How to Speed Through Household Cleaning Tasks

Whether you’re pressed for time before dinner guests arrive or simply overwhelmed with the amount of items on your to-do list, just about everyone could use some help when it comes to cleaning. Here are a few smart ways to help you speed through household cleaning tasks.

  • Work in a circle. Instead of attacking things in each room at random, make a plan to work in a circle. In the kitchen, that might mean wiping down the refrigerator and tossing out expired foods, giving the stove a good scrub, wiping down counter and tabletops, then loading the dishwasher last.
  • Start with the worst first. If you dread cleaning the bathroom or tidying up the bedroom, start with that room first. By getting the hardest part out of the way when you have the most energy, you’ll speed through the rest of your chores.
  • Take inventory while cleaning. If you notice that something doesn’t need to be cleaned, such as the already-spotless windows, then eliminate it from the list to save time. Unless it’s something requiring sanitization, like the toilet, there’s no shame in leaving it be.
  • Do a final sweep. Once you’re done with the major cleaning tasks, give your home a final sweep, putting everything in its right place and creating an organized look.

Speed Cleaning [The Inspired Room]
30 Quick and Easy Cleaning Tips [Woman’s Day]
9 Tips For Speed Cleaning [About Home]
Clean Your Home in Less than 20 Minutes [SheKnows]

How to Use Borax Around the Home

If you haven’t yet experimented with the wonders of borax, you’re missing out on a versatile household cleaner that could help to consolidate many of your chores. This unique, all-natural substance consists of sodium borate, and it makes a powerful cleanser, drain cleaner, and much more. Here are a few ways to use it.

  • Mix 2 tablespoons of borax with two cups of hot water to create an all-purpose cleaner for around the house.
  • Clear a blocked drain by mixing 1/2 cup of borax with two cups of boiling water. Pour the solution down the drain and let it sit for 15 minutes before running water to flush it away.
  • Get stains out of your sink by making a paste of one cup of borax and 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Scrub the paste into the stain with a sponge and rinse with hot water.
  • Clean carpets naturally by using 1/2 cup of borax per gallon of water in the steam cleaner.
  • Clean pots, pans, and porcelain cookware by sprinkling borax on their surfaces and rubbing with a slightly damp cloth.

Borax Changed My Life! [Stacy Makes Cents]
30 Little-Known Uses for Household Borax [One Good Thing]
Borax and 25 Ways to Use It [Apartment Therapy]

How to Host a Swap Party

While you may have heard of the clothing swap and the book swap, who says that you can’t swap everything that you frequently use? Swap parties are great ways to de-clutter your home while also recycling your unused items, and they’re mutually beneficial for everyone who attends. Now, how about a snack swap?

  1. Decide what to swap. Consider things that you and your friends all use, such as clothing, shoes, books, kids' toys, and music.
  2. Let your guests know what to make. If you don’t want to swap pre-used goods, host a food swap with items like soup or cookies. Just make sure to let your guests know well in advance so that they can get to cooking or baking.
  3. Pick the right amount of people. Depending on the size of your home, you might want to narrow your invite list down to only a few people (just make sure that you invite at least five, or it won’t be much of a swap!).
  4. Send an e-vite. In order to detail the instructions clearly, send all of your guests an email at least two weeks in advance.
  5. Set up a swapping area. Clear out the swap room so that you have ample space to browse, and then make displays for the swappable items, such as tables or clothing racks.
  6. Swap! Go around the room taking turns, or let your guests loose in a free-for-all swapping excursion.

How to Host a Swap Party [Real Simple]
How to Host a Clothing Swap Party – Rules & Ideas [Money Crashers]
Soup Swap Party [Soup Swap Party]

Holiday Tree Trimming Tips From the Pros

There’s nothing more fun during the holidays than decorating the tree with the whole family, but you may want to make this year’s tree a bit more stylish. Instead of haphazardly placing ornaments all over its branches, check out these tips for decorating a truly chic and elegant holiday tree.

  1. Real or artificial? First, you must decide if you want to invest in a real tree or stick with an artificial option. While a real tree is a bit more rustic and will make your house smell divine, an artificial tree is much easier to manage.
  2. Choose a color scheme. One of the easiest ways to make your tree look more professional is by setting a color scheme. Reds and greens are always a great choice, but all-over gold or sparkling silver are also beautiful when accented by the twinkling lights.
  3. Hang small lights first. To create a base for your tree’s decorations, first hang small, white lights evenly all over.
  4. Add solid colored ball ornaments. Next, invest in multipacks of ball ornaments in your chosen color. Hang them all over the tree, leaving even amounts of space in between each one.
  5. Add personal ornaments last. To display more personal or keepsake ornaments without them looking too cluttered, add them in the empty spaces once all of the other ornaments are already in place. Voila—the perfect holiday tree.

How to Decorate a Christmas Tree Elegantly [WikiHow]
15 Christmas Tree Decorating Ideas [HGTV]
How to Decorate a Christmas Tree [Better Homes & Gardens]

Hosting a Party at Firewheel? Check Out These Handy Portion Planning Guides!

One of the hardest parts about planning a party is deciding how much food to prepare. It’s every host’s fear to imagine running out of appetizers, but it’s just as frustrating when you’re left with way too many leftovers! Before your next gathering, check out these helpful tips for portion planning and avoid these entertaining mishaps.

  • Consider this: on average, a guest will drink between three and four drinks every four hours or so. You might also want to keep in mind that a standard bottle of wine equals four to six glasses, while a two-liter of soda equals about 10 glasses.
  • For appetizers, imagine that each person will eat approximately five per hour. If you’re serving only appetizers and hors d’oeuvres, add two or three to that number.
  • For your main course, choose things like meat and vegetables to make it easy to dole out portions. If you’re serving something like stir-fry or pasta, imagine that the average person will eat approximately a four-ounce serving.
  • Once you get to dessert, it’s safe to assume that each person will have only one piece — although it’s always smart to get a few extras just in case.

How to Estimate the Food You Need for Your Memorial Day Picnic, Barbecue, or Pool Party [Delish]
How to Calculate the Amount of Food You Need for a Party [Livestrong]
Food & Beverage Quantities to Order [Planning Helper]

Cool and Colorful Crafts You Can Make With Paint Swatches

The next time you find yourself admiring the colorful aisle of paint swatches at your local hardware store, grab a few favorites and bring them home with you. Even if you’re not planning on painting anytime soon, these affordable swatches make the base of a number of adorable DIY projects. Here are three that will help to get you started.

DIY Paint Swatch Chandelier [heygorg.com]
Dress up a dinner party or even the tables at a wedding with this simple chandelier. All it takes is a paper punch and a few simple crafting supplies, and because you can choose the colors in the swatches, it’s perfect for coordinating with the rest of a color scheme.

Paint Sample Bookmarks [melissasbargains.com]
If you’re looking for a fun DIY project to do with the kids, this one is great for a budding bookworm. The shape of a strip of paint swatches already makes it a great bookmark, so all you’ll have to do is add a few fun decorations.

DIY Paint Chip Animal Friends [handmadecharlotte.com]
Craft 3D animal figurines out of colorful paint chips and create a tiny zoo for your little ones. This unique tutorial even includes downloadable templates for each animal, so all you’ll have to do is trace, cut, and assemble.

Newly Betrothed? Don’t Miss These Wedding Boards on Pinterest!

You can't stop admiring that brand-new ring on your finger, but now it’s time for the real fun to begin. Even if you’ve been dreaming of that fairy tale wedding since before you can remember, things can get a bit overwhelming once it comes time for the actual planning. Here are three Pinterest boards that offer hours of wedding inspiration, while also helping to keep you on schedule—and on budget!

Wedding Ideas
Are you planning a shabby chic wedding, or is your style more glitz and glamor? Whatever type of nuptials you have in mind, this Pinterest board is filled with ideas to help plan your dream wedding. Creative honeymoon funds, fun wedding favors, and simple, handmade decorations will make your big day even more special.

Weddings
Browse Pinterest’s main wedding board by categories like wedding photography, flowers, and invitation inspiration to find tips and tricks for every aspect of planning a wedding. There are even printable checklists and calendars to help you stay organized along the way.

Romantic Weddings
Whether you’re actually planning a wedding or if you just love looking at ideas for that day far off in your future, the Romantic Weddings board is an endless source of dreamy inspiration. Best of all, this board is filled with photos from real weddings to offer a sneak peek of real life couples’ special days.

Plan Your Dream Wedding With Help From These Two Websites

The wedding-planning process is an exciting time in the life of any bride or groom, but it can difficult to know exactly where to start. Whether you're planning backyard nuptials or an elaborate affair on a tropical island, these two image-heavy websites can help point you in the direction of your dream wedding.

Style Me Pretty
Arguably the most popular wedding blog out there, Style Me Pretty posts user-submitted photos from newlyweds. Each post tells the story of the bride's day through beautiful photos, which are supplemented with wedding planning advice and tips from the bride.

Once Wed
Similar to Style Me Pretty, Once Wed is eye candy for brides-to-be. Ooh and aah over images of real brides' gowns, bouquet, and shoes, then scroll down to learn how she coordinated her bridal party, decorated her tablescapes, and decided upon invitations. Borrow some of her ideas for your own wedding.

Uses for a French Press — Beyond Coffee!

Many people are jumping in on the French press trend because it makes barista-quality coffee quickly and easily right at home. If you own a French press, however, you might be surprised to find that you can use it for much more than just brewing your morning cup of joe. Here are a few unique uses for your French press.

  • Making tea. This one may be fairly obvious, but many people don’t realize that they can also use a French press for tea. Simply fill the bottom with tea bags or loose leaf tea, then brew as usual.
  • Frothing milk. If you consider frothed milk a luxury of the coffee shop, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that you can froth your own milk by simply adding it to the French press and pumping it up and down a few times.
  • As a strainer. Use your French press to strain just about anything, even pesky quinoa that usually slips through the cracks. Just add things like spinach, fresh fruit, or even shrimp and dispense the water. Just make sure to thoroughly clean the press afterward!
  • Infusing oils. Mix herbs and spices with olive oil and heat the mixture in a saucepan over medium heat. Allow the mixture to cool, then transfer it to the French press and strain out the herbs.

5 More Uses For Your French Press! [The Kitchn]
14 {Other} Ways to Use a French Coffee Press [Preparedness Mama]
Use Your French Press to Make Whipped Cream [LifeHacker]

Cute and Kitschy Uses for Vintage Tea Towels

Vintage tea towels are a common find at antique stores, flea markets, and thrift shops, and they’re typically as affordable as they are adorable. Here are just a few great ideas for how you can breathe new life into kitschy tea towels.

Lavender Pillow [allaboutyou.com]
Add a fresh, fragrant scent to your closet or drawers by creating this DIY lavender pillow. Choose a towel in your favorite pattern or color, then fill it with dried lavender from the local health food store. Best of all, you can even use iron-on adhesives and bypass the sewing machine.

Tea Towel Tote [simplicity.com]
Craft your own vintage-inspired tote bag by sewing together a few vintage tea towels with a sturdy ribbon as the handles. It only takes very basic sewing skills to get this project right, and you can customize it with button embellishments of your choice.

Tea Towel Blinds [houseandgarden.co.uk]
Stitch a few tea towels together in the dimensions of your window to create eclectic, retro tea towel blinds. Attach the top edge around a wooden baton using sturdy Velcro, then add loops of ribbon to keep the whole thing tied up when it’s not in use.

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