Happy Holidays, everyone! Today guest blogger Melissa Stevens shares how she plans to get work done around the house and stay in shape -- all at the same time! -- Lauren By Melissa Stevens We would all like to exercise more, but many of us can't find the time or money to do so. It would be wonderful if we could turn everyday chores into exercise! I've been thinking how I could combine chores and exercise, and came across some great ideas! Put on Weight Put on some weight before exercising, believe it or not. Adding weight to your exercises is a useful trick that will help your Continue reading...
Getting a Home Christmas Ready
Thank you, BISSELL for sponsoring today’s post on preparing for holiday entertaining! Now that Christmas is only about a week away, I am in full gear to get my preparations done for the big day! Since my home has wall-to-wall carpeting, a major part of those preparations are making sure the carpets are clean for my guests! I am lucky that I have the BISSELL ProHeat 2X® Premier 47A23 Upright Deep Cleaner in my cleaning arsenal! My new ProHeat 2X® Premier 47A23 Upright Deep Cleaner, and my BISSELL Professional Deep Cleaning formula with Scotchgard™ Protector, really helped me to get my Continue reading...
Holiday Cleaning Tips & $50 Giveaway
“This review was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Mr. Clean. I was provided the featured product and compensations to facilitate this post, but all opinions are 100% mine." I don't know about you, but I never seem to have enough time to get everything done during the holidays! For me, the worst part about getting ready for the holidays is getting the house clean for company! I'd love to have a clean house, but for some reason or other, I can't seem to keep my house in a constant state of clean! So that usually means that I wipe myself out cleaning right before a holiday event, only to Continue reading...
Weekly Cleaning Schedule – Free Printable
Hi, everyone! Now that the new school year has started, I have been making a concentrated effort to keep my life and home more organized. Part of that effort includes making my own free printables for myself and to share -- I've been finding if I don't have my to-lists and chores on paper, I tend to forget them! LOL. I recently made a free printable colorful chore chart for my tweens. My kids just got their own rooms this summer, so they are really excited about keeping their rooms neat and organized so they can have friends over and be proud to show off their rooms! I most recently Continue reading...
Prep Your Outdoor Spaces for Summer
Editor's Note: I am working on some new projects for the blog today, so I thought I'd share this post from Mom Home Guide's archives. Many of these projects are on my to-do list for this year: I really need to paint the Adirondack chairs and I have to plant my flower tower for this summer! I am a HUGE fan of Sarah, who runs the Thrifty Decor Chick mom / home decor blog. I want to ready my outdoor spaces for summer entertaining, so I decided to check out her blog, Thrifty Decor Chick. Sarah has an incredible eye for design and is a fantastic DIYer! Plus, her home is beautiful! Continue reading...
Book Review: The Organically Clean Home
I have been hoping to switch to a more natural approach for cleaning my home, so I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to review The Organically Clean Home: 150 Everyday Organic Cleaning Products You Can Make Yourself--The Natural, Chemical-Free Way, the latest book by writer, blogger and cleaning expert, Becky Rapinhuck of Clean Mama. The book is filled with easy to make recipes for all-natural, organic, homemade and DIY cleaning products that are safer and cheaper than the pre-made cleaning products that you buy at the store. What I really like about Becky's book is that these Continue reading...
Easy and Quick Way to Clean Stove Grates
One thing I hate to do the most in my kitchen is clean stove grates. I forget about cleaning the stove grates for so long, so by the time I get around to cleaning them, I wind up with baked-on grease that's really tough to scrub off! Yuck! So instead of scrubbing all day long, I use my easy stove cleaning method that I found on -- where else -- Pinterest! Materials Needed 4 Ziploc Gallon Storage Bags A teaspoon or less of ammonia for each Ziploc bag (you only need a small amount per bag) Dish cleaning sponge (I like to use Continue reading...
Lemon, Orange and Vinegar Microwave Cleaner
Over the past few months, I have been trying to make the switch from commercial cleaning and beauty products to more natural (and less expensive) homemade ones. That is why I am excited to join some of my blogging friends in sharing our own recipes for beauty and cleaning products! For my product I decided to make an all-natural microwave cleaner. Natural Microwave Cleaner When I clean the microwave, I usually fill a microwavable bowl halfway full with vinegar, microwave it for 1-2 minutes and immediately scrub down the microwave. It works like a charm! I have to tell you, though, that my Continue reading...
Five Places You Forget to Vacuum
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of BISSELL Homecare, Inc. for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine. My home is filled with wall-to-wall carpeting, which means that I do a lot of vacuuming. I try to vacuum frequently to keep my house clean, but I have to admit there are a few spots that I overlook! BISSELL’S PowerGlide® with Lift-Off® Technology Vacuum The areas I forget to vacuum are those out-of-the-way or hard to reach spots, so I am very intrigued by BISSELL’S new PowerGlide® with Lift-Off® Technology vacuum. This powerful, yet light vacuum has a Continue reading...
Organize Your House and Improve Your Life 15 Ways
Did you know that on average, Americans spend one year of their life looking for lost or misplaced items? If you are like the average American, you are probably aware of how easy it is to accumulate a ton of stuff in your home. I know I have! There are many of us who really need to organize our home. The more things you collect, the less space you have to store it. As a result, people often find themselves living in a home full of clutter. While you might find it difficult to part ways with things that have sentimental memories, home organization experts recommend getting rid of items Continue reading...