Spring Cleaning: Allergen Alert

I live at the upper end of the Central Valley of California. Agricultural land. Locally, farmers grow rice, grapes, almonds, and fruit. In the Spring, the pollen count is high. I never had a problem with seasonal allergies until I moved here 17 years ago. My town, Chico, is a city of trees. I love trees. Chico is hot in the Summer months and the shade they provide is very much appreciated, but in the Spring, they are full of dust, pollen, and this stuff that I call tree fluff. It floats around and gathers in the gutters, the corners of your yard, all over. Just thinking about it makes my eyes itch.

My son, Max, he has big problems with allergies - he has to take prescription allergy meds all year long. I do what I can to keep our home as allergen-free as possible. Spring cleaning is serious business when you've got a boy like mine.

*At the beginning of Spring, I pull the beds out and check the wall behind them for mold. Kids have a habit of shoving stuff under the bed and that accumulated junk can hold the moisture there. Small areas of mold can be cleaned easily with a cleaning solution. I use Formula 409, but if you've got a large area of mold, you need to be more careful. Take a look here for more information.

*Clean the windows, especially the corners where mold can grow. I open the windows and clean the screens. I clean the screens a few times a month, because ick catches on them and the wind drives it into my house.

*Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. If you can, use a machine with a HEPA filter. Move furniture, get the corners. Vacuum your mattress, flip it, vacuum the other side.

*This is a good time of year to purchase new pillows. They can be full of dust mites. (Yuck). If you have feather pillows or a feather comforter, follow manufacturers directions and wash them.

*Replace central heating/air filters. Where I live, we replace them twice a year - in the Fall and in the Spring. Clean the metal grates where the air flows through. I have personal fans around my house (great for apartment living to disguise the sounds of loud neighbors). I take the fans apart and clean off the blades in the Spring.

*During allergy season, wash your hair before bed. If you don't, you are going to be breathing those allergens in all night long. Pillow full of pollen. Not good.

This isn't related to seasonal allergens, but Formula 409 has a new formula for Natural Stone. Use it to safely clean marble and granite surfaces. You can download a $1 off coupon here.

Image credit: Formula 409.com

Construction-Free Window Seats

When I think about home decorating, I think about comfort as much as I think about design. Who wants to hang out in an uncomfortable room? Another important aspect is light - I like a lot of natural light. A room that's full of windows is a room where I'd love to spend a lot of time.


Better Homes and Gardens has a feature, "Before and After: Affordable Sunporch Makeover." They took a window-filled room and dressed it with throw rugs and wicker and plants - I'd love to take a book, climb into the picture, and hang out there for an afternoon.  Relaxing.

I liked how they used wooden benches along the windows. It gives the look of a window seat. Plus the benches also give you a great place to accessorize, too. They work as seating and shelving. If you chose a bench with a shelf bottom, you can set containers in there for storage, too. Such a great idea! You can see what I mean here.

Lets recreate the look with similar materials........

This mudroom bench comes pre-topped with a cushion and the rattan baskets are included. It's on sale right now for $30 off, which makes this the perfect time to purchase it in multiples.

World Market's Catalina Bench is a better bet if you want to truly personalize the room. Cover it with seat cushions and slide the baskets underneath. Plus, it goes with the rest of the Catalina outdoor furniture collection.

Add  bench-length or single cushions to the bench for comfort and color.


Image credit: World Market.com

Go Green With Aveda's Soy Candles

Happy Earth Day!!


Celebrate  Earth Day by purchasing an Aveda Light the Way Candle. This soy candle carries notes of Clary Sage and Lavender - a soothing, relaxing fragrance combination. These soy candles are poured into recycled containers and one hundred percent of Light the Way candle sales benefit Global Greengrant water projects. The projects include teaching people to use sustainable, organic argricultural methods, teaching better water management, helping communities to "take action" against pollution caused by local industry.

Women in developing nations have to walk an average of 6 KM a day in order to gather water for their families. To bring awareness to this situation, as well as to raise funds for clean water organizations Aveda is holding water walks. If you'd like to take part in an Aveda Walk for Water, click here for more information.


I'm holding a go green giveaway at my Girl Looks Swell blog. Stop by and leave a comment. By doing so you will be entered into a giveway drawing. The prize is a Bioethique Organic Eye Cream.



Image credit: Aveda

My Bare Bones Chore List

I took a bit of a break from this blog. I started running again and that cut into my re-organization time. It's time to get busy again.




Time management can be a real issue for me. When I was a kid I'd hear adults say something like, "I wish there was another hour in the day." I just didn't get it then, but boy do I ever get it now.

When I get busy, I end up doing the mininum around the house. That includes the following:

*I want the view from the front door to be clear. That means the couch pillows are fixed, the coffee table is clear-ish, and no backpacks in the living room. Carpets vacuumed.

*The kitchen doesn't have to be perfect, but the counters need to be clear (always fighting the paper clutter from the mail), because this is were I prepare food for my family.

*Bathrooms clean. With 3 kids in the house, this feels like a never-ending job. I wipe down the bathroom and clean the tub every day. Every day.

*Laundry, because clean clothes are essential.

How are you able to keep up when pressed for time? Do you have a list of must-do jobs that you fit in no matter what? 

Next week, I'm back on track.


Image credit: Michelle Hamor Smith

There's An App For That....

It's Spring break time for my sister and her family. How do they celebrate the break? A trip to Pismo Beach, their favorite family vacation spot.

They headed to the coast yesterday and Robin was in charge of packing everything that 6 people would need for an entire week in a camping trailer. Big job and one that she does exceptionally well, in my opinion. She makes lists, of course. Lists are a lifesaver for busy moms.

I was reading InStyle magazine the other day and I found that Rory Tahari, creative director at Elie Tahari and author of the book, "Lists For Life: The Essential Guide to Getting Organized and Tackling Tough To-Dos," has developed an iPhone application that includes travel packing lists. How handy is that? You can find the travel packing list app at her website.

Image credit: Apple.com

Etsy Weekend: Art That Speaks To You

Etsy weekend shopping for....artful accessories.


How about a mirror? The C Burbach shop at Etsy carries cute and quirky handmade mirrors that are decorated in a collage of color and poetry. Cherie, the artist, is also Cherie the poet. She suggests displaying the mirror on a plate rack or hanging on the wall. Tacks and wiring for hanging are shipped with the mirror.

Filling My Heart With Gladness Mirror

$30 at C Burbach

More fun with words... I love this simple "read" wall hanging. It's made from recycled wood and painted with a special method to give it an aged look. It measures 14" by 7 ". Can also be displayed by standing upright. Like this...

Read Recycled Wooden Sign

$32 at William Dohman

One last piece of word-art, print by Deka Animal. A typwriter that says, "I love you, I love you, I love you...." Printed on heavyweight matte paper measuring 8.5" by 11".

Love Writer Prints

$18 at Deka Animal

Image credits C Burbach, William Dohman, and Deka Animal at Etsy

Spring Is For .... Cleaning?

I've started on my Spring cleaning, slowly working my way through the house, cupboard by cupboard, room by room.


So far I've pulled out the stove, cleaned the wall behind it, all the burner pans, underneath the hood, etc. I am planning to re-organize all the kitchen cupboards, bringing the pans out, so that I am able to better organize my serving and food storing pieces. In an attempt to save money, we are eating 95% of all our meals at home. To make this more inviting, I want to serve the food in my prettier containers. In order to do that, I have to be able to get to them without having to use a chair or a step ladder to reach them.

I've been looking at inventive ways to store the pans outside the cupboards. I thought about a traditional pot rack, but my space is limited. The other day I saw a new idea using a row of coat hooks. The pans hang from the coat hooks by way of a large "S" hook. How cool is that? Simple and inexpensive, too.

Speaking of inexpensive. My friend, Cherie, just started a new blog called Frugal Home.net. She has information on frugal home decoration, recipes, crafts, and entertainment. She also has a piece up on organizing the bathroom, which is the next room I plan to hit.

Are you planning any Spring cleaning projects?  Care to share any of your organization tips?
Image credit: Michelle Hamor Smith