Tip Tuesday: Week #5

Ever step on a pin sticking up in the carpet?  Lose a needle somewhere?  It happened to me on a regular basis.  When we moved into the home we live in now, we had the opportunity to put in new flooring of our choice.  While my husband likes carpet in bedrooms, I am a huge fan of having linoleum or hardwood flooring in every room.  I have terrible allergies, so I take any chance to avoid harboring pollen and dust mites.  Honestly, having two children, I would prefer flooring that could be pressure-washed, possibly even flooring with a slope down to a drain for the ease of cleaning up spilled milk and muddy footprints.  I explained to my husband that carpets were a Lego's worst enemy, and that Play-Doh would become our nemesis.  If you've ever taken carpet up, you've seen the dirt that has sifted through the carpet, settling between the carpet and the mat.  It didn't take long to convince my husband that carpet wasn't the way to go.  After careful review of installation costs and the actual lifetime of the flooring, we came to an agreement:  Linoleum for the bathroom, laundry room, and my craft room, with hardwood for the rest of the house.  We went with Bamboo for the majority of the house, and we love it.  It has worked out very nicely, as I do not feel carpet ever really comes clean, and I can definitely see when these floors are clean or dirty. My favorite benefit of our flooring, is that my pins and needles are easily found. 

The Tip?  Regardless of what flooring you may have in your workspace, get yourself a magnet to locate rogue pins and needles.  I have a magnetic pin cushion I "borrowed" from my mom in addition to those cute little pin cushions I love so much.  During the actual sewing phase of my project, I don't have time for putting the pins back into a cushion, so this magnet helps me speed things along.  These magnetic pin cushions are available at most sewing or office supply stores.  Keep an eye out for a wand version.  I found one at a children's toy store, and it's handy for finding pins and needles. 

On a side note, do you see the squares hiding under the shade?  Those are post-its.  I have a lot of things on my to-do list, and each one of those items is scheduled on my calendar, but is also written down on a post-it.  The post-its are organized and re-organized on my window to help me prioritize which project is in the fast lane, and which project can wait a day or two.  Try it out, you might like it. 

I'm halfway through my Ten Week Tip Tuesday bit, and I'm thinking it's time to get some more likes on the Facebook page.  Who's up for a give-away?!?  Leave a comment below!!