Spring Cleaning Tips

Spring cleaning is an oxymoron in my home. When you clean, it should be on the assumption that it will remain that way, at least for a little while. But no sooner have I washed the walls, floors and slip covers, than my mud-encrusted kids and large dogs come traipsing through the room.

Last year I decided that spring cleaning was to be renamed ‘Warm weather readying’. I’ll deal with the cleaning when the mud dries up. For now I’ll concentrate on the jobs I want done before the good weather arrives. This includes painting the sunroom ceiling and my son’s bedroom.

Those of you looking for ideas, tips and tools to start your warm weather readying, can check out HouseBeautiful.com which has a "30 days of color" section on their website. As usual, Martha’s there to show us the way. Her site Marthastewart.com features ‘painting 101’ with information on painting walls, ceilings, furniture etc.

For those who want face to face contact, most paint stores offer workshops and or in-house designers that can get you pointed in the right direction. Here’s a list of things you should bring along to get the most out of your visit, • Room dimensions (height of wall x length of wall) • Fabric samples from the room your working on • Pictures of the room • Paint samples of the adjoining rooms • Notes about the room (dark, feels small)

If you’re like me and plan to hold off on the spring cleaning, check out realsimple.com. They have a great article on "How to fake a clean house" and provide useful cleaning tips. Canadian Home and Country has a clean and green tools guide for eco-friendly tidying.

Once summer hits, I don’t want to think about indoor projects. My priorities change to gardening, outdoor entertaining and general fun in the sun. The doors are flung open, setting free the kids, animals and dust bunnies. Have a personal style question or interior design conundrum? Have a great local style resource? Please send them to me . . . I want to hear from you! Send e-mail questions, comments, insults or complaints to jakdesigns@live.com