removing stickers & labels

I got two of these chairs for free a couple of years ago, and I've never bothered to take the half-peeled labels off the backs. It's really not that hard, and they look so much better with a nice clean back. You've probably seen Goo Gone at the store or at least heard of it before, but here's a trick for removing labels with things you should already have in your cupboard.


Things you'll need:
dish soap
rag
oil (vegetable, olive, baby, really any kind will do)
paper towels
scraper - this is helpful, but optional, and can't be used on all surfaces because it can scratch

1. Soak the label in hot soapy water to remove as much of the paper as possible. I just washed the back of the chair with a hot soapy rag to scrub off the paper, but with labels on plastic containers or things like that, I stick them in the sink with water.

2. Now that the paper is gone, you should be left with just the sticky part of the label. Pour on a little oil and start rubbing in little circles with a paper towel.

3. Keep rubbing and adding oil. Sometimes the glue will come up quickly, and other times it'll take a lot of elbow grease. If it's not a surface that you are worried about getting scratched, use a scraper to speed things along. I usually don't use one as the oil and paper towel method always works.

4. After all the glue is gone, wash again with hot soapy water to remove the oil.

Simple Wood Restoration

More times than not, when you find a piece of furniture second-hand, it'll have some visible wear and tear. Sometimes it might need to be sanded and refinished, but if you're lucky, it might just need some touch-ups. Enter Howard's Feed-N-Wax.

My husband was browsing a consignment store a few years back and he noticed one of the employees wiping a dresser with something. He was impressed with the results they were getting, so he thought we should give it a try. We bought our bottle from Fred Meyer (in the home improvement section), but it's available at several other stores, and on Amazon.

While Feed-N-Wax won't completely restore damage, I was surprised at how well it disguised scratches and water rings. It's all-natural—just orange oil and beeswax—and the bottle lasts a long time. Most of our furniture is in the medium oak range, so I don't have much experience using it on birch or dark walnut finishes. If you've tried it, let me know what kind of results you've had.