That’s not a typo ! We need to not only clean our homes, we also need to clear our homes. After a very busy winter season, I feel ready and anxious to clean my house for spring! This can be a daunting task, but there’s a little tip I learned from Myquillan Smith, from The Nester that has already helped me simplify the process. It’s not really a deep dive into scrubbing walls, but it’s the process of clearing the rooms of winter clutter. Winter can overload our homes with “stuff”, and also the heavier fabrics, pillows and accessories that cold months need. When spring comes, we need to lighten up the rooms. Clearing the house first off all its clutter makes cleaning it so much easier! Here’s how it goes…
I’m so thankful it’s officially springtime! I’m devoting today’s post to all things spring – from tablescapes to cleaning lists, I’ve got some ideas to help you enjoy this season to the fullest!
Easter is right around the corner, so look below for some ideas for your table and your menu! But as you consider inviting guests over, read this post to be reminded of the best way to open your home in order to sweetly share the Gospel.
If you want to set a spring-y table, here are five different centerpieces you could easily create.
Wintertime makes your outdoor areas a mess and less than inviting! You’ll find ideas to refresh your porches for spring here.
Lighter meals and fresh ingredients are perfect for spring suppers. This Salmon Salad is amazing and perfect for springtime!
If you need some Spring cleaning lists to get you motivated on cleaning winter out of your house, check out this post that is full of great plans!
The result will be something delicious and beautiful, and you won’t be exhausted!
Finally, my all-time favorite Spring/Easter Cake is this Coconut Cake with Lemon filling. It’s a family tradition that we all anticipate!
Spring cleaning is so rewarding! However, if you want to ruin the look of that freshly cleaned room, just neglect a dirty piece of furniture! A stain that’s obvious, a grimy arm on a chair or an ottoman can make us cringe. How do I know? I have an off-white ottoman in my bathroom that got a water spot on it. In an attempt to fix it, I did a little dabbing at it, which only increased the size of the already noticeable stain!
See the dark spot on the left? Yeah, me, too!
HELP!
I went searching for a way to clean it and I found a method that promised me a clean surface if I followed this process, step-by-step. Guess what? It worked!
Tide Simply Oxi, Sparkling water, and vinegar and warm water were my products.
Using a spray bottle, I sprayed the entire surface with warm tap water.
I put 4 parts water to one part stain remover into a spray bottle and sprayed a small surface at a time, rubbing in a gentle circular motion with a white cotton cloth. (If you’re cleaning a colored fabric, I would test a hidden area before cleaning)
Into a spray bottle, I added 1 cup sparkling water and 1/2 cup white vinegar and sprayed the surface of the fabric. The vinegar breaks down the soapy particles and the carbonation in the sparkling water will bring it to the surface, as well as any deeper dirt. I Gently scrubbed the fabric again until the rags stopped pulling dirt from the surface. The sparkling water works wonders!
The finished ottoman, still wet from cleaning.
So clean!
I’m so glad I took the time to address the stain! I had been hiding it under a throw, but now, I can keep it cleared off and show off it’s beauty!
What piece of furniture comes to your mind as you read this post? I hope you’ll try this method!
Refresh your soiled upholstery with a good spring cleaning!
When your garage is messy a disaster and needs some good organization and then you see that your neighbor is giving away a lovely piece of furniture that would make the perfect mini-mudroom, you slam on the brakes and go get that piece of furniture! That’s exactly what happened to us last weekend!
Garages easily become catch-all’s for everything that you don’t know what to do with or don’t need anymore (can I get a witness?!). Over the winter months, our garage got Out. Of. Hand. Now with this beautiful piece of furniture in tow, I decided to use it to make a mud room of sorts. It will be a place where shoes can be slipped on and off, and also used for some extra storage space for the thing my husband needs more room for – his books. I failed to take a picture before we moved the piece in, but here it is just piled up and not yet organized.
I’m married to a sentimental guy. He likes to hold onto things that were his from long ago, his parents’ possessions and maybe even his grandparents’. That means an old cell phone from his mom, a CD player/Boom Box, a ton of CD’s (you know what those are, right? Ha!), letters, and year books are treasures to him. I wanted to help organize his belongings, not really toss them, so that was part of my task in this garage clean-up job. I made a place for his mom’s CD player (and have it plugged in and accessible) and also found storage for the CD’s. I also made a place for his shoes when he comes in, as well as space for some car accessories, yard games and fire pit tools.
Since we always come in through the garage, I like to make it inviting. A wreath, a cute greeting on the door say, “Welcome Home!” If you’re going to hang art work in your garage, why not hang up a picture of a cool, old truck?! A young man at our church gave that to my husband a few years ago.
I also added a tin for bats, balls and other toys so that my grandsons could easily access them. The aqua cushion on the furniture was one I had already and wasn’t using anymore. Now it’s providing a soft place to sit down and lace up shoes!
we I alsoI also
I love that this new space cost me $0, thanks to kind neighbors who needed to unload a piece of furniture. If you have a garage that could use some organization, why not look on Facebook Marketplace? People are often selling pieces like this one for little to nothing, or maybe you’ll be blessed with a free piece like I was!
What could you do to create an inviting space in your garage or car port? Sometimes just adding a wreath and a pretty rug can transform the garage from just a place for the car to a place that welcomes you home!
Refresh your garage with a little spring spruce up!
We’ve had some gorgeous weather this week, allowing me to walk each morning. I’m always so happy to step out my front door to views like this one…
I try so hard to get at least a little exercise in each day. I exercise inside, but being outside is my favorite! Seeing the scenery, the sky, the birds and cattle are just invigorating to me! How about you? Do you need to add a little Continue reading “Highlights of Recent Refreshments”→
RefreshHer 