Small Business Saturday

Do you remember when you were young and all the businesses around town were locally owned and operated? The ice cream shop at the corner, was owned by your friend’s father. The hardware store was owned by your neighbor. The pizza parlor at the train station was owned by your father’s best friend. And every single small shop in our downtown area knew everyone’s name. As far as we’ve come in life, losing stuff like this in our town makes me sad. I love knowing everyone around town.

Bigger and Better. They introduced us to bigger stores and better deals. The bigger stores carry everything you need at half the price. It all seemed great at first, until all the smaller stores and small businesses started going out of business. Not only did it hurt the stores, it hurt the people we knew. They had to move to other towns to find work. It broke up friendships and unity.

Bigger isn’t always better. Instead of using manufactures in America, they are taking all these jobs overseas. Factory, after factory have had to close because they lost all their jobs to companies overseas. The reason everything is cheaper is because it costs them pennies to make. I’ve read and watched documentaries on what it’s like for people overseas who work at these factories. They’re barely making a few dollars a day. They must live in the dormitory owned by the company they work for, which in turn they must pay rent to the same company. Basically, since they can’t live outside the factory’s community, all the money they are making at these factories is taken back to pay for their stay. It’s sad.

We all want to save a few dollars when we purchase something. We need to learn of the repercussion of choosing larger stores, over a locally owned business. There are statistics of how the money spent locally, 63% stays local. Money spent on non-local business, only 43% stays local. Wouldn’t you rather help your community? You can’t blame it on anybody else, when the value of your community starts going down, when the value of your home starts depreciating. Have you driven down your main street? Or your downtown in your town? Are there a lot of empty store fronts? Is it too late to start helping the businesses in your community before they are all gone?

Small Business Saturday was started by American Express. It is the Saturday right after Thanksgiving. American Express realized the importance of small businesses and they knew how much power they had, so they decided to put it to good use. Small Businesses across America are grateful for the attention American Express has brought to all these locally owned stores. I might not be as big as American Express, but I will make a difference by spending my money at restaurants, shops, and stores that are locally owned in my community.

I love my community! I love the town I live in! 

DIY Thanksgiving Decorations

Thanksgiving is crammed between Halloween and Christmas and hardly gets the attention it deserves. Décor often switches from cobwebs and pumpkins to garlands and Christmas trees, giving no thought to the holiday that lies in between. In reality, it’s impractical to spend lots of money on decorations that can only be used for a few weeks out of the year. Luckily there are a variety of things that can be done to reuse some of the decorations you already have (even ones you might not be aware of). There’s an abundance of unique, creative ideas floating around cyberspace, but we’ve saved you the hassle of searching by compiling this list of our top seven.
 
1.    Festive Candle Holders
Hollow out the center of your small pumpkins or apples (it’s done easiest with a drill). Use them to make candle holders, and embellish the base of the candle with leaves, berries, mini pine cones or whatever else you find lying around. Try grouping a few together and using them as a centerpiece for your big feast.
 
2.    Candy Corn Flower Pot
Fill a glass jar or trifle dish with a bag of candy corn, and use it as a base to arrange several flowers. The corn is a festive tribute to the Indians, and the plant will add a little greenery. Be creative when you plant selection – add some fall leaves, fresh flowers, or even an arrangement of twigs.

3.    Fall Leaf Lantern
Add a little ambiance to your room by creating a lantern with leaves you’ve gathered from outside. Start by pressing the leaves, to get them nice and flat.   Then glue them to a clean, glass jar using Modge Podge. Wait 20 minutes for it to dry and then layer another coat of Modge Podge on top of the leaves to seal them. Lastly, place a candle in the jar and your lantern is complete. Adding a variety of leaf colors looks best and adds a subtle, warm glow to any room.

 4.    Metallic Pumpkins and Gourds
Give all your pumpkins, squash, and gourds a makeover by coating them in metallic or glitter spray paint. Shades of gold, bronze, and sunset orange are perfect for Thanksgiving, and the sparkly luster adds a regal air.   Arrange your finished beauties in a large glass tumbler, apothecary jar, or atop a cake stand to complete the look. If you’d like to take it a step further, paint pumpkin stems brown to really make them pop.

5.         Colored Pine Cones
Nothing says fall quite like pine cones, and they can be a stunning decorative piece when given a coat of paint. A selection of contrasting fall-hued colors look beautiful on an entry table. Pick up a combination of small spray paint cans in maroon, gold, dark brown, sunset orange, mustard yellow, mossy green, or cream, and color pine cones to your heart’s content. Be creative with color combinations – you can’t go wrong! Cones can be displayed in a large bowl, glass vase, or even strung as a garland.
 
6.    Pressed Leaf Art
Display the beauty of the outdoors by creating focal pieces with colorful fall leaves. Press leaves between books, and wait until leaves are fully dry. Place the pressed leaves between double sided glass frames to accentuate their silhouettes and bold colors. The simplicity of this decoration creates a tranquil, relaxing environment.

 7.    Corn Wreath
There are a couple different options for corn wreaths, depending on the look you’re going for and the amount of money you want to spend. You can make your wreath out of candy corn or Indian corn.   The candy corn wreath is simply a Styrofoam wreath covered in black duct tape with candy corn attached by a hot glue gun. Hang the wreath with a giant brown or red ribbon to give a Thanksgiving vibe.   The Indian corn wreath is even easier. Purchase a straw wreath and hot glue the corn to a straw wreath with the husks pointing outward.

Decorating for Thanksgiving can be easy and frugal when you take advantage of items you already have around the house or the yard. What better way to celebrate the season of thanks than the beauty of the outdoors? So open your mind, take a walk around the block, and visualize what you can create.

Guest Contributor,

Article By Anastasiya Johnson
Anastasiya is an interior designer and smart home planner for http://hdhomeautomationsystems.com/. When she is not planning out smart homes she is spending time with her husband and two kids.

Pipe Relining: A Non-Invasive, Affordable Way to Deal with the Broken Drain Pipe

Eco Friendly Drain Cleaner 

Pipe Relining: A Non-Invasive, Affordable Way to Deal with the Broken Drain Pipe

Maintaining pipes regularly is an absolute must for every homeowner, no matter if there are any signs of damage or not. It is always a much better option to reline your pipes regularly than to wait until they start leaking, but if you notice your drain pipe is broken, an immediate action is required. This is definitely not a DIY job, but luckily enough, today there are many companies that can help you with relining your pipes at affordable prices.

Thorough Examination

If you give your pipes another coat of protection without previously checking for any leaks, there are chances you will do more harm than good. Therefore, it’s an absolute must that the plumber checks all of your pipes before you start relining. The most common sign of leakage is wet areas on your lawn. Also, if the pressure in your home seems low, you will want to check for any bathroom leaks. If any issues are detected, the plumber should always first replace the damaged pipes, and only then apply another coat to them.

Getting Rid of Harmful Roots

Trees are surely a great decoration to have in your garden. Not only this, but they play a necessary ecological role, as well. Still, sometimes their roots can go so deep that they start damaging your underground pipes. This can cause you a lot of trouble and therefore it’s always a good idea to deal with the roots before they damage your pipes. So, before the professional protects your pipes with an additional layer, you should make sure that any harmful roots are removes, otherwise they can even penetrate into the new layer causing serious damage to your newly relined pipes.

Freeing the Pipes from Clogs

Another thing that simply has to be done before relining is freeing the pipes from any clogs. Dealing with some major clogs will be much more difficult once the plumber has finished relining your pipes. The best way to do this is to pour some drain-cleaning liquid into your pipes at least a few weeks before  relining. In fact, this should be done regularly, at least once a month, advise Sydney's pipe relining pros. When freeing your pipes from clogs, you should always aim at using some environmentally-friendly products, as in this way all the ground in your garden will remain unpolluted.

Dealing with Underground Obstacles

What’s so great about relining your pipes is that there’s no need to replace the old ones but simply enforce them. This can save you a lot of time and money. Still, this is not going to be the case if you start relining only to come upon an underground obstacle that will prevent you from getting the job done. This will not only slow the works down, but it will cause some additional expenses, as well. That’s why the plumber should always inspect the whole area before starting to apply a new coat on your pipes.

Relining your pipes is definitely a great way to keep them well-maintained and protect your precious garden. Having experts deal with any issues will keep future leaks at bay and save you money in the long run.

Guest Contributor, Lillian Connors

Proper Ways to Relocate Plumbing When Renovating a Bathroom

Proper Ways to Relocate Plumbing When Renovating a Bathroom

Renovating your bathroom can be a major undertaking. If you’re just changing the tiles and fixtures, things will get messy, but it isn’t something to call a plumber over. If you want to move the bath or the comfortable smart toilet, even just a little bit, it will take serious plumbing work. A lot of things also depend on which floor is your bathroom located. It’s easiest if the bathroom is on the ground floor, everything else means the ceiling will have to be torn apart. Here’re a few tips on how to do it most efficiently:

Permits

Depending on how large the remodeling project is you might need a permit to do it. This frustrates most homeowners because it seems like something you do with your own home, but there are safety related reasons for it. If the project requires changing the blueprint of your home, it’s important to report it to the proper authorities. Changing the electrical wiring is also something that can be done only with the right permit. Also, if you plan to change anything connected to the sewer, you need to get a license as well.

Drainage system

Make sure your new bathroom layout is compatible with the drainage system you already have. Supporting joists are located beneath the floor and you can’t just cut them if you want to install new ones. Either you need to prepare your new configuration so it can fit the old one or you should install new drains for the new bathroom. This is a cost versus reward problem. If your plumbing is already old and corroded, maybe you should add new pipes and deal with two issues at the same time.

Access panel

Access panels for the toilet and the sink are usually pretty easy – the toilet just needs to be lifted up and the sink is accessed through the cabinet below. “The trick is to create access for shower and bathtub plumbing”, says a seasoned plumber from Hazlet. You can put it in the sidewall of the bathroom if it’s available or (which is more often the case) put it in adjoining room, you don’t use that much. Closet is the best solution if you have one.

You can also install an access panel in a shower enclosure. If there’s a need for repairs or maintenance on the plumbing, this makes it easier for you or the plumbers to reach the pipes, valves, or fittings without damaging the surrounding walls or tiles. It simplifies the process and minimizes the need for invasive measures.

Tile or stone walls are generally the most suitable for installing access panels. You can easily cut and modify these materials to accommodate new features without compromising the aesthetics or integrity of the shower enclosure. It’s important to use waterproofing techniques and sealants to maintain the water-resistant properties of the shower.  

Fiberglass and acrylic ones are less used for installing access panels, as these materials are more difficult to modify or cut without causing damage. Fortunately, some manufacturers offer pre-made access panels specifically designed for these shower enclosures. These typically feature a removable section. 

Modular or prefabricated showers have bigger limitations when modifying or installing access panels. These are made of solid, one-piece units that can be challenging (but not impossible) to modify. Consult with a professional to determine the best choice for you.

If you’re looking for excellent, top-of-the-line shower enclosures, go online and check out reputable home design suppliers, such as Gardners Bathrooms And Kitchens, among others.

Turning off the water supply

This is something that has to be done before you start with actual work. Turn off the water supply, which is usually located in the utility room. If the house is a bit older it can be outside the premise entirely. It’s simple to do – there is valve you need to turn. It sometimes requires a wrench, but it doesn’t have to. After that, remove the fixtures and disconnect the drains. The water feeds should be sealed before you start as well. Old ones need to be capped with PVC tubes you can get at your local store (or the professional can provide them) and the copper ones need to be crimped.

Slope for draining

New fixture should have an adequate slope for draining. For waste drain, the slope fall is one quarter of an inch for every 4 feet of drainpipe. Shower and sink need 2 inch drainpipes and the toilet needs a 4 inch drain. It’s also a bad idea to have a larger slope than recommended, because that way the liquid will outrun the solid waste in the pipe.

Relocating plumbing can be a time consuming and hard work. That’s why you should only do it if you have prepared beforehand and if you have confidence in the professionals you chose to do the job. But take comfort in the fact that once it’s done, you won’t have to think about it for a long time.

Guest Contributor, Lillian Connors

19 Steps To Getting Your Home Ready For Your Thanksgiving Guests

Getting Your Home Ready for Thanksgiving

Are you having family and friends over for Thanksgiving? Did you forget to include cleaning in your schedule? Let me guess, you’ve been busy looking all over for perfect recipes. That is fine, we all do that. But, somewhere between now and Thursday morning, you need to clean your house from top to bottom. It’s not easy when you have kids, a husband who thinks everything magically cleans itself, and a puppy who is too busy barking at everyone that passes by your house (yes, my puppy sits on her throne by the window and barks at anything and everything).

I completely understand where you’re coming from. After working all day, it’s hard to have any energy left to tend to your home. Nobody is judging, I’m here to help.

Just to scare you, a made you a calendar of where we are today, and how quickly Thanksgiving is approaching.

Look around, how dirty is your house?

If you only have 30 minutes to Clean.

1.       Clean your main bathroom

2.       Clean your kitchen

3.       Clean your dining room

4.       Turn a few candles on

If you only have 2 hours to clean.

1.       Clean your main bathroom and a guest bathroom

2.       Clean your kitchen

3.       Clean your dining room

4.       Clean your living room

5.       Clean your fridge

6.       Turn candles on

If you have 6 hours to clean.

1. Clean all your bathrooms
2. Clean your kitchen
3. Make sure you scrub your oven, inside and out
4. Clean the inside of your fridge
5. Clean your dining room, make it inviting.
6. Clean and dust off your living room. Make sure you dust everything. Your mother-in-law sure loves to check that mantel
7. Clean the fire place
8. Clean the bar area
9. Clean the kids room
10. Clean the bed rooms
11. Clean the guest room
12. Clean your office
13. Walk around your house and dust off every curtain
14. Clean the ceiling fans
15. Clean the kids play area
16. Clean the front and back of the outside of the house
17. Add Holiday decorations
18. Add fresh cut flowers throughout the house
19. Add candles in every common area

You did everything you could. Don’t worry, it looks great.

---

Don’t forget to make a little bar area.

Holiday Bar Cart

• Wine, red and white
• Champagne, please chill
• Vodka
• Whiskey
• Scotch
• Rum
• Soda Water
• Tonic
• Coke/Diet Coke
• Ginger Ale
• Lemon wedges
• Cherries
• Orange Wedges
•  Ice
•  Wine Glasses
•  Champagne Flute
•  Rocks Glasses

Turn on some holiday music for ambiance.

If you have Comcast, it’s channel 741. They also have holiday music on On Demand. Or, turn on your Pandora for great Holiday tunes. Zero excuse for not having Holiday Tunes playing in the background.

If everything goes to plan, everyone will be having too much fun to notice anything you forgot or didn’t get to clean in time.

Now go enjoy yourself.

Happy Thanksgiving

Top Ways To Deal With Blocked Drains and Get Some Relief

Top Ways to Deal with Blocked Drains and Get Some Relief

As the drain is an important outlet in your home, blockage can cause a great deal of inconvenience to any homeowner. With the condition of the blocked drains, even the sink and shower water drains slowly. Even the water in the toilet might rise when the toilet is flushed. The combination of these things might result in a foul smell throughout the home and the surrounding. Therefore, it is important to clear the blocks and clogs in the drain at the earliest. If you make efforts to clean your drain regularly, chances are that you will not have to face any inconvenience with your drain.

Causes of Blockage

Prior to anything, you will have to understand the cause of blocked drains. This in turn might help you to prevent those conditions in the drain.

• Oil and greases are often the main cause for blockage. Unlike water, oils stick to the inside of the pipes, and over time these accumulate to cause blockage.
• At times, foreign substances often get stuck into the drains causing a block. Hair is one of most common substance that might accumulate and block the drain.
• If the drains are exposed, dry leaves often fall and get accumulated in the drain. This is also a source of blockage of the drain.
• At times, the slopes of the pipes affect the flow of waste from the drain into the sewer line.
• If the pipes are not installed correctly, the pipes might get misaligned resulting in poor drainage. In the course of time, it will result in blocking of the drains.
• Sometimes, the pipes might break down and the drain might collapse completely.

Now that you know some of the common causes of blockage, you should try to prevent them, which will cause less hassle.

Clearing A Clogged Drain

As soon as, you notice the signs of blocked drains, you should try to clear them at your home.

• If you find hair or any other foreign substance trapped in the drain, you can try using a wire or a plunger to remove the foreign substance. If you find corrosion in the fixture of the tap, you can put a bucket to hold water and disassemble the parts to get a new one. 
• There are some drain cleaners available in the market and these are known to work effectively. However, you should get the one suited for the specific type of blockage to get the best results.

In fact, if you have some knowledge along with some plumbing tools, you might try your hands on clearing the blocked drains. Otherwise, the best idea is to call a professional plumber. The professionals are highly skilled and experienced, and they can identify the cause to help you fix the problem. Therefore, you can be certain of getting a clean drain without any kind of foul smell from the drains.

Emergency Cleaning Service

However, in some situations, you might notice that the blocked drains have created huge mess. In such a situation, you will require emergency cleaning services. There is no point trying to self-clean the drain in such a situation because you might make more mess out of it. On the contrary, the best thing that you can do is to call a professional plumber to resolve the issue at the earliest. The plumber with their years of experience will not only clean the drains, but also give you some of the most effective tips by means of which you can maintain the condition of your drain in the course of time. Thus, you will benefit from it.  

-Guest Contributor, Evan Javier

Why Don't They Have a Course in College on How to Properly Maintain Our Biggest Investment?

Maintain Your Biggest Investment!

They teach us almost everything we need to know about life in school. The college I attended had an unlimited number of courses you could take. It was great, they taught me how to make money, how to manage it, but not how to manage my biggest investment. Since your home is one of the biggest investment you’ll make in your lifetime, they should have taught How to Maintain Your Biggest Investment.

You spend most of your life working. Working to buy a house, working to buy a car, working to pay off school, working to pay for your family’s necessities, working to pay for vacations, and working because unfortunately most of us aren’t Trust Fund Babies.

After working year after year, and saving your hard-earned money, you finally decide to purchase a beautiful home that will house your growing family. Time goes by and you realize it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. You are responsible for every single little thing in that house. Congratulations!

If you’re a handy man, everything might come easy to you, or you already know the right people to call. If you’re everyone else, you hate when something goes wrong in your home. “Why me? Why do the God’s hate me?” You must understand that there is a theory behind all of this: you didn’t maintain your house, you neglected your home dwelling. You were too busy working.

Did your house come with instructions? Mine didn’t. Nobody thought me what to maintain in my house. I just learned as things broke or decided to not function properly anymore.

·       Check your roof for leaks, water damage, mold, or anything that looks out of place.

·       Check your walls for leaks, water damage, or stains.

·       Check your gutters, they are probably filled with leaves, clean them.

·       Check your plumbing, inside and outside of the house.

·       Check your water heater, learn how it works and how to maintain it.

·       Check your furnace, learn how it works and how to maintain it. Please change the filter monthly.

·       Check your Central Air.

·       Check your vents. Yes, clean them.

·       Check your dishwasher, make sure the pipes are fine.

·       Check your garbage disposal, maintain it monthly. Stop putting everything done the disposal.

·       Check your washer/dryer. Gas line, drains, and electric.

·       Check your refrigerator, is your ice line hooked up correct?

·       Check your stove, is you gas line connected properly?

·       Check your Fuse Box, make sure it was installed by a Licensed Electrician.

·       Check your windows, walk around your house and make sure that they were properly installed. They need to be sealed around the edges.

·       Check your outlets, walk around your house and inspect every single outlet. Do you have kids? Make sure they are covered.

·       Check your sump pump, does it run/pump when it’s raining for proper drainage?

·       Check your ejector pump, if you have a bathroom in your basement, you should have an ejector pump. Make sure it’s not clogged, and it’s pumping.

·       Check your smoke detector, change the batteries when needed.

·       Check your carbon monoxide detector, change the batteries when needed.

·       Always make sure you have extra batteries around your house.

·       Always make sure you have extra light bulbs around your house.

This is just a basic list. You should know how to take care of everything or have the correct person ready to tackle the job.

Your home is your biggest investment, maintain it!