Looking for a Unique Design Element? Try Decorating With Citrus Fruits!

Now that summer is here, you're likely looking for fun, colorful ways to brighten up your home. If you want to add a pop of color and a burst of freshness to your kitchen or dining space, try decorating with something a bit out-of-the-ordinary: citrus fruits! Here are a few ways to decorate with oranges, lemons and more.

Dried Citrus Ornaments
While these types of dried citrus ornaments are normally used around the holidays, they look (and smell!) just as great in the summertime, too. Try drying your fruits and hanging them on a garland of eucalyptus over the kitchen window, or forage some branches, pop them in a vase and hang the ornaments on the ends.

Lemon Centerpieces
Planning a dinner party or a weekend brunch? Create your very own centerpiece made with bright, fresh lemons! If you're pressed for time, simply fill an attractive bowl with whole lemons for a subtle scent and a pretty pop of yellow. If you have a bit more time to spare, try filling a glass vase with water. Cut lemons into thin slices, and then submerge them in the vase for a more unique look.

Preserved Lemon Jars
This one plays double-duty as both a decoration and a helpful baking ingredient. Quick-preserve your lemons using just lemon juice and kosher salt, and then store them in large jars around the kitchen for a rustic, farmhouse-inspired look. Reach into the jars whenever you need something to zest up a pasta dish, roasted chicken or even a dessert!

Organize Jewelry and Accessories With These Smart and Easy DIYs

If it seems almost impossible to keep your necklaces, rings, and other accessories neat and organized, read on! These smart tips will show you new, smart ways to keep your jewelry and accessories tidy and tangle-free. Best of all, you can make them yourself — inexpensively!

Antique Saucer Jewelry Storage [Buzzfeed]
Store your everyday jewelry right out in the open by using a few china tea saucers. You can usually find them at your local thrift store, and they make a good place to corral loose rings, bracelets, and earrings.

Hanging Thread Organizer [onegoodthingbyjillee.com]
Make a quick visit to your local craft store and purchase a wooden thread organizer. This handy storage solution is meant to hold spools of thread, but its numerous wooden pegs are also perfect for hanging necklaces and bracelets on the back of a door, on the wall, or inside of a cabinet.

Corkboard Jewelry Holder [beehiveandbirdsnest.com]
Many people have an unused corkboard tucked away in a closet, and if you don’t, you can easily pick one up for cheap at an office supply store. Place attractive push-pins all over the corkboard and arrange them in a way that best suits your jewelry collection.

Where to Shop Teens’ and Tweens’ Room Decor Online

Tweens and teens love to express themselves through their bedroom decor, but you still want their rooms to look organized and put together. Lucky for the both of you, there are a number of stylish furniture and home goods websites that you and your teen will love. Here are two of the best.

Wake Up Frankie
If your daughter loves things with bold, feminine flair, she’ll simply adore Wake Up Frankie. This website carries a wide variety of duvet covers, pillow shams and sheet sets in crazy prints like chevron and polka dots, and each one comes in bright shades of black, pink, and neon yellow. Matching windows and canopies help to complete the look, while headboards, accent chairs, and chandeliers offer an elegant, vintage feel to any room.

Ikea
Ikea is a great place to find stylish, modern bedroom decor and furniture at budget-friendly prices. The website contains beds that fit in any space, coordinating bedding in fun, minimal patterns, and plush throw pillows and rugs to create a comfortable feel. Ikea also carries unique light fixtures and modern decor accessories to add a pop of color to your teen’s room.

How to Use Rubbing Alcohol Around the Home

You likely rely on rubbing alcohol to treat cuts and scrapes, but did you know that this medicine cabinet staple has uses beyond the bathroom? Here are three lesser-known uses for rubbing alcohol:

1) Tackle tough ink stains
Pre-treat ink stains by dabbing the area with rubbing alcohol. It's also said that rubbing alcohol can prevent ring around the collar: Simply swipe your neck with a cotton ball dampened with rubbing alcohol before dressing. Note, though, that this can be drying to the skin, so apply sparingly.

2) Clean your gadgets
You probably already use alcohol to disinfect your toothbrushes and thermometers, but you can also use rubbing alcohol to clean your electronics. Dampen a lint-free cloth with a small amount of rubbing alcohol, and use it to wipe down your cell phones, keyboard, computer mouse, and tablets.

3) De-grease the kitchen
Rubbing alcohol makes easy work of removing grease from around the kitchen. Pour a small amount of rubbing alcohol onto a paper towel, and wipe down countertops and stovetops. The rubbing alcohol helps dissolve the grease and grime left behind by cooking.

12 Ways to Use Rubbing Alcohol [Reader's Digest]
25 Alternative Uses for Rubbing Alcohol [Daily Finance]
35 Uses for Rubbing Alcohol [Fluster Buster]
Rubbing Alcohol Uses: Ideas For Using The All-Purpose Household Cleaner [HuffPost Green]

4 Uncommon Household Uses for Petroleum Jelly

If you’re looking to save a bit of money around the house, there are a few products more versatile than petroleum jelly. You likely already have a tub of the thick, gooey jelly in your medicine cabinet, but it has a number of different uses that you might not know about. Here are some creative ways to use petroleum jelly around the house.

  1. Erase watermarks from wood. If your old coffee table is dotted with circular watermarks from cups and glasses, remove them in one easy step with petroleum jelly. Just smear some on and let it sit overnight, then wipe the jelly away with a clean cloth.
  2. Moisturize leather goods. If your everyday shoes or that favorite jacket are looking a bit worse for the wear, give them a makeover with petroleum jelly. Just rub it in and wipe off the excess to keep leather goods looking as good as new.
  3. Reduce corrosion on a car battery. Lengthen the life of your car battery by disconnecting the terminals and cleaning them off with a wire brush. Put everything back together and coat it with petroleum jelly to prevent corrosion, especially during cold winter month.
  4. Fix a squeaking door. Grease the hinges of a squeaky door with petroleum jelly to keep it smooth and silent.

16 Practical Uses for Petroleum Jelly [All You]
26 Extraordinary Uses for Petroleum Jelly [Reader's Digest]
57 Uses for Petroleum {Free} Jelly [One Good Thing]