erikakn's Profile

What a great selection of carts. I don't know what it is but I have a weakness for furniture on casters. We even designed our platform bed around huge red casters.

Have you seen the Demco library book carts? Such a drool-worthy selection of colors!

I like this room. For me, gender is less an issue than age flexibility. The designer/family made good choices that will last for many years. The wallpaper is delightful (when I saw it, I thought, "Want") and the bureau is a piece to keep forever.

Our son's changing pad was on his bureau and the shelves above held the cleaning supplies. (A separate piece of furniture devoted to changing didn't make sense for our small house.)

In the end, it makes sense to invest in good pieces that will last a long time. The chair in my eight-year-old's room was mine when I was five.

Yay. Finally a task we're already managing well. I used today's assignment to post January's digital photos to Shutterfly and my backup hard drive.

I'm still sorting out books and miscellaneous flotsam in our master bedroom. Our "office" is in the bedroom so clearing the clutter really improves the whole space.

I've also become a fresh flower convert. Who knew a little bouquet of hot pink carnations could be so joyful?

I've got a mountain of laundry to fold tonight, which I usually do to Netflix. I'll make David Bowie my laundry companion.

After dinner, it would be lovely to squeeze in some ice skating with our eight-year-old.

Oops. I forgot to close my tag for the second link. Wish we could edit our comments.

-E

Kate,

Thanks for the heads up regarding Norwex. I'll check out the site tonight. Am also scanning walls for more vertical storage!

Moving to greener products or just water and microfiber requires undoing decades of brainwashing. You know - cleansers have to stink and bubble to prove that they're working.

Looked under beds and sofa in preparation for tomorrow's Big Clean. Yes, there are dust bunnies but they're very small. Yay?

One of the best presents I ever received was a HEPA filter vacuum cleaner. Sure it was a gift for the "house" but we bought it on Mother's Day and I'm the vacuumer of the house hold. Maybe it's an exaggeration to say vacuuming is a joy but I do kind of love it.

AUSTRALIAN NATURAL CLEANING GURU
Last year I caught a couple seasons of Lush House on Hulu. Shannon Lush is an Australian cleaning/organizing/life-improvement guru and she's deeply committed to diy natural cleansers. The January Cure is inspiring me to finally pull together a version of Shannon's Cleaning Kit. She also has video clips demonstrating how to use the kit. (Everybody needs a shoe fru, right?)

QUESTIONS: NEED TIPS/IDEAS FOR KEEPING FLOORS GRIT FREE
We've been trying to be a no-shoes household with mixed success. We don't have a real mudroom but we do have floor mats. Our ancient pit bull crossed the rainbow bridge in September so the house is considerably cleaner now but that leaves three humans dragging in grit ...

1) Floor mats: Can you suggest alternatives to the American Floor Mat? We currently use these commercial grade mats and they're super for keeping mud/snow in check but they're nearly impossible for residential vacuums to keep clean. And dog hair remains stuck in the deep crevices.

2) Shoes: How can we corral shoes when we don't really have much floor space?

3) Mops: I hate the conventional disposable mop heads. Are there any washable types? I bought microfiber covers for my mom's Swiffer and they work really well. My husband prefers mopping so I'm looking for a washable mop head.

Shiny floors here I come!

I want to see @Haironfire1026's cat room.

I love the taking the Cures; the results are surprisingly long-lived. Our last Kitchen Cure was absolutely transformative and I hardly bought a thing.

As I write my list for 2013, I've found more than a few projects I've been needing to tackle for years. I also have a tendency to stop halfway. For eg. I finally installed a ceiling-mounted curtain track above our front door six months ago but I have'nt made the winterizing curtain yet. I hung a floating cabinet in the entry way a year ago but I'm still using painter's tape for "knobs."

This year I'm wring my list in Cozi so that I can look at it anytime, anywhere. Good luck everyone!

The links to the Mossy Decor Tree and the Gold Tray are broken. Looks like it's Target's problem.

Where's the 8ft long marble island? Oh, I see. Deb's a real cook like Mark Bittman, cranking out gorgeous meals in a normal kitchen. My hero!