First it was the roof, then the damp on the bedroom wall that needed sorting out and re-plastering.  They wanted a bespoke bed for their son’s room, but couldn’t find a carpenter who would do this type of work.  Not long after that a drip from the kitchen ceiling turned into a hole that needed repairing, due to some old and leaky plumbing in the bathroom above.

She was delighted to find out that we have a suppliers’ directory which has helped many of our clients find trustworthy, reputable tradesmen and suppliers.  We only list suppliers who can demonstrate that their work is high quality, professional and reliable.

So if you want

·         The best possible value for money

·         To be able to check referrals

·         Workmen to turn up on time

·         A written quotation

·         Advice about your repair/renovation/home improvement project

·         Peace of mind about the money you are spending

We seek out the best suppliers in each trade and add new suppliers who are recommended to us by existing clients.  We will only take on a supplier after careful evaluation of their business based on their reputation, guarantees, warranties and price.  Once they have been accepted as a partner supplier, we also keep an eye on their continued quality of service.

If you have a job that needs doing, talk to us about our vetted supplier list.  Why waste time trawling through Yell when we have done all the legwork for you?  Let us know what needs doing and we can even arrange it all for you!

There’s no denying that time is a precious thing and that for most people there is just never enough of it.  Even the most organised person seldom finds time to do the little – yet important – tasks on their unwritten ‘to do list’.

If I had an extra hour a day, there are so many things I could get round to doing.  Some of these would still be ‘chores’, like getting my wardrobe sorted out and clearing out the clutter in the bedroom.  Some of them would be much more enjoyable and quite important on a personal level, such as sorting out our family photographs and organising them into photo albums to browse through with the children – an activity they love very much, yet don’t get to do very often.  Other activities would be enriching to my soul and body, such as taking up dancing or getting stuck into the novel that I have wanted to write since I was ten years old.

One way of creating more time to do things that truly matter is to learn the basics of good time management, using the classic time management grid, which helps you to prioritise tasks into “urgent and important; important, but not urgent; urgent, but not important; and neither important nor urgent” .  Another simple rule to follow is what is known as the ‘pareto principle’ or the 80/20 rule, which means that results gained from a number of activities are usually a result of a relatively small percentage of the total activities.  What are the most productive activities in your daily routine, if you think about the ‘big picture’ of what you want to achieve in your job, your career or even in life? 

Now we are getting into the serious questions – when was the last time you sat down and just thought about what you really want out of life?  It is so easy to get stuck in the rut of our daily routines that we sometimes forget to take stock of what we have achieved so far and where we are going – and as the saying goes – if you don’t know where you are going, how will you ever know when you get there?

According to the famous self-help guru, Jack Canfield (author of Chicken Soup for the Soul) “there are only two words that will always lead you to success. Those words are yes and no. Undoubtedly, you’ve mastered saying yes.  So start practicing saying no”.  This means delegating and if you need someone trustworthy to delegate some of your daily tasks to there’s no-one better to ‘unload on’ than a lifestyle management professional. 

Perhaps you are one of the lucky few who manage to find time for everything you want to do, but have someone special in your life who could really use such a gift.  Perhaps the gift they would treasure most of all is some of your time…. 

What would you do if someone were to give you the gift of time?  Please share your thoughts here, or send us an email, if you prefer.

Sadly, cloning has not yet been perfected for humans, so that is not really an option, but there may be another solution.

Whether you are having a new kitchen or bathroom fitted and you want to keep an eye on things at home, but need to be at work, or have ordered a new washing machine, but can’t afford to sit around waiting for the delivery all day, Home Run can be there when you need to be somewhere else. 

Don’t have time to search for a suitable workman?  We can also recommend reliable and reputable local businesses to get the job done.

Planning a day out?  No need to rush back

You might have a great day out planned and don’t want to have to rush home early to feed the cat or walk the dog.  You could just forget about everything else for the day and let us take care of the important little things.

House hunting?  Don’t waste time viewing the ‘rejects’

If you are in the process of house-hunting, it is probably taking up huge chunks of your time.  Instead of weeding out all the unsuitable properties yourself, we could take a brief of what your ideal home would be, view the ‘suspects’ on your behalf and provide you with detailed feedback on the properties seen.  That way you only need to see the pick of the crop before making your decision.

Last minute crisis when you’ve made plans?

Have you ever found yourself having to rearrange a dinner party due to a last minute crisis at work?  Now there’s no need to cancel your plans:  we can help with last minute shopping or catering; we’ll make sure the house is spic & span and will even collect your favourite outfit from the dry-cleaners, so all you have to do is pour a glass of bubbly, put on your favourite music and get dressed before the guests arrive.

Secret 2 - If you can agree a more flexible working day try to access e-mails at home and on the move - this means if you have to leave you are not inaccessible and creates confidence in your ability to manage your job whether you are in the office or not.

Secret 3 Treat work and home committments the same - only have 1 diary. This means you can easily identify and manage clashes easily.

Secret 4 Have a list of things to do each day or Employ a lifestle management company to organise your daily chores.

Secret 5 Make your self visible - pick up phone calls and send e-mails first thing in the morning when working from home so everyone knows you are working - advise key contacts where you are working each day and refer to your home office rather than working at home.

Secret 2 - Act with integrity - very important if you are going to be influential over a sustained period. Manage your profile in the organisation - get to know people, speak in meetings - even if you only ask a questions- arrange to meet people for lunch. Consciously think about influencing people. Ask peoples advise - don’t pretend you know everything.

Secret 3 - have a clear mission/purpose, believe wholeheartedly in what you are doing and saying.

Secret 4 - trust your instinct if you sense something is brewing take the initiative and discuss it. Its far more likely to be resolved if you tackle it than if you hope it will go away. You’ll earn more respect this way.

Dordogne Holiday Home – Escape to “Les Girouteaux”

Welcome to Les Girouteaux a fabulous holiday home that sleeps 8 – 12 people and is situated in South West France right in the heart of the Dordogne in the Golden Triangle. The house is set in 1 hectare of gardens and is situated in the village of Les Eyzies De Tayac which is the one of the most famous sites for exploring pre history. The house offers excellent facilities and enjoys beautiful views of the garden and surrounding valley.

The Main House, La Maison Bleu, has many features including 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with shower and bath separate WC, spacious living and dining area, large secluded patio with BBQ.

The Small Gite, La Petite Maison, is an attached but independent annex with 1 bedroom, separate bathroom with shower and bath,  large living and dining area with double bed settee if required, private patio with BBQ,

During High Season the two houses are rented as 1 unit. During the rest of the year the small gite can be rented separately if required.

The houses are very well equipped with everything you need for a perfect holiday in the Dordogne.

The houses are situated on the edge of the village that provides all the local amenities you require such as bakery/patisserie, butcher, small supermarket, post office/cash machine, tourist office, cafes, restaurants, bars. There is also access to the river Vezere where you can picnic, swim or hire canoes.

There is a museum of prehistory and a fabulous collection of prehistoric sites including the Font de Gaume. Bicycle hire is available from the Tourist office and if you are a horse lover there is a fabulous riding school for treks through the surrounding countryside (all ages and abilities are catered for).

All around within a short distance of Les Eyzies are the sights and cultural events that the Dordogne Valley is famous for. Sarlat the medieval market town, with its Michelin starred restaurants and cafes and famous street markets and stalls is a 20 minute drive, Limuel a ‘Beau Villages’ is where the Dordogne and Vezere rivers split and is an place of outstanding beauty.

The area surrounding Les Girouteaux is full of things to do and places to see from castles, prehistory, beau villages, bastide towns to wine tasting, gourmet restaurants, swimming and canoeing. The area is perfect for friends and families to enjoy a stimulating but relaxing holiday with a wealth of new things to view and do.

The Houses and Garden

La Maison Bleu

‘A truly memorable home from home but without the hassle and everyday stress’

The house sleeps 8 – 10 people over two floors. On the first floor there are 3 bedrooms and a shower room and toilet. Each bedroom contains a pedestal fan for additional comfort during the hot summer. On the ground floor is another large bedroom and a bathroom with shower and bath and a separate WC.

There is a large open plan living area with a log burner and a well equipped kitchen with everything you would need to cater for the largest group. The dining area seats up to 12 people and there are French doors leading onto a large patio with table and chairs and a BBQ, with views over the gardens and surrounding countryside.

La Petite Maison

‘A small but exquisitely appointed pied a terre’

The small house sleeps 2 – 3 people over 1 floor. There is a double bedroom and a bathroom with bath and shower. The bedroom contains a pedestal fan for additional comfort during the hot summer. The open plan living area with a log burner contains a double bed settee – ideal for a family with very young children – and there is a well equipped kitchen and dining area – the walls are exposed stone keeping the gite cool during the day. There is a private patio area leading onto the courtyard with table and chairs and a BBQ.

Both the ground floor of La Maison Bleu and La Petite Maison are well suited to assist people with limited mobility.

The lovely enclosed courtyard leads into the garden with mature tress and planting and a brook runs all the way through the grounds.

The swimming pool is fully enclosed for additional safety and encompasses a large sun deck with sunloungers and parasols so you can enjoy the views over the garden and surrounding countryside.

There is also a childrens play area with enclosed trampoline, sandpit and swings.

There is plenty of room in the grounds for ball games and lots of great places for hide and seek.

At the bottom of the garden runs the small tributary river La Beune, this is an ideal place for a spot of fishing in peace and tranquillity (no licence is needed as this is private land). There is also a picnic area

and chairs if required.

Driveway – there is ample parking for 3-4 vehicles.

Learning something new every day, sports and culture came next on the list of things that help to maintain a balanced lifestyle, but for people who work away from home it can be difficult to find time for any of these.

A typical scenario would probably be: arrive home late on Friday night, exhausted after sitting in a traffic queue for hours and fall into bed soon after wolfing down a quick TV meal if you could be bothered.  Have a much earned lie-in on Saturday morning and get started on the laundry, then go and do the grocery shopping and drop of a suit at the dry-cleaners.  Water the plants, if there are any left alive, have lunch and maybe catch up on some work before ending up in front of boring Saturday night TV, because all your friends have already made arrangements.

For men who work away from home the problem is often solved by having a partner who can take care of things like arranging social activities and taking care of the chores, but women tend to have to ‘do it all’.  All work and no play can lead to stress, which takes its toll on your health long-term.

The solution?  Why not give some lifestyle management experts a try?  The staff at Home Run understand what it’s like to be too busy to fit everything in and will help you to achieve the kind of lifestyle you would prefer to have.  Perhaps you would like to take up a new weekend activity like pottery or archery, but would like a partner to come along?  Maybe you need a new outfit for a wedding you’ve been invited to, but can’t find time to shop for one?  Perhaps you simply need someone to make sure the plants have been watered while you’ve been away and make sure that there is milk and bread in the fridge, along with some other essentials you might need.

You work hard enough during the week to deserve a proper break at the weekend, so talk to us about how we can help you get your social life back.  With Home Run organising the things you don’t want to have to deal with, all you need to think about when you get back from working away, is enjoying the weekend.

Our first really useful tip is for baby wipes :

 Baby wipes can be used for far more than just cleaning babies bottoms, they’re great for cleaning your hands after filling the car with petrol and cooling down after exercise. In fact they are great travel companions - if you don’t want to carry a container, pack a few wipes in a self sealing sandwich bag and keep in your glove compartment or handbag.

The empty containers can be used in many useful ways including :
Storing plastic bags for reuse when shopping each container can hold up to 30 - 40 bags - once you’ve squeezed the air out of them .

Hold towels or rags for use when cleaning the car or in the garage for wiping up spills.

Fact of the Week

DID YOU KNOW - cold cream is cold because it is made with a lot of water that evaporates and cools your warm face. Cold cream is one of the oldest facial ointments and was invented around about AD157.

Cold cream is  brilliant for removing temporary tattoos. Rub cold cream into the tattoo to loosen and gently rub off using a facecloth. Brilliant!

This is probably not great news if you are planning a move soon, but don’t despair, help is near.  Home Run can help a move go as smoothly as possible and will take care of most of the jobs that need to be done before, during and after the moving process. 

One of the first steps when moving is obviously to sell your home.   If your house is not entirely as presentable as you would like it to be, we can provide a ‘home staging’ service  to help you impress potential buyers.  A good spring clean will also help you to get rid of some of the clutter you have been meaning to get rid of for years and will make unpacking less of a chore later on.

The run up to Moving Day can be exhausting, as well as very time consuming.  For people who need to work long hours, it can be very difficult to take time out for all the packing and organising.  Well, ‘Organized’ is our middle name, so we can make sure that everything is sensibly packed and labelled so that you know where to find what you are looking for once you arrive at your new home, without having to unpack all fifty boxes first! 

We can also ensure that you have a ‘moving day essentials’ box handy for when you get there and want to make a cup of tea/change a light bulb/visit the loo (when the previous owners have taken everything, including the loo paper).

If you need help with handing over keys or picking them up when you need to be somewhere else, we can sort that out for you too. 

As for unpacking – that can be just as much of a marathon task as the actual packing and often boxes will sit around unopened for weeks before they are emptied of their contents.  This could be due to a lack of time, energy or storage space, but we can make sure that your new home is comfortable and clutter free as soon as possible.

Of course you will want to let all your friends, utility suppliers and other contacts know that you are moving.   We can make sure that your mail is redirected and let people know where to find you (or at least the ones that you want to be stay in touch with J). 

Next time you move, why not see it as something to look forward to instead of worrying about?  Save yourself the stress and let us help you to have a ‘smooth move’.