A friend confided that she has received yet another houseplant from a well-meaning friend. She doesn't need another houseplant, but the "n" word is way too difficult for her to say. I know, you are thinking 'How can anyone say "no" to a houseplant?' Here I am. I have a finite amount of space in this house for plants and what there is is devoted to african violets.

I decided long ago what I do and do not like in houseplants. I do not like anything that is vining, hanging, has sword-like leaves, does not bloom, has a pest problem or is, supposedly, a tree. I absolutely do not like more of them than there is of me, mass-wise.

Have you ever really thought about this? Have you ever really looked at your houseplant collection? I want you to care about this. I am convinced that if your plants are yellow and gangly and pest-ridden then the rest of your life is following suit.

Go ahead, have an eclectic collection, if you must. Just keep them looking like they enjoy living in your house. And that you enjoy having them, not just tolerating them because you have had them "forever" or someone has given them to you because you can't say no.

Gather them all together. They probably all need a shower anyway. Give them a good examination. Be critical. Remove any leaves that are dead or dying, any spent blooms. Does it need to be cut all the way back to the base so it can regenerate instead of struggling to maintain remnants of leaves? When was the last time it saw fresh soil? How about that pot?

Now that they look a whole lot better you can divide them up into groups: those that you will keep, those that you will toss, those that will go to someone else, or even the library's plant sale fund-raiser.

How about having three really gorgeous, well-tended plants instead of 30 unfortunate ones?

How about having plants that make your heart sing first thing in the morning? Or in the evening, at the end of a day when the kids are in bed and all is quiet? Do you want to be looking at a bunch of plants that need more of you than you have to give? Where is the peace and satisfaction in that?

Now that you have made the decision as to which ones you are going to keep, evaluate the pots they are in and just how long they have been in that pot.

There is quite a selection of containers in this town in case you want to get fancier than a plain old green plastic pot. While you are checking out new containers, pick up a bag of fresh potting soil.

Lay out some newspaper on the kitchen counter and get to work. If the root ball is a solid mass, cut off one-quarter to one-third of it. Using your hands, rub the root ball all over, removing loose and/or dead roots. This will, overall, reduce the size of the root mass. Scrub out the pot with dish soap, rinse thoroughly, put some fresh soil in the bottom of the pot and replace the plant to its former depth. Put fresh soil into the pot all around the root ball. Water very well, allowing the excess to drain out into the sink.

Now that you have all that taken care of you can rethink just where you are going to put these plants. Why put them back in the same location that you just removed them? Use them like fresh paint. Or throw pillows. Or art work. No matter what, they are going to need light, but at least use some imagination. Group them in threes, using one huge, interesting, waterproof tray to catch drips when watering. Put a bloomer where you will see it first thing in the morning.

Life, unfortunately, is short. Never enough time for all things that need to be done, let alone what you want to do. Don't let houseplants get the best of you. They are a joy and a pleasure that will make the coming dark days of winter in the Far North much more pleasant.