Tuesday Tip

How to polish silver according to the experts!

This is one of those tasks most people dread doing, myself included. In fact, there was a time when I didn't even want to own any silver because of how time consuming it was and the awful smell of most polishes. Not to mention, it was always one of my assigned chores growing up. But here are some great tips for taking the pain out of polishing.

The expert advice I have to share comes via the folks of Southern Living magazine and the Mr. Othman Ayoub, the Director of Stewarding at the Ritz-Carton in Washington, D.C.

Southern Living breaks it down into 3 parts:
1.) Polish It: remove tarnish by placing your silver on aluminum foil in your sink, sprinkle with baking soda and pour boiling water over it. Rinse and pat dry.
2.) Use It: Frequent use brings put that rich patina. Rinse right after using to prevent tarnishing from sulfides found in foods like mayonnaise and eggs. Use a gentle dish detergent (avoid anything with citrus). Silver made after 1939 is dishwasher safe, but remove before the drying cycle!
3.) Store It: If displaying in a cabinet, place a piece of chalk nearby- it absorbs chemicals that cause discoloration. Or store in sealed plastic bags. If you have a silver drawer or chest, line it with Pacific Silvercloth, an acid and sulfur-free material that keeps your treasures spotless.

Mr. Ayoub  uses this method:
1.) Line a glass or plastic tub with aluminum foil- shiny side up and fill with hot water.
2.) Add salt- he used coarse kosher salt and baking soda.
3.) Put in silver pieces and let soak 10 minutes.
For quick touch ups he uses a bit of Colgate toothpaste and a soft cloth.

For copper pots he says...
Make a paste of salt, baking soda, lime juice, vinegar and flour. Use paste to rub pots with a soft cloth.

And, for the black stuff that inevitably ends up on the bottom of pots and pans he says pop open a Pepsi and soak!

A few months ago,  I was noticing some pretty silver spoons  my client had out on her counter in a glass vessel. I asked how she kept them from tarnishing quickly and she gave me these from The Container Store:

After cleaning silver, place one of these strips in the drawer, bag or whereever you store your silver.
I'm guessing  this may have a similar result to using chalk or silvercloth as suggest by Southern Living?

Readers if you have additional tips, please share them, we need all the shortcuts possible this time of year! Also, I would love to kno,  besides Brasso (I loathe the smell) what readers use to clean their brass?

Tuesday Tip

Spring cleaning. The intense version. Since refinishing our floors required us to move everything out and dust  still made it's way into many places, I decided to use this opportunity to clean out every room, drawer, cabinet and closet. I have been busy doing this every chance I've had this past week. I gathered more items to be donated from this exercise and find it so therapeutic to take stock of one's "things" and keep only the most useful and very favorite items. My personal rule is that something has to perform at least 2 duties, preferably 3 and/or have real significance, either monetarily or emotionally to make the cut to keep. Afterall, storage space is often scare and quite valuable for most of us!


Coffee filters are great for so many things....

 Some of you may recall the quote on my old blog format from famed interior designer, Albert Hadley. It said in part,  "good housekeeping is part of the art of living". I fully believe this and feel it goes hand in hand with my philosophy of living beautifully everyday.  I have a fantastic cleaning lady who comes twice a month for the big cleanings. But even without her, it's my nature to keep on top of things.

And yet, despite her efforts and mine, when we moved the furniture to get ready for the floors to be done, ghosts of Christmas past were found under a low table!


Christmas tree bits and dog hair. Lovely. Quite fitting for the old ugly floors.

I still haven't put everything away and that created the perfect hiding place, in the buffet, for my daughter's birthday presents!


My daughter turned 17 today!

 Round two of work starts tomorrow. It involves carpentry and electrical work. Things will have to be moved again!  For the easier spring cleaning, renovations and client projects, I rely on all of these items:

Super slides. I'd be lost without these!!! Tiny tip: when using the soft side take the plastic disk
out, despite what the directions say, it works so much better this way.



No, this is not the tile pattern for a project.
New felt pads in every size went on all the furniture legs to protect the newly finished floors.

 

Coffee filters are perfect for keeping my antique plates safe while they are removed from the wall.
 Try doing this with any dishware you need to store. Better than papertowels and cheaper than felt!



Tuesday Tip

Making a list, checking it twice. Gonna find out who's naughty or nice! Or at least who is a nice host and ready for the holidays...and who is naughty and not prepared!



C'mon Santa, don't look so surprised!



Each year, I began focusing on the holidays the first 2 weeks of November. I find it hard to jump into decorating, baking and shopping if there are a bunch of incomplete tasks distracting me. I start by making 2 lists. The first is for non-perishable items I need to buy/stock and the second is for seasonal chores to complete. This year I actually feel a bit behind since retail has decided Christmas should arrive before Halloween this year. Did you notice too? Crazy!


Make your bar beautiful for the holiday season!!!


Purchase list:
bar basics
cider
nuts
olives
crackers
cheese straws
chocolate/truffles
baking basics
soaps
candles
hostess gifts(not wine or flowers!)



 Truffles, a holiday favorite!

Plenty of delicious crackers for your cheese selections.



Mixed olives are perfect for easy entertaining.



Chore list:
Break it down into categories so you don't feel overwhelmed.  Commit to tacking at least 2 items from each group to complete each week. Hire out what you can and solicit family members to help out. Motivating tip: tell your family you will not be able to shop for gifts or mail lists to Santa until the chores are complete!  This has been a great motivator at the A&A house for years.

Kitchen:
clean oven(s)
wipe out silverware trays
wipe out fridge & freezer
clean out & organize pantry
check spices, toss any over a year old



Polish silver while listening to Christmas music.



Dining:
polish silver
clean chandelier
launder & press table linens



  Launder & press table linens.


Guest relations:
sweep & tidy entryway
gather towels, sheets and soaps



Seasonal soaps are a nice gesture.



Be prepared for overnight guests with beautiful sheets.

General:
deep clean every room of the house before Thanksgiving
send rugs out for cleaning or clean under them and rotate

Other:
clean windows
clean out gutters
chimney sweep
change batteries in all detectors



The dirtiest job!


Not only will you feel relieved by completing these items before the holidays get in full swing, you feel so much more prepared and ready to bake, shop for presents, and just enjoy the season!

What's on your list?

Images via Martha Sterwart for Ashley Hicks, Godiva, Williams-Sonoma, Ralph Lauren, Caswell- Massey, Google

Tuesday Tip

Beautiful necessities.  I think living beautifully everyday should extend to cleaning as well.  Let's face it, in order to LBE we must practice good housekeeping! One of my favorite quotes is from the great designer, Albert Hadley and is located on my side bar.

Good looking items to accomplish domestic chores equals a sort of euphoric state of being for me.  And, I would venture a guess many of you can relate!

A few months ago while reading one of my very favorite blogs,  A Bloomsbury Life , I was introduced to an amazing company called Ancient Industries.  It is run by Megan Wilson who writes a blog and is a very talented artist.  She designs the most extraordinary book jackets!

Imagine my excitement when my favorite stranger clad in his all brown attire rang the door bell to deliver my order!  Inside the box were all my carefully selected items. I loved how they were wrapped in such a nostalgic way.  The brown paper packages tied up with red and white string and the tags, reminiscent of old fashioned book plates, were a reminder of how a simple presentation can be quite thrilling!

I must advise a word of caution when visiting this site....the offerings are fantastic! I had more than a little difficulty trying condense my order to what I knew I needed and would use immediately.  One of things that really made an impression on me is the carefully collected assortment of household goods from all over the world.  In addition, I loved that several of the brushes are made by the visually impaired of Sweden.

My beautiful domestic aids:

All images courtesey of A&A and Ancient Industries

Tuesday Tip

Secret weapons.  I have noticed throughout many projects that whenever mirrors or a glass shower enclosures are installed, the installer always uses a spray foam to clean the glass.  And oh how it sparkles!  I have talked many a contractor into leaving behind a near empty can for me to test drive.  However, many of these products are commercial grade cleaners and are either not available to the public or do not have a user friendly scent.

After trying many over the years, this one has emerged as my favorite.  I bought it on a whim simply because I liked the can. No streaking and it has a really fresh clean scent.  20/10 rule: Less than $2.50 and mere minutes to clean any glass surface, because you won't have to do it twice! 

This jar of yummy goo is not only a favorite snack, but also has magical powers.  I swear.  It will take off the sticky residue left behind from tape or price stickers on glass, brass, copper and other hard non-pourous surfaces!  I learned this trick more than a decade ago from the goddess of all things Shabby and Chic, Rachel Ashwell.  It has been a lifesaver for me.  As a migraine sufferer, certain smells can be a trigger.  There are plenty of chemicals that work just as well, but are quite toxic and I avoid them whenever possible.

20/10 rule: No time or money spent here...it's already in your pantry!