Author: By Marni Jameson Special to The Gazette
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At Home: Busting 10 reasons we cling to stuff we don’t need
The start of a new year, as we come off a season of over consumption, is the ideal time to harness those feelings of guilty excess and summon the resolve to lighten up. If we are ever going to cut through the clutter that has accumulated in our closets, drawers, cupboards and garages, this is…
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At Home: Lessons learned from 2024
As we close the calendar on 2024, we come to my year-end ritual, the one where we look back at the past 50 columns, at the trials, tribulations, tips and takeaways, and pull one bit of advice from each month that’s noteworthy. In JANUARY, the month we’re supposed to take a wide-eyed inventory of our…
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At Home: Hang up your pride and let the pros hang the holiday lights
One of my core beliefs is that you can learn everything you need to know about a man by the way he handles a string of Christmas lights. When confronted with tangled cords, burned-out bulbs and hanging hassles, does he joyfully whistle “Deck the Halls,” or does he get red-faced, start swearing, and send the…
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At Home: Odors be gone! Air purifiers help clear the air
Until recently, I was blissfully breathing, unaware of the microscopic particles — the dust mites, dander, pollen, mold, viruses, pet smells, germs, cooking odors, twelfth-hand smoke and who knows what else — lurking under my nose. Then, as I was researching last week’s column, in which I dusted up a fuss about pet fur and…
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Fur patrol: 7 ways to bust pet fuzz at home
“Do you have a cat?” a colleague asks me during a business meeting. “No, why?” We both look down at my black pants, which are covered in blond fur. “A dog,” I say, smiling meekly, “two, actually,” as if that somehow excuses my dogged appearance. “I have a cat,” she adds, trying to sound sympathetic,…
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At Home: Heirloom photographer elevates common keepsakes
Ticket stubs, a set of keys, a pair of jeans, a faded airline boarding pass, a marriage proposal scrawled on the back of a receipt, worn-out work boots, slobbered-on tennis balls. These ordinary but dear items are among the keepsakes photographer Shana Novak has dignified through photography and captured on the pages of her addicting…
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At Home: Down bedding is a shifty business
My friend Bud, who lives in Florida half the year and in his North Carolina cabin the other half, recently texted me with a baffling problem. Literally, he was baffled by the lousy baffling in several down comforters he’d purchased. Bud knows inferior bedding is a topic I do not take lying down, so he…
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At Home: Quietly accessible furniture aids aging in place with safety and style
Knees get cranky, backs get stiff, balance isn’t what it used to be. Age isn’t easy on us. But the right furniture can make it easier. And, finally, one major furniture retailer is leaning into that with a line of “quietly accessible” furniture that looks like it belongs in a home, not a rehab center.…
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At Home: Make your home romantic — within limits, says new book
”There is no energy unless there is a tension of opposites.” — psychiatrist Carl Jung I like spare interiors, and I like beautifully adorned rooms. I like crystal chandeliers and rustic tables. I like carved gilded mirrors and industrial light fixtures. I like modern furniture alongside antiques. And I like it all at the same…