13 natural remedies for the ant invasion. Little tiny ants have been spotted in our new home, and many people are suffering the same fate across the country.
As much as I love spring, I don't like bugs — especially bugs that can infest a house. Last week I asked for some advice in how to deal with ants naturally as I didn't have time to research it myself since I just moved this weekend. I got such good advice, I had to share it with the readers here at MNN as well. Some of these measures are deterrents. That is, they deter the ants from coming in your house. 1. Teresa: We just spray around the openings with pure lemon juice … and it always works for us … something about the acid messes up their sense of tracking… 2. Shayla: We use ground cinnamon around where there are coming it. Peggy: We spray cinnamon essential oil all around the doors, windowsills, floors, etc. keeps them from coming in. Letia: Another vote for ground cinnamon. Jean: Cinnamon and cloves. Patricia: We also use cinnamon oil.
{Awesome} Paisley Stenciled Table. Let’s talk stenciling.
Now, I’ve done my fair share of stenciling (like on my pantry, toy box and end table), but it’s always been with a homemade stencil and it takes F.O.R.E.V.E.R. to do. Plus the final product always looks kinda wonky when you get up close and the design is very simple. Also it takes forever….that’s worth mentioning twice. So when Cutting Edge Stencils sent me a stencil to review I was super excited. I just so happened to have a spare dining room table sitting on my front porch (what, you don’t?) I chose the paisley allover stencil…it’s kinda country, kinda modern, and I’m kinda in love with it.
It didn’t bleed or smear or anything…though I was really careful about not using too much paint. I KNOW, I love it too. Next I decided to stain over the stencil and give the table a more rustic look. I used Dark Walnut by Minwax and applied two coats. (Please soak up the dying plants, messy porch and double fly swatter yielding toddler…it does’t get much more real than this!) Kitchen Renovation: An Improvised Cutting Board Holder. Surprising Cleaning New Uses - Real Simple. 25 (more) clever ideas to make life easier. .
We heard you loud and clear. When we published our first list of clever ideas to make life easier last year, we received an overwhelming response. So without further ado, here’s another 25 ingenious household tips and organisational tricks that will have you saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Source: chezerbey.com Got an empty kitchen shelf? Source: maillardvillemanor.com Wall mount cutlery trays and add a cup hook in each compartment for brilliant jewelery storage. Source: apartmenttherapy.com Avoid messy dresser drawers by “filing” your clothing side-by-side instead of stacking items on top of each other.
Photo: William Warby on flickr.com Has putting Toy Story on constant repeat finally taken its toll? Source: realsimple.com Packing tip: Protect breakables such as wine bottles or food containers with children’s inflatable floaties. Source: whatiwore.tumblr.com Rather than bundling them in your drawer, loop tights over a coathanger and store them in your wardrobe.