home + garden
Welcome to Homegirls. You'll find a sassy sampling of décor and design tips, frank conversation about everything from holidays and homekeeping to home improvement and our picks and pans of new products, stores and events.
Contributors: Kim Palmer, Lynn Underwood, Connie Nelson, Kim Ode and Nicole Hvidsten.
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Posts about Improvement and repair
Organized exercise
Posted by: Lynn Underwood Updated: January 4, 2013 - 2:03 PM
It’s a new year and everyone has a new mission list.
What’s at the top of mine? You guessed it -- get organized and get more exercise.
Ugh. Still, I’m committed to making a dent in those messy closets, stuffed toy totes and overflowing files. As well as block out time to burn more calories every day. But how will I squeeze in “Nashville” and “The Good Wife?”
I came up with a brilliant idea: declutter and work out at the same time.
Task: Drive to a store to buy a label maker, a must-have miracle gadget, says every organization expert.
Workout: Park really far away and walk to the entrance and then back to the car three times.
Task: Pull out towels, hair products, boxes of saline solution and Kleenex out of the hall closet and organize it all in labeled totes.
Workout: Do jumping jacks for one minute.
Task: Bend over file drawers, culling income tax records from 10 years ago to make room to file new paperwork from three years ago.
Workout: Bend down and touch my toes 20 times.
Task: Sift through toy bins to determine what to keep and what to donate.
Workout: Do 10 squats by bending my knees and lowering my body into a squat position as if I were sitting in an imaginary chair. Make sure I keep my knees above my ankles.
Task: Clean the basement storage closet of “what was I thinking” ugly home accessories that will never, ever grace a coffeetable again.
Workout: Stand an arm’s length from the workbench top and do 20 standing push-ups.
Task: Lug boxes of storage stuff down the basement stairs.
Workout: Run up and down the stairs 5 times.
That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it — at least until Feb. 1.
What are some of your strategies for making your home clutter-free in the winter of 2013?
2013: A year of possibilities
Posted by: Nicole Hvidsten Updated: January 2, 2013 - 6:08 AMAs we were doing the big New Year's Eve countdown, my oldest wondered why everyone made such a big fuss, and why on earth anyone would want to be packed into Times Square.
Times Square is all about the experience, I said. And the rest? It's all about possibility.
Possibility, of course, is why there are New Year's resolutions and why Slim-Fast is now front and center with the discounted holiday candy. It's also why stores have begun taunting us with "let us help you get organized" advertisements. They know we're coming off a hectic holiday season, and they're marketing possibility.
Me? I'm a sucker for all things organization. Never met a plastic tote I couldn't fill or a closet system I didn't covet. I believe the world would be a better place if everyone had a label maker and have such a love of filing that I need a filing system for my filing system. Yet at the start of every year, I find myself being swayed by the promises of organized living. I am their target market. Just think of the possibilities.
This year I started by cleaning out the Christmas bins, combining ornament boxes and finally getting rid of anything cracked or broken. I now have my Christmas card list on a spreadsheet and have double-checked this year's addresses with my list, and checked it twice. Yes, I'm off to a great start.
They say out with the old, in with the new, right? Nowhere is this more true than with toys. So buoyed by the promise of possibility, I tackled my son's room -- land of the Legos. Out went the toys and books he's outgrown -- and a very large bag of garbage -- and in with this year's crop of toys and books. Yes, I now have momentum. The possibilities seem endless.
I now have designs on the basement. Saturday is paint the bathroom day; trips to home improvement stores have been planned. Drywall will be patched; there will be more painting. Shelves will be culled, treasures uncovered, lost things found (here's hoping we unearth a cell phone) -- there will most definitely be plastic totes and shelving or cubbies involved. Yes, the possibilities are indeed endless.
Do you find yourself revitalized at the start of a new year? What are you hoping your possibilities are?
Holiday push
Posted by: Lynn Underwood Updated: December 7, 2012 - 3:11 PM
I had all year to get new carpet in the living and dining rooms, but waited until right before Christmas to start hunting for it. I guess I got used to seeing that big gray stain next to the dining table and the rust blob from spilled water under the plant stand. But I sure don’t want anyone else to see them.
Inviting people over for holiday gatherings is a better motivator than Tony Robbins. The looming deadline pushes me to get my home rejuvenation projects all wrapped up.
Last year, I replaced ny nonfunctioning old stove with a new one the day before my pals came over for our annual Christmas cookie bake. It's easy to get energized when the end result is fresh-baked cookies.
This year, I really need a push. In the 12 days before Christmas, I’ll be pondering frieze, cut and loop pile and saxony at the carpet stores. Then moving furniture for the carpet installer. That’s on top of grocery and gift shopping, cooking baking, cleaning, and of course, making my house merry and bright.
I have friends who waited to remodel outdated bathrooms and kitchens until right before they threw a big graduation party. For my son's graduation bash, I plan to put in a big concrete patio and plant lovely landscaping in the backyard.
But there's no hurry. I have until May 2015 — that’s when he graduates.
Do you procrastinate? What are some home projects you’ve accomplished in a short time under the gun?
Cast-off couture
Posted by: Kim Palmer Updated: December 4, 2012 - 12:06 PM
Our front entry got an instant upgrade last week. That's because I finally ditched our beat-up old console table and replaced it with a new one that I picked up at a bargain price because it was a floor sample, too imperfect to sell for full retail.
It's got a couple dings on it, but it's still way better than the one we had, with a finish that had cracked and peeled away in strips, as though a giant had raked his fingernails across it.
But the old table quickly found a new home -- in the apartment of our 22-year-old daughter. She and her roommate were as happy to get it as I'd been happy to get rid of it. When the roomie carried it inside, a guy who helped her maneuver it through the door even commented that it was "a nice piece."
Really? It had looked nice enough when I bought it, about 25 years ago, when we were newlyweds. But it was so cheap at the time, and so damaged and dated looking now, that I never considered it an heirloom. Still, it's real solid wood, which is more than can be said for a lot of new furniture today.
Our daughter wants to strip and refinish it, to get rid of the scratches and give it a more stylish espresso color. I explained the process to her, what she'd need and how to do it. When I said goodbye to her, my eye fell on the two little accent tables that I'd refinished myself when I was her age. They were somebody's cast-offs, bought for a buck each at a garage sale. Yet they still have a place in my family room, and they still look good.
There's an awful lot of good-looking used furniture out there. My daughter and her roommate have beem pleasantly surprised by the offerings at local consignment stores and thrift shops. A couple years ago, I toured a new Parade home (pictured above) that had been completely furnished with secondhand stuff from the warehouse of Bridging, a program that helps families in need set up households.
If you have used furniture that you'd like to find a new home for, there are lots of options. Bridging (www.bridging.org) is one; it accepts "quality gently used furniture." The Hope Chest (www.hopechest.us), a foundation that helps breast-cancer patients and their families, also accepts "upscale" furniture donations for sale in its consignment shops. The Arc, a nonprofit that serves people with developmental disabilities, accepts "select furniture with manager approval" at its Value Village thrift stores (www.arcsvaluevillage.org).
What do you do with furniture that's past its prime or no longer useful to you? Do you refinish or reupholster it? Sell it? Donate it? Or hand it down to your kids?
Fix your own stuff
Posted by: Kim Ode Updated: December 3, 2012 - 10:07 AM
Too many of us have bought into the marketing message that we live in a disposable economy. "Planned obsolescence" is a ploy, sure, but also a way to drive industry or support business, right? Besides, who knows how to fix a toaster anyway?
Nancy Lo knows. Even better, she knows all sorts of people who know how to rewire lamps, fix a broken zipper, troubleshoot a computer or solder a pipe. But here's the best news of all: They want to teach you how!
Hennepin County Environmental Services is hosting its third monthly Fix-It Clinic on Dec. 8 -- that's this Saturday -- from 1-5 p.m. at The Mill, 2300 Kennedy St. NE, Minneapolis. The idea is to reduce the amount of stuff that gets thrown in the trash, most of which just takes up space, but some also can leak nasty gunk into the ground and our water.
Mostly, though, the clinic are about achieving some skills. But Lo's challenge has been drumming up awareness in the clinic -- and in instilling some confidence in people. "We have plenty of volunteers who can teach people how to fix a sewing machine or a blender, but we need more people bringing stuff in to fix."
Some of the items fixed at previous clinics include a telephone headset, antique radio, toaster oven, toy helicopter, laptop, paper shredder, flashlight, boombox, remote control, camping lantern and electric hot water kettle.
Lo said there also are folks on hand to help with sewing projects, whether it's a broken zipper, or a sagging hemline.
The subtext in these clinics is empowerment. Quite simply, it's cool to know how to fix things. It's cool not to feel dependent upon others, or to offer up some help yourself. A sense of self-sufficiency can't be underestimated.
Plus, you save money.
So this week, look around the house and grab that wonky hair dryer that's been sitting on the shelf, because sometimes it works -- for a while. Decide you're no longer willing to put up with a toaster that toasts on one side, or an iron that's lost its steam function.
Bring it to the experts, and in so doing, stand a fair chance of becoming an expert yourself. Or, at the very least, a little more useful around the house.
WORDS FOR THE WISE: The Mill is in an industrial area in northeast Minneapolis, and a little tricky to find -- but a truly fascinating place to know about, even beyond the Fix-it Clinic. From Hennepin Av. E, go north on Stinson Blvd., then west on Kennedy St. NE. You'll see a big sign in a rather featureless-looking building.
For more details, a good map, and dates of future clinics, visit www.hennepin.us/FixItClinic.
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recent posts
- Organized exercise
- 2013: A year of possibilities
- Can we be done decking the halls now?
- Learning to let go
- Defying tradition
- Decorating rebel
- Taking Christmas lists to new heights
- Homes of the 1 percent
- Green chic
- Holiday push
- Cast-off couture
- Fix your own stuff
- Five-minute holiday decorating
- Year in review, home-improvement style
- Memories make odd ornaments precious
- Deck the halls, eventually
- Holiday entertaining: The clean before the storm
- Let there be light
- The curse of an open floor plan
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