Have you noticed that the grass is greener and the trees are lush with leaves?? The May flowers are emerging with blooms and the bees are busy gathering pollen. The hum of spring is underway.
The birds, bees and hummingbirds are humming the sounds of spring and summer.
Which leads me to my next question… Are y’all ready for hummingbird season? Here in North Carolina our season officially begins each year around Late March – mid April. Yes, Put your hummingbird feeder out around tax season- April 15th as they are warm season birds. If you looked at your calendar lately, it is already May😳.
Have you spotted any hummingbirds yet near your feeder??? Do you have your feeder out???
If you haven’t prepared for your tiny visitors yet, you can visit us at Wilkes County Hardware for a great hummingbird season. Did you know that hummingbirds tend to return to the same areas as the previous year? Hummingbirds are migratory birds & they will be eager to find a full feeder. Hummingbirds will return to the same source of food each and every year, if it is readily available. Be ready with a full feeder for your favorite little hummers.
What if you have never been successful in attracting hummingbirds to your garden??? Can you find success in 2023??? Yes!
Creating A Hummingbird Habitat: A Few Tips for a successful season
1. Hummingbird feeders ideally should be placed 15-20 feet from a window. Shrubs and trees nearby for resting areas for hummingbirds as they feed, and a have water source close by like a bird bath or a fountain.
2. Hummingbird Feeders should be cleaned out every few days as the temperature begins to warm up and feeder should not be placed into full sun.
3. Hummingbirds will be attracted to all the beautiful colors in your yard/garden. Yes, you can plant certain flowers that will attract hummingbirds. Vines, certain perennials, and tubular flowers are welcome sources of nectar. This year is a great year to add those into your landscape. Our flower seed order is already in the hardware store. Stop by to purchase some new flower seeds soon. To add these lovely flowers into your lush garden landscape.
WCH Recommends: Morning Glory and Hummingbird Mix
4. Your Hummingbird feeder should be easily visible for your enjoyment and easy to spot by the hungry little hummingbird.
WCH Recommends: A Shepherd’s Hook to viewing your feeder easily
5. Be patient, it may take several weeks before you notice any little hummers at your feeder. Leave your feeder in place for a least two weeks before moving it to a different location.
6.Lastly, use clear nectar in your feeder only. Yes, hummingbirds love the color red, but nectar is clear in its most natural form…the beautiful red, tubular flowers that hummingbirds love to feed from in nature. If you wish to attract more hummers, then go for a red hummingbird feeder and clear nectar.
April 25th is National Hug your Plumber Day. When you need a plumber, you usually need one ASAP!! I would say that a good chunk of our customers that walk into our hardware store are seeking help with some type current plumbing issue or seeking a replacement plumbing fitting. That being said, this might be a “fitting” blog post to “plunge” into today.
The plumbing aisle is usually a busy place on most days of the week inside our hardware store. Plumbing issues can become time consuming and can be expensive, especially if you lack the equipment and expertise that a plumber has.
As we all know, Home maintenance is ongoing, and can get expensive. Being proactive with your maintenance tasks, can give you an opportunity to move forward with other projects.
No worries y’all, just following these tips could add to your existing knowledge base about plumbing 🪠 so let’s plunge into the tips!
WCH Recommends … every home should have a plunger. Now, Let’s “plunge” into these great tips!
1. Know where your main water shutoff is located. Enough said! If you don’t know where your water shutoff is located, then make it your mission to find out ASAP! A water issue can be controlled much easier when you know where the main shutoff is found. Instead of a looming disaster with water everywhere inside your home, you can divert the danger by immediately turning the water off.
A very kind plumber who came to our home several years ago on a small plumbing project took the time to show me where our main shutoff is located. I value and appreciate his expertise and friendship .
2. Don’t use bleach to clean with regularly if you are on a septic tank system(Think about the toilet bowl drop ins and cleaning chemicals you are using the most often.) . The bleach can kill off the good bacteria in your system. When the good bacteria are destroyed, your tank won’t be able to break down waste effectively, meaning a clogged septic tank could be inevitable. 😳
Always available at Wilkes County Hardware!
3. What goes in must come out… and everything is not flushable! Yes, to most folks this is common sense. But everyone doesn’t know that baby wipes, Q-tips, grease, feminine hygiene products, diapers, paper towels, tissues are not flushable or acceptable for drains! Yes, even coffee grounds can clump up as well as cat litter and can lead to a clog. All of these items can reek havoc on your pipes/toilets and cost you a small fortune in order to get rid of a massive clog!
This 🧻 Decomposing at a faster rate! A camping & boating essential! Now available at WCH!!
4. When you do have a clog, deal with IT effectively. Using a Plunger or a snake is your first line of attack against a clog.Powerful Chemicals are secondary… especially if your plumbing lines are older. The harsh chemicals can break down your current, older plumbing lines even more quickly. 😳 AND if you have to use a chemical agent, read the directions and use it as directed!!! Be safe!
WCH Recommended item: if you need to deal with a clog, this is a good, safe option and eco friendly.
5. Check out your Insulation around water lines in basements and crawl space. If you don’t like what see, it is a good idea, especially during the extremely cold months to add insulation. Don’t forget to also check your Well pumps and pressure tanks, they should also have insulation around them too.
We stock essential homeowner necessities for plumbing….Glues, tape, fittings, insulation wrap, CPVC, and more!
6. Disconnect your water hose at the end of the growing season and cover your outdoor faucets. Outdoor faucets will freeze and create greater problems for you!
WCH Recommended item: These are great to have in hand before the first frost hits at the end of the long hot summer.
7. Do a bit of Reconnaissance work as a homeowner… a visual inspection of your plumbing . It is necessary as a homeowner- check your whole house water filters, look for any leaky hoses, or visible water around base of toilet( this can become a costly repair) are your toilets flushing properly, do you see leaks around hot water heater, visible water under your sink??? The small cost of a roll of plumbers tape is definitely worth the investment to add to your home toolbox. Lastly, Some leaks are not visible… pay close attention to your water bill each month to examine any spikes in your monthly costs. If you see a noticeable increase, definitely get this checked out!
WCH Recommends: A roll of plumbers tape is good to keep on hand at home for quick fixes.
8. Know when to call in an expert. Even the best DIY homeowners often know their limits and will call in the professionals when necessary.
That’s all folks! These tips are based on my own personal experience. Your experiences are uniquely relevant as well. I hope that you find this information helpful and useful as a homeowner.
If you are inside shopping at our hardware store, you will probably hear the phone ring ☎️. We field lots of questions each and every day of the week. Here’s a list of the top 5 most popular questions that we address on the phone and in personal conversations with our customers
1. What time ⏰ do you close today ???
AND along the same lines…
Are y’all still closing early on Wednesday afternoons? NO! We have regular store hours on Wednesday and have had normal store hours on Wednesday afternoon for about 7 years now.
Old newspaper research… came across this ad that may help explain why businesses closed early on Wednesday in our small town so many years ago.
2. Can I park in the back parking lot and come in the back door? 🚪Yes! Absolutely! The lot is public parking and parking is also available on 10th Street in front of our store.
The back door is used by our staff as an entrance and many of our regular customers. You don’t have to use the front entrance on 10th Street if you’re having a hard time finding a parking spot.
3. Is it possible for you to order this item for me???💻 Yes! I’ll be glad to check our current inventory and get a price on that item for you.
We have added several new inventory items over the last few years BUT if you can’t find it quickly, ask us if we can order it for you.
4. Can you make me a key?🔑 If you have an existing key, then we probably can… no key, call Bill, the locksmith next door.
This item is a best seller! Hiding a key 🔑 so you don’t lose your new key!
5. How’s business going? 🛍️We need your support each and every day. We appreciate your loyalty and making purchases inside our small business so that we can continue to add new products, staff and grow our economic community in Wilkes. We want to be here for YOU years down the road. When you shop local, your money stays in our community. Please support all small businesses( retail, restaurants, and service providers) in our two towns. They need your continued support always! Local supports local!!!
Thank you for your supportas we approach year 8 in the hardware business!
The Spring season is a burst of activity in our natural world after the winter weather thaw. New life begins to emerge in front of our eyes. Spring weather can be ever changing. One day we can experience beautiful blue skies and sunshine, the next day, can bring cooler temperatures and a blustery wind.
Spring mornings tend to be cooler, but the afternoon sun brings warmth after the cold winter season.
Spring is a beautiful reminder of how wonderful nature can be! I hope that you will enjoy my pictorial review of Spring.
Meteorological Spring begins in March. The first official day of Spring is March 20th. First signs of Spring, blooming crocus Do you have any of these sweet flowers? Blooming Lenten rose arrives just in time for the beginning of Lent each year. Forsythia never fails to add beautiful color to the spring season. Tiny leaves begin to emerge on our favorite Weeping Willow on the Greenway. Piper and I always look forward to seeing this each Spring. Spring blooming trees show off their unique colors and beauty in Downtown North Wilkesboro. This year the Tulip trees have been gorgeous! The March brisk winds and rains often create a beautiful storm of petals reminiscent of the glorious days of springtime. Spring, Live life in full bloom! Do you call them Daffodils or Buttercups? Daffodils are one of the first flowers to burst onto the scene after a few warmer days of spring like weather. Joy was extremely curious about the blooming daffodils her first Spring season with us.
Birds chirping their glorious spring songs. Our birding section is always a busy area inside the hardware store. If you don’t see what you need, ask us about ordering it for you. The bees begin to work on the pollination process… not so much fun for allergy sufferers in the spring. Have you already spotted the pollen coating your car or outdoor surfaces yet??? Gone in 30 Seconds Outdoor cleaner and Wet and Forget works great to get your outside surfaces clean and clear of the grime of the wet and yucky winter season. The tiny, bright green leaves emerge bringing a new sense of life to trees and our natural world. The grass begins growing like crazy! The winter lull of lawn care is now over and the mowing season begins. Mowologists, are y’all ready? Check out my blog post on Mowing Grass. Our Lawn and Garden section has been completely updated. Stop by to pick up your chemicals, OR if you have questions on where to begin for the Spring season Lawn Care Maintenance. I have a few blog posts that may help as you begin the spring garden season, check out Pulling Weeds on the blog. New lawn care items inside our store! I’m excited about this one for your lawn. Easy steps for each season! Then comes Tulip season! Cookie smelling the tulips and daffodils. She loves the tulips 🌷! Last spring she would stop by and smell my tulips at the back door every single time. I added a new set of tulips at the front door this year. Just a little too cute! Spring is time for bright colors Each of these Blue Door Houses are uniquely designed. Robin egg blue! Iconic spring color 💕April often brings the Easter Bunny! Time to shop for a new Easter Basket! Grilling season heats up! Stop by to pick up grilling sauces, rub, Traeger pellets or even a new grill. Yes! We can order you a Blackstone Grill too! All sizes are available. March 12th is Daylight Saving Time, meaning more hours of daylight. Daylight Saving Time was first enacted during World War I to save energy and resources . Enjoy the beautiful spring sunshine! And the Spring morning sunrises. April showers bring May Flowers… peonies are almost ready to bloom in this beautiful Spring memory. May brings strawberry season! I love my metal dishpan from Wilkes County Hardware. I use it for gathering, harvesting, prepping garden beauties each spring and summer. Gardening season begins in the spring! Some folks start seed indoors in the early months of spring, while others wait. Whenever the frost of early May dissipates, the gardening season goes into full swing. Does your garden soil need a boost? Use this locally sourced soil builder to get some amazing results in your garden this spring. The best potting soil hands down! Love this stuff! Gardeners, At the end of the day, shouldn’t you smell like dirt during Spring ???? Gardening by the signs. Do you know how to read an almanac? I plant by the signs each year in order to get the best results. Flowers planted in the spring brings joy for the coming summer season. “BEE” happy it’s Spring y’all!
Did that opening title have you think about the classic song 🎵 from MC Hammer??? This blog post isn’t intended to discuss music today BUT to get y’all thinking about those surfaces in your home that you DON’T need to touch before you disinfect.
Can you easily identify the “high-touch surfaces” in your home? Do a quick visual survey of your surroundings inside your home.
After complying this list of Top 10 “high-touch” surfaces I can quickly see which areas I should give extra attention to within this picture. I have a more “intentional cleaning focus” now when I’m cleaning. Cleaning and disinfecting will be much easier and will help keep my family healthy. But still is takes a bit of work. 🤪
Whoever does the cleaning in your home is likely to catch several of these “high-touchsurfaces” on a day to day basis. I hope that these tips for finding “high-touch” areas will be useful.
Spring is less than 30 days away now and it may have you thinking about a good healthy dose of cleaning. So let’s begin with a few basics below.
Spring in full bloom
What are “high-touch surfaces”??? These are the surfaces in your home that receive the most direct daily contact with your family. High-touch surfaces are the areas where dirt, dust, and germs if left unchecked, will thrive. High-touch surfaces should be regularly cleaned and disinfected daily.
Your hands may not ever be this dirty.. mine from gardening, but germs can build up and make your family sick. Don’t forget to disinfect your sink handles!
When I use the term disinfect, here’s the gist of what happens when you do that…to disinfect is using a chemical cleaner to remove viruses and bacteria.
Now the quick breakdown of TEN high-touch surfaces, to disinfect inside your home. These TEN areas are based upon my own personal experience as a mom AND also as one who actively works in and participates in the hardware life. I’ll be curious to know if you found several of your “high-touch” surfaces in your quick surroundings survey of your own home, are you a novice or a pro??? Or maybe somewhere in between???
Top Ten Hardware Life High-Touch Surfaces
1. Think about Small and large appliances (ex. coffee pot, microwave, refrigerator) that are frequently used by each member of the family each day. Don’t forget about things like a can opener, or even the knife block!
Your coffee pot may not be a “high-touch surface” for your family, but it is at my house. Think about the appliances you use everyday and make sure you disinfect them regularly. In my kitchen, the refrigerator is definitely a high use appliance. Fingerprints on the door.., etc BUT don’t forget to disinfect the ice and water area too!
2. Door knobs and light switches, & even your house keys!
Your keys go with you all day long to all different places. Give them a good wipe down.
3. The Kitchen Sink. Yes, it is definite.. a highly used kitchen item and don’t forget to clean the faucet handles.
4. The Countertop. This is where food gets cooked & consumed… often my counter gets scattered with keys, phones, and mail. Our kitchen counter is a drop zone of sorts. Yikes! Keys and cellphones are also high-touch! 😳
At our house the kitchen countertops are often wiped down multiple times a day 😳.
5. The Bathroom. Clean and disinfect fixtures, sinks, toilet seat, and toilet handle.
6. Remote control for tv, cell phones, iPads, game controllers.
Use an alcohol based cleaner OR spray the disinfectant directly onto a paper towel and then wipe. Allow time for drying.
7. Kitchen chairs and table. If you use it daily, then clean it often. Think about where your family meals occur everyday and clean and disinfect often.
8. Toys and play areas for your children. Kids play hard all day, and make sure to clean toys that are often used by your child everyday and disinfect often.
9. The Pantry. Think about the door knob, and other touchable areas outside/ inside (if you and have kids, or grandkids, they use it frequently throughout the day)
My pantry doors are opened numerous times in one day!
10. The Laundry Room. Wipe down your appliances AND clean your laundry basket! A laundry basket holds all of your dirty clothes AND clean clothes. Wipe them down often. I have separate baskets for clean and dirty clothes but, I regularly clean all of my laundry baskets.
This laundry basket is used solely for clean clothes to take out of dryer and putting away laundry. Cookie photo bombed my picture😎 . Here’s a look at a full and very dirty laundry basket in my house… so yes, I do have to regularly clean and disinfect these often! Your laundry may not be as dirty as mine. My plumber gets pretty dirty. But using a good disinfectant to clean touchable surfaces definitely will help keep your family healthy.
Now that you have my top ten list, what should you use to disinfect effectively?
Here are a few tips that you can use for cleaning “high-touch” areas. A more detailed guide can be found with CDC recommendations on cleaning those frequently used areas in your home and workplace. The internet is a plethora of information on the subject.
The Hardware Life Daily Cleaning Tips
1. Begin with a clean surface. Clean area first by removing any visible dirt or dust. I keep a good multi-surface spray handy for quick cleanups.
I often use a Meyers Clean Day multi surface spray for cleaning. Wilkes County Hardware has a vast selection of cleaning and disinfectant products that should be able to meet your daily cleaning needs.
2. Use gloves … a pair of disposable gloves might work best especially when disinfecting surfaces. Throw away once you finish cleaning.
3. Pick Easy disinfectant choices… Clorox or Lysol wipes. These will do the job quickly and easily.
5. Read the label on your disinfectant carefully. Do you need to rinse after application? Allow for drying time.
4. The Multi surface Cleaner… Keep a good multi-surface spray handy for quick cleanups. I keep one upstairs and have at least one multi surface spray available for cleaning in the downstairs areas my home.
Lastly, let’s evaluate some “germy“ cleaning utensils and those you might not think to clean.
1. The Sponge.. if you use a sponge to clean, let your nose to guide in your decision to keep or throw out. Your nose knows! If the sponge smells, then it is time to stop by our hardware store and pick up a new one.
2. The kitchen brush- if you have one of these brushes to scrub surfaces in your kitchen, sanitizing it is a must! Put it in the dishwasher after each use.
3. The toilet brush. It should be disinfected weekly or after each use. Rinse well after cleaning toilet, apply a disinfectant spray and allow to dry before replacing into toilet brush cover. Some experts say to replace your toilet brush every 6 months.
4. The plunger. Clean and disinfect after each use and allow to dry.
Sink and toilet plungers are readily available at Wilkes County Hardware
5. The bucket. If you carry your cleaning essentials inside your bucket as you clean at home, don’t forget to regularly disinfect your bucket.
6. The Mop. Let your nose be the guide again! If it smells, it is time for a new one. Regardless of the type of mop you use, the mop should be clean and disinfected. Your floors will be as clean as your mop. Some recommendations are to replace your mop every 3 months depending on the style of your mop.
I found this quote as I was working on this blog post, “our house is clean enough to be healthy, but dirty enough to be happy”. This reigns true in our house. Things are never perfect … shoes are often in the floor, keys are on the kitchen counter, blankets are thrown about on the couch, and two sweet pups roam absolutely everywhere. But it is HOME! I clean intentionally now that I’m more aware of surfaces that require an bit of extra “love and work”. Deep cleaning occurs when I can get to it. Whether you are a novice or a pro at finding all the frequently used areas of your home, home should always be a place a of comfort and joy. Happy Spring Cleaning Y’all!
Cookie and Joy
Living the "hardwarelife", join us in our journey of hardware store ownership
The Hardware Life - A wife's journey into the hardware business 