I have been using this method in my kitchen for 3 years (only in the winter. I use an outside compost bin the rest of the year.)Bokashi works good. It does not smell bad, just a little pickle smell when you open it to care for it or add garbage. I try not to open it too often so I accumulate my garbage in a large plastic container that I keep in the frig. and when that gets full I put it in the pail, stir on the surface, and add another cup of bokashi on top . I cover the fermenting garbage with double thick wax paper and each time I add garbage I push down on the top of the pile to get excess air out and make more room .Bokashi will also do meat and dairy. It's not like decomposition. These kind of bacteria do not smell bad. Once it starts cooking (about 10 days) you start to drain off the "tea." There is a spigot onthe bottom of the containers I use. This is very strong stuff. You can use it for fertilizer if you are careful not to use more then the instructions recommend. When I fill one 5 gallon container, I start on my second one and that lasts me till April, when I dig trenches in my veg garden and bury it. One thing is for sure. I sure get huge productive plants. You need to buy the bokashi mix which is wheat bran, molasses, and has the good bacteria in it. When I set my full one on my porch to wait for april, I just drain it now and then from the spigot so that excess tea doesn't back up into the mixture. If you order a container made for this (I bought mine on the internet.) I use http://www.scdworld.com/product.cfm?product_id=030204 because it's the cheapest and the fastest delivery Here is a link that might be useful: Find Bokashi Supplies

For most trades it's beneficial to them as well as you to stay as close to the work area as possible to save some steps and keep the project at hand and rolling smooth. Sometimes it can be taken outdoors or in a garage area but for the most part, there are elements that require it to be done in place. This means dusts and debris. A good tradesperson will do a quick,daily clean up getting set up for the next day and at the end of the project, do a respectfully decent clean up of the area concerned. It's common courtesy for the client as well as the trades coming in behind them and shows professionalism. You have to expect a certain amount of mess and not all trades people are going to show respect by picking up after them selves. It's the nature of the beast. You should focus your efforts on working things out with your builder "friend" and not sweat the small stuff such as cleaning up after a sloppy sub. I have a friend who did the most clean finish carpentry work i've seen as far as tight joints,clean cuts, right on detailing, but was the biggest slob as far as cleaning up after himself. Finish carpenters are typically clean, organized trades people, but as in my friends case, not always. Your concern should really dial in on the workmanship of the stairs as that is what you will be living with. The dust will get cleaned up one way or another and is a miniscule concern, imho.

I would like to know some advise for buying furniture directly from overseas? Happy to provide my opinions. 1.How much do you need to pay for the custom stuff for 20' container in your country? Not sure what you're asking. You can name your price depending on the quality and complication you will settle for. All Asian furniture bought directly from the Asian factory is paid for before it leaves the factory. 20' container is small. You will have problems with a factory that doesn't think you can do enough business. 2.What kind of after-sales service do you usually get if you buy from your country. In the U.S. and Canada we expect proper service and resolution to reasonable problems. If necessary we can go to court. Of course in Asia that is not realistic. 3.What is the rate of the tax? Don't know what the import duties are, however, for bedroom furniture it can be quite high unless you protest and win. 4.Wooden furniture would need to be disinfected, so how much would you need to pay? The wood needs to be treated first before anything else is done to it. Once the furniture is made its too late to treat the wood. I know of several companies who lost a lot of money because their Asian factory skipped this step to save a few pennies. 5.Besides custom staff, tax, what else do you need to pay for importing furniture? If yes, how much for each items? You probably need to hire quality control inspectors to regularly monitor the factory. You need to spend money on catalogs and trade shows to promote your products to store buyers. Plan on frequent travel within the US as well to make additional visits to store buyers. Some furniture will arrive damaged or with missing parts. You will need to maintain a warehouse for replacement parts or your dealers will make deductions from future payments to cover the costs of repairs and missing parts. 6.Would you like to try to buy directly from overseas, why or why not? No way. Unless you can do a lot of volume, you will eventually lose all your money. Thanks so much for your kind attention and comments. I take pleasure to lend an attentive ear to your idea or suggestions for the points mentioned above, as I plan to retail furniture to overseas. I would like to see wheather it will work or not. Thanks. You have many competitors now, and the retail furniture sector is in a major recession. In fact, I would call it a depression. My advice would be to attend the international furniture trade show in Las Vegas in January and see what your competitors are offering. There are many business opportunities for an Asian entrepreneur in this economy. Furniture is probably the worst. Why would you choose furniture?

Thanks a ton for the precautionary comments, James. I'm installing 12 new cabinets in a rental house and doing the installation myself. I'm trying to keep price under $2500. Got a quote for $2000 for Shrock oak / Delmont arch / chestnut finish and after spending 25 hours visiting 10 websites and Lowes and Home Depot and Menards and Hobo I was ready to go with Shrock from Menards as a best value for the money pick as they included 24% upgrade for all wood / plywood construction. Other choice was a ready to assemble set from instockcabinets.com for $2400 or similar cabinets from Lowes Diamond Prelude Halifax Oak Square for $2400. Since Schrock and Diamond and Thomasville are all made in Jasper Ind by parent company Mastercraft is there any difference between them? Should I scratch all three? After all of this time researching I need to get these cabinets ordered in a couple days so I can finish the kitchen remodel before I start teaching again in 6 weeks. If anyone has any helpful advice please call me asap at 847-502-0190 as I'll have to make a decision shortly and live with it for a decade or more. I'm using Allure vinyl flooring tiles from Home Depot and granite countertop from discount granite shop on Allanson rd in Mundelein. Any advice on the Allure tile product? Thanks!!!!!! brian