How To Prepare For A New Year’s Eve Party

If you're doing the honors this season, you can start the New Year off with a party that will be as memorable as it is free of annoying hiccups and problems.

The Planning

Whether it's a New Year's party, a graduation party or a birthday, great parties are the result of good planning:

• Guest list - Invite guests well in advance. Friends and family plan their holiday outings way ahead of time, so give your guests six to eight weeks' notice. Provide an RSVP deadline, but don't rely on hearing back from everyone. Wait a couple of weeks and send follow up emails or call people you haven't heard from. Once you do have a preliminary list of attendees, there are bound to be some changes before the big night. Accept cancellations, additions and no shows with good grace.
• Invitation strategy - When you put together an invitation, you have some options. You can send your invitation electronically or through the mail. Snail mail invites set a more formal tone, but they are also more expensive and time consuming. The formality of the party and average age of your guests may be the best determiner of how to draft the invitation.
• The details - Having a good plan for the party before you send out invitations is a great idea. If you can outline the party's approximate time and duration, whether or not guests are expected to bring their own alcoholic beverages and other particulars, it will save you having to relay information to each guest individually. It's also a good idea to provide directions to the location with a map and some suggestions for parking.  

The more you can relay now, the less confusion there will be later in the planning process. One of the really nice things about doing the majority of the planning before you send out the invites is that it forces you to take a practical approach using specifics like how many people you can comfortably entertain, how elaborate you want the food options to be, whether or not there will be children in attendance and other important considerations.

The Layout

The furniture in your home may be arranged perfectly to accommodate your family and a couple of guests. When you're entertaining a crowd, though, some modifications may be in order:

• Make way - To open up the space and make it mingle friendly, anticipate the way traffic will flow from the entrance of your home to the food and drink areas, the bathrooms, the coatroom and back to the entry. Now clear as much space as you can to accommodate and encourage that traffic flow pattern.

• Protect your breakables - No one expects to have an accident while visiting a friend's home, but mishaps do happen. To avoid ending your party on a sour note, stow your treasured breakables in a safe location for the evening. If Aunt Edna's vase is irreplaceable, make sure it doesn't fall prey to a tipsy reveler by putting it away.
• Designate a coatroom - In cold climates, guests start shedding outerwear as soon as they arrive. Make sure you have an accessible spot prepared to receive coats, hostess gifts and purses for the duration of the party. Keeping everything together will make it easier for your guests to take their leave gracefully at the end of the evening, too.
• Keep them moving - Although you may be serving food, keeping the portions small and easy to eat will allow guests to move around while they're nibbling. This has a couple of good benefits to the host: It encourages conversation and eliminates the need for concurrent seating for everyone. This doesn't mean you shouldn't employ more seating than your home usually contains. Extra chairs and a folding table or two are always a good idea. When you make sitting down an option rather than a necessity, though, you keep the party lively.

The Details

In the end, you can strategize a perfect party and have it fall apart because you neglected a few important details:

• Music - The music often sets the tone for the celebration. You know the style of your party and the likely makeup of your guest list. Now is the time to choose the perfect music to get people in a party mood. Hearing is one of the most evocative senses, so don't miss this opportunity to make the most of your musical selections. If this is way out of your comfort zone, there are many themed music CDs based on specific artists, decades and musical styles that can help.
• Join in - As the host, it's easy to become so engrossed in the details that you forget to enjoy the celebration. Get out of the kitchen (or from behind the bar) and mingle. At midnight, everyone will be directing a grateful glance your way. Don't miss it.
• Find the fun - Parties are a little like big weather events. You can plan for them, but your predictions are almost never completely accurate. Some parties fall flat and others are simply magic. As you navigate your party, look for magical moments and try to bring others in on a joke or reminiscence. It's one way to create party momentum without working at it too hard.
• Winding down - If you've established a timeline for the party in the invitation, your guests will know when it's time to leave. If there are some stragglers, you can give them polite encouragement by turning down the music or turning up the lights. Before people start reaching for their car keys, though, locate alternative transportation for anyone who may have indulged in a little too much holiday cheer.

Source: Sara Elliot, idealhomegarden.com

Tax credit and deduction tips for home improvement in 2012

(ARA) - With the new year under way, you may be thinking about needed home improvements and how you'll use your credit to fund them. While it's important to understand your credit before making major home improvement decisions, you should also consider another kind of credit - tax credits for energy efficient home improvements.

For the past few years, the federal government has offered tax credits for certain home improvements aimed at increasing a home's energy efficiency. While the most popular and generous tax credits, such as the one that allowed you to claim up to 30 percent of improvements such as a new roof or hot water heater, have expired, you can still get credit for other significant energy-efficient improvements.

According to EnergyStar.gov, you can claim a tax credit for 30 percent of the cost of installing a geothermal heat pump, small wind turbine or solar energy system in your home. The credit has no upper limit and applies to both existing homes and new construction, but not to rental properties. This credit is good until Dec. 31, 2016.

You can also get a credit of up to 30 percent of the cost of residential fuel cells, up to $500 per .5kW of power capacity, EnergyStar.gov says. This credit is also available until Dec. 31, 2016.

While the initial cost of these improvements may seem significant, they can dramatically decrease home energy bills in the long run.

Depending on the type of home improvement or repair you undertake, you may also be able to claim a deduction on your taxes. Before launching a significant home repair or improvement, it may pay to consult with your tax accountant to see what, if any, portion of the cost may be deductible. And, as you do home repairs throughout the year, keep receipts and discuss the improvements and possible deductions with your accountant when he or she is preparing your tax return.

Knowing ahead of time which, if any, tax credits or deductions your home improvement may qualify for can help you make a better decision about how to use credit to fund the work. Since how you use credit affects your overall credit score, knowing the cost of a project before starting it can help you better manage your credit.

If you're unsure how a home improvement project may affect your credit score, websites like freecreditscore.com can help you understand your credit. The site offers members a Credit Score Estimator that can help you understand how big financial decisions, like applying for a home improvement loan, may affect your credit score.

To learn more about tax credits for energy efficient home improvements, visit http://www.energystar.gov/.

To learn more about tax deductions, visit www.IRS.gov. You can find a list of regional tax credits, rebates and savings at energy.gov/savings.

Holiday Checklist

Getting organized is the best way to ensure you’ll have more holiday cheer, less holiday stress.  Since we are only three days away from Christmas 2012, we wanted to share a few tips with you to help in your last minute holiday preparation:

Three Days Before

• Shop for fresh ingredients. Hit the store for the last-minute vegetables or fruit you need for meals.
• Set the table. So you use those gold-rimmed goblets only once a year? Enjoy them! Go ahead and set the table. Make it even easier on the big day by putting a sticky note on each platter that states what dish you plan to serve on it. (That also allows people to help you without asking 12 times.)

Two Days Before

• Start cooking. You’ve probably socked away some things in the freezer already, but now’s the time to prep main courses and make anything that can sit for a couple of days.
• Buy fresh flowers. Whether they are for a party or a family meal, fresh flowers should always be purchased two days in advance. Blooms have time to open up, and they’ll still be lush and fragrant.

The Day Before

• Recharge the batteries on your camera or video recorder. You don’t want to miss the reaction on a little one’s face because the battery ran out during the school pageant the week before.
• Finish last-minute wrapping. And assemble toys that will be surprises from Santa.
• Finish cooking, and make a timeline for the next day. Decide when you’ll be feasting, then count backward to determine when to put the turkey (or ham or roast beef) in the oven and what else needs to be cooked.
• Sit back and relax. Enjoy your family and friends and relish the traditions you share.

Source:  RealSimple.com

Fireplace Maintenance

As you snuggle in front of a cozy fire or bask in the warmth of your wood stove, you are taking part in a ritual of comfort and enjoyment handed down through the centuries. The last thing you are likely to be thinking about is the condition of your chimney. However, if you don't give some thought to it before you light those winter fires, your enjoyment may be very short-lived. Why? Dirty chimneys can cause chimney fires, which damage structures, destroy homes and injure or kill people.

Chimney fires can burn explosively -- noisy and dramatic enough to be detected by neighbors or passersby. Flames or dense smoke may shoot from the top of the chimney. Homeowners report being startled by a low rumbling sound that reminds them of a freight train or a low flying air plane. However, those are only the chimney fires you know about. Slow-burning chimney fires don't get enough air or have enough fuel to be as dramatic or visible. But, the temperatures they reach are very high and can cause as much damage to the chimney structure - and nearby combustible parts of the house - as their more spectacular cousins. With proper chimney system care, chimneyfires are entirely preventable.

Creosote and Chimney Fires
Fireplaces and wood stoves are designed to safely contain wood-fueled fires, while providing heat for a home. The chimneys that serve them have the job of expelling the by-products of combustion -- the substances given off when wood burns.

As these substances exit the fireplace or wood stove, and flow up into the relatively cooler chimney, condensation occurs. The resulting residue that sticks to the inner walls of the chimney is called creosote. Creosote is black or brown in appearance. It can be crusty and flaky ... tar-like, drippy and sticky ... or shiny and hardened. Often, all forms will occur in one chimney system.

Whatever form it takes, creosote is highly combustible. If it builds up in sufficient quantities -- and catches fire inside the chimney flue -- the result will be a chimney fire. Although any amount of creosote can burn, sweeps are concerned when creosote builds up in sufficient quantities to sustain a long, hot, destructive chimney fire.

Certain conditions encourage the buildup of creosote, restricted air supply, unseasoned wood and cooler-than-normal chimney temperatures are all factors that can accelerate the buildup of creosote on chimney flue walls.

Air supply: The air supply on fireplaces may be restricted by closed glass doors or by failure to open the damper wide enough to move heated smoke up the chimney rapidly (the longer the smoke's "residence time" in the flue, the more likely is it that creosote will form). A wood stove's air supply can be limited by closing down the stove damper or air inlets too soon and too much, and by improperly using the stovepipe damper to restrict air movement.

Burning unseasoned firewood: Because so much energy is used initially just to drive off the water trapped in the cells of the logs - burning green wood keeps the resulting smoke cooler, as it moves through the system, than if dried, seasoned wood is used.

Cool flue temperatures: In the case of wood stoves, fully-packed loads of wood (that give large cool fires and eight or 10 hour burn times) contribute to creosote buildup. Condensation of the unburned by-products of combustion also occurs more rapidly in an exterior chimney, for example, than in a chimney that runs through the center of a house and exposes only the upper reaches of the flue to the elements.

How Chimney Fires Damage Chimneys

Masonry chimneys: When chimney fires occur in masonry chimneys - whether the flues are an older, unlined type or are tile lined to meet current safety codes - the high temperatures at which they burn (around 2000' F) can "melt" mortar, crack tiles, cause liners to collapse and damage the outer masonry material. Most often, tiles crack and mortar is displaced, which provides a pathway for flames to reach the combustible wood frame of the house. One chimney fire may not harm a home. A second can burn it down. Enough heat can also conduct through a perfectly sound chimney to ignite nearby combustibles.

Pre-fabricated, factory-built, metal chimneys: To be installed in most jurisdictions in the United States, factory-built, metal chimneys that are designed to vent wood burning stoves or pre- fabricated metal fireplaces must pass special tests determined by Underwriter's Laboratories (U.L.). Under chimney fire conditions, damage to these systems still may occur, usually in the form of buckled or warped seams and joints on the inner liner. When pre-fabricated, factory-built metal chimneys are damaged by a chimney fire, they should no longer be used and must be replaced.

Ways to Avoid Chimney Fires
Chimney fires don't have to happen. Here are some ways to avoid them:

• Use seasoned woods only (dryness is more important than hard wood versus soft wood considerations)
• Build smaller, hotter fires that burn more completely and produce less smoke
• Never burn cardboard boxes, wrapping paper, trash or Christmas trees; these can spark a chimneyfire
• Install stovepipe thermometers to help monitor flue temperatures where wood stoves are in use, so you can adjust burning practices as needed
• Have the chimney inspected and cleaned on a regular basis

Proper Maintenance
Clean chimneys don't catch fire. Have your solid fuel venting system inspected annually, and have it cleaned and repaired whenever needed.

Your chimney sweep may have other maintenance recommendations depending on how you use your fireplace or stove.

The Chimney Safety Institute of America recommends that you call on certified chimney sweeps, since they are regularly tested on their understanding of the complexities of chimney and venting systems.

Signs That You've Had a Chimney Fire
Since chimney fires can occur without anyone being aware of them ... and since damage from such fires can endanger a home and its occupants, how do you tell if you've experienced a chimney fire?

Here are the signs a professional chimney sweep looks for:

• "puffy" creosote, with rainbow colored streaks, that has expanded beyond creosote's normal form
• warped metal of the damper, metal smoke chamber, connector pipe or factory-built metal chimney
• cracked or collapsed flue tiles, or tiles with large chunks missing
• discolored and distorted rain cap
• creosote flakes and pieces found on the roof or ground
• roofing material damaged from hot creosote
• cracks in exterior masonry
• evidence of smoke escaping through mortar joints of masonry or tile liners

If you think a chimney fire has occurred, call get a professional evaluation. If your suspicions are confirmed, a certified sweep will be able to make recommendations about how to bring the system back into compliance with safety standards. Depending on the situation, you might need a few flue tiles replaced, a relining system installed or an entire chimney rebuilt. Each situation is unique and will dictate its own solution.

What to Do if You Have a Chimney Fire

If you realize a chimney fire is occurring, follow these steps:

1) Get everyone out of the house, including yourself
2) Call the fire department
If you can do so without risk to yourself, these additional steps may help save your home. Remember,however, that homes are replaceable; lives are not:
1. Put a chimney fire extinguisher into the fireplace or wood stove
2. Close the glass doors on the fireplace
3. Close the air inlets on the wood stove
4. Use a garden hose to spray down the roof (not the chimney) so the fire won't spread to the rest of the structure
5. Monitor the exterior chimney temperature throughout the house for at least 2 or 3 hours after the fire is out

Once it's over, have the chimney inspected for damage. Chimney fire damage and repair normally is covered by homeowner insurance policies.

Source: Weather.com and The Chimney Safety Institute of America. You can find information about CSIA-certified chimney sweeps online.

New Year's Resolutions - Resolve to be Different!

Do the New Year's resolutions you make really reflect your personal goals?  Or are you just making the same resolutions as every other 47-year-old college grad in your tax bracket?

A study by the Barna Group says that certain demographics are more likely to make certain resolutions. 

Here were the most common resolutions people made for 2011 and the types of people who tended to make them:

1. Lose Weight/Get Fit: 30% - Women, Baby Boomers, Earners over $75K
2. Pay Off Debt/Earn More: 15% - Divorced Adults, Gen X, Gen Y, Earners under $20K
3. Improve Relationships:  13% - College Grads, Earners over $75K
4. Overcome Addiction:  12% - Men, Singles, Gen Y
5. Meet Career Goals:  5% - Singles, Gen Y, Midwest Residents, Earners Under $20K
6. Enhance Spirituality:  5% - Divorced Adults
7. Futher Education:  4% - Singles, Gen Y, Northeast Residents

So are you making the same resolutions as others like you?  If you are, that's not necessarily a bad thing.  What's important is making resolutions you can stick to. 

The study also found that 61 percent of Americans have made New Year's resolutions in the past.  Of those, about one in four say they experienced significant, long-term change as a result.  But half saw no change at all.

To give yours staying power over the long haul, be specific, write them down and try to build in a way to measure progress - with weekly check-ins, time requirements, etc.  By February, you could be feeling results instead of regrets.

Source:  Amy Anderson, Success magazine, January 2012 issue

Simplify and Organize: The Hottest Trends in Home Improvement

(ARA) - With the economy remaining uncertain, homeowners are tending to stay in place and upgrade their homes, rather than move up to something newer or larger. Just as economic conditions evolve, however, so does this housing trend. Simplifying and gaining control are now the hot incarnations of the "staying put" trend.


Organizational design expert, TV and radio personality, and author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, Peter Walsh hosts "Extreme Clutter" on the Oprah Winfrey Network and has starred on TLC's "Clean Sweep." Walsh offers some advice on how do-it-yourselfers can simplify home improvement, and gain control of their home environment, room by room:



Coping in the kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of the home, where you spend time as a family, prepare meals and entertain guests. All that activity and use can make it difficult to stay organized in the kitchen, but doing so can save you time and money.

* Maximize cupboard space with easy-to-install sliding racks. These racks make it easy and fast to find items, even in the deepest cupboards.

* Keep cooking utensils and flatware neat and easily accessible with a compartmentalized drawer organizer. You can find them in kitchen and home design stores.

* If you store often-used spices in a cupboard, it's easy to lose track of what's in there. You don't have to give up your cabinet convenience. Just put your most-used spices in a small baking sheet (you can even buy a disposable one) so that when you need something, you can slide the sheet out to make finding it easier.

* Retire your junk drawer - we all have one. It's the drawer where you deposit receipts, warranties, product manuals and other items. One way to clean up the paper portion of the mess is with an online organizational tool like MyLowe's on Lowes.com. The free online tool from home improvement retailer Lowe's allows you to keep track of purchases, warranties and manuals.

"I'm always trying to teach my fans the latest tips and techniques for organizing their homes and simplifying their lives, especially when families are staying in their homes longer in this uncertain economy," Walsh says. "Keeping track of everything in our homes is now so easy with MyLowe's, the newest and best way to take home maintenance and planning to a whole new level."

Cutting closet clutter

Whether you have a spacious walk-in closet or a modest single-bar one, keeping your bedroom closet organized can be a challenge. But an organized closet means speedier wardrobe changes and a more harmonious environment.

* "We wear 20 percent of our clothes 80 percent of the time," Walsh says. Declutter your closet by getting rid of that 80 percent you don't wear. At the start of the season, turn all your hangers so that they face back to front. When you take something out and wear it, rehang it the correct way. At the end of the season you'll be able to see which items you haven't worn. Those are the ones you can probably live without.

* Reclaim vertical space. Look for creative ways to use the walls, backs of doors and other vertical spaces in your closet. Modular home organization systems can solve most storage challenges.

Taming the toy room

Children outgrow toys almost as quickly as clothes. It's important to regularly sort toys with your children to decide what to discard, what to pass on and what to keep.

* Involve kids in deciding what should stay or go. Arrange toys in piles by type of toy, age appropriateness or length of time the child has had the toy. This will help your kids see the toys as distinct groups and make the task more manageable.

* Bring in space-maximizing organizational products like colorful cubbies with canvas bins or decorative shelving units. MyLowe's makes it easy to find storage products that will fit in your space. Simply enter your room dimensions and the site helps identify solutions that will fit your needs.

Advice for every room

Getting organized is great, but staying organized is even more important. Rather than having to tackle organization tasks in a daunting mass once or twice a year, take steps to stay organized throughout the year. A little organization today means fewer headaches tomorrow.

Keep track of your home improvement and decorating purchases, like the paint colors you use and the creative choices you make with MyLowe's. You can create a home profile and sort information by room, assign products and wish lists to each room, track purchases, store product manuals/warranties and more.

Organization issues stem from the stuff you have, and not just from the space you have. Anyone struggling with clutter faces the decision to either move to a larger home or learn to make choices and live within the limits of their space. By reducing clutter and increasing organization, everyone can learn to honor and respect the space they have.

7 Things You Can Clean with Lemon Around Your Home!

Did you think lemon was something you squeezed into your salads or soups? Think again.  Household cleaning with lemon can be very beneficial. Firstly, it is organic and then it is cheap. The uses of lemon are many including, health, beauty, etc., but its effectiveness as a cleansing agent is rarely utilized by us. If you access all the home remedies for cleaning then a good majority of them will include lemon. There are many things that can be cleaned with lemon and very few that can't be.

Here are some home improvement tips for cleaning with lemon.

Cleaning With Lemon: 7 Household Things To Be Cleaned:

1. Copper Utensils: Many of your common kitchen pots and pans come with a copper bottom that blackens with filth and heat over time. You may feel why clean it as the food doesn't touch this area directly. For your information it is important for the copper bottom to be clean so that heat is evenly distributed while cooking. Scrub it with a piece of lemon and salt.

2. Brass Articles: You cannot use lemon to clean brass plated articles. They have to be solid brass or else it will erode. Statues, figurines, decorative items, etc. can be cleaned in this way.

3. Kitchen Sink: Many don't know, but cleaning aluminum with lemon gives great results. But just lemon will not suffice. Saturate lemon juice with salt so much so, that it becomes thick. Now lather up this paste with a soapy solution and rinse the sink. The lovely citrus smell it leaves behind will freshen up your kitchen.

4. Tupperware and Hard Plastics: Lemon can be used to clean good quality plastic above the marking of 6. To get rid of stubborn oil and food stains from Tupperware, soak it in lemon juice overnight. Scrub it with baking soda the next morning. It is also helpful in denaturing food smells. Do not try this with low quality plastic as it will erode.

5. White Clothes and Shoes: The uses of lemon as a bleaching agent is less know but it is one of its main benefits at home. If your whites be it clothes, shoes, or other garments have yellowed with age, then you can whiten them by dipping in lemon juice and sun drying.

6. Rust Stains: When you keep your clothes, handbags or shoes in contact with metallic objects then it may contract a rust stain.  The best home remedy for cleaning rust stains is to spray the area of the stain with lemon juice and dab with baking soda. Leave for and hour and wash.

7.  Glass Doors and Windows: The hard water stains or white patches on glass can be cleaned using the citric acid in lemon. Your french windows, mirrors and even your car windshield will sparkle after a lemony cleaning.

Resource:  Oneindia Living

Share with us your lemon household secrets too!

Tips for Hosting a Home Shopping Party this Holiday Season

Ways to Shop

You can buy products and services from direct selling companies in a number of ways. Here’s a list of some of the most widely used.

 

Home parties

The party plan method, most commonly associated with in-home parties, offers friends, family members, co-workers and other groups a fun and relaxing way to get together and shop. In most cases, the party host is responsible for inviting guests, providing light snacks and securing a venue to hold the gathering – usually in his/her home. On the day of the party, guests arrive and mingle and might use this opportunity to peruse products and services displayed. In many cases, a consultant will briefly introduce the products and services available, and provide samples or demonstrations to the group. Afterwards, attendees have the chance to ask questions or place orders. As a “thank you” for her time and effort the host will often receive discounted or free products and other specials from the consultant.

 

Person-to-Person

Many consumers are surprised to learn that the party plan method of selling didn’t begin until the 1940s. Even today, nearly 70% of all direct sales take place in a person-to-person manner. Consultants are happy to meet in private with customers to discuss products or services, provide demonstrations, fittings or other assistance as needed. The items orders are either shipped directly to the customer or delivered by the consultant.

 

Online

Most direct selling companies offer consumers two ways to shop online. The first is through a consultant’s personal Web page, which can usually be accessed from the company’s Web site. Customers who shop this way have more than likely been introduced to products or services by their representative in the past, and often continue to place orders in-person or by calling their consultant. If you don’t already have a consultant you can often enter your location or zip code on the company’s main Web site and a knowledgeable consultant will contact you directly. The consultant will still receive a commission for sales made online.

In some cases, customers can shop directly from a company’s Web site. This is less common and sales are still usually credited to a representative in your area who will likely follow up with you to make sure you are happy with your purchase.

The key thing to remember about online purchases is that you still have access to a helpful consultant who can provide knowledge and advice that just can’t be matched in a more traditional retail setting. Having this kind of access 24/7 is a key benefit to direct selling online.

 

Kiosks

Some consultants choose to sell products or services from retail kiosks, usually located in shopping malls or other high-traffic areas. These are generally run by the consultants, not the companies, so don’t be fooled into thinking your favorite direct selling company has gone retail! In fact, it’s more likely that you’ll find your favorite in-store brand coming to a living room near you as many retailers are discovering the appeal of direct selling’s personal touch.

 

Phone orders

Phone orders can be placed either through an independent consultant, or directly through the company. As with online orders, this method is customarily used by customers who previously made purchases directly from their representative and sales are generally credited to a consultant who can follow up with you after the sale.

 

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Resource:  www.dsa.org

Direct Sales is a Booming Business - Over $125 billion in 2010

Having fun at a Tomboy Tools Tool Party

There is a buzz in the news about the booming business of direct sales.  The Direct Selling Association reported over $28 billion in U.S. direct retail sales in 2009 and over $125 billion in revenue in 2010 in 150 countries through more than 75 million men and women.  In the June 24, 2011 Wall Street Journal’s 40-page supplement on direct selling, financial advisors and investors are both seeing direct selling companies with new eyes, focusing on the efficient business model, rapid growth, and generally low on-going capital investment after the initial surge. 

Products and services delivered directly to customers through personalized presentations that are often educational, entertaining, and certainly social have enabled direct selling to thrive for decades even through recessions, including this latest one.  Large companies are downsizing and people are looking for new jobs, opportunities and ways to supplement their income. Home party opportunities can be a fun and profitable home based business.

Over 16 million men and women earn income through direct sales in the U.S. (over 75 million worldwide) and over 78 percent of the American public has bought goods or services through direct sales. There is no better time to get involved in the home party business.  Direct selling offers people the skills and tools to create new income opportunities – to venture out on their own as entrepreneurs and grow in confidence versus being consumed by the fear associated with a shrinking job market.  

A career in direct sales is a great way to help pay for that new car you have always wanted, or that special vacation you’ve been dreaming of, or to help pay for your children’s school tuition or extra bills. The beauty is that a career in direct sales could result in an annual “vacation of a lifetime,” year after year. 

Tomboy Tools created this company to offer quality, lightweight, ergonomically designed tools and education through in home parties and our website.  What we never envisioned was that women from all over the world would visit our website and tell us their stories and become our guides.  We have been so touched by the stories we have heard from women who told us about trying to maintain their living spaces on their own, afraid of what they didn’t know, and the difficulties they faced. 

The reason for this is simple, the timing is perfect with the growing trend of women becoming more and more involved in DIY (Do it Yourself) projects. There is also a growing trend of single women buying houses at the rate of 2 to 1 over men.

Now it is a necessity for many women to do basic home projects and maintain their home on their own:

• Women spend $80 billion on home improvement
• 77.9 million Females (U.S.) undertook a home improvement project in the past two years
• 80% of household purchases are decided by women
• 1 of 3 women (17% of total population) consider themselves Do-It-Yourselfers (DIY)

Tomboy Tools is a perfect fit with this growing trend. We show women that these projects and repairs are not rocket science.  When each of us at Tomboy Tools quit waiting on someone else and began to gain the skills and confidence to tackle projects ourselves, we discovered something interesting.  It empowered us! 

With a little knowledge and the right tools you can go a long way. Saving money and time, along with increasing your confidence level is priceless. It’s come full circle for many and they are thankful they took that first step. 

(U.S. Census Bureau, Home Improvement Research Institute, Wall Street Journal, Direct Selling Association & Tomboy Tools, Inc.)

Living Green For the Holidays

Find out what you can do to help make a difference in our environment throughout the holiday season and everyday! Whether you're at home, on the go, in the office, or at school, there are many opportunities to go green by Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling.

Check out these quick tips from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

Wrap gifts in recycled or reused wrapping paper or funny papers. Also remember to save or recycle used wrapping paper. Give gifts that don't require much packaging, such as concert tickets or gift certificates.

Send recycled-content greeting cards to reduce the amount of virgin paper used during the holidays. Remember to recycle any paper cards you receive. You can also try sending electronic greeting cards to reduce paper waste.

Have a create-your-own-decorations party! Invite family and friends to create and use holiday decorations such as ornaments made from old greeting cards or cookie dough, garlands made from strung popcorn or cranberries, wreaths made from artificial greens and flowers, and potpourri made from kitchen spices such as cinnamon and cloves.

After holiday festivities, put leftovers in recyclable containers, and share them with family, friends, or others. Donate whole, untouched leftovers from parties to a local food bank or homeless shelter.

After parties, fill your dishwasher to capacity before running it. You will run fewer cycles, which saves energy.

Bake cookies or other goodies and package them in reusable and/or recyclable containers as gifts. Home-made goodies show how much you care and help you avoid packaging waste.

To help prevent waste from cutting down and disposing of live trees, you can buy a potted tree and plant it after the holidays.

Approximately 33 million live Christmas trees are sold in North America every year. After the holidays, look for ways to recycle your tree instead of sending it to a landfill. Check with your community solid waste department and find out if they collect and mulch trees. Your town might be able to use chippings from mulched trees for hiking trails and beachfront erosion barriers.

About 40 percent of all battery sales occur during the holiday season. Buy rechargeable batteries to accompany your electronic gifts, and consider giving a battery charger as well. Rechargeable batteries reduce the amount of potentially harmful materials thrown away, and can save money in the long run.

Consider the durability of a product before you buy it as a gift. Cheaper, less durable items often wear out quickly, creating waste and costing you money.

When buying gifts, check product labels to determine an item's recyclability and whether it is made from recycled materials. Buying recycled encourages manufacturers to make more recycled-content products available.

After holiday festivities, put leftovers in recyclable containers, and share them with family, friends, or others. Donate whole, untouched leftovers from parties to a local food bank or homeless shelter.

Think "green" while shopping the President's Day sales. Bring your own reusable cloth bag for carrying your purchases, and try to buy items with minimal packaging and/or made with recycled content. For example, buy fleece jackets made from recycled soda bottles, sneakers made with recycled rubber soles, or clothes made from recycled cotton scraps.

Stain Removal Tricks and Tips

People throw out all sorts of items just because they're stained.  This is enormously wasteful, particularly when a few stain-removal tricks can clean up the item completely.  When you spill, no matter the fabric or the stain, immediately blot up as much as you can with a paper towel or light-colored rag.  This often removes enough of the stain that laundering can remove the rest.

The reason that many stains are labeled "stubborn" is because people aren't using the proper chemical to fight the stain.  For example, all the protein-based stain removers in the world won't be helpful on the oil stain on your favorite pants; nore will all the oil solvents in the world help a milk stain.  The stain fighting rules are the same for any stain:  immediately run the stain under cool water before it has set.

The Four Main Stain Fighters:

From now on, there are three main categories of stains: "inky," "protein," and "oily."  The category of stain dictates the stain treatment.  You should keep a small supply of each of these in your bathroom.

Glycerine.  Glycerine is ideal for "inky" stains, such as pen stains, dark wine stains, or fruit juice stains.  Let the glycerine sit on the stain before using your super-secret weapon, liquid dish detergent, which is made to remove food dyes.

Detergents.  These are the laundry detergents, officially called enzyme detergents, that you find in the laundry aisle - Wisk, Tide, et cetera.  They work best on protein-based stains, such as milk or blood.  Protein stains are anything that comes from a person or animal, including sweat, feces, blood, and milk. (Yum.)  For a bad stain, first run the stain under cold water, before applying detergent directly onto the damp stain, and letting it sit for twenty (20) minutes.

Oil Removers.  Oil removers, officially called oil solvents ("solvent" = dissolver), remove "oily" stains such as lotion, butter, or accidental sprays of cooking grease.  Oil removers should be applied to the stain and left to sit for at least fifteen (15) minutes.  The big name brand is Carbona.

Combination Solvents.  A number of stain removal sticks and sprays have begun to include both enzyme and oil removers.  Name brands include Shout and Stain Stick.

Other Stain Fighters:

Vinegar.  A 1:1 mix of white vinegar and water is ideal for loosening dyes from fabrics, particularly nonwashable materials such as your couch upholstery.  First soak the stain in vinegar and water, and then apply the appropriate oil solvent or detergent.  Vinegar is also an excellent odor remover for everything from the exercise shirt that you really want to continue using to your carpet, which can handle a 1:5 vinegar-to-water rinse.  The vinegar odor disappears surprisingly quickly.

Bleach.  Bleach will get rid of most stains, with the caveat that it will turn the stain and the surrounding area bright white.  Bleach essentially eats right through both stains and the fabrics below, so the idea is to use 1:6 part mixture on a stain just until the stain disappears, and then thoroughly rinse off any remaining bleach.

Confusing Stains:

The stains that you're probably not quite sure how to classify:

Coffee and tea.  Immediately run cold water over the stain, then use a combination solvent.  Wash normally.

Gum:  Hold an ice cube onto the gum and crack off what you can.  The remaining stain is an oil stain, so use an oil solvent.

Urine.  This will begin coming up around child-bearing age.  Soak in a 1:1 mix of vinegar and water.  Then wash with detergent.

Mustard, grass, finger paint  and cola.  All will leave behind a dye stain on your white shirt.  First soak in a 1:1 mix of vinegar and water, then use the secret weapon, liquid dish detergent.

Antiperspirant, deodorant, makup, chocolate, candles, crayon, and tomato sauce.  When in doubt, you're probably dealing with a protein/oil mix and need to use a combination solvent.

Living Green with Tomboy Tools

The best place to start making a difference is right in your own home. Learn how you can reduce, reuse, and recycle materials to decrease household waste!  These resources below from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will help you get started.

At Home Quick Tips:

• Reduce food waste by using up the food you already bought and have in the house instead of buying more. You already paid for it - so use it!
• Non-perishable and unspoiled perishable food can be donated to local food banks, soup kitchens, pantries, and shelters.
• Reuse items around the house such as rags and wipes, empty jars and mugs, party decorations, and gift wrap.
• Buy products in concentrate, bulk, and in refillable containers. They reduce packaging waste and can save you money!
• Return used car tires to retailers or wholesalers that recycle or retread them. Tires are banned from most landfills, and illegally dumped tires become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other pests.
• When buying products, check the labels to determine an item's recyclability and whether it is made from recycled materials. Buying recycled encourages manufacturers to make more recycled-content products available.

Lawn and Garden Quick Tips:

• Feed your soil with compost; make compost at home, or buy it in bags or bulk. Compost helps sandy soils hold nutrients and water, loosens clay soils, and feeds the beneficial soil life so it can feed and protect your plants.
• Mow higher and leave the clippings. Modern mulching lawn mowers make "grasscycling" even easier. Homeowners can reduce their mowing time by 30 to 40 percent by not having to bag clippings.
• Choose the right plant for the right place. Select plants that grow well in your area of the country and fit the amount of sun, type of soil and water available in your yard.
• Give plants a good start. Prepare the soil by mixing one to three inches of compost into soil in planting beds.
• Water deeply, but infrequently. Most plants do best if the soil is allowed to partially dry out between waterings.

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Quick Tips:

• Properly store any unused paint for future use, donate unused paint to neighbors or charities, or turn in your used paint to a waste collection facility for recycling.
• Buy products that contain minimal amounts, or no, hazardous ingredients. Use alternative methods or products - without hazardous ingredients - for common household needs, such as making a household cleaning solution from 1 cup of warm water, 3 drops of vegetable-based liquid soap, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.
• Products that contain hazardous ingredients should be used and stored properly to prevent accidents in the home. Never store hazardous products in food containers; keep them in their original containers and never remove labels. Corroding containers may require special handling. Call your local hazardous materials official or fire department for instructions.
• Recycle or safely dispose of your HHW

Basic Fix-It Rules

Rule #1.  Always turn OFF the power or water or both when working on any plumbing or electrical projects.  With electricity, this rule is crucial to your safety.  With plumbing, it may help avert a flood.

Rule #2.  Take one step at a time and read the directions before you start your project.  Make sure you note what is connected to what as you disassemble something.  Mark all wires and make diagrams and notes if you are faced with putting something back together.  Even though a project looks easy, read the directions if you have them.  This will save time and aggravation!

Rule #3.  "Right is tight and left is loose."  Remember that to tighten screws and nuts you turn them clockwise or to the right.  To loosen them, turn them counterclockwise or to the left.  In a few situations, you will turn them the opposite direction.  Bike pedals and an occasional plumbing part will be threaded backwards.  If you cannot get the screw or nut tightened by turning it to the right, try the other direction.  Sometimes the threads on the screw or nut are stripped or damaged and will not tighten in either direction.  In the is case, replace the defective fastener.


Rule #4.  Do not start a project with a limited amount of time available.  You need to be able to take your time to understand what is happening.  Nothing ever takes as short a time as you would like.  You do not want to rush anything.  Rushing only causes problems, headaches and money!


Rule #5.  Dress properly for these projects.  Plan to get dirty or wet while undertaking these fix-it repairs.  You may not get dirty or wet, but it is wise to be prepared for it.


Rule #6.  Be aware of plumbing and electrical code law.  In both cases, these laws are written by local governments.  The general rule is that an individual may undertake repairs that restore an electrical or plumbing component of their house to its original condition.  For changes or additions to your plumbing or electrical systems, a permit may be required.  Consult your local building inspector. 

Do you have other basic fix-it rules that you live by?  If so, share them with us!