5 Tasks to Complete Before Holiday Guests Arrive

Softsoap FoamsStock your bathroom.  Toilet paper is obviously a must, as well as hand towels, and don’t forget the soap.  SoftSoap has an excellent fragrant foam collection.  It includes such varieties as Kitchen Citrus Bliss, Jasmine & White Cotton, and Whipped Cocoa Butter.

Not only will these leave your guests hands feeling fresh and smelling clean, but the bottles are very stylish and are great for adding a little splash of color to your sink or vanity.

Stock your fridge.  During the holidays it’s always important to keep your drinks stocked, including some that you may not normally have on hand.  Consider who’s coming over and whether they have any special dietary needs or personal preferences. (Perhaps you don’t drink coffee, but you have an avid coffee drinker staying for the week.  Or perhaps you have a diabetic in the family who drinks diet sodas.)

Stock the pantry. Whether you’re having overnight guests, or you are just looking for something to put out for the kids to snack on before dinner, extra snacks in the pantry is a must! Homemade or store bought party mixes are a great snack to have on hand for folks of all ages, as well chips and dips, nuts, or cheese and crackers.

Clean.  This should go without saying, but I have to include it here: Clean your house.  Apart from taking care of clutter in your living, dining, and kitchen areas, it is amazing to see how far just a quick wipe down of your sinks and counters will do…not to mention mopping the floor.  Even more so than how great everything looks, it makes a huge difference in how your house smells.

Air Fresheners.  Speaking of how your house smells, after cleaning (and especially if you don’t have time to do a major clean up) make your house smell warm and inviting using your favorite air freshers.  I love scented oil plug-ins and candles.  (And you can always use essential oils for the purpose of cleaning and making your house smell good.)

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Disclosure:  I received samples to facilitate this post. The opinions are my own.

Rock Someone’s Holiday – Rockwell Tools Giveaway – DIY Room Building Tutorial

Rockwell BladeRunner X2 Review and Giveaway

If you are a DIYer or have a handy man spouse, than today’s post is definitely for you! If you read my blog enough, you’ll often hear me refer to my husband as my Mr. Fix It!  Anytime I need something fixed or improved, or I want to build something, I just tell him my idea, and he puts a plan in to action.

Most recently we’ve been working on a new “Project Room” in our outbuilding. I would call it a craft room, but my husband will be working in there too, and “craft room” just doesn’t sound like a very manly place to be. (Haha!)  So it’s a project room, or workshop, if you will.

As with any project we take on, we need tools to fix up the room.  One tool that has been very helpful with this project is the BladeRunner X2 from Rockwell Tools. [Read more…]

Holiday Gift Guide: Ohuhu Acrylic Makeup Cosmetics Organizer

Disclosure: I received a sample product to facilitate this post. The opinions are my own.

Makeup Organizer

As the holiday shopping season is upon us, I am thrilled as always to present my ideas for holiday baking and party preparations, as well as a holiday gift guide!

Today I’m featuring something for all the teen girls, ladies and comsetics enthuiasts!  It is the Ohuhu Acrylic Makeup Cosmetics Organizer !

This is a great looking organizer with 3 drawers and plenty of compartments for all your makeup. It has more than enough room to house your essentials and any extra makeup or skin care products you wish to store in it.  (Or you could even use the drawers for your jewelry, glasses, contact lenses, and other “getting ready” supplies!) [Read more…]

Getting Your Small Business Organized

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PutALabelOnIt #CollectiveBias

Getting Your Small Business Organized

As many of you know, beyond my blog, I also have at etsy shop where I sell hand stamped jewelry and ornaments.  (You can take a look at my creations here.)  Several weeks ago my business received a huge custom order from a school.  The order was a huge opportunity for me, but I was rushed to get it out.  Luckily I had my trusty husband here to help me expedite the process!  We ordered some new tools and supplies to greatly improve our manufacturing process, our products, and our business, and now we are currently renovating a room on our property, which is going to serve as a new jewelry and business studio!

So right now I am extremely excited at the thoughts of getting all my jewelry supplies, photo props, and other items moved in to their new home!  (As soon as the new room is complete, I’ll have a full makeover post for you!)  Till then, I’m trying to get all my stuff ORGANIZED so that it will be ready to go, as soon as we’ve put the finishing touches on the room.  One new tool I’ve invested in is the DYMO LabelWriter® 450 Value Bundle Pack. [Read more…]

Easy Home Makeover Projects: Stenciling Your Kitchen

Stenciling is among the cost-effective and a creative home improvement technique. It can work with any décor from contemporary to traditional. It can also be used on a variety of surfaces including the walls. Stencils are particularly ideal for a kitchen where you may not have adequate space to hang artwork, photos, and other decorative elements. Here are some stencilling tips that can help give your kitchen a dramatic look.

Spruce Up Kitchen Furniture

Easy Home Makeover

Image Courtesy of www.cuttingedgestencils.com

A stencil design can give your shabby kitchen cabinets and furniture an instant makeover. If yours is a themed kitchen, you can consider adding stencils to the centre of the cabinet doors with imaginative shapes, like yachts for a beach theme. [Read more…]

Saving My Sinks with Clorox® ThickCling™

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ClingToClean #CollectiveBias

Saving My Sinks with Clorox

What do you for every day messes?  What about those huge, not-so-every day messes?  Clorox® has been a trusted name in the cleaning world for years.  Clorox® can be your best friend when it comes to cleaning bathrooms, floors, and other areas that need a little elbow grease.  For this reason, I keep quite a few of their products around my house at all times.  and I’m always interested to hear about their latest products.  One of the newest products from Clorox® is Clorox® ThickCling™. [Read more…]

DIY Oil Change with Pennzoil

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DIYOilChange #CollectiveBias

DIY Oil Change with Pennzoil

Are you a DIYer? Do you hate to call a repair man?  Around our house,  my husband is Mr. Fix It, and he’s very good at everything he does.  If anything needs to be built or fixed, I almost always rely on him to do it!

Last week we tackled a DIY oil change.  As you probably know, regular oil changes are a very important part of vehicle maintenance.  Getting your oil changed ever 3 months or every 3000 miles helps to ensure optimal vehicle performance, extended engine life, and better gas mileage.

But what are the benefits of a DIY oil change versus an oil change you’d get from an auto mechanic?  For one thing, by doing it yourself, you can see exactly how much oil is going in your car.  This will allow you to use just as much oil as you need and prevent you from overpaying for oil that is not used. [Read more…]

Bathroom Organization with Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong®

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CraftedExperience #CollectiveBias

When the fall season rolls around, I love to do fall cleaning.  Just as with spring, for me this is one of the best times to  declutter and organize….out with the old, in with the new!  Recently I cleaned my bathroom from top to bottom!

Today I’m going to share some important steps and tips to decluttering and organizing your bathroom cabinets.

Bathroom Organization with Quilted Norther Ultra Soft and Strong

As you’ll see below, one thing I’ve recently done in our bathroom is to take out some old plastic drawers.  I couldn’t believe the difference in before and after.  It looks so neat and clean!  Now when you walk in, all you see is a basket of Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong® Bath Tissue.

When I was growing up Quilted Northern was all my mom ever used, so of course I love to use it as well!  And my mom and I aren’t the only ones.  Quilted Northern is a trusted brand that has been around for over a hundred years!  And now Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong® with Cleanstretch® toilet paper is designed not only for softness and comfort but also for strength and flexibility.  (This means no more ripping and separation.)  And it’s also septic and sewer safe.

And apart from your personal use, this bath tissue is also great for when you need to do quick bathroom wipe down and cleanup before company comes over. [Read more…]

Fueling My Family with Jimmy Dean® and State Fair® + Meal Planning with Online Calendars

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FuelForSchool #CollectiveBias
Fueling My Family with Jimmy Dean and State Fair

I’ve been so busy this month!  It seems like every time I scratch something off the old to do list, I end up adding 3 MORE things to the to do list.  This week  I’ve got my usual housework to do, plus several blogging projects.  We’ve also got the usual school, band practice, and ball game schedule.  Plus, this Saturday we have a band festival and scholar’s bowl tournament. AND….if all that is not enough, my mom and I are working on going through stuff at her house and my house so we can have a yard sale.  Eek!

But regardless of how much stuff we have to do, the family still has to eat!  Luckily I keep a lot of convenient, yet delicious and hearty breakfast and dinner food options to fuel my family no matter how busy life gets!  A couple of family favorites are Jimmy Dean® Sausage, Egg & Cheese Croissant and State Fair® Classic 22ct Corn Dogs. [Read more…]

Snuggle Island Collection + 3 Organization Tips for Clothes

Snuggle Island Collection

A new school year means clothes have to be washed and ready at all times!  And I always like to make sure I send our son off to school looking good and hopefully smelling good.  This fall I’m keeping his clothes clean and fresh with Snuggle!

Snuggle has a new Island Collection that I LOVE! The scent is called Island Hibiscus, and it’s very easy for you to find in store, because of its bright blue bottle featuring lovely island flowers.

The scent is available in three different products:  scent boosters, liquid fabric softener, and dryer sheets.

And when you use the three products together, you will freshen, soften, and control static in your laundry. (The more, the snugglier!)

Apart from keeping things clean and ready to go, I HAVE to have our clothes organized.  Here are three tips I live by:
[Read more…]