Happy Halloween from all of us at Shakhammer! Over at Shakyard, I've given the readers a treat. Lucky Shakhammerers, you guys are going to get a treat as well. That can only mean the poor, poor Love Shak Baby readers are going to get a trick. Check back there later to find out what the trick is.

Your treat, is a story that comes with a tip. See, one Halloween, my grandma got the idea to rearrange her furniture. She enlisted the help of my brother and me and we pushed and shoved and lugged furniture around the room for much of the day. My mother got home from teaching school and took one look at the new arrangement and said it would never work.

"That chair totally interrupts the flow of the room," she told my grandma. "People are going to run into it all the time."

My grandma, irate because we had spent all that time on the room and my mom had assessed it in 30 seconds and said it wouldn't work, said, "Well, if you're too fat to get past this chair, then I suggest you lose some weight!"

She turned on her heel and started to storm out of the room. Except she ran into the chair on her way out. Mom was right. The chair did interrupt the flow of the room.

Your tip for the day: Test the room for proper flow of traffic by getting irate and fleeing the room. If you run into anything, you may want to consider moving it.

I love me some LL Bean. They have excellent customer service and their returns policy is one of the best in the business. I have had nothing but great service from LL Bean and their merchandise definitely stands the test of time- I still have an LL Bean backpack that I'm pretty sure I got way back in the 1980s and it's still in great shape.

The best news is that LL Bean is having a no-minimum purchase free shipping sale from now until December 21st. This doesn't include heavy freight items, but if you are needing linens or other home accessories, now is the time!

I saw this picture over at Helpful Advice For Home Construction and I had to share it. The moral of the story is...BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN USING A NAIL GUN!!

We are coming into the part of the year when my house fills up with guests. From the beginning of November until right before Christmas, I have guests coming nearly every weekend.

Since October is about to wrap up, now is the time for the grand cleaning expedition. I do a fall and spring cleaning every year. It's good to get your house spotless before the snow flies and you spend the next several months cooped up in the house.

But the guests coming makes the fall cleaning even more important. I always start with the rooms that get the least use- that way they are clean and that's out of the way. I save the heaviest-trafficked rooms for last- the guest bathroom, the kitchen, and the living room are the most used rooms in my house and I really take them apart and clean literally everything.

Got guests coming and no time to do a thorough cleaning? Here's a list of the 5 most important things to clean if you're in a hurry.

If your wood furniture has scratches or dings, don't despair! Frugal Upstate has the solution:

Enter the Minwax stain pen. These puppies only cost around $5 (the one I bought at Wally World was $5.43-I think they were a tiny bit cheaper at Lowes) , last quite a long time, and are WAY easier than opening up a can of stain and worrying about drips etc. I had originally thought that I might have to sand down and restain certain sections of the woodwork, but lucky for me and thanks to this gizmo, that is no longer necessary! Take a look at the difference in this windowsill after I used the pen:

You'll have to go over there to see the difference. It's amazing!

I love Urban Outfitters for their funky, modern designs for the home. And now you can take an extra 15% off their sale items until October 28th. My personal pick is the owl clock for $19.99, pictured here. Get there soon before it's all gone!

HT: Casa Sugar

I think if you can say you have never, ever been guilty of one of HGTV's "25 Biggest Decorating Mistakes", then you are either a professional decorator or you're lying. I think we've all fallen prey to at least one of these in our lifetimes. I've definitely been a perpetrator of hanging my pictures too high, and I still don't have all my cords hidden.

I think their list is good, but some of their examples, like this one on the "Everything Matches" no-no, actually look pretty cool. Maybe it IS too matchy-matchy, but I quite like it anyway.

What do you think? Can you add some major decorating faux pas to the list?

HT: Ribbon Rock Star
[Image Credit: HGTV]

If you're doing a retro-themed kitchen remodel, don't forget the accouterments! A friend sent me a link to this super cool set at Punk Rock Padding that would go perfectly with the retro-themed kitchen.

[Photo credit: Punk Rock Padding]

Thanks to CasaSugar and Danny Seo, I now know how to dry my plastic baggies the low-drama way. Put chopsticks or wooden dowels in the holes where you'd normally put your toothbrush in a toothbush holder, and use them to hold your plastic baggies. Follow one of the above links for pictures of how to do it. It's so simple, you'll wonder why you didn't think of it yourself!

Stephanie at Stop The Ride is thinking about something I have been thinking about lately: keeping the clutter out of Christmas. She has lots of great advice, including this:

2. Start by limiting yourself.
Set yourself a limit, either in dollars or quantity of toys, you will buy for your children. To see the system we use please refer to Four for Christmas.

I had been thinking about three toys per kid for Christmas, but four is a nice, round number, too. Stephanie's advice about keeping the relatives from giving your kids hordes of toys is great, too. I have already talked to my mom- the person most likely to add to the toy mountain- and she agrees that this Christmas should be simpler than in the past.

What are you doing to limit the Christmas toy mountain? Or are you?

I don't know about you, but one thing I hate doing at my house is hanging pictures.
Remove most pictures from my wall and you will find at least the three holes hidden beneath from the previous attempts I had made before getting it right. One discovery I did find a couple of years ago was the Ryobi Air Grip Laser Level that really made it much easier.

But tonight, I just discovered a site called Expert Village where you can find thousands of how-to videos on hundreds of different topics. I just found a whole collection on how to hang pictures. On this video clip you can watch this interior decorator show you how to do-it yourself with ease. (But I still suggest the Ryobi laser!)

Happy Hanging!

It's important to teach your kids how to clean, if for no other reason that they will need to know how to clean when they are on their own. One thing my mother would never let me do is laundry, because she was afraid I would somehow ruin her washing machine, so when I moved out on my own I had to call my grandma and ask her how to do laundry.

This article in the LA Times agrees with me, and I'm glad to see some validation. All my kids have chores and I have taught them how to do everything age-appropriate that they are able to do. By the time a kid of mine reaches 18, they will be little Suzy or Sam Homemakers, if I have anything to do with it.

For a long time, I was afraid I was perhaps too strict by making my kids do chores- many of my friends didn't have their kids do any chores around the house and I was worried about whether I was too strict. However, as time has gone by and I see my 13 year old is capable of cooking a simple meal while his friends are still clueless about how to use the microwave, I feel like I have been doing the right thing.

Shak-ers, am I right here or am I right?

HT: Strollerderby

When buying seasonal merchandise, it is important to remember that these items will spend a good portion of the year packed away. Because of that, you have to limit your purchases to ones that will stand the test of time, or purchases you have not spent much money on in order to get maximum value for your dollar.

Meredith at Like Merchant Ships has some other things you should think about when buying seasonal merchandise over at her place.

What do you consider when buying seasonal merchandise?

Maire Kaye is talking about her favorite tunes to clean by over at the Clutter Control Freak blog. She makes a mix CD and listens to it while she cleans. I have one, too, it's called the "Clean House Mix". Here's my playlist:

1. Somewhere Over The Rainbow Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole
2. Copa Cabana Barry Manilow
3. Like A Rolling Stone Bob Dylan
4. Coconut Harry Nilsson
5. Walk Of Life Dire Straits
6. Battle Of Who Could Care Less Ben Folds Five
7. Lonely Ol' Night John Mellencamp
8. She Drives Me Crazy Fine Young Cannibals
9. Sundown Gordon Lightfoot
10. 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover Paul Simon*
11. Friends In Low Places Garth Brooks
12. Johnny Jump Up Minstrels Of Mayhem
13. Wonderwall Oasis
14. Gin And Juice The Gourds**
15. Devil Inside INXS

So that's my cleaning playlist. Tell me all about what you're listening to!

*This song is helpful when you're cleaning your tuckus off and your husband is lazing on your couch. Sing along loudly.
**Not to be played around small kids. Also, this is a cover of the Snoop Dogg song Gin and Juice.

It's getting cooler even here in Nashville. Wise Bread has a very timely post on how to save money on your heating bill with very inexpensive adjustments. Here's a bit of the post:

1. First and foremost, make sure your house isn’t inviting in the chill.all the time). Make the time (and maybe a small monetary investment) to ensure windows and doors are sealed properly. You can buy weather stripping at any hardware store. Or, you can roll towels to put under the doors to kill the draft (hey, nobody said being thrifty was fashionable

2. Become a furnace. Most body heat escapes from your head. So, a hat can make a huge difference. Technically, another place heat easily escapes is your thighs. Putting an extra blanket on your lap can be really helpful too, or you can wear Long Johns under your jeans if you can stand them. There is no particular study to prove my own personal theory, but being a woman, I know that if my feet get cold, the rest of me follows suit. Socks are a quick fix for this. I always carry an extra pair in my purse in case I need to double up.

There's a whole lot of great advice there, go read for yourself!

This is an incredible idea. Jennifer at The Felt Mouse has made Halloween surprise tins for her lucky nieces and nephews. Like the "snake jumping out of the can" joke, these Halloween characters will be jumping out. I so totally have to make these for my own kids.

HT: (who else?) Craftzine

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Ikea? Well, I do. They have stylish items for great prices. And now the price is even sweeter, Ikea is having a sale where you can get a giftcard worth 20% of your upholstery purchase (upholstery apparently includes various sofas, chairs, etc. Thanks to Freshome for the info!

If you're not regularly reading Amy at MomAdvice, you should be. Today she has a great post about readying your house for winter. She links to a video she did for her local news station. There are lots of great money saving tips there, like buying a programmable thermostat to save money on your heating bills. Go on over and check it out for yourself!

Would you stay in a hotel suite that was Smurfs-themed? What about a graffiti-themed room? These hotel rooms might be above and beyond the pale of tacky, but it's great inspiration for what you can do in your own home- a mural for the kids' room might be just the thing you needed!

My grandfather always said he could whittle literally anything you want. He would have been amazed by this house, because everything in it is made of wood! Talk about a focused design scheme!

What do you think, love it or hate it?

I adore Craftzine, they have some of the best decorating ideas. Today, there are links to cute pompom pumpkins, and an adorable Halloween garland! What's so great about Cratzine is, they really get the creative juices rolling. My daughter saw the Halloween garland and set off to make her own, immediately. I'm excited to see what she comes up with!

[Photo credit: Heidi at My Paper Crane]

I always get an attack of drain flies in the fall. I've found there are 2 things to do that help shorten the duration of the drain fly attack. First, I pour bleach down all the drains in the house. I've never figured out if this actually works or if it's just a placebo, but it makes me feel better.

The next thing is to make a drain fly trap. This works on all kinds of gnats and tiny flies, like fruit flies. Get a small bowl and fill it with vinegar- preferably apple cider, but white vinegar will do also. Put a squirt of dishwashing liquid in and stir gently. Flies will be attracted to the vinegar, but will be unable to climb out of the water due to the surfactant properties of the dishwashing liquid. Soon, you will have a bowlful of dead flies!

Casa Sugar links to this awesome idea for displaying photos on the wall by using CD jewel cases. This is a good way to recycle your old CD jewel cases, and makes for a very pretty display. It's also not a hard project, so you can whip this out in an afternoon. What a great idea!

[photo credit: photojojo.com]

Now that the cooler weather is here, it's time to start doing those outside chores that nobody wanted to do when it was miserably hot. I'm compiling a list of things I need to do for my house, and I thought I would post what I'm doing here, and see what everyone else was doing. Here's what I have on my list:

1. Paint and repair the fence. I don't actually have a fence, but my mom does, and since my dad's been so sick, I offered to help.

2. Power wash the deck and sides of house, re-stain deck. The good thing about the drought in Tennessee is the fact that I can count on several days in a row to be able to stain my deck and give it ample time to dry.

3. Clean out gutters. I hate doing this, largely because I have some gutters on one side of my house that are up way high, but it must be done. I have one gutter that needs special attention because it seems to be leaking. Ugh.

4. Wash, wax, and detail cars. I like to get my cars all nice and clean before it gets cold, because I never feel like washing the interior windows of my vehicles in 30 degree weather.

That's all I have on my list for now, but I'm sure I am leaving some things off. What are you doing to get ready for winter?