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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

5 Tips For Spring Cleaning




1. Purchase products that you LOVE! Sure, the $2 multisurface cleaner from the grocery store works great during the rest of the year, but spring cleaning is different! Sometimes its hard to get motivated. Head to Target and buy a fancy cleaner, a pretty sponge, new "designer" gloves, and a new scented candle. Spring cleaning doesn't have to be a daunting, dirty task- make it luxurious and fun! Some of my favorite products include Mrs. Meyer'sSkoy ScrubbiesGloveables Cleaning Gloves, and Yankee Candle.

2. Use a timer. I can't tell you how many times I'd be simply tossing expired food from the fridge, notice a little stain, then next thing I know its 4 hours later and I'm scrubbing cracks and crevices. Using a timer helps immensely! If I know that I only have 20 minutes to complete a task, I'm a lot less likely to get distracted by other things!

3. Dance! Put on some upbeat music and shake it!  Music instantly puts me in a better mood, and I feel like I get things done faster when there's a little booty-shaking involved =) If I'm going for a very time consuming task, I usually use Pandora (my favorite station is Carrie Underwood- I never get any repeats!). If its something that will take less than 30 minutes, I usually use one of my YouTube playlists. I love that I can pick my very favorite songs, then just put it on shuffle!

4. Focus on one task at a time. It may seem very appealing to have your entire house done in one day, but guess what happens? By hour 7 you're burnt out and you now have piles of junk everywhere. Trust me, I've been there! Pick one task and complete it from start to finish- if you're cleaning out your closet, bag up those extra clothes and put them in your car for donation immediately, don't leave piles on the bed or bags in the hallway, they'll stay there for ages (again, been there, done that LOL).

5. Host a party. This tip may seem a little odd, but I swear I get more accomplished the week of a party than I do in an entire month! Knowing that people will be coming to your house is even more motivation to get things done! Now that summer is approaching, you don't even need to have an excuse for a party. A BBQ is ALWAYS appropriate for the summer!

Happy spring cleaning!!!! =)

ModCloth: 25% Off Swimsuits!

For 2 days only, you can get 25% off all swimwear at Mod Cloth! I'm absolutely in love with this swimsuit:




Happy Shopping ;)



Save The Children: Oklahoma, One Year Later + Resources To Keep Your Family Safe

Natural disasters are always devastating for anybody affected, but the trauma really hits home whenever there are children involved. Save The Children's Get Ready Get Safe project focuses on preparing and protecting the children of our communities. The video below showcases a story of rescue & resilience at one Moore, Oklahoma child care center. Child care centers often don't qualify for any official recovery assistance, even though they are vital to children, families, and communities in the wake of disaster.




Champions For Children
This month marks the 1 year anniversary of the Oklahoma tornadoes that took the lives of 48 people, including 19 children. Save The Children has taken this time to salute the champions who have saved the lives of countless children through their advanced-preparedness and quick thinking and are pioneering for better emergency preparedness for children at child care centers and at home. You can view their touching stories here. 




Is Your State Prepared?
For 6 years, Save The Children has commissioned a state-by-state assessment of US preparation and safety standards for children in child care facilities and schools. You can find the entire national report by clicking HERE and you can access your state's report card HERE. My state, Pennsylvania, scored unsatisfactory in 1 of 4 categories. 




How Can You Prepare?
(click on the images to view full size and printable versions)





How Can You Help?

-You can share the YouTube video at the top of the page on your social media pages to help bring awareness to the project and problems that child care centers face, the direct link to the video can be found HERE

-You can print copies of the disaster checklist for parents & families. Implement a plan for your family and share this checklist with friends, neighbors, and family members. This printable checklist can be found HERE.

- You can print copies of the disaster checklist for childcare professionals and share it with your child's day care center and school, share extra copies with friends and encourage them to do the same. This printable checklist can  be found HERE.

-View your state's emergency preparedness report card and share it with everybody you know. Be aware of where your state falls short and encourage change among your community. The state by state report cards can be found HERE.

-You can take the pledge to advocate for children, which can be found HERE.



Word of mouth can do amazing things for our community, become involved and help Save The Children spread awareness and advocate for change!












Monday, May 19, 2014

20 Custom Invitations For Only $4.99!

Hosting a birthday party or graduation celebration soon? Head over to InkGarden where you can score 20 custom invitations or announcements for only $4.99 using code CELEBRATE


Bebe Bella Designs- 70% Off Sale!

Pregnant or looking for an amazing baby shower gift? Head over to Bebe Bella Designs where you can score their Paisley Satin Backed Blankets for 70% off- starting as low as $7.20! Their chevron styles are also on sale, and they are too cute! Hurry, this offer expires tomorrow at midnight!

Minky Chenille Paisley Satin Backed Blankee




30 Days To An Organized Home: Day 1 Update




In case you missed my earlier post, I'm starting a 30 day organizing challenge just in time for summer! 

Today's task was organizing the coat closet. I had hoped to get some rockin before & after pics, but my camera charger seem to be MIA (can you tell how much I need this challenge?). A few months ago we did a huge purge of the coat closet. It was once the hiding spot where we put everything from our move that didn't have a home yet. There was literally no room to actually hang coats in the coat closet! Today I worked on packing away heavier coats, getting rid of coats that no longer fit, and finding homes for all of our winter gear- such as hats, gloves, etc. We also have a small filing box in that closet that holds paper items, such as envelopes, printer paper, etc. I tidied that up a bit and assessed my inventory. Total, today's project only took about 30 minutes! So how did you do? Leave me a comment and let me know! If you are blogging about the challenge as well, drop a link so I can check out your freshly organized space!

Happy organizing!

30 Days To An Organized Home Challenge




Summer is fast approaching and if your family is anything like ours, summer means kids home more often, friends in and out, and lots of summer parties with family & friends! I think that right now is the perfect time to tackle a cleaning & organizing challenge. The house will be nice and summer ready- and you'll be able to spend more time enjoying the sunshine knowing that your house is nice and organized. I plan on posting everyday to update my progress, and I'll include a linky for you guys to share as well! 

This will be my plan, feel free to follow right along, jump around, or create tasks of your own!

1. Coat Closet
2. Laundry Room
3. Under The Kitchen Sink
4. Linens & Towels
5. Toys
6. Foyer (mudroom, entry, wherever you dump coats & shoes!)
7. Sports Equipment
8. Front Porch
9. Garage
10. Kitchen Cabinets
11. Underwear & Sock Drawers
12. Back Deck
13. Pantry
14. Paper Junk
15. Books
16. Fridge
17. Office
18. Under Bathroom Sink
19. Junk Drawer
20. Picture Storage
21. DVD's and Video Games
22. Shoes & Purses
23. Clean Microwave & Oven
24. Update Calender
25. Craft Cabinet
26. Freezer
27. Household Command Center
28. Vacation Planner
29. Holiday & Birthday Planner
30. 10 Minute Purge In Every Room

I'm excited to start, and excited for you guys to join me! Check back later this evening to find out how I did with my first task! 


Sunday, May 18, 2014

Earn Gift Cards With Bing Rewards!

We've all heard about earning gift cards with Swagbucks, but there's a new player in town! Now you can earn gift cards simply by searching with Bing! Earn gift cards to places like Starbucks, Amazon, Sephora and many more! This is another GREAT way to save money for Christmas! Click HERE or the image below to start earning today!