The Home News Home & Garden 2019 supplement

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The Home News Office Location: 255E S. Best Ave. (Rt. 145), Walnutport, PA 18088 Phone: 610-923-0382 • Fax: 610-923-0383 E-mail: AskUs@HomeNewsPA.com Paul & Lisa Prass - Publishers William J. Halbfoerster, Jr. - Editor Emeritus Catherine Stroh - Associate Publisher Kristy O’Brien - Account Executive Anthony Pisco - Art Director Deby Beuscher & David Farkas - Delivery Drivers

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www.simplemost.com Think about where you traverse each day. City streets, playgrounds, through the lawn or garden, to and from the grocery store, public restrooms and the gym. In some cultures, it’s a common courtesy to remove one’s shoes when entering the home.

If my hands are full, I admit that I often keep my shoes on until I set down whatever I’m carrying.

However, some studies suggest that removing shoes should be more of a common occurrence.

Still not a believer? Here are six reasons you should remove your shoes before entering your house: 1. Reduce bacteria in your home A study from the University of Arizona claims the following: “Ten people were given a brand new pair of shoes to use for two weeks before having them tested for bacteria. After two weeks, more than 420,000 units of bacteria were found on the outside of the test shoes. Of that bacteria, 27 percent were deadly E. Coli virus. Also detected was Klebsiella pneumonia, which can cause pneumonia and wound and bloodstream infections and Serratia ficaria, which can lead to infection of the respiratory tract.”

2. Save your floors Scuffs, dings, scratches and dents will be more frequent on your hardwood floors if you wear your shoes (especially heels) in the home. Dirt and debris get tracked across carpets and frequent treading could wear them out faster.

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3. Strengthen your feet Going barefoot can help strengthen and stretch the muscles in your feet. This may help reduce injuries.

4.Use fewer chemicals to clean Floors that are soiled more often require more cleaning. Frequently applying chemicals to floors in an effort to keep them squeaky clean can wear down the protective finish over time.

5. Keep your neighbors happy If you’ve ever lived in a lower-lever apartment, you know what I’m talking about. Hearing your neighbor track back and forth as they get ready in the morning or tidy up at night is obnoxious. Do them a favor — remove your shoes before tromping up the stairs.

6. Reduce toxins and allergens Pesticides, tar, lead, mold and cleaning chemicals can get tracked in your home via your footwear.

While generally not toxic, pollen can be tracked in as well, which can be a nuisance for those with seasonal or specific allergies. Simply removing your shoes at the door may help alleviate these issues.

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16 easy ways to boost your Home’s curb appeal

www.moving.com Could your home use a bit of extra curb appeal?

Your home’s exterior is like the cover of a book, setting the stage for what’s inside. And whether you’re interested in selling or just want to make some improvements for your own enjoyment, adding curb appeal is often an easy and inexpensive way to make your house look nicer and boost its value. Here are 16 projects that will help your home make a better first impression.

1. Go green One of the most obvious (and most impactful) ways to boost curb appeal is to add some fresh greenery and flowers. Don’t worry if you don’t have the time or money to spend on putting in a garden—you can get the same effect by adding some planters and window boxes. Use plants to accentuate and frame key visual points, like windows and entryways, and if you don’t have room for a standing planter, hook up a hanging one. Even just one pretty plant arrangement can significantly add to your home’s exterior appearance.

2. Take care of your lawn While we’re talking green thumbs, it’s important

to note that lawn care is a big part of maintaining curb appeal. Regularly care for your lawn by mowing the grass, raking off leaves, and pulling weeds. Keep it well watered to prevent brown spots. As long as you keep up with it, lawn care won’t become a huge project. Live somewhere dry where grass has a tough time taking hold? Consider lawn alternatives like shrub beds or artificial turf.

3. Make your door pop Boost curb appeal by having your front door stand out instead of blend in. Painting a front door only costs about $75, and is a pretty easy DIY job, even for beginners. Opt for a bold color that accentuates and enhances (rather than clashes with) the other colors of your home’s exterior. Don’t be afraid to go bright, but do hold up a swatch before painting to ensure the final product will be what you’re looking for.You can also use the Front Door Paint app, which lets you virtually test out different colors.

4. Let there be light There’s nothing welcoming about a dark entryway.

If you already have a sconce or hanging pendant by your front door, replace it with something a bit more fun and fresh. Clean off all cobwebs and debris

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8. Add some front door décor around outdoor light fixtures, which will instantly Wreaths aren’t only for Christmas. You can find make the space appear more bright and clean. If you need some additional light sources, hang some wreaths year-round that add an exceptional dose of porch string lights or use solar powered lanterns to added beauty to your front door. Look for wreaths made from dried or preserved greens and florals, light up a walkway. or make your life even easier by purchasing one 5. Embrace symmetry Symmetrical patterns create focal points that are made from faux plants. Avoid seasonal elements pleasing to look at and instantly make your home that can date a wreath and make it appear out of look more put together. Achieve the look by putting place. Instead, go with something simple that can matching wall lanterns or plants on either side of add elegance throughout an entire season.

9. Upgrade your house numbers your front door. If you don’t have room at your Quickly modernize the look of your home by entryway, you can do the same thing around your removing your old house numbers and replacing garage door. them with something that has a bit more oomph.

6. Makeover your mailbox Swap out a dated mailbox with something more Choose a font that aligns with the architecture of stylish. It’s a super easy project to take on, and can your home but that is also distinctive enough to make an understated but noticeable difference in really grab the eye. Even if you’re not super handy, your home’s curb appeal. Depending on the type of replacing the numbers is an easy job that can be mailbox that you need (i.e. a standing mailbox or done in about half an hour or less.

10. Hide electrical fixtures one that’s attached to the wall), plan on spending An electrical box on the front of your house can about $50-$200 to replace it. really stand out, and not in a good way. Fortunately, 7. Clean your gutters Clean gutters both inside and out, clearing out a quick paint job can camouflage the fixture so it blends in instead of being an eyesore. Go with a any debris and really scrubbing the• outsides until SOIL PRO-MIX TOPSOIL MUSHROOM they look good as new (or as close to new as you can color that’s the same as your home’s siding, and SCREENED TOPSOIL get them looking).

You’ll be&inUNSCREENED awe at what a little Continued on Page 8 elbow grease can do.

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Curb appeal Continued from Page 7

follow these tips for painting it correctly.

11. Power wash it off There are few things more satisfying than power washing years of dirt and grime off your siding, porch, walkway, and driveway. If you don’t own a power washer, you can rent one from a big box hardware store like Home Depot or Lowe’s.

12. Stain your garage door A new garage door is expensive, but you can get the look of a new door for a lot less money simply by staining it a new color. Start by power washing the door to get the surface completely clean, then paint your stain on. Here’s an easy guide for how to do it right.

13. Fix it up Take care of any small repairs, like ripped screens, burned out bulbs, or chipped paint. Even tiny flaws can stand out against an otherwise picturesque exterior, so it’s worth taking a day to fix them. Walk around the outside of your house noting anything that requires a quick fix, and then get the tools you need and get to work.

14. Design a clear path A well-defined path makes your home look more

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inviting and put together. You can go big and build one out of stone or brick, or you can just use visual cues like lighting and plants to line a clear path to your front door through the grass or around an existing concrete walkway.

15. Utilize outdoor furniture smartly Too much outdoor furniture can clutter your home’s appearance, while too little can make it look scarce or neglected. Try to find a good balance somewhere in the middle, and be sure that all outdoor furniture you have is clean and in good condition. For small yards, think about putting in simple ceramic stools for seating and add some extra charm by setting up a small table with a pretty planter on the top.

16. Add new door hardware Replace your front door’s existing hardware with something new for a quick and noticeable upgrade.

Choose a color that contrasts with your door’s paint color, such as black hardware on a white door or brass hardware on a black door. Take it a step further by adding a fun doorknocker for guests to use when they come by. Giving your home a curb appeal boost can be done in just a day or weekend if you plan ahead and prioritize the projects that will really make a difference.

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Spring is the prime time to paint your Front door—here are the paint colors to Watch this season, according to the pros Make your home the most eye-catching on the block With a fresh paint job this spring.

www.realsimple.com With each spring comes a certain number of housekeeping and home maintenance projects— think some old-fashioned spring cleaning, a closet makeover, or a fresh coat of exterior paint. Spring’s

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sunnier, warmer weather makes it a great time to tackle these indoor and outdoor tasks, but it can be fickle, so the larger projects may need to wait a few more weeks. Fortunately, figuring out how to paint a front door is a relatively quick, easy home improvement project that you can do almost as soon as winter ends.

“We do a lot of front doors in the spring,” says Kevin Busch, the vice president of operations for home improvement services company Mr. Handyman, a Neighborly company. “That’s the time where the weather allows for it, and it’s a great way to quickly make sort of a statement on your house, because the front door is often the main accent piece.”

If you dream of a total overhaul on your exterior paint colors but the weather (or your budget) doesn’t quite allow for it, a new front door color— either applied by you or a hired pro—is the next best thing.

“The door is the focal point,” says Tina Nokes, who owns Neighborly company Five Star Painting Loudoun. Nokes suggests an unexpected front door paint color to really make that focal point pop: black. “The thing we’ve been seeing for the last several years is black,” she says. “Black shutters, black doors, when you never saw that maybe 10 years ago. I expect black to continue to be really big.”

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Continued from Page 10 of late. Nokes says most people go with a semi-gloss paint, but there’s an even more striking way to try the trend.

“I’m seeing people doing a high-gloss on their door,” she says. “It gives it a little more pop, because it catches the light with that high gloss. And it looks really pretty.”

Going dark, when the popular trend for front door paint colors is to take on bright, vibrant hues, can feel like a risky decision, but it may be just the thing to help your home’s curb appeal stand out.

(Painting a few interior doors black first could serve as a trial run.)

If you can’t quite bring yourself to pick up a can of glossy black paint (such as Blackest by Clare Nokes is a fan of high-impact peacock blues or sea salt shades. (Look to Silken Peacock by Sherwin-Williams or Hidden Sea Glass by Behr. For something between black and Nokes’s more colorful suggestions, she likes Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore.

And nothing beats a good red. “I just love red front doors. I think those are really pretty,” Nokes

“Real Red” by Sherwin-Williams says. Try Real Red by Sherwin-Williams, and yours will be forever known as the house with the red front door.

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3 vegetable gardening mistakes thespruce.com 1. Planting too early We're all impatient to get the garden started. It's very tempting to get your hands in the soil and start seeds months before your last frost date. However little seeds quickly become lanky, hungry seedlings.

They need a lot more space in your home and they become stressed if they must remain indoors in pots, with limited light. Even if you start your garden by purchasing seedlings, you have to resist the urge to put them in the ground as soon as you get them home. It may be true that you'll find the biggest selection of varieties if you shop early, but have a plan for hardening them off and for protecting them if a late frost is predicted. Otherwise, you'll be right back at the nursery buying more plants.

2. Picking a bad spot It's a pleasure to work in a vegetable garden in the crisp days of spring or fall, but if your garden is not handy, eventually you won't be visiting it every day. It only takes a day or two for a zucchini to grow to the size of a bowling pin or a rabbit to break through your fence and finish off your peas.

Two other considerations are sited it by a source of

water and in a spot that gets at least 6 hours of sun a day. Vegetables that don't get enough sunlight will struggle all season, set fewer fruits and develop less tasty sugars than well-sited vegetables. And trust me, you are not going to enjoy lugging a hose 100 ft. every time a plant needs watering and water cans are not much better.

3. Skimping on soil You have to cultivate a true love of soil to be a successful gardener. It can't be an afterthought.

Starting off with poor soil means you will be fighting against it all season. Good soil harbors all kinds of beneficial creatures that help turn the soil into a repository of accessible nutrients while inhibiting the onset of problems. Prevent all this goodness from washing away by ending the season with either a green manure, to be tilled in the following season, or a thick layer of shredded leaves or leaf mold.

Leaves slowly rot into the soil, adding richness and attracting even more beneficial organisms and earthworms to keep this healthy system functioning.

Once you've handled and inhaled the earthiness of rich soil, you may even come to enjoy amending it each season.

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The do’s and don’ts of Backyard composting

Treehugger.com Why compost?

Finished compost is a free soil amendment and fertilizer for the garden. It is mild and won't burn plants like chemical fertilizers. By adding compost you'll improve the overall texture of your soil enabling it to retain and drain water better.

Choose a compost bin In the DIY Compost Bins post I collected some nice examples of homemade compost bins on the Internet. The post on Compost Bins for Small Spaces showcased three commercially available compost bins for those who weren't born with the DIY gene and don't mind spending money.

Compost bins as pets Think of your compost bin as a pet. This will do two things: it will help you see it as a living thing that shouldn’t be neglected, and teach you to ‘feed’ it a balanced diet.

There are two main types of organic materials you can feed your compost bin: greens and browns.

Greens are high in nitrogen and described as 'wet.'

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high in carbon.

When feeding your compost bin try to maintain a balance of 50% greens and 50% browns by weight.

Since greens are typically heavier, you should add 2 to 3 buckets of browns for every bucket of greens you add.

Green materials to compost Vegetable and fruit scraps. Coffee grounds and filters. Tea bags and leaves. Fresh grass clippings.

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Composting Continued from Page 15

Plant trimmings from your garden. Houseplants.

Brown materials to compost Dry leaves. Straw and dry hay. Woodchips and sawdust from untreated wood. Dried grass clippings, shredded paper. Egg and nut shells. Hair and animal fur. Paper, shredded newspaper (printed with soy ink to be safe) paper towels, and paper tubes.

Do not compost!

Meat. Fish. Eggs. Dairy products. Oily foods or

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grease. Bones. Cat and dog waste. Diseased plants and seeds of weedy plants. Anything treated with pesticides.

Composting tips Chop your materials into small pieces, which will break down faster. Always cover your layer of green material with a layer of brown material to cut down on flies and mask any odors. If you want fine compost, run over it with a mulching lawn mower.

When composting whole plants remove seed heads and seed pods. If possible avoid adding roots of plants to your compost pile that could generate a whole new plant.

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Nothing to sneeze at: beat Seasonal allergies in the garden

www.hgtv.com An estimated one in six Americans suffers from seasonal allergies, and I'm one of them. I often suffer from watery eyes, uncontrollable sneezing and an itchy throat during prime allergy season, which makes me reluctant to get up close and personal with pollen in my yard.

You might think those huge lumps of yellow pollen floating around this time of year are what’s causing your symptoms. But actually, the teeny pollen you can’t see is what tends to cause allergic reactions.

Hardwood deciduous trees like oak, maple, cedar, box elder and elm can cause sneezing, while trees with big, bright flowers, like apple, cherry and dogwood, usually have larger pollen that doesn’t blow around as much. The same rule applies to plants: daffodils, daisies, lilies, pansies, and zinnias are among the flowering plants with larger pollen, so they may not bother you as much as ragweed and pigweed.

In any case, there are steps you can take to lower your allergy symptoms this time of year. Here are a few:

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In the spring, pollen counts are generally highest in the afternoon, so try to garden at a different time of day. (In the fall, it’s early mornings you’ll want to avoid.) And try to avoid gardening on windy days, since pollen can blow in from all over.

Change your clothes and shower – or at least wash your hands and face well – after working in the garden.

Look for insect-pollinated plants – the showy, flowery kind mentioned above – rather than windpollinated plants.

Compost piles and damp mulch can produce mold, another allergy source. Keep your compost pile away from where you work and play, if possible, and consider using gravel instead of mulch.

A hat and, if needed, a breathing mask can help cut down on pollen exposure.

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Answer on Page 22

7 Cleaning mistakes that are Wasting your time www.realsimple.com 1. Not cleaning your cleaning appliances Dishwashers and washing machines are designed to clean things, so they don't need to be cleaned themselves, right? Wrong. If you're not periodically cleaning your dishwasher, food particles and residue can build up, causing an unpleasant sour odor. If

freshly-washed dishes are coming out cloudy, or your freshly-laundered clothes have a funky smell, it's a surefire sign you've been neglecting to clean these appliances. Instead of wasting time (not to mention, water) running everything through a second wash cycle, clean your machine to make it Continued on Page 20

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Cleaning Mistakes Continued from Page 19

work more efficiently.

The solution: Learn how to clean your dishwasher the right way (yes, placing a cup of white vinegar on the top rack really does work), then invest in a game-changing detergent booster. For your washing machine, order these cleaning tablets on Amazon that dissolve residue hidden inside the machine.

2. Using dirty cleaning cloths (or the wrong type of cloths) If you're wiping kitchen counters and cleaning windows with a dirty rag, let's face it, you're not actually making anything cleaner. Not only could you be unintentionally spreading bacteria around your home, but you could be making mirrors and glass windows even streakier than when you found them. The Solution: Ditch the dirty cleaning cloths, and opt for microfiber cloths that won't leave lint behind and can be tossed into the washing machine whenever they need a refresh. The tightly-woven fibers can even brush away bacteria (with or without the help of chemical cleaners) to take your cleaning to the next level.

Special | www.homenewspa.com | March 21, 2019

3. Not using the right tools for the right job Sometimes specialized gadgets really aren't worth the money, and sometimes they're totally worthwhile investments that save time and make your life easier. When it comes to cleaning, there are several tools that make tedious, time-consuming tasks much easier. If you're still cleaning window blinds with a paper towel or pulling out a step stool to dust the crown molding, there's an easier way.

The solution: Invest in an under-$10 blindcleaning brush that shaved minutes off of my cleaning routine this year. And if you're not currently using an expandable telescopic duster to reach those hard-to-reach spots (the tops of kitchen counters, above the window frames), you'll want to order one now.

4. Not pre-soaking dirty dishes If you leave pots and pans on the stovetop as you eat dinner, you're only allowing the cheese and sauce to set into the skillet. When the meal is over, you'll be greeted with baked-on food that will require a serious (read: time-consuming) scrubbing.

The solution: Once you're done cooking, get into the habit of transferring food out of the pots and pans Continued on Page 22

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Special | www.homenewspa.com | March 21, 2019

Cleaning Mistakes Continued from Page 20 it was cooked in and soaking the dishes in warm, soap water. Note: If you're cooking with aluminum pans, let them cool down slightly first. Cold water can potentially warp a piping-hot aluminum pan.

5. Forgetting to empty the vacuum By the time you're done vacuuming the entire house, the last thing you want to do is spend time emptying the bag or cleaning out the brushes, but if you don't, you could be wasting your own time later. As the bag fills with debris and the brushes get clogged with pet fur and hair, it won't work as well.

The solution: Take two minutes to empty the bin now, to cut down on vacuuming time in the future.

The ultimate solution: invest in a robotic vacuum, which can do most of the work for you.

6. Not cleaning from top to bottom Think about your typical cleaning routine for the kitchen. Do you start by vacuuming or sweeping

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the floor, then wipe down the counter, and finally dust above the kitchen cabinets? If so, by the time you're done, you may notice that crumbs and dust have fallen onto your freshly-cleaned floor. There's a better way.

The solution: Adopt the habit of cleaning from top to bottom. Start by dusting upper cabinets, surfaces, and counters before moving to lower surfaces and floors. This way, you won't be undoing your prior work, which could cause you to backtrack and waste precious time.

7. Not cleaning as you go Do you clean up as you go, or do you prefer to save it all up for one big weekend cleaning session?

While there's no wrong way and a hectic weekday schedule could make the latter option more feasible for you, you'll save time if you clean as you go. By the time Saturday rolls around, stains will be set in, the piles of clutter will be bigger, and the task will seem more daunting.

The solution: If you can, take a few minutes to clean up spills as they happen—you'll thank yourself later when you're not trying to remove a set-in red wine stain in your carpet. Before you go to bed, take five minutes to clean up kids' toys, papers, or clothes that are strewn around the house. When five minutes is up, it's time for bed. It may not be enough time to tidy up everything, but it will make your big weekend cleaning session much quicker.

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Special | www.homenewspa.com | March 21, 2019