Here’s how to create a cozy winter look for your house long after the tree is down and the holidays are over. Watch this video for the best tips and tricks for winter decor!

We’re guessing there’s a jar of mayonnaise lurking somewhere in the back of your fridge -- but there’s good reason to give the sandwich staple front-shelf status. Thanks to its high oil content, full-fat mayo is a multi-tasking wonder around the house and as part of your beauty routine. Here are 11 creative uses for the condiment:

1. Polish plant leaves. Borrow a trick from pro florists: After dusting plant leaves, rub a dab of mayo on them with damp cloth to keep them super shiny.

2. Clean yellowed piano keys. Smooth a tiny bit of mayonnaise onto dull, yellowed piano keys; wait a few minutes, and then rub off with a clean cloth.

3. Deep condition your hair. Mayo’s high oil content and rich, thick texture make it perfect for quick DIY hair mask, says cosmetic chemist Ron Robinson of BeautyStat.com. Massage a generous layer into your hair, making sure to coat the ends, and leave on for 15 minutes before rinsing off. (For even more conditioning benefit, use mayo made with olive oil.)

4. Remove tree sap. Keep this tip in mind next Christmas, when sticky pine sap from trees and wreaths makes a stubborn mess: “Rub a small spoonful (of mayo) on your hands like lotion, and the sap will wash right off,” writes Bruce Lubin, author of Who Knew: 10,001 Easy Solutions to Everyday Problems.

5. Get gum out of hair. Got a sticky situation involving a small child and a big wad of bubble gum? Put down the scissors and get a gob of mayo – just massage it in the gum/hair mess then work the gum out of the hair. 

6. Exfoliate dead skin. Forget rough, grainy scrubs – there’s a smoother way to slough off dead skin, according to Lubin: Apply mayonnaise to dry, rough patches, let it sit for 10 minutes, then wipe away with a damp, warm washcloth.

7. Clean crayon marks from walls and wood furniture. Yep, a swipe of mayo can erase a swipe of crayon – from walls as well as wood. Smear the stuff on the offending marks (test in an inconspicuous area first!), leave it on for a few minutes and then wipe away that “masterpiece” with a damp cloth. 

8. Makeover your manicure. To keep the cuticles of your nails soft and moisturized, Lubin recommends putting some mayonnaise in a small bowl and submerging fingers in it for five minutes.

9. Remove sticker residue. Sure, you could scrape the gummy gunk off with your fingernail (and ruin your manicure in the process), but there’s an easier way to lift the sticky remains of a label or sticker on glass or a mirror, writes Lubin. “Cover it in mayonnaise and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then gently scrape off with a putty knife.”

10. Wipe out water marks. When a wet glass leaves an unsightly white ring on a wooden table, massage the area with a dab of mayo and let it sit for a few minutes before wiping it clean (away!). For a really stubborn stain, let the mayo sit for an hour or two. 

11. Squelch squeaks. Out of WD-40? A smear of mayonnaise is a quick, natural alternative for quieting a squeaky door hinge.

Try these simple tricks for creating a romantic home just in time for Valentine's Day.

Does you have the right equipment in your kitchen? From chef's knives to measuring cups, here are the essential tools you need to get cooking.

If your style leans more toward “modern stone-age,” do we have the house for you. No, the home isn’t nestled in the town of Bedrock. It’s a one-bedroom, two-bathroom, mountaintop retreat on 22.89 acres in sunny Malibu. 

For a mere $3.25 million, you can live in the actual man-cave that rock-n-roll legend, Dick Clark, once owned. Sounds like a yabba-dabba-doo time, to us. (In other words "Chaaaaaaarrrrggeee it!")

Onions can spice up any dish, but they're also pretty useful out of the kitchen. From polishing metal to de-icing a windshield, we rounded up 16 surprising uses for this cooking staple.

1.Repel insects. Rubbing an onion on your skin or clothes is a nontoxic alternative to bug spray. 

2.Soothe a sore throat. Whip up a batch of onion tea to soothe a sore throat. To make, boil a cup of water with the peels of half an onion.

3.Remove splinters. Place a piece of tape or adhesive bandage over a small piece of raw onion and lay on top of a splinter. Keep the onion there for about an hour. Once you remove it, the splinter should be loosened and easier to pull out.

4.Polish metal. Crush up a raw onion and combine it with equal parts water. Using a damp cloth, rub the mixture on metal surfaces like faucets or fixtures until they're shiny and clean.

5. Soothe insect bites and bee stings. Have a super itchy bug bite or painful bee sting that won't quit? Try rubbing raw onion onto it -- it'll calm the area down. 

6.Clean the grill. Roughly chop an onion in half and spear it with a long fork. Scrub the grill with a wire brush to remove gunk, then turn on the heat. Use the fork to run the onion over the grill until all of the debris is gone.

7.Ward off ants. If ants are constantly invading your kitchen, leave a bowl of raw onion slices out. The scent will keep them at bay.

8. Create a DIY dye. Despite their translucent color, onion skins make a beautiful, vibrant red/orange dye. Gather the skins and place them in a pair of nylon pantyhose or a nut milk bag and tie knot at the end. Boil in a pot for about 20 minutes; the remaining liquid is a bright dye that's perfect for paper, yarn or fabric.

9.Soak up the smell of burnt rice. Want to get rid of that smoky smell from burnt rice? Place half an onion next to the stove -- it'll absorb the smell.

10.Avoid windshield frost. Slice a raw onion in half and rub it against the windshield of your car at night. It helps prevent frost from forming overnight. 

11. Color Easter eggs. Wrap eggs in onion skins, then secure them in a towel. Place the tied-up towel in a pot of boiling water and boil the egg as usual. They'll come out with a beautiful, orange tint.

12.Keep avocados from turning brown. Place slices of red onion and avocado in an airtight container. Or, top guacamole with slices of red onion.

13. Absorb that “new paint” smell. Cut up slices of raw onion and place them in a bowl of water. Leave the bowl in the newly painted room overnight to absorb the strong scent of paint fumes.

14.Clean rusty knives. Jab a dirty knife into a large raw onion and -- presto! -- no more rust!

15.Keep unwanted animals out of your yard. Raccoons, chipmunks, even the neighbor’s cats will no longer step foot onto your property if you sprinkle onion slices around the yard or garden.

16. Soothe a burn. Rub an onion on top of a burn to remporarily relieve the pain. Bonus: Onions also have antibacterial properties to keep the wound from becoming infected.

Go au naturel during spring-cleaning with environmentally friendly cleaning products that will spruce up counters and floors and disinfect your home.

Use clever book arrangements and decorative pieces to turn a plain bookshelf into a stunning focal point for any room.

Learn how to create beautiful floral arrangements that will stay sturdy and fresh for a long time.

Keep up with the latest trends in home décor with colourful pillow accents, fresh flowers and floral prints, and much more!

Millions of people around the world will turn off their lights to celebrate Earth Hour at 8:30 p.m. on March 29. While participating in Earth Hour is a great way to show your support for an eco-friendly future, finding ways to pass that hour without TV and light can be difficult, especially on a Saturday night. Here are a few ways to make sure your Earth Hour is time well-spent in the dark.
 
1. Firepits And Stargazing

Have a backyard firepit party with your friends and family. Skewer marshmallows for toasting, make plenty of hot chocolate, haul out as many blankets as you can carry and open some folding chairs for a party under the night sky. If it’s a clear night, bring out a pair of binoculars or a telescope for a fun-filled night of spotting constellations and planets. If it’s cloudy, make your own “stars” by lighting up a few sparklers. The kids (and adults) will love them!
 
2. Candlelight Dinner

Whether you’re celebrating an hour of darkness with kids or a significant other, lit candles will bring a warm glow to your meal and create a peaceful atmosphere. Change things up by laying a blanket on your living room floor for an indoor candlelight picnic. Just make sure your candles are on a hard, raised surface where they won’t be knocked over.
 
3. Empty The Games Closet

Break out the boards games and spend an hour laughing as you and your opponents make terrible mistakes in the dark. Try a few rounds of candlelight Twister or see how long it takes your Jenga tower to come crashing down. If you don’t have any games, revive your silent acting skills with a game of charades.
 
4. Draw In The Dark

Choose a thing or person to draw in the dark and enjoy looking at the hilarious results when you turn the lights back on. Kids will enjoy this activity, too. If you throw some glow-in-the-dark paint into the mix, however, they might force you to keep the lights off for the rest of the evening.
 
5. Just Talk

Catch up with your partner, children, or other family and friends about what’s going on in their lives. Being in the dark might help you focus on their voices and listen carefully. You’ll surprised at what you can learn about a person when there’s nothing to do but talk.
 
6. Go Out

Bundle up and go outside to see how your city is celebrating Earth Hour. Go to the official Earth Hour website to find local events near you.

7. Become Environmentally Aware

After all, that’s what Earth Hour’s all about. It was created to raise awareness about people’s actions and their impact on environmental and climate change. Sit down with your family and talk about habits that may currently be wasting energy. Create a list of eco-friendly changes you will each make to your daily lives. This could be as simple as lowering the heat in your house by a few degrees or turning off lights as soon as you leave the room.
 
You don’t have to limit activities in the dark to a single hour. Set aside time each week or a few nights a month to turn off all the lights, disconnect from technology and spend time with friends and family.
 
Celebrating Earth Hour is an excellent way to get started, though. Plus, it's a great reason to bring out the candles!

 
Are you participating in Earth Hour this year? How will you enjoy the darkness? Tweet us @iVillageCanada.

All photos courtesy of creativecommons.org

Buying or selling a house is really stressful. For sellers, it seems like you've done everything you can to get your house ready to sell, but you wait and wait for offers and then when one does come it's much lower than your asking price. So you're left asking yourself what else can you do? Or if you're a buyer, you worry whether you're getting a good value or choosing the best house.

So what are the 25 biggest real estate mistakes? Here's a sneak peak at HGTV's list:

Failing to showcase your home and make small cosmetic changes

1. Setting too high of a sale price
2. Buying what you want, not what you need
3. Overlooking the extra and hidden costs
4. Buying a home without a professional inspection
5. Falling in love with the first property you see
6. Skipping the loan pre-approval
7. Doing major renovations/remodeling before selling
8. Not being pro-active at closing
9. Visiting the house only once
10. Not setting a realistic budget
11. Buying the most expensive home on the block
12. Not hiring an agent
13. Not knowing your agent
14. Trusting everything a real estate advertisement says
15. Buying with actually seeing the property
16. Not thinking about resale
17. Failing to market your home in dfiferent ways
18. Looking at the real estate market as the stock market
19. Waiting until spring to sell your house
20. Trying to make the "hard sell" while showing
21. Losing money with auctions
22. Not researching the neighborhood
23. Not providing easy access for showings
24. Buying the house for its decor

Get into spring cleaning mode with simple but clever organizational tips that will help you tuck away extra items out of sight and clear your home of unwanted clutter!

Buying a home in a real estate boom is financially daunting, which is why some Canadians are embracing non-traditional models of property ownership: purchasing as a group. We spoke with Michelle Snow, associate vice president, retail products at TD about what group buyers need to keep in mind.

If only a quarter of Canadians are buying a home solo, what advice do you give groups of friends or family opting to co-own? Be it friends or family, what kind of extra financial tips do you have to both secure their investment and not have it ruin your relationship?
Making the decision to buy a home, either alone or together with friends or family is a personal decision, and one that a mortgage specialist can help you navigate based on your own unique financial situation. If you do make the decision to purchase a home together with family or friends, many of the guiding principles remain the same:
 
Agree on expectations before visiting open houses. From a home office to a kitchen made for entertaining, co-purchasers should set a budget and discuss the key characteristics they want in a home, and what they are and are not willing to compromise on.
 
Once you’ve had these conversations, speak with a mortgage specialist to help navigate home financing questions. Co-purchasers need to give as much thought to their mortgage as they do to their dream home. This includes discussing the size of the down payment, amortization period, type of mortgage and payment schedule. Work together to crunch the numbers and ensure you can manage the associated costs of home ownership, like taxes, insurance, utility bills, maintenance and the monthly mortgage payment, alongside existing priorities like paying down debt and saving for the future.

What about multiple buyers who have different credit ratings? How does that affect negotiating a mortgage?
If a buyer has made the decision to purchase a home together with friends or family, it’s important to talk openly and honestly about their current financial situations and financial histories. If there is anything that could affect the ability to secure a loan together, afford monthly mortgage payments or interest rate increases, be upfront about it. Then, talk to a mortgage specialist to navigate home financing options based on the unique financial situation.

What are some common pitfalls group buyers need to beware of?
The last thing any new homeowner wants, whether buying alone or together with friends or family, is an unwelcome surprise when they’re about to sign on the dotted line or shortly after. For example, consider the monthly payment schedule. It's wise for homeowners to strive to be mortgage-free quickly, but it's important they don't stretch themselves too thin. Beyond the mortgage, there are ongoing expenses that come with homeownership such as property taxes, utility bills and maintenance. It's important that homebuyers budget for these expenses when deciding on the mortgage payment schedule they can afford. They need to be realistic and not put themselves in a position where they're struggling to keep up with payments.

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How to Buy Property With Friends or Family (Without Causing Feuds)

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More Canadians are buying a homes in groups of friends or family.

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After a long and brutally cold Canadian winter, spring has finally arrived!  But, with the start of spring comes spring cleaning – a time to pull out summer clothes from storage, freshen your home and get the family ready for the warmer weather ahead. This long list of chores can be overwhelming for parents, and we certainly don’t want all the work to fall on mom.

Luckily, spring cleaning doesn’t have to be a huge burden. In fact, it can be a golden opportunity for the whole family to work together as a team, no matter what age. You may think three years old is too young or that it’s impossible to mobilize a teenager, but it can be done!

Truthfully, no one wants to be banished to clean the kitchen, bathroom or living room all on their own. Instead, set out on the cleaning crusade together as a family. Tackle one room in your home and give each family member a chore that they can own and take responsibility for. Another amazing benefit to teamwork? The job will get done faster! Here are some handy tips to help get your kiddies involved at any age:

Ages 2 to 4
Toddlers are your little helpers, always eager to lend a hand. Although their technique may not be as perfect as you’d like, kiddies from two and four years old are at a prime age for learning the importance of cleaning. Introduce your little ones to household chores by letting them shadow you and by turning certain tasks into games. Search for treasures while pulling out spring clothes or set a timer to see if they can break the world record for fastest bed making. By adding an element of fun, kids will learn that cleaning is not such an ordeal.
Age appropriate chores:
·      Help make the bed
·      Clean up books and toys after playtime or before parents vacuum
·      Wipe up spills and messes
 
Ages 5 to 7
Preschoolers are at an age where they love to spend one-on-one time with parents, creating the perfect opportunity to tutor kiddies on cleaning techniques. Take your little one aside and show them the best way to help mommy or daddy dust or sweep and introduce easy-to-use products like the Swiffer – there are no motors involved, so parents don’t need to worry and the kids will definitely find it fun!
Need extra motivation? Test out a reward system such as a sticker chart. Give kiddies a sticker for each chore and build up to bigger rewards. Once the cleaning is done you can also reward yourself for your efforts by spending Sunday outside as a family or watching a film for downtime.
Age-appropriate chores:
·      Dusting. Although under four feet tall, your preschooler can get hard to reach areas with the Swiffer 360 duster extender.
·      Help put away groceries
·      Clear and set the dinner table
 
Ages 9 to12
Pre-teens strive to be independent. Guide your children towards self-sufficiency by tracking their tasks in a chore chart and rewarding them for their efforts by driving them to the mall or offering more screen time. This will definitely motivate your kids to keep working!
To make the experience more fun, suggest that your pre-teen cleans while listening to their favourite tunes. Also, find out what they like doing and what they hate. Many kids actually like cleaning the floors or wiping down glass. Let them pick the chore they love and can own on an ongoing basis.
 
 
Age appropriate chores:
·      Wash the car
·      Help prepare easy to make meals
·      Assist with laundry duties

Ages 13+
After 13, your teenager should be capable of handling any cleaning task as long as you’ve instilled the importance of regular household chores. One thing parents need to keep in mind, however, is that teens often have a very busy schedule with school, extracurricular activities and (of course) their social life – all of which can often feel quite overwhelming. Make sure to keep up to date on what’s happening in their life each week and adjust chores according to exam days or big games. This way your teenager will not begin to resent cleaning – they’ll actually appreciate that you took the extra time to accommodate.

Kathy Buckworth is an award-winning writer, public speaker and television personalitty. She is the author of six books, including “I Am So The Boss of You: An 8 Step Guide to Giving Your Family The Business.”  Kathy helps Moms everywhere laugh and realise that balance is just something you need to do while putting on your peep-toe heels. And you are so the boss of them.
 

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From splashes of colour to decorative Easter-themed centrepieces, welcome spring into your home with easy décor ideas that will liven up your living space!

It’s real estate season, and the Canadian housing market is HOT as home buyers look to score the perfect space in their ideal place. Vancouver’s market shows no sign of simmering down, but how crazy is the market around this west coast city? We asked Love it or List it  Vancouver’s Todd Talbot for the low-down on buying a home in Vancouver.
 
What is the most desirable neighbourhood in your city and what are the qualities that make it so?
One of the amazing things about Vancouver, which has a lot to do with the unique geography, is that there are hundreds of amazing micro neighbourhoods that people find incredibly desirable. What makes Vancouver special is the natural beauty and the views. My personal real estate kryptonite is a view of the ocean and for that reason, I love the North Shore. West Vancouver has always been one of the most desirable because of the close neighbourhood feel, striking distance to downtown, beaches, boutique shops, and of course, the mountains in your backyard.  
 
Is there a "hidden gem" neighbourhood that you're excited about?
My hidden gem is Lions Bay! A little community of 500 homes that is 30 minutes from downtown with stunning views of Howe Sound and a place where you know all your neighbours. Even people who have grown up in Vancouver all their lives don't know where it is or how far "close" it is. I didn't even know before I bought my house there. 
 
Are there bidding wars in your city? How crazy do they get? Any good stories?
There are still bidding wars here in Vancouver. Nothing like it was a few years ago when people were losing their minds and paying way over asking. It's a more balanced market, which is way better for both buyer and seller in the long run. At one point in time, people were sleeping overnight to get in first to a new development as if it was a rock concert!! Not a great negotiating position. 
 
What are some trends in development?
One trend I am not too keen on is the idea that bigger is better. Builders are taking up the absolute maximum footprint and square footage allowable on a lot which gives a lot of space inside but gives no outside living space, jams houses together, limits light, and doesn't help with densification but only serves over indulgence. 
 
On the other hand, a trend I love is high ceilings. It is almost commonplace for new houses to have 9-12 foot ceilings in the main living spaces and even 9-10 ft. ceilings in basements and bedrooms. This is awesome to create a bright airy feeling and something that is very expensive to adjust later!
 
What are some predictors that a property in your city will increase in value?
There are many many factors that play into the rise in value - some are local influences like proximity to public transportation (new skytrain line) and some are global economic forces like interest rates. Here are three examples of what is driving prices in Greater Vancouver.

• In-migration is a huge indicator it's basic supply and demand. More people equals more demand and therefore prices increase. 
• Lack of land -- in Vancouver we have almost maxed out "buildable" residential areas which increases land values – driving prices. It is almost always land that is the true driver in value. The "improvement" or house is actually a depreciating asset.
• Jobs! If there are good paying jobs and a workforce that is making good money, people are more willing and able to invest in real estate, which increases demand. 

How much does an average 3-bedroom home in your city go for?
Remember when a million dollars meant you were mortgage free and retired??! Not in Vancouver anymore. In fact it's hard to find a detached house for that price point. The average price for a single-family detached house has soared to a record high of more than $1.36-million.
 

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Buying a Home in Canada: Todd Talbot on Vancouver Real Estate

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Vancouver’s market shows no sign of simmering down, but how crazy is the market around this west coast city? We asked Love it or List it Vancouver’s Todd Talbot for the low-down on buying a home in Vancouver.

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