Monthly Archives: November 2023

Hobbies and Everyday Chores Can Become Exercise Sessions

November 30, 2023   Matt

Hobbies and Everyday Chores Can Become Exercise Sessions

There are hobbies and household chores that involve physical activity. With a little imagination, you can have fun doing them and convert them into real body workouts. Here are some examples:

GARDENING
All the gardening activities such as squatting, bending, stretching, trimming, and sweeping are good exercise if done regularly. If possible, try not to use the water hose for watering plants. Instead, fetch a pail of water from the water source to the plants, alternately using your right and left hand in carrying the pail.

SWEEPING THE STREET
Do a little favor for your neighbors. Sweep not only your yard, but also the portion of the street in front of your house as well. All that body swaying, bending, and carrying trash to the garbage can are good exercise.

CAR WASHING
Wash not only your car, but volunteer to wash other people’s cars as well. Again, don’t use the water hose but use a pail to get the water. The fetching of the water, the hard arm scrubs, and the stretching and bending are all good exercise. These build good relations too.

CLEANING YOUR LIBRARY
If you are a book lover and have piles of them in your home library, clean that room at least once a week. Bring out the books from the shelves and clean everything spotlessly. Place the books on the floor while you wipe the shelves. It would be better if you’re climbing up and down a ladder. After cleaning, replace the books. Now, imagine all that bending, going up and down, and carrying from the floor up to the shelves! This is good exercise that can be a mighty workout! Try alternating the cleaning of the library, the kitchen, and the basement, week after week.

BIKING
Hop onto a bike, instead of into your car when you need to go to the grocery store for small orders, school, or even work. Forget about shortcuts. Biking can promote good cardiovascular health. Just make sure to ride safely always.

HIKING AND TAKING PICTURES
If your hobby is photography or filmmaking, take hikes as you look for things to film or take pictures of. Appreciating the beauty of nature can give you an inner sense of peace and hiking is good exercise too.

REARRANGING YOUR ROOMS
Do major clean-ups and rearrangements of your rooms often. Rearrange your living room, bedroom, and dining room. Rearrange the furniture. Don’t just drag them as you move them; lift them as much as possible. Choose manual tools for cleaning whenever possible.

Note: It is important for you to enjoy doing a household chore to take out the pressure and tension when using it as an exercise session. It is wearily doing a chore that makes it stressful.

Read More

How to Protect Yourself When Purchasing a Home

November 29, 2023   Matt

How to Protect Yourself When Purchasing a Home

When you are purchasing a home, whether it is your first or not, it is important that you protect yourself and your investment. Many people will make sure their appliances have warranties, as well as their vehicles. Most people will not make a big purchase like those without a warranty, so why is it that so many people make the biggest purchase of their lives (a home) and do not get a warranty?

There are many things you can do to protect yourself when you buy a home but probably foremost is ensuring that you have a warranty on that home. A home warranty is not a new product – in fact, home warranties have been around for quite some time. In the past, however, most people thought that home warranties were only offered by builders on new homes, but that is not the case. In fact, you can purchase a home warranty on any home, new or used.

Usually, either the buyer or the seller will purchase a home warranty. A buyer purchases a home warranty on an older home to safeguard themselves from any major repairs that need to be done that can’t be seen on inspection, or foreseen. It’s hard to tell that the water heater or furnace is about ready to kick the bucket and need replacing from looking at it. A home warranty protects from those repairs and replacements for the term of the policy. A seller will purchase a home warranty for the home they are selling as a selling feature. A home warranty helps secure their pricing near where it’s listed at. Also, many homes that come with a home warranty will sell much quicker than one without.

With this, it is important then that when you are purchasing a home that you ensure you have a home warranty. A home warranty will save you a lot of time, money and trouble if something major should go wrong. In most cases, a home warranty will cover:

  • Air conditioning system
  • Built in dishwasher
  • Built in microwave
  • Built in trash compactor
  • Ceiling fans
  • Central heating unit
  • Duct work
  • Electrical systems
  • Garbage disposal unit
  • Plumbing systems
  • Refrigerator
  • The oven or range
  • Washer and dryer
  • Water heater

Here is a list of things that are generally not covered with a home warranty:

  • Outdoor sprinkler systems
  • Outdoor water systems
  • Faucet repairs (unless otherwise stated in the policy)
  • Spas (you can request/add this coverage in some cases)
  • Pools (you can request/add this coverage in some cases)
  • Hot tubs (you can request/add this coverage in some cases)
  • Permit fees
  • Hauling away debris
  • Hauling away old appliances

There are items that are often not covered by some plans, which are covered by others, including:

  • Washers (because they are not built in to the home and are not always included with a home.)
  • Dryers (because they are not built in to the home and are not always included with a home.)
  • Garbage disposals
  • Garage door openers
  • Refrigerators

The best thing to do is to talk to the agent you are dealing with and ask what is and isn’t covered in detail with your policy. Anything you talk about should be put in writing and signed by the agent. If he says the garbage disposal is covered, then ensure it is written in the policy.

It’s best to take some time and do your research if you are purchasing your own home warranty package for a home. The rates, coverage and deductibles vary from company to company, and from state to state. There are many options available to you, so talk to a qualified home warranty agent to discuss what type of home warranty program suits your needs the best.

If you are buying a home that comes with a home warranty, it’s important to remember that this type of warranty is non-renewable; whereas if you purchase your own, it is likely able to be renewed when the initial year-long period is up. Again, it’s important to ask of the seller what is included and not included in the warranty before purchasing the home. Read through the policy to be sure you are clear on what is and is not covered.

Buying a home is an exciting time, but it can also be quite daunting. You never know what you are getting when you purchase an older home, but a home warranty can help dispel any misgivings you have.

Read More

Get The Plumbing Advice To Help You (2)

November 27, 2023   Matt

Get The Plumbing Advice To Help You

This article is going to provide you with well proven advice about plumbing. Sometimes you are not sure about what you can trust and what you cannot. Use the great tips and tricks that have been gathered here and you can be assured you are getting tried and true advice.

Before embarking on a plumbing project, make sure that you’re aware of where the shutoff valve for water in your home is, as well as the valves for shutting off individual structures like sinks, toilets, etc. This way, if something goes wrong, you’ll be able to stop the water flow.

Use a foaming root killer, twice yearly, to remove tree roots that can bring your drains to a standstill. Foaming products fill the entire pipe with chemicals, killing roots that grow from the top of the pipe as well as the part that water flows through. They are more effective than regular root killers for this reason.

Call different plumbers before choosing one. Plumbing prices among professionals are not uniform. Before you hire someone to fix a major problem, call two or three other plumbers to see what their prices are like. This can be difficult if you have a major plumbing problem that you need solved right away, but will save you money in the end.

When you are using your disposal you should always run cold water not hot water. You should run the cold water as long as the motor to the disposal is running. Always avoid overloading your disposal. Things like corn husks, onion skins, celery and other high fiber foods could clog your disposal.

If you go to flush the toilet and nothing happens, do not be afraid to open up the lid and take a peek. The mechanism inside the toilet is not overly complex, and with some time and thought you can nearly always pinpoint the problem and then find the tools and parts to fix it.

Treating your drains every month is a great way to avoid future clogs and other problems, and it’s a very simple procedure. Just run one to two gallons of hot tap water down each drain in your house.

Once or twice a year, drain a few inches of water from your water heater using the valve located at the bottom. The water may be rusty-looking or brown, which is the point of this practice; sediment settles to the bottom of the tank and rests there. Flushing some of this sediment from the tank can extend the lifespan of your hot water heater.

Do not put cooking oils, fat, or grease, down your drain. These fats cause clogs by solidifying in pipes. To properly dispose of fats, put them in a bowl with a lid that you can dispose of. Once it gets hard, throw it in the trash or compost bin.

To summarize, you are looking for advice on your plumbing project but want to be sure that the information you are using has been tested over time. Hopefully you will find this to be true of the information in this article. Use this great advice today and you will be more than satisfied.

Read More

Relationship Break Up Advice

November 25, 2023   Matt

Relationship Break Up Advice

Do you want some relationship break up advice? We all know that break ups are hard and how you handle one is not only completely up to you but may show just what kind of a person you really are. Maintaining your self-respect and dignity is very important.

You could let your insecurities get the best of you and throw things, break stuff, stalk your ex, dive head first into a deep depression and vow to stay single for the rest of your life or you can choose to learn how to get on with your life after a short period of mourning.

If you choose the more beneficial, not to mention more mature, option of learning to get on with your life then that means you must make a plan to learn what it takes to be single again and then put it into action. It may take some time but if you keep telling yourself you will get through this and you will. This is what is called ‘fake it til you make it’. You have the strength all you have to do is dig deep enough to find it.

So, take a day, or two, to throw things, break stuff, and feel depressed. You need this to move on to the next step. Just make sure that you do not go over the twenty-four to forty-eight hour period. No one person is worth more than that amount of time. You may even start to feel that you are better off without them.

When your initial day to two time limit is up, get up the next morning and start cleaning. Clear away all of the stuff that reminds you of your ex. Pictures, ticket stubs, cards, jewelry, whatever it is, pack it up and put it in a box. Store it in the attic or the garage, or, if things were really bad just throw it out.

When you are done putting things out of sight you will probably feel somewhat empowered for the first time since the break up so call someone to come pick you up and go have some fun. Go do something to make yourself feel better.

This is a good piece of relationship break up advice…adopt a no-contact policy. Whatever you do, refrain from having any contact with the one who broke up with you. Do not call them or text them or message them on Facebook, nothing. It will not do you any good and will only succeed in keeping you down and feeling miserable.

There are many things you can do to keep your mind off of your ex. Go to the library and check out a good book or two. Join a gym and get in shape. Check out the local community college and enroll in a class that interests you. Volunteer your time at a nursing home or the local soup kitchen. Giving of yourself can make you feel appreciated.

When you do finally realize that you have moved on you can smile at what you have accomplished and open yourself up to your future. You are now even stronger than you were before. Now you can consider dating and getting back into another relationship. Take this relationship break up advice and the next relationship will be so much better than the last.

Read More

5 Top Model Train Accessories

November 24, 2023   Matt

5 Top Model Train Accessories

Many people’s first introduction to model railroading is with a simple circle or oval on a sheet of plywood. No scenery, no landscaping and maybe not even any buildings or vehicles.

It doesn’t take long, however, to get the urge to start adding accessories to the railroad to make it more realistic. For many people, this become a lifelong endeavor, and can grow to very large proportions.

Every layout is different and everyone has their own favorite accessories, but the following 5 items are some of the most common accessories that add a level of realism and interest to your model railroad.

1. Train Station

This is one of the first buildings most people add to their layout. It gives the railroad a starting and ending point and often serves as the basis for an entire town or city to be built up around it.

2. Lighting

There are many forms of lighting for railroads. There can be background lighting to give a backdrop a degree of realism or street lights to add to the ambiance of a city. These may be strictly for decoration, or they may actually light up at night to give the streets a realistic glow.

3. Rail Cars

The locomotive usually gets the most attention when setting up a model railroad, but there are many choices for railcars as well.

4. People and Animals

A city or rail yard isn’t complete without people as part of the design. And if your layout travels through mountains or countryside, animals add a touch of realism to the design.

5. Landscaping

There are many options for landscaping a railroad. You can add things like grass, trees, lakes or rivers alongside the track. Or you can get a little more in depth and add hills and valleys for your train to travel through, and tunnels through the mountains.

Read More

Make Your Plumbing Repairs With This Information

November 22, 2023   Matt

Make Your Plumbing Repairs With This Information

Plumbing is a vast topic that takes years to learn and master. If you’re feeling overwhelmed just thinking about it, read this article for tips that should clear up any confusion that you have.

Knowing how to avoid frozen pipes is going to help save your home from the potential flooding that can occur if they should freeze. Make sure the temperature in your home does not fall below fifty-five degrees. Caulk any air leaks that are near your plumbing to avoid freezing problems.

When you’re going away on a vacation, you should consider shutting off the water supply to your home. This can help stop many problems before they start. If you don’t do this, you should have someone stop by your house regularly to check that nothing has gone wrong and that your home isn’t flooded.

If your pipes are making banging noises, you may need to add additional anchor straps to prevent the pipes from making contact with the walls when water is traveling through them. Typically, pipes are anchored at regular intervals. If banging noises are occurring, you may need to add additional straps or cushion the pipes with a rubber blanket.

When replacing any PVC type pipes in your home, make sure you buy the correct PVC for the job. PVC comes in several different sizes and grades as well as for different temperature applications. If the water going through the pipes is headed for the kitchen or bathroom, or is for laundry or gardening usage, it must be labeled as “Potable.”

Use a hairdryer to thaw frozen pipes, after you shut off the water to the house. A hairdryer will gently heat the pipe and thaw the ice without causing significant damage to the pipe. Shutting off the water first means that if the pipe is broken, there will be no rush of water into the house.

Try to update your internal toilet components from time to time. If you have to hold down the handle for a long time to flush your toilet, you may need to replace a worn piece. This improvement will help to save a lot of money on your water bill during the year.

Make sure your plumbing contractor has the proper insurance before letting them work in your home. This is a big problem with all types of construction contractors. They may have the proper licenses, but because of the high cost of insurance, they may not be properly insured and can end up on your homeowners policy if they get hurt.

If your sink is letting rusty water out and it will not drain, it is mostly likely because of the biological scum and grease that is built up in the pipes. You need to have your drains professionally cleaned, allowing maximum flow through your drains. Your drains must be open completely.

As you can see, plumbing isn’t so scary when you know what to do. Follow the tips you’ve read here next time you have a problem with your plumbing, and soon your problem will be solved, all without having to call an expensive plumber to fix the problem for you.

Read More
« Older posts

  • Subscribe

Support us!

If you like this site please subscribe