Leigh tells us that the room she’s transforming falls in three areas of the Bagua, but if you ‘re like me and don’t know what a Bagua is you’re already confused and it’s not even a minute into the video.  So, for those Feng Shui newbies, bagua refers to the cardinal directions as established in the Turtle Calendar in the time of Yao.  Huh?  In a nutshell, everything is divided into sections according to Feng Shui.  Where things fall within these predetermined sections, or trigrams, determines the energy of the room.  The directions are marked by Four Celestial Animals – the Dark Turtle for the North, the Red Phoenix for the South, the Green Dragon for the East, and the White Tiger for the West.  Modern practitioners take this a step further, and divide a house into sections related to the ancient bagua.

The current bagua’s categories are travel, journey, wisdom, creative, health, ancestors, relations, fame, and wealth.  In Leo and Denise’s apartment, the room they are focusing on contains the wealth, fame, and relationship baguas.  Their wealth area was all cluttered up, and Leigh tells Denise that all that stuff has to go.  You’re supposed to have wood in the wealth section, and Leo and Denise’s furniture created a triangle, which means fire.  Fire burns wood, so no good at all.

Leigh takes Denise through the rest of the room and helps her decide what to do.  Leigh is so well-spoken and self-assured, that I wish Denise would post a follow-up video talking about how this feng shui fixed everything.  Here’s hoping.

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First, it’s important to create a space that you like to be in.  If you share your home office space with another member of your household, it’s important to minimize clutter (well, it’s always important to minimize clutter) and make a good compromise as to what fills (and doesn’t fill) your shared space.

It’s also important to introduce a little color to your room.  It’s easy to do that with smaller, less expensive pieces like office supplies or trash cans, and you’re not married to that color if you feel the need for a change.  Speaking of trash cans, make sure you have ones that are big enough, and that you have a separate one for recycling.  A good home office is an eco-friendly home office.

Organizational tools are key – clipboards, binders, filing folders, and a corkboard or dry erase board all add some organization to your space.

It’s also important to make sure you have comfortable seating.  Your office chair should be high-quality and ergonomic – you spend a lot of time sitting in it and you don’t want to take time away from your work to run to the chiropractor every little bit because you’re sitting in a chair that hurts your back.

Last of all, but certainly not least, you’ll need to make sure you’ve got adequate lighting in your home office.  Computer screens can wreak havoc on your eyes, causing eyestrain and headaches galore.  You’ll want to make sure you’ve got good lighting to minimize these productivity-diminishing ailments.

Creating a good home office is one of the most important home improvement projects you can undertake.  The more functional, the more you can work, and them more work you do, the better you can afford the nice things, like tropical vacations and relaxing time with your family.

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A frustrated mother implores the Coupon Mom – she’s spent over $100 on one child’s party, and she has another one next week.  Is there any way to do it cheaper?  Coupon Mom says yes.  First step, don’t spend a bunch of money on a venue.  Suck it up and do it at home, or at a free park.  Print your own invitations, serve hot dogs, chips, pretzels, and Kool-Aid.  You can feed a slew of kids for just around $5.

Coupon Mom even comes up with a way to still provide party favors for the guests, and prizes for the game.  Since the entertainment and the games are the most important part of the party for the kids, find games you can make up yourself, and that cost little to no money.

Also, a store-bought cake will cost anywhere from $15-$35 dollars.  Grab a box mix and frosting and do it yourself!  Coupon Mom teaches us that you have to work for your savings.  You do, in fact, pay for convenience, but it comes at a real premium.  Just a little bit of forward planning and effort can really make it so you can do amazing things without spending a ton of money.  Thanks, Coupon Mom!

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Glue, pin nails, don’t forget to pull the electrical bits through, and you’re good to go.  Ceiling medallions are not just for dining rooms or living rooms – pick a bamboo-inspired or more outdoorsy one for your sunroom, or even a screened-in porch.  Or, if you want to get really crazy you can get a local sculptor to sculpt a ceiling medallion with whatever design you choose.  Copy a famous building’s design, or have a ceiling medallion made that has monster and dragon heads on it to lend your home a beautiful yet bizarre home feel.

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Video Instructions on How to Get Rid of Dust Mites

The North American House Dust Mite lives on dead skin cells.  They don’t bite like bedbugs, but they can certainly stir up allergies.  Another gross fact is that most people are not allergic to the mites themselves, but to their feces.  And since the average mattress contains tens of thousands of these little beasties, that makes for a lot of dust mite waste.  Ew!  It’s a good idea to follow the steps you need to clean the house, and clear the air.

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So, Coupon Mom swoops in to save the day and tell Nichole how much money she could be saving with coupons.  They might be kind of a hassle, but you sure can save a lot of money with them.  Coupon Mom shows us that.  Coupon Mom has some great other tips as well.  For instance, she found out that her vet’s office will match the online price for pet medications.  What?  Who knew you could do that?

She also shares tips about “coupon stacking” where you can use the store sale price, plus a coupon to get the best savings possible.  Nichole was a little dazed from her experience with Coupon Mom, who is amazing but REALLY energetic and kind of aggressive. Everybody needs a Coupon Mom to come grocery shop with them.

Basically, it is all about education.  You have to understand the savings before you can take the most advantage of them.  Find out what stores double coupons and when.  Coupon Mom is a total genius.  She took the total grocery bill from around $134 down to $75 or so with the loyalty card, down to $5.21 with coupons.  That’s not a typo.  She saved 97% on those groceries.

Nichole is a Coupon Mom fan now.  Go Coupon Mom!

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I will tell you one of the amazing uses for the lemon – and that is cleaning your microwave.  My microwave is always totally gross until my mom comes to visit, so I paid close attention to this part.  Apparently you just put some sliced up lemons in a bowl of water and microwave it for 3 minutes or so.  The lemon mist (well, what’s your explanation?) loosens the dried up spaghetti sauce, soup, and marshmallow (hey, don’t judge) and you can wipe it right off.  Magic.

Watch the rest of the video for more uses for the lovable lemon.

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If you ever wanted to build a two-sided patio wall directly onto the soil in your yard, as opposed to having to dig to make a foundation or some other really difficult method, this is the video for you. It is a step-by-step instructional video on how to build a patio wall. Fantastic!

Outdoor living spaces are often one of a home’s most desirable features, and can really increase a home’s value. Plus, many people furnish their patios and make a warm and inviting outdoor living area where they can entertain guests in the warmer months, and just apply patio furniture covers and grill covers in the winter.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go show this video to my husband.