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Loose Change
Why We Love Brini Maxwell
Because she gives how-to TV a hearty wink as hostess of The Brini
Maxwell Show, which debuts this January on the Style Network. The
series is a delicious cocktail of retro décor, entertaining,
and good ol’ home-improvement tips, stirred with a fuschia swizzle
stick. Each half-hour episode demonstrates, in Brini’s words,
how to create a gracious lifestyle with limited means” and features
segments like Why Didn’t You Think of That?, which offers folksy
solutions to everyday household problems: Scuff marks on linoleum?
Try a dab of lighter fluid. Frustrated by a messy workbench? Use a
muffin tin to corral those nuts and bolts. (for more ideas, see page
155.)
Because she is really a he. Oh yeah, didn’t we mention that?
Brini – short for Sabrina – is the alter ego of 34-year-old
New Yorker Ben Sander. “Brini is one part That Girl, one part
Mary Tyler Moore, and one part Auntie Mame with a good dose of my
mother thrown in,” Sander says. (Brini is also a Tupperware
lady.) The character made her first appearance on her own Manhattan
cable access show in 1998 and quickly earned a cult following.
Because she offers equal parts wit and wisdom. Although Brini whips
off one-liners with late-night timing (an exposed-brick fireplace
“sucks up your attention like an in-law”), she becomes
positively Bob Vila – like when discussing furring strips and
drywall. That’s because Sander is a bona fide D.I.Y. whiz. “My
parents are children of the Depression” he explains. “I’ve
learned most of what I know at their knee.” Good thing, since
there’s never been any mention of a hubby about the house, though
Sander says coyly, “Stay Tuned….”
www.brinimaxwell.com - Greg Emmanuel
Page 155
Loose change P. 23
The Style Network’s domestic diva Brini Maxwell (a.k.a. Ben
Sander) has helpful hints that would make Heloise envious. We’ve
rounded up 10 prime-time tidbits from her show’s “Why
Didn’t You Think of That segment. No cable subscription required!
1. To keep the smell of smoke from being an unwelcome party guest,
unobtrusively place snifters of white wine vinegar around your home
to soak up the odor. Float an artificial flower in the vinegar so
guests won’t mistake it for a drink. No sourpusses, please!
2. Move a heavy piece of furniture without making scuff marks by putting
a sock on it – over each leg, that is. Now it’s good to
glide.
3. If your panty hose have a run, don’t stop it with clear nail
polish (which turns white after washing). Opt for colorfast buff or
gold.
4. Save your butter wrappers and use them to grease your baking pans
and cookie sheets.
5. To make your scratched and stained white porcelain sink shine like
a dental model’s smile, line it with paper towels and soak them
overnight with bleach.
6. Got an oil stain on a piece of clothing? Lay it on a flat surface
ASAP and cover the spot with a small mound of flour or cornstarch,
which will soak up the oil in a few days.
7. Remove white candle wax from a tablecloth by putting two layers
of paper towels both under and on top of the soiled area. Run an iron
over the towels, which will absorb the melted wax. (Don’t try
this with colored wax; the heated dye can permanently stain your tablecloth.)
8. Pin together your socks before washing them to keep the mates from
wandering.
9. Make sure your meat loaf doesn’t stick by lining the pan’s
bottom with a strip of bacon.
10. Sick of dried fruit and olives sinking to the bottom of the batter?
Stop the drop by first coating them with flour.
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