Category Archives: Home, Car, Yard, and Pets

Attracting Bees To A Victorian Garden

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The global population of bees is in decline. In the US, striking National Agriculture Statistics show that the number of bee colonies per hectare has gone down by 90 percent in the last 50 years. We have a role to play in halting the decline in the bee population. With modern beekeeping having its roots in Victorian times, here are some gardening tips to attracts bees to your Victorian garden.

Beekeeping In Victorian Times

In early Victorian times bees were kept in straw ‘skeps’. However, in order to gain access to the honey, the skeps had to be burnt which subsequently destroyed the bee colony. The late 19th century then saw a revelation in beekeeping when a hive with removable wooden frames was invented by Philadelphian Lorenzo Langstroth, credited by many as being the father of modern beekeeping. At that time, many Victorian estates had an apiary, a collection of bee hives, because the Victorians loved the sweet taste of honey in cakes and tea.

A Victorian Apiary

Honeybees nest in beehives which can be placed, if needed in a small space in a garden. The beehive should be placed in a quiet, sunny spot which is sheltered from winds. A Langstroth hive is a modular beehive contains vertically hung frames with an entrance for the bees at the bottom of the hive. The bees build honeycomb into the frames which are easily removable to harvest the honey. After a year or so, you can expect your hive to make about 25lbs of honey per year, assuming it is disease free and the bees have plenty of flowers to forage within 3 miles of the hive.

Plants For Bees In A Victorian-style Garden

Cottage and woodland styled gardens, popular in the Victorian era were informal in design. A cottage garden is a great way to attract bees by planting plenty of pollen rich flowers providing blooms all year round. Choose several shapes and colors of blooms and plant them in clumps. Popular plants in the Victorian era which are attractive to pollinators include lavenders and geraniums. Try also including a herb garden as bees are particularly attracted to borage sage, mint, thyme and rosemary.

We all have a role to play in stopping the global decline in bee numbers. Introducing a apiary into your garden as well as planting pollen-rich plants will encourage bees to make a home in your Victorian garden.

 

7 Things To Do After The Renovation Of Your Garden

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So, you’ve just renovated your garden and you’re thinking what should I do next? Luckily, there are many things to do after you have renovated your garden. From choosing which plants to grow to creating a nice comfort zone, the options are endless. We’ve put together a list of interesting things you can do to make your new garden look great.

Cleaning up the Mess after Renovation

Renovating a garden is not an easy task and there will surely be a lot of mess after the renovation. Before you start working on your new garden, all of this mess and trash needs to be taken care of. There are several options for cleaning up the mess after the renovation of your garden. You can try doing it alone, but it will take you a couple of days to do this all by yourself. There is also an option of asking your friends, family, or neighbors to come and help with the cleaning. The third option is to hire a rubbish removal service to deal with this.

Choosing Plants

To create a year-round interest in your garden, it is important to choose a nice selection of shrubs, flowers, and plants. Before you start with the purchase, make sure to read up on your soil in the garden and consider factors like shade, exposure and sun. There are many planting suggestions out there and it all depends on what you wish to achieve. For example, potted plants and flowers are ideal for mobility and they add easy color to the garden. Just make sure to water them regularly and plant them with enough drainage.

Leave Plenty of Space for Guests

I know that plants are important, but it would be a good idea to save some space for your guests. Patios and decks are ideal spots for social gatherings and outdoor entertainment. Make sure you have enough room for dining and choose approximately how many friends you’re likely to host regularly. This is important because 4 square feet of space needs to be saved per guest, which means if you are planning to have dinner with 4 other people, you will need to make 20 square feet of free space. Don’t forget room for the outdoor furniture and a table that is needed for dining.

Keep the Distance between Plants

Many people make the mistake of planting flowers close to the edges of the patio and walkway. This is where math comes in. Plants which are about 33 inches tall have to be located at least 3 feet away from the patio edges. Otherwise, this place will look crowded and messy. If you are planning to have thorny plants like roses and crown imperials, please keep them away from all the traffic areas in the garden. You definitely don’t want your children and family to be in danger.

Creating a Comfort Zone

By choosing the right plants and using them in a proper way, a person can actually create a comfort zone in a garden. For example, broad-leaved evergreens are known to protect gardens from winds. In case you wish to place a tree in your garden, it can provide a shady comfort zone where you can hide from the sun during the summer season.

Create Entertainment for Children

Your children should enjoy the new garden as much as you do, so why not create some entertainment options for your kids. Think in the lines of homemade painted pots, birdseed feeders, tree house, rock plant markers, etc.

Invite the Neighbors Over

After you’ve renovated your garden, it’s time to celebrate and ask the neighbors to come over for tea, coffee, and some snacks. Maybe some of your neighbors are also into gardening and can give you some advice on how to make your garden become even more beautiful than it is now.

 

 

Melanie Saunders is a blogger and content manager at 1300 Rubbish – experts in the field of rubbish and junk removal. Personally, a huge fan of sustainability and green living.

 

The Ultimate Checklist for Putting Your Property on the Market

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When the time comes to put your property on the market, you will face a number of responsibilities you have to complete before placing an ad. However, this is not anything to be scared of since, in the end, it will get you to your goal to sell your home. In order to do so with the minimum amount of stress, here is the ultimate checklist you should uphold to.

Go To Open House Events

The best way to find out how to sell your home is if you attend the open house events. This way you will see what other homeowners did to make their property attractive. Also, converse with other potential buyers and find out what they think is important when buying a house.

If you live in a less popular neighborhood, visit open houses in similar neighborhoods in your city and see how they deal with this. For example, Astoria in Queens used to be a simple part of New York several decades ago, but today this is a diverse community with a convenient location. The cities evolve and change over time, so check how your neighborhood fairs today since that can affect the selling price.

Find A Reliable Real Estate Agent

If you want to minimize the stress, it’s best to hire a real estate agent who will help you turn your home into a prime selling property. It’s agent’s job to find you the best buyer and represent your interests in the market. After all, they work on a commission and getting the highest price for your home is in their best interest as well as yours.

Do The Repairs

Any damage to the property will certainly reduce the selling price for a considerable amount of money. In order to avoid that, do the repairs before placing your house on the market. This can also get you a better price for the house, especially if you fixed some of the serious issues like installations, piping, and roof.

For example, expert plumbing services in Sydney can give you an estimate of safety problems that may arise from an old piping system dating back to the late ‘70s. These polybutylene pipes were cheap and easy to install back in the day but what was unknown then is that the material will deteriorate due to oxidants in the water. This turned out to be quite a problem for Australian homeowners living in the older neighborhood and deal breaker for many buyers.

Declutter

After repairs, you will have to clean the house thoroughly and keep it spotless until you sell it. This is important since buyers don’t want to look at the mess and clutter everywhere. They want to see the functional side of your home even though they will most likely do the renovations after the purchase.

Stage The Property For Your Open House

Staging a property for an open house event is more than tidying up. It’s creating an environment that buyers will feel welcomed and comfortable in, as well as to see the house’s potential. Usually, real estate agent would take care of this part but add something of your own may sweeten the deal.

For example, bake cookies and leave them on the kitchen counter so visitors can have some while examining the house. A pot of freshly brewed coffee will invoke the memories of home and family time, while fresh flowers will breathe life into the place. Even if you sell an empty house, these things can make all the difference and help buyers decide to buy your home.

Lastly

Listen to your inner voice and create an ultimate checklist based on all the things you would look for when buying a house. This will help you to put the best version of your property on the market, as well as to get the highest price. After all, if you think like a buyer you will be able to sell your home more efficiently and agreeably.

 

 

Ways to Modernize Your Victorian Home 

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The best part about older, traditional homes is their character. The aged interior and exterior characteristics often date the rooms and inspire a lovely sense of nostalgia. Victorian homes, especially, are known for their unique features, including complex and decorative interior trims, steep pitch roofing and asymmetrical architectural details. Still, there’s no reason why your Victorian home has to remain fixed in the 1850’s. Instead, there are many simple ways to modernize your old Victorian in a way that brings your rooms into the 21st century. Your new “Modern Victorian” home will look fantastic, emphasizing both the Victorian-era characteristics and some chic, contemporary designs, too.

Bring Your Fireplace into the 21st Century

Fireplaces will either instantly date or modernize a space. Victorian-era fireplaces can make a room feel heavy, dark and extremely traditional, so why not renovate it to make it look a little more contemporary? By installing a wall-hanging model that’s electric or ethanol burning, you can integrate a chic, simple design that will make the space look entirely fresh. Modern fireplaces, even in a room with other Victorian elements, will give the entire ambiance of the space a renewed feel.

Install Modern Light Fixtures 

Another way to showcase the old architecture of your Victorian home in a creative, 21st century style is to install modern lighting. While not all modern light fixtures will fit with Victorian designs, something that is more mid-century modern or Scandinavian modern will do the trick. Remember to mix old with new and new with old. Mixing the styles of lighting and eras will lead to a unique final product that flows together in a contemporary fashion.

Incorporate Cutting-Edge Artwork 

A final idea for modernizing an older home like a Victorian is to incorporate some interesting, engaging, cutting-edge art pieces. Picture this: You have a classic Victorian room that’s square and lined with dark wooden trim, and you add a colorful, abstract painting to the middle of a white wall. The artwork will instantly raise the level of your home’s aesthetic and make it more intriguing, rather than classical or predictably Victorian. Just because the architecture looks one way doesn’t mean that every detail in the interior of your home has to reflect the era.

By installing a wall-mounted fireplace, hanging some modern light fixtures and incorporating cutting-edge artwork, you can revamp your Victorian home and transport its interior design into the 21st century.

Maintenance Tips: Extend the Lifespan of Home Appliances

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Quality home appliances are not cheap, particularly if you have decided to get the new generation, energy saving ones. If you want to get the most bang for your buck, you should invest a bit of effort into making them last as long as they possibly can. This can be achieved with good maintenance.

Read the instruction manual

Before you start using your new appliance, make sure you read the instruction manual first. Apart from telling you indirectly how you can repair certain minor issues, you will also find proper ways of handling the appliance. This will help you prevent those minor issues from happening. If you no longer have the manual, don’t worry, everything can be found online. Each of the appliances has instructions on how it should be cleaned and that is the most important part of regular maintenance. By rule, if an appliance has a filter, it should be cleaned regularly (find the frequency in the manual). The same goes for tubes, ducts, vents, and drains.

Refrigerator coils

If you don’t know what these are, then this piece of maintenance is way overdue. The coils look like a radiator and are located at the back of your fridge, usually covered with a mash. Alternatively, they could be located at the bottom of the front side behind a press-and-pop type of cover. Use a vacuum to get the dust and the dirt out. Buy a coil brush specially designated for this type of work and remove the fine layers of dust left over after vacuuming.

Watch the washing machine load

When discussing the most common types of repairs with people from a washing machine repair Sydney service, they have pointed out that most issues arise from improper loads of laundry. Most commonly, people tend to overload the machine. This puts extra strain on its engine and causes it to wear off quickly. As a general rule, try filling it until it reaches only about half-way through the window. Bear in mind that not all laundry acts the same when you soak it in water, so a load of underwear is not the same as a blanket. On the other hand, try not to underload it as it is a waste of energy and it can cause strong vibrations.

Washing machine - drum

Image source: Pixabay

The Oven

All of your home appliances should be cleaned regularly if you want them to last longer, however, ovens need it possibly more than others. Clean your oven thoroughly and regularly but as a most important piece of advice, watch what you clean it with. A lot of cleaners are composed of strong chemicals and can damage the inner surface of the oven. When applied directly, especially around the buttons, the chemicals could find their way to the electrical components and cause a short circuit. Use only safe designated cleaners and make sure you ask for recommendations first (also, consult the instruction manual).

Oven

Image source: Pixabay

The Dryer

Some of the most important tips regarding dryers, is to watch what and how much of it you put inside, as well as regular cleaning. If you want to reduce strain on its engine, you will put in the same amount you had in the washing machine. So, one load of washing should be one load of drying, provided that you didn’t overload the washing machine in the first place. Furthermore, if you look at items such as shoes, which are not recommended for dryers, but you can use it if you are in a hurry, you should make sure to put it inside along with something else. It bouncing around could snap the dryer drum belt.

What seems to make the greatest difference is simply taking a couple of minutes to think before using and maintaining. This is important to point out as most of us are on autopilot when using them.  Read the manuals and read out maintenance tips, apply the knowledge and get years out of your appliances.