There's nothing quite like the thrill of a road trip, whether in summer with the windows down or in the fall when you can see the panoramic glory of changing leaves. Be it a day trip to a National Park or a week-long vacation across the country, the call of the open road is unmistakable.

If you're longing to take a road trip, a little planning ahead of time goes a long way toward making your trip the best it can be. Is your current vehicle tuned up and ready to go? Or maybe you're looking for a new Ford for sale first. Regardless of the car you have, here are five universal tips for getting the most out of your road trip.

1. Stock Up on Snacks

Packing a mix of nonperishable and healthy snacks allows you to munch on the drive. While chips and crumbly crackers are tempting, you might want to save those for picnic lunch stops. Fresh veggies, like carrot sticks or celery, can give you an energy boost, and protein-rich sources like cheese sticks or jerky can keep you going.

Plus, don't forget the granola bars—always a staple for road trips, especially if you're traveling with kids.

2. Stay Hydrated

Bring plenty of drinking water and other beverages (non-alcoholic while driving), so you can stay hydrated on your trip. Caffeinated drinks might help you stay alert, but they can also increase dehydration if you don't supplement them with water and other nourishing drinks.

You'll have to make pit stops for gas and bathroom breaks anyway, so make sure everyone has enough to drink as you enjoy the drive.

3. Get Enough Sleep

Drowsy driving is one of the biggest risks of car accidents. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep before your trip, and if you're driving for multiple days, aim to get a good few hours of rest each night.

Rest stops are a great place to get out and stretch your legs, and if you're feeling tired and the caffeine isn't helping, try parking and taking a quick power nap to help you stay alert. You can also chew gum to help keep the blood circulation going and give yourself something to do if you're feeling tired. Still, nothing beats a solid night's sleep, so get that beauty rest.

4. Plan Your Route

Have a destination in mind before you start. Even if you want to just enjoy the drive, knowing your endpoint — no matter how many detours you plan to take — gives you a reference point to aim for.

Plus, planning ahead allows you to check if there are any road closures or construction you want to avoid on your trip.

5. Pack Smart

Whether it's one day or several, pack the necessities. Make sure you bring phone chargers, a flashlight, a first aid kit, and all your necessary documents, such as vehicle registration, insurance, and driver's license.

If you're traveling in chillier weather, toss a blanket or two in the trunk and bring extra hats and gloves to stay warm.

Plan a Great Road Trip Today!

Ready to plan your next road trip? Make a list and check it twice before you start, so you can have a great trip. Drive safe and enjoy the ride!

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My Best Houseplant Advice

Houseplants are my favorite thing, and I have over 100 of them! But I get asked a lot of the same questions about houseplants so I figured I'd put a quick post together of my best advice for anyone who wants to be a houseplant mom.

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6 Quick and Easy Ways To Improve Kerb Appeal

 

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When it comes to selling your home, you have 7 seconds to make an excellent first impression. Be it naturally or in person. What the exterior of your house looks like will set the tone for what people think you live like and what the interior will look like. While it might seem counterintuitive to spend money on repairing and investing in how your home looks if you are selling, the fact is, if you do so, you can likely sell your home faster and for more money. You have to speculate to accumulate, right?


With horns on the market for an average of 54 days before selling, you want to ensure you are languishing on the for sale part of the selling process for too long. These tips can help you to improve how your home looks to prospective buyers and get top dollar at the same time.

Clean It Up

A low-cost but effective way to improve how your home looks externally is to give it a good clean. Start by getting rid of any build-up of items you don't need. For example, you need to dispose of old bikes and children's outdoor toys, such as broken appliances and so on. All of these can make the outside of your home look messy and will put off buyers. So take it to the local landfill, hold a garage sale, or donate it, but don't keep it outside your home.

Next, you need to give it a good clean. Get a power washer out or invest in good quality outdoor cleaning materials and scrub your driveway, clean up the exterior walls, windows, and doors, and make sure your grass is clean and tidy and leaves are cleared away from any trees.


Pay attention to stones, and garden decor, such as statues and fences, to ensure everything comes up looking good.

Revamp The Front Door and Windows

People will be accessing your home via your front door, so having a quick assessment of how it looks and how clean it is can help you to spruce it up. From giving wooden doors a fresh lick of paint to updating hardware on doors and fixing any damage, simple things you might have been overlooking speak volumes to others, especially those interested in buying your home.


Don't forget to pay the same attention to your windows too. Tired windows, cracked Windsor frames, and damaged glass can make your home look unkempt and give out an impression that it needs a lot of work/ The eyes are the windows to your home, after all. So whether you give them clean, make some minor repairs, or you hire a company to replace your windows, you can find window and door fitters here, don't overlook them.

Clear Driveways and Pathways

Once you have given your home's exterior a good clean, make sure to clear up any pathways and driveways. This can mean removing weeds from paving cracks, trimming the edges of a lawn to give crisp, clear lines, or ensuring no cracked pavers can cause damage. This can mean revamping the whole pathway or giving it a new covering with chipped slate or stones for a low-cost look that can be highly impactful or getting any significant damage repaired. You want a nice clear space for people to access your property, so making it as easy to navigate as possible is key.

Mow The Lawn

Overgrown and unkempt lawns will be a massive turn-off for potential buyers. They don't want to see the work that they will need to do when moving in more than what they can expect it to look like should they buy your home. Mow your lawn and ensure it looks clean, clear, and healthy. Keep it looking well cared for, fresh, and trimmed to a short level for maximum impact for a simple yet impactful look.

Add Decor

You want to appeal to people to buy your home, and this means staging the exterior as well as the interior. Lighting up dark spaces, especially for evening showings, can be a straightforward way of doing this. Add door lights, lampposts to walkways, or in-ground solar lighting for decorative effect.


Look at adding planters with real or artificial plants on either side of your doorway and ornaments along a pathway or drive to make it more aesthetically pleasing to viewers.

Hide The Trash Cans

Trash cans are immediately off-putting. Despite being a practical and integral part of life, they don't really give out a "buy me" vibe and can be instrumental in attracting local wildlife to your home. As soon as you get viewings for your home or you're taking pictures, remove the trash cans and find them a temporary home until you get the sale.

Conclusion

You need to make your home as attractive as possible to prospective buyers, and this means giving the front of your home a facelift to assist with the selling process. These small tips can be cost-effective yet impactful and will help play a part in how well your home sells.

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Things that Guests Always Notice in Your Home

 

Have you ever had a day when your creative well just ran dry? It could be due to a hectic schedule or a case of writer's block. Experts say that if you're expecting guests to visit your home, it's important to remember the things they always notice. You may use the following advice to help you prepare your home for the company:

Uncomfortable Seats

Your sofa is the furniture in your home used most after the bed. It serves as a meeting space for entertaining visitors and is ideal for unwinding after a long day at the office. You want the sofa to be as comfy as possible because it's frequently where your guest goes to rest and relax after a hard day. You should consider getting a new couch if the old one is drooping, provides little support, and is no longer comfy. Even if it still seems cozy, if the sofa isn't effectively supporting you or your guest, it might cause back pain. To avoid this, replace your sofa as soon as you realize it is losing support. You can find sofas and couches on sale online. 

Dirty Towels and Bedsheets

Towels, especially, can collect and transmit fungus, yeast and bacteria. They also soak up dead skin cells and oils. And if you don't wash your towels regularly, they can spread these pathogens to other surfaces and fabrics, like sheets. One towel harbors 17 thousand times more germs than your toilet seat. Dirty bedsheets and pillows can also make guests feel uncomfortable and ill. In addition, a dirty mattress can cause stains and bad smells. Luckily, there are easy actions you can do to maintain the cleanliness and freshness of your linens.

For example, pretreat your sheets with a stain remover before washing them. You can skip the heavy-duty cycle, as sheets don't need excessive agitation or harsh detergents. And if you don't have a washer with dedicated cycles, you can use a laundry booster such as oxygen bleach or a whitening additive to get your linens extra clean. Another important thing to remember is that sheets, blankets and duvet covers should not be washed with soiled towels. Towels produce a lot of lint, which can clog your washer and dryer.

Dirty Floors

Dirty floors are one of the first things visitors notice when they walk into your home, and if yours are dirty and dusty, it doesn't give the impression that your house is clean. It's important to keep your floor surfaces swept, vacuumed and mopped frequently. It's even more important to do so before inviting guests over, as you want your guests to feel comfortable walking around your home barefoot. Whether you have hardwood, tile or carpet, ensuring your floors are clean and stains-free is vital. To reduce your cleaning chemicals and make a natural cleaning solution, mix vinegar with soapy water in a spray bottle and wipe down your floors to cut through build-up and disinfect your floors. If your family has pets, your floors will need more frequent attention since they will collect pet fur, dirt and oil from their paws. You may also need to sweep your kitchen floors more often because of all the food crumbs they collect from cooking and eating. A study by the Hygiene Council swabbed surfaces in 35 homes and found that the kitchen floor contained more bacteria than the toilet seat! It is because our shoes pick up bacteria from sidewalks, parking garages and public bathrooms and transfer them to the floors in our homes.

Clutter

When you invite guests over, you want them to feel comfortable in your home. And if your space is full of clutter, they may need help relaxing in it. Thankfully, identifying what is and isn't clutter can help you get it under control. For starters, look at your stuff and figure out what's easy to identify as clutter: broken items you can't – or don't want to – fix, decor pieces you've never liked but kept anyway because you might someday, old clothes that don't fit, etc. Then, consider whether or not the item you're holding onto adds value to your life. If it's not, it's clutter, regardless of how much you might love or use the item. Then there are the more difficult items to identify as clutter, like stacks of magazines you've only flipped through once, craft supplies that haven't been used in years, or toys your kids no longer play with. These can be particularly hard to let go of, as they can represent emotional attachments to certain times or people. 

Smell

The first thing that your guest's notice is the smell of your home. If the odor is pleasant, it will give them a welcoming feeling. On the other side, if the house smells musty, they will have a bad image of it. The presence of mold or mildew usually causes mustiness. These fungi thrive in damp places, and when they are left unchecked, they can cause various symptoms, including itchy or runny nose, congestion, headache, and fatigue. If your guests are staying over for a weekend, it is important to check the bathroom and bedroom for mildew or mold. It is also a good idea to clean the carpets. You can also use scented candles or an aroma diffuser to make the house smell fresh and inviting. Another way to make your home smell pleasant is by opening the windows to let in some fresh air. You can also boil water with citrus peels in the kitchen to create a fragrant scent. Finally, you can use a dehumidifier to remove excess moisture from your home. It will help prevent musty odors from developing in your house. If you want to add a hint of fragrance, you can use potpourri or agarbattis.

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Update Investment Properties to Increase Durability and Reduce Maintenance Costs

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Investment properties can be defined as any real estate investments made with the intent to generate a return, including single-family homes, multi-unit buildings and commercial complexes. When purchasing such an asset, landlords or investors must ensure they take measures to increase durability while decreasing maintenance costs; here are a few steps they can take for this goal.

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5 Creative Ways to Use a Small Bong

A small bong is perfect for switching things up from your usual smoke. They're easy to use, portable, and can pack a decent hit.

A bong is a water pipe that comes in different shapes and sizes. It's used to smoke cannabis buds and has a downstream connection from the bowl to the neck.

Ice or Snow

Using a small bong to cool down your smoke is a great way to enjoy your smoking experience. It will help you take cleaner and larger rips.

A bong is a glass water pipe with a chamber where you smoke your herbs. The smoke then travels downstream, where it is inhaled.

There are many different types of bongs, but most have a water chamber. Add water to the room until it reaches just below the lower stem.

The water chamber also acts as a filter, which helps to cool down your smoke. Adding ice to the water chamber can help cool down your smoke even more, allowing you to take cleaner and bigger hits.

Starbursts

Starburst is a rectangular piece of soft taffy-based candy in different colors. It was first introduced in America and has since become one of the most popular candies in the world.

The taffy is available in various flavors, such as Cherry, Orange, Lemon, Strawberry, and Yellow. The flavors are an excellent choice for anyone who loves the fruity taste of candy.

Starburst can be found in most grocery stores and is cheap to buy. It is a good choice for anyone who wants to treat themselves or someone they know.

Toilet Paper Steamroller

A toilet paper steamroller pipe is one of the most improvised ways to use a small bong. It can be made with a few simple ingredients that you have in your kitchen – toilet paper and tin foil.

First, cut a hole in your paper towel roll (about 2 inches from one end). Next, cover the hole with tin foil.

Once you're done, you can put your favorite weed in it and light it up. This is a very effective way to get some ganja without breaking the bank!

A steamroller pipe is a primitive smoking device that delivers massive hits straight into the lungs. It's ideal for experienced tokers, though beginners might prefer something else. Steamroller pipes are also quite portable, so that they can be used at home or in public.

Tic-Tac Box

A bong is a smoking device that filters smoke by sending it through the water to make it cool and less harsh on your lungs. It is available in various shapes and sizes, from small and stealthy rigs to large centerpieces.

Some bongs have special compartments to hold ice cubes that can help cool the smoke down even further, leading to bigger hits. They're also often made from glass-like borosilicate, which is durable and long-lasting.

A small bong can be a great way to enjoy a quick hit on the go. They're also super easy to clean, which can be challenging for most bongs.

Pringles Can

The long and lean Pringles can is one of the brand's most recognizable mascots. It's the perfect size for a stack of crisps, and you probably stuck a few in your mouth when you were a kid.

It's also been designed so that it protects the chips. That's why they're more like formed crisps than regular chips.

But while these stacked snacks are a staple of the snack line, they're also an environmental nightmare. That's why the company has been experimenting with a new recyclable container.

The current can have a metal base, plastic cap, metal tear-off lid, and foil-lined cardboard sleeve. The recycling association has dubbed it the "number one recycler's nightmare."

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