Light 'N' Easy - Steam Cleaner Giveaway!

Hi everyone,

Thank you for visiting what was once a very busy blog - looks like I have not done much here in a while. Let me know if articles and other view points would interest you...Since I like to write but I am not promising a lot of movement unless of course there is a huge demand.



The folks at Light 'N Easy have been kind enough to sponsor a giveaway through my YouTube Channel. The giveaway is for the Light 'N Easy Steam Cleaner and Garment Steamer.
I really liked this product and recommend it to you as well.

You can watch the video review here:


However, you can win your own by following the link and instructions below.
Giveaway will end 03/15/2018. Good luck everyone! (scroll down further below to enter the giveaway!) THERE WILL BE 5 RANDOM WINNERS!!!!! 5 WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED!

You could win this $39.99 Handheld steamer!!!!

Enjoy a bacteria-free environment and keep your home in tip-top condition with this Handheld Steam Cleaner:

• Multifunction 2-in-1 Steam Cleaner & Garment Steamer
• Guarantee 99.9% sanitization with no harsh chemicals
• Lightweight (1.96 pounds) & ergonomic design
• Super-heated steam ready in just 20 seconds
• Do almost all the tough cleaning jobs effectively

Package include:
• One (1) Handheld Steam Cleaner
• Two (2) Round Brushes
• One (1) Filling Flask
• One (1) Brush Connector

To enter the giveaway, follow the directions in the Rafflecopter app below. You must be 18 years old or older to participate. One random winner will be selected through the Rafflecopter app on 3/15/2018.
Coupon Code GREENPROMO 10% off until March 18
visit their website:
Lightneasy
visit their Amazon shop:
Lightneasyshop

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Don't forget to visit their website and use the 10% off coupon!!!

Thank you all and good luck!

Sophia


My Floor Steam Mop        My Oil Difuser            Currently Reading           Favorite Tea

                            


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Spring Cleaning Series - The Living Room

Hi friends,

I am back with another episode in my Spring Cleaning Series. This time around I tackled the Living Room and it was another gruesome task and it's all on YouTube too!

First things first, let me provide you with a list of to-dos when Spring Cleaning your Living Room:

• Dust top to bottom including behind and top of furniture
• Dust frames + clean glass
• Wash windows
• Wash drapes
• Wash all removable cushions and/or sleep-covers
• Clean fireplace in and out, including fireplace glass, brass and mantle
• Clean all upholstery with a professional upholstery cleaner
• Reorganize books and magazines
• Wash walls
• Spot treat walls and paint where needed (scuff marks or dings on painted surfaces)

I started with the fireplace because there is no sense in cleaning the living room without getting rid of all the ashes first.

Following an entire winter's worth of cozy fires, the fireplace needed a real pick me up. It was not just the inside of the hearth that needed cleaning, but the glass and mantle too.
I used Rutland Hearth and Grill Conditioning Glass Cleaner to get rid of all the soot that had accumulated over the last five months.



 

Rutland Hearth and Grill Conditioning Glass Cleaner

 

That product does an amazing job at removing all the residual soot on the glass panels as well as on portions of the brass frame (though a brass cleanser would have probably done a better job for that). I was even able to remove soot from the mantle.

 

 

Next, I tackled the upholstery. We have two boys and two dogs - need I say more?

 

 

 

For the upholstery, I went ahead and rented a Rug Doctor from my local supermarket. Do make sure that you purchase the "no foam" upholstery cleaner before leaving the store.

Rug Doctor

 
I never thought this machine would do such a great job at not only stain removal, but deodorizing as well! I  will go as far as saying that it does a better job on upholstery than it does on carpet! I seriously recommend that you go ahead and rent one to clean your sofa and sofa cushions, you should have seen the color of the water after only one pass! DISGUSTING!

Overall, this was a tough cleaning chore, so be prepared to be spending an entire day between the dusting and cob web spotting!

But in the end, my living room was entirely cleaned and refreshed.

You can watch the whole process in my coordinating YouTube Video:



Thank you for reading and sharing my blog!

Connect with me on:

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TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE

Sophia, NJ.

*My blog contains affiliate advertising for which I receive a small commission when you purchase from the links provided.



Spring Cleaning Series - The Guest Bedroom

Hi friends,

I am back with a new episode in my Spring Cleaning Series and this tie around, I tackled the guest bedroom. Everything I did would pretty much fit any bedroom you may have in the house, and as always, my to-do list was extensive.

 
And...

Spring Cleaning a bedroom (the list):

• Wash all linen, including bed skirts, pads, pillows and blankets - iron as needed
• Wash/clean area rugs or carpet, wash curtains
• Dust all picture frames, use a spray cleaner for the glass
• Dust walls and chair rails
• Dust/vacuum baseboards, radiators etc.
• Cob webs
• Dust door and window frames
• Rotate mattresses
• Dust lamp shades
• Dust/clean ceiling fan including glass fixtures
• Wash windows and screens
• Dust/polish furniture
• reorganize closet - switch seasonal items
• Sweep/mop

I had my work cut out for me but used the "excuse" of having guests over next week as motivation to tackle this very long cleaning process.
It is amazing what a thorough cleaning will do because by the time I was done, the room had no odor, none, it was completely cleaned, disinfected and rid of any speckle of dust possibly imagined! I even cleaned out the curio cabinet!

If the beds look a bit different this time around, it is because I decided to make them as though hotel beds and for that I used what is called the three sheet method.

All you need is three sheets and a blanket:

• One bottom sheet (fitted)
• Two flat sheets
• One blanket

In a nutshell, you would sandwich the blanket into two flat sheets and make an envelope corner on each end of the bed. This allows for the blanket to stay put and clean as well. The blanket won't move because it is wrapped into the two sheets, as though an envelope with a two fold method.

It also adds a little bit of luxury comfort to the room.

This video will show you how to make a bed using the three sheets method:




If you want to see me go through the entire spring cleaning process, here is the full video ( a tad long, but nothing compared to the 8 hours it took to make this bedroom feel as though a 4 star hotel):





Thank you for reading and sharing my blog!

Connect with me on:

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE

Sophia, NJ.

*My blog contains affiliate advertising for which I receive a small commission when you purchase from the links provided.

 

Spring Cleaning Series - Bookcase Cleaning and Reorganizing

Hi friends,

I am back with a new series of blog posts and YouTube videos and it's all about cleaning and organizing!

Are you ready for Spring? I sure am, we had the worst weather EVER, here in Jersey and I am finally finding myself motivated to start big (and small) projects again. This time around I am going to focus on Spring Cleaning with a dash of general organizing.

I found a good Spring Cleaning Checklist on Martha Stewart.com but felt that it was not comprehensive enough for me. While it lists the general stuff we should do at the change of each season, such as rotating mattresses and the like, I still felt that I needed a bit more direction to keep myself motivated and tackle a whole bunch of other stuff I had procrastinated. So sure, enough, I made up my own list!

I went ahead and purchased this very inexpensive notebook from Michael's Arts and Crafts Store (you can find it in their $ bin).

 And started writing in my own list, a mix of Martha Stewart and a bit more that is my own and based on my ongoing list of to-dos around the house. 

I like the idea of using a notebook like this one because it allows me to check what has been accomplished, add on new items as I see fit and keep it around for the next year (provided I use a pencil to check those completed tasks). I even thought of extending it as a year long seasonal cleaning notebook by adding a tab for each season (Fall, Winter etc.) The elastic band allows me to keep other papers nicely tucked inside. It's a win-win!

Because the weather was just miserable this past week end, I opted to stay indoors and tackle one huge project: cleaning and reorganizing my large Living Room Bookcase. It is one of those projects I have procrastinated for ever, and just could no longer ignore. Check it out for yourself: is it a mess, or what?

This was no longer working for me as I identified too many issues:

• Too many books - Most could be relocated to another part of the house
• No room to properly display family heirloom and memorabilia
• Book collections are disorganized and not clearly separated
• It's just plain ugly to look at.

It was time for a change! While there are "after" pictures in this post, I did make a complete video of the process (and the thinking that went along):

So, one of the biggest task was to decide what to keep and what to relocate. I made the decision to only keep full collections in this bookcase. For instance, we have been collecting classic literature, in particular the  NY Times list of 100 Novels of the 20th Century. It took us a while to build up this collection, and while we are missing a few books, when combined with the Modern Library, we pretty much have all 100, plus some. I ended up placing those books by order of the list itself, and then by alphabetical order for the leftovers by similar authors.
In the meantime, a thorough dusting and cleaning of each book and shelves was done.

I also, made room for some of my most treasured heirloom, nicely tucked in to protect them from accidents either caused by overly excited boys or equally rambunctious dogs!

In all, I only kept the following inside the bookcase:

• 100 novels of the century
• Encyclopedia Britannica
• Art Book Collection
• Etiquette book collection (a hobby of mine)
• Home Decoration and Style Book Collection
• Antiques and Collectibles Book Collection

Anything else that did not fit those six categories was relocated to the basement/library and that was a lot of books!!!

In the end, and five and a half hours later, I had a bookcase that looked much more organized, completely free of dust and my special items and other decorative favorites are nicely displayed, they can be seen and enjoyed rather than hidden and overwhelmed by the clutter around them.

Here is another look at the before:

And the end result:

I May not look like a big deal but it was a lot of work, between carrying the books around, alphabetizing them and not to mention the dusting!

I am just glad I did it and cannot wait to keep going with my Spring Cleaning next week end as I will tackle yet another project!

Thank you for reading and sharing my post!

Don't forget the YouTube version of this post:

Connect with me on:

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE

Sophia, NJ.

*My blog contains affiliate advertising for which I receive a small commission when you purchase from the links provided. I am affiliated with Vera Bradley and Yves Rocher. 

Organizing catch-all drawers - part II

Hi friends,

As promised, this week end I tackled the monster in my living room, namely, this lovely 1930's dresser:

I refer to it as the monster, because the contents of the drawers look like this:

We have this flaw in my house, whereby things look pretty clean and organized on the outside, but don't you go open a closet door, or in this case a drawer, for this is the mess you will encounter.
Cleaning is just a chore, and we know that, but it becomes even more of a burden when things don't really have a place to go to. You have all heard of the old saying: "everything has a place and everything in its place"...It took me a while to appreciate it.
Having decided that I just had enough with looking for things, I took on this project which, by the way, was a big annoyance to me that day...Oh well, I put myself in that position.

Anyway, just as with the last drawer project, I started with emptying all the drawers and sorting out items into categories: trash, put somewhere else, keep here.

I had to think about the function of these drawers, namely, what would be their optimum use based on our lifestyle.

Bottom drawer (deepest/tallest):

My boys do homework in the dining room, which is convenient since I either cook nearby or am on the laptop right next to them. While I do have a mini office in my dining room (see my mini-office post here), I do not keep their homework necessities in it and as a result, it tends to linger on top of other furniture.

I went to Michaels and purchased these two plastic storage containers for the purpose of storing their homework essentials:

These were 40% off - I thought it was a good deal and I think I paid no more that $8 each.

I labeled each box and filled it with what I believe are the items they are most likely to need when doing homework or drawing while watching TV (which they do a lot).

Each storage box contains an individualized supplies container, (for instance, Edward needs a lot of post-it notes, pencils, pens, scissors etc.) homework curriculum supplements, paper (ruled and sketch) as well as a folder for keepsakes and memorabilia.

William's container follows the same principle but provides more grade appropriate supplies such as crayons and craft paper.



I need to label his crayon box

In the middle, I am keeping a three hole puncher and a stapler (these items are too big for my mini-office but are always in demand on the first floor of the house).

 

Top Drawer (shortest):



I needed a space for what I know to be immediate need items related to TV: the remotes, a TV guide/channel listing and lotions are now located in the top drawer - closest to the sofa.

On the other side of the drawer, I am keeping items I may need on hand but not necessarily every day, namely, my thank you cards. I do write Thank Yous, I think it is one of those essentials in life that most folks now think as "passé". Not me! That being said, I don't need my cards in my mini office and they do not fit in the dining room drawer I organized last week. They now have a home in the living room, where I can access them without having to go up to the office. My address book found a home next to it. I also keep the Christmas and other Holiday thank you cards in the back of the drawer.

Middle Drawer:

I really had to think about the main purpose of this drawer. I knew I needed a space for blankets and throws which we use when watching TV in late hours of the day.

I now keep blankets and throws in this drawer - nearest to the sofa, for easy access

But, I also realized that I had no designated space in the house for my photo and video equipment. Since I do most of my editing in the dining room, using my laptop, it seemed appropriate to use the remaining space in this drawer as a storage for all things digital.

My camera bag and additional lenses are in the back. In the black container I keep all cords and chargers. In the green basket, I keep my main camera (which I obviously used to take the picture above, hence its absence in the picture) which is a Cannon EOS T1. I also keep two additional small point and shoot digital cameras as well as my video camera (Sony HD). In a smaller container, I now keep all the SD cards and card adapters.

Here is a video to show you the entire process:



I am very happy with the result. I feel that I have created functional spaces and hopefully will keep them as such. I find that designating specific spaces for specific items does limit the risk of using the space for other purposes.

Thank you for reading and sharing my blog.

Happy New Year,

Sophia, NJ.

You can find me on FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE.

*This blog contains affiliate advertising such as Vera Bradley or Yves Rocher. I am not solicited to advertise or review products, all opinions are my own.

 

 

How to organize a catch-all drawer - Part I

Hi friends,

Today I begun the process of sorting out and organizing my many catch-all drawers around the house, specifically the dining room and living room.
Next week, I will tackle the living room dresser, but today, I went up against this monster:

Well, at least the top drawer, which looked like this:

I think we all have one of those catch-all drawers, maybe you call it a junk drawer. It is the "quick hide this" option for those of us who never really thought through this entire process of O-R-G-A-N-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N, until today.

You can watch the entire process in this video where I also explain some of the thought process that went into determining the function of this specific drawer:




I started by methodically emptying the drawer and using the top surface of my dresser for sorting. On the right side, I kept all items related to stationary and writing (sort of like a mini office) and on the left, all items that are dedicated to the dining room itself.

And in the middle, all the stuff that does not belong to either category and needed to be sorted and moved somewhere else! And that was most of the junk in there!

 

 

I cut a flat piece of wood to size (a leftover from my boys' bunk beds) and used it as a divider for the drawer itself, clearly separating the two categories/functions I designated for the drawer (stationary + dining items only).

 

 

And here is the right side: all stationary - I am up-cycling the tin box to store all the new batteries.

On the left side, I am using the same system whereby I separate my category further with additional containers. I find that when things are contained, they do not fall out, roll or get tangled.

And voila!



Overall, this was a rather fast project to complete - and I truly feel like an idiot for having procrastinated for so long! Next week end I will be moving on to the three drawer monster that is in my living room!

Thank you for reading and sharing my blog.

Happy New Year,

Sophia, NJ.

You can find me on FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE.

 

 

 

 

 

*This blog contains affiliate advertising such as Vera Bradley. I am not solicited to advertise or review products, all opinions are my own.

 

 

 



Closing a staircase (part II) + building a laundry folding counter

Hi friends,


This is part II from my basement staircase makeover series. If you missed part I, you can read about it here or watch the video.

This past week end, I continued working on the staircase, mostly painting. I finished all the walls with the same Behr Grape Vine color I used for the kitchen.
Because the stairs are used daily - to go to the laundry room etc. I could not paint in one shot, so I decided to paint every other steps first, let them dry and then paint the other steps.

This is the original color of the steps - it was some kind of maroon the previous owner had used throughout the house. While it is historically accurate for colonial homes in the US, I just hated it and this was the last of the maroon invasion at our home!

 

For paint, I used Behr Enamel in Bitter Chocolate.

And here is the final result (we are now officially maroon free!)

Last week end, if you recall, we closed off the staircase in order to keep drafts out of the basement, not to mention all the dirt that was falling through the bars onto my desk!

Here is a shot of the staircase before we closed it:

 

And after last week end's project:

 

 

Here it is, all finished!

Another project this week end was to create a counter to fold laundry. Our laundry, as mentioned before, is in the basement. Because there was no real flat surface large enough to fold clothes, we would end up bringing clothes upstairs and fold them on the dining room table.

I had previously placed two bookcases at an angle, near the laundry room, and thought it was the perfect spot to create a counter, using the bookcases as support.
I had one large piece of plywood left over from a previous project which allowed me to complete this one without spending a dime!

 
Here you can see one of the bookcases I am using as a support. I trimmed the wood so that it would overhang by 1.75 inch on all three sides.

To round the corners, I traced around the silver cap from one of my Bath and Body Works candles.

I also hand sanded the edges to ensure no one would get injured or clothes would not get snagged on the wood, etc..

Here it is ready to be mounted onto the wall and the bookcases.

In order to secure my counter, I used a 1x3 piece of wood and mounted that onto the resting wall. I then used deck screws to attached the top part of the counter directly into that strip of wood. For extra security, I used finishing nails directly into the bookcases underneath.

Here is it, painted and complete:

I am using the bookcases to store all my college books in one place and from the other side (where the sofa and family room is situated) it looks like a bookcase cube! Pretty neat!

Want to know and see more about these two projects? Here are two videos explaining it all.
Thanks for watching!

Part II: Finishing the Staircase Wall




Part III: Staircase and laundry counter




Sophia, NJ

You can find me on FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE

 

*This site and post contains affiliate advertising. I am not affiliated with Behr brand or Bath and Body Works. I am affiliated with Amazon and will receive a small commission on purchases made through their site. All opinions are my own.