The Ask Anna Blog

What to do After You’ve Moved

Two weeks ago we moved in to our new house! Yay! Now we are swimming in boxes… ugh. Surely you know this feeling, from the last move you did. I remembered our last move very well: We were 23, engaged, moving from small 1 bedroom apartments into {what seemed like} a LOT of space! We hardly had things to put in each room and I am pretty certain we were unpacked in a matter of a couple days. That is not the case now. We grew into our old house: finishing the basement, had our first child, and accumulating a… Read More

28 Things You Can Get Done in 7 Minutes

I am a mom of two little ones (under 3) and lately life has been getting the better of me. My house is never as clean as I want it to be, my time is always too short, and I often feel like I am not taking the opportunities I do have to get a little something done. And a little something is about all I seem to be able to manage between the diaper changes and the sprints to the potty; the mediating of endless, shall we say, “disagreements over possession;” and still feeble attempts to “nap when they… Read More

Organizing Paint Cans with Dipsy Dabber

I have an awesome closet in our new house that’s perfect for storing paint cans, decorations and more! The only problem is that I have so many paint cans from projects at this house, and the other house, that my paint storage space is overflowing! I was excited when my friend Ginny, at Organizing Homelife, did a review of a product called Dipsy Dabbers. I immediately thought, “I need a bunch of those to organize my paint closet!”. I contacted Dipsy Dabber and when I received my order, it was the paint cans vs. Dipsy Dabber to get my storage… Read More

How to Wash a Hat ~ Baseball Caps & more

There’s an easy trick for how to wash a hat, without ruining its shape. This tutorial will teach you how to pre-treat, and wash your hats. Continuing with my Love to Clean series, today I’m going to be sharing a no-fuss way for how to wash a hat. This is a trick I learned many many moons ago from my mom. My dad has always loved to wear hats, and even as a little girl, I remember him wearing lots of baseball caps. The only problem with always wearing a hat is that you end up with a lot of… Read More

Tips for Finding the Perfect Gray Paint Color

I love painting with gray colors, they are relaxing and make the perfect neutral background for lots of different styles of decorating. I get asked all the time how I chose the gray colors in my home and in our last house. So today I’m going to share a few of my favorite grays to work with, and a trick for finding the perfect gray paint color! First I’ll share my favorite gray colors with you. Woodlawn Colonial Gray by Valspar Woodlawn Colonial Gray in our old house Living Room. Partridge Gray by Better Homes & Garden Partridge Gray in… Read More

How to Clean Cloudy Glass

Have you ever purchased a glass vase from the store and it was really cloudy? Here’s a simple way to clean cloudy glass, without soap and water. Have you ever purchased a glass vase, or pitcher, from the store and it had a cloudy residue inside? I recently purchased these pretty vases from Target and they were cloudy. But since the opening at the top is so small, I couldn’t rinse them or soak them the way I would normally wash a vase. So today I want to teach you a very simple way to clean cloudy glass, without soap,… Read More