Home Improvement

Put away the funny glasses; Super Bowl XLVI won't be in 3-D. Besides, you don't have enough specs for your whole party.

Home and garden events in the Sacramento region.

In the week before the Super Bowl, sales of huge televisions tend to spike.

Forgot to turn off your sprinklers? Consider installing a rain sensor on your irrigation system.

Kerrie Kelly's can-do attitude never goes out of style. Following her motto ("Everyone deserves great design"), she tries to fit beautiful and practical living spaces into any budget.

Tracy Parrott loves to clean. She snags pesky pet hair off the bottom of chair legs and steams kitchen appliances until they look like new. With grapefruit-scented spray, she makes every switch plate sparkle.

Sacramento County master gardeners will demonstrate how to prune fruit trees for easier harvest as well as how to prune grape vines and blueberries.

Angie's List, the consumer review service, asked highly rated house-cleaning companies nationwide how often to clean the most-used rooms in your house. The answer: Big jobs weekly, small jobs daily.

Is your closet jam-packed with clothes? Maybe you don't need more space but a new approach to your wardrobe.

Even with recycling, you still see stray plastic grocery bags and small produce bags along roadsides or blown around. I try to minimize this by tying a knot or two in the center of all plastic bags that go into the recycle bin.

Our unusually dry and sunny winter has felt like late spring or early fall. But don't let warmer days and a small amount of moisture fool you; keep the sprinklers off.

Just like grown-ups, children get bored with bland bedrooms.

Heloise shares your household hints. E-mail your tips to Heloise@Heloise.com.

This week's home and garden events in the Sacramento region.

Joey Green doesn't usually shave with Jif peanut butter or polish the furniture with Spam, but he knows he can in a pinch.

DEAR HELOISE: Here is my favorite hint: Buy the most inexpensive dryer nonstatic sheets you can.

Looking for an energetic boost for the new year? Try the color of 2012.

For one day only, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District will turn Christmas trees into mulch for free. SMUD will accept up to five trees from customers at its corporate yard. Bring bags and a shovel to scoop up the wood chips.

Did you finish your 2011 to-do list of tasks around the garden and the house? It's OK if you didn't; the new year gives us a fresh chance to finally get things done.

Home and garden events in the Sacramento region.

This week's home and garden-related events in the Sacramento region.

Heloise shares your household hints. E-mail your tips to Heloise@Heloise.com.

Americans throw away 25 percent more trash than usual between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. That adds up to about 25 million extra tons of garbage nationwide.

During the holiday season, families often get new gadgets, TVs or electronic appliances. And each time they get something new, they face the same dilemma – what to do with the old stuff?

Leftover pesticides – such as chlorpyrifos, Diazinon, Lindane and pyrethroids – can create a danger to your home and the environment.

Heloise shares your household hints. E-mail your tips to Heloise@Heloise.com.

Looking for a garden-related adventure during the holidays to entertain family or visiting guests?

This is one of two wine- bottle trees I designed for my backyard.

This week's home and garden-related events in the Sacramento region.

Heloise shares your household hints. E-mail your tips to Heloise@Heloise.com.

Out of wrapping paper? Or just cutting corners on the holiday budget? You can find colorful holiday wrappings around the house.

Stop the clog before it starts. Most stoppages in kitchen sinks come from fat, oil or grease poured down the drain.

When it comes to winter chores, there's no time for procrastination. Mother Nature waits for no one. When winter comes knocking, simple tasks can become far more complicated.

More consumers are aware that major changes are coming in the lighting industry, but they're not all willing to switch to energy-efficient bulbs, according to a new survey.

Did a candle leave a melted mess on your tablecloth? Here's how to clean up it up.

Sacramento-based interior designer Shiree Segerstrom had to get a big jump on her holiday decorating. Today, she's expecting hundreds of guests.

Home- and garden-related events in the Sacramento region.

Home and garden events in the Sacramento region.

Halloween seems like yesterday, but it's almost time to put up those holiday lights.

Mitch Heller sees the same trend every fall: When the temperature starts to go down, his fireplace business heats up.

Send a great hint to Heloise at Heloise@Heloise.com.

This week's home and garden events around the Sacramento region.

Will you be decking out your house, street or neighborhood with holiday lights? The Bee wants to put it on our annual map.

Home and garden-related activities around the Sacramento region.

Several federal tax credits for energy-efficient home improvements expire Dec. 31. Those improvements need to be installed by that deadline, not just purchased, says the Alliance to Save Energy.

Today's gas fireplaces and inserts are 50 percent to 70 percent more efficient than their 1990s or earlier counterparts, say experts.

Highlighted home and garden events around the Sacramento region.

Email a great hint to Heloise at Heloise@Heloise.com.

Will you be decking out your house, street or neighborhood with holiday lights?