Monday 12 February 2018

(1) Need something to watch? Here are the best Amazon Prime TV shows

Here are the best TV shows available to stream with Amazon Prime :


Amazon’s Prime Video service has come a long way since it first started offering free movies and TV shows to Prime members just seven years ago. What was once a pretty scant catalog has since grown into an offering formidable enough to take on the likes of Hulu and Netflix — especially if you’re in possession of an Amazon Fire TV.

With the inclusion of popular HBO and BBC programs, alongside a growing list of original content, Amazon now has something to offer nearly every TV fan. If you’re looking for a new show to binge but aren’t quite sure which is right for you, just browse through our list of the best Amazon Prime TV shows. After all, there’s much more to Amazon Prime than free shipping

Amazon Prime is great, but it’s not the only streaming service out there. We’ve also put together lists out lining the best Netflix movies and shows, and the best movies and shows on Hulu.



(1). Sneaky pete :


Amazon’s original series Sneaky Pete crafts a nail-biting drama out of an intricate case of identity theft. Marius Josipovic (Giovanni Ribisi) is a con man recently released from prison who assumes the identity of his former cellmate, Pete Murphy, in order to hide from crime boss Vince Lonigan (Bryan Cranston). The show shines thanks to its ensemble of critically acclaimed actors including The Americans’ Margo Martindale, but the core of its brilliance lies in the clever writing. Amazon renewed Sneaky Pete for a second season in January 2017, and it’s slated for a March 9 premiere.
                                           
                                              Watch now

(2). Hannibal :


In this surreal psychological thriller based on characters from the best-selling Thomas Harris novels, FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) struggles to catch serial killers while teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown. Unbeknownst to him, his therapist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelson), is himself a serial killer with dark designs for Will. As their friendship deepens, Will finds himself at the center of a symphony of violence.
Showrunner Bryan Fuller breathes new life into the franchise with arthouse cinematography and a chillingly charismatic performance by Mikkelson. It was one of the goriest shows on network when it first aired on NBC, but the direction and set design transform the violence into some of the most exquisite images you’ll see on the small screen

                                             WATCH NOW

(3). The wire :


One of the best-reviewed cop shows in its day, The Wire casts an unflinching gaze at the war on drugs and its effect on society. Set in Baltimore — the “murder capital,” as many a character notes — the show begins as a police procedural following a group of detectives hoping to bust one of the biggest drug kingpins in the city. The show expands its outlook with every season, though, gradually revealing a city in which everything is interconnected and every action has far-reaching consequences.

The Wire is unique among cop dramas in the extreme attention it pays to the lives and minds of its criminal element. Even the most minor street-level drug dealers seem complex. The show never loses sight of the fact that all of its characters — cop or criminal, politician or lawyer — are members of a society and are thus shaped by the world around them far more than they shape it.
            
                                           WATCH NOW

(4). The Americans :


It’s 1981, President Ronald Reagan has just been elected, and like most Americans, Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys) are enjoying the country’s rising prosperity as the Cold War heats up. Unlike most Americans, however, the Jennings are actually KGB spies.
From that singular premise emerges one of the most exciting thrillers on the air today. The political intrigue is exciting, but what makes The Americans stand out is its focus on the Jennings’ marriage. In examining the tensions of married life, the show demonstrates that personal issues like spousal conflict can be every bit as exciting as geopolitical maneuvers.

                                           WATCH NOW

(5). Justified :


A modern twist on the Western genre, Justified is the story of Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), a U.S. Marshal who returns to his rural hometown beneath the shadow of the Appalachians. It’s a fiefdom where crime is king. The bad guys are ruthless, but unfortunately for them, Raylan is very flexible about what constitutes proper police procedure.
Raylan’s aggressive approach to enforcing justice is complicated by the rise of his childhood friend, Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), as one of the leading crime bosses in town. The violent codes and posturing of Raylan and Boyd are a throwback to the bygone era of the frontier. If you miss the old-school machismo of ’70s Westerns but enjoy modern serialized storytelling, this might just be the perfect show for you.

                                           WATCH NOW

(6). The Good Wife :


A compelling legal drama that is surprisingly savvy about the law and evolving technology, The Good Wife follows attorney Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies), a mother of two who returns to her legal career after her husband, Peter (Chris Noth,) is jailed for political corruption. Alicia has been out of the business for more than a decade, a significant hurdle to her career that is made worse by the fact that everyone in Chicago is aware of the scandal.
The Good Wife’s creators developed the premise in response to a number of high-profile sex scandals that brought down major politicians, and a burning question inherent to each of them: Why do the wives of politicians stand by their husbands in light of infidelity? Alicia grapples with conflicted emotions regarding her husband as she decides what the future of her family will be.
                                     
                                            WATCH NOW

(7). The Sopranos :


Hailed by some critics as “the most influential television drama ever,” The Sopranos certainly seems like the blueprint for the modern television drama. The show features an aging antihero at its center, a large cast of interconnected characters, and all the scheming and violence that have recently become emblematic of dramatic television.
Beneath the Shakespearean scope of the story, however, there beats a human heart. The Sopranos is, at its core, a family drama, and an examination of the man at the head of said family. Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) is a tragic figure, as the position of power he creates for himself in the Mafia brings with it pressures that threaten to break him.

                                             WATCH NOW

(8). Six feet under :


Death is one of the few universal experiences. No matter where one is born, whether a beggar or a king, the pale rider eventually comes knocking. Despite this commonality, most TV series tend to keep death at a distance, only to acknowledge it when it shows up. Unless, of course, death is your job. Six Feet Under is a grim comedy-drama following the Fishers, a family of morticians who must confront death with every episode in the form of a new corpse to be buried.

In addition to standard family drama, their proximity to the deceased leads to a lot of meditations on mortality and the human experience. It’s not all heavy subject matter, however. The show is loaded with gallows humor and some genuinely heartwarming moments. In an age of saccharine sitcoms, Six Feet Under stands out for its mature approach to comedy.

                                             WATCH NOW

(9). Downtown Abbey :


An exemplary British period drama, Downton Abbey is an examination of the politics and personal lives of an aristocratic British family in the early 20th century. As they navigate the touchy social circles of high society, the Crawley family also reacts to the impact of seismic historical events such as the sinking of the Titanic and the outbreak of World War I. Of course, conflicts closer to home, such as the family’s financial problems and difficulty securing their inheritance, provide a solid emotional backbone.

                                            WATCH NOW

(10). Treme :


This post-Katrina New Orleans drama reunites two of our favorite actors — Clarke Peters and Wendell Pierce of The Wire — as well as that show’s creators, David Simon and Eric Overmeyer. The series was praised for its realistic depiction of NOLA culture and its ensemble cast, which includes gems like John Goodman, Rob Brown, and Edwina Findley.

The series focuses on the working-class neighborhood of Tremé, from which it gets its name. Beginning just three months after Hurricane Katrina, it follows Mardi Gras Indians, musicians, police, bar owners, a civil rights lawyer, and others as they pick up the pieces, and shows the challenges and resiliency of a community refusing to break despite the levees doing so.

                                              WATCH NOW

(11). Tick :


People who watched Fox in the early 2000s may have vague memories of a short-lived superhero sitcom called The Tick (based on the comic of the same name), in which a blue-costumed superhero played by the unmistakable Patrick Warburton dealt with supervillains and awkward situations. Amazon’s The Tickis a fresh adaptation of the franchise, with no Warburton in sight (sadly), but it maintains the comic’s absurd, cheerful sense of humor. The show follows a superhero called The Tick (Peter Serafinowicz) and his companion, Arthur (Griffin Newman), who fight crime and investigate a conspiracy involving an infamous supervillain called The Terror (Jackie Earle Haley). The Tick is an upbeat palate-cleanser after years of more dour superhero tales.
                          
                                              WATCH NOW

(12). Bored to Death :


Bored to Death straddles the line between a stoner comedy and noir spoof, following unlicensed gumshoe Jonathan Ames (Jason Schwartzman) and his friends as they work to solve cases when Ames isn’t struggling with his writing. The show’s aesthetics are appropriately high-contrast and gritty for a comedic neonoir, and Woody Allen fans will appreciate the self-deprecating humor. Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis are the show’s real scene-stealers. The series was created by graphic book novelist Jonathan Ames, which makes it pretty meta.

                                              WATCH NOW

(13). Philip k. Dick's Electric Dreams :


You could call this Amazon Prime’s Black Mirror, and you wouldn’t be wrong. The Show is an anthology sci-fi series based on stories from the late science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick, whose work inspired Blade Runner and Amazon series The Man in the High Castle. Electric Dreams‘ first season explores injectable consciousness, mind readers, humans beings replaced by robots, and a genocidal presidential candidate, to name a few.
The production value is impressive, with Hidden Figures and Moonlight actress Janelle Monae playing an artificially intelligent robot in a metallic suit that looks convincingly realistic. Like Black Mirror, Amazon’s sci-fi series employs some major stars, including Terrence Howard, Bryan Cranston, Steve Buscemi, and Anna Paquin. Those looking for a gripping dose of dark sci-fi will definitely find it here.

                                             WATCH NOW

(14). True Blood


Vampires can find love, too. HBO’s horror/drama True Blood ran from 2008-2014, following the adventures of Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a telepathic waitress, as she navigates through life in a world where vampires and people coexist.
If you have a weak stomach, this may not be the series for you, as True Blood shows bodies disintegrating and torture in grotesque detail that only serves to authenticate the world series showrunners Alan Ball and Brian Buckner have created. True Blood expertly uses basic human experiences such as love, betrayal, and loss to mold relatable narratives in a supernatural world. Also, its intro theme music is 90 seconds of country music joy.

                                             WATCH NOW

(15). Shaun the Sheep :


From Aardman Studios — the creators of Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, and Creature Comforts — comes the children’s series Shaun the Sheep. Shaun is a sheep who doesn’t follow the herd. In fact, he often brazenly leads them into all sorts of madcap shenanigans around Mossy Bottom Farm. The show also features the iconic studio’s stop-motion animation and remains free of dialogue, which is actually a welcome reprieve for parents who simply can’t get on board with the high-pitched voices and exuberant makeup of many modern children’s shows.

                                             WATCH NOW

(16). Tumble Leaf :


Tumble Leaf, Amazon’s heralded foray into the realm of children’s programming, is a stunning example of what a children’s show should be. The recent stop-motion title is based on the short film Miro and aimed at preschool-aged children, though it remains charming enough to entertain adults who want to further engage with their children.
Each episode follows Fig the Fox (Christopher Downs) and his science-centric escapades around the whimsical world of Tumble Leaf, a woodland locale laced with a melange of quirky creatures with whom Fig is friends. Together, the humanoid creatures discover how reflections, shadows, and other facets of our natural world work, examining the value of friendship and kindness as they do so. The scenery is as vibrant and colorful as are the characters, rendering it both eye candy and a conversation starter.
                         
                                      Watch now

(17). The Grand tour :

For years, the trio of Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond drove cool cars and clowned around with each other on the BBC’s Top Gear. Despite their departure from that series, however, the good times keep rolling on The Grand Tour, which reunites the three snarky hosts for a show that is very similar in format to Top Gear. Episodes often feature studio segments and test drives on the show’s test track, the “Eboladrome.”

As with Top Gear, the best episodes are the ones where the hosts venture to foreign lands, testing unique vehicles on unfamiliar terrain. For car enthusiasts or Top Gear fans not satisfied by that show’s new hosts, The Grand Tour is a welcome return to form.
                                 WATCH NOW

(18). Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin : 


Follow along with noted conservationist Jeff Corwin as he dives into a new subject of ocean research in each episode. This series is famed for its depth of research and concern for the well-being of ocean life. It also made a splash with critics, having won multiple Emmys since it first aired in 2011.
     



at 13 comments:

(2) Instagram Hacks: Tricks and Features You Probably Didn’t Know About..😍


     
Instagram users Like 4.2 billion posts every day. Let that sink in: 4.2 billion.

That’s a lot of double taps.

It’s no secret that Instagram is a power player in the world of social, but with a whopping 600 million active monthly users and 150 million daily users on Stories alone, it’s clear that businesses can’t afford to ignore the photo-and video-sharing app.

Get your business a bigger piece of the action—and make the most of your efforts—with these little-known features, tricks, and straight-up Instagram hacks.

General Instagram hacks 

1. See all the posts you've liked :

If you’re interested in finding some inspiration for your brand, why not look to your own likes? It’s actually possible to see the 300 posts you’ve most recently liked on the platform. This can be a useful exercise to see what captures your attention.

How to do it

1.Go to your profile.

2.Tap the gear icon on iOS or the three dots on Android to go to option.

3.Tap posts you've liked.

Note: this  feature is only available on mobile if you’re working in-app. If you’d like to see an updated list of your recently liked posts on desktop, add Instagram to your Hootsuite dashboard and set up a like stream.


2. Clear your search history :

You'v probably noticed as you use the platform that Instagram saves your search queries and displays recent terms the next time you perform a search. If you want to start with a blank slate, give this hack a try.

How to do it

1. Tap the person icon to go to your profile

2.Tap the gear icon on iOS or the three dots on Android to go to Options

3.Scroll to the bottom, then tap Clear search history

Pro Tip : You can also hide individual accounts, hashtags, or places in order to permanently remove them from your search history and keep them from reappearing in subsequent searches. To do so, simply tap the magnifying glass icon to visit the search page, tap the search bar at the top of the screen, tap and hold the search you’d like to hide from your history (below Top or Recent), then tap Hide.



3. Rearrange the order of your filters :

Whichever filter is your favorite, make it easy to find by changing the order in which the filters appear on your edit screen. You can even hide those ones you never use. (I’m looking at you Kelvin.)

How to do it

1. When posting a photo or video, go to Filter

2. Scroll to the end of your filters and tap Manage

3. Press and hold the three line icon next to each filter on the left-hand side of the screen to rearrange the order of your filters

4. Check or uncheck the circles next to each filter on the right-hand side of the screen to hide or unhide filters

5. Click Done to save your settings

4. Get notifications when your favorite  accounts post new content :

Want to make sure you don’t miss a single post from your favorite account? Turn on push notifications.

How to do it

1.Visit the the profile page of the account you’d like to get notifications for

2. Tap the three dots icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen

3. Select Turn on post notifications

Note: If you’ve changed your mind, the option to turn off notifications lives in the same spot

5. See activity for the accounts you follow :

Want to know what the people you follow are doing on Instagram? To get a clear idea of what sorts of posts drive engagement, simply view the activity—including likes and comments—for the accounts you follow.

How to do it

1. Tap on the heart icon in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen to visit the activity tab

2. The tab will default to You, simply select Following at the top of the screen


6. Add and manage multiple accounts : 

Do you have more than one account on Instagram, perhaps one for your business and one for yourself? Are you sick of constantly logging in and out to post, engage, and browse content on different accounts?

Luckily there are not one but two solutions to this oh-so-common problem.

How to do it

1. Tap on the person icon at the bottom of the screen to visit your profile

2. Tap the gear icon on iOS or the three dots on Android to go to Options

3. Scroll to the bottom and select Add account

4. Enter the username and password for the second account you’d like to manage

5. Once you’ve added a second (or third or fourth) account, the profile icon in the navigation bar will change from the silhouette of a person to your profile image

6. To switch between accounts, simply long press your profile image in the navigation bar until a menu of your accounts appears

7. Select your desired account, then snap, scroll, and like away



How to do it on hootsuite

1. To add a social network, select your profile image from the top of the launch menu 

2. Click Add a Social Network in the bottom-left corner of the dashboard

3. Select the social network you’d like to add from the list (in this case, Instagram), and then click Connect with Instagram

4. Enter your credentials, then click to sign in

5. Next you’ll be prompted to set up publishing in your Hootsuite mobile app

6. Once you’ve added more than one account, you can set up tabs to easily view and like posts for different Instagram accounts as well as schedule posts—all in one single dashboard

7. Save posts where only you can see them :

Have you ever been scrolling through your feed and spotted something that you really, really wanted to save for later? Now you can.

Instagram has a little-known feature that lets you save posts to an area of your profile only you can see. It’s the perfect place to squirrel away inspiration or even save competitor posts you’d like to revisit.

How to do it

1. Go to a post you’d like to save

2. Tap the bookmark icon underneath the post on the right-hand side of the screen

3. To see your saved posts, visit your profile and tap the matching bookmark icon (next to the Photos of You icon) to go the Saved tab


8. Zoom in on details :

Ever wanted to see something in an Instagram just a liiiiiittle closer? Now you can.

How to do it

1. Go to the post you’d like to zoom in on

2. Pinch using two fingers

3.Enjoy the details

9. Hide photos you've been tagged in 

Has your brand ever been tagged in an image that you’d rather not be associated with? There’s a way to remove it from the Photos of You section of your profile.

How to do it

1. Tap the person icon to visit your profile

2. Tap the person in a box icon beneath your bio to go to the Photos of You tab

3. Tap the three dots icon in the upper right-hand corner to reveal options

4. Tap Hide Photos

5. Select the photos you’d like removed from your profile then tap Hide photos

Pro Tip : You can also choose whether or not you’d like tagged photos to appear on your profile. To do it, go to the Photos of You page, tap the three dots icon, select Tagging Options, then choose either Add Automatically or Add Manually.

10. Delete comments :

Did you know that, not only can you delete your own comments on Instagram, but that you can also delete comments other accounts have left on your posts?

You're welcome,

How to delete your own comment

1. Tap the speech bubble icon beneath the post you commented on

2. Find the comment you’d like to delete

3. Swipe to the left over the comment

4. Tap the trash can icon

How to delete other's comments on your post

1. Tap the speech bubble icon beneath the post containing the comment you’d like to delete

2. Swipe to the left over the comment

3. A partial swipe will bring up a trio of options, allowing you to reply, flag, or delete a comment

4. Tap the trash can icon—or continue swiping to the left—to delete the comment




We hope you enjoyed all these Instagram tips and tricks. Please leave a comment. 

 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇




at 68 comments:

Sunday 11 February 2018

(3) Practical Household Tips and Tricks for a Clean and Tidy Home

Household tips to make your life easier!


Staying clean and organized can be a job and a half! Keeping up with everyday cleaning tasks is tough, and once you start drifting behind, you can really fall back in your household schedule. When you do, that clutter and dust just piles up, and after a while, it can start to seem like a hopeless case. These quick household tips will help you to minimize your time and effort and maximize your results in every room of your house!


At the begining of each year I have the sudden urge to PURGE (pun totally intended) and organize my house. I’m always looking for cool tips and things that make my life easier. Send any great tips you have my way! :) Today I’ve rounded up 20 household tips to make your life easier. YEA! Are you wondering, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Yeah… I was too. ;)


Living Room or Media Room


This is a difficult spot in your house to keep clean because it’s so central. Clutter accumulates regularly from a lot of different sources. These tips will help you get things back under control. For the best results, get everyone in your household onboard with your new cleaning and organizing tactics!

Clear the clutter first. Especially if you have kids, all kinds of random items are going to pile up in the living room. Grab a laundry basket or a large plastic bin and start by collecting all the loose random items. Get that out of the way and redistribute it all later.

If you don’t already have one, get a basket for your remote controls so they stop getting lost behind the couch or under cushions.
Get a magazine rack or newspaper stand, but make sure you don’t keep anything in there for too long. The moment you let that get out of hand, you will just end up with heaps of magazines you will “go through later” but never do. After you have gone through them, clip out anything you want to save and recycle the rest.
Come up with a clever organizing system for your multimedia. One great way to condense your collection of DVDs and CDs is by purchasing those booklets you can store the discs in. Put the original boxes in storage. You will free up so much space.
Did you know you can remove marks on wood furniture using a walnut? Cut it in half and rub it into the scratch. Don’t have a walnut? Pecans, Brazil nuts and almonds all work fine. After you rub the nut across the furniture, rub the area with your fingers. This will help the oils from the nut soak into the surface of the wood. Buff it up with a cloth, and you’re set.
Have houseplants with dusty leaves? Grab a banana and eat it and keep the skin. Use the skin to clean the leaves. The dust will stick right to it, and the juice is healthy for the plants.
Static electricity on your TV screen? Grab a dryer sheet and run it across your screen to get rid of it.
Want to shine up your wood with a quick and easy home mixture? Never mind furniture polish. Just grab some olive oil and lemon juice and mix them in a 2:1 ratio. Go over your wood surfaces with it and your furniture will shine.
If you look inside your vases and find they are full of dirt, you can clean them out by filling them with vinegar. Add a handful of dry rise, and swish the vases around. Pour everything out, and they should be significantly cleaner inside. A very cool little trick.
Don’t use commercial wood cleaners. Believe it or not, these supposedly specialized products often contain silicone. Silicone can leave a residue in your wood grain, which can actually be bad for the wood’s appearance over time. A damp cloth works better; just use water. It is all you really need!

Kitchen


Keeping the kitchen clean and tidy is even harder than keeping the living room or media center in order! But if you do, it pays off in terms of time saved. It’s faster and easier to prepare meals, and you can spend more time relaxing and savoring the results.

Keep your cling film in the fridge. A lot of people find it much more cooperative and easier to use when it is cold.
Grease buildup on top of your cabinets? You need to keep the tops of your cabinets clean, but thankfully you don’t have to look at them. That makes this an easy problem to solve. If you line the tops of your cabinets with newspaper, you can protect them from grease.
Fingerprints all over your stainless steel appliances? Put a little baby oil on a clean, soft cloth, and run it over the surfaces. Those prints should lift right off.
Use magnets to give yourself some extra storage space. How? Metallic spice jars and utensils can both stick to magnets. You can then use the magnets to stick them to the side of your fridge. It looks odd, but there is no denying it is super handy. Very clever approach to keeping everything organized and in reach!
Put plastic containers with lids inside your drawers, or use plastic drawer dividers. These will create handy pockets of space for different items.

Bathrooms


Keep your old toothbrushes. They are great for a million purposes in and out of the bathroom. Use them to clean grout in the bathroom or kitchen. They are also handy for cleaning jewelry, and much, much more.
Use kitchen drawer dividers in your bathroom. You know, those same things you use for silverware and other odds and ends. Those dame dividers can be perfect for storing makeup, toothbrushes, floss containers, and other small items in your bathroom drawers. As in the kitchen, they serve the additional function of protecting your drawers from moisture.
Keep all your larger toiletries (hair spray, lotion, etc.) inside a larger bin or box, and store that under your sink. When you get ready each day, you can just pull it out and use everything, and then put it all back. That’s a lot easier than looking for every item individually.
Install hooks for towels. If you don’t have enough room for all your towels on your towel racks, mounting hooks is fast and easy and will provide you with the additional space you need.
You can also attach towel racks or hooks to the back of your bathroom door
Replace your shower caddy with overhead storage. A shower caddy can be useful, but it can also really easily get in your way. Why not hang storage from overhead in your shower instead? In fact, you can always just mount your caddy from a hook.

Bedrooms


The bedroom poses a lot of organization and cleaning challenges. Dresser drawers, shelves, the closet: all of these areas can be tricky to clean and keep tidy. Here are some ideas which will make bedroom cleaning and organizing much easier.
Get a color scheme. If you don’t already have a color scheme in your bedroom, it probably looks even more cluttered than it actually is. Just choosing a few key colors and coordinating them with your décor can really bring focus to a bedroom. This is an especially helpful tip if you are living in a cramped space.
Have clothing that doesn’t fit? There is no reason to keep it in your closet. Even if you are keeping it around to motivate you to lose weight, it’s best if you pack it away and move it to a storage area. All it is doing is cluttering your closet (and probably depressing you).
Seasonal clothing, blankets, and accessories can also be moved to a storage area off-season. That means items like scarves, gloves, and heavy clothes during the summer, and items like light summery clothing during the wintertime.
Do some decluttering! If you wouldn’t buy it today if you saw it hanging on a department store rack, why do you have it around now? There is probably someone who wants it more and would wear it more than you. Take it to the thrift shop and free up that space.
If your closet has just a single bar for hanging clothes, you are probably having a hard time keeping neat and organized. Consider buying a closet organizer which you can use to add additional bars and shelves. This is a great way to maximize your space, and many closet organizers are surprisingly cheap.

Outdoors


Once you’ve got the indoor areas of your home organized, you can’t forget about the outdoor areas! Your garage, shed, garden, poolside and lawn all need to stay clean and neat too. Image: Flickr.

Have oil spots on your driveway or sidewalk? One easy way to get rid of them is by pouring on some baking soda, then scrub the stains with an old brush. The baking soda will soak up the oil and the elbow grease will loosen it up.
If you have a freezer in your garage or shed, it can easily accumulate rust and mold because of the damp conditions. You can prevent this by adding a coat of wax to the outside.
Tired of the soil in your potted plants draining out of the holes on the bottom? In the future, when you pot your plants, put a coffee filter down in the bottom. This will cover the holes and keep soil from leaking out, but will still allow water to drip through.
White vinegar can kill weeds that are pushing up between the cracks in your patio or sidewalk.
There are a couple of handy ways you can contain sports balls in your garage or mudroom. A large drawstring bag is a great way to keep them all in place. Another option in your garage is to install bungee cords over a shelf or a niche in your wall. The cords will hold them all in place, but it makes it easy to reach in and get one from anywhere in the stack.
Color-code your garage. It can be so easy for all the tools and equipment in your garage to blend together, especially since garage lighting is often not the best. One great hack is to section off different parts of your walls for different categories (yard tools, recycling stuff, etc.). You can then paint each wall section a different color to denote what it’s for. This makes it effortless to find all your tools and equipment at a glance.

General Tips and Tricks


Finally, here are some more general and miscellaneous tips and tricks for running your household smoothly!
Before you bring any new item into your household, put some thought into where you will put it, and try to actually choose the most logical room for it. Don’t feel like you have the space? Don’t buy it until you make the space.
Thinking of doing a complete makeover of a room in your house? Always take a picture first. It will be amazing to see how you have progressed. Once you are organized, take another photo. Don’t just keep it as documentation. Tack it to your wall or put it somewhere else handy. When the room starts looking different from what you have in the picture, it may be time to clean up again. Spot the differences and you will immediately see what is out of place
Have scratches on glass surfaces? Try rubbing some toothpaste over the surface, and then polish with a microfiber cloth. This can really improve the appearance of the glass.
A wad of newspaper which you have dipped in a mixture of vinegar and water (in a 1:10 ratio) can be a surprisingly effective way to clean mirrors and windows.
Have an LCD monitor you need to clean? Try using a dry microfiber cloth, buffing gently in wide, circular motions. The larger your strokes, the better. If that still isn’t enough, you can dampen it slightly with water. Never use anything other than microfiber!
Copper and brass can both be cleaned effectively using a salt and lemon juice mixture (amazing how many things that is good for!). Use the salt in a 3:1 ratio with the juice.
You can also clean brass using ketchup or Worcestershire sauce.
Flies hate lavender, so it’s a great flower to put next to your windows. As a bonus, it smells amazing.
Coffee grounds are another great way to dispel bad odors and replace them with good odors. A bowl of grounds smells great wherever you put it, and is especially helpful in the fridge.
If you break a dish and the fragments scatter everywhere, you can pick them up quickly, safely, and easily using a ball of Play-Doh. The shards will embed inside, and then you can throw them away.
Looking for a way you can quickly and thoroughly dust off lampshades or plant leaves? A lint brush is your answer. A quick roll over and you will get that dust off almost effortlessly.
If sweeping gives you grief, equip yourself with the right tools for the job. Finer bristles are good for picking up smaller particles, and are perfect for indoors. Outdoor jobs usually call for brooms with larger, stiffer bristles.
Brooms should be stored with the handle down, not up. This will protect the bristles from damage and will also make it easier for you to tell one broom from another.
Run the clock and figure out how long your various household chores actually take. You will likely find they take less time than you think. This will make it easier to commit to doing them in the future.
When you bring a new paper into the house (bills, etc.), immediately either deal with it, file it, or toss it. That will prevent paperwork from piling up.

We hope you enjoyed all these household tips and tricks! We love learning new things, so please be sure to share your favorite cleaning and organizing secrets with us in the comments below!
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(4) Top 5 Popular Online Shopping Websites in India

Here is a list of top 5 online shopping sites in India 2018



Nowadays Online Shopping is one of the most famous shopping method among the people in the world. Because it saves our golden time and money, this is the major advantages of the Online Shopping. And also you can choose a product among thousands of brands and categories in sitting your home itself.Like the above one it contains lots of features such as, easy to compare brands and price, you do not need to wait a long time (or) long queue for purchase a product. Simply make order in internet and the product will be delivered to  your home. And when it come to the payment in online shopping there are two kind of methods are available first one is credit payment that means issue the payment while making the purchase. Another one is “Cash on Delivery” it means you can make the payment while receives the product which you have ordered in earlier.

1. Amazon.in 


Amazon is the No.1 Online Shopping Website in the world, it was founded in the year 1995 by MR. Jeff Bezos. In this website you can purchase things in multiple categories and different brands, and you can pay in various payment methods. Initially amazon was started for selling books only but after seeing it’s growth the officials have stared to sell everything. It also provide different kinds of offers to it’s customers in the festival season. The another reason behind the popular of the amazon is the “Affiliate Program” which helps the users to make money by referring the things on amazon with someone in online








Flipkart is an another popular Ecommerce portal which is a Indian based site, so it is mostly popular in asian countries only. At the starting it sales only books in the online, after being popular it started to sell multiple things like Electronic gadgets, Accessories, Home appliances, Footwears, Softwares, Movie CD’s, etc. In these days flipkart serves many exciting offers for it’s customers by way of popular it’s service in global level. 

3. Ebay:


eBay is one the popular E-Shopping portal after the giant Amazon. It was founded in 1995 by MR. Pierre Morad Omidyar.  Here you are able to purchase variety of things in thousands of popular brands with special offer price. This is the best website for both buyers and sellers because as a user you can make sales by displaying your products in this website. The specialty of this site is the “Auction” is as a buyer you can buy a product for very low price by way of joining the auction, everyday thousands of people have bought products by just paying little bit money.


Snapdeal is a completely Indian website and is often preferred by the masses for its cheap rates. It sells products at really low prices and hence, is a favourite of the masses. It is a good idea to buy from Snapdeal if you are looking for absolutely cheap prices. However, there have been times when consumers have complained of the products of Snapdeal and hence, some of them stay away from Snapdeal.

5. Walmart:


  In 1962 walmart stores was founded in US by MR. Sam Walton, now it is one of the leading Ecommerce Website in the internet. It earns more than 500 billion US Dollars. It offers Discount coupons, free shipping, special offers everyday so it is possible to maintain your budget. Through this portal you can buy lots of things such as electronics goods, jewelries, clothes, gift items, softwares, etc.,  Walmart is popular for it’s traditional service, yes they have been continuing the service till now.




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