Home Front
By JUDY STARK, Times Homes Editor
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 27, 2002
[Photo: Home Depot]
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[Photo: Brillo]
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Cool mesh wagon
The folding sides on this steel mesh wagon are supposed to make it easier to unload topsoil or lift out potted plants, sacks of fertilizer or other cargo. We just think it would be a cool item to have around the house and garden. In the loftlike space of your dreams, imagine using it to stack newspapers, store magazines, serve as an indoor plant stand . . . Let your imagination run wild. It's $69.90 at Home Depot.
Think small and tall
In the category of "never would have thought of it": If you've got a small space in your home -- a tiny guest room, an alcove or a hall where full-size furniture is just too big -- think about shopping in the children's furniture department. A small-scale desk, dresser or chair might be a perfect fit, the American Furniture Manufacturers Association suggests. Think also about furniture that's tall rather than wide to preserve precious floor space, using shelves and racks for storage and display, and using double-duty space: drawers and shelves, under-bed space.
Handling steel-wool
For those who never want to touch a steel-wool pad again, grab this: the Brillo Gripper, a plastic handle that clutches the pad so you don't have to. It comes in specially marked packages of the soap pads. If you've been unable to resist that overwhelming desire to spring-clean, Brillo reminds us that you can use the pads to scrub barbecue grills, outdoor furniture, golf clubs, tires, and kitchenware. You can also use the pads to remove soap scum on glass shower doors, clean up birdbaths and wind chimes, and clean tile floors.
Come clean, now
Spring cleaning is one of our topics today. Some people think the renewed interest in homemaking (with designer equipment and cleaning products) is nothing more than short-lived nostalgia. "There's a whole relationship with the material world that's changing," says Susan Strasser, a history professor at the University of Delaware and author of Never Done: A History of American Housework. "We see the material world as something to buy, not something to maintain." It may be fun to purchase those beautiful and sweet-smelling designer cleaning solutions, but it's not so much fun to actually use them. Michelle Lamb, senior editor of The Trend Curve, a national trend magazine, agrees. "People are staying at home more, but they aren't staying at home to clean," she said. We want to maintain our homes, "but we aren't going to clean them. That's work."
- Compiled by Homes editor JUDY STARK from staff and wire reports
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