Home Help: Reinvigorate your potpourri
Common Scents: Refresh Your Potpourri
Scent suggestions, recipes and other tips to make your home smell like paradise.
When potpourri gets tired, refresh it with essential oil. Put the potpourri in a plastic bag and add a few drops of oil. Crush the potpourri and manipulate it to work the oil through. Then cut an 8-inch circle of decorative fabric, using pinking shears for a decorative edge, if you like, and place the potpourri in the center. Gather the edges and tie with a ribbon. To refresh the bundle, add a little essential oil to the fabric, let it dry and return it to a drawer. (HGTV.com)
Did You Know …
Lint not only keeps your dryer from running efficiently, it can also pose a fire hazard. Take a few moments to double-check your dryer's lint trap. (About.com)
How To Plant Hanging Tomato Plants
1: Purchase an empty 5-gallon bucket with a snap-on lid. Clean the bucket with warm sudsy water to prepare it for planting your tomato plant.
2: Cut a hole in the bucket using a drill or a utility knife. The hole should be right in the middle of the bottom of the bucket and about 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Cut several 1/2-inch holes in the snap-on lid of the bucket to allow you to water your plant.
3: Place several layers of newspaper in the bottom of the bucket, covering the hole. This will later be used to anchor the tomato plant.
4: Fill the bucket with a 40-pound bag of soil and put on the lid. Soils with vitamin additives, like Miracle-Gro, are the best for growing tomatoes.
5: Turn the bucket over and plant the tomato seedling. Cut two slits in the newspaper at the bottom of the bucket to allow you to plant the tomato plant. Plant the seedling with only about 3 inches of the plant coming out of the hole. Use extra soil to anchor it in the bucket.
6: Hang the bucket in a sunny area and water. Tomatoes require at least 50 percent sunlight. Move the bucket according to where the most direct sun is during the day.
7: Harvest tomatoes as they ripen on the vine. Tomatoes will begin to form not long after the tomato plant flowers. The fruit should be red and firm before cutting from the plant. (Ehow.com)
Out, Out Darn Spot!
How to clean up a red wine stain:
1: Pour cold water onto the stained area as quickly as possible.
2: Blot with a cloth and sprinkle salt onto the stain. Let it sit for two or three minutes.
3: Rinse with cold water while rubbing out the stain.
4: Repeat steps 1 to 3 until no more stain can be removed.
5: Rub with liquid laundry detergent and allow to stand for several minutes before rinsing thoroughly with cold water.
6: Apply a spot stain remover stick, spray or gel and wash according to clothing directions with liquid laundry detergent. (About.com)
Go Green
A tip from Treehugger.com on how to green your recycling:
A little R & R & R: The aphorism is so tired it almost might seem like "reduce, reuse, recycle" should go without saying. But in fact, most of us have only really heard the last third of the phrase, and they're ranked in order of importance. Reducing the amount that we consume, and shifting our consumption to well-designed products and services, is the first step. Finding constructive uses for "waste" materials is next. And tossing it in the blue bin is last. (The garbage can is not on the list, for good reason.) Through a balance of these three principals, you can easily see your landfill-destined waste dwindle fast. A good example of recycling is setting your empty water bottles in the bin on the curb. But by using a water filter and reusable container, you can reduce or completely eliminate your need for disposable plastic bottles.
Tune In
It's March, but in most parts of the country, we've still got about another month of winter weather. Feelin' itchy with cabin fever? Us, too. Whether it's digging in the dirt or sprucing up the house you're looking forward to, here's a collection of home and garden shows on TV to get those creative juices flowing.
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" 7 p.m. Sundays, ABC
Host Ty Pennington keeps this show moving along at a nice clip. This season, expect to see more extreme homes, the latest in extreme technology and families with more immediate need for a home than ever before. In addition, there will be a green element on every episode this season, with eco-friendly, low energy and recyclable sources incorporated into the builds.
"Landscapers' Challenge" 8 and 8:30 a.m. Sundays, HGTV
It's hard not drool over the some of the plans landscapers come up with on this program. Three professional landscapers face off and "take it outside" to find out whose plan will best meet the outdoor design challenge and win the homeowner's approval. The winner installs the plan, and cameras document the process and the owner's reaction.
"The New Yankee Workshop" 5 p.m. Saturdays, PBS
An oldie but goodie, this program is aging like finely tooled wood trim. This year marks the show's 20th anniversary on PBS, hosted each episode by master carpenter Norm Abram, who is legendary for his woodworking skills. Each episode offers step-by-step instructions for building furniture and other woodworking projects.
"Gardening by the Yard" 6:30 and 7 a.m. Sundays, HGTV
This entertaining half-hour program is designed for people who want their yards to look great but don't have a lot of time to spend on them. Master gardener and host Paul James focuses on the lighter side of gardening (if you like corny humor, he's your man) and gives "earthy" advice about gardening basics including soil, watering, trees, shrubs and more. Flummoxed by a typical gardening problem (lousy light, pests)? He troubleshoots these topics, too.
"Trading Spaces" Saturdays at 8 p.m., TLC
She's baaaack. Paige Davis, that is. The original host of "Trading Spaces" has returned, and with her the original format everybody loved: two teams, two rooms, a thousand bucks and a measly 48 hours to transform a room in someone else's home. The new twist is that Davis handpicks the designers. Original cast members returning to the franchise include Doug Wilson, Laurie Hickson-Smith, Frank Bielec and Hildi Santo-Thomas.
"Find Your Style" Fridays 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays 2 p.m., HGTV
Hosted by designer Karen McAloon, "Find Your Style" is a relatively new makeover series. Families and couples that can't quite figure out what their style is get one-on-one help from McAloon, who uses simple steps and guidelines to fine-tune the look they want in the home.
"Don't Sweat It" 9 a.m. Saturdays, HGTV
An entertainer at heart, host Steve Watson just can't get away from construction. Watson helps homeowners tackle those DIY projects they never seem to get to. He, his crew and the homeowners get plenty dirty in the course of completing indoor and outdoor tasks. It's exhausting simply to watch him go full-tilt. And if Watson looks familiar, he formerly hosted Discovery Channel's "Monster House."
- Compiled by Erin Orr, State Journal-Register
GateHouse News Service