Community Building

Storage tips that’ll make packing up jollier.

Decking the halls is good fun and all, but shuffling through piles of wreaths, lights, ornaments, dreidels, wrapping paper, and stockings is nothing to fa la la about. 

Cut back on the holiday overwhelm with these organization ideas for your festive gear.

#1 Make a Holiday Closet

Instead of doing a holiday-themed scavenger hunt each November, put all your holiday gear in a single closet. You'll keep it dust-free, together, and at your fingertips. Since this closet will be all holidays, all the time, leave some of your decorations out and use them to adorn the space. Easy to find and festive; it's a twofer.

If your closet is unfinished, use the space between the wall studs to store hanging items.

Don’t come home to a nightmare and the feeling of being invaded. Here how to stop a house burglary from ever happening.

You come home to an open front door, a ransacked house, and missing valuables. How did a burglar know you’d be gone? How did they get in? 

Here are nine tips from a burglar's perspective about how to keep them out. And try these home security tips to prevent burglary, too.

#1 Put Ladders Away

Call me a social climber if you will, but I love ladders. They make it so easy to reach a second-story window. I really love it when upper story openings aren’t wired to a home security system. 

So, if you want to keep me out, store your ladder in the basement or a locked garage. And call your security company to wire upper-story

Quick-and-easy tasks that’ll brighten up your interior.

December.

The year's coming to an end. Time to do four small tasks for a bright (and money-saving) new year.

#1 Clean Light Bulbs and Fixtures

Two great reasons to clean your light bulbs: You want as much light in your house as you can get as the days grow shorter, and, you'll save money.

Dirty bulbs apparently shed 30% less light than clean ones, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Wipe bulbs with a cloth dampened by a mix of 1 oz. dish soap, ¼ cup white vinegar, and 3 cups of water. Get to it Dec. 1 so you're ready for the curtain fall on the shortest day of this year: Dec. 21.

#2 Evaluate Homeowner's Insurance

The holidays. You love them, but they do seem to eat

Good Neighbors are REALTORS® and Affiliates that dedicate themselves to volunteer service. They donate gifts, money, and most importantly, a lot of time to their charity.

REALTOR® Myra Herrmann has been recognized as a Good Neighbor recipient because of her contributions to Cloud Dancers Therapeutic Horsemanship Program. This local non-profit has provided hundreds of disabled individuals the opportunity to therapeutically interact with horses to address cognitive, physical, emotional, and social well-being.

Those who respond to therapeutic riding include individuals with Down Syndrome, Autism, MS, paralysis, amputations, ADD, ADHD, developmental delays, Cerebral Palsy, brain injuries, strokes, drug or alcohol abuse, hearing and vision

Save time and money while adding touches of awesomeness to your yard.

We're all about indulging in Starbucks' latest seasonal concoction or this season's "it" bag. (OK, maybe a knockoff version of this season's "it" bag.) Trends are just plain fun — and they keep things interesting. But they also, by definition, are hip today and potentially worthless tomorrow.

And that's not exactly a recipe for success when it comes to your home and the first impression it gives. While a green lawn might be a safe bet to keep your home's value intact, let's face it: It's boring. 

For a little outdoor drama that won't cost much (and actually saves money and time instead), try these landscaping trends:

#1 Build a Rain Garden for Colorful Blooms

What's not

The New Mexico Association of REALTORS® has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the REALTORS® Relief Foundation to be distributed to victims of the Wildfires that are affecting New Mexico, destroying more than 800 residential properties to date.

Funded through donations from REALTORS® and REALTOR® organizations and administered by the New Mexico Association of REALTORS® and the REALTOR® Relief Foundation, the grant will provide eligible applicants up to $2,000 of assistance per household impacted by the recent fires. Funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis to qualified applicants, victims of the New Mexico wildfires who have been displaced from their primary residence, based upon certain qualifications.

The funds must be

No-water and low-water ideas for a drought-friendly yard.

Drought happens everywhere, not just in arid climates. So, how do you get to have a beautiful, lush, low-maintenance yard that doesn't need watering when the temps approach triple digits with no rain in sight? 

Take a cue from homeowners in those arid climates. They know how to survive heat waves. And they're experts on drought-resistant plants. You'd be surprised how well some of those low-water plants work in less dry conditions. Here's how to have a yard you need to water less.

Plant Hardy, Drought-Tolerant Plants

Cacti and succulents — the camels of the plant world — are synonymous with Southwest gardening but turn out to be pretty hardy elsewhere as well. They can add color,

REALTOR® Belinda Franco was selected as a Good Neighbor recipient because of her contributions to Luggage for Kids, a non-profit administered by Red Mountain Family Services.

 
Red Mountain Family Services provides Treatment Foster Care and Home Placement for emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children. Luggage for Kids provides new luggage to foster children with the hope that this small kind act will provide a sense of being cared for and respected. 

Belinda was an older foster child and understands the indignity a child feels when provided a trash bag for their belongings. Her determination to bring awareness to this issue by holding suitcase drives has inspired other brokers to pitch in. This effort has resulted in

Don’t open the windows. That spring breeze is no help at all.

Once there's even a glimmer of spring, you're ready to throw open your windows and let the breeze blow away the winter funk. Well, you might want to rethink that spring cleaning ritual this year.

If you're an allergy sufferer (and who isn't?), that's the last thing you want to do, says Dr. Neeta Ogden, a spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. "It will allow pollen to settle in your home."

If you really can't skip that spring breeze, avoid opening windows in the morning, when pollen counts are highest. They decrease late in the day and at night.

That's not the only common spring-cleaning mistake homeowners make. Here are eight more to avoid:

#1

In New Mexico, 1 in 10 children will experience the death of a parent or sibling before they reach 18. Unaddressed grief is likely to result in negative outcomes in a child’s life.

The Children’s Grief Center provides free grief support services for families after the death of a loved one and each year they serve about 700 New Mexicans.

Mark Rickert is a Good Neighbor

REALTOR® Mark Rickert was named a Good Neighbor recipient for his contributions to the Children’s Grief Center of New Mexico. At the age of 15, Mark experienced the death of his mother and understands the feelings of a grieving child.

For the past six years, Mark has volunteered for the Grief Center by serving on the Board of Directors and the Building Committee. In