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I LOVE to come home to a tidy house so on most days, I try to schedule that extra 15 minutes into my “get ready to leave” time so I can pick up the scattered toys and dishes before we leave.

I also do the same thing before putting the kids to bed. They help pick up their toys, we get the kitchen tidied up and the rest of the night is ours to relax in a tidy (quiet!) home. I have a hard time relaxing when the house is a mess. My sisters call me Martha Stewart, but really it takes me a few minutes here and there of tidying or a project every now and then of eliminating clutter from junk drawers or closets and my house regularly looks pretty good.

I do have trouble with folding laundry. Part of it is that I really despise it. The other part is that it’s upstairs and we’re mostly downstairs during the day. Like another commenter said, I get busy with the kids and end up forgetting and stuff sits up there longer than necessary. The kids’ laundry is super easy though because I do not fold or hang any of it. My daughter has three drawers and my son has three baskets. The clothes are “organized” by pajamas, tops and bottoms. I do one load for each kid that contains all their dirty clothes and when they come out of the dryer it’s a quick sorting into three piles and throwing into designated drawers/baskets. It’s our clothes that need hung, ironed or folded that tend to sit. I’ve tried a timer that dings at the end of each load, but it seems I’m always knee deep in potty training or some other task and forget after a while.

Loved this post – I was just thinking about this very thing last night. For me, I try to never walk around the house empty-handed- I always carry something with me to put away, even if it is just a few washcloths to put in the linen closet. If I am going from one end of the house to the other, my hands might be full of stuff to put away. Also, if I see something while I am walking by, I’ll grab it and take it with me.

Putting the dishes in the dishwasher right after a meal is a life saver. I try to have my kitchen at least close to presentable at all time, as well as the entry way, my bedroom and the hallway bathroom. I’ll never forget when I was a teenager and an acquaintance of our family stopped by for a short, unannounced visit. While he was there, he asked to use our bathroom. I about died- it was so bad!!! Just a few minutes at a time means I seldom have that overwhelmed feeling about straightening up. (I just save the overwhelmed feeling for other things!) Thanks for the great reminder!

1. I don’t make the beds — I don’t see the point at all. Strikes me as the epitome of a waste of time.

 2. “Do it right away” is particularly important when dealing with the mail. Magazines to in the to-read pile, bills in the to-pay pile, junk in the recycle bin, etc. Touch each item as few times as necessary.

If you are looking for creative wedding thank you cards to express your appreciation for the guest then make search online stores. You can find numerous collections of thank you cards with wide ranges, different themes and wonderful words. Wedding thank you cards are sent by the newly married couples to the guests, who make their presence in the wedding. In the past few decades these wedding thank you cards are gaining more popularity in these days even on many occasions these cards are used just to convey and express the gratitude for their presence in the occasion to make it as special one. Showing your expression is very essential this makes the guest to feel better good for attending the function.

The number of thank you cards is to choose as per the number of guests to be arrived on the day and send these cards to them. First thing need to plan in advance, for instance if you planning for wedding celebration then find out the thank you cards available in the stores and choose the design which perfects for your expectation and based on decisions the right one. Unlike past, with advancement of technology various styles and themes of thank you cards are designed specifically customized thank you cards are gaining more popular in these days.

Choose the thank you cards with memorable words

Choosing the thank you cards with perfect words and designs is really challenging for the wedding planners and need to consider various things while selecting the wedding thank you cards. The concept of these cards is to thank the guest for attending the wedding and ensure supports for the bride and groom in many ways and giving them wonderful gifts and flowers for them. If you thinks to thank the guests who made their arrival on the wedding then instead of choosing wedding favors just give them thank you cars with unique words with attractive ways. Customized thank you cards are more in number; this is uniquely perfect and reflects your personal sense, feel, style and creativity. If you are seeking for wedding thank you cards then shutterfly is right place to buy the wedding thank you cards with custom ideas. Of course you can consult with partner before choosing the design and plan both of your ideas and make it as appropriate card saying thank you on the wedding celebration.

There is misconception about the wedding thank you cards, because many of them think that wedding cards are given on the wedding celebration but you can even send them in advance or later the wedding. Some person may provide the gifts to the couples in advance; some may give it after the wedding however you can send them wedding thank you cards personally for the guest who spent their busy time with you and family on the wedding. Well, don’t go in search of thank you cards to make the day as big one there is numerous ways to buy the thank you cards online without any hassles.

The wedding thank you cards are readily available with hand printed design and if you need can customize them with your choice of partner with more creative and innovative ideas. Adding photos in the customized wedding thank you cards is gaining more popular and most of the people are choosing these types of thank you cards on their wedding. Shutterfly is specially provides wedding thank you cards with message you need and style it on your own. Whatever your choice of cards, there are plenty of choices available online for giving thank you cards and choose the right cards which perfectly suits your wedding theme.

Make Back to School Shopping Easy with These Ideas

Do you dread going to your local discount chain for back to school shopping? Do you get tired of screaming children and impatient salesclerks? Are you sick and tired of being bumped and tripped? Are you just plain tired? And when there are no more Sponge Bob 3 ring binders left? What are you to do?

Well, back to school shopping, regardless of how many tips you have, is not going to be fool-proof. But maybe there are some things you can do to be prepared to make your quest for obtaining all the needed school supplies much more tolerable.

First, DON’T FORGET THE LIST FROM SCHOOL! I can’t emphasize this enough. If you don’t have the list of items that the school requires for your child, then you might as well not even try to fill up that book bag. Your child certainly isn’t going to be much help, as he would only lead you to buy many more expensive items and not even the ones you need. Don’t trust your child. You must first get this list.

We’re not even going to address shopping for back to school clothing. That’s something you should do separately from the shopping trip for classroom supplies. Trying to combine both in the same outing is enough to push any parent over the edge. So, just GET THE LIST and focus on this shopping trip. Now, let’s move on to my second tip.

Second, TRY to Discourage your children from going shopping with you. Seriously, you will be so much more efficient and so much less stressed if you can accomplish this feat. However, we know how kids are, and they probably want to help pick out their school supplies. Or perhaps you don’t have anyone to watch them while you’re gone to the store. If you must take them, you must, but give them some ground rules before, such as how they are to behave, what choices they will have, and, last, but not least, remind them who controls the pocketbook!

Third, go to dollar stores first. Often, you can get items much cheaper at dollar stores than even at your local supercenter. You might buy a ream of paper for a dollar that would cost two or three times that at another store. After you’ve purchased what you can at the dollar store, then make the trek over to the supercenter where hundreds (well, it seems like hundreds!) of other children are shopping for school supplies with their parents. While shopping at the dollar store does cost you an extra tip, at least you will have alleviated the stress of a huge bill that is detrimental to your budget.

One other option is to bypass the stores altogether and shop online. It may be possible to get all the supplies you need from online stores such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target, Course Smart, Crazy 8, Barnes & Noble, Discount School Supply or even Amazon. And if you want to get latest back to school coupons & deals for those online stores, CeeCoupon.com will help you. However, if your kids are like most, then they will probably want you just to take THE LIST and go to the store with you to pick out all the coolest school supplies available. So, get your chin up and just do it! Get that list, get organized, and get those supplies!

I Love Homemade Ice Cream So Much

Homemade ice cream was one of the highlights of my childhood because I had an aunt who seemed to have perfected the art and going to her house on weekends was a guarantee of something really good.

If memory serves me correctly, my aunt would make vanilla, strawberry, peach and coconut ice cream with her ice cream maker.

I think as a child the hardest thing about homemade ice cream made with an ice cream maker is the fact that you had to sit in the kitchen patiently watching your aunt make the ice cream, then you were asked to go out and play while the ice cream was in the freezer to set and many hours later, you could finally indulge in some delicious ice cream! The wait was painfully long, but well worth it in the end because nothing equals homemade ice cream.

It seems that the recession is giving way to so many forgotten pleasures and homemade ice cream is one of them.

If you look at popular brands of ice cream sold in grocery stores like Häagen Dazs or Ben & Jerry’s, you’ll notice that the price tag for those ice creams is dramatically different from other brands that use a lot of fillers and artificial ingredients. The great thing about Häagen Dazs or Ben & Jerry’s is they use few quality ingredients to make a tasty product, but as a result their tubs of ice cream are smaller and more expensive than cheaper brands.

Now, spending $4-6 on a Häagen Dazs or Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream tub of ice cream is not an issue if it’s for two or three people, but when you have a whole family to feed or if you are entertaining, that can add up and that’s why so many people are turning to good old homemade ice cream this summer and that’s why so many people are buying an ice cream maker!

I thought I’d spend some time reflecting on some of the health benefits of making your own homemade ice cream:

1) You control how much sugar you put in your recipe.

2) You control the quality of the ingredients, therefore you’re not forced to eat ice creams that contain a lot of fillers or artificial ingredients.

3) You can serve high quality ice cream to large crowds and you’re not limited or constrained by a tight budget.

4) You can fully make use of seasonal fruits.

5) You can take advantage of fruits that you’ll find in the bargain bin (they might not be ideal to eat fresh, but you can get a great deal and simply discard the bruised parts).

6) You serve your kids and entire family a dessert that’s healthier than the cheap brands you might have been buying.

7) This is such a fun activity for kids and a great time to introduce them to the joys of cooking (I guess in this case dessert making).

#8) You can let your imagination run wild because you are able to create any combination of ice cream your heart desires.

Buying an ice cream maker

I’d say that you’re looking at about $70-$150 for a good ice cream maker. I did notice that the Italian deluxe ice maker Lello 4980 Musso Lussino was selling at a whopping $699, while their entry point model (Lello 4090 Gelato Pro Quart Ice Cream Maker) was $399, but other brands are more affordable.

I noticed that some brands have a sleek and modern design like these ice makers:

Cuisinart ICE-25BC Classic Frozen-Yogurt, Ice-Cream, and Sorbet Maker, Brushed Chrome

Deni 5205 Fully Automatic 1-1/2-Quart Ice-Cream Maker with Candy Crusher, White

Cuisinart ICE-45PK Mix It In Soft-Serve Ice-Cream Maker, Pink

KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment

You also have brands that have a more “old-fashioned” look to them (with a modern mechanism) like these ice makers:

Rival F64304-X 4-Quart Hand-Crank White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer

Aroma AIC-206EM 6-Quart Wood-Barrel Ice-Cream Maker, Black

Promotional Gifts – Essential Marketing Tool to Build Brand Awareness

Marketing is imperative for small and large businesses, as it helps companies to build awareness of their brand among the potential customers. Promotional gifts are printed or designed with the company’s information such as logo, URL, address etc. which helps the business to be recognized easily by the potential customers.

With the use of such marketing strategy, the company gets a chance to advertise and introduce its services to massive number of customers at extremely low rates.

The major benefit associated with the use of this type of promotional merchandise is that you are not required to spend huge money on advertising, as it provides your customers most of the groundwork for you. Giving out giveaways helps you to reflect your professionalism and generosity along with raising the status of your company.

Why to use promotional gifts?

The major reasons behind the use of promotional gifts compared to conventional means of advertising include:

Versatile – These products can be used in a number of ways as well as are available in different forms. You can choose them from a variety of options including pens, note pads, t-shirts, USB chargers, pen drives and many more.

Low Cost – The initial cost and return on investment match with the quality merchandising as compared with the regular advertising.

Long-lasting – It is true that offering giveaways has a longer effect on the potential customers than the television advertisement. Giveaways are most of the times daily use items and tend to last a while so it means that your advertisement is done well as receiver will be benefited by the items for a longer time.

Ideal for targeted marketing campaigns – You can modify the promotional gifts specific to the nature of your customers whether male or female. It provides you with a chance to target your specified customers only.

Used with other advertising strategies – Promotional gifts can be easily combined with the other forms of advertising and helps to raise awareness. It eventually enhances the response rates, and boosts the overall efficiency of the campaign.

How to Use Promotional Products

Employee motivation & sales incentive programs – It is the best way to motivate your staff members and boost them to work with more efficiently. It will help you to enhance the performance of your employees and enhance your business.

Safety and education programs: You can visit any school or college and create awareness among the students about a particular social issue. You can offer them a giveaway along at the end of the program as it will leave a positive impact on the mind of the students regarding services of your company.

Trade show coordination – Exhibitions are considered as the best platform for promotion of the company. Generally, different companies installs a stall and sales executives interacts with the potential customers and tries to sell their services. Making use of some promotional gift is considered as very useful because it helps to attract more people to the company and utilize their services.

It is always beneficial to do some research before choosing any product for your company. Make sure that the chosen promotional product best complements with your brand and current promotional campaign.

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