Cleaning

All it took was two episodes of “Hoarders” and I knew that the next morning I was going to…had to…go downstairs to clean out our apartment basement storage area. Hidden downstairs was a slowly expanding Jenga pile of boxes, the majority of them empty, but all kept under the presumption I’d need them later for moving or resale. It was time to get serious and clean house for 2012…The biggest source of empty boxes were for electronics and appliances.

For the last several months my husband and I have had fans in our windows at all times. We had a hard time getting any breeze in them, but because the fans were in place, we hadn’t had a problem with bugs and mosquitoes coming in. As the temperatures dropped this past weekend, we removed the fans and all sorts of creepy crawly and flying friends came in, so it was time for some screens! Off to the hardware store we went!

White risers can do a lot to brighten a staircase, as evidenced in the entryway above. However, like white floors, pretty and bright doesn’t always equal maintenance-free…but it doesn’t have to equal nightmare either. Here’s how to make them work. I recently completed the risers in our entry hall, and I can tell you first hand that like most painting projects, preparation and the right paint is everything.

Q: Maybe someone can help me with this tragedy? This is my beloved Superflat exhibit print poster. Eight years ago I got it mounted, but when I moved to NY I didn’t ship it out and stored it in my parents’ basement. Now I’ve moved back and discovered they had a flood one year and this poor print got some water damage. Is there any way I can remove the stains without damaging the print? I was thinking of a Mr.

Every well-run home is teeming with tricks and shortcuts to keep it humming along. We’re sharing our best quick tips — for cleaning, organizing and repairing stuff at home — to save you time and money. Click through for today’s helpful hint, and links to tons more… Use regular DISH SOAP!! It has the ability to be gentle on your paint brushes while removing the sticky, slick paint behind.

Outside of using them for composting, worms just haven’t been on our radar. That is, until they invaded our Walnut tree (worm jerks!). So we sat down with our old friend Google and tried to find out exactly what was taking over our tree and how to make it stop. Were they web worms? Bag worms? Or the Eastern Tent Caterpillar? Find out the differences on each and how you can keep your trees in check after the jump.

Cleaning Stainless Steel Sinks has always been a pet peeve. Once it was discovered how clean and shiny they REALLY could be, the OCD about keeping them that clean….hasn’t stopped. And why not when it’s so simple to do? Click through the jump to check out how to use common household items to clean even the dirtiest sink naturally and in under 5 minutes. Stainless Steel sinks always seem to deceive you.

We were recently sent this bit of info by our father, who revelled at the opportunity to contribute to the blog. It’s a great little story about the invention of WD-40, which, it turns out, was never intended for lubrication at all and has, as its basic ingredient, nothing other than fish oil!“I had a neighbor who had bought a new pickup.