Why hire a handyman when you’ve got a woman around?  I mean really, are we or are we not taking repairs and home projects into our own hands and adding new meaning to the term equal opportunity?  Let’s even go a step further and add a hint fashion to the idea of Do It Yourself and what do you get?  S. Stein and her casual, chic, toolbelts and workbags that give women not only functionality for those around the house projects but also add a sense of style to those DIY moments.

Today’s modern, industrious, woman has reinterpreted the definition of "handyman" and the bloggers at Charles and Hudson believe that women actually covet a great toolbelt or toolbag as much as men do. Popgadget explains that while these toolbelts, made of natural materials, may be on the spendy side, you can easily justify the cost when you think of all the money saved by doing the jobs yourself.  They even point out that these bags would be great for gardening too.

Just think, how fun would it be to go to one of those Home Depot project seminars with your stylish toolbelt? You might even look like you know what you’re doing.

Most organizing experts agree that the best place to start, when
wanting to get organized, is to start with a small project first.  The sense of completion achieved from actually finishing a small organizational
project will lead the way to more intensive projects that need this
emotional fuel of accomplishment.

Franki, at The Winning Pitch made a nice mention about one of my favorite blogs, OrganizingLA.  She definitely suggests spending some time checking out John Trosko’s tips on creating a perfect world with cool and innovative, organizational ideas.

"He offers a wide variety of tips that anyone can put to use. The site
is fresh and fun, and even serves up the occasional nugget on the
organizing habits of celebs (it is LA, you know). You might even have
fun while learning. (Dare I say it.)"

What sets John and his blog apart from the rest? His experience, of course; listening to clients and learning from each one is important for anyone in business. But what really struck me was his commitment to confidentiality and his non-judgmental approach to clients and the services they receive. Not everyone can keep their mouths shut when it comes to other people’s messes.

Scott Roewer, professional organizer, agrees,"John’s Blog is great!" Scott likes to check in on celebs every once in a while and also enjoys the great products that OrganizingLA has found. And speaking of great products, Franki mentions that while other organizing companies offer cool organizational products, "John keeps introducing us to an even wider variety of vendors". She goes on to say,

"It’s nice to know that objects that help us achieve order can - in fact
- be gorgeous. (We wouldn’t want to compromise on style, now would we?)"

We have a brand new house and one of my favorite rooms in the house is the living room or as we call it the "great room".  This room is awesome because it is simple, clean, and quiet.  The kids generally don’t go in there to play or hang out so it stays quite tidy.  My husband and I will sometimes go in this nice quiet, calm, room to talk and discuss life.  Little did I know that the effect of the wall color could be having a tremendous effect on our discussions.

According to How Decorating Colors Affect Your Mood, by Kathy Burns-Millyard, "the colors you choose for decorating can have a very strong influence on the mood that room creates." This would invariably explain how the most recent discussion my husband and I were having turned into a very heated argument. My great room is painted Red!  Evidently, the color red can get people very talkative, excited and even sometimes angry and aggressive. That explains a few things.

By being selective in the colors you choose for your rooms you can influence how people will react in those rooms.  For example, the color blue generally creates a very calming, relaxed feel, which is a real response; physical and psychological.  Green is said to generate a feeling of wealth and jealousy. Red is a good color for the intent purpose of stimulating conversation and an appetite.  Yellow is one of those "happy" colors that seem to make people feel good no matter how it is used and in the same sense orange is a vibrant, warm color too but has been known to cause headaches depending on the hue.

Suffice it to say that before you paint take time to stop and think about the way you want people to feel in that room and explore some colors that might help create that mood. Unfortunately, my great room is now known as the "fight" room and I don’t even want to go in there to talk anymore but a nice shade of blue might just be the answer.

The holidays are over…and as I begin putting away decorations and bringing my festive home back to reality I pause and reflect on the new year ahead.  I really never set New Years resolutions for myself. My life is busy enough without adding pressure to meet personal goals that I really don’t have time to accomplish but when it comes to my house that’s a different story.  Without a doubt, organization is one of my top priorities every New Year.  I’ve got some great ideas that I think make life easier and help me get organized every year.

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Attention everyone in the St. Louis area!  This weekend, the Gateway Center is holding their annual  Home Show.  This event is designed for homeowners in all stages of remodeling, landscaping and decorating.  At the Home Show you will be able to find great products for all your home improvement projects as well as talking to the pros for those DIY jobs.

Almost any home product or service that you can imagine will be represented at the show. You’ll meet contractors, landscapers, architects and interior designers. You’ll also have a chance to see samples of products such as the newest in flooring and walkways to transform your home and add to its appeal. View displays of kitchens, baths, windows, doors, appliances, furnishings, spas, pools, fireplaces, sunrooms, and so much more. Come with ideas, photos and an open mind. You’ll
           leave with inspiration.

I have read so many blogs and articles that give a great many ideas as to the best way to decorate, remodel, stage, and design your house in order to sell it during this housing market decline.  But what about the things you should not do if you are trying to sell it? 

Let’s face it, no one really knows when the housing market will recover.  Some experts say 2007 some say 2008.  Quite frankly, we are all waiting to see how the economy reacts so make sure your house is ready to sell by only spending money on improvements that will ensure a return on your investment.

Desperate homeowners, in this market, may try to make big changes to their home to create interest and generate a sale but there really are only a handful of remodeling jobs that will increase the value of your home. While it is good to know what to do in order to sell your home it is even more important to know what not to do. The bloggers at constructiondeal.com came up with four renovations to avoid when trying to sell your home. 

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Every week the Weather Channel’s, "It Could Happen Tomorrow" series, targets one major US city and how it might cope if a natural disaster were to strike.  According to the Saint Louis Post Dispatch, last Sunday’s episode was about what would happen if a megatornado were to hit the Gateway City during a Cardinal game.  While the Busch Stadium personnel assure us that there is a safety plan should the need arise, storm spotters at SKYWARN still encourage everyone to think about emergency preparedness in the home.

The bloggers at Bigger Pockets have some great advice on how to protect yourself during a winter storm.  In addition, we’ve provided a list of items that we think are a good idea to have on hand at all times, no matter what season it is.

• flashlight and extra batteries
• candles and matches
• battery operated radio
• bottled water and non-perishable food items
• first aid supplies
• medicine and baby items

When disaster strikes no one is usually expecting it and being prepared can take away some of the fear of the unknown, after all, in the words of Mark Twain, "Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get".

Whether you’re redecorating your current home, fixing up an older home or building a brand new home it seems like it is almost impossible to keep up with the newest remodeling trends. To keep your home on the hot and trendy list, we’ve found four unique ways that utilize space and give homeowners the well deserved "me" time they need.

The bloggers at Pure Contemporary found these four home remodeling trends to be on the "in" list for 2007.

1. Upscale Garages: Homeowners are looking to make the garage a much more functional and even residential space by adding custom storage cabinets,  refrigerators, and heating and cooling systems.
2. Caving: Probably more commonly known as home office or sitting room. Either way, this type of space is focusing on "separate" areas dedicated to one person.
3. Heated Patios: This is more for those Northerners who dread the idea of winter’s deposits on their driveways and patios. 
4. Snoring Rooms: Could this be the key to a lasting marriage? By taking the irritation out of having to get up in the middle of the night to get some shut eye somewhere else, a person can simply start out in a separate room, with bed and decor, to get the rest they need.

As quickly as these design trends have made their way to the "hot" list some trends are definitely "cooling off". CNN Money suggests three trends that are becoming home-design history.

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I recently read an article from Real Simple that boasts of 12 simple, 15 minute household repairs that "won’t put a dent in your weekend".  But my question is, what about the repairs that do put a dent in your weekend?  Or the ones that put a dent in Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, when you have to be at work or take the kids to school?  Where are all those quick fixes?

I’m not sure if there are any real quick fixes other than a steady dose of anti-depressants, but I do know how to spend two hours getting a whole pack of melted gum out of the inside of my dryer and I would like to share it with you.

I called everyone I could think of that might know what I could do because the site of smeared, melted gum, pasted all over the shiny, chrome, drum of my brand new dryer had me near tears.  I found a blog about cleaning out washing machines but nothing about dryers.  I finally had the bright idea to call the manufacturer in hopes that they would respond with no solution other than to replace it for free.  No such luck!  They did say, however,  not to use Goo Gone or lighter fluid or anything else that is petroleum based due to the fact that it could ignite a fire. Interesting! 

I was left with one alternative and I was dreading it…the trusted peanut butter trick.  It works in hair so why not on the inside of my dryer.  It is oil based so there should be no fire hazard.  I gave it a try.  Low and behold it worked perfectly.  Still, the job was tedious and time consuming…I think I mentioned I scrubbed for two hours, and then had to wipe it down and run a few test loads until my clothes did not smell pea nutty but all in all the shiny, silver, coating looks like new and my kids are not allowed to chew gum until they move out of the house!

While everyone has committed to diets, workouts, or kicking some bad habit as their New Year’s Resolutions, the St. Louis Post Dispatch has come up with 12 project resolutions that you can do around the house, one for every month of the year. These are all very manageable, creative and definitely give room for cheating. 

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