Kathy Zengolewicz

In the kitchen: A Boston fern placed in a wooden basket looks great on top of your refrigerator. You can start a small herb garden on your window sill above your sink.

In the bath: Place an African violet on the tank top of your commode. Hang a spider plant from a corner or in a window.

In the bedroom: placing a fragrant plant like an azalea or a rose plant on your night table will also give you pleasant dreams.

In the living room: Place an English ivy plant in a brass container and place it on the mantle or a curio cabinet. Placing plants on end or coffee tables in unusual containers such as baskets or an old Victorian shoe makes the room interesting and entertaining.

In the dining room: Shop around at some flea markets or garage sales for an old bird cage. Placing a trailing ivy plant in the cage looks beautiful.

Indoor plants need lots of TLC, so make sure to create a routine of watering and weeding dead leaves from the plant to keep it healthy. Feed your plants a multi-purpose plant food like Miracle-Gro every two weeks and watch them flourish and grow.

When you decorate your home with live plants the benefits can be plentiful.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

There have been reminders going my way about the coming school year: back-to-school sales, which I’ve been taking advantage of, as you should; my son’s list of things to bring to the first day of class. Everything he needs would fit nicely in a backpack. Not so for the college student, especially one who will live away from home for the first time.

To help you along, here’s a list of basic essentials:

For your comfort:
bedsheets (at least 2 sets, one to use and one to launder)
pillows
blankets
bed risers (to increase under-bed storage)
mattress pad/cover
alarm clock
fan
night light
pajamas
storage containers

For your nourishment:
silverware
cups/glasses/mugs
plates/bowls
dishwashing liquid
microwave
paper towels
mini-fridge
breakfast food
snacks
water bottle
juice
energy drinks
quick meals
(If you are able to cook, you’ll also need cooking utensils and cookware.)

For cleaning and laundry:
laundry detergent
fabric softener
hamper
vaccum
dusting supplies
iron
ironing board
trash bags
disinfecting wipes
paper towels
multipurpose cleaner

For your hygiene:
towels
washcloths
shower caddy
shower shoes
toothbrush
toothpaste
mouthwash
soap/body wash
shampoo and conditioner
deodorant

For your health:
pain reliever
allergy relief
cold/sinus relief
bandages
antibacterial ointment
contact lens solution/eyeglass cleaner

For studying:
desk lamp
calendar/planner
pencils/pens
notebooks/binder
notebook paper/filler
calculator
desk organizer
highlighters
dictionary
tape
stapler and staples
three-hole punch
backpack
surge protector
computer and accessories

For your social life:
cell phone and charger
digital camera
memory cards
batteries
address book

adapted from Sam’s Club newsletter; Creative Commons image by Conor Lawless on Flickr

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I picked the winning comment using random.org. And the number that was picked was:

#85! Congratulations to Patti!

Patti
Jul 30, 2008 at 6:26 pm

This magazine is wonderful. I’ve picked it up a few times, but don’t subscribe! Thanks for the chance!

I hope you enjoy this magazine as much as I do. I will send you an email about the details.

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* 101 green changes to save some green (written for small business owners, but totally applicable to the home) at Greener Assets

* No-bake Mango Griddle Scones from Baking Delights

* Turn old uniforms into a cool diaper bag, at Craftster (thanks to Tangled Thread!)

* 30 ways to use baskets for storage at Declutter It

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Even coffee-makers are smarter these days. As example is the Braun Tassimo Coffee Maker can deliver coffee, tea, espresso, hot chocolate, cappuccinos and lattes. Discs containing measured ingredients for your drink of choice are brewed perfectly each time. The secret are barcodes in the discs. The machine reads the barcode and knows the temperature, amount of water, and brewing time needed for the perfect beverage.

Products like this take the guesswork out of the perfect cup of coffee, or tea.

Spotted at Macy’s.

affiliate links

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As a blogger and an at-home mom, I not only work from home, but I’m also highly mobile within my home. Sometimes, the place where I work is my own choice, but there are times when it is dictated by my children’s mood for the day. For now, there is just no way I can seclude myself inside an office to work in peace and quiet. As a result, I’ve blogged from just about every room in my house.

While I’ve been working on setting up a space just for my files, I also found that I need a container of some sort that could move around with me. RealSimple’s Portable File Tote is just the right thing for the purpose.

This sturdy tote is a mobile filing cabinet. There’s a frame for hanging folders (as well as three folders ready to use). The top is open, which makes accessing files very easy. There are also a couple of pockets and pen loops on the inside, as well as an ID window on the outside.

I use my tote to store and carry the current month’s magazines that I subscribe to, my planner, notes about future and work-in-progress writing projects, extra sheets of paper, and a couple of pens. These files are now ready to go with me anywhere, even in the car!

If you work from home and find that you’re constantly going to your filing cabinet to retrieve items that you use often, consider setting up a portable system like this. It will save you time, keep you from misplacing papers and help you be organized wherever you choose to work for the day.

There are other similar totes out on the market. I found this particular one at Target. You can even adapt a simple tote bag to carry files.

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* Coach Soho Multi Print Hobo Bag from La Vie de Laurie

* SweetPea3 MP3 player from Mom Most Traveled

* Gifts from a Jar cookbooks (2) from The Fat Bottomed Girl

* Vintage apron from Confessions of an Apron Queen

* “Eat, Shrink and Be Merry” healthy eating cookbook from All Holiday Cafe

* Busy Body Book academic year planners (2) from That Crazy Mom

* Gift certificates from Extraordinary Mommy

* MoGo Mouse from Guerilla Parenting

* Let’s Go Green tote bag with green household products from A Mama’s Blog

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Domino is my current fave homemaking and decor magazine. I find a lot of inspiration in the pages of this magazine. If you want to win this giveaway, just leave a comment. One comment per household please.

This contest is open until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, August 1, 2008. I will randomly pick a winner this weekend. This contest is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only. Good luck!

image via Amazon.com

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Most of these lists also include any coupons that you can stack with the store sales. Here are some of the sale lists I’ve been able to find:

Walgreens August freebies list at Money Saving Mom; scanned pages of the flyer here

CVS Weekly Deals listed at Coupon Cravings

Preview of CVS ExtraCare Savings for August at Keeping the Kingdom First

Cheap school supplies at Staples, also at Keeping the Kingdom First

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Kellogg’s cereals were buy 1, get 1 free, so I bought some even though I had no coupons and no ExtraCare Bucks (ECBs) were generated.

Here’s my CVS loot for this week. I’m showing you this photo so you know I’m not making this up.

Items:
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies cereal, reg. price $4.39, on sale for $3.99
Kellogg’s Apple Jacks cereal, reg. price $4.19, FREE
2 packages Kotex pads, total reg. price $13.68, on sale for 2/$11
3 packages Refills for Glade scented oil candles, total reg. price $10.57, on sale for $7.47 ($2.49 each)
Gillette shampoo, $5.99
Reeses candy, $1.49
Tic Tac, $.89
SUB-TOTAL = $30.83

Coupons:
Gillette manufacturer’s coupon – $1.00
Glade refills manufacturer’s coupon, buy 2, get 1 free – $2.49
Kotex manufacturer’s coupon – $1.00
Kotex manufacturer’s coupon – $1.00
CVS coupon, $5/$30, – $5.00
used ECBs – $15.98

Total after savings = $4.36
Tax = $.21
Out of pocket expense = $4.57
New ECBs generated = $7.00 (Kotex $3, Gillette $1, Glade $3)

***
For $4.57, I brought home $41.20 worth of merchandise! Without the coupons, sales and ECBs, I would have stepped out of the store with only the Rice Krispies in hand. But stacking these deals together meant that I saved a whole bunch, and still have some free money to use next week.

The key with these deals is that you buy those items that you know you will use. This way, you’ll never have to pay full price for them again. You can track my CVS totals with me at the CVS Savings page on the sidebar to the right.

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