Any helpful life hacks?

[TheVat]

If you lack motivation to get up in the morning, then stop eating after 6. And you will want to get up earlier to eat faster.

This is exactly what I've done for years. Good for sleep, for digestion, and making breakfast exciting.

 

[DaveC426913]

I like ideas that don't require a wet/dry vacuum. We use technology too much here. Leaf blowers are also an example - broom and rake work just fine. Quietly.

Agree with you on the leaf blowers.
Very, very noisy; toxic fumes, don't clean anything up, just push it around and make it somebody else's problem.

 

[TheVat]

Agree with you on the leaf blowers.
Very, very noisy; toxic fumes, don't clean anything up, just push it around and make it somebody else's problem.

Yup. And if there is that rare occasion when a jet of air is useful, many shop vacs you can pull off the hose from the intake and attach to the exhaust port. Makes a serviceable crud blower, minus fumes.

 

[Olga]

Old taverns in the USA would sprinkle sawdust on the floor to soak up spilled drinks. Similar idea.

I like ideas that don't require a wet/dry vacuum. We use technology too much here. Leaf blowers are also an example - broom and rake work just fine. Quietly.

Каллеты(прессованные опилки), на самом деле очень хорошо впитывают в себя жидкости. Если нужно очень быстро убрать много воды с пола, то с помощью калетт это можно сделать за минуту. Человек, который придумал из отходов производства(опилок) делать гранулы, наверное заработал целое состояние. У меня есть знакомые, которые занимаются деревообработкой. Раньше они платили за вывоз и утилизацию опилок и стружки, а теперь поставили оборудование, которое стоит недорого, и из этих отходов делают гранулы - доходя от бывших расходов.

 

[Olga]

Agree with you on the leaf blowers.
Very, very noisy; toxic fumes, don't clean anything up, just push it around and make it somebody else's problem.

У нас в России для уборки двора обычно используют "Кёрхеры", либо обычную метлу, если мыть двор не нужно.

 

[DaveC426913]

In Russia, we usually use Karchers to clean the yard, or a regular broom if the yard doesn’t need to be washed.

On the other hand, I find it hard to argue with a former landscaper friend who said a five minute clean up with a leaf blower after a job is much more efficient than a 30 minute sweep. For him - and his clients - time is money.

 

[Olga]

On the other hand, I find it hard to argue with a former landscaper friend who said a five minute clean up with a leaf blower after a job is much more efficient than a 30 minute sweep. For him - and his clients - time is money.

Ну, это зависит от размера двора. Если это 16 соток, как у меня, то можно и метлой, хотя Кёрхером быстрее и удобнее. А если двор 2 - 3 сотки, то воздуходувку дольше доставать из кладовой будете, чем двор мести. Кёрхер, по сути, та же воздуходувка, только с водой. Сразу и мусор сметает, и пыль убирает.

 

[TheVat]

Well, it depends on the size of the yard. If it's 16 acres, like mine, then you can use a broom, although a Karcher is faster and more convenient. But if the yard is 2-3 acres, then you'll spend more time getting the blower out of the storage room than sweeping the yard. A Karcher is essentially the same blower, only with water. It sweeps up trash and removes dust at once.

I wonder if the translator is not working again. The word "yard" in English usually means a grassy area, often a "lawn" plus a garden, and 16 acres would be about 100 times larger than an average residential yard. No one sweeps grass, or goes over it with a power washer, so I wonder if the Russian word you used meant some kind of concrete or stone or brick area?

 

[DaveC426913]

I wonder if the translator is not working again. The word "yard" in English usually means a grassy area, often a "lawn" plus a garden, and 16 acres would be about 100 times larger than an average residential yard. No one sweeps grass, or goes over it with a power washer, so I wonder if the Russian word you used meant some kind of concrete or stone or brick area?

Agree. I'm trying to imagine Olga sweeping 12 football fields with a broom.

 

[Olga]

I wonder if the translator is not working again. The word "yard" in English usually means a grassy area, often a "lawn" plus a garden, and 16 acres would be about 100 times larger than an average residential yard. No one sweeps grass, or goes over it with a power washer, so I wonder if the Russian word you used meant some kind of concrete or stone or brick area?

Похоже, у нашего переводчика неплохое чувство юмора. 1 сотка = 100 кв.м. Дворы у нас обычно выкладывают тротуарной плиткой разных цветов и размеров. А внутри делают клумбы и газоны с цветами, травой, и различными садовыми фигурками. Сейчас ещё стали украшать деревья и кустарники гирляндами на солнечных батарейках, и в темноте они красиво светятся и переливаются различными цветами.

 

[Olga]

Agree. I'm trying to imagine Olga sweeping 12 football fields with a broom.

View attachment 6870

Хорошо, что этот переводчик не используют для медицинских переводов. Иначе уже кто-нибудь умер бы от неправильного перевода диагноза.

 

[DaveC426913]

1 are = 100 sq.m.

I have never heard of an are. Yet it is (or was) apparently quite common.

 

[Olga]

I have never heard of an are. Yet it is (or was) apparently quite common.

Похоже, этот переводчик живёт своей жизнью. Я писала "сотка", а не "ар".

 

[DaveC426913]

Похоже, этот переводчик живёт своей жизнью. Я писала "сотка", а не "ар".

Sotka = hectare = 100m x 100m.

Twelve of those would be 1.2km long. Not sure you'll be sweepng that with a broom

 

[Olga]

Sotka = hectare = 100m x 100m.

Twelve of those would be 1.2km long. Not sure you'll be sweepng that with a broom

Нет, "сотка" = 10×10 м. = 100 кв.м. 16 "соток" = 1600 кв.м.

 

[DaveC426913]

No, "hundred square meters" = 10×10 m. = 100 sq. m. 16 "hundred square meters" = 1600 sq. m.

Thanks, yes. Google seems to have some confusing answers. A hectare is a square 100m x 100m. Somewhere along the line, Google seems to think a sotka equals a hectare.

I'm still not actually sure how large your yard is.

 

[Olga]

Thanks, yes. Google seems to have some confusing answers. A hectare is a square 100m x 100m. Somewhere along the line, Google seems to think a sotka equals a hectare.

I'm still not actually sure how large your yard is.

1600 кв.м. участок, и 1500 кв.м. дом на нём.

 

[TheVat]

I'm still not actually sure how large your yard is.

0.4 acres. So probably in an outlying area. My city lot is about 0.17 acres. Our cat controls most of it.

 

[TheVat]

1600 sq.m. plot, and 1500 sq.m. house on it.

Your house is 1500 square meters??? Is it a palace or mansion?

 

[Olga]

0.4 acres. So probably in an outlying area. My city lot is about 0.17 acres. Our cat controls most of it.

Нет, не центр, и не окраина, хороший район. Просто, вместе соединены 2 участка. Стандартный участок у нас обычно 400 - 800 кв.м.