ilspeth's Profile

You can make your own butcher block wax by melting a chunk of beeswax (from a heath food or vitamin store) in a double boiler, then stirring in mineral oil. The ratio doesn't matter, since either is fine on its own. Mixing them together just makes the beeswax easier to use. You get the fragrance and durability from the beeswax, and the mineral oil makes it softer and easier to use. Also, you can melt beeswax and use it alone. Rub it into the wood while it's softened from the heat, and then buff off the excess with a clean rag. Following the grain only matters when you are sanding or staining butcher block, which you can do with strong coffee, tea or food coloring mixed with water.

Oops. Typo. That shoulda read "link," not "line."

LOVE Auntie Mame!
Personal favorite: Practical Magic. The house was practically a character in the film.
http://www.amasveritas.com/film/setting/interior.html

http://hookedonhouses.net/2009/10/25/practical-magic-a-victorian-house-fit-for-a-witch/

Old post (I seem to have a knack for finding them). In case anyone else stumbles on this, I wanted to add charcoal and baking soda, used together. My ex and I rented an apartment where the previous tenant had cats, but no litter box. Although the landlord replaced the carpet and pad, the odor would knock you down. We didn't really have a decent option for finding another apartment, so we had to make do. My mother told me to put down a very, VERY thick layer of baking soda all over the carpeting. Then, cover that with a layer of charcoal briquettes that don't have lighter fluid in them. We did that, and closed up the apartment for a week. We had to stay with relatives during that time. After the week was up, we removed the charcoal, vacuumed up the baking soda and the odor was gone.

That said, it's wise to remember that every single person on this planet has his or her own unique odor. No house or apartment is ever odor free. You just don't smell your own scent because you are used to it. Once you move out of a house, the next resident will immediately notice a strange smell, and that smell is the one you left behind just from living there. This is true, even of people who say they are sensitive to odors.

Those who never use perfume, candles or air fresheners or cook with exotic spices will still leave their own very noticeable mark on any place where they have lived just because they lived there. The next resident will say, "Wow. That doesn't smell like me!" Just a thought, instead of naively believing that only other people are smelly.

I know this is an old post, but someone might stumble on it with the same dilemma. For God's sake, please don't ever destroy a natural material for the sake of some trendy, "modern" change. For every single person who thinks this knotty (not naughty!) pine is horrific, gross, terrible or whatever, there are as many who actually appreciate natural pine wood materials as they are. Whatever is "modern" now, people will laugh at in 20 years anyway. Consider the old "modern" avocado or burnt orange kitchen appliances. Or remember those abstract patterned, sherbet-pastel wallpapered walls from the 80s. They were the height of "modern" design at one time. If you find a house with lots of real, natural wood that you want to hide, please either have it carefully removed and sold to someone who can appreciate its beauty, or try to find another house that doesn't pose such a decorating problem.

Awesome! These are identical to my typing table night stands.
http://www.whitetrashnyc.com/products/industrial-typing-table/1865/

I live in a house that's just over 2,000 square feet, but since it's a 120 year old Victorian many of the rooms are small. There is also minimal storage, especially when it comes to closets. These are still useful ideas for a house this size!

A lot of people don't like the shape of traditional tapered shades that seem to come with every inexpensive lamp. I think this is a very clever way to take something that doesn't suit your style and repurpose it into something that isn't in every other house on the block. Plus, other posters are so right. Drum shades are anything but cheap.

If eggs stick, you probably need to work on the pan's seasoning. There may be an area or two with less coating then the rest of the pan. Seasoned cast iron should be slicker than teflon, and only require wiping out with a paper towel. No washing. For generations, my family has wiped them clean, put them on a hot burner for a couple of minutes to cancel any possible sanitary issues and tossed them in the oven to store. Sometimes, after years of use, there will be some build up in areas. The awesome thing about cast iron is that you can scour it down to the bare metal and begin anew by seasoning from scratch again. Even old, rusty, scary-looking pans clean up and season beautifully.