personality and color into the room without going overboard with a theme.

http://www.simplicityinthesouth.com/2013/05...

I have had a dirty little secret!Everyone always tells me how clean my house is. It's not really. Not since I've had kids. You've seen those cute little signs, Excuse the mess, we are busy making memories or Excuse the mess, we live here? Well that's not really my style. In fact, my house is nothing like the clean it used to be before the kids. I've grown more accustomed to the mess, but so many little things tend to get over looked these days. Many people have exciting goals like running a marathon or skydiving (and I may have just become the biggest loser because I just googled Common goals people have, because I couldn't come up with 2 good ideas), you know what I've always wanted? To put my house on the market and have the ad say, "Mrs. Clean lives here". I'm not kidding, I actually told my realtor I wanted that on my add. She said, your house will sell itself. OK, she was right, but I really wanted that at the time. One thing I've been over-looking lately is my kitchen cabinets. I'm home cleaning today and thought, maybe today's the day to get that grease off the cabinets. Now keep in mind, these are just the cabinets over the stove, and grease is always building up on these cabinets. I wipe down my cabinets frequently, since they are white and show any dirt, but I do tend to "overlook" these top cabinets because I never could seem to get the grime off with much success. I have those god-awful therma-foil and for lack of a better term the surface is "pockey". That means there is a little texture that allows dirt and grease to accumulate. The picture shows best how greasy these cabinets were. I've tried many products before, but today I decided to go for some simple soft scrub and a warm dish rag. I love the lemon scent and use this for a lot of my cleaning. I poured it on my dishcloth and just rubbed it on the grease, and just like that, all of the grease and grime came off. I've tried many other cleaners and de-greasers and seriously never got such great results with barely any elbow grease at all. I might suggest if you are working over your head that you wear some protective eyewear, because trust me when I say, you don't want your break from cleaning to involve trying to get soap out of your eye! Just sayin. Check out the before and afters. It's really pretty amazing!

left as old world, rustic and charming. Reminds me of the old Pie Safes. Full instructions at Recaptured Charm.

whipped up to create a functional and stylish little storage system for salt, kosher salt, powdered sugar, etc. (Everything above the counters will be white and fresh in my space, but you could use it for "colorful" spices too....heck, even beads in your craft room.) You'll just need spice jars, floral wire and nails!

stones, bricks, leaves and other debris. They establish a territory near food sources, generally 10 to 30 feet from their nest. House mice breed throughout the year and often share nests with their "relatives". House mice spread disease through bite wounds and contaminating food & water with their waste products. They can also spread disease through parasites such as ticks, fleas & mites. These parasites bite the infected mouse and then spread the disease by biting humans, this is why controlling rodent problems are extremely important. Prevention tips include: 1) Eliminate harborage in and around the house. Do not allow piles of leaves to accumulate next to the home, remove any piles of debris, stones, bricks, firewood, etc. 2) Seal holes & cracks inside & outside the home. Mice can fit through a hole as small as 1/4 in length. 3) Mice eat 15-20 times a day, so never leave food out. 4) Empty garbage on a daily basis and keep lids on the trash cans. 5) Frequently clean up sheds, crawlspaces, attics, storage rooms & garages. 6) Install weather stripping on the bottom of all doors. 7) Keep the house clean and free of clutter. - If problems persist, contact a Pest Control Company for help.