Happy Friday! I'm just jumping on quickly to tell you about a new cleaning tool that I recently purchased and can't wait to share. For the last couple of years, I've been gradually changing out my cleaning products to cleaner, chemical-free options in an effort to improve our overall health, especially in the areas of allergies and migraine headaches. I have landed on some pretty amazing products, and I'll be highlighting a different product each week in my FTNF posts. Ever since my sister introduced me to the Norwex products last year, I've had my eye on the Norwex mop! This mop is not cheap, but it gets rave reviews, so I've been watching for a good sale and finally jumped at a special ... Read more
Fluff the Nest Friday: Candlelight Looks Good on You!
My house really needs it's Friday fluff, y'all. It actually needs more than a fluff! Here's the rundown: The cold weather has meant the pets come inside at night and I feel like I'm cleaning a barn each morning. My husband has offered to buy me a pitchfork. Additionally, we have furniture being moved around, lots of laundry piles (both dirty and clean), and 3 curtain rods throughout the house that have been mysteriously ripped out of the walls. The latter was unsuccessfully blamed on the cat by the 11-year-old boy who is now no longer allowed to ride his hover board in the house (the wheels catch the bottom of the curtains and YANK!). Last night I got all the ingredients out to start ... Read more
Fluff the Nest Friday: Until Spring…
My front porch always starts looking pretty drab about this time of year, so I like to change out the wreath, give it a good sweeping, and put out a new doormat and flowers to spruce it up and hold it over until spring. It's still very much winter here, and I’m enjoying it, so I don't want it looking like Easter yet, but a little freshness and a little color give it a nice boost. It rained all day yesterday except for about one hour in the whole day. During the break, I ran out and quickly worked on the porch, getting it all done in less than 30 minutes. I've had this wreath since my last house--over 9 years ago! Some years I display it inside the house and some years outside. I ... Read more
Fluff the Nest Friday: Tips and Tidbits for Thanksgiving Prep
Good Friday morning! Fall has flashed by in a blur and Thanksgiving is less than a week away! I'm not hosting Thanksgiving but I did host our small group's annual "Friendsgiving" this week. Beside the usual weekly cleaning routine, here are a few extra preparations I worked into the week leading up to our little feast! Even though I'd put out a few fall-ish items at my front door early in the season, it was time to freshen things up a bit. My summer ferns were still looking too good for me to move so I left those, swept the concrete, added a fresh door mat and a couple more pumpkins from my son's pumpkin patch (more on his pumpkin patch soon!). I took one of my winter wreaths and added ... Read more
Fluff the Nest Friday: Staining the Picnic Table
Happy Friday, everyone! Today I’ve got a lot of cleaning to do on the inside of my house, but first I'm going to take you outside to share a little project I finished last week as part of my patio fluff. I stained the picnic table that my family gave me for Mother's Day! I used Valspar One-Coat Exterior Stain and Sealer in the color November Grey. It's an opaque stain. It is so true what they say about preparation being 90% of the job! I've learned from my many mistakes that it's better to go ahead and put the time into prepping a project to make it go more smoothly and end up with pleasing results. So the first thing I did was sand every square inch of the wood surface, smoothing ... Read more
Fluff the Nest Friday: Front Porch Patriotism!
I'm feeling extra patriotic with my nest fluffing today! The hubs pressured washed all the concrete yesterday and then I put back the furniture, flowers, and FLAGS! With the disrespect so many have shown our country's flag in recent years, I felt the need to go a little *extra* on the stars and stripes this year! So, we are waving it proudly with a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our America! Now that the front porch is ready, I'm heading to the back porch to splash a little patriotism around back there! But first, I want to acknowledge some other special birthdays today! My sister, Katie, was born the baby of us five on July 3. We kids were SO excited over her arrival! While my ... Read more
Fluff the Nest Friday: Rub a Dub Dub, There’s Some Yuck in My Tub!
Around here, Friday is the day to fluff the nest, which is just a much cuter way of saying “clean the house”. Am I right? So my Friday posts are all about tidying up and getting the house fresh and in order for the weekend. Some weeks my nest-fluffing comes more easily than others. I need motivation each Friday. Today I want to share a cleaning product that has been a game changer for me. When we bought our current home, I was so excited to get a soaking tub. My then 8-year old daughter called it the DREAM TUB! Cute. The only thing that wasn't too dreamy about it for me was the fact that it was jetted. I wondered what grew inside the jets and how I could be sure they were clean since I ... Read more