CasaSugar

Primer: Vermicomposting

CasaSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:30:20 -0700

Vermicomposting, or vermiculture, is a method of composting that uses worms, either red wigglers or red earthworms, in addition to bacteria, as a catalyst for the decomposition of organic waste. It can occur on a large (tons) or small scale, but it's particularly suited to kitchen composting, where space is limited. To set up a vermicompost, you first must find a bin, anything from a reused plastic bucket to a retailer compost bin, that has holes in the sides to allow air to flow, and a spout that can be opened or closed or holes in the bottom to drain into a collection tray. The type of bin you use will fall into one of three categories: non-continuous (undivided container), continuous vertical flow (vertically stacked trays), or continuous horizontal flow (horizontally stacked trays). To continue the lesson, read more.

You'll add moist bedding to the bin, such as dried leaves, sawdust, hay or shredded paper, which mimics the worms' natural habitat and serves as a food source. Then, you add the worms to their new digs, and toss in your organic food waste. You can compost practically all of your food waste, aside from animal leftovers, including coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, plate scrapings, rotting fruit, vegetable peels, leftovers, moldy bread, etc. The worms will chew through the material, and their excrement will in essence be a nutrient-rich fertilizer. You can then mix your fertilizer with potting mix at a one-to-four-part mix, and your plants will eat it right up!
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Primer: All About Carbon Monoxide

CasaSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:30:31 -0700

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas, which is present in low levels in the air and produced when fossil fuels are burned. When inhaled, high levels of carbon monoxide can cause "dizziness, mental confusion, severe headaches, nausea, and fainting on mild exertion," but it can ultimately result in unconsciousness, permanent brain damage, and death. It may enter your home through fireplaces, heaters, hot water heaters, gas stoves and ovens, cars running in attached garages, grills (propane, gas or charcoal), kerosene heaters, and dryers with clogged ductwork. It's known as the silent killer because about 200 people die each year from it, not knowing that they're inhaling it. So it is important to install carbon monoxide detectors in your home, which sound an alarm if elevated levels are found, allowing you a chance to properly ventilate the area or safely leave your house. I've outlined several things you should know about carbon monoxide and detectors, so you can comfortably choose one for your home, read more.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that you purchase and install carbon monoxide detectors labeled UL 2034, which means they've met the requirements of the new Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. standard, which has a greater safety margin.
Although they work similarly to smoke detectors, by monitoring CO levels in your home and sounding an alarm when detected, they do not function as smoke detectors, and vice versa. So to be safe, you must have smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors or a combo smoke/CO detector.
There are three basic sensor types on a carbon monoxide detector; electrolytic, colorimetric and metal oxide semiconductor sensors, but they all have the same results.
If an alarm sounds, you should immediately evacuate everyone from your home, leaving a door or two open to ventilate, and then call a professional or 911. Don't try to determine the source of the CO yourself.
Follow the manufacturer's instructions when installing your detector. Test the alarm once a month and replace batteries according to instructions. Some will work for 2 years, others 5, so replace them accordingly, by reading product details.
If you know you won't remember to replace the batteries of your detector, get one that plugs into an outlet, but do not plug it into an outlet that's controlled by a switch.
Place your detector about five feet off the floor on a wall away from any heat generators and near your sleeping space, with at least one on each floor.
While a carbon monoxide detector is an important protection against CO poisoning, it's also important to make sure that all of your fuel-burning appliances work properly so they don't leak CO to begin with. So, have them inspected annually, or when any problems arise.

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Primer: Caring For Your Butcher Block

CasaSugar — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:00:31 -0700

Butcher blocks might be the most unloved thing in your home. Butcher blocks and dirty socks. But even dirty socks get washed eventually. Since they can't be sealed or varnished, butcher blocks are breeding grounds for bacteria from your meat and other foods. So, it's important to love them and keep them so fresh and so clean. To learn some steps for caring for yours, read more.

After you chop your meats on your butcher block, soak it with a disinfectant cleaner or a mix of 1/10 bleach and 9/10 water. Allow it to sit for about 10 minutes then run it under the faucet and let it air dry.
Also after each use, wash it with mild dish soap, rinse, and let dry. But, make sure it's dry before you put it away in a cabinet, or you may encounter a mildew attack.
Every once in a while, depending on how often you use your butcher block, squeeze fresh lemon juice on it to deodorize its surface. Let it sit for about 15 minutes, rinse, and let dry.
To keep it from getting brittle, you should occasionally coat it with mineral oil. Then wipe off the excess oil, wash with dish soap, rinse, and air dry.

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Primer: Maximizing Space For a Party Part III

CasaSugar — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:33:17 -0800

If you read Maximizing Space For a Party Part I and Part II, you're almost an expert on rearranging furniture and maximizing space for a party, but not quite. So get the most of Home Entertainment month when you read more.

At any house party, it is highly unlikely that all of the guests will remain in one room. So make sure there is ample seating, lighting, tabletop space, food, drink, and general appeal in each room. For example, some people like to chat with the hostess while she cooks, so put some bar stools or arm chairs there—but obviously not anywhere in the way. Others want a place to play an impromptu card game, so put the coffee table in a smaller room.
If the weather is nice, and you have outdoor furniture, all of tips above should apply to your patio or deck as well.
If you're throwing a dinner party, make sure there are enough chairs to go around, and keep spare chairs nearby in case of a crasher. Break out the table leaf if necessary. Keep a buffet or console table in the dining room, so that guests can serve themselves seconds.
This probably goes without saying, but if you're going to be turning on Mark Ronson, make sure you have ample floorspace for dancing and chairs for guests who lose their breath.
Last but not least, unless you're throwing a movie night or Super+Bowl party, keep the TV off. Better yet, completely move it out of the way if possible, to make room for more drinks, etc., and nix the red-blooded temptation to turn it on.

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Primer: Maximizing Space For a Party Part II

CasaSugar — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 05:00:28 -0800

If you read Maximizing Space For a Party Part I, you're well on your way to the perfect party during Home Entertainment month. But, you still have more to learn about rearranging furniture and maximizing space, so read more.

Top your tables with trays, so when they fill up with empty glasses and plates, you can easily lift them away to make room for new glasses and plates.
Set up extra tables for the bar and buffet, and arrange them at opposite ends of the room with different food and drink on each end to avoid traffic jams and keep people circulating.
In the same sense, make sure you have enough waste baskets in each room, and place them on opposite ends.
If there is something of particular interest in the room, like a fireplace or a TV for a Super Bowl party, make sure the majority of the seating is facing the focal point. Make a nook of separate seating for people who just want to talk or escape the focus for whatever reason.
If you have a big, bulky coffee table, so long as you have ample side tables and something of interest on each side of the coffee table (i.e. couch on one side, bar on the other), you can completely remove it to make room for more feet.

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Primer: Maximizing Space For a Party Part I

CasaSugar — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:03:38 -0800

Considering that it is Home Entertainment month and the holiday parties are nonstop, I thought it fitting to arm you with some tips for rearranging your furniture, in case you are throwing a party.

If your party is on the weekend, decorate and rearrange your home during the week before the party. That way you'll get it out of the way, leaving you time to deal with cooking, shopping, etc. This will also leave you time to make changes, in case you notice that something is off.
Clean the house first, and put all of your knick-knacks away. That means anything on tables or sitting on the floor, unless it's an essential like a lamp.
Count the number of affirmative R.S.V.P.s, and then add about five crashers onto that number. Now, walk around the main party room and try to imagine all of those guests in it.
If necessary, add chairs to accommodate more people, or add two side chairs in place of a larger arm chair. Stash fold-out chairs in a nearby closet, for emergency seating.
Make sure there are enough side, buffet, or console tables to accommodate glasses, hors d'oeuvre plates, and other odds and ends (cameras, purses, etc.). If you have overhead lighting (that can be dimmed), you can completely remove any lamps you have in the room to make for more table space.

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From the Archives: How to Hang Wallpaper, Part One

CasaSugar — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:00:45 -0700

For Dress Your Walls month, I thought I'd repost some bright ideas I had earlier in the year that relate to this month's theme. It's sometimes hard to dig these up from the archives on your own, so I'm finding the best ones for you to save you the trouble. When I find any archived posts that are particularly helpful for this month's theme, I'll run them in addition to the regular posts I'm putting up each day. And since we're running the amazing ferm LIVING wallpaper giveaway this month, reviewing wallpaper-hanging techniques is a must!

Wallpaper is back in a big way, but the idea of hanging it is still pretty intimidating to most people. So, after reading some great tips in Blueprint and online at This Old House and Lowe's how-to section, I've decided to put together a Primer on how to hang wallpaper like a pro. Here's Part I on pre-hanging preparation, and tune in tomorrow for Part II: installation.

The Preparation

First, you'll need to determine how much wallpaper to buy. Just enter your room's dimensions into this handy wallpaper calculator, and get an extra roll just to be safe.
Start the prep work a day in advance. Turn off the electrical source and remove the outlet covers and switchplates for the wall you want to paper.

For more great tips, read more

Get rid of any old wallpaper, then spackle or sandpaper cracks and other flaws in the wall.
Clean the wall with a 1-to-4 mixture of ammonia and water, then coat the surface wallpaper primer. Allow 24 hours for drying.
Lay down a plastic painter's tarp to protect your floors.
Check to make sure that the lot numbers on all of the wallpaper rolls match, and save the packaging in case you need to buy more paper.

Now you're ready to hang! Tune in later today for the installation process, and if you have some to share, please tell me in the comments.

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Primer: Paint Techniques

CasaSugar — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 12:36:50 -0700

It's Dress Your Walls month here at CasaSugar, and I hope Casa readers will be inspired to try any of the painting, wall coverings, or wall art projects we're trying out this month. If you do, make sure to post those pictures in the Su Casa group!

While a lot of Casa readers have put paint roller to wall, I thought it might be helpful to review the best techniques for getting your carefully chosen colors on your home's walls. If you're more video oriented, there are some great painting primer videos over at HGTV. Meanwhile, check out this list of painting tips to get started.

Make sure to spackle and sand first to prep your walls.
Make sure to thoroughly tape along edges, windows, and molding. And make sure to press down firmly on the tape. I forgot to do this on one part of my weekend painting project and now I have to repaint part of the molding!

For more tips, just read more

Using primer before painting will guarantee that you'll have to use fewer coats of paint and that your color will be consistent and pretty.
Using low- or no-VOC paint will eliminate that nasty paint smell, plus it's healthier for both you and your home.
Use the right tool for the right job. Tight corners and edges will require small brushes or mini-rollers, while big and tall spaces may require rollers and roller-extensions.
Pay attention to your finish. If you're working in the kitchen or bathroom, you'll want to use a semi-gloss or high-gloss paint because it resists stains and grease more easily. You should also pay attention to how the finish affects color. Team Sugar member redegg offers this helpful advice: "Flat finishes give off more muted hues of the color you select while painting it in a glossier finish will make it crisper and deeper."

Primer: Sheet Thread Counts

CasaSugar — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:35:03 -0700

I have slept for too many nights under the assumption that “Back-to-School” jersey sheets were the softest thing around. So, I wanted to give all of you the 4-1-1 on a wonderful measure called thread count. Thread count is a measure of a sheet’s quality, or the coarseness or fineness of it. It’s measured by counting the number of threads woven into one square inch of fabric.

The higher the count, the softer your sheet will be. Standard cotton thread counts are around 150, while good quality sheets are 200 or above and are considered “percale.” Beware of extremely high thread counts (400+); they tend to be misleading, as they usually use plied yarns (one yarn that is made by twisting together multiple finer threads). The type of fiber used (i.e. Egyptian cotton, Sea Island cotton) also has a play in the softness of your sheets. A 250-thread-count Sea Island cotton sheet will likely feel softer than a 350-thread-count sheet made of a short-staple cotton, which is a lesser quality fiber.

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Primer: Choosing the Right Paint Color

CasaSugar — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 14:06:53 -0700

You guys are definitely not shy about adorning your walls with lots of color, but choosing the right shade can be nerve-wracking to say the least. So I've put together a Primer to help you ponder all those paint chips.

First, make sure your room is ready. A paint color can really set the mood for a room, but to get it just right, you should have the rest of your decorating scheme set, including upholstery patterns, window treatments, rugs and bold accents.
Pick a palette. Before heading to the store, determine a family of colors you want to work with, based on the look of the room and your personal tastes. Particularly with bolder looks, a paint shade doesn't have to match your decor perfectly. Lowe's suggests looking in your closet for a reminder of the colors you gravitate toward.

For lots of other handy pointers, read more

Stock up on paint chips. Before you even think about buying paint, take home a selection of paint chips that fit into your pre-determined palette. Be sure to take a few samples of any decor - such as fabric scraps - that you want to match Also, Real Simple recommends Glidden Paint's peel-and-stick color chips, which work like Post-its.
Try on your favorite shades. Once you've narrowed it down to a color or two, buy a quart of your chosen paint and slather it on a large piece of scrap material, such as a piece of cardboard or foam board, a couple feet wide and a couple of feet tall. Prop it up or hang it in the room, and leave it for a few days to see how it looks as the light (and your mood) changes.
Visualize your room virtually. A number of paint brands and retail stores now let you upload photos of your room so you can see how different shades will look on the walls. Behr ColorSmart, for instance, lets you upload a photo and "paint" with unlimited colors for just $4.95 .

Got any other paint-picking tips to share? Tell me in the comments below.

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