Category Archives: Household Ideas

Solar Power

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Wow!  It has been so cold this past week here in Texas!  I wore layers of clothing plus a light coat in my classroom every day.  I kept a thermometer on my desk, which is close to the windows, and it averaged around 67-68 degrees most of the day.  No wonder I was cold!  We keep it warmer than that at home, or at least when I’m home.  If my husband is the only one home then he keeps it at 65 during the day.  We keep it at 65 every night.  Even though we’ve been trying to cut costs, I’m wondering how high our electricity bill is going to be.  That makes me think about checking out a Home Solar Power System.

I’m not familiar with a solar lease, but it would be worth checking into if it’s going to save us on our electricity.  I’ve read that solar financing is available as well, so that’s something to research.  It would be nice to be able to save on utilities!

Note:  This is a sponsored post.

Moving Long Distance

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Do you have any friends or family who are Moving Overseas?  In the past, we’ve had several friends who have moved overseas, one family moved to Germany and some other friends moved to Japan.  I can’t imagine moving that far away!  There is so much involved in moving anyway, and moving that distance seems like it would be even more involved.

Our friends probably chose from some Long Distance Moving Companies to move all of their things.  How would you pack delicate items and things you wouldn’t want to lose?  China and crystal would have to be carefully packed as well as any sentimental items.  Both families had kids, so there were all the things you need for kids that had to be packed.  Packing would have to be done in an organized manner in order to find necessary things once everything was unpacked in the new location.  I would definitely want movers who were experts in the field!

Note:  This is a sponsored post.


Stay Warm!

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It’s so cold today!  It’s the kind of day that a lot of people get all warm and cozy under an electric blanket or in front of a nice fire in the fireplace.  We’ve been having lots of hot chocolate and hot peppermint tea the past couple of days to stay warm, and I have a delicious spice mix that I bought at Central Market to add to apple cider for a warm drink tonight on Christmas Eve.  There are lots of ways to stay warm on a cold day!

Thankful for Electricity!

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Have you ever experienced having no electricity? It’s awful! We depend on electricity for so many things, and it’s easy to take it for granted and not realize what a blessing it is in our lives. A teacher friend was telling me how she did without electricity for several days during a winter storm. She didn’t have any honda generators so she stayed in bed with piles of blankets and got up only when necessary. That’s definitely not fun and I hope we never have to experience that!  I am very thankful for electricity!

Home Lighting

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Have you noticed that lighting in the home helps set the mood or atmosphere of a room?  Whether it’s Hinkley lighting or whatever type of lighting, it makes a difference.  Soft lights make for a more relaxing room.  Bright lights, of course, are good for working on a project or any type of visual work.   Having an assortment of overhead lighting and several lamps is a good idea so then the lighting can be adjusted for the atmosphere needed.

TV Reception

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We still have our “old” 32 inch TV, definitely not the newest and latest in TVs.  So we’re not looking at tv stands or any of the items that go along with the newest TVs.  And you know what?  Our old TV works great and looks great in our entertainment center, so we’re satisfied with what we have.  We have a converter box plus a large antennae in the attic, and we get great reception and 30+ channels, enough channels to satisfy us.  After paying cable bills for years and years and years, it’s nice not to have that bill anymore.  And like I mentioned, we get great TV reception…for free!

Furniture Styles

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What type of furniture style do you like?   Our daughter and son-in-law like modern furniture, and it really does look well in their house and fits their personality.  My husband and I have mostly traditional furniture.  However, my computer desk is contemporary.  The bedroom furniture we have in the guest bedroom is what I had in high school which is French Provincial.  And we have a few antique accent tables that belonged to my grandparents.  So, I guess we have an eclectic collection of furniture styles.

Product Review: 100% Egyptian Cotton Sheets from CSN Stores.com

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How many of you are familiar with CSN Stores, the easy way to shop online? We became familiar with them earlier this year, and we’re impressed with the quality of their merchandise and their prompt delivery. Both times, we received our order within several days.  And both times, we were very pleased with what we ordered from CSN.
Recently, CSN gave me the opportunity to review one of their products, and I chose the Luxor Treasures King-Size Sheet Set with 100% Egyptian Cotton.  After the sheets arrived, I washed them and put them on the bed the very next day.  I couldn’t wait to try them out!

We are very pleased with these sheets!  My husband has remarked several times how much he likes them.  They are definitely high quality sheets, and we would recommend these to our family and friends.  In fact, I have already recommended them to our daughter.

With these sheets, though, you do need to make sure you follow washing instructions and take them out of the dryer as soon as they are dry.  If you don’t, they will wrinkle.  So just set the timer and take the sheets out as soon as the timer goes off.

* CSN provided me with the sheets for this review. However, I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.  This is my honest opinion of their product.


How to Prevent Bed Bugs

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Since there is a bed bug epidemic in the US now, what can we do to help prevent bed bugs from entering our homes?  These bugs can be anywhere including nice hotels, dorm rooms, apartments, and other places where there is a frequent turnover of people.  They can be on new clothes, new sheets, new towels, etc, because these items are often made in countries where bed bugs are a problem.

Here are some good tips from various sources on how to prevent bed bugs from being an uninvited guest:

  • Check out the  BED BUG REGISTRY before staying in a hotel.
  • Keep suitcases off the floor in hotels.
  • Wash all clothes as soon as you return home from a trip.
  • Vacuum luggage as soon as you return home from a trip.
  • Do not purchase clothes and hang them in your closet! Always wash new clothes or send to the cleaners first.  (It doesn’t matter how much the item cost!)
  • Always wash new sheets and new towels which most of us do anyway.  But also wash new curtains or any new fabric where these bugs could be hiding.
  • Cover your mattresses with a plastic mattress cover.
  • (Maybe put stuffed animals in the dryer for 20 minutes?)

Here are a few sources for more information:

eHow

Good Housekeeping.com

WebMD

Wikihow

Shopping is Easy at CSN Stores

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If you’ve never checked out the 200+ stores at CSN Stores then you might want to check them out and see just what all they have to offer.  They have everything from dining sets to toys & baby items to pet care items to all sorts of kitchen items and much more.


Being a preferred blogger with CSN, I was given the opportunity to review an item during the summer.  I chose a computer desk which we really like.  We received it just a few days after ordering it and were surprised at how quickly it arrived.

CSN has given me the opportunity to review another item, and I’m thrilled!  It’s hard to decide what to choose since they have so much!  I plan to look through different CSN Stores, and then I’ll let you know what I decide. Like I mentioned, they have 200+ stores so I’ll have plenty of items to choose from!


Things I Love Thursday: Priceless Treasures

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For Things I Love Thursday, I’m going to show you some special things inside my china cabinet.  On the left hand side is a platter from my parent’s very first set of dishes, the pink depression glass vase was my grandmother’s, the cut glass bowl that the pink vase is sitting in was my great-grandmother’s bowl, and the cake plate on the right was also my grandmother’s.  (My grandmother admired this hand-painted cake plate in a store window soon after she and my grandfather were married.  Her new mother-in-law was with her at the time.  My grandmother was thrilled at Christmas time when she unwrapped her present from her in-laws and there was this beautiful cake plate.)

Review: Computer Desk from CSN Stores

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I left a clue about what I was going to get with my gift certificate from CSN.  Did anyone catch the clue?  It was in my post about My Office Area Needs Help!  This is what I had written: “I have my monitor on a nice stand, however, I have to put my keyboard on a wooden TV tray and have trouble with my mouse falling off. What I really need is a new desk!”

CSN Stores.com has so much to choose from, but I knew I wanted a desk.  The computer desk that you see pictured here is what I chose.  I am so excited to have this stylish new desk!  Here’s the review I wrote about it:

By Mom from Texas on 9/6/2010
Your Rating: 5 stars
Headline: Great contemporary-style desk!

Pros : Easy To Move, Sturdy Construction, Attractive Design, Space Saver, Drawer Slides Smoothly, Easy To Clean, Easy To Assemble
Best Uses : Bedroom, Smaller Offices, Living room
Describe Yourself : Budget Shopper
Primary use : Personal

This desk is perfect for the small space I have. Our kids (college-age and 20’s) like my stylish contemporary desk.  It’s a great buy for the money, and my husband and I were surprised how quickly it arrived.  We are very pleased with this desk!

Can you tell how much we like it?  I can see why it’s one of their top sellers!

* CSN supplied me with a gift certificate which I used for my desk.  However, I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.  This is my honest opinion of their product.

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