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Tag Archives: housekeeping

Nesting

16 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by jeannerondeau in Projects

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

early labor, home birth, housekeeping, life with kids, nesting, pre labor, vivid images pre-labor, waiting for labor

Nest
On Sunday I cleaned the entire house, wrapped birthday presents, painted two staircases and a bathroom, unpacked and washed the baby clothes and checked on the bees.  I almost reupholstered our dining room chairs, but decided that would be a bit much.  Today my washing machine stopped working, forcing me to take a much-needed nap instead of hanging out more laundry to dry on the line.  I always know the pre-baby nesting will happen, but still never cease to be amazed at the crazy burst of energy and cleaning power that happens as birth moves closer.  I sill remember watching my mother go through this with her last pregnancy, until her water broke on the hill leading to our house and she was forced to surrender the barn cleaning for another day.  I have noticed that the world seems beautiful and sort of sparkly to me during the last few days before labor.  All of this is mysteriously and comfortably out of my control.  So now the house is clean, the birthing tub is here, the grocery shopping is done…Now we can do nothing but knit and read and eat and wait for this little person to come out and meet us.

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Out to Dry

24 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by jeannerondeau in Organizing, Projects

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Tags

chrome clothesline, drying laundry outside, Ebay, housekeeping, life with kids, life without a dryer, retractable clothesline, sheets dry in the sun, vintage clothesline, vintage retractable clothesline

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I have been dreaming of a clothesline for the back yard.  I really love the process of hanging washed clothes outside and bringing in fresh-smelling dry clothes.  (Not to mention the benefits of not running a dryer in the the summer).  I was a bit afraid that Brooklyn laundry would not smell as clean as New Hampshire laundry, but I am happy to report that the sun and wind do a great job here as well.  We found a vintage retractable line on Ebay.  There are some more Ebay examples here.  Technically our line is for indoors, and will likely need some chrome retouching each season and we plan to take it inside for the winters.  I replaced the old cotton rope with nylon to fit across the span of the back fence.  We unwind the rope to dry and attach it a hook on the opposite end of our fence. Every evening we wind the rope back into its shiny metal case.  It is so lovely to sleep on sheets that have spent the day in the sun.

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Housewarming Gift

21 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by jeannerondeau in Likes, Organizing, Shop

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Tags

Craftsman bottle opener, horsehair broom, housekeeping, housewarming gifts, Kiosk, Moon River Chattel, new house, Swedish dustpan and broom, traditional housewarming gifts

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Our good friends finally moved into their new house last month, after a long two-year search.  We are so happy for them and wanted to bring over some of our favorite housekeeping supplies as a housewarming gift.  We veered away slightly from the traditional gifts of honey, bread, candles, knives, plants, rice, salt, etc…They have lived together for years now and have most of these supplies on hand.  But we did put in a broom to keep the house “clean and free of evil spirits” (or at least free of dust).

*Swedish Horsehair Broom and Red Dustpan from Kiosk

*Linen Dish Towels from Moon River Chattel 

*A Craftsman Bottle Opener (who doesn’t need an opener to match their screwdrivers?)

*Cards from the Girls

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Spring Cleaning: Stoop Sale

07 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by jeannerondeau in Organizing, Projects

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Tags

housekeeping, life in Brooklyn, living with kids, magazine recycling, neighborhood, organizing kids rooms, recycling, spring cleaning, stoop sale, yard sale

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I spent a few hours while Ada was at school yesterday organizing her room and adding to our yearly stoop sale pile.  It always feels so good to clean out the closets and get rid of unused stuff.  I try to rotate the girls’ toys so they get to play with some they have forgotten, but things they have outgrown can be moved on to another home.  I love living in Brooklyn because we often put magazines and other little things out on our front fence and neighbors take them home within a few hours.  We have gathered lots of our own free books from stoops of our neighbors.  This easy way of recycling and sharing unwanted items always makes me feel good.  (There is nothing better than something that is both free and useful!)  We also organize a larger stoop sale with friends once a year.  (I usually have to send the kids to Nan and Pappy’s so they don’t bring home more than we sell).  Aside from clearing out things that we no longer need and meeting the neighbors, it makes us happy to match items with people who are excited to bring a bargain home.

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Inspiration

03 Friday May 2013

Posted by jeannerondeau in Inspiration

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Tags

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Cherry Blossom Festival, cherry blossoms, home, housekeeping, Inspiration, Instagram, life with kids, Manly Narcissus, White Flower Farm

Inspiration30
Happy Friday Everyone!
Here are some Instagrams from our week:

*Manly Narcissus from Our Garden

*Cherry Blossoms from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

*Back Yard

*Josie, Asleep on Her Books

*Back on the Ground at JFK

*The Kids, Watching Fish at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Cheating on Mrs. Meyers

26 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by jeannerondeau in Likes, Projects

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Caldrea, Caldrea at Target, hand washing dishes, home, housekeeping, life with kids, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, strong sense of smell when pregnant, washing vintage dishes

Caldrea

I love Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, I really do.  I have used their natural cleaning products for years.  But when I am pregnant and have super smelling powers the fragrance of Mrs. Meyer’s can make my head spin.  (Did I mention we are expecting a third baby in August?)  So, when I spotted Caldrea dish soap at Target the other day I gave them a cautious sniff.  They smell amazing!  The scents seemed powerful and fresh without being overpowering.  I gathered up some Hibiscus Yuzu, Citron Ginger and Blackberry Mint.  They cost $5.99 each and the bubbles turned out to last for an entire sinkful of dishes.  (We are crazy people who eat off of vintage dishes and glassware and never use our dishwasher because it would harm the bakelite and wash away Swanky Swigs decals).  The Caldrea soap smell seemed to pleasantly last through washing but did not linger for the next several hours.  I will have to seriously consider my return to Mrs. Meyer’s after the baby comes and my Spidey Sense wanes.

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Flea Market Finds: Linens

22 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by jeannerondeau in Organizing, Vintage

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Brooklyn Flea bargains, Brooklyn shopping, cloth vs paper napkins, Dr. Bronner's, housekeeping, life with kids, linen dish towel, linen napkin, vintage dish towel, vintage linen napkin

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One of my usual searches at flea markets is for vintage linens in good condition.  I get especially excited when I find unused vintage Irish linen napkins with the original label still attached.  Linen lasts forever and washes beautifully in the machine.  For tough stains I pre-treat with Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap.  We use the cloth napkins at mealtimes and the dish towels for drying the dishes afterward.  I find that if we have paper towels and napkins at our house that we use a ton of them.  The linens save paper and make dinner seem a little fancier.  I found these napkins and Ireland dish towel at the Brooklyn Flea this weekend.  The booth owner even washed, pressed and tied the napkins with twill tape.  All 11 napkins and the towel came to $20.  Bargain!  Ebay has some pretty vintage napkins here and dish towels here.

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Spring Cleaning: Dusting

18 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by jeannerondeau in Projects, Shop

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Tags

housekeeping, how to clean crown moldings, living with children, natural cleaning, non-chemical house cleaning, old house living, Sla-Dust, Slack Dust Mop Company, wool dust mop

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Our house has tall crown moldings that we rarely notice accept to bemoan their need of repairs.  I have never dusted up there and I am quite sure the previous owners did not. (It took a team of four people nine hours to clean the house before we moved in).  The cleaning team also ignored the crown moldings, so it has been at least five years since they got a good dusting.  I found this Sla-Dust this week and decided it was time to tackle the dusting job.  The Slack Dust Mop Company has been hand-making wool mops for over 100 years in Vermont.  The company is still owned by the same family and they  pride themselves on making sustainable, non-disposable quality products.  My Wool Hand Duster did a great job on the moldings and ceiling fans and also worked to grab dust out of the crevices in our radiators.  The wool head attaches with Velcro and can be hand washed in soap and water for cleanup.  I finished the whole job in under half an hour.  So satisfying!

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Spring Cleaning: Wooden Cutting Boards

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by jeannerondeau in Organizing, Projects

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

clean with baking soda, clean with lemon, clean with salt, home, housekeeping, how to clean wood cutting board, natural cleaning, non-toxic cleaning, safe cleaners around kids, spring cleaning

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It is that time of year.  Time to tackle all of the little projects that show themselves in spring’s light: Window Washing, Quilt Airing, a good Floor Cleaning…I like to give our wooden cutting boards a good scrub with lemon and salt.  The lemon removes odors and the salt helps scrub away stains.  To clean your own wooden cutting boards you will need:

*Salt

*Lemon

*Baking Soda (For tough odors)

1. Cut lemon in half.

2. Sprinkle salt on lemon.

3. Scrub and squeeze lemon on board to make a paste.  Add more salt as needed to cover the board and rub in a circular motion.

4. Allow salt and lemon to dry in the sun.

5. Wash and repeat if odors still linger.

6. For really tough stains or smells, add baking soda to the salt mix and scrub.

7. When boards are clean, allow to dry in a sunny window.

Now on to the windows…

You may also enjoy these cleaning posts:


MirrorBrooms1

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