Home Maid Simple

Category: Uncategorized

  • Home Repairs Anyone Can Do

    Home Repairs Anyone Can Do

    I realized the other day that there are a lot of simple repairs I can do .  I usually wait for Mark to do them, but I don’t have to. I can actually be quite handy myself! When we first moved in, we had a picture continuously fall off the wall in the Princess’ bedroom.  We eventually took it down, but not before it killed the outlet cover. Well, we’ve lived here for almost 9 months now, and it has been this way for the most part.  Mark finally went out and bought a new cover. And then it just sat there.  Boy are we lazy or what? I actually got mad at myself for being so lazy the other day.  No more! I will no longer just leave these things for a later date!  Really this fix took all of 5 minutes.
    And ta-da! Outlet is fixed, no longer dangerous, and I did it! And of course we can’t forget the child safety covers.  
  • Wordless Wednesday

    Wordless Wednesday

    Has our house hunting ended?  We sure hope so!

    link up your Wordless Wednesday at Dear Crissy
  • Home Sweet Home

    Home Sweet Home

    “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home…” said Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, while clicking the heels of her awesome red shoes!  I left home last wednesday night to come watch and care for my grandma.  I do this every week, but usually its just for 2 days a week.  My parents, and siblings, were however headed out of town for the weekend, and so I said I’d stay over the weekend.  It really worked out great, because my brother was getting his Eagle Scout Sunday night.  It’s now Monday though, and I am still here.  The thought here was, why drive home Sunday night, just to drive back Tuesday morning?  Really, with gas prices the way they are, this just made more sense.  So I’ve tossed some laundry in, so we still have clean clothes, and then just vegged out on the couch.  I really truly do miss my home though.  Despite the fact I’m sure there are dishes to  be done, garbage to take out, and not to mention the load of laundry I left in the wash (should probably call the hubs about that).  Maybe if I put on my red heels and click them together I too will wake up in my bed…Wishful thinking.  But these shoes do make me smile!

    What makes you smile when you’re missing home?

  • Couponchief.com Review

    I was so excited last week when Couponchief.com contacted me last week to review their website.  Since I decided to start couponing this year, I’ve been looking for all different types of websites.  Most have very similar coupons – manufacturers that you print and take the store.  That is where Coupon Chief is unique.  All the coupons on Coupon Chief are for online products and services.  In this age of technology and busy schedules, many people have started shopping more online for even the basic needs.
    Here is a list of things Coupon Chief offers – 
    1. Free to join and submit coupon codes
    2. Pays-2-Share program pays YOU when coupons you submit are used*
    3. Over 50,000 coupons to over 15000 stores
    4. Easy to search for specific stores or products
    5. Coupon clipping made easy with one click access to store.
    I have been using Couponchief.com for a week now, and have thoroughly enjoyed it.  I personally don’t do a lot of online shopping (although diapers.com has me considering it more), but I get emails and flyers with coupons codes all the time!  I hated throwing the flyers away and deleting the email knowing there were plenty of people out there that could use it.  Now I have an easy place to share these codes, and get paid to do it too!
    It is my belief that everything has room for improvement.  Couponchief.com does not miss the mark in that belief, but from my experience, there is not much it needs to change.  When you click on a coupon, it pops up a handy bubble “Did this coupon Work for you?”  It only gives you two options, yes or no.  There have been many I’ve clicked on that I ended up not even using the coupon, because I didn’t buy anything.  I think adding that third option in would help make their stats more accurate when calculating how effective the coupon was. Last I would add in the personal profile.  You can see the coupons you’ve uploaded, but you can’t click on them.  So if you want to use a coupon that you had uploaded, you have to search for it, and then go through the many coupons similar to find yours.  Not impossible, but it could be made easier.
    *Pays-2-Share program does not work with all coupons submitted.  Select stores have partnered with Couponchief.com to give back to members submitting coupons. When submitting a coupon the site will tell you if it is a pays-2-share participant.
    **I was compensated for this review.  All opinions are my own from personal experience using Couponchief.com.  My opinions were not influenced in any way by this compensation.  I strive to bring my readers knowledge based on personal experience. 
  • Tuesday Tips

    Tuesday Tips

    This is going to be fun!  Every tuesday I want to start sharing household tips.  Whether it be cleaning, organizing, or exercising.  I was sitting around during the week, just thinking about life in general.  That happens periodically.  When the thought came to me…vacuum the kitchen!  Now before you think I’m crazy, I don’t mean the whole kitchen.  There are vacuum’s out there that have a hard surface setting, and work great.  My vacuum actually has that setting, but I’ve only used in a quick pinch and usually just over the edge of the carpet.  So here is where my tip comes in.  What’s the hardest place you find to clean on your kitchen floor?  For me it is between the fridge and the counter and the corners under the cupboards.  
    I always think I’ve swept it good enough, but then I mop and my rag comes out covered in crumbs.  I hate crumbs on my mopping rag!  From now on, I will always run the vacuum hose into the corner before mopping.  It makes so much sense, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner!  I’d love to hear any tips you have!
  • Pillow Fail

    Pillow Fail

    So I was on a pillow making kick.  Unfortunatel, the great idea for spring I had, didn’t turn out like I planned.  I was trying to think Spring, in the midst of all this snow.  What says spring better than easter eggs?  I was thinking a line of easter eggs on a pillow.  Here is what I got –

    I guess they kind of look like eggs, but more as in the words of my best critic “polka dots”.  This pillow now enjoys a special place, being pulled between two kids.  The Princess’ sure enjoy it!  Maybe I’ll try again, but turns out egg shapes are really hard to get precise.
    On another note, we had been in the process of purchasing a home.  We were very excited, things were going along great.  Then the home inspection.  It revealed things that concerned us, and the sellers did not want to compromise on price or work done.  So we’re back to looking at more homes.  Wish us luck!
  • Valentines Day

    Valentines Day

    I know it’s been awhile since posting, and this one is a bit late.  But I wanted to share our Valentines decorations with you.  They were so simple and quick to create!

    I got this awesome free printable from eighteen25.  Eventually mine will be framed nicely like theirs, but for our  simple needs this year, I used some craft glue and recycled a cardboard box.  The hearts we painted a couple years with the girls, one is missing because it got colored on with pen.  
    Then with the girls help we cut out some hearts, and strung them on some pink heart ribbon and hung it in the hall. 
    We had a really fun valentines day with lots of yummy food.
    Heart shaped chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.
     Cream cheese stuffed strawberries for dessert
    And the husband and I ended the night with Sparkling Cider, bread and cheese.
    Every year the hubby buys his girls flowers.  I love that we have 3 sweet little girls for him to show his love to, along with me!
    Mine are the yellow roses.  The girls got the lilies.
    For my knight in shining armor we got him all his favorites.  Starting with favorite dinner – meatloaf, mashed potatoes and carrots (cut like hearts!).  Here’s the rest of his favorites
    Mini pepsi’s to fit in his work fridge, Reeses Peanut Butter cups, a movie, and chalkboard paint. Ok chalkboard paint doesn’t really fit in the favorites theme, but it was something he wanted.  I told him it would have to wait, because it wasn’t needed and we’re trying to buy a home.  Well, wasn’t he nicely surprised!
  • EcoFresh cleaner review

    EcoFresh cleaner review

    I won my first ever blog Giveaway at the beginning of this year!  What did I win, some awesome green cleaners by EcoFresh. I finally got around to trying them this last week, and really enjoyed them.  I tried them first out in the bathroom.  Wow, they really smelled fresh!  I was pleasantly surprised.  So after finishing the bathroom up, I moved onto the kids room.  One of my favorite things about this product is that it is safe to use around kids because it doesn’t have any of the harsh chemicals in it.  Now this is where the product really amazed me – You know that strip of wall next to your kids bed that gets gross from their feet, hands and who knows what else.  Well it was time to clean it.  Normally I have to pull out the big stuff like ammonia or Mr Clean Magic Erasers to get this off the wall, and then it still usually leaves a bit of gray stain.  With EcoFresh, I sprayed, left it for about 10-15 seconds, then wiped it with a dry cloth.  NO SCRUBBING!  Seriously it shocked me.  Today I’ll be trying it out on my white chairs (don’t ask why we bought white chairs with toddlers in the house, I don’t know!).

    Dsiclaimer: I won these products.  I was not asked to review them.  I just really enjoyed them and wanted to share the product with you my readers!  

  • AND THE WINNER IS…..

    AND THE WINNER IS…..

    What a great time I  had with the Handmade with Love Giveaway! So many of you entered, I wish I had more prizes to giveaway.  I guess I’ll just have to do more giveaways now!  So let’s get on with it, thanks to the help of my 2 sweet children, we have 2 winners.
    The Winner of the Yellow Outdoor Pillows is

    Kelly’s Lucky You!
    I hope you enjoy these Canvas pillows.  I’d love to see pictures of where you use them!
    The winner of the Princess Headbands (incase you didn’t figure it out, because I forgot to mention it, these were inspired by Cinderella and Belle) is
    KRIS
    I hope you enjoy the headbands!
    Emails have been sent.  The winners now have 48 hours to respond.  If I don’t get a response, new winners will be chosen.  Thanks again for entering the Handmade with Love Giveaway with prizes from the Familyroom.
    We’d love to see you all around Home Maid Simple leaving lots of comments and advice (I really love advice!). 
  • Handmade with Love Winter Giveaway! *CLOSED*

    Handmade with Love Winter Giveaway! *CLOSED*


    Hundreds of blogs are participating in the Handmade with Love Winter Giveaway Hop!  Each one is offering a themed giveaway – all the prizes are handmade treasures or gift certificates to shops that sell handmade items. There is a linky at the end of this post.  After you’ve entered here, hop on over to the next blog on the list and keep going as long as you’d like!  The more you enter, the more likely you are to win.  Good luck!

    I am so excited to be joining in my first ever blog hop and giveaway!  Check out all these GREAT prizes you could win!  There will be a total of 2 winners right here on Home Maid Simple!

    The following prizes were handmade with love by me, and are a sampling of some things I sell in my etsy shop.  Here at Home Maid Simple I am on a journey to simplify and bring peace into my home.  I try to do this for others as well by making things and selling them in the Familyroom etsy shop.  I really enjoyed creating these prizes for you!

    Familyroom on Etsy is offering this set of 3 yellow outdoor pillows.  Perfect for your patio furniture to add a little color, and they are made from canvas so they will last through all weathers!
    SALE Yellow Canvas Accent pillows
    Our 2nd prize also comes from Familyroom on etsy.  Win this set of 2 Disney Princess headbands for your little princess.
    Belle Headband
    Cinderella headband 
    I’d like to leave you with a blurb on another etsy shop – Baby by Juli.  She makes some really cute baby items and kids aprons.  Someone very close to her has been going through cancer.  As I’m sure we all know, hospital bills pile up and can be hard to pay, especially in this economy.  All profits made she donates to this cancer patient.  I did not ask for a donation to this giveaway because she is trying to raise money.  However, if you check out the bonus entries you will see how you can help a cancer patient as well as earn extra entries into this giveaway!
    MAIN ENTRY:
    Leave me ONE comment.  Tell me which prize you would like to win – pick one, two or both.  Make sure you leave an email in your comment to contact if you win.
    Bonus Entries:
    For each bonus entry leave one comment
    Follow my blog +1
    Add Familyroom on etsy to your favorites +1
    Purchase any item from Familyroom on etsy +5 (coupon code bloggerlove for 10% off)
    Purchase any item from Baby by Juli on etsy +10

    Open to US and Canada Residents.  Giveaway ends February 6, 2011 at 11:59pm EST.  Winners will be drawn February 7th from a hat with the help of my 4yo, and 2yo.  Emails will be sent on the 7th and winners have 48 hours to respond.

    Good luck and Have fun!  Don’t forget to hop over to the next giveaway!