INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Like you would with other types of exercise, it's important to warm up before you start exerting yourself in the garden. Stretch your legs, arms, and hands before you start so that they will be prepared for the work ahead. You should spend at least 5 to 10 minutes warming up before gardening. In order to improve your health by getting exercise in the garden, you should do it regularly. Working in your garden for several hours over the course of the week, for instance, 30 minutes daily, can give you some much needed regular exercise. Getting 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol. It can also help prevent diabetes and heart disease, as well as slow the development of osteoporosis. As with other types of exercise, it's a good idea to vary the types of movements you do while getting exercise in the garden. If you have a variety of tasks to do in the garden, set a specific amount of time you will do each and then rotate between them, even if you don't complete a task in your set amount of time. This variation in tasks can be especially helpful if you have one that is hard on the body, such as kneeling to weed garden beds. Weeding for 15 to 20 minutes at a time and then taking a break to do another activity will help to avoid pain or overexertion. When working in the garden you need to be careful and intentional about how you lift and stretch. For example, use proper lifting technique when moving heavy bags of soil or fertilizer. This entails using the strength of your legs instead of depending on your back muscles. Additionally, you should squat instead of kneeling when possible, maintain the natural curve of your back, and avoid twisting while lifting heavy loads. In order for gardening to count as exercise, you need to raise your heart rate and put out some physical effort while doing it. This means that just standing around watering doesn't really count as exercise. Some things to do in the garden to raise your heart rate include digging, raking leaves, weeding, mowing, and turning a compost pile. If you want to increase your effort while mowing, try using a push mower instead of a gas or electric one.

SUMMARY: Warm up before gardening. Work in the garden regularly. Vary your movements. Do controlled bending and lifting. Put in some effort.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Sometimes, when you're in public, someone may use a condescending tone or drop a "dear" at the end of a sentence when talking to you. If you run across it in public, start by being polite. In other words, don't rise to the bait. Simply go by your own rules of politeness, and move on with the conversation. Most of the time, the person probably doesn't even realize they're being condescending or treating you like a child. Snapping at them won't help the situation. Sometimes, you may find yourself in a situation where you should be the one having the conversation with the "expert," but instead, that expert is having it with someone else right in front of you. A prime example of this situation is when a mechanic addresses the husband about the wife's car when the wife is standing right there and should be the one in the discussion. The best way to deal with this type of situation is to ask a question that the person has to directly address, meaning the person needs to talk to you. For example, you could ask, "I understand what you're saying about the timing belt, but don't you think my spark plugs also need to be changed? They were last changed 20,000 miles ago." If someone is being patronizing, it may be that they have just gotten into a rut of explaining things to everyone who walks in the door, especially in technical jobs or fields. One way to change the conversation is to use a little humor to jostle the person out of their standard explanation. For example, when someone says, "You need to make sure you change your oil every 3,000 miles," you could say, "Just like going in for tune up at the doctor, right?" Sometimes, when it's a stranger who's treating you like a child, you just have to let it go and move on. You'll probably never see that person again, and holding on to that anger isn't helping you at all.

SUMMARY: Stay polite. Shift the conversation back to you. Use humor. Let it go.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Suede's soft grain is best cleaned with a suede brush. Brush the shoe gently to remove dust or dirt accumulated on the surface. Brush repeatedly in the same direction in short strokes to avoid scuffing your shoes. For scuffs that are especially matted down, try rubbing the area with sandpaper to lift the nap. For scuffs you cannot brush or sandpaper out, rub a suede bar or a piece of crepe rubber over the scuffs. Apply a moderate amount of pressure to the scuffs, increasing as you reach tougher areas. You can also use a pencil eraser in place of a suede bar. For water stains, dab a slightly damp sponge over the shoe's exterior. Remove any excess moisture with a dry microfiber cloth. Then, ball up newspaper and fill your shoes so they retain their shape while drying. For tough water stains, dampen your sponge with vinegar and rub over the stain. If your shoe stains do not disappear from the method above, they may be oil stains. Sprinkle cornstarch lightly over the stain and let it sit for ten minutes. Cornstarch absorbs oil and prevents it from soaking into the suede, especially if the stain is treated early.

SUMMARY: Rub down your shoes gently with a suede brush. Use a suede bar or eraser for stubborn scuffs. Dab a sponge across the exterior to remove water stains. Sprinkle cornstarch over the shoes for oil stains.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Make sure that your trash is not a rat buffet. Rats have trouble chewing through metal or thick plastic bins, but they can easily enter a container with an open lid. If they make a home in the trash, they're more likely to come inside the building as well. If you or your tenants improperly store food, then rats are more attracted to your building. Food should not be stored in dark, closed areas where rats can be easily active. Additionally, food shouldn't be left sitting out. Don't store food in the basement. This includes pet food. Encourage good pet food habits amongst your tenants. Food should not be left out. Leaky pipes offer a water source, and damaged systems offer a place for rats to hide. Keep them out by doing regular maintenance and fixing any issues immediately. Stop rats from entering the building in the first place by keeping your building and foundation secure. Rats can squeeze through the tiniest of cracks, so even a hole as small as a dime needs to be repaired. Carefully inspect and repair your walls, roof, and foundation. Check close to the ground for freshly dug holes. Rats sometimes dig near the foundation so that they can crawl through to the inside of the building. If your walls or basements have vent openings, the rats can enter through the slats or holes. While you can't block the opening, you can apply wire mesh over the open slats so that the rats cannot enter. You can use steel wool to fill in gaps around vents or pipes. Windows provide rats with an open opportunity to enter a building, but it's unreasonable to expect people to leave their windows shut at all times. Instead, make sure that every window has an undamaged screen. Ask tenants to regularly inspect their screens for holes and slits. Offer to replace screens at no cost to them. Rats can squeeze under gaps at the bottom of the door. If your apartment building has doors that leave a gap between the door and the jam, then install a door sweep. The door sweep will attach to the bottom of the door, providing a seal against outside intruders. Rat can hitchhike in large deliveries, especially if food is involved. Rats love to hide in wood piles, garbage, discarded items, and tall grass.

SUMMARY:
Secure the lid to the trash bin. Use safe food habits. Maintain plumbing systems. Repair cracks and holes. Block the area around pipes and vent openings. Cover all windows with a wire screen. Add door sweeps. Encourage tenants to carefully inspect deliveries. Remove any debris from around the building.