Furniture Fix
Furniture pieces can add style, color, warmth, and most importantly, a place to store your bathroom necessities out of sight. Even if your bathroom is small, you may still be able to find room for a small shelf or chest. Large bathrooms have the luxury of added storage space offered by a stylish cupboard, shelving unit or armoire. Lowe’s has a variety of linen and storage cabinets that you can browse to find the best fit for your bathroom’s dimensions.

Fancy Faucets
Haven’t updated your bathroom fixtures in a while? The new Boardwalk bath collection from Moen can take your faucets from drab to fab with their glamorous vintage looks. Available exclusively at Lowe’s, Boardwalk centerset and widespread faucets are certified to meet WaterSense criteria, reducing water usage by up to 32 percent. The best part is that they feature Moen’s new Spot Resist finish that does just what it says – resists fingerprints and water spots. Now you can add style to the bath since you won’t waste time cleaning.

Organize Odds and Ends
Have your bathroom drawers become a catch-all for hotel samples and unused cosmetics? Then it’s time to sort, purge and organize. Once you’ve decided what you cannot live without, find a spot for everything. Try gathering your bathroom cleaning supplies and store them together in a handled tote under your sink or in an upper cupboard. For smaller items, Containerstore.com offers a host of drawer organizers and bins to hold your bathroom essentials.

Store Items in Style
Don’t have much wall space? According to an online consumer survey conducted by Moen Incorporated, 19 percent of men and 22 percent of women state that leaving dirty clothes on the bathroom floor is a top annoyance in the bath. Freeing the floor can be simple. Store your items in style by installing racks, towel bars and robe hooks to hang extra towels, clothes or bathrobes. The back of the door is an often overlooked area to install these essentials.

And don’t forget about your countertop. Soap, bath salts, and other bathroom essentials that you need to keep within reach can also quickly create unwanted clutter. Organize these items in style by incorporating glass bath accessories into your decor. For small spaces, place the canisters on a decorative wall shelf or just arrange by the sink for a chic and simple look.

For an updated bathroom, minus the mess, these quick tips will help you keep your sanity and organize your vanity.

The post Vanity Sanity: Organize to Bring Style and Space to your Bathroom first appeared on The How Do Gardener.

People in northernmost states should take preventive action to protect their plumbing systems by late October. Southerners should follow by late November. Failure to prepare early might prove costly when pipes freeze, which is why the plumbing experts at Roto-Rooter recommend taking these winterization precautions early, when time is on your side, instead of waiting until cold weather arrives.

These 10 tips that can save you a bundle are easily managed in between raking leaves and carving pumpkins.

* Disconnect outside water hoses. If left connected during freezing temperatures, water in hoses will freeze and expand causing connecting faucets and pipes to freeze and break.

* Inspect outside faucets. If dripping or leaking, make the necessary repairs or call a plumber before a freeze.

* If your home is equipped with interior shut-off valves leading to outside faucets, close them and drain water from the pipes.

* Cover outside faucets using an inexpensive faucet insulation kit.

* Insulate pipes in unheated areas. Apply heat tape or thermostat-controlled heat cables around exposed pipes.

* Make sure your furnace is set no lower than 55 degrees during the winter to prevent pipes from freezing. Note that when pipes freeze, water pressure builds causing cracks, whether the pipe is made of plastic, copper or steel. Even a tiny crack can unleash 250 gallons of water in a single day.

* Your water heater works harder during winter months. Drain corrosion-causing sediment from the tank, which reduces energy efficiency if it’s not removed.  

* Set water heater thermostat to 120 F for optimum performance without risk of scalding.

* Clear any leaves and debris from roof gutters and downspouts to ensure proper drainage throughout the winter season.

* Inspect and clean sump pit. Remove any rocks and debris from pit then dump a bucket of water into the sump pit to test the pump. If it turns on and pumps water out then turns itself off, it is operating properly.

Visit www.RotoRooter.com/plumbing-basics to view an instructional video on winter plumbing preparation and what to do in the event that a pipe does burst. Become a fan on Facebook to stay up-to-date on plumbing tips for every season.

The post Ten Cold-Weather Plumbing Tips for Homeowners first appeared on The How Do Gardener.