Quick Ways to Make Your Kitchen Look Expensive

Giving your kitchen a fancy update can be costly and time-consuming. But did you know that there are tricks you can do to make it look expensive without breaking the bank? Below are a few of these tried-and-tested techniques.

1. Change your kitchen wall colour. Consider painting the walls in your kitchen with a light colour. Light colours reflect light and make your kitchen space look bigger. They can also hide scratches and other blemishes in your cabinets, counter tops and walls.

2. Change your lighting. Get an electrician to install chandeliers, dimmers or other light fixtures in your kitchen. This can create a good feel - something which standard lights can't provide. Mix and match them so you can have a lighting system that complements your personality and activities in your kitchen.

3. Clear your counter space. Clutter can easily make your kitchen space look small and messy. Hide small appliances like blenders, coffee makers, rice cookers and toasters inside cabinets. Take them out when you need to use them and put them back as soon as you're done with them.

3. Reinvent your cabinets. If you can't replace your old cabinets, repaint them to match your kitchen wall. Try changing your cabinet doors to high-gloss doors or glass doors to show your nicest kitchenware. You can also change the handles pulls and even hinges of your cabinet door with fancy pieces. This will make your kitchen look more appealing.

4. Invest in quality kitchen appliances. Quality kitchen appliances are quite costly but they can save you a lot of money in the long run. Why? It's because they are durable. For example, cooktops made from cutting-edge materials can satisfy your cooking needs for a long time. Also, they usually come in a classic design that can match the overall look of your kitchen.

Do you want more tips on reinventing your kitchen without burning holes in your pockets? Check out this infographic from Bourne Bathrooms.

From Visually.

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Five Must-Have Habits to Keep Your House Clean

Are you dreaming of a cleaner and more organized home this New Year? You might find it impossible to have after all the added mess which accumulated in every part of your house during the holidays. But it is achievable with the right amount of determination and discipline.

Begin by reviewing your cleaning habits in the past year. Identify which of them worked and did not work. Continue doing those that worked and replace the ineffective ones with smarter routines. Here’s a short list of new habits you must develop to keep your home spic and span all year round.

1. Assign a place for everything. Is there clutter in every part of your house? Why don't you assign specific locations for the items in your home instead of collecting them all on a chair, on a desk or on the floor. Doing this will make your home more organized. Also, it will be easier for you to do your daily activities when your home is clutter-free and everything in it is arranged logically.

2. Fix your bed as soon as you get up. You're most likely to place all your dirty clothes, bags and other items on your bed if it is messy. Don’t leave your room without tidying up your bed. Nothing beats the feeling of coming home to a neat and tidy bed.

3. Engage in multi-tasking. Staying on top of your household chores can be daunting. It drains you of your energy and time. Learn how to clean smart by identifying which of your chores can be done simultaneously. For example, you can vacuum the bedrooms while your clothes are in the washing machine. You can also clean out your cupboards or refrigerator while baking dinner in the oven.

4. Deep clean one room at a time. Tackling the rooms in your home all at the same time will leave you exhausted and frustrated. Have a cleaning schedule. Pick the best month to deep clean your kitchen, your laundry room and so on. You have the whole year to clean your house efficiently, without having to go through a huge effort.

5. Ask for help. You cannot do it all alone. Ask family members to help out with all the chores and to be responsible in cleaning up their own mess regularly. There will come a time when you might need to seek the help of professional cleaners. For example, the birth of a baby in the family can leave you and everyone else busy and exhausted. You can hire someone to take care of any of the household chores that you have left undone. Is the idea of using a home cleaning service new to you? Read this infographic from Absolute Domestics to learn about the most common FAQs on hiring a house cleaner, as well as some quick tips.

From Visually.

It will be easier for you to achieve a well-maintained home by taking the time to observe each of the habits mentioned above. Once your home is cleaner and more organized, you will be able to focus on more important things like bonding with your family and friends.

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How to Keep Your House Smelling Good All the Time

Is you're house smelling funky and you just can't locate where the stink bomb is coming from? Instead of wasting your time searching for the unthinkable, simply focus on keeping your house smelling good all the time. How? Read the rest of this post for some quick tips.

1) Keep your carpet clean. Carpets can trap unwanted grime and smells. Before vacuuming your carpet, sprinkle a mixture of baking soda and ground cinnamon on it. This mixture is good at absorbing the foul odor your carpet gives off. Vacuum as usual, and you'll have a noticeably fragrant carpet.

2) Put some vanilla oil on your light bulbs. When your lights and lampshades are off, drop some vanilla extract on the bulbs. The bulbs will emit the vanilla scent once they're turned on - leaving every room in your house smelling good.

3) Odorize your sink. Lingering stink often comes out of the sink. Arrest the foul odor by allowing a generous amount of lemon-scented dish soap to flown down the sink with running water. If this doesn't solve the problem, pour in a 1/2 cup of baking soda while running warm water.

4) Bring some indoor plants to your home. Arabian jasmine, corsage orchids, Cuban oregano, eucalyptus, gardenias and geraniums are good-looking indoor plants which are also known for the pleasant fragrances they emit. Place them strategically inside your house. You can place them in the bathroom, in the kitchen or anywhere in part of your house needing some fresh scent.

5) Place tea leaves on your cat's litter box. So your cat stays and defecates inside your house. Well, this is a sure source of funky smell inside your house. Neutralize the smell of the litter box by mixing some tea leaves in it.

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Best Ways to Clean Your Windows

Windows get dirty in many different ways. Because of this, you might need different strategies in cleaning your windows and keeping it free from all kinds of dirt polluting its pristine appearance. Here are some helpful tips for you to read.

1) Use a bleach-detergent solution. Have you got black or gray mildew spots on the wooden frames of your windows? Wash them with a bleach detergent solution that can be made with 2 ounces of household bleach, 1 ounce of laundry detergent and a quart of water. Sponge the solution on the spots and let it sit for ten minutes. Rinse thoroughly with clean water.

2) Use wax to prevent dirt build-ups. The exterior of your windows can collect a lot of dirt since it is exposed to all kinds of elements and weather. If you have just cleaned your window sills and other exteriors, keep it from getting dirty immediately with the use of floor wax. Wipe it on your window sills for protection.

3) Protect your window from secondhand smoke. Second hand smoke may come in the form of nicotine film. Wash it with ammonia solution which can be made from mixing 1 cup of lemon scented ammonia with 21⁄2 gallons (9.5 liters) of water. This solution can cut off the grime while leaving the rest of your house smelling like lemons.

4) Wash with screens regularly. Dirty window screens can make your clean windows dirty. Wiping the dirt off your screen with damp cloth or sponge isn't enough. Remove it and wash it thoroughly with soap and water. Let it dry before putting it back to your window.

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Simple Ways to Have a Spider-Free Home

Got spider in your coffee? Yes? I bet you also have a couple more of spiders lying on your bed and hiding in your toilet.

Event though some spiders are totally harmless,  I'm personally scared to see them roaming freely inside me house. Because of that, I've researched for different ways to drive them away without hurting them. Here are a few the effective strategies I stumbled upon. Take a read and check to see which might work for you.

1) Keep every part of your house clean. Spiders hide and breed in clutter. You can expect them to live in shoe boxes, stacks of paper and old clothes which might have been sitting in your bedroom for a while. Clean and dust your rooms regularly. This will keep spiders from having a breeding place in your house.

2) Use natural repellents. Peppermint and vinegar are natural spider repellents. Fill a spray bottle with water. Drop some peppermint oil or a few parts of vinegar. Shake it well. Spray it on the spider-ridden parts of your house.

3) Get a pet. Cats and dogs are good at chasing spiders away. However, a cat would be more reliable in reaching spiders resting on high spots inside your house. If poisonous spiders are inhabiting your house, observe caution for your pets safety.

4) Deploy chestnuts and citrus peels at your window sill. Spiders usually enter a house through the window sill and other crevices. Place  chestnuts and citrus peels on these spots as spiders hate their scent. Chestnuts don't go bad quickly so you can leave them out there for long time. However, you will need to replace citrus peels within 48 hours as they lose their scent that fast.

PS: Watch this helpful video I found. I don't own this video - all credits to the owner/publisher.

 

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Beat Pests at Your Home with These Steps

In any home, one of the main concerns that most people face is a termite or pest infestation. Such is the nuisance that it has destroyed several homes and every year, millions of worth of properties are wasted due to an infestation. For successful removal of these pests, observe the following steps.

Identifying the problem: Before implementing any solution, it is necessary to ascertain the problem from its root. What kind of termites and pests are infesting, what kind of solution is needed is one of the few things you should cater to.

Removal of any stagnant water. Water that has accumulated for a long time breeds these organisms. If you have any standing water in your house or offices, remove them immediately. Some of the things that you can do is fixing leaking pipes and change the water in plant pots.

 
Keep the kitchen in tip top condition. Kitchens are where most of your garbage will be and that why it is important to empty the trash can every day. Things like half eaten fruits, vegetables, food crumbs will only attract insects.

Keep food in containers. If you are keeping your food intact in fridges, then that's a different thing altogether. But if it's out in the open, make sure it is kept in air tight containers. Besides keeping your food fresh, it will also prevent insects from feasting on it.

Keep your home clutter free. Vacuum carpets regularly along with corners of your house. If there are stacks of newspapers or magazines in your house or home appliances have dust in them, you should clean them immediately.

Make sure doors and windows are sealed. Often rodents and other insects enter houses through unclosed windows and doors. Precisely for this reason, you should ensure that all doors and windows are sealed properly, and there are no openings, however, short it may be.

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