INPUT ARTICLE: Article: With your blind still mounted in the window, lower the slats as far as they can go. Use a measuring tape to measure the height from the bottom rail to the top of the head rail. Then, double this measurement so that the blind has enough string on both sides to raise and lower it all the way. Next, measure the width of the window and add that to your measurement so that you have enough excess string stored in the head rail to lower your blinds. While it can be difficult to do, see if you can measure the width of the string itself. If you get a string that is too big for your blind, the string won’t fit through the openings. Jot down your measurement on a piece of paper. This will make things easier when you go to pick up a replacement string. If you want your lift cords to hang down a little, add 20–40 inches (51–102 cm) to your measurement so that there is some extra slack in the lift cord when the blind is lowered all the way. You can always cut the excess string off and it isn’t particularly expensive to get a longer string. Go online or head to your local home repair store and look for a cord repair kit with enough string for your blinds. Don’t worry if the string is longer than the number you measured since you can always cut it, but you cannot restring your blinds with a cord shorter than the number you measured. Blind cord kits come with a restring tool, which is a small length of soft metal with an oval-shaped opening on the end. This wire restring tool will make it easy to thread the string through some of the smaller openings. Take your replacement string and cut it so that one cord is the same or slightly more than the height of your blind from the bottom of the sill to the top of the head rail. Cut the other string so that it is at least the height of the blind plus the width of the window.  Add 10–20 inches (25–51 cm) to each length if you want the lift cords to hang down at all. Most cord kits come with tassels and washers so that you can replace the plastic parts on the string. They don’t typically include a replacement wand or new brackets, though. If your wand and brackets work, feel free to keep them. Otherwise, you can buy replacements from the manufacturer or your local home supply store. The longer string will go into the slot at the bottom of the rail that is furthest from the lift cord. Unless you have custom blinds, the longer string will go on the left since the lift cords are on the top right. On the lift cords that you pull, use a pair of scissors to cut off the tassels and the knots holding them in place. Set the tassels aside if you plan on reusing them. If you plan on replacing them, throw them out so that you don’t mix them up with the new tassels.  The tassels are the little plastic pull knobs at the end of each lift cord. The lift cord refers to the 1-2 strings coming out of the top-right of your blind that you pull to raise or lower the slats. Some blinds have plastic washers embedded in the lift cords so that the string doesn’t roll all the way into the head rail. If you have washers on the cords that you pull to raise or lower the blind, either thread the string all the way through the opening in the washer to undo it, or simply clip the washer off with a pair of scissors. Set your washers aside if you’re going to reuse them or throw them out.  Leave any washers that are attached to the ladder strings. You aren’t going to replace those. Your blind should still be in the window frame at this point. If you’re lucky, you won’t need to take the blind out of the brackets to restring it.

SUMMARY: Determine how much string you need by measuring the blind. Write your measurement down and add 20–40 in (51–102 cm). Buy a blind cord kit based on the size and model of your blind. Cut the replacement string into 2 separate lengths. Cut the tassels off of the end of each lift cord. Remove the safety washers from each lift cord.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Start a new paragraph, and turn your attention to the product or service you're writing your testimonial about. List two or three important facts about the product or service.  Take a moment to introduce the product or service and talk a little about what it is or what it does. Then state specifically what it did for you and how it helped you. For example, you might say "Social Media Z focuses on increasing social media reach through entertaining and informative social media posts. Since hiring Social Media Z, we've gained 237 new followers and our sales have increased by nearly a third." Highlight a unique or creative approach. If there's something about the business or product that sets it apart from competitors, talk about that thing specifically. Mention if custom solutions were offered that were tailored specifically to your problem.  It can help to describe your expectations, if they help put the creativity of the business you're talking about into perspective. For example, you might write "I didn't expect Social Media Z to get us more than 20 or 30 followers, but they found a way to bring in ten times as many people." If your contact person was a pleasure to work with, or if the company went above and beyond the call of duty, make an enthusiastic note about this. If you worked closely with a particular employee, mention them by name.  Personal notes also mean something to the people you name, and can help employers identify and reward their best employees. If someone specific impressed you, talk about them in your testimonial. For example, you might write "While the whole team went above and beyond, Sally spent a lot of time getting to know our company and our needs. We would not have achieved the success we did without Sally's hard work and attentiveness." Go back to your description of the project you faced. The figures you use to show the results should match the figures you used when describing your problem, so readers can easily compare. For example, if you're hiring a social media management company for your business, and you focused on the low numbers of people following your social media accounts, state specifically how many followers you had after the company you hired went to work. If you mentioned any obstacles in the first part of your testimonial, tell your readers how you feel about them now. Typically either it wasn't as big of an issue as you thought, or the success was worth it. For example, if you were skeptical about using the product or service because of its cost, you might say "I was concerned Social Media Z's fees were too high, but after such overwhelming success, I'm now convinced they are worth every penny!"

SUMMARY:
Describe how the product or service solved your problem. Include a personal note. Use specific figures to show impact. Explain how you overcame any obstacles.