If you’re planning to refinish an existing floor, pull up a floor register to make sure you have enough wood for another sanding. Standard hardwood strip flooring can be sanded several times, but if your floor is only slightly more than 1/2 inch thick, consult a professional. The same goes for engineered flooring. It can be refinished, but its top layer is quite thin. Take inventory of the existing floor, and mark and repair popped nails and damaged areas....

1. Grow New Lettuce Leaves from Roots You could head to the grocery every time you need a new head—or you could grow lettuce straight from your kitchen. Go ahead and eat your store-bought batch, but leave the central part of the vegetable untouched, since this section possesses the power for producing new growth. Cut the leaves about an inch from the bottom of the lettuce bunch. Place the lettuce stem in a shallow dish of water....

After the moldings are out of the way, the next step is to remove the drywall or plaster from the wall. Before you start smashing the wall with a hammer, find out if there are any pipes, ducts, or wiring inside the walls. This is a messy job, so work carefully to avoid creating excessive debris and dust. Remove drywall in large pieces. Start near the top of the wall and work down, prying the drywall free of its fasteners as you go....

In most cases, having a local hardware store or glass specialist cut the glass for you is best. Unless the pane is very small, order double-thick glass; single-thick glass breaks easily. Order shatter-resistant glass for a door, sidelight, or other high-traffic areas. Be sure to wear thick gloves, long clothing, and protective eyewear when handling shattered glass. Tiny, nearly invisible splinters can cause injury. To seal the window, apply traditional glazing putty (also called glazing compound) with a putty knife....

Here you’ll find our most basic recipe, so you can make a whole roast chicken in five easy steps, with five (or fewer) ingredients. Prepare the Chicken Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure to note how much your bird weighs, as this determines how long it should be in the oven. Set it in a shallow roasting pan, breast side up. Tie the drumsticks together with cooking twine, so the chicken keeps its shape and to ensure even cooking without the limbs over-drying....

We stand by our Test Kitchen’s Classic Roast Chicken method that requires just a bit of butter, broth, salt, pepper. But when we’re crunched for time or are aiming to max out the golden brown, seasoned bits, we swear by the spatchcock chicken. Ahead, your complete guide to how to spatchcock a chicken, including what that term means in the first place, reasons why we adore this easy method, plus we’ll dish up a few of our favorite spatchcock chicken recipes for you to try at home....

Easy Seeds to Start Indoors If it’s your first time starting seeds indoors in winter, it’s best to go small. Pick just one or two types that are easy to grow from seed like these favorite flowering annuals: Container Options Plastic seed trays ($16, The Home Depot) and seed-starter kits ($16, Etsy) are super easy for growing seeds indoors. But you can dig through your recycling bin, too. Just remember to punch a drainage hole in each container before planting....

Once you’ve gathered your supplies, it’s time to practice macramé knot techniques. By incorporating a variety of knots into your design, you can give your project interesting texture and added dimension. Below, we’ll walk you through some of the most common macramé knot types and how to do them. Once you have these methods mastered, mix and match the different types of knots to create your own distinctive designs. The possibilities are limitless!...

What Is Feng Shui? Feng shui, which translates literally to “wind and water,” was historically used to select favorable places and times for building homes, growing crops, and other life-sustaining activities, Santiago says. The philosophy is based around the elements of earth, metal, water, wood, and fire, which can all be represented through various shapes, colors, and materials throughout a home. The right balance cultivates happy, organized spaces that support our well-being and daily lives....

Safety First Before you winterize your lawn mower, take a few safety precautions. Read your owner’s manual for instructions that are specific to your model. If you don’t think you can safely winterize your mower, contact a professional. Otherwise, Bob Glawe, product safety specialist for Troy-Bilt says to “move the mower to a flat, level surface; turn it off, remove the ignition key, and let the engine cool.” You don’t want it to start accidentally while you work on it, so for battery-powered and electric models, remove the battery or disconnect the negative battery cable....

The recipe was created by food blogger and Brooklyn-based cook Justine Doiron (aka @justine_snacks on Instagram) and consists of roasted butternut squash, three cheeses, and a plethora of warm, Thanksgiving-perfect herbs and spices. The Reel Doiron posted walking through how to make the dish has accumulated more than 70,000 likes, and she wrote on her website that it’s “by far the closest thing to the Trader Joe’s version.” Trader Joe’s describes its butternut squash mac and cheese as made with “mezzi rigatoni pasta—short, thick, ridged tubes that hold sauces with gusto” which is then “blended with an opulent sauce made with three cheeses (cheddar, gouda, and parmesan), a classic béchamel sauce, the perfect amount of butternut squash pureé, and a sprinkling of seasonal spices like nutmeg and sage....

½ small cantaloupe, cut up ¼ small honeydew melon, cut up 2 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

Jennifer Kopf attended Drake University, where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism & Mass Communications. She also studied Magazine Journalism and Publication Design.

Benefits of Keyhole Gardening A keyhole garden’s raised profile makes it ideal for places with subpar soil (bonus: There’s no digging or tilling required). The elevation also makes it easier for those with mobility challenges to plant, tend, and harvest. Plus, keyhole gardens are ecological and budget friendly. They can be created at a very low cost, using natural materials and things you may already have on hand. The compost basket provides a convenient, mess-free way to give plants much-needed nutrition without a separate compost bin....

Need-to-know tips for keeping your entire family organized. Editor’s Tip: When hanging rods for vertical storage, look for adjustable pieces that can be repositioned as your child grows. Learn the right way to install a wire closet system. Tip: Kid-friendly closet organization is all about ease, so choose baskets without a lid. They’ll have no excuse for leaving socks or dirty clothes on the floor. Tip: This unique kids’ closet idea will make the room appear larger if the curtain is hung at the very top of the wall and reaches down to the floor....

Why Type of Paint Matters Most paint types fall into one of four sheen categories—flat, satin, semigloss, and gloss. Manufacturers may choose descriptive names such as matte or eggshell, so avoid surprises by checking actual samples when comparing paints. Sheen affects not only the appearance of a painted surface but also its durability. The higher the sheen, the harder the paint. But don’t assume all glossy paints display the same reflectivity....

Landscape Lighting Basics How light is seen during the day is different from how it is seen at night, a particularly important distinction when it comes to lighting pathways and other outdoor spaces. However, certain principles about lighting remain true indoors and out. To begin, lighting has degrees of intensity, color, and different quantities are emitted. The color of a particular lightbulb can be found on the packaging; it is a number that ranges from 1800 K (kelvins), which is very red in tone, to 7500 K, which is a bluish-white....