We all have eaten oatmeal for breakfast at some point in our lives. It is inexpensive, easy to make, and if we believe the health claims, it is exceptionally good for us. Helping to lower cholesterol, fighting diabetes, and reducing the risk from certain cancers, to name a few of its benefits.

But did you know that oatmeal can do more than just make a tasty breakfast?

1) Chicken pox, poison ivy, dry itchy skin? Have an oatmeal bath. Grind a cup or so of plain oatmeal in your food processor. Put it into an old stocking or cheesecloth and tie the open end so it form a pouch. You can hang the pouch over the water faucet so that the warm water runs through the pouch as the tub fills, or you can use the pouch the way you would a washcloth and apply to the affected areas.

Continue reading DIY Spa: 5 Alternate Uses for Oatmeal

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The first step of wallpaper removal: NEVER put it up to begin with.

Please. If you are thinking of moving out of your house in the next century some time, don't hang wallpaper. You might think that there is no way people won't love your paper, but trust me it is a guarantee that someone will hate it. Remember how stylish the dark background wallpaper with teeny tiny flowers was a decade or so ago, or the large striped paper with a 12" border around the ceiling that made the room look like a big hatbox, or the cows and ducks in pastels phase, which screams outdated like your parents avocado green appliances. Yeah, how many of the people who hung those wallpapers now regret it. Or to be more accurate, how many current owners of those houses regret it.

You don't want to be that previous owner. You know that one that is talked about at dinner parties and neighborhood gatherings. The previous owner with no skills and even less taste.

One day you will sell your house. And the new owner will be faced with your wallpapering decisions. They will wonder how you could have ever thought it was worthy of hanging on the wall. Then when they are removing it and it has adhered to the wall and tears the plaster off in chunks, they will curse you.

Continue reading How to Remove Wallpaper

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The kitchen is often referred to as the heart of the home. It is the busiest place in the house, where guests and family congregate. But do you know what congregates with them? Stuff, that's what. And before you know it your counters are covered with clutter and all of your drawers resemble the junk drawer.

How do you keep your kitchen organized and clutter free?

1) If you don't use it daily, put it away. I am not a fan of appliances on the counter. At all. It doesn't take much effort to put things away and take them back out again. The only appliances that live on my counters are my coffee pot and my huge stand mixer. Some people argue for the toaster to be kept on the counter and to them I say, "Do you really eat that much toast?"

Continue reading 7 Ways to Declutter and Organize Your Kitchen

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Anyone who has ever tried to outfit their bedroom knows that bedroom furniture is not cheap. So what do you do if you are short on cash, yet long for a stylish room? You do-it-yourself, of course.

There are a few things to consider before you begin. Think about your decorating style. Are you looking for something as a short term solution or are you looking to invest the time and energy into making a headboard that will last your for the long haul. How much time and energy do you really want to spend making a headboard? Do you want to make your headboard from items that you already own, then look around your house, garage, or attic at things that you have laying around that could be repurposed.

Here are some ideas to get you started.

Think beyond the metal scroll screen. There are many types of screens out there that can suit your own personal taste. You can even use vintage shutters hinged together.

Continue reading DIY Headboards to Inspire Your Dreams

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So you are moving. You are not alone. Approximately 40 million Americans will change their home address this year. Whether you are moving across the country or around the corner being organized will help things go more smoothly on both ends.

1) Purge. Moving is the perfect opportunity to lay your hands on all of your belongings. Give them the critical eye. Is it useful? Is it beautiful? Does it make your life better? If the answer to all of those questions is no, then get rid of it. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you might find a place for it at your new house. Odds are if you didn't like it enough to find a place for it at our current home, you won't find a place for it at your new home either.

Continue reading Tips For Staying Organized While You Move

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We all know people who can no longer fit their car into their garage. Perhaps we are even among them. (Hey, I just moved, okay? And we downsized dramatically! And there are no basements! And, and, and... I'll take my own advice soon, I swear!) The garage has become a repository for all the stuff that they have nowhere to store. Look around your neighborhood, I am willing to bet that most people are using at least one of their garages for storage.

Did you know that Americans are renting storage units to store all of the stuff that won't fit into their houses? According to this article "self-storage units cover 72 square miles, the area of Manhattan and San Francisco combined." That's a whole lot of people storing a whole lot of stuff, that frankly they probably do not need.

My take on the self storage phenomenon for the average suburban American? Get rid of it. Make decisions about what you really use and need, then get rid of the rest. If it isn't useful or making your life better in some way, then you do not need it. The problem that most people have is that they do not organize their stuff and therefore they cannot find it when they need it.

Continue reading Organize the Garage

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Not everyone has a dedicated mudroom for storing their coats, shoes, backpacks and other paraphernalia. However, even the smallest coat closet can be made into an effective and organized space. Many people like to keep the coat closet relatively empty for guests. Unless you're entertaining daily, reclaim your coat closet and instead get a coat tree for your front hall for hanging guests coats.

Reclaim your coat closet in these three easy steps:

Continue reading Tips to Finally Organize That Coat Closet

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Everyone has had the experience of a light bulb breaking off in the socket. Getting the bulb out of the socket can be a real challenge.

Have you ever heard of the potato trick? You take half of a raw potato, push it into the bulb base, and then turn the potato to remove the bulb. I guess this would be effective if I had potatoes on hand, but I usually don't. Also, potatoes can be messy and I picture a lot of moisture, something which doesn't seem like a good idea around electricity.

There are other more effective ways to get the broken light bulb out of the socket. So get out your toolbox.

Continue reading Easy Steps to Remove a Broken Light Bulb From a Socket

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Curtains can change the entire feel of a room. Much less expensive than furniture, you can have fun with them and use bold patterns and colors that you might regret if it were on a $4,000 couch instead.

Aside from the decor aspect, curtains serve a purpose. They can block out the sunlight, important in a child's room unless you enjoy getting up at the first hint of daybreak. They can insulate the window, saving you money on your heating costs in the winter and your cooling costs in the summer. They can provide privacy, sparing your neighbors the view of you in your pajamas.

Depending on your particular needs and decor, you can choose between long draperies, valances, sheer curtains, either alone or behind drapes, cafe curtains -- a personal favorite of mine for little girl rooms -- or any combination of these. Whichever you choose, you'll need to hang curtain rods.

Hanging curtain rods really is no more difficult that hanging picture frames.

Continue reading How to Hang Curtain Rods

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The recession has cause many of us to scale back on our unnecessary expenditures and to cut out some of them all together. But not being able to afford spa-like treatments anymore doesn't mean that you have to give them up entirely. Some inexpensive products most of us have around the house can be used to spruce up our beauty routines.

Aspirin is simply a beta-hydroxy acid or BHA, a very effective type of salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is found in popular OTC acne medications and is a key ingredient in many skin-care products for the treatment psoriasis, calluses, corns, keratosis pilaris, and warts. Exfoliating your skin,and hair, has never been simpler.

Continue reading DIY Spa: 3 Uses For Aspirin, It's Not Just For Headaches

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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about inexpensive white wines and the overwhelming feedback was for a similar list of red wines. Personally, I find red wines trickier to navigate. There seem to be more bad cheap red wines than good ones, which can be very disappointing.

I have a soft spot in my heart for red wines. I grew up in a large Italian family where red wine was a nightly drink with dinner. No pasta dinner was complete without red wine. Even for children, and including red wine that my Uncle Anthony made himself. Yes, seriously. I know everyone can't go (or wants to go) this route, but during a recession we're all looking for ways to stretch our budget. And, recession does not mean that we have to give up wine all together.

Red wine is versatile and can be served with a variety of dishes from hot dogs to a fine steak. Here's a list of Recession Reds that are sure to please your palate and your pocketbook -- all for under $10 (or less!) a bottle.

Continue reading DIY Drinks: 6 Recession Reds for Under $10

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Not all home improvements are created equal. I have already written about which improvements you should avoid completely, as some renovations give you a much larger return on your investment (ROI) than others. If you are trying to decide between adding on an office or doing a full remodel of your outdated kitchen, you probably want to consider which one will be worth the most in the long run.

1) Kitchen: Whether large or small in scope, renovating your kitchen is always money well spent. In recent years the trend has moved away from formal living areas to the kitchen really being the focus of the home. Entertaining has become more casual and many people are not even bothering with formal dining and living rooms anymore. With that, there has become and increased focus on the kitchen not just being functional but also attractive and decorated.

Kitchen renovations can be as large as tearing everything out and replacing it all, to just replacing old appliances, from refacing cabinets to simply replacing cabinet hardware.

ROI at resale: 75-80% according to the 2008 annual survey by Remodeling Magazine

Continue reading 6 Home Improvements to Increase the Value of Your Home

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Most home owners renovate their homes because they have a vision of how their home could be better. They believe that in the end they will see an increase in the value of their home. But as many a wizened home renovator knows, this isn't always the case.

Before you spend money on those home improvementsyou think you can't live without, you need to consider how long you're planning to live in your home. Only a couple years? Then, you really want to pay attention to the cost versus value ratio of any extensive projects.

Are you in your home for the long term, trying to turn it into the castle that you've always wanted -- perhaps complete with a moat and drawbridge? Well, then you shouldn't look so much to the cost versus value ratio, but rather look more to the amount of enjoyment that you'll get out of the house. Who knows? Perhaps in twenty years moats and drawbridges will be all the rage.

According to the Census Bureau, the average American moves about 12 times during his or her lifetime. This means that most of us probably do care about the return on our investment. To get the most bang out of your renovating buck, here are five home improvements that you should NOT do.

Continue reading Five Home Improvements To Avoid

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It happens. People buy houses. Sometimes you know them well, sometimes you hardly know them at all. Then they have a housewarming party. What sort of present do you buy for them? How much money should you spend? What if you really want to stay away from an impersonal gift card? These questions have sent me into a panic in the past.

The amount of money you spend is entirely subjective and up to you. Though I believe that the less money you spend, the more thought you need to put into the gift. I know I would rather receive a $20 coffee table book than get a card with a rumpled $20 shoved inside. The former says that you care about the person enough to shop for something that you thought they might like, even if you are working with a limited budget. The latter? Well, that says you didn't spend all your money at the bar last night.

1) Wreath for the front door. When we bought our first house many years ago, it was in the late autumn, right before the holiday season kicks into full gear. One of the nicest housewarming presents I received was a fresh wreath to hang on the front door. It was handmade and beautiful, perfect for our first Christmas in the house when our cash- strapped selves were not going to be buying any extras.

Continue reading 7 Unique Housewarming Gift Ideas

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More and more couples are choosing to do their wedding preparations themselves. Whether it is because they are on a budget or because they are trying to stamp the wedding with their own personal style, it is a growing trend that shows no signs of abating any time soon. Just do a google search of the terms DIY wedding and over a million sites will pop up.

A DIY wedding does not mean having to sacrifice anything. It is not just something for the super crafty who make their own dresses out of fabric scraps, hot glue, and stray buttons. No, it means having the wedding that you want on your own terms. While many couples are DIY-ing their weddings to save money, most DIY affairs are driven by the desire to add personal touches to such an important day.

Writer Holly Burns, along with her fiancee Sean Slinsky, has been blogging about their DIY wedding plans for the past several months on her blog Nothing But Bonfires. From the proposal in Italy to making their own invitations, their wedding plans have a fairytale quality. They are the first couple that I have known personally to undertake a DIY wedding.

Continue reading DIY Wedding: Personal Touches for a Special Day

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Is your home looking a little tired? Are you dreaming of doing some renovating, but lack the funds to do so? Well, you aren't alone. According to the latest research form Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, so far there is a 12.3% drop in 2009 spending on home improvement projects. This is a slight improvement over the 13.6% drop in 2008. But things aren't expected to get much better any time soon.

Most of us think of home improvements and imagine huge projects that cost buckets of money and lots of time. The truth is that most homes can benefit from smaller projects, from a little attention to detail that often gets neglected. Most often renovations are undertaken because we want our homes to look better and function better.

With this in mind, I've rounded up my favorite tips and tricks to easily improve our homes on a very limited budget:

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Continue reading 8 Easy Home Fixes, From $50 to Free!

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So, now that you have taken the steps to reduce the influx of junk mail, how do you organize the mail that is still coming into your home? You need to develop a system. Remember that only you know what will work for your needs. Plenty of organizational systems sound good in theory, but might not be right for you.

This mail sorter has a place for everything in one compact space, making it easy to tuck into the corner of your desk or kitchen counter.

Continue reading 8 Systems to Organize Your Mail

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Dealing with the mail that comes into my house has become the bane of my existence. I have heard the advice from all the organizational experts, telling me the first thing to do to gain control over the mail clutter is to stop the mail from coming into your house to begin with. Think of it as being eco-friendly too. Save the trees along with your sanity.

Here's a list of websites to help you get control of the junk mail:

1) Direct Market Association They provide their mail preference service to marketers for the sole purpose of removing consumers' names and addresses from the marketers' mailing lists.

2) End the credit card solicitations Register at this site to rid yourself of those endless credit card solicitations.

3) Catalog choice is a website that will let you opt out of unwanted catalogs.

4) Want someone else to handle it all for you? 41pounds will do just that for a fee. Interesting note, the company is named 41 pounds because that is the weight of the junk mail the average American receives every year.

Continue reading 3 Tips for Banishing Junk Mail

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Do you go to your local liquor store for a bottle of wine and cluelessly wander up and down the aisles? I certainly have done that in the past. So many bottles of wine, so much of it so very expensive.

And, asking for advice on inexpensive white wine is difficult. I have received advice about which countries to stay away from, which countries I should definitely buy -- and often the advice is conflicting. People want to know what I am going to eat with my wine. Eat? Do I have to eat with it? Okay, in that case, chips and hummus. Do you have a wine to go with that? Oh, and it has to cost less than the hummus and chips.

I know I am not alone out here. So I'm donning my DIY mixology cap and have compiled my own white wine list.

Continue reading DIY Drinks: Our Guide to Budget-Friendly Summer Whites

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