Spring Cleaning with Cottonelle

How do you freshen up your home for the spring season? Living in the tropics, I don’t really wait for spring because it is not much of a difference with the other seasons.

In the past few months, I tried to clean up and minimize to make space so it would be more comfortable for me and my daughter to do activities in our living room which is also the playroom. It is a challenge to have limited space but it allows creativity to kick in.

Here are some things that I have done to freshen up my apartment:

I minimized our furniture. We used to have a three piece sofa set but I got rid of the two. This gave us a more space to do activities in our living room which is also our play area.  

I organized the toys and clothes.  Having a young kid, many moms probably sort clothes to get rid of the ones that no longer fit your kids.  I believe organizing the toys also helped me lessen the clutter. Sure, my daughter will throw the toys again everywhere but now that it is more organized, she seems to play with them one after the other which makes it easier to clean up.  There is also a designated place/bin for the food toys, play dough so picking them up has been better instead of just putting them all mixed up in the toy chest.

I don’t have a space for garage sale but I tried to join a community garage sale and it was a good experience to get some cash from items that you no longer use.   

For the bathroom, I added a rug and got a new bath mat. Of course, stacking on a lot of wipes and toilet paper is a must. We just started using the Cottonelle Fresh flushable wipes and we love it! It's affordable about the same price as the non-flushable wipes. I can use this not just for bathroom purposes, it would be perfect for travel too.

 

I still don’t expect my apartment to always look fresh and organize but I try to pick up stuff every night and clear the clutter before bed time so it will look fresh when we wake up the next day.

I also plan to schedule a cleaning day for each area of my apartment and make it a goal to stick to it.

I want to thank Cottonelle for allowing me to write about spring cleaning. Feel free to share your tips at the comment section of this post.

You can help Cottonelle to pick up a name for Cottonelle Care Routine using the Name Generator on Cottonelle Brand’s Facebook Page.  There are three ways to do it-- The Randomizer, The Personalizer and The Customizer. Please go to Cottonelle Brand’s Facebook Page to try them.  I’m sure you’ll come up with witty and fun names according to your personality.

You can also follow Cottonelle in Twitter- @Cottonelle. There is a lot of ongoing opportunities to win at this time.

I was compensated for this post. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.

Space Saving Spice Racks

I have to organize my kitchen. It’s one of the tasks I’ve been procrastinating about. I’m trying to cook more lately trying out new and old recipes.  Lately, I just feel that I have to do more here in our household. Cooking more often will be one of the changes I would like to venture on.  We’ve already cut our restaurant expense in the past few months. 

There are so many spice racks to choose from at spiceracksource.com. They have some high end spice racks but there are also some that are affordable and a lot of their items are on sale and comes with free shipping. I want to have one that can be placed at my countertop right beside the stove. Something that is a space saver like a rotating spice rack would be good. I have to use my step stool at times trying to reach spices in the kitchen cabinet (no kidding!).  Sometimes, it feels like I have to dig in the cabinet because even if all the spices are all together, there are a lot of them that I need to search through them everytime.

If you are looking for kitchen spice racks, you may find something that you want at spiceracksource.com.  This post is also brought to you by spiceracksource.com.  

Window Plant Boxes

You have probably seen window box planters in some homes now.  I see some of these in our neighborhood. These garden window boxes look great even for tall buildings. I think they are simple way to decorate the outside of one’s home.

If you would like some inspiration on how to decorate your window plant boxes, you may go to windowboxplanters.com. They sell the boxes, they have a wide selection but if you already have a window box, I think you can find a lot of color combination inspirations for your plants through their website.

I wish I can have one of this now or even just regular plants by a balcony like I did before. However, the problem with plants is that when you don’t have someone to take care of them when you go on vacation, it is most probably that they will be unhealthy when you get back. Most plants need watering on a daily basis.

This post is brought to you by windowboxplanters.com. Please visit their website for more information. They have various colors and materials of windox boxes to choose from. The picture is from their website.

Geek Gifts

If you are looking for unique and interesting gifts, you may want to browse these Geek Gifts. The website features unique, interesting and functional products produced by various manufacturers.

Here are some of the latest gadgets I found at GeekAlerts.

The Super Mario shoes are so cute and they are hand-painted. They would be a good conversation starter. It makes me want to learn how to wear pointed heels. I was a huge fan of Super Mario when I was young.

RC would like some of the dinosaur chocolates made from the silicone dinosaur mold.  I think her love for dinosaurs was influenced by the TV, there are many kid’s cartoons and shows that talk about dinosaurs.

GeekAlerts recently published an article about the 123Print coupon code to make browsing for coupons even easier for their readers. Even geeks love great bargains. I would not consider myself a geek as I don’t use a lot of gadgets but I still enjoy their website.

Another coupon based website that they featured is the 48HourPrint coupons which also have a mobile app.

This post is brought to you by GeekAlerts.Com. All pictures are from their website. It’s always a pleasure to write for them, I love their website. I can just go page after page when I visit.

Enclosed Bulletin Boards

I have a memo board at the back of my computer to put notes and receipts on it. I also inserted some cords (pictured below without the notes). I’ve seen some bloggers do some cute do-it-yourself boards for themselves or for their kids. I’m thinking of doing a chalk board for RC. I’ve been slacking, this project has been on my mind since months ago.

For schools and institutions, they usually use enclosed bulletin boards to protect what is posted there. They probably use these too to prevent people from just placing their own ads. Here at my apartment building, a tenant will have to get permission from the building manager before they can advertise at the enclosed cork bulletin boards. It’s mostly advertisement about an apartment unit or a parking stall. They seem to be picky with what information they post on the bulletin boards.

If you would like to purchase an enclosed fabric bulletin board or other bulletion boards for outdoor or indoor, or if you are just want to see more ideas about bulletin board, please go to enclosedbulletinboards.com. They also have some board accessories including letter sets and magnets.

This post is brought to you  by enclosedbulletinboards.com.

PeachSuite Review: Love Your Home!

I love staying in hotels because of the “vacation fee” associated with it. PeachSuite.com is an online hotel supplier & restaurant supply. When you view their website, you’ll see variety of items that you will probably find in a hotel kitchen, dining area, rooms and lobby. We don’t have a toaster, I was browsing through their selection and they have about thirty five toasters to choose from.

I know most of us don’t have our own hotels but we can buy some gadgets that a hotel uses to make cooking or decorating easier. Sometimes, homeowners get their design inspirations from a hotel they  have been to.

If you have a big home and likes to entertain at your own house, you might find something that you like at this site like banquet tables and bar stools. PeachSuite Hotel Supply & Restaurant Equipment Company  can cater to both residential and hotel needs.

Overall, the site is complete if not almost complete of Resort Linen Supplies & Catering Supplies. If you wanted to save some bucks, you can browse through their clearance items.

This post is brought to you  by peachsuite.com.

Rain Harvesting

Since I lived  here in the US, I haven’t really experienced the loss of supply of water. If the water will be shut down, there will always be a notice at our door saying the exact time that the water won’t run. I don’t even take note of it because it is just usually about two hours and in the middle of the afternoon.

I remember when I lived in the Philippines and my landlady would collect water from the rain because there was a water crisis going on in the city at that time. It would have been better is she used one of these rain barrels instead of just a regular pail.

I think rain barrels are a great idea for rain harvesting so we can save water for later use. This water can be used to water the plants, clean the driveway etc. I know water is cheaper compared to electricity but if there is loss of water, everyone if affected. I’ve been there many times before and it was hard. At this time, I don’t have an outdoor space to collect rain but this is something I would do in the future if I ever move out of a condominium unit and have some outdoor space.

Thank you simplyrainbarrels.com for letting me write about rain water barrel once gain. This post is brought to you by their website.

Increasing the Curb Appeal with Address Plaques

Have you noticed that the home improvement channels have more information about real estate nowadays?  I love watching these TV shows and here are some information I learned when selling a  house.

Sometimes the difference between selling a house and not is due to what is referred to curb appeal.  If the outside of your house is overgrown with weeds, or has a porch that needs painting, the buyers will just take one quick look at your home and go to the next house on their list, and your house will sit on the market.  One of the easiest and quickest ways to improve the curb appeal of your home is to replace your address sign with a new fashionable sign that promotes your home.  You could use personalized address plaques to replace those simple numbers you have on the front of your home.  Potential buyers will appreciate the attention to detail and will investigate further.  You could move up to custom address plaques and add that little extra detail that will get your home noticed the first time.  You need to do everything you can to get your house sold, so take advantage of every little detail.

The links in this post is brought t you by justaddressplaques.com. Please visit their website if you would like to shop for residential address plaques.

Kids Locker Shop

These kids lockers are perfect for my apartment and for my daughter RC. This can hold her dress up outfits. You can also put some colorful bins for organizing. These would also be great for storing some toys. If you have a child that loves other kids to come over, these can be used to store their items before fully entering your house.  They can then easily grab their bags and belongings before they leave. 

KidsLockerShop.com has a variety of kid’s lockers depending on your needs. I like that they have toddler lockers. I would say that some of their pieces are expensive and I’m not sure about the shipping cost here to Hawaii which is usually higher than in the mainland. However, you can search by price to trim down your choices if you decide to browse the cute lockers based on prices.

Most of the lockers are designed for preschool or school use as childrens lockers but they can also easily be used at home. For us who live in an apartment, a wall mount locker is great for storage. They would make a good storage for my purses.  I am already thinking of ways to use these lockers; I personally think that they are not just for kids.

This is a review of kidslockershop.com. You'll find a lot more lockers for kids by going to their website. A small compensation was received for reviewing their website.

I Think it's Time to Switch to Flat Screen

One of life’s greatest pleasures is to relax in the comfort of our own home stretched out on the sofa watching our favorite television program. We feel secure in our homes and can relax knowing we’re safe and comfortable.

Our TV seems to be always open. I am trying to lessen RC’s watching TV but it also became a bonding time for us. I would admit that she is learning too while watching TV, she learned how to count in Spanish just by watching Dora. I have a video of her counting. I should share it with you.

Do you use Direct TV for your cable services? I love their new commercials and it says that you can have HD access. We still have to buy a new TV first before we can avail of any HD. Sometimes, it feels like we are the only ones without a thin flat screen TV. Hopefully, this Christmas we can buy a new TV. We thought about it last year, another year has passed and still no flat screen. We really have to get rid of the big one because I am always nervous whenever RC is close to it. It is very heavy and sometimes she likes to run to it.

(The screen is not really like that, just the picture.)

By the way, I wrote for home security Calera before. If you are thinking of making your home secure with ADT, you can check their website homesecuritycalera.com.
So what do you think is the best flat screen TV that’s right on the price that we can buy? Please share your thoughts.

Adirondack

We were suppose to go to a picnic today but we decided this morning that me and RC will try to go to the pool again. It feels like we did some picnic too because just outside the pool, there were picnic tables and park benches. I was not able to take pictures. RC enjoyed it a lot, she was scared at first. I hope I can keep taking her. She is one outgoing little girl, she is always happy to go out either to a picnic or to a swimming pool.

Since I don’t have pictures to share for now, These cute Adirondack chairs, they’re perfect for RC.

To view more site furnishings, you can check out terraboundsolutions.com.  They offer free shipping and a lot of their items are made from recycled materials.

This post is brought to you by http://terraboundsolutions.com/.

Pictures in pictures

I used to print a lot of pictures to send to a family member in the Philippines. I realized that it is an expensive hobby because inkjet cartridges can be expensive. From my blog, you can tell that I love pictures. I would like to organize an album for RC with printed pictures of her.

We just bought a new printer and I just discovered inkgrabber.com, they sell cheap ink. They offer a coupon code on their main page that you can use when you check out. They have various kinds of printer ink, I prefer the HP because that’s mainly what I have tried so far.

Isn't RC so cute when she was a baby? I miss her baby days.

Home Improvement

Here I was in front of a house with lots of flowers. I would definitely consider this idea once we move to a home with a front yard. I have been walking a lot lately and when I do, I enjoy the view of the houses, their designs, and I can tell which owners have a great sense of style because of their houses.


For those who are in the construction and home improvement businesses, they should keep advertising their services; a home improvement leads program is really helpful to target their potential customers. It’s not everyday that people renovate their homes or set up a business location. Of course, the World Wide Web is always there to create a positive competition. Somehow, because of the internet, the industries can work together to provide better services.

Home Improvement Leads for Sale allows regional home improvement businesses to campaign while only paying for leads in their area. To learn about home improvement leads, please visit homeimprovementleadsforsale.com.This post is brought to you by their website.

Mytarp

Tarps are one of the useful items we can find. They serve as a cover for vehicles, pools, floors etc. If ever I will do my own trade show or sell at a market or yard sale, I would love to have a colorful tarp for a shade. I think it’s a strategy that sellers use in markets to draw attention of customers.

I think I would choose a red tarp so it is more attractive and fun looking, or maybe green for a more subtle color.

Mytarp.com offers a great selection of tarps that are of high quality . They even do custom made tarps. They have heavy duty silver tarps and accessories. Their website is also very detailed about their policies and has clear pictures of the items that they sell. It also has a detailed description with cover and tarps comparison chart. You can ask for a shipping quote by using the typing your zip code and clicking on the estimate button.

They offer wholesale as well as retail. They are located in Maritetta, Georgia but they are accepting orders online.

This post is brought to you by mytarp.com

Cute carpets

What is the hardest part of cleaning the carpet? I believe when something spills and the stains stay. It does not help much when you have a toddler who loves to drink colored juice. I think carpets are harder to clean than solid floors because of the material, dust and grime stays. If you decide to wash it, you will have to vacuum first then use the heavy carpet washer which by the way are expensive. (We have an older model).

I want to thank The Steam Team for allowing me to review their website once again. Here are the reasons why we should choose a professional carpet cleaner like them.

They offer their service to various locations - Carpet Cleaning Sunset Valley, Carpet Cleaning Wyldwood, Carpet Cleaning Uhland etc.

They recommend the best cleaning method for your type of carpet.

They do spot testing, spot stain removal and carpet grooming.

They offer both residential and commercial carpet maintenance that.

You can request a quote and place an order online.

They provide odor neutralization.

They offer carpet protection . The carpet will look better and last longer. (I think this is a great concept).


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For more information on Carpet Cleaning Tarry Town, Carpet Cleaning Spicewood and Carpet Cleaning Lockhart, you can visit TheSteamTeam.com.This post is brought to you by their website.

Computers and viruses

Since anyone who can read this is using a computer, a virus is something in common that we can worry about. I’m sure many of you experience slowness in their computers due to a virus. Some says that their computers are acting weird when they get a virus. Some viruses are easy to remove but there are some that are hard to get rid of. The Bitfender Anti Virus Pro 2011 is a virus protection that allows you to surf safely, safeguard your privacy and stop viruses and spyware. They have video tutorials on how to use their software. Registration is easy and they offer antivirus for Macs, Antivirus for Windows and Antivirus for Mobile. Their website is easy to understand and they do have tools and resources where you can download information that you need to use or install so you can run the Bitfender Anti Virus. There are so many hackers, spammers and that are ready to invade our privacy.

For the parents, this program will also allow you to have parental controls on your PC. I personally recommend using shared computers with your kids instead of them having their own PCs in the bedrooms. How about you? What are your thoughts on this? I think we should be protective of our kids when it comes to them being online. It can be good for learning and research but it can also be bad as well. There are predators out there.

These computers and mousses are cute, aren't they?

For more information, about virus protection, you can check out bitdefender.com.

I received a small compensation writing this post for http://www.bitdefender.com/.

Recycling rainwater

A lot of people take water for granted but in some parts of the globe, there is drought even in the United States. I remember going to a Las Vegas hotel and there are signs inside the room to please conserve water.

The water also goes in a long and tedious process before it comes out of our faucet. Another way of recycling is to collect the rain for future purposes. You can use a rain barrel. The rain can be used to clean the lawn, water the plants or maybe even to clean your car. There are rain barrels for sale that can hold a huge amount of water and it can also be used for decoration outside your house.

Rain harvesting may sound odd  but it honestly saves a lot of water and it can save bucks too by having lesser water bill.

This post is brought to you by http://www.simplyrainbarrels.com/. The last picture is from their website.

Flower box

These window boxes for flowers remind me of the movie Under the Tuscan Sun. It’s a romantic movie. After I watched it, I want to see Europe, Italy in general. I watched other movies where the setting is in Italy and I think it would be worth going there.

The classic houses and buildings with flower boxes are beautiful. I can feel the history just by watching it on TV. I wouldn’t have a problem about the food either because I think Italian food is tasty and delicious. Well, I wouldn’t be going there in the near future but I hope someday I can go visit that country.

Photos of window boxes for plants are from windowboxplanters.com. This post is brought to you by their website.

Wine racks

I’m not a wine drinker, but wine drinkers seem sophisticated to me and wine drinking has become very popular.  Whether you’re a well-versed wine drinker, or simply someone who enjoys a nice glass with dinner on occasion, one of the ways to maintain a proper wine collection is educating yourself on the various types and styles of wine racks. 

Along with wine racks, you may also need a wine glass rack.  Wine glass racks can hold different amounts of wine glasses.  A popular style is a hanging wine glass rack.  Wine glass racks are not only functional in helping to keep the wine glasses stored properly, but they are also beautiful additions to your home,  adding a touch of elegance and class.  Some stemware racks are small and some are large, and they are made from a variety of materials. I would love to have these racks at my home.

This post is brought to you by glassstemwareracks.com.