Natural Cleaners for Your Home (2)

Baking Soda: Clean Children’s Toys Safely
Combine four tablespoons baking soda with one quart of water. Use the solution to wipe off toys.
Baking Soda: Clean Bathroom Grout
Make a paste of water and baking soda. Using a small brush or toothbrush, rub the paste onto stained or dirty grout. Let sit for three minutes and rinse.

Baking Soda: Clean the Dishwasher
If your dishwasher has a funky scent, try this: Empty all dishes. Clean out the food filter. Next, fill the detergent well with baking soda and run on empty.

Salt: Drip-Proof Your Candles
Everyone loves the soft glow of candlelight—but not the icky stains they can leave behind when they drip on your favorite tablecloth. To prevent this, soak candles in a saltwater solution for several hours and dry thoroughly before lighting.
Baking Soda: Clean and Deodorize the Refrigerator
Sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge and scrub down the inside of your refrigerator. Rinse the sponge and wipe down with fresh water.
Mayonnaise: Clean Yellowed, Dull Piano Keys
Apply a small amount of mayonnaise to the keys. Wait two to three minutes. Wipe off and buff with a soft, clean cloth.

Vegetable Oil: Prevent Rattan and Wicker Furniture from Cracking
Use a soft, clean cloth to apply a coating of vegetable oil to furniture. Wipe off any excess for shiny, beautiful furniture.

Source: ivillage.com

Yellow Coconut Leaf Decoration

This decoration has become a popular tradition in a wedding event here. You can read the names of bride and groom on the hung paper. Usually people place this decoration as a direction tool to the house of a family holding a wedding ceremony.

Kencana Park

Kencana Park is one of open and public space in my city (Bogor, West Java, Indonesia). Every week end, this place will full of playing children and food sellers.

My entry for The Weekend in Black and White

Partitions and Screens (2)

In the previous post, we have talked about partitions. This time, I’ll share a little bit about various screens. Screens as dividers have been used effectively for centuries. They have been hidden behind, dressed behind, used as a decorative element or for disguising eyesores and deflecting winter draughts- all manner of tasks where non-permanent screening is appropriate. The screens discussed here will provide you with the basics for screen manufacture.

Slatted screen
This snaky little contraption can go anywhere. Timber strips are nailed back-to-back over a canvas sheet. The strips are standard 30x9 mm cover battens 1.8 meters in length and spaced 9 mm apart. To make the one shown (1.8 meters long) you need 92 of them.

Beaded screen
This beautiful screen comprises three stepped panels which are hinged together. The frame joints should be dowelled and glued. The calico fabric is adorned with bows (you could use a different fabric) and the timber is stained brown.

Solid panel screen
A variation on the beaded screen uses solid panels. The screens shown here are made from ply or edged particle board hinged together. The hinges can be placed on the edge or on the face of the panels.

Any number of panels could be linked in this way. Another variation could use louvred doors, while a framed and paneled screen is yet another option.

The joints for the 42 x 19 mm framing can be butted and dowelled. Or they could be mitred with a half-tounged mortice as shown. The panels can be of three ply 0r 6 mm particle board which sits in a groove in the frame.

Thanks to You!

I’d like to say ‘thank you’ to all women who work hard every day to keep clean the street in my city (Bogor, West Java, Indonesia). Perhaps the woman thinks that this job is only to get earnings for her family; but for me, she has done a noble job. We should help her with not littering the street. But unfortunately, I still see many people are doing the opposite.

Partitions and Screens

Homes that are short on space are sometimes difficult to live in. Different activities demand different living areas and the company need to be accommodated so that they can live alongside one another with as little friction as possible.

There are various ways in which limited space can be apportioned. Furniture such as a lounge, dresser or screen can be used effectively to divide up the given space. Another solution is to construct a partition.
A partition is defined as an interior wall or barrier that creates an enclosure. The photos below show how effective such a simple structure can be. The construction procedure given can be adapted to suit your requirements. Change the size and lining (plasterboard, ply, and shingles, for example) and the effect that you create will be entirely different. As a general rule, it’s best to choose those materials which match the existing linings.

Source: Easy home projects