Tips For Hanging A Large Painting

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Found a stunning, large painting to perfectly complement your home? It’s important to follow a few rules of thumb while hanging it to maintain the integrity of your wall and your painting.

The weight of your painting is the key factor in determining the proper hanging method, so before you start hammering nails or finding studs, weigh your painting on a scale and note the weight. If your painting weighs less than five pounds, you can simply use adhesive wall hooks or mounting tape to hang it. You don’t have to make any holes in your wall or use any nails for paintings of this size.

Paintings that weigh between five and twenty pounds should be hung with a drywall anchor. You don’t need to find a stud to install these anchors and all you’ll need is a drill to make a couple holes in your drywall.

If you want to hang a painting that weighs between 20 and 50 pounds, you will need to find a stud in your wall. The stud is another name for the wooden frame of your wall, which is the strongest part. After you find your stud, you can use a thin metal nail to hang paintings up to 20 pounds or you can use a threaded wooden screw for paintings up to 50 pounds. You can also opt for hanging hooks as an alternative.

The safest way to hang paintings over 50 pounds is to use a rail-cable. These large metal cables can be attached to rails on the ceiling to hang paintings up to 300 pounds.

By following these guidelines, you’ll have your new piece of art displayed beautifully in your home in no time!

What To Repair Before You List

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When you’re getting ready to list your home, it’s of the upmost importance to ensure you are showing it in the best light. Taking time to highlight its strengths and fix up some of its possible weaknesses can make a big difference in how fast it sells. Here are top five recommended repairs to make before selling your home.

Repaint walls. Giving your home a fresh coat of paint is one of the most cost-effective ways to spruce it up, and generally, it can be a do-it-yourself project. Make sure cover any walls with scratches and chips and consider updating any accent walls with a more neutral coat.

Repair floors. Hardwood floors are a very desirable feature in a home, so you want to ensure they look their best by fixing scratches or dull areas. If your carpet is worn or stained, consider replacing them. And don’t forget the tile in your kitchen or bathrooms. Re-grouting can go a long way in making dingy tile work look brand new!

Refresh the landscaping. Show buyers your home is the full package by dressing up the outside as well as the in. Clean walkways and driveways, plant seasonal flowers and plants, trim hedges and trees, install outdoor décor pieces and fill in mulch and gravel.

Fix your fixtures. Leaky faucet? Rusted drains? Loose drawer handle? Making these small fixes can make a big difference to potential buyers with detailed-orientated minds.

Improve your kitchen. An outdated kitchen can be a real eyesore in a home. Updating cabinetry, repairing or replacing countertops, and installing new faucets and sinks may be worth the investment.

Find & Clean The Dirtiest Places In Your Home

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We all strive to keep our homes clean, but dirt and grime always seems to build up in certain places. It may be impossible to keep every area completely polished, but it helps to know which places accumulate the most germs and are commonly overlooked in our cleaning routines.

Stove Knobs. One of the dirtiest places in the kitchen are stove knobs. These little knobs can gather a lot of old food from our pots and pans or from our fingers. It doesn’t help that many of these knobs are black and can hide stains easily.

Bed Sheets. We spend a lot of time in our beds, which makes our bed sheets a great place for germs to nest. It’s recommended that bed sheets and pillowcases are cleaned at least once a week.

Faucet Handles. The next time you wash your hands, check your faucet handles for soap scum and water spots because these handles are a breeding ground for dirty grime. Clean these once a week to keep them shiny.

Kitchen Sink. So many bits of food fall into our kitchen sinks and sometimes they can go unnoticed for days. The next time you do the dishes, make sure to give your kitchen sink a good cleaning!

Sponges. Although it may seem counterintuitive, the thing we clean everything with can be hiding a lot of germs. Sponges should be replaced every 14 days and you can minimize the germs in your current sponge by microwaving it.

The Best Things About Home Ownership

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If you own a home, there was certainly a lot that went into your decision to buy rather than continue to rent. Now you’re enjoying all the advantages of homeownership. Here are the top five.

Building wealth: When you own a home, you have an asset that will likely increase in value over time. It provides great security, and the opportunity to essentially live “rent-free” in your retirement years when the home is paid off.

Freedom to make it your own: Landlords can be strict about customizing rental properties. Most don’t even allow their tenants to paint. But when you own a home, the possibilities are endless. Get rid of a wall, or paint it any color you like. It’s your property.

Building equity: Every mortgage payment you make, and every improvement you make on the home, is putting money back into your pocket. Unlike with renting, owning a home gives you more than just a place to live. You can use your home equity to get loans and even cash for emergencies.

More freedom and stability: Studies show that homeowners have a better sense of pride and security than renters. When you relax in your own home, you know it’s the result of hard work and planning, and that you have the freedom to change it as you wish.

Tax advantages: Homeowners can deduct the interest paid on home loans and property taxes—that’s a big break that comes up every April 15.

Stay Healthy This Summer

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A few simple tips for improving your personal health

Summer is the time for family vacations and road trips, backyard barbecues, and days at the beach. But as the pace of life slows down after the hustle and bustle of winter and spring, it’s also a great time to make some small health-conscious changes that can make a big difference at the end of the day. Here are a few simple-but-effective tips for improving your personal health this summer.

Eat more berries
Eating a cup of mixed berries each day can have tremendous health benefits. Berries are rich with antioxidants, which help prevent tissue damage and lower the risk of age-related illnesses. It’s just a small change to your diet, but a little goes a long way!

Have some fun while exercising
This doesn’t have to mean hitting the gym. Make the most of the summer weather by doing activities that are both fun and keep you moving. Cycling, hiking, swimming, playing games with the kids—these are all great ways to get some exercise without making it feel like a chore that you have to squeeze into your schedule.

Wear your sunglasses
I know this seems like a no-brainer, but there’s a lot more to wearing sunglasses than just fashion. A good pair of sunglasses should block out at least 99 percent of harmful UV rays.

Play in the dirt
Planting and maintaining a garden can be a great stress reliever. Even something as simple as a few flower boxes or potted plants is a good start.