It’s not often that I am able to sneak out during business hours for product launches or previews, but when I got invited to come and chat with Sally Clarke, Method‘s creative director, I couldn’t resist. If you come over my house, you’ll find one of their signature, Karim Rashid-designed tear drop hand soap dispensers in the bathrooms. I also am pretty addicted to their Steel for Real Stainless Steel Polish and their Leather Love Wipes. Everything they make just smells so damn good, it inspires cleanliness.

But there was an added bonus for going to this event: They were unveiling a collaboration with one of my favorite graphic artists, Orla Kiely. You may recall our past obsessions involving Orla’s Target Line (we did a giveaway and helped you track down what you couldn’t find locally). The limited edition cleaning collection will be available at Target (where else?) starting in September. In addition to adorable patterns that will add an instant chic to your countertops, they also come in new custom scents — vanilla chai, primrose, pear ginger and my favorite, bay leaf. (Note: The above photo features prototype bottles, not the real thing. That will be even prettier.)

Listening to Sally tell us about Method‘s principals, which marry fun and useful design with healthy products and eco-smarts, has made me even more of a fan of this company.

Stay tuned as we get closer to launch dates on the Orla Kiely products and more new releases. I’ll be sure to let you know when they hit stores!

True story: I just spent the entirety of my viewing of the season 2 finale of Downton Abbey (Done at last! Let’s chat!) accompanied by the sweet stylings of a loose bowl clunk-clunk-clunking around in a running dishwasher. While I usually approach dishwasher loading as an art form, this kind of rogue dish shennanigans is just one of the reasons I always hand wash my wine glasses – I’m just too paranoid that they’ll clink together and shatter. Once again, Pinterest has come to my rescue by introducing me to Tether: a plastic rod that affixes to the posts in the dishwasher to keep stemware in place. Genius! $12.99 for four at Quirky.com.

For more day-saving ideas, check out Real Simple’s “Problem-Solving Products” board on Pinterest.

Want more great dishwashing advice? See this post to see and share!

I call it Fridge Freeze. It’s that moment before meal time when you open the refrigerator and are stunned into a stupor, standing there in the cold glow of a bare light bulb starring at a yogurt, some chicken, half a bag of shredded cheese, and some suspicious looking leftovers with no earthly idea of what to cook for dinner. During extreme cases of Fridge Freeze, I’m driven to take out menus thanks to my indecision, impatience, and hunger. However, I recently found a cure for Fridge Freeze that does not include the Thai place down the street. At My Fridge Food, I can check off what ingredients I have at hand and be instantly supplied with yummy, easy, user supplied recipes. There is a simple ingredient list and, for you super stars who stock your pantry like Martha Stewart, a detailed kitchen list. Sort the recipe results by number of ingredients, cooking time, calories, carbs, fat, protein, or category and banish Fridge Freeze forever.

You readers never let me down. Ever. The post-off about Roombas (back in 2010) had put a kernel of desire in my mind that had grown into a full blown lust frenzy. So for our holiday gift this year, we pooled our funds and bought ourselves a Roomba! His name is Rutger Watkins Baroomba the 1st, and I can honestly say he’s changed our lives in just a touch over a month. I’m floored (ha) at how well he gets every corner and handles our most plush rugs with ease (though I could see it having issues with fringe). Even the cats don’t mind him — and they freaked when we ran our regular vacuum. Most importantly, though, is how he has motivated us to keep the clutter at bay so we can run him as often as possible for the best result. I don’t think our house has ever been this clean.

So, now that I’m fully hooked on robots doing my housework, I’ve been thinking about augmenting our arsenal with a Scooba, iRobot’s mopping robot. Reviews have led me to hold out, however — and I’m now also pondering a Mint hard floor cleaning system, since it uses wet microfiber cloths to clean hard floors (which is what our house has). Have any of you used either? Feedback is much appreciated, of course! — Megan B.

When we bought our house about a two years ago, it was nearly perfect. Porch, backyard, short walk to the train. Coming from a small apartment meant we had stars in our eyes at thought of a things like an attic, garage and a basement. Storage galore. We were smitten. So smitten we casually overlooked that the kitchen didn’t have a dishwasher. I had lived 40 years without one, surely I could go a little longer, I thought. However, once we moved in my inner baker and closeted hostess-with-the-mostest personality came out. I cook at least three times a week and we have guests over several times a month. Suddenly, the no dishwasher thing was getting to be a real drag.

We called in a kitchen contractor type and were dismayed to learn that slipping in a dishwasher was not going to be an easy task. Our cabinets were all custom-sized, and the nice stone counter top could break if they tried to lift it up. There was some extra space in the corner of the kitchen, were we had placed a small bistro table. It was nice to have a table in the kitchen, but honestly we never used it. Our solution became clear: Extend the counter with butcher block (so we didn’t have to worry about matching the stone counter) and put the dishwasher there. There’d even be room for a stool, if we wanted to tuck one under.

A few weeks later, and voila! I can’t believe how much I am in love with our new appliance. We picked a Bosch — not the most expensive model, but a nice one that hums quietly when it’s on. It also has a pretty red light that beams on the floor so we know when it’s in use. Unlike dishwashers of my youth, this one does not have a drying cycle. I suppose it is to save energy, but if you open it up too soon things will definitely be too wet.

Now I am trying to learn the tricks of good dish loading. How dirty can things be when I put them? How closely can I pack things together? I definitely have noticed a few butter knifes that still look dirty after a cycle, and if we put the plates too close together, the backs will stay gunky.

Got any good dishwasher advice to share with me? I’d love tips on loading. What does your dishwasher clean that surprises you? What do you never put in there? As always, your shared wisdom is deeply appreciated! — Angela M.

My friend Angie gave me a great tip (along with an awesome Burro’s Tail succulent) not too long ago. She showed me how to make my own detergents, using easy to find, household ingredients. I’ve had the supplies purchased for a while, but was waiting to run out of my current stash of Mrs Meyer’s before mixing up a batch. Don’t worry, it doesn’t take more than a few minutes and equipment you’ve already got on hand.

Here’s what you need:
Laundry Soap:
-1 bar of soap (approx 2 oz) grated. *I used the fine grate on my box grater, next time I will use my microplane for finer flakes of soap, though they dissolved perfectly. The soap I used, Fels Naptha, is a laundry soap, and for a bar that large, I doubled the recipe.
-1/2 c Borax
-1/2 c Arm & Hammer washing soda
-3 drops essential oils (optional — I used lavender)

2 tablespoons/ wash is all you need! My clothes have been coming out brighter, softer, and have been smelling clean and fresh — and one batch didn’t cost much, and I’ve got enough Borax and Washing Soda left to make at least 3 more batches!

Dishwashing Detergent:
-1/2 c borax
-1/2 c washing soda
-2 tbs Citric Acid powder or Fruit Fresh
-pinch of salt
Combine and store in airtight container.
In the rinse aid container, use distilled white vinegar.

I was most skeptical about this one, but it turned out great! Dishes clean and sparkly, no crud, much better than some of the other natural brands I’ve been using.

Try ‘em out, and let us know how they work for you — or share recipes of your own in the comments! — Megan B.

While I was out and about a few weeks ago, I came across the prettiest vintage wool blanket in a secondhand shop. It was love at first sight – I grabbed it and wouldn’t let go until I was at the register. Sadly, while it’s lovely to look at, I failed to follow the cardinal rule of vintage shopping: always, always do a sniff test. Now, I’m stuck with a beautiful, but musty blanket – and I simply can’t cure it!

I’ve dramatically improved things by washing it in a wool shampoo (an excellent thing to have on hand – wash on warm, delicate cycle, and air dry). I’ve tried hanging it out to air dry for a couple of days. I’ve Febreezed and I’ve Lysol’ed and it’s all been to no avail. The biggest degree of improvement, oddly, seems to have come from accidentally leaving it in the trunk of my car for a week in hot summer weather. Something about baking in the heat for so long seems to have helped quite a bit.

I’d really love to banish the rest of this funk and enjoy this beautiful find…have any of you encountered this problem? I’d love any tips or tricks you have to share! –Becki S.

Longtime readers of this blog know my love of horror films and campy macabre, so you’ll understand my delight in this new Dirt Devil ad. I know I’m giving away the punchline with this screengrab, but you have to click through to YouTube to see. Enjoy! — Angela M.

P.S. As much as I love this ad, I’m still not giving up my Miele. ;-)

In our new apartment we have almost no counter space and it’s our biggest, small space problem. The only usable corner is right beside the sink, in the area reserved for drying dishes, which leaves us no room for food preparation or really anything else. Add in the massive scale of our clunky wire dish rack and tray and the kitchen becomes a riddle to be solved any time we want to make food of any sort. We’ve discussed the search for the perfect dish rack before, and in my case, the perfect rack isn’t a rack at all, it’s this dish drying mat. With a dishwasher that holds most of our dishes, we only hand wash big-ticket items, and this super absorbent mat gets the job done when needed and can be easily rolled up and stored to reveal usable counter space. The best part? $4.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond. – Sarah C.

Ok friends, here’s a challenge: try to rethink the way you do one commonplace task. That has been my mission lately, and I’ve had a few revelations. The first, and most obvious, has been that just because appliance instructions say to do something, doesn’t mean it’s a steadfast rule (unless it’s for safety reasons). For example – let’s take the clothes dryer. I air-dry the majority of my laundry with the exception of a few things, and those things get tossed in the dryer on Auto/High for 30 minutes.That’s just what I do, and have always done. But, what if I didn’t? What if I tried another setting? I know, crazy. But what I’ve discovered is that I don’t need to use that high setting to get good results. I’ve actually found that using the “delicates” setting (which is less hot than the “auto” setting) dries equally as well, and in some cases, results in softer clothes. I didn’t realize that the highest dryer setting was actually toasting my clothes and making them feel a little crispy! With the exception of my thickest bath mats, the delicates setting has worked just fine for a medium-sized load of laundry, and I bet even saves a little energy to boot. What everyday tasks can you rethink? — Rebecca F.

Image courtesy of flickr user Aurimas Rimsa.