I get asked all the time about how I keep all the white in my house clean. I love white and how it makes a space feel so fresh and open. I also have two children and a lot of traffic that comes through our home. There is even more white at our new house than we had at our townhouse. So, I am letting you in on a few tricks I have learned.

Do not use Clorox wipes on your white cabinets. It will ruin the finish. It may take the dirt away for now, but over time it will leave a dulling film. Simple Green is your friend! It takes away the dirt without leaving a film. Simple Green has been a life saver. After every meal, I have to wipe down the island where my kids eat. Their dirty little footprints and food are covered all over the cabinets. I used to buy the spray bottles of Simple Green and paper towels to wipe down everything. Sometimes I would get lazy and not want to do that. I would just use plain old wet wipes. They didn’t really get the stains out. Or worse, I would use a Clorox wipe. Then I found these, Simple Green wet wipes! Seriously, changed my life by having these around. Wiping down everything is such a breeze. I also have white IKEA barstools. They usually are covered in the kids latest meal too. I can use Simple Green wipes to get the island and barstools all wiped down after every meal , quickly and easily.

The nice thing about having white bedding is bleach. I really haven’t even had a problem with our white bedding. Our master bedroom is the hub for our nighttime routine. We hang out there, read, talk, pray, and play. We have had our white bedding for 2 years and it still looks as white as it did the day I brought it home. I wash it regularly and spot treat, if needed, with Oxi Clean.

Our Rugs USA rug in the living room has taken a beating. I would not recommend this white rug in a living room. It does tend to show a lot of dirt and stains. They always come right out when I clean it, but it is a pain to keep clean. I will not have this rug in the living room at the new house. It will be going to a low traffic area, such as our master bedroom.

Tile grout is my nemesis. In our townhouse, we did not seal the grout when we moved in. It was nice and white for a few weeks, then it turned brown. Lesson learned, seal your grout on day one. I spent countless hours on my hands and knees using Grout Renew from Home Depot. I love this product. It took our grout back to the nice white color it used to be, and sealed it, all at once. Our entire main floor was tile , except for the living room. So, it took some time to apply but the finished result was worth it! At the new house, I will be sealing the grout before we move in!

I always keep baby wet wipes handy. They work wonders for wiping down the walls and baseboards. Food and fingerprints always seem to be smeared across our walls. I just grab a few wet wipes and easily wipe them off. Wet wipes work great for walls, in my experience, but not so much for bar stools and cabinets.

Now, let’s talk about sofas. I have always had leather because of durability. However, that changed a few years ago. I got my first, light colored fabric sofa. I was nervous and did not want to even sit on it. I would just admire it from afar. Let’s be real, that did not last long. I bought the protection plan for an extra $100, that also came with the entire sofa scotch guarded. I highly recommend this! Scotch Guard is amazing. The protection plan gives me such a peace of mind with kids. It pretty much covers any damage and stains that won’t come out. It really is worth the extra money. The new sofas I have picked out are also a light fabric. I will definitely be adding the protection plan to these beauties too.

I think that covers most of the things that help me keep my white house looking white. If you have any other tips, please do share in a comment below!

The following post contains affiliate links and is sponsored by Close5. Read my full disclosure here.

I am a bargain hunter (in most cases). It is what I do. I love yard sales and garage sales. I have been starting to collect decor for our new house. It takes time and I want to make sure I love the pieces. When I found this little wood tool box, I knew instantly how I wanted to transform this piece. I have to tell you how I came across this little gem. I downloaded this awesome buy and sell app for Android called Close5 (check out their Instagram for awesome inspiration). It is right up my alley and don’t worry the buy and sell app for iPhone is available too. The app is free and you can buy and sell items within a radius in your area (or any area). It is so easy to use. All of the communication with buyers and sellers are private through the selling app . I love that the alerts just pop up on my phone, about the items I have shown interest in. You have to give it a try!

When this beauty came available, I quickly snatched it up. I know it looks basic but I had a vision for what it could be. My husband was extremely underwhelmed when I showed him. I assured him that it would look good when I was done. I brought it home and decided to get rid of the middle rod. It did not jive with the look I was going for.

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Next, was the refinishing. This box is made of pine. My first step was a light sanding using 150 grit sandpaper. Then I used wood conditioner. I like to use wood conditioner because it allows the stain to not penetrate as deep. I let the conditioner dry for 45 minutes. Then it was time to apply the stain. I just cut up an old shirt and wiped on the stain in the direction of the grain. Minwax “Early American” is still my favorite stain color. I let the stain dry for a couple hours in the sun.

Once it was dry, I applied my shellac. Since I was going to use liming wax, the shellac was a must. The shellac allows the liming wax to grip to the wood better. After the shellac dried for an hour or two, I went over the box with 150 grit sand paper. I also went over the box with a brass bristle brush (in the direction of the grain). This helps open the pores of the wood. That allows the liming wax to show up better. I wiped all the dust off and applied my liming wax. I used a putty knife to scrape it over the wood surface. I did one side at a time and let it sit for a minute or two. I then took my rag and wiped off the excess liming wax. I sanded a few areas more to lighten the white wax. Now the box was complete…NOT! I had to hit up IKEA and grab some of my favorite bottles. I found these cute striped hand towels while I was there too. I may, or may not, have brought this to the new house (just to snap a pic against my newly installed backsplash).

                                                                   

Let’s recap this dreamy finshish:

*Wood conditioner

*Early American Minwax Stain

*Shellac

*Brass bristle brush sanding

*Liming Wax

* Sanding to liking

I love how it turned out and I can’t wait to find more goodies on Close5 for our house.

 

I have been talking about refinishing my dining room table forever. It will be the third makeover since I got the table off a yard sale site years ago. This time, I am just refinishing the top. I will leave the legs white. It has taken me so long to figure what color and look I want. I have been testing out stain colors like crazy.

I first tried Special Walnut. I really liked the color but I wanted something a little lighter. In truth, I bought about six different miniature cans of Min Wax stain from Wal-Mart to test all the colors. My two favorites were Special Walnut and Early American. I chose Early American because it was slightly lighter and I like the tones of it. Today I was at Home Depot and even bought two more cans of different colors to try. I know, I’m out of control. I just want to make sure I have it right before I put it on my actual table. So for now, Early American is winning.

I had this pallet board I made laying around. I figured it would be perfect to test all my colors. I took 1×6 pine boards and laid them horizontally (cut to my desired size). Then, I took two more vertical 1×6 boards (cut to the length of the horizontal boards) and place them at each end of my horizontal boards. I used wood screws down the vertical boards to secure it all in place. I originally had planned on this being the top of our toy box we made. I never ended up putting it on because I did not want my kids smashing their fingers. It sat in the garage forever until this little stain experiment.

I wanted to make a quick video about how I apply my stain to the wood. Go check it out on my YouTube channel. I found some old soft cotton pants I did not want any more and cut them up. I got a lot of rags cut out of those pants to use for my stain testing ( you can also buy lint-free rags or use an old T-shirt). Then, I applied Minwax wood conditioner. I did not want the raw wood to soak up a lot of the stain. After the conditioner dried for about thirty minutes to an hour, I then applied my Early American stain. I take my rag, dip it lightly in stain, and then wipe it on the wood in the direction of the grain. Super easy. Continue to do this until all of the piece of wood is covered. After you wipe the stain on, let it cure for twenty-four hours. Really, applying stain is so simple. Next, I will be showing you all about liming wax. I have some expected to arrive next week. I love the look of liming wax and can’t wait to show you all about it.

P.S. I am loving my new magnolia wreath from Hobby Lobby.