SHARON TOWNSHIP, Ohio To say Jim May built his own house doesn't quite do the project justice.

You know what spring cleaning gets you?

Safety is first. Here are the keys to choosing effective door locks, plus smart advice on keeping your bike locked up tight, from Woman's Day magazine.

SAPPORO, Japan A fire killed seven residents of a nursing home for elderly people with dementia, in Kita Ward, Sapporo, early Saturday morning, police said.

LOS ANGELES Prolific songwriter and "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi's Spanish-style home in the Hollywood Hills is on the market at $1,649,000.

Buying a new sofa - one of the largest and most-used pieces of furniture in your home, the scene of much reading, TV-watching, snoozing and everything else-ing - is not a task to take on lightly.

DETROIT Sondra Malone, 35, bought a house in Eastpointe, Mich., in 2005 with an adjustable-rate mortgage. The $1,200-a-month payment on the house, along with high heating bills, an expensive SUV payment and other family expenses, quickly buried her in debt.

As I got out of the car for the garden tour there it was, Mona Lavender, I could recognize that electrifying lavender blue anywhere. Actually as I looked beyond I could see that the gardener has used the plant in several locations giving a spiky eye catching interest in her combinations.

DETROIT With home prices expected to keep falling in many parts of the country, experts said finding a fix for the underwater crisis will be difficult. Banks can't afford to bail out homeowners without another bailout from the government. Even if federal help comes - either for the homeowner directly or for banks - taxpayers ultimately will be on the hook for the debt. Do nothing, and homeowners and communities continue to suffer.

Your home should rise up to greet you, lifestyle experts are forever preaching. Sprucing up the stairway is a simple start.