Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Your Home Security and the Big Picture
Your Home Security and the Big Picture
I’ve always considered “home security” to be a misleading phrase. In truth, the greatest elements of your home security aren’t always located within your home. It isn’t necessarily the equipment that helps detect criminals encroaching on your property, and neither is it the reinforcements and upgrades that might prevent burglars from breaking and entering into your property. Don’t get me wrong – those tools can be immensely helpful when a criminal has selected your property. However, I think we can all agree that the best element of a home’s defense is what makes your home being targeted in the first place.
This benefit to a home’s security is called deterrence, and it is perhaps the most important aspect to your home defense – and you can influence it in several ways.
Boosting Your Deterrence
There are a few practical steps that any homeowner can take to make sure that their home is well-guarded. Here are a few additions to your home that can make the difference and deter people from your home:
Besides their functionality, home security systems or signage indicating that an alarm exists can help keep out unwanted visitors.
· 1. When this equipment isn’t affordable or obtainable, equipping false cameras or signage can help nonetheless.
· 2. Keeping a guard dog, or simply erecting signage that a dog exists (i.e. “BEWARE DOG!”) can scare the wits out of people who might otherwise consider targeting your home.
· 3. Joining or starting a neighborhood watch program can make a huge impact on crime awareness and deterrence in your neighborhood. FBI statistics indicate that it could make an impact of up to 40% in reducing crime in your area.
· 4. Keep an eye on foreclosed or abandoned homes, since these can quickly become dens of illegal activity when left unmonitored.
5. Finally, homeowners can make a great splash in their neighborhood crime rate by something that we might take for granted. In fact, simply maintaining your yard and keeping your home in good repair and nice appearances can, and does, reduce the incidence of crime in your area. This might seem unusual, considering most means of deterrence are based on fear and an increased difficulty of trespassing undetected. But despite how odd it may sound, the “broken windows” in your neighborhood should be addressed to positively influence crime around your home. Still skeptical?
No More “Broken Windows”
In the 80’s, criminologists developed a theory about the effects of vandalism and other kinds of disorder and disrepair; put simply, they put forth the idea that maybe people will be more likely to act out in criminal ways if it’s apparent that nobody cares about the state of their environment. Several municipalities in New York
Similarly, I remember my college years spent in run-down campus housing, in a dorm situated in what used to be an old mill. I remember the fragments of beer bottles at the front door, the missing panes, and the graffiti vandalizing the campus mascot mural on the fourth floor. I also remember how much these behaviors changed when management switched out and began extensive renovations. Overnight, it seemed like students attending there were more concerned about the well-being of the dorms. While there was still vandalism, it died off over time when whoever responsible for the acts realized that their damages were constantly repaired and painted over whenever they were discovered.
Now consider this: how do you think this theory applies to your city? Your neighborhood? Your home? When a property is left damaged with wear and the lawn grows wild with age, criminals doubtlessly become more interested in targeting it as opposed to well-maintained neighbors.
What will you do to address your “broken windows”?
Naomi Broderick is a stay-at-home mother and prepper enthusiast.
Thanks Naomi for an excellent guest post.
Staying above the water line!
Riverwalker
Your Home Security and the Big Picture
woodworking projects for the home
woodworking projects for the home
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| woodworking projects for the home |
Dont forget the youngsters when you are in your woodworking projects. There are lots of projects for the children and they will adore you for building these people some. Naturally one of the most common projects for kids may be the cubby house. Just about all kids adore a cubby residence as someplace to get in touch with their own. Wherever they can sit down and make think to their minds content as well as play their particular games. Its going to serve all of them as preschoolers right through to huge kids being a place to escape and hide.The plethora of cubby house designs are all around and you can decide on something because trendy as you wish. It can be one story or even two tale although guarantee the kids are of sufficient age to handle the next story. Materials used is as varied as you would like as well if you like it is possible to build a thing to match the home. The kids would have their very own small house. In order to see the cubby home can be as complex or because simple as you like. It is merely as minimal as your thoughts. All of your building will be in timber so will end up being relatively easy particularly if you get some step-by-step plans and habits. You will have the idea done in almost no time and the little ones will love this.If your students are a bit elderly and you have several suitable timber they enjoy playing in a shrub house. Assemble it as up high as you can get that with a piece of string ladder gain access to. From the woods house use a rope link to another shrub platform plus a flying monk or string swing back to soil. Bigger children will love the task and commit many content hours enjoying pirates or even Tarzan games an excellent source of the timber.Your creativeness here is a good thing. If you are going to create something consequently adventurous find some good input from the kids. Theyre going to soon load you along with ideas of the items they would like to help you formulate a new plan around these. Get some woodworking plans and have some more suggestions. Check out what you wish to build and dont forget, if you are going to place something at any height in a sapling you will be functioning off the ladder and turn into limited as to what you can do. Isnt it about time planted the theory the kids is not going to let you overlook so might get started. Theyll love you because of it.
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| free home woodworking projects |
woodworking projects for the home
5 Ways to Add Cottage Charm to Your Home
5 Ways to Add Cottage Charm to Your Home
My style has changed several times since I first moved into my current home. Last year I discovered the style that speaks to me and works best with my 1930s bungalow. Here are 5 ways I've used to add cottage charm to my home.
1. Painted furniture
Read more »1. Painted furniture
Vintage furniture in the kitchen creates a charming, cottage vibe
5 Ways to Add Cottage Charm to Your Home
Beyond Live Work The Architecture of Home Based Work
Beyond Live Work The Architecture of Home Based Work
There are plenty of attractive books about sheds, garden offices and colourful introductions to working at home, but at last there is a book which is not only well illustrated but also tackles the subject intelligently and comprehensively while still being readable.
In fact its so thorough that its hard to do justice to the book in a single blog post and Frances Holliss - an architect and Emeritus reader in architecture at London Metropolitan University - will be writing a guest post for Shedworking next month on the subject. But in brief, Beyond Live/Work looks at the history of people working at home (not just in the UK, theres particularly good coverage of Japan for example too) and the types of location in which they do it, including garden offices. There are also many interviews with homeworkers to emphasise the human element in homeworking.
There is plenty here to get your teeth into, from cottage factories (of which I was shamefacedly ignorant), a fascinating list of homeworking occupations made by Victorian work researcher Charles Booth (are there many gold-leaf beaters still shedworking today?), and suggestions for the future (from courtyard workhomes to flirting benches so homeworkers get a chance for romance...).
But its also a book with several messages, not least that the 20th century idea of going to work is likely to look like a blip in the history of working as homeworking continues to rise. "This represents a radical change in our society," she writes. "It has huge implicains for how we inhabit, think about and regulate our homes, workplaces, and cities."
Frances mentions how many of the people interviewed for the book are the backbones of their community. "All are visible, well-known members of it and generally work long hours in some form of public service." She also strongly argues the case for the eco-friendly nature of homeworking and against the nightmare of commuting.
In short, this is the best book Ive read about working from home and you should all certainly buy a copy. For a taster, have a look at Francess website WorkHome which holds a vast collection of homeworking resources. ----------------------------------------------------
Beyond Live Work The Architecture of Home Based Work
Entries open for Home Business Awards
Entries open for Home Business Awards
iHubbub’s home business community is on the hunt to find the top shedworking and other home-based businesses across the country and award them for their achievements in the Top 100 Home Business Awards.
Having previously run The Remote Worker Awards (of which I was a judge some years ago), Ken Sheridan and Paula Wynne have long championed home business owners. Once again, they are on the hunt to find the most inspirational businesses who have overcome challenges to pursue their dream of running their own business at home.
“As home business owners ourselves we understand the challenges home business start-ups face," said Paula. "Running your own business from home is exciting yet demanding, so being able to receive recognition for your achievements is a huge incentive to continue on the path to success."
In their search for the top 100 businesses across the country, iHubbub have several award categories and are looking for: the Most Flexible Home Worker, the Best Family Business, the Best Home Based Business Team, the Best Online Business, the Best Direct Sales Business, the Best Freelancer, the Best Home Based Franchisee, the Best Home Blog and the Most Inspiring Business Person.
For more information or to enter the awards go to www.ihubbub.com/awards --------------------------------------------------------------------
-Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists. Click here for more details.
Entries open for Home Business Awards
Cottage Bathroom Home Run
Cottage Bathroom Home Run
If you've been a follower of my blog for any length of time, you know that the main bathroom in my home is my nemesis... Bathtub tiles that I despise, a floor that does NOT coordinate and a complete lack of storage. This weekend; however, I decided to deal with that floor. Floor paint experiment number two!
This was a very time consuming fix - sanding first, then priming with an oil-based primer (peee-yew!!!), 3 coats of white floor paint with 24 hours between coats and picking up innumerable pieces of cat hair, lint, dirt, whatever (cannot believe how much crap fell on the surface in between coats!!) and the previous owners who had used non-paintable silicone caulking EVERYWHERE. Ok, mini-meltdown over. I LOVE it!!!
I used Behr's Porch Floor Paint, a small foam roller and Purdy's tiniest sash brush and my secret weapon? a sticky lint brush to pick up all the crap as I went along... Seriously, I could not have managed without that lint brush!
Cottage Bathroom Home Run
Creating a Cozy Home Office Study
Creating a Cozy Home Office Study
One of these things is not like the others... Welcome to the odd man out room in my house. It's where all the furniture that doesn't work in the rest of my house comes to live. It's where the style I used to have still remains. And now what to call this room. It's a den/office/studio/workspace. I searched online for the definition of the word "den" and this is what Wikipedia had to say: "A den is a comfortable, usually secluded room in a house. In the United States, the type of rooms described by the term den varies considerably by region. It is used to describe many different kinds of bonus rooms, including studies, family rooms, home offices, libraries, home cinemas, or even spare bedrooms."
I love the word library, but I don't really think of this space as a library - there are no books here. It isn't really a studio, it's more of an all-purpose space. Study! What a good name for the space, it's a little bit of everything. Here I am surrounded by my art and other things that I love. Here I am tucked away from the rest of the house and happy in my solitude. Here my creativity is unleashed... So, here is the evolution of my Study. 
Read more »Creating a Cozy Home Office Study
Mandala Magic Mandalas In DIY Art Home Decor And More
Mandala Magic Mandalas In DIY Art Home Decor And More
Mandala (Sanskrit: ?????, lit, circle) is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Indian religions, representing the universe. In common use, mandala has become a generic term for any diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically; a microcosm of the universe.
by Kathy Klein via Glad.is
Fire pit surrounded by a mandala of roses by Kathy Klein via Glad.is
Mandala tapestry bedding
One of a kind mandala bookshelf via Apartment Therapy
Macrame mandala necklace with pink quartz agate by QuetzArt via Etsy
Dorm room style for college kids
Stenciled floor from Free People dressing room in NYC (source)
Painted floor mandala from Free People blog
Mandala art
Meditation mandala
Heres a great mandala stone tutorial from Colorful Crafts
Mandala style stencil from Stencils Lab
Instructions for how to draw a mandala using grids from
Create Mixed Media
Mandala inspired bedding
Flower petal mandala (source)
What do you think?
Enjoy your day!
Love,
Laura
Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs!
Learn how to solder and make unique jewelry!
My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns
My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns
Mandala Magic Mandalas In DIY Art Home Decor And More
Take The Long Way Home
Take The Long Way Home
Its slowly getting warmer and Ive managed to hit my two bike commute per week quota for three weeks in row now. This week Ill have three days in commuting to and from the day job. Yesterday it was 54 degrees F when I left work so I decided to ride a little extra loop out into the country on the way home. It was probably only six to eight miles and windy as usual but it sure felt great to be out spinning.
Ive been itching to get the recumbent bike out on the road but the weather has been so cold Ive kept busy in other ways. At least riding the Ti General Purpose bike around town keeps me somewhat in shape so getting started into a new riding season is no big deal. Ive been longing for some bigger rides in a comfortable seat so I think the recumbent roll out will be soon.
Take The Long Way Home
Merry Christmas From My Home To Yours
Merry Christmas From My Home To Yours
From my home to yours...
I hope you have a peaceful and happy holiday!
Merry Christmas!
Get the free peace sign wreath tutorial here
Merry Christmas From My Home To Yours
How To Create The Perfect Meditation Space In Your Home
How To Create The Perfect Meditation Space In Your Home
But things that are tightly wound need to unwind, and even though there are a myriad of medications that you can take to help with anxiety, anyone who suffers from anxiety should know first and foremost any med-free ways that they could possibly help themselves. Deep breathing and meditation are two perfect examples. I probably could write forever about this topic (and I will probably write more about it in the future), but Im going to get to the topic of this post, which is how meditation can be beneficial to you, and how to create the perfect meditation space in your home.
The amazing thing about meditation is that it is for everyone. Anyone can benefit from meditation, no matter who you are, no matter your age, or what type of work you do, none of that matters. Meditation is for everyone.
"You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day, unless youre too busy; then you should sit for an hour."
- Old Zen saying
One thing thats great about meditation is that you cant fail at it. If you find your mind wandering to that grocery list, just try to refocus and get yourself back on track. Dont worry about messing up. Results are nearly instant. You should notice a difference pretty soon after you start meditating. Within a few weeks you may notice that you are calmer, you have more energy and greater clarity, and have better control over your thoughts and emotional responses. In your everyday life you may notice decreased anxiety as well as sharper thinking skills.
First and foremost, meditation should be accessible. There are great pros to setting up a meditation space in your home, but keep in mind that you dont want to create a barrier (too much of an attachment to one space) which could deter you from meditating anywhere besides your meditation space. On a beautiful warm day, meditate in a park, the forest, or your own backyard. Keep meditation accessible. But today we are going to start with creating a little meditation space in your own home to get you started. Once you are in the habit of meditating and become more skilled in your meditative practices you may then want to try meditating outside and in places other than your home.
What is a meditation space?
A meditation space is an area in your home where you will meditate. Pick a spot that is quiet and peaceful, and that you can personalize.
Do you need "things" with you to meditate? Absolutely not. All you need to meditate is yourself. As a matter of fact, too many objects can be distracting. But having a special spot, especially when starting out, can be inspiring for you and can give you that encouraging little nudge to make meditation a daily habit. A meditation space serves as a sanctuary, an inspiring reminder that meditation is a part of your daily life, and creating a space that is purposefully peaceful, comforting and relaxing can make your meditative practice even more enjoyable.
Check out these inspiring ideas, and use them for springboard to create your own peaceful meditation space. (click each photo for original source)
Mat, candles, mirror, plants...this looks like a tidy personal space
A cozy & colorful outdoor patio space
A peaceful companion - koi in a large jug with aquatic plants and river stones
Pillows and that window!
Peaceful candles glow
A breezy and open area with lots of plants
I love the scarves, curtains, and lights. This is a truly personal space!
Cozy and moody
Colorful bohemian style
Remember, there are no rules except for the ones that you create yourself! Here are some items that you may want to consider including in your space:
- A cushion
- A mat or rug
- Something from nature; plants, stones, crystals, sand, pinecones, etc.
- Candles
- Incense
Enjoy your day!
Love,
Laura
My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns
How To Create The Perfect Meditation Space In Your Home