Simplify Your Life With a Cedar Potting Bench

Gardening can be laborious, back-breaking work. Get away from the sun and up out of the dirt with your very own cedar potting bench. This sturdy yet simple workspace puts the ease of professional gardening at your fingertips. Building your own bench allows you to have control over the size and design specifications. In this way, you can build the right bench to fit in your outdoor living space, with your specific needs in mind. Many people prefer to buy a cedar potting bench, because they are not as picky and most benches come with a very affordable price tag. In this case, the following should be considerations, a sort of basic buying guide before hitting the store. Here, for the buyer and the DIY builder are the main features that make up these potting tables.

Cedar can't be beat
Unlike resin potting tables, which can warp in the heat and get scratched, or metal potting benches which are heavy and hot to the touch, wood is the way to go. A cedar potting bench in particular has some unbeatable qualities that even other varieties of timber can't match. Cedar in its many forms, including white cedar and western red cedar, is a durable hardwood whose use in outdoor furniture construction is unsurpassed. The lumber is durable, so there is less chance of splitting, cracking and rotting of the wood. This means there will also be less maintenance, especially long-term. It's also a beautifully colored wood with a naturally fragrant aroma. Finally, the tannins produced by cedar wood act to naturally repel insects, like fleas and moths, so there is less chance of infestation.

Framework
A typical cedar potting bench consists of a main table and lower shelf, connected by a backboard which extends above the tabletop. The purpose of which is to easily complete horticultural tasks and store one's tools.

Workspace
The table of a cedar potting bench is where all of the proverbial magic happens; in other words, this is where the work gets done. These tables sit significantly higher than normal tables because the idea is that you will be working while standing up. Sitting down or having to bend over can be painful on one back. Prolonged activity might even lead to long-term lumbar problems. The surface of the table needs to be flush and even, with either a single piece of wood or closely fitted beams, so that no soil is lost while working. There is usually a lipped edge along all sides of the table that is also designed to catch any loose soil.

Storing Options
After you've finished working, there's the task of storing all of your tools and gadgets. You could put them in the shed or the garage, but then that would defeat the purpose of having a convenient workspace, a veritable one stop gardening shop. The tools of your trade may include, but are certainly not limited to the following: hand shovels, hoes, fertilizers, extra pots, work gloves. All of the different equipment comes in many shapes and sizes, so it's best to mix up your storage options so you can fit everything. As far as shelves go, stick to one lower shelf beneath the tabletop. That way you still have room for your legs and won't worry about kicking anything or banging a shin. Above the table, you can have multiple shelving units, cubbies, or whatever suits your fancy. You can also attach a latticework or pegboard to the back of your potting bench. This is a nice feature that keeps tools at hand's length, but out of the way. Plus, you can hang taller tools and oblong tools that don't otherwise fit on shelves.

Soil
The storing of soil is a separate category altogether when it comes to a cedar potting bench because of its special needs. Obviously, you will want to keep some soil nearby, as that is one of the main considerations that go into potting a plant. A lot of potting tables, in addition to shelving, have slide out or drop down compartments for keeping loose soil. If you have a simpler model or build your own table, you might choose to keep your soil separately from the bench. If that's the case, the main thing to remember either way about storing soil is that it needs to be kept in a cool, dark place with minimal moisture and ventilation.

Tonya Kerniva is an experienced research and free lance writing professional. She writes actively about Cedar Potting Bench and Potting Benches.

Simplify Days in Your Life - Look at the Big Picture

In order to organize time and days in your life, you need first to step back and look at the big picture.

So you figured out what you want to do, need to do, and how to get there - Seems to be there is only 1 dilemma. You don't have time.

You're at work 10 hours a day, not including the commute. When you're home, family demands some quality time.

I can't tell you how to organize your day, because everyone's life schedule is different. However, I can share with you how to deal with a few problems that are generally common for all of us pleasant multitasker who always seem to be on-the-go super energized during the day. And what everyone don't see, burnt out at night, or whatever time we finally get to stop and sit down at the end of the day.

1. Say "NO." Sometimes it's okay to be selfish. When you know you have something scheduled ahead of time, even if you have nothing to do but it's your break time, say no anyway. Because you, your sanity, are just as important as those twenty other things in your life. If you don't think you can do it, say so. If people who ask really care about you, they won't push the issue. If bosses are the one who ask you, be tactful when providing the "NO" answer. Say, "I have this, and this, and this. Which one would you like me to take care first?"


2. Press the Brakes in You. Sometimes it's not other people. Sometimes it's you. You're the one who wants to do this and that and everything, by either under-estimating the time you have, or over-estimating your own ability. It's good to push yourself to maximize your potential. However, it's also important to understand your circumstances. Sacrificing health, or fun, is not good in the long-run. It might look okay on the surface, but it's eating you from the inside, you just don't realize that. Yet. If you work 12 hours a day, when you get home, shut-off your work cell phone. When you sit on the dinner table, don't answer the phone. Not home phone, certainly not your cell phone. That's why you have voicemail. How long does dinner take, 30 minutes? Unless you're a Paramedic on-call, some things can wait for 30 minutes.


3. Prioritize. Duh, you said. Well, if you never have problem trying to decide what to do FIRST, then good for you. However, if you can't understand why when it rains it pours, the last thing you want to do is to sit down. Well, in fact, that's the first thing you need to do. No, I'm not kidding you. Sit down, take a deep breath, and grab a pen and paper. Okay, you can open your Word Processor program too, it doesn't matter. Actually Excel Spreadsheet is better, if you use the computer instead. I promise, this won't take longer than 30 seconds. Can you push the "PAUSE" button on everything else for 30 seconds? Honestly? Now list everything that you need to do. Done? Now read through them, and answer these questions: Which have to be done N.O.W, which can wait for let say, half-an-hour? If your mind says, "This can wait, but..." stop right there. That means it can wait. Move on to the next item on your list. After done reading everything through, now write a number next to each line and do it in that order. One thing at a time. I'm not going to bore you with any long theories, but I will tell you this. When you do that, you don't let yourself get overwhelmed. And when you are not overwhelmed, you will be able to see a clear picture of the situations. Of what matter, what don't. What urgent, what can wait. Oh, one advice. If you're in the car when all these strike, pull over. Always keep a napkin and a pen in the glove compartment, they really don't take that much room, and you will find them useful when you least expect it.


4. Delegate. For some people, including me sometimes, this is the hardest thing to do. But at some point, we all would have to. My advice: Do it and accept it. Do it, after analyzing to whom are you going to delegate it. If they are your staff, analyze their skills, their personalities, and their current workload. If they're family members, analyze not only 3 factors I mentioned previously, but also how you'd make them feel. Accept it, that if they screw-up, you would have to fix it. If you go on vacation, that means work triple when you come back. If you have important meetings, have back-up if something goes wrong, or go extra miles on your follow-up process. Either way, not doing something yourself means you have to rely on other people. And sometimes, you can't help but to do it. After all, you only have 2 hands, 2 feet, and 1 head. And, this is important, try not to stress out about it. Do what you have to do, and what would happen will happen. You'll see it when it comes. If you could afford it, hire yourself a Personal Assistant. Trusted and dependable personal assistant would make it worth your while and your bucks, and save your sanity at the same time.

As I mentioned above, everyone's life schedule is different. No matter what other people say, it all comes back to you. You are the one who knows best what works for you. You are the one who have control of your days, and your life in general.

The most important thing is not to get overwhelmed. Calm down, take a pause, and figure it out. By being able to see the big picture of the whole situations, you would unconsciously be wired to organize your thoughts, and able to organize your time in the best way that works for you.

Happy simplifying!

Jean Kurniati is a Virtual Assistant with vast experience in small & family businesses. She believes there is a strong connection between personal success and success as an entrepreneur or business owner. Simplify it. Don't sweat.

The Very Dark Side of a Recession

People tend to do crazy things when they get desperate. Think of any situation you have been in where things looked bleak. It might be that you considered doing something that you normally would not. In the current economic crisis in the United States, people are preparing for an increase in crime rates. Ask any Las Vegas Criminal Defense Attorney and they will tell you that they are preparing for more work. When people have less money, they begin to become hopeless. Unfortunately, some see crime as an escape from their problems. If the current recession mirrors the trends of any other recession, we are going to need every Las Vegas Criminal Defense Lawyer because crime rates will go up.

A recession is not the only reason that some people act out of their normal behaviors. A tragic event, such as a natural disaster, leaves many people without homes, food, or water. Many people have to steal in order to survive the catastrophe. This was very evident during the time after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Some people were stealing from grocery stores that were abandoned to get the necessary survival items. This is slightly understandable because of the severity of the conditions in New Orleans. Then things escalated to a level that not many expected. Citizens began to loot from any store that they wanted because most owners had fled the city to escape the danger. No longer were people stealing to survive. Instead they were robbing to benefit, taking items like televisions, cars, and alcohol.

When a situation such as the one in New Orleans breaks out, the government can restore order. This requires someone to declare Martial Law over the area in chaos. This means that the military takes the place of the normal police force in that area. Martial law is not put into effect very often. New Orleans was actually put in a state of emergency, which meant that the police could take any necessary means to stop looting. New Orleans is a city that is familiar with this type of situation. Martial Law was put into effect once before. It used to be a British controlled city, but once the United States gained control in 1812 the military took control until a true police force could be put into place.

If martial law is being put into place, it means that there is some sort of event that warrants it. Unfortunately, it is usually a situation involving tragedy or violence. It is a great thing that the United States government has prepared for these types of possibilities. Martial Law is a very smart idea that is effective when needed. You just have to hope that it is needed very often, especially as the economy worsens, because it means that some sort of hopeless situation has broken out. People tend to act very differently when they feel that there is only one way out, but people should know that there is usually another way out.

Chuck Stewart has been researching a Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer to see if he would do a good job on his brothers case. He was very impressed with the quality of work provided by the Las Vegas criminal defense attorney he spent time with.