A fun summer activity with the kids is backyard camping. That’s right camping, but in your backyard. It’s got lots of advantages over camping away from home.

• It’s close to home.
• It’s free.
• You know it’s safe.
• You don’t have to worry about forgetting things.
• You don’t have to wait in summer traffic.
• You don’t have to wonder where to go to the bathroom.
• You don’t have to pack all of your gear.
• You don’t have to lug gear for miles.

What other reasons do you know of that make backyard camping an ideal summer activity?

Years ago we bought special child proof door knobs so that my youngest child couldn’t get into certain rooms. The doorknobs were made of plastic with two rubber buttons you have to push to open the door. After doing that you turn the knob and it opens like a normal door. Just recently we took off all of the covers. All of the doors that the knobs were moved off of are now very sticky because the plastic caused a green substance to form. I guess it’s some sort of oxidation. I’m having a heck of a time getting it to come off. I’d put the covers back on except they broken when I removed them. Any suggestions? Has this ever happened to you?

Window coverings are greatwhen they look nice but did you realize they can do more than look good? If you’re wanting to cut down on your heating and air conditioning bills one thing you can do is use your window coverings effectively. what I mean is make them work for you. Consider the material and thickness of your window coverings when choosing them. In the summer use a darker curtain or close the blinds completely to block the sunlight from coming in. We lowered the temperature of our home several degrees by doing this. In the winter leave your blinds or curtains open, so that the sunlight gets in and helps heat the house.

One of the things that helped declutter my youngest son’s room is getting rid of the tube television he used to watch. He now has a small LCD TV hanging on the wall. It saves so mich room in there! I’d really like to get one for our bedroom because the tube television in our bedroom blocks most of the windows.

Here’s a simple and affordable way to decorate the trees or bushes in your yard for Easter. Buy a few bags of plastic Easter eggs. They’re usually $1-$3, depending on how many eggs are in the bag. Make a small hole in the top of each egg. Run a piece of string through the hole, tying off into a know. You should now have something that will remind you of a Christmas ornament. Hang the eggs on the branches of your trees or bushes and you’ll have a very colorful and festive yard decoration.

A great way to decorate in a unique way is by using special moments. Items like birth announcements and invitations, as well as souvenirs, are things that many people like to keep. Unfortunately, most of these items stay in a drawer, unappreciated. Pick up an inexpensive frame and hang them on the walls. It’ll help you remember the special moments, as well as work as a terrific inexpensive decoration.

You don’t have to replace all of your furniture to get a different looking room. You can change the look of a room by replacing or repositioning your television. If you have a tube television one thing you can do is reposition it. Take it off of the piece of furniture it’s on now and put it on a different one. There are many styles of tv stands out there at all sorts of price points. Alternatively, you could upgrade to a flat panel tv, which could be placed on top of furniture or on the wall. There are nice aspects to both, so only you can decide what will work best for you and look best in your home.

Times are tough. With the economy the way it’s been people are spending cautiously. I hear on the radio every week that unemployment rates in my state are on the rise. I know a lot of people that looked into mortgage refinancing, just to save any money they could. For those that don’t know, mortgage refinancing allows you to pay off one mortgage in order to create a new one, as well as combine two mortgages into one. Sometimes people combine other bills into their new mortgage, to cut down on monthly spending. The oddest thing I ever heard of someone adding in was a minivan. Have you ever refinanced a mortgage? Did it help you?

I’ve heard of heated floors but I’d never heard of heated doormats until recently. Did you know that there are doormats that have a heated electrical element built in that will help keep your porch safer? A mat like this one says it will melt two inches of snow in under an hour. That would cut down the time you spend shoveling snow and preventing ice from forming. I’d love to know if it works well. If you have one please leave a comment and let me knowhow you like it.

Digital cameras have become increasingly popular and highly affordable. You don’t have to be a photographer to use one, they’re also pretty user friendly. Something some people don’t think of using the camera for is for the home. If you’ve ever seen a look you really liked you know that you try to keep it in your head until you can adapt it to use in your own home. Forget remembering, we’re human and our memories aren’t always clear. Just take a picture and you’ll have every detail. Then when you’re ready to design you’ll have a picture of your inspiration to work from.