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.