For many school children Summer is ending this week. Malls were packed this weekend with the last minutes back to school. Along with going back to school it means there will be homework. The quality of homework will depend on the environment the homework is done.

Doing homework or any kind of studying on ones bed or in front of the television on the coffee table will only lead to low quality homework. I look the quality of study are will promote the same quality of homework.

If we want our students to do the best, we need to have the best possible area.

I found some great recommendation for the ideal study area at About.com. What impressed me the most it does not take a lot of money to create the ideal study area.

It was a couple weeks ago when I woke up my neck muscles were so tight I could not lift my head off my right shoulder. When I complained to my wife about my neck hurting, she reminded me that we were over due for new pillows. That prompted me to start doing some research for new pillows.

Since we spend about 1/3 of our life sleeping, I was going to take some time looking the perfect pillow. If you realized it or not how we spend this 1/3 of  our life does greatly affect our attitudes, our emotions, as well as how we deal with people during the remaining  2/3.

There is a lot to be considered in getting the perfect pillow to spend the 1/3 of our lives. This is from what is inside, to firmness, to the cover and size of the pillow. 

On television there is this commercial where a well dress lady comes on and talks about certified pre-owned cars. Her whole pitch is that they are so like new you are getting new most people cannot tell the difference. Her closing line is, “Why pay the difference when you can’t tell the difference.”

About 4 blocks down the street of the car dealership that is promoted in the commercial is a recently build dealership of just certified pre-owned cars. Instead a mixture of several makes and models, these are just Nissan’s. This raises the questions, “Are they really good as new, without paying the price of new?”

I have gotten comments from various people, that new furniture was out of the budget.  Then I have heard from others that what they have seen in thrift stores is nothing but flea infested crap. This is one case where the truth is middle ground.

First off, not all thrift stores are the same. Within a 6 mile radius of our home is at least 6 different thrift stores. Each is run by a different non profit group like the Salvation Army, Goodwill and etc. All of them sell furniture. Some more than others. There is no guarantee as to what they will have available on any given day. The furniture maybe worn, but clean.

Next to marriage and underwear the mattress you sleep on is the next personal thing in your life. It has been my experience that what on individual sleeps well on is another individuals restless nights sleep. So when asked to help buy as mattress, I had to start with the basics.

The number of different types of mattresses far exceeds the three Goldilocks came across in the three bears cottage. I below is a basic overview of the different types of mattresses.  Shopping for a mattress, should not be done in a hurry.

The other day, I was cruizen through the local Shopko. I was walking along the back isle when I look over and saw some futon couches, chairs and other furniture. Normally, I would not them a second look.

Many years ago, we bought a futon couch. That was one of the biggest mistakes we ever made. Within one week, the cushion filler had moved away from where were sitting. This resulted in our backsides resting on the black metal futon frame. Not very comfortable.

A couple weeks ago, we did our first Sofa Recon at a Mohr Furniture for Less, local furniture store. Yesterday, we did our second one this time it was at RC Willey.

I want to state that we showed up the local RC Willey at 1 pm on a Thursday afternoon. My wife and I were dressed casually, we had just came from the gym. We walked through the door and was greeted by an elderly lady. This reminded us a Wal Mart, and that was where the similarity ended.

The first sofa we saw had a price tag of $999.99. This was quite different from the last place we went. There the first sofa we saw was about $600 less. The style was much different, but the quality looked about the same.

A good place for an afternoon nap.

My wife and I decide that we need to buy a new sofa before the end of the year. Our current on is past worn out. It is stained. One of the spring’s sticking into a cushion.

It has been quite a few years since our last purchase of a sofa. I felt that we need to start with the basics. Fabric, style, as well price are important consideration. Since it cost a few hundreds dollars we are going to some extensive recon before buying.

Some of the place to start will be online, local thrift stores, and furniture stores. I even put a posted a question about buying a sofa or couch on SavingAdvice.com. This will give us some ideas as to what is available. Then we will come closer to finding the perfect sofa at the perfect price.