Plum Pruning = Spring Indoors!
I love to learn new things, especially in the area of home making – like with decorating or organizing. I’ve got three things worth sharing that can make a difference in your home no matter what size it is. I have learned some really cool things over the years that fall out of those categories and into some tangent areas, like growing more oxygenating air with houseplants.
Spring Indoors – Around the Seattle area, we had spring like weather for the past couple of weeks, and the trees are blossoming. Now, we have a freezing week, with some dusting of snow. My In-laws gave us some pruned Plum Tree clippings, and we have them in a glass jar (provids better stability than our vases). This saves some of those precious blossom buds who would freeze otherwise, and delights my kids as they watch them open. You could do this even without erratic weather patterns this spring, saving some pretty blossoms from the compost pile or yard waste bin. And, best of all, they will make for a beautiful bouquet for free!Make Clean Air – Last spring, I checked out the book, How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home or Office, from the Library and researched the best plant for my husband to have in his office. I learned that we had 3 of the plants already in our home! The book explained that some of them needed to be misted once in a while, and now I take better care of them.
Well, I just stumbled upon this blog post that pretty much explains it all, better than I could at Simpleorganic.net – well worth sharing with you. The best part is the listing of the top 10 plants as sourced from the book directly at the bottom of the post. If you enjoy learning a bit more about the science behind this, and the reasons why you’d want to get more oxygenated air into your home, read the whole thing.
My daughter's second-hand custom made rocking chair. My favorite spot in the house.
Decorate Simply – Reading RowdyKittens.com has inspired me to live a more simple, “minimalistic” life – a recent post directed me to Miss Minimalist’s Decorating tips post, Adding Warmth Without Adding Stuff. Yeah, I know, link, link, link, but it’s worth it. She points out how to put together specific textures or colors to make a cozy home with less stuff. This reminds me of my Mom’s interior decorating business tag line, “Making your home your own.” In the mid-80′s and early 90′s she redecorated homes using what people already had. So, you could say she instilled some “minimalist” values in me. Part of this has stuck due in part because I want to live within my means. So, while I may enjoy looking at Pottery Barn’s website and stores, I have never felt the need to shop there in order to decorate my home.
