The weekend ahead

My weekend is chock full of to dos as are most people's.

I finished a few paintings and plan to work on more.

I posted a few drawings recently, some of which are the basis for these paintings.

This drawing is slated to become an oil on linen.

I will also be working on more watercolors for Jennifer of The Pink Pagoda. She has a new round going up at 6 central Monday. The last batch went very quickly so check early if you are hoping to get one.

Those are the fun things.

My son heads back to college on Sunday and has somehow been hoarding laundry much of this vacation and from the looks of it we I will be at it for quite a large chunk of the weekend.

 I also have to ( I can't believe I am admitting this) still put away the Christmas decorations. I haven't left them up this long in 25 years and then I had the excuse of youthful laziness!

What's on your list?

Loving lately

This is a little bit of everything that I have bought or want to.

N.Y. Times

There has to be a DIY way to accomplish a similar shelf. I will be checking out Lowe's and another plumbing supplier to find out.

 

I received a sample of this skin serum and it is headed my way soon. To say it makes your face softer than a baby's bottom is an understatement. This stuff is gold!

 

I have mentioned this one before. Hoover does not pay me to say this but the Floormate is awesome. My old one bit the dust this week and I had all of the kitchen chairs moved out of the way in preparation to clean. Four hours, a trip to Walmart, a grocery load up, and a nap later my floor got cleaned like never before with the new model. OK, not never but I love that this thing sucks up the dirty wash water as opposed to just spreading it around.

Yangyang Pan

The artwork of Yangyang Pan is super inspiring to me lately. Check out her Pinterest board with all of her work.

What great product or inspiration have you found lately?

Between the sheets

D.C. Design House 2013

In a recent dinner table conversation, I commented on how a few people I know think it is crazy to fold fitted sheets. My kids confessed that they had no idea how to do it. Its my mission to teach them how this summer.

Its easy. Here's how in case you don't already know.

I like to fold them on a bed so that the sheets can be fully spread out and smoothed as I go.

First, lay the sheet flat with the sleeping side down and those pesky gathers up. Using the corner seams as a guide, flatten the gathered sides to make a sort of picture frame. That is the hard part. The neater this is the better the whole thing will go.

Next, I fold 1/4 of the sheet over to the center line, smoothing as I go.

Next I do the same with the other end and smooth and flatten as much as possible.

In half again creating a rectangle.

From here I either fold it in thirds or quarters depending on the sheet.

folded fitted sheet

I like to fold the flat sheet the same size but truth be told, sometimes I just don't have the time or patience.

Do you fold you fitted sheets?

I am oddly particular about sheets. They must be 100% cotton, white if I am sleeping on them and I really love 1000 thread count sheets.

 I found 1000 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets for King size beds at Tuesday Morning for $80. I thought it was a deal.

I am new to shopping there but I am liking there luxury bedding selection.

3 ways to cut down on cleaning time

Like you, I only get 24 hours in a day. Sometimes it is not enough and I feel super stressed about keeping up with household chores. This is not a paid endorsement, just a few products that help me keep my sanity...sort of.

I have 3 full baths and a million kids, OK just 4 out of 5 living here, but only the 3 year-old actually rinses the toothpaste out of the sink. Bathroom yuck happens and fast. I thought this product was stupid when I saw the commercial but my husband mentioned it so I grabbed one in a weak moment.

This Windex Touch-up has been a godsend. I like that I can get mirrors clean and sanitize sinks and other surfaces. The only minus is that it is highly fragranced and I think it is too much.

I am obsessed with having clean floors. You wouldn't know that walking into my house unless you overheard my incredulous grumbles about the incessant dirt that appears in a shoe free house. Even when my floors look clean this thing tells another story.

I have an older model Hoover Floormate and I love it. It is a wet/dry vac and floor scrubber. The best part is that when you scrub (lightly) it sucks up all of that dirty water and partially drys the floor. Its also rather light weight. It beats the hell out of hand scrubbing.

Can I tell you how desperately I rue the day I said, "Stainless is fine" when it would arrive 5 days sooner than the other dishwasher?

I was being my usual cheap self and not buying this Weiman Stainless Steel polish for months and getting annoyed by the unsightly drips and fingerprints down the front of my dishwasher just about every 10 minutes. I broke down and bought it only to find that it also works on my ugly black glass microwave oven combo. 

So much less yuck!

 I hope this leaves you with a few extra minutes for Pinterest, blog stalking or whatever other cool thing strikes your fancy.

4 helpful tips for paper clutter

A few days ago I lamented the lack of office space in my house. Someone commented that they would like my tips for containing the paper beast so here is my system.

Number one, on the list is pocket folders. I use separate folders for different paper types. One for receipts for art supplies and invoices, one for commission contracts, etc.

 In theory I have a folder for kids art art and school papers. Here's the thing, because I don't, my system doesn't always work for me. When I had them it worked.

The two essential things to making it work are going through papers each day and putting them in their designated spot and actually having a spot.

I use the folders and then when they get unmanageable purge them of unwanted stuff and stash them in a magazine folder or a wall pocket.

 

 

 Number two is our bill system. Our system for bills is a bit different but it works really well. You need a calendar and a "spot" like a drawer that is only for bills or a letter tray that you must not bury with other papers.

 

 When bills arrive, open them and note the due date with a red marker on  the outside of the original envelope.  Then put the contents back in the opened envelope that the bill came to you in.. Then simply write "BILL" on your calendar two or three days in advance of the due date. For instance, if your bill is due February 1, you write it on the calendar square for January 29th. We pay all but one bill online so two days works for us. If you are mailing your bills it would make sense to give yourself more time.

Our calendar is on the inside of our pantry door, a high traffic place, so don't hide this calendar too well.

On to tip number three.

Near this calendar I have a magnetic dry erase board. I should have bought one three times the size that I did because the goal was to keep papers off the fridge (something I hate) but alas its petite size means my fridge usually looks raggedy with papers.

 It is where we keep a running grocery list. With so many people in our house I can't possibly know when we run out of everything. It is a good place to keep written phone numbers for the neighbors, spare keys and the school calendar. This is another system that really works for us. I only wish it were much bigger.

My last little decluttering tip is not really about all of the paper that falls into our lives but the miscellaneous things that just appear.

For those things I employ trays of every size. Its a good halfway house for those things that you are not ready to put away just yet but can't just leave all over the place. Again, the trick to this working is staying on top of what you do not need and throwing away or putting away.

What are your systems?

My house is neater plus goodies for design/math geeks

One of the perks of having a large family is the slave labor help from the kids. I won't bore you with my chore lists but there are more people available to accomplish them and I am insisting on the house looking presentable at all times. Note: I said presentable not perfect.

Another pleasant effect was that moving my desk into the entry hall forces me to keep it neat. I had a habit of piling on the paper and bills and closing the door. Tisk, tisk. I have always had a problem with clutter accumulating.

I think it is a lovely addition to the large but awkward space.

When it comes to proportion, I am a fan of the  Golden ratio or phi .
Here is a graphic representation, which is what I am interested in.

The trouble with it is that most ready made canvases are not in line with these proportions. Bugger! I still aim for the sweet spot as noted by the center of the spiral as my focal point or a basic 3:2 ratio for a point of intersection in my painting compositions.
Look around you with a measuring tape and take note at the eye-pleasing things that follow this ratio.

 Here is fantastic calculator so that people that are math impaired, like me, can get it done
Let me know what you find

Three smart things

I need this! 

I hate cluttered kitchen counters and guess what I have. My husband and I have a longstanding war where takes the papertowels or any number of things an leaves them on the counter. I walk in the kitchen and put them away only to have him open a cabinet (while I am still standing there!!) and take said item back out.

I think empty counters are a long way off for me but a tidy garage is more up my husband's alley. I may be able to convince him on these.

Kerrybot

If you have ever seen the children's movie Wall-e you will recognize M-O the floor cleaning robot that follow mess makers closely, cleaning their tracks. My husband call it "Kerrybot" because I am a clean floor freak. I have mentioned my germaphobia before but floors a another thing all together.

 I thought I'd share a quick tip that keep a dirty floor panic attack at bay, LOL!

This is not a sponsored post. I just like this product. I seriously do not have time to haul out my Hoover Floormate everyday but I do have 5 minutes to clean with this baby. 

This $20 mop has a small tank that sprays. I will tell you upfront, don't bother putting anything but water in it. It will clog if you do.

The benefit is that the microfiber pads are washable and reuseable and you can clean with whatever you like. Sometimes I use just water or a gentle spray cleaner but I often fell compelled to use bleach, especially if shoes have been worn in the kitchen. I know I'm  weird but it really freaks me out to think where everyone's shoes have been.

My girlfriends with young families often express frustration at the lack of time to clean floors properly so I always tell them about this timesaver.

I see crumbs!!! Gotta go! ;)

My new obsession with natural cleaning

Love this stuff!

I must admit that I am not averse to old-fashioned harsh cleaning chemicals but lately I have reason to avoid them to a small degree. It started a year and a half ago when we bought our current house. Our master bath has a soaking tub and an enclosed shower with a sliding door, the latter of which, is pretty basic.  No marble, nice tile, and in fact it has one of those yucky textured fiberglass floors.

The first time I had occasion to clean it (15 minutes after the truck pulled in) I naively sprayed  some sort of soap scum/ disinfectant and climbed in for a scrub session..... I almost passed out from the fumes.
I was at a loss and just sprayed the whole thing down with bleach on a regular basis and let the soap film accumulate. *embarrassing*

I figured a no chemical approach was best so I grabbed my old friend "Magic Eraser" or its less expensive knock-off and some baking soda. I happen to believe that this "Magic Eraser" is one of the greatest cleaning innovations in my lifetime but was sad to see it disintegrate along with my motivation at the strenuous scrubbing required on my shower.

These "erasers" are fabulous for no chemical cleaning and will even remove "Sharpie" ink from skin. Don't ask me why I know this.

I digress...

 I remembered my favorite stainless steel cleaner one day and went to work on my shower yet again. It was better but still not ideal.

Fast forward to last week. I made an impulse purchase of this Method product, all the while thinking that I was wasting my money.

I recall the daily shower spray promises of 15 years ago and just thought that this was a natural version of said product.

 Not so.
My shower is clean or at least much better. This fabulous stuff is just a spray a day and the glass door is much better looking without a daily scrub and that stupid floor doesn't look nasty all the time.I am truly amazed.
I still go germaphobe crazy with bleach on a regular basis but I am kinda liking these newer natural products that actually work.

** I was not reimbursed in any for this post nor was it sponsored.**

Magazine files

For me, one of the mysteries of parenthood has been where to put all of the crap that comes along with having kids. A particular peeve is paper. It is everywhere. It comes from darling little art projects, the pediatrician, school, school and more paper from school.

Lucky for me, my older kids don't bring home that much paper for me to deal with anymore but my little cutie wants to be an artist like Mommy.

There are coloring books and freestyle drawings galore and I am often at a loss for where to put them. Out of desperation I shoved some things that have yet to find long term storage in my "current magazines" file that is out so I can just grab that Elle Decor from last month.

It was an "Aha moment".

 I found some really nice magazine files and that will be home to coloring books and recent crayon portraits of our family.

via Apartment Therapy

If you don't have children to de-clutter after these could certainly be a temporary spot to corral  mail and folded newspapers neatly until you have a chance to look them over.

Yes, there are chicer things in the world but my house is a bit neater now.

Put a little "green" in your day

OK, so here it is. I was wrong. There is such a thing as an all natural cleaner that works.

For years I refused to buy natural cleaners fearing that the overpriced hype would leave a cloudy film and dirt in its wake.

I read something recently about Mrs. Meyers Geranium scented counter spray. I was skeptical.

The stuff was hard to find around here.

I have vinegar in a spray bottle and I am not opposed to good old fashioned chemicals.

Whatever works.

Yesterday I finally found the Geranium scented spray.

Its smells heavenly but more importantly I cleaned my stove easily and without streaks. I hate streaks. I was delighted to see that I could use it on pretty much anything, so I did and filled my house with the cheerful scent.

There you have it folks...

a little green on St. Patty's day.

P.S. My maiden name, Kerry Burke is about as Irish as it gets. Maybe I'll drink a Guiness tonight.