We might get a traverse curtain rod for the humongous living room window. It measures approximately 96" wide, so I am looking for panels for it. Ideally, I want a valance with a panel on each side that will hang down on either side of the loveseat in front of the window.

I think I might get these curtains as they are simple and come in a cream color. However, it says the width per pair - is that per panel or the width for both together? I know the general rule of thumb is twice the window width but these will stay open the majority of the time. It would be nice to close them if we don't want glare on the TV though. So, I don't really care how they might look when they are closed.

My coworker is getting married in September. We work in the IT department so she and I, plus one other older woman, are the only females in the group. The rest are guys. (Not your typical anti-social computer geeks - they're incredibly smart and witty but absolutely HILARIOUS. It's like working with clowns sometimes.)

We're a close-knit group so I want to organize something unique and fun for a bridal shower, and since we're mostly guys, I don't want to do something really girly. She's already having a private bridal shower that her maid of honor is throwing her, which is a surprise party (I'm also invited to this).

So for our own little group, what are some fun and "different" ideas? We'll obviously get some food and drinks and I'll ask everyone to chip in some money for a gift card, but what else can we do for a work "bridal shower"?

I have two outdoor chair cushions that have red and white stripes, and the white is looking pretty dingy and they have some general stains I'd like to clean. I've tried hot soap and water, scrubbing/soaking with oxyclean, and nothing makes much of a difference. My next try is a bleach/water mix, but I'm worried it will bleach the red. This set is just from Sears, so no name brand fabric to refer to the website for instructions. Any ideas?

hi! i'm moving tomorrow and the closet in my new place needs a new rod. the closet is probably 5 feet wide (maybe a bit bigger), but currently there are two small rods that run from the front to the back of the closet instead of one big one that runs side to side. i'm one of those people who keeps all of her clothes in the closet, so this will not do.

i know i need to replace the rod, but i also want to make it easy (and cheap) on myself. would a tension rod work here? i'm worried about the clothes being too heavy and the closet being too wide.

thanks!

I want to buy a steam cleaner for my floors. I read the recs in this community and I'm slogging my way through the cleaners on Amazon, and basically I'm confused.

I keep seeing "works on any sealed hard floor surface". What does that mean? Are engineering hardwood floors "sealed"? Are stone tiles generally sealed? Is steam safe on wood floors?

(I have a toddler and a messy cat, and I'm sick of scrubbing floors only to have someone spill something immediately after I'm done. I just want something that cleans fairly effectively that I don't have to crawl around on my hands and knees to use).

Thanks!

Asking for a friend! :)

Basically, my friend knocked a small container of soy sauce and sweet sake onto the fabric part of the passenger seat of her car. It's dried, and we're worried about ants. We've looked for a steam vac for cars, but haven't found one. We're really stumped for how to get the stain out, and what we need to do to make sure there's no lingering sugar residue. 

Hey all! I have some patio furniture that is (iron...I think) that our neighbor left when he moved out. It is currently pretty rusty and this ugly beige color. Is there any way I can clean the rust off and spray paint it a different color? Anybody have any tips for this?

Ha. That subject line says it all.

I'm teetering on the edge of total exhaustion. I have a mischevious cat who keeps me from having a regular sleep pattern. I work in the medical field and my schedule ends at 11:30pm. Most times, I don't go to sleep until well past 2am. I can sleep in since I don't have to be at work until the afternoon, however, he has a built in alarm clock that goes off every day between 5 and 6am. He paws and cries at the the closed bedroom doors REALLY loudly until I have no choice but to get up and feed him. He does this with such vigor that a pane in one of the french doors has comepletely cracked. I can't leave food out for him because he will eat it all at once. I can go back to sleep after I feed him, but this broken sleep is really not restful... and he'll just wake me up in a bit anyway.

This aside, he also loves to play with the mini blinds. Of course! They are standard cheap aluminum blinds. Since I moved in to my apartment, I've had to keep all of them pulled up halfway in the hopes that he would leave them alone. Not really working. I'm probably going to have to replace them all whenever I move out. I live on the second floor and there is virtually no privacy now. Anyone passing down the stairs can see straight into my place. I keep the ones in my bedroom down because that just creeps the heck out of me to think people can see me while I sleep. His playing with the blinds also wakes me up.

I don't know what to do to fix this problem. I love my pets to bits and would never consider getting rid of them, ever. Does anyone have any advice or ideas on how I can get a restful night's sleep? Anything I can do to keep him from destroying the mini blinds? Even better, is there anything I can do that will enable me to keep the blinds down, or if I have to keep them up, is there anything to keep people from seeing in? As I said before, I rent, so any fixes would have to be something I can change back with no damage whenever I decide to move out.

I'm refinishing a table, and to protect it from water rings and such (you can see some in the picture below) I'd like to apply a coat of polyurethane after I finish sanding and cleaning it up. However, I live in an apartment, have no garage or other enclosed space, and while I do have some outdoor space, any bit of wind blows up dog hair and dust from my neighbors. I can disassemble the table for the most part (it has two leaves that can be detached, leaving me with two flat surfaces and the middle part with the legs), should I just do it indoors in pieces? Or any other suggestions? I've tried just using wood wax and that hasn't helped avoid the rings.