housekeeping

cleaning the hearth for the summer months - unfortunately I don't have a hearth but I do have a slow combustion fire. When I spring clean, I give the fire a really good clean - I pull out the ash box and empty it into my compost bin * then I scrape as much ash & cinders as I can into the tray and empty it again. Then I vacuum it out and scrub the glass door with hot water, pure soap, white vinegar and a drop or two of lavender oil - using a non scratch scourer. once that is all done, I wash the tiles around it and then I set the fire * using pine cones and sticks and on top of that I put a bunch of fresh lavender * for sweetness during the summer. the lavender will dry over the next few months and when it is time to light it, the lavender will give off the most gorgeous scent. During summer, I also collect my kindling and at my door, I have a huge basket where I store it in readiness for winter. I find in doing that, I don't have to scrounge around for kindling to light the fire.