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How to Find a Good Locksmith!

Stephen Curtis

So I was recently with a friend in Bournemouth for the weekend and she actually got locked out of her house because her handbag got stolen.

So I figured I might as well write my next blog post about how to find a good and reliable locksmith as the first company we called seemed like they were a bit dodgy! And it actually took a little bit of digging to find a good company so I decided that I might as well write about my experience in finding a good locksmith in case you ever need one.

But I also hope that you will never actually be in a position were you’re going to need a locksmith because it was honestly quite stressful for my friend to be locked out of the house. I really felt for her! The poor thing 🙁

Tip #1: Request a Estimate over the Phone

The first tip that I will recommend is to get an estimate over the phone.

On the first call with the first company that I spoke to I asked for the price and it seemed reasonable. Then when I called the next company the price was almost double and the third company was somewhat in the middle of the first two with their price range. So I would definitely recommend to make phone calls and request an estimate for the locksmith work that you need done.

Tip #2: Timing of the Locksmith Arriving

The next tip is about timing. If you are stuck in an emergency situation and you need a locksmith to come out to you right then and there on the spot it might cost you three or four times the normal fee. So what I suggest is when you have a locksmith come out to your property do it their schedule when it fits in. If you are not in an emergency situation that is.

That’s just a little tip to save you some money. What happened with me and my friend is when we found out about this after making some phone calls to different locksmith companies in Bournemouth we actually just went and grabbed lunch and waited until it was time for the locksmith to show up at her home and this actually saved us money.

Tip #3: Use a Local Locksmith Company

The next tip is to definitely to use a local locksmith company. When we first got locked out of the house I helped my friend search on my phone and we ended up calling some national company and we somewhat got treated like just a number I felt. When I called I a local company I actually ended up speaking to the wife of the locksmith whose name was Debbie as she actually runs the companies office for this particular locksmith in Bournemouth that we called. She answered all our questions and we ended up going with that company because they gave us the confidence in themselves.

I hope that these tips actually help you if you’re ever in a situation where you need a locksmith. Or if you’re considering to replace locks on your home or get some upgrades to a new locking system then I hope the tips have helped. At the end of the day we actually ended up going with Abacus Locksmiths in Bournemouth. Check out their Facebook if you like. And after we Googled them and did research on our phones we found out that they’re actually one of the highest rated locksmiths in Bournemouth so we definitely recommend them if you’re in Bournemouth and need a locksmith.

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How to Move Countries!

Stephen Curtis

Ok this is my mini guide or blog post rather on a few tips when it comes to moving from one country to another.

As you might know if you read more about me I recently moved from the states to the UK. This blog post is kind of a continuation on my moving countries series and cultural differences that come with moving. So here we go. Here are my top tips when it comes to moving countries:

Tip #1 – Rolling Clothes

Ok so this is more about traveling on the plane and a long journey. You can only take so much with you if you don’t want to get charged crazy excess baggage fees. So roll your clothes. If you have a two day journey ahead of you then you will need like 10 sets of clothes if you are like me.

Rolling clothes takes up a lot less space in your carry on bags and everything stays more organized compared to just throwing everything in your backpack.

Tip #2 – Use Packing Crates

Sending boxes internationally is not fun. I’ve done it before and boxes get so beaten up. I’ve also run an import/export business in the past so I know first hand how boxes get thrown around. Things break easily. When you are moving it’s best to get packing crates. They can be expensive but you will keep them for the rest of your life.

If you can’t do this they make sure you buy really heavy duty reinforced boxes. If you moving from the states like I was you can get them from Lowes. The cost a few dollars a box but they are worth it.

Tip #3 – Sell!

Sell, sell and sell some more! Trust me on this. I sold a big of my stuff but not near enough.

When you are moving countries things get expensive. And when I looked at everything I was going to send to the UK in my move most of it was old and had no meaning. I added up the cost of getting a moving quote from a company that would do a door to door service for me and if I had to buy everything again.

In the end I basically sold off half my stuff. I’m not the type of person who has years of  things lying around. So for my husband and I think was a good play. It might not be for you but at least sell some stuff off. You can move stuff quite fast on Craigslist and eBay.

Tip #4 – Don’t Mix, Match!

When it comes down to it you will be going half way around the world and once you are here you have to unpack and start a new life.

You can do yourself a favour when you’re moving if you mix everything up. But rather match it up. And label it! Put all your shoes in a few boxes. Put all your clothes in the same boxes. Put all your electronics in the same boxes. And then label them. And a neat trick is to label the boxes with some system. for example 1A, 1B, 1C and so on. And keep some notes on your phone so you know what each label means.

As you don’t want a box going missing that just so happened to say ‘designer shoes’ on the outside!

Tip #5 – Research Moving Companies

When it comes down to it do some research. It’s so easy get online these days and do some research about the moving company that you are planning to hire. Google has reviews. Facebook has reviews. There are lots of reviews sites just for moving companies also. I actually decided to use a moving company that was not in the town I was moving to.

My situation was kind of different though with my husband. I used a normal courier service to get all our stuff to the UK. We stayed with friends in Swindon for about 10 days before we moved to Bristol. They had a spare garage they didn’t use and a spare bedroom plus we had not caught up for years! So it was perfect!

I did my research and found a local company (https://www.wemoveandclean.co.uk/) that does moving from Swindon to Bristol and based my choice on the fact that they had about 200 reviews and basically everything was 5 stars!

So there you have it. These are my five quick tips on moving homes.

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Dealing with Ugly Stained Carpets! – A DIY Failed Attempt!

Stephen Curtis

Ok so here we go with my next blog post on moving homes and do I have a story for you!

When we got to our place in Bristol we found ugly stains on the carpets. The place was empty except for the bed and some wardrobes. And right in the middle of the living room it seemed like someone had just decided to empty say about one liter of coke on the carpet! I honestly didn’t know what it was! I was quite shocked actually.

But in the end we got it sorted out and what would life be without its little surprises right? Live would be boring! I love a challenge! So here are a few tips I found online that I pieced together into a process and this basically worked for me. And I failed in the end. More on that later 🙁

Empty Spray Bottles

First of all I bought an empty spray bottle as I knew a dried stain needed to be made wet again. Is that how you would describe it? Anyhow, what I mean is the stain is dry and when you add water it brings the liquid out of the carpet a bit. So a spray bottle can do this in a controlled way. You do want to just poor water on the carpet! Please don’t do that!

Baking Soda And Vinegar

Next up I found out that you can use baking soda and vinegar to bring stains out. So what I did was just went to the store and bought some every day vinegar. I put three tablespoons of the stuff into the spray bottle and then filled it to the top with water. Then I sprayed the stain and sprinkled baking soda on the top.

Simple right!

It literally was that simple. I let the carpet dry and then I vacuumed it up. It got most of the stain out.

Call A Professional

At the end of the day when I looked at the stain it was quite bad. I did a very good job but it just seemed like something was off in the end. My friend Paul runs a carpet cleaning company in Newcastle so I gave him a call. He asked me to send him so photos and then he just laughed. I was not expecting that but after I went to his site and looked at the work he does and how clean stains should be after then get done professionally I realised how I messed up.

He actually said I was lucky as my DIY job didn’t ruin the carpet permanently. So a long story short he told me that I needed to call a professional to come out and sort out my carpet. I did exaclty that. Buy hey I tired! And the good part if my husbands work covered the cleaning costs. So I we were happy with that!

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Differences Between USA & The UK

Stephen Curtis

So here we go! My first blog post! Like I said back when I started my blog up again I moved from the states to Britain a little while ago. So why not start off my blog with a post about that. In the end my blog post is just my own ramblings anyhow. Me writing about what is on my mind at the end of the day.

Living Costs

Okay – yes, the British pound is “more mightily powerful” than the dollar, and for the most part the UK is more pricey. And yes, income levels are less than the United States for comparable. And taxes, don’t get me started but to be short with VAT added to everything at 20% vs the small percentage in the states. Well, all I can say is wow! The UK is expensive.

But it’s all relevant right. It’s not like you are earning in US dollars and buying in pounds. You’re earning quid and spending quid so it’s not all that bad really.

Housing

Shocked! That’s a good way to put it! I had a nice 4 bedroom home with my husband in New Orleans. I’m living in an apartment building next to Cabot Circus in Bristol right now. We are renting a 2 bedroom place. We are fortunate to do well. But we pay £1,500 per month. Crazy! For that price we would have the biggest place back in the states. But we are in the center of town and don’t actually need a car at all with how accessible everything is.

If you go a little bit into the suburbs you get little cute town houses and you would have more room. But because of my husbands work and us getting a extra money supplemented through his work to cover as long as we rented central we decided to go for the apartment.

Once day I do want to live in a cute country side English cottage!

Coffee? No! Tea or Coffee?

This one I love. In the states everyone drinks coffee. It’s just how it is.

But in England so many people drink tea it’s wild. I know it’s a cultural thing and has been around for centuries but to experience it first hand is so strange when you see so many people drinking tea instead of coffee. When you go into a small cafe to get lunch there is literally a entire page on every menu you look at dedicated to tea. And if it’s not an entire page they have at least twenty types of teas you could order that they could serve up.

I quickly grown accustom to having a ‘cuppa’ as they say. English breakfast tea is my favorite so far.

And spelling is another thing. I just spelt favorite the American way. In England you use ‘favourite’. I’m getting better and I find my writing is now a mix of US English and British English. I’ll get there!

So that is it for now. I’ll be back soon with my next blog soon!

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Welcome to Kelly’s Place!

Stephen Curtis

Welcome to my new blog.

I’m so excited to get back into blogging once again! I used to blog a lot a few years ago when I was in the states. I recently moved over to the UK though. So I figured why not start blogging again!

If you want to read more about me then head over to my story.

Stay tuned! As I’ll be back at it blogging away about different things very soon!

With Love,
Kelly ?

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