If you enjoy gardening, it’s time to start your garden NOW! Many veggies can be sown in March, and it’s great to get a head-start for spring! Carrots, kale, peas, spinach, and turnips can all be sown outdoors straight away. Take a look at our complete list of veggies and herbs you can plant in March!

1) Carrots

Carrot seeds can be sown in light soil that’s free of stones.

2) Parsley, Dill, and Chives

These herbs can be sown either in containers, or straight into the soil.

3) Turnips

If you want to get a head-start on your turnips, you can sow the seeds directly into the soil.

4) Spinach

Spinach thrives in soil that’s loaded with nutritious compost. You can plant spinach outside straight away.

5) Parsnips

If your soil isn’t too hard, you can plant your parsnip seeds in rows. Make sure the seeds are about 30 cm apart.

6) Spring Onion

It’s called spring onion because it’s ready to eat in the spring! You can get them started directly outside and they make a fantastic addition to salads!

7) Kale

Kale is ready in the summer, so get it started now by planting seeds outside in a well-prepared garden.

8) Peas

Peas can be planted directly into the ground. If you’ve got a problem with mice or other small critters, you can start them off in containers before transferring them to your garden.

Photos: Img Arcade, Kids Quest Museum, Wikipedia, Grit, Gardening Know How, Img Buddy, Gorsia, Bonnie Plants, Away to Garden.

Save those coffee grounds from your morning coffee and put them to good use! From fertilizing your garden, deodorizing your fridge, to cleaning your pots and pans, there are so many ways you can use coffee grounds! So next time you make a cup of hot coffee, save the grounds! Take a look at our top 10 ways you can use coffee grounds around your home!

1. Get Rid of Scratches on Wood Furniture

Furniture a bit banged up? Steep some coffee grounds and dip in a q tip. Dab the q tip on scratches to hide them.

2. Clean Your Pots and Pans

Place a spoonful of coffee in a dirty pot to help scrub away grease. The coffee acts as an abrasive to get rid of stuck-on food and oil.

3. Give Seedlings a Coffee Boost

When planting seedlings, stir some coffee grounds into the dirt to raise nitrogen levels in the soil. You can also add the coffee grounds to your watering can to give them a boost that way.

4. Age Paper

This one is great for craft projects! If you want your boring white paper to have an aged look, dip the paper into coffee diluted with water. Leave it to sit for a minute, then take the paper out and dab it dry.

5. Get Rid of Insects

Sprinkle coffee grounds around plants to keep bugs at bay. Make a ring around the plants to ward off slugs and ants that want at your precious flowers!

Photo By: Trusty Joe

6. Deodorize Your Fridge

Fridge smelling funky? Put a small amount of dry coffee grounds in a cup at the bottom of your fridge. The coffee will absorb any odors that are lingering in your fridge.

7. Give Your Blue Hydrangeas a Boost

If you’re trying to grow Blue Hydrangeas, add coffee grounds into the soil before planting. The coffee will increase the acidity level of the soil and it will also help the flowers absorb any aluminum in the soil, which helps keep them a vibrant blue!

8. Keep Ashes From Flying Around

If you’re trying to keep ashes from flying all over your floor as you’re cleaning out your fireplace, sprinkle damp coffee grounds over them. The damp grounds will help keep the dust down.

9. Get Rid of Cockroaches

Get rid of these unwanted visitors by filling up a jar with an inch of damp coffee grounds. Take out some sticky tape and wrap it around the jar’s neck. The coffee will help draw the cockroaches into the trap.

10. Clean Your Hands

To get rid of onion or garlic odors from your hands, rub coffee grounds on them before washing them with soap.Photos: Yankee Magazine, Cleanipedia, Well and Good, Brandon and Shelby, Black Down Garden Centre, Working Mom Adventures, Deborah Silver, Passion Potager, Pest Control Toronto, Home Food Safety.

We all know it’s hard to keep carpets clean. Carpet stairs can be tricky to clean because of all the nooks and crannies, but with these tips, you’ll have clean stairs in no time!

Step 1: Dry Cleaning

Because of the shape of stairs, dust tends to accumulate in the crevices and corners. This can make cleaning them harder, and in order to get out dust and dirt, use a hard brush broom. Do this before wet cleaning your stairs. Using some force, brush each step a few times to get out stubborn dirt. Don’t forget to use a vacuum along with your hard brush. The vacuum cleaner will pick up the loose dirt that was picked up by the brush.

Step 2: Wet Cleaning

After you’ve gotten the dry cleaning out of the way, it’s now time for the wet cleaning process. You can easily make your own carpet cleaning shampoo by using the following recipe:

– baking soda

– hot water

– peppermint oil

– liquid soap

– white vinegar

When you begin shampooing, start from the highest stair and work your way down. When the shampooing process is finished, dry the stairs as quickly as possible so the moisture doesn’t produce mold. Lay down towels on the stairs and stomp on them to draw moisture out of the carpet. You can use a wet/dry vacuum if you have one instead. You should shampoo your carpets every 4-5 months to keep them looking clean.

Photos: Carpet Plus Floor, Afranko, Zubujk. Tired of stairs? Check out these luxury condo rentals in Toronto. 

With kids, pets, and weekend get-togethers, stains and dirt can be inevitable. We all know what it’s like trying to scrub out that stubborn coffee stain that never seems to fade. These tips and tricks will help you battle (and win!) the toughest stains on your carpet, and keep it clean, too!

First, the stains need to go! Here’s how:

1. Take 2 empty spray bottles and fill one with cold water. In the other bottle, add 1/4 tsp dishwashing liquid and 1 cup of warm water. Shake well.

2. Spray the detergent mix onto a cloth and dab the stain (don’t rub!). As the stain begins to dissolve, begin to blot with a clean section of the cloth. Keep doing this until the stain is gone.

3. Take a clean cloth and spray it with the cold water. Use it to rinse the detergent from the carpet, and blot it with a dry cloth.

4. Stack up paper towels on the spot and place a heavy pot on top. Leave this overnight. The paper towels will soak up any residual stain that’s deep inside the carpet. In the morning, remove the pot and paper towels and fluff up the carpet with your fingers. Allow it to air-dry completely.

Now that we’ve got the stains out, here are a few tips on how to keep dirt at bay:

De-Grit Doormats

Your interior doormats only stop dirt from being tracked inside the house if they’re clean. Toss your mats into the washer and dryer on a gentle cycle and tumble-dry them on low. If they are non-washable, use a vacuum. Vacuum first the front, then the back to loosen any embedded dirt. Vacuum the front of the mat again to get all the grit that came out. To give the mat a quick refresh, take it outside and shake it well. Using a stick or your hand, beat the mat to loosen any dirt.

Clean High-Traffic Areas

In between heavy-duty cleanings, use a powdered or foam carpet cleaner on areas that get a lot of traffic. Apply the cleaner according to package directions and vacuum.

Take Off Your Shoes

Keep dirt outside by implementing a no-shoes rule in your home. Keep extra slippers near the door, and encourage visitors or family members to use them. Keep a broom handy in the entryway closet to collect dirt before it gets stuck into your doormats. Put mats outside your door as well so you can wipe your feet before heading inside.

Photos: Angies List, This Old House, House Ideas. 

We love using home-made cleaning solutions! The store-bought chemicals can irritate your throat and nose, and they’re not safe to come into contact with your skin, either. Using only a few simple and cheap pantry ingredients, you can create your very own cleaning solutions for cheap. Give the environment (and yourself!) a break and try these recipes.

White Vinegar

Vinegar dissolves dirt, soap scum, and hard water deposits. Although it’s a tough acid, it’s gentle enough to use on hardwood floors. White vinegar is also a natural deodorizer, and absorbs odours instead of masking them. If you’re worried about the smell, it goes away completely when the vinegar dries. If you have sensitive skin, vinegar is great as a fabric softener. Add 1 cup of vinegar to your rinse cycle instead of regular fabric softener. For hard water deposits on your showerhead, simply place 1/2 cup vinegar in a sandwich bag and tie around the showerhead with a rubber band. Allow it to sit overnight and rinse in the morning. If you’re looking for an all-purpose spray cleaner, simply mix 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup water in a spray bottle. This is great for countertops, backsplash areas, and floors.

Baking Soda

Baking soda has a mild abrasive action and has natural deodorizing properties. It’s a great replacement for harsh store-bought scouring powders. Sprinkle baking soda on your sponge for bathtub rings, vanity units, or removing food deposits from the kitchen sink. For tough stains and grime, make a paste of baking soda and water and leave it to stand for 10-20 minutes until the deposits have softened and can be removed easily. To keep drains running smoothly, pour 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain and a little hot water to wash the baking soda down. Allow it to sit overnight, and don’t use it on blocked drains.

Rubbing Alcohol

Rubbing alcohol is great on windows, mirrors, and hard-surface ceramic tiles. It’s also good to put it into a spray bottle and spray on points of contact to kill germs (door handles, steering wheels, toilet handles, toilet seats, etc.).

Ammonia

Ammonia is a strong window and all-purpose cleaner, and it’s stronger than vinegar. For a tough cleaning solution, mix 1 tbsp ammonia, 1tbsp dishwashing liquid, and 2 cups of water.

Photos: Trusper, Modern Survival Online, Good Ideas and Tips, Kendricks Stationers, DIY Life.

The right mop is what will decide if your floors are going to be left sparkling or not. Choosing the right one is important if you want to get your floors clean, and make them stay that way for as long as possible. Using the wrong mop only cleans the surface grime, making dirt accumulate much faster, but the right mop will get all the way down to the floor and scrub away any trace of grease or dirt.

Everyone should have at least 2 mops:

1. Wet mop – to clean up spills and wash hard-surface floors.

2. Dry mop – to collect dry dust, dirt, and pet hair.

When you choose a mop for wet cleaning, remember its purpose. Not only should it dissolve dirt, but it must remove it from the floor. For this reason, avoid string mops. They’re too heavy to lift when wet and impossible to rinse clean. Instead, get yourself a large-headed wet mop with a swivel base and removable terry covers. This mop will do dual duty; a dry cover quickly picks up spilled liquids, while a cover immersed in cleaning solution dissolves and lifts dirt easily. When the cover gets dirty, simply wash it and replace it.

Sponge mops are also efficient in cleaning spills and floors. Larger cleaning heads get the job done faster, and make sure you get one made of metal – a plastic one can’t stand up to the tough job and can break.

Dry mops come in many forms. Small disposable mops slide easily into tight corners, but they’re flimsy and replacement pads are too expensive. Microfibre mops are a great choice because they’re inexpensive, and can be washed, dried, and reused. Use them to pick up dry soil and crumbs in the kitchen. As with the wet mop, make sure you get one made of metal, and with a swivel base.

Photos: Housekeeping.about, Cleaning Services College Station, North Tryon.