We Are THAT Family: WFMW-How to Pick & Preserve Pumpkins

I dare you to say that three times fast.

Fall has blown in and left a trail of colorful leaves and bulging pumpkins to share. This, without a doubt, is my favorite time of the year.

The pumpkin and I go way back. I'm usually the first on my street to garnish my front porch with bright orange in September.

My kids and hubby love to carve pumpkins the week of Halloween, but I like keep a few out through Thanksgiving. I've learned it's nearly impossible without some careful pumpkin picking.

How to Pick a Pumpkin that will last:

Choose a pumpkin free of blemishes, nicks or discolored marks, mold or mildew.
Make sure it has a stem attached. If the stem is brittle or breaks with a tug, this pumpkin won't last long.
Pick a pumpkin that feels firm to the touch. Don't choose pumpkins with soft spots.
If it's available, buy your pumpkins right off the vine! It's a really fun family outing an if you buy them in October, these pumpkins will last throughout November.

How to Preserve Your Carved Pumpkin:

Before you carve, soak the pumpkin in water with a little bleach added in. (This will kill any mold or rot. Make sure you dry it thoroughly).
Spray your pumpkin with a clear coat of gloss shellac. This not only makes it shiny, it seals the pumpkin and it lasts longer (tip from my real life friend, Karen).
Once you create your masterpiece, rub vegetable oil or petroleum jelly over the entire area, especially the cut part.

And this is just a bonus tip: paint on your pumpkins-words, names, patterns, etc!

That works for me!

NEXT WEEK, Don't forget our THEMED Edition of WFMW: Share your best cleaning tip (any area of your life-car, home, purse, etc.) If you've already shared a great tip, link up an old post. If you don't have a cleaning tip, you can still link up a tip. There will be a great giveaway for linkers!

Thank you for joining me for WFMW! {You can read the guidelines here.}

Have a Works-For-Me Wednesday tip you'd like to share? I'd love for you to join us! Please note that the links will close at 9 pm CST tonight, in order to keep away the spammers!

Was your link deleted? Click here.

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29 comments:

Phoebe @ GettingFreedom said...: Great tips! I've never heard of soaking them in a bit of bleacch water, or the petroleum jelly..I'm going to have to try those!; September 29, 2009 at 10:09 PM
Hoosier Homemade said...: Those are some great pumpkin tips! Thanks for sharing and for hosting!
~Liz; September 29, 2009 at 10:12 PM
The Happy Housewife said...: Great tips! I am hoping to pick up a few pumpkins next week.
Toni; September 29, 2009 at 10:14 PM
Sharon said...: I'm like that too! I was sorely tempted to put out mums over Labor Day, but I waited until school started. Now there are pumpkins galore!

Great tips about the pumpkins -- I'll add one more. If you are going to carve, cut the hole in the bottom. That way you can just place it over the candle without burning your fingers. AND you can keep the stem intact!; September 29, 2009 at 10:18 PM
Jamie said...: Great tips. I never thought of doing anything to preserve them.; September 29, 2009 at 10:20 PM
Julie said...: GREAT TIPS!!! Thanks, so much =); September 29, 2009 at 10:20 PM
Melissa Stover said...: i washed ours but didn't know about the bleach. good tip. ours are already starting to rot.; September 29, 2009 at 10:27 PM
Jen - Balancing Beauty and Bedlam said...: Oh, you always are in the know. :) We just smash them...that sure preserves the memory. :); September 29, 2009 at 10:27 PM
Raise Them Up said...: I'm always lucky to have them last through Halloween. Thanks for the tips!; September 29, 2009 at 10:31 PM
bridget {bake at 350} said...: Great tips...I had no idea about he bleach or the shellac! Makes me want to go pumpkin shopping!; September 29, 2009 at 11:37 PM
Susannah said...: Aha, so that's how you make a pumpkin shiney... w/ vegetable oil. Smart!

Thanks for hosting. :~D; September 30, 2009 at 12:19 AM
Kristin @ Prudent and Practical said...: We haven't gotten pumpkins yet. Thanks for the great tips. We'll definitely be trying them out this year :-); September 30, 2009 at 1:00 AM
Becca said...: Why was this poll closed so early? It is 2am on Wednesday and this poll is closed? Did it close at 9pm on Tuesday? It's WFMWednesday!; September 30, 2009 at 2:08 AM
se7en said...: Not linking today, but you can meet our new arrival here... http://www.se7en.org.za/2009/09/30/introducing-hood-8; September 30, 2009 at 3:05 AM
Nici said...: Oh no! Why is it closed? 3:06AM Wednesday morning and it says it's closed. I'm bummed. :(; September 30, 2009 at 3:07 AM
Jean Stockdale said...: I am also posting my link at 3:13 am and the link is closed. I am not sure if this is an error or a change in WFMW. I will check back later. Blessings.

Jean; September 30, 2009 at 3:13 AM
Tracey said...: Here's my tip - it's on organizing all my girls' hair accessories!
http://girlstogrow.blogspot.com/2009/09/corralling-hair-accessories.html; September 30, 2009 at 5:26 AM
Tara @ Feels Like Home said...: I'm headed off to work, so I won't be able to link up later. I wanted to share my link here; I hope that's okay.

I wrote about how Twitter worked for me. :); September 30, 2009 at 5:31 AM
steadymom said...: Still saying it's closed at 7 am - I'll come back to check in later!

Jamie; September 30, 2009 at 5:53 AM
melaniet42 said...: Fantastic ideas! I love pumpkins for decorating, but hate how quickly they deteriorate after carving.... Thanks for sharing!!!; September 30, 2009 at 7:00 AM
Mel at Adventures of Mel said...: You have a blog award over at my blog.:); September 30, 2009 at 9:01 AM
Short Stop said...: I didn't know any of that about pumpkins! Thanks for the tips, Kristen!; September 30, 2009 at 9:06 AM
annies home said...: great tips I will try to remember these when we travel to the pumpkin patch; September 30, 2009 at 9:15 AM
Sharon said...: I love this time of year as well, although it's just not as spectacular in TX as it was in WY. I also LOVE pumpkins and anything that has pumpkins in it. Thanks for the great tips. Maybe this year we'll actually carve pumpkins.

And thanks for fixing the links again. I wonder if I'm the only one who has or notices the difference. :-/; September 30, 2009 at 10:51 AM
Mikki said...: Joining in for the first time today! Thanks for hosting.; September 30, 2009 at 10:58 AM
Lisa Anne said...: I can't wait to get my pumpkins. I kept an uncarved pumpkin on my porch for almost and entire year. I lived in a cold place though. Then someone stole it. It just disappeared. I was so mad. grrr.

Come see my halloween spooktacular on my blog!!; September 30, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional said...: Great tips! This is my first time joining in although I've seen this around for the longest time.; September 30, 2009 at 11:58 AM
Donna said...: GREAT PUMPKIN tips! :-); September 30, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Lana said...: My Works for Me post has turned into NOT WORKING for ME today...go figure!!! :)

I'd love some pumpkins right about now...Pumkin PIE (that I don't have to fix and the non-calorie kind.); September 30, 2009 at 12:59 PM

We Are THAT Family

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WFMW-How to Pick & Preserve Pumpkins

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