Curtains are an inseparable part of any home. But if you choose them wrongly it can lead to no sunlight or air in your home.
If the window lets in lot of sunlight during the day it is better to buy thick cotton curtains. This will keep the room cool and comfortable. On the other hand, if there is lot of sunlight only in the morning, a sheer curtain is good enough. The room will not be dark and there will be enough light throughout the day.
The colors of the curtains can be matched to your interiors for a better effect.
You all might think that I am hell bent on making your home an eco-friendly one. Don’t you think it is needed in these times of scarcity of resources? Let me know if I am wrong.
Anyway, this is one tip I want to share with you. Always rinse veggies from the market in a big bowl full of water. This way all the veggies are cleaned well and you can use the left over water for watering the plants in your garden! Isn’t this a great idea? You get the satisfaction of not wasting water and keeping plants healthy at the same time!
One of the most convenient home appliances that I have in my kitchen is the microwave oven. I reheat leftovers, cook food and also use it to make popcorn for kids.
But there is one more use that I recently discovered. Along with cooking, I also make use of frozen foods for meals. If you use the microwave for defrosting these foods it takes up lesser time for them to return to the normal temperature and also does not lose on nutrients. It saves you from holding the packet under running water too.
Have you discovered some tip like this?
The other day my friend told me a really interesting incident. Her 3 year old son did not like what he sketched, and he threw it away. So what is special about this? The kid threw his drawing in the toilet- isn’t that worth a mention?
The toilets in your home are not waste bins or trash cans. Take care that nothing unwanted goes into the drain. Even though you may think that it is gone after flushing, it gets clogged in the drainage pipe. Teach your kids and discipline elders so that cigarette stubs and other artwork don’t end up in your pipe!
I have already discussed how much water we waste if a leak is not fixed. But how do we find out if there is some faucet or toilet leak in our homes?
If you have a water meter, make good use of it. Take the reading before and after a 2-hour period in which no water has been used by any family member at home. Ideally, the reading should be the same. If not so, your home mostly has a leak.
You can try this test after the kids are off to school and there are no chances of using water for 2 hours.
Water is a scarce resource is well known fact. But the statistics are shocking. If you are using more water than needed or have not fixed a toilet leak recently, it can lead to a waste of 50 excess gallons of water a day and a faucet leak can waste up to 5000 gallons a year.
So fix a leaking tap as soon as you find one. Teach your kids to use water wisely and not waste it for unnecessary reasons. Lots of kids complain that their dads keep the faucet open till they are done with their daily shaving job.
Are you listening dad?
Your home is your pride. And there are lots of creative ways to let the world know that it belongs to you in the form of a name plate that is present on your main door or outside the house.
Nowadays, small terracotta tiles are also used for making a name plate. You can have your name plate by simply buying the different tiles of alphabets that are contained in your name. You need to paste these tiles on some clean and hard surface to fix well. That’s all! Your unique name plate is ready.
Do tell me what people thought about it!
Wooden flooring is really a treat for your home. You can choose from walnut, oak wood and a whole lot of other finishes. Even though you might be careful, minor scratches can be caused on this flooring due to some reason or the other.
The solution for this is rubbing sandpaper grits on the scratch or buffing it away using steel wool. Do it in line with the wood grain to maintain the pattern. Make sure that you only work on the scratch part or else there is a chance that you end up damaging the flooring.
Try this and let me know!
Wall-to-wall carpets look great and feel nice under your feet. However they need regular cleaning as a dirty carpet is the harboring ground for dust mites and other microscopic organisms, besides marring the beauty of our house.
The standard cleaning procedures that carpet cleaners follow makes use of harsh chemicals that can prove harmful for your family’s health. So try and ask for a green carpet cleaning service. Take care that the products they use are Green Seal or Environmental Choice certified. This ensures that they are easily biodegradable and are non-toxic enough for water, land and animals, including us people and our pets.
The flooring for your home can really add to the look and appearance of that room. Every room has a different use and hence I will tell you how to select the appropriate flooring.
If you are choosing flooring for the hallway that has heavy foot traffic and is also used for getting to the other rooms in the house, tougher flooring is necessary. If you are an avid cook and party often with friends, go for comfortable flooring in the kitchen that is also easy to clean. So basically the flooring depends on how you are going to use that room.
