Come home to this single family, 3 bedroom / 2 bath,...

W...

Historic charm and an open floor plan make this row home at 3301 E Baltimore St. ideal. For instance, there is storage galore with original architectural details peppered throughout...

Thanks to Clean Sweep for this episode of Tips from the Pros about dryer cleaning and home safety.

Putting off dryer cleaning keeps our dryers from working at their peak efficiency at best and can cause dryer fires in our home at worst. Around 3,000 dryer fires are reported per year, and 34% of them take place due to a lack of routine maintenance. During the humid summer months of Baltimore, the risk of dryer fires is at an all-time low. As we move into fall and winter, however, the risk will only grow.

Signs That Dryer Vents Are Overdue for Cleaning

• Clothes are not dry after a normal drying cycle
• A lingering musty odor clings to your clothes
• When you open the dryer, clothes are unusually hot to the touch
• When using the dryer, the vent hood flap does n...

In this issue of my Monthly Item of Value learn how something’s phishy in your emails these days.

Do you know how to tell if cybercriminals have gone “phishing” for your personal information? Learn to spot the red flags of a suspicious email so the identity thieves never get their big catch!

Always think before you click on any links in your emails. If something is suspicious, don’t click! If it appears to be an email from your cellphone provider, go to their website. Do not click on the link. Log into your account and see if the company has sent you a message.

Look at the email, not the name of the sender to see if it’s really from the company it claims to be...

Thanks to L. K. Benson for sharing this blog about planning ideas 2021.

Since March 2020, the world learned just how dangerous the COVID-19 virus could be. We have all been mostly in reactive mode. Offices and schools were closed so we learned to work from home while the kids learned remotely. The markets plummeted so we harvested tax losses and rebalanced portfolios. Tax deadlines changed and stimulus bills were passed. We sorted through pages of new legislation to help our clients navigate the new rules. 

There are significant potential changes looming in the tax and estate planning area. Now is the time to shift back into proactive mode...

Thanks to the University of Maryland / Maryland Grows this informative article on natural lighting for indoor plants.

Key points

• Light is probably the most essential factor for healthy indoor plant growth. The energy derived from photosynthesis depends on the amount of intercepted light by leaves.
• Indoor plants can be classified according to their light needs and tolerances — high, medium, or low. Select indoor plants according to the availability of natural light in your home. Otherwise, you will need to supplement light with artificial lighting. 
• The three important aspects of indoor light are intensity, duration, and quality.  Each one has a different impact on the plant.

Light intensity

• Footcandles (FC) is the unit of mea...

Thanks to Cindy Bernstein of Aim4Order for this episode of Tips from the Pros with her blog about things we stockpile for no reason.

We learned from our parents not to waste anything that can be useful. Don’t waste food. Don’t waste money. Waste not, want not. It’s time to consider what you really need and what is clutter.

If you go to events, not that there have been many over the past year and a half, there are often giveaway items that can accumulate into clutter. Events like the State Fair, Towsontown Festival, senior fairs or other events often have vendors who will give away items that have their logo on them.

These items can include tote bags, lip balm, tape measures, drink cozies, note pads, chip clips, keychains and pens...

Get tips on how to master the art of listening in this issue of my Monthly Item of Value.

Have you ever noticed how the strongest communicators are also the best listeners? To effectively communicate with somebody, you must be able to hear them out and meet them where they are. If you aren’t actively listening, you could be missing a big part of that person’s experience.

Avoid distractions like looking at your cell phone. Don’t get preoccupied and stay in the present. Don’t just focus on the facts, but consider the speaker’s point of view. What the speaker and look at the body language that goes along with the spoken words.

Take a moment to absorb what the person said before you respond with your comments.

Work on your EQ, emotional intelligence. Be more empathetic...