New Kitchen Appliances to save you time

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Almost every year they are coming out with new kitchen products that are all aimed at saving us time and trouble. If you have a set of appliances that are a few years old, which might mean that you could be wasting a lot of your time already just by sticking with those old devices. We got a few kitchen ideas from Oneflare. If you want to take advantage of all the time saving ideas then here are some of the latest kitchen appliances that are available now:

Interactive Touchscreen Kitchen Countertops- The kitchen countertop from Intel called Oasis is straight out of the movies. It is an interactive device that helps you in cooking and in providing you with nutritional information about the ingredients that you will be using. All you have to do is to place the ingredients on the countertop and information about it will show on the screen. The information consists of nutritional data and the best means of preparing those.

Fagor Multicooker- This device is perfect for you if you are short on space.  It is a combined pressure cooker, rice cooker and slow cooker. That means if you do not have the space to store all three types of kitchen appliances, then you can just get this single multipurpose device. The great thing about it is that it has various settings for each set of function that you might need.

Computerized Grocery List- If you hate wasting your time in making trips to the grocery, then this is the device for you. When a product is running low in your kitchen, all you have to do is to scan the barcode on the packaging of the product and the machine will automatically update your grocery list. This means that you would know what it is exactly that you need.

Oster 3 in 1 Hand Blender, Mini Chopper and Electric Knife- Combining the functions of several devices into one machine is the way to go in the kitchen of the future. This machine from Oster puts together several functions that used to take three or more devices. Aside from the time that it would save you, this innovation can also save you on space.

Smart Microwaves- These devices take the guessing out of cooking. When you scan a package of food on the device, it will automatically pick the right kind of setting that is needed for cooking it. That can save you a lot of time and wasted food.

What type of furniture is easy to remove and move around a house

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We tend to take our furniture for granted until the time comes when we have to buy some new ones or we have to move them around. We don’t really think about them that much. But when we have to decide on what type of furniture to acquire and if removalists are required, there are a couple of things that we need to consider.

Types of Furniture- There are several ways of classifying furniture. The most common would be by the type of material used in the construction or manufacture. Then there is through the kind of use that we have for them. Here are the different types of furniture according to their uses:

Seating-Sofas usually take up the focal point in the living room. They should be comfortable and should be sturdy. Since they take a central position, they should also look good so they would not bring down the look of the place. Sofas can be made according to different styles and they can range from very heavy to light. Their unwieldy size however makes it impossible for a single person to carry them around.

Media- This type of furniture is rather new and they are all designed for holding various devices of electronics such as television sets, computers and home entertainment systems. Usually made from wood they are easy to move around on their own, but when loaded with electronic devices, you wouldn’t be able to budge them.

Accents- These are the small pieces of furniture that are used for adding a certain touch to a spot in a room. They include coffee tables and side tables. Most of the times these pieces are also made from wood and since these are quite small they are easy to move around.

Bedroom- These are the furniture that belong to the bedroom. These would include beds and dressers and others. The bed is one of the most difficult articles of home furnishing to move around. In fact, it pretty much stays in the same place.

Storage- Cabinets and shelves are mostly made from wood. Some of them are fixed so they cannot be moved around.

As to the different types of furniture according to the material used in its construction, wooden furniture are still the easiest to move around because they are a lot lighter than those made from other materials that are used for furniture construction such as metal. Plastic or vinyl furniture might be lighter but few people use those. You can find more about removalists on Oneflare.

DIY

DIY handyman – what you need to do to take care of the odd jobs around your home

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Usually we would prefer to have a professional take care of most of the home improvement projects that we want to be done in our homes. That’s when we want the work to be of the best quality that is possible, which is most, if not all the time. There are some tasks however that might seem too simple and too small for us to hire another person to do it and there are also times when we would want to do things on our own.

There are some jobs for example that would have to be dome immediately, because waiting for a repairman to do it would mean the loss of money and resource, or it could be that not repairing it right away could mean more trouble. Let’s say there is a leaking pipe in your house. Not repairing that would mean allowing some water damage to happen. If you have to wait for a plumber to come over, then too much water could be wasted already.

That’s why it pays off to know how to do certain tasks and we are not going into the realm of being a handyman for the sake of being a real man, which for some is a pretty big deal already. So if you would like to start doing home improvement projects on your own, here are some of the stuff that you are going to need:

Tools- You need to have a basic set of tools before you can start repairing anything or making anything in your place. You can’t do those without tools. If you don’t have a set in your house then you can start with a set of the most basic one. You should get a hammer, a saw, pliers, screwdrivers and a measuring tape. There are so many more, but you can begin with those.

Skills- If you have the tools then you need the skill to use those as well. You shouldn’t be an expert, but some familiarity would be required, if you want to be successful with whatever home project that you want to accomplish.

Planning- With the right tools and the right skills, all you need now is the ability to plan all of the tasks that you need to do. Just look around at your place and look for the tasks that have to be done. Once you have identified that you can start working on it right away.

Your first crafting job – How to make a breadbox

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Congratulations for finally deciding on building your very own crafting project.  You would be starting to explore a wonderful of handicraft and this is just the start. Your choice of starting with making a breadbox is an excellent one. These boxes are relatively small and easy to construct as compared with other projects. It would also not require a great amount of woodworking skills or experience.

A breadbox is more than just a storage space for baked products. It is also useful for preventing these products from going stale too soon and for reducing the amount of clutter that you might have in the kitchen.

  1. You will need 2 pieces of wood that are 12 inch x 15 inch x1/4 inch, 2 pieces of wood that are 12 inch x 9 inch x1/4 inch and some wood glue, 2 pieces of wood that are 12 inch x 18inch x1inch 2 pieces, 2 hinges, knob and some screws.
  2. Lay one of the 12 inch x 15 inch pieces of wood in front of you. Put some wood glue on the side of the piece and be careful not to be too messy.
  3. Now place that are 12 inch x 9 inch pieces of wood to the side of the piece where you have applied the glue to form a U shape that is nine inches high.
  4. Put some glue on the U-shaped piece, at its bottom. Place the 18 inch piece of wood on the table and take the U shaped one that you have then press it down on the piece that is on the table. Now take the other 18 inch piece, apply some glue to it and then press it down on the other side.
  5. Allow the glue to dry for a couple of house.
  6. Once the glue has dried, then you can start applying the hinges to the piece and then attaching the last piece of wood that you have to it.
  7. You can then attach the knob and other decorative pieces that you would like to place on it. There are some ready breadbox pieces that you can get which can save you time.
  8. Now your box is ready to use.

Maple would look really good for this kind of project. Now you have to remember that once mould gets to wood, it would be very difficult to get rid of them. It is therefore important that you do not allow bread to grow mouldy inside the box.

Garden beds

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Garden beds can be especially useful when it comes to growing vegetables in a limited amount. The use of the bed, prevents weeds from the surrounding area to affect the garden, allows the soil to become compact and concentrated, defines the area that you have to work on, gives a barrier against pests and insects and allows a good drainage system for your garden.

On your part, this can be beneficial because you need to bend down a bit less with the bed being raised higher than the rest of the ground. In fact, you can even sit on the edge of the bed while working on your garden if it was built in the right way.

Raised garden beds are different from planters, which are actual containers that have bottoms. Planters are more like oversized pots. Garden beds on the other hand are areas where the soil is raised by holding them back with some material.

Here is a guide on how you can make your own raised garden bed:

  • First step is to find an ideal location for the bed. It should be in an accessible spot that has good drainage and has enough lighting. It should not be in the way of a path.
  • Mark out the area. A 3 feet by 6 feet bed is ideal for most vegetables. That would just be wide enough for you to be able to reach the middle of the bed.
  • Mark the spot and then clean out the weeds and the stones from it. Start digging along the outline. You should dig out the whole section that you have marked out. You should just dig deep enough in order to bury the walling material that you would be using.
  • There are several materials that you can use for the wall of the bed. The most convenient one to use would be pieces of lumber cut to the dimensions of the bed. You can also use stones if you want.
  • Place a special fabric meant to prevent the growth of weeds at the bottom of the bed. You should make sure that it covers the whole space of the bed.

You can then start putting in the soil for the garden. Ideally it should be 1-2 feet in height.  A higher bed would work but that would require a great amount of soil

DIY

4 basic tools necessary for home maintenance and DIY

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It would help if you know how to handle some home improvement projects on your own. It would be too much of a hassle, if you would have to hire someone every time something breaks down or something needs repairing in your place. That is why you should have some basic DIY skills or you would be dependent on others.

You don’t have to learn anything fancy. It is enough that you know how to perform basic repair skills in or order to maintain your home and for you to accomplish the most basic of DIY projects that you might to start on.  In order for you to perform basic projects, you need tools. It would help a lot if you have a complete set of all the tools used by professionals, but if you are just starting out, then having just the most basic and useful of them would help. So here are four of the most useful and necessary tools that any DIY enthusiast should own:

Hammer- Most maintenance work would require you applying some force and for that a hammer would come in very handy. Make sure that you pick a claw hammer since it would also be needed for pulling nails, old screws and other items that have been embedded into the wood. This tool can be a very handy piece of tool.

Screwdriver- A great number of items at home are secured by screws and so this tool is very useful when it comes to prying them open and setting them loose. There are two types of screwdriver, the flathead and the Phillips. You should get one that has a replaceable bit since both are equally needed.

Pliers- This is a multipurpose tool. It can be used for gripping and for applying force and pressure. You should never go without one, because the time will surely come when you are going to need it.  There are several types of pliers but if you have to pick one go for the heavy duty type.

Measuring Tape- Most if not all DIY starts with getting accurate measurements and if you can’t get them, you probably wouldn’t be able to have the kind of results that you want. You should go for the long ones that are retractable, the ones used by home builders.

These are just four of the most necessary tools that you can use for home maintenance.