BusinessVoice News Network

Finding the perfect roommate takes some extra steps to ensure it’s someone you can really live with. Compare your styles – do you like quiet time at home or having lots of friends visiting? Get details in writing about sharing household costs and chores and consider a test run by sharing a vacation rental home or apartment. Source Link

A familiar boxed product along with fruit juice and something found in many medicine chests can be great cleaners around the home. Baking soda mixed with water makes a mild abrasive cleaner, lemon juice has natural acidity to cut through grease and grime, and hydrogen peroxide can tackle organic stains like grass, mold or blood. Source Link

You can save money and make your smartphone last longer with a few simple steps. Keep it in a sturdy case to prevent damage and replace the battery every two years to improve performance for about $100. And keep your phone clean inside and out by uninstalling unused programs and keeping dust and dirt out of buttons and ports on the phone. Source Link

There are probably some real germy hotspots in your home that rarely get cleaned. Like a toothbrush holder, the coffee maker water reservoir, inside a soft-sided lunch box, or the knobs or buttons on kitchen appliances. And pull out the garbage disposal rubber flange for a good cleaning because germs there can spray into the air every time you use it. Source Link

Selling things on Facebook or Craigslist might mean wading through a swamp full of scammers. They might insist on using PayPal or Venmo and then send you a fake payment confirmation to get the goods for free. Or they offer to pay with a check that’s over the amount and you keep the balance, and then the check bounces. The safe way to avoid a scam is to deliver items in-person with cash payment. Source Link

You can save on grocery bills by making your perishable food last longer. Layer a refrigerator crisper bin with paper towels to absorb moisture that can make spinach or lettuce go bad. Wrapping cheese in parchment paper can fight mold and get that milk out of the door and into the back of the fridge to keep it fresh longer. Source Link 

When kids are swimming in the backyard pool, these two things are the ultimate safety devices. You need a pair of adult eyes watching young swimmers at all times because drowning can happen in an instant. And that adult supervisor must not be distracted with their cellphone, or a phone call inside the house, or a conversation with another adult. Source Link

Creating a professional social media profile is different from your personal pages. Use the right blend of entertaining, educational and promotional content and remember that humor isn’t universal. Play nice with competitors and never get into an argument; be responsive, but not reactive. Give credit to sources and use just a few relevant hashtags in each post. Source Link

Those photos of homes that we love to browse on Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com are also popular with burglars who can use them to spot vulnerabilities and scope out security systems, so it’s best to get your home offline unless you’re selling. Real estate websites let you claim ownership and request that any home photos be taken down. Source Link

Serving your dog raw food can be risky for them and for you. High levels of harmful bacteria in raw food can be a health risk for dogs and people, especially the elderly, the young and those with weakened immune systems. Unlike commercial dog foods, raw meat products are not heat-treated or freeze-dried to kill bacteria like e Coli or salmonella. Source Link

Before you keep something “just in case” you might need it someday, this decluttering trick might save you some space. If the item can be replaced for less than $20 in less than 20 minutes you can probably get rid of it, freeing up more space for storing the things you really need to keep. Source Link

You can probably save money on multivitamins and other supplements by doing one thing. Eating a balanced daily diet including fruits and vegetables can provide all the nutrients a person typically needs. Among the exceptions are pregnant women who need folic acid, seniors with osteoporosis who need more calcium or vegans who need a multivitamin to supplement nutrients they aren’t absorbing in their diet. Source Link

If you give an allowance to your kids it’s important to be consistent about the rules you set for how they spend that money and the amounts you give. But avoid the urge to link an allowance to chores unless you plan to negotiate each time you want your child to clean their room or empty the dishwasher. Source Link

Just how long do eggs last in the fridge? In the shell, eggs can be good for three to five weeks after you buy them when stored on a shelf and not in the door. You can store raw egg whites in an airtight container for up to four days and raw yolks for up to two days, but yolks can also be blended, frozen in an ice cube tray and stored for up to a year. Source Link

You can have a better start to your day in the office with a simple cleaning task. Take a few minutes to organize your workspace and desktop. Studies have shown that clutter makes it difficult to focus and is a predictor of procrastination. You can do this cleanup at the beginning of the day or the end to have a clean start in the morning. Source Link

When it comes to the most effective way to argue with your spouse or significant other, the eyes have it. Looking eye-to-eye provides the visual cues that add context to what you’re hearing and help avoid misunderstanding what’s being said. It’s only after you each get better at communicating in-person that you should consider a debate that’s done by text. Source Link 

Try these clever hacks to help your groceries last longer. A bit of plastic wrap around the stem can keep bananas fresh and storing whole mushrooms in a paper bag extends their shelf life. A drizzle of lemon juice will help preserve half an avocado and trimming the greens from carrots will help to keep them from drying out. Source Link

Email etiquette includes some basics that help you and the recipient. Make sure your subject line clearly describes the topic and use :cc and :bcc for those who need the information but don’t have to participate in the discussion. Close with an expression of gratitude like “Thanks” or “Thanks in Advance” and don’t expect a speedy reply like you might get with text messaging. Source Link