Most, if not all, shoe stores will have the necessary tools to properly measure your foot. Some stores have a carpeted scale on which you can place your foot to find your shoe size. There are also devices that can fit around your foot and adjust to your foot dimensions in order to determine your shoe size. If you can’t find these tools around the store where you are shopping, simply ask a store employee if they could help you measure the size of your foot. Getting the proper measurements of your foot will allow you to pick out shoes that fit your foot best. An accurate shoe fitting can improve comfort, security, and appearance. Use a pencil, and trace the outline of both of your feet on two separate sheets of paper. Be sure to trace as close to your foot as possible. After you have traced all around both of your feet, use a ruler to measure front the top most part of your foot (at your toes), to the bottom of your heel. Then, measure across the width of your foot from the furthermost edges. Your traced foot should now have a giant cross in the middle of it. Lined notebook paper may work best for tracing your feet since it has straight lines to take measurements from. However, any sheet of paper will do.

Summary: Get your foot measured at a shoe store. Measure your foot yourself.


Getting rid of items you don’t need is essential to cleaning and organizing a living space. Grab 3 containers, or just create 3 piles: keep, donate, toss.  The living room is a communal space that tends to attract of a lot of junk from other rooms, whether it’s plates from the kitchen or pillows from the bedroom. Go through your living room and first take everything out of the room that doesn’t belong. Place those things in the correct room. Place everything else into your 3 sections. Look at everything you have. Maybe you can donate or sell all of those DVDs that you never watch. Perhaps you realize that you haven’t used that lamp in the corner and don’t need it. Don’t remove your items just yet. First, you need to clear off all surfaces. Take everything off of all your surfaces. This means everything from the coasters to bigger items that you can easily move.  Having clean, clutter-free surfaces will make getting the proper cleaning done much easier and will help you organize. Place each item that you remove from any surface, like your table and stands, into one of your 3 piles. When deciding which pile to place an item in, think about the last time you used an item, and its purpose. Try to only keep frequently used and useful items. You don’t have to get rid of something like a blanket or a decoration piece. But take note of how many of one thing you have. You may want to store some of your blankets and pillows in a closet to keep your space clean. Adding some furniture that doubles as storage can greatly improve your living area. Look for areas under or in furniture where you can store items, and also take advantage of vertical space. For example, you might install wall shelves or coat hooks for storing and hanging items.  Is your coffee table scuffed from people putting their feet on it? Do you have too many toys, blankets, pillows, and other items lying around everywhere? These are questions to consider when cleaning and organizing. You can get ottomans that serve as storage bins to tuck away those toys and blankets. These ottomans can also serve as a better footrest than your coffee table. You can also purchase a cube organizer console to place along a wall that serves as cubby spaces for toys, blankets, and other objects. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even install a wall-mounted floating shelf near the top of your wall, toward the ceiling. Place objects like extra blankets, books, or movies that you want but don’t use often on the shelf. This keeps things out of the way but easy to access. With everything out in the open, it’s now time to clear out what you don’t use or need. Place these items in a trash bag to send off to the garbage or for donation.  The living room tends to be an area where a lot of old electronics end up. Notice what you use for entertainment. Do you have a bunch of DVDs or VHS tapes, players, or old stereo equipment you don't use? If you do, these are only collecting dust. It’s time to get rid of them. If you have certain things you want to keep, like DVDs, that mounted shelf could be a great place for these items. Remove everything that's not furniture from the room. Take your piles into another room for now so you can clean. This will also help you see how nice your room looks without the clutter. Wires tend to attract dust and can make a room look disorganized. Go through all of your cords and wires and first make sure everything is connected and serves a purpose. Remove any that aren’t connected to anything.  If you find a stray cord and you don’t know what purpose it serves, chances are you no longer need it. However, if you find a mystery cord and don’t want to throw it away, wrap it up nicely and wrap a rubber a band around it. Then, place it in a zip-top bag with others. Group as many wires together as you can. Wires and cords that connect your TV, stereo, or video game console can usually be grouped together. Then, grab a zip tie and tie the cords together. This makes your area look more organized and helps you hide the cords. Once you’ve gathered up any loose items, clean your cleared-off surfaces and the floor. Dust first and wipe off every surface, starting at the top and working your way down. Then it’s time to sweep, vacuum, and mop.  If you haven’t cleaned the baseboards in a while, now is a good time to do it. Having clean baseboards will really help the room look neat and tidy. Don’t forget your ceiling fan and lamps. Also, make sure to dust behind your TV and consoles, and your Wi-Fi routers. Sweep next to remove any fallen dust and get any dirt off the floor. Make sure to get every corner and under all your furniture, especially your couch and consoles. Once you’ve swept away the cobwebs, vacuum to pick up anything else, and then mop the area to really clean it. Place all the items you wish to keep back into your living space. Group similar items together and in areas where you are likely to use that item. Store your extra items like your blankets or pillows together but out of sight, either in a bin or a closet if you have one nearby. If you have a floating couch, one that isn’t against a wall, you can add a storage console behind it to store your extra items as well.

Summary: Create a sorting system. Clear off flat surfaces. Add decorative and functional storage. Get rid of things you no longer use. Consolidate wires. Dust, sweep, vacuum, and mop your surfaces and floor. Bring the items you want to keep back into your room.


Here it is: 22(x+3) + 9 - 5 = 32 Remember the order of operations: PEMDAS, which stands for Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication/Division, and Addition/Subtraction. You can't resolve the parentheses first because x is in the parentheses, so you should start with the exponent, 22. 22 = 4 4(x+3) + 9 - 5 = 32 Just distribute the 4 into (x +3). Here's how: 4x + 12 + 9 - 5 = 32 Just add or subtract the remaining numbers. Here's how:  4x+21-5 = 32 4x+16 = 32 4x + 16 - 16 = 32 - 16 4x = 16 To do this, just divide both sides of the equation by 4 to find x. 4x/4 = x and 16/4 = 4, so x = 4.  4x/4 = 16/4 x = 4 Just plug x = 4 back into the original equation to make sure that it checks out. Here's how:  22(x+3)+ 9 - 5 = 32 22(4+3)+ 9 - 5 = 32 22(7) + 9 - 5 = 32 4(7) + 9 - 5 = 32 28 + 9 - 5 = 32 37 - 5 = 32 32 = 32
Summary: Write down the problem. Resolve the exponent. Do the multiplication. Do the addition and subtraction. Isolate the variable. Check your work.