Tip: Banish soap scum

With nice temperatures forecasted for the long weekend, I'm certainly thinking about tackling some of my spring cleaning! So, our last tip for "Make life easier" March is a cleaning one!

Soap buildup, especially on shower stalls and tiles, can be a real bother to clean. It never seems to come off completely!

An anti-static sheet - like the ones you use in the laundry - can actually help. Just use it in place of your regular cleaning cloth, no cleaning product required. You'll still need to use some elbow grease, but it works better than anything else I've tried!

Read more tips from "Make life easier" March (and please share your own tips in the comments, too!)

- Speed wallpaper removal

- Remove stickers and price tags

- Keep your bathroom mirror from fogging up

- Cut down on painting cleanup

- Banish tea (or coffee) stained mugs

- Quiet that dripping faucet

- Make sure your furniture fits before you buy

- Don't let your paint can drip on the floor

- Why every tool box should include nail polish

- Check those smoke alarms

- Whip that closet into shape

- Remove red wine stains

- Silence squeaks

- Bust clutter

- Remove gum from your fabrics

- Organize your cables

- Re-deploy your accessories

- A (slightly) less painful way to dust your blinds

- How to critique your decor

- Take better photos of your home

- Clean windows like Sarah Richardson

Sarah Richardson's window cleaning tip

As we near the end of "Make life easier March," it only seemed fitting to share a secret from superstar designer Sarah Richardson. 

To get clean and sparkly windows, just in time for all that lovely spring sunshine, start by diluting window cleaner with some water. Then, instead of paper towels, use a sponge to wipe and a squeegee to dry.

"You'll get a professional look without adding a thing to your garbage bin," says Richardson in a release from her work with Clorox Green Works. 

Read more tips from "Make life easier" March (and please share your own tips in the comments, too!)

- Speed wallpaper removal

- Remove stickers and price tags

- Keep your bathroom mirror from fogging up

- Cut down on painting cleanup

- Banish tea (or coffee) stained mugs

- Quiet that dripping faucet

- Make sure your furniture fits before you buy

- Don't let your paint can drip on the floor

- Why every tool box should include nail polish

- Check those smoke alarms

- Whip that closet into shape

- Remove red wine stains

- Silence squeaks

- Bust clutter

- Remove gum from your fabrics

- Organize your cables

- Re-deploy your accessories

- A (slightly) less painful way to dust your blinds

- How to critique your decor

- Take better photos of your home

Tip: Take better photos of your home

On Friday, I suggested that you snap a few shots of your home to help better evaluate your decor. So, it seemed only fitting that today we looked at how to make those photos better - a lesson that I'm working on myself.

Lighting is, of course, the biggie. So, open the blinds and capitalize on daylight. If possible, try to position yourself so that the primary light source is behind you.  And remember that using your flash can make the shot look blown out, or give you bright streaks bouncing back off glass or mirrors, so experiment a bit to make sure you get at least one usable shot.

Turn on the lights and light any candles. Layering lights adds visual interest and can create a bit of drama in your shot.

Don't forget to survey the scene as a whole. Tidy up cords (or try to get them out of frame), clean up the space (there's nothing pretty about a fingerprint smudged faucet or frame), and avoid angles that obstruct or cut off items in your lens. A whole chair often looks better than a third of it in the shot.

And don't forget to make it look a little lived in. All those great shots in magazines include carefully positioned signs of life - small details that tell you a little about the inhabitants and provide evidence that people do in fact live there. For example, a set dinner table looks a lot better, and a lot more realistic, if the glasses aren't empty. A slightly askew pile of books is more interesting than a fully cleared surface.

Take lots of pictures, too. While a shot may look cluttered on your camera, a closer crop or a little photo editing magic on the computer may turn it into exactly what you need.

For more tips, check out Apartment Therapy's post on this subject.

Read more tips from "Make life easier" March (and please share your own tips in the comments, too!)

- Speed wallpaper removal

- Remove stickers and price tags

- Keep your bathroom mirror from fogging up

- Cut down on painting cleanup

- Banish tea (or coffee) stained mugs

- Quiet that dripping faucet

- Make sure your furniture fits before you buy

- Don't let your paint can drip on the floor

- Why every tool box should include nail polish

- Check those smoke alarms

- Whip that closet into shape

- Remove red wine stains

- Silence squeaks

- Bust clutter

- Remove gum from your fabrics

- Organize your cables

- Re-deploy your accessories

- A (slightly) less painful way to dust your blinds

- How to critique your decor

Weekend round up

Despite the recent chill in the air, I'm still daydreaming about spring. After chatting with cutie horticulturalist Jamie Durie about the incredible outdoor rooms he creates, inspired by exotic locales, I feel like it's time to start thinking bigger in terms of my own backyard! (Read the full story).

And, I'm not the only one. According to last week's poll, the majority - 60 per cent - of Yourhomers are also planning to extend their living space outdoors as soon as the warm weather returns. (Get more springtime inspiration on our Outdoor Living page).

This week, I'm also dreaming of a good night's sleep. And, I figure if you're spending $75,000 (!) on the world's most expensive bed, it's got to bring sweet dreams. Read the full story, then let me know in the home page poll whether, if money was no object, you'd make the splurge?

And, for some more weekend reading, check out:

- Details for the Disaster DIY casting call

- Colin and Justin make over a truly ugly before

- A look at One Bloor

- The business of condo miniatures

- Vacuums to speed your spring cleaning

- This week's What they Got

Tip: How to critique your decor

Whether it's home decor, fashion, food or media, most people know what they like. But, when it comes to evaluating your own space, and your own decorating prowess, it can be tricky to figure out what pieces are missing, out of place or just plain wrong.

That's why I love this tip I learned from Glenn Dixon of Take This House and Sell It: Look at your home like you would a shot in a magazine. Because who doesn't love examining (and criticizing) those perfectly styled magazine shots?

So, whip out your point-and-shoot and take some snaps, then load them up on your computer (or print them out) and start critiquing away.

That little bit of distance will provide the objectivity you need to properly evaluate the space, and perhaps finally admit that sadly, there really is no place in your home for that super-trendy impulse purchase. 

Read more tips from "Make life easier" March (and please share your own tips in the comments, too!)

- Speed wallpaper removal

- Remove stickers and price tags

- Keep your bathroom mirror from fogging up

- Cut down on painting cleanup

- Banish tea (or coffee) stained mugs

- Quiet that dripping faucet

- Make sure your furniture fits before you buy

- Don't let your paint can drip on the floor

- Why every tool box should include nail polish

- Check those smoke alarms

- Whip that closet into shape

- Remove red wine stains

- Silence squeaks

- Bust clutter

- Remove gum from your fabrics

- Organize your cables

- Re-deploy your accessories

- A (slightly) less painful way to dust your blinds

Tip: A (slightly) less painful way to dust the blinds

Despite my best efforts, a domestic diva I am not. And among my most loathed chores is cleaning the blinds. 

But, sadly, it does need to be done regularly. So, I wanted to find the fastest way to get it over with! This tip, first gleaned from the Molly Maid website, is my quickest discovery so far.

Find a clean pair of cotton gloves, a (clean!) old sock or a microfibre cleaning cloth (my most reliable cleaning tool).

Put the sock or gloves on your hands, or wrap the cloth around your hand, and run your fingers along each slat of the blind.

You'll pick up dust as you go, without needing to take down your blinds or fear missing a spot. And, if you're like me, you'll learn to make those slat-by-slat swipes very quickly!

Read more tips from "Make life easier" March (and please share your own tips in the comments, too!)

- Speed wallpaper removal

- Remove stickers and price tags

- Keep your bathroom mirror from fogging up

- Cut down on painting cleanup

- Banish tea (or coffee) stained mugs

- Quiet that dripping faucet

- Make sure your furniture fits before you buy

- Don't let your paint can drip on the floor

- Why every tool box should include nail polish

- Check those smoke alarms

- Whip that closet into shape

- Remove red wine stains

- Silence squeaks

- Bust clutter

- Remove gum from your fabrics

- Organize your cables

- Re-deploy your accessories

Tip: Re-deploy your accessories

While spring may be teasing us these days, it still feels like a good time to open all the windows and get a fresh start.

Rather than going out and buying all new accessories for spring (though it is certainly tempting!) I like to start by giving all my existing accents a good cleaning and then re-deploying them throughout my house.

I find that after a while, I stop seeing all those carefully planned vignettes. By re-arranging the pieces, I get a new appreciation for them along with a whole new look - and don't need to spend a dime.

For example, candlesticks that had been hanging out on my mantel have found a new home grouped together as a centrepiece for my table.

A vase that had been filled with winter-themed baubles, also on my mantel, has been filled with limes and paired with a bottle of gin and a martini glass and tealight combo on a serving tray on my dining room console.

I also see it as an opportunity to switch up my artwork, which, like my accessories, also tend to fade into the background after a little time. I started with the piece above my mantel, shown, swapping out my makeshift snowflake artwork for a streetscape (made from Ikea fabric).

These minor changes have made my home feel fresh again just in time (*fingers crossed*) for the warm weather!

Read more tips from "Make life easier" March (and please share your own tips in the comments, too!)

- Speed wallpaper removal

- Remove stickers and price tags

- Keep your bathroom mirror from fogging up

- Cut down on painting cleanup

- Banish tea (or coffee) stained mugs

- Quiet that dripping faucet

- Make sure your furniture fits before you buy

- Don't let your paint can drip on the floor

- Why every tool box should include nail polish

- Check those smoke alarms

- Whip that closet into shape

- Remove red wine stains

- Silence squeaks

- Bust clutter

- Remove gum from your fabrics

- Organize your cables

Tip: Organize your cables

That rat's nest of cords behind your desk is not only ugly, but it can make swapping out your accessories and even charging your iPod a real pain.

That's why this incredibly simple and inexpensive trick, found on Boing Boing, is so brilliant.

Binder clips stuck on the edge of your desk will keep everything neat and tidy, and could even be labelled so you remember which USB cord is which!

Read more tips from "Make life easier" March (and please share your own tips in the comments, too!)

- Speed wallpaper removal

- Remove stickers and price tags

- Keep your bathroom mirror from fogging up

- Cut down on painting cleanup

- Banish tea (or coffee) stained mugs

- Quiet that dripping faucet

- Make sure your furniture fits before you buy

- Don't let your paint can drip on the floor

- Why every tool box should include nail polish

- Check those smoke alarms

- Whip that closet into shape

- Remove red wine stains

- Silence squeaks

- Bust clutter

- Remove gum from your fabrics

Tip: Remove gum from your fabrics

Chewing gum is one of those things I'd kind of like to ban from my home. Mashed into a sofa cushion or smushed into the carpet, it looks disgusting and is a real pain to remove.

But, of course, I wouldn't be a very good hostess if I asked guests to ditch their gum at the door, so I rely on this tip from Molly Maid to combat any messes.

Using a piece of ice, freeze the chewing gum. When it's nice and frozen, shatter it, then vacuum up the broken pieces. 

Read more tips from "Make life easier" March (and please share your own tips in the comments, too!)

- Speed wallpaper removal

- Remove stickers and price tags

- Keep your bathroom mirror from fogging up

- Cut down on painting cleanup

- Banish tea (or coffee) stained mugs

- Quiet that dripping faucet

- Make sure your furniture fits before you buy

- Don't let your paint can drip on the floor

- Why every tool box should include nail polish

- Check those smoke alarms

- Whip that closet into shape

- Remove red wine stains

- Silence squeaks

- Bust clutter

Shop like a pro: Let it grow

Shop like a Pro's Angela Koszuta (shoplikeapro@hotmail.com) has handpicked a great crop of gardening supplies. 

Set of six colourful hand tools from Lee Valley, $7.95.

Soil scoop, $6. Available at Loblaws, Zehrs, Fortinos, Real Canadian Superstores and No Frills. Pricing may vary, www.pc.ca.

Ryobi P2603 18V Lithium cordless hedge trimmer, $139. At Home Depot, www.homedepot.ca.

Herb scissors set from Indigo and Chapters, $16.99. 

PC tall Helix Planter, $30. Available at Loblaws, Zehrs, Fortinos, Real Canadian Superstores and No Frills. Pricing may vary, www.pc.ca.

Folding kneeler/tool holder, $59. At Lee Valley, www.leevalley.com.

Ergonomic hand tools, $12.50 each at Lee Valley, www.leevalley.com.

HS Garden Tool Set from Home Studio, $29.99. At Home Outfitters.

Evertidy Garden Tool Organizer, $69.99. Other configurations can cost more. Available at Sears, Zellers and Real Canadian Superstores, www.evertidy.com.