future.

Patients with heart and lung diseases and complications also benefit from physical therapy. Physical therapy is especially essential for patients whose daily functioning is affected after a heartache. Patients with lung problems also benefit from physical therapy as the exercises improve the patient’s health through breathing exercises that strengthen and condition their lungs. These exercises also help clear fluid in the patients’ lungs.

 Eliminates Pain
Physical therapy helps patients eliminate the pain they are experiencing. The therapists use exercises that mobilize the soft tissues and joints to restore the patient’s joint and muscle function and reduce any pain experienced. Treatments including electrical stimulation and ultrasound also serve to reduce the patient’s pain and restore previous motor function. These exercises may also protect the patient from future experiences of similar pain.

We all value our ability to move freely without experiencing pain. Physical therapy helps patients that have suffered traumatic body injuries enjoy the same freedom and ease of movement.

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1) Cleaning: Yes, your home gets cleaned. However, clutter and junk and piles of mail and stacks of books and lots of other stuff can conspire to make your home feel small and a bit trashy. Hiring a cleaning service may be just the nudge you need to get you into the process.

2) De-cluttering. Work one room ahead of the cleaners. While they scrub, you sort. While they polish, you pitch. For a small, one-time investment, you can enjoy a refreshed, open, bright home, free of all the junk that you’ve been needing to address. Once you take the time to toss all the stuff that’s weighing you down, you get to enjoy the home you chose in the first place!

3) Paint for Consistency: The bad thing about painting is that you have to move everything, but that can be a great thing, too. For the cost of a couple of gallons of paint, you can completely remake your space. Pull everything off the walls, patch the holes, and start with a blank slate. Is your home small? Consider a creamy pastel shade of your favorite color and be sure to paint the ceiling the same color.

4) Paint for Contrast: Do you have painted molding? Consider a contrasting color to set a bold, modern tone. If you don’t have anything but baseboard, consider adding a chair rail to one wall. Then paint the top section of the wall in your favorite shade to match one of your pieces of art. Chair rail is easy to install, and can really add a touch of elegance to your space.

5) Lighting Improvements: Track lighting is easy to put up and a great way to brighten up a space that needs to work, such as a kitchen. Consider a pendant light with a unique shade, such as hammered tin or frosted glass. The wide variety of shades available for pendant lights makes it possible to combine function and beauty in unique ways.

6) Lighting Enhancements: If you have a hanging light that feels a bit blah, consider adding a medallion above it. Medallions are paintable and can be a great chance to really highlight your existing light fixture.

7) Flooring Purchase: If your carpet is tired, the first step may be to hire a steam cleaner. While residential carpet cleaners may work fine in spaces that aren’t high traffic, a professional steam cleaning can really make you feel better about your space. If you’re just tired of your carpet, consider a rug purchase to add a pop of color and geometric interest. A rug over a section of hardwood flooring can create islands of space and break up long stretches of room.

8: Flooring DIY: Consider a floor cloth. Canvas floor cloths are easy to make, and once they’re sealed, very easy to clean. They work well over any hard surface or carpet and can be customized to your color preference. Prime, paint, and seal.

Your home is your castle, whether you have budget of royalty or serf. Dig into your space and fall back in love with your home!

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