5 Easy Ways to Refresh Your Home For Spring

Let Spring In! After the dark days and frigid nights of winter, it's only natural to want some change. Here are 5 no-cost ways to bring spring into your home in just a few minutes.

1. Move your art around... maybe even put a few decorative pieces away until fall. This can be figurines, sculptures, paintings, vases. You will see it all with fresh eyes
2. Clean. Don't hate me for this one - but as you clean your space you will engage with it, discover old favourites, and uncover things that are broken, old or just disliked. Get rid of anything you don't consider useful or beautiful. It's an old standard... but it can't be beat.
3. Change your bed linens. Keep a winter and summer duvet - changing to lighter weights and fresher colours will feel right as the season changes. It will also help your sleep. Take this change-over time as opportunity to wash your pillows and duvets. You don't have to have lots of linens and cushions - just put away excess and keep your sleeping space airy and light.
4. Ditch the throws, dark rich colours, and heavy slipcovers in the living room. Store away the layers that make the room feel 'cozy'. Cycle in things that remind you of spring and summer from other rooms - Add just a few clear glass vases, statues, a mirror all in fresh light colours... be creative and let your inner designer out.
5. Roll up the rugs. I love rugs - dark, wool, rich and luxe. But their time is fall, winter and early spring. Summer is the time for bare floors or light rugs. Store your rugs for fall... and they will feel loved and cozy when they come out of hiding!

All except the cleaning can be done in an afternoon... and will make your whole home feel fresh and light. These are small changes but make big impact because they make you look at your space with new eyes.

If you want to splash out and spend just a few dollars consider these - fresh flowers (potted or cut), new hand towels in spring colours for your powder room or main bathroom, 2-3 cushion covers to brighten up cushions you already have and love, and fresh scented hand-soaps.

When the weather is finally warm and fresh, fling open the windows and let the breeze fill your home with spring!

Luscious Lavender

This aromatic herb is one of my all-time fave plants! Did you know that lavender naturally repels ants and small rodents? Plant some English lavender (more winter hardy) near the house and let it works it's magic! It grows in poor, dry soil as long as it has lots of sun.

Image ~ Pixabay

 Besides its wonderful organic pest control properties, lavender flowers are easy to harvest, dry and hand in little sachets in closets as natural air-fresheners.

Perfect Ice Cubes

Remember I posted about uses for extra-boiling water? Well, here's one that is so cool it's ice cold. Ice cubes!

Did you know that boiled water makes clear ice cubes?

Why on earth would a Lazy Housekeeper need to be making clear ice cubes? Why take the time? Well, if you entertain for the holidays or just about anytime, ice cubes are a no-fuss, extra-easy way to look like a domestic diva.

Here are some ideas to get you started....

• Freeze cranberries into ice cubes for holiday sangria or mixed drinks
• Freeze a single coffee bean into ice cubes for an iced coffee drink (or anything with Baileys)
• Freeze grapes into ice cubes for grape juice, or fruits for fruit punch
• Use food colouring for coloured ice cubes for themes

Let your imagination run wild and come up with your own great ideas. I'd love to hear what genius ideas you came up with!

Painting the Front Door

Whether you are a Potter fan and it's butter-beer, a teetotaler and it's the level of caffeination of your coffee, or you pour yourself a martini like I did, painting the door while it's still hung will make you want a strong drink! Despite being a small surface it's a more complex job.

Why do I always think it's easier than it is?

Here are my tips for painting your front door.

• Choose a paint wisely - make sure you take into consideration the colour of the house materials, the soffits, the light (how strong?), the style of the home (deep colours and traditional tones suit formal, some colours are more 'country'). If you like feng shui, choose with the direction of the door in mind. Paint a board to see if you like the colour on something larger than a paint chip, if you like. Custom a colour if you like - I once had the paint shop make the brown colour I wanted but reduce the 'red' quotient in the composition to 0 - so the door didn't look pinky in the afternoon light. Whatever you favour, take your time choosing so you don't have to paint twice. You will thank me.
• Can you remove your door? If you can, and can paint it on a horizontal surface (like a table or a workhorse) for a period of a day, that would be easiest and best. It will minimize drips and tricky angles.Start early, and do both coats in one day - with a couple extra hours of drying time in between coats than the paint can says (for good curing) and no chance of smudges.
• Can the hardware be removed? If so, do it. If you really don't want to and have the most simple 'round' door knobs, great. If it's anything fancy or intricate, and can't be taped off easily, it's a big ugly mess. I made that mess... I know.

Say you are like me and need to paint the door in place (don't want the kitties to get out or bugs to get in). There are a few things you can do to try to make this go better.

• Paint on a day when the humidity is at a reasonable level so it dries quickly. Don't paint on a windy day because you risk getting dust and dirt in your nice paint. Outdoor painting always needs to be done at a temp of 11C or higher.
• Wash the door with a non-residue cleanser and let it dry fully before painting.
• Tape off the windows, handles etc. I use the green painters tape - it's worth the little extra effort for a better finish. 
• Choose your weapons (aka implements) carefully. A smaller angled paintbrush or a dense foam roller are my faves for this type of job. The shinier your paint finish (I choose a satin because my door is in the shade - and that is shiny!), the more it will show brush strokes or errors. I went with a small dense roller.
• Paint in one direction whenever possible - you will get a more even coat and finish.
• You will need to have the door open while painting so put down newspaper or drop-cloth on both sides of the door to protect porch and floor. I put something heavy behind the door so it won't move when I paint with the roller.
• Begin with the parts of the door that fit into the frame when it's closed. Those will be in contact with the frame when you close the door later, so you need them to be good and dry. I'm careful and only paint these areas once - because they won't show as much and don't need to be loaded with paint.
• I always keep paper towels and warm water handy... I clean messes or mistakes as I go so they don't have the chance to get dry and hard to remove.
• I painted one coat one day and left it a good 4hrs curing time before closing the door and touching it, then painted the second coat the next day and left it the same amount of time.

Done! Martini in hand, I swear I will never paint a front door again. Until next time, of course! 

This lovely home is not my own - but we now share similar front door colours (photo - pixabay)

Sparkling Silver

Cutlery tips in time for the family-gathering season!

image ~ pixabay

I've recently learned that you can't wash stainless steel and silver cutlery in the dishwasher at the same time because there is a chemical reaction between the metals which will damage the silver pieces by pitting their surfaces. It's called galvanic corrosion. What? But then, if you have a great set of silver (real silver) you aren't just going to put them in the dishwasher are you?

This is the good stuff. Silver. Or silver-plated. From your grandmother... or your grandmother's grandmother. (Apparently my grandmothers were out buying clothes instead of cutlery, so I don't have these.) These cutlery sets are precious and are likely to scuff, so hand wash them in reasonably hot water, and don't put them in multiples in a drip-dry basket. They will scratch and scuff with heavy use, so just hand dry them with microfiber or cotton.

If you want to baby them, put some aluminum foil  in the bottom of a flat cake pan, add enough warm water to cover the cutlery, add some baking soda (about 1-2 teaspoons), and let them soak for 10 minutes. Then rinse before hand drying them to sparkling perfection. Yes - elbow grease is needed with polishing silver. Store this set in one of the fancy 'tarnish-resistant chests' or silverware bags.

Unless you are a masochist, you are not going to use this good set very often. Or you are a real housekeeper - not in the same LAZY-league as me.

Dishwasher Proof Cutlery

What? Isn't all cutlery dishwasher safe? Sort of.

There's the 'good set'. I have one and I'll bet you do too. This is the set you pull out for visitors. If these are stainless steel, they can go in the dishwasher but you will get some scuffing over time. I prefer to hand-wash because I love my forged set and rarely use it. 

Next, and this is what this post is all about; the everyday cutlery or flatware. These are the unsung heroes of your kitchen, the hardest workers, utensils you use every couple of hours, and tools you don't give a moment's thought to. However if you are buying new daily-use cutlery, take the time to do some homework. Get it right and then don't think about it again.

When you are buying your everyday cutlery:

• Pick a style that is simple and elegant, suits where you often eat or entertain the people for non-occasions. Pick up each piece and see what the 'feel' is like. You will use it every day so consider things like how comfortable they are to hold, are the spoon bowls big enough, are the knives balanced well, how easy will they be to eat with;
• Ornate styles have the least amount of flexibility for various plate styles and table settings but if everything you have is formal and you love it, go for it ;
• A nicely weighted set is a pleasure to use. This is where there is a bump in cost. Perfection isn't mandatory - choose what feels good to you and you'll always enjoy using it. Choose for YOU - you will use it the most, you will enjoy it, and you're worth it! 
• Choose 'satin' over 'shiny' finishes 100% if you use a dishwasher! A shiny silvery finish will scratch and scuff easily in daily use and look older and worn much sooner than a satin-matte;
• Learn what 18/10 is and stick to it: it is a tried-and-true standard for looks and wear. I'm geek enough to know it's a ratio of the metals which compose the stainless steel (chromium : nickel, or strength : shine). You want both and 18/10 is the perfect proportion of strength and beauty. A manufacturer spending the extra to produce a great set will brag about it. If it doesn't say it's 18/10, it's not.

image ~ pixabay

TIP: Don't let anything acid sit on your cutlery for long periods (everyday, special occasion, or other!) - tomatoes, vinegar, lemon juice, citrus fruits and salad dressings, coffee are all acids. These will discolor and permanently stain your stainless steel if left on. What this means (unfortunately) is that you should rinse cutlery immediately after meals and THEN put them into the dishwasher. This genuinely runs against every LAZY bone in my body, but is also the reason I was thinking of cutlery today. I went to the computer to figure out how I'd stained my daily set. Now I know... and so do you.

Travel Prep (Toiletries)

Is this housekeeping? I say yes - it's getting your travel bag ready to go and this saves tons of time during the year. Whether you manage to get away for a two days, 7 days, or a month, having the things you need ready to go gives you more flexibility and confidence traveling. It also means you are ready to go if your life gets exciting and a fab opportunity comes up

Run, don't walk, to your nearest beauty counter! This is the season most prestige cosmetics companies wait for to launch their new products, offer special deals, and most of all, to offer a GWP. The GWP (gift with purchase) is an industry standard for the big cosmetic lines which is decades old. It's a win-win situation where you go to buy a mid-to-high price product from their line, and with it they give you a bonus. They often offer a cosmetics bag perfect for your purse or for travel and they offer trial sizes of colour and care cosmetics.

This practice makes this time of the year the best time to shimmy up to the counter, buy something you love and use, and get to try a bunch of new treats. In doing this, you can get a new/replacement cosmetic bag and travel sizes of cosmetic goodies.

So take this time to pull out that travel cosmetics bag, empty the contents, and clear out the old, broken, or shabby and replace with the new. My tips are these:

• I buy doubles of my most-used cosmetics - so one is in my bathroom, and the new one is in my travel bag. Of course I rotate when my daily-use one wears out to keep the stock 'fresh'. For me this means translucent powder, concealer, lip-liner and mascara. I change lipsticks too often to keep doubles! What would you take if stranded on a desert island with your hottie of choice?
• I keep two bags - one small one for colour cosmetics I'd need in a week or two away, and one for toiletries such as cleansers, toner, cotton pads, folding hair-brush, fave travel toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, etc.
• I keep my little bags packed and ready which means I can throw them into a weekender bag or a suitcase at a moment's notice and not have to even think about what's in it. I love the hanging toiletries bags precisely because you can hang then when you don't have counter space. But, I prefer taking my 2 separate bags because they are easier to pack and take less space.
• I keep a typed list of what goes in my cosmetic bag (it varies for each person) so I can print and refer to this list as I pack, but also take the list to make notes while I'm traveling - what to take (or what not to take) next time. You think of things in the moment when you need them and forget them on return!
• I always keep my eyes open for space/time saver items I can add to my travel bag - it's a little game for me.

I know we don't often have the opportunity to get away for a weekend, jet off to an exotic locale, or even manage a week in the tropics, but shouldn't we always be ready to go? I say we make our own adventure ... so be ready and be open!

Bon Voyage!

Dishwasher Cleaning

Silly as it may sound, this is a reminder that your dishwasher needs to be cleaned now and then.

It's so fast and Lazy, you'll want to do this! Check and clean the food trap at the bottom. Then just run a regular cycle without adding any dishes. About 10 minutes after it's started, throw in 1-2 cups of cheap white vinegar. (If you put in the vinegar at the beginning, it just drains away. If you add vinegar with soap, they neutralize because one is acid and one is alkaline so the vinegar doesn't do the best job it can)

The vinegar freshens and cleans the dishwasher. Done!

Like the live dangerously?  Do the following disinfecting clean with caution... since these chemicals cause a reaction and a potentially deadly gas if mixed. Since the bottom of your dishwasher sees so much food drips and remnants, before starting the cleaning cycle, splash about 1/4 cup bleach mixed with 2 cups water into the bottom and let it enter the drain. Start the dishwasher, and 10 minutes in, add the vinegar. Since the dishwasher should drain the bleach away, the bleach and vinegar should not have had contact. If your dishwasher does not drain before starting, this is dangerous... don't do it.

Paint Can Do's

I hate a messy paint can, but I don’t mind doing some painting of my own. It’s almost the only DIY I feel I can competently do and have professional looking results.

Here are a few tips for keeping your CAN from becoming a goopy mess:

• When you open your paint can, you can use a little plastic implement (about $3) to snap onto the lip of the paint can to help pour out the paint. If you use this, you don’t get runs down the can, and there is no paint in the lip of the can. It is easily washed and it can be used again and again. I've had mine for about 10 years - no kidding.
  

  

  image www.flexiproducts.com

• Closing the can is easy with a rubber mallet. Who has these? I don’t, but I used a hammer on my rubber garden slippers to properly close a paint can by gently tapping all around the lid. Closed well, I’ve used paint from 5-8 years after first buying it. And yes… you want to keep your paints for any scuffs or marks that may come in the years ahead. Even if you had the colour mixed again, there would be a slight difference in the batch.

• If you are painting with a brush, put a rubber band lengthwise around the can to be able to wipe excess paint when painting. It keeps the lip of the can paint and clump free. This is a Martha idea… and I tried it last week. It’s definitely a ‘good thing’ I will always use moving forward.

  

  image origin unknown - likely Martha

Here are a few more handy paint tips:

• If you need a lot of paint for a project, get all the cans mixed at one time – to avoid batch colour differences.
• To be extra careful for colour match, pour the multiple cans into a huge plastic bucket and stir fully so you blend them before painting your walls.
• Buy good quality rollers… cheap rollers often leave lint in the paint. What you can do is roll your roller with a pet-fur sticky roll before using it. This removes bits of lose ‘fluff’
• If you want a clean line, use the painter’s tape. (I don't know about you but my hand gets shaky and tired after a little while, so my free-hand lines are not acceptable.) Paint one stroke parallel along the tape edge before painting the wall to avoiding bleeding. That first little bit of paint on the tape edge ‘seals’ the edge.
• Keep a bowl of water and some paper towels always handy – almost everything is latex paint now and it’s easy to fix a mistake if you do it immediately with a damp paper towel
• Keeping a ‘wet edge’ really does work to give a streak-free, uniform, professional finish
• I don’t care how ‘good’ new paints are – I think a second coat is needed to give a flawless finish. I let my first coat dry for a day before I do the second… lots of drying and curing time and a lot less marking or scuffing. 
• Remember I said 'keep the paint'? Buy cheap little paint brushes from the dollar store and use them to stipple scuff marks that can't be cleaned with water and sponge. They are so inexpensive, you can just throw them out after each use. Another 'Martha gem' I remember from ages ago is to pour some of each of your paints in clean, dry baby food jars. You can see the colours easily and they are handy for small fixes. If your colours are similar, label the jars with a sharpie. To keep them from drying out, store them upside down so no air seeps in.  
• Store your paints in the basement - the garage gets too cold. The wide variance in temperatures and humidity experienced in the garage will  not be good for the paint longevity.

Spring-Cleaning the Kitchen

Today I cleaned my kitchen. Deep cleaning, spring cleaning, and organizing my kitchen.

If I am very honest I will have to say that this is a day-before-yesterday, yesterday, and today job. I haven't wanted to dedicate the entire day to cleaning, but I have put 2-3 productive hours each day into it and it's now done. It's not rocket-science, but it is a Big Job. And yes, it does deserve those capital letters. Every single thing in every single drawer or cupboard was taken out, assessed, cleaned, and put back. With a little re-organizing of course!

First I cleaned my normal kitchen-clean so that my surfaces were clean and ready to handle things coming out of the cupboards. I worked 'one at a time' (you won't believe how much fits in one!) and from left to right, top to bottom. I washed each cupboard as I went, and while one was drying, I'd begin to empty the next one.

My spouse does all the shopping and cooking so the kitchen is a bit of a battleground for us. Well, more like an uneasy peace. I do the cleaning in the house. And the organizing. And the decorating. So in the kitchen, two worlds collide. I've retained his placements of pots, pans, and implements. We are both strong-minded (two leos, both strong signs in the Chinese zodiac, and both smart-@sses). It took him visiting his parents for a few days for me to tackle this job.

Here are a few tips if you do yours:

• Use a cleaner without a residue, so you waste no time in re-washing things, surfaces etc
• Throw out anything broken. If it's not working, it's just clutter. If there is something you genuinely love and it's broken, get it fixed immediately so you can enjoy using it again. Don't put it away until it's fixed.
• Ditch any past-date foods, sauces, cans etc - this is the perfect time to check those things that get pushed to the back. Any foods you have bought and not used and don't need that are within date can surely be used by a food bank.
• If you never use something, maybe it needs to go. I am donating my bread-maker, napkin rings, big salad spinner, and one set of martini glasses - do I really need 3 sizes of martini? Do not feel bad about giving away gifts - these are guilt-anchors around your neck. Donate them to a cat-shelter garage sale or to a friend who will use it, and it will feel good. 
• Do you have multiples of things like kitchen scissors, wine bottle openers, serving sets? We tend to re-buy things we can't find or are unhappy with. Keep the one you like the most, throw out the broken ones, and donate the rest.
• Do things collect? I have a big ziplock full of soy-sauce from take-out. And a big ziplock full of unused freebie plastic utensils that also come with take-out. Why do I keep these?? Find places where this will be appreciated and just let these go. (Turns out my mom and aunt sometimes use soy for stir-fry's but don't often buy soy sauce. The office lunch room is always short of plastic utensils). Whatever your collections of excess are, let them go to be used.
• Keep a pen and pad convenient and list things you genuinely need to buy. Last time I did this, I went to the store for an armload of plastic trays and baskets. They have worked wonderfully to keep things neat and allow me to wash them so easily if there are spills etc.  This year my list was short... only about 4 small plastic trays and some rubber drawer-liners. It's tempting to buy all sorts of organizing tools, but if they don't get used, then they become part of the clutter problem.
• As you work, keep considering what can make your use of the space easier or more efficient. Keep your most used things close at hand and near where they are used. The biggest change for me was being able to finally put all my glassware together and in the cabinet closest to the table - this will absolutely make a difference. I'm going to put some thought into a built-in lazy-susan for the lower corner cupboard (you know which one!) It would require some construction and that space is not a real problem so I've got to think it through.

What's lazy about all this? It's lazy because I love creating a system that works. Time and effort up front means that for the next 2 years I will save a little time and frustration every single day because things just work. You know the system and placement of things work if things are exactly where you expect them to be, you spend no time searching, you don't have to constantly work to re-organize things. Lazy-smarts? I hope you think so!