QUICK THINGS TO DO TODAY:
- Make menu plans for the week and create your grocery shopping list
- Choose an evening or two this week to stay at home, an evening to invite friends or family over, and an evening to go out if possible. A balanced social life is a happy social life.
- Go for a walk around your neighborhood looking for evidence of spring. Don’t forget to take your camera with you!
- Speaking of cameras, have you had professional Easter portraits taken of your children? Whether you take them to see the Easter Bunny at the mall, drop into a Wal-Mart photo booth or take them to a professional photographer, please consider making this a priority. It’s a gift to your children’s grandparents, yourself, and your children’s future adult selves.
- Speaking of Easter photos, do you have your children’s Easter outfits purchased yet?
TODAY’S PROJECT: Spring Cleaning the Master Bedroom
Today I’m focusing on cleaning my bedroom. I’ll be returning it to a haven of relaxation, rest, and coziness. I’m not just cleaning, I’m creating my nest, my safe space, my reading nook, my costume drama home movie theater, my space to give myself manicures and sugar scrubs and beauty treatments.
Want to peek at my to-do list?
- Move all furniture, then vacuum under it.
- Replace furniture, dusting each piece as I go.
- Take down curtains and drop them off at dry cleaner. Remind self not to walk around naked in front of the bedroom windows tonight and tomorrow!
- Wash windows, paying special attention to the dirty window jams.
- Clean light fixtures and lamp shades, inspect for damaged cords.
- Wipe down baseboards, light switches and electric outlets.
- Dust television, sanitize phone.
- Clean metal floor heat register with Brasso.
- Wash walls.
- Sort out nightstands, keeping only what’s necessary and used often.
- Sort bookshelf and the pile of books and stationery next to the bed.
- Flip and rotate mattress.
- Launder dust ruffle, mattress pad, duvet and cover, as well as sheets.
- Inspect pillows for soil and comfort level. With nice new pillows just $15 at Costco, I throw out old pillows every 3 years, and replace the ones in my bedroom about every year. I’ll convert my current pillows to guest room pillows and throw out my 3 year old guest room pillows.
- Make a list of anything that needs to be repaired – mouldings, baseboards, walls, door, drawer handles, book shelves, etc. Put this on to-do list for the handyman.
- Finish by spritzing the room with my favorite Candied Fruit home spray.
LOVELY BLOGS: Memorie di Angelina
“Italian home cooking made easy.” Recent tasty-looking recipes include Risotto Primavera, Zuppa Inglese, and Gratineed Fennel.
http://memoriediangelina.blogspot.com/
LOVELY BOOKS: Pocket Posh
I love these little activity books, easy to slip in your purse or laptop bag. They’re great for travel, or for whiling away some time while waiting for an appointment or at your kid’s school. There’s Sudoku, crosswords, word searches, number puzzles, Hangman, brain games, and puzzles based on literature such as Jane Austen and William Shakespeare.
I love the beautiful decorative covers! These make great stocking stuffers or extra gifts tucked into birthday gift bags, too.
They’re also sold on Amazon.
Pocket Posh, at Andrews McMeel Publishing
LOVELY LINKS FOR TODAY:
Cookbooks Used to be for Cooking, Now They are For Looking (Boston Globe)
Deviled Cranberry Creme Eggs (NPR Food)
Dimpled Apple Cake (One Perfect Bite)
Five Kings, One Chicken: Game of Thrones Dinner Party (Epicurious)
14 Festive Mini-Appetizers (Southern Living)
How to Host an Easter Egg Hunt (Epicurious)
How the Hunger Games Costume Designers Let Me Down (Slate)
Lori
Ooh, I love the Pocket Posh things! I've never seen those before, I definitely need to look into getting one. There always seems to be time spent sitting and waiting for various things, and it's not always practical for me to pull out knitting.