formerly known as: Scent Of A Woman
April 12, 2013
March 27, 2013
Naughty in Name Only
Naughty in Name Only
By NICOLE PERLROTH | New York Times – Sun, 24 Mar, 2013 9:50 PM EDT
Nasty Gal is “the fastest-growing retailer in the …LOS ANGELES —
If ever there were a Cinderella of tech, Sophia Amoruso might be it.
In 2006, Ms. Amoruso was a 22-year-old community college dropout, living in her step-aunt’s cottage, working at an art school checking student IDs for $13 an hour. Then she started a side project, Nasty Gal, an eBay page that sold vintage women’s clothing.
Last year, Nasty Gal sold nearly $100 million of clothing and accessories — profitably.
For the last seven years, Ms. Amoruso has been courting a cult following of 20-something women. Nasty Gal has more than half a million followers on Facebook and more than 600,000 on Instagram. But it is not yet well known beyond that base. At fashion trade shows, the company’s name still gets strange looks.
“People say: ‘Nasty Gal? What’s that?’ ” Ms. Amoruso, now 28, said in an interview at her new headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. “I tell them, ‘It’s the fastest-growing retailer in the country.’ ”
Back in 2006, she toyed with the idea of going to photography school, but couldn’t stomach the debt. Instead, she quit her job and started an eBay page to sell some of the vintage designer items she found rummaging through Goodwill bins. She bought a Chanel jacket at a Salvation Army store for $8 and sold it for $1,000. She found Yves Saint Laurent clothing online on the cheap by Googling misspellings of the designer’s name, reasoning that anyone who didn’t know how to spell Yves Saint Laurent probably didn’t realize his value.
She styled, photographed, captioned and shipped each product herself and sold about 25 items a week. She named the eBay page “Nasty Gal” after the 1975 album by Betty Davis — not the smoky-eyed film star Bette Davis, but the unabashedly sexy funk singer and style icon Betty, whose brief marriage to the jazz legend Miles Davis inspired the song “Back Seat Betty.”
Ms. Amoruso curated her eBay page to match her own style, which on a recent rainy Friday included a floor-length trench coat, vintage rock T-shirt, no-nonsense bob and blood-red lipstick. Her look and attitude resonated with the type of young, body-confident women who would not be caught dead in Tory Burch.
She created a Myspace page to market Nasty Gal and garnered 60,000 “friends” by reaching out to fans of brands like Nylon, the music and fashion magazine, who she thought might appreciate Nasty Gal’s fierce aesthetic. Every week, her new finds ignited bidding wars among shoppers from Australia to Britain.
She began enlisting friends to model and photograph her products, which quickly outgrew her step-aunt’s cottage. She moved Nasty Gal’s headquarters to a 1,700-square-foot studio in Berkeley, Calif., in 2007, and eight months later moved again — this time to a 7,500-square-foot warehouse space in Emeryville.
Ms. Amoruso also outgrew eBay, which she said was a terrible platform to start a business. Competitors started flagging Nasty Gal for breaking the site’s rules by, for example, linking to Ms. Amoruso’s Myspace page. Fed up, she decided it was time to start ShopNastyGal.com. (At the time, NastyGal.com belonged to a pornography site. Nasty Gal now owns the domain.)
She recruited a friend from junior high school to build a Web site and taught herself to use Photoshop. She eventually abandoned Myspace for Facebook, where she tantalized fans with coming inventory, from cheap shrunken motorcycle jackets to high-end vintage Versace clothing.
She challenged her Facebook fans to come up with the best titles for vintage products and gave gift cards to the winners. She used models who were approachable and “looked like nice people, not dead people,” she said, and had to fire some when customers complained that they looked too skinny or annoyed.
That constant conversation with customers created a loyal following. Nasty Gal has no marketing team, but fans comment on its every Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest post and regularly post pictures of themselves in their Nasty Gal finds. A quarter of Nasty Gal’s 550,000 customers visit the site daily for six minutes; the top 10 percent return more than 100 times a month.
With Nasty Gal having made just shy of $100 million in revenue last year, analysts say they would expect a bigger audience.
“I would expect them to have a few million visitors a month,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, a Forrester analyst. On the flip side, Ms. Mulpuru said Nasty Gal’s conversion rate must be significantly higher than the industry standard of 3 percent. “It speaks to an engaged audience,” she said. “They’ve figured out the marketing tool. That’s the real story.”
Ms. Amoruso knew Nasty Gal couldn’t grow by selling one-off vintage items forever; customers were asking why she didn’t have more sizes. So in 2008, she posted an ad on Craigslist for a buying assistant and hired Christina Ferrucci, the first person who answered.
The two experimented with buying vintage-inspired clothes from vendors in Los Angeles’s fashion district. Soon, the items were selling so quickly that Ms. Amoruso and Ms. Ferrucci were making the six-hour drive to Los Angeles every other week.
They ventured to the Project trade show in Las Vegas, where fashion brands and buyers convene every August, but higher-end brands weren’t exactly thrilled at the idea of having their products sold by a brand called Nasty Gal. Many dismissed it as an online sex shop. The fact that the NastyGal.com domain was at that time still owned by a pornography site didn’t help matters.
Sam Edelman, the shoe brand, initially gave Ms. Amoruso the cold shoulder. She charged back an hour later, showed them Nasty Gal’s Web site on her iPhone and promised to deliver the brand some street cred. Sam Edelman acquiesced. That opened the door for a deal with Jeffrey Campbell, another shoemaker, which has become one of the most recognizable brands on the site. Nasty Gal fans will tell you Sophia Amoruso “made” Jeffrey Campbell, not the other way around.
A Jeffrey Campbell spokeswoman, Sharon Blackburn, said that the brand was well established before partnering with Ms. Amoruso, but that Nasty Gal created a new channel for its more provocative styles, like the “Lita,” a towering lace-up platform boot with a five-inch heel. “Not a lot of people got it, but Sophia loved it,” Ms. Blackburn said. “She bought it in every color and fabric, wore it herself and opened the door for other styles in our collection.”
By 2010, Nasty Gal started generating buzz among unlikely fans in Silicon Valley. Venture capital firms were pouring millions into e-commerce sites like ShoeDazzle.com, Kim Kardashian’s shoe subscription site, and BeachMint.
But the company had been making money from Day 1. “They would say, ‘We want to invest in a woman-owned business — it’s part of our investment thesis,’ ” Ms. Amoruso recalled of her discussions with several venture capitalists. Her retort: She didn’t want to be part of their “investment thesis” and didn’t need their money.
“I don’t think they got it,” she said. “It’s this bunch of guys sitting around saying, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s start a Web site and put Kim Kardashian’s face on it.’ ”
Ms. Amoruso moved Nasty Gal to Los Angeles in 2011, to be closer to her merchants and models. She shunned office space in Santa Monica, where ShoeDazzle and BeachMint are based, for less glamorous space downtown, where 20-something Nasty Gal employees in mesh crop tops, leggings and platform shoes stand out from the paralegals. (Shortly after the move, one employee was berated by a lawyer in the building who saw “Nasty Gal Creative Studio” and assumed it was a pornography studio.)
Last year, Ms. Amoruso, who had held on to 100 percent of her business, decided she was ready to hear what Sand Hill Road had to offer. She met with several venture capitalists but ultimately clicked with Danny Rimer, a partner at Index Ventures, who had invested in e-commerce sites like Net-a-Porter, Etsy and Asos.
In March, Ms. Amoruso agreed to give Index a slice of equity for $9 million. But by August, things were moving so quickly — Nasty Gal was on track to quadruple its 2011 sales to $128 million — that she raised an additional $40 million from Index and used some of it to build a 500,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Shepherdsville, Ky. Nasty Gal now attracts more than six million visits a month, while e-commerce start-ups like ShoeDazzle and BeachMint are losing customers and executives.
Bigger competitors are taking notes. Urban Outfitters recently contacted Ms. Amoruso about a potential acquisition, according to people briefed on the discussions. Asked about that, Ms. Amoruso said only, “We’re talking.”
Naysayers in Silicon Valley think she should consider the acquisition. Some venture capitalists who would not speak on the record — perhaps because they did not have the chance to invest — say Nasty Gal is playing on a short-term fashion trend that will be difficult to sustain on the public market.
“They’re the hot new thing, but I do think it’s risky,” said Ms. Mulpuru, the Forrester analyst. “With this type of hype, either they are looking for a big fat acquisition or a blockbuster I.P.O.”
Ms. Amoruso is hardly ignorant of the possibility that it could all fall apart. Nasty Gal’s motto is, “Nasty Gals do it better.” But her personal motto is, “Only the paranoid survive.”
At 16, Ms. Amoruso tattooed the Virgin Records logo on her arm. Last year, she enjoyed a small Cinderella moment when she got to show it to Richard Branson. She recently bought a Porsche — with cash — and is remodeling her dream home.
But, she said, the Cinderella story ends here. “It’s been very charmed, but I’m not willing to rest on my laurels,” she said. “It’s only going to get harder to keep building from here.”
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/naughty-name-only-015034664.html
By NICOLE PERLROTH | New York Times – Sun, 24 Mar, 2013 9:50 PM EDT
Nasty Gal is “the fastest-growing retailer in the …LOS ANGELES —
If ever there were a Cinderella of tech, Sophia Amoruso might be it.
In 2006, Ms. Amoruso was a 22-year-old community college dropout, living in her step-aunt’s cottage, working at an art school checking student IDs for $13 an hour. Then she started a side project, Nasty Gal, an eBay page that sold vintage women’s clothing.
Last year, Nasty Gal sold nearly $100 million of clothing and accessories — profitably.
For the last seven years, Ms. Amoruso has been courting a cult following of 20-something women. Nasty Gal has more than half a million followers on Facebook and more than 600,000 on Instagram. But it is not yet well known beyond that base. At fashion trade shows, the company’s name still gets strange looks.
“People say: ‘Nasty Gal? What’s that?’ ” Ms. Amoruso, now 28, said in an interview at her new headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. “I tell them, ‘It’s the fastest-growing retailer in the country.’ ”
Back in 2006, she toyed with the idea of going to photography school, but couldn’t stomach the debt. Instead, she quit her job and started an eBay page to sell some of the vintage designer items she found rummaging through Goodwill bins. She bought a Chanel jacket at a Salvation Army store for $8 and sold it for $1,000. She found Yves Saint Laurent clothing online on the cheap by Googling misspellings of the designer’s name, reasoning that anyone who didn’t know how to spell Yves Saint Laurent probably didn’t realize his value.
She styled, photographed, captioned and shipped each product herself and sold about 25 items a week. She named the eBay page “Nasty Gal” after the 1975 album by Betty Davis — not the smoky-eyed film star Bette Davis, but the unabashedly sexy funk singer and style icon Betty, whose brief marriage to the jazz legend Miles Davis inspired the song “Back Seat Betty.”
Ms. Amoruso curated her eBay page to match her own style, which on a recent rainy Friday included a floor-length trench coat, vintage rock T-shirt, no-nonsense bob and blood-red lipstick. Her look and attitude resonated with the type of young, body-confident women who would not be caught dead in Tory Burch.
She created a Myspace page to market Nasty Gal and garnered 60,000 “friends” by reaching out to fans of brands like Nylon, the music and fashion magazine, who she thought might appreciate Nasty Gal’s fierce aesthetic. Every week, her new finds ignited bidding wars among shoppers from Australia to Britain.
She began enlisting friends to model and photograph her products, which quickly outgrew her step-aunt’s cottage. She moved Nasty Gal’s headquarters to a 1,700-square-foot studio in Berkeley, Calif., in 2007, and eight months later moved again — this time to a 7,500-square-foot warehouse space in Emeryville.
Ms. Amoruso also outgrew eBay, which she said was a terrible platform to start a business. Competitors started flagging Nasty Gal for breaking the site’s rules by, for example, linking to Ms. Amoruso’s Myspace page. Fed up, she decided it was time to start ShopNastyGal.com. (At the time, NastyGal.com belonged to a pornography site. Nasty Gal now owns the domain.)
She recruited a friend from junior high school to build a Web site and taught herself to use Photoshop. She eventually abandoned Myspace for Facebook, where she tantalized fans with coming inventory, from cheap shrunken motorcycle jackets to high-end vintage Versace clothing.
She challenged her Facebook fans to come up with the best titles for vintage products and gave gift cards to the winners. She used models who were approachable and “looked like nice people, not dead people,” she said, and had to fire some when customers complained that they looked too skinny or annoyed.
That constant conversation with customers created a loyal following. Nasty Gal has no marketing team, but fans comment on its every Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest post and regularly post pictures of themselves in their Nasty Gal finds. A quarter of Nasty Gal’s 550,000 customers visit the site daily for six minutes; the top 10 percent return more than 100 times a month.
With Nasty Gal having made just shy of $100 million in revenue last year, analysts say they would expect a bigger audience.
“I would expect them to have a few million visitors a month,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, a Forrester analyst. On the flip side, Ms. Mulpuru said Nasty Gal’s conversion rate must be significantly higher than the industry standard of 3 percent. “It speaks to an engaged audience,” she said. “They’ve figured out the marketing tool. That’s the real story.”
Ms. Amoruso knew Nasty Gal couldn’t grow by selling one-off vintage items forever; customers were asking why she didn’t have more sizes. So in 2008, she posted an ad on Craigslist for a buying assistant and hired Christina Ferrucci, the first person who answered.
The two experimented with buying vintage-inspired clothes from vendors in Los Angeles’s fashion district. Soon, the items were selling so quickly that Ms. Amoruso and Ms. Ferrucci were making the six-hour drive to Los Angeles every other week.
They ventured to the Project trade show in Las Vegas, where fashion brands and buyers convene every August, but higher-end brands weren’t exactly thrilled at the idea of having their products sold by a brand called Nasty Gal. Many dismissed it as an online sex shop. The fact that the NastyGal.com domain was at that time still owned by a pornography site didn’t help matters.
Sam Edelman, the shoe brand, initially gave Ms. Amoruso the cold shoulder. She charged back an hour later, showed them Nasty Gal’s Web site on her iPhone and promised to deliver the brand some street cred. Sam Edelman acquiesced. That opened the door for a deal with Jeffrey Campbell, another shoemaker, which has become one of the most recognizable brands on the site. Nasty Gal fans will tell you Sophia Amoruso “made” Jeffrey Campbell, not the other way around.
A Jeffrey Campbell spokeswoman, Sharon Blackburn, said that the brand was well established before partnering with Ms. Amoruso, but that Nasty Gal created a new channel for its more provocative styles, like the “Lita,” a towering lace-up platform boot with a five-inch heel. “Not a lot of people got it, but Sophia loved it,” Ms. Blackburn said. “She bought it in every color and fabric, wore it herself and opened the door for other styles in our collection.”
By 2010, Nasty Gal started generating buzz among unlikely fans in Silicon Valley. Venture capital firms were pouring millions into e-commerce sites like ShoeDazzle.com, Kim Kardashian’s shoe subscription site, and BeachMint.
But the company had been making money from Day 1. “They would say, ‘We want to invest in a woman-owned business — it’s part of our investment thesis,’ ” Ms. Amoruso recalled of her discussions with several venture capitalists. Her retort: She didn’t want to be part of their “investment thesis” and didn’t need their money.
“I don’t think they got it,” she said. “It’s this bunch of guys sitting around saying, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s start a Web site and put Kim Kardashian’s face on it.’ ”
Ms. Amoruso moved Nasty Gal to Los Angeles in 2011, to be closer to her merchants and models. She shunned office space in Santa Monica, where ShoeDazzle and BeachMint are based, for less glamorous space downtown, where 20-something Nasty Gal employees in mesh crop tops, leggings and platform shoes stand out from the paralegals. (Shortly after the move, one employee was berated by a lawyer in the building who saw “Nasty Gal Creative Studio” and assumed it was a pornography studio.)
Last year, Ms. Amoruso, who had held on to 100 percent of her business, decided she was ready to hear what Sand Hill Road had to offer. She met with several venture capitalists but ultimately clicked with Danny Rimer, a partner at Index Ventures, who had invested in e-commerce sites like Net-a-Porter, Etsy and Asos.
In March, Ms. Amoruso agreed to give Index a slice of equity for $9 million. But by August, things were moving so quickly — Nasty Gal was on track to quadruple its 2011 sales to $128 million — that she raised an additional $40 million from Index and used some of it to build a 500,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Shepherdsville, Ky. Nasty Gal now attracts more than six million visits a month, while e-commerce start-ups like ShoeDazzle and BeachMint are losing customers and executives.
Bigger competitors are taking notes. Urban Outfitters recently contacted Ms. Amoruso about a potential acquisition, according to people briefed on the discussions. Asked about that, Ms. Amoruso said only, “We’re talking.”
Naysayers in Silicon Valley think she should consider the acquisition. Some venture capitalists who would not speak on the record — perhaps because they did not have the chance to invest — say Nasty Gal is playing on a short-term fashion trend that will be difficult to sustain on the public market.
“They’re the hot new thing, but I do think it’s risky,” said Ms. Mulpuru, the Forrester analyst. “With this type of hype, either they are looking for a big fat acquisition or a blockbuster I.P.O.”
Ms. Amoruso is hardly ignorant of the possibility that it could all fall apart. Nasty Gal’s motto is, “Nasty Gals do it better.” But her personal motto is, “Only the paranoid survive.”
At 16, Ms. Amoruso tattooed the Virgin Records logo on her arm. Last year, she enjoyed a small Cinderella moment when she got to show it to Richard Branson. She recently bought a Porsche — with cash — and is remodeling her dream home.
But, she said, the Cinderella story ends here. “It’s been very charmed, but I’m not willing to rest on my laurels,” she said. “It’s only going to get harder to keep building from here.”
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/naughty-name-only-015034664.html
March 26, 2013
March 20, 2013
March 19, 2013
Happy Spring!
Happy Spring!
Be beautiful and fresh...
The Vernal Equinox
Ah, spring! This season brings increasing daylight, warming temperatures, and the rebirth of flora and fauna.
The word equinox is derived from the Latin words meaning “equal night.” Days and nights are approximately equal everywhere and the Sun rises and sets due east and west.
At the equinoxes, the tilt of Earth relative to the Sun is zero, which means that Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun. (However, the tilt of Earth relative to its plane of orbit, called the ecliptic plane, is always about 23.5 degrees.)
The 10 Biggest Reasons Men Resent Their Wives
By Woman s Day | Love + Sex – Mon, 18 Mar, 2013
Avoid resentment in your marriage with these expert pointersBy Kerry Miller
Despite the picture-perfect impressions we get from upbeat Facebook posts or boastful holiday letters, even the healthiest marriages aren't 100% free of conflict. At some point, virtually everyone feels wronged by a romantic partner. Bob Navarra, PsyD, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), says that those feelings aren't what throw a marriage off course-it's how couples handle them. "While it may be frustrating that the toothpaste cap was left off, happy couples talk about these small things," he says. But when those emotions are swept under the rug, a more toxic variety of negativity begins to fester: resentment. Here, marriage experts share some of the most common reasons husbands resent their wives and how to protect your relationship. Photo by Getty Images.
1. Not fighting fair.
Happy couples don't necessarily fight less, Dr. Navarra says; they just fight better, by "describing their own feelings and needs rather than labeling their partner as faulty." And the ball is probably in your court for that. Research shows that wives are more likely to bring up problems for discussion, while husbands are more likely to withdraw at the first sign of an argument. When this keeps happening, women tend to start conversations on a negative note, which only makes things worse. Instead of resorting to personal attacks-"You're such a slob!" "We're going to be late because of you!"-which lead to defensiveness, Dr. Navarra recommends sticking to "I-statements," such as "When (this happens), I feel (frustrated, angry). What I needed was..."
Related: Discover 9 fights you should have with your husband.
2. Treating him like a child.
"A big issue I see in couples is a man resenting his partner because he feels she talks down to him," says Mary Kelleher, LMFT. This can leave him feeling "less-than," and nothing triggers resentment faster than inadequacy. So avoid threatening his independence-the way pressuring him to go for a promotion so he'll bring home more money may be perceived-suggests couples therapist Vagdevi Meunier, PsyD. "No one wants to feel 'managed' by a spouse," Dr. Meunier says
3. Involving other people in your marriage.
What you might think of as harmless complaining to friends and family can actually break your husband's trust. It threatens the safety of the "couple bubble" you've created together. "Men find this humiliating and hurtful," says Norene Gonsiewski, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), a couples' therapist at the Portland Relationship Center in Oregon. If you really need to vent, consider talking to a doctor or therapist to keep things confidential.
Related: Check out 10 things husbands should never do.
4. Not showing appreciation for thing he does right.
"Men will never ask for it," Gonsiewski says, but regular doses of praise are important. "They need to hear that their wives are proud of them." Scott Haltzman, MD, author of The Secrets of Happily Married Women, notes that men tend to be more action-oriented than women, which means they show affection in different ways. "He may empty the dishwasher as a way of saying he cares about you." Haltzman's suggestion: "Pay attention to what he does, and let him know you notice."
5. Withholding sex as punishment.
While women generally need emotional intimacy to make love, men express emotional intimacy through sex, says Marla Taviano, author of Is that All He Thinks About? When a wife turns down sex, in her husband's mind, "she's turning him down as a person," explains Taviano. Using sex as a bargaining chip to get your needs meet isn't negotiating-it's emotional blackmail, which can alienate him. "Withholding sex may make your partner feel less love from you and give you less love in return," says Dr. Haltzman.
Related: Learn 8 secrets of sexually satisfied couples.
6. Trying to change him.
"Every person can change, but it's better to focus on our own changes, rather than our spouse's behaviors," says Anne Ziff, LMFT, author of Marrying Well. And yet, some women see marriage as a starting point for a "husband makeover." This isn't all bad-studies show that married men tend to eat healthier and have fewer problems with drugs and alcohol than single guys-but avoid creating a relationship in which your husband can't be himself. "When a man feels his home is not his castle, and he can't just be a guy-whether it's walking around in his boxers or letting out a burp-he'll feel like he's been put in a box where he has to act prim and proper all the time," Dr. Meunier says. Sometimes, it's smarter to let the little things slide.
7. Making important decisions without his input.
Research shows that money is a top source of disagreements among married couples, even those with bigger budgets. In a lot of ways, money equals power, and balancing power is important to harmonious relationships, Meunier says. Whether you're considering booking a vacation or buying a dishwasher, your partner deserves a say. The same goes for decisions that affect how you and your husband spend your time, such as inviting company over for dinner or signing up your kids for soccer. Although it may seem simpler to beg for forgiveness instead of getting him on board, unilateral decision making can drive you two apart.
8. Not giving him the chance to be the kind of dad he wants to be.
Mothers often parent differently than fathers, but not necessarily better. For instance, some studies show that parenting styles more common with dads, such as rough-and-tumble play, offer children unique developmental benefits. "Men's resentment grows as their children develop with gaps in their competency and independence, two attributes men rate highly," Gonsiewski says. "When a woman doesn't trust her husband to parent she sends a message that he's wrong and only she's right." Instead, "reinforce your husband for the positive contributions he makes to your children's lives," Dr. Haltzman recommends.
9. Acting jealous when he looks at other women.
Men are visual creatures, Dr. Meunier says, so it's not surprising that a typical heterosexual man would notice a good-looking woman. "Women who understand this and don't take it personally minimize unproductive fights about jealousy." When a wife overreacts to a situation, her husband will likely feel defensive, and eventually, resentful. Dr. Meunier's advice? "Chill out." Responding to a visual cue isn't cause for worry, she says-curious comments or behaviors, like dropping your hand to head across the room to talk to another woman, could signify a lack of commitment to you.
10. Expecting immediate forgiveness after you apologize.
Studies show that seeking and granting forgiveness greatly contributes to marital satisfaction and longevity. But beware of empty words. While apologizing manages conflict, Dr. Navarra says a simple "I'm sorry" often isn't enough. To truly earn her husband's forgiveness, a wife needs to show that she understands why her husband is upset. Dr. Haltzman recommends being specific about what you're apologizing for, accepting responsibility for what you did, acknowledging that you what you did was harmful and lastly, asking what you can do to make it up to him. "If you've gotten to the first three steps cleanly, most men will say 'forget about it' to the last question," Dr. Haltzman says.
March 18, 2013
Should a woman take her husband's name after marriage?
Should a woman refuse to take her husband's name after marriage?
By Flannery Dean | Chatelaine – Fri, 15 Mar, 2013 11:15 AM EDT
By Flannery Dean | Chatelaine – Fri, 15 Mar, 2013 11:15 AM EDT
Getty Images
Should a woman hang on to her maiden name after she's
said 'I do'?
It's a debate that's been raging for more than half a
century. Over the years, many young women have made the decision-often
times to great scorn-to maintain their surnames after tying the knot.
But while keeping one's maiden name ultimately comes down to personal
choice-you either want to keep the last name you were born with or you
don't-it's also a politically charged decision. Strangely, it's also a
minority decision as the majority of women, it seems, still choose to
take their partner's surnames (others choose to compromise, creating
those tongue-twisting, hybrid hyphenated last names).In an essay for The Guardian (via jezebel.com) writer Jill Filipovic argues that women should collectively abandon the tradition of taking a man's surname once and for all.
"But why, in 2013, does getting married mean giving up the most basic marker of your identity?" asks Filipovic.
She goes on to punch holes in much of what passes for the reasons why women choose to take their husband's names, a list that runs the gamut from 'he has a better last name' to 'I want my family to share a last name'.
For Filipovic, these reasons are just so much hot air. At bottom, she argues, they're justifications for not challenging the status quo.
Filipovic believes trading one's last name for another shouldn't be celebrated as an act of unity-she mentions the pervasive and patently false idea that women who keep their last names are less committed than those who don’t-but rather as a loss.
"Jill Filipovic is my name and my identity. Jill Smith is a different person," she writes, adding later that such a loss does not come without consequence to one's sense of self.
"It lessens the belief that our existence is valuable unto itself, and that as individuals we are already whole."
Homemade Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups
DIY Classics
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Ulysses Press/Judi Swinks PhotographyMake no mistake: author and culinary whiz Casey Barber isn't out to make these treats low-cal. She's an enthusiastic cook and self-described "DIY fanatic" who loves the mad scientist deconstruction of factory-produced treats. "It's supremely gratifying to nail a recipe and find those flavors that have such strong emotional connections," she writes,"but without preservatives or weird chemical aftertaste."
Let's look at one of our favorite school lunch sweets, Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups. You won't find a single strawberry in the store-bought version, though you will be chowing down on pears from concentrate, two kinds of corn syrup, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, and red 40. (We know! You don't want to hear it!). But set out to make these sticky, fun treats at home you'll need just strawberries, sugar, and fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
See more: Best recipe for homemade doughnuts
Barber recommends making big double batches of these in the spring, "when tiny, sweet berries are in season, for a Roll-Up more luscious and pure than any you've tasted before." Seasonally-appropriate snack foods? We're sold.
If you've been eyeing Silpats (those non-stick silicone baking mats Martha Stewart swears by) at the fancy cooking supply store, this is the perfect excuse to spring for them. "I find Silpats the best surface, hands down, for evenly spreading the thick fruit jam for roll-ups," Barber advises. "They won’t bunch and tear on you the way parchment paper can—and who wants to scrape the jam off a ripped sheet and start again?"
Homemade Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups
1 pound strawberries, hulled
¾ cup (5¼ ounces) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about ½ lemon)
Yield: 12 rolls, 5 by 5-inch size
Cut the strawberries in half or quarters, depending on size, and mash roughly with a potato masher in a large bowl. You should have about 2 cups mashed berries. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to break down the berries slightly. Stir once or twice while they sit to dissolve the sugar.
See more: How to make Starbucks scones at home
Pour the strawberries and their natural syrup into a blender and blend for 1 minute, until a smooth purée forms. Pour into a high-sided pan or Dutch oven (the wider the better, to help the liquid evaporate evenly) and bring to a low boil over medium heat.
Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often. Visual cues are your best friend when you’re cooking fruit: the liquid will foam, then clarify as the bubbles slow and the purée thickens. At the final stage, the purée will be consistently thick and almost opaque, and it will “mound” slightly instead of immediately seeping back when pushed across the bottom of the pan with a spatula.
Preheat the oven to 175˚F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat liners.
Divide the cooked fruit between the baking sheets and use an offset or silicone spatula to spread evenly into as thin and wide a rectangle as possible. The jam should be no more than ⅛ inch thick but still as evenly opaque as you can manage; thinner, more translucent spots will harden into brittle.
See more: Delicious twists on traditional chocolate cake
Heat in the oven for 5 to 6 hours, or until the fruit feels slightly tacky but no longer sticky. The timing will depend on the humidity level; a rainy day makes for a longer set.
Transfer the parchment or Silpats to wire racks and cool completely then transfer the fruit leather to sheets of waxed paper large enough to leave overhang on all sides. Use kitchen shears to cut the fruit leather from each pan into 6 (5 by 5-inch) squares. Fold the extra waxed paper over the edges before rolling so they won’t fuse.
Store the Roll-Ups at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.
Are These Plus-Size Mannequins Progressive or Just Weird?
Swedish Mannequins Spark Internet Praise-A-Thon
By Elise Sol̩, Shine Staff | Healthy Living РThu, Mar 14, 2013
ImgurMore on Yahoo! Shine: Are These Plus-Size Mannequins Progressive or Just Weird?
Dressed in skimpy lingerie, the mannequins displayed softer stomachs, fuller thighs and generally more realistic proportions than the traditional department store models. For comparison, most mannequins in the U.S. are between a svelte size 4 or 6—a departure from the average American woman who is a size 14.
More on Yahoo! The Mannequins Are Watching You
On Tuesday, a blogger at Women's Rights News posted a photo of the department store mannequins to Facebook and the response was overwhelming. "It's about time reality hit..." wrote one out of almost 2,500 commentators. "Anybody saying these mannequins encourage obesity or look unhealthy, you have a seriously warped perception of what is healthy. I guarantee the "bigger" mannequin in the front there represents a perfect BMI" wrote another. As of Thursday, the photo had garnered almost 50,000 likes and shared almost 15,000 times. That's a lot of attention for a hunk of fiber glass and plastic.
There were rumors that the mannequins were on display at H&M in Sweden but a spokesperson told Shine: "The image is not from an H&M store. At this time, we are not using this type of mannequin, but we do not rule of the possibility of doing so in the future."
Mannequins have been around for thousands of years but their function in fashion is fairly recent, first appearing in store windows in the 1800s during the Industrial Revolution when window panes were installed in stores to display the latest fashion trends. Throughout WW1 and the Depression, mannequins changed their outfits and body proportions to reflect society at that time. Cut to the 1960s, when British mannequin firm Rootstein began modeling their dolls after pop culture and fashion icons to reflect runway trends at the time.
Modern-day mannequins have long been critiqued for having tiny proportions. In 2007, British health officials demanded that stores on London's fashionable High Street stop using stick-thin models in an effort to reflect the wide range of sizes and shapes of British women. In 2010, Club Monaco came under fire for featuring mannequins with protruding spines and clavicles. And in 2011, GAP was chastised by bloggers for mannequins with bone-thin legs modeling the "Always skinny" jeans display. “I'm wondering what the internal project name for this was at Gap HQ,” wrote one blogger. "Death-camp chic’? ‘Ana Pride’? ‘Famine fashion forward?"
And male mannequins haven't escaped scrutiny either. In 2010, Rootstein debuted male dolls under their "Young and Restless" collection modeled after teenage boys with 35-inch chests and 27-inch waists. The company had to defend its decision to use smaller models to eating disorders groups.
As much as the public contests these down-sized mannequins, when designers have attempted to create dolls that reflect real-life proportions they're met with criticism, even disgust. In late 2012, when a Reddit user posted a photo of an "obese mannequin" in satire, commentary ranged from "Ew, fat people", "It's embarrassing how obese America is" and the amusing, "He's not fat, just big foamed."
A recent published in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that women's self esteem takes a nosedive when exposed to models of any size, so maybe there is no easy answer. But as long as mannequins are influencing people to buy fashion, reflecting real-life bodies is a step in the right direction.
March 12, 2013
March 11, 2013
Like Bacon, Sausage and Hot Dogs? Then Beware: They May Raise Your Risk of Death...
Like Bacon, Sausage and Hot Dogs? Then Beware: They May Raise Your Risk of Death, New Study Finds
By Beth Greenfield, Shine Staff | Shine Food – Thu, 7 Mar, 2013 12:46 PM EST
Beware of bacon. Photo: Getty Images/Flickr/Cara SlifkaYou know in your gut (and your gut knows it, too) that bacon is bad for you. And yet you can’t resist. But a new study
might make it easier. It found that consuming high amounts of the
breakfast favorite and other processed meats can raise your risk of
premature death by 44 percent. The research, conducted by scientists across 10 European countries, included tracking the health of more than 450,000 participants over the course of a decade or more. Of the 26,000-plus who died during those years, the ones who ate the most processed meats—5.5 ounces or more every day of bacon (so, five strips), sausage, hotdogs, salami, ham and the like—were 44 percent more likely to have died than those who ate little or none. In other terms, the meats were to blame in about 1 in 30 deaths, the main causes of which were cancer and heart disease.
See more: 'Bacon Queen' wears dress made from...bacon
The aim of the study, "Meat Consumption and Mortality: Results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition," was to see how eating red meat, poultry and processed meat did or did not increase people’s risk of death. And while researchers found that eating lots of poultry was not to blame, and that consuming red meat was found only slightly to blame, it was clear that indulging in processed meats was a serious problem.
The good news, though, is that the scientists concluded people could prevent the higher risk of death simply by reducing their intake to less than three-quarters of an ounce of processed meat—about one slice of bacon—daily.
Research participants, recruited between 1992 and 2000 depending on the country, were between 35 and 70 years old, and answered questionnaires about their meat intake and other habits. But because the study was large, researchers were able to separate out factors like smoking and alcohol intake to find that intake of processed meat alone can send you to an early grave.
See more: Mediterranean diet may reduce heart attack and stroke risk by 30 per cent
The study used data only in France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, Greece, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. But folks in the US can also take the findings to heart, as recent data shows that Americans consume an average of 4.5 ounces of meat a day, and that 22 percent of that is of the processed variety.
So why are ham and hotdogs so unhealthy, exactly?
“Processed meats such as sausages, salami and bacon have a higher content of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol than fresh red meat,” the study reads, adding that the proportion of fat in sausages often reaches at least 50 percent of the weight.
“Both high saturated fat and cholesterol intake have been found to be related to the risk of coronary heart disease,” the findings continue. “Also, processed meat is treated by salting, curing, or smoking,” with processes that introduce carcinogens or their precursors, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic aromatic amines and nitrosamines.
Tofu Pup, anyone?
March 5, 2013
11 Common Errors in Thinking
According to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, we often feel anxious, upset and annoyed because of certain errors in our thinking. These are faulty ways of looking at life which are automatic - and also very common. However, if we identify and change our way of thinking then our feelings are reactions will be much healthier. These errors in thinking include the following:
1. All –or – Nothing Thinking: Where the person evaluates themselves, others, situations and the world in extreme categories. It doesn’t allow for grey areas in thinking. “I’m a terrible parent.”
2. Overgeneralizing: Thinking that because a bad experience happened once, then that’s the way it’s always going to be. For example, “I know I’ll fail my driving test. I’ve already failed it three times”.
3. Discounting the Positives: Ignoring the positive aspects of a situation and saying that they don’t count. For example, generally getting good marks in school – but not praising yourself for that. One paper gets some negative feedback and you tell yourself you’re a useless student. The positive results are ignored.
4. Jumping to Conclusions -This has two aspects to it: mind reading and fortune telling.
- Mind reading is thinking you know what others are thinking without any evidence. For example, a person with social anxiety assumes her colleagues think she’s useless at her job.
- Fortune telling is predicting that the future will turn out badly. For example, going for a routine mammogram and concluding that you have cancer.
5. Magnifying / Minimising: Evaluating the importance of a negative event, or the lack of evidence of a positive event, in a distorted manner. (Blowing things out of proportion.) For example, concluding that your sister doesn’t like you anymore because she forgot to send a birthday card.
6. Emotional Reasoning: Believing that something must be true because it feels true. For example, when your boyfriend is an hour late in arriving for a film, you conclude that he isn’t interested in you. You discount the fact that, maybe, the bus was late, or he was delayed at work.
7. Labelling: Using a label (bad mother, idiot) to describe a behaviour - and then taking on board everything associated with that label. Seeing things is global terms. For example, a friend says or does something thoughtless. You label then them as “a terrible friend” and now you interpret anything they say in a hostile and negative way.
8. Personalization and blame: Where a person totally blames themselves for something that’s gone wrong when it is not their fault. For example, a soccer team member thinks she’s “put the coach in a bad mood” because she missed a goal. She discounts the fact that the coach may have been annoyed before the game started. The opposite is to totally blame another for something. For example, a wife may blame her husband for the break up of their marriage and not admit that she had any part in it.
9. Catastrophizing: (Similar to fortune telling) Dwelling on the worst possible outcome. For example, an employee had to do a presentation. He became obsessed with thoughts of performing badly, letting the company down, losing his job, then losing his home and family.
10. Making “should” or “must” statements: Where the person has a fixed idea of how they, others or life should be. These become “rigid demands”. When they person is disappointed (as will inevitably happen) they become very upset and overestimate how bad this will be for them. For example, a student berates themselves for only getting 89% in an exam – when they wanted all their results to be in the 90s.
11. Selective abstraction: Dwelling on one negative detail instead of seeing the bigger picture. For example, a girl gets a haircut and 8 of her friends say they love it. One person says they preferred her old style. The girl thinks about that for hours and hours and wonders if she should have changed her hairstyle.
These 11 cognitive errors are all habits of thinking that are deeply ingrained. The good news is, like any habit, these patterns of thinking can be broken and discarded through awareness and practice.
March 4, 2013
always incandescent with desire
Forever Love by Tom Ford
“I am tired of the cult of youth. The cultural rejection of old age, the stigmatization of wrinkles, grey hair, of bodies furrowed by the years. I am fascinated by Diana Vreeland, Georgia O’Keeffe and Louise Bourgeois, women who have let time embrace them without ever cheating. Society today condemns this, me, I celebrate it. For this session of fine jewelry, I imagined a man and a woman who had been together for a long time, faithful to each other and always incandescent with desire.”
March 1, 2013
Be good to yourself...
Be good to yourself...
Fallen to the ground
It seems like I'm whole again
What can they do
I've learnt to take it
If only I knew then
The world is turning night and day
So love let it shine away
Reach out and touch the sun
Reach out and feel again
You've gotta reach out
Again
This situation,
Coming to the end
Now the light is back again
Touch the sun....
Come, touch the sun...
Fallen to the ground
It seems like I'm whole again
What can they do
I've learnt to take it
If only I knew then
The world is turning night and day
So love let it shine away
Reach out and touch the sun
Reach out and feel again
You've gotta reach out
Again
This situation,
Coming to the end
Now the light is back again
Fallen to the ground
It seems like I'm whole again
What can they do
I've learnt to take it
If only I knew then
The world is turning night and day
So love let it shine away
Reach out and touch the sun
Reach out and feel again
You've gotta reach out
Again
This situation,
Coming to the end
Now the light is back again
(Denise Austin’s) Top Tips for Fighting Belly Fat After 40
Denise Austin’s Top Tips for Fighting Belly Fat After 40
By Jenna Bergen | Prevention – Thu, 28 Feb, 2013
Kick up cardio workouts.
“I think it really helps if you focus on losing weight one week at a time,” says Austin. “Aim to eat healthy six days out of the week, and then enjoy what I call a “super splurge” on the seventh day. It helps you enjoy yourself and not feel so deprived, so you’re ready to recommit to healthy eating the following week.” Austin normally saves her super splurge for date night with her hubby. “I love to go out with my husband and a few friends on Friday or Saturday. Being from Southern California, Mexican food is my favorite, and I normally splurge on enchiladas and margaritas.” Yum!
http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/denise-austin%E2%80%99s-top-tips-for-fighting-belly-fat-after-40-150643611.html
Need a little inspiration to recommit to your exercise routine? Take a look at fitness queen Denise Austin, who, at age 55, looks better than many women in their 20s and 30s. Of course, the exercise DVD diva isn’t immune to the effects of aging—she’s just figured out how to offset them.
“As soon as I hit 48, any fat that normally would have gone onto my hips or thighs traveled to my middle,” says Austin. “It was frustrating, but I realized I needed to change up my workout and start watching my calories." Her secrets to a slim, sexy body after 40 can be found in her new book, Side Effect: Skinny. “After 30 years in the business, I know what works for woman my age and what works for me, and I’ve put together a plan that will help you lose weight, taking it one week at the time,” says Austin.
Want a sneak peek? We thought so. Read on for Austin’s top tips for blasting belly fat after 40.
“As soon as I hit 48, any fat that normally would have gone onto my hips or thighs traveled to my middle,” says Austin. “It was frustrating, but I realized I needed to change up my workout and start watching my calories." Her secrets to a slim, sexy body after 40 can be found in her new book, Side Effect: Skinny. “After 30 years in the business, I know what works for woman my age and what works for me, and I’ve put together a plan that will help you lose weight, taking it one week at the time,” says Austin.
Want a sneak peek? We thought so. Read on for Austin’s top tips for blasting belly fat after 40.
Kick up cardio workouts.
After age 30, every additional birthday candle that you blow out increases your risk for muscle loss. Which means you’re burning fewer calories, because a pound of muscle naturally burns more calories than a pound of fat. One way to offset this and avoid the middle-age muffin top: “Lengthen or boost the intensity of your cardio workouts,” says Austin. “You’ll burn more calories per sweat session.” Her favorite calorie-blaster: Interval walking. “I love it, and it’s really helped me keep off weight after hitting 50.” The best part is intervals are easy and all fitness levels can do them. “All you have to do is change the pace of your walk every two to four minutes, increasing your speed for a few minutes and then dropping back to a more moderate pace for a few minutes, and repeat that series for 30 minutes,” says Austin. “For the speed bursts, do a faster walk or break into a little jog. Just pump it out as best you can.”
Sneak in strength training.
“I’m really into compound exercises because they allow you to double the workout in half the time,” says Austin. “If you’re doing moves that target the entire body, like a squat with an overhead press or a lunge with a bicep curl, you can tighten and tone all your muscles in only seven minutes.”Adopt the 7-to-7 rule.
“Another trick that really helps me stay on track is to only eat between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Sunday through Thursday,” says Austin, who’s more lax about eating later on the weekends. “It’s really made a difference for me because it cuts out a lot of the extra noshing in the evening that can pack on pounds.” Tempted to snack? Sip on lemon water or herbal tea.Go green.
With your tea, that is. “I really believe that green tea is the key for all of us women who are gaining some weight around your middle,” says Austin, noting that research shows green tea extract may increase your calorie and fat burn. “I think that’s a big part of what’s helped me. I now drink one cup every day.”
Plan a food splurge.
http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/denise-austin%E2%80%99s-top-tips-for-fighting-belly-fat-after-40-150643611.html
February 25, 2013
What Does Hollywood Eat
What Does Hollywood Eat
Celebs Don’t Take Dieting Too Far. You Shouldn’t EitherCelebrities follow Hollywood diets such as the Zone and Pressed Juicery plans to get into amazing shape. Celebs choose healthy diets and exercise regularly to snap back into shape quickly. They have a balanced menu too. So, snack, processed, and fast food have to go. Limiting sugar-laden and high-sodium foods and refined carbohydrates is a healthy strategy.
The goal of healthy diets is to lose weight in a steady way, not to get pin thin, anorexic, and super skinny. There is nothing worse than sickly appearance. The goal of a healthy diet is to look and feel well. Celebrities don’t starve themselves but are picky about food and eat organic. Hormones found in poultry, meat, and dairy products make the body store fat. This is why, organic produce is the rage in Hollywood. Celebs stay away from packaged and processed meats and canned foods, which are loaded with sodium and preservatives. While there is no evidence that organic produce aids weight loss, it is part of a healthy diet. If you want to achieve that flat post-pregnancy tummy the Hollywood way, go organic!
Infographic courtesy of lowcarbfoods.org
Infographic via Infographic.ca
February 20, 2013
5 ‘healthy’ habits that are making you fat
 |
| olives, nuts + avocados – help to promote weight loss |
Cutting fat from your diet
Hands up who’s ever checked a packet and then rejected your food choice based on the fat content?If you’ve ever been on a diet, we’re guessing your hand is probably up. For many dieters, fat seems like the ultimate enemy. However, opting for low fat products can be much more of a diet disaster than opting for those that contain moderate amounts of fat.
Firstly, many low fat meals are packed with sugar to compensate, meaning that they can still inevitably lead to weight gain. Furthermore, contrary to what you may think, not all fats are good for you, and studies have found that eating good monounsaturated fats – found in olives, nuts and avocados – can actually help to promote weight loss.
 |
| use glass not plastic water bottle |
Drinking water
Drinking plenty of water is undoubtedly good for you; helping you to stay hydrated and energized and to keep your organs and digestive system in good condition. However, studies have shown that the chemicals found in water could also be making you fat.Not only have research results published in PLoS ONE shown that the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) found in plastic water bottles encourages the body to create more fat, our drinking water can also contain the hormone estrogen, which affects the way our bodies store fat. The more we are exposed to these chemicals, the harder it becomes to lose weight.
However, there’s no need to panic just yet – while ditching water clearly isn’t an option, experts suggest that filtering your water or using a reverse osmosis purification system can limit the chemicals you are exposed to.
Exercise
While exercise is essential for good health and, when approached correctly, can help you to shed excess pounds, many exercisers make vital mistakes that can lead to them gaining weight. Firstly, research has found that relying solely on exercise to manage your weight can actually be ineffective. Studies have shown that exercise, when not combined with dietary changes, does very little in respect to losing weight.
Looking on the bright side
While impulsive and optimistic people may be happier (and therefore have stronger immune systems) than their more anxious and pessimistic counterparts, research suggests that they could also have more trouble losing weight.According to research by America's National Institute on Ageing, impulsivity is the strongest predictor of who will become overweight. Furthermore, researchers from Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan studied obese women and men partaking in a six month weight loss program and found that those who were more positive and optimistic in their outlook lost the least weight.
It is believed that positivity may cause weight gain by causing optimists not to worry enough about their weight to resist temptation and stick to a strict healthy eating and fitness regime.
 |
| fructose (the sugar found in fruit) can help to trigger overeating |
Snacking on fruit
Fruit is undoubtedly nutritious, being packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. However, due to its healthy properties, many people overindulge on fresh fruit, juices and smoothies, forgetting about the fact that many fruits are also high in calories and sugar. Although fruit is healthy, remember that a calorie is still a calorie, and the ones in fruit are as likely to make you overweight as the ones in any other food.Furthermore, research results published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that fructose (the sugar found in fruit) can help to trigger overeating, as after consuming fructose the brain doesn’t register feelings of fullness and satiety as it does when we consume glucose. While it is still important we feed our bodies with the nutrients found in fruit, those struggling with their weight should ensure they don’t go overboard. You should also try to obtain some of these nutrients and fiber through vegetables, which are lower in sugar and calories.
Read more on realbuzz.com...
7 ‘good’ habits that are bad for your health
7 worst weight loss mistakes
10 Germiest Places in Your Home
The germiest places in your home
The less visible the spot, the more it could house unwanted dirt, mold, and bacteria.
Tips for cleaning
1. Underside of Rugs
To remove dust and dirt that's gone deep down into the rug, simply flip it over and vacuum the underside.
2. Blinds
The material they're made of - metal, wood, or fabric - determines how you dust them. For metal blinds, wipe with a sock lightly dampened with water or multi-purpose cleaner. For wood blinds follow the same procedure using only a little tap water. Do not overwet the wood and be sure to buff dry right away. For fabric blinds, go over the blinds with a dry microfiber cloth.
3. Credit Cards
These everyday essentials get handled by lots of people, and germs can lurk in the crevices around the numbers. Give debit and credit cards a quick cleaning with an alcohol wipe and let them air dry before placing them back in your wallet.
Related: How To Speed Clean Your Bathroom In Just Minutes
4. Kitchen Trash Can
Clean your can or the plastic liner in your utility room sink, the shower, or outside. (Be sure to disinfect the sink and shower afterwards). Thoroughly spray the trash can with a cleaner that contains bleach and let it stand for 10 minutes. Rinse and wipe clean. Before adding a new garbage bag, be sure the can is completely dry.
5. Plants
Outdoor plants are cleaned off by the rain, but houseplants become caked with dust. Spiff them up with water and a soft cloth, like an old t-shirt. Don't forget to inspect the dirt for mold. Overwatering plants can cause mold to develop on top of the soil. If you notice any, replace the soil.
6. Purse
Spot clean fabric bags with a gentle detergent solution like Woolite and flip the purse inside out to wipe down the inner lining. On finished leather purses, use a leather conditioning cleaner - I love Guardsman Leather Wipes. And, if you place your purse on the floor in a restaurant or even worse, in the ladies' room, never put it on your kitchen table or countertop.
Related: 10 Biggest Organizing Mistakes You Don't Realize You're Making
7. Top of the Refrigerator
I guess it's true what they say: "out of sight, out of mind". This definitely applies to the top of the refrigerator. Don't forget to wipe it down when you do the sides and handles.
8. Toothbrush Holder
Soak the holder in a solution of 1 part bleach to 3 parts water and rinse. Then air dry upside down. Or simply wash on the top rack of your dishwasher.
9. Vacuum Cleaner Brushes & Attachments
You clean out the dust container or replace the bag routinely but when was the last time you cleaned the vacuum upholstery tool or brush roll? Check your manual for the how-to. Using scissors, cut off any carpet fibers or hair entangled around the brush.
Related: 16 Ways to Fake a Clean House - Fast
10. Yoga Mat After a few sessions, you probably notice that your sweaty hands and feet are leaving dirty marks on your mat, which can lead to yucky bacteria growth. Most mat manufacturers recommend occasionally hand cleaning their products with water and mild soap. All-purpose cleaners can eat away at the material.
What's your secret to a germ-free house? Let me know in the comments!
--By Christina Peterson
To remove dust and dirt that's gone deep down into the rug, simply flip it over and vacuum the underside.
2. Blinds
The material they're made of - metal, wood, or fabric - determines how you dust them. For metal blinds, wipe with a sock lightly dampened with water or multi-purpose cleaner. For wood blinds follow the same procedure using only a little tap water. Do not overwet the wood and be sure to buff dry right away. For fabric blinds, go over the blinds with a dry microfiber cloth.
3. Credit Cards
These everyday essentials get handled by lots of people, and germs can lurk in the crevices around the numbers. Give debit and credit cards a quick cleaning with an alcohol wipe and let them air dry before placing them back in your wallet.
Related: How To Speed Clean Your Bathroom In Just Minutes
4. Kitchen Trash Can
Clean your can or the plastic liner in your utility room sink, the shower, or outside. (Be sure to disinfect the sink and shower afterwards). Thoroughly spray the trash can with a cleaner that contains bleach and let it stand for 10 minutes. Rinse and wipe clean. Before adding a new garbage bag, be sure the can is completely dry.
5. Plants
Outdoor plants are cleaned off by the rain, but houseplants become caked with dust. Spiff them up with water and a soft cloth, like an old t-shirt. Don't forget to inspect the dirt for mold. Overwatering plants can cause mold to develop on top of the soil. If you notice any, replace the soil.
6. Purse
Spot clean fabric bags with a gentle detergent solution like Woolite and flip the purse inside out to wipe down the inner lining. On finished leather purses, use a leather conditioning cleaner - I love Guardsman Leather Wipes. And, if you place your purse on the floor in a restaurant or even worse, in the ladies' room, never put it on your kitchen table or countertop.
Related: 10 Biggest Organizing Mistakes You Don't Realize You're Making
7. Top of the Refrigerator
I guess it's true what they say: "out of sight, out of mind". This definitely applies to the top of the refrigerator. Don't forget to wipe it down when you do the sides and handles.
8. Toothbrush Holder
Soak the holder in a solution of 1 part bleach to 3 parts water and rinse. Then air dry upside down. Or simply wash on the top rack of your dishwasher.
9. Vacuum Cleaner Brushes & Attachments
You clean out the dust container or replace the bag routinely but when was the last time you cleaned the vacuum upholstery tool or brush roll? Check your manual for the how-to. Using scissors, cut off any carpet fibers or hair entangled around the brush.
Related: 16 Ways to Fake a Clean House - Fast
10. Yoga Mat After a few sessions, you probably notice that your sweaty hands and feet are leaving dirty marks on your mat, which can lead to yucky bacteria growth. Most mat manufacturers recommend occasionally hand cleaning their products with water and mild soap. All-purpose cleaners can eat away at the material.
What's your secret to a germ-free house? Let me know in the comments!
--By Christina Peterson
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