How To Make Your Pantry Cabinets More Spacious

Posted on January 20, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

If you are looking to increase the storage capacity and efficiency of your home then one good thing to do is to make your pantry cabinets more spacious. Kitchen storage is one of those areas that we often wish we had more of. We will find that our kitchen cabinets and cupboards are stuffed full of too much stuff and we will yearn to find ways to add additional storage to the kitchen.

One great way is by getting things like roll out shelves and dividers that you can use in your pantry. You can get these custom made or you can head down to your local superstore and see if you can find some that will fit well into your cabinets.

One of the areas in your kitchen that is most wasted and could easily be tapped into for additional storage space is the gap between the door of the cupboard and the shelves. By building something like a custom spice rack you will be able to clear out a lot of space from other areas of the kitchen. You might also be able to use the space to store tinned items if the area is deep enough.

When it comes to dividers there are many different options that you might take advantage of. One such option are movable racks that you will be able to place on top of canned goods. You will then be able to use the space above for additional storage. You can also get permanent shelves that can be fixed in to separate all of the different sorts of items that you are storing.

Of course, if you are keen on tearing out the shelves and cabinets and totally rebuilding them then this is where you will really be able to satisfy your creative urges. The sky is the limit on whatever you want to do, and you should look to consult a variety of different home improvement magazines to find some of the best designs.

These are just a few tips on making your pantry storage cabinets more spacious.

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Avoid Changing Your Humidifier Filter

Posted on January 20, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

Using a humidifier requires a minimal amount of maintenance and attention. Basic cleaning and regular changing of the humidifier filter is really all the appliance asks of its owner and still there are people who fail to do so. The frequency a filter should be replaced really depends on usage and manufacturer guidelines that are included in the packaging should tell you exactly how often to change the filter. Even rarely used humidifiers should have their filters replaced at least once a year. This is to get rid of any accumulation of bacteria or mold spores that might have grown in the filter.

For those who do not want to change their filters on time can always look for a filterless humidifier. These devices do not use the wick filter of typical evaporative humidifiers which means there is one less place for mold and bacteria to grow. The water tank will still be another important consumable to watch, however and it is important to rinse the water reservoir and replace the sitting water with fresh water every so often.

Instead of using a filter saturated in water, a filter less humidifier passes the air through a screen that carries an electro-static charge. When the air first enters the appliance it is charged with an opposite charge to that of the screen. The opposite poles cause the particles in the air such as dirt and debris to stick to the screen. Cleaning is easy since it is a matter of pulling out the screen and wiping it with a cloth. Of course this really doesn’t help those looking to avoid cleaning the humidifier. There is just no way around it but the filter less option is slightly more economical in the long run given that replacement filters are no longer an ongoing expense.

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Closet Design And Organization

Posted on January 20, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

A walk in closet design is a great option that can be enjoyed in any room that has closet storage space. It can really make finding your items and accessing them much easier than the design of typical closets. If you do not have a walk in closet, but the idea interests you, consider upgrading your closet and changing it into what you want it to be. Some of the following guidelines written here should be able to help you.

Allow yourself to be creative. Your closet space does not need to be limited to some closet shelves and clothing racks. You can make your design into whatever you want it to be, within reason. Look at some ideas that other people have incorporated into their walk in closets design and see if it is something that interests you. It can help you to get inspired and be creative about your own ideas.

It is important to keep your ideas reasonable. Make a budget for your closets design project and stick to it. Your design should be based on what your needs are for your closet and your necessity for space. Try not to go overboard with overly imaginative ideas that cannot be created in your closet.

Think about how much space you truly need in your closet. Make considerations for the amount of items and clothes that you want to store into this closet ideally and decide how much space you need for that. You also need to keep in mind that you need to have extra space for walking around in your closet, between the racks and any other items. You should be able to walk freely inside of the closet.

If you do not have the time or resources then hire a closet designer to come in and take care of all your needs. They can show what would look best and put you on the right path to closet organization.

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Plumbing Advice from a Marietta Plumber

Posted on January 20, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

I have spent the better part of the last decade working as a Marietta plumber and after countless experiences with all types of home-owners I would like to take the time to give out some free plumbing advice. Now for those of you who have never heard of Marietta, it is a great city in the state of Georgia and is a popular suburb of Atlanta. I used to work for a major Atlanta plumbing company and spent many hours counseling home-owners both in Marietta and many other parts of Atlanta. The plumbing advice that I would give one homeowner seemed to echo the plumbing tips that I gave to the last home-owner. After a while I decided that it would be worthwhile for me to start writing a lot of this information down and sharing it with the world via the internet. I find this to be a much better and more effective way to dispense plumbing advice and it also allows me to provide visuals in the form of pictures and videos as well. Since the advice in this article is straightforward it doesn’t require a diagram but its nice to have that option.

Plumbing Advice

Make sure all of your drains have drain screens installed. This is one of the most common causes for drain clogs. For one reason or another home-owners decide to remove these drain screens and debris makes its way into your drainage system.This debris often time can consist of hair, soap scum, toothpaste, and a whole assortment of other things. The debris falls into the drain(since there is no screen to prevent it from doing so) and over time builds up in the u-trap. The u-trap becomes clogged and then your sink no longer drains. Taking the time to make sure that you keep drain screens installed on all of your drains can avoid this problem altogether.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article and I hope that this old Marietta plumber was able to provide you with some useful information.

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Country Style Bathroom Vanities

Posted on January 19, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

Most of the city dwellers are leading a fast paced and tiring life now. Often, they will seek ways to relieve the stress they face and escape from their hectic life. Some choose to go for short weekend getaways at nearby places, while others choose to design their homes in a way that will allow them to relax and rejuvenate after a long day of work. It is not convenient to go for a break all the time. Therefore, designing homes in country styles is one of the popular ways that can give people a feel of being in a holiday even when they are at home. The bathroom, being the most important place for people to refresh themselves, should also be decorated in country style vanity units.

When selecting country style bath vanity cabinets, the colours and designs of the vanity units are crucial. Light blue, old rose, gray, light brown or other soft pastel tones are typical colours you will come across when selecting country vanities. It is common to see some darker shades in contemporary country vanities too. Nevertheless, both tones are just as welcoming and cozy.

An example of a country bathroom vanity is one that has an antique ivory finish, cabinet doors with decorative trims to enhance the country style, homey light brown stone top with a sink, combined with an oval Victorian styled mirror that has the similar finish. For the countertop materials, you can also choose from several kinds such as marble, granite or tiles all in earth tones colours, whereas for the sink, it usually comes in white ceramic.

To set up a country style bathroom, besides getting country style bathroom vanity unit, the other accessories and furniture in the bathroom have to be of similar style too. Matching white or gray painted shelves may be mounted on the wall to hold your toiletries such as toothbrush and hand towels. The designs of door knobs or toilet seats can be ornamental to blend into the country style.

As for the bathroom surroundings, some people may prefer darker shade of walls to enable a contrast from the vanity unit, while others opt from wallpaper in country designs. Tile floorings are recommended because it will not be damaged easily due to the moist environment as compared to the wood laminated floors. Curtain showers in floral or pastel prints can be fixed to bring out the country feel in the bathroom. There aren’t any standard country bathroom designs. Most importantly, you have to get vanities or other accessories to create your own country style bathroom that you will feel comfortable in.

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A Pink Rug for The Bedroom

Posted on January 19, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

Flooring is a fundamental part of any plan to decorate your home and it is as important in the bedroom as anywhere else. Although you might think pink is a very feminine color and that is true, but it can be used in several ways in a bedroom. For example, it might be a pastel pink which you might use for a nursery or a small girl’s room, a brighter fuchsia pink which you might use for an older girl or a sophisticated dusky pink (“Ashes of Roses”) which you might use in a traditional room.

And of course each of these styles of bedroom would suit a different pink rug.

For a baby or young child’s room you can choose a rug made of soft strips of soft cotton which is very comfortable to sit on. Such a rug will also be washable so this is quite helpful in a child’s room as kids are not known for being careful with soft furnishings!

For an older girl, who is still keen on pink, a bright pink rug will finish off a stylish bedroom which includes that color in other items in the room. Of course, you can overdo such a strong color if you are not careful but an accent rug will work very well.

If you are looking for a more grown-up bedroom style you could use a Chinese rug in dusky pink as a starter for your color scheme and use colors in the rug for other items in the room.

When looking for pink rugs be sure to consider the size of each rug as well as the style. Sometimes the free floor space is restricted in a bedroom and you need to make sure your rug fits the available floor. But even if you just need a bedside rug you should be able to find something to suit.

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Central Heating Radiators for Heating Your House

Posted on January 18, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

Central heating systems come into their own on those cold and crisp winter mornings when you are under the duvet and don’t want to get out of bed. They heat use house by using efficient central heating radiators that work wonderfully well to heat your house. Central heating can heat all the rooms in your house or just the ones you desire, by turning on and off separate radiators.

Modern radiators are now super efficient and are very different to what you might find in older houses. Not only are they efficient but they are also a wonderful way to add beautiful design features into your house as they come in all different styles, designs and colours.

Problems may arise because of the mass of different styles and designs such as chrome or stainless metals for an ultra stylish, or simple aluminium models that fit into any room or home. This will make it extremely hard to decide on what you want unless you already have a set design for a room or you are building a specific style of house.

If you want absolute control over the heating in your house then a central heating system is probably the way to go as it offers a chance to control the temperature throughout your house with consummate ease. You can control the overall temperature by using the thermostat at the boiler but if some rooms in the house are used more than other will be then you can shut off individual radiators or have them on very low just to keep the chill out of the air. This is great if you spend the majority of your time in just a few rooms of your house as it will lower your heating bills considerably.

So if you are looking for an easy and up to date solution to heat your home then look no further than a central heating system. For added efficiency make sure you choose the correct central heating radiators and save yourself some money on bills.

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Saving Money On Your Home Improvement Project

Posted on January 17, 2010 by Home and Garden Guy
When a home owner decides to undergo a new home renovation, a lot of things are going through their minds.  There are a few ways that you can cut out your frustration.  You can consider using an inexpensive home improvement project manager, though, this will end up adding extra expensive onto the price of the renovation.  You can also use project planning and management software.  While this type of program will cost you around $100 or so, sometimes more, you can save yourself a lot of time and money, by doing the planning, as well as implementing the work required by yourself, instead of hiring a contracting company.
By using a home improvement project estimator, you will be able to enter in your designs, with the specifications of the area that you intend to renovate, and the software will generate a set of blueprints, along with the list of materials that you will require.  This varies state to state, but most home improvement project management software includes databases that are kept up to date, with what materials are required for certain jobs.  This level of planning is great when you are ready to order your supplies.
Once you have implemented the design, and the software has generated the blueprints, and materials list, there are a couple of options for you.  First, you are going to want to take the prints to a plotter, and have them give you a set for your home improvement project, or if you have a plotter available, print the list and prints out yourself.  This will give you a basic idea of how much you are going to have to spend, as well as help you purchase the materials yourself, or save money on the contractors estimating costs.
If you are going to buy them yourself, you can continue on with your project.  However, if you are going to require the services of a home improvement project management company, you are going to want to make sure that they are reputable, and can complete the job.  If they are licensed, insured, and bonded, you can give them the materials list and blueprints, to allow them to begin work.  At this point, the project is out of your hands, but depending on the size of the renovation, you could have just saved yourself thousands of dollars on the cost of constructing estimating fees.

When a home owner decides to undergo a new home renovation, a lot of things are going through their minds.  There are a few ways that you can cut out your frustration.  You can consider using an inexpensive home improvement project manager, though, this will end up adding extra expensive onto the price of the renovation.  You can also use project planning and management software.  While this type of program will cost you around $100 or so, sometimes more, you can save yourself a lot of time and money, by doing the planning, as well as implementing the work required by yourself, instead of hiring a contracting company.

By using a home improvement project estimator, you will be able to enter in your designs, with the specifications of the area that you intend to renovate, and the software will generate a set of blueprints, along with the list of materials that you will require.  This varies state to state, but most home improvement project management software includes databases that are kept up to date, with what materials are required for certain jobs.  This level of planning is great when you are ready to order your supplies.

Once you have implemented the design, and the software has generated the blueprints, and materials list, there are a couple of options for you.  First, you are going to want to take the prints to a plotter, and have them give you a set for your home improvement project, or if you have a plotter available, print the list and prints out yourself.  This will give you a basic idea of how much you are going to have to spend, as well as help you purchase the materials yourself, or save money on the contractors estimating costs.

If you are going to buy them yourself, you can continue on with your project.  However, if you are going to require the services of a home improvement project management company, you are going to want to make sure that they are reputable, and can complete the job.  If they are licensed, insured, and bonded, you can give them the materials list and blueprints, to allow them to begin work.  At this point, the project is out of your hands, but depending on the size of the renovation, you could have just saved yourself thousands of dollars on the cost of constructing estimating fees.

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Wall Safes Offer Hidden Home Security

Posted on January 17, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

A popular mantra in the home security industry is, “if they can’t find it, they can’t steal it”.  There’s arguably no better way to describe the outstanding advantage of using a wall safe to secure your valuables.  The many wall safes available on the market provide a decent level of security, concealing them to remain hidden during a break in is where they really shine.

Hollywood has really romanticized this product in the public eye.  It seems almost every wealthy landowner, or secret agent in the movies has some sort of secure hole in the wall for his valuables, usually hidden behind a plant or an oil painting.  Hollywood is off on a lot of things, but they have the right idea here.  Employing a method like masking the safe behind a piece of furniture or the aforementioned painting can prevent your common crook from ever even finding it.

Let’s say they do happen to find it, however.  Then what?  Well, first of all, don’t take any shortcuts on a safe installation.  Be sure to mount the unit to the studs securely, and follow the instructions to a tee.  Some wall safes with advanced electronic locks allow you to hook the safe directly to your alarm system.  If your safe doesn’t offer that feature, the crook doesn’t have to know it.  Slap a high voltage sticker on the front, or install a mock security camera – be creative.

Unfortunately, even if you go through all the necessary procedures and precautions, a crook who really wants what’s inside, can go for broke, pry the unit from the wall and run off with it.  Unless our safe is mounted within a steel reinforced concrete wall (not likely in a bedroom setting), this is simply a risk of employing a wall safe to protect your valuables.  Be sure to insure your valuables ahead of time.  You’ll find that many insurance companies offer substantial discounts for using a safe in the first place.

For more extensive information on wall safes, in particularly, using them for gun storage, be sure to visit GunSafeHaven.com.

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Make Use of Your Artificial Turf Remnants

Posted on January 17, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

Although artificial turf has become quite popular as a playing surface in such sports as football, baseball, soccer and as golf putting greens, it also stands up pretty well when you want to use the artificial turf remnants in much smaller quantities for home use. If you don’t have any used artificial turf handy it is available at hardware stores where you can buy it by the foot which makes it a very cost effective method for providing a reliable floor or ground covering.

A small artificial turf remnant makes an ideal floor covering for a dog kennel. You simply have to cut the turf to size and place it inside the kennel for your dog to enjoy. It provides a padded surface that will also give the dog a little bit of protection from the cold or damp by saving your pet from lying directly on the ground.

It is also possible to use a piece of artificial turf as a temporary floor covering when hosting a party and you want a durable floor covering to protect the carpet or wooden floor from heavy traffic or the possibility of spills. Similarly artificial turf would be ideal as carpeting for a child’s play house. It’s cheap and will withstand all sorts of abuse while the kids are playing on it.

But you don’t necessarily have to use your artificial turf remnants as a floor covering. The material can be re-used for school projects for those times when a model has to be made. There are any number of creative uses an imaginative mind can think up for it.

Sports themed rooms are the most obvious place that you might want to make use of artificial turf. It stands to reason that the floor covering in a sports themed room should look like a playing field and artificial turf is like carpet anyway so why not put it in the house?

If you’ve got some extra artificial turf lying around the house then it would be a very good idea to stow the remnants away because, as you can see, it’s highly likely that you’re going to find a use for it at some point.

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