You can clean your gutters yourself, with a little physical fitness, agility, and patience, but know that it’s a tough job. You can learn how to clean gutters yourself and save yourself a chunk of cash, or you can hire the professionals to clean your gutter for you—we’ll even give you a sense of how much it costs to clean gutters. Here, you’ll learn how to clean gutters, see the supplies you’ll need to get the job done, find out how often you need to clean your gutters, and more....

We started using Zazzle for my niece’s birthdays—she’s four and she loves seeing her photo on the presents so she knows they’re all hers—and it’s added an extra special touch to each gift. I can’t tell you how many people have asked where they can get their own photo wrapping paper like it, which is why I couldn’t keep this a secret any longer. There are endless ways to customize the wrapping paper and gift bags, including adding photos and custom text or changing colorways....

Here’s what to consider as you’re planning your backyard shade, and the shelter options you can choose from to create your perfect space. Determining Your Backyard Shade Needs There’s no one-size-fits all option for creating backyard shade. Depending on your backyard setup and your needs, you may opt for multiple shade options, from planting trees to umbrellas to permanent shady structures. Consider these questions before you shop. Why do you want shade?...

Thanks to its versatility, you can eat this cruciferous vegetable as a healthy alternative to rice, pizza crust, and even as hummus. Here are our tips on how to cut your next head of cauliflower with ease. To start, make sure you’ve correctly washed your cauliflower and torn off the outer leaves with your hands. Next, you’ll need a large cutting board and a sharp chef’s knife ($100, Crate & Barrel)....

While we’d like to forget most everything that happened in the early days of the pandemic—when face masks were discouraged, social distancing was novel, and toilet paper was MIA—we really wouldn’t mind revisiting the enthusiastic motivation we felt in the kitchen. Cook every meal at home using just pantry staples? How fun! Yeah, I think sometime around June that How fun! attitude really took a nosedive. Summer was hot, exhausting, and the last thing anyone wanted to do was stand it a humid kitchen for hours painstakingly rolling out homemade pasta noodles or baking cinnamon buns....

How to Control Creeping Charlie If you’ve spotted creeping charlie early, repeated hand-weeding is an option, but you must remove and destroy every bit of the roots. Don’t add this plant to the compost bin because it could very well take root there. It’s better to bag it for a yard waste pick up. If creeping charlie has spread throughout a large area, it can be difficult to control through hand weeding alone....

We’ve got your pork covered: Learn how to score a ham properly, when to glaze it, and what ingredients to combine, whether you want a salty-sweet flavor, a honey-glazed ham, or the acidity of mustard. Keep this guide on hand for the holiday season and beyond (and don’t forget, leftover ham makes incredible sandwiches!). Which Hams Can I Glaze? In short, any of them! Spiral-cut hams are a popular pick since they come sliced and are easy to serve....

Visit garden centers and gardens at different times of the year to get a sense of blooming schedules, foliage color, and what particular plants you are interested in look like all year round. “I actually think that we spend way too much time and thought on making sure the garden is evergreen,” says Putnam, “Many plants that lose their leaves offer stem color, early spring flowering, and some even have contorted stems or exfoliating bark that are beautiful in the winter landscape....

A subpanel has separate bus bars for neutral and ground wires and typically has no main breaker. It may not be labeled “subpanel.” Instead, it might be labeled “lugs only.” Additionally, it might be a different brand than the main panel. Have the inspector approve the subpanel, the feeder cable, and the feeder breaker before you start installing a subpanel. Safety is most important when installing anything with wires or electrical work....

Many seniors end up working well into retirement for a variety of reasons. Some want more money to spend, some want a bit of a cash cushion, some do it out of necessity, and others find that it keeps them active and entertained. Whatever the reason, there are several ways you can continue to work even after you’ve hit retirement age. “Using our home as a vacation rental has been a great way to generate income without owning a second home,” she says....

How to Make Broth Chicken broth, beef broth, vegetable broth, bone broth—there are many different types of broth. We have specific guides and recipes for each of these, but use the following steps as a general guide to making any kind of homemade broth at home. Step 1: Choose Your Meat and Get Your Stockpot Ready Poultry broth and beef broth are the two most common types of broth used in recipes....

Making the Cut This is the tricky part, the only tricky part. When cutting slabs from a whole cauliflower head, each slice must include part of the inner stem to hold the cauliflower steak together. Visualize the cauliflower on a cutting board, stem facing you. Now, imagine slicing the head’s rightmost sliver. The pieces would detach, falling to the cutting board as disconnected florets, right? This is why we include some connective core in each slice, which yields about three steak-like cuts per cauliflower head—maybe four if yours is very large....

Rinse Your Rice Before Cooking Giving your rice a quick rinse before cooking allows it to shed some starch and leads to less clumpy cooked grains. All the good egg bits and other tasty seasonings will then mingle well with the rice, evenly distributing flavor throughout the dish. To rinse rice, simply place it in a mesh sieve or a colander with small-sized holes, then run cool tap water over the top for about a minute, stirring with your fingers or a spoon....

How to Make Homemade Fudge on the Stove Top There’s only one real secret for making old-fashioned fudge as amazing as your favorite candy shop’s fudge: It’s essential to cook the ingredients to the proper temperature to create a sugar syrup, then cool that properly to achieve the best smooth, firm, and, well, fudgy texture. Test Kitchen Tip: The steps below are required to succeed at old-fashioned fudge. Alternatively, you can omit the need for a candy thermometer and increase your chance for success using our Easy Chocolate Fudge recipe, which calls for a jar of marshmallow creme for texture and flavor and eliminates the need for special tools....

The process of creating a muffin batter is quite simple. Using two bowls, combine your dry ingredients in one bowl and your wet ingredients in another, then add the liquid ingredients to the dry and mix only until the batter comes together. In culinary terms, this mixing process is called the Muffin Method (yes, that is the technical term!). The process is fast and easy; However, the common downfall is that the batter can quickly become overmixed, resulting in a tough, coarse texture....

To cut back on my spending without giving up my candle habit, I decided to try making my own at home from natural wax and essential oils—and I was amazed at how easy it was. While I’ll likely still purchase a few of my favorite seasonal candles, I’ll be swapping in the DIY version frequently because the process was so easy. All you need is a candle-making kit (the entire kit was cheaper than the large 3-wick candles I normally buy), your favorite essential oils, and a pretty heat-resistant jar to pour the candle into....

Making your money last in retirement is as important as investing and saving for retirement, and approaching this in the right manner requires balancing a mix of financial strategies and emotional behaviors in the name of ensuring your money is not wasted. These retirement planning experts weigh in on how to stretch your nest egg without feeling stressed about your budget in retirement. “You might find that you get a number like 96,” she says....

How to Make Mosquito Wipes The DIY repellent solution for these wipes uses a blend of citrus, cinnamon, and castor oils. These essential oils are known for being unappealing to mosquitoes (and other pests, including ticks). Plus, castor oil even has some anti-inflammatory effects that can help if you do end up with a bug bite. Just be sure to use the exact measurements in this recipe; in order to make essential oils safe to use on skin, you need to dilute them with water or rubbing alcohol first....

“These are likely NOT the conditions that most home gardeners would have,” says Hilary Sandler, Director of University of Massachusetts Cranberry Station. However, with a bit of preparation and some elbow grease, you can create a bed for growing these tasty, healthful berries right in your own backyard. A Bit About Cranberries The American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is native to temperate regions of northeastern and central United States and southern Canada (USDA Hardiness Zones 2-6)....

If you simply can’t wait to devour your summer peaches (hey, we don’t blame you), there are tricks to expedite the ripening process. Try these hacks at home and enjoy all the wonderful ways you can cook and bake with peaches this summer. How to Ripen Peaches Similarly to avocados, apples, and pears, the ripening process for peaches can be a bit finicky. If you’re not in a rush to eat them, simply place your peaches (not on their bottoms) on a platter or in a shallow bowl on your countertop....