My boyfriend and I share a computer desk. We’ve hooked up both computers, an external hard drive, a printer, an external disk drive and a set of speakers. I’m dealing with the cord situation, but constantly switching out my usb plugs is an annoyance I’d love to avoid. With Fred Flare’s USB tulip hub I could do that with added style! Each bright red flower is a high speed USB port that connects to the computer through one common USB cable. Pick one up here for $22. — Erica P.

I have a great appreciation for puns and, therefore, have great appreciation for Urban Outfitters’ Writing on the Wall coat rack, $24. The block of bright red text can transform a plain white wall and give a witty shot of personality to an otherwise boring entryway. I use mine to organize my scarves with sassy panache. The Writing on the Wall coat rack is available only online. For those who like their coat racks a little more cynical, an alternate version reads, “blah blah blah”. –Katie D.

First, you readers are amazing. Thank you for sharing your stories of dust and woe, most of which were hilarious, almost all of which were recognizable. It makes us feel so much better to know there are other people out there convinced that everyone else’s house is always cleaner than theirs. But there was one story in particular that made us laugh out loud. Is it because there is a cat butt involved? Very, very possibly. But we just can’t pass up the wonder that is this Confess Your Mess story. Congratulations, Cathy! You win!

I’ve got two cats, a one year-old daughter, a sort of absent-minded mad genius type husband, and zero talent or desire for housework. The litterboxes are sequestered in their own bathroom, which does have a gate across it. Sure, we have the usual tracking issues, but lately the chubby kitty has taken to hanging his butt outside of the litterbox when he poops. Apparently, it is “freeing” and I’m just trying to oppress him by asking that he keep his ass inside. The other cat, the neurotic one, would really rather we kept all surfaces clear of clutter and mess. Clutter like my full water glass, my keyboard and mouse, our dinner plates, etc. There are quite a few broken things that need sweeping/vacuuming up.

Then there are the cockroaches. Now, I’m not *that* horrible, but we do live in south Texas. It doesn’t matter how clean you are, you will have the occasional roach, especially in a house as ill-sealed as ours. So I kill roaches, my husband kills roaches, the baby doesn’t yet, but oh she will, and of course, the cats bring down their fair share. While I appreciate our valiant hunters, this does mean we get roach corpses in places that are a bit difficult to get at, i.e. under bookcases.

The kiddo eats graham crackers… everywhere. So there are graham cracker crumbs, you guessed it, everywhere. She’s also discovered the joy of Cheerios. She comes by this breadcrumb trail behavior honestly. I can tell where her father has been by the trail of popcorn bits that he’s dropped. The man eats crackers in bed, y’all. That dustbuster could keep me from sleeping on cracker crumbs! (Which are irritatingly pokey, and you never sweep off quite all of them.)

There’s more, but if I go on, someone might try to take my kid. Actually, if you promise to take the husband too, I’ll continue to dish on why everyone else is a better housekeeper.

Thanks for the laugh, Cathy, and thanks to everyone who entered. Let’s all raise our DustBusters high to toast 30 years of easy cleanup, and many fewer messes. Thanks, Black & Decker!

If you’d like a laugh, be sure to see the rest of the comments on the DustBuster contest. And if you missed the deadline, feel free to confess your mess here — like hanging off the edge of the catbox, it’s freeing!

When we moved west, a friend gave us a Seattle guidebook including unusual spots, among them the Walker Rock Garden. Beginning in 1959, Boeing mechanic Milton Walker and his wife Florence built the Gaudi-like garden of sculpture in rocks, geodes, and colored glass in the backyard of their small home. Imagine our surprise when we were taking a walk one night and realized the Walker Rock Garden is three blocks from where we live, located behind an unremarkable (and a little run down) house. Yesterday, we finally went for a visit.

From the street, you can see the spire of the colorful 18-foot bell tower and a portion of the miniature “Alps.” But once inside the yard, it’s truly amazing — a hill drops down to an incredible display that includes a paved seating area with a fireplace, fountains made with chunks of colored glass and petrified wood, and countless mosaic butterflies adorning walls and stepping stones.

The entire garden took the Walkers 20 years to build. (Makes me feel a little bit better about the projects we’re working on this year.) The garden is still privately owned, so it’s not a perfectly maintained museum — the fountains weren’t on, the ponds are being scrubbed for repainting, and the plantings seem a little overgrown. But the spirit of incredible outsider art remains intact. This is one place we’ll definitely come back and see again. Are there any odd gems in your neighborhood? –Mary T.

The Walker Rock Garden is located at 5407 37th Ave. SW, Seattle, WA, and is open to the public the second, third, and fourth Sundays of the month during June, July, and August. Admission is free. Learn more here.
Click for more photos! (more…)

A little bird (okay, Facebook) told us that Angela recently purchased an ant-enhanced cup and saucer from Baily Doesn’t Bark as a Father’s Day gift for her husband Chad. The strange mix of creepiness and loveliness doesn’t stop there — Bailey Doesn’t Bark has a Roach Series of dishes as well. Mmm! See them all — along with some less weird but still wonderful patterns — here.

1) Radios are conversation pieces. Martha says: “I have an old Panasonic radio that was my grandmother’s displayed on the end of a long bookshelf near the entry of my apartment. It’s one of the first things people comment on when they come in. You have a real radio?!? is often a question.” See Erica’s “collection of one” here.

2) You’re fans of recycling bottles for automatic watering. Ellie says: “No way, this is fantastic. Something I already have to use for something I’ve been tempted to buy so often? genius.” Click here for this easy watering solution.

3) What are speengies? Something you want! Bridget says: “I’ve never heard of these, but now I WANT ONE….no, I want EIGHT!” See what she’s drooling over here.

4) Building a shed? Add a rain barrel. Sarah says: “My Dad just finished building a larger shed using partially reclaimed materials. He found some gutters and downspouts and added them to one side to drain into a rain barrel. The rain barrel he made from a 39-gallon garbage can and a $2 spigot kit. He’s a retired carpenter so that helps, but can’t wait to see the results for myself. Or to get him to make a rain barrel for our shed.” Click for our reader’s inspiring reclaimed shed.

5) You don’t agree with This Old House’s choice of best old-house neighborhoods. Yolanda says: “TOH needs to expand its search. Yes, Temescal is nice (and many more neighborhoods in Oakland are awesome!) but to overlook 75% of Alameda? Victorian and Craftsman Heaven, right across the Estuary!” See more suggestions here.

NOTE: We’ll announce the winner of the DustBuster contest on Tuesday.

Check out the pom pom pomegranate by abbydid at Craft.

The Woolly Pocket Garden Company at Better Living Through Design — fantastic!

Have you sworn off purchasing with plastic? MSNBC has a story on those who have.

Via Boing Boing, here’s a great set of paper taco trucks by goopymart on Flickr that you can print out and fold!

An interesting idea at The Infrastructurist: Would painting roofs and roads white help reduce temperatures?

Cheap, chic ideas to steal at Casa Sugar — we approve of that.

Depending on where you live, this can be tricky: How to grow moss on rocks at About.com:Gardening.

I’m starting a collection. So far I’ve only got one item in said collection, but my intention is to expand. I found the pictured Best Ever portable radio at a flea market for just $5. It was the bright green “carrying case” that caught my eye, but I’ve since fallen in love with everything about my new purchase (including the box and the warranty). I have the radio and the box displayed as part of a vignette in my living room, but I think I might actually frame the warranty for the wall behind the table. I hadn’t originally intended to expand my collection of one, but then I saw this post on transistor radios over at Notcot, and I was inspired to find more. We’ve asked to see your collections before — have you started any new ones recently? –Erica P.

What can I say — two icons of my youth pass away on the same day, and I get nostalgic. I couldn’t resist this nod to Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett (inspired by Casa Sugar’s “Inspired” posts like this one). Even if we may not have been a fan of their personal lives or even their work, no one can dispute their status in pop culture. –Mary T.

Farrah Fawcett — Though she originally hailed from Texas, the 1970s pinup was the quintessential sunny California girl. Here are a few breezy selections in her honor.

Slip Sliding Away: original felt artwork by Snaggs, $545.

Angela Adams 5×8 Ocean Seaglass Rug, $840.

Los Angeles Tote by Map Tote, $15.
IKEA KARLSKRONA chaise lounge, $169.

Big Hair by James Innes-Smith, $2.95 at Powell’s Books.

And of course, the iconic Farrah poster, shown here in Nate Berkus’s Milan apartment, starting at around $20 on eBay.

Michael Jackson — The King of Pop’s style was glitzy, showy, and yes, rather crazy. Here are a few items to match.

Vintage European crown wall hanging from Etsy seller heirloommarket, $150.

Silver sequins accent pillow from Pillow Decor, $29.95.

IKEA KLIPPAN red leather loveseat, $499.

Crosley Archive Portable USB Turntable from Urban Outfitters, $140, for your vintage Jackson 5 LPs.

Finally, some glow zombie finger puppets from Archie McPhee, $4.95. Recreate the Thriller video from the comfort of your own desk.

We’ve dealt with smells before, but reader Lena needs more help. She writes:

I just moved into my first studio…without any roommates! It’s one big room with an open kitchen; the bathroom is sectioned off as its own individual room. I am a neat and clean person (I do have a cat, but I clean the litter box every other day) yet when I walk in my apartment after being gone for about two hours, there is an odor in the air that I cannot pinpoint. It’s almost like a musty smell. Is it from cooking? Can it be the carpet? Half the room is carpeted, so I thought maybe it comes from there. If the air conditioner is on, it doesn’t smell. I might need a covered garbage can, but I’m usually pretty good about taking it out when there is food in it. I know one can control the smell of a refrigerator by placing a open container of baking soda in it…is there anything like that for a room? Please help!

First, Lena, as unpleasant as it sounds, you may have to do a sniff test — get up close and personal with anything in your apartment that you think could be the culprit. If the smell isn’t around when the AC is on, could the warmth of sunlight be activating a long-hidden smell in your carpet? Maybe just closing the drapes could help in that case. You can also rent a steam cleaner cheaply at a lot of grocery stores.

Check out our suggestions on how to make the air smell fresh and our roundup on candles that bring on spring. And of course, we’ll ask our readers — any suggestions?