Search Results for: cleaning

Cleaning Up Life’s Little Messes with 6 Kids

Just so you know, I did receive an O-Cedar EasyWring Spin Mop and Bucket System to facilitate this story about cleaning up life’s little messes, but all opinions, ideas, and photos are entirely my own. #OCedarB2S

As the mom of six kids, I’ve gotten pretty good at cleaning up life’s little messes. Having the right tools is absolutely paramount to success with cleaning and your sanity! I’m sure you can image that my entire adult life has been full of life’s little messes. Crayons and markers on the walls, nail polish on the carpet, crumbs a plenty, and of course many, many spills on my tiled floors. This mom of six rarely rests, especially during back to school time, because there’s always something to buy, someone to pick up, meals to fix, homework to “help” with, and messes to clean.

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t change my life, or my mom status, for anything, but sometimes it all gets a little overwhelming and that’s why I surround myself with the best tools to get the job done during the busy back-to-school rush. I like a clean house, I really don’t even mind cleaning (actually enjoy it when I have the time), but there are two things that I really don’t like to do in the cleaning department…windows and mopping. Gosh, I hate them both and I’ll do anything to avoid them.

But when life’s little messes present themselves (almost daily here), mopping is certainly one thing I can’t avoid. On these occasions (have I mentioned how often spills happen?), I pull out my EasyWring Spin Mop and Bucket System and get the job done without all of that nasty mop mess, and I get it done quickly because the bucket system and design of the spin mop make it easy! The exclusive bucket design has a built-in, foot-activated pedal for hands-free wringing, and the mop has a unique design that makes corner cleaning a snap.

Quickly cleaning up life’s little messes, one spill at a time, just got a little simpler in my house. This no mess, no fuss system is saving this mom’s sanity, and believe me, it needs all of the help it can get!

Look, all of us moms and dads knew life would be messy once we had kids. It’s one of the tradeoffs for all of the many joys that these mess makers bring to our lives; and sometimes the messes (remind me to tell you about the time Bug made a collage on my kitchen cabinets, all of them, with a Sharpie sometime) can even make us laugh as the years pass. Don’t let life’s little messes get you down. Just arm yourself with the right tools, like this O-Cedar EasyWring Spin Mop and Bucket System, and you, and your house, can sparkle on and stress less! But seriously, who wants to wash my windows?

Budget-Friendly DIY Gallery Wall

By Christy 2 Comments

Spruce up your living space with a Budget-Friendly DIY Gallery Wall. We took our living room from ho-hum to hey-hon with some cheap canvas prints and budget plaques in no time at all. So can you! You should know, I did receive product from Canvas on the Cheap in exchange for this post, but all opinions are my own!

We bought our house 2.5 years ago. I haven’t decorated much. You see, since the minute we moved in, we’ve had different house guests “living” with us for different lengths of time. It seemed pointless to decorate. I mean, there was crap in every corner, always, and it was all I could do to stay up on the vacuuming, toilet scrubbing, cooking, kitchen cleaning, laundry, etc. But about a month ago, the last of our guests moved out and my house is mine again. I’ve (we’ve) resolved to not have any long-term house guests “visit” anymore, so it was time to make this place my own!

Are your walls in need of a makeover on the cheap?

Prior to now, my walls were PIT-I-FUL! Although I think my family is beautiful, I realize that a spattering of three family photos on a large wall (quite serious photos at that) didn’t do much to say who we are. This wall was boring, we looked staged (we were), and it just doesn’t show our fun side. This is the wall people see when I meet for work. This wall had to be reworked. Bah-bye, boring wall! I had so many (FUN!) family photos, I knew exactly what to do. I turned to Canvas on the Cheap for a budget-friendly DIY Gallery Wall. We needed to show our fun side, and show our fun side we did!

I placed my order and I was shocked at the prices! I just knew this was going to be crap when the package arrived. I chose two photos from a family shoot gone wrong (thank goodness it did) for my gallery wall. When the packages arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see the personalization involved. Thank you, Kaylee, for caring enough about my family memories to package these memories with care!

Packaged nice and tidy and clear as a bell, my canvases arrived in about a week and I was ready to make my wall magic happen!

The babies each chose their favorites and they were excited to see our gallery wall come to life as well!

I am very impressed with the quality of the prints. The edges look almost hand folded although I doubt they are – unless Kaylee did that too! They are very similar in quality to the smaller prints you see on my wall that I had purchased from a different online vendor a year or so ago.

The one true difference is affordability! The 8×8 prints I got from the other vendor cost about $22 each (tax and shipping included, so the order for four 8×8 prints was $85). The price of the 16×20 prints from Canvas on the Cheap is $17.60 right now with their summer special, so they were a total of $35 each (with tax and shipping for full disclosure for those of you on a budget). I did order the two 16×20 prints separately so the shipping cost is a little higher – be smarter than me and think ahead and place your entire order at once to keep shipping down.

Once you add in some totally cheap signs from Ross or Marshall’s, you’ve got yourself a gallery wall. Easy, peasy, cheap, and impressive on a budget.

Need canvas prints of your family photos?

If you are in need of a budget-friendly wall makeover, turn to Canvas on the Cheap for help! They’re constantly running amazing sales and they offer a variety of sizes and different finishing options. I, for one, couldn’t be more thrilled with my gallery wall and I was so proud to show it off in a meeting yesterday. Finally, a little touch of my personality in my living room. Now to go look around the house to see what else I can spruce up!

The Storm Will Pass. The Spring Will Come.

By Christy 2 Comments

Spring is a time of new beginnings for all of us. Never make rash decisions based on the winter storm’s events. The storm will pass. The spring will come. Embrace the warmer weather. Embrace the blooming flowers. Embrace what you love the most and be the change.

Every spring, I seem to re-evaluate my life. I guess we all do.The storm will pass. What changes can I make in this world, to my life, to make it a better place? I’m often tempted to throw in the towel and just give up after braving the winter storms. I think we all are. Being cooped up, both literally and figuratively, makes us all feel that way at some level, I guess. That overwhelming feeling of, is this really all working out for me, is it all worth it, kind of gets to you, you know? I know you know.

So, what do you do?

Do you throw in the proverbial towel and just decide that the struggles aren’t worth it anymore and start anew with a whole new life? I mean, we’re all getting old (as we read my dribble), so is it all still worth the fight? Are the struggles really worth the pay off? Would it be easier to just start over, just like the flowers in spring?

Or do we take the lead from the most beautiful season that nature has to offer? Do we just stay where we are and enjoy, and nurture, the rebirth of the new season in our lives? Do we just grow back, annually, despite the diversity?

I choose to stay. I choose to bloom. Again. Because my life isn’t always beautiful, but overall, it’s a beautiful life.

My family, my marriage, has a lot of struggles. We’re human. We make mistakes. We all make mistakes. Forgiveness, rebirth, and remembering what matters the most is what keeps us all going in life. I take my strength from the season of growth. Springtime.

The flowers are blooming. The weather is heating up. There’s a freshness in the air. There’s a freshness in my step too. This time, unlike the spring epiphanies I’ve had in the past, I plan to keep that freshness alive.

I don’t know how much time I have left on this earth. None of us do. I’m embracing spring. I’m embracing life. I’m embracing an awakening in myself, my marriage, my family.

This year, the only spring cleaning I’m going to do is from within. The cobwebs can wait.

My family comes first. They’ve always come first, but I forget to tell, show them enough. No more forgetting to tell them that they come first. No more forgetting them because I have just ONE MORE task to complete. No more putting them off. No more skipped biked rides. No more ‘in a minute’ or ‘we’ll see’ replies. No more forgetting them.

Ever.

Hello spring! I’ve missed you and I’m ready to make the change.

The storm has passed (for good). The spring has come. I’m happy, I feel playful (for the first time in 100 springs), and I’m ready to never cut down a tree again.