April 1999

Hello, friends and clients! Here it is… the April issue of my Home & Family News! This month I've put together a spectacular newsletter that's jammed packed with some great "how to" articles and some amazing tips and tricks. So, without further delay, on we go…!

Pasta and potatoes for your plants! Mama Mia! The next time you boil noodles or potatoes, don't dump the water down the drain. Instead, let the water cool off, take it outside to your garden and water your plants with it. Your plants will love the starchy boost of nutrition.

6 ways to "weed out" weeds. Maintain your lawn with regular feeding, water, and mowing. In flowerbeds, use mulch that's two to four inches deep to help prevent weed seeds from germinating. Plant shrubs in dense groupings and seed over your grass to choke out weeds. Don't over water, just the amount needed according to what's planted. Remove weeds from root balls of trees and potted plants that you bring into your yard. When you see a weed, carefully take it out by hand, roots and all.

Butterfly buddies If you want to enhance the beauty of your lawn and garden with the presence of butterflies, all you need to do is plant stinging nettles (this plant can be found at any garden supply store). You can plant the stinging nettles in an unused portion of your lawn or garden. Butterflies will land there to lay their eggs.

Compost clutter. Compost enriches and conditions your soil and gives you a great way to recycle some of your yard and kitchen waste. You can start your own compost pile with a variety of different materials, like leaves, grass clippings, and animal manure. However, there are certain items that should never go into your compost pile. Here they are… animal meat or fat scraps, raw potatoes, animal bones, skin, and organs, cheese, milk, butter, garlic cloves, sauces, seasonings, and marinades.

Protect your shears! Before you start pruning, give your shears a spritz of vegetable oil. Plant and tree sap will wipe right off when you're finished pruning.

It seems like more and more people are on the Internet now. Businessmen, homemakers, students, grandparents, even our little children surf the Net liked seasoned pros.

If you're on-line, you're private information could quickly and easily become public information, without you even knowing it! Especially if you like to hang out in those chat rooms.

Without getting into all of the fancy-shmantzie techno terms, there is a simple step you can take to protect yourself if you use Windows 95 or Windows 98 as an operating system.

Here's how to do it:

• Click on the "My Computer" icon and open the folder called Control Panel.
• Once the Control Panel folder is open, click on the icon called Network.
• Then, click on the button called File and Print Sharing. Make sure the two boxes are blank. If they are checked, click on the check marks to disable the file sharing.

Thanks to YOU the word is spreading! Thank you to all of our clients who graciously referred us to their friends and neighbors last month! Our success is because of good friends like you. We just couldn't do it without you! Thank You For Your Referrals: Keith McLaughlin, Lynnete Rhoden, Chris and Sue Walsh.

Windowland is pleased to announce the Grand PrizeWinner of last month's quiz. And, the winner is… Mitchell Goldblatt of Orange! Mitchell was the first person to correctly answer this quiz question:

What Was The Name Of The Plane That The Young Pop Star Buddy Holly Died On?

a) Humble Pie b) Lady Luck c) Ace of Spades d) Death Trap e) American Pie

"Bye-bye Miss American Pie…" Just like the Don McLean song sang, the answer is e) American Pie. Well, I happily send out "All of my love" to the big winner! Now, onto this months quiz!

As you know, this is one of my favorite sections! I love challenging you with questions that'll make your brain explode! And, I also love receiving your answers and feedback. As you know, each and every month I bring you a brand new question!

As always, YOU have a chance to win EVERY month! The first correct answer faxed to 203-426-1825 or mailed to 3 Simm Lane, Newtown, CT 06470 will be the proud winner of:

What year did Walt Disney World Open In Orlando, Florida?

a) 1968 b) 1971 c) 1974 d) 1954 e) 1981

Nearly every electrical device and appliance in your home uses sensitive solid-state components. You may not be aware of it, but there are 1,000+ voltage surges in your home's wiring every day. Some of these dangerous voltage surges get as high as 5,000 volts!

Your plug-in appliances are not properly equipped to provide adequate protection. Even if the voltage surges are not powerful enough to destroy the electrical components in your appliances, the frequent surges can slowly breakdown the wiring. This breakdown causes premature appliance failure and/or faulty operation, which can cost you money!

What can cause these surges? The most common causes are lightning, switching on and off of dishwashers, refrigerators, and washing and drying machines. Surges can also be generated from nearby businesses and restaurants that have electrical equipment running.

The best way to protect your home and appliances is with a quality whole-house surge suppressor. These surge suppressors are very important especially if you have expensive computers, TV's and VCR's.

There's a big difference between whole house surge suppressers and the mini $10 surge protector devices that most folks use to protect their TV's, VCR's, and computers. The smaller surge protectors do not provide adequate protection for your expensive appliances. They are not equipped to withstand the powerful voltage surges that are common in most houses.

If you would like to protect your home with a whole house surge suppresser, the first thing you need to do is contact your electrician or an electrical supply house. Most suppressers are installed at the breaker box. This installation will have to be done by an electrical professional.

When shopping for a surge suppresser you will want to go with a company that offers a free $10,000-damage warranty. If any of your major electric appliances are damaged by voltage surges, they will repair them at no charge up to $10,000!

If you're sick and tired of dogs "fertilizing" your grass, plants, shrubs, trees, or sidewalk, I think I've got the answer you've been looking for!

To help "get a leg up" on those pesky dogs, I've got an all-natural recipe for a great pungent brew!

Here are the ingredients:

• Cloves of garlic
• Hot peppers (as hot as you can get!)
• Water

Take the concoction and pour it around the edge of the area you want to protect. Dogs will get the message real quick and they will stay away!

Many of our clients have discovered a way to earn lots and lots of CASH! As you well know, advertising for new clients is very, very expensive. Like any business, I need new clients to stay in business.

Over the years, I've found that looking for new clients takes away from the time I would rather be spending working with you and our other clients!

In the past, many of you have graciously referred your friends and neighbors my way. And for that, I thank you.

And now, in addition to my gratitude, you'll also get a token of my appreciation! Here's how it works:

For every referral you send my way that becomes a client, you will receive YOUR choice of the following:

• $100 gift certificate to Westchester Mall!
• $100 gift certificate to US Chowder Pot delicious restaurant!
• $100 donation to the charity of your choice in your name!
• $100 credit towards your next improvement with Windowland!

Your friends benefit because you can rest assured they'll be treated to the very best of care! (There are a lot of contractors out there ripping people off and doing a shabby job, with no guarantee behind their work. They give remodeling contractors a bad name. You will be doing your friends, relatives, and associates a huge favor by sparing them the grief of trying to find an honest, ethical, high-quality company that backs their work up with a guarantee.)

I benefit, because I get the chance to help your friends. And you benefit because you get a nice gift! And I assure you that I'll take the very best care of your friends or family that you refer. Plus, you will be helping us out too. That's why you deserve to be rewarded! So, fill out the Referral Reward Form and mail it or fax it in today! You can always fax to 203-426-1825.

The typical book is made with paper that will only last approximately 50 years. If you've got a favorite book, you need to take special care to guard against the ravages of time.

Don't keep those valuable books in your basement or your attic. Those unconditioned airspaces will cause the binding to break down and the pages to prematurely decay.

Instead, keep your books in an area with a constant humidity of 45 to 60 percent and a temperature of 60 to 70 degrees, like a well ventilated and air conditioned closet, storage space, bedroom, living room or family room;

PS That goes for good newsletters too!

Here are some of our new clients who became members of my "Remodeling Family" this past month. I'd like to welcome you, and wish you all the best!

• Keith and Kathy McLaughlin from Yorktown, NY.
• Stuart and Marjorie Fleischmann from Old Greenwich, CT.
• Lynette Kuss from New Milford, CT.

• Did you know that men who work stressful jobs are more likely to father girls than boys?
• 35% of people that use personal ads for dating are already married.
• On average, 100 people choke to death each year by swallowing ballpoint pens.
• When you pour ketchup out of a bottle, it travels at a rate of 25 miles per year.
• Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
• Two-thirds of the world's eggplants are grown in New Jersey.
• The longest one syllable word in the English language is "screeched."
• There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
• Liquor is referred to as "booze" because the glassmaker for many of the early bottles was Booze.

Here are 4 practical laundry tips and tricks that you can start using right now!

Tip #1 - Keep your zipper shut! To stop tiny tears and holes from forming in your clothes, you need to keep the zippers on your garments zipped up. When open zippers are flung around at high speeds they can snag and tear clothes. Before your zippered garments hit the washer or dryer, make sure they are zipped up!

Tip #2 - "Bake" your socks! Well, I don't mean to literally bake your socks, but when you soak your white socks in backing soda and water before washing, they come out cleaner and whiter!

Tip #3 - "Dip" your hankies! When you dip your used handkerchiefs in a touch of cream of tartar sauce and wash them, they will truly turn white again! (And, they go great with shrimp cocktail!)

Tip #4 - The little-known stain remover. If you've run out of laundry stain remover, all you need to do is rub a bit of that liquid antibacterial hand soap into the stain prior to washing… works like a charm!

BONU LAUNDRY TIP: How To Remove Gum From Clothing…

To get chewing gum out of fabric, the first trick you should try is to put the gum-covered garment in your freezer. The gum will become brittle and it will break or peel off.

If you still have some spots remaining, you can use white wine vinegar to finish off the job!

If you would like any of your friends, coworkers, relatives, business-acquaintances, etc. to receive a FREE subscription to this newsletter, please fill out the information and I'll see to it that they receive a copy each month!

I'll also send them a note with their first issue letting them know that you were the thoughtful person who suggested they receive this newsletter, and to contact me if they would like to stop at any time.

Well friends, that's about it for this month! As always, feel free to call me with any questions you may have concerning your home! We'll see ya in a few weeks!

Best Personal Regards,

Tony Gorin
Owner

PS Don't forget to check out my special Referral sheet so I can help your friends and family with their remodeling needs. And, take a look at the FREE information fax form on the next page. Let us know if you'd like any info!