Placemat Holder For Less Than $4

A placemat holder that is eco-friendly and made from recycled materials – used textile strip. As promised, here is the first tutorial in making your very own placemat holder.
What you will need:
Three suction hooks, strip of cloth, balloon stick (optional), textile glue, yarn
Tools: Scissors, cutter, needle and thread
Build time: 10 Minutes

 Get instructions here: DIY Placemat Holder

History of the Placemat Holder

The placemat holder was born out of need. Eric, a father of one back in 1998, was renting a small apartment in Angeles, Pampanga, Philippines.  Being a small apartment as it was, storage space was a challenge to find. Particularly in the kitchen. The cupboards weren't enough, the counter tops weren't enough. Aside from the usual utensils, plates and glasses that are frequently used in the kitchen, he had these placemats to deal with.

Being Filipino, close family ties are a norm... Of course, these people notice the contraption Eric has conceptualized. All immediate family members have seen this including those relatives visiting from the US.

Read more:  History of the Placemat Holder

Easy Bedroom Maintenance Tips

Keeping your bedroom in tiptop condition is ideal. The bedroom is a private sanctuary where you enter your state of rest at the end of the day. It is the first thing you see when you open your eyes in the morning. You would want it to look its best and it does not have to be a laborious process. Here are some tips to easily freshen up your bedroom.

Keeping your bedroom in tiptop condition is ideal. The bedroom is a private sanctuary where you enter your state of rest at the end of the day. It is the first thing you see when you open your eyes in the morning. You would want it to look its best and it does not have to be a laborious process. Here are some tips to easily freshen up your bedroom.

Does anyone open windows these days? It is advisable to open bedroom windows, and all other house windows for that matter, each morning to air stuffy rooms, pull back bedding at the same time to give beds a pretty good airing, too. Gusty breezes will freshen up rooms, chasing out any toxins, drying dampness in the atmosphere and remove from beddings the moisture that inevitably gathers while we are sleeping ( fact: we lose a pint of moisture every night). It additionally helps to keep awful pests at bay - there's nothing that microscopic creatures like more than damp, dark nooks and crannies wherein to feast and breed. These age-old rites are not so convenient to assert these days when open windows are more likely to allow in sneaky burglars than fragrant breezes, but a bit of ventilation is always better than nothing at all. Even when schedule is tight in the morning, have the time to open the windows and pull back bedding while you're starting to ready for the day ahead. Just half an hour of fresh air passing around your bedroom would make a difference. Turn back duvets, bedding and blankets each morning so that dampness will have a chance to evaporate from the bed. Preferably you ought to leave the bed to air the whole day, but coming home to an unmade bed isn't an elating experience, so if you choose make the bed and tidy up just prior to leaving for work.

On weekends, when time may not be such a premium, leave the windows open all morning and strip the bed as well so that the mattress is given a good airing, too. Get into the habit of practicing this every week when you are changing the bedding. When your bedroom is clutter-free, cleanup will be convenient. You will only require a quick whip-round with a duster and the vacuum cleaner each week. The greatest problem in the bedroom would perhaps be dust, so when you have the time for a more exhaustive clean, try to get into each nook and cranny where dust might lurk. Use a soft brush or the upholstery attachment of your vacuum over the mattress and base to gather up dust and fluff. This would also help to hold off dust mites. Always do this with the windowpanes wide open. Do not forget to vacuum below the bed, pulling it away from the wall if needed, to eliminate dust build-up. If you have storage below your bed, take everything out and vacuum on the surrounding edges and skirting, and then clean storage boxes vigorously before placing them back.

“You remember some bedrooms you have slept in. There are bedrooms you like to remember and others you would like to forget.” -- Carl Sandburg

Floor Materials and Basic Floor Care

Vinyl is one of the most widely used synthetic flooring materials. It is available in conventional and no-wax styles. For durability, choose a thick vinyl material with a homogeneous color that extends through with the entire thickness. The no wax versions contain a clear wear layer on the surface. Other synthetic flooring materials include linoleum, highly susceptible to damage from strong cleaners, asphalt tile which is hard and brittle and rubber tile which is a very quiet flooring material. Natural flooring materials include cork, wood, stone, masonry, terrazzo, marble, tile, ceramic, quarry tile, slate, terra cota and concrete.  
The basic formula for proper floor care is to pick the correct product for the job. There are three basic classes of floor care products: product that clean, Combination product that both clean and shine, and products that add a protective shine to the floor.

Handheld Vacuum Cleaners

The most popular type of handheld vacuum operates on rechargeable batteries and can be carried easily from one room to another. But hand vacuum with cords offer serious competition, because they can extend vacuuming beyond the length of time that a typical rechargeable model allows.
Handheld vacuums give extras such as revolving power brushed to beat dirt out of carpeting, as well as and variety of attachments and extensions designed specifically for nooks, crannies, ceilings and drapes. Additionally, cordless models come with a wall-mounted storage bracket that has a built in battery charger. Car vacuums, which plug into a car’s cigarette-lighter socket, look much like the cordless models, but they come without a wall storage bracket.

Basics on Car Polishes

One of the attractions of a brand new car is its showroom shine. Many newer models have an added clear coating designed to add even more luster and durability to the finish. But sooner or later sunlight, air pollution, water, and other contaminants can age and erode the paint until the gloss fades, and the finish is no longer able to shed contaminants like water and dirt. At this point, auto polish can make a dramatic improvement.

            You’ll observe that auto polish come in paste, liquid, and a few spray versions. The products are interchangeably labeled wax, polish or sealant by the makers. The one-step applications contain abrasives or solvents to get rid of stubborn stains or oxidation from a car’s finish and waxes and silicones that fill tiny cracks and renew the water repellency of the finish.

Emergency Procedure to Remove Food Grease Stains from Clothes

Grease stains and oil, whether the source is animal, vegetable, or mineral, oil and grease stains are among the toughest to deal with.
For instance, you drip melted butter sauce on your dress or cotton pants, the easiest way to remove that greasy stain is to use a small can of dry powder spray found at the supermarket.  Now, what if you don’t have that product?  There’s still hope.  The first thing to do is to prevent the stain from spreading.  If you are at home, apply cornstarch, corn meal, or dry (uncooked) oatmeal.  This will absorb some of the fats and oils.  Next, get a little liquid detergent or soap and rub it into the stain with your fingers.  Then add a little lukewarm water, work it into the stain for a few moments, and press a blotter of folded paper towels or tissues onto the spot to absorb the moisture.
This procedure can be used for all minor grease and oil spots such as gravy, margarine, and salad oil.  It is an emergency-level solution.  After the emergency has passed, you should drop off the garment to the professional dry cleaner.

Enhance Your Dishwasher Performance With a Simple Trick

Did you know that a safety pin can help you get maximum performance from your dishwasher?  It is great to use for de-clogging the spray holes in your dishwasher’s arms. The bottom arm usually has the most clogs because it sits in the water.  Make sure to clean the top arm’s holes, too.  To clean it completely, wash the arms thoroughly under the sink faucet.  Take out the arms from the dishwasher by removing the racks and then undoing the hubcap that holds them in place.

How To Landscape Your Backyard Pond Area

Do you want more life added into your pond, and to your backyard? So why not start considering setting up a nice landscape around it?
Certainly, you want more life added into your pond, and to your environment for that matter. So why not start considering setting up a nice landscape around it? Aside from the aesthetics uplift it will give, it will be more inspiring to carry on doing your hobby of fish keeping with a fresh pond landscaping. Wouldn’t it be nice to work your hobby off in a surroundings sophisticatedly improved and taken cared of? You will be able to only have that if your pond is nicely landscaped.


So, how do you start constructing a new landscape around your pond?

Don’t worry for it is pretty easy getting a nice landscape for your pond. The key is to design it right. Make sure to know the size of your pond and the yard as you’ll need this for finding out what kind of pond landscaping will fully suit your needs. Determine what effect you wish with your backyard. You can find ideas in a lot of websites or through home improvement books and magazines for the sort of design you need incorporate with your pond.

Do you like it full of aquatic plants, flora and fauna? All these are great to create a pond landscape that’s integrated with plenty of nature. It will be a great, bona fide addition to your landscape. Filling up your pond with life will be most effective in uncovering the genuine beauty of your pond or your backyard. Do you want your pond landscape to ooze a comforting, meditative effect on your backyard?

You can make that a possibility by using water as part of the landscape plan. The trickling sound will absolutely create an oasis of mild, subtle effect with trickling water sound may just be the right thing you need when you, your friends, and your family are taking a breather in your backyard.

Adding up algae to your pond is a simple yet effective way of creating a great pond landscape. Aside from adding natural green effect, the algae are a healthy food to feed the fish. Of course, if you do not want the effect that algae can bring around the water on the pond, you can abort the idea of putting algae. You can have the water as it is for a much clearer view of the animals and plants in it.

Adding up more fish to your pond won’t only reinforce the life in your pond landscape. It would also be perfect to get rid of the bugs. Fish do love to eat mosquitoes and insects, so they help as well in clearing your environment with these dirty and health-risky bugs.

After you’ve put all the details necessary for a great pond landscaping, you might need to protect and conserve it so that the pond will not turn out dull even after months have passed. In this case, you’ll have to integrate artificial enhancements.

Copyright © 2011 Athena Goodlight

Garden Soil Preparation Tips

The perfect thing you can do in the garden soil preparation process is to achieve the perfect mixture of sand, silt, and clay. Ideally there would be forty percent sand, forty percent silt, and twenty percent clay. There are numerous tests used by experienced gardeners to tell whether the garden soil has a good constitution. First you can squeeze it in your hand. If it does not hold its shape and collapses without any outside force, your sand ratio is plausibly a little high. If you poke the compacted ball with your finger and it doesn’t break easily, your soil contains a bit much clay.

If you are however not sure about the content of your soil, you can break up each ingredient by using this simple method. Place a cup or two of dirt into a jar of water. Shake the water up till the soil is suspended, and then let it set until you see it separate into three separate layers. The top level is clay, the next is silt, and on the bottom is sand. You must be able to judge the presence of each component inside your dirt, and work consequently.
When you have analyzed the content of your soil, if you resolve that it is low on a certain ingredient then you should decidedly do something to fix it. When dealing with too much silt or sand, it’s best to add up some peat moss or compost. When you’ve got a bit much clay, add a mixture of peat moss and sand. The peat moss, when moistens, helps for the new ingredient to pass through the mixture better. If you can’t seem to handle and attain a proper mixture, just go to your local gardening store. You will be able to find some kind of product to aid you.
The water content of the soil is another crucial thing to consider when setting up for your garden. If your garden is at the bed of an incline, it is most probably going to absorb too much water and submerge the plants. If this is the case, you should elevate your garden a few inches (4 or 5) over the rest of the ground. This will leave more drainage and less saturation.
Putting in nutrients to your soil is also a critical part of the process, as most urban soils have little to no nutrients already in them by nature. One to two weeks before planting, you should add a good measure of fertilizer to your garden. Mix it in very well and let it sit for a while. Once you have done this, your soil will be entirely ready for whatever seeds you may plant in it.
When your seeds are planted, you still would like to pay attention to the soil. The first few weeks, the seeds are urgently using up all the nutrients around them to sprout into a real plant. If they run out of food, how are they presupposed to grow? A week after planting, you should add the equivalent amount of fertilizer that you added before. After this you should keep on using fertilizer, but not as often. If you add a little bit every couple of weeks, that should be plenty to keep your garden booming.
Essentially, the entire procedure of soil care can be compacted into just several steps… ensure the makeup of the soil is acceptable, make sure you have suitable drainage in your garden, add up fertilizer before and after planting, then add fertilizer on a regular basis after that. Follow these simple steps, and you will have a plethora of healthy plants very fast. And if you need any more details on an item-by-item step, just visit your local nursery and don’t be afraid to ask around. Most of the employees will be more than willing to give you advice.

Gardening Idea: Indoor Container Gardening

If you live in a small space, you can not actually operate a full garden, simply because you don’t actually have a yard! I think that among the best answers for this problem is container gardening.

Occasionally, the urge to garden could be stomped out by other conditions, such as living arrangements or space restrictions. If you live in an apartment, you can not actually operate a full garden, simply because you don’t actually have a yard! I think that among the best answers for this problem is to grow plants in containers. You can hang these, or just set them up on your patio, window sill or balcony. Just a couple of baskets or pots, and your whole living area will appear much classier and nicer.

A benefit of growing in pocket-size containers is the fact that you are able to move them around to fit your needs. If you rearrange your furniture and you think that it would look nicer if it were in the other area, it is no trouble at all to scoot it over. As long as the illumination is about the same, your plant wouldn’t mind the transition at all. One more benefit of the containers’ versatility is the fact that you are able to adjust it to simulate any surroundings depending on the kind of soil you fill it up with and where you put it.

If you’re trying to make an aesthetically pleasing placement of containers and plants, you can set the containers to be at various heights by hanging them from the ceiling or placing them on stands. Hanging them will afford you to make the most of the space you have. This is popularly called “vertical gardening”. If you pull it off correctly, you can make a very pleasing arrangement of plants while conserving your valuable space. If you live in an apartment, you know how crucial it is to conserve space! One way of vertical gardening is the use of a wooden step ladder. When painted correctly, you can stage all the plants on it in a beautiful, stylish shower of color.

The maintenance of container plants takes somewhat more time, since you have to water more frequently and go around to every individual container. However, the square footage for container plants is a good deal less than that of a literal garden, so the time spent on watering and maintenance is more balanced. It is significant that you do not over-water your container plants, as this can be as fatal to their health as under-watering.

When picking out containers for your plants, you will want to buy them all together along with some extras just in case they break or you add more plants later. You do not want them to be all the same shape and size, but definitely the equivalent style so that the compliment each other. Plastic containers are perfect and require the least number of watering, but if you want to stick to clay or earthen pots then you should put a plastic line on the inside. This aids it retain water more, as the clay should soak up water.

Another thing to keep in mind when purchasing pots is the fact that the size of the pot will in the end constrict the size of the plant. Make a measured choice of pots according to what you wish to grow in every one. If you research for the plant you chose on the internet, you should be able to find specs as to how much root space it must be granted. This can even be an advantage for you if you select a plant that can grow really large. If you only have a specified amount of space for it, you can constrict its growth by choosing a pot that is not large enough to support huge volumes of growth.

If the benefits of container gardening sound likeable to you, then you must start preparing your container garden today. If you write a list of all the plants you want to have, you can do the needed research to determine what size and shape of pots you must get. After that, it’s just a matter of arranging them in a way that makes your home look the nicest.

How To Remove Stains From Marble Surfaces

Ideally speaking, marble surfaces such as floors or kitchen counters must be kept clean all the time so that it never truly turns dirty or soiled. Under these conditions, all that would be needed would be a casual washing with nothing but clean water and clean rags.

However, this apparently won't suffice if the marble has gone badly soiled and stained through years of neglect. In this event, a more thorough cleaning will be required to bring back its natural color and luster.

Marble stains normally fall into three categories: rust stains, organic stains or oil stains. Each needs its own separate treatment.

Read more: How To Remove Stains From Marble Surfaces 

Decorating Your Garden Using Vine Plants

A neat way to adorn your garden is the use of vines. They’re very low maintenance and appear real good on almost anything. If you have a fence or separator that pretty much stands out in the field of green that is your garden, then growing a vine over it can be a speedy and aesthetically pleasing solution. All the same, there are a lot of types of vines for different situations, whether you’re trying to grow it up along the ground, the side of a household, or up a tree.

Several different ground vines are available. These types grow really fast and strong, and they just inch their ways on the ground. They’re really easy to direct, so they can create a border around your garden, or just interweave in and out of the plants. It is recommended to use these as a hardy ground cover if you just want a few green on your dirt or mulch. Usually you are able to find a variety that’s resistant to being stepped on. It’s like a leafy, nice alternate to grass. Even if you have children and a dog, it should have no troubles staying alive.

Another type of vine that’s available is a “twining” vine. This pertains to their process of climbing. Twining vines need a lattice or evenly porous surface to climb up, since they are not sticky at all. They just climb by sending small tendrils to loop around anything that is nearby. Use this type of vine for climbing up trees, or any type of mesh. Generally you have to guide them much more during their early stages, and after that they’ll go wherever you want them to.

Vines not only look good on the ground or on lattices, you could blend them in to the very architecture of your home. This is ordinarily achieved through the use of vines with small tendrils that contain adhesive tips. They extend from the vine and bind themselves to nearly any surface. If your garden is next to your house and you require something to camouflage the large unsightly wall, it’s a perfect idea to start out a few vines close to the base. If you have a vine like the Virginia Creeper growing, then your total wall will be covered in just a matter of months. However there are situations where the vine gets out of control. After that, you’ll have no choice but to observe the vine take up your entire house.

One of the vines that you’d probably familiar with is Ivy. You see it around a lot, ordinarily since it is so adaptable. Out of the types mentioned above (sticky pads, ground, and twining), Ivy can stand-in for pretty much anything. It attains a great ground cover, and will grow up nearly any surface you put it on. Although it grows quick and strong, it is not recommended to grow it on the walls of your house. This is because lately, buildings which have had ivy for several years have found that it has been responsible for deteriorating the building.

So no matter what you wish to do with a vine, you should have no trouble getting it to grow. You should always do your research in advance and find out about any negative qualities the vine has (such as its power to destroy buildings, in Ivy’s case.)

Tips on Buying The Right Gardening Tools

If you’re planning to take your gardening seriously and take time each day to grow the attractiveness of your garden, then you’ll want to get the correct tools to help you in this venture.

You may be enticed to go out to the store and just buy the nearest things you see, but you will be more pleased if you put lots of thinking into the styles and types of tools you are purchasing. There are styles designed only for gardening, and you’ll be better off purchasing those.
You can find most of the gardening tools you’ll need at your local gardening or home improvement store. Usually the employees will be simply thrilled to provide assistance to you in finding the ideal tools. If you go to a shop that specializes in gardening, you can normally get some advice in addition to service. Gardening shop employees are ordinarily an untapped wealth of wisdom, and they are a good source of some know how about the latest gardening trends and tips.

Read more:  Tips on Buying The Right Gardening Tools

How to Choose a Garage Door

You ought to consider changing your garage door if it’s too old or if it has an older motor or pulley system. The garage doors can be picked out by the type of the chain System they use: chain drive system, screw-drive system, or computer controlled system. The chain drive system is built of a chain that moves the door along a pair of tracks; this is the more common and affordable system but also has the disadvantage of being exceedingly noisy. The screw drive system has a mechanism that actuates the length of a steel rod; it’s a lifting mechanism that’s mounted up in your garage ceiling. The computer drive mechanism does not use whatsoever screws or chains; the system’s body is put on above the door.

Read more: How to Choose a Garage Door

Practical Planning Tips For Building a Garage

What would your dream garage appear like? A few people would like to have it fitted for the car, other people dream for a genuinely nice workshop, a gym. a laundry room, or a rehearsal studio for their own musical band. Some other individuals only want it to extend their living space and enhance their lifestyle. How much money do you have that you can work with? Even if you want to remodel only, reconstruct or only reorganize a small area of your garage, you should have a budget. It is imperative to think of a specific target and a realistic and finite budget for it. The 1st step is to cautiously appraise your needs regarding the space and your needs. Even if it’s a pocket-sized garage, you will be able to find plenty of space to use for your work area. Arriving at the decision about whether to do the project yourself or to hire a contractor depends upon many factors, including your skill set and the scope of the project. Having just some basic skills, you can create a great reorganization project.

Read more: Practical Planning Tips For Building a Garage

Tips on Making A Chemical-Free Organic Garden

Every year, thousands of chemicals are dumped into the environment and millions of gallons of water are needlessly wasted. How? From growing plants! Sure, most of this is done by giant agricultural producers, but some of it are done in personal gardens. And that means that you can make a difference by varying your gardening practices –by growing an organic garden. There are many  agriculturists who have done chemical-free gardening, and you can use the same techniques to help your own garden, and the planet.

Read more: Tips on Making A Chemical-Free Organic Garden

How to Make Your Home Eco Friendly

It's a common knowledge that going green means better for the surroundings, but it’s also better for you.  We may all wish to do our part to protect the environment, but without a hefty paycheck, that seems a bit difficult, if not impossible. But doing your part does not have to be that difficult. Small steps add up to make a big difference; you just have to recognize which steps to take.

Conserving resources likewise helps save you money, which is something most of us are pleased to live with.

Read more: How to Make Your Home Eco Friendly

Watch TV Shows on Your Computer: I Software TV Review

The concept of watching TV is changing along with the innovations in technology; there’s no longer any need for a separate television set in your household just to watch television shows. Now online TV can supply you more channels than any cable TV provider right on your computer for a lesser price.

Read more: Watch TV Shows on Your Computer

The Xbox 360 Repair Guide

Why must you learn how to repair your Xbox 360? Because by learning it you don’t only save money but make a few as well. Microsoft will require you to send your broken system back to them for repairs and it could cost you as much as $140 plus the shipping and handling charges. Also, sending it to them doesn’t mean that it will be fixed since they don’t always ensure a fix. About the lucrative aspect of this, well if you know how to repair a broken Xbox 360s then you can buy some broken ones online at a discount price and re-sell them.

Read more: The Xbox 360 Repair Guide