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Home Improvement
Open your house parties up to the beautiful outdoors
Having guests over to your house doesn't necessarily mean you have to keep everyone contained inside. Open the doors of your home to your backyard to provide a relaxed ambiance for your guests. And with good lighting and comfortable seating, they'll enjoy socializing and hanging around until well after the sun sets.
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Easy carpet cleaning tips and tricks from the experts
As the weather cools and daylight hours shorten, families tend to spend more time inside. After a long summer of open windows, sticky treats and constant activity in and out the door, you might notice that your carpets are looking a bit drab. Keeping carpets clean might seem like a daunting task, but with some tips from ...
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Improving the health of your lawn
Let's face it: When you live in the suburbs, a healthy, well-kept lawn is a must. Before anyone even steps into your house, it's your front lawn that makes the first impression of your home. So what's something that can help keep your lawn healthy? Many people seem to forget about aeration.
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How to create the perfect outdoor space
Comfortable spaces don't need to be constrained by four walls, and an outdoor entertaining area can quickly become the most important "room" of your home. You aren't alone if your porch or patio looks outdated and drab. Weather conditions can be tough on outdoor areas, but with a few simple updates, you can create a perf...
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What to do about pesky squeaks and creaks in your floor
Do you ever feel like you're trying to avoid tripping off an alarm as you're carefully tiptoe through your living room? Except instead of an alarm, you're hoping not to trigger that familiar creak or groan of the floorboards. It's happened to everybody, and at times it wakes up the newborn (or anyone else who is asleep),...
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Quick fixes for a swift home sale
First impressions are everything when it comes to selling a home. Fortunately, you can take simple and inexpensive steps to prep your home for a quick, top-dollar sale.
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Transform your interior decor to create a cozy atmosphere
The change of seasons, the change of family schedules, or even a change in furniture - there are many reasons to take the time to transform the interior of your home and revitalize your decor. Why not take the opportunity this fall and winter to refresh your interior with the bold colors trending this year?
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Three ways to give energy savings the green light in your home
"Red means stop, green means go" - we learn that axiom as children. When it comes to home energy costs, however, going green can help homeowners put a stop to runaway utility bills. And maximizing your home's use of natural light - call it "green lighting" - is a great way to boost your home's energy efficiency.
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Working home organization back into the routine
The start of fall means lots of things: changing colors, football season and, for families across the country, back-to-school time. After a summer of carefree living, long days and relaxation, changing gears from fun and sun to homework and sports can be a challenge for even the most organized family. It doesn't have to ...
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Want pristine outdoor spaces next year? Take action in the fall
The cooling weather signals most homeowners to retire their lawn and garden equipment for the year. But before you stow away the rakes and hoes, remember that fall offers a unique opportunity for starting projects that can yield beautiful landscape results next year. You can save time and potentially money by doing a few...
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Plumbing primer: The most important system behind your home's drywall
Do you know what's behind the drywall in your home? Typically, when builders construct a house, they conceal electrical wiring, air ducts, insulation, home networking wires and plumbing within the walls. It's important for all those systems to be well-made and high-functioning, but in the case of plumbing it's especially...
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Is your home making you sick?
Your home - it's your castle, your sanctuary. But could the place you go to escape the rest of the world be bad for you? Formaldehyde, chloroform and even asbestos could be in your home and you may not even know it. Here is what every homeowner should know.
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By Carey Gillam and Ian Simpson MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Rescuers went building to building in search of victims and survivors picked through the rubble of their shattered homes on Tuesday, a day after a massive tornado tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, wiping out blocks of houses and killing at least 24 people. ...
By Steve Gorman and Sharon Bernstein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Voters in Los Angeles went to the polls on Tuesday to choose a new mayor in an election between two liberal Democrats seeking to lead America's second-largest city as it faces an increasingly gloomy financial outlook. City Councilman Eric Garcetti, 42, and Controller Wendy Greuel, 51, are vying for the city's top spot in a race shaped by dire fiscal constraints, the political clout of its public employee unions and a largely disinterested electorate. ...
By Ben Berkowitz and Julie Steenhuysen (Reuters) - Moore, Oklahoma, has had the bad luck of being hit by two highly destructive tornadoes, both in the month of May, 14 years apart. But the Moore that got struck on Monday is not the same as in 1999. Like a lot of towns across America and in the so-called "Tornado Alley," rapid growth has made it a bigger target, vulnerable to more damage. The tornado, with winds that may have topped 200 miles per hour, killed at least 24 people and injured hundreds more, with many of the casualties children from two schools that were destroyed. ...