How to Dispose of Paint
Getty
Let's start with water-based paint, since those are easier to get rid of. Fill a box or bag with kitty litter, sand or sawdust and dump the paint over it. Let it dry completely in a well-ventilated area away from kids and pets. Once it becomes solid, you can put the entire thing in the trash. If there is any residue left in the paint can, remove the lid and allow it to dry. Then peel if off and throw in the garbage. Don't chuck the can into the trash though. Check to see if your town has a recycling program for paint cans.
If your paint is oil or solvent-based, disposing of it is a little trickier. Oil-based paint is considered a hazardous material that's easily ignitable. Find out if there is a leftover paint collection program in your town. If there isn't, log onto your local city or state website to learn when the next hazardous waste collection day will be held in your area. Reseal the lid and store the paint in a moderate temperature place until then.
Blow Off Steam--and Clean the House--with a Steam Mop
Walmart
It can be, with a few caveats. First, since steam mops don't rely on cleaning solutions to get the job done, they work best on areas that aren't heavily soiled (i.e. those you clean frequently). Also, steam mops have a tendency to leave water behind, so be prepared to towel dry the wet spots when you're done. The pros are that you'll save money on all of the potentially hazardous products you won't need to add to your shopping list. Also, since most steam mops can run for about 12 minutes before the tank needs to be refilled, they're ideal for quick clean ups.
If you choose to sanitize with steam, look for a mop that comes with a swivel head for easy maneuvering, and pads that can be washed and reused, which will save on cash and waste reduction. And never leave the mop unattended. The steam can remove the sealant on hardwood floors or leave a burn mark if left in one place for too long.
Steam mops are generally sold at Big Box stores like Walmart, Target or Bed Bath & Beyond. (The Bissell 1867-7 Steam Mop consistently gets good performance reviews for under $100.) Happy mopping!
How to Make Foolproof Paper Mache
Flickr, patti haskins
The name paper mache, or papier-mâché, literally translates to "chewed up paper" in French, probably because that's a good way to describe what it looks like. But the finished product is anything but!
To start, you'll need to make the "paste." A common paper mache recipe is to mix two cups of white glue with one cup boiling water and stir until the mixture is smooth and creamy. (Make sure to cover your work area with a sheet of newspaper and wear old clothes, as paper mache can be a bit messy.)
Next you'll need a mold to shape your paper mache project. Everyday household items like cardboard toilet paper rolls, pots, or soda cans make good molds. Once the paste is ready, gather a stack of old or recycled newspaper, stationery or scrap paper. Cut the paper into one-inch strips. Dip the paper into the paste, making sure it is fully coated, but not dripping. Then apply it to your mold, smoothing out the wrinkles as you go. Keep adding layers, as many as four, and allow the project to dry completely. Once it's dry, take a sharp box cutter and cut the project around the edges or down the middle, removing it from the mold. If you cut down the middle, glue the two sides of your project together using more strips of paper and paste, until the seam becomes invisible. Once the project has dried, paint it with watercolor or acrylic paint and you've got a one of a kind piece of paper mache art.
For some of our favorite projects, try this paper mache mask from FamilyFun and HGTV's paper mache crafts.
Extreme Veggies: The Biggest and Best from Around the Country
As winter closes in on most of the country, it's time to bid a fond farewell to gardening topics. To keep you inspired until next spring, check out these gardeners, whose humongous harvests give new meaning to the term "a serving of vegetables."
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Extreme Veggies!
What It Is: Cabbage
What It Weighs: 127 pounds!
Who Grew It: Retired dentist Steve Hubacek in Wasilla, Alaska.
How He Did It: Steve won't reveal the source of his hybridized cabbage seeds, but he starts his plants indoors in March, then moves them outside from May to September. "We have a limited time to get our crops in the ground here in Alaska," says Steve, who modestly credits the cool, dry, sunny summer for his success in 2009. Nicknamed "The Beast," his mammoth cabbage earned him a $2,000 prize at Alaska State Fair's 14th Annual Giant Cabbage Weigh-Off on September 5-as well as a new world record!
What It Is: Squash. In Cantonese it's known as Po Gua.
What It Measures: 5 feet tall, though after this picture was taken, the squash kept growing, and was more than 6 feet tall by summer's end!
Who Grew It: Chong Yip Siu in Manchester, NH
How He Did It: Chong bought this small plant from a Vietnamese grocery store in 2007 and planned to use it as a decoration for the trellis in his garden. He expected the squash to be the size of a baseball bat, but the weather that year (it was warm, hot and sunny which are ideal conditions), along with regular fertilizing and watering practices, yielded a trellis full of super sized squash!
What It Is: Rutabaga, a root vegetable that originated as a cross between a cabbage and a turnip.
What It Weighs: 82.9 pounds
Who Grew It: Scott Robb of Palmer, Alaska
How He Did It: No one in the lower 48-or the world for that matter-can top the size of Scott's gigantic rutabaga, which broke his own previous world record of 79 pounds.
What It Is: Armenian Cucumber
What It Weighs: 9 ¾ lbs., 22 ¼ inches long
Who Grew It: Bob Allen of Cherokee, OK
How He Did It: Bob plants his cukes in the plastic mineral tubs that cattle feed comes in. He adds a little Miracle-Gro and waters the plants a couple of times a day. While Bob and his grandson, Casey, often enter their colossal cucumbers in contests, they also eat them. When they're that large, says Bob, "they last forever."
What It Is: A hybrid of a Supersteak and Big Boy tomato.
What It Weighs: 4.11 lbs.
Who Grew It: Ralph Fields of Carneys Point, NJ
How He Did It: Ralph has been tweaking his tomato growing techniques for 10 years-and he's got the blue ribbons to prove it. He grows his competition worthy tomatoes in raised beds, and makes his own soil from a combination of pro-mix, green sand and shrimp, crab and seaweed composts. To ensure his place as the titan of tomato growers, he replants the seeds from his biggest bounty.
What It Is: Yellow Zucchini
What It Weighs: 20.25 lbs
Who Grew It: Mike Negri of Arvada, CO
How He Did It: "Plenty of water and Miracle Gro," says the 87-year-old farmer, whose been growing his own vegetables for decades. His neighbor noticed this particular zucchini in Mike's garden and convinced him to enter it in the Arvada Festival's 2007 Garden Harvest Contest. He swept the competition!
What It Is: Carrot
What It Weighs: 18.98 pounds
Who Grew It: John Evans, a master gardener and the president of Organic Bountea, a California-based company that sells all-natural products that improve soil health.
How He Did It: Quality soil is the key for this nine-time world record holder, who has grown gigantic veggies ranging from celery (49.1 pounds) to beets (42.75 pounds). John starts his seeds indoors, then moves them to bigger and bigger pots to ensure the plant's roots don't get cramped. Once outdoors, the organic grower uses raised beds to control weeds, and maximizes the fertility of his soil with compost teas and other organic nutrients. To see more of John's super-sized garden oddities, visit bountea.com>.
What It Is: Cassava
What It Weighs: 23 lbs, 8 oz.
Who Grew It: Evelyn Rose in Lakeworth, FL
How She Did: A lot of sunlight and a hands-off approach. "If you leave it in the ground long enough, it grows that big," says Evelyn, who let this cassava ripen for three years! While she and her family eat the smaller cassava, or yucca, from her garden, the bigger ones are for competition only. "The larger they grow, the more woody they taste," she says.
What It Is: Atlantic Giant Pumpkin
What It Weighs: 220 lbs.
Who Grew It: Stuart Shim of Huntington Beach, Calif.
How He Did It: Stuart's been producing competitive Atlantic Giant pumpkins since the early 90s in his father's backyard. The secret is in the seeds, says Stuart, as well as the growing conditions. "Giant pumpkins thrive best in strong sunshine, and the larger the area, the better," says Stuart, whose blog, Pumpkinmania.blogspot.com, celebrates oversized pumpkins and the people who grow them.
Fireplace Inserts 101
A fireplace insert is actually more efficient than a traditional fireplace. Photo: Amazon
In theory, fireplaces seem like something out of a movie. Where better to spend a cold winter's night than in front of a toasty fire? But the truth is, masonry fireplaces (what we typically think of when a crackling fire comes to mind) are completely inefficient: they allow most of the heat--and other harmful pollutants--generated by the fire to escape through the chimney. That's where a fireplace insert comes in. If you love the look of a fireplace, but want to keep energy costs at bay, a fireplace insert may be for you.
Fireplace inserts, which fit right inside the fireplace's opening, are made from either plate steel or cast iron and most have glass doors that allow the flames to remain visible. (Thus preserving that "sitting by the fire" feel.) Look for a model that comes with a blower, which can improve efficiency and heat circulation. But before buying a fireplace insert, you'll need to figure out whether your fireplace can accommodate one. Generally, it's a no if you have a metal factory-built model. You can determine this by taking a good look at your fireplace. If it's masonry, which accommodate inserts nicely, it'll have an orange clay liner, which you can often see peeking out of the top of your chimney.
Once you've determined whether you can use an insert, you'll need to decide what type of fuel you'll be using: propane gas, wood or pellet. (Sometimes this choice is made for you, depending on what fueling options are available in your home.) While gas and pellet stoves are easier to maintain than wood, if you want crackling flames, wood is the way to go. As for the cost, you can expect to pay about $1,200 to $2,500 for an insert.
Green Design, Solutions, Your Home, Living Room, Design, etc
How To: Bedroom Feng Shui
To work on your bedroom feng shui, stick to muted colors. And don't forget the headboard! Photo: Flickr, coco+kelley
1. When it comes to layout, position your bed as far away from the door as possible, preferably against a solid wall facing the entryway. Doing so creates a feeling of safety and security. Also, sleep in a bed with a headboard. This allows chi to easily enter your body.
2. Stick to calming colors like tan, brown, light blue, green or lavender. Avoid bright reds and oranges, which can be too stimulating. But don't be afraid to sprinkle touches of pink, red, burgundy or purple throughout your room, which can increase romance.
3. Make sure all bedside tables have round, rather than square edges. Sharp 90-degree angles are thought to send negative energy your way while you sleep.
4. If you have a desk or exercise gear in your bedroom, shield it from view with a folding screen or a piece of heavy fabric hung from the ceiling. The key to a balanced chi is to shut out everyday stresses while you sleep.
5. While family photos add warmth throughout your home, avoid displaying framed pictures of loved ones in your bedroom. Instead, hang your favorite piece of art on the wall directly across from your bed so it's the last thing you see before you fall asleep. Also, don't hang mirrors opposite or next to the bed--they're thought to make your worries or problems seem bigger than they actually are.
Extreme Veggies
These gardeners, and their humongous harvests, give new meaning to the term "a serving of vegetables".
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The Biggest & Best From Around the Country
What It Is: Squash. In Cantonese it's known as Po Gua.
What It Measures: 5 feet tall, though after this picture was taken, the squash kept growing, and was more than 6 feet tall by summer's end!
Who Grew It: Chong Yip Siu in Manchester, NH
How He Did It: Chong bought this small plant from a Vietnamese grocery store in 2007 and planned to use it as a decoration for the trellis in his garden. He expected the squash to be the size of a baseball bat, but the weather that year (it was warm, hot and sunny which are ideal conditions), along with regular fertilizing and watering practices, yielded a trellis full of super sized squash!
What It Measures: 5 feet tall, though after this picture was taken, the squash kept growing, and was more than 6 feet tall by summer's end!
Who Grew It: Chong Yip Siu in Manchester, NH
How He Did It: Chong bought this small plant from a Vietnamese grocery store in 2007 and planned to use it as a decoration for the trellis in his garden. He expected the squash to be the size of a baseball bat, but the weather that year (it was warm, hot and sunny which are ideal conditions), along with regular fertilizing and watering practices, yielded a trellis full of super sized squash!
Extreme Vegetables
What It Is: Squash. In Cantonese it's known as Po Gua.
What It Measures: 5 feet tall, though after this picture was taken, the squash kept growing, and was more than 6 feet tall by summer's end!
Who Grew It: Chong Yip Siu in Manchester, NH
How He Did It: Chong bought this small plant from a Vietnamese grocery store in 2007 and planned to use it as a decoration for the trellis in his garden. He expected the squash to be the size of a baseball bat, but the weather that year (it was warm, hot and sunny which are ideal conditions), along with regular fertilizing and watering practices, yielded a trellis full of super sized squash!
What It Is: Cabbage
What It Weighs In At: 127 pounds!
Who Grew It: Retired dentist Steve Hubacek in Wasilla, Alaska.
How He Did It: Steve won't reveal the source of his hybridized cabbage seeds, but he starts his plants indoors in March, then moves them outside from May to September. "We have a limited time to get our crops in the ground here in Alaska," says Steve, who modestly credits the cool, dry, sunny summer for his success in 2009. Nicknamed "The Beast," his mammoth cabbage earned him a $2,000 prize at Alaska State Fair's 14th Annual Giant Cabbage Weigh-Off on September 5-as well as a new world record!
What It Is: Rutabaga, a root vegetable that originated as a cross between a cabbage and a turnip.
What It Weighs In At: 82.9 pounds
Who Grew It: Scott Robb of Palmer, Alaska
How He Did It: No one in the Lower 48-or the world for that matter-can top the size of Scott's gigantic rutabaga, which broke his own previous world record of 79 pounds. ****information/photo obtained from Alaska State Fair. I have not interviewed him yet.
What It Is: Armenian Cucumber
What It Weighs In at: 9 ¾ lbs., 22 ¼ inches long
Who Grew It: Bob Allen of Cherokee, OK
How He Did It: Bob plants his cukes in the plastic mineral tubs that cattle feed comes in. He adds a little Miracle Go and waters the plants a couple of times a day. While Bob and his grandson, Casey, often enter their colossal cucumbers in contests, they also eat them. When they're that large, says Bob, "they last forever."
What Is Is: A hybrid of a Supersteak and Big Boy tomato.
What It Weighs In at: 4.11 lbs.
Who Grew It: Ralph Fields of Carneys Point, NJ
How He Did It: Ralph has been tweaking his tomato growing techniques for 10 years-and he's got the blue ribbons to prove it. He grows his competition worthy tomatoes in raised beds, and makes his own soil from a combination of pro-mix, green sand and shrimp, crab and seaweed composts. To ensure his place as the titan of tomato growers, he replants the seeds from his biggest bounty.
What It Is: Yellow Zucchini
What It Weighs In at: 20.25 lbs
Who Grew It: Mike Negri of Arvada, CO
How He Did It: "Plenty of water and Miracle Gro," says the 87-year-old farmer, whose been growing his own vegetables for decades. His neighbor noticed this particular zucchini in Mike's garden and convinced him to enter it in the Arvada Festival's 2007 Garden Harvest Contest. He swept the competition!
What It Is: Carrot
What It Weighs: 18.98 pounds
Who Grew It: John Evans, a master gardener and the president of Organic Bountea, a California-based company that sells all-natural products that improve soil health.
How He Did It: Quality soil is the key for this nine-time world record holder, who has grown gigantic veggies ranging from celery (49.1 pounds) to beets (42.75 pounds). John starts his seeds indoors, then moves them to bigger and bigger pots to ensure the plant's roots don't get cramped. Once outdoors, the organic grower uses raised beds to control weeds, and maximizes the fertility of his soil with compost teas and other organic nutrients. To see more of John's super-sized garden oddities, visit bountea.com.
What It Is: Cassava
What It Weighs In at: 23 lbs, 8 oz.
Who Grew It: Evelyn Rose in Lakeworth, FL
How She Did: A lot of sunlight and a hands-off approach. "If you leave it in the ground long enough, it grows that big," says Evelyn, who let this cassava ripen for three years! While she and her family eat the smaller cassava, or yucca, from her garden, the bigger ones are for competition only. "The larger they grow, the more woody they taste," she says.
What It Is: Atlantic Giant Pumpkin
What It Weighs In at: 220 lbs.
Who Grew It: Stuart Shim of Huntington Beach, Calif.
How He Did It: Stuart's been producing competitive Atlantic Giant pumpkins since the early 90s in his father's backyard. The secret is in the seeds, says Stuart, as well as the growing conditions. "Giant pumpkins thrive best in strong sunshine, and the larger the area, the better," says Stuart, whose blog, Pumpkinmania.blogspot.com, celebrates oversized pumpkins and the people who grow them.
What It Is: Onion
What It Weighs In at: 2.4 lbs.
Who Grew It: Janice Mulvaney of Arvada, CO
How She Did It: Janice has been the Grand Champion of the Arvada Festival's Garden Harvest Contest for the last three years. (She placed in five categories.) "I really don't do anything special to grow large veggies," says Janice. "I think it is a lot of chance and the fact that I water and weed a lot."
