The Living Room

Fall is an excellent time for family and friends to cozily gather in your living room, making it one of the hardest places to keep clean. From disheveled throw blankets to squashed couch cushions keep your living room neat with these few tips.

• Remove any unwanted smells from your furniture by lightly sprinkling baking soda on the upholstery. Let it settle in your couch and chairs for twenty minutes, and use a vacuum hose to get the powder off your furniture.

• Spot clean any spills or stains that have set into your cushions or pillows.

• If able, gently machine wash your pillow covers with cold water.

  The Kitchen

Cold weather means less grilling in your backyard and more cooking in your kitchen. The kitchen is where most of your family gatherings happen throughout the day, making it, even more, messier during the fall and winter months. Make a little time after dinner to complete easy tasks that can be worked into your dinner clean up.

• Clean off and wipe down the countertops and kitchen appliances.

• Sweep and vacuum those hard to reach corners to dust away any hidden crumbs. Underneath the refrigerator should be the first spot!

• Give your sink a deep clean with these Stainless Steel Sink cleaning and care tips.

The Bathrooms

Keeping your bathroom sparkling clean is essential no matter the season. Our Forty West master bathroom is where homeowners freshen up for the start and end of their days. Keep your cleaning space clean and make sure the bathroom is prepped for the cold months approaching!

• Clean off the countertops and organize any toiletries you have in your bathroom cabinets.

• Wipe down the mirrors with a simple glass cleaning solution.

• Use Tilex to clean and wipe down your showers and tubs for a fresh finish.

• Wipe down the bathroom baseboards.

The Bedrooms

The bedroom is the designated room for sleeping! With the days growing shorter and the nights get colder you’ll want to cozy up in your bed on those brisk fall nights. Make sure your bedroom is the ideal spot to unwind after dinner and gently doze off to sleep.

• Change your bedding from the lightweight linens of summer to heavy-duty comforters you’ll need for winter.

• Dust off your ceiling fan with a microfiber cloth and set the blades to move clockwise to circulate heated air.

• Pick up and put away and clothes and other belongings. Now would be the best time to store all your summer and spring clothing and hang up this winter sweaters and jackets.

Open Your Windows At Night

During most summers, evening temperatures can get to an average of seventy degrees. Try opening your windows at night time to allow some of the cool air to circulate through your entire home. You’ll be astonished at how quickly the cold air brings the temperature down!

Closing Curtains And Blinds During The Day

A good amount of heat seeping into our homes comes from leaving the curtains and blinds open throughout the day. And due to the greenhouse effect, this heat is unable to escape, leaving your home feeling like a heat box on hottest days of the summer. Try closing your blinds during the day to block out the suns rays from entering the house. Doing this can lower the temperature of your home by twenty degrees!

Fan Tunnel

We’re getting a little more strategic with how we use our fans this summer! Use a fan to create tunnels of cool air entering your Forty West home. Slightly crack a window on the main floor (preferably the living room). Then, widely open another window on the second floor on the opposite side of your home and turn the fan on in front of your second-floor window.  As the heat begins to rise you’ll quickly get the hot air out and keep the cool air in.

Open The Doors

Keeping your doors open may one of the easiest things you can do to keep the temperatures low. Keeping the doors open in your home allows the cool air to circulate freely through every room in your house.

Planting Shade Trees

The right tree at the right place at the right time can make a world of difference when it comes to cooling your home. No, planting a tree in front of your windows will not immediately provide shade to your house, but tree’s and other plants add color and beauty to the landscape. Over time your planted trees will prove their resourcefulness.

Grill More

Any usage of a stovetop or oven is bound to increase the temperature in your home almost instantly. Keep the heat outside by grilling a little more this summer. No need to stuff yourselves full of hotdogs or hamburgers, try cooking some (or most) of your daily meals on the grill with these everyday grilling recipes!

Backyard Attractions

No need to head to the crowded amusement parks this Memorial Day Weekend! You and the kids will have all the amusement you need with this more than life sized unicorn sprinkler.

Need For Speed

Keep your need for speed close to home! Twenty minutes away from our Montclair community in Ellicott City, is the famed Autobahn Indoor Speedway. This premeir go-kart center offers professionally designed Grand Prix-style tracks that the entire family will love!

Try Something New

This one’s easy! Give that new restaurant in town a try! Try the Peach Melba French Toast for brunch at Rock Salt Grille in Carroll County. In the mood for fresh Chesapeake Bay seafood? Head to Libs Grill of Maple Lawn in Howard County for a Maryland Crab Cake.

Pool Day

What’s a staycation without going for a dip? Make your way to the Hopewell Mini Water Park in Columbia!.This community pool offers a large slide, “sprayground”, shaded structures, and a snackbar! There is a small fee for non-club members

Enjoy your staycation!

Howard County

Sonoma’s Bar and Grill

Located in the heart of Columbia, Sonoma’s Bar and Grill is an established sports bar known for their friendly atmosphere. Enjoy their specials as you watch Nats!

Unplugged Restaurant & Sports Bar

Loaded with flat screen TV’s mounted over the bar, this sports bar is a must for Nat’s fan looking for a fun and lively atmosphere?

Stained Glass Pub

This restaurant & bar offer outstanding entertainment packed with big screen TV’s that are picture perfect when it comes to watching your favorite baseball teams.

Carroll County

The Upper Deck Sports Bar

Wings, flat, screens, beer, and more wings! What else does a sports bar need! Gather your friends for the perfect mix of good food and good times when watching the Orioles game this season.

Glory Days

The Glory Days in Eldersburg provides the perfect  Orioles game day experience. Savor your favorite beer during happy hour paired with Glory Days famous 24 Karat Gold Wings.

Players Bar and Grill

Don’t miss a moment of the Orioles games this season at Players Bar and Grill. The 6 foot HD TV screen allows fans to watch every home run as if they were in Camden Yards!

Watching the game from home? Try these game day tricks and treats to hit a home run with your guest!

DIY Peanut Decorations

Baseball Photo Booth

Texas Tommy Hot Dogs

Timing is Everything

It’s important to have your timing down to a science. Certain plants need to be planted in specific climates during certain times of spring to ensure a full bloom. You can check both at the United States Department of Agriculture’s plant hardiness zone map.

Location, Location, Location!

When it comes to plants (like real estate) location is everything. Some plants require a great deal of sunshine, while some need to be kept cool in the shade. Many plants require partial sunshine and shade for nourishment. Read your plants description to discover what locations fits best. Consider placing your plant on  wheels or a small trolley to easily move it from sun to shade.

Compost

Compost is the key to any successful garden and is considered “black gold” to expert gardeners. Creating your own compost is simple, just save any food waste, especially egg shells, coffee grinds, and apple cores. Allow your food waste to curate for at least three months before adding it to your garden.

Trimming and Pruning

Trimming and pruning is important for getting the most of your garden. This limits the chance of  pest and parasites and allows for increased circulation throughout your entire garden.

Quenching Your Gardens Thirst

Watering the plants in your garden is essential! As your sprouts begin to grow limit your watering to inch of water per week. Make sure your not watering your plants leaves directly as this can cause the plant to mold and rot. Be on the lookout for yellow leaves as they signify your plants may be getting too much water.

Best Garden Plants for Maryland

Here’s a quick list of plants native to Maryland that would bloom beautifully in your garden this spring:

• Amsonia blue ice

• Pickerel weed

• Geranium Macrorrhizum

• Broad-leaved cattail

• Heliopsis Summer Sun

• Northern bayberry

Main Street Ellicott City near Montclair

The Antique Depot
3720 Maryland Avenue | Ellicott City, MD

The Antique Depot is an antiques, vintage, and collectibles mall housing about 70 different small businesses, with four floors of quality items and new arrivals every day.

Forget Me Not Factory
8044 Main Street | Ellicott City, MD

In the largest and one of the oldest buildings in the heart of Historic Ellicott City, Forget Me Not has three floors loaded with items ranging from Dept. 56 Villages, dragons, fairies, toys, jewelry, SnowBabies, costumes and more!

Sweet Elizabeth Jane
8125 Main Street | Ellicott City, MD

This vintage-style lifestyle store has a mix of women’s clothing, fun accessories, gifts and home décor.

A Journey From Junk
8249 Main Street | Ellicott City, MD

This quirky and fun gift shop has everything from gag gifts, box quotes, to t-shirts, funky socks, old fashioned candy and everything in between!
Downtown Westminster near Jacob’s Ridge

Unique Jewelry
15 E. Main Street Suite 113 | Westminster, MD

Unique Jewelry features work from many individual creative artists as well as jewelry suppliers. The owner Kim will also create custom jewelry, specializing in Victorian and Edwardian antique reproductions.

Davidus Cigars
23 East Main Street | Westminster, MD

Davidus Cigars has a large selection of pipes and tobaccos, as well as a large walk in humidor filled with world-class premium hand rolled cigars. Stick around to enjoy a cigar in the lounge with complimentary high speed WIFI and large screen TV.

Run Moore
13 Liberty Street | Westminster, MD

The ideal shop for athletes of all kinds, Run Moore supplies high quality athletic shoes as well as unique knowledge, race timing and planning, group runs, books, nutritional accessories and much more.

When you’re finished shopping local on Saturday, stop by one of our new home communities for a tour of our model homes!