Category: HOME

This Gardener Wants to Teach the World How to Grow Healthy, Bountiful Food

In 1976, gardener Jim Kennard discovered the Mittleider gardening method, and was blown away by the bountiful fruits and vegetables he reaped that year. His harvest was far more abundant than any of his previous crops. When he retired from a successful career as a CPA, he decided to help create and become the pro-bono…


Green With Envy

By Cathy Hobbs From Tribune News Service When creating a color palette, especially if you love neutrals, green can serve as a lively and inviting pop of color. With its undertones of yellow and rich depth of color, green can also add a sense of luxury and richness and can be a welcomed alternative to…


It’s Time to Tackle Your Laundry Room Decor

Here’s the deal: Most of us spend quite a bit of time doing laundry. Whether it’s loading, folding, ironing or stain-fighting, it’s often an around-the-clock, seven-days-a-week process that leaves no rest for the weary. If you’re not one who actually enjoys the chore (which is probably the majority of us, right?), there’s hope for you…


Weatherstrip a Garage Threshold

Do you notice dirt, rain and snow creeping into your garage at the door threshold? That’s caused by the continued weight of a car driving in and out over the seal created by the threshold. The seal breaks down over time. It’s an obvious problem for any garage door, but one you can solve by…


How to Keep Indoor Cats Happy

It’s well known that indoor cats live longer than outdoor cats simply because indoor cats are exposed to far fewer risks such as cars, attacks from other animals, environmental hazards and disease. But how do you figure out how to keep indoor cats happy? Keeping Indoor Cats Happy Indoor cats can get bored and frustrated,…


How to Decide to Convert Your Home to a Two-Family House

Dear Monty: I need to find out if I can convert my single-family home into a two-family. The second thing is, if so, what are the legal rules for the transformation? Monty’s Answer: The rules you seek are not uniform across the U.S. There is no federal building code except one. The Department of Housing…


Back to School, Ready or Not!

It’s been a few years since I’ve endured back-to-school shopping, all-school fundraisers and parent-teacher conferences. Still, the end of summer brings a sweet sense of excitement over September’s promise of a clean slate. I can only assume that having spent so many years in school myself and then doing it all over again with my…


Time-Tested Exterior Painting Secrets

Not long ago in this column, I shared why it’s so hard to preserve exterior wood using any number of products. One of them was paint. You may have been one of the many readers that reached out to me. If I had to boil down all the emails I received to just one, it…


How to Give Wisely to a Charity

It’s that time of year again — everyone wants your money. Brace yourself for more dinnertime phone calls and mailbox solicitations. Those kinds of things used to bother me. So did the collection plate at church. I felt guilty because no matter how much money we made, there was never enough to give away. And…


Couponing Strategies for Families

With inflation soaring, families are looking for ways to reduce the costs of their everyday expenses. I asked Ryan McGonagill of Savings.com for advice on how to use coupons to save money in this environment. Here’s what he said. The Epoch Times: What strategies do you recommend that families employ to incorporate couponing into their…