DIY Tips

Three young entrepreneurs give tips on staying organized and calm while living hectic lives.

Life is crazy. Cah-ray-zee. And while you wouldn't have it any other way from 9 to 5 (OK, more like 8 to 7), the insanity should stop at your front door.

That's why you bought your home, right? To have a place to rest, recharge, and come up with your next trailblazing idea. A few inspirational ideas for your home may be all you need to put it on the path to tranquility.

Three super-busy entrepreneurs — a brewery owner, website founder, and organic farmer — know exactly how important a tranquil home is to achieving personal success. Here, they share how they created Zen-like havens in their homes to foster stress-relieving routines.

A Nook to Bliss Out

Quick-and-easy tasks that’ll brighten up your interior.

December.

The year’s coming to an end. Time to do four small tasks for a bright (and money-saving) new year.

#1 Clean Light Bulbs and Fixtures   

Two great reasons to clean your light bulbs: You want as much light in your house as you can get as the days grow shorter, and, you’ll save money.

Dirty bulbs apparently shed 30% less light than clean ones, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Wipe bulbs with a cloth dampened by a mix of 1 oz. dish soap, ¼ cup white vinegar, and 3 cups of water. Get to it December 1 so you’re ready for the curtain fall on the shortest day of this year: Thursday, December 21.

#2 Evaluate Homeowner's Insurance

The holidays. You love

Start saving those egg cartons!

Give or take a Scrooge or two, everybody loves the holidays: Decorating the tree, hanging lights, hanging holly ... all those things! But you know what nobody loves? Taking all those things down.

Because, wow, what an unorganized mess.

Before you go all Scrooge, get your jolly back with these simple holiday decorating hacks.

#1 Protect Ornaments With Holiday Recyclables

Trimming the tree should feel like the happy ending of a Lifetime holiday movie, not a game show guessing which box will contain broken memories.

Keep ornaments safe for next year by stowing them in leftover party cups, hot-glued onto a piece of foam board cut to fit inside a storage bin, recommends Lisa Woodruff, a Cincinnati-based

Even if you think they’ve already started to freeze.

New homeowners may have heard that winterization is important, but in the hubbub of your first year living in a home you own (finally!), it can be easy to overlook the need to prepare for the cold weather ahead. After all, it's just not something renters deal with; prepping pipes for winter is often the landlord's job.

Ideally, you should winterize your pipes in the fall, before winter seriously sets in. But if you've forgotten and all of a sudden you're in the middle of a deep freeze, there's still time to prevent disaster.

Here are some easy techniques to save your pipes from bursting:

#1 Turn On Your Faucets

If the temperatures have dropped into freezing and intend to stay there, turning

Keep the vintage wallpaper, but upgrade that time- and money-draining retro thermostat to programmable.

What may seem like a good idea, often isn't. 

Here are 17 common mistakes new homeowners often make.

#1 Get Rid of Your Only Tub

If resale value is important to you, don't get rid of your only bathtub no matter how dreamy that walk-in shower looks.

It will make it harder to sell when the time comes. You'll flat-out lose buyers who love a good soak or need a tub to bathe little ones (both human and four-legged).

#2 Leave Cabinet Doors on While Painting

Painting your kitchen cabinets pays off big at resale — it's a small investment for a big "wow." But the job's time-consuming, so it's tempting leave the doors on.

RESIST. At all

It’s the spring cleaning of fall, so to speak.

With THE HOLIDAYS coming at you fast and furious, you want to be sure your home is cozy, but with that fresh-as-spring feel — as opposed to that musty-damp-winter feel.

Here's how to make that happen (along with a few other timely tips):

#1 Wash Bed Pillows

You love your trusty, old, perfectly-snugged-to-your-head pillow. But guess what's also snug against your head? Fungus — 4 to 16 species to be precise. Gross!

With fall being the height of guest season, you'll want your pillows fresh, too. Pop them in the washing machine and dryer for an all-over clean feeling. (But check manufacturer advice, too. Some pillows shouldn't be washed, but replaced instead.)

#2 Clean the Mattress, Too

Cubbies, squeegees, and other easy ways to keep your house clean.

Home is literally the center of your universe right now, so make sure it’s a source of minimum stress. Here’s how to keep your house clean and orderly all the time.

1. Wake, and make your bed pronto. That’s one task down already.
2. Keep your kitchen sink empty for a soothingly clear sight line.
3. Clean a room a day. You know what they say about doing daunting tasks in small chunks, right?
4. Hang a squeegee. Take a few satisfying swipes after your shower, and presto!
5. Assign cubbies to each family member. Tidy is as tidy does.
6. Unload the dishwasher when clean. Then you're always prepped for habit #2.
7. Use it, wipe it. Especially high-touch surfaces.
8. Snap it, shred it.

Fall’s cooler temps are perfect for deck and yard improvements.

Ah, September. The weather is changing, and we're getting back to our normal, post-summer routines.

It's also a great time to give the house a little extra love and maintenance.

Stain the Deck

Help your deck field what winter throws at it by re-staining it this month. September's cooler temps and lower humidity make it the ideal time for this project.

Check Fire Extinguishers

According to the Red Cross, fires increase in the fall and winter. Keep your home fire safe by getting your fire extinguishers checked by a certified professional. Fire extinguishers do break down and malfunction. In fact, after six years they need to be emptied and reloaded. If you haven't already, buy

Is your patio oh so shabby? These super-easy projects will make hanging outside fun again.

Oh, your poor, sad patio. Not a comfy seat to be had, and that cracked concrete . . . well, it probably looked really great when disco was king. 

Whether you love to entertain friends or bask in the sun with a cocktail and a novel, here are five easy ways to inject new life into your little corner of nature.

#1 Stop the Pests that Make Your Patio Look Untidy

It's hard to enjoy your patio if it's covered in debris scattered by the wind or by critters with a penchant for digging and trampling. Stop critters with the humble pine cone -- instead of regular mulch.

Those spiny cones will deter pests and mischievous pets.

And chances are your

Like this easy hack: coat paint brushes in fabric softener to keep bristles soft.

A DIY painting job doesn't have to equal crooked lines, besmirched floors, and ceramic sinks speckled with robin's egg blue.

Use these easy painting hacks, to make the process faster and less messy — and ensure a fresh, modern look for your home.

#1 Soak Brushes in Fabric Softener to Keep Brushes Soft

Every DIY painter has been privy to the horrors of a day-old brush with stiff bristles that makes round two nearly impossible. Try this painting hack instead:

To keep paint brushes soft:

1. Rinse thoroughly (no soap).
2. Mix half a cup of fabric softener with a gallon of warm water
3. Swish brushes in the mixture for 10 seconds or so.
4. Lay them flat or hang