Author: Joseph Greenfinger
Air conditioner maintenance is key to ensuring your air conditioner can keep your home cool even on the hottest days. Air conditioners rely on regular maintenance to perform at their best. Regular maintenance such as changing filters, cleaning coils, etc. will ensure your air conditioner runs well and efficiently, saving you money on your energy bills. While it’s best to service your air conditioner when it’s needed, you should schedule air conditioner maintenance in the spring to ensure your air conditioner is ready for the summer heat. Below, we’ve outlined the steps to maintaining your air conditioner so you can…
Floral patterns are everywhere this summer, making interior designers extremely excited. “We’re never afraid to use beautiful florals,” says Ashley Ferguson, founder of Ashley Ferguson Interiors. “Flowers can make a space feel alive and warm.” If you want to incorporate different patterns into your home without making it look chaotic, you’ll want to read on. We asked designers to share their top tips on how to mix and match floral patterns to make them look elegant, not gaudy. Below, the experts offer their go-to solutions. Play favorites Pick a floral pattern you like best and designate that as the dominant…
When it comes time to buy new appliances, figuring out what to do with your old ones can be an unforeseen stressor. Appliances break, they wear out, and sometimes you just want to replace them with something more aesthetically pleasing. But they’re big, bulky, and can’t just be thrown in the trash and pushed to the curb. So to help you make room for new appliances, we’ve come up with 11 different ways to get rid of old ones. Reuse them If your appliances are still in good working order, reuse them. A spare refrigerator in the garage or utility…
From home gardeners to farmers market customers to retailers, everyone looks forward to the sweet corn harvest. But there are varieties of corn you can grow for uses beyond fresh consumption. Here we explore the most common varieties, their appearance and flavor, and the best uses for each. All about corn Corn is an ancient crop believed to have originated in Mexico nine to ten thousand years ago and evolved from a grass called teosinte. All corn, also known as grain corn, is a grass, and one-third of the world’s supply is grown in the United States. Sweet corn Dozens…
There are many ways to upgrade your home, whether it’s renovating your basement or simply changing the lighting in your kitchen. But if you’re not sure what to invest in, look no further. Zillow and Thumbtack just released the top ten projects that will increase the value of your home without much cost or effort. From simple projects like painting bricks or adding a fire pit to your backyard, read on to see what else you can do to make your home more profitable. Add a window box The Spruce / Christopher Lee Photo There’s no denying the appeal of…
The day I met Alanna Kieffer was gloriously sunny with a gentle salt breeze—a rarity on Oregon’s rainy coast. It was my first time at Cannon Beach, but Kieffer seemed completely at ease as she led me across the soft, pale sand to a cluster of dark, rugged rocks at the ocean’s edge. A coastal forager and educator, this stretch of Pacific coastline is her office, classroom, kitchen, and inspiration for her company, Tide change. Kieffer founded Shifting Tides in February 2023 to teach people about intertidal ecosystems — the unique spaces where the ocean meets land, changing hourly as…
Linen is a true gift from nature: breathable, beautiful and softer over time. But despite the best properties of this fabric, we cannot ignore the obvious fact that it wrinkles very easily. However, we’ve seen enough fashionistas wear this fabric virtually wrinkle-free to know that there must be some effective wrinkle-prevention tricks. So we turned to one of our favorite fabric care experts for some tips of the trade. Meet the expert Sammy Vuong is a senior fabric care scientist at P&G, where she shares her knowledge into the product development process. Use liquid fabric softener Spruce Tree / Ana…
For many families, the kitchen is the social hub of the home, so it’s important to clean it regularly. Some areas of your kitchen will need regular attention, such as the stovetop. Other areas, such as larger appliances like the refrigerator or oven, can be cleaned weekly or even monthly. Below you will find daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal kitchen cleaning checklists to simplify your routine. These detailed instructions will help you create and maintain a tidy kitchen space. Supplies you need Spruce/Sanja Kostic Before you begin, make sure you have the right cleaning tools and solutions. Here’s a comprehensive…
Making your own all-natural foaming hand soap costs a fraction of the store-bought variety, takes seconds to make, is good for your skin, and you can customize the scent to your liking. All of that is enough to get you excited, but making your own soap dispenser also reduces unnecessary waste! In this post, I’ll show you how to make an easy foaming soap dispenser and give you my favorite recipe for creating luxurious, eco-friendly foaming soap. If you follow Garden Therapy, you know that I have ditched store-bought beauty products and make all of my own natural skin care…
In recent years, table setting has become a thing, a trend largely pioneered by Alice Naylor-Leyland and her popular brand Mrs Alice. Offering a curated collection of tablecloths, napkins, serviettes, ceramics, candles, lamps and other decorative items, Alice has put the fun back into table setting, and a quick browse through her website will reveal a wealth of delights, from glass tumblers holding tiny lemons to pink parrot candlesticks and flower-shaped porcelain napkin rings. Not all of us can go that far but this is a great place to get ideas for what is possible and what mood or atmosphere…