How to Clean Silk Flowers and Silk Plants

I love artificial silk flowers and have many in my home, but it took a while before I realized the correct way to clean them that would keep the dust off the longest. The best method for cleaning small to medium silk plants is to give them a bath in regular dish washing liquid and warm water. I use my kitchen sink, just prepare some water as if you are going to wash the dishes: just a tiny bit of dish detergent to a sinkful of warm water, and then insert your silk flowers or plants, swish them around in the sudsy water. Take them and rinse them with warm water and shake the excess water off. If the petals or leaves come off, they are usually easy to put back on, just find the little stub where they came off and push them back on. If you are gentle with them they will most likely not lose very many leaves or flowers. Lay them on a towel to dry. They will look brand new. Cleaning them like this will also keep the dust off for a longer period of time. Do this every time you need to clean them. What surprised me the most about this method is how versatile it can be. I like to make floral arrangements and I had made a floral topiary that was covered in dust. The topiary consisted of a Styrofoam ball that had flowers hot glued all around it and the stems were made from cinnamon sticks. So I took the topiary out of it’s pot and cleaned it just like the other flowers and plants. It came out fine. I was afraid it would get water all over the place but it didn’t. I hope this tip was helpful to you, let me know if you have any other suggestions about cleaning silk flowers and plants.

Decluttering your Home with Style

Spring is here and yes, we all do it at some time or another. What, you ask? Spring cleaning., that’s what! Do they have jobs as mystery TV show viewers? If so, I need to get a job as one, because I’m always finding shows to comment about. I find myself watching Style networks “Clean House” more often than I’d like. To tell you the truth, I didn’t know what to think of it at first, but I was so impressed with the results. I, myself, have never experienced as much clutter and mess as shown on this program, but there are things about the show and the characters that make it worth watching. The only negative thing I have to say is that this show only assists people in the Los Angeles area. I wish they would come to my home, because they would not only clean up the house and remove the clutter, they would redecorate the house, too. What TV show can you watch today where they do everything? I’ve seen programs where they help people sell their home because the home hasn’t sold for several months. I have seen shows where they have maids to come in and clean; I’ve also seen extreme makeover shows about how they build a brand new home in 7 days, but I’ve never seen a show where they accomplish so much and actually teach the family things so that it never gets that bad again all while being so entertaining (sometimes I have trouble keeping myself from laughing so hard).

This is how it works:

• The cast meets the family and takes a look at their mess.

• A discussion with the family how it got that way and what they can do to change their ways

• The cast will look throughout their house for large ticket items to sell at a yard sale.

• They have a yard sale. Whatever is left, is donated to local charity.

• The family is sent off to a hotel for a vacation while the cast works on fixing up the house

• The house is not only cleaned, but painted if needed, redecorated, and sometimes new furnishings replace old items.

The way the yard sale works is whatever money they make, “Clean House” will match it up to $1,000. So if they need 2,800 for the cost of fixing it up, and they only made $1,800 from the yard sale – then that’s OK, because the show contributes up to $1,000 allowing them to have the $2,800 that is needed. But, sometimes it is interesting because some families don’t have enough large ticket items at the yard sale and a lot of the time, the families will fall below budget. It is really interesting what the cast does to remedy this situation. I remember seeing one show where this happened, so they had to call their family and friends and ask them to donate items that they could sell and use to fix their house up with. I have seen the cast "gift" them things, too. This is when the show provides a gift of new furniture, new washer, etc. whatever is needed. The gifts are sometimes used to convince the owners to let go of unneeded items so that they can be sold, too.

Although at first appearance the show’s cast may seem loud and obnoxious, the show is full of humor and self-improvement. Take Niecy Nash, the host (hostess) of “Clean House”, she has a very loud voice and is not afraid to say what she wants, this may have something to do with her past appearances on the comedy show “Reno 911” as one of the officers. So far, everyone is usually attached to some item to an extreme, and Niecy has a way with people and she can normally convince them to let go of these items. However, sometimes it doesn’t always work out that way, and people can be really stubborn and want to hold onto their item even if it conflicts with the designer’s new plans for their space. Like one episode, they needed the father to give up his punching bag which was stored in the new babies bedroom. But he refused. So they let him keep it, but told him that the designer would re-purpose it in whatever way he needed to, to make it work in the room. So what does the designer do? The designer, Mark Brunetz, empties the bag, dyes it, and refills it making into a bean bag chair so that the father can sit on it while he watches his baby play in her new room. I thought it was hilarious.

Another character who adds a lot to the show is Trish Suhr. She has a definite southern accent. Trish appears to be an expert at finding high dollar items that would sell at the yard sale. She works closely with the others to let them know if they can even meet the budget with what they have to sell. Then we have Matt Iserman, who like Trish has a history as a stand-up comic. Matt helps with the cleaning, carpentry, and manly things that need to get done around there. It is hilarious to watch Matt when they have a yard sale, some of his costumes, are quite funny. I like to watch him put on wigs and things when he tried to sell a used car for one family - and he left his fly undone. Not to mention that his suit was a bold red color. You had to see this, I couldn't stop laughing.

Don't forget to tune your TV to Style network, "Clean House" airs on Wednesdays 10 pm Eastern, 9 pm central. You'll probably either love it, or hate it. I doubt if there is any in between for this show! Happy cleaning!