(Family Features) - Cooler fall temperatures are on the way and it mean you're likely to spend more time indoors.
Whether you are entertaining guests or want to spend less time cleaning while working from home, taking time to spruce up inside and out can make your home more comfortable and inviting. With the peace of mind that your home is tidy, clean and prepared for the fall and winter in the months ahead, you'll enjoy the comforts of being home even more.
Here are five hacks to make your time indoors more comfortable.
Tidy Outdoor Spaces
Before stashing your lawn care equipment, give your home and landscape some end-of-season attention. Use a power washer to clean lawn furniture and store it away from the elements or use covers to protect it. Clean out gutters and remove debris from flower beds to encourage proper drainage. Check for Repair Projects
Give your home a thorough inspection to identify any problems that need attention before cold weather sets in. Look for concerns like loose shutters or siding, cracked or loose shingles, cracks and gaps around doors and windows that may allow moisture or cold air to creep in. Severe weather and cycles of freezing and thawing can exacerbate these problems, so it's best to make repairs before they result in major damage. Eliminate Dirt and Dust
Moving indoors, take time to remove any dirt and grime that has accumulated. Wash textiles like curtains and rugs. Wipe down kitchen and bathroom surfaces with an antibacterial solution. Dust other parts of the house, including blinds, windowsills, baseboards and other hard-to-reach places. When it comes to vacuuming, make sure to keep floors clean and free of outside dirt all season long with an all-around cleaner that can vacuum and mop simultaneously, like the DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI. It provides convenient, efficient, hands-free cleaning you can control via smart home devices. With a built-in HD camera, the AI-powered robot identifies common household obstacles and intelligently determines how to clean around them, while also providing on-demand home monitoring. Complete with laser mapping and navigation technology to scan and map your floors for faster cleaning and fewer missed spots, it is also compatible with an optional, automatic emptying station that allows for up to 30 days of fully maintenance-free cleaning. Promote Air Quality
In addition to keeping floors clean and allergens under control, there are other steps you can take to promote better air quality while you're spending more time indoors. Scheduling service for your furnace can help ensure it's in good condition before cold weather hits. This is also a good time to replace your air filter and consider a duct cleaning. Take time to clean ceiling fans and reverse the blades so the air circulates but fans don't create a chilling effect. Swap Seasonal Essentials
A new season brings change, whether it's simply swapping out your wardrobe or gearing up for a busy season of school activities and sports. Make time to put away out-of-season clothes and other necessities to make room for the things you'll need for the autumn months. Keep only the things you need and store the rest to help keep clutter under control. Find more tips for efficient fall home maintenance and cleaning at ecovacs.com.
Before stashing your lawn care equipment, give your home and landscape some end-of-season attention. Use a power washer to clean lawn furniture and store it away from the elements or use covers to protect it. Clean out gutters and remove debris from flower beds to encourage proper drainage. Check for Repair Projects
Give your home a thorough inspection to identify any problems that need attention before cold weather sets in. Look for concerns like loose shutters or siding, cracked or loose shingles, cracks and gaps around doors and windows that may allow moisture or cold air to creep in. Severe weather and cycles of freezing and thawing can exacerbate these problems, so it's best to make repairs before they result in major damage. Eliminate Dirt and Dust
Moving indoors, take time to remove any dirt and grime that has accumulated. Wash textiles like curtains and rugs. Wipe down kitchen and bathroom surfaces with an antibacterial solution. Dust other parts of the house, including blinds, windowsills, baseboards and other hard-to-reach places. When it comes to vacuuming, make sure to keep floors clean and free of outside dirt all season long with an all-around cleaner that can vacuum and mop simultaneously, like the DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI. It provides convenient, efficient, hands-free cleaning you can control via smart home devices. With a built-in HD camera, the AI-powered robot identifies common household obstacles and intelligently determines how to clean around them, while also providing on-demand home monitoring. Complete with laser mapping and navigation technology to scan and map your floors for faster cleaning and fewer missed spots, it is also compatible with an optional, automatic emptying station that allows for up to 30 days of fully maintenance-free cleaning. Promote Air Quality
In addition to keeping floors clean and allergens under control, there are other steps you can take to promote better air quality while you're spending more time indoors. Scheduling service for your furnace can help ensure it's in good condition before cold weather hits. This is also a good time to replace your air filter and consider a duct cleaning. Take time to clean ceiling fans and reverse the blades so the air circulates but fans don't create a chilling effect. Swap Seasonal Essentials
A new season brings change, whether it's simply swapping out your wardrobe or gearing up for a busy season of school activities and sports. Make time to put away out-of-season clothes and other necessities to make room for the things you'll need for the autumn months. Keep only the things you need and store the rest to help keep clutter under control. Find more tips for efficient fall home maintenance and cleaning at ecovacs.com.
We live and we learn if we are fortunate enough to live. Sadly, too many obituaries are of young adults who were barely starting life. Some young adults don't think that much about the past because so much of life is in front of them – they hope. Most of us believe life is in front of us. It’s difficult to imagine not existing, but as we all know, life ends.
If you live long enough you’ll make enough mistakes that will embarrass you, worry you, frighten you or simply make you wonder if God is mad enough to assign you to an everlasting hell. Usually, the pain or aggravation of life’s past problems, valleys, hurts and pain is enough hell for all of us. If hell is any worse than the weight of life’s regrets, sorrows and foul-ups then it surely is more than a terrible place.
People who live long lives typically remember fifty years ago like it’s today. Throughout all of life, sadly, what we often are weighted down by are our transgressions or mistakes. Often it may not be some egregious sin but simply something we wish we could do one more time because we know if we could try again we could do it better. Unfortunately we don’t get a second chance.
We have one opportunity to raise our children. We have one span of time to be good to our parents. We have one brief work career that we both work hard and do well or fiddle diddle away. Hind sight is always 20/20 but at the time we can’t stop long enough to see what we are doing.
Most of the time our lives are filled with good deeds, lots of good events and lots of good memorable occasions that we should dwell more upon. We forget most of these but the bad stuff always rises to the top. Bad stuff is like bad news. Bad news travels fast. Good news may or may not get around. The bad stuff is typically what climbs its way to the top of our minds and camps there to torment us.
The work of the Devil is surely to imprison us if possible. The work of Jesus is to set us free. I heard a parable about Jesus seeing the Devil with a cage. Inside the cage the Devil had a man.
Jesus said, “Old Devil, what are you going to do with that man?”
The Devil replied, “Hurt him, torture him and make his life hell.”
Jesus then asked, “Old Devil, what would you take to set that man free?”
With a hiss of hate the Devil looked at Jesus with a sinister stare and said, “Every ounce of your blood.”
Keep in mind this day that Jesus has paid the price for your freedom. Don’t worry about it anymore.
