Spring clean to bring in the new

 

                  Spring Clean to bring in the new

                 

                             It’s not that I love cleaning, I keep telling my husband, it’s that I like things clean.

                             Big difference.

                             In keeping a household flowing, I love to “edit” or go through closets, drawers and cabinets on a semi-frequent basis and see if I can “let go” of anything. Sometimes, new things come along to replace the space and do a job better. This column is devoted to some of that  innovation and “rotation.”

                             * Candlescape – I was so impressed with a candlescape at my church’s Italian dinner, I snapped a photo. Someone thought of placing glass votive candles over unopened Contadina tomato sauce cans. The label is one I recall from my youth: A woman is featured with a basket of freshly-harvested tomatoes and Italian scenery is in the background. This look set the mood for all the dishes waiting to be enjoyed. I also love the notion of creating a visual from what’s on hand and offering a peek at what’s to come.

                        * Clipa2 – I think that the sort of personalities who painted their nails with correction fluid and wore binder rings as bracelets in middle school invented Clipa2, a non-nonsense purse hook that looks like that big ring, only with a hematite-sleek look. This clip will keep your bag off the floor while you’re meeting friends for lunch or keep it more secure in your shopping cart. Clipa2 opens wide and does the job on rails, restroom doors, etc. without being “cutesy.” It’s designed to work for 10 years, so you’ll be clipping it longer that you tote around your latest shopper. Yes, I am sporting Clipa2 as a bracelet, too. It holds bags up to 33 pounds and has been tested for 10 years of daily use and won’t tarnish, rust, peel, split or corrode.  Find one at: https://amzn.to/2IrOuZ5

                             * Kinder Joy – I got a free sample of this plastic egg with cocoa wafer bites over sweet cream. Packaged for a kid with a prize inside, this joy surprised me with a sense of  a European hazelnut kind of flavor. A flat little plastic spoon came inside to scoop up the sweet and mine came with a toy bike you power with your fingers. Maybe next time I’ll work out a deal where I keep the sweet part and a kinder gets the toy.

                             * Root Assassin Shovel – If you need to get your mother out of the garden to present her Mother’s Day gift, consider the Root Assassin Shovel, with “teeth” that do all the work. It’s an ergonomic 48-inch multi tool to clear out the garden. I tried my sample on a variety of tasks and got a patch of yard looking fit and fine. Overgrown with forest or brush? Serrated edges on both sides get to the root and pull it out.  The sawing part is genius. It’s light and curved and features carbon steel, overlaid with a silver powder coat. Four pounds of power are what we need in our gumbo clay. I’m not alone in admiration. Root Assassin won the Golden Shovel Award by Garden Products Review.

                  darraghcastillo@Icloud.com