MANAGING MONDAY

No sooner did Friday come zipping along that Monday arrived like a bad, unwelcome cold!  Ugh.  Blah.  What's even worse is walking out the front door and realizing I didn't clean this weekend, evident in the lampshade covered in a blanket of winter dust, the puppy treat-stained carpet and crusty candle wax on my freshly cleaned table.  Again I say, ugh. Blah!  Next time I should follow my own advice and stay ahead of the mess so I have to clean less, but tonight when I get home I'll just follow a few of my simple tips and the kingdom will be calm and lovely again.
DO THIS. AND THIS. AND THIS....
Here are just a few things I love to do to make life a little easier and much, much cleaner at home.  This weekend we had a dinner party (Thanksgiving in February..more on that yummy meal later this week) and just a few messes were left behind, so here's what I did to straighten things up (or will do, I should say).
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE: As you know (and as I've tipped many times) I love to serve water in bottles I've collected..old wine bottles, etc. I add a slice of lemon or lime to the water, making sure to cut thin enough so I can slip back out of the bottle easily.  PROBLEM: after cleaning the bottle (this also happens with bud vases) condensation hangs around, taking ages to dry, eventually staining my clear bottles.  SOLUTION: roll up a paper towel and insert it halfway into the bottle and LEAVE until water droplets are absorbed.
Speaking of bottles, DIRTY ONES:  I love collecting old bottles, but sometimes the older they are the dirtier they can be.  Ever try cleaning them? It's a pain in the neck! SOLUTION: I clean my retainers with polident denture cleaner and bottles are just the same..simply fill with water, drop a tablet in and let the cleaning begin!
CANDLE LIGHT NIGHTMARE: As much as I love battery operated candles, I also love to pepper my table with real votives and candles but hate, hate, HATE the melted mess they often leave behind.  SOLUTION: To get the wax out of the candle holder I simply pop them in the freezer overnight and they pop right out the next day!
50 SHADES OF DUST: I couldn't believe the amount of dust on our lampshades when I flipped them on this morning, but dusting usually just creates more, well, DUST, so here's what I do. SOLUTION: to clean my lampshades I use a lint roller to clear away all the nasty dust of the day!  Yeah, it's just that easy!
Have a great tip you want to share? Email me at paul@paulhechtdesigns.com and I'll share your brilliance here!