Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Monday, December 15, 2014
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Posted by Calder Commons on 8:44 AM
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Clean Before You Decorate
Posted by Calder Commons on 8:16 AM
Dust: Dusting surfaces with a damp cloth will make everything feel fresh and help you (literally) breath easier as the post-Thanksgiving rush begins. And who wants to hang stockings on a mantle covered with old, dead skin cells?
Floors: A good vacuum or mopping of the floors will ensure that corners behind the tree are clean and clear with no surprise dust bunnies lurking behind gifts on Christmas morning. Plus, if you're entertaining over Thanksgiving, chances are you've had lots of feet treading in and out of your house; even more reason to re-clean between holidays.
Ceilings: Swiping ceilings with a feather duster or brush head of your vacuum will clear away any cobwebs that may have gone unnoticed before the holidays. But with twinkle lights and tree toppers drawing the eye upward and lighting the ceiling, now's the time to clean overhead.
Kitchen: Your kitchen may have been working double duty preparing for Thanksgiving, so now's the time to freshen it up by cleaning the oven, counters, cabinets, floors, stovetop, and sink. Starting with a clean, blank slate will make holiday cooking and baking much more enjoyable than working on top of a mess that's already there.
Closets: Cleaning closets and purging unneeded items is the perfect thing to do now. You'll make room for any house guests you may have in the coming weeks to put their things, or simply for party guests to hang their coats in a coat closet for an evening. Plus, you'll be freeing up space in your closet for any wardrobe-related gifts you might receive over the holidays.
Windows: While spring cleaning is often the time folks hit their windows, late fall is an extremely apt time to do so, as well. Shorter days and longer nights mean less sunshine making its way inside, so clean windows will let in as much sunlight as possible during this darker time of the year. Plus, twinkle lights in a clean window are multiplied and beautified by the sparkle and shine; grimy windows can put a damper on all of those decorations really fast.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Reuse and Re-purpose Coffee Grinds
Posted by Calder Commons on 10:39 AM
Do you know those coffee grounds that you thought you could not use? There are five ways that you can re-purpose spent coffee grounds. Keep reading this blog to learn how you can use them for cleaning, compost, and other various home solutions. You can learn more at The Kitchn.
5 Ways to Use Spent Coffee Grounds
1. Compost
The great thing about sticking to simple brew methods that use only a paper filter and coffee grounds is that both are compostable. Used coffee grounds happen to be rich in nitrogen, which makes them great for composting. (Worms love coffee almost as much as you do!) In a compost pile, aim for a ratio of one part leaves to one part fresh grass clippings to one part coffee grounds. Keep in mind that freshly brewed coffee grounds won't have the same effect on your garden; you need to be sure that they have broken down and composted first.
2. Clean dishes
Because of the rough texture of coffee grounds, they work great as an abrasive, which means you can use them to clean tough-to-wash dishes. Simply place some grounds into a cleaning rag and twist the ends with a rubber band to secure them in place. Then you have an excellent DIY coffee sponge to clean with.
3. Exfoliate
Just like coffee grounds are a good abrasive for cleaning your dishes and kitchenware, they can also serve as an exfoliant for your skin. Simply mix with equal parts olive oil and massage into your skin. The coffee grounds exfoliate, while the olive oil serves as a moisturizer.
4. Fix furniture scratches
Have a kitchen table that needs a little love? Mixed with warm water and vinegar, coffee can be rubbed into scratches to keep your furniture looking good as new.
5. Keep your refrigerator fresh
Similar to baking soda, coffee grounds can serve as a deodorizer. Simply place a bowl of grounds in your refrigerator to suck up all the bad smells.
The great thing about sticking to simple brew methods that use only a paper filter and coffee grounds is that both are compostable. Used coffee grounds happen to be rich in nitrogen, which makes them great for composting. (Worms love coffee almost as much as you do!) In a compost pile, aim for a ratio of one part leaves to one part fresh grass clippings to one part coffee grounds. Keep in mind that freshly brewed coffee grounds won't have the same effect on your garden; you need to be sure that they have broken down and composted first.
2. Clean dishes
Because of the rough texture of coffee grounds, they work great as an abrasive, which means you can use them to clean tough-to-wash dishes. Simply place some grounds into a cleaning rag and twist the ends with a rubber band to secure them in place. Then you have an excellent DIY coffee sponge to clean with.
3. Exfoliate
Just like coffee grounds are a good abrasive for cleaning your dishes and kitchenware, they can also serve as an exfoliant for your skin. Simply mix with equal parts olive oil and massage into your skin. The coffee grounds exfoliate, while the olive oil serves as a moisturizer.
4. Fix furniture scratches
Have a kitchen table that needs a little love? Mixed with warm water and vinegar, coffee can be rubbed into scratches to keep your furniture looking good as new.
5. Keep your refrigerator fresh
Similar to baking soda, coffee grounds can serve as a deodorizer. Simply place a bowl of grounds in your refrigerator to suck up all the bad smells.
