Home Maid Simple

Tag: guest post

  • Stress Free Moving {Guest Post}

    Stress Free Moving {Guest Post}

    I need to remember this advice when we begin moving again in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, especially with the holidays upon us, I can stay as stress free as possible while we settle into our new home!

    Staying Sane While Moving Between Homes

    Moving is exciting, but it’s also rather stressful. People tend to become so overwhelmed during the move that they just feel immense amounts of pressure and anxiety. Follow these tips to have a less stressful move this time around.

    Take Time Off

    Try to plan the move, if possible, for a fairly low key time at work, and then take a few days off. You’ll likely want to take off at least a day or two before the move, the day of the move and possibly the day after as well. You’re going to need this time to pack up, organize and just deal with the general steps of moving.

    Make Lists

    You might be paranoid that the movers are going to lose some of your beloved items, so keep accurate and detailed lists to maintain control. Mark each of the boxes, and note as they make their way through the doors and into the moving truck. Once you’ve arrived in your new home, check the items off of the list to denote that they have arrived.

    Use Storage Units

    Sometimes, it’s not possible to move directly from one house into another. The house might not be ready yet, or the sellers are not ready to move out of the space for another month. In that case, you’ll need to rent for a while or spend some time living with your family. Now, where are all of your items going to go during this transitional phase? Instead of cramming them all into a space that’s too small, simply rent a storage unit, like Dallas Texas Self Storage, for the time being.

    Children and Pets

    Two of your biggest worries are likely going to be your children and pets during the move. If possible, board your pets for the day, so they aren’t able to get out. When that’s not an option, keep them in a separate room while the doors are opening. For small children, hire a babysitter or ask a family member to help for the day.

    Generous Time Limits

    If you insist that the job must be completed within a few hours and that all of your items must be unpacked that very night, then you’re really going to stress yourself out. Remember, moving is a process, and it will likely take several days or even weeks to be settled in your new house.
    Whenever the anxiety and stress creep up, remember that it will be worth it once everything is done and finished.

    Author Bio:
    Melisa Cammack is a busy mother of three young boys (with one little girl on the way), wife to one handsome man, and a freelance writer who loves writing health, travel, parenting and self-help articles. Though she is originally from Seattle, Melisa is currently living in Western Australia with her little family for the next few months due to her husband’s job, and is looking forward to going back to the States in December for a white Christmas, but is already dreading the 30+ hour flight.

  • A Writers Workspace {Guest Post by Author Bekka Black}

    A Writers Workspace {Guest Post by Author Bekka Black}

    Welcome to Home Maid Simple’s stop on the iFrankenstein book tour! I am lucky to have author Bekka Black here. In an attempt to keep with this blogs theme of home, I asked Ms Black to tell us about her workspace!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     
    I don’t have an office, or maybe it’s more true to say that I have many offices. I’ve had offices before, of course, from gray fabric cubicles in Silicon Valley to a blue desk with a 360 degree view of the ocean in Hawaii. But I’ve found that my best work gets done elsewhere.

    When I’m at home, everything is my problem. Sound of breaking glass? Better investigate. Laundry piling up? Better fold it. Plaintive voice calling “Mom!” Better administer hugs.

    So, I run away to cafés where nothing is my problem but my work. Sound of breaking glass? Someone else will have to sweep that up. Laundry piling up? Not here. Plaintive voice calling “Mom!” Not my kid (although I look every time anyway).

    This means I have to carry everything in my purse that I need to write. Here’s what I have: a Netbook computer because it’s light, a cell phone because there are things that need to distract me and I can check my email on it if the café doesn’t have Internet, a notebook and pen because I can’t imagine not having those even though I mostly take notes on my phone now, earphones in case people get noisy, and reading glasses. That’s it. With these items I’ve written novels in cafés, on planes, in cars, at airports. Everywhere can be my office.

    But my favorite office is a nice café. One that has a good view of the street so I can people watch when I’m thinking. One where the staff leaves me alone after I order and doesn’t ever check to see how I’m doing. One where the music isn’t too loud. One where the customers chatter, but don’t start fights with each other. One where there are always a couple of empty tables so I don’t feel guilty sitting there taking up space from paying customers. One with a good chai tea.

    Luckily, I’ve found places like that all over the world. In fact, I’m writing this in one now.
    What’s your favorite place to work?
     
     


    After a childhood often spent without electricy and running water, Bekka escaped the beautiful wilderness of Talkeetna, Alaska for indoor plumbing and 24/7 electricity in Berlin, Germany. Used to the cushy lifestyle, she discovered the Internet in college and has been wasting time on it ever since (when not frittering away her time on her iPhone). Somehow, she manages to write novels, including the award-winning Hannah Vogel mystery series set, in all places, 1930s Berlin, and The Blood Gospel series (with James Rollins).
    She lives in Berlin with her husband, son, two cats, and too many geckoes to count. iDrakula is her first cell phone novel.

     
     
     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     

    Frankenstein comes to life for the wired generation.
    Following her critically-acclaimed iDrakula, award-winning author Bekka Black breathes life into a modern re-telling of iFrankenstein, using only text messages, web browsers, tweets, and emails. Homeschooled teenager Victor Frankenstein is determined to write his own ticket to independence: a chatbot to win the prestigious Turing prize and admission to the high tech university of his choice. He codes his creation with a self-extending version of his own online personality and unleashes it upon the internet. But soon he begins to suspect his virtual clone may have developed its own goals, and they are not aligned with Victor’s. The creature has its own plan, fed by a growing desire to win darker and more precious prizes: unfettered power and release from loneliness.
    As the creature’s power and sentience grows and its increasingly terrible deeds bleed over from the online world into the real one, Victor must stop his creation before his friends and humanity pay the ultimate price.

    You can follow Bekka Black by social media on the following platforms
    Website
    Twitter
    Facebook
    Goodreads

     
  • Are you a Hoarder or Collector? {Guest Post}

    Are you a Hoarder or Collector? {Guest Post}

    Are You Hoarding or Collecting?

    source

    There is a difference between collecting and hoarding. Collectors focus on a particular category of objects they enjoy. Someone that loves baseball may collect bats, cards and posters featured in that sport. The items collected are kept clean while being displayed nicely in the home. Collectors choose objects carefully before purchasing them.
    Occasionally, a collector will store or sell excessive items. They do not allow the home to become overwhelmed with their collections. A collector’s home remains reasonably clean and functional. A hoarder brings random items into their homes. The objects may be broken, dirty and worthless. Hoarded items are not displayed nicely. They are left in piles and stacks. Objects in a hoarding home are often covered with dust and cobwebs. Hoarders may have no idea what is in the piles throughout their homes.

    What is Collecting?

    Many people have a hobby of collecting objects. A collection is typically a specific category of items. Popular collections are dolls, pottery, coins and other objects. A collector displays their items in an organized and attractive way. Collections are placed on shelves and kept clean. A collected item may be framed and hung on a wall. Small collectibles are often placed in special books for protection. Valuable objects may be stored in boxes to avoid damage. Collectors may rotate their objects to avoid too much clutter. Collector’s homes are maintained nicely. The home is considered clean and safe. It is possible to walk around the home without danger of injury. Kitchen appliances are accessible. Plumbing in the bathrooms is functional.

    What is Hoarding?

    This is considered an obsessive compulsive disorder. Individuals keep a massive amount of objects. Clutter fills the person’s home until it is difficult to walk from room to room. In addition, the home may become extremely dirty. A normal lifestyle is neglected. Hoarders may have so many items in their homes that it is dangerous. Danger can be from potential fire hazards. Piles of objects may cover kitchen appliances. Bathrooms become filled with items and are unusable. Water leaks may be unnoticeable under the stacks of junk. Occasionally, rodents and insects begin to proliferate in the home. The heavy weight of objects can cause structural damage to a house. As objects decompose the home develops a horrible odor. Stacks of objects may fall on homeowners causing injury. In intense hoarding situations the home may be filled with human and pet feces.

    Author Bio
    Lyndsi is a home organization specialist. When organizing homes she suggests storing items at self storage Everett MA and storage units Lakewood WA. Lyndsi lives in Washington with her family.

  • Protect Your Home {Guest Post}

    Protect Your Home {Guest Post}

    Protecting Your New Home

    Protecting your new home can be a process that
    has lots of aspects, especially protecting it from harm in times when losing it
    is not an obscure possibility but a very real danger. Hence having an idea of
    the different ways you may use in order to enhance the security of your new
    home should be of a high importance for every household.                                        

    Buying a home is probably the most precious and expensive
    purchase you have to make during your lifetime, so why not take into
    consideration the following ideas, which are a summary of the most common
    believes and practices that remained from the old-times until today and that
    meant to protect you from any bad fortune.

    The only
    shortcoming of these tips is that they can not be hold responsible for not
    paying the mortgage.

    Everyone who is on a quest for the perfect
    new house, but still has not found it, should take a note of the next advice,
    which says to send your favorite cat first in order for it to do the
    investigation of each new place and judging by its reaction, you will
    understand whether to buy it or no. If it leaves the house right away, then
    this means that the place does not have good vibes and luck, so it would be
    better to move on and find another one. But if your cat stays for some time,
    you can feel free to make an offer right on the spot.

    The other tradition can be useful for people who are having
    problems with selling their old home. They are advised to bury a figure of St.
    Joseph (symbolizing the carpenter, husband of Mary and early father of Jesus)
    in their yard. But avoid placing him facing the street since that will bring
    fortune to someone else.

    After you have chosen the right place and finished with
    removing your stuff by using the proper removal services which will definitely make
    the entire process less stressful, and you are ready to finally move in, you
    should look out for bread, rice and salt left by the previous owners for you.
    But if you can’t find any of these, you can assure your new luck in the new
    place by carrying them and a new broom with you the first time you enter the
    house. You shouldn’t take an old broom in a new home as that is considered a
    personification of everything negative from your old life. You can also
    sprinkle salt all over the house, including the door sills, for keeping the
    evil spirits away.

    The actual date of your removal is something that have to be
    considered carefully, according to the old practices, as you should never plan
    it for a day when the moon is waxing, or on Fridays, Saturdays or rainy days.
    It is good to know that Thursday is thought to be the best day to move in,
    according to the Indian traditions.

    Poking the fire is also meant for bringing luck even though
    today it’s harder to be done as most people have central heating systems. But one
    practice that you can remember is that when you leave the house you just moved
    in for the first time, you should do it through the same door you entered it or
    else you won’t settle in it.

    If a friend gives
    you knives as a present for your new home, do not accept them or at least give
    him/her a coin if you do not want your friendship to be over.

    There are many available traditional and
    non-traditional ways for bringing good luck in your living space or protect it
    from the bad one, so whether you will take these traditional practices
    seriously or not is totally up to you.

     

    Author Bio: Hello. I am Grace Bailey – a desperate housewife, dreamer and
    content writer. You can visit me and read more tips and ideas at http://www.cleanngone.co.uk/upholstery/upholstery_cleaning_london.html    . Stay tuned
    for more!
  • A Potpourri of Repurposing and Organizing Ideas {Guest Post}

    A Potpourri of Repurposing and Organizing Ideas {Guest Post}

    He who was seated on the throne said, “ Behold, I am *making all things new!”
    Revelation 21:5
    **Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindness; for they have been ever of old.
    Psalm 25:6

    I’m delighted to be offering this Guest Post on Adelina’s blog, as she is in the midst of moving this
    week!  I have moved MANY times and I know how stressful it can be –  My offering for today will be a
    potpourri of ‘do-over’ ideas for you –  ;-}

    I have learned through the years to ‘make Beauty from Ashes,’ so to speak, and I thought I’d share
    just some of my many Repurposed Items and ‘creative storage’ ideas.  Perhaps some of these may be
    helpful to those of you who are on tight budgets or in tight spaces – as I know all too well… I have
    been ‘repurposing’ items all my life – long before it became ‘fashionable’ to do so and I enjoy reusing
    ‘usable’ items, often making them more beautiful.

    So – there are times when I just have to acknowledge my Dutch Heritage…  Being very frugal,
    resourceful and drinking coffee all day are a few things I do that come from my ‘Dutch genes.’
    *smile*  Therefore, I have many empty coffee cans for which I continue to find ‘good use’ –

    My first project today is a ‘repurposed’ coffee can – decorated with scraps – and turned into a Gift
    Container for some yummy Christmas Cookies or candies.

    To cover the can, I stamped ‘sheet music’ in brown on parchment paper, inking the edges and then
    stamping snowy flourishes in silver in various places. (These don’t show up in the photos – sorry.)  I
    used the (www.PaperCraftingWorld.com) Bell .svg file – a scrap of red, one of ‘marbleized’ silver, two
    of plain silver and a snippet of silver ribbon to make the ‘Silver Bells,’ which I adhered to the red
    grosgrain ribbon wrapped around the can.

    I made a Recipe Card/Gift Tag for the top with a Circle Card file (I don’t know from whence I got it…)
    – topped it with a Scalloped Circle ‘wreath’ I made from the same file.  I punched ‘notes’ from silver
    scraps, placing them on the wreath.  I used the flourishes that were cut from the Bells under a red
    flower plucked from a red hydrangea stem, enhanced with a red, flower-gem center and silver
    ‘Scribbles’ paint.

    Another enjoyable passion of mine is ‘burning candles’ – for their relaxing scent, as I ‘burn mine at
    both ends!’  Therefore, I have several of these empty glass jars at any given time…

    These harvest-themed .svg files are from
    The pumpkins were cut with my Cricut/SCAL2
    and then embossed on my Cuttlebug. The
    pumpkin atop is for the recipe and a note –

                                                      

    These Christmas .svg files are from
    After cutting the pieces with my
    Cricut/SCAL2, I embossed them in my
    Cuttlebug and then adhered them to the jar.
    Both jars are ready for holiday Goodies!

    I’ve found many ways to reuse baking sheets – These are old ones that I spray painted, used
    discontinued wallpaper for the backgrounds and then .svg files as decorative elements, further
    decorated with gems, flowers (from the Dollar Store) and magnets for memos.

    I also use some cookie sheets and pizza trays that I picked up at the Dollar Store while working on
    scrapbooking pages or other projects.  Arrange elements on them with magnets until you have the
    whole page designed and decided upon.  Then you can secure them to the pages with adhesives.

    I have turned simple lunch sacks into
    Mini-Albums to keep memories –
    turning this – into these –  They include
    many pages for photos and pockets
    for memorabilia –

    As far as organizing my crafty supplies, I’ve repurposed things for this, also.  Here are just a few of
    my ‘bright ideas.’

    I got the box at Michaels, cut my
    ‘business/blog name’ on my Cricut
    and adhered it to the front of the lid.
    For the dividers, I cut pizza and cereal
    boxes to fit, covered them with cream
    parchment paper and punched tabs.
    Some days it’s filled with cards I’ve
    made, some days it’s not – Time to
    make more!

    I covered empty soup cans with the
    corresponding color to my Timeless Twine
    spools.  I put my baker’s twine in a Sugar Jar,
    of the ‘restaurant style,’ that I picked up at
    the Dollar Store.

    I made a cutting board lap desk from a
    postal box covered with Kraft paper.
    It’s lightweight, portable and I’ve found
    it to be quite handy for years.

    I saw a post recently about using knobs attached to wooden dowel pieces with Velcro added to hold pieces of felt to use for ink blending…  I looked around and decided to attach the felted ‘furniture leg pads’ that I
    had in a drawer to wine corks and lids that I’d been saving – FREE!  I also use makeup sponges for blending
    inks –

    Another idea for corks and lids:  glue them together and glue on the little foam shapes to make simple stamping fun – for you or for children!

    Jars and food containers can also be reused as ‘serviceable,’ too – I use many of them to hold laces, ribbons, chipboard shapes, buttons, pins, any decorative elements –

    I use all manner of food containers for
    various crafting implements –  Here are
    vegetable containers in which my felt
    marking pens fit perfectly and stack
    nicely on the ‘box shelf’ which is their
    home –

    I keep track of all of the Punches I have in a $1  Kraft-page journal book I got at Michaels – I punch on cream paper and adhere in this book for a quick reference as to what I have while ‘projecting.’

    I will leave you with another ‘make-over-magic’ project I made this week – turning a lowly, plain Dollar
    Store mini clipboard into a sunny gift for one of my Dear Friends…!  The .svg file is from
    www.PaperCraftingWorld.com    I used Mod Podge to adhere all of the papers and gems and protect
    and preserve it while in use – The mini-pads come in several colors and I look forward to making a
    rainbow of these to have for quick gifts –

    I hope that some of this has been helpful to you!  I’d love to have you come by MY blog
    (http://aneleganttouch-lynden.blogspot.com) and see what I ‘cook up’ each week – adding ‘An
    Elegant Touch…’ to all that I do!  If you have some great repurposing or organizational ideas, I’d love
    to hear them, too –  Have a Lovely Day wherever you are and Thank You from Adelina and me for
    stopping by and sharing part of your day with us!  *smile*

    About the author

    My PhotoI am a mature, educated, creative woman – a Mother of two grown children – a Gramama of two precious grandchildren – a proud Blue Star Mother of a Marine Captain – a daughter of the King of Kings – a woman looking for her place in the world in the winter of her life…sharing what I do and who I am – with You – adding  ‘An Elegant Touch…’ to all that I do…


    Lynden Blossom

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    Thank You Lynden for sharing these wonderful tips and tricks with us! Your papercrafting is a delight to see, and I hope I can use some of these ideas around my new home!
  • Foodie Friday – Cucumber Crisp Sweet Pickles {Guest Recipe}

    Foodie Friday – Cucumber Crisp Sweet Pickles {Guest Recipe}

    Hosted by
    and

    Well, I’m in the process of moving in, and that leaves very little time for cooking or baking of any sorts. It’s all quick and easy meals until I figure out the best place for groceries, and get settled back into a routine with the new house and the kids.
    Unlike last week, I do actually have a recipe to share this week! Jenn from Terri’s Little Haven and Jenn too, has been so kind to share this recipe for Cucumber Crisp Sweet Pickles.  She’s got some great photos too!  So this fall as we are all out harvesting our crops (you did plant a garden right)…or in my case, the new owners of our house are harvesting mine, why don’t you try pickling and canning your cucumbers!




    Cucumber Crisp Sweet Pickles
    7 pounds sliced cucumbers
    2 gallons water
    2 cups pickling lime
    9 cups sugar
    2 quarts vinegar
    3 T pickling spice

    Cucumber Crisp Sweet Pickles Recipe

    Dissolve lime in water and put in cucumbers.
    Let stand in lime 24 hours. Stir occasionally.

    Cucumber Crisp Sweet Pickles Recipe

    Take cucumbers out and soak in clear water for 4 hours, changing water every hour.

    Bring sugar, vinegar and spices to boil. Take cucumbers out of water and pour vinegar, sugar and spice mixture over cucumbers. Let stand overnight.
    *I did not have any cheesecloth to put the spices in.

    Cucumber Crisp Sweet Pickles Recipe

    Next morning let cook 1 hour.

    Cucumber Crisp Sweet Pickles Recipe

    Seal while hot.

    Cucumber Crisp Sweet Pickles Recipe

    Cucumber Crisp Sweet Pickles Recipe

    When I empty the lime water, I start a new batch.

    Cucumber Crisp Sweet Pickles Recipe

    This post was sent to us by Jenn, co-owner of Terri’s Little Haven & jenn too; of course she had no hand in the actual planting of the seeds, harvesting the cucumbers or the slaving over a hot stove to come up with this wonderful recipe, but kudos to her for her emailing skills. For more delicious recipes that have been tried and tested by Terri, from her farm in Georgia, visit both Jenn and Terri at their blog Terri’s Little Haven & jenn too.



    ~Features from Last Week~

    Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter No Bake Energy Balls
    From Mamacook, Tandoori Chicken
    From Chocolate, Chocolate, and more Frozen Hot Chocolate

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  • Thoughts on Moving {Guest Post}

    Thoughts on Moving {Guest Post}

    Samantha's Day

    I have moved so much in my life that I just can’t take it anymore.  I went to three different elementary schools as a kid and went through about six different places on top of that.  Thankfully once I got to high school I was old enough to commute to school.  Much like my last year of school where I commuted from North Burnaby all the way to the top of the British Properties in West Vancouver…. When did I wake up??  4am every day, just to get ready and get on the 5am bus to get me to school on time.  I had a choice, either a half hour early or a half hour late.

    To this day I still move, in fact I will be moving again in a month here.   I think the main issue is the economy right now and the fact that I rent and we’re so low income.  Thankfully our money situation will be changing but up here in Vancouver B.C. you are still low income… the price of living is insane.  I am going to be moving into a three bedroom apartment at 1100/month, nothing included.

    Guess what??  That is SOOOO CHEAP!! You can’t find three bedrooms at this price; the fact of the matter is… I live in the “ghetto” of North Burnaby.  Average prices for a three bedroom in this area are in the 2000 range usually.  When you live here in Vancouver B.C. you get to the point where you understand you will never own a home here, you’re a renter for life. Though that may be sad sometimes, what I can tell you are the prices of homes up here vs. how they look is appalling especially if you look out of country to compare prices and homes.  I can own a celebrity home for the same price it would cost me to own a crack shack in some horrific neighborhood here completely beyond me.  This city is gorgeous but not at these prices, places in the states are gorgeous for a lot cheaper!

    What am I getting at??  We’re making another great migration and I am hoping it will be at least the second to last place we will ever live as a family.  I am so tired of moving, I know my hubby is tired of moving our couches, soon he will be tired of moving the kids beds etc… our plan is to never move again until the boys are big enough to help with the move, in a decent way too dresser lifting and TV lugging kinda way.  So here is hoping that for all our moves, we’re taking strides to “better-ness” to something bigger and filled with even more love.  For every home is like a new fresh beginning…. And my closets really did need to be organized.  I certainly didn’t see me doing that anytime soon lol!


    Eschelle Westwood is the writer of www.mumfection.com and is a dedicated young mother to two wonderful, though mischievous at times, boys.  Social media marketer, blogger, daycare provider, mother and partner you can find her on twitter @Eschelle and Mumfection on Facebook!

  • Chargiing Station {Guest Post}

    Chargiing Station {Guest Post}

    Can you even believe how many devices in our homes have to be charged? Kindles, razors, Dongles (yes, Grandma has a Dongle!), iPods, mp3 players, and even our vacuum cleaner all run on cordless power that needs to be recharged.

    I have been trying for several months to come up with a solution for the growing jumble of charging cords that we need to keep things running at our house. At first I had all of our cords wrapped neatly and stored in a basket with a lid. That created a problem, since I had to empty the basket every time I needed to charge something.

    The other problem was that I didn’t have a specific place for plugging the devices in to be charged. One time when I was preparing to go away for a few days with my sisters, I had devices charging in three different rooms in the house. But that was then, and this is now.

    This is a bird’s eye view of my new charging station that I set up in our den. I plugged in a power strip, and I organized and labeled all of our cords and put them in two drawers beside the power strip. This all lives on one small corner of Grandpa’s table/desk in the den.

    The part of the process that took the most time was sorting and labeling the cords. When they were labeled, I wrapped them with small pony tail holders. (I keep these on hand to use in place of rubberbands.)

    For labeling, I used two different sizes of white labels and a Sharpie marker.

     

     

    Any cord that had a large plug that fit an electrical outlet is labeled on the plug end.
    < ——————– 

    For the cords with a USB plug, I folded a larger label, sticking it to itself and labeled them like this. —————–>

    Now I have all of the cords in one plastic drawer right next to the power strip. This works well with my organizational rule to store all like items together.
    Grandpa was so impressed with my charging station that he labeled his two device cords and put them in the drawer above mine

     We really like the way this is working for us. Whenever we need to charge anything, we know that the cord is in the den. Whenever something is charging, we know that the device is in the den. The power strip should protect us from power surges, and the light on the power strip lets us know when it is on.

    I have high hopes of being able to stay organized with this new charging station set up. If you are tired of tangled or mystery cords, I recommend this method heartily!

    How do you keep your cords and devices organized at your house?


    I am a follower of Christ, a wife, a homemaker, a seamstress, a teacher, a writer, and a grandma.   I enjoy the frugal, simple lifestyle that my husband and I share with each other, our two dogs, and our extended family members.  I love learning from others, and  I enjoy sharing my life lessons with my blog readers.  Please visit my blog, My Grandma Knows, at http://www.mygrandmaknows.com/  where I share wisdom and advice with humor and grace.

  • Sunrise and Smiles

    Sunrise and Smiles

    I am in the process of moving. Hanging out at my parents. So in lieu of Menu Plan Monday today, I wanted to share a Snack for kids, that is helping kids in need!

    My Bloggy Friend Eschelle from Mumfection, recently told me about this yummy little treat that is GREAT for school and office lunches that is peanut free, dairy free and even freezable. With so many kids having allergies, and schools making peanut free zones, this snack is awesome!

    So what is it?  Sunrise Soya’s Super Squeezies desert tubes. They have omega-3 DHA in them and are made of soybeans! They taste like pudding tubes and her kids and daycare kids can’t seem to get enough of them. 

    So what is really special about this Vancouver based company?  Well it is the fact that they have given Eschelle a chance to donate a LARGE amount of their product, on their behalf, to her local SMILE program and the families there. SMILE is an organization and support group for young parents in the Vancouver area from ages 13-24. Many of the families in the program have dairy and peanut allergies, so this snack is perfect for them!  There are also no preservatives, another concern of many parents these days.  
    Delicious, good for you, allergy friendly, and two great flavors (strawberry banana, and chocolate fudge) make these a great addition to your grocery list. Even a treat that as a mom you’ll be sneaking around trying to eat so you don’t have to share with the kidlets. 

    As a thank you to a great company trying to do well by its community we wanted to spread the goodness of this yummy health focused snack. Nothing better than seeing a company give back in the yummiest way possible!

    If you want more information on the Sunrise Soya Company you can check them out at the following places:
    http://www.sunrise-soya.com/
    https://twitter.com/SunriseTofu
    http://www.facebook.com/SunriseTofu
    Vancouver specific page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunrise-Soya-Foods/131878086857930

  • Guest Post – DeJunk Your Household

    De-Junk Your
    Household

    So you’re finally deciding to take
    stock of your household objects and see just what you need to keep around and
    what to get rid of? This can be a quite daunting task, but don’t fret! By using
    a few simple tips you can make the process of evaluating your household objects
    and deciding what to do with them quick and painless.

    The first step is to take an inventory of what you’ve actually got. Go through
    your house (yes, even the boxes stacked in the corner of your basement) and
    make a note of every item you find that you could conceivably get rid of. If
    the idea of living without the item even crosses your mind, write it down; you
    will make the final decisions later.

    Once you’ve got your list, it’s time for the hard part. Go down the list and
    take a good hard look at each entry. How old is the item, and how often has it
    been used? If it’s something that you haven’t even thought about for five
    years, you’re looking at a great opportunity to simplify your life by getting
    rid of it. If the object has significant sentimental value and you can’t even
    bear to imagine losing it, go ahead and keep it around. Be careful not to use
    this excuse lightly, though.

    If the item in question is something that is only used occasionally such as
    seasonal decorations or clothing, consider placing it in storage. This way you
    remove it as clutter from your household while still having full access to it
    when the appropriate time comes.

    Now that you’ve got a trimmed down list of what you’re considering getting rid
    of, it’s time to decide just what to do with all of it. For items such as old
    clothing, bedding and toys, donating to a local or national charity is always
    an attractive option; the items will be put to good use, and you can usually
    write the donation off on your taxes. Items that have retained value such as
    furniture and electronics, do some research to find out a fair price and put it
    up for sale. There’s no better feeling than reducing clutter and earning money
    while doing it! And if it’s truly trash, just throw it out; you won’t miss it.

    With these simple tips, it’s easy to reduce clutter in your house and simplify
    your life. You may even make a few extra bucks, to boot!

    Casey Haslem is a writer and paints in her spare time. She
    writes often about storage and organization. If you’re in need of help with
    storage, contact     Sam Dimas
    self storage units     or Brooklyn
    Extra Space Storage    .