Free ideas on decorating

There are many creative ways to save money by getting good ideas from home decorating sites and magazines.  House Beautiful, HGTV and BHG are sites that show rooms as galleries. By viewing the decorating sites, the photos of these rooms can inspire the user to create similar room with less expensive items. 



Many room styles repeat or come back in fashion by having some of those elements crossover into this modern day style.  An example: During the 1980's, many elements of the 1960's came back in fashion and in home decorating. 



Today, in modern decor, some elements of the 1950's fit in today's decor because 50's elements have a lot of clean lines, chrome, steel, teak woods.  Danish 50's furniture is very collectible and functional in modern decor.



Finding inspiration for decorating ideas, then locating similar furniture and accessories at Thrift Stores, outlet stores, liquidation sales. 



Have your dream home or room on your budget and don't have to purchase any magazines to do it.  Be Creative and yourself in your decorating, can't go wrong.

Free ideas on decorating

There are many creative ways to save money by getting good ideas from home decorating sites and magazines.  House Beautiful, HGTV and BHG are sites that show rooms as galleries. By viewing the decorating sites, the photos of these rooms can inspire the user to create similar room with less expensive items. 

Many room styles repeat or come back in fashion by having some of those elements crossover into this modern day style.  An example: During the 1980's, many elements of the 1960's came back in fashion and in home decorating. 

Today, in modern decor, some elements of the 1950's fit in today's decor because 50's elements have a lot of clean lines, chrome, steel, teak woods.  Danish 50's furniture is very collectible and functional in modern decor.

Finding inspiration for decorating ideas, then locating similar furniture and accessories at Thrift Stores, outlet stores, liquidation sales. 

Have your dream home or room on your budget and don't have to purchase any magazines to do it.  Be Creative and yourself in your decorating, can't go wrong.

Home made cleaning agents

Home made cleaning agents with common pantry items



Vinyl floors can be cleaned with a 1/2 cup of white vinegar to 1 gallon of warm water. Wood floors should be damp mopped with a mild liquid soap. Use mineral oil and a damp cloth as a furniture polish. To remove mildew scrub area with baking soda, if its sttubborn with TSP. To make your own oven cleaner mix 2 tbsp. of baking soda or Tsp in 1 gallon of warm water and scrub with a very fine steel wool pad; and use gloves when using mixture.



Use a 2-3 cup spray bottle with 1/2 tsp of liquid soap, 3 Tbsp of white vinegar and two cups of water to make glass cleaner. If windows are very dirty, use liquid soap. To clean toilet bowl use stiff brush to remove ring stain around toilet. Hard water deposits can be removed by pouring white vinegar or citric acid bowl cleaner by leaving it overnight before scrubbing. To remove stain ring around toilet use a dry pumice stone, moisten it with water and lightly scrub ring with the pumice stone. This really works with hard water stains, rust, and urine stains on porcelain; this works on bath tubs too. Save yourself the paint job if restoring old tub or toilet.

Home made cleaning agents

Home made cleaning agents with common pantry items

Vinyl floors can be cleaned with a 1/2 cup of white vinegar to 1 gallon of warm water. Wood floors should be damp mopped with a mild liquid soap. Use mineral oil and a damp cloth as a furniture polish. To remove mildew scrub area with baking soda, if its sttubborn with TSP. To make your own oven cleaner mix 2 tbsp. of baking soda or Tsp in 1 gallon of warm water and scrub with a very fine steel wool pad; and use gloves when using mixture.

Use a 2-3 cup spray bottle with 1/2 tsp of liquid soap, 3 Tbsp of white vinegar and two cups of water to make glass cleaner. If windows are very dirty, use liquid soap. To clean toilet bowl use stiff brush to remove ring stain around toilet. Hard water deposits can be removed by pouring white vinegar or citric acid bowl cleaner by leaving it overnight before scrubbing. To remove stain ring around toilet use a dry pumice stone, moisten it with water and lightly scrub ring with the pumice stone. This really works with hard water stains, rust, and urine stains on porcelain; this works on bath tubs too. Save yourself the paint job if restoring old tub or toilet.

Home made Chocolate recipe

Home made Chocolate recipe



1 Cup of Cocoa Powder

1 Cup of Confectioners sugar

1 Cup of dry milk

1 pinch of salt

1 Cup of melted vegetable shortening, or coconut oil.

Optional 1 tsp of mint, orange, raspberry or hazelnut flavor extract.



Add dry ingredients together in a bowl than use a sieve to mix all dry ingredients together by shaking into another bowl.  If not mixed through sieve, the chocolate will have a grainy feel to it.  Slowly mix in either melted vegetable shortening or coconut oil until the chocolate is liquid in consistency. Add extract(optionally) to add specific flavor to chocolate. Use parchment cooking paper to line a flat cooking sheet pan, than add liquid chocolate to the pan. Place pan in refrigerator for 24 hours and a solid thin chocolate will form on the pan. Use the paper to break the chocolate into pieces. The chocolate recipe works with plastic candy molds too. I am not sure how the chocolate forms with metal molds.

Note:  The chocolate melts quickly, if left out of the refrigerator for longer than 30 minutes.

Here is the photos of the chocolate I made last month. I got this recipe from a youtube chef and modified recipe slightly with the flavor extract addition.

 

Home made Chocolate recipe

Home made Chocolate recipe

1 Cup of Cocoa Powder
1 Cup of Confectioners sugar
1 Cup of dry milk
1 pinch of salt
1 Cup of melted vegetable shortening, or coconut oil.
Optional 1 tsp of mint, orange, raspberry or hazelnut flavor extract.

Add dry ingredients together in a bowl than use a sieve to mix all dry ingredients together by shaking into another bowl.  If not mixed through sieve, the chocolate will have a grainy feel to it.  Slowly mix in either melted vegetable shortening or coconut oil until the chocolate is liquid in consistency. Add extract(optionally) to add specific flavor to chocolate. Use parchment cooking paper to line a flat cooking sheet pan, than add liquid chocolate to the pan. Place pan in refrigerator for 24 hours and a solid thin chocolate will form on the pan. Use the paper to break the chocolate into pieces. The chocolate recipe works with plastic candy molds too. I am not sure how the chocolate forms with metal molds.
Note:  The chocolate melts quickly, if left out of the refrigerator for longer than 30 minutes.
Here is the photos of the chocolate I made last month. I got this recipe from a youtube chef and modified recipe slightly with the flavor extract addition.

 

Ways to save money creating a garden

Ways to Save when creating a garden





Gardens are beautiful and improve house and neighborhood values. The homeowner has to determine what they want their garden to reflect and what they want in their gardens. Some homeowners want flowers, others want vegetable and flower gardens. Landscapers know how to design great gardens and what plants to use to create them. If can't afford landscape services, consider getting help at home improvement stores, Home depot has an online garden newsletter and free membership garden club service.




Search engines will provide gardening information and site links by key search words; examples for good keywords are gardening tips, garden clubs, garden websites, historical gardens. These are some keyword examples to place on a google search, and there will be many links to different sites.




Some basic tips that I learned how to save on creating a garden




I am from New York City, so I came from a concrete jungle that had no real growing spaces for plants other than an apartment. As I moved to Ocala, here the open space has caused my family and I to really experiment with gardening. At first I didn't know how to set up the spaces, so I decided I wanted both vegetable and flower garden. I separated vegetable and flowers into different types of zones and areas where they would grow.




I decided to grow my tomatos mainly in large containers rather than in the ground, there are too many worms, ants and other insects. The other larger vegetables I started in containers than planted in the ground, such as cabbage, eggplants, watermelon and lettuce. I have been successful in growing these items by replacing these picked veggies with new seeds from the picked produce.




I read an interesting article on benefits of growing own food read here
Health Benefits of Growing Your Own Foods




I purchase perennials these are flowers that are more expensive because they tend to come back after they die in the winter and are resilient to climate and insects. By cutting down these flowers, they tend to come back year after year, such as roses.




If you purchase annuals they are cheaper and last during the hot weather, but they can survive the winter, if placed in a green house or cold frame in the ground. I have these in containers and I bring these annuals into the sunroom during the winter and cold weather.




Purchase plants that are out of season at nursies or that need some help, sometimes dying plants are cut 50% or more. Palms that are expensive can be bought in this method, cut down the palm leaves to the base and it will grow again. As it grows then replant in the ground. Use palm fertilizer or miracle grow and it really works, I had to cut down the palm leaves on a small palm plant a few years ago because it had discolorization on leaves. Now it is growing and is beautiful in my front yard, just by adding palm fertilizer and miracle grow.

 Unrelated to post but had to add artsy horse photo in front of Munroe Regional Hospital on 17th street.  These horses are located in downtown area and in the town square.  Beautiful.

This is my palm tree that I had to cut down the leaves due to disease and discolorization.  I cut down to base it took a few months for leaves to grow again but now healthy.



I use recycled coffee grounds and eggshells into the ground around the vegetables. I use miracle grow on many plants and vegetables, and purchase black gold compost manure from Walmart to enrich the soil in planting beds.




If there is no space to grow any more vegetables consider swapping with a neighbor that may be growing vegetables that you don't have in your garden. Exchange seeds or plants with them to grow in containers; you would be surprised how successful it is to grow vegtables in containers. Use insectcides to keep insects and disease of tomato plants every two weeks, and spray pest control spray around the flower beds about every two weeks. This is important to keep those pests out of the containers and flower beds, if they begin to infect your plants then the tomatos come out diseased. Make sure the plants get watered during hot climate about twice a day during cooler climate water once a day. Tomatos need lots of water and sun to flourish.




Planters can be expensive so make a planter out of out aluminum wash tubs, buckets, small coffee cans, old mop buckets, scrap wood. These items can be found at any Thrift store or outlet store.




If you want to save money on perennials, separate the single plants purchased into two different containers to double the amount of plants. Purchase plants that are drought resistent such as cactus or succulents, and herbs that grow exponenetially.




Depending upon the garden the homeowner wants any can be achieved by using inexpensive creative ways to grow the graden you want.