“Everybody” has heard, “turn off the water while you brush your teeth.” Then again, not everybody follows suit. When Las Vegas's natural water resources are under the strain of a sweltering summer, it helps if everybody really does pitch in to conserve indoor water. Doing so will reduce your water bill, too.

If you're like many, your kitchen is one of the most active spaces in your home. It's where you congregate for breakfast and host your family and others for dinner. Getting the most space, efficiency and style out of your kitchen takes some creative re-working. One key area many homeowners want to improve is the storage and accessing of their kitchen garbage and recycling cans.

Garbage and recycling bins are a necessary (and often inconvenient) part of every kitchen. One great way to incorporate these items, maximize your kitchen's efficiency, and improve the look and overall feel of the space is to install pullout waste and recycling cabinets.

Keeping Things Out of Sight but in Reach

Freestanding garbage cans often look messy and things get smelly fast, smells that permeate throughout your kitchen. Stuffing trash and recycling bins into a kitchen closet with your cans and dry foods is another common kitchen organization tactic. But, then those trash smells linger around your food items. Besides, this type of placement generally hampers productivity as the trash can is no longer near where you prepare food.

Take the time to add five stylish touches that rival the attributes of some of the flashiest fitness clubs to your home gym. Try these ideas on for size; they may be the only things that fit once you begin your weekly exercise routine:

1. Make a splash with color

You might gravitate to warm, rich colors (corals, deep gold and lush greens), but they don't interact well with the psychology of exercise, so confine them to other areas of your home. For your home gym, go light and bright to infuse the room with energy. White can be dull, and ivory isn't much better. If you must have color stick with the lightest shade on a paint sample strip.

It may feel like a one-two punch from Mother Nature: first she delivers a relentless spate of 100-degree days. Then she withholds the very commodity that would provide some relief to your lawn: rain.

Show her who really has the upper hand by learning how to conserve outdoor water, make what you use go as far as it can and keep your lawn in a healthy state until the heat wave mercifully ends. That's a one-two-three punch, showing you can outsmart Mother Nature when you:

• Inspect your sprinklers. Whether you have an underground sprinkler system or hose connected to a mobile sprinkler, ensure your watering tools are in good working order – with no leaks or faulty connections – so you don't waste water. Put a timer on your sprinkler to impose some discipline on your watering regimen.

It's way past spring, so a wholesale cleaning and maintenance regimen is thankfully in your past.

But it's not autumn, either, so you still have plenty of time to relish the distinct look, light and ambiance of your home in the summer.

If your home is like many others at this time of year, it could benefit from a mid-year “tune-up” with some relatively simple tasks that will restore it to its spring-time sprightliness:

• “Vin” your windows. If you said you need to “clean” your windows, you might procrastinate at best and postpone at worst. Mix a 50-50 solution of white vin-egar and water in a spray bottle and make the rounds of your windows. Vinegar packs a powerful cleaning punch, and it doesn't streak. If your windows are caked with dirt, loosen it first with water. Then “vin” away, using a squeegee or microfiber cloth to reveal a glow.
• Inspect and repair your window screens. As long as you're in the vicinity of your windows and interior shades, check your window screens and a common collecting area for insects: the windowsills. Screen patching kits can make this task as easy as applying tape (and in many cases, it is).

There's just something about nature that brings a calming effect. People have brought the outside into their homes in the form of potted plants, flowers, large sunny windows, oak furnishings, and much more. Nature is arguably the longest-standing, most popular interior decorating theme. But what about the opposite? Instead of bringing nature to interior spaces, what about bringing interior-like rooms outdoors?

Outdoor rooms are in high demand this year and why not? With big advancements in weather-resistant fabrics, variety of outdoor furnishings and styles, versatile lighting options, and exterior shades to keep those outdoor spaces cool and comfortable on even the hottest of summer days. The following are a few ideas on trending outdoor rooms making a big splash:

You want your plants to do more than survive; you want them to thrive.

Since you're a hands-on person who doesn't mind a little trial and error, you're determined to marshal some of the strategies employed by landscape architects and learn as you – and your plants – grow. Get started today and:

• Assess your property for drainage problems. It's a rare property that doesn't have at least one drainage quirk, even if it's a gutter that creates a huge pool on the sidewalk after a heavy rain. Some quirks are simple to fix (in this case, shifting the direction of the downspout or adding an extender piece). But a large, consistently moist area should alert you, this is no place to install plants that prefer dry soil (such as artemsia, helleborus and sedum).

Even if you do not plan on selling your home soon, the home improvements you choose now can significantly raise the value of your house in the future. From replacing appliances to installing interior shades from Polar Shades, you can easily boost the overall equity in your home.

Here are five tips to increase your home’s value:

1. Add New Flooring

Whether it’s stained carpet in the living room or old tile in the bathroom, installing new flooring can enhance the look of your home while boosting its value. If you want flooring that will last and has universal appear, pick hardwood flooring. According to House Logic, buying new hardwood flooring has an approximate return of 91 percent.

You may have to look harder during a hot Las Vegas summer like this one, but it's there: the house with a lush, almost picture-perfect lawn.

The owners must know something about “mower blade height,” which you've been hearing so much about. Or maybe they're vigilant about watering. Take it from lawn care experts, who offer 10 hot-weather lawn care tips for your Las Vegas home you can act on today:

• Raise that mower blade. Or ask your lawn service provider to forego the sculpted look by keeping the length at about 3 inches (though some experts recommend going as high as 6 inches). Your lawn needs all the help it can get in the face of relentless heat, and taller grass retains moisture and provides much-needed shade for surrounding blades.

Many neighborhoods have a house where young kids, tweens, or teens – and often adults – want to be. Becoming the neighborhood hangout can help you keep a subtle but watchful eye on your kids while you form bonds with their parents. You’ll build a sense of community while having a lot of fun in the process. Consider these six tips, such as installing blackout shades or painting your front door, to turn your home into the neighborhood hangout house.

Make it stand out

Add some welcoming touches that draw attention to your house while giving it a friendly vibe. Paint your front door and/or mailbox a bright, cheery color, hang a welcome sign on your door, or add some large containers of colorful flowers near your doorway.