CasaSugar

10 Powerful Pet Hair Vacuums (Even on Hardwoods)!

Sara Yoo — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:24:11 PDT

Will the fight against pet hair ever end!? Short of shaving your furry pal, the solution to the problem seems like a losing battle. Never fear: we've found 10 vacuum cleaners with powerful suction to suck up this hairy situation.

See one you love or hate? Share your opinions or reviews on the corresponding slide!

Source: Thinkstock

Expert Shares 2 Easy Strategies to Declutter Your Home

Emily Co — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:30:56 PDT

It might be overwhelming to just look at your clutter, but there are some very simple steps you can take to declutter your place in no time. All you need to do is just start. SavvySugar talked to Peter Walsh, a celebrity organization expert, who gave two very simple tips to start tackling your mess:

The trash bag technique: "The very first thing you should do if you're feeling overwhelmed in your space is to set aside 10 minutes a day." Walsh says. Give everyone in your household two trash bags and have them fill them up during that 10-minute window every day. Fill one up with things to trash and the other up with things to donate or sell. If you live with someone else and the two of you use this simple technique for one week, you'll end up with 14 bags of trash and 14 bags of stuff going to donation at the end of the week. "That's a really simple technique - 10 minutes a day that will make a massive change," he says.
Back-to-front clothes: Walsh says we all wear "20 percent of [our] clothes 80 percent of the time." The best way to check what you don't need is to use the back-to-front method. Turn the clothes that are hanging in your closet so that the hangers are facing back to front. For the next six months, every time you wear a piece of clothing, hang it back up the correct way. "At the end of six months, whatever is still hanging back to front, chances are you are never going to wear. Send it off to Goodwill."

So Fresh, So Clean: How to Make DIY Detergent

Emily Co — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:15:26 PDT

We love all things budget and eco-friendly, so it's only natural that making our own detergent is on the top of our must-do list. It's much cheaper to make your own, and it'll cost up to 80 percent less than a store-bought detergent. Read on to see how it's done.

5 Ways to Use Your Dishwasher More Efficiently

Business Insider — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:15:57 PDT

If you're not using your dishwasher efficiently, you're wasting money, energy, and water. Business Insider shares the right ways for you to use the dishwasher.

In leaner times, plenty of households boycotted energy-sucking appliances like dishwashers and went back to basics: manual scrubbers, a bottle of detergent, and a lot of elbow grease.

But is all that extra effort really helping us save in the long run?

In short, the answer is no.

That theory might have held water a few mini industrial revolutions ago, but technology has simply become so advanced that what was once considered a costly convenience has become vastly more affordable.

Cut Energy Costs This Summer by Taking a Cold Shower

In fact, research has shown hand-washing uses as much as 27 gallons of water and 2.5 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy, compared with just four gallons of water and 1.5 kWh used by a hyperefficient dishwasher.

The key word, of course, is "hyperefficient." Upgrading your home appliances to any of today's energy-efficient models could be one of the wisest ways to cut back on utility bills, especially for larger households. According to the EPA, choosing an Energy Star-rated dishwasher could shave as much as $40 off your utility bills and save 5,000 gallons of water.

Here's how to use your dishwasher right:

Never run a partial load. Fill that sucker to the max and only use those "intense" cycle settings if you really need them. They'll use far more energy and water than the normal settings.

Shop for soap wisely. Dishwasher detergents can contain harmful phosphates - chemicals that seep into the water system and hurt aquatic life after they've made their rounds in wastewater treatment plants. Search for phosphate-free brands (they shouldn't be hard to find, as many states have banned them from detergents anyway).

Read on for more.

6 Ways to Reduce Your Energy Bill While Cleaning

Emily Co — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 03:05:41 PDT

Cleaning your home takes up time and energy, and it also leaves you with a bigger energy bill and carbon footprint. There are plenty of ways to reduce the cost to the environment and your wallet when you're doing your chores. Here are some tips:

Use the cold water setting. Opt for the cold water setting when doing laundry to save money and energy. Ninety percent of the energy used in the washer is utilized to heat up the water, so by skipping the hot water, you'll be saving a lot of energy.
Hang clothes to dry Hang your clothes to dry whenever you can, instead of throwing them in the dryer.
Run full loads. When you do use your dryer, run full loads and use the moisture-sensing setting.
Clean the lint trap. Make sure you always clean the lint filter after use so the machine runs efficiently. Every six months, take the trap out and wash it with soap and water. While your clothes are drying, the lint in the trap hampers the flow of air in the heated dryer. This makes your dryer work harder and expend more energy than it needs to.
Clean your refrigerator’s coils. Clean your refrigerator coils to keep it running efficiently. You should do it twice a year, and doing so can cut six percent of your energy bill. All you need to do is vacuum the coils, but read these instructions before proceeding.
Check your air conditioner. Clean or replace the filter in your air conditioner because a dirty one can take up five to 15 percent more electricity vs. a clean one.

8 Common Cleaning Spots People Often Miss

Emily Co — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 03:05:04 PDT

When you're doing a little bit of dusting and cleaning up this weekend, remember to do a thorough job. Places people often clean include surfaces and things that are visible, but we often forget about the hidden nooks and crannies in our home. Here are some spots you may want to tackle today:

Under your cushions. While you're vacuuming your floor, suck some of the grime out from beneath your sofa cushions.
Behind and underneath big pieces of furniture. Move heavy furniture and vacuum the dust collecting behind or underneath your bed, sofa, or other bulky pieces in your home.
Under your fridge. People often forget to clean under the fridge, so this weekend, try to roll your fridge from its usual spot and clean the floor beneath it.
Behind your toilet. When you're cleaning your toilet, remember to reach for the back and clean away!
Your remote control. Just grab a disinfectant wipe and quickly swipe your germy remote.
Telephone buttons. We use phones all the time but rarely think about cleaning them. Use a disinfectant wipe and quickly wipe down your phone buttons.
Window tracks. We often clean the windows but forget about the window tracks. Use an old toothbrush and a cleaning solution of your choice (maybe vinegar?) and scrub away.
Toothbrush holder. One important piece of hygiene equipment that we neglect is our toothbrush holder. It's definitely a health hazard to neglect it because the bacteria can spread to your brush. Fill your holder up with water and drop an Alka-Seltzer in it to clean.

Are there any spots I've missed?

When to Toss Spices and Other Pantry Basics

Sara Yoo — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 04:10:00 PDT

With warmer weather tickling the air, I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and dig into a little Spring cleaning. Sure, there are ovens to clean and counters to scrub, but one task I'm forcing myself to tackle this season is tidying up my pantry and spice rack and clearing out old and expired items. Today I've rounded up some guidelines on how long to keep basic pantry staples and how to tell when they're ready for the trash (or compost). While these time frames are a general rule of thumb, it's important to use your senses to detect what to keep and what to toss: if anything looks, smells, or tastes strange, it's probably best to get rid of it. So let's get a-cleaning!

Source: Flickr Users Simo ubuntu, JMR_Photography, and alsjhc

Spring Cleaning: Refreshing a Pet-Friendly Home

Sara Yoo — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:00:00 PDT

Thanks to cold weather and short days, it's easy to get complacent about house cleaning during those long Winter months. But now that Spring has sprung, I'm feeling recharged and ready to tackle the tasks I've largely ignored since Fall's warmer days! I won't place full blame on my pup, but for such a small member of the household, she sure contributes a lot of the mess: muddy footprints, fur everywhere, slobbery toys, and errant treat crumbs are just a few of her transgressions. So I've compiled my to-do list of must-hit spots in my Spring cleaning purge. Keep reading for my Spring tasks!

The Best Way to Clean Expensive Wine Glasses

Katie Sweeney — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 03:41:34 PDT

When hosting a dinner party, I like to break out the good china, cloth napkins, and expensive stemware. Although I don't use them everyday, when people are over, I pour wine in Riedel or Waterford glasses. It makes the occasion seem more special. The only downside is having to wash the glasses at the end of the evening. The delicate glasses are easy to break - especially if you don't know the proper technique for washing them. Read on for my tips.

Before and After: Brass Fireplace

Casa Community — Fri, 27 May 2011 10:00:00 PDT

Here's a post from CasaSugar Community member and Sugar staffer Lauren from the Su Casa group:

Our fireplace when we first moved in had a horrible brass door and was really mucky inside. We really hated the look, and while we don't have an exact plan for the living room right now, since our focus is on the backyard, we decided to make a couple changes to make it a little more to our taste! We pulled down the the ugly brass doors and cleaned up the outside with more white paint. Rather than look at the mucky inside, we used a high temp paint and painted the inside black. Jazzed it up with a little artwork and accessories. Since we don't use it ever, we are thinking about filling it with wood to make it a little more substantial but I think for the Summer candles work will work just fine.

Have you been decorating lately? Be sure to share your own photos in the Su Casa group! Click through to see Lauren's before and after photos!