For those of us that live in old houses—from before the 1950s—there are design quirks that act as conversation starters. Even though we’re scratching our heads at some old home features, they were perfectly functional 75 years ago. But those details don’t make the most sense now. There’s no need to have a coal door or an icebox door today, right?
If you have a small door next to your closet, it had a purpose in the ’50s and ’60s. Here’s what those little doors in old houses were for!
What People Think the Doors For
If you have a mini door next to a closet in the hallways, you can rest easy, because it isn’t for someone to hide in. The doors are usually narrow, about 12 inches in width and less than half the height of a standard closet. They’ve got some depth to them, too, usually about three feet.
Often, most people assume this door conceals a luggage closet. Keeping it next to a closet would be logical. But the space seems a little tight for a large suitcase, especially since old suitcases didn’t have wheels. Other popular guesses include linen storage, or space for an ironing board.
In some old houses, the little doors are designated storage space for a card table! These small spaces were meant to keep card tables—which almost everyone had in the 1950s—tucked away neat and tidy until you had company over.
As with some of the household designs mentioned before, this might not make much sense to us now, especially when those of us in the Midwest have basements that are perfect for storage. Keep in mind that card games were a prime source of entertainment and socializing in the ’50s, and it would’ve made since to be able to stow a card table in a hall closet.
Halloween is one of the best family holidays of the year. The kids get to have fun with costumes, friends and trick or treat, while parents get to invest in spooky decor and talk about Halloween from years past.
But Halloween doesn’t look the same for everyone. While you’re passing out candy to all the boys and girls during trick-or-treating this year, keep an eye out for kids with a blue Halloween candy bucket.
What Does a Blue Halloween Bucket Mean?
In recent years, a blue Halloween bucket has become an unofficial signifier for kids with autism and autism awareness. While trick-or-treating has been happening for close to 100 years, using blue buckets has only just begun to gain footing. Neighbors came together and started posting on Facebook and other forms of social media to bring awareness to the practice as early as 2018.
Why Are the Blue Buckets Important?
We’re all pretty used to the normal Halloween night practices when it comes to trick or treat. Kids ring the doorbell, say “trick or treat” and swiftly receive some form of sugar-filled compensation. But, it’s important to note that some children with autism may be nonverbal.
Because of this, saying “trick or treat!” as soon as the door is opened may not happen, but that doesn’t mean that child doesn’t still deserve the best Halloween candy you can buy. Seeing the blue bucket and being aware is the most important step!
What About Teal Pumpkins?
Look out for teal pumpkins on Halloween, too. This is used to raise awareness for children with food allergies and food-related medical conditions. It’s an important issue to think about when it comes to passing out candy with potential common allergens like gluten and peanuts. For kids with food allergies, we like these allergy-free Halloween treats.
Just remember that a little bit of knowledge and kindness can go a long way—and can even turn a regular day into a memory a child will hold onto forever.
As Halloween gets closer, you’re sure to see plenty of orange pumpkins on stoops and porches. But what if you see a teal pumpkin? These non-traditional pumpkins are much more than decor, and they serve an important purpose.
The Teal Pumpkin Project
The Teal Pumpkin Project is an effort by the Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) organization to raise awareness of food allergies and promote inclusion of all trick-or-treaters during the Halloween season. This project originated as a local activity by the Food Allergy Community of East Tennessee and has since become a worldwide event. According to FARE, teal is the color for food allergy awareness and has been used to raise awareness about food-related medical conditions for 20 years. Those who participate in the project place a teal painted pumpkin outside their door and provide non-food treats to trick-or-treaters on Halloween.
Food Allergies Are Increasing
The incidence of food allergies is on the rise. According to FARE, one in 13 children has a food allergy. Even tiny amounts of allergens can cause serious, if not life-threatening, reactions in those affected by food allergies. Traditional Halloween candy and chocolate treats are rife with common food allergens, including ingredients derived from wheat, eggs, soy, nuts and milk. Participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project allows children who are affected by food allergies to still participate in Halloween trick-or-treating activities and not feel left out from the festivities.
How To Participate
Placing a teal pumpkin on your doorstep or at the front of your home is the first step. You can add your location to the Teal Pumpkin Project map to let trick-or-treaters know your stop is food-allergen safe. Recommended non-food treats include small containers of bubbles, spider rings, glow sticks, pencils, stickers or finger puppets. And if you do participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project, that doesn’t mean you can’t also provide traditional treats as well. If you do provide both non-food and candy treats, FARE recommends asking trick-or-treaters if they have a food allergy or just give each child the option to choose which kind of treat he or she would like.
There are ways to support for certain issues without outright telling everyone we meet. People use teal pumpkins during Halloween to show awareness of children’s food allergies and blue pumpkin buckets to spread awareness for autism. It’s a great ways to spark conversations about issues that deserve the spotlight without seeming in-your-face.
So why do some people use green porch lights? This one doesn’t have to do with Halloween or Christmas, but it is related to another holiday.
What Does a Green Porch Light Mean?
It started in 2013 with a campaign led by Walmart, called the “Greenlight a Vet Campaign.” This campaign worked to guarantee jobs for honorably discharged U.S. veterans after they returned home from service. In addition, Walmart also encouraged members of their communities to change their porch lights to green in order to show appreciation for veterans across the nation.
The campaign described the color green as renewal and hope. With all of these positive ideas in mind, Walmart hoped to start a new conversation about U.S. veterans as valued members of every community. You’ll still see these green lights around November 11, which is Veterans Day.
Occasionally, some will also use green porch lights to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
What’s the Best Light for My Porch?
When choosing outdoor lights, like a green light for your front porch, look carefully at the amount of lumens. The more lumens, the brighter the bulb. This 229-lumen bulb has a softer light and should generally work well for your porch, but if you don’t have many lights outside, you may need to have your single light do the work of many. In this case, look for a light like this 720-lumen bulb.
If you live where there are four distinct seasons, you can feel it in your bones when the growing season nears its end and it’s time to wind things down in your landscape.
Even if you garden where winter isn’t severe, you’ll notice some of your shrubs and flowers growing slower and losing some color in the fall. That’s because decreasing daylight and cooler nighttime temperatures let your plants know winter is on the horizon.
You’ve worked so hard to achieve an amazing garden, so take a moment in late fall to complete these last few simple tasks to close things down. Your efforts now will have a lasting positive impact on your landscape you’ll appreciate next spring. If you’re looking to learn how to close up your vegetable garden for winter, that’s a different topic.
Garden Winterization Tasks To Do Now
By the time the first frost hits, or by late December in frost-free climates, you’ve likely finished your gardening for the season and prepared your lawn for fall. Let’s talk about a few jobs you may not have thought to tackle yet, plus a few more that are important to continue until winter arrives.
Fall watering
Keeping the plants in your landscape watered consistently until the ground freezes is one of the most effective actions you can take to help them survive the winter damage-free.
The ground stays warmer than the air in the fall, stimulating plant roots to grow vigorously this time of year. It’s especially true of perennials, shrubs and recently-planted trees. Extend the time for them to become established in the fall by keeping the ground moist and mulching around their roots.
Fall watering is extra critical for evergreen plants, including conifers and broadleaf evergreens. Going into winter fully hydrated helps them avoid winter burn on their foliage. Keep them watered consistently until the ground freezes, or throughout the winter months in freeze-free regions.
Mulch plants before winter
Many people mulch their garden beds in the spring, but fall is also a critical time of year to protect the roots of your plants. Mulch helps keep the soil moist and warm, which helps plants continue growing strong.
Perennials, shrubs and trees planted in your landscape this season should take priority for mulch. Spread a three- to four-inch layer of shredded leaves, bark chips or shredded wood around the base of the plant. Don’t lay it right up against the trunk or crown; that prevents insect and rodent damage.
Top-dress garden beds
Most of us garden where the soil isn’t ideal, whether it’s heavy clay, nutrient-poor sand or hard as a rock. That’s where top–dressing your beds in late fall can help. When you add a thin layer of compost or a fluffy layer of shredded leaves on top of your garden beds after your plants go dormant, it greatly improves the structure of your soil over time.
If you repeat this task faithfully, your garden soil will take on a looser, loamy texture and grow rich in the nutrients that help plants thrive. If there’s no time to do it in the fall, don’t skip it for a year. Reschedule this task for early spring before your plants wake back up.
Apply animal repellent in late fall or early winter
Here’s a garden task that many people forget and pay for later with gnawed perennial crowns and stripped tree and shrub bark. Critters like mice, voles, rabbits and deer are still active outside in the winter looking for food. Don’t let your prized hydrangea tree fall victim to voles!
Before the fallen leaves blanket your garden, or at least by the time the ground freezes, put out animal repellent. To deter mice, voles and rabbits, spray the lower 18 inches of young trees, shrubs and vines with a liquid repellent, like Plantskydd, that doesn’t wash off in the rain or snow.
Next, spray the trunks of young trees at eye level to help deter deer from using them as scratching posts. Damage from that scratching, called “buck rub,” can kill the tree if deer rub off enough bark. Tree wraps are also an effective defense against critters.
For extra protection, sprinkle a granular animal repellent on the ground around the crowns of plants. Coral bells and coneflowers are favorites of rabbits and voles, especially when hidden under the leaves or snow. You can’t overuse animal repellent, so feel free to apply it to any plants you’re worried about.
When planting spring bulbs before winter, take extra precautions against squirrels, chipmunks and voles by spraying your bulbs with liquid animal repellent and letting them dry first. Then plant them. If these rodents still foil your bulb planting, you may need to plant the bulbs inside a physical barrier like a chicken wire basket.
Store away or switch out your flower pots
If you live where frost and snow are common, empty and store the flower pots by early winter to avoid damaged. This is especially important for terra cotta, ceramic and plastic pots, which can easily crack from winter’s freeze-and-thaw cycles. Bring the pots into an unheated shed or garage if possible, or turn them upside down and store them in a sheltered spot outdoors.
Early winter is the perfect time to swap out fall container plants for winter evergreen boughs and berry-laden branches to keep things festive. Just be sure you’re choosing frostproof containers. If you live in a frost-free climate, situate them out of the elements.
Know which perennials to cut back in late fall
If you’re growing several kinds of perennials in your landscape, you might be wondering which should be cut back in late fall versus in the spring. While most can wait out the winter intact, there are a few specific guidelines to follow when preparing your garden for winter.
Don’t cut back evergreen perennials, or those with hollow or woody stems. They tend to overwinter better if they are cut back in the spring.
Perennials with these traits should be cut back in late fall:
Any herbaceous perennials with diseased parts, like bee balm covered in powdery mildew. Some diseases, like the one causig black spots to form on black-eyed Susans, overwinter in the soil and reinfect the plants again the following year. It’s important to bag and dispose of diseased foliage rather than composting it.
Hostas and similar thick-foliage perennials make easy hiding places for harmful insects and their eggs. Cut these plants back once most of their leaves have turned yellow or brown.
Plants with seed heads you don’t want to spread around your garden.
Shield vulnerable plants
If you keep your plants watered thoroughly until the ground freezes and spread mulch around their roots, there isn’t much little needed to prepare them for winter. If your plants require more drastic measures to survive the cold, it’s likely because the plant isn’t well-suited to your climate or isn’t happy where it’s planted. Consider replacing them with hardier varieties that will overwinter more easily.
If you’re worried about newly planted broadleaf evergreens, protect them with an anti-desiccant like Wilt Stop. Products like this create a waxy coating on the leaves so they stay hydrated. It’s not a replacement for fall watering, but it could prevent the foliage from burning in winter.
Plant bulbs late in the season
Have you noticed the squirrels licking their chops when they see you hauling out your bulbs for fall planting? If so, wait to plant your bulbs until late in the season, after the squirrels fattened up on acorns and other fall fodder.
As long as you can still stick your shovel in the ground, you can plant spring-blooming bulbs until the ground freezes. Playing the waiting game often works to your advantage in this case.
Once you wrap up these tasks, you can rest easy ,knowing that your garden is prepared to take on winter. Now it’s time to sit back, relax and start dreaming about all the new things you’ll plant and grow next year!
Some 30 years ago, American kitchens received the gift of the microwave and quickly became dependent on it for lightning-fast heating. Younger generations can’t even imagine making oatmeal, hot chocolate, or popcorn without it. And yet so many of us are using the microwave incorrectly for reheated foods. Sure, we know to never zap aluminum foil, metal, or plastic, but there are equally dangerous risks involved in nuking certain foods.
For starters, a microwave does not cook food evenly, which often means that any bacteria present in the reheated foods will survive. Then there’s the problem of microwave blasts directly contributing to the production of carcinogenic toxins. To minimize the microwave risks, don’t use it to cook or warm these ten foods:
If it seems like there’s never enough storage room in your bathroom, you’re not alone. Makeup, towels, backup shampoo bottles, hair styling tools, bath toys and more all need somewhere to go. So what do you do when your vanity drawers are full? Get creative and add more bathroom storage for small spaces.
These storage products make the most of small bathrooms without a full remodel.
