Category: House and Home

Easy Home Repairs with the Help of Your Appliance Manuals

Let’s face it. We usually get so excited about buying a new appliance that we rip open the package and want to set it up right away. Most of us rarely even look at the manual that comes with it. In some cases, it might even get thrown away with all the packaging material or thrown in the recycle bin with the rest of the paper waste.

But the instruction manual for your new appliance is a very valuable item which can save you a good deal of money and time—IF you know where it is.

The first step is to not throw the manual away once you have set up your new item. We recommend that you CAREFULLY open the box and all packing materials. The main reason for this is in case the item does not work correctly, or you change your mind. Many stores will be reluctant to take back an item if the box has been shredded. They will certainly want to charge a re-stocking fee even if they do.

The other reason for being careful is to give yourself a chance to thoroughly check the box to see what is inside. In addition to the valuable instruction manual, their might also be small parts, batteries, fact and tip sheets, a warranty card, and more useful bits and pieces that you might overlook in your haste (or your children’s haste) as you try to get the item set up and working.

You will want to avoid tearing any of the papers and booklets that come with the appliance you have purchased. They will often contain valuable instructions, your warranty, instructions on what to do if you wish to return the item (for example, if you ordered it online and it was shipped to you) and troubleshooting or easy set-up guides.

The easy set-up tip sheets or guides might be printed on a sturdy card, or a piece of paper. They can be one of the most valuable items in the box if you are in a hurry to get your new TV, fridge and so on working. However, just because you read that set of instructions doesn’t mean you can throw the manual away.

The instruction manual will contain a wealth of information, often in a number of languages. It will give you contact information, warranty information, frequently asked questions (FAQs) and troubleshooting tips.

If you only find a piece of paper in the box with instructions to visit a particular url to download a copy of the instruction booklet, do so at once. Download a copy onto your computer (it will usually be in PDF) and also print out a copy. This may seem wasteful, but models are often discontinued and then the booklets are taken off the site, which will leave you stuck. It is also more convenient to grab a copy and read through it as you are troubleshooting the appliance rather than having to go back and forth from your computer.

Once you have located your instruction booklet in the box or printed it out, file the manual in a folder or in a drawer with all of your other instruction booklets. Keep all of them in the same place, and return them there when you are finished with them.

If it is a more complex item like a DVD, you might want to keep the instruction booklet close to it for at least a couple of weeks after you buy it, until you get used to it, and then file it with the other manuals in a safe place.

You can file the manuals alphabetically by item, or keep them in one large folder or drawer. If you suddenly start having trouble with one of your appliances, be sure you have the manuals handy to refer to first before enlisting the aid of a serviceman.

Instruction manuals are produced to help you get the most out of your new appliance and troubleshoot the most common problems that owners have experienced with the product. If you want to save time and money, and make the most of your appliance, take a few moments to read through the manual and file it away safely for future reference. It could save you a great deal of money on simple home repair jobs.

FURTHER READING:

The Smart Woman’s Do-It-Yourself Guide to a Greener Home

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Handy Housekeeping Hints

1. To remove candle wax from the bottom of a votive candleholder, leave it in the freezer for about an hour. The wax should come right out, possibly with the help of a spoon or knife if it is a deep holder.

2. If your drinking glasses are cloudy, soak them for an hour or so in slightly warm white vinegar, then scrub them with a nylon sponge (like a Dobie pad). Rinse well and put in the dish rack to dry.

3. Use ketchup to polish copper pots. Just rub a liberal amount of it on the copper and leave for five minutes. Rinse with hot water and dry.

4. To remove fingerprints from your furniture after you’ve just polished it, sprinkle a small amount of cornstarch on your wooden tables and let it stand for a few minutes before wiping off.

6. Prepare a monthly budget to find out what cost-cutting must/can be done. Record all your purchases for three months (one fiscal quarter) in order to calculate an average spent on food, toiletries, cleaning items, medicines, and other regular expenses. Then see where you can trim them, to save even more money.

FURTHER READING:

Your Greener Energy Guide: A Beginner’s Guide to Alternative Energy Production

The Smart Woman’s Do-It-Yourself Guide to a Greener Home

The New Green Family Guide: A Beginner’s Guide to Going Green As a Family

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How to Keep Your Household Tools Organized

If you are like most people, you probably have tools in a number of places in your house and/or garage but can rarely find any of them, or the right one, when you need it. Unless you use your tools every day, chances are they are in a heap somewhere, neglected and not likely to be used because you don’t have time to sort through them to find what you are looking for.

You might have tried to tackle sorting your tools in the past, only to give up in disgust. You might also have sorted them and kept them tidy for a time, but they are now right back to the same jumbled mess and you haven’t got the heart to try to sort them again only to have the same mess appear again in another three months.

The good news is that there are a number of ways to sort your tools and keep them well organized and convenient without needing a huge tool box or a lot of storage space. You won’t need to deal with jumbled drawers and bins ever again.

One of the best ways for a DIY mom in particular to get all the tools in the house sorted is with the help of a handy shoe bag that you can hang over the back of a door with the help of a couple of metal brackets. Hang it in the garage and label the holders if there are any small items that slip down and can’t be seen. If you have to do extensive work in another room, just unhook the brackets and take it into the bathroom, upstairs to the bedroom to hang your new shelves, and so on.

A shoe bag is an excellent choice for keeping your tools in order for a number of different reasons. It is inexpensive, flexible, has a lot of compartments, and is easy to use. It is convenient to hang up and helps keep the tools out of the way, but handy enough to use any time without digging in a lot of boxes and drawers.

A shoe bag can be surprisingly durable. They are usually made of sturdy fabric and/or plastic and designed for daily use, so they can certainly hold up to occasional use as you pull your tools in and out.

Best of all, it is so simple to find things, especially at the lower levels, where you can look right in, that almost anyone can use it. Just be sure to keep the most expensive or dangerous tools up out of the reach of younger children.

A shoe bag can be one of the cheapest and yet most convenient ways to store all of you household tools so that you never have to hear, “Where’s the hammer?” again.

FURTHER READING:

How to Get Started as a Do-It-Yourself Mom

How to Become a Do-It-Yourself Mom: A Guide for Simple Home Decorating Ideas for Smart Women

Your Greener Energy Guide: A Beginner’s Guide to Alternative Energy Production

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Using Apartment Search Websites, Part 3

If you are looking at a sublet, a short term stay, usually from 3 months to a year, just about the same rules apply. Find out how long they plan to be out of the apartment and why, and what access, if any, they might want to the apartment while you are living there.

In many cases it is because they are relocating for their job, or they have met a new life partner and are moving in with them, but want to keep their place just in case things do not work out the way they hope.

Access will usually start out at about once a week until they remove all of their essentials, and it should then settle down to much more infrequently after that.

Once you have arranged for a visit to the apartment that you want to sublet or rent, be honest if you don’t like it or it doesn’t suit, or you really can’t afford it, because that frees it up for other people to look at.

Be realistic.

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Using Apartment Search Websites, Part 2

At most times of the year there will be a fair number of listings to sort through, especially in a large city, so you will need to be organized and look through the listings carefully.

Make sure that you have an idea of where you wish to live, the price limit that you are willing to pay and how many rooms and bedrooms you need. Then your search will be easier and faster, without wasting any time on places that are not suitable for you.

Have an idea of what part of town you want to live in, especially if you are relocating, Where will your new apartment be in relation to your new job? What are the schools like? Are you going to college and want to live close to it, but it has more than one campus?

What is public transportation like? Even if you can’t get too close to where you will be working and studying, is your new place on the main bus or train routes that can take you door to door without too much hassle?

If you are relocating for a job, don’t be shy about asking for help. The human resource person who hires you is going to be either a local person who will be in the know about the area, or someone who has just moved there herself and can share all she has learned. In many cases she will know a good realtor or broker, or someone who has recently moved and who can help give you the inside scoop.

She might know of someone who rents, or might even be moving herself and can tell you all about the neighbors and the area. In some cases, she might know of people who are looking to rent a room or apartment, so you can have a place to move into right away, and then look more extensively once you get there.

Use more than one website or broker in order to find a range of apartments. Especially with this economy and the house foreclosure crisis, there is a lot more competition to rent since people are not buying or have in fact lost their house, and need to rent.

When you find a listing you like, print it out, and act quickly. Make sure you take notes on each page about the places you see, and ask about how much of a deposit will be required. It will usually be 1 month, but it might be more, so ask first and be clear about any other terms of the rental. Be sure to make notes and get everything in writing.

Once you have made arrangements to visit, be on time, and professional. If they are not, well, buyer or in this case renter beware.

Also be careful of apartments where they admit it needs repairs. Get the items in writing and an agreement that they will be fixed before you move in. Ditto painting the place. You will want everything to be ready when you move in, especially if you have a lot of personal possessions you need to move in.

If the apartment is furnished, this can help you save some money in the short term because you will not have to buy a lot of household items. On the other hand, Ikea and other stores are so cheap these days that you might be better off buying your own.

As for sublets, they can only charge a certain amount extra for the furnishings, usually 10%, so be sure to ask to see the rent bill and then get everything in writing.

We will discuss apartment hunting using apartment search websites in more detail in the next section of this article.

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Using Apartment Search Websites, Part 1

When people need a place to stay for a prolonged period of time they generally think about renting or buying a home. The types of places they look for are usually houses and even more often, apartments.

While finding a good house can be accomplished with the aid of a real estate agent, you may need to use either a broker or the Internet to conduct an apartment search.

Apartment search sites will show you lots of different apartments which are available for rental. These apartments will be from a number of states, perhaps even different countries. While this may seem confusing at first, all that you need to do is to narrow the search down to your area of choice, size of apartment and budget/price range.

An online apartment search will yield lots of information about the different types of apartments that you can rent. Among the details, you will find the location, usually on an interactive map showing not only where the apartment is situated, but all the local facilities near it, such as supermarkets, schools, churches, gas stations and so on. All of this detailed information will be especially useful if you have a family.

In addition to the places where you can find an apartment you will need to see if the apartment has the space that you need, and the facilities. You need to find out their pet policy as well.

You can search the number of bedrooms, see photos of the place, look at the dimensions of the rooms, like whether or not the kitchen is eat-in, and so on. You will also find information about if an apartment is furnished or unfurnished. The price range of various apartments can also be found in the internet apartment search. You will also want to know if it is a direct rental from the landlord, or if it will be through a broker.

In the latter case, you will not only need at least one month’s rent and the same for a deposit, but a broker’s fee as well. In some cases you will need a second month’s deposit as well. In addition, there will usually be a credit check and perhaps even an employment check, so be prepared to shell out triple the monthly price of the rental, plus moving expenses.

We will discuss apartment hunting using apartment search websites in more detail in the next section of this article.

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