Category Archives: Home

Importance of a Whole House Water Filtration System

Would you like to benefit from cleaner water when you take a shower, better tasting coffee and tea or just simply having the peace of mind that the water supplied by every tap and other outlet is fresh and clean? These are all possible, if you invest in a whole water filtration system, like those available from Clear Water Concepts.

Separate filters such as those that fit under the sink or sit on your countertop are helpful and if you are only concerned about filtering the drinking water in your property or another specific room’s water supply, they are a good choice. However, in comparison, whole house systems, as the name points out, ensure that all the water coming into your home is filtered before it every reaches your shower or taps. Whole house systems have many benefits, that we are going to discuss below.

Cost Effective

If you do not have a whole house filter system, if you want to benefit from filtered water you need to use a separate filter for each outlet. The cost for filtering all the water in your home will be a lot higher therefore, than if you simply paid for one all-encompassing filtration system. The upfront cost of a whole property filter system is obviously going to be more expensive than buying just one or two filters. However, with this type of purchase, you need to look at it as an investment and consider the long-term benefits.

Multiple Level Filtration

Compared to the under-sink and countertop alternatives, whole house systems are far more complex and sophisticated. Normally, whole house filters have multiple levels of different filters that ensure the water that eventually reaches you after passing through various types of filter media is much safer and cleaner.

Regardless of whether you are looking to remove the high levels of chlorine from your water supply or you need to tackle a serious limescale problem, having a multilevel complete system makes this easier to do.

Filtered Water From Each and Every Outlet

It has been mentioned, but it bears repeating. If you buy a water filter system for the whole of your house, you get hassle-free access no matter where you are in your home to clean and fresh water. No need to switch a switch on or fill a water reservoir. Easy access to crisp, clear and completely hygienically clean water.

More Convenient and Easier To Maintain

In the scenario further up the page, that you may even be familiar with in your own home, when you have a filter for every outlet – maintaining each of these can be a pain. It means you have to remember or make a note about when the different filters need to have their filter media changed to ensure they always work properly and effectively.

However, when you just have one system for your entire house, you only have one system to maintain.

So, if you have been on the fence and unsure about whether investing in a whole home filter system for your water supply is the way to go, we hope this article has helped to show you the benefits.

Why a Kitchen is the Heart of Your Home

Have you ever given much thought to why all your immediate family, relatives and friends congregate in your kitchen, when they come to visit? What is it about our kitchens that transform them into the unofficial family rooms, even when we have perfectly good and comfortable living rooms?

Although kitchens were designed solely with the purpose of food preparation and cooking, in the last few decades, they have become the central point of our homes.

When you think of it, kitchens actually wear a series of different hats. They are the place where you meet to discuss the plans ahead as a family, where you pay the bills on your computer, where you gossip and have a laugh with your friends, where you display your kid’s modern art efforts and of course, where you enjoy meals and food with those you love most.

In the following article, therefore, we are going to discuss why we feel the kitchen really is the heart of the home.

It’s Good For Your Mind and Body

Without food, we wouldn’t survive very long. It is not only good for your body, but also your mind. The kitchen is where we store food and where we prepare it.

They Are Great Places For Family Fun

Your kitchen is also the place where you can take part in fun activities as a family. Baking and cooking, when done as a family, can be an incredibly strong bonding exercise. It provides you with the chance and allowance to get messy, be creative and experiment.

All of the Family Uses It

There are many places in a home, where only one or two members of a family use. Perhaps the parents have an office, the kids have a playroom, mum has her quiet spot and dad has his adjoining shed and garage. However, the kitchen is one of the rooms in the home that everyone uses.

It’s Essential

You need to have a kitchen in your home. Along with bathrooms, kitchens are rooms that have distinct purposes. Even if you have a small kitchen in your home, that you can’t do much else in apart from prepare and cook meals, you undoubtedly still have one.

They Set The Tone For the Whole House

As it is the most important room in the house, most people tend to invest the most amount of money in their kitchens. Particularly when it comes to improving the resale value of the property. As well as the meals most kitchens are designed to accommodate the preparation and cooking of, we have seen how they provide an all-encompassing experience for your family.

If you are looking to renovate the heart of your home, the kitchen and want to know you are spending your money well, you need to make an appointment with Holtzman Home Improvement. They have the skills and experience to help turn kitchen into the central point of your home you want it to be.

Benefits of Temporary Blackout Blinds And How To Choose Them

One of the biggest problems many parents have in the early years of their new child’s life, is getting them to sleep and ensuring that they stay asleep for the duration. Often babies are light sleepers and if they are co-sleeping with their parents, this can make the strain on the family even bigger. This is why temporary blackout blinds might be a good investment.

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Tips on How To Assist Students

It is common knowledge among teachers that pupils who enter their classrooms have different abilities. As such, they do their best to satisfy the needs of each pupil, regardless of whether they have issues in paying attention or learning. What follows is a list of commonly used teaching methods teachers can turn to for enhanced success in class.

  1. Graphic Organization Approach

Specific concepts and thoughts are illustrated using a map in this Approach. This approach can be used to effectively assist young learners recognize characters in stories they read in the past. Graphic organization is also effective in assisting students put together and plan out stories they intend to write. This method can be used to help older students come up with a layout capturing the order of past events, for instance those that led up to WWII, or in drawing contrasts and comparisons when covering topics or even people.

  1. Multisensory Instruction Approach

This method aims to teach through the use of all the senses a pupil has. A learner’s mastery of the learning material improves when their hearing, sight, feelings and movement are all linked together. To help students understand mathematics through their sense of touch, teachers can use double sided counters and base 10 blocks. Using a sketch to demonstrate the meaning of a word can help pupils learn new words through drawing.

  1. Differentiated Instruction Method

This method requires teachers to constantly keep changing the material that their pupils are required to learn, the method of communication and how it’ll be learnt. Bit-by-bit instructions, additional exercises and specialized assignments are used every time a pupil is seen to be struggling in a specific learning area. Learn more on differentiated instruction.

  1. Use Of Mnemonics

To assist students in recalling essential information, this method calls for the use of memorable phrases. For instance to help students recall the mathematical order of operations “Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction” the phrase “Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” is commonly used.

Mnemonics can also be used in teaching vocabulary. The term “rain” used as a keyword alongside an image of a frog in rainy weather, can be used to help pupils recall the term Ranidae, which is the scientific reference for frogs. This blog from Tradewind also showcases ways to help children in education.

  1. The Scaffolding Approach

In this approach, learning is broken down into bits. These bits lead to a specific goal by following a specific order. Teachers do so to create a link between what the students have already mastered and what they are unable to complete on their own. These links, which usually include images, cue cards and charts, are what the term “scaffolds” refers to.

Pupils are usually required to produce their own work, after the teacher has presented them with the right example. Once the scaffolds are no longer required, they are removed just like when they are used in building projects.

 

The Benefits Of Smart Energy Monitoring Meters

With a smart meter, you can start to view your energy usage differently and make alterations in your household to help you save money. It’s far too easy to use more electricity and gas than you need to without knowing it. Smart meters allow you to see how much energy you are using in real-time. When you start to use less energy, the results will be instantly visible on your smart energy monitor. This means you can begin to use household appliances in an energy-saving manner.

What’s more, when you have a smart meter, you can enjoy more accurate bills and you won’t have to submit any meter readings to your power company. Instead, the smart meter sends all of your data over the mobile network to your power supplier automatically. So, you can wave bye bye to estimated bills.

A smart energy monitor does not contain a temperature sensor. Take time to research how a smart meter could be beneficial to your household. Once you see the energy each appliance draws from the power grid when in use, you will be empowered to make choices to reduce your energy bills.

Your smart energy monitor with tell you your energy usage in KWH and pounds and pence. You will be able to see how much you’re spending each minute. Learning more about the amount of energy all your gadgets use will enable you to make better choices and stay in control of your energy bills.

Many people hate not knowing how much their next electricity bill is going to be. With an energy monitor, there are no big surprises, making it easier to budget. Just think, no more submitting meter readings every quarter and accurate bills. You don’t have to risk allowing your account to get into too much credit or costly arrears.

Smart meters send suppliers regular accurate data about a consumer’s energy use. You can also gain a unique insight into energy consumption within your home.

If you want the extra functionality of seeing record readings in half-hour intervals just let us know. We will then update your smart meter so you can get more out of it. Note that your meter will still continue to only send us one batch of data readings each day, allowing you to see your hourly usage via our interactive online app according to nPower.

What Our Customers Are Saying

We have already contacted 15,000 customers with smart meters to find out what they think about the benefits of smart energy monitoring. Here a sample of some of the points most frequently noted:

Customers are looking at their smart energy monitors more than they thought they would. They find them super useful for seeing where they can make the most energy savings.

Customers love how intuitive the smart energy monitor is to navigate, ensuring their energy usage is simple to understand and control.

Overall customers are saying that smart energy meters have made their lives easier since they no longer have the hassle of submitting meter readings and dealing with estimated bills.

 

Family Fun: 6 Outdoor Activities for Staying Healthy and Having Fun

One of the best ways to spend quality time with your family is to plan outdoor activities that will be healthy and fun for everyone. Leave the TV behind and go outside in nature, on the beach or forest to feel the real benefits of fresh air and open space. Also, these activities will keep you all motivated to change your lifestyle habits and adopt a healthier one.

There are so many activities to choose from and so we made you a list to make it easier for you to decide.

Go swimming together

If you live near sea, river or lake, use that advantage to go for a swim with your family. This will also be a perfect opportunity to see how your kids swim and teach them some new techniques. Bring an inflatable swimming mattress with you and while at that, choose the ones with interesting shapes like dolphin or pineapple.

Also, take snorkeling equipment with you, especially if you go to the beach since the sea is great for this activity. Go on the seashell collecting mission with your kids and help them build sand castles when you’re resting from all the activity. Additionally, if you have small children, fly a kite or play volleyball in the water since that is a fun activity for all.

Hiking in national parks

Choose a different national park every other weekend and go for a hike with your family. National parks are great locations to enjoy wild nature and animal life, as well as to breathe some unpolluted air. Choose a path near waterfalls and take a dip if the weather is right, or go on a tour to see caves and animal reserves.

If you believe your kid will be bored, it’s always best to choose the most interesting hiking tracks that can show them amazing landscapes. This is also a great way to teach your kids more about the environment and how to preserve it.

Plant a garden

Gardening is fun for everyone and the best thing about it is that will show lasting results. Kids like to dig the dirt and play with plants, so you will giving them a perfect activity. However, instead of planting flowers, plant vegetables since that way you will teach them more about food and its importance.

Moreover, buy a tree seedling and plant it together in your yard so it would become a symbol of your gardening endeavor. Opt for some fruit-bearing tree if possible, like cherry, walnut or apple so that you can make jams and pies from it.

Go on a camping trip

Pack your sleeping bags, tent and solar power pack and go away from chaotic city life to nature and spend a couple of days relaxing away from the buzzing of technology. Rent a camping trailer or simply decide to sleep in tents and get ready to spend time barbequing under the clear sky. Teach your kids a few tricks like how to start a fire or purify water, as well as how to truly enjoy the wonders of being away from the urban life.

Camping with kids is also fun if you spend time around the fire making S’mores or picking mushrooms and turning them into a tasty stew. For an added experience, bring a telescope so you can observe stars in the night or binoculars to watch birds.

Form a family cycling team

Cycling doesn’t have to cost much, just look for the BMX bikes for sale and you’re good to go. There are many bicycle tracks available in the cities which are perfect for the shorter rides. However, for the complete experience, go to a national park and start pedaling together.

Make frequent breaks so your kids can rest and be patient with them if they have trouble getting the hang of things in the beginning. Choose a cycling track with the best view and you can tell your kids something about the places you pass on your way. If you plan to cycle in nature, bring some food with you and make a picnic break after a while.

Visit local farms

Children today don’t have many opportunities to see how the farms work, so use that as a perfect way to spend time with your family. Local farms are often open for visitors and you can buy organic produce and teach your kids a thing or two about farming as well. Ask farmers to tell them more about livestock breeding, dairy products, and vegetable farming.

Additionally, some farmers allow visitors to ride horses, so make sure you introduce your kids to this activity as well. Farms are perfect to see a different way of life and find out more about the world around us. It will be a great family experience to try some of the activities there together, like digging out potatoes or feeding the animals.

Every family needs time for themselves away from the modern technology and everyday life. Outdoor activities are one of the ways to keep family healthy and have fun at the same time. Nature is often the best choice to relax, experience some physical activity and get to know your kids better.

Therefore, add to the zoo and restaurant another activity which will keep the whole family involved and occupied. Not only will you start a healthy lifestyle, but also be able to teach your kids about the environment and benefits of nature.

 

About the Author

Jessie is a passionate blogger and home designer. She loves writing about tips and tricks that make every home a better place, inside and outside. Besides this, she loves sports, martial arts, outdoor activities and spending time with her close ones.

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5 Things You Should Know about Bath Bombs Before You Use Them

 

Bath bombs are a relatively recent innovation in health and beauty products. They’ve also exploded in popularity in the past few years. Bath bombs are typically pressurized packages of various ingredients that create a fizzing reaction upon exposure to water and they come in varying sizes and properties. Here are five things you should know about bath bombs before you use them.

Bath Bombs Aren’t for Everyone

Bath bombs were originally developed for those who can’t use traditional bath products, but they aren’t for everyone. If you have sensitive skin, you should probably avoid bath bombs altogether. Avoid bath bombs if you have a tendency toward urinary tract infections as well.

Check the Ingredients

While many bath bombs include ingredients no different from the soaps and other beauty products in your home, you should check the ingredients. Avoid bath bombs with glitter or vegetable oil-based luster. If you opt for glitter, opt for mineral based glitter over pieces of plastic. While it looks pretty in the bath water, plastic glitter can irritate sensitive parts of the body.

If you know you’re allergic to an ingredient, don’t buy a bath bomb that contains it, so check the ingredient list on every bath bomb you buy – or make your own. If you don’t know what an ingredient on the back of the package is, look it up. Or consider buying a different bath bomb.

You Could Still Be Allergic to Common Ingredients

Fragrances and the coloring agents in bath bombs can cause mild skin irritation. Fluorescent bath bombs are the most likely to contain artificial dyes that may cause allergic reactions. In general, it is safer to choose bath bombs that contain natural ingredients. If you start to feel irritation, the best advice is to clear the tub, wash off your body and then wash out the tub.

If the irritation doesn’t calm down in a few hours, talk to a doctor. However, you’re probably not reacting to the citric acid or sodium bicarbonate found in many bath bombs since they’re so diluted by the bath water. Note that these are the ingredients that react to make the bath bomb fizzy in the first place.

Fresher Is Better

The best bath bombs are fresh ones. You can tell how fresh they are by how fizzy they are on contact with the water. A general rule of thumb is to use the bath bomb within three weeks of buying it. If you ordered it online, take the shipping time into account, so if it took a week to arrive, you have two weeks to use it.

Understand the Safety Hazard that Bath Bombs Create

There have been stories of people going to the emergency room due to a serious rash from exposure to ingredients in a bath bomb. However, there is another hazard that bath bombs can introduce. All of those essential oils and butter can coat the inside of the tub, making it slippery.

Take care not to slip when getting in and out of the bath after using a bath bomb. You may want to clean the tub before using the bath bomb since these slippery oils will stick to dirt and grime in the tub. If you don’t want to be cleaning the tub before taking a bath, choose a bath bomb that doesn’t contain oil.

Conclusion

Bath bombs can be great for relaxation and fun as well. But if you want to enjoy them without the side-effects, know what you’re getting into first.

Why Tree Removal is Not a DIY Job

Anyone who has trees in their garden or yard will know only too well how beautiful they can be, but also how they can be high-maintenance. Trees come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes – there are many different species you can choose if you want to add them to your garden – and make for a very different and unique vista. If you are to get the best out of your trees, however, they need a certain amount of taking care of.

Like all plants, trees need certain conditions to grow properly, and it’s when they become damaged or diseased that they need the most maintenance. Also, you may have trees in places in your garden where you would rather they were not – for example, where they cast shade over the house or smother the ground covering – and there may be many other reasons why you might want trees taking out of your garden.

If you are adding to your home or building on your property, there may be trees in the way of the plans. You might also find that previously, trees have been cut down and the stumps left behind. These can be very difficult to get rid of. There are many reasons why tree and stump removal is quite simply not a DIY job, so it pays to get in touch with your local Lansing tree removal experts as they will be able to help you get the job done.

Al Your Tree Services in One Place

Why is tree removal best left to the experts? First, it requires some specialist machinery and equipment, and while you can hire it – at potentially considerable cost – it needs expertise to use it properly. Also, there are inherent dangers in cutting down and removing large trees: you need to take great care in making sure the tree will fall in the right direction, as any miscalculations in this area can result in damage to property, or perhaps injury to those involved.

Then there’s the problem of getting the felled tree off your property; a tree can weigh a great deal, and will undoubtedly need a truck of some sort to move – let alone some form of hoist to get it onto the truck! Your local tree service experts will take care of all of these aspects, and will also advise you as to how to best maintain the trees you have remaining.

Tree Maintenance Services

It’s not just removals that your local tree experts can help with; they will also be able to offer you a full range of services including pruning. This is essential to keep your trees as neat and attractive as possible, and you need to have it done on a regular basis if you are to be certain that your trees will look the part.

Why not get in touch right now for a free, no obligation quote, and see just how affordable it can be to have professional, expert tree maintenance and removal services.

4 Ways to Help Speed Up Your Household Cleaning

 

Everyone wants to live in a clean, tidy home. The only trouble of course is that cleaning is one of the most boring, mundane tasks ever invented. It’s little wonder so many of us put cleaning the house off until it reaches that unavoidable point that our living space has turned into a sea of dirty coffee cups, books and dust scattered all around.

While the dream is to be able to hire a cleaner to do it all for you, how many of us are wealthy enough to take that option? Thankfully, help is at hand with these four ways help speed up your household cleaning.

Put things away when you’ve finished with them before they become a problem

You can speed up your household cleaning immeasurably by taking steps to avoid there being too much to do in the first place. When you’ve finished that morning cup of coffee, take the mug out to the kitchen and wash it there and then. Don’t just throw that magazine or book to the side when you’ve finished reading it, put it back where it came from. Little inconveniences at the time that may add five seconds to your day can save you having to clean up 17 coffee cups and put away 23 different books when it comes to doing the big clean.

Make a schedule

If you’ve ever looked at your bedroom and thought “I’ll clean it tomorrow”, and tomorrow ends up being three months later, then you need a schedule. A cleaning schedule ensures discipline when it comes to tidying up the house and by penciling in a day of the week when a certain room is always cleaned, you’ll be preventing too much mess from building up through regular cleaning.

Invest in the right equipment

The better your equipment, the less time-consuming cleaning can be. If you are using a hoover that was purchased when Bill Clinton was president, chances are it is going to have lost all its power and won’t be effective in carrying out the task you need it to. By replacing it with a new, up-to-date model you’ll be making the task that much quicker for yourself. You can View Website here with some great vacuums that can help speed up your cleaning.

Clean in bursts

Current researchers have argued that the attention span of the average American adult has dropped to somewhere between five and 20 minutes. It’s probably even less when it comes to a boring task such as cleaning. With this in mind, its best to clean in short, sharp bursts so that you don’t become completely disillusioned with the task. Give it your all for 10 minutes and then take a break, coming back to things a little later. If you try and power through, not only will the task take longer as your attention drifts and you lose focus, but you’ll also remember it as being a terrible experience that went on for what seemed like days, and that can be enough to put you off cleaning for life.

The Benefits of Improving Your Home

Your home is most likely the most valuable asset you have, and the most expensive purchase you will ever make. It’s also a working environment, where you spend a major proportion of your life – both you and your family – and as such, you want it to be a pleasant and practical place to live.

You also want to make sure that it retains much of the intrinsic value that lies in the building itself; the fixtures and fittings on the exterior, for example, need to be kept in top condition, and that means replacing parts that are damaged and worn by the elements on a regular basis. Then there’s the interior, where you might want to upgrade your kitchen once in a while, or to change the bathroom.

Or, you might want to remodel the house, or to add space to your existing building. There are many ways you can do this, and gain not only additional space but also add value to the house, and there are experts in Lansing home additions that you can talk to for the very best in advice and help on improving your home.

Ideas for Additions

The scope for additions to your home is potentially never-ending, and that’s why it always pays to get the experts in to give you the best advice. Have a look at the rooms you have, and think how great it would be if you could have even more space. Now, consider those areas of your home that are not being used to their full potential.

Let’s start with the garage; many homes have large garage areas, and we’re not exaggerating in saying that many of these are simply used to house junk that doesn’t really need to be there! Garages are a cost-effective and superbly impressive way of adding extra space; get an expertly-done conversion, and you have a new sitting room, bedroom, or even a playroom for the kids. The space is there, the basic structure is present, so the cost is kept down when you convert a garage for living use.

Extend Outdoors

What about those little-used outdoor areas? Your local home additions and remodelling expert can give you ideas as to how best to utilise space by building out from, say, your existing dining room. Perhaps add a deck and extend the room by a few yards, with a lovely wide glass frontage that opens onto the deck, and you transform the whole room in one go – and at surprisingly little cost.

Whether you want to extend or add, to convert or remodel, the choice is yours, but rest assured this is one of the most affordable and effective methods of adding real value to your home, without the need for considerable expense. Even a new, fresh and modern kitchen will make you feel like you are living in a new home, so get in touch with the experts now, and see just how easy it is to remodel your home to your advantage.