Organization & Cleaning Archives

Love and Pet Messes

February 18, 2019 by Danielle Leave a Comment

Thanks to Swiffer + Febreze for sponsoring this post. All opinions are mine alone. #DontSweatYourPet

With Valentine’s Day so recently, I loved seeing all of the local shelters and rescues posting their holiday specials so you could adopt your new furry Valentine. Sweet dogs and cats holding little signs such as ‘Be My Valentine’ or snuggling heart-shaped pillows? Melt my heart! For those of you still stuck at the thinking stage – whether or not you should adopt a new furry friend – here’s some of my thoughts about how to tackle at least some of the things that may be causing hesitation. Because really, adopting comes with Love and Pet Messes – but we can help with that last one!

We’re long past the thinking stage, but I still remember that amongst the excitement and desire to get a pet, there were concerns. Will we have enough time to pay adequate attention to our new pet? What are the costs involved? Are we going to be able to keep and care for her long-term? And of course – what about the PET MESSES?! I know animals shed, and it can be super frustrating – but the great news is that it doesn’t actually have to be a hassle! If the messes are the last thing keeping you from enjoying the amazing friendship and love of a new pet, you can rest assured that Swiffer + Febreze can save the day with a swish and a spray. You can nab both during your next trip to Kroger!

I was thrilled to learn that my favorite cleaning helper – Swiffer – now has special pet-specific products to really give us pet-owners some help. I’m talking about the awesome Swiffer Dusters Heavy Duty Pet Refills, as well as the Sweeper Dry and Wet Pet Refills with Febreze Odor Defense that Trap+Lock all that pet hair and dirt. I’ve always loved how easily I can sweep up all the dead grass and yuck on my floors, then making them fully clean and shiny. Plus the Swiffer Dusters are AMAZING for getting all the nooks and crannies around the house where my dogs’ shedding seems to come to rest.

Along with the ‘pet messes’ is the smell – we all know that dogs and cats don’t always smell like roses (despite rolling around in them often, it seems!). But that ones even easier, because Febreze AIR Heavy Duty Pet Odor Eliminator can freshen up all around your home with a quick spray. If you’re worried about your couches – my pups LOVE laying around on our couches – then never fear, because there’s also Febreze Fabric Pet Odor Eliminator that helps to quickly freshen those up, which is particularly great before having guests over.

While there may be other reasons you’re not ready to commit to a pet, if you’re at the point where you ARE ready, it’s truly an incredible bond between pet and owner. We love our pups so much – they truly complete our family! There’s ups and downs in all love stories, but Swiffer + Febreze can help make sure you don’t sweat your pet because of the mess or odor. No matter what stage you’re at – thinking, plunging, or loving (that’s us!) – you can enjoy the fact that Swiffer + Febreze help clean and freshen up pet messes quickly AND efficiently. That means you can spend more time with your new fur-ever friend!

What pet would YOU most enjoy?

Pet Clean Up Made Easy

January 18, 2019 by Danielle Leave a Comment

This awesome pet cleaning post is sponsored by Swiffer. All opinions are mine alone. #DontSweatYourPet #SwifferFanatic

Y’all know how much we love our dogs, all four of them. They complete our family, and provide plenty of snuggles, loves and goofy moments – that being said, they also provide quite the mess in our home! All that shedding and the paw-prints really can be frustrating, but luckily it doesn’t prevent us from enjoying our furry pups! Here’s some ways Pet Clean Up is Made Easy so you can focus on the GREAT things about pet ownership.

If you’re like us, you’re among the 59% of pet owners who feel that their pets help make their house feel like a home. It just wouldn’t be the same without them, so it’s a bit sad that 70% of Americans (and 75% of pet-less parents) say that their concerns over pet messes may prevent them from adopting a pet. Now, I know there are some really great reasons out there that pet ownership may not be for you, but I hope I can show you how the messes shouldn’t be a large factor in that important decision!

Having had dogs for over 5 years now, we’ve learned how to make the clean up not only easy, but QUICK – because busy parents like us just don’t have a lot of time to be cleaning – but even the savviest pet owners may need help to see why they shouldn’t sweat it when it comes to their furry friends.

Since we’re making a pledge to stress less about the pet hair all over our floors this year, and handling it quickly and easily instead of making it a huge hassle, the first thing we’re doing is dividing up the work. Each week is someone else’s turn in our home to do the floors, while we also rotate dusting (especially the stairs – because boy does the dog hair like to collect on there!). For the stairs, ledges and baseboard-type spots we love how quick (and fun, according to my kids) the Swiffer Dusters Heavy Duty Pet Refills work.

Just grab a duster, fluff it up, then swipe it away at those pet hairs – it picks them up so well, and leaves your edges looking wonderful! Even the pets kind of like these fluffy yellow things, though I don’t think they appreciate it as much as we do 🙂

The floors were the biggest stress, but luckily we tackle that easily now. Whoever is in charge of the floors for the week just pulls out our Sweeper Dry and Wet and the Pet Dry Refills with Febreze Odor Defense (that are amazing, and Trap + Lock all that dirt and pet hair – you can find them at Kroger) and sweep away. It’s actually kind of fun to watch them do the swishing, back-and-forth motion with it!

After that, for the dirty pup prints, the Wet Pet Refill works amazing at wiping those up in a jiffy, leaving our pretty floors shining. Plus, the tough green strip is perfect when there’s a spot that needs a little extra scrubbing. I love it!

Being a pet owner, I know there will always be a mess (plus kids – so there’s that!). When we first got a dog we had to spend a ton of time cleaning all the dog hair and paw prints, but we don’t mind at all now because with Swiffer it’s so quick and simple!

Now that we spend less time cleaning up after our pets, we can enjoy a lot more time with our family – including our furry friends!

What’s your trick for quick pet clean up?

Family Home Command Center

January 7, 2019 by Danielle Leave a Comment

With a family of 7, it can be really challenging to keep all of our schedules organized (and not forget all the random events or tasks). Luckily, we spent the weekend putting up this awesome Family Home Command Center that’s been a lifesaver! Not only is it functional, but looks amazing on this big wall on the side of our stairs.

As we’ve been *finally* adding photos and decor to our walls in this house (like our fun entryway with our new family photos), I knew I wanted a central area to help keep our family a bit more organized. A big dry erase calendar was a total MUST for me, because as the kids get older there seems to be more and more activities every month – I need help to stay on top of it all!

And for those of you that are super observant, yes I completely messed up the dates on the calendar at first! My large desk calendar – where I put all my daily to-dos for work, life, and EVERYTHING – starts with Sunday as the first day of the week. I look at this calendar multiple times a day, so that’s what my brain is programmed for – so I went into autopilot when writing in dates. It’s since been fixed, thank goodness, but it’s going to take some getting use to! At the top is another of our fabulous family photo gallery wraps – it’s a bit more goofy, and I love it for our command center.

It took me a bit to decide on a layout – but once I knew exactly WHAT I wanted to put on the wall, it was just a matter of playing with it. I traced everything onto scrap paper and used that taped to the wall until I found what I liked best, then it was easy to put the nail holes exactly where they needed to be, as well!

We’ve been trying something new with our family chores – a sheet with the chores divided up. I laminated it, so each week I just put each child’s marker color by the chunk of chores that they’re in charge of completing that week. Same for who has meal duties (set table, etc.) each meal – just add their marker color. Super easy to switch up, and a nice convenient spot for them to check!

Above that is a cute printable list of the morning tasks all my kids need to complete to kick off their homeschool work for the day – I plan to switch it up each month to play with other backgrounds.

I’ve had my large photo collage LOVE board for several years now, and have always enjoyed it in a central location to look at often, so it was perfect! I plan to start making a new one annually with our family photos from that year, then use numbers to do a vertical 2018 (or whatever the year) in place of the letters. Each year we’ll add to our collection, and the most current will go in this spot on our home command center!

Aren’t my babies so cute? Even the kids really enjoy walking past this and seeing a bunch of photos of the family. This family command center is along our main pathway from the front door to the back of the house where the kitchen/living room are. Across from the wall is the large, open office and homeschool room, so it’s a perfect location for them to check their daily tasks and glance at the family calendar, as needed.

Seriously, I can’t get enough of how great this central area looks – and am loving how convenient it is for our family scheduling, tasks, and chores. Hopefully it continues to keep us a bit more organized for a long while to come!

Do you have a command center? Tell me about it in the comments!

Printable Holiday Planner

November 26, 2018 by Danielle 2 Comments

I can’t believe how fast Christmas is coming – but don’t worry, it’s not too late to get your holiday organized with our fabulous, festive Printable Holiday Planner! We’ve got everything her to help you keep your sanity during this busy season – from event calendar, to shopping lists and menus!

I’m in love with the festive, gold coloring and fun accents on these planning sheets! You can print off as many pages of each you need – maybe you need multiple pages of the gift list, or having several of the Christmas event calendar would be helpful? Then go right ahead – and allow these beautiful holiday organizing pages make your season a little less stressful. That’s a gift we could ALL use, right? 🙂

Just sign up above for our newsletter to gain access to lots of fun printables and even some discounts throughout the year on many of our products!

Tips for Owning an Older House

September 18, 2018 by Danielle Leave a Comment

Sponsored by One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® service providers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Since moving to Texas, we have owned two newly built homes – this meant everything was new, from the walls and paint to the HVAC systems and windows. Our most recent home purchase, though, is one that’s almost 20 years old – so things aren’t fresh and shiny, or functioning at their best. While we really love this house, we’re having to learn some maintenance and care things that weren’t even on our radar before! If you’re in the same boat as us, here are some Tips for Owning an Older House that we’ve learned that may help out.

Our biggest wake-up call when we moved into this house a few months ago was the HVAC system – the air conditioner just couldn’t keep up at all. Being early summer in Texas when we moved in, this was certainly not ideal, especially considering we have kids, as well as a ferret (they’re extremely sensitive to temperatures, so it could actually be dangerous for her). Since we know practically nothing about these systems, we knew we needed to call in the professionals from our local One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® service provider to come and take a look. Owning an older house typically means older systems, so we knew they could help us get things working properly because they’re a brand we can trust, and they provide quality service when we need it (for us AND our pets!)

The local One Hour service provider is part of the Direct Energy family of brands, with independently owned and operated locations all over the country. That means you get local service, backed by a national brand! Their service is backed by an on-time guarantee, and even endorsed by UWIN® (that’s a consumer service resource that lets home service contractors provide a nice, extra level of protection – as well as peace of mind to residential consumers who actually get the services). To find your local One Hour service provider, check out their website or call 855-One-Hour.

Our technician, Shane, showed up and was very professional and friendly. He handled all of our not-so-knowledgeable questions and concerns, then took a good, deep look at all the aspects of our HVAC system. He definitely knew his stuff, which shouldn’t be a surprise since the One Hour technicians receive ongoing HVAC training. They’re thoroughly skilled to address any HVAC issue, and get you back to feeling comfortable inside (especially if you’re in this Texas heat – dang!). Everyone can appreciate a properly-cooled house – even this cool dude!

Honestly, I was a bit concerned about what type of technician would show up at first, but I should’ve known that One Hour service providers ensure you’ll be served by a reliable professional who’s not only well-trained and skilled, but also clean, courteous AND background-checked. This was HUGE for me, as a parent, when it came to someone coming into our home!

One thing we learned about owning an older house – you never know HOW things were actually installed or maintained! As Shane went through everything, he made sure he answered all of our questions, showed us photos of the spots he was talking about, and cleared up any aspects we didn’t quite understand. It turned out that our HVAC system had many things not even installed correctly, which explained clearly why it wasn’t working right! He pointed out areas that could be fixed to bring up the functionality (and save on our terrifying electric bill from wasted usage due to leaks), and also the spots that were just fine. I really liked that he also let us know of some aspects that weren’t exactly 100%, but that wouldn’t make enough of a difference to justify paying to fix them now. That’s honesty, right there! We even got some tips to help prepare for the upcoming seasons:

Change air filters regularly, especially before winter begins
Properly ‘winterize’ your A/C units
Have a pro check your HVAC systems for any leaks or issues

I was so relieved to know what was actually going on with our HVAC system, and how we could get it running better for a more comfortable home and family. Now that we’re on our way to having that taken care of, here are a few other tips we learned about owning an older house:

Check your Roof – missing/loose shingles (or hail damage, if you’re in an area, like us, that deals with that) or overhanging tree limbs may need to be taken care of
Look at your windows, doorways, tiles, showers and other spots that may need to be resealed if the caulking/sealant has worn away or started to peel up
Double check your air vents, making sure they’re clear of junk or debris for proper airflow
Check your locks – doorknobs or locks may wear out and not work 100% after some time
Test your smoke alarms and CO2 detector (if you have one) to ensure they’re still functional
Keep an eye on drains and pipes – you don’t want them blocked!
Stay alert for signs of foundation issues – doors getting funky in the door frames, corner cracks from settling, etc. This is something you want to catch early on!

What are your best tips for owning an older house?

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® service providers

Homework Station for Teens & Tweens

July 30, 2018 by Danielle 2 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BackToSchoolGoals18 #CollectiveBias

Supporting our kids at home can really help their success at school, especially as they get older and into higher, more challenging grades. One way we can provide that help to them is having things organized in a way that makes homework and study time less hassle – and maybe even more fun. We put together this organized and colorful Homework Station for Teens & Tweens as we’re getting nearer to the start of the school year, and stocking up on all of the essentials. We’re even showing you how to make this super simple DIY Pencil Caddy!

Back to school shopping can be stressful, which is why I make sure to plan ahead and go early before the rush. Walmart always has what I need in just one stop, which is a huge sanity saver! Not only that, but be sure to check out their specific Back-to-School section so you don’t have to wander all over the store to grab everything you need for your students.

From my experience, teacher supplies lists can be a bit generic – which is fantastic in finding what you need and covering all the basis – but be sure to stock up on the items you’ll certainly need plenty of for the school year, such as Scotch® tape or Post-it® Original Pop-up Notes. I go through a TON of them all year long, and love that I can keep a good stash of them to pull out whenever.

My tweens have started using Post-it® Notes Cubes and Post-it® Tabs a lot, using them to mark pages in their books (without the worry of leaving marks) or planners to help them stay on track and more organized. Of course they LOVE leaving little memos and friendly notes all over, too – but I’m all for it if it makes learning time more fun for them!

Supplies

Post-it® Notes Cubes and Post-it® Tabs
Box or Container
Paper of Choice
Scissors
Containers or Organizers
Tissue Paper, if desired
School Supplies

Note: If you’re using a box, make sure the top flaps are removed first.

Directions

Decorate the box/container. For ours, we just used some sturdy paper (like construction or card stock). Your teen/tween can even decorate it beforehand, if they want! Start with a strip on the four outside corners, just so they are covered neatly. Next, size pieces of paper to cover all the outside sides of the box. Fold over the top and bottom and smooth out, then use Scotch® Super Hold Tape to secure it into place.
If you want some depth to for your containers, use tissue paper to build up the bottom (we put the back row of containers higher than the front, just because we liked the look of it better).
Place your containers, then fill with all of your student’s school supplies!

See, I told you it was really simple – and it’s a great way for them to customize their supply box, making it a bit more enjoyable when it’s time for them to tackle homework or study. We filled our containers with pencils and other supplies to help them, then set up a nice area for them to store it until needed.

I’m pretty relieved that I thought ahead this year instead of waiting until the last minute – but at least I know I can always grab everything my kiddos will need for back to school during my regular Walmart trip – because I almost always forget something!

Be sure to go here more Back-to-School Inspiration & Help!

Getting Your Home Ready for Summer

May 29, 2018 by Danielle Leave a Comment

This post is in partnership with Swiffer. All opinions are mine alone. #SwifferFanatic

I’m not ready for summer. Yes, I’m excited for the kiddos to be home (although nervous for how to still fit in work/to dos of course) and trying out the pool in our new house, hitting the zoos and all the fun that comes this time of year. That being said, there’s some important things that need to be done around the house that I’ve been neglecting. If you’re in the same boat, here’s some tips for Getting Your Home Ready for Summer so we can ALL be a bit more prepared for the coming season!

Since we’re going from cold (some places FREEZING) and wet to hot and mostly dry, it’s important that we get our home ready for summer and the weather it brings with it. A few tasks now can not only save time and frustrations later, but possibly even money! That’s right, some things mean energy savings when the heat strikes – and I’m a huge fan of saving on our budget!

Tasks for Getting Your Home Ready for Summer

Check Your Air Conditioning: Make sure the units are functioning properly, the ducts are cleaned out (you don’t want settled dust and yuck from the winter months blowing into your house) and air filters are replaced as needed.
Check for Leaking Energy: All that cool air you’re paying for can escape from little spaces on windows, door gaps and other places. Check around for spots that may need to be re-caulked and fix or add weather stripping as needed.
Be Ready for Nature: Warm weather means grass, plants and much more outside time – meaning it’s going to get tracked in onto your floors. Have a convenient spot for your cleaning supplies, such as your handy Swiffer products. I use my Swiffer Sweeper daily to get all the pet hair and grass the dogs drag in, and the Swiffer WetJet is perfect for keeping the floors clean of pawprints (and kiddo foot prints, of course!).
Check Your Dryer Vent: This is often overlooked, but it’s crazy how blocked up the vent for your dryer can get. Now is a good time to clean that out for better air flow!
Prepare for Bugs: I hate bugs – like REALLY hate bugs. Whether you’re the type who sprays to prevent too many in your home, or just like to make sure there’s not cracks or crevices they can get in at, make sure you get that handled soon.
Give Your Plants Attention: Time to prune your trees, check your plants, and maybe even prepare your garden area. You don’t want to be out there doing a TON of work on them during the mid-summer heat, so tackle it now.
Change Your Ceiling Fan Direction: I had no idea that ceiling fans can go different directions, and that it mattered depending on that season until a friend mentioned it randomly! It turns out that during the winter, fans should go clockwise to better distribute the heat that rises – but in the summer they should rotate counter-clockwise (at higher speeds) to get a good breeze going in your home.
Switch Out Your Winter Items: From your winter coats in the closet, to snow blowers in the garate – it’s time to get those put away. Things like cute t-shirts and shorts should be brought back out from storage, as well as your outside items like lawn mower, weed wacker, gardening tools, etc.
Check the Deck: Many decks or patios need to be resealed every so often, so now is a great time to check if yours is due for it. With how much time may be spent out there this upcoming season, better have it in great shape to fully enjoy!

If you haven’t tackled your Spring cleaning yet, it’s never too late – and I for one love starting off the summer break with a really clean house, because heaven knows I’d rather spend the summer enjoying my family than more-than-normal cleaning. Luckily it’s then super easy to maintain with the Swiffer Sweeper and Swiffer WetJet – and it helps that the kids think it’s great fun using these so are more than happy to help out!

What do you do to get your home ready for summer?

Getting Real About Shedding

May 25, 2018 by Danielle Leave a Comment

This post is in partnership with Swiffer. All opinions are mine alone. #ShedHappens

I’ve shared before how frustrating all the pet hair in my house gets, and it actually made me hesitant to get dogs because I wasn’t sure I wanted to tackle it. I’m so glad I didn’t let the shedding stop me, though, because I can’t imagine life without any of my special pups! If you’re stressed about it, as well, listen up – because we’re getting real about shedding here!

Of our 4 dogs, the main one who sheds is our Tula girl, with her fluffy white hair making what we call ‘mini Tula’s’ all around the house! Seriously, it looks like tiny balls of puppy fluff clinging to the floor edges, under chairs and couches, and random nooks and crannies. And now that we moved into a house with super dark wood floors, it shows up REALLY bad!

Here’s the thing though – even though all that shedding can be frustrating or make you second guess adopting a new pet, think hard before you let it get in the way. Like they say – #shedhappens – but despite what some think, it can be cleaned up quickly (and easily, so even the kids can do a quick sweep to get the job done!) with the Swiffer Sweeper. It’s seriously a LIFESAVER, because our family wouldn’t be complete without this goofy fluffball.

Obviously she doesn’t care much for sweeping up her own fur piles, opting for a nap in the cozy dog bed. Oh well, the Swiffer Sweeper is so quick to use – especially when we just turn up some music and get it done! The kids actually argue over who’s turn it is to sweep, making it great for me (because heaven knows us moms have enough to do).

Choosing to adopt a new pet is a HUGE decision, and there’s a ton you have to take into consideration. There’s the time and money commitment – taking them for walks, feeding and watering, cleaning up their ‘messes’ in the yard, plus play and snuggle time. Don’t forget the belly rubs, too! At least dealing with the shed can be one potential obstacle that’s easily checked off that list!

Since over half of Americans are pet owners, and many have said that keeping the pet hair under control is one of their top concerns, you know it’s something that needs to be considered when choosing to adopt a new pet. Thankfully Swiffer makes it super easy when shed happens, so you can have both a clean home AND a happy, furry-family member filled one! The dry cloth that goes on it has deep ridges and grooves that conform to your floor’s surface to TRAP + LOCK the dirt, dust and – of course – hair.

And since costs are ALSO a consideration when choosing to adopt a new pup, you can save some extra money with great coupon offers – $2 off the Swiffer Sweeper Starter Kit and/or $2 off the Swiffer Sweeper Dry Cloths Starter Kit in the Target Cartwheel app now through June 2nd 2018! Gotta love saving on the budget, right?

For more info about all the fabulous Swiffer products, check out their website or Facebook!

Spring Cleaning for a Move

March 6, 2018 by Danielle Leave a Comment

I’m excited to share this spring cleaning post, sponsored by Swiffer #SwifferFanatic

I have no idea how the whole ‘spring cleaning’ thing started, but I’ve always loved the idea of doing a major deep clean and organizing of my home at a regular-ish time each year. That way I know it’ll get done, and it makes our house feel fresh for the coming seasons. On a whole extra note, Spring Cleaning for a Move not only gets that job done, but also helps save time and hassle later when you’re switching houses!

I’ve shared some of my tips for Spring cleaning before, and today I’m sharing a few more – plus how it’s a great time when you’re also planning a move. As many of you know, we recently put our house on market to down-size a bit. We love our current house, but it’s just TOO big and pricey for us to stay in. So part of the preparation before we sell and move, is to purge a bunch of unnecessary stuff. It’s far too easy to collect ‘stuff’ when you have a big house, so by going smaller we can declutter.

The first step to decluttering for your Spring cleaning is to go through all the obvious places – closets, pantries, under stairs, shelves, drawers etc. Sort through your clothes and decor, your dishes, even the tools and supplies in the garage. Decide what you really need/want to keep, and what would be best to get rid of. Make a bag or box (or multiple, if you’re really trying to get rid of a bunch of things) for donations and also for garbage/recycling.

Now check the less obvious spots – in couch cushions, up high on the kitchen cabinets, and the like. Really go through and do a good check for any place items may have been shoved or collected. After that, you should have your excess or no-longer-needed items ready for either disposal or donating.

You’re now ready to start your deep cleaning – but don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be a huge project! I kind of make a list of everything that needs to be done, then check off things one room at a time so I don’t lose track of where I left off in case I’m interrupted.

Some of my Spring Cleaning items are:

Dust everywhere – don’t forget those hard to reach places like ceiling fans, high ledges, light fixtures and blinds. I love using my Swiffer® Dusters™ (my kids also LOVE cleaning with this, so that’s a bonus for me!) because they easily trap the dust, dirt and other fluff that accumulates everywhere.
Clean the windows – inside and out
Wipe the baseboards well – those can sure get icky!
Sweep all your non-carpet areas – our Swiffer® Sweep + Vac™ is my hubby’s favorite, while I’m more into the Swiffer® Sweeper X-Large™. Either one is great, as they do excellent at collecting the junk on our floors – including the ridiculous amounts of dog hair!
Clean the mirrors, counters, sinks, toilets and showers in the bathrooms
Clean the counters and sink in the kitchen
Clean the stove, oven and microwave. Wipe off and/or clean the dishwasher, as well
Vacuum all carpeted areas – don’t forget the edges really well, too, since these can often be skipped over during normal vacuuming jobs
Wash all bedding, towels, wash clothes, etc. – I know this gets done regularly, but I like having a time when EVERYTHING in the house is clean at once 🙂
Mop all non-carpeted areas – I’ve used the Swiffer® WetJet™ Mop since I was younger at my parent’s house, and now rely on it for my own home. For our wood floors, the Swiffer® WetJet™ Mop Wood Floor is excellent for our nice wood floors in our office and family rooms.
We also organize the garage, and give it a nice sweep
To top it off, we wipe off all doorknobs and light switches (because you know those collect germs like crazy)

It may seem like a LOT, but it’s actually not that much for an extreme deep clean once or twice a year – especially with the right tools to help you get the job done, as well as a family to help with all the jobs! Adding in the decluttering aspect is excellent for if you’re preparing to move because it 1) makes yours house appear nicer for selling, 2) makes cleaning easier, 3) gets rid of stuff so you have less unnecessary stuff to move and 4) makes stuff more organized so packing is easier when moving day arrives.

What is YOUR big Spring Cleaning item?

Announcing the Busy Mom Bundle!

March 1, 2018 by Danielle Leave a Comment

I’ve been working like crazy behind the scenes creating something for all my fellow busy moms out there to make your lives a bit easier, and maybe even more organized. I’m thrilled to finally announce the Busy Mom Bundle! We’ve taken several of our most popular products and are offering them as a complete set for all the parents out there – whether you need help organizing your families important files, want meal plans already done for you for a YEAR, love Disney activities, need a reliable planner, or help planning the best summer camp ever – this Busy Mom Bundle has practically EVERYTHING to help out!

Busy Mom Bundle

From getting all your important files, documents & information together with the Family Home Binder, to having a whole year’s worth of weekly meal plans (with the recipes, of course) already done for you. Keep track of your schedule and tasks with our beautiful planner. You can even earn money hosting an awesome summer (or Spring Break) camp for kids with our FOUR different themed camp kits – or just enjoy them as bonus activities for your own kiddos!

Plus, both the Disneyland-California AND generic versions of our Unofficial Disney Activity & Autograph Books – perfect for that upcoming Disney trip, or just a great booklet for Disney lovers.

These fabulously fun and helpful books and kits sell individually for $2-$10 EACH (except the planner, it’s always free), but with the Busy Mom Bundle you can nab the whole set for just $8 – that’s less than the cost of ONE of the summer camp kits or the meal plan pack alone!

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So let me break it down a bit so you can see exactly what’s included in this incredible printable bundle pack…

Family Home Binder

4 Cover Designs
Weekly Tasks and To Do Spread
Page for listing household Utilities & Services information
School Information
Weekly Menu & Shopping List
Medical Forms
Family Emergency Plan, Map (fire escape route) & Contacts
Emergency Contact Sheet
Monthly Budget – one blank and one with some general expenses filled in
Babysitter Helper Sheet
Birthday List

2018 Printable Calendar & Weekly Planner

also includes 8 different covers (4 styles, each with the option for the stylized ribbon strip or without it)
This is normally a free printable anyway, so we’re just including in here since it’s also a helpful resource for busy moms

Summer Camp Kits – a great way to earn some extra cash!

The 4 themes include: Arts & Crafts, Wizard (aka Unofficial Harry Potter), Science and Superhero
Don’t want to do a camp? They still make great preschool themes, party plans & ideas or just awesome kid activities!
Each has:
- a cover
- tips and ideas for planning & organizing your camp
- themed food ideas
- activities, games, crafts and/or expiriments
- access to LOTS of free printables to assist in your camp, such as invitations, sign in/out sheets, name tags, coloring pages, photo booth cut-outs, banners, drink labels, food cards, etc.

Both Unofficial Disney Activity & Autograph Books (Disneyland-specific, and the generic version)

Pages for keeping memories and records from your Disney trip
Coloring sheets, games & activities
Plenty of styled & themed autograph pages (also work great for photo pages)
Disneyland version includes ride lists & height requirements

Meal Plan on a Budget

52 Weeks (a whole year) of weekly meal plans already done for you
Breakfast, lunch AND dinner
Recipes all included with page numbers for easy reference
Daily food costs average to less than $5 per person per day!
Blank shopping list for easy grocery list planning

Like I said, the Busy Mom Bundle will be only $8 – such a great savings from buying the printable sets individually! But here’s the thing – we’re celebrating this awesome kit by doing a TWO DAY SALE when it’s live – by selling it for just $7! Yup, when it becomes available in our shop next Tuesday, March 6th at 6am until Thursday, March 8th at 8am you can nab the ENTIRE kit for just $7 – that’s less than a single summer camp kit set or the meal plan book all alone.

So mark your calendars, because this amazing, parent-sanity-saving set will be available starting next week and you can save more by purchasing the first two days. WOOT WOOT!

Don’t want the whole bundle? Check out our other products HERE

Family Home Binder

Unofficial Disney Activity & Autograph Books

2018 Planner & Calendar

Summer Camp Kits or Kid Activity Packs

A YEAR of Meal Plans with Recipes – on a Budget!

Which of the printables would YOU most like to have?

Family Home Binder Printables

February 22, 2018 by Danielle Leave a Comment

Isn’t it such a pain to sort through a ton of documents and files to find the information you need, especially when you’re in a rush? Now you can keep all your family’s important info in one, easy place with these Family Home Binder Printables! We’ve got everything from medical forms and emergency contacts, to shopping lists and babysitter sheets, plus budgets and more to make your life as a busy mom much easier and organized.

After lots of asking around as to what people preferred, we made our home binder printables simple and clean-looking, while still being stylish with some pops of color. It goes perfectly with our 2018 Free Printable Planner, as well as our awesome 52 Weeks of Meal Plans (with recipes) Book! We tried to include the majority of lists and documents that a busy family would need, helping you keep track of everything in one, convenient place. Once you have the PDFs, you can print off as many as you’d like (such as with the monthly budget sheet or weekly menu and shopping lists) – for personal use only, of course 🙂 We even included several cover options, so you can print off whichever you like best.

What’s included in the Family Home Binder Printable pack?

4 Cover Designs – front and back (front has choice of ribbon decor or plain in that blue label piece)
Weekly Tasks and To Do Spread
Page for listing household Utilities & Services information
School Information
Weekly Menu & Shopping List
Medical Forms
Family Emergency Plan, Map (fire escape route) & Contacts
Emergency Contact Sheet
Monthly Budget – one blank and one with some general expenses filled in
Babysitter Helper Sheet
Birthday List

Family Home Binder Printables

That’s a LOT of pages, but super important to have handy when your family needs them. You can nab the entire set now for just $1.99 – what a deal!

Let’s talk about the individual sheets now, shall we? Since many of us need help getting our tasks organized – otherwise we try to keep all our to do’s in our head – here’s the Weekly Tasks & To Do’s spread:

It has the days listed out along the top, and then to the left it’s divided into AM, PM or Eve (evening) so you can spread it out a bit by times, as desired.

One that many people forget to have on-hand is a list of their utility companies, contact information and account numbers – because we don’t really think about it until something happens and we need it RIGHT THEN. Now you can have them all neatly listed out on this sheet. We pre-filled some of the lines with the general types of utilities many people have, but it still has plenty of lines for adding in others as needed.

I never really thought to have a sheet of all my kids’ school information until we took a ‘parents only’ vacation and my uncles were watching them for almost 2 weeks.

Now you can print off a sheet for each school child, and have everything on there – from their homeroom teacher’s info, to their schedule (including bus) and more.

Along with having that easily accessible when you have a sitter, how about a BABYSITTER HELPER sheet? You can add the details for that particular time, plus things like what they should eat and what times. So useful!

For a long while I was using plain, boring paper to write out our family’s weekly menu – now it’s much more fun (and not such an eye-sore on my fridge) with this cute weekly menu that I can fill in.

This is the same design I use in our Meal Plan on a Budget Book, along with the fun shopping list page.

I’m crossing my fingers and knocking on wood right now as I type this (you know, just in case I jinx myself) – but we’ve only had to take a child to the emergency room ONE TIME. With 5 kids, that’s such a lucky blessing! When that did happen, though, I wish we had this medical form so I could have all of his information in one spot to take with us instead of trying to dig it all out and call hubby back home to find the stuff I just didn’t remember. Super stressful!

You can even use it when going to new doctors and such, since you can put all of their allergies, medications, past surgeries and the like on there. This page alone would’ve been well worth the mere $1.99 cost when we had our ER ordeal – and you can nab the whole set for that cost! Woot woot!

To go right along with that form – other emergencies can, unfortunately, happen to our families. Times like this, we don’t have a moment to spare – so it’s extremely important to have a plan. These emergency pages allow you spots to input your family’s emergency plans…

…including a sheet of more emergency contacts. We also included a mostly-blank page where you can draw out a rough idea of your home escape plan, for instances such as a fire.

This is great to practice with the kids regularly, so they know what to do should the worst happen.

Okay, now that we’ve covered those very urgent, hopefully-won’t-be-needed forms, let’s move on to something a little more fun – a place to put all those birthdays we try to keep in our minds constantly! Whether you just track your immediate family’s special days, or include every aunt, uncle and second-cousin-twice-removed, there’s spots for each month!

I know not everyone likes keeping a budget (I’m actually in love with budgeting, so for me it’s fun), but in case you do there’s a sheet to track all of your monthly finances!

We’ve included a sheet that’s partially filled in with common expenses, but also have one blank in case you really want full control over the items and order 🙂

Phew, that’s quite a ton of papers – but when you’ve got an entire family and household to care for it can be SUPER helpful to have all that information in one place. You can either put it in folders, staple it together, place it in a binder, or even just spiral-bind the packet yourself. Whatever you choose, this family home binder printable set is great for any busy mom, dad or family!

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This is included in our Busy Mom Bundle, along with other fabulous printable packs!

Check out our other products HERE

Unofficial Disney Activity & Autograph Books

2018 Planner & Calendar

Summer Camp Kits or Kid Activity Packs

A YEAR of Meal Plans plus Recipes – on a budget!

Organizing Your Mom Van

February 19, 2018 by Danielle

Do you have a “mom van”? We’re talking about a vehicle that you live in for the better part of the week because you’re always shuttling kids here and there. Yes, I have a mom van myself – between dance, karate, the store and running to/from school, it gets good use out of it. That means it can get SUPER messy with all our stuff, and crumbs (even if they don’t EAT in the van, they manage to get crumbs everywhere – what the heck?) So what can you do to keep yourself sane? Here’s a few simple tips on How to Organize Your Mom Van!

Organizing your minivan (or whatever vehicle you have) is one of the best things you can do to simplify your busy life. You spend tons of time in there driving here and there – and everywhere – so make it an enjoyable space. Here are some tips on how to do it:

Organize Bit by Bit – You will want to create sections within your mom van that you can organize according to who sits where and what their needs are. Toys and games for the toddler? Towels or extra shoes for a young sports star? Organize sections of the car and use collapsible bins for storing goodies and important items.

Create trash solutions – Nothing ruins a car/van quicker than trash and every mom knows that where kids go, trash goes, too. Fix this by putting some mini trash bags in your van on all seat rows/levels so it’s accessible to everyone. And ziplocking baggies can be your best friend when organizing your mom van!

Create snack solutions – How often do your kids need to have a snack in the car? Whether it’s an afterschool shuttle to soccer practice or a quick meal before going to a doctor’s appointment, there’s a good chance your kids are going to be eating in the car. And what about those days they forget their school snack and you’ve already left the house? Be prepared with some baskets or bins of car snacks that you keep in the van at all times – make sure they won’t melt, and the less ‘messy’ the better (at least for US, right?). Toss some water bottles in there, too, just in case.

You can also include some goodies for yourself – after all, even the chauffeur needs a special treat! Maybe a book or magazine to read while you’re waiting in that carpool line to pick up a kid?

Love and Pet Messes

What pet would YOU most enjoy?

Pet Clean Up Made Easy

What’s your trick for quick pet clean up?

Family Home Command Center

Do you have a command center? Tell me about it in the comments!

Printable Holiday Planner

Tips for Owning an Older House

What are your best tips for owning an older house?

Homework Station for Teens & Tweens

Supplies

Directions

Be sure to go here more Back-to-School Inspiration & Help!

Getting Your Home Ready for Summer

Tasks for Getting Your Home Ready for Summer

What do you do to get your home ready for summer?

Getting Real About Shedding

For more info about all the fabulous Swiffer products, check out their website or Facebook!

Spring Cleaning for a Move

What is YOUR big Spring Cleaning item?

Announcing the Busy Mom Bundle!

Busy Mom Bundle

Family Home Binder

2018 Printable Calendar & Weekly Planner

Summer Camp Kits – a great way to earn some extra cash!

Both Unofficial Disney Activity & Autograph Books (Disneyland-specific, and the generic version)

Meal Plan on a Budget

Don’t want the whole bundle? Check out our other products HERE

Which of the printables would YOU most like to have?

Family Home Binder Printables

Family Home Binder Printables

This is included in our Busy Mom Bundle, along with other fabulous printable packs!

Check out our other products HERE

Organizing Your Mom Van

What are YOUR tips for organizing your mom van?

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