Kathy Zengolewicz

Professional carpet installers like to get in and out of your house as quickly as they can. Installing a new carpet is a process better left for the professional, but removing the carpet isn’t quite as hard.

You will need to have a utility knife, a hammer and crowbar, a flathead screwdriver, sturdy scissors and a heavy pair of gloves. The first thing you will need to do is move all of the furniture to another room, someplace where it can stay for a few days.

The nail strips that hold the carpet in place are usually nailed into the floor, so you will need to use the flathead screwdriver and a hammer to pry up the strips. If the screwdriver doesn’t work, then you’ll need to use a crowbar.

Make sure you use gloves when handling these strips, since they have tiny tack in them and are very sharp. Use a screwdriver to help you lift the carpet and padding, starting at a corner. Rip the carpet up in large pieces. There may be a few spots where it sticks, you’ll need to use a utility knife to slice these spots.

Be sure to roll the strips of carpet and padding and tie them up for easy clean up. When you finish, all that should be left on the floor are a few tack that can be removed with a small pair of pliers.

This is one way to save money and do it yourself.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

Kathy Zengolewicz

Now, my children all have their own homes and sometimes its hard to get everyone together, at one time, under the same roof. Three of my children have growing families and it is tough for them to set aside time to be with their siblings. All five of my children have always had a close relationship and I didn’t want to see that end. I knew I had to find a solution for this, so I put together a family game night.

I understand that at times money is tight, so we try to keep our get-togethers as inexpensive as possible. We have decided to set one night a month aside to gather, snack and just enjoy each others company. We started this process a couple of months ago and it seems to be working well. Just the fact that they can bring their children to the family game nights helps. They get to go out for the evening and not worry about paying a sitter.

Sometimes keeping your house in tip top shape means keeping it filled with good times and great company. Fill you life with friends and family. Start a tradition of keeping in touch with the ones you love. If you are not a game playing family, that’s okay. You don’t have to play games, you just have to make it a point to see each other regularly and enjoy the company.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

Kathy Zengolewicz

If you wait until the 23rd or 24th of December, you will have to fight crowds, you will have very little merchandise to choose from and you will wait in long, long lines. Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, not stress.

Now, shop when you think the stores will be less crowded, like in the early morning or late at night. Some stores are open 24 hours, if that’s the case you can probably shop at 3:00 am. If you shop in the middle of the night, who knows, maybe you can get everything done in one night. Wouldn’t that be great!

Make up a list of specific gifts for everyone and stick to that list. If you know what you are looking for, chances are it will be that much easier to find. Set a maximum price for each gift and stick to that, also. Try not to use a credit card. Those little plastic cards will get you into a financial bind. Try to work within your budget. If you can stick to the budget, you’ll be that much happier on December 26th.

If you are shopping online, make sure to check out this site: http://www.couponcabin.com and http://www.currentcodes.com/ Also, do a google search of “coupon codes” (without the quote marks) and you’ll find promotional codes for lots of terrific sites.

I hope these tips help with your shopping and keep your stress level down. Remember to stop, relax a little and enjoy the season.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

sxc.hu

When you use scouring soap pads like Brillo or SOS, if you’re like me you never seem use the entire pad and it sits on your sink and rusts. From now on when you buy soap pads cut them in half and use half at a time. It keeps your sink cleaner and your soap pads last twice as long.

Here’s a great tip for removing blood from fabric. Take a little bit of milk in a saucer and an old toothbrush. Pour a little milk on the stain and brush with the toothbrush. Rinse in cold water and launder as usual. All of the blood will be gone.

Do you have a lot of artificial plants at home that get very dusty? Try this: spray the leaves of the plant with hair spray. That will keep the dust from accumulating.

Here is a tip to save you time, especially if you have a two or three story home. When emptying waste baskets in your bathroom, bedroom or family room, before putting the clean bag in the basket, put in a few extra bags and a fabric softener sheet. That will save you time and keep your baskets fresh. If you don’t like using fabric softener sheets then take a man’s old white handkerchief and put a little bit of lemon, almond or vanilla extract on it and place that in your basket to keep it fresh smelling.

Have a coffee bean grinder? A great way to clean that is to grind some rice in it. The rice will make it fresh and clean.

When you store left over spaghetti sauce in a plastic bowl it is hard to get that stain out. Try making a paste of cream of tartar and water. It takes a little bit of elbow grease, but it will remove the stain.

I’ll have more household tips for you in the coming weeks.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

Here are few tips that I hope will help.

Turn off the television when you are not in the room. The pennies you save can add up over time.

Kathy Zengolewicz

Make your own gifts instead of buying stuff from the store. You can make small crafty gifts or some goodies in a jar which can consist of anything from soup to cookie mix. Follow my blog on Home & Living and I’ll show you how to make some great inexpensive crafts to give as gifts.

Follow the thirty day rule. When you are considering making a large purchase, think it over for 30 days and then if you still want it shop around and make sure to get the best deal

Don’t buy unnecessary items when food shopping. Make a list of the items that you need and stick to it. You can save a bundle that way.

When you are planning to get together with family and friends, invite them to your house instead of going out. We have a family game night once a month. This is a great way to spend some quality time with children and grandchildren and save money too. My grandchildren play right along with the adults.

Cut back on convenience and prepackaged foods. Instead, make easy casseroles or stews.  They are nutritious and cost less to make than buying the pre-made items. Make extra and have leftovers one night a week.

Turn those lights off when you leave a room. Better yet, use CLF(Compact Fluorescent Light) bulbs. They use about 25% less electricity than a regular incandescent bulb.

Install a programmable thermostat. They can save anywhere from 10 to 20% on your energy bill. Cleaning the filter in your house heater will also cut down on your energy bills.

And last, but not least, shop early for holiday gifts. I know for a fact that items, especially toys, cost as much as 1-2 dollars more after Thanksgiving.

I will be bringing you more money saving tips in the weeks to come. I hope you will find these tips useful.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

Seeing these dresser drawer planters has stirred a curiosity for other things you can do with dresser drawers.  Rather than tossing your old drawers to the curb, consider one of these ideas:

• Underbed storage – Better Homes & Gardens suggests putting casters on drawer bottoms to use them as under the bed storage.
• Bookcase – Country Living shows us how to build an adaptable modular storage system.  (Cool idea, btw!)
• Shelving – Mount an old drawer to the wall and use it for storage or knicknacks and decorations.  If your wall is made of drywall, be sure to drill into studs or use anchors.  This will help to hold the weight of the shelf.

What ways could you repurpose dresser drawers?

image (c) Karen Weideman

Post from: Keeping the Castle

Since winter is on the way, here are some ways to save on your winter energy bill.

1)  Install a programmable thermostat.  Have your thermostat drop down a few degrees each day while you’re at work.

2)  Change your filters every month.  Dirty filters can increase your bills by 20% each month.

3)  Keep your thermostat at 68F or below.  Wear a sweatshirt if you need to.

4)  Make sure your fireplace damper fits well.  Close it when not in use.  Install a glass fireplace door.

5)  Remove window air conditioner units.  These let a lot of cold air into your home.

6)  Get a tune-up on your furnace to make sure it’s working properly.

7)  Put caulking and weather strips around doors and windows. 

8) Don’t block vents or radiators with furniture or curtains.

9)  Let the sunlight in.  Open the blinds on the sunny side of your house.  The sunlight will help to warm up the rooms.

10)  Seal your heating ducts.  Sealing and insulating ducts can improve the efficiency of your heating by as much as 20 percent.

What ways do you save on your winter energy bill?

image sxc.hu

Post from: Keeping the Castle

I had been giving a lot of thought to our family using cloth napkins.  The problems that I faced were:

• We have three kids; three young kids.  Trust me, these three kids are so messy.
• The extra washing from the napkins.  I have enough laundry to do already.
• Having enough napkins to get through each day.

Since we had some cloth napkins that my mom had given me, I decided to go ahead and try it out.  I figured that even if we used them one day a week, it would still help out some.  Suddenly, I have found that my kids aren’t so messy.  I’m not contributing this to the napkins, but really, it has happened.  Perhaps it’s because the napkins are dark blue and I’m just not seeing the mess.

I have found that we are able to use the napkins for 2-3 days before washing them.  We simply fold them in half and hang them over the back of the chairs.  While I was unpacking recently, I also found the other napkins that my mom bought me.  Now we use our napkins and have another set until I can wash the towels and napkins.  And since there’s always a napkin on the kids’ chairs, they’re using their napkin more and no longer reminding me that they need one.  This system has worked for us. 

Have you switched to cloth napkins yet?

For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, visit We Are THAT Family.  image sxc.hu

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Now that’s it’s the end of summer, stores are drastically marking down their patio furniture.  Most stores have marked their inventory down 75% percent!  I found chairs, tables, and benches, but unfortunately I could not find a matching set of anything.  Perhaps you will have better luck than I did.  I’m still hoping for an unexpected bargain somewhere.

Another low cost item to buy right now is plants.  You can find plants, trees, and shrubs at slashed prices.  Monday I purchased two blueberry bushes for less than $11 each.  I’m hoping for some yummy blueberries next summer.  It’s also a great time to plant perennials and trees.  The cooler weather doesn’t dry out plants the way that summer does and it allows plants to expand their roots.

What purchases have you considered during this fall season?

image sxc.hu

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Better Homes and Gardens is having a pretty good sale right now. Order now and get one free year of Better Homes and Gardens magazine and two free gifts.  You’ll get two full years (24 issues) for the one year rate of $22.  Plus, you’ll get their All Time Favorites cookbook and a free digital copy of Quick & Easy Decorating.  If you’re thinking about getting this deal, don’t hesitate too long. I’m not sure how long it will last. 

Each Better Homes and Gardens issue is packed full of recipes, housekeeping, and gardening tips and ideas.  There are also loads of colorful pictures and examples of decorating tips from others.

Do you subscribe to Better Homes and Gardens magazine?

image from bhg

Post from: Keeping the Castle