INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Before purchasing check local codes to ensure that you can use a portable fire pit.  Every city is different and yours may have certain codes which only allow a certain type of fire pit. Get in contact with the planning offices in your area to see if any restrictions apply. Your deck or porch may not be the best place for a fire bowl. Drifting embers can ignite surrounding wood, cause heat damage, and ventilation issues.  The best place to put a fire bowl or portable fire pit is on a flat, stable, non-combustible natural surface. Bricks, gravel, granite, paving stones and concrete are great options. Put the fire bowl a safe distance away from your home, deck, overhangs, trees, etc. Don’t put your fire bowl near heat sensitive plants, dry grass, bales of hay, open firewood, and other materials that could ignite. Clear the area around the bowl of any sticks, twigs, leaves, or other flammable substances. Keep a bucket of water nearby. The easiest way to get a fire going in your portable fire pit or fire bowl is to sort your wood, kindling, and tinder.  To help you build the best fire, sort your materials by size. Place all of your large logs together, followed by your smaller logs, kindling, and tinder. If you plan to cook any food over your fire, don’t use any starter logs or gels. These items contain chemicals which get into the smoke and can get on your food. Make sure that you use dry wood. If there’s any moisture in the wood, especially the larger logs, it will be harder to start your fire. You can easily find tinder in your own yard from dry grass and leaves that you rake up. Otherwise, newspaper works well. It’s also a great idea to have water or a bucket of damp sand on hand for putting your fire out. Everyone likes to build a fire a certain way. With a fire bowl or portable fire pit, the teepee method or upside down fire method tend to work best depending on how deep the bowl is.  To make a teepee, start by placing your tinder in the bottom of your bowl. Keep your tinder in a ball and lay your kindling around it. Stack the larger sticks around your tinder in the shape of a teepee. You can then place your larger logs around your kindling. Keep a little open area so you can easily reach in and light your tinder.   For an upside down fire, place the largest logs in the bottom of your pit, and spread the logs out to cover the base. Stack your smaller logs in a criss-cross pattern over your largest logs to allow for airflow. Place a small pile of tinder on top and then stack your kindling around the tinder in a teepee fashion. Never use pressure treated wood. Avoid using sappy wood like pine and cedar as these woods tend to pop more and create more floating embers. Be sure not to overload the fire pit with wood, don’t stack it much higher than the rim of your fire bowl. When lighting your fire, the safest way is to use a long match or lighter. Light your tinder and watch the fire grow.  You may want to light your tinder in a couple places to help the fire get going. Shove some newspaper between your logs to create more heat and build up the flames. Softwoods such as pines and firs are easier to light and are good for getting your fire started. As your fire begins to burn it will create coals and embers. When the flames begin to die down, add larger logs to keep your fire burning. If your fire bowl has a grate cover, place this over your fire once it's going. This will help prevent embers from flying out. After the initial ten or twenty minutes, most of your kindling will have burned up along with your tinder. These bits of material will start to form natural coals and embers which still provide plenty of heat.  Use a poker or large stick to move your coals and embers together. Add some oxygen by blowing on the coals to add more heat. You can now start to place larger logs on top of these coals to keep your fire going. Hardwoods like oak, ash, cherry, maple, and poplar are great for adding to a hot fire. Once you’re done enjoying your fire pit, properly put out the fire.  If possible, allow the fire to burn down completely to ash. Pour water over the fire and make sure you drown all of the embers. Keep pouring until you don’t hear any more hissing. Stir the ashes and embers. A shovel works well here. Once everything in the pit is wet and cold, you can use the shovel to scrape the materials out of the pit. In most areas you can dispose of your ash in your regular garbage. Check with your local municipality for any specific laws or codes in your area.

SUMMARY: Check with your local municipality to make sure you can legally use a portable fire pit or fire bowl in your home. Place your fire bowl in a safe place. Gather your materials for a fire. Place your materials in your fire pit. Light the fire. Maintain your fire. Put out your fire.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Wear a nice, button-up cotton shirt, but diss the tie.  They tie the outfit together casually.  (And that goes to girls, too!)

SUMMARY:
Dress comfortably so you can hang with your friends. Distressed jeans or corduroys look awesome and are a little bit more dressed-up for the dance rather than school. Throw on some sneakers (unless not allowed). Accent your outfit with a cool leather belt. No need to look like you're going to cotillion, just relax when you're picking out something to wear.