Friday • March 23, 2012 — A9
The Sentinel at www.cumberlink.com
Spring Home
inside & out
Bringing out the best in your home office There’s no doubt that we’re a connected society - and connected like never before through email, social networks, video conference technology, instant messaging, smart phones, the list goes on. While this influx in connectivity has made it easier to do business, it has also blurred the lines between work and home life, resulting with many of us working in our homes at least a few hours each week. If your kitchen countertop has become your go-to place for paying bills, responding to emails and conducting business, it may be time to consider adding a dedicated office space in your home. Whether you telecommute for work or just need a work space to organize personal documents and files, a well-thought home office can help you stay productive, efficient and organized. Before beginning the design process for an office space, think through how the space will be used and ask yourself these questions: • What activities will take place in the space? • Who will be utilizing this area? • What are the storage needs? • What time of day will you be doing most of your work? • Where in your home will you set up the office? • What type of connectivity/ technology will be necessary for this space?
Once you have a handle on your needs, you’re ready to start the planning and design process. Here are a few important things to consider when you’re setting up a home office:
Flexible and functional A home office should be comfortable, but not too casual that it lacks structure and function at the expense of productivity. Whether you opt for a desk or a table, be sure to evaluate how much work surface is needed before you make the purchase. Consider how much space your computer and phone equipment, wires and cords, files and paperwork and office supplies will occupy. All of these things can quickly swallow space you might need to work comfortably. After you’ve selected the furniture, it’s wise to invest in a high-quality ergonomic chair that can help promote your overall well-being.
Orderly and organized It’s easy to let a home office become overrun with paperwork, mail, bills, etc. Giving thought to smart storage solutions from the get-go will help minimize stress in the long run. The good news is you don’t have to settle for commerciallooking metal file cabinets to store everything. Cabinets have long been used to create stylish, orderly kitchens and baths, and can do the same for a home office. QualityCabinets offers a number of affordable cabinetry
options that provide smart storage and have the ability to blend in with the decor of the rest of the home. “Cabinets shouldn’t be limited to the kitchen and the bath,� says Sarah Reep, director of designer relations and education for QualityCabinets. “A cabinet has the ability to look and function like a high-end furniture-quality desk for the home office, at a fraction of the cost.� Once you have an idea of your storage needs, check out some of QualityCabinets’ online design and planning resources at www.qualitycabinets.com to get started.
Light and lively Good lighting in a home office is essential. While overhead light is helpful, your desk and work spaces should also feature a few task lights for reading, writing and computer work. Adding a decorative table lamp can help maintain a homier feel. The amount and type of lighting really depends on when you’ll be doing the bulk of your work and can vary drastically throughout the day. Installing light dimmer switches and adding window treatments can keep light at optimum levels. Painting a splash of color on the walls, adding colorful textiles or artwork reflective of your Photo illustration personality will make the space feel lively and inspiring. Quality cabinets can help eliminate clutter in a home office. — ARA Content
Focus on seeds to get rid of weeds TV LISTINGS Every garden is filled with them: millions of unseen weeds. They are dormant seeds that lurk just below the soil surface, ready to spring to life with just the briefest exposure to light. Weeds can choke a garden, robbing it of space, nutrients and water. Allowing weeds to mature compounds the problem, as they are naturally prolific seed producers. They grow aggressively and can be tough to get rid of, because pulling weeds brings more weed seeds to the surface. The good news is that seeds can also be key to winning the war on garden weeds. To break the weeding cycle, the experts at Preen suggest a strategic approach that stops weeds before they start, by preventing their seeds from germinating in the first place. “If weeds don’t grow, you don’t have to pull them,� says Preen’s Maryanne Bayoumy. “For gardeners, a simple annual weed prevention routine can free up a lot of time.�
Start with a clean slate Early spring is the ideal time to launch a weed prevention program, Bayoumy says. “But it’s never too late, or too early, to start. Different types of weeds germinate at different times throughout the growing season: spring, summer and fall.� First, remove existing weeds to start with a clean slate. The old garden proverb that “one year’s seeds yield seven years’ weeds� is based on the ability of many mature weeds to produce tens of thousands of seeds - per plant, per season. There are weed killers, but even dead weeds need to be removed if you don’t wa n t u n s i g h t ly b row n patches in the garden. So you may find it cheaper and easier to simply remove existing weeds by hand.
Mulch is the first line of defense Weed seeds begin to grow when exposed to light. Even a minuscule flash of
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“If weeds don’t grow, you don’t have to pull them. For gardeners, a simple annual weed prevention routine can free up a lot of time.� Maryanne bayoumy Preen.com writer
sunlight is enough to activate them. A 3-inch layer of mulch helps block light and retain moisture, keeps soil and plant roots cooler, adds organic matter and a nice tidy look to the garden. Popular mulches include shredded wood bark, cocoa hulls and pine straw.
in the top layer of soil and mulch, apply Preen weed preventer on top of mulch. Once watered in to activate, it bonds to soil particles and is effective for three to four months, before biodegrading. It does not wash away or leach into groundwater.
growing season, it’s good to refresh mulch and weed preventer as needed in mid-summer or early fall to keep the prevention barrier at full force. Next spring, restart your weed prevention routine. Following an annual anti-weed routine can result in considerably fewer weeds over time. The campaign And time is what it’s all Stop weeds before continues about: no weeds, no time they start As different weeds’ seeds wasted weeding! Mulch deals with weed germinate throughout the — ARA Content seeds in the soil, but the mulch itself may contain seeds, plus new seeds are continually carried into mulch and garden soil by wind, birds or animals. For a “one-two punch� against sprouting seeds
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