Tip #3: What's in my shed?

Isn't the shed the coolest place for a guy to store all his grown-up toys? Lawn mowers, Snow Throwers, Power Washers, Hedge Clippers, etc.

This is like toy chest you had when you were a kid. All the trucks, games, and gadgets all in a cool box with a lock. At the end of the day, you could put all your stuff in it and not neatly either! It is where you kept your baseball cards and your GI Joe's. Well, the shed is the grown-up equivalent.

After all, all the stuff you buy at Home Depot and Lowes has to go somewhere. It wouldn't look good in the living room. A family room wouldn't have a good look with bags of mulch in the corner or your lawn mower in the middle of the room. A shed makes a guy feel like a true home owner. You even get a small smile on your face when you say things like, "Hey wait, I think I have an extra shovel in the shed." It is an outdoor man cave.

The only problem with a shed is that sooner or later, it has to be cleaned out for two key reasons: 1) You can't get around in there anymore because stuff is all over or 2) You keep buying things you already have but don't remember because you can't get around in your shed.

Unfortunately, there is never a day that you feel like saying, "Oh good, it's a beautiful Saturday morning. I think it's a good time to clean out the shed." After work, no one feels like coming home and cleaning it out. Plus, once it's cleaned out, you have to put everything back, which also takes time.

So why are you reading this? And what is the point? I guess the point is sheds are cool because they hold all the grown-up toys we buy. But we have to take the time to clean it out so we can buy more grown-up toys to put in the shed.

TIP #2: Vinegar: The Ultimate Household Product!

Today, I would like to share with you a great product that has many household uses. And the best part is everyone already has it somewhere in their house. The product is white vinegar.

When I moved into my house in 2003, both the bathroom and kitchen had hideous old wall paper. A friend of mine told me to get a bucket, fill it with 1/2 hot water and 1/2 white vinegar, and apply the mixture to the wallpaper with a sponge. At first, I felt stupid. I thought this was nothing more than a bad practical joke. After all, the whole house smelled like a fresh garden salad, as I applied the vinegar soaked sponge to the wall paper. I continued the process for about 15 minutes with no results. I took a break, came back into the kitchen, and started to notice air pockets forming under the paper. The vinegar was seeping into the paper and loosening the glue. Within a few more minutes, a simple scraper was peeling back the paper with no damage to the drywall. After the paper was completely removed, I washed down the walls with soap and water. The walls were then ready to be primed and painted....thanks to the vinegar.

Did you ever have streaky mirrors or windows? No matter what window cleaner, nothing seems to clear the streaks or smears. In 2004, I needed new windows for the house. The installer told me the best way to keep windows, mirrors, and chrome polished is as follows:

Use a standard spray bottle: fill it with 1/3 water, 1/3 ammonia, and 1/3 white vinegar. Shake the bottle up and start spraying. You will never buy Windex again! Try it. It works.

Finally, this weekend I noticed that my backyard patio pavers are getting that disgusting moss/weed build up between the cracks again. This is something you are not told when deciding to get pavers for the patio. Every season, I have to scrape out the green moss and weed build up between the cracks before filling them with settling sand. However, I was told that the best way to get rid of the moss and weeds is "surpirse..................white vinegar!" I would like to thank my friend Julie Kent ahead of time for the great tip. I'm sure it will work. I will let you know the details if and when this horrible humidity finally disappears, and I can get to work on my patio.

If you have any ideas you want to share, feel free to post a comment or email me at rhilston@aol.com. Also check out http://www.vinegar.com to view other great uses of vinegar.

TIP #1: Never Mow Your Lawn at 1 pm!

Did you ever drive down a road on a really hot and humid day around 1pm and notice someone trying to start their lawn mower? What are they thinking? I guess they feel that the lawn needs cutting and that this is the only time they can get to it. I don't care how high you cut the grass or how careful it is edged, cutting the grass during the heart of the day with the temperature in the 90's is lawn suicide.

Lawns should only be cut either first thing in the morning or after 5pm. Also, the hotter the temperature, the higher off the ground you should adjust the lawn mower. Usually, in March or April, the idea is to cut as low as possible to let the lawn get a good growth start. But once the temperature gets really hot, the lawn should only be cut with the mower adjusted to at least 4 or 5 inches off the ground. Also, The lawn should only be cut once every 7-10 days depending on the grass height. I usually cut the lawn after 5 pm. Once I am done cutting, I usually water the lawn for 10-15 minutes to let the water hit the grass roots overnight.

The reason I know all this is from bad experience. I bought my first lawn mower in 2005, and cut the grass too low. That's when I learned how easily grass burns and how long it takes it to recover. Let's just say that yellow, orange and brown areas of your lawn probably won't recover until September or October, no matter how much you water the yellow, orange, or brown spot! Bottom line...don't cut the lawn at 1pm!

If you have suggestions or comments, please post them or email me at rhilston@aol.com

THE HOME & GARDEN GUY: WELCOME

Today, I begin a new venture. I am starting a blog so I can share whatever I have learned in the world of home ownership and gardening. By day, I am a CPA with an MBA in Accounting. I analyze numbers, facts, statistics, etc. That's how I make my living. But my true love is home repair, painting, landscaping, gardening, getting my hands dirty in the earth. For many years, I lived in an apartment. I knew nothing about home ownership, gardening, etc. I went to Home Depot and Lowes daily and learned everything I could, and now seven years later, I have decided to share what I have learned with the world. I am by no means an expert. I learned mostly by trial and error. I will share what I have learned, and since learning never stops, I hope this blog will give many of you some really helpful tips and hopefully save you from some of the pitfalls that I fell into over the years.

Let's enjoy the ride together!