Tonight I was tackling a few of the tasks that might fall under the heading of Spring cleaning. These minor undertakings are the thin edge of the wedge with weeks worth to follow. BUt what struck me was some of the successes and pitfalls that I have come upon and I hope to share them here and thus illuminate those who follow in my footsteps.
Pictures. We have pine walls. Over the years the pine has gone from white to honey and continues to darken, except where you hang a picture. Then when you remove the picture later, (gasp), there is that stark, square white tan line on the wall, like what's under your bikini. It's the home decorator's equivalent of a farmer's tan. What to do about this?
Since I move pictures now and then I was especially aware of the white tan line potential. My cure? All those left over squishy ear plugs that come home in Hubbie's pockets (and get washed). I affixed several of these squishy ear plugs to the back of each picture. THey keep the picture propped ever so slightly away from the wall. This allows a small amount of natural light to seep behind the picture and thus avoid that sharp line of contrast when the picture is removed. The pine is still lighter, but it fades gradually to light, doesn't have this abrupt and glaring line. I know, brilliant!
I also had a wreath in my livingroom that needed a wash as it had become gooey with cobwebs and dust. Some people use canned air to blast off the goo and dust. BUt this called for serious cleaning. To complicate things this wreath is actually 30 feet of coiled barbed wire, rusted and nasty. How do you set a barbed wire wreath in your bathtub without it scratching the surface of your tub? Answer: you don't set it in the tub and hope it doesn't gouge the acrylic. You set a laundry basket in the tub and set the wreath in the laundry basket! Bingo! Now you spray it with toilet bowl cleaner, hose it off and let it drip dry. Good as the days it was tossed in the bush 70 years ago! Plastic laundry baskets are good for barbed wire wreaths and emergency chicken shelters. Brilliant!
Not so brilliant is the Swiffer Duster. I keep buying these things and I want to like them. I use them even though I don't think my house is cut out for them. Some people have antiques, then some of us have old junk we found in someone's barn. These rough, rugged home built items were obviously built before sandpaper had been invented because every surface that you run a Swiffer snags tiny little fibres. Soon your barn built antique is blue and fuzzy. I noted that the band sawn cedar window trim also catches and snags Swiffer hairs to beat the band. So I think Swiffers are for people who dust highly lacquered, plastic or glass surfaces. But old barn wood? Forget it. Me and Swiffer, not so brilliant.
And this, Ladies and Gentlemen, has been a pointless essay on spring cleaning. Share your hits, misses and other related information.
Pictures. We have pine walls. Over the years the pine has gone from white to honey and continues to darken, except where you hang a picture. Then when you remove the picture later, (gasp), there is that stark, square white tan line on the wall, like what's under your bikini. It's the home decorator's equivalent of a farmer's tan. What to do about this?
Since I move pictures now and then I was especially aware of the white tan line potential. My cure? All those left over squishy ear plugs that come home in Hubbie's pockets (and get washed). I affixed several of these squishy ear plugs to the back of each picture. THey keep the picture propped ever so slightly away from the wall. This allows a small amount of natural light to seep behind the picture and thus avoid that sharp line of contrast when the picture is removed. The pine is still lighter, but it fades gradually to light, doesn't have this abrupt and glaring line. I know, brilliant!
I also had a wreath in my livingroom that needed a wash as it had become gooey with cobwebs and dust. Some people use canned air to blast off the goo and dust. BUt this called for serious cleaning. To complicate things this wreath is actually 30 feet of coiled barbed wire, rusted and nasty. How do you set a barbed wire wreath in your bathtub without it scratching the surface of your tub? Answer: you don't set it in the tub and hope it doesn't gouge the acrylic. You set a laundry basket in the tub and set the wreath in the laundry basket! Bingo! Now you spray it with toilet bowl cleaner, hose it off and let it drip dry. Good as the days it was tossed in the bush 70 years ago! Plastic laundry baskets are good for barbed wire wreaths and emergency chicken shelters. Brilliant!
Not so brilliant is the Swiffer Duster. I keep buying these things and I want to like them. I use them even though I don't think my house is cut out for them. Some people have antiques, then some of us have old junk we found in someone's barn. These rough, rugged home built items were obviously built before sandpaper had been invented because every surface that you run a Swiffer snags tiny little fibres. Soon your barn built antique is blue and fuzzy. I noted that the band sawn cedar window trim also catches and snags Swiffer hairs to beat the band. So I think Swiffers are for people who dust highly lacquered, plastic or glass surfaces. But old barn wood? Forget it. Me and Swiffer, not so brilliant.
And this, Ladies and Gentlemen, has been a pointless essay on spring cleaning. Share your hits, misses and other related information.
