The Contest winner is Gwen Nelson of New Zealand. Her prize, the book, Making a Home: Houskeeping for Real Life, is on its way to her. Thanks for the great tips, Gwen!
I picked June because traditionally this is the wedding month. New couples will be setting up housekeeping and may welcome a few tips from those who have been there and done that.
Graduation is usually the end of May or in early June. Those graduating from high school may be getting their fist full time jobs and apartments. They may be planning on college and what to take with them to the dorm or the small shared apartments found near colleges.
The college graduates are on their way out into the world of careers and business, homes and families. Often they are moving from the tiny college dorms into a real apartment for the first time.
How can we help all of these folks set up their new homes? They and even those of us who have done it before can always use some new information. The prize for this contest is the book "Making a Home: Housekeeping for Real Life" published by Better Homes and Gardens. I would recommend this book to anyone ready to start a new home from scratch. There are so many good ideas and useful information.
For example, in the chapter on "Kitchen Keeping" there is a list of the recommended items needed for a "Starter Kitchen". This is followed by lists for a "Starter Kitchen with Extras", "Busy Family Kitchen", and "Kitchen for Entertaining". There is a list for stocking the "Basic Pantry, the "Basic Plus or Family Kitchen", and "Extras for Entertaining".
How many linens do you need for the master bedroom or the guest room? How many mattress pads; sheet sets; pillowcase protectors; duvets and duvet covers; coverlet, quilt or spread; summer blankets; winter blankets; and bed skirts constitutes a good year-round supply? How many bath linens?
There is a "Stain Removal" guide and information on doing laundry that we can learn by trial and error or read the book before the errors occur.
Some of the following tips are from my readers :
• Whenever you repaint make sure you have a spare litre of the same batch of paint leftover for touching up chips, scratches or painting alterations/additions made at a later stage. It's almost impossible to get a perfect match if paint is bought from a different batch even if it is the same formula.
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