WEBVTT - Make a home manual

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to make a home manual. This will let

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<v Speaker 1>any visitors to your space know how to make themselves

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<v Speaker 1>at home. It also increases the chances that your home

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<v Speaker 1>is treated well. If you have ever stayed in a

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<v Speaker 1>short term vacation rental, you probably found a welcome note

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<v Speaker 1>with lots of instructions like where to find the beach

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<v Speaker 1>towels and how to log on to the wireless network.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have ever left your home in the care

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<v Speaker 1>of a house sitter, you may have been the one

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<v Speaker 1>writing the welcome note about how your home works. You

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<v Speaker 1>probably explain things like what day trash and recycling get

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<v Speaker 1>picked up, where to find the fuse box, and which

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<v Speaker 1>knives don't go in the dishwasher. Depending on the age

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<v Speaker 1>and life experience of your house sitter, you may have

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<v Speaker 1>also left requests like please use a coaster for cold

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<v Speaker 1>drinks on the coffee table. When you have house guests,

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<v Speaker 1>even if you will be at home the whole time

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<v Speaker 1>with them, you probably do a live version of this

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<v Speaker 1>welcome note. You might show them where to find extra

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<v Speaker 1>pillows and blankets, and how to stop a quirky toilet

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<v Speaker 1>from running. You might invite them to make themselves coffee

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<v Speaker 1>if they get up before you, and show them where

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<v Speaker 1>to find the coffee maker, beans and cups. With occasions

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<v Speaker 1>like these in mind, it can be helpful to create

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<v Speaker 1>a comprehensive digital how to manual for your home with

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<v Speaker 1>information visitors may need to know. That way. Every time

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<v Speaker 1>you are welcoming an overnight guest or house sitter to

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<v Speaker 1>your home, you are not starting from scratch. You can

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<v Speaker 1>add to your digital how to manual over time based

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<v Speaker 1>on questions guests and house sitters ask you, as well

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<v Speaker 1>as things that don't go the way you intended them to,

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<v Speaker 1>so you can ensure they go better the next time.

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<v Speaker 1>Once your digital how tool manual is created, any time

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<v Speaker 1>you have a visitor to your home, you can copy

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<v Speaker 1>and paste the relevant sections into a welcome note, especially

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<v Speaker 1>for them. Your house guests don't need to know what

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<v Speaker 1>day the recycling goes out, for instance, but a house

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<v Speaker 1>sitter probably does. For house guests, you can print their

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<v Speaker 1>personalized welcome note and leave it in their room. For

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<v Speaker 1>a house sitter, it may be convenient to email the

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<v Speaker 1>note in advance, since they may appreciate a reminder of

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<v Speaker 1>how to use the alarm before they let themselves into

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<v Speaker 1>your home for the first time. There really is no

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<v Speaker 1>place like home, and nobody will treat your home exactly

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<v Speaker 1>as you would. But with a home manual tailored to

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<v Speaker 1>the audience and occasion, visitors will probably have fewer questions.

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<v Speaker 1>Your guests won't think they broke that toilet, though, perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>if you are explaining too much in a home manual

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<v Speaker 1>about anything, you will just go ahead and get it fixed.

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<v Speaker 1>That might be a wise decision too. If you make

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<v Speaker 1>a home manual, I would love to hear what you include.

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<v Speaker 1>You can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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