Do you have any squeaky wooden chairs in your home? You can easily fix those awful squeaks by:

1) Locating the source of the problem (which joint is making that noise)

2) Position the chair so you can reach the joint easily (you may have to turn the chair over)

3) Apply a little bit of glue to the squeaky joint; if the chair is connected with dowels, disassemble and apply wood swelling liquid to the dowels and reassemble.

4) Let the joints dry, and enjoy your silent chair!

Doing some painting around the house?

Don’t forget to use primer! If you have a dark wall that you want to paint a lighter color, primer will reduce the amount of coats you will need to paint over the darker color. If you use primer, you don’t have to worry about any of that old color showing through. Additionally, make sure you pick-up a roll of painter’s tape so you don’t accidently paint unwanted areas like your ceiling or floor.

Do you have unwanted marks on your floor?

Sometimes kids like to use your nice tile or wood floor as their art studio. Not to worry; there are a couple of ways you can get those unwanted permanent marker stains off your floor. First try using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (this is non-abrasive and won’t do damage to your home), if that doesn’t work you can try Arm & Hammer toothpaste and a tooth brush. As a last resort, a little nail polish remover is sure to do the  trick! The acetone is not a very nice chemical to use, but it is a great stain remover for surfaces like tile. Make sure you wipe it off the surface as soon as the stain is removed (the acetone can peel off the coverings on many tiles).

Planning to plaster a wall?

1)      Pick your plaster carefully—often times people opt for a quick drying plaster, but these can be hard to work with and cause you more trouble than they are worth.

2)      Measure a little extra plaster than you think you will need; you would rather have extra then find out you poured too little. Make sure carefully follow the directions when mixing your plaster; if you use too much water, you plaster will be runny.

3)      Thoroughly mix the plaster ingredients; you can use a paint stir stick—there should be now powder left at all.

4)      Using your putty knife, you now smear a good amount of plaster over the area you are trying to fix. Scrape off the extra plaster and let it dry—the surface does not need to be perfectly smooth.

5)      After the area has dried (you should let it dry over night, just to be safe), take a piece of sand paper and smooth out the surface.

6)      Then paint to blend with the rest of your wall!