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  • Tuesday Tip – Laundry

    Tuesday Tip – Laundry

    Welcome to Tuesday Tips!!
    Let’s talk laundry – the never ending chore.  At least that’s how it’s always felt to me. Today I suggest you pick one day of the week. Don’t plan anything, don’t go anywhere. Each week make this day laundry day.  For me it’s monday.  I actually just learned this yesterday, but already I’m feeling the benefits of it. I spent the whole day yesterday washing, drying, folding and putting away laundry.  I have 2 loads left today that just need folded and put away, but than it’s DONE!!! I feel so free right now to focus my energies on running errands, and taking kids to and from school. I won’t forget that load I put in in the morning, because I didn’t have to put one in! 
    If needed I will still do a load here and there during the week, but next Monday I will be ready again to spend my day doing laundry, and perhaps there won’t be as much piled up (depending on how dirty kids get). 
    Another benefit to claiming one day as laundry day, is that while the laundry is washing and drying, you can spend some time doing something you enjoy. Reading a book, sewing, crafting, or playing with your kids. I did a bit of all of the above yesterday. Those are things I also normally never get to, because I’m running between one thing and another.  My kids seemed especially well behaved yesterday, and I believe it was because I was able to give them my attention more fully between loads.
    credit
    So let’s hear it – What are your laundry tips? How do you stay on top of your laundry before you become buried?

  • Tuesday Tips – Paint

    Welcome to Another Tuesday Tip!
    When choosing paint think about the size of the room first. Our basement is all ready to be painted, so last week Mark and I went to Lowe’s to choose some paint. The ceilings in the basement are low, and there is no window in the main area. So we knew we wanted a lighter color. It will also be the kids play area, so we wanted a calming color as well. We took a look at some blues and greens, and found a good in between mix. We actually went home with 3 paint chips to compare before making our decision.
    Next we had to pick out flooring. Boy was I glad we had those paint chips! When comparing the paint to the flooring samples, there were very few that Mark and I thought looked good together. One however, stuck out as looking the best, and we were out of the flooring store within 15 minutes!
    Without the paint chips, we probably would have been there much longer trying to figure out what we wanted. We ended up choosing a dark floor, despite being a small room. When comparing the paint to the floor, it just felt right. It felt light and breezy, and I just knew it would look good.
    I can’t wait to finish painting, and get the flooring in to show you what I mean!
  • Tuesday Tip – Inspiration

    Tuesday Tip – Inspiration

    ~WELCOME TO TUESDAY TIPS~
    Today I want to motivate and inspire you! How long have you had your furniture arranged the way it is? Do you like the way it looks? Is it user friendly? Does it invite?  
    My front room did not. I didn’t like the way the furniture was arranged. I rarely did anything in that room but let the kids run amok, and have visitors. The running amok and visitors didn’t mesh well either. Last week I decided to create a sitting area in our bay window. It is a part of our front room, but at the same time it is also separated from the front room. 
    So I changed it. I fixed it to my liking! It’s actually something I will do quite frequently. I like change.  Some people though have a hard time with it. I’m here to tell you today, don’t be afraid of change. Change can be good and exciting!!  Let me show you.
    This is what it used to look like. If you look to the right you’ll see where the front door is. It opens up against this room, kind of blocking it from view and separating it from the rest of the room.
    This is what it looks like now~
    It has made this room more warm and inviting. With the couch facing the rest of the room, it pulls both sides of the room together, despite the door in the middle.  
    Last week I wrote about creating a sitting area in the bay window. I tried many different arrangements, and got  some good feedback. Here is what I decided to go with.
    Although I too liked having both chairs here with the smaller table, you’ll noticed I left the second chair on the other side of the room. Together they pull things in and create the space I wanted. Although I may find an excuse to visit Ikea for a third matching chair. At which point I would be able to make the sitting area open for two. 
    Now see? Don’t you want to go rearrange your furniture? Don’t be afraid. Take a look at your room. Grab some pencils and paper. Make some sketches of what you imagine. Try different arrangements. Once you get started, I’m sure you’ll find a simple furniture rearranging satisfying and mood lifting. 
    I should probably mention as well, that I did all of this while Mark was at work. I wasn’t sure how much he would like the new arrangement, so I figured it would be better to do it, and then change it again if needed, then to just leave it alone. Turns out, Mark likes it a lot. He was really impressed, and told me it was a whole lot better than what we had before. 
    Ta Da! Change is good for everyone!
  • Tuesday Tip – Eggs

    Tuesday Tip – Eggs

    Welcome to another Tuesday Tips!
    I have a lot of eggs in my fridge right now. My mom has been buying them fresh from a neighbor. When she asked me if I would like to take a few home this weekend, I said sure. I was a little surprised when she brought me 18! Whoa, that’s a lot of eggs. My kids have been in a non-egg mood lately, and I don’t get up early enough to fix some for Mark’s breakfast (althought I should try harder). So what am I going to do with all these eggs? 
    Devil them of course! I love deviled eggs! Plus these pregnancy hormones make me feel like I need to constantly eat, but I don’t always feel like cooking. So I decided I’m going to make a large batch of deviled eggs to eat as I need (and probably send some to work with Mark).
    While I was looking around at what to do with these eggs though, I came across this great article.  Did you know you can freeze eggs? Oh yeah! You just can’t freeze them in the shell. So if you want to freeze the whole egg, beat them up until well blended, and seal in an airtight container. If you just want the egg whites, do the same thing, just without the yolks. However, if you just want the yolks (I’m not sure what you would for, but you never know) you need to add a little sugar or salt. It doesn’t matter, except for what you plan on making with them.
    Now you can buy your eggs in bulk and not worry about them going bad!! Because we all hate finding bad eggs.
  • Tuesday Tip – Teaching children

    Tuesday Tip – Teaching children

    Welcome to Tuesday Tips!
    Every Tuesday I try to bring you my readers a tip to help make your house into a home. It doesn’t matter if you rent or own, where you live should feel like a home.
    Today I want to share a fellow bloggers post. While I was browsing the blog world, I visited

    Raising Homemakers
    As a mother of 3 Princesses I really appreciate much of the insight found on Raising Homemakers. However, one post today I just knew I had to share here. It was too good not to spread around.  So please, go read A Girls First Domestic Domain.
    It is inspirational! The point of this article is to show us how we can begin teaching our daughters how to make their future house into a home. I just love it. I’m especially in love with the binders she made her daughters. One for homemaking – things they could potentially use in their future home, and one for Things I like – just a place to keep the love alive, but not cluttered on the bedroom walls. Since we are remodeling our basement, and the Princesses will eventually be sharing a room, I plan on creating some binders for them.
    Really I insist, you must go read this article. I even had a friend tell me she was going to use some of the same ideas for her son. So don’t think you mom’s of boys can benefit here, you can! I’d love to hear your thoughts on A Girl’s First Domestic Domain.

    This will be a weekly link up. I’d love to read about what you do to make your house a home!

  • Tuesday Tip – Dishes

    Tuesday Tip – Dishes

    Do you have a dishwasher? I don’t. Some days this can be very frustrating as the dishes start to really pile up. I love cooking, and I do find washing dishes to be semi relaxing. When the get this piled up though, it just becomes overwhelming.
    That’s right! I’m showing the real, almost every day look of my kitchen sink! You know what is crazy though, I just did all the dishes yesterday afternoon, to end up with this halfway through today. We made cookies, chicken cordon bleu, and had cereal for breakfast.
    So how do we stop this nonsense? Today’s tip comes from my mom. Before you start cooking, fill your sink with hot water and soap. Than as you cook, toss each dirty dish into the prepared sink. The get a soak while you finish the cooking. Now a lot of foods require some “wait time” where you have nothing to do. Start on those dishes!
    I really need to put this advice into effect over here. It would make such a huge difference in the feel of our home.
  • First Aid Kit

    First Aid Kit

    One thing every home needs is a first aid kit. How many times have you gone to grab a bandaid, only to find you used the last one, or you’re out of antibiotic creams?  I know it’s happened to me quite a bit. I suggest going through your first aid kit about once a month, and adding any items running low, or missing, to your shopping list. You don’t want to be stuck in an emergency situation and find yourself unprepared. 

    Home First Aid Kit

    Now where do you start when putting together a first aid kit? To get you started here is what I keep in ours:

    • – bandaids, different sizes
    • – gauze
    • – gauze tape
    • -antibiotic cream
    • – vaseline
    • – anti-itch cream
    • – thermometer
    • – tweezers (I still need to buy some new ones)
    • – small scissors
    • – cotton balls or swabs
    • – hand sanitizer
    • – any medications your family takes 

    The last one is where your First Aid kit will differ from others. We don’t have any regular meds to take, but I do like to keep ibuprofen and infants and children’s Pain Reliever in ours.

    Once you have all the items for your kit, you’ll want something to put it all in. I love my carrying case. It’s pretty similar to one my mom kept in our cupboard growing up – but until I found one for our family, I didn’t realize it’s meant to be a makeup box. That explains the mirror. Everything fits so nicely in it though!
     
    Home First Aid Kit
     
    What’s in YOUR First Aid Kit? Leave me a comment letting me know what I might be missing!
  • Tuesday Tip – Cockroaches

    Tuesday Tip – Cockroaches

    Nasty little creatures. Thank heavens we haven’t seen any in our house! We did have a scare a couple weeks ago though. There was a large bug that in the dark looked just like the cockroach above. Hubby was sure it was the biggest cockroach he had ever seen! Turns out, it was just a moth. Yeah laugh it up, but when the moths wings were closed and it’s sitting by the shower drain, you’d think it was a cockroach too!

    Mark’s Mother was in town visiting during this occurrence and she gave me today’s Tuesday Tip!

    To prevent cockroaches, pour bleach down the drains, about once a month. So next time you’re cleaning your bathrooms, just pour a little bleach down those drains. Keep those cockroaches away from your Home!
  • Cleaning the Laundry Cup #TuesdayTips

    Cleaning the Laundry Cup #TuesdayTips

    Tuesday Tips!
    Do you use liquid laundry soap? How about those clever containers that have a spout and cup?  It’s what I use. I love the easy convenience of pressing a button to get the soap. I do not like how horribly messy and sticky the cup gets, and the waste of soap left in the cup.

    Cleaning the Laundry Cup #TuesdayTips

     A couple weeks ago my mother in law was visiting. I told her about my problem with the cup, and she said “Just toss it in the wash”. Really? I had thought of this before, but I was sure it would melt the cup, or break it into tiny pieces. Plastic just does not go in the washing machine. Well, with everything, I took her advice under consideration, and tossed it into the wash.

    It worked. The clothes get the extra soap from the cup, thereby not wasting it, and the cup gets clean.
     
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  • Tuesday Tip – Garbage Day

    Tuesday Tip – Garbage Day

    It’s garbage day. What do you do when you forget to take the garbage out? I can’t begin to count the number of times, we’ve run out to pull the can to the side of the road just as the garbage truck gets there.  This morning though, we weren’t in time. In fact we completely slept through the garbage truck even passing. 
    As you can tell we have a lot of garbage we need to get out. We’re slowly tossing some of the boards in each week, but it’s going to take awhile, especially if we forget to take the can out.
    I have two tips this week that I’m putting into practice now.
    1. Take your can across the road so it can be picked up when the truck comes back. Sorry you’re out of luck if you’re on the return trip side.
    2. Put garbage day on the calendar. It seems like such a silly thing to write on the calendar, but it’s the little things that often get overlooked.