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Mold is Growing in Your Home RIGHT NOW…But Where?

If you’re sitting in your house sneezing, coughing, and dealing with skin, eye, and throat irritations, there is most likely mold present somewhere. People that are suffering from asthma or allergies know precisely how damaging mold can be to their health. Those with a healthy system aren’t going to notice mold growing somewhere quite as quickly. While you can’t control the mold you come in contact with outside of your home, it is possible to contain and eliminate it from your house. Start by checking some of the most common places where it gets found. What is Mold and Why […]

How to Check for Bed Bugs

It seems as though bed bugs are everywhere anymore. Thanks to the media and the internet, people are more capable of sharing their experiences in hotels, cruise ships, trains, and planes when it comes to the little critters showing up. Just one pregnant bed bug coming home with you can lead to a complete infestation in your home in a few days or weeks. The first thing you should do when returning from a vacation or after bringing a piece of furniture into your home is looking for bed bugs. You have to know where and what to watch for […]

11 Natural Coffee Alternatives

For countless adults, coffee is a part of daily life. It could be one cup in the morning to get you motivated or several cups throughout the day to keep you energized and moving. For some it is merely a habit, others feel as though they need it, making it more of an addiction than an enjoyable morning refreshment. While coffee in low doses doesn’t seem to have any negative impacts, doctors have suggested that their patients reduce or eliminate coffee from their diets for various reasons. Thankfully, for those that have to or want to cut coffee out of […]

10 Substitutes for Baking Powder

Baking powder is a widely used ingredient that makes your baked goods lighter and fluffier. The problem is, you might not always have it available to you. Instead of skipping the recipe altogether, discover some great substitutes that can be used in its place. Baking Powder Defined The composition of baking powder is sodium bicarbonate. It is known in the world of chemistry as a base that gets paired with an acid like cream of tartar or filler such as cornstarch. The leavening agent is used commonly in a variety of baking recipes. When the baking soda is mixed with […]

Simple Pig Weighing Hack

Did you know that it’s entirely possible to figure out how much your pig weighs without putting it on a scale? Instead, you can use a number of things that you probably have lying around your house to figure out your pigs weight. A few quick measurements and calculations are all that it takes. This is much easier than trying to hoist your pig onto a scale. We’ll cover this useful pig weighing hack and some additional information here. Why Do You Need To Know How Much Your Pig Weighs? If you’ve been trying to determine when your pig is […]

Super Easy Homemade Buttermilk

Buttermilk isn’t something that you only need to buy at the store. Instead, you can make it yourself. The results will be much tastier and better for you. The buttermilk that you find in the dairy section (if your grocery store even carries it) is cultured. This type takes at least 24 hours to make, and you need to start with cultured buttermilk, making it a bit redundant, or active buttermilk culture. This process is fairly labor intensive. However, if you have a recipe that requires buttermilk and you don’t have any on hand, these quick methods will work nicely. […]

No Waste Chicken Feeder

Chickens can be messy and needy. They throw their food all over the place and then squawk at you until you give them more. This is no reason not to place a chicken coop in your backyard though. They do give you plenty of eggs and some meat. And chickens can make interesting companions, even though they aren’t quite as cuddly as cats and dogs – as long as you keep them happy, that is. The best way to do this is with a no-waste chicken feeder. Why Do You Need A No Waste Chicken Feeder? We’ve already mentioned the […]

No Sugar Canned Peaches

Canned peaches are an excellent treat – especially if you’ve canned them yourself and can control what goes into them. The downside to most canning recipes is the amount of sugar involved. Peaches are naturally sweet, so they don’t need a lot of additional refined white sugar, which is bad for you anyway. This recipe utilizes a more natural combination of honey and cinnamon to enhance the natural flavors of the peaches. Supplies Water bath canner Canning jars and lids Saucepan Peeler Cutting board Funnel Measuring implements Ingredients Peaches – a good measurement is between two and three pounds of […]

DIY Fruit Fly Trap Works Overnight

Fruit flies are unpleasant creatures. They seem to pop up whenever you leave fruit out. All that it takes is one several-day-old banana and the next thing you know, you’re surrounded by dozens of little fruit flies. Although these little buggers are relatively harmless to humans (they don’t bite, they’re just annoying), they just keep breeding and breeding, and might even scare off any company that comes over. Thankfully, there’s a solution. Well, two solutions. You can get rid of the fruit that attracts them, by eating it, canning it, or, in the banana example, turning it into banana bread. […]

7 Tips to Grow the Perfect Tomatoes

Tomatoes are tricky fruits to grow. Some years you end up with the perfect amount of ripe, round, bright red tomatoes without having to tend to your plants. It’s as if they grew by magic. Other seasons you end up with finicky plants that need a lot of TLC, and you still end up with one or two fruits – not the dozens of seasons past. It’s easy to blame this on the environment or weather, or even on the efficacy of the plants themselves. After all, you just didn’t have good plants this year, right? It’s even easier […]

Plastic Sheeting Gardening Hack

Many gardeners count down the days until the winter ends because they’re just dying (not literally, of course) to get their crops in the ground. Rather than wait until the earth warms up and the last frost is far from over, start your season early by using plastic sheeting in to create a greenhouse-like effect. Plus, if you leave the sheeting up once the weather than changed for the better, you’ll have fewer weeds to deal with. Your garden will be magnificent thanks to this quick and easy garden hack. It All Starts in the Autumn Once you […]

5 Critical Tips for Proper Pet Care

Pets are awesome. There’s no other way to say it. As long as you care for them properly, they’ll show you nothing but love. This doesn’t mean that you need to spoil your pets, showering them with food, treats, and toys. Yes, you can do that, but your pets will appreciate you much more if you care for them in these five ways. 1) Spend Some Time Exercising With Your Pets Your pets want to spend as much time with you as possible. This involves playing and exercising with them. Depending on the type of pet that you […]

5 Tips for Using Manures in Your Garden

Manure is one the best, all-natural fertilizers around. Yes, it does smell, since it consists of animal feces. However, its many benefits far outweigh the stench. You’ll be glad that you put up with it when your plants are growing strong and tall. Before you begin spreading manure around your garden willy-nilly, take the time to review these five useful tips. 1) Don’t Place Manure around Your Edible Vegetables You might be tempted to use manure to fertilize every single plant in your garden, after all, it’s good for all of them, right? Wrong. You never want to […]

5 Great Benefits of Having Succulents in Your Home

Plants help clean the air, add oxygen and any number of other benefits. The problem? Not everyone has a green enough thumb to keep their plants alive, let alone flourishing. Fortunately, you don’t have to have a degree in botany to enjoy having plants indoors; you have to pick the right ones. Enter the succulent. Succulent plants, or succulents, are a type of plant that displays parts that are especially thick and fleshy. This characteristic lets the plant retain water in drying climates and soil types in a similar manner to cactus plants. These wonderful little plants have become even […]

The Best All Natural Fertilizers For Your Garden

Store-bought fertilizers can get expensive. On top of that, they don’t always produce the results you are looking for. They aren’t natural, so there’s no guarantee that they are going to work the way they’re supposed to. Instead of heading into town to pick up an overpriced bag for your garden, go to your kitchen and mix up your own batch with any of these natural fertilizer recipes. Egg Shells After breakfast, don’t toss your egg shells. Wash them up and crush them. They are 93% calcium carbonate. With that there, it’s effective to use near peppers, tomatoes, […]

8 Simple Ways Baking Soda is the Forgotten All-Purpose Tool

You can go through just about any kitchen in the world and find a box of baking soda. It’s one of the most widely used ingredients for cooking, cleaning, and even various beauty regimens. While the standard teaspoon required for baking is why most people have it, there are plenty of other uses for baking soda that you may not have thought of before. See what you can do with it besides make a cake. Cleaning without Harsh Chemicals The last time you cleaned your oven, there was probably some chemical used that gave you a hard time […]

10 Simple Money Saving Tips Everyone Should Follow

I remember seeing a news report on T.V. several years ago featuring people who are addicted to “coupons” shopping. I was fascinated by some of the techniques these people had developed to get products for practically nothing. As I was watching though, and later when I was looking at the coupon mailers we regularly get, I was struck by the fact that so many things that companies and merchants often offer coupons for, my family don’t use. Or at least, don’t use a large amount of regularly. As I was watching, I realized I didn’t see the point of buying […]

4 Things Baby Chicks Need for Healthy Living

Baby chicks. Fuzzy and cute, warm and cuddly, they are adorable beyond words. Sometimes called the “gateway drug” to adding animals to a homestead, the chickens these chicks grow into can add any number of benefits to your property, from pest control to fresh eggs to a Sunday Roast. If you are contemplating joining the thousands of people across the world to raise their own chickens for meat and eggs, here are some things you will need to be prepared with. A Brooder Brooder is a fancy way of saying container. When you first receive your chicks, they […]

Avoid Using Harsh Chemicals with These 6 Homemade Cleaners

House cleaning can be a drag, but house cleaning while wearing a gas mask is just wrong. So, why does it seem like so many of the available cleaners on the market today practically require a full haz-mat suite? If you are tired of dreading housework because of the inevitable headaches and respiratory problems that can be experienced by cleaners, consider instead mixing up your own with any or all of the options below. Full Strength White Vinegar Use this wonder product straight from the bottle to remove calcium and other hard water deposits from your shower, sink, counters […]

Is Grass Fed Beef Really Better Than the Alternative?

As people work to become more health conscious, we are taking a closer look at the foods we eat regularly. And, while some have chosen to avoid animal products altogether, others have instead made an effort to find healthier versions of the product they already know and love. Take beef, for example. Most of us know from grocery shopping that it’s now possible to buy items like ground beef with different levels of fat in them. And, you would think that when spending the extra money per pound on 93% lean beef that, that is hormone/additive free you’d be getting […]