"First. Go around every room, drawer, and closet in the house, and see what is out of order, and what needs to be done, and make arrangements as to time and manner of doing it." ~ Catharine Beecher & Harriet Stowe, The New Housekeeper's Manual, 1873 The first step in our "Odds and Ends Series" for our monthly home maintenance has been completed. How about you, did you go through the house last month and see what was out of order and what needed to be done? Did you make up a list? Here is what I came up with. In cases like these, it is a blessing to live in a smaller home! (Ms. Beecher also suggested making arrangements on when to accomplish these tasks. And I have done that as well... whenever I had the time!) Items were completed prior to month-end so that the next monthly home maintenance can be made on schedule (and hopefully with little effort now that the "machinery is moving easily and well" to quote her once again). Note: This is not to be confused with a spring cleaning. This is more of a monthly organizational upkeep and maintenance of your inventory of household goods to make your home run smoothly. Like our Victorian Era ancestors, we will also try to add some special homemaking touches along the way. 1. The Living Room ~ Straighten up the bookshelves. Our living room is kept in pretty decent order at all times. It is the entrance and therefore the first impression one gets when walking into our home. We like it to be tidy so that hospitality is always available. The one thing that needs constant maintenance is the straightening up of our many bookshelves since they are constantly being used. We like to keep all the series grouped together and keep the larger books to the sides of the bookshelf since they are the strongest. From each of the two sides, we place books in size order so that by the time we get to the middle (the weakest part of the shelves), it will contain the lighter books. The heaviest of books get placed on the bottom shelves along with some wicker baskets full of blocks and puzzles. Little Touches: When I completed my task, I surveyed the scene... I rotated the cushions on the couch, fluffed up the pillows and clipped a little bouquet to place on our fireplace mantle. What needs to be done in your Living Room? 2. Kitchen ~ Organize refrigerator. The kitchen is the most used room in the house and it is important to me that it is also kept in order (if you want to maintain sanity). The one thing that is hard to keep up with is the ever changing contents of the refrigerator. At least one a month, we try and asses the situation, regroup the contents and remove anything old (hopefully we have been vigilant and there isn't much loss). Little Touches ~ We regrouped our glass canisters to give a cleaner appearance and placed our kombucha bottles in the pantry for a less cluttery look. In the past our monthly maintenance required us to organize our silverware and utensils, to organize our bakeware and organize our pantry with some pretty labels. What needs to be done in your kitchen? 3. The Bathroom ~ Restock supplies such as toilet paper, cotton balls, q-tips, shampoo/conditioner. Our bathroom stays in decent order. We keep our excess toiletries in plastic "dollar store" baskets in our shelf behind our "skirt" curtain where we also store our stash of "bathroom inventory". There wasn't much to do besides check our supplies and restock said items. Little Touches ~ We changed the shower curtain. This is something we do every season to freshen up our surroundings. Whenever I find a pretty shower curtain on clearance or second hand (under $5), I add it to our collection (we don't wallpaper or remodel in our home so this is the closest I get to re-decorating). I also made a batch of lavender room spray for the bathroom. What needs to be done in your bathroom(s)? 4. The Master Bedroom ~ Organize under the bed storage bags, clean out wardrobe of unseasonal clothing that was left behind, organize my personal space in wardrobe such as books, essential oils and toiletries. We keep our room clutter free as it is very small. It has our bed, our wardrobe, a yard-long picture of roses, and a small table by the bedside. With that being said, there isn't much to maintain besides some small organizational projects of the areas I mentioned. Little Touches ~ I made some simple and sweet sachets (we will share these in the future). With our humid climate, we can get a musty smell so I am continually airing out the wardrobes. The sachets will add a nice fragrance and freshen everything up. What needs to be done in your master bedroom? 5. Children's Bedroom ~ Evaluate what can be done about lack of storage and attempt to remedy (our home has no built in closets), remove clothing that no longer fits, organize bookcase, pack up younger aged books and place in storage, fine tune odds and ends. We were able to find a broken antique wardrobe at an auction house for a small price (my husband revived it with a few extra nails and inserted additional shelves). My daughter painted the closet (inside and out) and we added some pretty glass knobs. This really helped to organize the room better now that everything is tucked inside a closet. We also straightened up the bookshelves and removed items that are no longer in use (such as small clothing, etc.). Little Touches ~ We layed rose-printed shelf paper inside all of the drawers. It looks lovely inside! What needs to be done in your children's room? Here are some printable labels to help you organize their room in case you need some inspiration. 6. Laundry Room ~ Refurbish supplies of laundry solutions, organize under laundry station, fine tune operation. The laundry room had gotten pretty grimy since it is near the mudroom off the house. I did do some spring cleaning in there and fine tuned my operation. I prepared larger batches of fabric softener, changed out some of the canister jars and prepared an area exclusively for kitchen linens so that those can be washed separately when I have a loads worth (before I had to dig them out from the main laundry in the laundry basket, now they go directly in their own pile in the laundry room). Little Touches ~ We refreshed our laundry room and will share this in a separate post since laundry rooms are so fun! Here is a look at the laundry room before which also includes some printable organizational labels in case you are interested. What needs to be done in your laundry area? 7. Garage/Mudroom ~ Organize and relabel any storage boxes which lacked labels. We made sure all the labels were visible and the area is orderly (so hubby is happy). Items that haven't been used should be donated or given to someone who can use them. I have learned that if you aren't sure about an item, place it in a box with the date. If you haven't used it in over a year when you happen upon it again, then it is time to say "goodbye". 8. Spare Room/School Room/Office (all in one) ~ (work in process, no photo) This is a new addition for us so we are slowly organizing it into an efficient space where we can homeschool, do projects and keep the home office. Now it is your turn! Are you ready to assess your situation? Victorian Era author, Ms. Catharine Beecher, had given us 7 steps to home management success (found here). Here is what we have shared on our "Odds and Ends" Monthly Home Maintenance Series (note that some steps were placed together and altered to make for modern day needs): Complete Steps in Series: Step #1 ~ What Needs to Be Done in Your Home? Step #2 ~ Restocking the Cleaning Closet Step #2, 3, 5, 6 ~ Examining the Store-Closet, Pantry, Cellar and Such Step #4 ~ Examining the "Table Linens" Step #4 ~ Examining the "Bed Linens" Step #7 Examining the Toolbox and/or "Junk Drawer" Checklist for Preparing Your Own Maintenance: "Odds and Ends" Monthly Home Maintenance ~ Printable Checklist You will find more home organization ideas here if you are interested. "A housekeeper who will have a regular time for attending to these particulars will find her whole family machinery moving easily and well; but one who does not, will constantly be finding something out of joint, and an unquiet, secret apprehension of duties left undone or forgotten, which no other method will so effectually remove." ~ Catharine Beecher & Harriet Stowe, The New Housekeeper's Manual, 1873 This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Homestead Barn Hop, Amaze Me Monday, Monday's Musings, Marriage Monday, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Raising Homemakers, Make Bake Create, Wise Woman Link Up, Wow Us Wednesdays, Wildcrafting Wednesday, The Scoop, Coffee and Conversation, So Much at Home, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Hearts for Home Thursdays, Growing in Grace Thursdays, Home Acre Hop, From the Farm Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Simple Meals Friday, Cultivate Nourishing and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. Painting by George Goodwin Kilburne.
Nearly a year ago I did a roundup of 10 free crochet patterns that you can make with 10 yards of yarn. And recently I got a request for even more ideas! Well you know I love requests, and who doesn't love a tiny pattern to use up odds and ends? So here you have it: 10 more free crochet patterns that use 10 yards of yarn - or less! 10 Free Crochet Patterns Using 10 Yards of Yarn: Little Karla Girl by Vanja Grundmann, on Amigurumi BB's Blog: How adorable are these tiny crochet dolls?! At only 7-8 cm
"First. Go around every room, drawer, and closet in the house, and see what is out of order, and what needs to be done, and make arrangements as to time and manner of doing it." ~ Catharine Beecher & Harriet Stowe, The New Housekeeper's Manual, 1873 The first step in our "Odds and Ends Series" for our monthly home maintenance has been completed. How about you, did you go through the house last month and see what was out of order and what needed to be done? Did you make up a list? Here is what I came up with. In cases like these, it is a blessing to live in a smaller home! (Ms. Beecher also suggested making arrangements on when to accomplish these tasks. And I have done that as well... whenever I had the time!) Items were completed prior to month-end so that the next monthly home maintenance can be made on schedule (and hopefully with little effort now that the "machinery is moving easily and well" to quote her once again). Note: This is not to be confused with a spring cleaning. This is more of a monthly organizational upkeep and maintenance of your inventory of household goods to make your home run smoothly. Like our Victorian Era ancestors, we will also try to add some special homemaking touches along the way. 1. The Living Room ~ Straighten up the bookshelves. Our living room is kept in pretty decent order at all times. It is the entrance and therefore the first impression one gets when walking into our home. We like it to be tidy so that hospitality is always available. The one thing that needs constant maintenance is the straightening up of our many bookshelves since they are constantly being used. We like to keep all the series grouped together and keep the larger books to the sides of the bookshelf since they are the strongest. From each of the two sides, we place books in size order so that by the time we get to the middle (the weakest part of the shelves), it will contain the lighter books. The heaviest of books get placed on the bottom shelves along with some wicker baskets full of blocks and puzzles. Little Touches: When I completed my task, I surveyed the scene... I rotated the cushions on the couch, fluffed up the pillows and clipped a little bouquet to place on our fireplace mantle. What needs to be done in your Living Room? 2. Kitchen ~ Organize refrigerator. The kitchen is the most used room in the house and it is important to me that it is also kept in order (if you want to maintain sanity). The one thing that is hard to keep up with is the ever changing contents of the refrigerator. At least one a month, we try and asses the situation, regroup the contents and remove anything old (hopefully we have been vigilant and there isn't much loss). Little Touches ~ We regrouped our glass canisters to give a cleaner appearance and placed our kombucha bottles in the pantry for a less cluttery look. In the past our monthly maintenance required us to organize our silverware and utensils, to organize our bakeware and organize our pantry with some pretty labels. What needs to be done in your kitchen? 3. The Bathroom ~ Restock supplies such as toilet paper, cotton balls, q-tips, shampoo/conditioner. Our bathroom stays in decent order. We keep our excess toiletries in plastic "dollar store" baskets in our shelf behind our "skirt" curtain where we also store our stash of "bathroom inventory". There wasn't much to do besides check our supplies and restock said items. Little Touches ~ We changed the shower curtain. This is something we do every season to freshen up our surroundings. Whenever I find a pretty shower curtain on clearance or second hand (under $5), I add it to our collection (we don't wallpaper or remodel in our home so this is the closest I get to re-decorating). I also made a batch of lavender room spray for the bathroom. What needs to be done in your bathroom(s)? 4. The Master Bedroom ~ Organize under the bed storage bags, clean out wardrobe of unseasonal clothing that was left behind, organize my personal space in wardrobe such as books, essential oils and toiletries. We keep our room clutter free as it is very small. It has our bed, our wardrobe, a yard-long picture of roses, and a small table by the bedside. With that being said, there isn't much to maintain besides some small organizational projects of the areas I mentioned. Little Touches ~ I made some simple and sweet sachets (we will share these in the future). With our humid climate, we can get a musty smell so I am continually airing out the wardrobes. The sachets will add a nice fragrance and freshen everything up. What needs to be done in your master bedroom? 5. Children's Bedroom ~ Evaluate what can be done about lack of storage and attempt to remedy (our home has no built in closets), remove clothing that no longer fits, organize bookcase, pack up younger aged books and place in storage, fine tune odds and ends. We were able to find a broken antique wardrobe at an auction house for a small price (my husband revived it with a few extra nails and inserted additional shelves). My daughter painted the closet (inside and out) and we added some pretty glass knobs. This really helped to organize the room better now that everything is tucked inside a closet. We also straightened up the bookshelves and removed items that are no longer in use (such as small clothing, etc.). Little Touches ~ We layed rose-printed shelf paper inside all of the drawers. It looks lovely inside! What needs to be done in your children's room? Here are some printable labels to help you organize their room in case you need some inspiration. 6. Laundry Room ~ Refurbish supplies of laundry solutions, organize under laundry station, fine tune operation. The laundry room had gotten pretty grimy since it is near the mudroom off the house. I did do some spring cleaning in there and fine tuned my operation. I prepared larger batches of fabric softener, changed out some of the canister jars and prepared an area exclusively for kitchen linens so that those can be washed separately when I have a loads worth (before I had to dig them out from the main laundry in the laundry basket, now they go directly in their own pile in the laundry room). Little Touches ~ We refreshed our laundry room and will share this in a separate post since laundry rooms are so fun! Here is a look at the laundry room before which also includes some printable organizational labels in case you are interested. What needs to be done in your laundry area? 7. Garage/Mudroom ~ Organize and relabel any storage boxes which lacked labels. We made sure all the labels were visible and the area is orderly (so hubby is happy). Items that haven't been used should be donated or given to someone who can use them. I have learned that if you aren't sure about an item, place it in a box with the date. If you haven't used it in over a year when you happen upon it again, then it is time to say "goodbye". 8. Spare Room/School Room/Office (all in one) ~ (work in process, no photo) This is a new addition for us so we are slowly organizing it into an efficient space where we can homeschool, do projects and keep the home office. Now it is your turn! Are you ready to assess your situation? Victorian Era author, Ms. Catharine Beecher, had given us 7 steps to home management success (found here). Here is what we have shared on our "Odds and Ends" Monthly Home Maintenance Series (note that some steps were placed together and altered to make for modern day needs): Complete Steps in Series: Step #1 ~ What Needs to Be Done in Your Home? Step #2 ~ Restocking the Cleaning Closet Step #2, 3, 5, 6 ~ Examining the Store-Closet, Pantry, Cellar and Such Step #4 ~ Examining the "Table Linens" Step #4 ~ Examining the "Bed Linens" Step #7 Examining the Toolbox and/or "Junk Drawer" Checklist for Preparing Your Own Maintenance: "Odds and Ends" Monthly Home Maintenance ~ Printable Checklist You will find more home organization ideas here if you are interested. "A housekeeper who will have a regular time for attending to these particulars will find her whole family machinery moving easily and well; but one who does not, will constantly be finding something out of joint, and an unquiet, secret apprehension of duties left undone or forgotten, which no other method will so effectually remove." ~ Catharine Beecher & Harriet Stowe, The New Housekeeper's Manual, 1873 This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Homestead Barn Hop, Amaze Me Monday, Monday's Musings, Marriage Monday, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Raising Homemakers, Make Bake Create, Wise Woman Link Up, Wow Us Wednesdays, Wildcrafting Wednesday, The Scoop, Coffee and Conversation, So Much at Home, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Hearts for Home Thursdays, Growing in Grace Thursdays, Home Acre Hop, From the Farm Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Simple Meals Friday, Cultivate Nourishing and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. Painting by George Goodwin Kilburne.
Ultimate guide of things to do at home when bored. 125 inspiring activities to try. Learn new hobbies, and have fun with these boredom busters.
"First. Go around every room, drawer, and closet in the house, and see what is out of order, and what needs to be done, and make arrangements as to time and manner of doing it." ~ Catharine Beecher & Harriet Stowe, The New Housekeeper's Manual, 1873 The first step in our "Odds and Ends Series" for our monthly home maintenance has been completed. How about you, did you go through the house last month and see what was out of order and what needed to be done? Did you make up a list? Here is what I came up with. In cases like these, it is a blessing to live in a smaller home! (Ms. Beecher also suggested making arrangements on when to accomplish these tasks. And I have done that as well... whenever I had the time!) Items were completed prior to month-end so that the next monthly home maintenance can be made on schedule (and hopefully with little effort now that the "machinery is moving easily and well" to quote her once again). Note: This is not to be confused with a spring cleaning. This is more of a monthly organizational upkeep and maintenance of your inventory of household goods to make your home run smoothly. Like our Victorian Era ancestors, we will also try to add some special homemaking touches along the way. 1. The Living Room ~ Straighten up the bookshelves. Our living room is kept in pretty decent order at all times. It is the entrance and therefore the first impression one gets when walking into our home. We like it to be tidy so that hospitality is always available. The one thing that needs constant maintenance is the straightening up of our many bookshelves since they are constantly being used. We like to keep all the series grouped together and keep the larger books to the sides of the bookshelf since they are the strongest. From each of the two sides, we place books in size order so that by the time we get to the middle (the weakest part of the shelves), it will contain the lighter books. The heaviest of books get placed on the bottom shelves along with some wicker baskets full of blocks and puzzles. Little Touches: When I completed my task, I surveyed the scene... I rotated the cushions on the couch, fluffed up the pillows and clipped a little bouquet to place on our fireplace mantle. What needs to be done in your Living Room? 2. Kitchen ~ Organize refrigerator. The kitchen is the most used room in the house and it is important to me that it is also kept in order (if you want to maintain sanity). The one thing that is hard to keep up with is the ever changing contents of the refrigerator. At least one a month, we try and asses the situation, regroup the contents and remove anything old (hopefully we have been vigilant and there isn't much loss). Little Touches ~ We regrouped our glass canisters to give a cleaner appearance and placed our kombucha bottles in the pantry for a less cluttery look. In the past our monthly maintenance required us to organize our silverware and utensils, to organize our bakeware and organize our pantry with some pretty labels. What needs to be done in your kitchen? 3. The Bathroom ~ Restock supplies such as toilet paper, cotton balls, q-tips, shampoo/conditioner. Our bathroom stays in decent order. We keep our excess toiletries in plastic "dollar store" baskets in our shelf behind our "skirt" curtain where we also store our stash of "bathroom inventory". There wasn't much to do besides check our supplies and restock said items. Little Touches ~ We changed the shower curtain. This is something we do every season to freshen up our surroundings. Whenever I find a pretty shower curtain on clearance or second hand (under $5), I add it to our collection (we don't wallpaper or remodel in our home so this is the closest I get to re-decorating). I also made a batch of lavender room spray for the bathroom. What needs to be done in your bathroom(s)? 4. The Master Bedroom ~ Organize under the bed storage bags, clean out wardrobe of unseasonal clothing that was left behind, organize my personal space in wardrobe such as books, essential oils and toiletries. We keep our room clutter free as it is very small. It has our bed, our wardrobe, a yard-long picture of roses, and a small table by the bedside. With that being said, there isn't much to maintain besides some small organizational projects of the areas I mentioned. Little Touches ~ I made some simple and sweet sachets (we will share these in the future). With our humid climate, we can get a musty smell so I am continually airing out the wardrobes. The sachets will add a nice fragrance and freshen everything up. What needs to be done in your master bedroom? 5. Children's Bedroom ~ Evaluate what can be done about lack of storage and attempt to remedy (our home has no built in closets), remove clothing that no longer fits, organize bookcase, pack up younger aged books and place in storage, fine tune odds and ends. We were able to find a broken antique wardrobe at an auction house for a small price (my husband revived it with a few extra nails and inserted additional shelves). My daughter painted the closet (inside and out) and we added some pretty glass knobs. This really helped to organize the room better now that everything is tucked inside a closet. We also straightened up the bookshelves and removed items that are no longer in use (such as small clothing, etc.). Little Touches ~ We layed rose-printed shelf paper inside all of the drawers. It looks lovely inside! What needs to be done in your children's room? Here are some printable labels to help you organize their room in case you need some inspiration. 6. Laundry Room ~ Refurbish supplies of laundry solutions, organize under laundry station, fine tune operation. The laundry room had gotten pretty grimy since it is near the mudroom off the house. I did do some spring cleaning in there and fine tuned my operation. I prepared larger batches of fabric softener, changed out some of the canister jars and prepared an area exclusively for kitchen linens so that those can be washed separately when I have a loads worth (before I had to dig them out from the main laundry in the laundry basket, now they go directly in their own pile in the laundry room). Little Touches ~ We refreshed our laundry room and will share this in a separate post since laundry rooms are so fun! Here is a look at the laundry room before which also includes some printable organizational labels in case you are interested. What needs to be done in your laundry area? 7. Garage/Mudroom ~ Organize and relabel any storage boxes which lacked labels. We made sure all the labels were visible and the area is orderly (so hubby is happy). Items that haven't been used should be donated or given to someone who can use them. I have learned that if you aren't sure about an item, place it in a box with the date. If you haven't used it in over a year when you happen upon it again, then it is time to say "goodbye". 8. Spare Room/School Room/Office (all in one) ~ (work in process, no photo) This is a new addition for us so we are slowly organizing it into an efficient space where we can homeschool, do projects and keep the home office. Now it is your turn! Are you ready to assess your situation? Victorian Era author, Ms. Catharine Beecher, had given us 7 steps to home management success (found here). Here is what we have shared on our "Odds and Ends" Monthly Home Maintenance Series (note that some steps were placed together and altered to make for modern day needs): Complete Steps in Series: Step #1 ~ What Needs to Be Done in Your Home? Step #2 ~ Restocking the Cleaning Closet Step #2, 3, 5, 6 ~ Examining the Store-Closet, Pantry, Cellar and Such Step #4 ~ Examining the "Table Linens" Step #4 ~ Examining the "Bed Linens" Step #7 Examining the Toolbox and/or "Junk Drawer" Checklist for Preparing Your Own Maintenance: "Odds and Ends" Monthly Home Maintenance ~ Printable Checklist You will find more home organization ideas here if you are interested. "A housekeeper who will have a regular time for attending to these particulars will find her whole family machinery moving easily and well; but one who does not, will constantly be finding something out of joint, and an unquiet, secret apprehension of duties left undone or forgotten, which no other method will so effectually remove." ~ Catharine Beecher & Harriet Stowe, The New Housekeeper's Manual, 1873 This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Homestead Barn Hop, Amaze Me Monday, Monday's Musings, Marriage Monday, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Raising Homemakers, Make Bake Create, Wise Woman Link Up, Wow Us Wednesdays, Wildcrafting Wednesday, The Scoop, Coffee and Conversation, So Much at Home, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Hearts for Home Thursdays, Growing in Grace Thursdays, Home Acre Hop, From the Farm Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Simple Meals Friday, Cultivate Nourishing and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. Painting by George Goodwin Kilburne.
It always starts the same way. You can’t open your drawers because they’re so stuffed with unopened mail and odds and ends that have no other place. Your baking cabinet is full of pans and cookie sheets and cupcake tins, and each has a double, and yet you use the single version maybe once a […]
v, 85 p. 22 cm
Authentic German Snack Bar. I lived in Germany for a year and a half and learned a lot about the German culture. I was immersed in it and learned to speak German fluently. I loved
Old clutter. Broken junk. Useless odds and ends. Thrift stores are full of these. However, once in a blue moon, people get lucky and find something so fantastic, bedazzling, and out of this world that they must share it with everyone they know. The Facebook group ‘Weird Secondhand Finds That Just Need To Be Shared’ is dedicated to secondhand shop and garage sales fanatics who find metaphorical needles among haystacks of miscellaneous mundane things. This group is also proof that one person’s trash can be another person’s treasure.
What a month! Many exciting happenings on this side of the ocean have kept me pretty busy. I (Teri) have been busily stitching class models for upcoming classes, one of which is pictured on the left,—this is, when I can find a moment to sit and stitch. Our youngest daughter got married a couple of weeks ago, so we had lots of family festivities. The tables runners we cut a few weeks ago turned out lovely. Maybe now that she knows how much fun it is to use a rotary cutter, I can begin to make a quilter out of her! 😉 By the way, isn't the cake my friend and her daughters made just beautiful?! But my fun didn't stop there. A few days after the wedding, the Baltimore Appliqué Society met for the first time this fall. Our featured speaker was a good friend, Jan Vaine, from Graham Cracker Collection. It had been a while since I had seen Jan, so I happily volunteered to pick her up from the airport so we could catch up a bit before the meeting. We stopped at the hotel to check in and went to get a salad and chat, after which we met her mom and sister back at the hotel. We had plenty of time to go to the room, grab her projector and notes, and head to the conference center to drop things off before we needed to meet the gang for dinner prior to the meeting. Best laid plans... The room key didn't work. The girl at the desk reset it, to no avail. She took the master up to the room, and that didn't even open the door. Time to call the manager. Our "plenty of time" was ticking away. The manager arrived with the MASTER—which apparently was even more of a master than the master from the front desk. Guess what? It didn't work either. At this point, we were just hoping Jan could get into the room in time to grab the projector and get to dinner on time. The manager made a phone call, and left to obtain some tools. He finally returned, took the door apart, and let us in so that Jan could get the suitcase she needed to give her lecture. (All because the battery needed to be replaced. Remember when keys didn't need batteries?!) She grabbed what she needed, and off we went, into the traffic—rush hour was now in full swing. Suffice it to say, we didn't get to drop things off before dinner, but we arrived at the restaurant exactly at 5:00. We enjoyed a lovely meal, and then off we went to set up for her lecture. To make a long story short, the connection for the projector wasn't working—so much for the slide presentation part of the lecture. The suitcase full of quilts was there, so Jan could just do a trunk show, BUT the keys to the lock on that suitcase were . . . you guessed it: in the hotel room! I was halfway back to the hotel when Jan called me to turn around; they had found wire cutters to cut the zipper pull and open the suitcase. And you know what? Jan gave the most beautiful talk about her stunningly embellished quilts. All she really needed were her pieces of stitched art to entertain and inform us. I was so impressed with her poise in the face of that comedy of errors. Jan has been such an inspiration to both Kara and me over the years. It was a pure joy to be able to see her share her treasures. The BAS was so excited by her visit that her workshop sold out, and we had to hold two; both days were full! If you are not familiar with Jan's exquisite work, check out her website by clicking here. Unfortunately, I was holding quilts during the lecture, so I don't have many pictures. But here are a few from the workshop the following day. Jan discusses the proper way to hoop, her sister and mom on the right, helping with purchases. So many cool threads from which to choose—and books, as well. Jan showing the two models of Mom's Yellow Rose that I made, several years apart. I've shown improvement—I'm not wound quite as tightly; well, the rose isn't— but when placed next to Mom's rose, I still have a way to go! Below, left: original "Mom's Yellow Rose," made by Jan's mom, Lou Dusek. Below, right: I made the yellow rose during one of Jan's Tea and Stitches retreats, and the other one at this workshop. I have learned to relax a bit when I'm making these flowers! (To read about that retreat, read Sisters Tied by Needle and Thread.) Jan giving some "up close and personal" assistance to a couple of attendees, Kristy and Nancy. I just love this little bee! We learned a lot with Jan during her workshop and practiced many new embellishing skills. At the end of the workshop, I had to rush out to go to the airport. I was heading to a new adventure—one which included quilt shops, quilters, a lot of rain, and an opportunity to write. From day one, when I saw the first Quiltfolk magazine, I was hooked. Imagine my excitement when I got an invitation to write for the them! I can't tell you WHERE I went, but I can tell you that you will enjoy reading about it! Issue 03 took readers to Hawaii, and Issue 04, which was just released, is set in Tennessee. What a fun way to travel the country! If you haven't joined the Quiltfolk community yet, consider subscribing. (Use the code SHOP1051 for a $10 discount!) It's a fabulous, ad-free publication that tells the stories behind quilts and the quilters who make them. And if you are a regular reader here, you know how much we love a good story, especially if it's told through needles' eyes. I am honored and thrilled to have been invited to join the team on their road trip last weekend! I am eagerly awaiting Issue 04, which has just hit the stands. While supplies last, you can get 50% of Issues 02, 03, and 04 with a yearly subscription. Quiltfolk is not "just" a magazine; it is like receiving four books a year! Click here for more information.
Emily Carr's last artworks represent her concern about the environmental impact of Canadian industries and climate change.
How to make money without a job. How to make a living without a job. Side hustles to make $100 a day. Perfect for teenagers in highschool.
How to be more mindful at home? If you put mindfulness at the core of your home habits you will become more mindful at home and in life!
Is your house cluttered? Sometimes the easiest solution is also the hardest - deciding what things to throw away, donate, or repurpose.
It’s no secret that staying indoors during COVID-19 has inspired once in-person activities to go completely online (at least for the time being). And as someone on the other side of the screen looking to stay entertained, I happily welcome these virtual offerings into the home. There’s definitely something for everyone. Want to catch a performance at the Metropolitan Opera House? You can snag your “seat” here.
Four easy, healthy, delicious snack ideas that are easy to make - perfect for busy weekdays or fun weekend bites.
When he was in high school, James Rallison (cartoonist of "The Odd 1s Out") wasn't partying or winning football games like his older brother. Instead, he posted online comics. It has been over six years since he uploaded his first comic strip, and we thought it's about time we presented you his work. Just like James' nickname, they're a little odd. But in a good way. Dealing with a wide variety of themes, including romance, parenting, and many many more, the funny comics often take unexpected plot twists and turns, constantly keeping the reader guessing where the next panel will take them. James still posts his dark humor webcomics, although less frequently than he used to due to most of his time being occupied by a YouTube channel. Let's hope he can strike a balance between the two mediums. Scroll down to check out his fun comics!
This easy hiccup cure has worked for us 100% of the time. We found how to get rid of hiccups and what a relief for my kids...
Tingling in hands and feet is a common issue that can be caused by different factors. Check out the simple home remedies you can use to help with this problem.
"First. Go around every room, drawer, and closet in the house, and see what is out of order, and what needs to be done, and make arrangements as to time and manner of doing it." ~ Catharine Beecher & Harriet Stowe, The New Housekeeper's Manual, 1873 The first step in our "Odds and Ends Series" for our monthly home maintenance has been completed. How about you, did you go through the house last month and see what was out of order and what needed to be done? Did you make up a list? Here is what I came up with. In cases like these, it is a blessing to live in a smaller home! (Ms. Beecher also suggested making arrangements on when to accomplish these tasks. And I have done that as well... whenever I had the time!) Items were completed prior to month-end so that the next monthly home maintenance can be made on schedule (and hopefully with little effort now that the "machinery is moving easily and well" to quote her once again). Note: This is not to be confused with a spring cleaning. This is more of a monthly organizational upkeep and maintenance of your inventory of household goods to make your home run smoothly. Like our Victorian Era ancestors, we will also try to add some special homemaking touches along the way. 1. The Living Room ~ Straighten up the bookshelves. Our living room is kept in pretty decent order at all times. It is the entrance and therefore the first impression one gets when walking into our home. We like it to be tidy so that hospitality is always available. The one thing that needs constant maintenance is the straightening up of our many bookshelves since they are constantly being used. We like to keep all the series grouped together and keep the larger books to the sides of the bookshelf since they are the strongest. From each of the two sides, we place books in size order so that by the time we get to the middle (the weakest part of the shelves), it will contain the lighter books. The heaviest of books get placed on the bottom shelves along with some wicker baskets full of blocks and puzzles. Little Touches: When I completed my task, I surveyed the scene... I rotated the cushions on the couch, fluffed up the pillows and clipped a little bouquet to place on our fireplace mantle. What needs to be done in your Living Room? 2. Kitchen ~ Organize refrigerator. The kitchen is the most used room in the house and it is important to me that it is also kept in order (if you want to maintain sanity). The one thing that is hard to keep up with is the ever changing contents of the refrigerator. At least one a month, we try and asses the situation, regroup the contents and remove anything old (hopefully we have been vigilant and there isn't much loss). Little Touches ~ We regrouped our glass canisters to give a cleaner appearance and placed our kombucha bottles in the pantry for a less cluttery look. In the past our monthly maintenance required us to organize our silverware and utensils, to organize our bakeware and organize our pantry with some pretty labels. What needs to be done in your kitchen? 3. The Bathroom ~ Restock supplies such as toilet paper, cotton balls, q-tips, shampoo/conditioner. Our bathroom stays in decent order. We keep our excess toiletries in plastic "dollar store" baskets in our shelf behind our "skirt" curtain where we also store our stash of "bathroom inventory". There wasn't much to do besides check our supplies and restock said items. Little Touches ~ We changed the shower curtain. This is something we do every season to freshen up our surroundings. Whenever I find a pretty shower curtain on clearance or second hand (under $5), I add it to our collection (we don't wallpaper or remodel in our home so this is the closest I get to re-decorating). I also made a batch of lavender room spray for the bathroom. What needs to be done in your bathroom(s)? 4. The Master Bedroom ~ Organize under the bed storage bags, clean out wardrobe of unseasonal clothing that was left behind, organize my personal space in wardrobe such as books, essential oils and toiletries. We keep our room clutter free as it is very small. It has our bed, our wardrobe, a yard-long picture of roses, and a small table by the bedside. With that being said, there isn't much to maintain besides some small organizational projects of the areas I mentioned. Little Touches ~ I made some simple and sweet sachets (we will share these in the future). With our humid climate, we can get a musty smell so I am continually airing out the wardrobes. The sachets will add a nice fragrance and freshen everything up. What needs to be done in your master bedroom? 5. Children's Bedroom ~ Evaluate what can be done about lack of storage and attempt to remedy (our home has no built in closets), remove clothing that no longer fits, organize bookcase, pack up younger aged books and place in storage, fine tune odds and ends. We were able to find a broken antique wardrobe at an auction house for a small price (my husband revived it with a few extra nails and inserted additional shelves). My daughter painted the closet (inside and out) and we added some pretty glass knobs. This really helped to organize the room better now that everything is tucked inside a closet. We also straightened up the bookshelves and removed items that are no longer in use (such as small clothing, etc.). Little Touches ~ We layed rose-printed shelf paper inside all of the drawers. It looks lovely inside! What needs to be done in your children's room? Here are some printable labels to help you organize their room in case you need some inspiration. 6. Laundry Room ~ Refurbish supplies of laundry solutions, organize under laundry station, fine tune operation. The laundry room had gotten pretty grimy since it is near the mudroom off the house. I did do some spring cleaning in there and fine tuned my operation. I prepared larger batches of fabric softener, changed out some of the canister jars and prepared an area exclusively for kitchen linens so that those can be washed separately when I have a loads worth (before I had to dig them out from the main laundry in the laundry basket, now they go directly in their own pile in the laundry room). Little Touches ~ We refreshed our laundry room and will share this in a separate post since laundry rooms are so fun! Here is a look at the laundry room before which also includes some printable organizational labels in case you are interested. What needs to be done in your laundry area? 7. Garage/Mudroom ~ Organize and relabel any storage boxes which lacked labels. We made sure all the labels were visible and the area is orderly (so hubby is happy). Items that haven't been used should be donated or given to someone who can use them. I have learned that if you aren't sure about an item, place it in a box with the date. If you haven't used it in over a year when you happen upon it again, then it is time to say "goodbye". 8. Spare Room/School Room/Office (all in one) ~ (work in process, no photo) This is a new addition for us so we are slowly organizing it into an efficient space where we can homeschool, do projects and keep the home office. Now it is your turn! Are you ready to assess your situation? Victorian Era author, Ms. Catharine Beecher, had given us 7 steps to home management success (found here). Here is what we have shared on our "Odds and Ends" Monthly Home Maintenance Series (note that some steps were placed together and altered to make for modern day needs): Complete Steps in Series: Step #1 ~ What Needs to Be Done in Your Home? Step #2 ~ Restocking the Cleaning Closet Step #2, 3, 5, 6 ~ Examining the Store-Closet, Pantry, Cellar and Such Step #4 ~ Examining the "Table Linens" Step #4 ~ Examining the "Bed Linens" Step #7 Examining the Toolbox and/or "Junk Drawer" Checklist for Preparing Your Own Maintenance: "Odds and Ends" Monthly Home Maintenance ~ Printable Checklist You will find more home organization ideas here if you are interested. "A housekeeper who will have a regular time for attending to these particulars will find her whole family machinery moving easily and well; but one who does not, will constantly be finding something out of joint, and an unquiet, secret apprehension of duties left undone or forgotten, which no other method will so effectually remove." ~ Catharine Beecher & Harriet Stowe, The New Housekeeper's Manual, 1873 This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Homestead Barn Hop, Amaze Me Monday, Monday's Musings, Marriage Monday, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Raising Homemakers, Make Bake Create, Wise Woman Link Up, Wow Us Wednesdays, Wildcrafting Wednesday, The Scoop, Coffee and Conversation, So Much at Home, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Hearts for Home Thursdays, Growing in Grace Thursdays, Home Acre Hop, From the Farm Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Simple Meals Friday, Cultivate Nourishing and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. Painting by George Goodwin Kilburne.
You'd be surprised how versatile cooking spray can be. We wanted to share how to use cooking spray to solve a bunch of non-cooking problems.
"There are certain odds and ends where every housekeeper will gain much by having a regular time to attend them. Let this time be the last Saturday forenoon in every month, or any other time more agreeable; but let there be a regular fixed time once a month in which the housekeeper will attend to the following things..." ~ Catharine Beecher & Harriet Stowe, The New Housekeeper's Manual, 1873 Our home has been a hotel of sorts for the last eight months and we desperately need to regroup in this little farmhouse. When you are limited on space, you begin to place things "for the time being" in areas that turn into cluttered chaos. I can not wait to tackle all those spots, place everything back into order and restock our inventory of household supplies (just the thought of it makes me smile)! Would you like to join us in our "odds and ends" journey? We will be sharing our progress in little snippets along the way. This is actually something I have been doing for many years and was excited when I read that Catharine Beecher suggested it as well (she was the Victorian Era "Martha Stewart" of the time). Are you ready for Ms. Beecher's list of seven recommendations? Though some steps will not apply to our modern era, I think you can get the idea! "First. Go around every room, drawer, and closet in the house, and see what is out of order, and what needs to be done, and make arrangements as to time and manner of doing it. Second. Examine the store-closet, and see if there is a proper supply of all articles needed there. Third. Go to the cellar, and see if the salted provision, vegetables, pickles, vinegar, and all other articles stored in the cellar are in proper order, and examine all the preserves and jellies. Fourth. Examine the trunk or closet of family linen, and see what needs to be repaired and renewed. Fifth. See if there is a supply of dish-towels, dish-cloths, bags, holders, floor-cloths, dust-cloths, wrapping-paper, twine, lamp-wicks, and all other articles needed in kitchen work. Sixth. Count over the spoons, knives, and forks, and examine all the various household utensils, to see what needs replacing and what should be repaired. Seventh. Have in a box a hammer, tacks, pincers, gimlets, nails, screws, screw-driver, small saw, and two sizes of chisels for emergencies when no regular workman is at hand. Also be prepared to set glass. Every lady should be able in emergency to do such jobs herself." ~ Catharine Beecher & Harriet Stowe, The New Housekeeper's Manual, 1873 As a tune up on your car makes everything run smoothly, so does this monthly tune-up on your home! It is purely a pleasure to live in a house that has been kept up (and quite frustrating to live in disarray). We will begin this "odds and ends" maintenance by restocking our cleaning closet. Then we shall attend to each area, adding little homemaking touches of love along the way. Doesn't this sound wonderful?! Complete Steps in Series: Step #1 ~ What Needs to Be Done in Your Home? Step #2 ~ Restocking the Cleaning Closet Step #2, 3, 5, 6 ~ Examining the Store-Closet, Pantry, Cellar and Such Step #4 ~ Examining the "Table Linens" Step #4 ~ Examining the "Bed Linens" Step #7 Examining the Toolbox and/or "Junk Drawer" Checklist for Preparing Your Own Maintenance: "Odds and Ends" Monthly Home Maintenance ~ Printable Checklist You will find more home organization ideas here if you are interested. "A housekeeper who will have a regular time for attending to these particulars will find her whole family machinery moving easily and well; but one who does not, will constantly be finding something out of joint, and an unquiet, secret apprehension of duties left undone or forgotten, which no other method will so effectually remove." ~ Catharine Beecher & Harriet Stowe, The New Housekeeper's Manual, 1873 This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Homestead Barn Hop, Monday Musings, Titus 2sdays, Teach Me Tuesday, Raising Homemakers, Make Bake Create, Wise Woman Link Up, Christian Homemaking, Wow Us Wednesdays, Wildcrafting Wednesday, The Scoop, So Much at Home, Homemaking Thursdays, Hearts for Home Thursdays, Growing in Grace Thursdays, Home Acre Hop, From the Farm Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Simple Meals Friday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. All paintings by Carl Larsson.
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Homeschool socialization is always a hot topic, yet often I wonder if we even understand what socialization is and why it's talked about so much.
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What better way to kick off the new year than with a post all about easy, unique uses for leftover tea bags?!I drink more tea in winter than I do any other t…
Craving Scandinavian desserts? These recipes show all the best that Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland have to offer including kringles, cookies and krumkake.
I bet most of you have a tub of Bicarbonate of soda (or baking soda) in your cupboard right now and I’d also hazard a guess that if we all went and checked the use by date on it, at least half of them would be out of date. There’s a good reason for that – most …
This resource is geared towards pupils in junior classes and SEN pupils to assist with
