a life reinvented

 
hands-1179340How a gift of furniture gave one woman hope for the future

Heidi found out how one decision spiraled downward into being on the streets not long ago. She is a native Wisconsinite who uprooted herself for what she thought was love. She married a Minnesotan man, and moved in with him. Not long afterwards, she found out that he was verbally and physically abusive, and she become addicted to alcohol in order to cope.
She was abused, and had no one to help her.
Not long after her marriage, she also became pregnant with her daughter. She became very ill and went from hospital to hospital, and found another way to escape her husband, through painkillers.
“It was at this point, I knew that I needed to get away from him.” Heidi said. “When I left, I found out that he took away every friend that I thought I had. I was completely alone.”
It was at this point she found herself in living in homeless shelters and halfway houses. Heidi, however, was bound and determined to get sober and see her daughter.
“It’s hard to hang onto hope when you’re surrounded by hopeless people,” Heidi said. “But every- where I went, there was at least a few people who gave me a glimpse of how there are still good people in the world.”
She became sober, and worked her way off the street, and into an apartment in Roseville, Minne- sota. Her daughter, Katie, was now able to join her. However, while she had more than enough love to give Katie, what she lacked was furniture.
“I had no money to buy anything,” Heidi said. “For eight months, we slept on the floor.”
That’s when satintouch learned about her situation. Through the trash out service, the company acquires and becomes the owner of abandoned furniture from evictions.
Founder Chad Lange offered to furnish the apartment completely for free.
“Whenever we can help out people in our community find a little hope, satintouch will be there to help in any way we can,” Founder Lange said. “It’s the least we can do to make this world a little brighter for everyone.”
Heidi vividly remembers crying when satintouch Detailers carried in their first bed.
satintouch provided all of the necessary furniture to help Heidi and her daughter. “It was more about my daughter than me. I worked so hard to provide for my daughter.”
She said. “This act of kindness gave me such hope for the future.”
Today Heidi and Katie are doing great. Heidi’s working hard and earning enough that she can now give back to others, continuing the cycle started by satintouch.
“When I was in need, someone helped me out, and I’m happy to see that my daughter sees that example.” Heidi said. “satintouch gave me hope and the energy to work harder so I could give that feeling to someone.”
And she does. When they moved into a new apartment, she gave furniture to a family in need, including a bunk bed for two kids who had to sleep in the same bed. And, she continues to give furniture to neighbors in need after refinishing them.
Heidi is continuing the cycle of giving that started with a gift of furniture.
“Because of what I’ve been through, I’ve become a better mom and member of my community.” She said.
Heidi dedicates her evenings and weekends to speaking and sharing her story at women’s shelters and treatment centers around the Twin Cities.
And, even though her story involves her receiving furniture, the one lesson Heidi wants her daughter to learn from her experience is that “things come and go, that stuff is just stuff, but it’s the act of giving that matters.”

evictions are easy with satintouch

 
moving-tools-1-1529669Trash Out services lift the weight of liability off your shoulders

It’s never a pleasant situation, but it’s one that every property manager will encounter this issue at some point in his or her career – eviction and executed writ.
When it happens, the former tenant can only take what he or she can grab on their way out, which leaves a lot of large items still inside the apartment. And, the property is legally obligated to hold everything the tenant couldn’t carry for 28 days.
turnkey liability with satintouch
With Trash Out services, you can focus on renting the space, while satintouch worries about the moving, storing, and communicating with the evicted tenant about their items.
By using satintouch as a third party who is completely removed from the situation, we take on liability ourselves. When we perform a trash out, we photograph everything, create an inventory of everything in the property, we move all items off the property, and store them for the legally required 28 days. After the items are off the property in our facility, your trash out experience is over.
satintouch will hold all the items for 28 days, and after that period, all items become property of satintouch, Inc.
get money back
With a Trash Out from satintouch, you can get money back. We charge the property for our time to remove and move the items from the apartment to our storage facility. If the resident wants their property back, we charge them the same price that we charge the property, and then satintouch reimburses the property the sum charged to the property manager.
never too late for a Trash Out
If you haven’t heard about our service during an eviction process – don’t worry –we can still help.
If you have held unclaimed property for the full 28 days as required by law, we will pick up and remove all of the items for free.

satintouch gives back: Kindercare scholarship

 
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At any age, intelligence can feel trapped by circumstance and access. Alexis, now 3-years-old, felt that pinch very early in life. Her mother, Paula, recognized the signs of her own childhood and wants her to get the best education she can receive.
After receiving a scholarship to Kindercare, a preschool facility, little Alexis proved that she was two years ahead of her cohorts in the cognitive process. In fact, in her first week in classes, she wrote her first word on her own – with no teacher prompt.
“It was like she was waiting for the environment to communicate her talent,” Alexis’ mother Paula said.
However, after the 3-months scholarship ran out, Paula, a single mother, couldn’t afford to keep sending her back to the environment that supported her advanced development.
“Financially, I couldn’t give her more.” Paula said. “I felt like I was holding her back.”
That’s when satintouch intervened. Chad Lange, also a son of a single mother, knows the struggles and the hopes of a mother who gives her all to help her child develop.
“All mothers have lots of jobs, but single mothers have twice as many,” Lange said. “I respect and support single mothers, like Paula, who are laser-focused on making life better for their children.”
The focus that one-on-one attention her preschool teachers give Alexis not only helps her continual cognitive advancements, but also teaches her a lesson Paula and her father were never able to learn as children: how to learn in a school structure. As all three family members have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), their intelligence was never a problem, but being able to focus was.
“My behavior in school was simply written off as ‘bad behavior’ by schools,” Paula said. “With this early start, I am seeing the changes and her excitement surrounding going to school to learn.”
Everyday, Alexis keeps advancing her large vocabulary and grammar not only in English, but Spanish. And, with a satintouch scholarship that allows her to continue attending Kindercare, strangers are sure to continue asking, “How old is she!?”

Color your room confidently with satintouch

 
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satintouch can reinvent your room in any color you desire, but before you make a final decision, make sure you avoid some common mistakes.
Avoiding Bold Decisions
Sometimes you love a color but are too afraid to put it on your wall. The best way to get over that fear is to start with a color you love, and have us test it on the wall. If it’s still too much, we can always dilute it or look at another version of that color.
Making a Loud Room Louder
Take note of the intensity of the colors from other items in a room. If there’s lots of strong colors elsewhere, avoid having the wall colors compete with them – let those items make the color of the room.
A Barren Room
When putting together a room, remember the 60-30-10 rule. Sixty percent of the color comes from the walls; 30 percent from upholstery, floor covering, or window treatments; and 10 percent from accent pieces, accessories, and artwork.
Deciding Too Quickly
Try painting a large swatch of a potential paint color on the wall. Then live with it for at least 24 to 48 hours, and take note of the color in both natural and artificial light. ”
For any residential paint job, we provide a host of options including custom designs and various colors to choose from. When you’ve decided to begin the process to reinvent your room, satintouch detailers are ready to help.