Around The Home Front

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With spring just around the corner, it’s time to focus on sprucing up your home. But balancing a budget and your home improvement desires can be a challenge. Some simple tips and tricks can help you make over your home for less.

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(StatePoint) Your house is a refuge from the outside world, and in the cooler months, there's nothing more comforting than coming in from the brisk air to an inviting home.

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(NAPSI)—As a young child, Ryan Haass spent much of his time on a tractor in Devine, Texas. The Haass family heritage revolves around farming and tractor restoration. When Ryan was 10, the Texas drought was so bad that his family retired its tractors and turned to cattle ranching. With idle tractors around the farm, Ryan’s older siblings, Randolph and Amie, discovered an interest in restoration and began participating in competitions.

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(StatePoint) Whether you are motivated to help the planet or simply want to slash home energy and water bills, there are easy steps to reduce your home’s carbon footprint.

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(StatePoint) Want to go green? One great area to focus on this year is reducing, reusing and recycling the paper waste you generate.

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(NAPSI)Theres genuine excitement in rural America about what to many may seem a surprising subject: livestock manure. Thats because farmers can get improved nutrient efficiency from it as a natural fertilizer source, the animal waste is easier to handle and apply, and some of the odors associated with release of ammonia gas are being reducedall thanks to some recent technology available to livestock producers.

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(BPT) - Winter lingered far too long this year. It was cold, it was blustery, and many of us were left wondering if it would ever end. Now summer is here - and it’s time to get outdoors.

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(BPT) - Summer can be tough on gardens. In what should be their glory days, many gardens suffer from neglect. Long weekends and summer vacations leave yards untended, while summer heat is an excuse for putting off chores. But it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s possible to have both a glorious well-maintained garden and time for fun in the sun by taking some smart gardening steps now.

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(BPT) - The arrival of milder temperatures means dining al fresco, hosting neighborhood cookouts and enjoying intimate cocktail parties under the stars. When creating a backyard oasis to entertain family and friends this summer, it’s important that it be both inviting and able to withstand the wear and tear that goes hand-in-hand with warm weather fun.

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(BPT) - A tale as old as time, true as it can be ... insects, weeds and poor fertilization are the beasts that take away from the beauty of plants and flowers in our lawns, gardens and even homes. To maintain a home and landscape your neighbors envy, interiors and exteriors should remain pest-free, and plants should be fed with the proper nutrients to stay healthy all-season-long.

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(BPT) - Like many couples who share a bathroom, one Arizona couple was frustrated by the space that was compromised by a swinging bathroom door. The open door swung into the bathroom vanity and took up too much space in a very traditional bathroom.

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(BPT) - Feel the need to renovate? If so, you’re not alone. Fifty-three percent of homeowners believe that now is a good time to remodel, according to a recent survey by Houzz.com. When deciding on where the makeover begins, look no farther than the kitchen. Kitchens are a major selling point for homebuyers, so a kitchen remodel is good for the home-selling price. Even if you have no plans to move, the kitchen gets more traffic than any other area of a home and serves as the family hub, so it deserves the attention. To ensure a successful project, keep in mind these kitchen-remodeling tips:

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(BPT) - If you’ve ever looked around your house and gotten the urge to purge, you might consider pausing and first thinking about how you could transform that old, damaged piece of furniture or outdated light fixture into a fresh-faced showpiece for your home.

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(BPT) - Opposites attract, and for couples who live together, compromising on personal style and design choices can be a difficult bridge to cross. Someone who wants a modern, contemporary vibe might not like the decor choice of someone who prefers a more traditional or rustic feel. What most people don’t realize, however, is that blending two opposing tastes can actually be more visually appealing than sticking with just one design style. And, more importantly, it can be done quickly and affordably.