I was terrified of bugs growing up. I use to refuse to go weed our garden because I knew a spider bite was exactly how I was going to die (even though there weren’t any poisonous spiders in Alaska that could bite you)!

As I grew up though I came to the conclusion that I had to face my fears…or figure out a way to get rid of them! That’s when I started experimenting with different DIY natural bug killers and repellants. I wanted to share some of my favorites with you today.

How to Get Rid of Bugs in House

If you already have creepy crawlies in your home, it’s time to take action in either scaring them away or killing them. (I’ll cover repelling bugs in the section below.) The best natural way to kill spiders and any other insect with an exoskeleton is with Diatomaceous Earth (commonly known as DE). DE is a naturally forming sediment– it’s actually the hard shells from tiny phytoplanktons called Diatoms that live in oceans and help with cleaning the air. When they get out of water, their little glass-like bodies get dried up and form diatomites (seeing a trend here with the names…). Diatomites are then harvested, ground into powder for food-grade DE or heated to form a difference substance called pool grade DE.

Make sure you get food-grade DE (or garden grade DE) when buying Diatomaceous Earth to kill bugs. This powder is harmless to humans but when insects get into it the DE works under their shells and cuts their soft bodies underneath causing them to die of dehydration.

Besides using DE, you can also trap bugs using DIY soda bottle traps like this.

How to Keep Bugs Out of Your House

Now, if you are looking to repel bugs out of your home or just keep bugs away from your house, here’s what you need to do: Fill a 4-6 oz glass spray bottle with water and about 10-15 drops of peppermint essential oil. Then go spray-happy in all the areas you see bugs! I’ve found peppermint gets rid of spiders (my biggest concern), cockroaches and even mice! And, it makes your house smell nice and clean! Win-Win!

Citrusy smells also keep spiders away. If you’re looking for a DIY ant repeller, try sprinkling ground cinnamon in key areas you see ants coming in. This can get a little messy, so you can do the glass spray bottle with water and several drops of cinnamon essential oil.

If you’re wondering why glass spray bottles, essential oils have a tendency to eat away at plastics and make it deteriorate. Glass bottles keep pure essential oils potent for longer.

What are some tricks you know on how to repel bugs? Share in the comments below!

 

The hardest part of a bathroom renovation isn’t the work that goes into construction or the search for the perfect contractor — it’s the planning. There are so many opportunities to go over budget or past your deadline. Worst of all, without careful consideration, you may end up with a less-than-perfect finished project. To help you get the newly remodeled bathroom you’ve been dreaming about, here are some of the most important factors to consider when planning for your project:

How much will the renovation cost?

The No. 1 consideration for any renovation — particularly a pricey room like a bathroom — is the cost. HomeAdvisor.com tells us that the national average cost to renovate a bathroom is $9,275. If you’re not careful, these costs can go much higher.

The trick to avoid sticker shock is to come up with a firm budget and make sure that both you and your contractor stick to it. Once you know how much you can spend, make a list of priorities. Do you want a tiled floor or an expensive vanity? Would you like to spend more money on storage options or would you prefer to completely update the room’s electrical fixtures? By outlining all of the things that are most and least important to you, you’ll be able to see where you can increase or decrease costs to make sure the project fits within your budget.

How long will it take?

People are often quite surprised at just how long bathroom remodels take. You could be looking at two months or more between the time that you hire your contractor and the completion of the project. The good news is that the majority of this time will be devoted to planning and procuring materials. However, you can expect the construction phase to take between two and three weeks for a complete, floor-to-ceiling remodel. During this time, you’ll need to have alternate plans in place for your family’s regular bathroom activities — especially if this is your home’s primary bathroom.

Form vs. function

It might surprise you to learn that lasting satisfaction with a remodeling project usually comes from the project’s practicality, not its overall beauty. That isn’t to say that you should disregard looks entirely, but it’s important to think about design choices in terms of both aesthetics and maintenance. Some people really love the look of natural stone floors, for instance. If you install them, however, you might find yourself liking them a little less each year as you deal with various maintenance hassles. For each item on your remodeling list, take issues like durability and maintenance needs into account before making a final decision.

When to follow trends and when to ignore them

As you’re planning a remodel, you’ll run across dozens of trends for the bathroom. Keep in mind that trends come and go rather quickly. If you’d like to keep up with the latest and greatest bathroom renovation trends, then make sure that you express those design choices in elements that are easy to change. A tile floor in the latest loud colors, for instance, might not be the best idea because the trend is likely to fade long before that floor wears out. Vanities, mirrors, medicine cabinets, light fixtures and other smaller items, on the other hand, are relatively easy to replace as trends change.

Take a look at your lighting

In so many homes, the bathrooms are dull, dim places lit only by a window during the day and an overhead fixture at night. Consider all of the ways that you can upgrade your bathroom’s lighting: waterproof lighting over the shower, recessed lighting over the toilet and vanity, lights around mirrors and so on. You’ll find that updated lighting not only makes your bathroom more useful, but it will also help the room seem larger and fresher.

Save water where you can

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average four-person family uses 400 gallons of water every day — 43.5 percent of which is used by the toilet and shower alone. Even if you’re doing a bare bones remodel, still consider replacing the toilet, showerhead and sink faucet. These three items won’t add much money to the cost of your project, but they can cut water usage dramatically. New toilets, for instance, are required to use only 1.6 gallons of water per flush, whereas older toilets use up to 7 gallons per flush. EPA-approved showerheads save 2,900 gallons per showerhead on average.

Take each of these items into consideration when planning your new bathroom, and you’ll remove a lot of the uncertainty that most homeowners feel when they tackle major renovation projects!

Author Bio:

Erica Garland is the Content Marketing Manager at Modern Bathroom and has 15 years of experience in the bathroom renovation industry.  Modern Bathroom sells a variety of different products you would need for any bathroom renovation project. With such a large selection of vanities, faucets, sinks, toilets, and showers, Modern Bathroom is sure to have the perfect piece to give your bathroom an updated look

Energy efficiency is the leading way to reduce your impact and make your home energy efficient. Learning about the ways that can result in more energy efficient home is critical to reducing your sewer, water, and electricity bills as well making your home greener. This strategy is a winner for both your wallet and planet.

Houses with greener features have recently emerged as the most sought after in the market. Therefore, learning how to add green features that will help you benefit from lower costs, and make your house more marketable is crucial.

Energy Star Appliances

ENERGY STAR has emerged as a common sign for energy-efficient appliances. Though you may be familiar with this symbol, you may still not know that ENERGY STAR is a government initiative that was initiated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The outcome has been a trusted and easily identifiable system that helps consumers to choose the most energy-efficient appliances for their houses. For ENERGY STAR appliances to earn the label, they must meet a certain list of criteria put by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Through these appliances, significant energy and water savings (typically 10 to 50 percent) are made without compromising the performance.

Often, ENERGY STAR appliances are priced comparably to other less efficient products. Pricing is one of the criteria for earning the ENERGY STAR label. If the ENERGY STAR product is expensive than a standard product that offers the same features, the rating for the ENERGY STAR is only awarded should the consumer make up the extra cost in the water or energy bill savings (in a reasonable period of time).

Energy-efficient Windows

Sometimes, replacing windows on an already existing home is not a good idea as it can be expensive and only results in an energy bill savings of about 7 to 15 percent. Nonetheless, if you are building a house, it would be better to choose energy-efficient windows to provide enough energy savings to meet the added cost per window (mostly $15).

There are a few things you need to keep in your mind if you decide to have a greener window option for your home. Notably, you need to understand the solar heat gain ratings and the thermal transmission (U-factor). Solar heat ratings measure the amount of heat lost during winter and the amount of energy gained during summer. The lower the recorded rating, the more your house is energy efficient.

If you still do not have an idea on how to go about this option of energy efficiency, you need not worry. ENERGY STAR has a system for rating for windows. Interestingly, if you are looking for the ENERGY STAR label, you will get a good, eco-friendly product. Moreover, ENERGY STAR even breaks windows based on climate zones to help you locate a window that will work better in your house. Note: ENERGY STAR products are always at the same price point as the other standard windows.

Green roofs and Benefits of Roof Insulation

Green roofs are the other popular way to make your house energy efficient. Notably, painting your house roofs white is an easy technique to reflect heat and save costs during the summer. But more interesting is planting gardens on rooftops, resulting in a greener environment just like in the surroundings. The gardens at the rooftops are critical to insulating the buildings in the winter and soak up stormwater, minimizing water pollution from the urban runoff.

In recent times, green roof tops have emerged popular in some areas because of the associated benefit of energy efficiency. Areas such as Portland, New York City, California, and Kankakee, Ill., have almost turned green. Though green roofs are associated with a plethora of environmental benefits, the major driving force for most house owners is the economic incentives brought about by this technology.

There are many benefits associated with roof insulation. Though it is common to link roof insulation with winterizing your home and making your home warmer, insulation is beneficial for year-round comfort. Roof insulation prevents all heat from moving through it, even if the heat is on the outside of your home or the inside of your home. In other words, this implies that during the winter, insulation will prevent heat from escaping and during the summer, insulation will prevent heat from entering into the home.

Tankless Water Heater and Low-flow Plumbing Fixtures

You can add many features to your home to make conserve water as well as cut down water bills costs. The tankless water heater conserves energy by providing hot water as it is required. It does not produce standby energy losses as in the storage water heaters. On the other hand, features such as shower heads, toilets, and faucets are some of the common low-plumbing features that you can add to your home to conserve water.

Conclusion

In sum, making your home energy efficient is one way you can cut a lot of costs that are associated with poor energy consumption. Nonetheless, it may be difficult to have energy efficient homes if you lack some basic tips. Luckily, with the above-highlighted tips, you can make you home energy efficient without a hassle.

Would you be put off by the sight of a crumbling, weed-infested, desecrated building? It may have been someone’s residence in a bygone era but it certainly wouldn’t fit many people’s idea of home. It doesn’t have to remain like that, though. A run-down building may, in fact, be your ideal opportunity to seize upon an existing structure and touch it up just the way you want it.

The good people at Chic Furniture and Gift, a UK-based online retailer of shabby chic furniture, have put together this fantastic house restoration guide for anyone thinking of giving some love to a neglected property. While it is the perfect way of letting your interior design mind run wild, it also takes plenty of thought, money and patience to get it exactly how you would want. Just as you wouldn’t simply sit an exam without studying for it first, you can’t click your fingers and say ‘Hey, I’m gonna restore this old house’ without giving it the necessary consideration.

As well as knowing what work needs to be done, you’ll also need to ensure that you have the budget for undertaking a house restoration project. Any interiors expert will tell you that whatever amount you think you’ll need, add 20% to it and that’s what you probably will need. How much it will cost will depend significantly on how much work you’re willing to invest – in this case, it is almost always a case of ‘you get what you pay for’.

Restoring a home is no laughing matter, but once you carefully map out precisely what you want and what you need to get it, plus how much the entire project is going to cost, it has the potential to be incredibly satisfying. Don’t just take a wrecking ball to a dilapidated old house; put your stamp on it and turn it into a place that you would be proud to call home.

With the real estate market being what it is, more and more people have decided not to sell their home. Instead, they have chosen to stay put. With housing prices increasing, now is the time invest in your home to capitalize on its value. Before commencing any major building work on your property however, it is vital that you attain any required planning permissions. It’s important to think about what future potential buyers would like to see in your house. Do you know who you would target? A professional couple? A family? A retired person? These days, buyers will consider the energy efficiency of your home. By being prepared to budget for modern levels of insulation, you will be increasing the value of your house. Fitting double or treble glazed windows will allow you to maximise the value of your property.

Did you know, many home improvement projects don’t add value to your home, especially in a down market? In fact, some improvements can even reduce the asking price when you do decide to sell. Keeping all of this in mind, you shouldn’t spend too much money on the wrong improvements. Increasing the number of bedrooms at the expense of other rooms, such as living rooms may be a mistake. As far as possible, buyers should be given the freedom to decide the use of the rooms. There are some projects that can add significant value to your home.

Not only this, but they also improve your quality of life. By working on these projects now, you can enjoy the benefits and updates even if you aren’t selling. So which home improvement projects should you invest in, and which projects should you avoid? Bass Windows have created the below infographic with some helpful tips for home improvement projects that increase the value of your home, and home improvement projects to avoid altogether.

The Internet has revolutionized the way we communicate, learn and how we live every facet of our lives. There is a Jupiter-sized bucket of free information for anyone who has wifi and the willingness to Google it.

There’s a marvelous digital world out there but sometimes it can be a little difficult to explore. Kinda like wading through a thick brush of bamboo where the only way you can see past five feet ahead is to go five feet ahead.

As a purveyor of digital knowledge (my fancy way of saying my day job as a content marketer) I want to help you find those tips, best practices and home improvements how-to’s that will make life simple and better for you.

DIY Home & Health will hopefully become your go-to source for DIY crafts, home improvement projects, health tips, fitness routines, home decor ideas, or simply just to get a kick from some of the life lessons we share. (Read more about us!)

But as you may have noticed…we don’t have much on this blog for you to learn from yet. So in the mean time, here are some of my favorite DIY home blogs.

 

1) Young House Love

Sherry and John write about their lives in regards to fixing up 3 of their homes on Young House Love. They have over 3,000 projects you can look to for inspiration or to do to your own home. They also have Pinterest-worthy galleries and home tours on their blog where you can get lost browsing their DIY home improvement ideas for weeks!

2) Remodelaholic

Have you ever wondered what you could do to spruce up your space? Maybe it’s a tiny studio or perhaps you have too much space! Don’t break a sweat, Cassity has totally found your solution and has posted about it on Remodelaholic.

3) Bright Green Door

I love colorful front doors, but that’s not why Bright Green Door made my line up of top home blogs. Jess has a knack for making what would-be complex renovations cheap and simple.

4) The Ugly Duckling House

If you’re looking to laugh while learning to DIY, Sarah’s home improvement blog is the place to go. You’ll find everything from home decor to cleaning to recipes on The Ugly Duckling House.

5) DIY Network

Ok, so maybe this is more site than blog (fine line there these days!) but I would still count the DIY Network as a top home blog to visit for easy-to-follow projects and to get inspiration. There videos are also super helpful when trying to understand a more complex DIY renovation.

6) Today’s Homeowner

Type just about any DIY home project question into Google and Danny Lipford’s site is bound to pop up in the first few results! Danny has an amazing amount of beautiful and handy DIY projects and tips on Today’s Homeowner. I have about 10 of his projects tucked in my ‘someday DIY list’.

7) Thrifty Decor Chick

I love a good bargain. And if you’re interested in DIY, I imagine that you do too! Good thing Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick has been recording her budget-friendly DIY home projects for several years.

8) DIY on the Cheap

Another great affordable-yet-adorable DIY home blog is DIY on the Cheap by Erin Spain. I lover her sophisticated style and I always seem to get inspiration when sifting through her project gallery.

9) Live Love DIY

Doesn’t that just say it all 🙂 While I haven’t gone as far as naming my furniture pieces, I do find Virginia’s classy style on her home blog absolutely gorgeous. Truly, it’s a gift.

10) The Inspired Room

On the far out stretches of the Internet, you’ll find some amazing places like Melissa’s blog The Inspired Room. Learn how to decorate from an amazing designer and home blogger. She never seems out of ideas…I think the ‘room’ must truly be the source of her inspiration.

Well, what are you still waiting over here for? Go exploring! I’ll see you back in a few days with hopefully a few DIY projects of my own that can inspire your creativity and transform your house to a home.