Rent or Buy a Home?

Are you thinking of buying your first home?  Check out this cool tool from HGTV FrontDoor and find out if it pays off to buy a home!

Rent Vs. Buy : Mortgage Calculator and Budgeting Tools

Spring clean kitchen

So, your Kitchen needs a good Spring clean?  Cluttered cabinets, a dusty refrigerator top, and an oven that smokes every time you bake are not the components of an ideal kitchen. Revive this important room in your home with a step-by-step tutorial on Spring Cleaning the Kitchen and you will be ready to entertain guests soon as the weather turns warm!

Here’s How:

1.  Begin with a quick 15 Minute Cleanup. Pick up all the clutter on countertops and clear the Kitchen sink of dirty dishes.  Leave the floors for later.

2.  Dust down the ceiling and corners of walls. Check walls for any cleaning that may need to take place to remove grease, grime of spilled food.  Don’t forget the ceiling fan.  Take down the light globes and gently wash and dry before replacing.

3. Dust and clean all art and photographs along the wall. Be careful when cleaning framed art and photographs. Never spray cleanser or water onto the frame. The liquid can seep behind the glass and damage the pictures. Instead lightly wet a clean cloth to wipe the frame and glass.

4. Take down draperies, curtains, and blinds to wash or have cleaned according to the manufacturer’s directions. Vacuum and clean windowsills and corners. Wash the insides and outsides of the windows. Take down and rinse off screens, before replacing.

5. Apply oven cleaner to the oven and clean the refrigerator.Leave the windows in the kitchen open to avoid the overpowering smell. Don’t forget to vacuum the coils of your UNPLUGGED refrigerator. This is a great time to sweep and mop underneath it too if you can find some help to move it. Be careful of scratching your floor.

6. While the oven cleaner works, begin sorting through the freezer and refrigerator. Throw out any expired food, mostly empty containers, and items that you bought and never used. Put the stuff to keep on the counter. Take out the refrigerator shelves and drawers. Wash them down, being careful with glass shelves. Wipe down the entire inside of the refrigerator and freezer before replacing shelves and food. Wipe down and clean out the oven according to the directions on the oven cleaner.

7. Take the knobs, burners, burner covers, and spill catchers off of the stove. Follow your stove/oven owner’s manual for information on proper cleaning methods for your model. (The one you carefully filed, when you bought the stove, just for an occasion like this.) Some stovetops lift up to allow easy access to spills and crumbs. Wipe down the entire stove.

8. Wipe down and clean the toaster, blender, and other small appliances. Wipe down and clean the microwave. If the spills in the microwave are fossilized, try bring a water-filled glass cup to boiling in the microwave. The steam should help loosen the gunk. If the microwave smells, boil lemon juice. Unplug all appliances first. Don’t forget the turntable.

9. Clean out kitchen cabinets. Reline if needed. Remove mismatched lids and bowls. Take out anything that isn’t being used on a regular basis. Reorganize and wash down the insides and outsides of cabinets.

10. Run the dishwasher empty.Try adding vinegar or baking soda to the empty dishwasher before running it. If your dishwasher has a food rap in the bottom, clean it out. Wash down the outside of the dishwasher.

11. Wash down the countertops in your kitchen. Don’t forget backsplashes. How you clean your countertops depends heavily on what type of material they are made from.

12. Wipe down and clean out any drawers. Organize your flatware. This is a great time to install drawer dividers to better organize your kitchen drawers.

13. Wash down the sink. If you have a garbage disposal now is the time to pour baking soda with warm water and/or a lemon peel down the disposal to freshen the drain. Put ice cubes through the disposal to sharpen the blades.

14. Sweep and mop the floors.Don’t forget baseboards. One of the best ways to get a floor REALLY clean is to use a rag or towel while on your hands and knees. If this is not an option try going barefoot and scooting a large towel around the floor with your feet. It provides more contact and pressure with the floor. Press gently, and be careful and slow. Even though this is the last step, the floor is not the best place to rest.

Tips to save you time:

1. Gather all of your supplies together first thing. Trying to sort through the pantry cabinet for your oven cleaner might make you frustrated enough to declutter the cabinet. It’s easy to forget what your initial goal was.
2. Reward yourself by ordering in for dinner tonight. Forbid anyone to touch your spotless kitchen at least until breakfast the next morning. Any longer is probably cruel, but they can handle it overnight.
3. Listen to music, an audio book, or a foreign language tape. The time will pass a lot more quickly if you have an enjoyable atmosphere. This is a great time to commandeer the stereo for what you want to listen to. If anyone objects, offer to let them have a turn with the stereo and the spring cleaning.

What You Need:

• Dust mop (preferably with a long handle)
• Step-ladder
• Cleaning cloths
• Small bucket with handle
• Sponges
• Vacuum with attachment
• All-purpose cleanser, dishsoap, or mild cleanser of choice
• Oven Cleaner
• Shelf or cabinet liner and drawer dividers
• Broom and mop or towel

On a recent visit to the Emergency Care Clinic I was excited to see how quickly the new Madison Hospital is progressing!  Planners say that the new 60 bed  hospital, located on Hwy 72 near Balch Road will be finished the first quarter of 2012.

Services of the new hospital will include:

• Emergency department
• Surgery
• Endoscopy
• Medical imaging
• Laboratory
• Sleep Center
• Labor & delivery
• Mother/baby
• Non-invasive cardiology
• Medical/surgical nursing units with an intensive care unit

Painting your house

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  Cleaning House: Secrets of a Truly Deep Clean

  Deep clean your house and you’ll brighten rooms and help maintain your home’s value. Read

how to clean patio furniture

It’s time to get your patio furniture in condition to enjoy the next few months.  Here are some tips and recipes for making the job easier!

Basic Recipe for Outdoor Cushions:

1 teaspoon dishwashing detergent
1 quart warm water
1 tablespoon borax

Saturate a sponge and use it to wash the cushions. You can put it in a spray
bottle and saturate cushions on both sides, paying particular attention to the
crevices and creases. Let the cushion sit for 15 minutes. Spray the solution off
with a hose using a strong force of water. Stand each cushions on its edge out
of the direct sun to dry. When almost dry, spray with a fabric protector. To
remove dust between cleanings, vacuum as needed. Or, if the cushions are small
enough, just shake them out.

Canvas Seats and Chair Backs:

If the canvas is removable, you’ve got it made. Most canvas is
machine-washable. Just remember to put the canvas back on the furniture while it
is still damp to maintain the shape of the canvas.

If the canvas cannot be removed, you’ll need a scrub brush and a bar of
Fels-Naptha laundry soap. Run the brush back and forth across the soap, and
scrub the canvas. Rinse well and stand cushions up on edge. This method removes
bird droppings and many stains.

To clean plain aluminum (the old-style lawn chairs), you’ll need a plastic
scrubber or fine steel wool soaked in detergent. Simply scrub the chairs, rinse
well and dry.

White Plastic:

1 gallon warm water
3 tablespoons automatic dishwashing detergent
(contains a bleaching agent that will whiten the plastic)

Use a sponge or soft brush. Leave the solution on 15 minutes, then rinse and  dry. Don’t use this on colored furniture.

Bright colors and interesting sounds make garden design more appealing by
adding another layer of depth that your don’t usually see in a vegetable garden.
A water fountain adds charm to a vegetable bed.

Most of us think of growing vegetables in a plain-looking garden, but we’ve
shown that you can grown them in whatever space you have! There are so many
architectural and fun elements you can add to your yard. Picking up a set of
chimes while you’re picking up tomato plants is a great idea — the chimes will
add their own pleasant sounds to the garden to harmonize with the sound of the
fountain.

Chimes can be used all year long and are portable enough to be moved around
the garden. Find garden decorations or architectural elements that suit your
lifestyle and tastes — your garden should be a place for relaxation, not just
for work.