PostHeaderIcon How the Clothes Hanger Changed Our Lives



People have been wearing clothes for tens of thousands of years, and they have been hanging them up for just as long. It is surprising then that the modern clothes hangar, shaped in the form of sloping shoulders, appears to have been invented no earlier than the time of Thomas Jefferson. In fact, Jefferson is widely thought to have produced the first clothes hanger shaped like the shoulders, with two two sides sloping downward and a hanging hook in the center.

However, the clothes hanger was not seen or used until the end of the 19th century, when various merchants and inventors began to patent different forms of the clothes hanger. O. A. North of Connecticut in 1869 invented a coat hook that inspired the wire hangar similar to the ones we find today. At the same time an employee of a wire company invented a wire coat hanger to sell their wire; this company was the Timberlake Wire and Novelty Company.

Even with this invention, the clothes hanger was slow to catch on. It appears that the first merchant to display his clothes for sale on hangers was Meyer May, a Grand Rapids, Michigan clothier. This display began in 1906, and is memorialized in a museum — these original hangars are displayed in the Frank Lloyd Wright “Meyer May House”.

It wasn’t until the 1930s that the wire hanger was improved by surrounding the wires with narrow cardboard tubes; that way the clothes touch only the rounded cardboard and not the wire so clothes don’t wrinkle as easily. There is a famous scene in the movie “Mommie Dearest” where Joan Crawford wakes and screams at her daughter after she finds her daughter’s clothes hanging from wire hangers. “No wire hangers ever!” she screams, and in fact even if less stridently, many people prefer the wrinkle free improvements over the wire hanger.

Today hangers are available in inexpensive plastic, expensive woods, and of course, the original thin wires. The clothes hanger is an essential part of the clutter free home, and it is hard to imagine how we ever lived without them.

PostHeaderIcon Basic Tips For Maintaining Stone Flooring



Whatever thing you posses, you must take good care of it. It could be your clothes, jewels, accessories, books or the parts of your house. When we are mentioning about taking care of house stuffs, first thing that crosses our mind is cleaning. Floor is one of the most essential parts of our house and it gets dirty very quickly as people keep coming in and going out by walking on the floor. Especially, if the floor is made up of stone, the dirt gets stuck very easily. Hence proper cleaning procedure is to be adopted to clean your stone made floor. If you live in Tampa, you will find several companies that offer diverse floor cleaning tools. It is not the fact that, such products are available in Tampa only; you can find them in almost any part of the globe. But, the market of Tampa floor cleaning and Tampa stone cleaning is quite opportunistic.

If your home flooring is done with natural stones, you have to take very good care of it. It takes quite a good investment to develop such flooring and without proper maintenance such investment will go in vein. You definitely won’t let that happen. With proper stone cleaning techniques, you can enjoy new like flooring for many years. Now, the question is how you can keep your stone floor in such a good condition? Here are some vital advises that will help you in proper maintenance of your floor.

Your main concern must be fighting dirt, sand and grit. These things do the maximum damage to the stone floors, especially if natural stones are used in the construction. These particles are rough and hence cause damage to the luster and sheen of the floor. The basic tip for keeping the dirt away is using dry dust broom and mop on a regular basis. Dust must be frequently mopped and a vacuum cleaner is a good solution in this regard. However, you have to be careful to use a good vacuum cleaner so that it leaves no scratch or mark after cleaning the floor. The reason why vacuum cleaners are handy because, these tools come with several attachments and such attachments can reach delicate corners where it is not possible to clean with mere hands and broom.

You can also put area rugs or walk off mats on the entrance of your home, where the maximum dust and dirt assembles. If you put such mats over your stone floor then the loose dirt will be prevented from reaching the stone floor. However, placing a mat does not end your responsibility; you have to clean the mat or rug regularly to keep dirt out of the stone surface.

Regular mopping not only cleans your stone floor, but also makes it look gorgeous. Use a good cleaner that is not rough on the stones to clean your floor. Regular cleaning, mopping or uses of mats are very common ways to maintain stone floors in a good condition. If you take care of these simple things, you will enjoy your stone floor for long years.

PostHeaderIcon How to Successfully Bake With Silicone Bakeware



Many home chefs have not embraced this newest line of bakeware products, some of us have been slightly cautious to let go of our traditional metal and glass baking pans that have stood the test of time, long enough to even test out a silicone pan.

The bright colors attract our attention, their general construction that raises a few skeptic bakers’ eyebrows. However, manufacturers have been vary quick to open our eyes of folding pans and overflowing batter, by designing optional or campanion racks or ‘sleds’ that provide the much-needed stability especially for the larger pans.

If you haven’t yet tried one of these, you may be pleasantly surprised, I was. I started out slowly at first with a muffin pan shich were very economical no big risk, and these quickly captured this baker’s heart.

Goodby medal bakeware -hello silicone bakeware. They can take the heat and they can take the fridged cold in a freezer. After a year and considerable mileage they still look like new.

Since my silicone muffin pan passed the test, it was on to bigger silicone bakware, a general purpose loaf pan. To grease or not to grease the bakeware was the question, and I opted for “not” trusting the silicone would work its releasing magic.

Result were terrific-quick even baking and cooling. What was most impressive was the easy loaf removal. A slight twist or should I say movement of the pan, and sides just pulling away, showing an evenly baked delicious banana bread loaf that gently rolled out onto the cutting board.

The pan is slightly smaller than a regular bread pan, which trquired transferring a small amount of batter to a single-serving pan. No problem, neighbors were happy to share in the baking.

Silicone bakeware is made of FDA-approved food grade silicone and should denote this on the packaging label. Each piece of silicone has its own limitation as to manufacturer recommended maximum oven temperature, and this is uaualy stamped on the product.

PostHeaderIcon Top 5 Bird Dangers To Avoid



If you are a bid owner, you must be aware of the things that can harm your little avian friend, particularly if you enjoy allowing it to roam freely in your home. By being aware of potential bird dangers, you can effectively make certain your pets are kept safe and enjoy living a long, healthy, and happy life with you.

Bird Danger #1: Accidental Poisoning

Sadly, hundreds of pet birds are accidentally poisoned every year. There are many products and chemicals that are potentially fatal to birds, including insecticides, bleach, ammonia, glues, oven cleaners, paint, nail polish remover, metals such as zinc and lead, perfumes, and even plants. Non stick coatings, such as those found on bread machines, waffle irons, and space heaters can also emit a fume that is toxic to birds when inhaled. So, search your home for potential dangers, making certain to consider things that your pet bird might inhale or ingest that could be potentially lethal.

Bird Danger #2: Toys

While it is important to purchase toys for your avian friend, it is equally important to make sure they are properly made. Buying toys for your pet bird is the same as buying toys for a child. Make certain none of the parts can easily break off and be accidentally swallowed. Similarly, when it comes to rope toys, make certain your pet cannot accidentally get tangled up in the rope or that your pet cannot separate the strands and accidentally get caught inside. The same is true when it comes to electrical cords – birds are naturally curious and will want to play with them. So, keep them out of reach and consider covering exposed cords with corrugated plastic tubing.

Bird Danger #3: Water and Food

Obviously, your pet bird won’t be able to live if you don’t feed it water and food. At the same time, you shouldn’t leave large containers of open water available to your pet – this includes your toilet and water that you may have out for other pets. Birds can easily fall into open water and accidentally drown. In addition, make certain you give your pet the right type of food and keep inappropriate foods put away. Chocolate, caffeine, and alcohol are all potentially fatal to birds when consumed. Similarly, avoid feeding your pet bird foods that are high in sugar, salt, or fat.

Bird Danger #4: Household Items

Several ordinary, every day household items can pose a threat to your pet bird. Ceiling fans, for example, can cause serious injury to birds that do not have their wings clipped. Even those that aren’t in flight can get stressed out by the movement of a ceiling fan if it is located near to their cages. Pet birds may also fly into windows, mirrors, and doors, so cover them up when your bird takes to flight or keep your pet bird’s wings clipped.

Bird Danger #5: Poor Air Quality

Pet birds can be very sensitive to any type of pollution in the air. Cigarette smoke can cause serious respiratory problems and aerosol products should not be used while you are near to your bird. Birds are also more susceptible to carbon monoxide poisoning. So, for the safety of your birds as well as of your family, keep a carbon monoxide detector in your home and avoid running your vehicle inside an attached garage.

PostHeaderIcon Make Your Own Dressing Room Closet



Dressing room closets are really popular in upscale townhomes and celebrity mansions. Closets like this are ornate in style and dripping with luxury. To create one in your home would give you a fabulous place to get ready for your day or that special night on the town. This can be a really fun DIY project that allows you to express your personal style and taste. These tips will help you to accumulate ideas so that you can create the dressing room closet of your dreams.

1) The lighting is very important; it can make or break your closet. Many people choose to spotlight certain areas to highlight artistic features and illuminate clothing and shoes. A chandelier is almost a must! Track lighting underneath the shelves of the closet helps to give each article a special glow.

Windows and skylights are also popular and let in lots of natural light. Be careful not to hang clothes that could get sun bleached in the path of the light. UV coatings and sheers will help to disperse the light so that you don’t have “hot spots” in your closet. Try to use natural soft bulbs over fluorescents whenever possible. They are more pleasing to the eye. You can install a sensor/dimmer switch so that the lights come on to the brightness that you desire whenever you enter the closet. Just another way to make your closet a little more luxurious.

2) The style of the room can be greatly influenced by your choice of closet system or furniture. Many people install elaborate hardwood shelving and line the ceiling and floor with crown molding to give it a regal feel. However, depending on your style, you could get away with an inexpensive system and give your closet a more rustic or industrial theme.

Another option is to use furniture instead of shelves. Armoires, dressers and make-up tables are popular. Chairs, window seats, and ottomans add a nice touch as well. Standing hat racks and mirrors can make your closet feel more like a boutique. Display interesting hats, scarves, shoes, and special pieces of clothing around the closet to create many interesting focal points.

3) The ceiling and floor should surround the room in style. That “popcorn” ceiling that your closet or room came with just won’t do! You can easily knock down the popcorn with a broom and repaint the ceiling. Metal tiles with imprinted designs make for an interesting ceiling. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to install, and come in silver, gold, white or black lacquer, or even copper. They can be easily painted to suit your taste. Some people have an artist come and paint a mural, clouds, mosaic, or other artistic piece on the ceiling.

Rugs, ornate tile work, and hardwood flooring are popular choices for flooring. Stained and polished concrete can look a lot like marble and allow you to personalize the color of the floor. Concrete can also be imprinted to look like whatever you want. Concrete floors also stay cooler, keeping the heat down in your closet.

4) When everything is in place, choose your clothes hangers. There are plenty of specialty hangers out there that can help your clothes look more interesting and stay more organized in the closet. Satin hangers, wooden hangers, chrome metal hangers, and cedar hangers are popular. Choose the clothes hangers that function in the way that you need them to while looking good with your décor. Your dressing room closet will be a jewel in your home while reflecting your personal style and taste!

PostHeaderIcon Are You Planning to Buy Towel Hooks?



There was a point of time when decorating the interior did not reach up to the places like the kitchen and the bathroom. But thankfully, things have changed. Now even the decor of the bathroom is considered to be equally important. People actually are ready to spend money for the bathroom interior.

And among various things, a towel hook is integral to the bathroom decor. Besides being stylish and sleek, a towel hook is also quite functional. A major problem with other towel racks is that you will always have to keep your towel folded properly. Or else it will end up looking extremely messy. With a towel hook, this problem no longer exists. You just need to slip in the towel through the hook, and you are done! No need to fold the towels and stack them properly. And hence these hooks are extremely popular with children and also with grown ups who have very little or no patience at all.

Fixing a towel hook is almost a cakewalk. Get a towel hook and then select a place on the wall where you want to put it up. Next check the wall with a metal pipe detector just to ensure that no water pipes or electrical lines are running beneath that particular wall. You just need to run the detector over the wall and if it passes without any beep, your wall is absolutely safe to use.

But with a suction towel hook, you can actually evade this problem too. A suction towel hook is the easiest one to use and you don’t need to have any particular DIY skills to fix a suction towel hook on the wall. The best part of this hook is that it can be removed from one place and fixed on another wall very easily, at your own convenience. And since it works on the suction mechanism it doesn’t leave any ugly drill marks on the wall. Are you the kind who cannot decide at once where to put up what in the house? Well, suction towel hook is indeed a great option for you. You can put up and take it off whenever you want. Another major advantage is, you can put these hooks up wherever you want, even on places like the refrigerator or a slab of glass at any part of your house. And if you are staying in a rented apartment, and you cannot drill the wall, then a suction towel hook is the best option for you.

A downside of these hooks is that, it is usually said that they fall off every five minutes. So when you buy your suction towel hook, make sure you get it from a renowned shop. These shops will keep better suction hooks that won’t fall off easily and are made with advanced technology. These suction hooks are made to carry more weight as compared to ordinary suction hooks. So you can easily hang your wet towel there.

It is better to buy a suction hook from one of the renowned online shops. Local stores will generally keep towel hooks that need to be fixed by drilling it to the wall. Besides, even if they keep the suction hooks, they will demand a higher price. So it’s safer and cheaper to search the internet and buy it from some reliable online store.