Vinegar: The Magic Cleaning Product

If you have any sense of smell, you know the pungent scent of vinegar. Think of it as the smell of clean.  This mild, organic acidic can clean and sanitize a coffeepot, keep drains running clear and smelling fresh, and among other uses too numerous to mention, it can even repel insects. And if that’s not enough, it’s safe and inexpensive to use.

But first, a few cleaning tips:

- Removing lipstick from carpet can be tedious. Use a mild solution of liquid dish soap and warm water. Work in gently with a soft cloth and flush with club soda or water. A carpet spotter may also work on the stain.

- To clean solid brass, mix lemon juice and salt together, dip a cloth into the mixture and clean the brass. Rinse and dry. An application of car wax on the clean brass will help repel future tarnish.

- Keep white wine handy to neutralize the color in red wine if a tile grout stain occurs. Clean the stain with a paste of lemon juice and cream of tartar, or use hydrogen peroxide. The process may have to be repeated to remove the stain completely.

Vinegar and Its Applications:

- Cleaning eyeglasses: Rub with vinegar and dry with a soft cloth. Don’t worry about any odor from vinegar remaining on the glasses -- it will quickly dissipate.

- Repelling Bugs: Dab vinegar on skin when working outdoors; bugs will hate the taste of the skin and leave.

- Getting rid of musty odor in trunks, drawers and closets: Place a slice of white bread (it must be white bread) in a bowl and cover with vinegar. Leave the bowl in the musty area for 24 hours. The yeast action in the bread combines with the acid values of the vinegar to absorb the odor. Close doors and drawers for the best result.

- Eliminating fish frying odors: Place a shallow dish of vinegar by the pan while frying fish.

- Eliminating onion odors: Spray vinegar on hands, knife and cutting board while chopping onions.

Resource:  DIY Network

10 Must-Know Room Measurements

Get your measurements right: here's a handy guide to home measurements that's worth printing and saving.

1. Dining Room Table
A 36-inch-wide rectangular table is perfect for conversation. A round table with a diameter of 48 inches seats six; a 60-inch round will handle eight standard dining chairs or 10 ballroom chairs.

2. Light Fixtures
How big should an overhead light fixture be? Just add the length and width of the room in feet, and whatever number you come up with is, in inches, your guide for the fixture's diameter. So a 15-by-20-foot room would need a 35-inch-wide chandelier.

3. Paint Coverage
One gallon of paint will cover about 400 square feet of wall.

4. Curtain Height
Mount curtains as high as possible to give the room more height, and let them break 1½ inches on the floor.

5. Kitchen Island
A kitchen island should be about 38 inches high-a little taller than the countertops-to be comfortable for prep.

6. Window Treatment Width
Curtains should be 2½ to 3 times the width of the window. So if you're doing two panels, each should be 1¼ to 1½ times the window width. Buy a rod that's 20 inches wider than your window so it extends 10 inches on either side. Your window will seem much wider than it really is.

7. Dining-Room Chandelier
The bottom of a dining-room chandelier should hang 36 inches above the table.

8. Light Switches
Install light switches 36 inches above the floor and 1½ to 2 inches to the side of the door trim.

9. Fabric for a Sofa
For a standard 84-inch sofa with exposed legs and a tight back, you'll need 14 yards of plain 54-inch-wide fabric. Add two yards for a skirt.

10. The Golden Ratio
From classical times to today, the golden ratio has always been the perfect proportion: 1 to 1.62.

Resource:  By House Beautiful Magazine | Decorating Guide – Fri, May 18, 2012 12:42 PM EDT















Make Your Air Conditioning Dollars Go Farther

Make your air conditioning dollars
go farther this summer.

When temperatures rise outside, it's natural to seek cool shelter indoors. For many people, that means flipping on the air conditioning unit and taking it easy. Keeping the air cool is more than a luxury for some families; elderly parents and young children cannot tolerate excessively high temperatures. However, the need for air conditioning puts many families at financial risk. A pricey combination of rising fuel costs and high electrical demand make summertime electric bills hard to manage.

According to Energy Star, the American family pays nearly $1,000 a year on heating and cooling their homes; that figure is above other electrical costs! You don't have to risk exposing your loved ones to brutal heat to save money. Take advantage of some money-saving tips and beat the summer heat.

-- Help circulate cool air through the home by placing an oscillating fan in family rooms, like a living room or dining room.

-- Keep the temperature at constant temperature and avoid dropping the thermostat too low. Lowering the temperature costs you money and won't cool the home any faster.

-- Raise the thermostat 2 to 3 degrees before you leave for work if no one will be home. The energy experts at APS say that moving the temperature up 5 degrees for eight hours a day can save you $3 to $5 a month.

-- Install a whole house fan system. Whole house fans pull the hot attic air out of the home and keeps the air circulating, giving your home a cooling effect. This move could chill your home by a few degrees.

-- Replace old air conditioning units. If your window unit is a decade old, it needs to be replaced with an energy efficient unit. If your home has central AC, have the thermostat calibrated and the system charged yearly. APS says homeowners should replace their older SEER units (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) to save energy bucks. Replacing a unit with a SEER rating of 10 with one that has an 18 SEER rating you could save up to 50% on your AC costs annually.

-- Change the air conditioning filters regularly; once a month is suitable. Good air flow across the filter will cut down on cooling costs and stop allergens from floating around your home. FPL Energy Services say that air filters cost between $10 and $25 a piece, but replacing them can save you 5 to 15 percent on your monthly bill.

-- Hang insulated curtains in your windows. Sheer curtains look nice, but they don't provide any barrier between you and the outdoor heat. Keep windows covered during hot afternoons.

Also, do a walk through of your home while the air is on. Check for leaks around windows and doors.

Sometimes your energy dollars simply float out the window!

Resource:  By Monica Bullock | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Mon, Jul 2, 2012 10:32 AM EDT

June Weekend Home Improvement Projects

Summer is here, and it's time to get busy with home improvement projects during the warmest season of the year. June is a great month to organize your garage, sharpen up your home safety skills, celebrate Father's Day with a new work space for Dad, and entertain guests in comfort with your newly installed low voltage lighting.

Here are some tips to get your home in tip top shape for the season!

Weekend #1:  Safety First!

June is National Safety Month, brought to you by our friends at the National Safety Council. The NSC's main goal is to encourage individuals to learn about safety education for the home and workplace. Their provided safety advice is designed to greatly reduce the risk of unintentional injury and death during everyday activities.

The National Safety Council website is filled with useful safety advice about making your home less hazardous by correcting situations that might cause falls, improving indoor air quality, poisoning prevention, and fire prevention. Some of the tips include:

• keeping outdoor walkways in good condition
• removing clutter from walkways
• maintaining  well lit steps and pathway inside and out of the home
• using proper step ladders
• testing smoke detectors
• having fire extinguishers in multiple places inside your home
• installing CO detectors 
• storing hazardous materials out of reach of small children

Most of the information may seem like common sense, but can easily be forgotten as the business of life takes over. Take this first weekend to review the NSC's safety materials and create a true safe haven in your home for your family and friends.

Weekend #2:  Home and Garage Organization!

June is a great month to organize your home's garage. As humans, we love to acquire stuff, which means we easily run out of space. Our natural instinct is to cram items we use everyday into the garage. But kids play things, seasonal items, tools, sporting equipment, and the things we just can't bring ourselves to toss should not go into the garage. There is absolutely no reason why all of those items can happily coexist in the garage in an organized and tidy manner with a workshop, the car, or gardening table.

First, take everything out of the garage and sort through it. Create a giveaway pile for donations, a pile for trash, and a pile for the things you are going to hold onto. Then go through the items you are keeping and divide them into everyday common items, seasonal décor, sporting equipment, tools, garden, etc. Once you see what you need to put back into the garage, you can then go and buy or build proper storage units and containers.

Keep items organized and off the floor with wall and ceiling mounted hangers. Put items you use more frequently toward the front, making sure kids items are where they can easily reach them. Hazardous items should be placed where children can't get their hands on them. Be sure to properly anchor storage shelves and cabinets, as the items you organize and store on the shelves in the garage tend to be heavy. With all that new tidy organized space in your garage, you might even find you have room to create a Father's Day gift; a new work shop for Dad.

Weekend #3 : Celebrate Father's Day and remember Dad this weekend with a surprise home workshop.

Happy Father's Day everyone! Dads do so much for the family, so take this weekend to do something really special for the dad in your life.  Create a workshop in your newly organized garage and stock it with his favorite tools. Organize all of the small items, such as nails, screws, washers, wood plugs, etc. into compartmentalized storage bins in the work space, and label each drawer with the contents. Dad will easily find whatever he needs. 

Pegboards are a great way for Dad to organize hand tools and keep them off the work table. Paint the shape of the tool onto the pegboard so it will always go back to the same place. If you are in the market to buy tools for your dad this Father's Day, buy him tools in the same brand as his current tools so they can operate off the same battery and keep clutter in the workshop to a minimum. Once Dad gets over the shock and surprise of his brand new work shop, treat him to a tasty barbecue with all his grilled favorites. Whatever you and Dad choose to do this Father's Day, be sure to enjoy your time together and have fun!

Weekend #4:  Enjoy your outdoor retreat day or night with the perfect lightscaping for your yard and garden.

Now that summer has officially arrived, lazy days of hanging out around your yard and deck entertaining friends and family will get into full swing, no doubt continuing into the twilight hours. Take full advantage of what your outdoor escape has to offer by adding some lighting.  Low voltage lighting has made it easy to create beautiful areas of light on your garden or to highlight architectural details of your home.

Low voltage lighting fixtures are available in many styles, so you can find ones that suit your tastes. Low voltage is a great improvement for outdoor lighting because it casts an even glow, which is great for highlighting flower beds or walkways. You can attach a fixture in a tree to cast a moonlit glow, or use low voltage lights to highlight your favorite tree or arbor. Many low voltage items are sold as kits at your local home center, and are a perfect weekend do-it your self project. Not only does low voltage lighting help to enhance your outdoor escape, it adds value to your home and helps keep everyone safe on those newly lit pathways.


Resource:  The Money Pit

6 Most Popular Projects Home Owners Target With Remodeling

Kitchens and bathrooms remain the top jobs home owners are taking on in remodeling projects, according to a new survey by the National Association of Home Builders.

The top remodeling projects of home owners, according to the latest survey of remodelers, are:

1. Bathrooms
2. Kitchens
3. Window/door replacements
4. Whole house remodels
5. Room additions
6. Handyman services

The report’s finding of the main motivation behind home owners’ decision to remodel is not too surprising: To repair and replace old components and to upgrade amenities.

But more than 20 percent of remodelers surveyed said they’ve been noticing a drop in the number of customers who are remodeling to try to increase their home’s value.

The survey is yet another indication that more home owners are happy staying put–at least for now–and instead are looking at how to enhance what they already have.

Nearly half of the remodelers surveyed said they’ve been seeing an increase over the last year in the number of home owners who are undertaking remodeling projects so they can avoid moving.

“Home owners are repurposing spaces and making more efficient use of their home’s square footage,” says NAHB Remodelers Chairman George “Geep” Moore Jr. “Whether it be young families or couples aging in their homes, people want to let their house adapt with their needs as they change over time.”

According to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, home remodeling is expected to post its best year this year since 2006.

But while home owners want to enhance, they also want to save.

“Before it was curb appeal, showiness and keeping up with the Joneses,” Duo Dickinson, author of Staying Put: Remodel Your House to Get the Home You Want (Taunton Press), told USA Today in a recent article on remodeling trends. But now more home owners want their homes to reflect who they are. “The house is the most direct mirror of your personal values. When people renovate to change their lives, they waste money.”

These more “me-centered” remodeling projects may include livening up outdoor spaces, creating “livable kitchens” that are multi-purpose and make the kitchen serve as a room for more than just cooking, and smaller master baths (like removing that luxurious spa tub for a larger shower).

Also in saving a buck, more home owners are looking at doing more of the work themselves. According to a new report from Bank of America, 70 percent of home owners are taking on home improvement projects that they once hired out in order to cut costs, tackling everything from plumbing to painting.

Resource:  Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

Easy, Cheap and Green Cleaning Tips for Floors

Thanks to HGTV.com, you can make your floors look like new again with these simple techniques for cleaning tile, hardwood and vinyl.  Happy cleaning!

How to Clean Tile, Wood and Vinyl Floors
 

Ceramic-tile floors can be cleaned easily with nothing but warm water, but be sure to sweep or vacuum first to remove any loose soil or grit. Never use a sponge mop to clean ceramic-tile floors. It will pull the dirt right into the grout tracks. This makes the floor more difficult to clean. A micro-fiber mop picks up all the dirt that a sponge mop leaves behind. Pour the ingredients into a bucket and use a rag or micro-fiber mop to clean. If you do use a rag and the on-your-hands-and-knees method, be sure to wipe in a circular motion across the floor. Don't forget the cabinets and baseboards. If you have really dirty grout, use a brush.

Use boiling water and two teabags to clean hardwood floors. The tannic acid in tea creates a beautiful shine for hardwood floors. Let two teabags steep in the boiling water for a few minutes. Pour the tea into a bucket. Take a soft cloth and wring it out in the tea. The cloth merely needs to be damp, not soaked. This will enable the floor to dry quickly. Wash the floor and be ready to be amazed by the sheen.

If there are scratches that stand out after cleaning the hardwood floor, simply take a crayon the color of the floor and rub it on the scratch to fill the gap. Turn a blow dryer on high, heat the area where the crayon was applied and buff it with a soft cloth.

Clean the vinyl floors. Mix Borax in a bucket of warm water and wash the floor.

Remove hairspray residue from hard surfaces with a solution of one part fabric softener and two parts water.

For stains on concrete floors, try laundry detergent, pre-treat stain solutions or dishwasher detergent. Let the solution soak for about 30 minutes then scrub.

How to Clean Floor Grout

Many stains are on the surface of the grout and can be removed with sandpaper. Just fold the sandpaper into a crease, and work it back and forth along the grout line. If sandpaper doesn't work, you may have better results by applying a pencil eraser.

If sandpaper or an eraser fails to remove the stains and dirt, try an over-the-counter grout cleaner -- or create a similar solution from household bleach and water. Squirt or pour the solution onto the grout, and scrub with a toothbrush. Make sure the area is well ventilated, and wear rubber or latex gloves when working with bleach.

If bleach doesn't do the job, you may need to remove and replace the grout. Use a grout-removal tool or a rotary tool with a carbide tip. After you install new grout, seal it with a grout sealer to reduce the likelihood of future stains setting in. Reapply sealer once every two years.

Resource:  HGTV.com

6 Extraordinary Uses for Dishwashing Soap

Who knew? Dishwashing soap isn't just for scrubbing plates—see how the liquid can kill ants, beat greasy hair, and more.

Kill weeds kindly

Be gentler to the environment—not so much to weeds—by using a natural plant killer rather than harmful herbicides. Mix 1 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid with 1 cup of salt and 1 gallon of white vinegar. Pour the solution on weeds sprouting in the cracks and crevices of sidewalks, front walks, and patio pavers.

Wash away ants

Outdoor ants can be just as annoying as indoor ants, particularly if they've invaded the crevices in your patio where you eat. Get rid of them with a simple 50/50 solution of water and white vinegar with a dash of dishwashing liquid. (You can substitute glass cleaner for the vinegar if you want.) Spray the affected area with the mix, wait a few minutes, then happily return to your picnic.

Green your lawn

Fill the reservoir of a 10- or 20-gallon hose-end sprayer with water and 12-ounce can of beer or non-diet cola, 1 cup of corn syrup or molasses or household ammonia, or 1/2 cup mouthwash—and 1 cup of dishwashing liquid. The dishwashing liquid helps spread the concoction more evenly across your lawn, and as an added bonus, helps it stick to individual blades of grass.

Water your lawn approximately every three weeks, and watch your neighbors turn green with envy—like your lawn.

Keep it cool

Clean your foam or metal mesh air conditioner filters once a month during the summer—or whenever you routinely use your AC—with dishwashing liquid. Soak the filter in a bath of warm water and dish soap, then scrub it gently with a toothbrush. Once you've removed any debris, rinse it and dry it completely. Put it back in the air conditioner, and enjoy a sweat-free day with cleaner air.

Add life to your locks

If your hair isn't looking so lovely, try mixing a dollop of dishwashing liquid into your shampoo. It fights grease in hair, as well as on dishes!

Clean your blender

Forget about taking your blender apart to wash it thoroughly. Instead, fill it partway with warm water and dishwashing detergent, cover it, and run it for a few seconds. Empty it, rinse it, air-dry it, and call it a day.

Resource:   Reader's Digest