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Simple Home Tips and Solutions

Best Gifts for the Grumpy Old Men on Your List

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While there are no guarantees that any gift will please a “mean and surly” loved one, here are a few gift ideas for the grumpy old men on your list that are probably your best bets.

We all have a few “grumpy old men” in our family. They never seem to be happy, no matter what you say or do. They are only mildly amused from time to time. These can be the hardest people to shop for, because you know that whatever gift you decide to give them during the holidays is likely to flop. Increase your chances of success with these simple ideas for the grumpy old man on your list.

Cooked Food

Photo Credit: Flickr; Jonny Hunter
Can’t go wrong with STEAK! Photo Credit: Flickr; Jonny Hunter

Instead of traveling the length of your local mall ten times looking for a gift for your grumpy old man, why not just give him a home cooked gift — a home cooked meal that is. Cook him his favorite meal as a gift, and only make enough for one plate, especially for him. You can’t go wrong with a nice steak dinner complete with potatoes and mac and cheese.

But only give this gift if you’re a really good cook, or else, you will probably never live this gift down. More fuel for the fire. He’ll probably be groaning about that horrible meal you made for years to come!

Massage Chair or Massage Cushion

Massage ChairMaybe the grumpy old man in your life just needs to take a load off in order to shake away all that negative energy. A good massager will do wonders. You can either go with a full massage chair, or just buy the massage cushions that you can lay over your favorite recliner.

He might grumble and toss the gift to the side, but don’t let him get away that easy. Set the massage chair or massage cushion up for him in his favorite chair so that the next time he’s alone, he’s more likely to sit down and enjoy himself! Maybe this will help him lighten up a bit.

A Book on His Favorite Subject

Grumpy old men love to be left alone (or at least that’s what they say), so your gift should center around something that he can enjoy by himself and in silence. You can’t go wrong with a book.

Say your grumpy old man is a fan of historical fiction — get him a new novel set during the times of the American Revolution or the Civil War. They usually love that type of stuff. If he’s into politics, get him a book by his favorite politician or about one of the presidents.

Let’s face it, regardless of what you get a grumpy old man, he’s likely to turn up his nose at it. But these are a few of your best bets, and hey at least you tried!

Posted by Jade

Renting a Room: Things to Keep in Mind

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Here are some considerations to take in account before allowing a stranger, friend, or family member to rent a room in your house.

Many cash strapped homeowners earn extra money by renting a room in their homes in order to help cover the bills. In theory, and on paper, this idea sounds awesome. You get an extra $400 – $500 or more injected into your budget every month, for each empty room. But in practice, the process of renting a room to a complete stranger, or even to a friend or family member, can turn out to be more than you bargained for. Be aware of potential issues in advance so that you can be prepared and implement simple solutions.

Overnight House Guests

Flickr; PseudoDude
Flickr; PseudoDude

One problem that many homeowners who take in roomers have is overnight guests, such as girlfriends and boyfriends. Most landlords who are renting out a room in their house will even make it clear in a lease that no one except the roomer i

s allowed to stay overnight in the house. This is because overnight guests create an additional strain on the resources of the house. That includes additional hot water being used for showers and cooking gas or electricity being used if the guest decides to wake up and go make a meal in the middle of the night.

Chances are, you made a flat rate monthly deal with your roomer that included water, gas, electric, cable, phone, Internet, and other utilities, but that flat rate did not include paying for an additional overnight guest’s use of those amenities. So make your terms about guests clear in your rent agreement to avoid confusion.

You’ll Feel Like You’re Scolding a Child

Are you a parent turned empty-nester? If so, you probably remember how hard it was to get your kids to do something you asked, such as take out their garbage, turn down their music, or stop leaving their dirty plates on the counter — the eye rolls, the sighs, the slamming doors…

When you take in a roomer they will likely be sharing your living space, and that includes the kitchen and bathroom. It’s important to establish clear “house rules” for everyone in the home to follow and post them conspicuously in common areas.

When They Stop Paying Their Rent On Time… or At All

Without a doubt, the worst case scenario of renting a room in your house is when the roomer stops paying you rent. It’s a very difficult bind to find yourself in because not only do you have to continually contact the roomer about paying his rent, you are also obligated by law to give him written notice and allow him to stay for at least 15-30 more days (even if the roomer has not paid you rent for the month) before you can initiate an eviction (varies by state). After that 15 or 30 days is up, your roomer could decide that he or she still isn’t budging — it can get complicated. The eviction process could take a month or two to complete.

So if you are thinking about renting a room in your home to someone, remember these guidelines:

1) Include every rule you can think of in the lease, and make sure you go over it with the roomer before he or she moves in (no verbal leases).

2) Get a large initial deposit, preferably for two or three months of rent.

3) Do a credit check to find out if they already have past evictions or payment problems related to an apartment.

4) Talk to the prospective roomer’s previous landlord if possible.

5) Be firm, respectful business-like with the roomer at all times to ensure that the relationship remains professional.

Are Families Not as Close as They Used to Be?

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Over the years, it seems that families are not as close as they used to be. Here is a brief discussion of the possible causes of this unfortunate trend.

Families Don’t Have Dinner Together Anymore

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Flickr; Joshin Yamada

There was a commercial campaign on TVLand/Nick@Nite touting the importance of families eating at the “dinner table.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce initiated Family Day, a day to bring families together to eat dinner. This is because many families do not even eat together anymore. The TV and computer have become the most popular “dinner companions.” We tend to multi-task while eating instead of focusing on our loved ones.

I believe this is a big reason why families are not as close as they were in prior years. Family dinner is a major bonding time for families that’s supposed to happen each night. Forty years ago, it was almost unheard of for a family to eat dinner in separate rooms, but now it has become the norm.

Less Fathers in the Picture

Unfortunately, fathers have become less present and responsible in the lives of their families. According to statistics from the National Center for Health about 40 percent of children are born out of wedlock. It’s estimated that a third of children in America are living in fatherless homes.

In many cases, the father is the strong gel of the family — he keeps everyone together and feeling stable due to his role as head of the family. But when a mother is left to raise her family alone, she is faced with the dilemma of needing to work more, and at odder times to accommodate her family’s needs, even if she is receiving child support. Since the new head of household is home less, there is no one to “gel” the family and keep them bonded. Of course, this is also true for mothers who leave their families with a single father.

The Internet and Television

The Internet was created about thirty years ago. Since then, according to Internet World Stats, over 300 million Americans are active online as of 2014 (a saturation of about 85% of the population), and they spend an average of 23 hours per week using the internet. Most people are having a love affair with their computers that transcends the relationships they have with their families. Every free moment is spent surfing, working, or emailing friends. The ideal dinner for most people, due to their hectic, internet-ready lifestyle, is a frozen dinner and a plastic fork in front of their computer monitor or phone. Taking an hour out of their time to just sit with their family members is unheard of.

This is also the case with television. There has been an advent of more engaging television programs, such as reality television and serial prime-time programs, which have stories that continue from episode to episode. These programs leave people on edge and have them anxiously anticipating the next show, more so than they anticipate talking to and bonding with their families.

Family members, especially busy, working parents, and teenagers are spending less time with each other, due to computers, lifestyle and confused priorities. Let’s spend more time loving our families and less time consumed with other minor matters that won’t even really matter in the long-term.

Posted by Jade

The Long Term Effects of Text Messaging & Social Media

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Are your eyes and hands glued to your phone most of the day? Here are some thoughts about the possible effects of text messaging and using social media too much.

 

Courtesy: Flickr; Michele Ursino
Courtesy: Flickr; Michele Ursino

Most people look at text messaging as a blessing because our time is precious — we don’t always have the luxury of picking up the phone and having a long conversation with a friend, brother or sister about how our week went. If you call a co-worker simply to tell him “I just emailed you the report,” you might get roped into a lengthy conversation about what the boss did yesterday.

So now, all you have to do is use your text message phone service to drop a note, and your job is done. Have to wish someone Happy Birthday? You no longer have to make a 15 minute long call or rush them off the phone. Just send a text message and you’ve done your part.

But there is a downside to using text messaging and social media as a replacement for human contact. Here are a few possible long term effects from text messaging and using social media too much.

Disconnect with Friends and Family

When you use your text message phone features and social media apps all of the time, you may start to experience a disconnect from the people you love. Since you never speak to them on the phone, over time you may start to distance yourself from your friends, family, and loved ones who live far away from you.

Sometimes you just need to hear someone’s voice. There is nothing quite like speaking to someone, because you can gauge their mood better. Your friend might text message phone you telling you that she’s fine, but in reality she’s crying on the other end. Instead of a text message, a phone call will help you determine her mood and possibly give her the consolation and conversation she really needs to get through the day.

Thumb and Eye Issues

As text message phone use increases over time, people may start to feel the physical effects of constantly using their thumbs to type messages on tiny keyboards. If you send 20 text messages a day, with 160 characters each, over the next 5 years, you will have pressed your thumbs over 5.8 million times! All those presses are wearing on your thumbs over time. So you may want to think about that as you type a 10 page text to your friend about the guy you met at the party last night.

Looking at a cell phone screen can also cause problems with your eyesight. Adjusting your eyes to see very small letters and words on a fluorescent screen for long periods of time can cause a strain on your eyes.

You Miss Life and Possible Connections with New People

I was once walking through a train station and just about every person that I passed had his or her head down looking at a cellphone. When you’re addicted to texting and social media, you run the risk of missing out on connecting with new people out there in the world. You never know if that person you passed while focused on your phone could have been one of your soul mates.

If you use a text message cell phone, do a self-evaluation to see if you’re use can be classified as addiction or obsession. Don’t allow a piece of technology to negatively affect your healthy or your relationships with others.

Posted by Jade

Home Tip: Assembling Furnishings from Big Box Stores

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I enjoy purchasing cool furniture from big box stores. After a few purchases that required total assembly, I became frustrated because what should have taken an hour or two turned into an all day project. So I came up with a plan to make the assembly less painful. Here are a few tips for assembling furnishings that you purchase from Big Box stores like Ikea and Kmart.

FIRST
Lay out the parts in order ( either by letters or numbers )

SECOND
Make sure you have all necessary tools are present ( as per instructions ) and all parts / pieces are accounted for

THIRD
Place box with picture on a wall in your view ( this ensures that as you build your furniture, it resembles the picture )

FOURTH
Briefly, Read the instructions from start to finish. ( the more knowledge you have of what you are building gives your brain a better picture of the right way to assemble the furniture )

**** If possible, build the furniture near where you eventually want to place it ( takes less effort to move into place )

DISCLAIMER – Make sure another person is present if the furniture you are building is heavy!!!!

I hope these tips encourages someone to not be afraid of building big box store items.

Posted by Eve

Home Tip: How to Clean Your Makeup Brushes

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A Simple way to Clean Your Makeup Brushes
I absolutely love using my makeup brushes. However, they do require a little maintenance from time to time. They can become full of germs which In turn can cause your face to break out. I personally like to clean my brushes every other week. My cleaning process is quick and easy to do.

You will need:
1 teaspoon of shampoo (shampoo of your choice)
2 cups of Luke warm water
4-5 paper towels (depending on the amount of brushes to be cleaned)

Instructions:
Wet the brushes under running water that is luke warm
Remove from running water
Take one brush at a time and place securely in your hand and add shampoo
For 1-2 minutes gently rub the brush (with soap) in the palm of your hand to create a lather Rinse brush under luke warm water to remove soap and makeup residue from brush
Place the brush onto paper towel to absorb the moisture contained in the brush overnight to allow brush to fully dry Repeat all steps for as many brushes you want to clean
Inspect the brushes the next day and gently tap brush onto dry area of paper towel, no moisture should be present!!!!

WARNING: Do not dry brushes in a upright position, they will take much longer to dry +/or ruin your brush

Posted by Eve