Clipmarks | Perkalicious11's 'improvement' clips

Greening the Not-So-New House

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:15:21 GMT

clipped by: Perkalicious11
clipper's remarks: Happy Earth Day!

tips with varying costs and payoffs. See original article for classifications.

Clip Source: www.greenhomeguide.org

45 tips to green any home, rent or own

you don’thave to buildfrom scratch to turn your not-so-newhouse into a dwelling that’s eco-friendly and more economical to run

cleaning your clothes dryer’s lint trap before every load

using human-powered appliances

washing full loads instead of partial loads

washing and rinsing clothes in cold water

turn off computers and peripherals at night

Recycle your old cell phones

Think globally, buy locally

Nix the night lights

try not to overdry your clothes

composting food scraps

install weatherstripping

sell or Freecycle

use your bathroom and kitchen ventilation fans

programmable thermostat

Audit it

Check out great bamboo alternatives for floors, cabinets, built-ins and furniture

Energy Star-qualified appliances

Plant deciduous trees

Solar-powered attic fans

beefing up insulation

choose double-pane windows

Radiant floor heating systems

living roofs

Harvest the sun

Solar electric systems can offset some or all of your home’s electricity use

install dimmer switches

Tags: home improvement, construction, renovation, green, sustainable living, tips, earth, planet

Houseplant Deaths: A Whodunit

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:41:43 GMT

clipped by: Perkalicious11
clipper's remarks: my thumb is so far from green. this article really helped!

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Here's some good news for those of you who have trouble growing houseplants: The problem could lie in where you put the plants rather than in your being short a couple of gardening genes. Light, temperature and humidity have a lot to do with whether a plant thrives or dies.

Light levels, humidity and temperature vary throughout every home. Match plants to specific conditions.

"Light is clearly the most limiting factor to growing plants indoors,"

"All plants need light to manufacture food, but the amount needed varies from one plant to another."

Most houseplants originate in tropical or semitropical regions, where the air is moist. Many of these plants can adapt to the drier air in our homes, but they do better when humidity is increased

Houseplants are "houseplants" because they need the same conditions we do to survive. Most like daytime temperatures ranging from the upper 60s° to the mid-70s°F

Watering

Fertilizing

Grooming

Tags: home, plants, care, tip, houseplant, improvement

Powerful Words for a Winning Resume

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:25:24 GMT

clipped by: Perkalicious11
clipper's remarks: especially since many employers put resumes into a database and search by word, this could be a gold mine!

Clip Source: www.fastweb.com

Accelerated
Accomplished
Achieved
Adapted
Advised
Administered
Analyzed
Approved
Arranged
Assembled
Budgeted
Built
Calculated
Completed
Conceived
Conducted
Coordinated
Created
Delegated
Delivered
Demonstrated
Designed
Developed
Devised
Directed
Edited
Established
Estimated
Evaluated
Expanded
Formulated
Founded
Headed
Generated
Implemented Improved
Improvised
Increased
Initiated
Innovated
Inspected
Installed
Instituted
Interpreted
Introduced
Invented
Launched
Led
Maintained
Managed
Mediated
Motivated
Negotiated
Operated
Organized
Originated
Performed
Planned
Presented
Produced
Processed
Programmed
Proposed
Promoted
Provided
Recruited
Redesigned
Reduced
Reorganized
Researched
Revised
Scheduled
Serviced
Set up
Simplified
Sold
Solved
Started
Streamlined
Strengthened
Structured
Succeeded
Summarized
Superseded
Supervised
Supported
Traced
Traded
Trained
Transferred
Transformed
Translated
Trimmed
Uncovered
Unified
Updated
Used
Utilized
Vacated
Verified
Withdrew
Won
Worked
Wrote

Tags: employment, tip, improvement, career, resume, word, list, words, powerful

Common Resume Blunders

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:21:15 GMT

clipped by: Perkalicious11

Clip Source: www.fastweb.com

Make sure your resume is top-notch by avoiding the top 10 resume blunders:

1. Too Focused on Job Duties

2. Flowery or General Objective Statement

3. Too Short or Too Long

4. Using Personal Pronouns and Articles

5. Listing Irrelevant Information

6. Using a Functional Resume When You Have a Good Career History

The modified chronological format is often the most effective. Here's the basic layout:

Header (name, address, email address, phone number).
Lead with a strong profile section detailing the scope of your experience and areas of proficiency.
Reverse chronological employment history emphasizing achievements in the past 10 to 15 years.
Education (New grads may put this at the top).

7. Not Including a Summary Section That Makes an Initial Hard Sell

8. Where Are the Keywords?

Determine keywords by reading job descriptions that interest you and include them in your resume

9. References Available

Only use this statement to signal the end of a long resume or to round out the design

10. Typos

Tags: improvement, tip, employment, resume, career, tricks

Ten Habits of Highly Effective Brains

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:16:59 GMT

clipped by: Perkalicious11

Clip Source: www.sharpbrains.com

let's review some good lifestyle options we can follow to maintain, and improve, our vibrant brains.

Learn what is the "It" in "Use It or Lose It"

Take care of your nutrition. Did you know that the brain only weighs 2% of body mass but consumes over 20% of the oxygen and nutrients we intake?

Things that exercise your body can also help sharpen your brain: physical exercise enhances neurogenesis.

Practice positive, future-oriented thoughts until they become your default mindset

Thrive on Learning and Mental Challenges

Aim high. Once you graduate from college, keep learning

Explore, travel. Adapting to new locations forces you to pay more attention to your environment

Make your own decisions, and mistakes. And learn from them

Develop and maintain stimulating friendships. We are "social animals", and need social interaction. Which, by the way, is why 'Baby Einstein' has been shown not to be the panacea for children development.

Laugh. Often. Especially to cognitively complex humor

Tags: prepare, technique, tip, brain, organization, improvement, highly effective, habits

14 Ways to Save Money With Your Home Computer

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:38:38 GMT

clipped by: Perkalicious11
clipper's remarks: some obvious, others better

Clip Source: www.bottomlinesecrets.com

1. Find the best gasoline prices in your area.

2. Slash your phone bill.

3. Get bargain airline fares. The airlines’ best bargain fares often are available only on their own Web sites.

4. Save on mortgage costs.

7. Have a yard sale on-line. You’ll probably reap better prices through an on-line auction at eBay than through a yard sale.

Why: Instead of getting bids only from the few people who pass your yard in a few hours, you’ll be able to hold items up for sale for days before a market of millions of people nationwide.

8. Get books cheap -- or free.

9. Read newspapers free.

10. Download music. Music can be cheaper

11. Get digital radio free.

12. Get free maps and trip planning.

13. Find local help, goods and services. Craigslist

14. Continue your education.

6. Stay in touch with family and friends

5. Earn more interest on savings. Internet banks pay higher rates on savings because they don’t have to cover the cost of paying for prime “bricks and mortar” banking

Tags: organization, self-improvement, self-help, home, money, savings

I Might Need It One Day

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:26:48 GMT

clipped by: Perkalicious11
clipper's remarks: by Peter Walsh
Clean Sweep
TLC’s home-makeover show

Clip Source: www.bottomlinesecrets.com

The most common excuses for not getting rid of clutter and how to move beyond them...

“I might need it one day”

“It’s too important to let go”

“It’s worth a lot of money”

“my house is too small”

“I don’t have time to get organized”

“It’s not the problem my spouse thinks it is”

“It’s not my stuff”

What to do: Establish a “one-in, one-out” routine.

What to do: Try to sell unused “valuables” on an on-line auction site, such as eBay, or through consignment stores. Recovering a portion of your costs will mitigate the psychological pain of getting rid of something expensive.

What to do: Think of getting organized as a way to save time.

What to do: Ask your spouse for his/her vision

What to do:

What to do: Consider where objects with “sentimental value” have been stored. If these things have spent years untouched in boxes in the attic or gathering dust in the back of a closet, they must not be as important as we think. Truly important possessions are kept in more prominent locations.

Tags: self-help, self-improvement, work, cleaning, organization, clutter, home

The Power of Charm: how to win anyone over

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:20:10 GMT

clipped by: Perkalicious11
clipper's remarks: something to think about...

Clip Source: www.bottomlinesecrets.com

Greet everyone you meet as if he were very special. Do this with strangers and longtime acquaintances alike. If you can't muster the necessary enthusiasm naturally, tell yourself that each person you meet is a dear childhood friend whom you haven't seen in decades.

Be free with a "thank you."

Find something to admire. Compliment something about everyone you meet. Your compliments need not be about big things -- sometimes we score more points by noticing the little things that everyone else tends to overlook.

Praise people's efforts. Humans have an unquenchable need to be reassured that they are worthy of praise. If you feed this need in people, they will repeat whatever behavior earned them your praise, hoping that they will get more.

Pay attention. Listen to people

A heartfelt "thank you" lets people know that we appreciate what they've done, which boosts their faith in their own importance and competence. They feel better about themselves and then are drawn to us for making them feel that

Tags: charm, people skills, work, employment, self-help, self-improvement