Online Features
Home Improvement
Hut, hut hike: Easy cleaning tips for after the big game
(BPT) - That time of year is almost here - pro football championship Sunday. According to the National Chicken Council’s 2012 Wing Report, the big game is the second biggest eating holiday after Thanksgiving. With the big game comes big prep and cleanup. Even the most diligent person can’t do it alone. While some may b...
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Simple home fix-ups you can complete in a weekend or less
(BPT) - While you may not know the term “nowism,” you more than likely live it. With our fast-paced lives, this term, coined by www.trendwatching.com, a leading trendscouting website, describes the trend of the consumer’s need for instant gratification. We want fast service, fast answers and fast results. And, of cours...
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Maintaining your home investment
(BPT) - Home ownership is an important investment that can create both a sense of pride and a place in the world that is all your own. While the investment in purchasing or building your own home is sizeable, letting your home fall into disrepair can be even more costly. However, home maintenance doesn’t have to be a da...
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Surprising, affordable upgrades can give your home a whole new look
(BPT) - Sure, kitchen and bath renovations get all the glamour and credit for offering high returns on your investment when it’s time to sell your home. But a host of other, often-overlooked improvements can also offer great ROI – while completely changing the look of your home at a fraction of the cost of bigger projec...
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Find inspiration for your home in 2013 with the latest design trends
(BPT) - We’re all looking forward to a fresh start at the beginning of the new year: Whether it’s an updated fitness regime, pursuing new hobbies or getting organized, there are a slew of resolutions to try. In 2013, why not make a few changes to not only yourself, but also your home? By incorporating cutting-edge desig...
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Setting up a home office that fuels productivity
(BPT) - One of the biggest mistakes businesspeople make is assuming that working from home will automatically result in a higher level of productivity. Unless you carefully construct your home office environment, you may find that working from home is less productive than you anticipated. Staples, the world’s largest o...
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Start planning now for spring's home makeover
(BPT) - If April showers bring May flowers, what do winter’s snowflakes bring? Perhaps it’s an excuse to curl up with your favorite magazines and imagine the kitchen makeover of your dreams. When the cold winter months keep you indoors, use the time to take care of things that will make your remodeling plans much easier...
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Simple ways to freshen up that stuffy bathroom or kitchen
(BPT) - If there’s one room in the house that cries out for fresh air, it’s the kitchen. And if there’s a second room that can benefit from Mother Nature’s sweet breath, it’s the bathroom. When humidity and odors build up in a room, a host of disagreeable results arises, from mold and mildew to dank, unpleasant air. Ex...
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Kitchen remodeling: How to go from a far-off dream to 'DIY'
(BPT) - Year after year, no matter the state of the housing market, kitchen remodeling remains a good idea. The project perennially tops lists of value-for-your-money home improvements and almost every buyer will be attracted to a kitchen that’s updated and move-in ready. Even if you’re planning on staying in your home ...
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Overcoming common bathroom addition challenges
(BPT) - Adding a bathroom to your home remains one of the most popular and rewarding home improvements you can make. In fact, when you sell your home, you can expect to recoup more than 50 percent of the cost of a bathroom addition, according to Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value Report. Creating a new bathroom where ...
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Cypress siding provides a natural choice for today's homes
(BPT) - Across the country, cypress siding is becoming increasingly popular among homeowners who are looking to add value, durability, and a lifetime of good looks to their homes. Even as new high-tech siding materials flood the market, Chuck Harris of the Southern Cypress Manufacturers Association, www.cypressinfo.or...
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Three simple steps to a more satisfying shower
(BPT) - The routine you follow in the shower is a personal one and studies show it can serve a number of different purposes. From getting clean to warming up, from relieving pain to simply relaxing, we shower for many reasons. Research from Delta Faucet indicates that even the order in which we bathe ourselves – shampoo...
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By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - The foreman of an Arizona jury that deadlocked over whether Jodi Arias should be put to death for murdering her ex-boyfriend believes she was mentally abused, but said on Friday that had not been enough to excuse her crime. Arias, a former waitress from California, was found guilty this month of murdering Travis Alexander, whose body was found slumped in the shower of his Phoenix-area home in June 2008. He had been stabbed 27 times, had his throat slashed and been shot in the face. ...
By Joanne von Alroth SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - The Illinois House of Representatives on Friday voted overwhelmingly to allow residents to carry concealed guns, taking the state one step closer to joining all others in allowing some form of carrying guns in public. Illinois is the only state in the nation to ban most people from carrying a concealed gun outside the home. Lawmakers acted on Friday after a federal appeals court in January struck down the ban, saying it violated the right to bear arms enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. ...
By Elaine Porterfield MOUNT VERNON, Washington (Reuters) - A bridge collapse that sent cars and drivers plunging into the frigid Skagit River in Washington state, raising concerns about the safety of the nation's aging infrastructure, was caused when a truck crashed into at least one girder, officials said on Friday. The truck, after the accident, rumbled across the bridge safely before a portion of the structure collapsed, sending two vehicles and a mass of concrete and steel into the river on Thursday evening. Three people had to be rescued, officials said. ...