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Leigh A. Matelas asked:




An attractive, inviting bedroom can play a big role in keeping the romance alive in your relationship. Whether you’re looking to completely redesign your bedroom or just add a few decorative touches, there are plenty of ways in which you can create a romantic haven where you and your other half can unwind after a busy day and rediscover your love and affection for each other.

If you want to keep the focus on romance in your bedroom, it’s important to eliminate other distractions. This means keeping the room clean and free of clutter. Links with the outside world such as telephones, TVs or computers should ideally be kept in another room or placed somewhere unobtrusive. Avoid bringing the stress of the workplace into your bedroom - keep office files and documents well out of sight!

You may not be able to change the size or location of your bedroom, but repositioning the furniture can dramatically change the appearance of your room. If your bedroom is smaller than you’d like, positioning the bed at an angle in a corner can make the room appear larger, while mirrors add depth. If your room looks bare, a plain wooden floor can be made more romantic with the addition of a richly patterned oriental rug or carpet.

Beds and romance

Your bed is obviously the key piece of furniture in your room when it comes to love and romance!

Certain styles of bed, such as four-poster, Victorian or canopy beds evoke old-fashioned romantic moods, while for some couples the playfulness and adventure of a waterbed does the trick. Generally speaking, large, soft, inviting beds of any type are romantic when everything else is right.

For a luxurious, sensual feel, sheets should be made of satin, silk or soft, high-quality cotton. Quilts and bedspreads decorated with lace or embroidered with floral designs are very romantic and feminine. Scattering a number of soft, fluffy pillows in different sizes and colours on your bed creates a charming effect. Curtains or valences with fringes, beads, or lace can complement the style of your bed and add detail and elegance to your windows.

Inspire romance using all the senses

The colour of the walls in a room is known to have an influence on our mood.

Your choice of colours will be determined by your personal taste, but be aware that softer colours are more relaxing and tend to inspire serenity. Red and pink are associated with love and passion, however too much of these colours could be overpowering, so combine touches of red or pink with a neutral background colour such as white or cream. Whatever colour scheme you choose, make sure you keep it consistent, as introducing too many colours or styles creates disharmony in your room.

Flowers are always romantic and instantly brighten up a room. For a classic romantic gesture, red roses are the obvious choice, though daisies and tulips are popular alternatives.

The artwork you hang on your walls can also be used to inspire romance. Display your artistic taste with beautiful prints, watercolours or oil paintings, or for something more personal to your relationship, hang a series of photographs of the two of you, or other mementos that have special meaning. Surrounding yourself with personal memories can inspire your relationship like nothing else.

We all know soft lighting is crucial for creating a romantic atmosphere, whether it’s in a dimly lit restaurant or at home in your bedroom. Candles are indelibly linked with romance, so light as many as you like, in all sizes, colours and scents. You could also install lights that can be dimmed or make use of bedside lamps with shades in a soft colour. Don’t allow external light to spoil the mood - If there’s a harsh streetlight outside your window, block it with curtains.

Scent can also have a significant effect on our emotions. To set the mood with scent, use perfumed candles, essential oils burned in an oil burner, or simply a splash of your favourite perfume on your sheets. Choose calming or sensual scents such as jasmine, ylang ylang, rose or vanilla and don’t overdo scent to the point where it becomes overpowering. In addition, bear in mind any allergies or sensitivities to scents your partner may have.

Finally, soft music is a key element in setting a romantic mood. Place a stereo in your bedroom with the speakers away from the head of the bed, so the sound is not too intrusive. Make a CD with a collection of romantic songs or music (bearing in mind again your partner’s taste). Be creative, be inspired, and revitalise the romance in your life!

Bryan Stevens asked:




Virtually Every Garbage Disposal Clogs Up At Some Point
Garbage disposals can be a great tool in your kitchen if used properly. They make cleaning up after dinner and rinsing dishes off a breeze. But they are all somewhat prone to getting clogged if some basic guidelines aren’t followed.

The Best Garbage Disposal

People often wonder what is the best garbage disposal to get to avoid these problems. Without going into a full blown garbage disposal review, a good plan is to choose a model with the highest horsepower rating your budget allows. And make sure the model you select has a way to manually turn the shaft if it gets stopped up.

It Makes A Difference How You Use It

No matter what kind of garbage disposal you have, how you use it has more to do with how well it works than what brand or model it is. Even the best garbage disposal clogs up sometimes, especially if it gets a lot of heavy use.

Remember To Always Turn The Faucet On First

So how should you use your garbage disposal? The first rule is to always turn the faucet on when you are using a garbage disposal and let it run for several seconds after you turn the disposal off. Remember, everything that you put in the garbage disposal goes right into your plumbing system so it takes a little water to wash it down the pipes.

Take It Easy

Another tip is that it is not a good idea to try to put too many large pieces of food through the disposal. I’ve seen garbage disposal clogs caused by someone trying to grind big pieces of carrots. All of the drain piping under the sink was full of grated carrot.

Asking For Problems

It is certainly tempting to just dump everything into the big hole in the sink and flip the switch, but that is asking for trouble. I actually know of one situation where a guy was dropping eggshells down his disposal. He must have eaten a lot of eggs because the crushed up shells coated the inside of his kitchen drain pipe and finally stopped it up entirely. The entire drain pipe wound up having to be replaced.

Put The Big Chunks Somewhere Else

Hopefully that story shows how important it is to be careful how you use your garbage disposal. Put bigger scraps and trimmings in either the trash or a compost pile and use the disposal for the small stuff that would otherwise get rinsed down the drain. Your drain pipes will be better for it.

Garbage Disposal Clogs

Sometimes even if you have followed all of these guidelines the garbage disposal clogs up anyway. No problem, it’s pretty simple to learn how to unclog a garbage disposal. There are just a couple of basic steps to follow.

Does The Motor Need To Be Reset?

First, find out if the motor is jammed. If you flip the switch and the disposal just hums, it is most likely locked up. If the power stays on to the disposal this usually results in the motor cutting off, so lots of garbage disposals have a reset button (usually on the bottom). Turn the switch off, wait a few seconds and push the reset button.

Find For The Wrench Hole

The next step is to unjam the disposal. Most garbage disposals have an opening in the bottom that allows you to insert an “Allen Wrench” into the bottom of the shaft and manually turn the shaft to free it up. Sometimes the wrench is included with the disposal. If not a standard “Allen” wrench will get the job done.

How To Unclog A Garbage Disposal With A Wrench

Make sure the power switch is off before going to the next step! If you’re not sure, or if you have an air switch, turn off the breaker serving the disposal. Turn the faucet on and stick the wrench into the bottom of the shaft. The opening for this should be in the middle of the bottom of the garbage disposal. Now turn the wrench back and forth a couple of times until you can turn the wrench all the way around freely.

The Broomstick Method

If your disposal has no hole for a wrench at the bottom you can always try using a broomstick. Take about a 2 foot long piece of broom stick, stick it in the top of the disposal and pretend you are stirring a big pot of stew while bearing down on the stick. While not nearly as effective as the wrench method, on some models it’s your only choice.

I Thought I Left My Rings On The Counter

Once you’ve got the shaft turning, turn the switch back on. The disposal should drain now. If not, or if you weren’t able to get the shaft unstuck, there may be something (hopefully not an expensive ring) causing the jam. Making sure the switch is off, look down inside the disposal. It will probably help to use a flashlight. If you can see anything inside, try to get it out with a pair of needle nose pliers.

The Last Option

If you can tell there is something inside but it won’t come out with the pliers it may require removing the disposal. If the shaft won’t turn at all, then the next step is learning how to unclog a garbage disposal.

Removing A Garbage Disposal

The key to removing a garbage disposal is to not get in too big a hurry. The drain connection usually attaches to the disposal with a clamp that just needs to be unfastened, so take this apart first. If the sink bowl is backed up and full of water make sure you have a bowl ready to catch the water.

Disconnect The Garbage Disposal From The Sink

Once the drain is disconnected remove the mounting assembly that connects the disposal to the sink. This will be either a big nut, a bracket held in place with screws or, on Insinkerator disposals, a clamp ring that twists down. Once you have this loose you should be able to remove the disposal from the sink, take the rubber splash shield off and peek inside.

Remove The Foreign Object And Reassemble Everything

Now you can get whatever is jamming the blades out and then, before you put everything back together, turn the switch on for a minute and make sure the blade spins now. If it spins freely now, put it all back together. Be careful and get all of the gaskets back where they go and then test everything for leaks. Try the switch a few times to make sure it works and put everything back in the cabinet.

That’s How Easy It Is To Unclog A Garbage Disposal

You now know how to unclog a garbage disposal. If your garbage disposal is working fine right now you may be thinking “so what?”. The odds are that sometime you will need this information. When the day comes to fix your garbage disposal, review this article and it will be a piece of cake.