Just Do It - Yourself

 Hi All,

I just heard about yet another 'Do It Yourself' website called 'Do It Yourself.com'. Click here for the link.  So what makes this site different than other sites?  Well, its easily navigated, quick to load and has loads of tutorials.

How To articles are well written and organized in many cases organized in a 'step-by-step' basis.

How To's explanations are organized by topic. 
Topics include:
- Design Center
- Cars/Trucks/Boats
- Decorating/Painting
- Electrical/Electronics
- Exterior Home Improvement
- From Our Workshop
- Games/Rec Room
- Green Home/Green Living
- Hardware/Tools/Woodworking
- Household/Cleaning
- Interior Home Improvement
- Lifestyle/Crafts/Recreation,
- Personal Finance/Legal Matters
- Plumbing/HVAC
- Real Estate.

Whew - that's quite a list!

There is also a list of Your Projects on the top ribbon on the homepage. 
Projects include:
- Automotive Projects
- Bathroom Projects
- Bedroom Projects
- Decorating Projects
- Dining Room Projects,
- Electrical and Electronic Projects
- Exterior Projects
- Game Room /Rec Projects
- Garage Projects,
- Green Projects
- Holiday Decoration Projects
- Home Office Projects
- Kitchen Projects
- Landscaping Projects
- Living Room Projects
- Patio/Deck Projects
- Room Addition Projects
- Work Projects and other projects.

Furthermore, each category has more sub-categories once you click a link.  For example, the Your Project tab for Decorating/Painting has further links to Designing With Color, Decorating For Kids, Design By Room, Designers & Ideas, Exterior Painting, Furnishings and much more.

The site also has a forums - click here for the links to them - which are heavily used by readers. 
Use this link if you would like to sign up for any of the Do-It-Yourself newsletters.

Clicking on the search box at the upper right side of the page for the term 'replacing an outlet' gave these results.

From the results given, I would suspect that this is one of the better answers.
This article has a list of 'what tools you'll need to complete the projects', a step-by-step written narrative of how to complete the project, and links at the bottom of the page to other similar, but different projects.

All in all this is a helpful, comprehensive, user friendly 'how-to fix things' website.

Enjoy the projects and the links above!

Regards,

Stu
 

Spring Clean Up!!!!

Hi All,

With Spring officially arriving on Friday - tomorrow - at 6:45pm - now is a good time to blog about 'Spring cleanup'.Oh wait...its going to snow tomorrow...how can it be the beginning of Spring when we're going to get about 2"-4" of snow? 

Crazy weather...that's all.  In any event, folks can still get a jump on their spring cleaning by reading the rest of this blog entry.  And when you are done with the spring cleaning you can go to the next job on your list of things to do - like taxes...

Some articles and ideas that will make your Spring cleanup faster, easier and less unpleasant.   Click on this link from About.com titled 'Spring Cleaning For Lawns and Landscaping'.   And from the ever present Martha Stewart comes this entry in the form of a checklist - specifically a 'Spring Cleaning Checklist'. Wikipedia even got into the act with an article on Spring cleaning. 

A fairly well known name is house maintenance/repair/upkeep is HouseBeautiful.  This next link comes from their site and includes '13 Spring-Cleaning Tips'.

Believe it or not, Vogue has also gotten into the act as well with an article titled, 'Spring Cleaning: 8 Beautiful Items to Help You Tidy Up'.

And, finally, click on this link from Imperfect Homemaking for a 'Thorough Spring Cleaning Checklist'.  The author of the site - Kelly - has organized the cleaning by rooms of the house: foyer, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room/family room/playroom, laundry room, stairwells, outside the house and reminders.  A printable version of this Spring Cleaning Checklist can be found by clicking on this link!

Here's to fast and easy cleaning!

Regards,
Stu

Room Remodeling - Really!

Hi All,

So...you've worked on the outside of your house over the summer with all the landscaping, gardening, cleaning gutters and cars, painting the deck furniture and doing other 'summery outdoorsy stuff'. Well folks, now it is winter and the outside living isn't so wonderful. It is cold, rainy and windy outside - how is a family supposed to do any gardening or whatnot?

Indeed...you aren't. Thats why we can do some interior work in the house at this time of year.

So...without further ado...a list of 3 websites on how to remodel a bedroom.

Better Homes and Gardens - Home Decorating and Interior Design Ideas - colors, windows, furniture, design plans and create-a-room all available on this site. Plus it is from Better Homes and Gardens!

From Martha Stewart comes Decorating Room by Room. Its Martha - what's not to love!

From Room Decorating.net comes this site which has an extensive list of rooms to decorate. Users can click on links related to bathroom decorating, bedroom, decorating, decorating styles, dining room decorating and dorm room decorating.

That should keep ya busy for the weekend!

Regards,
Stu

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