Category Archives: House Cleaning

Some Ideas To Help You Shop For Jewelry

January 03, 2025   Matt

Some Ideas To Help You Shop For Jewelry

If you’ve purchased jewelry, it’s important to take the time to take care of it. Just a little effort can make even a simple piece of jewelry last for a long time. In this article, you’ll find out ways you can take better care of your jewelry, and how you can make old jewelry look like new.

To best protect the investment you made in your jewelry purchase, take care of it. Do not wear it when you do something like cleaning your house. If you do this, the chemicals you expose your jewelry to could harm the precious metals and stones. It’s likely worth the minute that it takes to remove it.

Keep your silver jewelry untarnished and clean. Your pieces do not look good when they are dirty. You can clean them at home using toothpaste or baking soda. Lightly scrub with the toothpaste or soak in baking soda overnight. You will wake up in the morning to clean shiny silver.

Jewelry is a very personal item, and picking a nice peace is largely a subjective decision. You should examine your tastes and decide whether you would like to spend you allotted budget on a few nice pieces or on many pieces of lower quality. Once you have made this choice, you can focus on what pieces you need.

Try displaying your jewelry with a fine jewelry box that opens with drawers or a vertical jewelry box with glass doors. Don’t just allow your jewelry to hide away in the dark; properly display it, complete with a gorgeous box. Most vertical boxes also include hooks for fishhook earrings, necklaces and bracelets.

Use broken jewelry as well as odds and ends jewelry pieces to glue onto a picture frame to hold a special photo. A clear silicone is all that is needed to create a dazzling frame just perfect for a wedding photo or use old costume jewelry from the right era to surround a photo of a favorite grandmother. Jewelry-covered frames make gorgeous gifts too!

When looking to invest in jewelry containing sapphires, opals or rubies make sure that you understand what lab created means. Lab created gemstones are grown in a laboratory using scientific means. Jewelry that you see labeled as lab created such as sapphire has never seen Mother Nature. If you are looking for natural gemstones, you may be paying a higher price and spend significant time looking for a vendor outside of your local mall.

When it comes to taking care of your jewelry be sure that you are using only mild cleaning solutions when cleaning it. This will ensure that you are not compromising the structural integrity of your jewelry as well as not causing further surface damage such as discoloration. When in doubt, look for jewelry safe cleaning products when shopping.

Taking care of your jewelry lets you get the most for your money. A quality piece of jewelry should be able to last you a lifetime. Thanks to the tips in this article, you now know how to keep your jewelry looking great. If you keep the advice here in mind, you’ll be enjoying your favorite earrings and necklaces for years to come.

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How To Start Your Own Dog Care Home Business

December 29, 2024   Matt

How To Start Your Own Dog Care Home Business

Do you love dogs? If you happen to love dogs, you might want to start a dog care home business. A lot of dog owners don’t have time to groom or walk their dogs that they will often rely on pet care businesses to do the job for them. Considering the number of dog owners in the country today, you will not really run-out of clients who will ask to groom and walk their dogs.

Setting up a dog bath

The first thing that you will need is a place where you can bath and groom dogs. If you live in a house with a big lawn, you may want to set up a place where you can bath dogs. Never attempt to bath dogs, especially the big once inside your house. Dogs love to wiggle around and shake their hair during baths thus creating a huge mess. Playful and rowdy big dogs are adorable but when they start running around your house in their wet coats, things will not really look very funny at all so keep them out of the house. There is no point of wasting a lot of energy cleaning after a wet dog.

When setting up a dog bath, a tub or a huge basin, a garden hose, some dog soap, shampoo, a brush and some cotton towels. You don’t really need something elaborate when bathing dogs. Certainly not those pet washers that torture the poor things. Some experts believe that using pet washers where you simply put the dog inside a box and turn on the water cause emotional trauma on the dogs and must not be used at all. Well, who wouldn’t be traumatized if they were put inside a closed box with water gushing all over the place? If you want to bath dogs, forget about the pet washer and do things the old fashioned way. Dogs love it when you brush their coat and massage them. Besides, bathing a dog the old fashioned way could be a lot of fun for you too.

Setting up a grooming area

For grooming dogs, select a quite area inside the house. Of course you can set-up a grooming area outside of the house if you want to but grooming a dog inside the house is lot better. First, most dogs are less playful when they are inside the house than when they are in the yard, second, there are less distractions inside the house and third, it would be easier on your part to store all your grooming stuff. For grooming dogs, you will need the following materials; a table, towels, cotton, mineral oil, eye ointment, nails clippers and a brush. You can easily get all these stuff at your favorite pet shop.

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Real Estate Buying And Selling Tips

December 24, 2024   Matt

Real Estate Buying And Selling Tips

In purchasing a property, an interested buyer should consider the time he intends to stay in the place, since selling a house too soon would probably not be a profitable move, especially if there is instability in the market. Make sure that you stick with your price range and to minimize lower depreciation for your house, buy a property that is a little bit cheaper than those in your neighborhood. The added wisdom in this is lesser vulnerability to market volatility, with nearby luxury homes pulling the neighborhood’s price range in times of market boom. It would also be beneficial if you talk to a real estate agent on the market condition of your desired neighborhood.

Ask for special incentives in buying a house, as there are a lot of sellers now and the market is quite saturated. Be very attentive on the financial terms offered by the seller and try to determine any possibility of reducing your transaction costs, such as asking the seller to shoulder the closing cost.

More importantly, always consider the location of the house you wish to purchase. Try to avoid properties near busy streets or places where a lot of people converge at particular times of the day. Choose a house located in a community with viable economy, to ensure your property will still sell a few years down the line. Examine also the local services available, as well as the crime rate. A property near a good school is considered a good find. Do not be discourage if the house is located in a community with higher property tax, as this often translates to better services and infrastructures.

Hire a home inspector to check whether appliances are in good working order, the electrical wirings are all in order, and determine the state of the heating and air conditioning systems. A good home inspector should also scrutinize the exterior of the house, including the roofing. Have the inspector check the plumbing, ventilation and the general foundation of the house.

At the other end of the spectrum, selling your house also entails that you must first formulate a good marketing plan. This includes considering several listing contracts with your real estate agents, who will be the one bringing the clients to your house. Evaluate also your asking price and try to adjust it with the current pricing trends in the local area. Timing is also important as it will do you no good to sell during a market slump. Next, improve your house’s appeal through cleaning, tidying up the yard and even adding a fresh coat of paint. Remember that first impression always makes a big impact on potential buyers. Make sure that you are also familiar with disclosure laws in your area. Lastly, be discriminating in who you allow inside your house. The value of a good real estate agent comes into play here, as it is always good to have somebody around who is quite knowledgeable and can answer questions regarding real estate.

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Renting with Dogs

December 19, 2024   Matt

Renting with Dogs

Renters who have a dog or more than one dog may face additional challenges when renting an apartment or a house. One of the primary challenges the renters may face is finding a living situation which is acceptable to them and also willing to accept their pets. This can be difficult as many rental properties do not allow dogs at all. Those who do allow animals on the property may place certain restrictions on they size and breed of dog which may reside on the property.

Finding an Acceptable Living Situation

The first step in renting with dogs is to find an acceptable living situation. For those who wish to rent with dogs, the first question to be asked should be whether or not dogs are allowed to live on the property. This is important because it can save the renter a great deal of time. The renter may otherwise invest a great deal of time learning more about the property or even undergoing a credit check only to find out pet are not permitted.

For some dog owners, finding a rental situation which allows dogs is not the end of the search. The renter should also confirm the type of dog he owns will be allowed to live on the property. This may include both the size of the dog as well as the breed as some apartment complexes place limitations on the size of the dog and also prohibit certain breeds. Again confirming these facts early in the search for an apartment can be a tremendous time savings especially for those who own large or commonly banned breeds.

Renters should also consider the surrounding area when selecting a rental property. An ideal location would be one in which there is an adequate location to walk and exercise the dogs. Areas with large grassy areas may be ideal while areas which do not have a location to walk a dog may be problematic.

Read Contracts Carefully

Renters who have dogs should read their contract carefully before making a decision to rent a particular property. This is important because many landlords may impose restrictions on renters who own dogs. These restrictions may include, but are not limited to, requiring an additional security deposit for the renter, requiring specific cleaning methods on the carpets after the renter vacates the apartment and holding the renter responsible if the dog engages in nuisance barking. Nuisance barking can be a problem in apartment situations where the apartments are located close together and even share a common wall. Renters should be aware that in some situations, nuisance barking can be a cause for eviction. For these reasons, renters who own dogs should take the time to familiarize themselves with the rental contract.

Take Care of Your Rental Property

Finally, renters who have dogs may have to take additional efforts to maintain their apartment. This may include more diligent cleaning, especially of the carpets. Renters with dogs should respond quickly to accidents in the house to minimize the possibility of permanent staining and odors. Each accident should be addressed immediately and every effort should be made to clean the affected area completely.

Renters with dogs should also vacuum regularly especially if their dog is a heavy shedder. This will help to keep the living environment cleaner and will also minimize the amount of cleaning required when the renter vacates the property. Regularly vacuuming will prevent hair from being embedded into the carpet so deeply that it is difficult to remove.

Finally, renters with dogs should take care to pick up after their dogs while on walks and to keep their dogs leashed while in common areas. Many cities have leash laws and laws regarding picking up after dogs. Even if these laws are not in effect, renters should follow these policies as a courtesy to their neighbors. Additionally, keeping dogs on leashes during walks helps to ensure their safety by preventing them from running into the street.

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Part II How To Lose 50 Pounds And Keep It Off

December 14, 2024   Matt

Part II How To Lose 50 Pounds And Keep It Off

Yes, you can help yourself lose 50 pounds, by simply increasing your daily movement. In other words there are things that you do every single day, which will help you keep from adding extra pounds or taking off the extra pounds; you have already gained. The following daily activities will guide you in the right direction to being more healthy, by losing weight safely and easily.

Remember, you don’t have to just reduce the amount of food you eat to have 500 fewer calories in your system. You can also burn the calories. In a later article, we’ll deal with developing an exercise program. But first, in this section, we’ll look at ways to burn calories while going about your daily life.

For instance, many busy people hire others to handle their house work and landscaping. But, cleaning and keeping up with your yard are actually great ways to burn calories. Instead of spending money on a gym membership, you will actually be saving money by not paying a cleaning service.

On average, an hour of housework burns 160 calories. To burn 350 calories, a 150 pound woman could do the following bucket of activities in about two hours a day:

* 15 minutes cleaning bathroom (65 calories)
* 15 minutes vacuuming (60 calories)
* 10 minutes taking trash out (28 calories)
* 10 minutes sweep kitchen floors (37 calories)
* 20 minutes cleaning kitchen and washing dishes) (52 calories)
* 15 minutes of laundry (37 calories)
* 25 minutes of cooking (71 calories)

Consider that these are all things that need to be done anyway and you see that the value of doing them yourself may exceed the value of your paying someone else to do them while you head to a pricey gym.

If you have kids, consider spending time with them. Not only will you pry them away from their video games, but you will get exercise in the process. Shooting baskets with your child burns 77 calories in just 15 minutes. Even relatively sedate activities like putting together a puzzle with a child on the floor burns 43 calories in 15 minutes.

Finally, there are figurative steps you can take to build more literal steps in your day. If you are trying to lose weight, get a pedometer and aim to walk 10,000 steps a day. You can do this by:

* Parking farther away from the front door at work.
* Getting off the bus a stop or two earlier than you otherwise would.
* Taking the stairs whenever possible. If you work in a tall building, get off the elevator a
couple of floors early and walk the rest of the way.
* Instead of phoning or emailing a colleague in your office, actually get up and walk over
to her desk.
* Get a dog and walk him twice a day.
* Take a walk with your spouse after dinner

As you can easily see that to lose 50 pounds and keep it off dosen’t require a huge outlay of cash or going on a self punishing weight loss diet. With a little dedication and discipline, not only will you begin losing 50 pounds, but you will improve your overall physical health.

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Maintaining The Clean Carpet Look

December 09, 2024   Matt

Maintaining The Clean Carpet Look

Are you frustrated that your carpets look nothing like they did when you first bought them? Probably, so are many other homeowners. Well, there are fortunately some things once can do to prevent carpet disasters as the one we have mentioned above.

Vacuuming is an essential step to keeping carpets clean. Many of us hate to vacuum yet are angered at the fact that our carpets continue to get dirtier and dirtier. If you’re serious about maintaining your carpet, you need to do vacuum a minimum of once a week – not just when your carpet looks a bit dirty. You also want to take care of spills and messes right away. Allowing these to linger on your carpet for long could cause problems later down the road.
We touched on stains a bit in the above paragraph. What you have to understand is that stains need to be tended to promptly. Otherwise, they can remain in the carpet fibers and create an unsightly focal point. Anytime you see a fresh stain develop on your carpet, get a cloth on it and absorb the moisture. Some special solution for stains may assist in removing it from the fibers.

Even with regular vacuuming, carpets need a bit of some extra care. Shampoo is up to this task. Your carpets should be shampooed a minimum of two times a year, depending on what type of abuse your carpet has seen. If a family member constantly travels around the house with chemically-contaminated shoes and materials, it might be best to get your carpets shampooed more often. You can find a cleaning machine at most local stores – including your local grocery store. Make sure to keep your carpet vacant as it will remain wet for a few hours following the cleaning process. Placing some fans in the room should help expedite the process.

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