Living Room Clean Up Tips, Fall and More

Here are some tips from my sister blog site, about.com, re cleaning a living room. It is from a post 15 min. clean ups, and I recommend it highly. It is 9:40 p.m. and all the kids are in bed. You are going to relax and unwind for a little while. As you look around at the living area you're about to relax in, you see a couch, bookshelf, coffee table, and floor in desperate need of help. With just a quick fifteen minutes, you can transform any living area and still have five minutes before the sitcom reruns start. Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 15 Minutes Here's How: 1.Grab your supplies. This is the most important step. Having all of your supplies together before you begin means no distractions in the middle of cleaning up. Everything is handy when you need it. •Basic Cleaning Supply List • Best Dusting Tools •Tools for Dusting •Homemade Furniture Polish 2.Put all items that do not belong in the living room in a container. Do not try to pick up each item and place it where it belongs. Even if you don't get distracted you will waste time running to all ends of the house multiple times. 3.Tackle the couch. Brush off the cushions. Retrieve any missing items from the depths of the couch. Brush off the dirt from the interior of the couch onto the floor. Replace and fluff the pillows. 4.Dust down the coffee table and arrange its contents properly. The goal here is to quickly brush off the table and neatly stack its contents. We're not shining the furniture meticulously, or alphabetizing coffee table books. •Tips For Preventing Dust •Where to Dust •How Often to Dust 5.Neatly arrange the magazines and books. Don't try to weed out magazines and books that you've been thinking about storing or tossing. Just arrange them neatly and move on. 6.Vacuum or sweep up the floor. Don't move furniture to do so. Don't try to vacuum the pillows and couch. Leave these more in depth items for when you have more time. Do, however, remember to get the dirt we brushed out of the interior of the couch. •How To Sweep •Maintain a Vacuum Cleaner •Before You Buy an Upright Vacuum Cleaner 7.Put away your dust rag and vacuum or broom. Take a few moments to enjoy, and take some time for yourself Tips: 1.If you have a few minutes leftover after vacuuming, grab the container and take the missing items to their homes. It will probably only take a few minutes, but save you time tomorrow morning. 2.If the living room is relatively clutter free, use your extra time to vacuum the couch interior after finishing the floor. 3.Unless you're extremely motivated, let yourself relax after doing this quick fifteen minutes. While getting a lot of things done tonight might help you be ahead tomorrow, constantly working and not taking time for yourself will do more damage in the long run. What You Need: •A basket, bag, or box to put non-living room items. •A dust rag. •A vacuum cleaner or broom. Related Articles •Organize your living room in 10 minutes or less. •How to Organize Your Living Room in 30 Minutes or Less Our Expert Recommends • 15 Minute Cleanup Index • 15 Minute Bathroom Cleanup • 15 Minute Bedroom Cleanup • 15 Minute Kid's Room Cleanup • 15 Minute Kitchen C

Civilization and its Discontents

As I write at 5am something in the morning, I note there is something civilized about a cup of Sumatra coffee and half a slice of orange Jello cake, served on a bunnikin plate, after a major allergy attack that hit at 4am something in the morning. Ah, fall! Crisp and cool, but also damp, the humidity left in the cold air creates a pollen soup from the leftovers of the spring allergy season. Or, so it feels. The corn will be harvested soon, and the squirrels are very busy at my house There was a young buck a few doors down, and my begonias are in their crimson glory. The pumpkin vine keeps at it, so maybe there will be Jack O' Lanterns this Halloween. Look for me on my newest blog, Antique Doll Collector Magazine, also on blogspot, and on a second Twitter page by the same name. The mums look lovely this year, and the gourds will be plentiful.

: September 11, 2013

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Using Photography to focus on The Evironment

One way to showcase the environment is to use photography. Macro photography allows you to magnify a microminiature world to miraculous proportions. You can always take a camera on nature hikes or walks through the woods. In every season there are sites to catch the eye of the photographer. The upcoming fall is no exception. Here is a site with good photos of nature and related object: milanipc.com. Cindy Steele's calendar "Beauty in the Backyard" is another wonderful example of what the camera lens can do. She takes macro photos of drops of sap, and catches the refelctions of flowers and other objects, even herself. They look like miniature paperweights. With cell hpone cameras add digital cameras, this is somehting everyohne can try.

The Original Tips Continued

Here are some more of the original tips that inspired this blog. I hope they give you ideas for fall activities with your families.

20. Join the Scouts, boy or girl. Encourage children to get badges in various areas, including those involving nature and conservation. 21. Teach about archaeology trough magazines like Archaeology, Civilization, National Geographic, and Smithsonian. Encourage kids to collect a library of these materials, and help them to organize it. They will be constantly reading and gain a respect for earth. 22. Teach children to respect animals and wildlife. If they have a favorite stuffed animal, like an elephant, have them study elephants and thei9r evolution, their role in literature and culture, where they live. The more familiar we are with something like this, and the more we come to love it, the less likely we are to abuse it or ignore it. Do the same with human culture. Encourage children to learn bout people from around the world by having them read folk tales, literature, listening to music, participating in ethnic crafts, collecting ethnic artifacts. Folk Dolls and foreign dolls are a good way to introduce all children to different cultures. Those with their own collections should learn about them and then go on the road, offering to display and lecture on them.

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Scenes from a Doll Show

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