Your home and your yard require a large number of tools and supplies to keep in normal working order. Tools, supplies, seeds, mowers, and blowers … the list is long. After a while they outgrow your basement or your garage and need to occupy their own special, dedicated space at your home.

You need a shed.

And while there are a wide range of prefabricated sheds available at local hardware and feed stores, you can build a shed this summer by following these steps.

Measure and make space for your new shed

First, examine your storage needs and map it out. How much floor space do you need? Think about your wall space, and remember that you lose room at the corners. You also need space around each tool so you can grab it or take it off the wall.

Once you have measured, look at your yard and make space for your future shed. Do you need to take down some shrubs? Cut into your existing garage? Remove the old shed? Either way, out with the old, and in with the new! This might be the excuse you needed to rent a dumpster!

Choose a style and download a plan

Sheds come in a variety of styles. Are you looking for a lean-to, the most common and simplest structure? Perhaps you prefer a carefully crafted look, and want to build a model barn?

Or will you get really adventurous and make a mini-model of your home?

Whichever it is, there is definitely a plan for it online. These online plans are often downloadable and printable. Some are free, and others come with more detailed print plans for a small cost.

Buy the materials and build or assemble your shed

Following the plan you’ve purchased and downloaded, head to the local lumber company. Use the supplies list as a buying guide, and make sure you come home with everything you need.

And the hardest part requires the fewest words: build it.

Though it may take an afternoon or two, your new shed will free up space in your garage or basement, make it easier to do yardwork, and be an attractive conversation piece for years to come.

Photo by Pixabay

You’ve seen the signs that your house will need to be painted this summer or fall. Perhaps it is peeling paint falling in your driveway or the bushes against the side of the house. Perhaps there is an unsightly mildewy look beneath the eaves. Maybe the evening light reveals that the parts of your house exposed to full sun look just a little different than the ones that are shaded much of the day.

It’s time to get a reliable estimate for getting your house painted.

Gather information

Your first step is to start gathering information. Who do you know that paints houses, or recently had their house painted. Who do they recommend? Did they have a positive experience? How does the paint job look now?

Later, when you get a few estimates, you can also check the Better Business Bureau site for references and information about the companies who have actually submitted competitive bids. Remember though, just because a company has had a complaint or two at the BBB does not mean that they are not a good candidate for your work. Look instead to see if the complaint was reasonable, and whether the company was able to successfully resolve it. The biggest and best companies are not the ones that never make mistakes. Instead, they likely make a few mistakes just because of the amount of work they do. The real proof is whether they solve those occasional issues to the satisfaction of the customer.

Define the job

While you are gathering information about who you might want to have paint your house, begin to think about the scope of the work.

Does the paint job include a nearby garage or shed? Are there a few hard-to-reach eaves or other spots? How many layers of paint are already in place – will it have to be a full scrape job or just a light scrape then they can paint over it? How much of the work will be done on ladders or scaffolding? How important is it that they pick up all their debris – or are you willing to do some of the clean-up to save a few dollars?

Request and evaluate bids

Once you’ve clarified the work and gathered a few names, you are ready to make calls.

List a few key points about the work, and call to ask for estimates making sure you mention those points. Most companies will give you an estimate for free, but they will tell you upfront if they do or don’t offer everything you request.

Then use the information you have gathered and pick the company that meets your needs and your budget. Remember that getting better quality work the first time – including better quality paint – means a few extra years before your next paint job.

Photo by Ricky Singh on Unsplash

It happens to all of us. No matter how careful we think we are or we try to be. No matter how much or how little we have in our refrigerator. Whether it is a side-by-side, a walk-in, or a convenient dorm-size fridge tucked under a table, the day will come.

You open the door and … eww gross! It stinks!

Refrigerator odors can occur multiple ways. The best approach is to not let them get started. The next solution, once they have arrived, is to treat them quickly and correctly so they do not return.

How are common refrigerator smells created?

Most often the smell from your refrigerator is the smell of rotting food. No matter what it is that has lingered too long in your fridge, the smell generally tends to be the same. A putrid, almost warm smell that immediately stirs up the bile in your stomach and makes you want to recoil, cover your noise, or possibly even throw up.

It could be forgotten celery, or last week’s sandwich, or a pickle jar from … does that say 2003? Any of these items and more can be causing that odor. It could even be coming from a spill that you can’t see – one that has seeped behind a drawer or is … gross! – under something else!

The best first step is prevention.

Prevention

Move items around. By regularly moving your items around in your refrigerator you can prevent this from happening most of the time. Having the same old thing in a new location might prompt you to use it in a new recipe – or at least to remember that you bought it at Thanksgiving seven years ago.

Set a calendar reminder. By setting a specific day each month that you clean out the fridge, you can make a scary task simple because you will be keeping on top of the problem rather than letting it get worse.

Correction

Of course, when the smell happens, you have to deal with it. The only solution at that point is to clean the affected area with a cloth and warm soapy water. Don’t worry about using too much water, your refrigerator is waterproof.  Make sure you get the entire spill up. Be sure to check underneath the affected shelf. Sometimes the water from a spoiled meal can leak around the edge and cling to the top of the shelf below without ever dropping.

Finally, open a box of baking soda and place it in the back of your fridge. This will help control regular odors. Then when your appointed cleaning day comes, switch it out with a new box.

What is causing that smell in my fridge?

 

Photo by Abdullah Ahmad on Unsplash