If your home is filled with clutter, your mind is probably the same way. Sorting out your stuff is a way to feel like you’ve got a better handle on things, and there are tricks you can use to streamline your path to a more organized existence. [More]
household
Stop Your Trash Can From Stinking Up The House
By 1.2.12
If you sometimes get a faint whiff of rotting garbage when you step into a friend’s place but don’t notice anything amiss at your own home when you haven’t taken out your trash in a week, you’ve either got a superpowered garbage can or have just become accustomed to the stench. Rest assured that visitors aren’t so lucky. [More]
3 Ways To Declutter Your Bathroom Cabinet
By 12.5.11
As every guest who ever uses your bathroom is secretly aware, your cabinet is an overwhelming mess of old prescriptions, nearly-empty hygiene product containers and stray razors. Every time you clean the cabinet out, it morphs back to its revolting form within weeks. But some organizational structure can break the cycle. [More]
A Guide To Ensuring Your Entire House Does Not Become Your Fireplace
By 11.16.11
There’s a certain romance to a crackling fire warming up a cold November night, but if you go through the motions without ensuring your fireplace is safe you could be lighting the way to disaster. Unkempt fireplaces can spark dangers ranging from house fires to skin burns and air poisoning. [More]
Quick, Cheap Ways To Lock Down Home Security
By 11.14.11
Devising the amount of security you need at your home is a matter of taste. There’s no such thing as total security for the paranoid, and those who take the matter too lightly are probably leaving themselves open for abuse. But there are simple, low-cost things everyone can do to make things more difficult on potential unwelcome visitors. [More]
Learn How To Properly Kick Down A Door
By 10.31.11
In the movies, bashing down doors always looks so easy. But attempting the feat in real life, without the proper knowledge of how to do it, is a great way to wind up in the hospital. [More]
Solar Power Becoming More Affordable, Realistic
By 10.24.11
Engineers and manufacturers are ever-so-slowly getting better at helping you siphon electricity from that massive power generator 93 million miles away. Due in part to technological advances and growing demand, solar power is starting to grow a little more mainstream and practical. [More]
Unleashing The Swiss Army Knife-Like Quality Of Shoe Holders
By 10.3.11
If you’ve got some of those dangling shoe organizers collecting dust in your closet, you’re wasting their potential. Capable of more than being morgues for ghosts of footwear’s past, the rows of plastic pockets can do as much for you as your imagination will allow. [More]
Quick Fixes That Ready Your Home For The Cold
By 9.30.11
Now that the colder months are approaching, it’s a good time to ready your home for the change in weather. It’s better to consider maintenance and repairs now then when your roof has sprung a leak or your ragged windows start allowing drafts. [More]
Places In Homes That Breed Germs
By 7.15.11
A house may look clean, but looks can be deceiving. Bacteria and other dangers could be building up in certain areas, poised to make your life difficult. [More]
How To Take Care Of Your Dishwasher, Washing Machine, And Oven
By 3.15.10
My friends broke the high-efficiency (H.E.) washing machine in their new apartment last year because they were using too much soap. Alina Tugend at the New York Times says it’s a common problem–one repairman told her that “most people use 10 to 15 times the amount of soap they need.” [More]
7 Places Around The House To Stash Your Cash
By 7.12.09
Banks are great and all, but everyone should keep a little bit of emergency cash stashed somewhere at home. Frugal Dad offers up a list of seven hiding spots that should beat all but the most determined thieves.
Six D.I.Y. Tips For Cleaning Greenly And Cheaply
By 3.7.09
Harsh chemicals aren’t just bad for you and the environment, they’re bad for your wallet too. Cleaning most things, from clothes to your kitchen, can be done greenly and cheaply with these six nifty do-it-yourself cleaning recipes from Consumer Reports…
Consumer Reports: Kenmore Vacuum Sucks In A Good Way, Dirt Devil Just Sucks
By 9.3.08
Consumer Reports’ vacuum cleaner test results are in and there’s bad news for Dirt Devil. Their pretty “Kone” vacuum poses a safety risk.
Why Super-Cleaning Microfiber Has Never Caught On In The U.S.
By 6.2.08
Barbara Flanagan of I.D. Magazine has a fascinating article about microfiber, a cleaning cloth introduced in Europe a decade ago that’s never caught on in the U.S., despite its ability to clean all sorts of things without the use of cleaning chemicals—”the product cleans surfaces mechanically, not chemically, by scraping them with microscopic precision.”
Reclaim Unnecessary Credit Cards' Unnecessary Foreign Transaction Fees
By 4.10.07
Several major credit card companies were successfully and recently class-actioned for charging unnecessary fees for overseas transactions.
Spring Cleaning Time!
By 3.13.07
DECLUTTER!!! As my Auntie always used to say, “Look one way and pitch the other”. Look, I know it’s hard to get rid of your beloved stuff, but trust me, it’s better this way. If it’s really nice stuff that someone might use, give it away on Freecycle. Do NOT save stuff for a yard sale, unless you’re having that yard sale immediately.
True words, people. True words. —MEGHANN MARCO
Clean Your House Like A Professional
By 2.21.07
It’s a really great post for people who feel overwhelmed when its time to start cleaning. We sometimes end up standing in the middle of the room wondering what the heck to do next. —MEGHANN MARCO
