Tidy Brown Wren, bringing order to your nest

I've finally finished the table project. It took awhile due to high humidity. I had to wait for days between coats of the gel stain so it could dry properly. It's just a simple, but sturdy, table. It does have a leaf to make it larger, but this is the size I will use most often. The plates are Currier & Ives dishes I have collected for 25 years. The red bowls are my favorites from Williams-Sonoma . The napkins are from Pottery Barn . The napkin rings are small grapevine wreaths I got at a craft store. Notice the little brown wren. I have a few of them and I like to move them around the house (and driveway). I've linked this post to Nesting Place where lots of others have posted their favorite posts of 2009. Check out all of their great ideas.

One man's trash is another man's treasure. Half stripped and half finished I can't stand to see things go to the dump just because they have a little bit of wear and tear. I found this table before it was picked up by the garbage truck. I loved the legs. It is VERY heavy and I was happy to have my strong son and his pick-up truck on hand. I'm not sure what it is made out of, but when I stripped off the finish, I found a yellow surface that was as hard as a rock. I used Minwax gel stain in semigloss pecan to finish it. Gel stain is good to use when your surface will not absorb a regular stain (like fiberglass or MDF). I'll post pictures when I am completely done. My daughter has already claimed the table for her new home when she gets married next year. In the meantime I'll use it to stage a home.

Before After Now that the weather has warmed up, I'm in the mood to do some quick projects. I've been collecting these projects in my garage for the past few months. For each of these projects, I've only spent a few dollars and some of them were free. My first project was a $2.98 table I bought at a thrift store. I took it apart and sanded the metal stand with steelwool. Then I spray painted the stand (outside) with Rust-oleum hammered finish spray paint .It only took about 5 minutes and the results were good. I used the dark bronze paint. Of course, I also cleaned the glass (top and bottom). I'm using the table in my back porch right now, but if I need to I can use it when staging a client's home for sale. I love projects like this because they are instantly gratifying.

As we come to the end of the school year, we're faced with a dilemma. What do we do with all of the schoolwork our children have brought home from school. If you're like me, my sentimental side wants to keep everything my child has touched. However, the practical side of me screams "what do I do with all of this stuff?" I'll give you some ideas to keep both sides of your brain happy. 1. Label a small file box for each child. 2. Label several hanging files for different areas of paperwork you might want to save for your child. Each child will be different according to their age and activities. Some examples are art, handwriting, poems/stories, awards/pictures, research etc. 3. Every time your child brings home a paper, decide first if it is a keeper. You don't have to keep everything. In fact, if you try to keep everything, you will be overcome with paperwork very quickly. 4. If you love it or your child loves it then you might consider keeping it. 5. Once a m...

OK. It's almost Summer and we need to be done with our Spring cleaning because the beach is calling and we need to work on our tan. This post will cover cleaning floors and rugs. 1. One of the most important things you can do to keep your floors in good shape is to put a good quality door mat at each entrance to your home. Secondly, have family members remove their shoes at the door. 2. Next, vacuum your floors. If you have a canister vacuum, you can use the floor attachment to clean all of the hard floors and the carpet attachment (with beater brush) for the carpets and rugs. If you have an upright vacuum, vacuum each area with the appropriate setting on the vacuum. You might need to use a dust mop to get under furniture or into corners where the vacuum cannot reach. 3. Every type of hard flooring has a different guidelines for care. If you had your flooring installed then the retailer/installer probably gave you car instructions. If you inherited the flooring with y...

Spring is in full swing. We still have more time for that Spring cleaning. In the previous blog I talked about cleaning windows and upholstered furniture. Today, we'll talk about cleaning walls and wood furniture. Cleaning walls: 1. First, dust your walls with one of those fuzzy dusters on a long pole. If you don't have one of those, wrap an old towel, pillow case, or undershirt around a broom's bristles. Wipe the walls, starting at the top and working your way down to the bottom. You won't believe how much dust accumulates on your walls. (Don't be alarmed if you come across a few spiders) 2. Next, mix up a cleaning liquid. I use 1/4 cup ammonia with 1 gallon of water and 2-3 drops of dish detergent. If you have really greasy walls (like in the kitchen) I would mix some Greased Lightning with water and use that. 3. For stubborn spots, use a little baking soda on a sponge and rub very gently to remove crayon marks, scuff marks etc. 4. Now, working fr...

Spring cleaning is one of those chores that has fallen out of favor. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers would practically tear their houses apart and put them back together every spring. With central heat and air conditioning and powerful vacuum cleaners, we no longer need to disrupt our lives with that heavy duty chore. Having said that, there is a need to take care of some cleaning chores that never seem to get done. Spring is a good time to do it. Today, we'll talk about windows and upholstered furniture. Window Spring Cleaning: 1. Take down all window treatments. 2. Curtains can be washed, dry-cleaned, tumbled in the dryer on "air", or simply vacuumed. Be sure to check the fabric care label. If you have very large, heavy drapes it might be better to leave them hanging and vacuum them before steaming them with a hand steamer to freshen them. 3. Shades can be left in place, as well, if they are too cumbersome to remove. Vacuum them and then wipe w...