Peter A. Klein's Blog, page 10

15 Steps – Organize Your Spring Cleaning to Make Your Life Better

Spring is just around the corner. That means spring cleaning is also on its way. According to Wikipedia, spring cleaning seems to have it roots in a variety of religions that have some sort of cleansing just prior to the start of an event. In Judaism, the cleaning is done in preparation for Passover. In ancient Iran, the cleaning is known as “the Iranian Nowruz”, the Persian new year, which falls on the first day of spring.”

Regardless of the source of the tradition, many of us do at least a minimal spring cleaning. Is just running the vacuum cleaner and the dust cloth around the house the best way to do the cleaning?

15 Steps – Aging in Place: Ways to Prevent Falls

For those of us getting up in years, falls are the most common injury we incur. Design Your Home to Age in Place is an article in the latest edition of NEA’s (National Education Association) latest magazine. The author, James Paterson, discusses things you can do to make your home safer for you.

The title comes from the things a couple in Northern Virginia who have been renovating their home over the past dozen years to make it safer for them. They also did things that make the house a more fun place to live.

Fixing an Annoying Faucet, Unconventionally

Sometimes little things can be annoying more so than big things. To make matters worse the solution or fix isn’t obvious.

A couple years ago we bought a new faucet for the kitchen sink. It had the finish we like that tied in with the other plumbing in the house. It is Moen with is a brand I have had a lot of confidence in for years. The faucet is one that comes straight up from the top of the sink, then curves forward and down. We picked this one for another reason: the bend did not cause the end of the faucet to extend far into the sink.

On the Road Again – Journaling Your Travel Stories

In a previous post I mentioned in passing that I like journaling my travels. It is fun to read them long after the trip. It helps us remember the things about a trip we may have forgotten.

For many trips, I use Word and have a loose format for each place visited. I type out the name of the places, say Yellowstone National Park, WY, the date visited, and the population. The name of the place I put in bold font. If I spend more than one day in a place, I have a separate entry for each day. On the next line I record what I did that day.

On the Road Again – Travel and COVID: Here Comes Round Three

As we enter the new year, it seemed a good time to think, and write, about travel in 2022.

As I wrote in the first half of last year (2021,) travel plans are tentative at best. The worst part is that COVID-19 is still running amuck, this time round it is the Omicron variant. The Omicron variant has spread faster than many of us realized. As a result, many airlines are having a difficult time maintaining their published schedules, because many of their employees are out with COVID.

Happy Holidays

Which Home Bar Type Is Right for Your Home?

Since we are in the middle of the winter holiday season with lots of parties and get togethers, this seemed like a good time to discuss your home bar. My parents entertained a lot, so a home bar was a necessity for them. Drinking and entertaining are still popular.

If you are planning a home bar, there are three basic styles to consider. First is the stand-alone cabinet, basically a piece of furniture. With this style, it is best if it matches or blends in with the other furniture in the room. With a home bar like this, it usually has room for a bottles of liquor, some glasses, and a few utensils.

Composting Kitchen Waste for California’s Zero Waste Program

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To reduce the amount of trash going into landfills and to make the state more environmentally friendly, California has instituted the Zero Waste Program.

Most areas of California have separate trash cans, now called carts, for trash (grey), recycle (blue), and yard waste (green). Under the Zero Waste Program, the green carts are also used for anything that is compostable.

Help First Responders Find Your Home

If you call law enforcement, an ambulance, or the local fire department, you want them to get to your home as soon as possible. Sometimes a delay is caused because the responders can’t pinpoint your home.

As part of the plan review for a permit for a home in La Mesa, California, the building department requires that the house number be mounted prominently on the street side of the house. The numbers were required to be 2” inches high and contrast with the house color.

On the Road Again – Which Places Do You Want to Visit?

On the Road Again – Which Places Do You Want to Visit?

We live on a relatively small planet. Yet it seems big when we are traveling. There are seven continents and around 200 countries to consider when deciding where to go on a trip. If you are planning a business trip you may not many options. You go where the business, or the client is.

When planning trip for pleasure, the options are almost endless. Unless you are very adventurous and rich, you are stuck on planet Earth for your travels. There are also several countries you are not allowed to visit as an American citizen.