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Here’s Why Great Furniture Doesn’t Need To Break The Bank…

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Furniture is something that almost everyone will wind up buying at some point in their life. Even if you lead a spartan existence chances are you will still have a need for a few basic pieces of furniture such as a bed, a table, some chairs and the like.

While furniture can be expensive, you don’t have to break your wallet to buy it. There are a lot of things a savvy consumer can do to make sure they get high quality furniture without paying ridiculous amounts of money.

The truth is that no matter what you do, there is going to be some cost to buying furniture. It costs money to get the materials to make it and it costs money to pay the people who make it. However, while there is a cost to furniture, there are also ways to make sure you don’t pay more than you have to.

Search Online

As with most things, you can find great deals on furniture online. In fact a lot of people who do handmade furniture rely on internet traffic to make their business profitable. While you can find some great deals on furniture online there are two big problems with this.

The first is that you have no way to test the furniture. While you can see how it looks and generally read what other customers have said about the furniture, you can’t test it out. The second problem with buying furniture online is getting it to your house.

While there are many different ways to ship furniture, it can be pretty pricey to get delivered to you. So if you buy furniture online, keep an eye on what it is going to cost you to get it shipped to your house. Ideally you are looking for companies that make the shipping part of the sales price.

Look in Classifieds

The classified section of your paper is a great place to find good deals on furniture. While most of what is offered is used, some of it is actually still fairly new. Also because furniture can be expensive, a lot of people work really hard to take care of their stuff.

When you look in the classifieds for furniture you might also want to keep an eye out for estate sales or similar things since furniture is often a large part of these events.

Wait for the Going Out of Business Sale

If you have ever paid much attention to furniture store commercials, it seems like they are always going out of business. While there are actually some furniture stores that do go out of business, a lot of the times these ads are made simply to get you in their store for a big sale.

These sales are a great time to find excellent bargains on furniture. While most of the time these sales are actually clearance sales to make room for the new models of everything, the furniture is still worth having even if it is not the newest stuff out there.

In the end, it really is pretty easy to find good deals on high quality furniture. The main thing to keep in mind is that you need to be a little patient and willing to do some looking. Don’t give up if you don’t find anything at first, keep looking and keep waiting for a deal to show up.

There are lots of good deals on furniture out there and if you can be patient and put some effort into finding it, you don’t have to break your bank to get furniture.

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  •  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/15073

This article has been submitted by Jim Murray, a freelance writer based in Australia who’s written for FactoryFast as well as many other websites and businesses.

5 Home Repairs You Must Make Before Next Winter Strikes

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 Winter has nearly disappeared and it won’t be back for a long time. That means you can concentrate on getting ready for summer. You want your home to be beautiful, but first you have to do something. When the cold weather was here it’s possible it could have damaged your home. Especially if you had lots of snow and heavy storms. It’s better to fix the faults soon so you can forget about them and your home will be safe next winter.

It’s entirely up to you if you want to do it, but just remember if there is damage there it could get a lot worse next winter. If anymore damage is caused it could multiply the price of the repairs. Before you do anything you will obviously need to know what could have gone wrong because you might not be able to see anything from where you’re standing. Here are a few of the big ones you need to have checked so you can put your mind at ease.

Seal your driveway

granite-stone-steps-paving-brick-Atlanta

Go outside and have a look at the ground. You should be looking for any cracks that appear in the driveway. The good news is that cracks don’t mean it’s falling apart, but the bad news is that it needs to be resealed. Think about all that water that would have got into the cracks during winter. Because it was so cold the water would have turned to ice and it makes the cracks worse. If you don’t get them fixed now the cracks will get even bigger next winter and the drive could fall apart.

Fix your roof

tuiles givrées / frosty tiles

The roof must be checked because anything could have happened to it and you would never know. If it’s not rained heavily since winter you would not know if a large section of your roof had been destroyed. If tiles have cracked or fallen out it’s now going to be easy for the rain to get inside and do even more damage. It’s a good idea to get someone out straight away so they can give the roof a once over.

Clean up inside

If anything did happen to your roof you can’t just stick some new tiles on and forget about it. You need to go and look at the damage inside your attic because anything could have happened. Maybe there is a huge puddle of water that needs to be dried up straight away. You don’t want mold growing inside your home and that can happen when there is enough moisture. Take up a huge cloth and make sure all the water is soaked up.

Deal with the fence

all roads lead to home

When the wind is strong enough it’s hard for your fence not to have suffered any damage if it’s old. That isn’t to say the wind would have ripped it out of the ground, but it could have broken it in some places. You must go and check, especially if you have any pets that run around the garden because it’s easier for them to escape. You also want to secure the fence in case it falls down in the future and lands on someone.

Unclog the gutters

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You won’t want to do this on your own because the smell will give you nightmares, but all the crap needs to be taken out of the guttering because if it’s not kept clean you will eventually pay the price. It will be full of leaves and everything else that somehow ends up there and it doesn’t let water get away. You might have survived this winter without having it cleaned out, but make sure you don’t get into next winter without them being empty. They could fall down when blocked water freezes up and it becomes very heavy.

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Lance Abraham is an interior designer by profession and is an integral part of the top brass of Baybrook remodeller Inc which is a leading company providing replacement windows in CT.  He has vast knowledge in this field and shares his thoughts with people on his blog.

5 Reasons Why A Small Home Might Be A Better Investment Than Its Big Brother

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colourful burano house

 

People have goals in life and the main idea is always to improve on what you have right now. Everyone always wants bigger because they think it is better, but is that really true? You only need to look at houses to understand the way people’s minds work. A much bigger home makes them feel like they have accomplished something. Even though half the rooms would remain empty they want to become rich so they can buy themselves a huge mansion with an even bigger garden.

You’ve got to ask yourself if this is the route you want to go down when you’re looking to buy a new home. Will something that big fulfill your needs, or do you just want it because you can say to yourself your home is massive? You need to think about if very carefully before you make one of the biggest financial decisions of your life. Owning a small home can be just as good and if you’re looking for some reasons why we can go over a few of them now.

It will cost you less

Money

When you buy a small home it will be cheaper than one that is twice the size. It doesn’t just mean you will save money when signing on the dotted line, because there are much more ways to save more over the years. Think about how much it will cost you to keep it cool in summer and hot in winter. It will definitely be cheaper. The same also goes for repairs and a good example we can use is the guttering, because you will need less lengths when it is time to replace them.

You’ll have more time

Cleaning a large home is a tough job, but someone has to do it and it will probably be you. Imagine how much time you would save hovering if you had 50% less carpet space. When you work out how much time you’re cutting out per week it might not seem like much, but now times that by 500 and work out how much time is being saved over 10 years. That isn’t just cleaning the house because it also includes doing work in the garden.

Buying nice things

Pink ice-pendant

Big homes are expensive to buy and your mortgage payments will be a lot. It’s not nice watching all of that money leaving your account each month. If you add that onto the money you’re paying in bills you might not have much money left on the 31st. With all that money you will save on your home it means you will have a lot more to buy nice things. Would you rather have a big empty house, or a small one filled with wonderful treasures?

Living the easy life

People buy a huge home and they have so much space to fill. That means going out and getting things to fill the space. Before you know it your home is full of junk. With a small home you can’t be so rash. You can buy amazing things, but not millions of things. Just a few amazing things and it leaves you will less materialistic problems which lets you relax a bit. Having too many things can be very stressful if you believe the minimalist movement.

Selling it more easily

Everyone wants to buy a huge home, but how many people do you think will be able to afford one? Not many if you read the news. A small home is well within the price range of the biggest majority of people. As the future gets closer and closer you will also see a huge jump in the number of people looking for smaller, more energy efficient homes. Maybe the millionaires of the future will realize that smaller might be better than bigger, too.

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Josh Butler is real estate consultant at Abercromby’s. He has vast knowledge of the real estate sector and has suggested many useful tips in Abercromby’s real estate blog.

Pros And Cons Of Invisible Dog Fences

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Pet owners use invisible fences as a way to keep their dogs safe. It is especially welcomed by pet owners who might not have the special permits required to erect physical fences in their backyards. If you’re thinking about installing an invisible or electronic fence, you’ll naturally want to learn about the pros and cons. Only then you can completely decide if it is a good solution for you. The pros and cons of invisible fences are described below.


Pro of Wireless Dog Fences

  1. Wireless dog fences are much cheaper that their more traditional counterparts. They are also easier to maintain as you won’t need to patch holes or fill up dirt that your dog dug up in a bid to escape.
  2. You won’t have to deal with complaints from neighbors about an unsightly fence. The fence is buried underground or wireless so there will be no unsightly structures in your backyard.
  3. You can easily adjust the areas where you want your dog to wander. It’s simple to reduce or add more wire for in-ground structures and it is even easier with wireless systems using the controller.
  4. A switch on the dog’s collar can be used to adjust the voltage applied when the dog crosses the boundary. This is essential if your dog is getting pain or burns from the system.

Cons of Invisible Dog Fences

  1. It’s true that some dogs will not respond well to this type of training to keep them within a defined boundary, so discontinue use of the fence if your dog is not responding.
  2. Some dogs are intelligent enough to find their way around a wireless fence. For instance, large dogs might do vertical jumps over the upper limits of the fence and won’t receive shocks outside this region.
  3. The wireless fence will keep your dog within a confined area, but it will not keep other animals outs. This is something to take note off if you live in an area where there is threat of wolves, coyotes, raccoons and other intruders. It also will not stop someone looking to steal your dog.
  4. Rats can dig up and chew on the wires and reduce the barrier. When this happens it might be difficult to locate the area where the damage has been done.
  5. Some dogs could be reckless and charge outside the boundary when there are other pets in the area. After the excitement abates the dog, remembering the shock, might not want to go back into the confined area.
  6. The final disadvantage comes in the form of neighbors and other passersby. If you have a particularly ferocious dog, they might be wary or fearful of the dog that is seemingly free to roam wherever he wants. To combat this you can install a sign to indicate that the dog is confined within an invisible fence.

About Author

Crystal is a passionate blogger who loves to write on various lifestyle topics. Recently she got a electronic dog fence from flexpetz.com for her pet dog that had a habit of running away into the neighbors.

Make Your Green Thumb Sweetie A Gardener Gift Basket

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If you have an avid gardener in your life or just someone who likes to be amist the flowers and plants, give her a gift basket with a garden theme this year. A gardener’s gift basket is one of the loveliest and most thoughtful things you can give someone who loves to plant and nurture their garden.

The Basket/Container

Consider what you will put your basket in. It doesn’t have to be a true basket, just something that will hold all the items. Consider a bell jar. These glasses resemble upside down wine glasses without the stems. They are perfect for starting and growing seedlings or one perfect plant. You can include everything inside and tie with a nice fat ribbon.

What to Include

Start with a pair of gardening gloves. They can be any color, just make sure they are the size that will fit your friend. Then, include a nail brush and gardener’s soap so that she can scrub her hands clean after playing in the dirt. A garden tool set in miniature is perfect if she likes to work in a greenhouse or with potted indoor plants. They’re also great if she likes terrariums.

Other things you can include are seed packets. If you know she loves flowers, go with all flowers. Or do a mix of vegetable seeds if you know she loves to tend her vegetable garden. A gardening book tailored to her interest is a nice idea. If she’s talking about making a shade garden or a raised bed garden this year, there are books specifically on those topics. Or if you don’t know what she might already have on her bookshelf, give her a gift certificate to a garden shop or bookstore that sells gardening books.

Also include sunblock for when she’s out in the sun, a hat that rolls up would also fit in the basket. You can also include a lip balm in a nice fragrance. Anything she might use when she’s out gardening is perfect.  A gardening themed t-shirt can be rolled up and placed in the basket as well.

If you’re stumped for what to give your gardening friend, go for a trug. These baskets are made for gathering flowers or fruits and vegetables. Any garden catalog or store will have them. Then, you can fill it with flowers and a gift certificate to a nursery that you know she loves. Throw in a magazine subscription about gardening and your gardening gift basket is all set.

A nice set of gardening sheers can be a great addition and a kneeling pad will save her knees. If you know her shoe size, go ahead and include gardening clogs. You might include a wind chime or another outdoor decoration that she can use in her garden and think of you.

Gardeners are a special breed. They love what they do whether they do it as a job or as a hobby. You will show how much you care about their interests and how you really went out of your way to make a gift that they will enjoy. Start making baskets today and you may make baskets for all your birthday and holiday gifting needs. It can be so much fun!

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Barbara Petersen is a crafty writer with a special interest in gift giving and party planning. She regularly contributes to the All About Gifts & Baskets Idea Blog, put on by http://www.aagiftsandbaskets.com.

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