Household Tips

No one likes to think of the possibility of a house fire. But no one wants to be caught unaware by one either!

Pella’s sage advice for fire safety planning begins with making sure that doors and windows all open easily! For the safety of your loved ones, make sure all windows and doors open easily and close completely before the winter months set in.

Safe windows are also critical to a safe escape in the event of fire. Less than 25 percent of U.S. families have developed and practiced a plan for exiting the home safely in case of a fire, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Adults practice fire drills at work, and children practice them at school, but the reality is that most deadly and frequent fires occur in the home.

“Take a few minutes now to reduce potential fire hazards and plan and practice a home fire safety escape route to help you protect what’s most important — your loved ones,” said Kathy Krafka Harkema, Pella Corporation’s fire safety educator.

Many home fires occur as temperatures drop and families spend more time indoors, lighting candles and fires, and using heating, cooking and other appliances. Most home cooking fires occur when ovens, stoves or other appliances are left unattended in use. For greater safety, never leave appliances unattended when cooking.

Begin a home fire safety drill by drawing a floor plan of each level of your home. Next, designate two exits from every room in your home — a door and a window. Make sure doors and windows open quickly and easily to help ensure a quick exit; if not, consider replacing them for safety’s sake.

In the event of a fire, train your family to gather in a designated meeting place safely outside your home. More home fire safety tips from Pella’s Close the door on fire! campaign are available at http://www.pella.com/about/fire.asp.

And don’t forget the pantry chart for emergency planning!

With the holidays approaching, it’s almost unavoidable. You WILL have guests, and some will probably even stay overnight. I entertain regularly — dinner parties and meals. So, when holiday meals come around, I’m not particularly bothered. I know where all of my entertainin If you’re one of those lucky folks with a spare bedroom (I am not), this may come easy to you. With two kids at home, guest planning can be a challenge. The following list of tips comes from our friends at Bed, Bath & Beyond (one of my favorite stores!) Read well, and apply at will!

And of course, don’t forget that you can prepare foods in advance and freeze them!

guests, party planning

I have to admit. I am NOT a trend-setter. I am not even a trend-follower. I may pick up a cute pair of shoes or a jacket to throw on with my jeans and t-shirt, but it’s hard for me to imaging re-decorating my house to the current fashion. That said, our friends in High Point have published their take on the latest home decor trends. So what’s in? Studs. No, not those. Those never went out of fashion! Nail studs on furniture! And the 20’s and 30’s Hollywood look. (I know, goes well with the studs, right?)

Color: Eco-colors continued to saturate new product introductions with earthy tones in various shades. Freshest now are combinations of brown and green. Grays and oysters serve as modern neutrals and are juxtaposed with bold metallics, orange-y reds, pink-y reds and saturated teals.

Print Patterns: Retro styling moves to the fore with geometric repeat patterns and oversized florals remaining strong. Animal-skin inspired patterns continue to serve as neutral counterpoints while stripes and linear polka dot variations abound.

Texture Trends: Patent, metallic, suede, leather, knits, inlay and paillettes along with “Gaudi-esque”-ornate detail were the key textures “on hand” in High Point. Along with faux bois styling and tactile designs, the trend is toward textures that beg to be touched.

Silhouette Status: When it comes to silhouette, today’s key shape is the long, lithe rectangle and structured styling with an origami edge is on the horizon. Even so, organic design still dominates in many manufacturers’ showrooms. The hottest home furnishings looks appear to have “sprouted” from Mother Earth.

Designer Details: “Stud-ly” style is coming to a store near you. Keep an eye out for furnishings embellished with nail-head trims used in interesting new ways. Reflective design is another crystal clear fashion trend shining through, with chandelier-like details popping up in unusual places. “Boho” is seen in small doses and amped up in attitude with a luxurious bent and more structure (think minimal shift dress versus flowing caftan as an apparel fashion correlation). Chunky furniture “jewelry” will be seen in the form of ornate legs and pieces “dressed” in oversized beads and crystals.

Era Inspiration: Global design, spanning a wide array of historic periods, is being brought forth in fabulous 21st Century style. From
Britannia and Celtic to Craftsman and Americana, and Old World Euro to Pan-Asian-there is a look to satisfy all tastes and pocketbooks. If new product introductions here are an indication of what’s to come in homes across the country, urbanites in particular will soon be “glamming it up” with furnishings reminiscent of Old Hollywood, 1920’s and 1930’s Parisian styling and very modern takes on Deco.

For more tips on decorating a small space, check out this post on dorm decor.

I had an e-mail today from a reader asking about sour towels. Can I say first of all, I love it when you write! It makes this blog SO much easier to write! And this is a great question.

The truth is, there are lots and lots of great laundry products on the market. I personally swear by the Kirkland detergent at Costco. That plus some Oxyclean in every load is my basic routine! But I can relate to the sour smelling towels.

Towels by their nature spend a lot of time damp, and dampness encourages mildew. So, let’s get to the root of the problem.

Laundy Rule One. Always take the laundry out of the washing machine as soon as the spin cycle completes. Then immediately throw it in the dryer or hang it outside.

If you’re already obeying rule one, and you still have sour smelling towels, you can probably still blame mildew. Your towels hang around damp. A lot. So what is mildew’s number one enemy? The sun!

Laundry Rule Two. The sun can be your laundry’s best ally!

If you can, spread your towels out in the sun for a morning or an afternoon, but remember, that the sun is also a natural bleaching source! So, don’t leave them out so long they’ll lose their color. The sun will destroy the mildew and hopefully freshen your towels.

Laundry Rule Three. Vinegar or baking soda really can cure almost everything.

If washing and sunlight don’t work, revert to you grandmother’s picks. For a baking soda cure, Place an open box of baking soda in the bottom of a plastic bag. Place the towel in with the open box of baking soda. Seal the bag. (You can do this just by tying it!) Now, let it stand overnight, or better yet, for a day or two.

To use vinegar, simply fill your washer with hot water. Add a cup of white vinegar. Add the towels and soak for a half-hour. Vinegar is also a great color-setting agent! (Hence, the reason you use it for Easter eggs!)

Laundry Rule Four. If all else fails, revert to the fast food laundry cocktail!

It is that time of year. Time to carve pumpkins. Or if you’re like me, time to take the kids to buy pumpkins, then lock them and your husband outside on the porch until the deed is done. I HATE pumpkin carving! If you’re smart, you’ll talk yourself into painting a pumpkin or putting stickers on one INSTEAD of carving. You can always oooooh and aaaaah over the neighbor’s carved pumpkin, right? But you’re likely not going to do that. You’re going to carve one. And if you’re like millions of Americans, you’ll use your garbage disposal for all the pumpkin-y goo.

Bad call.

Halloween drives lots of business to your local plumbers. Lots. That ooey, gooey, pumpkin-y goodness wrecks disposals and clogs plumbing. According to our friends at Mr. Rooter, all that pulp hardens and clogs your drain.

“A pumpkin’s stringy, slimy substance is too much for the garbage disposal to handle,” said Mary Kennedy Thompson, president of the Mr. Rooter Corporation. “Your thoughts should be on Halloween costumes, trick-or-treaters and giving out candy — not calling a plumber to clear your drain.”

Mr. Rooter(R) offers these tips to keep pumpkins from haunting the plumbing system:
– Carve pumpkin on a newspaper instead of over the kitchen sink.
– Do not dump pulp and seeds into the disposal or toilet.
– Instead, throw all pumpkin-related material and newspaper in the garbage.

Better yet, use the seeds! I actually buy roasted pumpkin seeds in little packets during the “down-time” of the year. Roasting them yourself at home is easy and healthy. Check out the recipe at Elementary Chef here

I am all in favor of remodeling kitchens and bathroom. My current kitchen project involves refinishing my cabinets. I looked into replacing them all, but I figure I can be happy with refinished cabinets for another 7-10 years (and save myself about $12K!) My kitchen cabinet (in my 80 year old house) were handmade by the man who owned this house before us. The cabinets aren’t bad at all. They just look beat up. Amazing what a good cleaning with Murphy’s Oil Soap will do for that. Even more amazing what some sanding and staining can accomplish! But then, I’m an avowed do-it-yourselfer. (And did I mention that I’m TERRIBLE about actually finishing those projects?) I suppose I SHOULD just follow the advice!

For those of you who are looking into Kitchen remodeling, SEN Design Group has some recommendations.

Educational Approach
— Interview several potential candidates, especially firms that focus exclusively on kitchens and baths
— Confer with friends and neighbors on their past remodeling experiences
— Request to see a copy of the contractor’s certificate of insurance
— Ask for a list of recent references and make follow-up phone calls

Planning
— Envision what you want - begin by collecting images from magazines and newspapers
— Write down your ideas, thoughts and concerns; prioritize your needs
— Create a general plan and budget for the entire project
— If available, visit a designer’s showroom
— Ask to see design layouts and several case studies
In lieu of the month, now is a great time to start thinking about
making home improvements. With the immense amount of resources available,
homeowners can be prepared prior to the start of the process.

For more information on remodeling, visit the archive here.

Need a fast and cheap solution for dingy copper around the kitchen? Clean it with equal amounts of ketchup and water.

For crayon marks on wallpaper, reasonably glossy paint, or vinyl tile, try a squirt of WD-40. Just spray and wipe. The marks will come right up!

Next time you mop your kitchen or bathroom floor, use your trash receptacle as a mop bucket. You’ll two birds with one stone — cleaning both your trash can and the floor!

Here’s a TANG-y solution… Add a cup of Tang drink powder to your toilet bowl and let it sit over night. Brush it lightly in the morning, and you’ll be amazyed by how clean and white you’ll find it!

At this time of year, we start thinking that pool dangers are gone with the summer. But, according to the Consumer Product Safety Council, this is not the case! In fact, pools aren’t the only source of concern. Small children can drown in something as innocuous as a forgotten bucket of water. I suppose this falls in the categorey of MUCH rather be safe than sorry. In order to keep your home and family safe from water injuries, follow these simple rules:

The Consumer Product Safety Council recommends parents and caregivers follow these safety tips when children are around bathtubs, spas, buckets, or decorative ponds or fountains:
— Never leave young children alone near any water. Young children can drown in even small amounts of water.
— Always keep a young child within arm’s reach in a bathtub. Never leave to answer the phone, answer the door, get a towel or for any other reason. If you must leave, take the child with you.
— Don’t leave a baby or toddler in a bathtub under the care of another young child.
— Never leave a bucket containing even a small amount of liquid unattended. Toddlers can fall headfirst into buckets and drown. After using a bucket, always empty and store it where young children cannot reach it. Buckets left outside can collect rainwater and are a hazard.
— Prevent children from gaining access to spas or hot tubs when not in use; always secure with safety covers and barriers.
— Learn CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). It can be a lifesaver when seconds count.

And while you’re thinking of home safety, check out these products. No, they don’t pay me to endorse them. They’re just interesting!

water safety, child safety, household safety