Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Olivia's Room Dryer Ball Review and Giveaway

Ok so I took a tad longer to get this up than I had planned.  We passed our 10k pageviews and are now at 12k!  I love my fans and we're going to celebrate with a few giveaways. 


First up is a set of 4 dryer balls from Olivia's Room Boutique.  

Do you use fabric softener?  Do you know how bad it is for you and for the environment.  Here's a quick article.  


Ok, so now you're wondering how to soften your clothes.  Enter dryer balls!  Not only do they make your clothes softer, but they reduce static and drying time.  

Here's what Brittany, the owner of Olivia's Room Boutique, has to say about her wool dryer balls:



Dryer balls are amazing! Wool dryer balls are even better. With just 4 dryer balls in a load of laundry, it can cut your drying time by 40%! More balls, better drying time! By using wool dryer balls, it can eliminate the need for artificial softeners also, which are not recommended for use on your child's bedding or clothing. Keep in mind, that when using artificial softeners, it builds up on your clothes and in your washer/dryer, reduces fire retardancy of clothing, reduces absorbency of towels, and can cause allergic reactions in those with sensitive skin. My wool dryer balls are made from 100% wool, with the core being all natural wool roving, and dyed or natural wool yarn for decoration and durability. I make every dryer ball by hand, and each are needle and wet felted to ensure proper felting of the wool. Felting is what keeps your dryer balls together, so I double up just to be safe!! I am a [work at home mom], so when you purchase my products, it helps my family! I also stand behind every one of my products, so if you have an issue, you contact me directly, not a huge company who might defer your concerns down the line.


Olivia's Room Boutique has a Facebook Page and an Etsy store.  Feel free to check out her great products!  I would like to extend a huge thank you to Brittany for sponsoring this giveaway.  Good luck!




Monday, January 14, 2013

The Little Things

I've been using lists, and more recently Apps, to organize my house cleaning and I think I've found a schedule and a system that works.  And the most important part of that is staying on top of the small things.

I always know that the bathrooms need to be cleaned.  Or that the floors need to be swept and mopped. And those are fairly easy to remember, and quick to get done.  It's when the small things start to pile up that I REALLY start to feel overwhelmed.  So I've found that if I have to skip any task, I have to stay on top of the small things.  Today, my 'small tasks' include checking and restocking the toilet paper in each of the bathrooms and changing the hand towels.  Other small tasks include cutting the kids fingernails, wiping down the front of the cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms, and quickly tidying up each room.  Sometimes THAT is as easy as running around the house and picking up all of the dishes, or laundry, and even just doing that makes a huge difference in how clean the house feels.

I'm glad that I've split up all my tasks into daily items and if I can stay on top of it all, my house is a lot easier to maintain.

What small tasks do you need to get done today?

Friday, January 11, 2013

Starting the Spring Cleaning Early

Christmas is great.  Mad rush to organize the house, lots of food, family and fun.  Lots of gifts.  And then the aftermath.  Cleaning everything up.  Finding room for all the new clothes, toys and more.  Figuring out how you got all the decorations in the boxes last year.  We decided to get some new shelves for the kids rooms, so they can have some books, toys and stuff in there, and keep the playroom less cluttered.  I also wanted to get some hooks for the entryway so the kids could hang up their own coats, instead of throwing them all over the place.

Well, today was the start of the Spring Cleaning.  Some other friends are doing mass organizing in their homes and I decided to follow suit.  I got the hooks for the entryway and tidied that up. Will have to wait for the hubs to do that though.  I don't want to risk missing a stud or damaging the drywall.

Next step is to get the shelves for the kids rooms and organize all the toys, books, puzzles, games, cars, trains, AND MORE!

Well, I should put away the laundry first.  And then the groceries.  Then the Christmas decorations.  Then.....