Objective of this Sub-Forum

“Just Home and Love! the words are small
Four little letters unto each;
And yet you will not find in all
The wide and gracious range of speech
Two more so tenderly complete:
When angels talk in Heaven above,
I'm sure they have no words more sweet
Than Home and Love.”


Home is what we share with our dearest families. To most of us, it is a place of comfort, where we can relax and be ourselves. Shed all our inhibitions, climb into something comfortable and let go. Some call it their temple, some their palace. But for all of us, it is HOME.

A house can be big or small, a humble hut or a mansion. It is the people who reside in it and share love, respect and compassion that transform the house into a Home. In order to sail smoothly with our daily lives and to add sanity to the overall hectic schedules that most of us have to meet today, a sort of organization and a welcoming cleanliness in the home is a necessity. As the saying goes. “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”

In my case, I must have moved atleast a dozen times (!) if not more. My moves were not just from one house to another or even from one city to another, but also from one country to another!! I have spent a lot of my time trying to make a HOME for my family in all sorts of environments and situations. I have tried to turn characterless little apartments and old rambling houses into a ‘home sweet home’! After all the effort put into it, it always felt good when anyone complimented on our home.

A house plays a very major role in our lives and most of us ladies (and men too) take pride in our homes. So let us use this forum to share tips, suggestion and advise regarding decorating , cleaning or fixing things in our homes and gardens. There must be many brilliant ideas out there and let us join together here and share them.


Love and regards,
Kamla


Please Note :
I wish to thank my dear friend Chitra Viswanathan for kindly suggesting the name " Ideal Home" for this sub-forum. Thank you Chitra, you are always so innovative and generous and and and..!!

Hi Kamla,

Really wonderful to see the new sub forum ideal Home. Great title and I am sure great ideas will be discussed here. Homes are where the heart is and I am sure this forum will be one of the hearty ones in IL.

Your experience of moving houses dozens of times sounds familiar. In the last few years, I have lived in a student Hall, a Mews house, a hytte, a log cabin and now a canal house with a resident spirit.

My one dream of living in a modern, purpose built house evades me.

Great going, Kamla.

L
Vidya

Dear Vidya,

Thanks for the encouraging words

O wow, your residing manner sure sounds romantic! With experiences like that, who would want to live in a four walled and flat roofed den anyways?!

L, Kamla

So what if it is just four walled & flat roofed den ? It is still " Home Sweet Home" !
Even after my birds have flown away to make their own nest, I still take pride in my " ideal home" - because this is where my heart is.
Why give me special credit, Kamla - such acknowledgements sound formal between us I L friends ! Please relax, Kamla !
Love & regards,
Chithra.

Dear Chitra,

With you around, I am nothing but relaxed!
True, your home is where your heart is and that was also my intention when I said what I did to our young friend Vidya...spirited canal house or log cabins, it can become a sweet home...only...your heart has to be in it!
And Chitra, I have to give the credit where it is due..right?!

L, Kamla

dear vidya,
ever dreamt of a home of this kind...rice boat in swiss waters....regards sunkan

Dear Kamla,
it is very nice of you to start this thread, I am looking forward to reading tips from you experts. I keep my house "home", but not a very beautiful house. I want it to be a beautiful home. So, waiting for suggestions. And I envy you for such experience as changing many places, I am stuck in Chennai for the past 19 years and before in TVM for 24 years.
And Vidya, your homes seem to be vry romantic to me. You could get to stay in a proper hose anytime, but homes as yours- only very few people get that previlage.
But then, the other side is always greener, what do you say?
With warm wishes,
varloo

Dear Kamla,

For ladies normally, home is heaven, home is temple, home is a beautiful nest where we rest. with both my daughter & myself being a home-bird, your title, IDEAL HOME, jsut reading it makes me feel so ecstatic. Whenever we go out on a holiday & come back, we literally run into every room of our house & just feel our house. Like they say, A man travels the world over in search of his needs and returns home to find it. the immense peace that you feel at home is onething you never get anywhere outside.

Looking forward to some great tips from experienced ladies. so, where do we start from??? what kind of tips are we sharing here??? Home is one word with so many compartments, & each one inturn with so many divisions. Home is one place which takes care of so many of our requirements (basic to complex) - what exactly are we gonna share here in this thread????

I'm eager to read more..........

Dear Meena,

It is the second time within a week that another of your quotes has impressed me immensely! Also, it is a great link that you have provided for quotes..thanks!
As for this forum, we can discuss or share anything :cleaning tips, organising tips, repair tips or even living habits and adjustment problems one has within one's four walls. Such sharing can help all of us to improve the qualitiy of our lives in our own sanctuary called home.
Like you, I am also a home bird and my husband too is his happiest at home! I can empathize so well with you when you say you come home after a vacation and run into all rooms just to get the feel of it!! Believe me, we have done exactly the same thing..ha ha. It was very hard on us when we had to wind up in Germany where we had so lovingly built our house and move to US. Amazingly, we now feel 'at home' here. I guess what matters is the spirit we share with each other and our abode.

L, Kamla

How often it happens! We wear our nice skirt, shirt, sari etc to a do and get home after a couple of hours still smelling of the place we have been in?! This is especially true of our men who wear their dress shirts or a nice jacket to a meeting or company get together and come home still smelling of cigarettes or the pub they have been in! One may not personally drink or smoke, but our clothes seem to absorb the smell of the surroundings. It is a shame and a hassle to wash those nice clothes after such a brief wear. The ideal solution would be to air them on a line in fresh air. But for those of us to whom such 'fresh air' is a luxury (yes, believe it or not!), the best bet would be to place the garment in the dryer along with a fabric softener cloth and run the machine for few minutes....And lo behold...your garment smells fresh and you can hang it back in the closet!
For those who are against using fabric softeners, I sometimes spray my (or his!) favorite cologne on to a small cloth and place it in the dryer instead. Works wonders.

L, Kamla