Fortunately, here is a tried and true, if bizarre, way to remove the stain.

Once you have cleared the table (after the meal is over is fine as long as you keep the stain damp by spritzing with water) put a kettle of water on the stove and bring a stool or chair that can handle your weight, and the tablecloth to the kitchen sink. Place a big bowl, one that is at least 10″ wide, or a soup pot, in the kitchen sink. Gather together the section of the linen with the wine stain and stretch it taught over the top of the bowl or pot.

Once the kettle of water is boiling stand on a chair and pour the water from a height of at least three feet down onto the linen that is stretched over the bowl. Once that step is accomplished, further rinse the linen under cool water, then launder as usual.

If the red wine stain is dry, soak the red wine stain in white wine (!), or sprinkle baking soda on the stain, spritz with water, and set for a few hours before scraping off the baking soda and laundering as usual.

–By Annie B. Bond, best-selling author of five green living books, including Home Enlightenment (Rodale Press, 2005).

For adults, decor in the bedroom should focus on pairs; solitary items and images promote independence, rather than harmonious relationships. If you keep one teddy bear on the bed, keep two instead. If you have artwork that depicts living beings on the bedroom walls, the beings should be in pairs, including pairs of people.

Pairs of birds–especially ducks, geese, peacocks, phoenixes, and swans–carved from precious stones, such as adventurine, jasper, rose quartz, and tourmaline, are especially beneficial feng shui.

Two geese flying high is a symbol of togetherness for those already in a relationship; a pair of mandarin ducks attracts new love for those desiring a relationship; a pair of mandarin ducks attracts new love for those desiring a relationship. If you are looking for a heterosexual relationship, make sure your figurines are of the opposite sex–don’t use two male peacocks, for example, unless that’s what you’re looking for.

For good fortune in marriage, keep an image representing the Moon in your bedroom.

If you decorate your home solely as if it were a goddess sanctuary, you shouldnt’ wonder why it only appeals to women. To attract a relationship with a man, at least one-third of the imagery in your bedroom should represent the masculine. Strong masculine images that I keep in my home include Jesus, Pan, Buddha, Shiva, Merlin, and the Beatles.

Likewise, to attract a woman, a small amount of feminine imagery should be featured rather than a plethora of sports posters. For relationship harmony, honor the divine feminine and masculine. Angels work in pairs.

If the bedroom is small, hang wind chimes or a multifaceted or heart-shaped crystal in its center to increase the flow of chi. The symbol of water promotes the healthy flow of chi in many areas of the home, but it is not recommended in the bedroom where it might encourage infidelity. Remove fountains, photographs or paintings of water, and all other water symbols, including sheets with water motifs, from the bedroom.

When you open your eyes in the morning, your first sight should be of beauty. Place a beautiful object in the room in the line of vision that you most often wake up to, so that your days begin with truth, beauty, and goodness.

Do not keep photos of relatives overlooking the bed. Also, remove mementos of previous relationships, which can crate negative energy in a new relationship.

Windows
Weather permitting, open windows during the day to allow the angels of light and air to dance inside and bring fresh chi into the bedroom. Hang crystals in the windows to bring rainbows of delight into the boudoir.

Color Therapy
Color in the bedroom can have a powerful effect on the psyche and the flow of chi. The most arousing colors are reds, ambers, oranges, and purples. Generally, men find red to be more erotic; women seem to prefer violet. Red, pink, and peach are the best colors for the early years of a relationship. Red symbolizes passion. Pink is the combination of the passion of red muted with the purity of white. Peach blends the passion of red with the wisdom of yellow. However, excess red (such as a room painted red) may be overstimulating and could cause arguments. Blue, yellow, and white are more friendly than sexual.

Lighting
Soft lighting is necessary for romantic occasions. Natural candles work well. Another option is soft pink lightbulbs, which flatter the body and are easy on the eyes. Keep one of these bulbs available for a bedside light. Also consider stringing holiday lights in your bedroom for a joyous illuminating effect.

Different colors can be added to the bedroom in moderation in the form of candles, fresh flowers, pillows, luxurious fabrics, and wall or ceiling hangings.

Adapted from The Sexual Herbal, Prescriptions for Enhancing Love and Passion, by Brigitte Mars, A.H.G.

What to do?

1. The top level, most successful solution I know about, is this: Turn off all of the lights in your basement and see where the light comes in. Do whatever is needed to block the holes.

The reason I have had trouble doing this is because I have a warped door frame and the crack under the door can’t be fixed unless the whole door frame is re-built. I’ve recently stuffed the crack with steel wool, which mice hate, and this has been successful at blocking out the mice. Note that mice can crawl through very small holes, so be thorough in blocking all cracks.

2. I have found that the sonic mice repellents work within a short radius of where they are positioned. This has been fine for the kitchen but not the whole house.

3. Saturating cotton balls with pure essential oil of peppermint is a decent repellent as mice hate peppermint. That said, you need a lot of peppermint for a big house and the smell can be a bit overwhelming at first.

Also, plant peppermint/mint near house access points, such as around bulkheads and basement doors.

4. Try a great herbal product called Fresh Cab. I tried this and the mice were so anxious to get out of the house they chewed through screen doors. The challenge is that it hasn’t worked as well since. Have my mice become resistant? The company says that the formula didn’t change….

5. The newest idea that I haven’t tried I learned on a FaceBook discussion (one started after I opened my garden compost barrel to find seven or eight mice using it as a home). This is a last resort solution if you want to kill the mice, but uses a common kitchen item, Aspartame, found in Equal. It is also known as Nutrisweet. Recommended by Stephen Tvedten in his free book The Best Control II, Stephen claims that mice (and ants, including fire ants), will die in four days. The information about Aspartame is found in chapter eleven.

Note that we have tried Havahart traps –a lot set at once–and the problem here is that mice are known to travel even six miles to return to their home nest. We’d have to go on a trip every time we caught a mouse!

Other options, such as sticky traps, have been off the table for me because I couldn’t stomach the slow and torturous death that the mice experience.

I’ve also tried energy work, trying to “talk” to them and ask them to leave. Yes, I have been desperate.

What now for me? I am going to invest in a new door frame so that I can block the mice’s entrance into the house to begin with. I can’t quite face putting Equal all over the basement. I am so unhappy when I get to the last resort and poison the mice. Further, what will happen to the owls who eat the dying mice?

Please send me your suggestions! annie [at] greenchicafe [dot] com

By Annie B. Bond, best-selling author of five green living books, including Better Basics for the Home (Three Rivers Press, 1999).

I have some experience with this product as a friend moved into an apartment that had new carpet and the smell gave him a headache. I suggested he buy this product and when it arrived I helped him apply the sealant. Amazingly, once it dried you could hardly tell it was there, and best of all it removed the smell completely.

AFM – General Information — 619 – 239 – 0321
Monday – Friday 9:00-5:00 Pacific Time

Contact the nearest AFM Dealer: Where do you live?

By Annie Bond, best-selling author of five green living books, including Home Enlightenment (Rodale Press, 2005).