Is there always an argument in your house about whose turn it is to do the dishes? Do you constantly forget to change your furnace filter? Having a cleaning schedule with a handy-dandy checklist is the easiest way to keep up with everything.

What chores do you do daily? Weekly? Monthly?

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Better than school starting, better than Christmas, it's nearly time to start decorating for Halloween. Have you got your black cat yet?

Email me with links to pics of your halloween decorating, DIY, and other Halloween related decorating stuff, and I'll feature you on Shakhammer. My email address is badbadivy [at] gmail [dot] com.

Much of my antique furniture comes from estate sales. You can often find the most wonderful bargains at estate sales. This is one of the places antique dealers find the pieces they sell. Might as well cut out the middle man and go to the estate sales yourself.

But where do you find estate sales? I have found a very good source for finding estate sales is by using EstateSales.net. They send emails and I just look through to see what's going on, and if something interests me, I go to the sale. It's as simple as that and I don't have to fuss with getting a newspaper and trying to remember the best day to get the paper, etc. Try it out for yourself!

There are some things that I wouldn't, personally, DIY. Killing yellow jackets is one of those things. I am allergic to bee stings. I have never been stung by a yellow jacket, but I can only assume it would be a very bad scene if I was.

Carol at May Dreams Gardens is super brave- she decided to try to dust a yellow jacket nest herself. While she did get stung, she did manage to kill at least some of them and has learned a lot from the experience. Go read her story, it's terribly interesting.

For people who live in small spaces or just want to control their magazine clutter, this magazine rack/coffee table is perfect! Head on over to BlogMagazine.com to check out what people are saying about it.

ReadyMade (via Casa Sugar) has an awesome tutorial on making your own wine rack from mail tubes. Now, this is something I could easily do! The supplies don't look too expensive and it doesn't look like it would be terribly hard or time consuming. It looks great, too!

The Clutter Control Freak Blog has some great advice for people who have to control their clutter in small spaces. There's some great advice here. I would add a couple of things, like:

1. Be especially wary of paper clutter. Somehow this ends up being worse in smaller houses. Make sure you have a good filing system for the paperwork you need.

2. Use bold accents, but try to keep them within the same color range. Too much color of different types can make your room look even more cluttery, even if it is not.

That's about all I've got, does anyone else have any suggestions?

Akasha Designs has some truly gorgeous bedding. It's calm, relaxing, yet bold and daring. Their Waves series is my favorite, with the orange and brown tones. Perfect for both fall and summer, but since the look is so fresh, it works in spring and winter as well.

Their Berries throw pillows are adventurous, just what you might want to use in that corner chair or couch. No matter what your bedding/pillow needs are, you will find something to suit you at Akasha.

Sometimes you want to get things fixed up around the house but are afraid of the time commitment. Here's a list of things you can fix in about 15 minutes. Easy peasy! I especially like:

Problem: Peeling wallpaper
Solution: With a knife, smear wallpaper paste onto a piece of writing paper. Rub the paper against the underside of the peeling section. Press the wallpaper against the wall. Slide the writing paper out and smooth away bubbles with a clean cloth.

Wow, that's simple! Go visit the website for more!

Now, here's a contest I could really, ahem, sink my teeth into. Halloween is absolutely my favorite holiday (all the candy that comes with Christmas with none of the "did I get the right presents for everyone" guilt). It's also my daughter's favorite holiday, especially since her birthday falls the day before Halloween.

There are several categories you can win in, but keep in mind, I'll be entering many of them, so beware. (muahahaha!) Head on over and check out the official rules and all the categories.

When I was a kid we lived in a house that was built in the 1940s. The owners at some point had laid carpet over the hardwood flooring. My parents pulled the carpeting up and refinished the hardwood floors, making them simply beautiful. 

It's hard to believe that someone would put crappy shag carpeting over beautiful hardwood flooring, but it was all the rage many years ago. Will the trend swing back toward carpeting or will hardwood floors remain in style?

I think carpeting is better in a bedroom, especially if you live in a colder climate- there's nothing worse than putting your feet down on cold floors first thing in the morning. However, for major living areas I vastly prefer hardwood. People that have nice carpet generally have a rule about wearing shoes in the house- it keeps the carpet nice, but it gets tiresome to take your shoes off as soon as you come in the house, every time you come in the house. I like to wander around with shoes on. I know, I am strange.

What do you think? Hardwood or carpet?

Ahhh, that familiar smell of fall is in the air. No, not the smell of leaves falling then burning in your fire pits. Not the brisk clean air smell, that floats through your open windows (leaving that ragweed layer of dust on your furniture). No, I am talking about that familiar smell of burning flesh/dirt and grime that we all smell the first time we use our furnaces. Yes, I said flesh. Turns out part of that smell is the small particles of dust and shed skin cells that settle on the heating elements throughout the year. YUK! So that's why it smells like singed hair.

I have searched the internet to look for ways that we can avoid having to live with that smell the first couple of times we crank on the heat. But, the only solution that I came across was to turn the furnace on during the day with the windows open wide. This will diminish the smell when it is mixed with fresh air.

Here are some home heating safety tips I ran across from the New York City Fire Department

Space Heaters    

Pull all furniture and other combustible items at least three feet away from any heating devices. Space heaters are temporary heating devices and should only be used for a limited time each day and should never be connected to an outlet with an extension cord.

Fireplaces
Before using the fireplace for the first time in a season, make sure the flue is open. The flue is a trap door that keeps heat out in the summer and cool air from coming in when the fireplace is not in use. You can check it by looking up the chimney to see if you are able to see daylight.

Gas or Electric Furnaces
Gas or electric furnaces that have not been used for several months will most likely have a build-up of dust and dirt on heating elements. This can cause a burning smell and even a light haze of white smoke when first operated for the season. This smell and haze are not harmful, and will take only several uses before all the dust and dirt on the heating unit are burnt away. To be safe, try to run the furnace on a warm day while opening all windows so the smell can escape. If the smoke turns black and the furnace starts to rumble leave the building immediately and call the fire department by dialing 911.

Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Test your home smoke alarms at least once per week. Do this by pressing the test button on the unit.
If you do not have a carbon monoxide detector, install one. Carbon monoxide is a tasteless, odorless,          invisible gas, which is absorbed by the human body 200 times faster than oxygen. Carbon monoxide will cause people to fall into a deep sleep and cause death. Gas fireplaces, gas stoves, barbecues, gas furnaces, automobiles, propane appliances and any other device that produces a flame will produce carbon                  monoxide.

I also found some great Home Heating Tips To Save Fuel and Money at Greener Choices. They say to maximize efficiency:

• Check your heating system before you turn it on for the winter -Simply having your home’s heating system professionally inspected and tuned up annually can save fuel.

• Give your furnace a tune-up -Keeping your furnace clean, lubricated, and properly adjusted can save about 5 percent on your heating bill.

• Consider replacing an old furnace -Today’s furnaces are about 25 percent more efficient than they were in the 1980s. If your furnace is more than 15 years old and breaks down frequently, installing a new one can not only save money, but reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

Ok, maybe I am dating myself to be quoting Sally Fields acceptance speech from the Oscars (or Jim Carrey's from the movie Mask for the younger generation) but being that I am a movie buff and all, that was the first thing that came to mind.

We may not have won an Oscar but is looks like Shakadoo is sure turning some heads these days. Many thanks to the International Listings Blog for naming Shakadoo as one of The Top 100 Real Estate Blogs.
If you want to go take a look, we are listed under the Home Improvement section at number 42. The numeric order is not a reflection of ranking but rather alphabetical order per category. Obviously, if it were by ranking then we would be listed as NUMBER ONE! Well, maybe TEN or TWELVE, but we are on our way.

Shak readers, go take a look at International Listings. They have a very informative site with great articles and gorgeous Luxury Listings to view too. And, they know a good thing when they see one!

Via Craftzine, here's a "bright idea"! It's a recycled lightbulb lamp kit. Not only is it stylish, but it is eco-friendly as well. That's always a plus when looking for home furnishings.

The best part is, because it is a kit, you can make it yourself so you have the benefit of being able to do it yourself and make the light fixture look the way you want it to.

I took the weekend off from the internet and came back to find a lot of awesome stuff for your home. Here is what I found:

This shower, pictured at right, is absolutely beautiful. It would look great in my bathroom, except the price tag is a bit steep.

Casa Sugar is giving away a Method Air Care set. Awesome, I want it!

Life In A Venti Cup has pics of a nifty, swirly seating thingy. It would take up too much space in my living room, but I want one nonetheless.

Wise Bread has cool ideas for clothespins and binder clips. I go through about a million binder clips a month, so this list may be bad for my office supply budget.

That's what  I'm digging this Monday! Got any links you'd like to share? Let me know!

Casa Sugar alerts us today to the Container Store's big shelving sale. The Container Store has some of the most innovative shelving around, and their usually fairly reasonable prices have been slashed. It's a great time to buy!

My personal favorite is their Metro Commercial shelving- it has an industrial, yet simple look to it. Elfa is another popular solution. Go check out the sale while it's still on, there are big savings to be had.

I don't know about you but I love to redecorate over and over again.  I drive my husband crazy since he is the one paying the bills. My friend is in real estate and for years I would make her take me through homes on the market just to get ideas for my home. She has become way too busy for this, so I now rely on the  internet for decorating tips. I found a  great website called Get Decorating.com that is a site with thousands of photos of homes to look at. They have photos for every room in the house and then some. They also allow you to tour homes. I feel like a kid in a candy store every time I log on. Hope you enjoy!

Recently my 9 1/2  year old daughter came to me asking if she could re-decorate her room. It was time to move out of the pale pink and into something a little more mature (vibrant). My daughter loves the color blue, but the challenge here was finding a blue that didn't look too boyish. I was having a hard time parting from the sweet pinks with purple accents, but aren't we suppose to encourage our kids to express themselves? Yes, according to Scott Sicari and Jordin Ruderman in a post  A Tween and Teen Guide To Decorating  they say,

"Because a teenager's room can seem a haven, as a child grows, it's important for parents to encourage their youngsters to express themselves in a space they can call their own".

They also go on to talk about how painting can be a quick, inexpensive and easy way to change the appearance of a room...

"Painting is one of the quickest ways to freshen up a room. If a teen's favorite color is orange, say, he or she can be surrounded by it every day. Try two or three colors on different walls or in patterns or stripes and don't forget the ceiling".

So off to the paint store we went and grabbed every paint swatch that possibly resembled blue. Then we headed to the neighborhood bedding stores to see what comforter set she would like that would work with blue. She picked one that she liked and the room unfolded from there. She picked a bright Teal blue with lime green accents. Yikes I thought! My baby is now a tween and I don't think I am going to like this. She decided that her ceiling would be lime green and her walls would be teal blue. She also wanted polka dots to play in somehow.

She grabbed her best friend, a couple of paint rollers, and LOTS and LOTS OF DROP CLOTHS! Project bedroom remodel had begun! With just a little help from mom on rolling the ceiling and a little help from dad on the trimming, they tackled the rest all by themselves. I was so impressed with their tenacity and abilities. I expected that they would start, roll for 20 or 30 minutes and then get bored leaving the rest for me to complete. But that wasn't the case. They loved it and took pride int their accomplishment.

The next week, my daughter ran down to my office and asked me to come upstairs and take a look at something she wanted to surprise me with! Uh, oh I thought. What did she do? She had been begging me to put polka dots up on the walls but I just wasn't sure that was the way to go. I had bought one package back when we picked up the paint but just wasn't sold on the idea. As I rounded the corner rehearsing in my head how to tell her it looked bad with out deflating her, I was amazed at what I saw. She and her friend did a phenomenal job with the peel and stick decor. Her room looked complete.

Tackling tween decor can be a challenge, so here are four tricks of the trade from Kaelin Tripp at Better Homes and Gardens :

• ~Add bold colors
• ~Do away with a theme
• ~Give your tween a say
• ~Create a hangout space.

Here is a terrific idea using regular coasters as well as over sized coasters (the kind you put under planters) to create this darling pin up board. This just may be the next project at our house!

How would you like to change the look of your whole kitchen at a very minimal cost? Well, that is exactly what I just did. I decided that I wanted a new look for my home and changing the color of my kitchen cabinets would give me the look that I wanted. I had very light blond wood cabinets to start with and after a terrific paint job, I now have ivory cabinets with a chocolate glaze. I can now bring in darker, richer accents in to decorate.  This process took a little longer than a weekend and cost only $2,500. Not a bad deal for a new kitchen and seems to be quite popular these days! I did some research and found a website called DIY Networks (do it yourself projects). The first article that was on the site refers to painting your kitchen cabinets......

Q: I want to give my kitchen cabinets a new look. They're wood-stained cabinets. Is it possible to paint them?

A: (Sharon Hanby-Robie, Ask DIY remodeling expert) ) Absolutely! It's a project that requires you to take enough time and not rush, but the results will be worth the effort.

The article goes on to give a step by step accounting of everything involved. I was always told that painting over wood stain was a no no, but with all of the products out there it is possible with beautiful results.

Take a look at the after effect that added richness and subtly changed the look of my cabinets.