The Farm Chicks

Homekeeping & Happy Homes

I often talk about having a happy home. I think it's the most important part of homekeeping.

One thing I'm frequently asked about are the homes seen in magazines. Are they really as clean and perfect as they appear? The answer is definitely, NO! And in real life, they shouldn't be. Because perfect isn't comfortable. But we don't buy magazines to see other people's messes, we buy them to be inspired. And if the photos weren't beautiful and showed messes, our eyes would focus on the mess, rather than the home. So please don't beat yourself up if your home isn't always as clean as you'd like it to be, because the truth is that most homes never are.

I'm reading a mother's book from 1902 and have enjoyed discovering that the importance of a happy home has been around for a long while. In fact, I think this content is perfect advice for what I'm trying to convey.

Pleasant Homes:

Beautiful furniture on its own will not make rooms cheerful. The charm of a cozy home rests with its homemaker. If she is fortunate enough to have sunny rooms, her task is half done. In homes where the sun never shines, something must be done to make up for it. A sunless room should have bright and joyous color in its furnishings. The walls should be warmly tinted, and the curtains give a rosey glow to the light that passes through them. Ferns and shade loving plants may add cheer to the room and suggest quiet forest nooks.

An attractive room need not be too orderly. A book left lying on the table, a bit of needle-work on the window sill, an open piano, indicates the tastes and styles of those who live there, without suggesting that there is not a place for everything in that room.

There is such a thing as being too neat and nice to take comfort in everyday life, and this is anything but cheerful. And there is such a thing as being so disorderly and messy that comfort and cheer are impossible.

If a mom cannot rest while there is a fingermark on the paint or a spot on the window panes, she may have a neat home, but her tension will keep it from ever being cheerful.

A bird singing in the window, an aquarium on the table in some corner, plants growing and blooming, pets moving about as if at home, these give life and brightness to a home.

The Lemon Steamer Cleaner

The microwave really needs a washing.  This is what happens when children heat food until it explodes. I won't use cleaners that are full of chemicals because I don't want those fumes seeping into our food. Here's what I do instead.

I remove the tray and give it a wash in hot soapy water. (I love Mrs. Meyers dish soap!)

Sparkley!

Next, I slice a lemon in half and squeeze it into a little microwave safe bowl of water.

I place it into the microwave and cook it on high for 4 minutes. The lemony water boils and steams.

When it stops, I don't open the door for 10 minutes, allowing that citrusy steam to loosen up the grime.

When I open the door, I wipe everything down with a clean cloth, and just like that, it's lemony clean.

Hooray!

 

Homekeeping

I really enjoy this time of year when the focus is on cleaning and organizing. It's surprising what a difference a tidy home can make in your life. A clean home really is a happy home.

My mom used to drive me crazy when she was assigning chores. She'd go on and on about how beautiful the dishes were and how much she loved to clean and make those colors sparkle. I remember thinking, If you love it so much, why don't you do it?!

And although I won't profess to love cleaning, I have found lots of ways to make the most of it and I do love the results.

Coming this January, I'll be sharing some of my favorite homekeeping tips with you.

Here's a few to get you started:

• Did you know that by overusing bleach, you can actually yellow your whites? My favorite whitener and brightener is from Rit and is called just that: Whitener & Brightener. It's great to use for soaking a load of whites a couple of times a year.

• Cooking oil stains on laundry? Wet the stain with cold water and cover the area with cornstarch. Allow to sit overnight and then launder as usual. The cornstarch will absorb the oil.

• And speaking of laundry, try giving your laundry room/space some extra attention, no matter what size the space. Cheer it up and make it an area that looks so nice you don't dread the space you use so often. My favorite laundry room pick-me-up? Wallpaper! Even a little laundry closet can use some.

Stay tuned, I'll be back soon with more tips.

....and with a little homekeeping, she'll change the world.

P.S. my love of Rit is personal. I was not paid to endorse their product.

Clean as a Whistle

You know those days where you just feel like cleaning?  Today's that day for me.  Good thing, because with our house on the market, it's important for me to keep it in tip-top shape.

It's been such a nice winter, with not much snow and lots of unusually warm weather.  I'm a huge fan of warmth!

We're nearing completion on the design of our farmhouse and just this week a friend of mine found the perfect sink for me!  I'll tell you all about it next week.

For now, I'm off to make the house clean and cozy for when the boys get home from school and Colin gets home from work.  I think that makes such a difference for family happiness.  And I'm all about that.  Happy weekend!

Christmas Pantry

I cleaned out my pantry and while I was at it, added some Christmas cheer.

My shelves are covered in a fun gingham contac-type paper, which makes them completely wipeable, if need be.  Bulk items are kept in pretty glass jars.  I tucked in cute little Christmas trees here and there.

 

For holiday cheer, I added Christmasey paper to the shelves, by adhering it with double-stick tape.  I scalloped the edges of the paper on some of the shelves.  To easily make scalloped edges, simply trace the edge of a tiny glass and cut.

Sprinkles look cute in re-cycled tiny jam jars and placed in a bright pan for easy access and tote-ability for Christmas baking.

Special Christmas treats are colorful and are a happy surprise to find in the pantry.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas....

Gingham shelf paper and glass jars with red lids are from Daiso.

Holiday paper used for shelf edging is from Martha Stewart Crafts at Michaels.

The bright green cake pan is from William Sonoma.

Clear glass pantry jars are from Target.

Cupcake liners are from Bake it Pretty. 

Recipe Box Re-do

Mr. Blue Sky went to make some cookies last night and was a little surprised at the state of the recipe box.  "How do you find anything in here?", he asked.  It needed a fix-up.  But I was tired of the boring little dividers and thought that I should make new ones that were pretty and colorful.  Because color is happy, just like Mr. Blue Sky.

 

And I've started writing out all of my recipes on my collection of recipe cards.

I made the new dividers from scrapbook paper, simply by tracing the old dividers and cutting out.  Isn't scrapbook paper one of the best creations ever?!

I'll be hand-printing the different section titles when I'm all done with this project.  And I'll be sure to use a permanent marker on the dividers and recipe cards so the ink doesn't smear if it gets wet.  My favorite pen for this is a Sharpie, in fine point.  And they come in zillions of colors.

Other sources:

The darling vintage tablecloth is from Retreat.

The recipe box is from Martha Stewart's Macys collection.

The Farm Chicks recipe cards are available on my website.

The Sweet Potato Bake recipe is available here on my blog, and happens to be one of my very favorite Thanksgiving side recipes EVER.

The Laundry Room

Growing up, we never had a washing machine or dryer.  A lot of time was spent at the laundrymat, or if I couldn't get to town, I'd handwash everything on a washboard.  And when I was scrubbing away, I'd dream of someday owning a real washing machine that was electric.  And now I do.  And I believe that laundry rooms should be pretty because I spend a lot of time in there.  And my walls should definitely be wallpapered.  I chose red gingham because it's simple and homey and makes me happy.

 

When I'm not using the counter for folding, it doubles as a sewing table for me.  I made a counter skirt out of darling vintage fabric that makes the room feel very cheery.

 

I love having open shelving in the laundry room so everything is just a quick grab away.  Although open shelves and the things that are on them can become dusty, it's not an issue for me in the laundry room, as I use my supplies so often.  Ironing is a little less tedious for me when the ironing board looks so pretty!

 

I found this old laundry soap dispenser at an estate sale.  It works perfectly for my OxiClean, which is my all-time favorite soaking detergent for old linens.  My shelves are covered in oilcloth, that not only looks pretty, but is also easily wipeable if there is a spill and doesn't damage easily.

 

Handtowels, dustcloths and microfiber dusters are now available in so many pretty colors and patterns.

 

An old clothespin bag holds utilitarian supplies.

 

Spray bottles are labelled for easy identification.

Sources:  I found my old laundry sign at Floyd and Margaret's.  The shelving and brackets are from Home Depot.  The bath towels are from Cath Kidston and TJ Maxx.  I found the vintage fabric at Spencer's Antique Mall in Spokane.  The ironing board cover came from Linens and Things.  The wire laundry baskets are from The Land of Nod.  The laundry soap dispenser came from a Monarch estate sale in Spokane (I think Monarch is one of the best estate sale companies in the area).  Oilcloth is from Cath Kidston.  The handtowel is from Martha Stewart for KMart, dusting cloths from Cath Kidston, microfiber duster from William Sonoma.  The clothespin bag was purchased at The Farm Chicks Show from dealer: Oma's Attic.  The spray bottles are from JoAnn's fabric. 

Clean & Pretty

I love love love a clean house, and think it's so much nicer to clean with pretty things.  I found a bunch of these happy little cleaning cloths at the farm sale this summer, all with their original tags from the sixties.  And now, everything is fresh and clean again.

Spice Drawer Labeling

I've gotten so many emails regarding the labels and jars in my spice drawer that I thought I should post about those as well.
Most of my little glass spice jars are from Cost Plus World Market.  However, when I went to their website, they don't show any available.  So, I did a little searching around and found a great website with an amazing variety of jars and containers.  The jar shown to the right is a similar (and really affordable) option.  I will definitely be browsing through this site more in the future to see what I can be organizing next.  I do love to use many recycled jars, but I also really like the thought of having a place that I can go to supplement what I already have, for a nice, tidy, consistent look.

Most of the labels I used in my spice drawer are designed by Cath Kidston, and can be found on Amazon.

And a few of the other labels, which are designed by Amy Ennis, can be found on Amazon as well.

Another favorite practice of mine is saving the great glass spice jars from Spice Islands and spray painting the lids -  using them to organize craft supplies like colored buttons and varieties of stick pins.  (For use in my spice drawer, I would take special care to make sure that the spray was only on the outside of my lids).

Scrubbing

Monday is my scrub day, where I shovel out the house from a weekend of non-stop action.  Changing all the sheets, dusting, cleaning, scrubbing. I love it. Everything will be sparkley when I'm done.

In other news, I can't wait to sit down and read about all of your businesses and business dreams.