Safety & Security

Repairing Drywall

A hole in your drywall is never fun, although it may have been caused by fun. Maybe it was from a wild party or maybe someone was making an emphatic "point."

Anyway you look at it (or through it), a hole is a hole and needs to get fixed.

Fortunately there are a few tricks I can show you in How to Repair a Large Hole in Drywall.

For smaller holes caused by doorknobs, kids, toys and other elements of home life there is the tutorial Repairing a Small Hole in Drywall

Don't have holes but just dents, popped nails or drywall tape? Then Tips for Repairing Drywall is the tutorial you need.

And after the repair, you'll have to paint the wall so take a read through Repairing Textured Walls and How to Paint a Room.

Repairing Drywall originally appeared on About.com Home Repair on Sunday, March 14th, 2010 at 09:08:46.

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A Sweet Start to Spring - Maple Sugar

Every time I hear it's sugaring time - time to collect maple sugar and boil it down to syrup - I think of that old episode of I Love Lucy, when Lucy steals the answers before appearing on a game show and then mixes them up. The question was "What is a senator's term of office?", and Lucy answers, "The sap runs every 2 years".

We'll, it's sugaring time in many parts of the country and it's no laughing matter. There's a limited window of opportunity to get your tree tapped and the sap flowing. When the temperature rises above the freezing point, the pressure changes inside the tree's tissues, forcing sap out of storage and into the tree's vascular system - its plumping, so to speak. Small Farms Guide, Lauren Ware, say it's not that hard to do and sugaring on a small scale is a great way to welcome spring. My old sugar maple used to drip on its own. If you'd like to give it a try, here are Lauren's tips for walking you through the process.

Photo: Tim Boyle / Getty Images News

A Sweet Start to Spring - Maple Sugar originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Monday, March 15th, 2010 at 01:52:28.

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Plants for Partial Shade: Clown Flower

Clown flower (Torenia) is a colorful annual that does well in partial shade. If you live where it gets really hot, bump that "partial shade" recommendation up to "shade."

Since these plants will still bloom profusely even without deadheading, clown flower lays claim to a spot in the low-maintenance yard. Other benefits of growing clown flower include the fact that they are: good hummingbird plants while aiding your deer control in the garden (since deer tend not to eat them)

Start clown flower seeds "about 6-8 weeks before the last frost date," advises Marie Iannotti. Since clown flower objects to transplanting, Marie suggests starting them in peat pots or paper pots. Next step will be to harden them off. Tender plants, clown flower will have to wait till all danger of frost has passed to claim permanent residence outside.

Learn more about growing clown flower by reading the full article from About.com's Gardening Guide.

Plants for Partial Shade: Clown Flower originally appeared on About.com Landscaping on Sunday, March 14th, 2010 at 08:14:09.

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Closet Organization Ideas

Speaking to Lisa Lennard of California Closets the other day, I realized just how important a good closet can be to one's mental well-being.

After all, in our new feature called Knucklehead Remodels!!!, which I invite readers to participate in (no pressure there), it was me who anonymously filled out Entry #2 to get the whole shebang going.

Entry #2 concerned the absolute disgustingness--and my disgust with the previous owner--for remodeling their linen closet, yet sticking in bare plywood shelves.

Bleech.

Even a few minutes with our feature on closet organization ideas would ensure that this doesn't happen in your house.

Copyright/Courtesy California Closets

Closet Organization Ideas originally appeared on About.com Home Renovations on Monday, March 15th, 2010 at 03:00:22.

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