Tips For Getting Your Teen To Maintain A Clean Room

  1. PASSION

Start with what is near and dear to their hearts. Whether they love CDs, photos or magazines, bringing a sense of order to a collection they are passionate about is a great way to build their confidence and inspire them to continue organizing.

  1. R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Respect to your teen’s preferred way of grouping things. Organizing their things your way may not make sense to them and if the system doesn’t work for them, it won’t be maintained for very long. Let them make their own choices during the purge. Although you can ask questions to help them determine what they value most, they should have the final say on what to keep or toss.

  1. SUPPORT

Make organizing easier for your teen by keeping them company. You can lend a hand by gathering supplies, labeling containers, and bagging the trash. During this process, avoid disparaging comments like “This room is a disaster!” or “You have so much junk!” Instead, take on the role of cheerleader by acknowledging small successes along the way and pointing out areas where they are organized.

  1. HOUSE IT

Teenagers have a lot of stuff. Rather than nagging them to get rid of things, create homes for their treasures. Use bookcases, shelves or wall units to get things off the floor and utilize the vertical space that would otherwise be wasted.

  1. CONTAIN IT

Use wicker baskets or decorative photo boxes to contain small items. Store like with like and label the containers. Use twine to attach manila shipping labels to baskets. Not only does this create a neater look, it also makes dusting easier.

  1. FILE IT

Use a banker’s box or a clear file tote that can accommodate hanging files and use clear plastic tabs to label one file for each school year. When they bring home their completed assignments, report cards or certificates, they can file them under the corresponding year. Encourage them to weed through the file at the end of the year and keep only what matters most.

  1. ZONE IT

Ask your teen to make a list of all the activities that take place in his or her room. Together, create an area for each of these activities, placing all the supplies needed for that activity close at hand. Some common teen zones include: music zone, reading zone, homework zone, grooming zone, dressing zone. When the CDs and the headphones are located beside the CD player, it makes finding and putting the CDs away easier and more likely to happen.

  1. POST IT

A bulletin board is a must-have for most teens, although it can become an eyesore if it’s not weeded out regularly. Encourage them to use it as a place to post friends’ phone numbers and a monthly calendar where they can keep track of important events. If they like to display special photos of themselves and their friends, choose a magnetic board rather than a cork one.

  1. HOOK IT

If clean clothes never seem to make it into the closet, consider hanging hooks over or behind the door. A clothing tree, funky wall hooks or an attractive coat rack work equally well at keeping clothes off the floor.

  1. LET IT GO

If all else fails, tell yourself that it’s only a phase and close the door!

How To Hire The Best DJ For Your Wedding

Your wedding day brings you memories for lifetime. This is one day of your life when everything from your dress to the musician or band hired must be perfect. If you have hired a wedding planner to take care of every minute detail in your wedding, then you must not overlook an important aspect which is music. In any party, gathering, public event, fair or even a wedding, you can add soul to most blissful day of your life through music. If you are planning to hire a DJ for your wedding, then a number of factors play an important role in finalizing the best music entertainer for this day.

-Budget

Price is one constraint that has the capacity to change your decision regarding DJ for wedding. You have specific budget within which you have to take certain decision. At the best agencies, you have quality options for reasonable services. You can easily hire experienced DJ services who won’t exceed your budget.

-Live Demos

Before hiring a DJ or Disc Jockey for your wedding, asking for live demos or session is of utmost essentiality. Live demo sessions will help you in judging whether a particular kind of music will suit the entire tone of your special day. Therefore, listening to live demos is a must in making the right DJ choice for the perfect ambiance for your wedding.

-Specialty

A music entertainer can have specialization of let’s say playing at social or corporate events. Playing at a wedding is not the same as playing at a corporate party. At weddings, there is a lot going as everything is rehearsed and planned before hand, unlike a corporate event or a casual party where nothing is timed or planned carefully. Therefore, it is important that you look for a DJ who has experience in playing at weddings in particular, as it will become relatively simpler to coordinate with your wedding plan.

-References

If a DJ does not have any references to offer you, then they are probably not the one you are looking for. A music entertainer of any kind must have at least a minimum of one reference or an event where they have played before. In fact, the more references, the better the quality of their music.

Therefore, asking for references is a must while searching for a DJ for your wedding. Furthermore, understanding of technologically advanced DJ equipment must be another point you want to strike off the list while searching for a quality music entertainer.

Tips To Clean Your Outdoor Patio Rugs

Once you buy outdoor rugs online, you forget to take as good care of them as you would care for your indoor furnishings. And given the neglect, the rugs may die an early death or end up losing much of their beauty and color. Moreover, the accumulated dust and spills can turn your precious rug into a breeding ground for microbes.

If you own any kind of patio outdoor rugs, you should certainly try these tips for keeping them in good shape for a very long time.

  1. Storage:

It is pointless to keep the rug spread out if it is not in use. It would put unnecessary stress on the fabric and even take the new sheen out of it sooner than your expectations. It becomes all the more important to keep the outdoor rugs rolled away in cold months when either the patio would be exposed to rains or get covered in snow. To put it in a nutshell, it only makes sense to keep the rug spread in summers or spring time. And during the rest of the year, you can safely keep it decked away.

  1. Cleaning:.

Ideally, outdoor rugs should be cleaned every month if they are exposed to light and dust all day long. You can also pick up a weekly cleaning routine if the rug is not too heavy and if it attracts more than normal amount of dusty deposit. All you need to do is scrub it softly with a solution of mild detergent. Once the scrubbing is thoroughly done, use a hose to spray a powerful jet of water that would remove all the loosened up grime, stains and dust much effectively. Then, you can let it out in the sun for drying.

  1. Maintenance:

You need to protect the patio rugs from mold and fungal growth. If the weather is damp or humid, the rugs are at a greater risk. The best way to avoid so is by keeping the rug under direct sunlight every once in a while. This exposure to the sun also wards of foul smells. Both sides should be exposed to the sun for an equal length of time. If a spill happens right in front of you, you would be very lucky because it would be the best time to remove it easily. A water and vinegar solution works best but you can also go for instant stain removing solutions that are manufactured industrially.

-Thank you to our ongoing supporters who provide expert carpet cleaning Medicine Hat has been enjoying for years.

Garage Organizing 101

Of all the rooms in a home, the garage is usually the last to get a makeover. Yet it’s the main room that tends to become the “catch-all” for all kinds of items. From holiday decorations to tools, the garage is the ultimate storage area for all the things that don’t belong anywhere else in the house. It’s one of the reasons that garage organization is getting new attention, and that custom garage design is a rapidly-growing niche in construction and home improvement. Whether you want to spend a little or a lot, there are lots of things that home owners can do to improve garage organization and develop good habits of success. Here are eight suggestions for getting more out of your garage. Home owners can adapt these ideas to fit their own needs and budgets.

1) Garage cabinets: You wouldn’t think of having a kitchen without cabinets. Cabinets keep your kitchen organized and tidy and keep contents out of sight.

They’ll do the same in your garage. Garage cabinets keep all those items, like tools and seasonal decorations, separated, organized and out of sight. They’ll also keep potentially harmful chemicals, like paint, gasoline and antifreeze, behind closed doors and out of the way of children and pets. (You can even add locks for extra protection.)

Imagine a garage that looks as pristine as your kitchen! Not only do you improve aesthetics, it will be much easier to find those things that you don’t use everyday when you do need them.

2) Drawers: Drawers, like cabinets, are ideal for storing smaller items that languish in the garage. Drawers are perfect for organizing smaller items like hand tools, nails and screws, paintbrushes and more.

3) Magnetic strips: Mounting magnetic strips on your garage wall makes storing metal tools and items as simple as it gets. It also makes efficient use of extra wall space that might otherwise remain void and unusable. Adhering metal tools to a wall-mounted magnet strip keeps them in quick view and saves the trouble of digging through tool boxes and drawers for those things like hammers, screwdrivers and pruners, that get used regularly.

4) Shelving: Adding wall mounted shelving is another great way to make the most of unused wall space. Shelving is easy to add yourself, or you can incorporate shelving into a professional custom garage design. Shelving is ideal for things that you want to keep in sight and have quick easy access to, like paint cans or sports equipment. You can even get creative with shelving and mount it to joists in unfinished garage ceilings for easy and economical overhead storage of items that you use infrequently, like Christmas decorations.

5) Pegboard: Pegboard, also known as “perforated hardboard,” is a sheet of material made of metal, wood or wood composite, with evenly spaced holes (or perforations). Sheets of pegboard are mounted over existing drywall. A homeowner can insert anything into the holes, including hooks and screws, creating a custom configuration of storage devices for hand tools and other small items.

6) Nails and screws: Even the least handy of homeowners can wield a hammer or screwdriver. By adding nails and screws directly to garage walls, you can create custom storage for hand tools and small items. (Just be careful about weight, especially if nailing into drywall. Hanging items that are too heavy can damage walls.)

7) Chalkboard or whiteboard paint: Painting cabinets or even a small portion of a garage wall with chalkboard or whiteboard paint lets you write directly on that surface. You can “label” the contents of your cabinets or drawers quickly (without using actual labels). If you want to change the contents, you can just as easily change the “label.”

8) Wall-mounted bikes and large tools: Just like small tools, you can mount larger items like bicycles, rakes and shovels on your garage walls. You can purchase mounting kits made especially for things like bikes complete with instructions on how to mount them. Or, if you’re handy, you can create your own using off-the-shelf items like metal hooks from your local hardware store. Having a professional design and install custom garage cabinets and other components will give you exactly what you want for your own particular needs. However, using some simple tricks and inexpensive items from your local hardware store can also go a long way to improving the functionality of your garage.

Healthy Tips for a Productive Year 

As we grow old, responsibilities and works grow exponentially. We start overlooking the demand for our health. Before it becomes late, you must take care of your health related issues and maintain a good lifestyle. In between the pressure of your workplace and the requirements of your personal life, you forget to concentrate on your health. To give a better option so that you can fulfill your lifestyle needs, some strategies you can follow. They are easy to maintain and will not take your time much. The content deals with some in-home health care strategies along with some exercise routine that help you maintain a healthy life.

Pick a workout that you enjoy:

Workouts are boring. You get tired to maintain them regularly. This is why pick a plan that suits your moods rightly. Do whatever you enjoy and don’t get stuck into only one type of exercise. If you love lifting heavy weights, do it. There are other options like high-intensity interval training, running for miles, swimming laps, yoga, biking, and more.

Eat interesting foods:

If you don’t like your food, you cannot enjoy the process of staying healthy always. Healthy eating is not monotonous. Eat nutrient foods that help you stay active and energetic. Broaden your list with chicken, rice, and broccoli. No matter what diet you follow, you always opt for interesting eating. Follow Pinterest and note down recipes that make your healthier diet tastier. Recipes like bake oat meals cups, shrimp stuffed avocado, and smoothie bowl are the best options.

Try to stay active outside the gym:

Take your exercise outside of the gym. For staying fit, treadmills or weight rooms are always not the perfect options. When you have some crazy ways, why do you stick to the boring ones? Walk or run with your dog. Ride bikes. Take walking breaks at work. Make it a habit and take a step to your staying healthy and fit mission.

Change your routine:

Change is the only constant thing in the world. So, you have to consider your progress and plan your health routine accordingly. Take challenges and enjoy your workout plan. You must be aware of your improvements and change your exercises and diets accordingly to get a better result. You can try rock climbing and other good habits for your health.

Don’t feel bad about you:

Stay always positive and don’t think about you. As you proceed to your workout plan, you will get a complete idea of when to say no or yes. There will be cheat days and cheat meals also. But don’t move away from your routine. Do thing without guilt, no matter whether you are breaking the healthy diet rules. Just don’t make it a habit and return to your old plan as soon as the celebration gets over.

Reduce salt and sugar intake:

High salt intake increases high blood pressure level which is the common cause of cardiovascular diseases. Buy foods that contain low sodium. When you cook, use low salts and you can also substitute it with other spices. When you eating, don’t add salts to your foods. Sugary drinks are good for occasional treats, but they are offering you the best result for the long run.

Control your portion:

Eat regularly but you need to control the portion of the size. Skipping meals is not the best options for you. When you skip breakfast, you will feel uncontrollable hunger and tend to eat more foods. Eat dried fruits and vegetables for snacks. When you control portion of foods, you can count your calorie intake. If you want to avoid the overweight issue, you need to cook the right amount of foods. Take a smaller plate to enjoy a smaller serving.

Drink plenty of fluids:

This seems to be the easier option in your staying healthy routine. You can take enough fluid to stay hydrated and energetic. Drink mineral water. You can also enjoy fruit juices, soft drinks, milk, and more.

A healthy body weight:

Maintain a healthy body weight. There are factors that depend on it, such as gender, height, age, and genes. Overweight is the reason for many diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and heart problems. Excess body fat is stored because we eat more than we move or exercise. The energy produced from foods gets no way to burn and is stored in our body as fat. This is why physical activities are important to use energy and burn calories.