Category Archives: Decorating/Gardening/Green

The Grass Is Slowly Growing, My Mother Is Slowly…

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If you want me again, look for me under your boot-soles.

My mother died Tuesday morning.  My brother and I had traveled to see her and she knew us, beamed when she saw us and throughout the afternoon was able to communicate her needs to us.

Her dementia was far advanced, but my mother was able to say in halting sentences that she had to go and was afraid.  Of course we assured her that we would stay by her side.  Within 12 hours, Sunday morning, she had started her journey with rapid breathing, finally entering into a semi-conscious state.

Hospice came and started oxygen and wrote up orders for morphine which depresses breathing and of course deals with pain.  My brother and I stayed with our mother every moment for the next two days, sleeping in her room and sitting by her side.  Often we talked to her to assure her that we were there.  Mouth care is important for someone in this condition and we helped with that.  The nurses at the senior home came in frequently to check on our mother.  Our dear caregiver was also there at her side.

The process was difficult, but eased by the numbers of aids and nurses from her home who knocked gently on the door and came in to say goodbye.

Spring is slowly coming to the midwest.  My mother loved flowers and trees and in her last months was cheered by the sight of one bright yellow blossom or a single white rose.  New life will come into the world that she loved and we know that her life, so fully lived, will bless us and guide us all the days of our lives.

Writer Christopher Buckley, son of William F. Buckley Jr. and Patricia Buckley wrote The Last Goodbyes, a book about losing his parents.  When asked whether that bond ends with death, he said: It never goes away, and they never go away. Your parents are your ultimate protectors, and no matter what difficulties you’re having with them when they’re alive, you can always pick up the phone and hear their voices. They provide a certain level of comfort—just knowing they’re there. They’re like fire extinguishers mounted on the wall behind glass. You know if it really comes to it, you can break the glass.  And now they’re gone. 

My father-in-law died one spring.  I remember thinking, as I was planting my flower garden, that he would be gone even as the tiny plants I was plunging into the earth grew large, produced flowers—still lived.  I know now that often when I plant a garden my mother will be there, in my mind, feeling the warm sun as I do and loving the idea of growth and expansion.  She was the flower in my life and what she taught me and the power of her love will keep me growing until it’s my time.

The grass is slowly growing while other life ebbs away.

Thanks to jainaj     and     Madame Kno  photostreams

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The Art of Cleaning–with some zen help

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We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.   Lao Tzu

I’d rather clean than grocery shop.  Here’s why.

Cleaning your rooms is an art.  It can satisfy your creative urges and appeal to the senses, all five of them.  It has a longer staying power, most times, than cooking, for the labors of the kitchen are often consumed within minutes of the completion of the task.  Cleaning can last—at least a little longer.

Cleaning is good for the soul.  It reflects organization and conviction on the part of the person in control of it.

Cleaning can be so zen, so in the moment.   Cleaning allows you to immerse yourself in a task (if you don’t have interruptions) because it is you deeply involved in something physical, but most times its simplicity allows your actions to run on automatic pilot while you dream, plan, sing or organize your next move. (This is a great choice. You can plan the rest of your day, or the next cleaning task.)

You are the boss, the ruler of all you survey, the decision maker, until maybe you come upon your spouse’s desk or your children’s clutter.  Then you might have to step back and allow them that involvement later on.

But as you proceed moment to moment YOU are increasing the pleasantness of your surroundings.

The obstacle is the path.  ~Zen Proverb

But in order to go there (that dream, focus) you have to meet the organizational challenge of cleaning.

You need:

1. A mental map and time.  Know where you will begin and end in the amount of time you have; know how detailed you plan to be.  Changing and washing linens and towels and decluttering while cleaning??  Block out more time.  What if you are vacuuming and dusting six rooms and cleaning a bath and a powder room and kitchen?  That’s a lot.  You will probably need at least three hours of uninterrupted time.

2. Love for your rooms.  Whether you live in an apartment, house, mansion, cottage, for this to work you have to invest uninterrupted care and pleasure into your cleaning time.  No phone calls, emails.  Your children are at school or with a sitter or your spouse.

3. Supplies. Choose from: bucket, mop or floor sponge mop, dust rags or cloths, vacuum, broom and dustpan, garbage bags, possibly Swiffer for wood floors, paper towel, water and cleaning fluids like window cleaner, wax or cleaners for wood surfaces and scouring products for toilets and sinks.  Want to be green?

Gorgeously Green All-Purpose Spray

32-ounce plastic spray bottle

2 cups water

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon pure castile soap (peppermint is a favorite)

3/4 cup hydrogen peroxide

20 drops tea tree oil

20 drops of lavender or lemongrass essential oil

Simply fill a large 32-ounce plastic spray bottle with the water. Add the vinegar, castile soap, hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil and lavender or lemongrass essential oil. Lavender is lovely for the bathroom spray and lemongrass for the kitchen, so make two separate bottles at the same time. In the hot summer months, add about 10 drops of citronella essential oil to the spray, as it is an excellent insect repellent.

This spray is suitable for acrylic, ceramic tile, wood, marble and granite. Sophie Uliano .

4. Something creative/fun or new: scented candle, garden flowers, pillow, new pillow cases, decorative tissue box, storage container—let your needs and your mind flow.  Determine how much time you want for this part—thirty minutes to make a flower arrangement from your garden or yard, or one minute to place a pillow. Twenty minutes to rearrange a bedroom or one minute to place a candle on the kitchen table.  Your choice, your needs.

5.Your Five Senses: enjoy the scents of flax soap, polishes and the candle you light when you are finished.  Play music, dance and sing if you want to.  Or just enjoy the whirling of the washing machine drum, the click of the dryer, or the whoosh of the dishwasher.  Immerse your hands in the warm water and suds of your bucket or feel the cold air on your face when you open a window to wash it.  Taste a protein snack as you move through your tasks and finally enjoy the sights of completion when you stand back and see what you have accomplished.

The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.  ~Robert M. Pirsig


Cleaning is not a repetitive act when you are constantly creating new visions (how your rooms look) or thinking of ways to keep order.  Yes, it might be a constant struggle, but it can be fun meeting the challenge and you might just conquer it at some point and feel tremendous pride.  (From experience—I finally bought the right toy collectors—not one big toy box whose lid could thump my child on the head, but a series of smaller boxes that are easy to load when toy time is done.)

  • Final notes: it’s fascinating to see your life from a different angle—try looking at the reflection of your room from a mirror, or stand on a ladder and look down into your rooms.  I do this when I am outside, looking in while washing windows.
  • Change is good—moving a chair or a table keeps life more interesting.
  • And finally, partnership in other rooms of your home, not just the bedroom, is good for your sex life.  Yes, research shows that men who do housework have more sex.  Psychologist John Gottman discovered that men who help out doing housework frequently, have more and better sex with their spouses because they are showing their partners that they care and understand all these responsibilities and how they must be met.  If your spouse is doing the work, you have more time and space for sexual desires and feelings.

“I have done my best”, that is about all the philosophy of living that one needs.  

Lin-yutang

 

 

 

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When You Won’t Be Home for Christmas

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When You Won't Be Home for Christmas

There are things you can do to feel the spirit of the season on a smaller scale.

Raising children means change—isn’t your middle name flexible?  But when it comes to holiday traditions and customs obstinate might substitute.  But we’ve always had the holidays here–that’s the way we do it! A logical response when grandma wants you to travel across the country with your four children.  But then one day your empty-nest life is confirmed–the kids are now calling you and saying they just can’t get away.  It’s your turn to travel.  Change springs eternal.

Once you get your head around it, it’s no big deal.  But sometimes snowfalls and melodies bring back those old emotions and you want the same old traditions to remain right here at home.  You struggle for a sensible balance.  Actually there is one.

When we moved from Chicago to Iowa, we lost the chance to celebrate Christmas at home.  Family was scattered throughout the USA and despite the over the river and through the woods feeling that Iowa has, there was no way we could lure family to us.    No Christmas brunch around our tree, no turkey in the oven.  We would be traveling at Christmas.  And a decade of doing so now makes me somewhat of an authority.  Have a question about Fed-EX or postage rates, packing for four, finding economical lodging—I have answers.  No regrets.  I got on with it.

Now it’s you going to Disney World for a vacation, or to Maine because your sister needs you, or flying to be with grandpa.  Here are some tips to help you enjoy the holidays at home before going on the road.

Decorating:

  • put up an artificial tree; this allows you to decorate on your own schedule and enjoy the season in your own home before you’re off and traveling.
  • limit your decorating;  garnish your tree, a mantel, and one or two rooms where you spend lots of time;  free yourself from the competition of outside lighting by spotlighting the front door and adorning it with your favorite wreath; note to empty-nesters—whittle down your supply of decorations, keeping those that are precious to you.  Box up the best of the rest for your children so that they can decorate their homes with memories of their childhood holidays.
  • keep your focus simple;  if this change is going to be routine, spend your money on a few outstanding decorations—a carved angel, a ceramic tree, needlepoint stockings bearing your children’s names, a must-have Santa Claus—things you will grow to cherish.
  • decorate your car;  I love seeing a sporty sedan or a soccer mom SUV adorned with a wreath.  If you drive, your décor travels with you.
  • purchase holiday clothing; maybe it’s just pj’s, but buy something for everyone in the family that highlights you’re celebrating the season!

Buying and wrapping gifts:

  • limit what you bring with you; hauling presents via car isn’t too bad, any other way is a nightmare.   TSA will not let you carry wrapped gifts on board.  My son-in-law used his golf club bag, packing it with all their gifts—a great idea.
  • send things ahead; this is your best option. My brother sends most of his gifts ahead to one address.  When he arrives he buys a roll of white shelf paper and colored markers and creatively labels each gift.
  • shop the Internet; food and drink, fresh aromatic greens, and every kind of modern gadget that exists are there for your choosing.  You can pay extra for wrapping and the purchase will be labeled and shipped.
  • other ideas; my friend Linda doesn’t have time to shop in December, so when she finally travels to be with family, she wraps up photos of the gifts she will send after the holidays when she has more time.  Sue brings just a small gift for each family member, often an ornament or a photograph.  And Jane has created a special night when she and her husband exchange gifts before they travel.

Baking:

  • do your own thing; if having seasonal sweets in the house is the essence of Christmas for your family, spend some time preparing your special cranberry bread or gingerbread cookies.  Consumable gifts are perfect for many on your list.  However, if traveling gives you the excuse you need to steer clear of the baking pans, great!  Start a new tradition—use the time to see a concert or holiday play or take a walk in the snow.  At some point during your holiday you might find yourself cutting out sugar cookies with your grandchildren or helping your mother frost a Yule log, and that will be your best baking experience of the season.

Entertaining:

  • host a holiday get-together; your traditions are in flux, but you might prepare a holiday meal for your friends before you leave.  You can use your Christmas china and show off your tree.  A small ornament gift exchange or a large holiday open house is a good idea.  Let your friends each bring something so your departure plans can still proceed smoothly.  Keep in mind, you may be creating a new tradition!

Christmas cards:

  • send out a Christmas photo; traveling makes this ritual even more attractive–family and friends you won’t be seeing can still share your Christmas home when your card has a photo of your tree or mantel.
  • take photos of your home with your smart phone; bring photos so you can continue to share some of your traditions;
  • post Christmas photos on your Facebook page; just because you are no longer geographically  close to some of your friends and family doesn’t mean you can’t share your holiday life with them.

Though traveling at the holidays has its stresses, they are outweighed by the hours of relaxation–the time you will spend sitting by the fire with your parents and children, or enjoying a different climate, or watching your grandchildren’s eyes light up as they open your gifts.  And when you come home, it will only take a few hours to pack away the tree and your carefully chosen decorations.

When You Won't Be Home for Christmas

A fresh wreath on your front door speaks the season and in colder climates lasts a long time.

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Hospital Corners and Home Ec

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Recently, Barbara Brotman, a Chicago Tribune writer that I have admired for many years, wrote a column about the talents that we still have, but often do not use.  She challenged today’s young generation to read a map, rewind a tape of your favorites to the right song, and defrost a refrigerator.  But the skill that she still uses often is this one: I still make a bed with hospital corners, as if no one had invented duvets. When I tried to teach it to my daughters, they looked at me as if I were starting dinner by rubbing two sticks together…this little domestic ability deserves respect…isn’t it possible that the rarity and frequent uselessness of old-school ways also give them a kind of cachet?

Yes, Barbara, they do. And your piece made me remember that in seventh grade my best friend Jean and I organized and ran a Home Economics School for the younger, sorry to say, just girls in the neighborhood.  I don’t think any boys asked if they could attend, but our consciousnesses were not raised yet.  It was 1960!

We taught our five pupils how to make a bed, using hospital corners, how to dust and vacuum, how to sew—that was a big challenge and my mother had to help—and how to cook a simple meal.  Jean’s mother, who had eight kids of her own, was the hero for this class.  She let us turn her backyard into a small restaurant where on a balmy summer day we fed the neighborhood children PBJ sandwiches, chips, and milk.  For free!  What were we thinking?

We actually had a graduation ceremony on my front porch where we gave one of the five pupils, Sherry, an award for being the best student.  Thinking back, I see it more as a subtle bribe—she was the neighborhood handful.

The entire process, brochures listing the classes and dates, assembling things we needed, getting parental permission, was a huge undertaking.  And our own dear mothers were so cooperative, interrupting their own work to accommodate our classes.

I ask myself now—what if I had run with this idea starting right then?  Maybe I would have become another Martha Stewart.  But there were just too many wonderful things to learn and explore.  Why settle on one?

Like Barbara Brotman, I too still use hospital corners.  As for sewing, forget it!

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How to Catch a Critter, or Live with Them

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Originally published under the title: Tales of Insomnia, Darwin, and Liquid Fence in the Des Moines Register 2007

In 1997, we moved from Chicago to Des Moines, Iowa.  We were excited about the deck and our many oak trees.  We got into the habit of opening our windows to the night air and falling asleep to the sounds of the woods—the chirps of crickets, the hum of insect mandibles chewing.  Ah the country, a little bit of heaven.

Think again.  One night I was awakened by a piercing screech so intense I couldn’t sleep.  I knew it would keep up until the owl had killed its prey or the neighbor’s cat could free itself from the local fox.  Tooth and claw, the survival of the fittest, was alive and functioning just beyond my fence.  But the point was I had a fence.  I had my territory and they had theirs and we could just keep it that way.

Then my neighbors explained to me that the reason my hosta plants had morphed into razor-edged sticks was something called browsing—a word that meant the deer were enjoying a salad.  This was all so new we spent the evening watching deer from my son’s treefort.  We counted the points on the male’s rack and called the folks back in Chicago bragging about our amazing wildlife.

Then there was the large doe finishing off my impatiens.  I clapped my hands, shouted, picked up a stone and lobbed it at her.  Inner-city deer.  She kept on chewing.

The mythology of dealing with deer bloomed.  “Put out bars of soap.  Scatter human hair.  Let your son relieve himself on your plants.”  Whatever!!!

The gardening center had shelves of products.  I read the labels.  Apply frequently; apply when it’s not going to rain; apply and cover each frond of the plant!  I had about 90 hostas.  And this stuff wasn’t cheap.  I bought something called Liquid Fence which when applied leaves a stench that will keep the deer away and your best friends.  But I sprayed.  And I had my fence, right?

The deer were jumping my fence.   And the rest of nature was just beginning to gear up.  The word had gotten around in the critter community—we’ve got fresh meat living in the grey house, go for broke.

There was scratching below our deck.  Then I saw a creature scuttle to its new home—under that deck.  I found a picture of my critter—a woodchuck.  Go ahead, start singing the old rhyme.  But like skunks, you don’t want one of these things living with you.  They are more territorial then I was surely becoming.  Oak trees, acorns—this  woodchuck was set for life.

The critter-catcher set up three traps.  We caught two possum, two raccoons and the neighbor’s cat.  Finally one afternoon I actually saw the critter walk right into the trap.  I was so excited I called my husband at work.  I had gone over the edge.  The critter-catcher wasn’t far behind.  He brought a camera .  “I’ve never caught one of these,” he told me happily.  We were a pair.

Then at two a.m. there was the bat, fighting the circles of the ceiling fan above our bed.  And me with a broom and a baseball cap and a towel—you use the towel to throw the bat to the ground.  I was learning!

Now I’m definitely dreaming of a condo—no trees, no animals.  But can I give up listening to the sounds of nature as I fall asleep?

A few nights ago: bump, thunk!  It’s four a.m. and something has just knocked over the bird bath.  I’m awake.  Is it deer in the hostas?  I haven’t sprayed.  A raccoon?  My husband says a raccoon is eating through our roof shingles.  He’s starting to crack too.  I closed my eyes, but all I could see was the yard below swarming with wild life, every inch crawling with nature, vivid with its slither and instinct, its hunger and need.

In the morning, the lawn was full of squirrels and chipmunks.  For even if the legal documents for our dwelling has the name HAVEY on it, we now know who truly owns the place.

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Passive Solar Heating Creates that Patch of Sunlight

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Maybe it’s because I live in the Midwest and for six months out of the year cannot walk outside and feel warm that I crave the sun.  We Midwesterners and Northerners all scarf, hat, and glove when we brave the elements, hoping for the best.   And when we find a patch of sunlight brightening up our homes while the mercury plunges, we’re happy for that passive solar heat.

The History Channel’s “Sun” episode tells us that the total energy or wattage of the sun is 1 billion watts.  That’s something to harness.  And if we could make that happen, the sun’s power for one minute could power the entire Earth for two days.

That’s why passive solar heating is something to consider—that patch of sunlight and more.  If you talk to a LEED designer he or she can give you the scoop.  LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.  These folks know everything about being green and their certification program emphasizes human and ecological health.  Its sponsored and organized by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Of course LEED people focus on designs that are energy efficient. They also work to improve indoor environmental quality, utilize green materials, develop sustainable sites, and save water.

Builders and LEED designers tell us that a house or building oriented east and west with the majority of windows facing south is the best way to obtain passive solar heating.  It allows the building to get the most direct sunlight for the longest period of time.   Sunlight can easily penetrate windows, but once it enters your rooms it does not leave them as easily.   Inside it breaks up and takes much longer to exit.  That’s good in the winter, when we want passive solar heat to warm our rooms, but it’s a problem in the summer and requires the use of shades or blinds.  Builders who design homes specifically utilizing passive solar heat install attic fans or clerestory windows that can be opened to let the hot air escape when it rises.

The number of windows on the east and west walls of the building should be greatly reduced, and they should be eliminated on the north side of the home.  This is because most cold winter winds come from the north and west and windows do not provide enough protection from strong cold winds.   If you are thinking of remodeling or building a home that will utilize passive solar heating, the orientation of the building on the lot is essential because the home has to have enough sunlight to power its utilities.

My home has some passive solar heating, but it’s more accidental.  Though I have many eastern facing windows, I have fewer on the north side of my home and the most on the south side.  And it’s truly amazing.  At around 11:00 a. m. on a sunny winter day, sunlight lies across the hardwood floor in my family room.  It slides onto a chair at the end of our farm table where I seek it out.  Sometimes I sit on the floor with my lunch and a book.  Sometimes I just sit in it to warm up.

My husband and I have talked seriously about building a geo-solar home.  You can have fun going to the following website and checking out the amazing buildings that designers are creating.  Live in one of these and watch your utility bills melt away. http://enertia.com/

But as always there’s a hitch, they are not inexpensive.

Yesterday I sat on the bottom step of our stairway where late in the afternoon there’s a great patch of sunlight.  It warms the carpet and I like to sit there after I bring in the mail.  Physicist, C. Johnson, writes that the sun probably can only heat the Earth for a total of 10 billion years.  He comments that since it’s already been dong this for 5 billion, we can probably count on that second 5 billion years unless something drastic occurs.   So go ahead with the plans for that home with passive solar heating, that patch of sunlight will still be there.

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A Silly Mantra That Worked Wonders

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laundry, linens, mending, grocery shopping, cleaning, yard work & plants, correspondence, projects—

words that ran through my brain daily as I was raising three children and running a household, words that run through my brain now only occasionally as I continue to do the same.  But my three children are out of the house and on their way and my focus on that home has been altered by writing and a part time position at our county health department.  What were those words to me? A way to organize my day, to know what I had done and what I still had to do to keep things running smoothly.  The first two were easy to handle, I being blessed with a washer and dryer right inside my four walls.  I haven’t mended anything in years, though when the word hits my brain I know there’s a button off my husband’s tuxedo.  How times have changed. 

Grocery shopping has never been a favorite past time, though the world of food has opened up before my eyes and variety of things one can purchase to create a meal has dramatically changed since I baked chicken or potatoes in the eighties and now it’s salmon, shrimp and creative pastas on a regular basis. 

Cleaning I have always done day to day, struggling to keep the clutter down.  And though reading is a great pursuit in my life, there is still too much paper coming into the house.  It’s everywhere! 

Yardwork could now be called gardening, though I still have leaves and sticks to deal with in my 17-tree yard–and then there are the deer and moles that could transform a gardener into an executioner quite easily. 

The vast amount of my time has always been dedicated to correspondence–whether that means making phone calls or paying bills, and now emailing or blogging.  Communication is the core of my being and I love it when it can consume the better part of my day. 

Projects are often part of transformations–you paint a room, a piece of furniture, rearrange  furniture or reconfigure a cabinet.  You make a Halloween costume or prepare for a birthday party or holiday.  Projects allow creative juices to flow and are a welcome part of life–whether you have children at home or not.  

In the end, I offer this reading as a key to how I stayed sane and kept things moving when life was exceedingly busy.  My mantra got me through the early years of work and then child-rearing years and the decision to go back to school and become a nurse and the busiest summer of my life when I started my nursing career and remodeled an older home.   

Maybe one of the best things about my mantra is that it was in my head–though lists emanated from it, the mantra in many ways kept down the paper clutter and made me remember what was expected of me.

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It’s Fall: Clean and Refresh Your Home

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It's Fall: Clean and Refresh Your Home

Add a throw of autumn color or a candle to clean and refresh your home.

You stare at your bucket of cleaning supplies and rationalize: it’s only a few hours, I’ll burn some calories.  But cleaning is boring and repetitive.  Your mind needs firing up too.  Is there a way to do that?

Yes.  Solution: you’re going to clean a room—but also freshen it, revive it as you release your inner interior designer and let your creative juices flow.   It’s In the Bag, a shopping bag you’ve set aside full of things that will rev up your rooms and kick your organizational skills into high gear.

In the bag you might find:

  • memorable photos and a china bowel your mother wanted you to have
  • Aunt Lily’s ironstone platter and some crystals from her old chandelier
  • birthday gifts—two soft black leather pillows, a scarlet throw
  • a set of sale towels with the tags still on
  • silver-toned picture frames you found at a flea market

These are just a few examples.  Shop your closets, drawers, basement and attic for more.

Then follow the RULES of the game:

  • do In the Bag cleaning only when you deep clean; do your normal routine first;
  • focus on one room, even one corner of a room;  While you’re dusting and vacuuming, you’ll be thinking about where to hang the artwork, or what to put on that newly found shelf, or how many candles to mass on Aunt Lily’s ironstone platter.  Do what you can do, when you can do it.
  • be flexible and creative;  This is not about spending a lot of money—though you can bend that rule to suit your needs.  It is about organizing, updating and reinventing.  It keeps your decorating mind challenged.
  • keep The Bag in the same place;  It’s a receptacle for the stuff you’re going to use to give your home that personal touch.
  • enjoy your success;  Each little change will inspire you, so that the next time you’re putting away toys or laundry, you’ll flex your decorating muscle and plan for your next In the Bag cleaning event.

How to Get Started and then Keep on Going:

  • clean out a cabinet;  You’ll find things to put in the bag: a stray mug for pencils, an old glass casserole with a silver base for perfume bottles, and a sugar bowl for cotton balls.
  • sketch out a new furniture arrangement for your family room; You’ll have a better idea of how to control traffic flow and clutter, and what size and type of storage containers you will need for all those books, toys, or sea shells.
  • remember The Bag when family members offer you family mementos;   There can be creative gold in cast-offs and emotional gold in photos, artwork, glassware, even furniture (of course it won’t fit in The Bag).
  • haunt your favorite hobby store for seasonal branches, flowers and fruits to celebrate the seasons;  Your family will love that you remember not just winter holidays, but all times of the year.  Autumn branches and pumpkins can share a labeled box with spring rabbits and bird nests or summer lighthouses and sand dollars.
  • keep scented candles on hand in colors that complement your rooms; Stock up when there’s a sale.
  • don’t put fresh flowers in The Bag, but they’re a wonderful way to punch up your rooms with color and scent;  Mother Nature provides a variety of shapes and colors, the florist, a variety of prices.
  • remember: LESS IS MORE;  The purpose of In the Bag cleaning is to recycle or throw away the things you are replacing or changing.  Keep a large cardboard box in your basement or garage; fill it with items you will no longer be using and then donate these items periodically.
  • look for items that will add color and texture to your home; As you repurpose your finds, you will be putting the stamp of your unique personality on your rooms.  Look for mirrors, framed art, old photographs, plates, vintage sports equipment, architectural salvage, oil paintings, glass doorknobs and light fixtures.

It’s really about being open to the muse.  You’ll come across an item you’re not looking for, but it’s looking for you!  That’s serendipity.  It can happen when you clean out shelves in the garage or shop the local flea market.  There it is: a small fountain, the statue of a golden retriever, a set of hand-blown crystal glasses, a retro-tablecloth in orange and pink, a leather footstool, three ironstone coffee cups, a pink shag throw rug, or a bookshelf that someone painted turquoise.  Are you interested?  Yes.  You’re thinking of The Bag, that you can tuck one of these items away until your next deep cleaning, until your creative juices are flowing and you know what to do with it.  You’re on a roll.  It’s in The Bag!!

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