CasaSugar

The Best Way to Clean Expensive Wine Glasses

Katie Sweeney — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 03:41:34 PDT

When hosting a dinner party, I like to break out the good china, cloth napkins, and expensive stemware. Although I don't use them everyday, when people are over, I pour wine in Riedel or Waterford glasses. It makes the occasion seem more special. The only downside is having to wash the glasses at the end of the evening. The delicate glasses are easy to break - especially if you don't know the proper technique for washing them. Read on for my tips.

Before and After: Brass Fireplace

Casa Community — Fri, 27 May 2011 10:00:00 PDT

Here's a post from CasaSugar Community member and Sugar staffer Lauren from the Su Casa group:

Our fireplace when we first moved in had a horrible brass door and was really mucky inside. We really hated the look, and while we don't have an exact plan for the living room right now, since our focus is on the backyard, we decided to make a couple changes to make it a little more to our taste! We pulled down the the ugly brass doors and cleaned up the outside with more white paint. Rather than look at the mucky inside, we used a high temp paint and painted the inside black. Jazzed it up with a little artwork and accessories. Since we don't use it ever, we are thinking about filling it with wood to make it a little more substantial but I think for the Summer candles work will work just fine.

Have you been decorating lately? Be sure to share your own photos in the Su Casa group! Click through to see Lauren's before and after photos!

Spring Cleaning May Give You More Than a Pristine House

Heather Dale — Tue, 17 May 2011 02:27:54 PDT

You're well on your way to giving your life a healthy Spring cleaning, but what about your house? Have you dusted everything thoroughly, cleaned your window treatments, and taken that pile of items in the basement to Goodwill? Don't worry, I haven't either. But it's never too late to start chipping away at your Spring cleaning chores.

Once you do take out the rags and rubber gloves, make sure to exercise extra caution and safety, because according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2010 alone, more than 35,500 people injured themselves on a stepladder, and more than 41,000 suffered injuries while gardening or using gardening equipment. Wow - those are some serious Spring-cleaning injury stats!

Here are some reasons we tend to hurt ourselves around this time of the year.

5 Surprising Household Uses For Denture Cleaner

CasaSugar — Tue, 03 May 2011 10:00:00 PDT

I don't wear dentures, but I have worn a retainer, which I cleaned with Efferdent. The experience was valuable not just for keeping my teeth straight but also for educating me on the wonders of denture cleaner.

After seeing how well the effervescent tablets cleaned tiny nooks, I started experimenting on other tough-to-clean items; believe it or not, they are great for cleaning the rubber casings on my earbuds.

Trust me, these tablets are amazing at cleaning hard-to-reach spots, and they're cheap: 120 tablets of Efferdent costs less than $8, and the generic version is even cheaper. To see five surprising ways to use denture cleaner around the house,

Clean Practically Everything With 12 Eco-Friendly, Homemade Cleaning Recipes!

CasaSugar — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:05:00 PDT

Have you started your Spring cleaning yet? If not, you can get inspired with my Spring Cleaning Checklist, which you can download and print out. The PDF lists cleaning and organizing duties room by room, to keep things simple. Since I couldn't fit all of my cleaning tips onto one list, I'll have to give you my homemade recipes for eco-friendly cleaning solutions here. From the floors to the windows, you can clean your whole home with solutions you can make yourself, for the fraction of the price you'd spend on those toxic, store-bought cleaning products. To see my recipes, check out this slideshow!

Spring Cleaning: 5 Kitchen Items to Double as Pet-Friendly Cleansers

PetSugar — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 07:14:29 PDT

When life hands you lemons . . . create a DIY solution! See my five ideas for all-natural, pet-friendly aids to keep your home clean and green!

Source: Jupiter Images

Group Therapy: I Love Him, but Not If I Have to Be His Mother

Tres Community — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 03:05:26 PDT

This question is from a Group Therapy post in our TrèsSugar Community. Add your advice in the comments!

Okay I'm not writing this to complain, so I hope it doesn't come across that way! I live with my boyfriend in a small town, we're both done with school, college etc., both work full time hours at our jobs and like some other unmarried couples we split the bills.

Seems normal enough to me, however; the bills we are not splitting (cell phone, loan payments, etc.) his mother pays for, out of his bank account but still. I feel at 24 he should be able to take care of his own bills. Second, he never helps with anything around the house. Typical male behavior, but sometimes it feels as though I'm asking for help from a child. He'll come to help me when I ask if he's not doing anything, but sometimes he'll say he can't help me because he's playing a game. I've done that too . . . when I was about 12, and my parents didn't take it well either, haha.

So I end up cleaning the dishes and the rest of the house while he sits and plays a game. By the time I'm done, I can't play with him because I've got to go to bed to get up for work the next day. If he had helped me though, things would have been done sooner and we both could have played.

I feel this is what married life with this man would be like, and I definitely don't want that. I want to be married to a capable man, not a child. How can I get him to see that he needs to step up and be more responsible? I've tried everything to gently coax him into it, but nothing works.

Have a dilemma of your own? Post it anonymously to Group Therapy for advice, and check out what else is happening in the TrèsSugar Community.

Clutter Tips From Expert Peter Walsh

Emily Co — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:15:10 PST

I was watching Peter Walsh, an organization expert, on the Oprah show, and he gave some pretty good tips for decluttering. I recently wrote about the places you should clean up in your house, but for more specific tips from Peter, read on:

Back, Not Front: When you buy groceries, put the new ones at the back of the storage space. That way, Peter says, you'll be sure to use up the old items before you get to the new ones, and "you'll never find yourself with food items that are out-of-date."
Clear Baskets: Have a place to keep everything whether it be in shelves or plastic containers. Use clear containers so that you'll be able to see what's in them.
Slim Hangers: Use really slim hangers so that you'll have more space for your clothes in the closet. Peter used velour hangers so the clothes won't slip off.
Flat Surfaces: Always keep the flat surfaces clean, because as soon as you give up on a flat surface - whether it be the floor, the tables, the kitchen counter - the moment it's not clear, it becomes clutter.

New Year, New Things: Places You Should Declutter

Emily Co — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:00:52 PST

Clutter is expensive, because you spend a lot of money buying and storing it. Having clutter can also emotionally cost you - the sight of things lying around unused or messing up your house may cause you stress. Here are some places you should consider cleaning up:

Closet: I'm sure you have a couple of pieces that you can't fit into or that were in fashion, like, 10 years ago. Start afresh and either sell, donate, or throw them away. Remember, you can help someone out (and get a tax refund) if you give it away to places like the Salvation Army.
Computer: Come on, admit it. There's plenty of stuff in your computer that needs to be thrown out - old word documents, emails, and online coupons you haven't used. Clean up your computer to make way for more memory space, and sell your unused coupons on CoupRecoup. Make sure to freshen up your online accounts as well like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn so you can use them more efficiently.

For more places that could use some January cleaning, read on!

Learn to Load Your Dishwasher Like a Pro

Julia Walsh — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 05:00:00 PST

Now that we've covered the question of what is dishwasher-safe, I thought I'd move on to an equally important subject: how to load your dishwasher. The task may seem like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised by how many people earn a capital F in Dishwashing 101- I'm talking to you, roommate. It also may seem like a trivial matter to some of you; as long as you can fit all the dirty plates in, it's OK, right? Err - no. The way you arrange your pots and spoons not only affects how well they're cleaned, but can be a deciding factor in whether they become tarnished, chipped, or even broken. So here's the lowdown on loading:

Arrange your dishes by height, placing the larger ones on the outside. Turn all of your plates and bowls to face the middle of machine/dish drawer.
Put wine glasses and other delicate glassware and dishes on the top rack. Face glassware downward if they fit, and leaning diagonally across two rows if not.
Place small, round cereal bowls face-down on the top rack.
Put pots, pans, and other heavy-duty dishes (like serving platters) on the bottom rack, where the water pressure and temperature are higher.
Separate stainless steel and pure silver; if they touch, a chemical reaction can cause pitting and tarnishing.

Continue reading for more of these tips - and a few on unloading!