The Hacks Life

The Hacks Life The Hacks Life is a guide to the modern remodel with a life hack style philosophy.

I will share my journey and what I’ve learned on everything from: how to determine if you can DIY your remodel project and how to give your budget super powers!

I know we are all supposed to be storing things in the cloud and digitizing stuff... but I'm just not ready to fully go ...
02/13/2023

I know we are all supposed to be storing things in the cloud and digitizing stuff... but I'm just not ready to fully go there yet.

Instead, I run a very inefficient dual storage strategy. Actually, it's triple storage strategy, but it helps me sleep at night... I store physical copies, I store electronic copies AND those electronic copies are on my external hard drive and in the cloud. Can't you see how much I trust technology? Regardless, I went researching for how LONG I needed to keep things and WHAT I needed to keep and this is what I found!

Reference it for a handy guide when you're purging through your places!

Here's to a better remodel: more beautiful and economical with less stress!

12/15/2021

🎁LAST MINUTE TEACHER GIFT 🎁

Original, purposeful, affordable, quick and easy Teacher Gifts?! It's a Christmas Miracle!

These spice boxes are hit every year and at about $30 each, they are tough to beat.

Here's the breakdown:
🌲Boxes, fill, tulle ribbon, bulk Bay Leaves, Whole Nutmeg, and Cinnamon Sticks all from .
🌲Spices (I like to use 4) can be any mix you like from your regular grocery store. I used Spice Islands because their pretty packaging matches my theme.
🌲Cute little Christmas tree tags snagged at TJMaxx.

A couple packaging tips:
- Use plenty of fill. You don't want things sloshing around too much when kiddos tote these to school.
- Tape the inside bottom of the box. It can get heavy and you don't want your insides to fall out!
- Be sure to include a note somewhere explaining the loose bay leaves, cinnamon and nutmeg should be saved and used. It's not just decoration!
- I like to add a festive pun for fun! "Seasonings Greetings" or Seasonings for the Season", whatever feels good.

They are so easy to put together, they look beautiful, they are perfectly practical- especially during this busy cooking season AND they smell amazing as soon as you open them up!

You are crushing the holidays! High Five! 🙌🏼

Our first holiday tip was "inspired" by the curmudgeonly conifer that fell over 4 times - one time literally on me, brok...
12/12/2021

Our first holiday tip was "inspired" by the curmudgeonly conifer that fell over 4 times - one time literally on me, broke 1/2 my best ornaments and my prized Christmas star (already once repaired by Melvin our Elf). If it didn't still have the rest of my christmas decor on it, I would have dragged it into the drive to show it who is boss.
But as Clark Griswold and Kevin McCallister taught us, it's not really the holidays without a little disaster.
Disclaimer: Yes, this tree is too big for this base. And yes, we were not using it properly. Nevertheless...

Being that I'm entirely too stubborn to give up, I used a couple holiday hacks to keep this SOB upright. I gave up trying to get the tree base to work on its own and the idea of having a straight tree was abandoned after fall #3.
I finally added a couple Quick-Grip clamps which did the trick. Some friends loaded their bases down with weights to keep their troublemakers upright, so I added a couple to mine for good measure.

All in all, the tree is still up and I'm grateful for it. Not only for the obvious reasons, but especially because it taught me quite a bit and pushed me to do new things with my holiday decorating.

More posts on this to follow!!

It seems to me that sometimes remodeling can become like a check-the-box exercise. You become so focused on the tasks th...
07/21/2021

It seems to me that sometimes remodeling can become like a check-the-box exercise. You become so focused on the tasks that you forget the art. There are so many tactical things to do- the nuts and bolts of a project- you can miss the little opportunities to do something really special.
This patio floor at @11.11.wines is a great example. They have a beautifully contemporary, smooth poured concrete patio with insets of large granite tiles. They could have done the whole floor in one or the other. However, this choice creates little conversation clusters like an area rug and just makes the whole space more interesting.
It's a little change. A lot of people would probably miss it, but is it undeniably one thing that takes this space from being just a patio to a magical outdoor nest perfect for connecting with friends.

Here's to a better remodel: more beautiful and economical with less stress!

The SMELLS in Napa Valley are beyond description, but I'll try...Mounds of lavender hang out with giant hedges of rosema...
07/20/2021

The SMELLS in Napa Valley are beyond description, but I'll try...

Mounds of lavender hang out with giant hedges of rosemary on nearly all the street corners. Jasmine and knockout roses stretch and trellis all over, like supporting characters fighting for center stage (and sometimes winning). Cedar planks wrap building after building in cozy masculine robes. And since Napa is so CLEAN, the scents all blend together on the breeze unaltered and are simply perfect. 

"The Proust Effect" is the exceptional ability that smells have to trigger memories — they say it's due to how close the olfactory processing system is to the memory hub in the brain.

Well all I can say is that I hope I inhaled deeply enough to stick these smells and the memories from this trip in my brain forever...

*FLASHBACK* Sometimes it seems like we've been renovating forever. Sometimes it feels like we just moved in and have so ...
04/19/2021

*FLASHBACK* Sometimes it seems like we've been renovating forever. Sometimes it feels like we just moved in and have so much left to do. I guess both are true.
The Maple Trace Project is like a migration. Slowly and steadily moving in a new direction.

This little corner of our home isn't a featured area- it's just a corner of the house. But wow, what a difference. It originally looked like a fallout shelter- something intentionally designed to disappear. Now, it catches your attention- which is exactly what made me snap this pic.
It's a happy little reminder to reflect on how far we've come.

Remodeling is tough people. Remember to take a moment to remember where you started and celebrate the progress you've made.

Here's to a better remodel: more beautiful and economical with less stress!

A RENO LESSON: Two years ago, one of our projects was robbed... twice. Turns out a team of thieves was targeting vacant ...
04/09/2021

A RENO LESSON: Two years ago, one of our projects was robbed... twice. Turns out a team of thieves was targeting vacant construction projects and stealing materials, tools, etc. They hit us once... and then again!
The local police department was excellent and had a whole sting operating running (complete with DNA, fingerprints and surveillance) to track the guys down- which they did.
The case with the state is now complete and we'll be getting monthly payments from the Florida Department of Corrections for the next 3-4 years.

Now I won't say the money we're receiving makes up for the stress, frustration, delays and loss of materials... but we've changed the way we renovate unoccupied properties and learned valuable lessons we won't need to learn again (for a third time)!

If you're renovating a vacant property:
- Avoid storing your building materials and tools at the property as much as you can.
- If you must store tools, invest in a lockable job box.
- If you're working in an area where crime is a risk, set up wifi and a Ring camera. It's worth it! These things can catch so much (our PD actually gave us ours to use as a part of the investigation).

Here's to a better remodel: more beautiful and economical with less stress!

02/08/2021

120 Followers, 104 Following, 96 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Shara Aboul-hosn: Reno Planner ()

01/19/2021

**KIDDO ART**
Little people art is one of my favorite things. Especially presented nicely in a frame or on a canvas. What I love even more, is the look on their sweet faces when they see their creations displayed as family treasures. Which is exactly what they are- both the artist and the art...

This quick video is an IKEA mashup:
* The IVAR cabinet configured into a full TV console/library is perfect for a playroom.
* These fantatic HEMMINGSBO frames have a hinges on the front and fit 8.5 x 11 paper perfectly. They make it so easy to swap out art!
* And no surprise, both are super affordable!

Here's to a better remodel: more beautiful and economical with less stress!

+DOOR REFRESH+These one-lite doors were originally a barely convincing shade of cedar (it was in so many places...). Ins...
01/11/2021

+DOOR REFRESH+
These one-lite doors were originally a barely convincing shade of cedar (it was in so many places...). Instead of replacing them or painting them basic white, we opted for a bit more drama and painted them Caviar black from Sherwin-Williams .
We love the contrast and how they instantly feel more modern...

Paint to the rescue again! These would have cost thousands to replace... the price to paint is so low it practically feels free!

Here's to a better remodel: more beautiful and economical with less stress!

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