Tired of your old wallpaper and are wondering how to remove wallpaper to freshen up your space? As they say, what goes up has to come down eventually, and it's pretty simple to accomplish this task without it taking hours and hours, and without damaging your home's drywall. All you need is a few tools, and to keep some safety steps and removal techniques in mind. 

To help you through the process, we reached out to professionals who offered tips and crucial advice to help you through the way. Take a look at methods of taking down wallpaper and enjoy this DIY project you can complete in a day.

What should you keep in mind before removing the wallpaper?

Removing bedroom, kitchen, or living room wallpaper is going to be a messy and wet affair, so make sure you and your house is well-prepared for it. Cover all the outlets and furniture so you don't get any dirt on them.

'Before removing the wallpaper, test a small area in an inconspicuous spot to ensure the wall underneath is in good condition,' says Jay Sanders, owner of Castle Dream Construction. 'If you are removing wallpaper from a textured wall, you may need to use a wallpaper scraper or putty knife to remove the adhesive residue.'

'Check for lead paint, especially in older homes, as disturbing it can be hazardous,' says Michael Gottron, owner of a family-run professional cleaning service, Germicidal Maids. 'If you find lead paint, consult a professional. Next, ensure you have the time and patience; this process can be time-consuming.'

'Also, before removing wallpaper, it's important to protect the floor and any furniture with drop cloths or plastic sheets,' says Rick Hernandez, president & owner of Sepi Painting & Waterproofing. 'Also remember to switch off electricity in the area, especially if working near outlets or switches, to ensure safety.'

3 ways to remove wallpaper

1. Use a steamer

Whether you have a permanent or temporary wallpaper, one of the easiest ways to remove it is with a steamer. 

'One of the most common ways to remove a wallpaper involves softening the adhesive using a solution or a steamer, and then gently scraping off the wallpaper with a knife,' says Rick. 

Try peeling a small portion of the paper to see if it can easily be removed without tearing. 'Strippable wallpapers may come off easily by pulling from a corner, while others might require more effort. It's essential to proceed gently to avoid damaging the underlying wall surface.' It might seem like a big investment, but you can get steamers like this one from Amazon for less than $60.

2. Consider the water, sprayer and putty knife method

To remove your bedroom or kitchen wallpaper more systematically, use the water-based stripping method.

'You'll need a five-gallon bucket, a pump sprayer, plastic to cover your floor, plenty of blue, heavy-duty shop paper towels, a putty knife or 5-in-1 tool, dish detergent, and hot water,' says Bill Nishanian, owner of Nash Painting. 'Unless you plan to replace the floor, cover it completely in plastic before you begin. Use heavy-duty tape to affix the plastic to the baseboards. Fill a five-gallon bucket with hot water and add Dawn dish detergent. Then roll out six to eight feet of paper towels, soak them in the bucket, and lift them out without wringing. Spread the wet paper towels across the area of wallpaper you want to remove, continuing until it's all covered.'

'The damp paper towels should stick to your walls,' says Bill. 'Fill the pump sprayer with the hot soapy water solution and spray the paper towels intermittently to keep them damp. After 10 to 15 minutes, peel back a small section of the blue paper towels and check the wallpaper with a putty knife or five-in-one scraper. If the wallpaper comes off easily, you can remove the paper towels and begin to scrape off the wallpaper. If it's not ready, keep it wet for a little longer and try again. If this doesn't work, you likely have vinyl-backed wallpaper. If this is the case, you'll need to use the scoring tool to create holes so the water can get to the back of the paper to loosen it.'

3. Create a homemade removal solution

Used as a natural paint remover, vinegar is also effective in taking down wallpaper.

'The water and vinegar method is a natural and efficient approach,' says Michael. 'Apply it to the wallpaper using a sponge or spray bottle, allowing it to soak in for about 15 minutes. This helps to loosen the adhesive.'

'I can recommend water and vinegar as a very effective method for removing wallpaper, especially wallpaper that's stubbornly hanging on,' says Andre Kazimierski, CEO, of Improovy Painters Chicago. 'Of course, first, you will want to carefully score the wallpaper so your solution can reach the adhesive. Then, the vinegar will help eat away the adhesive for easier removal.'

3 wallpaper removal products to buy

Fall weather calls for some home DIY, and with a host of trending colors coming out of the woodwork this season, we're feeling especially inspired to give our homes a lick of paint. But, while it may be a fairly easy upgrade to do yourself, painting a room does present one large obstacle - achieving neat and straight lines. 

We've all tried painter's tape, but all too often you're still left with wobbly lines that can be seen from a mile away. Of all the amazing paint ideas currently on your mood board, we can guarantee they all have one thing in common - beautifully clean lines that seem impossible to recreate. 

Sound familiar? Fortunately, we've asked professional painters for five tips on how you can achieve them too, and they all involve ditching the tape for good. Discover how to get a professional-worthy paint job with these five techniques that promise straight lines every time.

1. Use a quality brush

According to professional painter and owner of Five Star Painting, Anthony Kulikowski, when it comes to how to paint a room, the first step to achieving clean lines is investing in some quality brushes. 'You can't beat the old reliable method of a steady hand and an excellent, high-quality paintbrush,' he says. 

The steady hand part is something that takes time and practice, but getting some good brushes is something you can quickly rectify. Using brushes with a tapered head of bristles will hold paint better and result in a smoother finish, allowing you to better control the distribution of paint and achieve a straighter line.

If you aren't trying the color-drenching trend or you want to keep your skirting board a contrasting color, try a sash brush to achieve a crisp line. This angled brush is a game changer when it comes to cutting corners and lines, and this option from Home Depot is a steal.

2. Hold the brush properly

When it comes to painting straight lines without tape, we need to go back to basics.  'Start by always holding your brush correctly,' says Tila Lee, owner of Pretty In Paint. 'The way you hold your brush determines the level of control you have over the flow of paint and has a profound impact on the end results.' 

So, how should we be holding it? 'You should be holding it like a pencil, with your pointer finger pointing down the brush on the top towards the point, and your thumb wrapped around underneath it pointing up towards the tip of your finger,' explains Tila. This paint technique will help you stabilize your hand when creating straight lines and give you a firmer grip to ensure precision. 

3. Start at the corners when cutting in

Straight lines don't just apply to statement stripes or contrasting colors, they apply to cutting in, too. When faced with how to paint a wall, it can be difficult to know where to begin, but experts say there's an ideal place to start that will make it easier. 'Start in corners and work your way towards the center of the line you are cutting on both ends,' advises Tila. Essentially, you paint two lines that meet in the middle. 

To achieve the straightest line possible you should also pay attention to how you position your brush on the wall, keeping your brush parallel to the line you are cutting like your hand is glued to the wall. 'Position your brush at a 45-degree angle in the corner,' says Tila. 'First, you will do your ceiling cut, pulling from the corner out towards the middle of the wall, rotating the brush up until it's parallel with the ceiling, and mimicking this on the other corners.' 

To ensure no harsh lines when you get the rollers out on the main wall, always feather the edge of the paint. This will make sure no ridges appear if your roller doesn't push it out quickly enough.

4. Try a paint shield

If you haven't yet acquired a steady hand and require a bit more support, try utilizing a paint shield. 'This method is done by placing the blade of your shield or knife against the surface you don't want to paint, holding it firmly, and then using a brush to paint up to the shield,' says Anthony. Unlike tape, this method won't result in messy or wonky lines as it's placed against a flat surface, plus it can be quickly and easily removed.

A paint shield can be particularly helpful when creating a living room accent wall in a statement color. 'This method can be effective, but keep your tools clean,' warns Anthony. 'Otherwise, you can create more of a mess than the time saved by not using tape, resulting in a loss of time.'

5. Keep a damp cloth on hand

Even with these tips everyone makes mistakes, even the professionals. Fortunately, experts have a secret weapon up their sleeve for when you accidentally paint outside the lines. 

'If you do go out of line have a damp rag ready to quickly wipe off unwanted paint,' says Inez Stanway, paint expert and founder of Monday Mandala. 'It's our little eraser. The key is to wipe it immediately, and it's like it never happened.' Even if you're not attempting free-hand lines or striped walls, it's still a good idea to keep a cloth like these microfiber ones from Amazon on hand to wipe up any mistakes.

Follow these guidelines next time you're decorating and you're sure to have the professional-worthy paint finish of your dreams. Just remember, practice makes perfect!

We're all for creating a home for wildlife when gardening, but while you might want to encourage seemingly cute critters like chipmunks into your backyard, they can actually be surprisingly destructive, and quickly become pests. 

Chipmunks, in particular, like to eat roots, leaves, seeds and your freshly-planted bulbs, plus they also create deep, long burrows in your garden beds and containers. 

Of course, there are super simple container gardening tricks to keep your prize plants protected. These ideas are humane and won't stop chipmunks from visiting your garden necessarily, but will stop them from causing chaos in your pots. 

1. Lay animal-repellent mats

One of the most-effective ways to keep chipmunks out of your garden containers is a simple buy you can get from most hardware stores, or from Amazon. 'For those who want to have chipmunks in their yards but protect their flower beds and pots from their activity, I recommend animal-repellent mats,' suggests Certified Master Gardener Alex K. Worley.

'These protect plants from critter invasion by creating a grid barrier right on top of the soil,' Alex adds. This also helps to avoid rodent holes in your yard.

If you need a cheap and quick alternative, you could also try this trick for using plastic forks in a garden, which acts much in the same way. 

2. Companion planting 

By choosing certain plants, you can create a garden that deters chipmunks. 'Cultivate plants that naturally repel squirrels and chipmunks, such as daffodils, alliums, or marigolds,' explains Tony O'Neill, an author and garden educator. 'These flowers emit scents that critters find unpleasant.'

However, you'll need to make sure your choices complement each other, so that both plants thrive in your containers or flower beds.

3. Sprinkle cinnamon or chilli 

Did you know that certain spices from your kitchen can also help to deter critters? 'Sprinkling a dash of fiery cayenne powder on top of the soil or around the flower pots discourages squirrels, chipmunks, and other rodents from entering and digging,' explains Alex. 'However, cayenne's potency diminishes over time, necessitating regular reapplication to maintain its deterrent effect.'

If you don't have cayenne in your spice rack, you could also try using cinnamon in a garden. 'I use cinnamon as it is a powerful natural deterrent for chipmunks and other critters,' Alex says. 'Simply sprinkle some cinnamon powder around the pots to keep them out. As with cayenne powder, the effects of cinnamon fade over time and with rain, so I recommend consistent reapplication every few days, especially after rainfall.'

4. Use scare tactics 

If you're looking for something a little more high-tech, there are plenty of smart home gadgets you can add to your backyard to help deter rodent pests. 'Place motion-activated devices, such as ultrasonic repellents or sprinklers, near your pots,' advises Tony O'Neill.' These devices emit sounds or spray water when animals come near, effectively scaring them away.' 

5. Top pots with chunky mulch 

Mulching your containers is a process that can really help deter chipmunks, but also has wider benefits, especially as a way to care for plants during summer. 'Incorporating chunky mulch, such as larger pieces of bark or rocks, not only prevents soil surface from drying during the day but also serves as an effective defense against invasive critters,' says Alex. 

'The chunky nature of this mulch serves as a physical deterrent, making it difficult for chipmunks and other critters,' Alex adds. 'I find that they just don't like the hard work of digging through rock and thick pieces of bark in landscapes.' 

There was a time when dropping your iPhone in the bath or swimming pool — or even using it in heavy rain — could spell the end of your handset. 

Thankfully modern Apple devices are a bit more protected. Since 2016’s iPhone 7, Apple has included IP67 or IP68 water protection in its phones. The protection varies from generation to generation, but the upshot is that your handset should be able to sit in at least a 3 feetof water for up to 30 minutes without any ill consequences.

But you still don’t want water just sitting in your handset. Not only will a wet Lightning port prevent the iPhone from charging, but water in the speaker grille can badly distort sound. 

And for the latter, the Water Eject iPhone trick is extremely handy.

What is Water Eject, and how does it work?

Water Eject is an optional third-party feature on iPhones that forces trapped liquids out of the hard-to-reach speakers. 

It does this by playing a very low-frequency tone of 165Hz for around 10 seconds. The sound waves vibrate the speaker, which in turn pushes trapped water safely out.

Although this isn’t made by Apple itself, it uses the same technique that the company has used on Apple Watches since the Series 2 launched in 2016.

Do all iPhones support Water Eject?

To get Water Eject working on your iPhone, you need to add it through the Shortcuts app. 

Shortcuts — the iPhone’s answer to IFTTT which allows users to create simple routines — is only available to devices running iOS 12 or later, which means that anything from 2013’s iPhone 5S and onwards should qualify.

However, it’s worth remembering that water resistance is a relatively new feature for iPhones, debuting in 2016’s iPhone 7.  That means that while you can install the Water Eject Shortcut to earlier models, there’s no guarantee that dislodging trapped water from your speaker grille will actually keep an iPhone alive. 

In fact, running a non-water-resistant phone before it’s dried can cause more damage, so you may want to switch it off and let it dry out with silica gel before even trying.  

How to use Water Eject on iPhones

As mentioned before, the Water Eject feature on iPhones is handled via the Shortcuts app. Recent models have this pre-installed, so you may be able to skip the first step outlined below.

1. Download the Shortcuts app from Apple’s App Store. Just type it into the search bar, or click this link. 

2. Once it’s installed, open the Safari app and visit ShortcutsGallery.com.
3. Once it’s installed, open the Safari app and visit ShortcutsGallery.com.

4. Tap “Add Shortcut” to install it to your iPhone’s Shortcuts list.
5. Now you’ll have it in your Shortcuts app. Just tap it, select “Start” and then pick the intensity of the sound you require.

6. The iPhone will play a short sound for about 10 seconds and any water trapped in the speaker should be ejected. Repeat as necessary.

If you’d rather not open up the Shortcuts app every time you want to use it, once installed you can simply use a Siri voice command. 

Just say “Hey Siri, Water Eject” to do so — though I found this to be a bit finicky, and it would often do Google searches for similar sounding phrases instead.

This summer, I committed to growing more vegetables from scratch and settled on experimenting with the zucchini. A summer squash, zucchinis are part of the gourd family and are grown for their edible fruits, as well as occasionally the zucchini flower. 

I've often been put off by larger squashes as their sheer weight and size make me pessimistic about their chances of success, and have heard how the zucchini is a tricky veg to grow, but I've found them to be surprisingly easy - it's just about handling with care and appreciating the delicacy of this summer squash. 

Here are five things I learned about how to grow zucchinis and transport them from pots to my vegetable patch in my backyard.

1. How to pot your zucchini seed

The first stage when planting your zucchini is the pot, starting off with an indoor vegetable garden. The pot you select is actually crucial to your zucchini plant's chances of success.  ‘Zucchinis thrive in spacious pots, at least 12 inches deep, ensuring sufficient room for root growth. Good drainage is a must to avoid root saturation,’ says Tony O’Neill, author of Composting Masterclass and Your First Vegetable Garden.

I gave my seeds plenty of space and also planted around 20 or so to up my chances. 'Due to their sensitivity to root disruption, sowing zucchini seeds directly into their permanent pots is best,' advises Tony, although I always intended on moving my zucchini seedlings to an outside bed where they'd have more space.

2. What conditions do zucchini plants need?

After potting my zucchini seeds, I made sure to give them ideal conditions for growth. Zucchini plants are summer vegetables, so they love full sun and warmth. Leaving them somewhere sunny will help your zucchini seed turn into a seedling.    

Zucchinis adore the sun, so position the pot where it receives at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight daily. 

3. Keeping your zucchini watered

As with most vegetable container gardening, the soil must also be well-drained, and enriched it with organic matter. I put my pots on a long tray so that the water would drain out onto the tray underneath.

You also want to make sure your pots are constantly watered. Once my seedlings started to grow, they get quite a length on the stem so I had to learn to be gentle with watering to avoid breaking or hurting the stem. 

Feed the plant straight to the soil and avoid splashing the leaves. 'Splashing the leaves while watering can also cause the onset of fungal diseases,' says Tony.

4. Hardening off your seedlings

This is a vital step. I started my zucchini planting indoors, but always had the intention of moving them into soil outdoors once they were strong enough. 

To help with the transition outside, I attempted to 'harden off' the zucchini plant by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over the space of a week. This means gently introducing them to the weather and climate of my backyard before moving them outdoors for good. 

To do this, place them in a shaded, protected spot in your backyard on warmer days, bringing them in again at night when the temperatures plummet. Each day, increase the amount of sunlight the seedlings receive and don't put them outdoors on windier days or when temperatures are low. Avoid anything below 45° F.

Where I went wrong on this step was putting them outside for some sunbathing, forgetting all about them, and leaving them there overnight. Remembering to take them back inside is crucial. 

5. Transporting your seedlings

You'll know that you can move your plants to your modern vegetable garden outside 'when seedlings have developed two leaves,' says Tony. If you aren't planting in soil and want to plant in a bigger pot, bear in mind that zucchini is a plant with deep roots. 

You'll need something tall, so a minimum of 18 to 24 inches in both depth and width should be found. The plants with adequate room as a result will to continue expanding and bear lots of zucchinis. 

Choose a sunny spot in your garden and dig a hole slightly larger than the root ball. They still need a lot of space, so these plants aren't ideal for a small vegetable garden. 

Being gentle with the zucchini plant is a must. I think I was a little too heavy-handed, tipping them upside down as I normally wood and shaking them out of their pots meant that a few of my zucchini plants suffered from snapped stems. 

Once planted, water them consistently, keeping soil moist but not overly waterlogged. Aim to water around once or twice a week but continue to watch out for the leaves. 

No matter whether you opted for the pocket-sized iPhone 13 mini or the enormous stamina of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, it’s always nice to eke out as much battery life as possible. Unfortunately, the longer you have an iPhone, the more likely you are to find yourself complaining about declining battery life.

It’s not a problem that’s unique to Apple devices by any means: Lithium Ion batteries just have a certain number of charge cycles, and a device that’s charged every night is going to start showing its age before long.

Fortunately, there are a few iPhone tricks you can enact to boost its battery life. Here are 11 of them.

1. Enable Low Power Mode 

This isn’t something that you’ll likely want to do every day, but if you’re glancing nervously at your battery gauge and worrying it won’t last the day, iOS does have a Low Power Mode to limit functionality in exchange for longevity.

Expect to see fewer graphical niceties, a lower refresh rate, reduced screen brightness and other things covered below individually. The difference is that here they’re all done in one go for maximum impact.

To enable it, tap ‘Settings’ and then ‘Battery’. Then toggle the setting labelled ‘Low Power Mode’.

2. Kill your background wireless services 

If you’re not actively using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and AirDrop, it’s worth turning them off until you are. All of these services are constantly scanning in the background, slowly sipping at your battery over the course of a day.

To do so, open Settings, then select ‘Wi-Fi’ and/or ‘Bluetooth’. Tap the toggles to disable the services until required.

3. Find battery sapping apps 

Rather helpfully, the iPhone actually lets you see exactly what’s been draining your battery life. That’s not too useful if it’s core apps like Safari or Mail, but you may find an impulse download from the App Store isn’t worth its battery drain.

Go to Settings, then ‘Battery’ to see your last 24 hours of battery use and look for any rogue apps. If you want a longer-term picture, you can toggle this to the last ten days.

4. Make sure your iPhone is charging right 

Not only do Lithium Ion batteries have a finite number of charges, but overcharging them can harm the long-term health of the cell. Since iOS 11.3, the iPhone has had a built-in solution that monitors when you typically charge your phone, bringing the battery up to 80% and then holding it there, only going for the last 20% in time for you waking up.

It’s called Optimized Battery Charging. Again, you can find it in ‘Settings’ and then ‘Battery’. It's a setting that everyone should have turned on, and will help protect the life of your battery.

5. Limit your apps’ background internet usage 

When you have an active internet connection, the default behavior is for your apps to refresh their content in the background. This is why emails come through in Gmail or news apps get the latest headlines.

This drains battery, though, so you may want to disable it altogether – or at least pick and choose which apps have that privilege.

You can do this by going to Settings, then ‘General’, then ‘Background App Refresh’. Here you can turn it off for every app, or select which apps are allowed and which are blocked.

 6. A bright screen is a wasteful screen 

One of the main drains on a smartphone’s battery is the screen. This is especially true of big-screen handsets, like the iPhone’s Plus and Pro Max models, even though the larger battery these handsets include compensates.

All the same, while you may want your screen to be eye-seeringly bright all the same, if you’ve overruled the defaults, that could go a long way to explaining your reduced battery life.

In short, the duller your screen, the more your battery will thank you. That said, if you set it to minimum brightness, you won’t be able to see anything on a sunny day. For that reason, we’d recommend enabling Auto-Brightness and letting Apple decide what’s best for you.

You can find the Auto Brightness toggle in Settings, under ‘Accessibility’ and ‘Display & Text Size’. If you want to play around with manual settings, go to Settings, then tap ‘Display & Brightness’.

7. Turn on Dark Mode 

On the subject of screen brightness, modern iPhones (barring the SE models) use OLED panels. Without getting too into the nuts and bolts, that means that pixels only light up when in use, and that in turn means that darker screens use less battery.

The iPhone has two color schemes, one Light and one Dark. The latter is better for battery life for this reason. To make the switch, go to Settings, then Display & Brightness, and select ‘Dark’ under appearance.

If you really want to push this, you could also make your backdrop a black background, but you can take these tips too far…

8. Send your iPhone to sleep faster 

In theory, when you’re done interacting with your phone, you should turn the screen off via a quick press of the power button. But almost everyone reading this will have at some point just put it down without taking that step, and that means the screen is running unnecessarily.

The iPhone will lock itself eventually, but the faster it does this the better for battery life. Go to Settings, then ‘Display & Brightness’ and ‘Auto-Lock’. Set this to 30 seconds, and your iPhone will go to sleep when left idle for half a minute. This won’t happen when you're actively using it, as the iPhone can tell when you’re looking at it and will compensate accordingly.

 9. Turn off the graphical niceties 

A marginal gain, but worth having if you’re intent on eking out every drop of juice from your iPhone. You can disable the fancy transition animations of apps and folders opening for something a bit more utilitarian, and this will save a bit of battery, albeit for a less joyful experience.

To do it, open Settings, then tap ‘Accessibility’ followed by ‘Motion’. Toggle ‘Reduce Motion’ to on, and you should get a small bump to your battery.

 10. Pro models can halve the refresh rate 

If you own a Pro or Pro Max iPhone from the iPhone 12 and later, you benefit from what Apple calls a ProMotion display. That’s fancy talk for a 120Hz screen, which means it refreshes 120 times a second rather than 60 for a smoother look and feel.

That hits the battery life, and you may decide you prefer something a little less smooth for more stamina. You can make that choice by opening Settings, then tapping ‘Accessibility’ and then ‘Motion’. Press the toggle next to ‘Limit Frame Rate’ and your Pro iPhone will drop to 60Hz.

11. If all else fails, visit the Apple Store

If the above tips don’t give you enough extra juice, Apple can help. No, the company won’t do it out of the goodness of its heart, but it’s an option if you want to throw cash at the problem.

Apple offers battery replacement surgery to its customers, for handsets going as far back as 2012’s iPhone 5. This will cost between $49 and $99 depending on the model, and involve fitting a brand new battery to your device. 

To find out if this is necessary, the iPhone will tell you its current battery health. To view this, open Settings, then tap ‘Battery’ followed by ‘Battery Health & Charging’. If the health percentage is in the 90s, this probably won’t do much for you, but if it’s a lot lower, this may help your handset feel a whole lot more reliable. 

We all know how important it is to properly clean our paintbrushes, but do you pay attention to where you do so? For the majority of us, the most instinctive place is the sink, where hard-wearing porcelain allows you to quickly rinse your brushes while also minimizing mess. According to experts, however, that's the last place you should turn. 

Surprised? We were, too. I'll be the first to admit that it's exactly what I've been doing for years. Frankly, we're proud of you for going through the effort of washing those brushes in the first place. After spending hours redecorating or perfecting that DIY project, mustering up the courage to clean up afterward is commendable - the task it's an entire mission in itself. Of course, the first place you're going to turn to is the sink. But, as it turns out, doing so not only risks damaging your septic system but can also pollute your groundwater supply, too. 

To find out how to safely dispose of that toxic paint water we asked some professional decorators for their solutions, and it turns out they know a thing or two about cleaning up after those all-important paint ideas. Here's what they had to say.

Can I rinse paint brushes in the sink?

When the time for the almighty clear-up rolls around, we all know that cleaning paintbrushes should be the first on the agenda to prevent the paint from hardening and rendering the brushes useless. As Lane Ball of Zibra Brushesexplains: 'When painting with latex paint, it's critical for the longevity of your paintbrush to thoroughly clean with water, dish soap, and a brush comb.'

Rinsing them under the faucet in your kitchen or bathroom sink, however, should be out of the question. 'Most don't realize cleaning paint brushes in the sink is not advisable,' Lane continues. 'This is because paint can clog the septic line and the chemicals from the paint can damage the biological system in your septic tank and pollute the ground.'

To avoid a costly plumbing bill or worse, serious environmental harm, you should steer clear of the sink or any outside taps when it comes to cleaning your brushes. 

Where should you wash paint brushes instead?

With the sink out of bounds, you're probably wondering where to turn. Well, the most basic (and slightly rudimentary) solution is a bucket. 'Wash the brush using a five-gallon bucket filled with water, add dish soap, and then use a second five-gallon bucket for rinse water,' advises Matt Kunz, President of Five Star Painting, a Neighborly company. (Of course, this all depends on the type of paint finish you're decorating with, since you can only use soapy water to clean off water-based paint.) 

The next predicament to overcome is what to do with the paint water itself. According to Matt, 'you can then pour the dirty water into a large container which can be emptied at an approved site'. To do this, you'll need to check with local resources to find where to dispose of contaminated water, usually at a nearby waste center. 

If you don't have a waste management or paint recycling center nearby, you can soak the contaminated residual paint water up instead. 'You can place sawdust, cat litter, or even small pieces of cardboard in the bucket to absorb the liquid,' explains Lane. 'You can then deposit the absorbed remnants in a trash bag and dispose of it properly.' 

During your painting project, you might keep your brushes in a jar of water or a solution of mineral spirits to prevent the paint from drying out on the bristles. You should treat this the same way, too.  

To make life easier and reduce the amount of water needed to clear up, Matt's simplest instruction to take away is to minimize the amount of paint on the brush during painting. 'Do this by pushing the side of the brush against the inside of the rim of the paint can, then use rags or paper to wipe down the brush and dispose of those normally,' he says. 

If you want to keep your paintbrushes in perfect condition, avoid any costly plumbing bills, and keep environmental hazards at bay, always absorb your paint water before throwing it away. It's a simple trick that could save some serious repercussions... 

Spring's warmer weather is finally here, inviting us back out into our yards once more. If you're lucky enough to have one, there really is nothing better than sprawling out on your lawn in the sun with a good book, but look closely and you might find another, more unwelcome resident among your blades of grass. The culprit? Clover. 

During the cooler temperatures of early spring, it's likely this dense crop has made a home for itself in your yard. Preferring moister conditions, clover commonly spreads its way across your lawn via underground stems called rhizomes only to crop up more visibly this time of year when longer and warmer days prevail. Some of us aren't bothered by the surfacing of these small, three-leaved perennials but for others, they're an unsightly weed that destroys their neatly kept lawn. 

If you're in that latter camp, you might be looking for some ways to get rid of clover on your lawn. Luckily, we've got you covered. From quick and easy-to-use herbicides to more organic, holistic solutions, we've asked some professional gardeners and lawn care experts for their top tips on how to banish clover from your backyard once and for all. 

Why do I have so much clover in my lawn?

If you're worrying why your lawn is ridden with clover, let us put your mind at ease. Clover is an extremely common weed that's very cold hardy and reasonably drought-resistant meaning it can pretty much survive in your lawn in any climate. In some gardens though, it's a lot more abundant...and some people actually welcome it! If you want to embrace it, our feature on how to care for a clover lawn will explain the benefits.

This can be down to a number of different reasons. 'A high presence of clover in your lawn is likely due to the fact that grass is struggling to compete with it,' explains Lindsey Hyland, gardening expert at Urban Organic Yield. 'Environmental stressors such as low fertility, excessive foot traffic/mowing, poor drainage, shade, or high soil pH are all additional reasons why you may end up seeing more clover than grass. Once these underlying issues have been addressed, eliminating existing clover will be much easier.' Clover is also a reliable indicator of nitrogen-deficient soil, as this is where the plant thrives best. 

How to get rid of clover on a lawn

If the sight of clover is bad news in your outdoor space, you'll want to know the best methods for getting rid of it. Thankfully, our lawn care experts are on hand to offer their five best techniques. 

1. Use a herbicide 

By far the easiest and most effective way to get rid of clover is with a herbicide specifically formulated for clover control. These typically come in a ready-to-use formula that can be spread across your lawn, but it's important that you do your research to find one that's suitable for your grass so that it won't cause any damage to your lawn itself.

'After applying the herbicide, make sure to water your lawn thoroughly and check back regularly to ensure that all clover has been eliminated,' says Lindsey. 'If any clover persists, you may need to reapply the herbicide at a later date.'

If wildlife gardening is a priority for you meaning heavy-duty weed killers aren't an option, you can use vinegar as a natural and effective way to kill clover instead. 'Mix proportional parts of vinegar and water in a spray bottle and apply it directly on the clover leaves,' says Robert Silver, owner of Pro Gardening Blog. 'Applying corn gluten meal to your lawn in the spring before clover seeds germinate can also help prevent clover growth.'

2. Over-seed (or re-seed) your lawn

If you want to steer away from any form of weed killer completely, there's a tried and tested trend of overseeding you could give a go. What is overseeding? This is a more organic-friendly method of keeping clover at bay. This essentially just involves adding extra grass seed to your existing lawn alongside aerating so that healthy new grass sprouts up. 'It's worth noting that overseeding will not get rid of clover completely, but it could help with thickening up your lawn and making clover less competitive,' notes Eric DeBoer, an agronomist at Simple Lawn Solutions.

Re-seeding works in a similar way and should be used if you're left with large, patchy areas of soil after using a herbicide to kill clover. 'This involves overseeding bare patches in your lawn with grass seed, which can help fill in areas where clover has been reduced,' says Robert. 

'A dense, healthy lawn is less susceptible to weed growth and is better able to withstand stress from factors like foot traffic and weather conditions,' he adds. 'It should be used alongside regular lawn care practices like mowing, watering, and fertilizing to also help promote healthy grass growth and prevent clover from returning.'

3. Use a nitrogen rich fertilizer 

As touched upon, clover thrives in nitrogen-deficient soil. If you find that its growth is a persistent issue, you should consider adjusting the concentration of nitrogen in your soil by adding a fertilizer high in nitrogen to help inhibit it. 'This will not only deter clover growth but can also help your grass grow healthy and strong,' says Scott Riley, owner of 4-Evergreen Lawn Service. 

When selecting a fertilizer, make sure to do your research. 'It's important to choose one that is appropriate for the type of grass, climate, and soil conditions in your lawn,' Robert explains. 'Following the instructions carefully - applying the fertilizer at the recommended rate and frequency is critical to avoid over-fertilization, which can lead to excessive growth, nutrient imbalances, and water pollution.'

4. Increase sunlight and avoid overwatering

If your small backyard is particularly shady, it might be worth considering increasing the amount of sunlight it gets (if you can, of course). As Robert explains: 'Clover thrives in shady areas, so trimming overhanging trees and shrubs can reduce clover growth by increasing sunlight.' 

One of the reasons clover likes shade is down to the fact it prefers moister conditions. If you're regularly putting the sprinkler on to water your lawn even though your climate receives enough rainfall, this could be the root cause of the clover in your garden. 'Instead, water your lawn deeply and infrequently to encourage deep root growth and prevent clover,' says Robert. 

5. Embrace the clover instead

Finally, if you're not up for battling clover using one of the techniques above, you could always just embrace it instead. Clover lawns are considered a cheaper, easier, and more low-maintenance alternative to grass as they don't require regular watering (and in some climates, no watering at all). 

As well as being more sustainable, they're far more eco-friendly too. The pretty spectacle of flowering clover invites many beneficial garden insects, including pollinators like bees, into your backyard. It could even make your turf healthier, too. As Robert notes: 'Clover has benefits like nitrogen fixation and soil aeration, making it a popular choice in some lawns.' 

When should I treat my lawn for clover?  

With summer just around the corner, it's understandable that you'd want to rid your lawn of clover in time for the height of the season. The good news is, now is the ideal time to do so.

'Manual removal can be done at any time, but herbicides are best used during the active growing season (until around late spring),' explains Robert. 'The treatment method you choose must be well-suited to your lawn's specific needs and conditions, however, such as soil type, climate, and grass type.'

If you do use a herbicide, you should be prepared to reapply it after several weeks if you still notice clover. 'When treating your lawn, it's also important that you follow all instructions on the label and take extra precautions to protect yourself and your pets,' says Lindsey. 

With these techniques, you can finally say goodbye to clover and have the neat and tidy lawn of your dreams just in time for summer (or not, as the case may be - if you decide the let the clover stay, that is!).

With their proud trumpet shaped petals, tall stems and pretty tones, lilies are a firm favorite in the world of florals. Whether gifting to others or treating yourself, it's worth knowing how to take care of lilies in a vase, so they stay looking lovely for longer. 

Like many flowers, there are hundreds of varieties of lily. Among the most popular are Asiatic, Oriental, Star gazer, Tiger and Easter lilies, as well as hybrids like the Roselily. Although not technically part of the same family, Calla Lilies are a floral favorite too - loved for their simplicity and elegance.

Varying from pure white to explosions of pink, orange, yellow, red and shades in between, it's easy to keep these beautiful flowers flourishing. Lilies are one of the best flowers for cut floral arrangements, so follow the simple steps from these floral experts for longer lasting lilies in a vase. 

How to take care of lilies in a vase

These 5 expert tips will make all the difference to how well your lilies last.

1. Trim the ends at an angle

Don't be tempted to just place your lilies in a vase as they are. Trimming the stems is not only necessary to create a beautiful arrangement, with flowers placed at different heights to highlight each one. A quick snip in the right place will also extend the life of your lilies.

'All flower stems must be re-cut to enable absorption of water,' says Joan Wyndrum, co-founder, Bloomsbythebox. 'Ideally trim stems while holding them under water. Cut at least one inch from the bottom of the stem at a 45 degree angle to expose as much of the end as possible.' 

'Recutting the stems daily about 1/8th of an inch will help prolong their life too,' says Suzanna Cameron, founder of Stems Brooklyn. 

2. Pinch off the stamens

Lilies can shed a lot of pollen, which could stain your clothes, cause sneezing and get stuck to pets paws (to be avoided at all costs). However, it's easy enough to remedy this shedding. 

'We advise gently cutting or pinching the stamen out of the lily to keep it from staining,' says Whitney Bromberg Hawkings, Founder of Flowerbx.

'We also offer deluxe double roselilies that come without a messy stamen.'

Roselilies are a hybrid variety, known as a 'double', which means they are sterile and without stamens. Weirdly, this absence of pollen can also extend the life of the flowers.

3. Change the water daily

Like all life forms, cut lilies need fresh water. It's all too tempting to fill your vase once and then forget about it. However, stagnant water will kill your flowers. 

'Changing the water daily, or as often as you remember, helps reduce the growth of bacteria in the vase water which will give you more bloom life from your lilies,' says Christina at Farmgirl Flowers.

'Be sure to use a clean vase and fill it about three-quarters of the way with lukewarm water,' says Valerie Ghitelman, Vice President of Sourcing and Design, 1-800-Flowers. 

'Use flower food to extend the life of the blooms and make sure they maintain their strength and vibrancy. Also make sure there is no soap residue in the vase, as the residue can shorten the life of a bouquet.'

'It is important to put lilies in lukewarm water, as this will encourage them to open,' adds Whitney at Flowerbx.'

4. Keep them out of direct sunlight

Although flowers and plants need sunlight to grow, there aren't many that like to sit in the heat of the sun all day long, particularly once they've been picked. So ensure your lilies are in a spot that's bright but relatively cool, ideally away from window sills or radiators, where they will dehydrate.

'Changing the water daily is key,' says Suzanna at Stems Brooklyn. 'But it's equally important to keep flowers away from direct sunlight and heat sources like radiators if you want them to look good for longer.' 

5. Place out of reach from kids and pets

Lilies are known to be toxic to pets, so keep them well away from your feline friends in particular. Although not all varieties are toxic to dogs, it pays to be on the safe side. 

If you've already pinched off the stamens, this will prevent them shedding pollen. However, ensure they are placed somewhere they can't be touched or chewed by curious canines, kitties or kids.

Beautiful drapery has the power to transform every room in the home. Practically, too, the right curtain can block or complement natural light, help insulate, and impact a room’s acoustics. ‘Curtains are as important as any other piece of furniture,’ says fabric designer Pierre Frey. ‘They bring warmth, presence, and softness.’  

But counteracting that softness is those big, bulky brackets that so often interrupt the eye and detract from the view. Rod brackets are often mounted into the wall, holding up the rods that support the curtain fabric. But with curtains bringing such a discreet and relaxing vibe to the room, sometimes, we might be tempted to hide these eyesores. 

'Often when choosing curtains, all the effort and time goes into the selection of the fabric itself,' says Caroline Milns, head of multi-award-winning interior design consultancy, architectural practice, and design and build specialist, Zulufish. 'This is vital for the overall feel and ambiance of a space, but it’s also worth considering how that curtain will be hung so that it is displayed at its very best. 

You might want to disguise the brackets through clever design, or do away with them in their entirety for a seamless look. Read on for a guide to showing you how to hide curtain rod brackets for a more modern window treatment. 

1. Recess the curtain rod into the ceiling

'In our projects, we like to use coves to conceal the curtain tracks. This instantaneously brings a modernist elegant flow to the room,' says
Lea Pernet of Crina Arghirescu Architecture, the firm that designed this space.

The trick to hide the curtain rod brackets they employed is to use the architecture of the room to carefully hide your curtain rod in any groves or space between the window and the wall. Covering the track with the wall is a stylish way to hide the drapery hardware and create a minimalist look, which can work in both traditional and contemporary homes. It effortlessly makes your curtains look expensive, too. 

2. Or use crown molding to disguise the hardware

'One option that truly celebrates the fabric, ensuring all focus is on the pattern or materiality, as well as elevating the architectural detail of the room, is to recede the curtain into the ceiling coffer and crown moldings,' says Caroline Milns, head of multi-award-winning interior design consultancy, architectural practice, and design and build specialist, Zulufish. 

'This will ensure the first impression is a show-stopping moment with a seamless flow of fabric from ceiling to floor, which can also work as a trompe d’oeil, by drawing the eye and making the room feel elongated.’

'When selecting curtains for the hidden cornice, it is important take into account the dimensions of the niche,' says Alla Yaskovets of O&A London. 'The depth should be 2 1/2 - 3 inches and width can vary depending on windowsill size and radiator placement, ensuring that when opened or closed, curtains do not touch these fixtures. 

'For heavier materials such as velvet drapery, we recommend metal rod brackets whereas wooden/plastic alternatives work best with lighter fabrics like tulle. Before deciding which type of window dressing you would prefer, it is worth considering whether your room has space for a hidden cornice.'

3. Pick your curtain header to tactically hide the brackets

One way to cleverly disguise your rod brackets is to carefully bunch fabric together, meaning the header of the curtain helps to hide the hardware. 

The header is how the curtains look at the top, which will affect how they drop and sit when closed and drawn. Eyelet, tie-top and tab-top curtains have fabric going over the rod, and when you carefully space your curtains out, you can hide the brackets. 

For a full effect, remember that there's about three times as much material in a pleated curtain, and the more material, the more chance you have of deftly disguising the rod brackets. 

4. Go for understated hardware

Ultimately, the hardware for your curtains depends on the material you want to hang. If you want a thick and long curtain, you are going to need the hardware to hold it, and this means you have more chance at a chunkier and bolder bracket, and more likelihood of it being on show. 

If you are desperate to have your brackets disguised, it'll need to be reflected in the curtain material you're choosing. If you choose a lightweight curtain, like light cotton or sheer and it can be easily supported by a delicate rod and bracket. Think simple, fine-lined rods resting on simple and small brackets screwed to the window frame, and you'll achieve that minimalist living room or bedroom look you're after. 

5. Paint the curtain rod bracket the same color as the wall

Another clever trick to disguise your hardware is to paint your brackets the same color as the wall. Going monochromatic with paint helps them blur into the background. 

Wood is an easier material to paint, and metal is a little more difficult and may require a coat of primer and a coat or two of spray paint. It can have a big impact on a small budget. Make sure to paint a good few coats so that when you move the drapery back-and-forth it doesn't wear away over time.

If your curtain fabric is a different color to your wall, it's even more likely to fade into the background.

6. Get rid of the brackets altogether and opt for tension rods

The typical way to hang curtain rods is by drilling and screwing brackets onto the wall, but it's not the only way, and one way to hide your brackets is to get rid of them in their entirety. 

'A tension rod fits snugly inside the window frame,' says Tecla Tangora, co-founder and principal designer at Labscape Architecture and Design. 'This will give the appearance of a floating curtain rod.' A great option for renters, it's a way to hang curtains without drilling as the tension rod can fit snugly inside the window frame, giving the appearance of a floating curtain rod. 

The way they work is that the rod fits into a space between two walls. Often used for window treatments, it can also be used anywhere else in the home where there is a frame - the doorway for example. Poles extend using a spring from the inside and can be loosened and tightened again to any length you choose. 

When you're choosing the rod, make sure that the curtain you have has a pocket that the tension rod can slide through. One secure in the frame, the rod should be wedged in place and so snug that it doesn't move.

Make sure you replace them whenever you notice the spring giving out - tension rods can weaken over time. 

7. Go for near-invisible curtain brackets with curtain tracks

Curtain tracks can be mounted directly into the ceiling or wall at regular intervals and are best if you have limited space above the window.This means no sagging of heavy curtains and no brackets.

Curtain tracks are a great option for how to hang curtains when you want to detract away from the rail. They are made from plastic or metal and the fabric is attached to the track with hooks. 

The track is mounted onto the wall or ceiling with very small brackets. Make sure you get them in the same color as the wall. When the curtains are closed the tracks are hidden by the curtain header and the track brackets are impossible to see. 

8. Install a curtain pelmet

Think about other ways you can cover your rail. A pelmet is a box-like cover that hangs above the frame. Meanwhile, one curtain mistake would be to go for a valance   - often a frilly piece of fabric that hangs over the top of the curtain rod. Both work to cover the rod and its accompanying hardware, but valances are a little out of style. Meanwhile, a homemade pelmet is easy to install with a bit of DIY, and can look sleek and stylish when painted the same color as the ceiling for a neat look.

'However, pelmets are back!' says interior design consultant, Chloe Vince from House of Hackney. And they have an aesthetic element to them. 'Pelmets are particularly great for new build properties as they create a feature of the window and add depth to the space and are a great opportunity to combine prints.' 

Should I just embrace my curtain rod instead?

If all the above options aren't doable for you, perhaps your best bet is to accept that you can't hide your curtain hardware. Instead, embrace it, go big and bold, pick out a beautiful material and decorative end pieces - or finials to match. 

Take inspiration from the rest of your room. If you've gone for a lot of brass in the space, then pick hardware to match and go for decorative brass brackets that can hold their own charm and bring a glimmer of metallic to the space. 

After what seems like an age, January is finally over. While balmy evenings in the backyard are still a way off, keen cookers will be itching to fire up the barbecue at the first sign of spring sunshine, especially if it's brand new. Before you throw the sausages on, however, you'll need to know how to season a gas grill for the first time.

Seasoning a grill is the kind of job you might be tempted to skip just because it sounds tedious, but it's actually a crucial step to prepare your grates for cooking and protect them in the long term. It's also far easier than you might think. The whole job should be over and done within half an hour. 

To learn how to properly season your grates for a longer-lasting grill and a better-tasting barbecue, we spoke with some professional pitmasters who are well-accustomed to the task. Below, they share their top tips to ensure you're working with the best gas grill possible. 

What does it mean to season a grill? 

Before we dive into the nitty gritty, what does it actually mean to season a grill? And before you ask, no, it doesn't mean sprinkling your favorite herbs and spices onto the grates. 

'Seasoning, also known as ‘curing’, is usually done by heating the metal grates, adding oil, then allowing it to cool and absorb,' explains Dan Cooper, Head Grill Master at Weber. 'Doing so will protect your grill from rust and extend its life.'

The process of heating and oiling the grates will keep your barbecue operating at its best while also making it easier to clean your grill after cooking. It's recommended that you find time to do this after every use but, just as you'd season a brand-new frying pan before cooking, it's especially important to season a gas grill the first time you use it. 

Why do you need to season a grill before you use it for the first time? 

If you haven't used your brand new grill before, neither has anyone else. This means the grates won't have been oiled, heated, or have cooked any food until now. Seasoning a grillfor the first time, therefore, is a bit like training it in preparation for its first meal. 

'In some cases, cast iron and carbon steel cooking grates will be very vulnerable to rust if heated and cooled down multiple times,' explains Dan. 'Seasoning an uncoated cooking grate will lock in protective oils that will help extend the cooking grates life and help it to work better.'

Besides making your grates last longer, seasoning is also essential for that smoky outdoor barbecue flavor we all crave. 'It's important to season a grill before using it for the first time not only because it helps protect the grill grates from rust, but it also improves the flavor of the food,' says Jakob Miller, pitmaster and founder of Barbecue Pals. Seasoned grates will also help you achieve those perfect grill marks, too. 

How to season a grill for the first time

1. Place your clean grate on the barbecue over a medium heat

Even if they're brand-new, it's always a good idea to give your grates a quick clean in the kitchen to remove any dust or debris that's collected from being sat in storage. If you're seasoning a grill you've used before, you'll need to clean the grates with a wire brush. Once clean, place your grates on the grill and turn it up to a medium heat. 

2. When hot, apply a small amount of oil

After ten minutes (or once the grill is sufficiently hot) apply a small amount of oil - just enough to cover the entire surface. 'Use your brush to spread the oil over the grates, making sure you apply a thin, even layer,' says Dan. High-smoke point oils such as canola and peanut oil work best, but coconut oil or standard vegetable oil will work just as well. Turn the grill to high heat for around 15 minutes to allow the oil to cure. Make sure you wear protective gloves for this step. 

3. Let the grates cool

When the oil reaches its smoking point (around 15 minutes) turn off the barbecue and let the cooking grates cool. You might want to repeat the oiling process again for a brand-new grill.

4. Wipe away excess oil

Finally, once your grates are cool, wipe away any excess oil from the surface using a cloth or rag. You are now ready to start grilling.

Now you've seasoned your gas grill for the first time, the alfresco dining can officially commence. Those long evenings cooking feasts for friends in your outdoor kitchen are just around the corner... At last!

Poor quality audio is the bane of cheaper TVs, but short of investing in a new sound system (in which case, a new TV might serve you better), there are a few hacks for improving what your TV sounds like. 

For example, did you know that you can use your Alexa-packed Amazon Echo speaker with your TV? Assuming your TV is new enough to support Bluetooth, it’s possible and with the best Alexa speakers, the results can be a big improvement on the built-in speakers.

Here’s how to use your Amazon Echo as a speaker for your TV, but first… should you?

Should you use your Amazon Echo as a speaker for your TV?

The first thing to highlight is that not all Echo devices are created equal. While our  Echo Studio review found that the the $200 speaker will sound better than most TVs’ built-in sound (especially if paired with the optional $130 Echo Sub for deeper bass), the sound produced the $50 Echo Dot won’t offer much of an upgrade — if any at all.

Secondly, while you could connect older Echo devices with a wire (newer ones have ditched the 3.5mm audio jack), we’re going to be using the Echo’s Bluetooth connection here. This wireless solution can create problems with latency, where the audio is a bit behind the action on screen. Not ideal, though this can be mitigated if you use Fire TV for your streaming (more on that later). 

With these caveats in place, the good news is that the process of pairing your TV with an Echo is so quick and easy that it’s pretty trivial to try it out and see if it works for you. If it doesn’t, just disconnect it and look into the best soundbars you can buy instead.

How to use your Amazon Echo as a speaker for your TV

1. If not enabled by default, turn on Bluetooth on your TV. This will be somewhere in the settings menu, if it has it (most TVs made in the last few years support Bluetooth, but not all.)

2. Locate an option to connect Bluetooth devices on your TV. This will vary by manufacturer, but will likely also be in the settings.

3. Once you’ve found the option to connect Bluetooth devices, make sure your Echo speaker is near your TV and use the Alexa skill to connect to Bluetooth. Say “Alexa, connect Bluetooth”. It will say “searching”. 

4. At this point, the Echo should appear in the list of devices available to connect to. Select it on your TV.

5. Test to see if it’s working! Some TVs will play through both the built-in speakers and the Echo, while others will exclusively play via the Echo.

When your TV turns off, the Echo will disconnect, but it’ll automatically reconnect when you switch it back on. If you want to disconnect it and go back to your old setup or try something else, simply say “Alexa, disconnect”, and normality will be restored. Don't forget, you can also control your TV with Alexa, too, completing the circle. 

How to connect your Echo to Fire TV

Connecting your Echo to your TV should work reasonably well, but for optimal results you can also sync it to your Amazon Fire TV device, as both are made by Amazon. 

Assuming Fire TV is your preferred way of streaming shows, this is actually a better solution, because it connects via Wi-Fi to (theoretically) sidestep the latency issues we mentioned earlier. Here’s how to do it.

Alternatives to the Echo

Try it and see what you think, but as mentioned earlier, the Echo likely won’t be anywhere near as good as a wired, dedicated solution for your TV.

If you want something compact, then a soundbar offers a good trade-off between sound quality and space, but if you really want your home theater to sing, then you’re looking at a true surround sound setup. 

Whether it’s 5.1 or 7.1 (or even more complex), it’s a bit more work to get right, but for audiophiles, there’s simply no substitute.

Decluttering clothes is probably one of the trickiest jobs when it comes to clearing out your home, as there's a lot of sentiment tied up in your closet.

"[It] can feel pretty overwhelming because it's not just about tossing out stuff you don't wear anymore," says Di Ter Avest, a home and lifestyle professional organizer. "Often, it makes you realize that a lot of what you're holding onto belongs to a past version of yourself. Your style might have changed, or your lifestyle might be different now, and those clothes are just taking up space. Letting go of pieces that were once a big part of your life isn't easy, but making room for what fits your current body and needs is so worth it."

"The process can be therapeutic, helping you let go of the past and embrace the present," Di adds. "By decluttering, you make space not only in your closet but also in your mind, reducing stress and decision fatigue."

So, if you think it's time to finally clear out some space, to get you on your way to decluttering your bedroom, these are the secrets to decluttering clothes organizers want you to know.

1. Set Clear Goals

Decluttering and minimalism go hand in hand and to achieve such — you'll want to let go of the things that no longer hold a place in your space. But before doing so, set yourself a goal to do just that.

Di says: "Before you start, define what you want to achieve. Are you aiming for a minimalist or a capsule wardrobe, or do you simply want to make more space? Having a clear vision will guide your decisions."

2. Sort by Category

Closet organizers are a great way to sort your clothing by category. Di tells us: "If you don't get overwhelmed easily and have the time to tackle your closet in one go, you can work on one category at a time — for example, tops, pants, dresses."

She continues: "This method, popularized by Marie Kondo, helps you see the volume of each type of clothing you own and make more mindful decisions."

3. Create a Keep, Donate, and Sell Pile

This is where the 90/90 decluttering rule comes in. The concept is simple — if you haven't worn an item in the last 90 days and you know you're not going to wear it in the next 90 days, then it's time for it to go. But Instead of dashing things away in a hurry, think about the items you do want, what you want to donate to charity, and what you might want to sell.

"As you sort the clothes in each category, you can divide them into three piles. The keep pile is for items you love and wear regularly," Di explains. "The donate pile is for clothes in good condition that no longer fit or suit your style. The sell pile is for high-quality items that can bring in some extra cash."

4. Be Realistic About Repairs

It's tempting to keep hold things that are no longer of use. We often hope that sewing up the tears may just be its saving grace, but it is often not the case. When it comes to clothing items that can no longer hang on by a thread (literally) it is probably time to just let go.

"If you decide to keep items that need mending, ask yourself if you realistically have the time and/or resources to fix them. If not, it's better to let them go," Di adds.

5. Try Some Items On

"If you're struggling to decide whether to keep something, remember your goals," Di highlights. "If fit and comfort are essential, create a 'maybe' pile and try those items on later."

The professional organizers says this will help you see if the clothes fit well and make you feel your best. "If something doesn't fit right or you don't feel confident wearing it, it's time to let it go," Di adds.

6. Ask the Right Questions

Decluttering means addressing and asking yourself if you need certain items in your life and if they still hold value in your space. When it comes to clothing, Di says you should ask yourself the following questions to keep your closet in check.

"Ask yourself: Do I love it? Do I wear it often? Does it fit my current lifestyle? Does it make me feel confident? Would I buy it if I was at the store now?" And last but not least, "Do I have something similar that I like and wear more often?."

7. Limit Sentimental Items

There is a simple decluttering trick to help you let go of stuff and downsize. One form of downsizing may be by removing your everyday gear from the sentimental items and putting them in completely different places.

Di says when it comes to sentimental items, ensure you store them in a separate space from your wardrobe — this will help stop overcrowding and clutter.

"While it's okay to keep a few sentimental pieces, be selective," the expert adds. "Choose a small box or a designated area for these items to prevent them from taking over your wardrobe."

8. Maintain Your Wardrobe

Understanding how to declutter room by room will allow you to free your mind as well as your home. As we've established, tackling the pile of clothing is a great place to start.

The organization expert says once you have decluttered your clothes, you'll need to maintain it as "decluttering isn't a one-time task." Di says you should always check back with your wardrobe and analyse the space to make sure it remains neat and tidy throughout the course of its use.

She adds: "Regularly review your wardrobe to keep it organized and clutter-free. A seasonal review helps you stay on top of your clothing needs and preferences."

9. Be Mindful of Future Purchases

Window shopping can often lead to "add to cart," but Di says you need to be extra mindful with the purchases you make. You would not want to spend your time clearing out a space, only to add more and more into it — which can in turn lead to clutter and waste.

To avoid future clutter, Di says to be more intentional with your shopping. "Before buying something new, consider if it fits your current wardrobe and style," she notes. "Ask yourself if you really need it and if it will be used regularly."

10. One In, One Out Rule

The one in and one out rule is just one of the things professional organizers do daily. It's a great way limit waste, while also teaching you to let go of something in order to bring something new into a space.

Di tells us: "To maintain a clutter-free wardrobe, adopt the one in, one out rule. For every new item you bring in, let go of an existing one." This in turn helps prevent your closet from becoming overcrowded and cluttered.

 Where to Start When Decluttering Clothes?

There are many reasons clutter can linger into your wardrobe. Whether it's attachment or guilt — learning how to overcome this will allow you to let go and declutter. The journey towards decluttering can be quite overwhelming, so where do you even start?

Well, Di says, "when you're ready to start decluttering your clothes, here's a game plan. First, clear out a space where you can spread everything out and sort it comfortably. Get some bags or boxes ready for items you want to donate, sell, or toss."

The expert advises that you start with easy items — those worn-out, damaged, or ill-fitting pieces. She continues: "Once you've tackled that, move on to sorting by specific categories like tops, bottoms, and outerwear. Don't forget to check if your closet setup is helping you stay organized or if it needs a little revamp."

By following these steps, Di says "you'll create a wardrobe that's not only clutter-free but also totally reflects your lifestyle and needs."

FAQS

What can cause a wardrobe to become cluttered in the first place?

Clutter can accumulate overtime, but before we let that happen — we need to assess the route cause of the issue.

Di tells us: "A wardrobe can become cluttered for several reasons, one of them being emotional attachments, which often lead us to keep clothes that have sentimental value or bring back memories. Feeling guilty about the money spent on clothes can make it hard to let them go, even if we don't wear them anymore."

She continues: "We also see a lot of clothes in wardrobes being saved because of weight changes, resulting in keeping multiple sizes of clothing 'just in case'. Finally, a lack of organization makes it hard to see what we have, leading to duplicates you forget you had or couldn't find."

Expert advice On letting go of items

There are many things we need to let go of in order to have a cleaner space, but how do we do that?

"If you're having a hard time letting go of clothes, you can focus on the benefits—think about how decluttering will give you more space, reduce stress, and make your wardrobe really reflect who you are," Di highlights. "You can also start small by tackling less sentimental items first and then work your way up to the more challenging decisions. It can be really helpful to get support from a friend or a professional organizer who can offer some emotional backing and a fresh perspective."

Another option Di recommends is to take photos to keep the memories, rather than the physical item — which can help you let go. "If you're still unsure, put the clothes you're hesitating about into one drawer or box and label it with a date six months later," Di adds. "If you haven't pulled anything out of that box by then, it's time to donate them without any guilt."

Learn to Declutter Your Home With These Great Reads

It might sound simple, but knowing how to pour paint from a can to minimize mess can save you precious time, money and effort. Decorating your house with brand new paint is exciting, but clearing up spillages isn't - and there's nothing more frustrating than drippy tins with lids that no longer fit due to dried paint around the seal. 

Pouring your colors into a paint tray is an important part of the decorating process. Not only will this step extend the life of your paint can, but it means you can use a roller that will ensure a smooth and simple application on your walls. However, the process of pouring the paint into the tray isn't always as easy. Thanks to the consistency of paint and the shape of paint tins, drips are inevitable. 

Luckily there are some handy DIY tips out there to ensure you have a mess-free decorating experience while also preventing wasted paint. Here we've gathered up the best pouring paint ideas from expert painters and decorators to make this job as simple as possible. 

How to pour paint from a can

When pouring paint out of a can by itself, no matter your technique, it's likely that paint will end up on the outside of your can. Yes, this can drip down, which is annoying, but worse is that it dries around the rim of the can, meaning your lid doesn't close properly and flaky dry paint goes into your tray the next time you go to use it. 

So how do you pour paint from a can without causing this mess?

1. Consider purchasing a pouring spout 

Spouts are a revolutionary piece of kit. Whether it's a spout on a watering can, a teapot, or a tin of paint, they promise to make pouring easy and mess-free, and you can purchase pouring spouts that fit to most standard sized paint cans to make decorating easier.

Although you can attempt to free pour your paint, using a spout will save you lots of hassle. 'If you have many different paint can sizes, go for a one-size-fits-all spout,' says Mia Knezevic from home styling blog, Room Crush. 'These flexible spouts are both affordable and reusable, and they help keep the paint can grooves clean, making resealing and reopening much easier.'

These plastic spouts tend to work by attaching to the inside of your paint can so that you can then pour the paint into your roller tray with ease and control. If you find it hard to judge how much paint you need, most detachable spouts don't have a lid meaning you can see exactly how much paint you're using. What's more, the durable material makes them easy to clean and reuse with other paints. 

2. Try the DIY tape spout hack 

If you're hesitant to buy another piece of plastic kit when it comes to how to paint a room, there's a DIY spout alternative you can try at home. 

'All you need is some painter's tape (or any roll of one inch masking tape),' explains Adrian Martinez, of Painting Contractors of San Bernardino. 'Cut two pieces of tape, which you will be taping to the sides of the rim of the can. The length of both pieces should be longer than the rim of the can.' 

Next, Adrian says you should place the two pieces of tape on the rim of the can so that they overlap right on the rim where you plan to pour, creating an X shape. 'You can then either fold or not fold the tip of the tape to make it serve like a spout or funnel where the paint can flow without spilling or dripping,' he continues. 

'Cleaning afterwards is just as simple since you can just rip the tapes off the can, and there should be no trace of paint after.'

3. Pour slowly and carefully

We shouldn't need to tell you this one, but pouring your paint slowly and carefully will help you to save lots of mess, spout or no spout. 

'Pouring paint too quickly is a sure fire way to make a mess,' explains Steven Hill, founder of DIY Gazette. 'Instead, pour slowly and steadily to avoid any mishaps.' Any mess you do make should be cleared up quickly to save paint stains or dried paint collecting around your can's rim.' As Steven notes, the longer it sits, the harder it will be to remove, so don't put it off!

The best paint spouts to try

If there's anything more satisfying than having an organized home screen on your iPhone, it's having aesthetically organized apps. Finding that specific app hidden among hoards of icons can be seriously stress-inducing, but knowing where to find your apps at the click of a button (pardon the pun) really does make life just that little bit easier. Especially when they look good too. 

Most of us are guilty of letting our apps pile up in the default order our phone decides. Before you know it, you're scrolling through four home screen pages just to open Instagram. Maybe you went as far as categorizing your social media apps in one place, but they probably still look like a jumbled mess of colors and names. 

Apps probably aren't the first thing you think of at the mention of design - unless you're discussing the best interior design apps for a beautiful home - but having a screen that looks good as well as being practical really is one of life's small pleasures. But, just like being faced with designing a new room, knowing where to start with your phone's homepage can be just as overwhelming. 

Deciding on the most logical order to put your apps in isn't easy, and knowing how to make them aesthetically pleasing is even harder. Thankfully these experts have a few tricks up their sleeves to make organizing your iPhone simple, and they know a thing or two about beautifully arranging apps, too. 

How to organize apps on an iPhone aesthetically 

1. Arrange into folders and add custom icons 

The most simple way to ensure your apps are well organized is by creating folders. Apple allows you to make designated folders on your screen by holding down on an app and hovering it over another one. Your phone will automatically assign those apps a new folder, which can then be named accordingly.

'Put similar apps in one folder helps to reduce clutter,' says Stavros Zavrakas, founder of software house, Orthogonality . 'For example, you could group apps into specific folders for social media, finance, entertainment and sport.'

2. Use custom icons 

While folders clear up your screen and make apps easier to find, there's no guarantee they'll look especially appealing. This is where custom icons come in. 'You can add custom icons for apps you choose to place on your home screen,' explains Stravros. 'This can be done by creating a shortcut and adding an image to it.' 

From your home screen, select the Shortcuts app > + button > Action > Open App > select the app you want this shortcut to open > Settings (on top right) > Add to Home Screen > Name the Shortcut. 

From the drop-down menu, select Take Photo/Choose Photo/Choose File > choose your replacement image > Add > Done. 

It might seem like a lot of steps involved, but customizing your icons can make your apps appear far neater and more uniform. Choose themed icons so that your camera, weather and email icons are all similar graphics and create a color palette so your apps match. Now you can curate an app screen that's personal to you. 

3. Choose widgets for your home screen

Many of us forget to utilize the widget's features available for our phones. Hold down your home screen and you'll be offered various recommend widgets, including clock faces, enlarged maps, photo selections from your camera roll, and top updates from your favorite apps. 

Widgets offer a glimpse into your various apps, allowing you to tailor your home screen according to whatever is most important to you. If you're bored of staring at small squares, widgets also add variety to your screen.  

'Try to choose widgets that either take up half the screen, or its full width, and place them together near the top of the screen to keep everything organized,' says Tom Paton, founder of Green Smartphones. 

Below those, he suggests categorizing your apps into three categories to keep them organized: essential, great, and good to have. '"Essential" apps are ones you use all the time that you always want immediate access to, without having to make multiple taps,' he explains. '"Great" apps are ones you use regularly, at least once every few days, but not more than ten times every day while "good to have" you might go for an extended period without opening.' 

4. Designate home screens according to category

You can also designate separate home screen pages for your categories, with the essential apps on the first page, great apps on the second, and good to have apps on the final page.

'As a result, everything urgent is on the first screen, while the apps for your entertainment and basic needs are just one swipe away,' says Ernest Piatrovich, product manager at the design and graphic app, Themify. 'In 80 percent of cases you’ll need only the first two screens.'

He adds: 'The good thing about using pages is that if you fill up the previous screens, all the new apps you download will automatically appear in that “uncertain” zone and won’t ruin your “almost perfect” order.'

Not only will this ease the process of finding your apps, but you can then customize the icons within each category and home page for a more aesthetic appearance. Don't forget you can sub-categorize into folders, too.

5. Use a wallpaper to tie in the aesthetic 

To tie all your apps together and make your iPhone's home screen look more cohesive, don't overlook the power of your background wallpaper too. Default wallpapers or photos can make great backgrounds, but if you're going for a more themed look, search for a design online. 

'Your homepage background affects the aesthetics of your phone,' says Tom. 'If you're after a very minimalist look, try changing to an all-black or all-white background. Or, you might like to tone-match the background with the colors of your favorite apps, such as the pink of the Instagram logo.'

There are plenty of apps and websites that allow you download free wallpapers for your phone. If you need inspiration before organizing your apps, why not find a wallpaper first and then build your theme from there? 

6. Download an app for prebuilt themes

If you're deterred from downloading yet another app, let a theme builder be your last. These nifty apps allow you to install prebuilt themes for your apps and home screen so you have the ultimate aesthetic phone screen. 

Themify is a good place to start if you want to find a theme to match your personal style. From neon graphics and sparkly icons, to more minimalist, monochromatic color schemes, you'll have the aesthetically organized phone of your dreams. 

'A theme will freshen up your home screen and make it look fabulous,' explains Ernest. 'We have over 500 themes to everyone’s taste, and the number keeps growing!'

Sunflowers are the epitome of a happy bloom — they're like a bright dose of sunshine that truly make a lasting impression. But what happens when these precious blooms lose their light and become droopy? Knowing how to make the most of your sunflowers in a vase is vital to ensure they stay a happy bloom for as long as possible.

They flower during the summer and into the autumn, making them a popular choice right now. You can even learn how to grow sunflowers and then, at the end of the growing season, cut them and bring them indoors and save the seeds for next season — they're like the gift that keeps on giving!

"Sunflowers are renowned for their strength," says Simon Barker, founder and editor of GrowYourYard.com. So what is the best way to take care of sunflowers in a vase? Here's what florists and gardening experts have to say about it.

How to take care of sunflowers in a vase

Whether you're learning about growing sunflowers, or you want to understand more about sunflower care for those blooms you've picked gracefully and placed into your home — we've got you covered with tips and tricks from the experts.

Here are 5 ways to take care of your sunflowers in a vase.

1. Trim the stems 

Sunflower care is about understanding what works well for your sun-loving blooms and what does not. These precious yellow buds love a bit of TLC and to do exactly that, you'll need the right pruning tools to revive these buds in your vase.

"Cut the thick stems at an angle with sharp pruners," suggests florist Sue Fogwell. A sharp cut ensures that you don't pinch the water-conducting vessels in the stem of the flower.

"This allows the flowers to take in as much water as possible, and ensures they don't sit on any stagnant water which can cause them to rot," adds Simon Barker from GrowYourYard.com.

2. Add tepid water to your vase

Proper watering practices will help your blooms flourish for longer, and that includes using the right temperature for your flowers.

Sue tells us: "Once you're home, immediately place the flowers in a vase of tepid to cool water that has been prepped with a floral preservative".

Warm water is more quickly absorbed by flowers than cold water, so will help ensure your sunflowers don't wilt.

3. Change the water

Sunflowers are one of the best plants for full sun. They thrive in light when planted outdoors and also find a sense of happiness in it. They also love to be watered indoors and outdoors! But for sunflowers in vases you'll need to replace the water it sits in every other day — remember, cleanliness is key.

"Change the water every other day — more often if the water turns murky," suggests Nancy White, floral designer and owner of The Flower Bar in Larchmont, NY. "Clean the vase before refilling with new water to remove any bacteria." Other florists suggest changing the water every day.

"Trim the stems daily at an angle along with giving the flowers fresh water," adds Sue Fogwell, "plus fresh preservative, too."

4. Add sugar and lemon to the vase

For bright flowers that bloom in the summer, sunflowers will not let you down.

Another method you can use to take care of your blooms in a vase is by mixing sugar and lemon into the vase with water. This will, in turn, help save your cheerful buds and allow them to last longer indoors.

"Add sugar and lemon into the vase to keep the sunflowers looking fresh and blooming," suggests Jason White, the CEO of All About Gardening.

"One teaspoon of sugar to two tablespoons of lemon juice or one tablespoon of vinegar would make a good enough mixture. This will delay your cut sunflowers from wilting fast."

5. Place out of direct sunlight

As well as being a great source of decor and brightness in your home, sunflowers are one of the best flowers for pots in full sun — so you can add a bit of color and cheer into your backyard, too!

But when placing your flowers in a vase, you'll need to place it in an area where there isn't too much direct sun. "Place your sunflowers vase in an area where direct sunlight can’t reach it," adds Jason. "Unlike planted sunflowers, cut sunflowers don’t like as much sun exposure."

You should also avoid placing sunflowers near heat sources, or in cool drafts, like from air conditioning.

FAQs

How long do sunflowers last in a vase?

With proper care and attention, sunflowers should last a good week in a vase. However, the overall range will be between five days and two weeks.

Why are my sunflowers drooping in the vase?

In a vase, sunflowers will commonly droop or wilt if they're lacking in water.

To remedy, change the water, give them a quick trim at an angle and add in some sugar and lemon, or floral preservative, into lukewarm water. This should get them back to looking their best in no time.

You might think you know how to use a fan to cool down a room already – you just switch it on, right? But in actual fact, fans don't cool down your room in the way that an air conditioning unit can. 

They do relieve some of the struggles of living in high temperatures, circulating air and making you feel cooler, but even the best modern fans won't actually lower the temperature of your room by themselves. 

There are, however, still good reasons to use a fan. 'While air conditioning systems are powerful and undoubtedly effective in cooling down a room, fans are easily the most energy-efficient and, therefore, cost-effective solution,' says Chris Michael, managing director of Meaco. 

'A fan blowing cool air around a room is far cheaper than running an air conditioner,  in fact, the difference in energy consumption is quite staggering,' he adds. 

There are also simple hacks to make your fan work harder for you during hot weather, helping to bring down the overall temperature of your home if you use them in the right way. Here are our top hacks you need to know for a heatwave. 

How to use a fan to cool down a room

Think of it this way, a fan cools down your body thanks to the sensation of air movement, but not the room at all, so there's no point putting a fan on in a room you're not using. With a few simple additions, or by using the fan in a specific way at a certain time of day, you can help shift the balance in your favour and keep your room cooler. 

1. Try the ice trick 

This idea isn't new, but it's a tried and trusted hack to make a fan act more like an air conditioner that can help you better sleep in the heat. 'A simple trick is to place a bowl of ice in front of the fan to cool the air,' says Hayley Thistleton, a sleep expert at SleepSeeker. Make sure to put the bowl on a tray, or similar, to catch any condensation as the ice melts. 

If you find that ice cubes are melting too quickly, 'try bottles of frozen water instead,' Hayley adds. These should last longer and still cool the air being circulated by the fan. 

2. Use a fan to cool your home at night 

One of the best ways to use a fan in extreme weather is to cool down a room once the temperature drops outside. 

'Instinctively, the first port of call is often to open a window as far as possible, but consider this: is the air outside cooler than the air inside?' asks Meaco's Chris Michael. 'If the answer is no, you may want to keep the window shut.'

Once the evening sets in, you might find that your home has retained heat from the day, while the outside temperature has dropped. Here's where your fan can help to cool your home effectively. 

Once the temperature outside is lower, open windows on either side of the house to create a cross-draft. Then place a fan by one of the windows, facing outwards. This will help to draw out and displace the hotter air inside your home with the cooler air outside. If you have another fan, use it in the room to help circulate the air coming in from outside, too.  

3. Ensure ceiling fans are going in the right direction 

Ceiling fans can feel like a lifesaver in absence of air conditioning, but did you know that the direction they rotate matters? In summer, fans should be set to rotate counterclockwise. This creates a downdraft that generates that air movement factor that generates that cooling sensation. In winter, they can be set to rotate clockwise, which creates an updraft that can help distribute warm air from your home's heating system. 

Caring for bonsai trees might feel a bit intimidating at first but largely experts aver that once you choose the right variety, it can be a smooth sailing experience.

'I find that it is not the fact that it is bonsai that makes plant care easy, but instead, the variety of plants you select,' says Kat Aul Cervoni, landscape designer and founder of Staghorn NYC and The Cultivation by Kat. 'For example, a Jade Bonsai tree along with some others are especially low maintenance and easy as they have low water needs.'

If you are planning on bringing one at home, you need to understand how to care for them well. These container gardening ideas by experts will offer you big help.

1. Start with easy-to-care for varieties

There are many different types of bonsai trees, so we asked the experts which are the best for budding bonsai beginners for indoor gardening. 

'Inherently, bonsai is not easy-to-care-for, so I would rather say that there are other easier varieties you could consider,' says plant doctor Christopher Satch. 'And to be clear, not every plant is compatible with being grown in a bonsai way. Fast-growing plants are not suited to be bonsai at all; these are plants that have multiple growths or very elongated growths per season. The easier-to-care for bonsai are trees that grow slowly – very slowly. The slower they grow, the better they bonsai.'

'Amongst the easiest ones to take care of are Jade, Ficus (note that the ficus varieties used in bonsai are small-leaf varieties and are more forgiving with watering, not the ficus lyrata or fiddle leaf fig that is a notoriously popular-but-finicky, regular-sized indoor plant) and Schefflera,' says Kat Aul Cervoni.

2. Recreate its natural habitat

While bonsai are amongst the best trees to grow in pots, these do well when certain environmental conditions are met. 

'Most bonsai are grown outdoors,' says Christopher. 'Though it's perfectly possible to keep a bonsai indoors, you will just have to check on it every other day.  Water only when the soil reaches complete dryness, which for the small pot sizes, should be after a few days. If the pot is not drying after a few days, increase the number of hours of direct sun that the bonsai gets. Bonsai's must have 5+ hours of direct sun per day, or they will wither. Any sunporch, or room with a south-facing window will help them do well.'

'As with houseplants, trying to recreate their natural habitat in your care routine will lead to healthy and happy trees,' says Maddie Porritt, plant expert at The Stem. 'Most indoor bonsai have tropical origins and will thrive in warmth, humidity, and non-direct sunlight.'

3. Don't let the soil dry out

Knowing how often to water houseplants is the key to indoor gardening success. How much water your bonsai needs will depend on the type of tree, but it's important to water them frequently.

'The watering schedule for your bonsai will be dictated by the plant type as well as its size, location, and the season (particularly if outdoors),' says Kat Aul Cervoni, landscape designer and founder of Staghorn NYC and The Cultivation by Kat. 'Like any potted plant, some will prefer to dry out between waterings while others will want to maintain some level of moisture. However, none will want to stay drenched or sit in standing water as this will lead to root rot. However, on average, you can typically count on needing to water your bonsai 1 to 2 times a week.' 

4. Feed it fertilizer 

Decorating with plants like bonsais is a great way to increase the appeal of your home but to maintain their artistry our experts maintain that these tiny trees need to be fed to encourage growth.

'Fertilizer is extremely important for maintaining healthy bonsais as their roots are constricted and only limited to the nutrients available in their planter (which can be quickly used up by bonsais),' says Kat. 'Depending on the type of species your bonsai is, you may want to opt for a fertilizer with a high nitrogen level in spring to promote foliage growth, a balanced level in summer for maintenance, and then a lower nitrogen level in fall to promote overall health without pushing for foliage growth. The NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) level of a fertilizer is noted on the container and will show three numbers to correspond with the nutrients. e.g., 9:6:6 would be high nitrogen. 6:6:6 would be balanced, and 6:6:3 would be low nitrogen, and so on. For a simpler routine, you can just opt for a balanced fertilizer and will likely still yield good results.' 

5. Trim and prune its leaves

The careful pruning of the branches and roots, pinching off new growth, and periodic repotting of bonsai for your dry garden requires focus and patience.

'Bonsais benefit from frequent pruning both for maintaining its size and shape and also for refining its structure and promoting smaller foliage,' says Kat. 'Trees naturally want to grow from the top and outer portions of their branches, so it’s important to prune these areas regularly to encourage more growth. Deciduous bonsai trees also benefit from 1x yearly defoliation, or trimming of a portion or all of the newly grown leaves to promote a new flush of smaller finer growth. Be sure to only cut the leaf and leave behind the leaf stem.'

6. Repot young trees every 1-2 years

Whether you place the bonsai trees indoors or in the small porch, they will require potting every couple of years. The timing will depend on the species and particular tree but there are ways to tell when it's time. 

'Repotting of bonsai will be necessary every 2-5 years depending on the species and age,' says Kat. 'A fast-growing variety will need to be re-potted every 2 years, while a more slow-growing or older specimen can go longer between repotting. To find out if your tree needs repotting, remove it from its pot in early spring and check the condition of the roots. If they are beginning to circle the container, it's definitely time to repot as it is becoming root-bound and will quickly run out of nutrients (and starve). Prune any roots that have outgrown the size of the container, but never prune more than 30% of the roots of the tree.'

3 essential products to maintain a bonsai

Once you know the basics of Peacock plant care, it will thrive with abundant foliage. Loved by green-fingered enthusiasts for its spectacular leaves, the peacock plant is a sought-after species that will add life and style to your home. 

Its requirements are similar to those of the prayer plant. In fact, if you know how to care for a prayer plant, you'll ace it. The peacock plant, also known as Calathea Makoyana, is a type of prayer plant, of which there are around 60 known types. Most belong to or are related to the Calathea plant family. 

'Peacock plants are a truly special plant, and grow in a stunning variety of colours that can be a showstopper in any room,' says Richard Cheshire, Plant Doctor at Patch. 'These plants not only look interesting, but they also move, raising their leaves and stems vertically when the sun sets and spreading them open again as the day begins.' 

How to care for Peacock plants

1. Ensure they have humidity

Peacock plants, like prayer plants, are native to Brazilian rainforests and thrive in warm, humid conditions out of bright sunlight.

'Calathea Makoyanas have striking foliage likened to the dramatic look of a peacock’s tail but unlike the Maranta leuconeura, the peacock plant will grow taller with leaves on slender stems,' says Jemma Charman, co-founder of Green Rooms Market. 

'They need to have a high level of humidity; without it their leaves can get crispy with brown edges. Grouping humidity-loving plants together can be beneficial, within a steamy environment like a bathroom. Alternatively, using an air humidifier will help to keep your peacock plant happy.'

2. Don't let their soil dry out

A peacock plant's soil should be kept moist but not wet at all times - so water them little and often. 

'This plant is not very drought tolerant, and extended periods of dryness will cause leaf edges to brown,' says Leaf Envy's Beth Chapman.

'When it comes to watering, check the soil weekly and water evenly around the topsoil when the top two inches are dry,' says Richard Cheshire.

'It's best to keep the soil moist, but not sodden,' adds Jemma Charman, Green Rooms Market. 'You can try bottom-watering, leaving the plant to soak up water from a tray below the pot for several minutes until the soil feels damp but don’t leave them for hours.'

3. Feed them filtered water or rain water

'Peacock plants are a little fussy when it comes to water and although it's not essential, it is best to use filtered where possible,' says Maddie, plant manager, The Stem.

'If you live in an area with hard water, this can cause problems,' explains Patch's Richard Cheshire. 'Either use filtered water or water that has been ‘aged’ in some way. 

'Leaving a full watering can to sit overnight will dissipate any harsh minerals from hard water and keep the color of your peacock plant looking fresh.' 

'Room temperature rain water will be more beneficial rather than tap water,' adds Jemma Charman.

4. Place them where there is light and shade

This plant will be happiest in a bright spot, though not in direct sunlight, as this burns their leaves. 

'Peacock plants should be kept out of direct sunlight,' says Maddie from The Stem. 'A bathroom or kitchen, where they’ll benefit from the humidity created from showering or when cooking is good.'

'Calatheas thrive in medium, indirect sunlight but can tolerate lower light levels too,' adds Beth Chapman. 

5. Wipe its leaves with a damp cloth

Those who were paying attention in biology lessons will remember that plants need to be able to photosynthesize. Peacock plants, like any other indoor foliage, will struggle to thrive if their leaves are dusty. 

'Restore their leaves’ natural shine by dusting her with a wet cloth,' says Beth Chapman. 

'Wiping the Makoyanas' leaves with a damp soft cloth will keep them dust-free and help them to photosynthesize,' says Jemma Charman, co-founder of Green Rooms Market.'

6. Mist regularly

'To mimic the humid conditions of their natural habitat, peacock plants enjoy being misted with water frequently,' says Maddie at The Stem.

'Mist every couple of days to keep your peacock plant’s leaves moist and green,'  says plant doctor Richard Cheshire

Is Calathea Makoyana easy to care for?

As long as you're prepared to care for it and give it what it needs, it's easy. Although if you have a tendency to forget to water your plants or don't have the time to tend to them, you might be better off with something more adaptable or lower maintenance. 

Are Calathea Makoyana's pet friendly?

Yes, like their cousin, the prayer plant, Calatheas are non-toxic and suitable for homes with small children and pets.

Why has my Peacock plant got brown tips?

'Yellowing leaves and burnt tips suggest your plant has been scorched by direct sunlight or watered with tap water containing high levels of fluoride,' says Beth Chapman from Leaf Envy.

'Limp, drooping leaves which are brown and curling suggests your plant is thirsty and dry. Increase the humidity by regularly misting, and make sure you are watering weekly, but allowing the soil to drain properly, and the top 2 inches of the soil to dry out before the next watering session.'

Knowing how to take care of hydrangeas in a vase can make a room feel alive. These dreamy, cloud-like blooms may be famously hated by Madonna, but we think they bring a bucolic beauty to even the most urban and modern of homes. And while an elegant choice is a bountiful bouquet of hydrangeas, it doesn't even need to be a bouquet. A few single stems of this blousy plant is enough to create a fabulous floral display. 

'Hydrangeas are one of my favourite flowers,' says florist, Judith Blacklock of Judith Blacklock Flower School. 'I'm happy with just one in a slim cylinder vase; cut so that it is about twice the height of the vase.'

We often like to see them in bedrooms as a posy next to the bed - a welcoming and soft bloom that creates the right mood. But while this popular flower looks lovely but many of us have learnt - to our cost - that the stems require a little maintenance. Whether you've cut them from the garden or bought them from a florist, hydrangeas can be prone to premature wilting - and no one wants that. 

Thankfully, our favourite floristry experts are on hand with simple ways to keep their petals perky.   

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF HYDRANGEAS IN A VASE 

1. Do the strength test when choosing your stems

Like fruit and vegetables, flowers are often grown out of season. It makes them available all year but they are far less robust than those allowed to bloom according to nature.

'Cut hydrangeas are at their best from July to October,' says florist, Judith Blacklock. 'The later in the season before the first severe frosts, the stronger the flowers. This means they last longer and are easier to dry.' 

Buying earlier in the year, particularly those that are pale colours, can be a recipe for disaster, but there are tricks to find the best of what is available at any given time.  To test if the flower is strong place a hand gently on the hydrangea head. If it feels firm and robust it will last well.

• How to take care of daffodils in a vase

2. TRIM THE STEMS AND PLUNGE INTO TEPID WATER

'Hydrangeas are one of the most requested flowers to bring inside,' says floral designer Hazel Gardiner. 'With their huge heads, they can lift a room with one stem. Like all flowers they have specific needs. Hydrangeas have very woody stems which means they need extra help drinking water. Use shaped scissors to cut the stems at an angle and vertically through the middle by about 1-2 inches. This will allow water to move much more freely up to the flower head. This tip can be used on all varieties with thick stems including foliage.'

Florist Philippa Craddock of Philippa Craddock Design Studio & Flower School adds, 'When they are in season, hydrangeas have superb longevity. Once you've trimmed the stems, plunge them into tepid water and allow them to rest in a cool spot for a few hours or overnight, before you bring them indoors.'

• How to take care of tulips in a vase

3. GIVE THEM A SPRITZ AND FEED THEM

Hydrangeas have a reputation for being a tricky cut flowers due to their wilting florets. Although, once you understand the origin of the name - derived from Greek hydor (meaning water) and angeion (meaning vessel) it all makes sense. 

'They absorb water from both their heads and stems, which is why they can be affected by the atmosphere,' says floral designer Hazel Gardiner. 'To stop them drooping gently mist the flower heads with water once a day, especially if your home is particularly warm.'

Hydrangeas' longevity is vastly increased by using cut-flower food too. 'Look for food that is specifically for woody stems,' Hazel says.

We particularly like this cut flower food here.

4. REVIVE HYDRANGEAS WITH A SNIP AND A DUNK

Florists have a number of tricks to keep flowers fresh but here are a couple you may not have tried. 

'If your stems wilt prematurely, there is a neat trick to help revive them,' says florist, Philippa Craddock. 'Turn the stem upside down and carefully using a knife or scissors, scoop out an inch or as much as you can, of the internal stem pith and place the stem back into fresh water for a few hours. This helps the stem to draw more water up to the flower head.'

'To revive spent blooms, submerge the entire head in a sink of room temperature water for a few hours,' says floral designer Hazel Gardiner. 'Like a sponge the head will soak in the water and be restored to its original plumpness.'  

5. DRY THEM

Hydrangeas' appeal isn't just their beauty; it's their versatility too. Whether you've grown them or bought them already cut, they don't have to be fresh to enjoy them for longer.  Dried flowers are back in vogue, with new ideas about color and styling, so this is the perfect time to experiment.

'Hydrangeas are as fantastic as a dry flower,' says Hazel Gardiner. 'For this we use the darker, aubergine, autumnal varieties, which hold a greater amount of water than their more delicate lighter coloured counterparts. Simply cut them when they are at their strongest and place in a small amount of water. Then just leave them, they will soak up the remaining water and dry out naturally.'

Hazel suggests enhancing their bold presence by grouping hydrangeas in larger vases and urns. 'Or add one stem to a wild and natural display to create a focal point for the eye,' she says. 'We also use them in intimate tablescapes, cutting them short and displaying them in low vessels brings their delicate beauty right to the eyes of dinner guests.'

How to cast your phone to your television has become easier than ever, but there are still a few challenges. Flitting across devices and making sure the software and hardware works isn't always as straightforward as you might hope. 

Whether you have an iPhone or Android device, there are a multitude of ways to mirror your phone to the big screen, but the exact method you need will depend on a number of factors including the model of your phone, the make of your TV and the age of both. 

That said, as long as your phone was bought in the last eight or so years, your TV has a spare HDMI port and you have Wi-Fi in your home, there should be an option for you. Here’s how to stream from your phone to TV.

How to cast a phone to your TV

If you want your whole smartphone screen on your TV so any app you use can be seen by all, then you’ll want to do something called screen mirroring. Note that this will usually mimic your phone’s aspect ratio meaning that you’ll often have a portrait view of your phone’s screen.

Note that if you’re just looking to put the likes of Netflix, Disney Plus or Amazon Prime Video on the big screen, then screen mirroring isn’t the ideal solution as it often includes latency and/or sound syncing issues. Instead, you should use a smart TV’s built-in apps, or something like Chromecast — but more on that later.

Screen mirroring your Android phone to TV 

If you have a modern smart TV, the big manufacturers tend to include built-in screen mirroring software, allowing you to broadcast your phone’s screen as long as both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network.

The exact location of this will vary from TV manufacturer to TV manufacturer, so the sensible thing is to search for instructions for your model. Sony, LG, Samsung and Philips all have specific pages to help you hunt down the option, but if you use an obscure brand, try looking in the TV’s network settings or seeing if it shows up as a selectable input source (in the same menu you’d use to jump between HDMI inputs).

Once this is enabled, the next part of the puzzle is finding the corresponding setting on your smartphone, and unhelpfully each manufacturer has its own name for what is essentially the same functionality. Here are the biggest brands:

- Samsung: “Screen Mirroring” or “Smart View”

- Xiaomi: “Cast”

- Google: “Cast”

- Motorola: “Wireless display”

- Huawei: “MirrorShare”

- Sony: “Screen Mirroring”

- LG: “Miracast”

- HTC: “HTC Connect”

These are usually accessible in the quick settings found by swiping down from the top of your home screen, but if you can’t immediately see it, try searching in the network settings.

Screen mirroring your iPhone to TV 

The obvious omission from that list is Apple. That’s because the company uses its own proprietary technology called AirPlay or AirPlay 2.

It’s not as widely supported as the Miracast tech that powers the Android solutions, but some sets from big names like Samsung, Sony and LG feature it, though typically in more expensive models. It’s also part of the Apple TV streaming hardware, if you happen to own one.

Whether it’s native to your TV or via the Apple TV hardware, screen mirroring is handled the same way:

1. Open Control Center. This is done by swiping down from the top-right corner on iPhones from 2018 onwards or swiping up on earlier models.

2. Tap “Screen Mirroring”.

3. Your TV or Apple TV box should appear in a list of available devices. Tap it.

4. The iPhone may ask you for a code to make sure it’s about to broadcast to the right TV. Just type in the code that appears on your TV screen to continue.

How to stream from your phone to an older TV 

What if your TV is so old that it doesn’t support streaming from Android or iPhone? Don’t worry, you don’t need to throw out your old set, unless it’s so old that it doesn’t have HDMI ports (which have been commonplace in TVs since the mid 2000s, so it may be worth thinking about an upgrade anyway).

As long as you have an HDMI port, you can buy and use a streaming stick. In essence, these make dumb TVs smart, introducing the kind of apps and/or interface you’d get if you purchased a smart TV today.

There are a number of options available from Roku to Amazon’s Fire TV Stick. But people looking to stream their phones to an older TV should look to either Apple TV if they own an iPhone, or Google’s Chromecast if they’re on Android

We’ve covered the reasons for the former above, but for Chromecast the explanation comes down to its easy integration with all sorts of apps that you might want to broadcast on the big screen. Not only can you mirror your display with all but the oldest Android phones, but a huge range of apps can be instantly broadcast to the big screen too. That includes everything from Google Photos to share your holiday snaps to YouTube for broadcasting your home videos.

How to cast apps with Chromecast  

There’s a huge list of apps that support Chromecast, and once your dongle is installed and connected to Wi-Fi, the way you use it is the same in most apps that support it.

1. Find the supported app you want to broadcast to your TV and open it.

2. Select a video, photo or song that you want to move off your phone and open it. 

3. When it starts playing on your phone, tap the screen and look for the Chromecast icon. It’s a rectangle with a Wi-Fi sign in the bottom left-hand corner. Tap it.

 4. Select the device you want to Chromecast to from the pop-up menu. 

How to screen share with Chromecast 

If you’re not trying to broadcast the latest Netflix blockbuster from your phone to your TV, you can also mirror your screen with Chromecast. To do this, you do need to be running Android 5.0 or later, but given that version of Android first came out in 2014, most handsets in use today should work.

Here’s how to screen share with Chromecast:

1. If you don’t have it already, download the Google Home app.

2. In the list of devices, select your Chromecast.

3. Select “Cast my screen” from the options at the bottom.

Learning how to revive a bamboo plant that is struggling to survive is a must. After all, a healthy plant is a happy plant, so, if you do notice your bamboo withering away, it's time to bring it back to life. Whether yours is an indoor potted plant or growing outdoors in containers or borders, you'll want to give it some much-needed tender loving care.

Known as one of the best plants for privacy, this evergreen plant is fairly easy to care for. However, it still needs the correct care. "Reviving a bamboo plant can often be achieved with the right combination of care, environmental adjustments, and patience," says Gardening expert Tony O'Neill from Simplify Gardening. "Bamboo is incredibly resilient, so it’s not uncommon for a plant to bounce back, even if it appears to be struggling. However, it's essential to identify the root cause of the issue, whether it's watering, light, or pests, to provide the appropriate remedy."

We spoke to the experts to learn all about how to keep bamboo alive. Here's what they had to say about it.

How to Revive a Bamboo Plant

Even the best trees for privacy can go through difficult phases. Like most plants, your bamboo will give you early signs that it's going through a difficult time. The main clue that your bamboo may be dying and, therefore, needs saving, is when you start to notice its green leaves turning yellow and drooping.

Yellow leaves on bamboo won't turn green again, and you may even lose some stalks of your plant. However, that doesn't mean your bamboo is beyond saving entirely. In fact, with the right conditions, it will recover, and new shoots and stalks will grow back.

Here are six steps you can take can revive your bamboo plant.

1. Ensure You're Giving It Good Quality Water

While bamboo plants are naturally hardy and great for low-maintenance gardens, if yours is struggling, especially if the leaves are starting to turn from lush green to yellow, you are better off switching from faucet water to filtered water. Faucet water often contains chemicals that could be damaging to the bamboo, so make the change, and you'll more than likely notice improvements.

"For golden bamboo, continue a watering schedule of approx once a week, depending on the size," says Kat Aul Cervoni, landscape designer and founder of Staghorn NYC, and The Cultivation by Kat. "Overwatering is just as damaging as underwatering, so you want to make sure it's not oversaturated. For a lucky bamboo plant, which isn't actually bamboo, but is a member of the Dracaena family, these water-dwelling plants should have their water changed two to three times a week to ensure freshness"

Kat tells us that these plants are sensitive to water quality, "so if you find that your plant's foliage is yellowing, even with lots of careful water changes, you may need to switch to watering your plant with bottled or distilled water, or be sure to use an at-home water filter to filter water before watering it," she adds. A weekly water routine should suffice but do regularly check the moisture of the soil — whether your plant is indoors or out. You could also add mulch to the pot, or around the roots of the bamboo, to ensure it retains moisture between watering.

If your bamboo plant has dried out, landscape gardener Andy Sturgeon suggests some tips. "Dried-out plants should have dead stems cut back, and the whole pot should be submerged in a large bucket of water, or even a pond, until all the air bubbles come out."

2. Expose the Plants to Adequate Sunlight

Most species of bamboo enjoy plenty of sunlight. However, constant direct sunlight could cause the leaves to turn brown and the plant to become dehydrated quickly. If you've decided to place your plant in a container garden, try moving it to an area with filtered or indirect sunlight. Bamboo plants grow well in those shady gardens, too — but the process might just take a little longer. This can be seen as a good thing, since bamboo can get out of hand. Bear in mind, if you want to use bamboo as a privacy fence, a sunny spot will help it grow tall and fast.

Kat explains: "Both golden bamboo and lucky bamboo plants thrive in bright, indirect sunlight with a minimum of six hours of sunlight each day. Low-light rooms or darker corners won't be the right spots for them."

Given that bamboo is a tropical plant, Kat says you should not place it near vets or heaters, as this could cause the plant to dry out and disrupt the humidity needed for it to thrive.

3. Add Fertilizer to the Soil

Fertilizer isn't essential for the bamboo to thrive, but if your tropical garden and its plants are looking a bit tired and worn out — giving them a boost of nutrients will help. Use a nitrogen-rich fertilizer to begin with, (This MARPHYL Organic Liquid Fertilizer, From Amazon should do the trick) and then switch to a fertilizer with a more balanced pH.

If you keep your bamboo in pots and containers, then you should be feeding them regularly with a liquid feed. "If your bamboo plant is looking a little dull, wilted, or brown, the extra nutrients from fertilizer can help perk it up," says Whitney Bromberg Hawkings, founder of FLOWERBX. "We recommend one rich in nitrogen to help give it an extra mineral boost."

4. Prune Your Plant

Learning how to trim a bamboo plant is key to keeping it happy and thriving. If it's just a small section of your plant that's wilting or turning yellow, cutting this away will help the rest of the plant continue to thrive. You should always pull off problem leaves (ones that look dry or yellow) and cut away any bad stalks that are shriveled and dehydrated. Remember, you'll need to ensure you have the right pruning tools for this. This Wobythan 11 Inch Folding Hand Saw from Walmart should do the trick.

"When long shoots become brown and dry, hack them off,' says Mel Brasier, a New York-based designer and landscaper from The Manscapers. They need to be constantly trimmed and pruned back to make sure that the green shines through. As bamboo searches for light, it grows taller and taller — it loves a healthy amount of sun." Mel tells us that every 6-8 months, or once a season, you should get a saw or trimmer and remove the top layers of the plant so that it does not droop too far into your backyard.

You should also prune your bamboo if it starts to flower. It's not a guarantee, but a flowering bamboo can die or at least weaken the plant, turning it brown. So when you catch a flowering shoot, remove it immediately to discourage more flowers. If you have left it to the point where the whole plant is flowering, you can try to keep the bamboo alive by feeding it and watering it regularly. Then, once it's finished flowering, cut the whole plant right back to the ground. This may seem brutal, but it will hopefully encourage new growth and ensure you have a healthy courtyard garden.

5. Check for Signs of Pests

"Insects are a big cause of bamboo dying – so make sure that there are no pests taking over your bamboo," says Mel. "There are many organic and non-toxic pesticides in the market now – one natural bug deterrent is neem oil." If you're wondering how to use neem oil for plants, you could add it to a spray bottle, or mix it with water or soap. This Organic Neem Oil, from Walmart is a great choice.

If aphids are the problem, you can try soap spray. Just mix soap and water with a ratio of 1/4 together in a clean spray bottle and then cover the plant, focusing on the underside of the leaves and you'll find this is where most insects will be.

6. Protect Your Plant During Winter

Bamboo is hardy, we've established that, however, they will start to suffer when temperatures drop below freezing.

If it's not an option to bring your bamboo inside or pop it in a summerhouse, Mel recommends the following: "Wrapping up your bamboo in burlap in the wintertime will help protect it from snow damaging the long limbs. If a lot of snowfall occurs it can easily break and damage the bamboo, so having it covered and wrapped will help protect it, and keep those long shoots strong, tall, and healthy-looking."

A Step-By-Step Guide

Looking for a quick and easy step-by-step guide on saving your dying plant? Gardening expert, Tony O'Neill, from Simplify Gardening has given us a quick summary of what needs to be done:

Check Watering Routine: "Bamboo plants need consistent moisture but should never be left in standing water," he notes. "Ensure that the soil is well-draining and adjust your watering schedule. Overwatered bamboo often shows signs of root rot, while under-watered bamboo can wilt or turn brown."

Trim Dead Parts: As stated above, "If parts of the plant are brown or dying, trim them back to healthy growth. This helps the plant focus its energy on recovering the healthy parts."

Increase Humidity: Bamboo thrives in humid environments. According to Tony, try misting the leaves daily or placing the pot on a pebble tray filled with water to increase humidity around the plant.

Move to Indirect Light: If the plant has been in harsh direct sunlight or too much shade, find a spot with bright, indirect light and this will encourage new growth.

Check for Pests: Lastly, Tony says: "bamboo can sometimes be affected by pests like spider mites or aphids. If you see any signs of these, treat the plant with neem oil or insecticidal soap."

FAQs

Why has my bamboo plant died?

"If your bamboo plant has died, the most likely causes are root rot from overwatering, insufficient light, or extreme temperatures," says Tony. "Bamboo plants prefer consistent conditions, and sudden changes in temperature or humidity can lead to shock."

Additionally, Tony says compacted soil or poor drainage can suffocate the roots, leading to the plant's decline.

Can yellow bamboo leaves turn green again?

Yellow bamboo leaves will not turn green again. Instead, let them drop or gently prune them off the plant. You may find that the yellow leaves are attached to a single stem of your plant and it is this part of the plant that has died back.

In this case, it's best to trim off that stalk at soil level. New ones will grow back in its place if you can correct the conditions that are causing your bamboo to show signs of distress.

Why is my indoor bamboo dying?

There are various reasons a bamboo plant, indoors or out, might start to die. One reason might be pot size. Ideally, you want to choose a container that has enough space for the plant to grow and thrive. The pot size is determined by the plant's diameter. A standard size range is from two to thirty inches, although the larger ones are mostly used outdoors. For a bamboo plant, you could consider two, three, five, and seven inches.

Another might be its position: to help bamboo thrive and keep it looking its best, keep it in a sunny spot that's not in direct sunlight for more than five hours a day and water it weekly with clean, filtered water. Too much direct sunlight however will dehydrate the plant and could cause the leaves to shrivel, so be sure to choose a spot that's either in filtered sunlight or indirect sunlight. "Your indoor plant should be in a room with lots of light, but you may want to position it so it's not directly in the sun's path — filtered light, or light that bounces off of walls or floors will help keep the plant from drying out," says Whitney. "The amount of light your plant needs will also depend on the exact species, so it's worth knowing what kind of bamboo plant you have and understanding what it requires."

As a quick rule of thumb, you can often judge how much light an indoor bamboo plant needs based on the size of its leaves. A species with smaller leaves needs more light, whereas a plant with larger leaves would be fine in a shadier position. Beyond those basics, you will also want to consider what your bamboo is growing in.

"Bamboo plants soon become pot-bound, meaning there is little soil to retain moisture and nutrients for the roots to access." landscape gardener Andy Sturgeon. "So it's important that the pot or container should be big enough to sustain it and you will have to repot it fairly regularly for it to stay healthy. You always want your pot or container to be twice the size of the root ball."

Finally, save a dying bamboo plant by getting the watering routine just right. Bamboo plants need watering weekly. If outside, that can, of course, come naturally from rainfall — just be sure to monitor the moisture of the soil in warmer, drier months. If your bamboo plant is kept indoors, you'll need to manually water it once a week, and it will need more frequent watering in the summer.

"Bamboo plants generally need water once a week, but keep an eye on its soil texture — in hotter or drier months, you may need to water it a little more often," adds Whitney.