Household Hints by Rosemary - Spring Redecorating

(Grassroots Page 19)

We're getting a jump on spring cleaning and redecorating. My husband is painting throughout the house and I'm repapering the walls where we like to have a touch of wallpaper. Wallpapering done properly, to me is complicated; I just muddle along in my own way and do a fair job that I'm happy with, but wouldn't presume to give anyone advice. However, I did come up with some time and stress savers that I thought I could pass on.
Standing on a ladder to paint the ceiling is no longer necessary, the major home renovation centers have extension sticks for rollers that will reach up to twelve feet, and I think in some cases further. This was a big help and the ceiling paint that goes on blue or pink then turns white as it dries is another great innovation.
Have a large plastic bin to put prints and paintings, clocks, wall hangings or other decorations in. Have a smaller covered plastic container to put picture hangers, outlet covers and the accompanying screws, nails and picture hangers in. When you're ready to put the room back together all the pieces are where you can find them, easy to clean and ready to be reinstalled. Keep the screwdrivers you used to remove the items in the same container and you won't have to search them out again.
As I've gotten older, I'm nervous standing on a ladder but a three level stepstool is just perfect.   I'm not a tall person, but the top step is high enough that I can reach the top of the wall without a stretch and wide enough that I can stand comfortably, making paper hanging and matching the pattern much easier. Even so, getting up and down the stepstool for various tools is a chore. To overcome the hassle, when removing the old paper, wear a bib apron with large pockets, having a bib with a tie around your neck will help to keep the apron in place once you've filled the pockets with the following: a small tack hammer to remove picture hangers, a small spray bottle prepared with water, a scoring tool to pierce the paper and allow water to penetrate, a plastic scraper (don't use a metal putty knife as it will leave dark marks on the wall). Once the old paper is removed, use a clean squeegee sponge mop and clean water to help remove any residue paste. Get a tube of prepared drywall repair to fill cracks and holes made by screws or nails. Be sure the wall is clean and dry before hanging the new pattern.
Putting the new paper up, in your pockets you'll need the edge roller, a plastic smoother and a pair of small sharp scissors; don't use the cutting knife on wet paper, it's more likely to tear, the scissors will give you a clean cut to corners or window edges. I wait until the paper is completely dry before trimming away any excess and use the scraper to guide the utility knife. Instead of along the wall, at the bottom edge cut down toward the baseboard and at the ceiling cut towards the ceiling. Hope this helps those of you who are tackling a re-do.

You can contact Rosemary at gazette@telus.net.