• Deep cleaning the house is a great way to get it looking pristine before Spring.
• To deep clean, start with decluttering the room by breaking it into sections and reorganizing shelves, cabinets and drawers.
• Dusting from top to bottom is essential as well as vacuuming/sweeping the floor and wiping down any surfaces.
• Cleaning with spray cleaners is one of the final steps, focusing on horizontal surfaces, windows and sticky spots.
• Completing these steps should make any room in your home look fresh and clean!

• Electronic Assistants, such as Siri and Alexa, help keep homes organized and on track by setting alarms, reminders and turning on lights and appliances.
• The 2002 invention of the Roomba set into motion the development of other robotic home tech offerings such as mopping robots and gutter-cleaning bots.
• The Internet of Things (IoT) allows users to control their homes and get housework done while away from home through connection of appliances over the Internet.
• Technological advancements are taking stress out of keeping a clean home.

Maybe you’ve just moved into a new home, or you’re hoping to rearrange a well-loved space. You’re seeking a comfortable, homey feeling but you don’t want to spend a fortune, and you want to keep it natural. Luckily, there are several things that you can do to make sure that you stick to natural products, while still making sure your home feels welcoming.

Lighting

When decorating a space, consider where the lights are placed and the type of lightbulbs you are using. Many homes use incandescent light because they have a warm yellow light. But these light bulbs burn out fairly quickly compared to LED lights, and it takes more of them to light a space. Try replacing your incandescent lights with LED lights and placing them strategically around the room. You can use lampshades and other coverings to diffuse the light, giving the room a similar feeling to incandescent bulbs with much less expense.

Textiles

Area rugs, throw pillows, and blankets are easy ways to add color and texture to a space. These items are available in a wide range of colors, patterns, and designs to suit many different aesthetic styles. Even in a kitchen setting, adding a plush area rug to a high-traffic area can help to break up the space and add a homey feel. Living rooms and bedrooms are signature spots for adding cozy throws and pillows.

Fragrance

Our homes smell like a lot of different things. Sometimes, when we have been cooking or baking, that smell can be fantastic, but there are other times when you want the smell gone as fast as possible. Increasing air flow between rooms can help disperse smells, but you can also cover it up using a diffuser. Essential oils are a great natural way to disperse good smells throughout your home, without having to rely on the chemicals or artificial smells. Cinnamon and citrus oils are particularly popular for covering up unpleasant odors.

Wall Décor

Canvases, photographs, and tapestries are wonderful ways to add a homey feel to a space. You might plan out a color scheme that wall art helps to tie together, or you may let your personal preferences lead and simply select images, patterns, and colors that appeal to your intuitive side. Contrasting colors, like colors, and tone on tone art are all options for beautifying a space. If you have outer walls that tend to get cold during the winter, consider covering them with hangings or tapestries. Not only does this look great, but it also provides a little extra insulation.

There are a lot of things that you can do to make your home a little more like you, but it doesn’t have to break the bank, and you can still stay natural. Use these tips to create your ideal living space.

 

There is nothing quite as exciting (or as exhausting) as the last trimester of pregnancy. The baby is coming soon and there are so many tasks to do in those last few months to be ready for your baby's arrival. Even if you are adopting or making use of a surrogate, preparing your house for the changes a new child will bring seems almost overwhelming!

As you head into the last few months before your baby’s arrival, taking the time to prepare your home will help you better handle all the changes that come. Getting your home cleaned and organized before you are juggling the demands of a newborn and your other responsibilities will give peace of mind and help you be prepared to handle any new mess or clutter that crops up. Consider tackling some of these key areas as you clean to better prepare.

 

Kitchen

The kitchen is the center of your home, where food and family meet on a daily basis. Take a few hours to inspect and prioritize these areas in your kitchen.

Refrigerator

Dedicate time to cleaning out your refrigerator and freezer before your baby arrives. Check expiration dates on items and throw away anything past expiration as well as any food or leftovers that have been lurking in the back of your refrigerator. Wipe down the shelves with warm water and vinegar.

Pantry

Just like your refrigerator, dedicate a chunk of time to going through your pantry and throwing away food items that are past expiration. Unopened cans or boxes that are not at expiration can be donated to your local food pantry. Stock up on quick, healthy snacks that you can grab on the go when you are home with your new baby. Keep a shelf stocked with bottles or breast pump supplies and be sure to rearrange a little space for kid’s snacks and food as they grow.

 

Laundry Room

Babies produce an incredible amount of laundry, much of it stained. Be ready to tackle stains and higher volumes of laundry.

Cleaners

Stock up on baby-safe cleaners for your newborn's clothing, sheets, and towels. Take it a step further and purchase laundry cleaners that are both good for the environement and safe for your baby.  

Hampers

Make sure you have adequate hampers with distinct compartments to sort your baby's clothes separately from the rest of the family.

 

Baby’s Room

You’ve probably been in a nesting stage for a while, but now is the time to double-check, dust and clean your baby’s future room.

Changing Table

No nursery room would be complete without one of these. Stock up your table with extra diapers, wipes, power, creams, as well as extra clothes. Organize the drawers in a way that makes sense for you during changing. Or don't use one at all (I never did!). I kept a basket with changing supplies in the room we were in the most and just changed my babies on the floor.

Closet

If you’ve received any baby clothes, sheets, or other future supplies, take time now to organize them in the nursery closet. Clothing that won’t fit right away can be packed away or hung at the back. Extra crib sheets and pillows should be stored on higher shelves.

 

Tackling cleaning and organizing tasks as you prepare for your new baby is a smart way to spend those last few months before they arrive. Do some organization and be sure you have a plan for future cleaning and organization as well.

• Reduce food waste by creating less, shopping wisely and storing food properly.
• Placing food in the garbage can leads to methane gas emissions which may be captured and reused in some states.
• Garbage disposals send food scraps through miles of pipes and eventually to a landfill, using more water than a trash can.
• Composting is another option to reduce food waste and provides an opportunity to reuse composted material.
• Consider local laws when deciding whether to use a garbage disposal or trash can for disposing of food waste.

Last week I wrote a blog post called Forget the New Year's Resolutions. So now for this year's theme! 

Why do I pick a theme? It's living with intention and purpose. Building new habits and working toward a goal. Last year's theme of Strength isn't being left behind- the habits I developed last year focusing on strength are a part of my everyday life now. 

My theme this year is to GROW. My goal is to grow mentally- to do something different outside of my children and business. I have something in the works but it's not ready to be birthed just yet 😀. I am very excited about it! 

MamaSuds has grown exponentially over the years and I'm ready to get it into stores and grow even more. I've set really high sales goals and I am working on reaching out to boutiques all over the nation that would fit as a retail store to carry MamaSuds. 

It's the year of growth and I am excited to settle into 2018 with my Growth Mindset! 

 

Did you set yourself a theme for the year? 

It seems like yesterday, yet it was

6 years ago today...

... I was pregnant and waddling when I registered MamaSuds as a real business. It was exhilarating and crazy, but thousands of customers later it's more than a dream come true.

As a thank you for your attention and business we are celebrating by holding a three-day event that only Email List Members can participate in. If you'd like to get your gift and share your gift with your friends and family, send them a link to our mailing list so they can party with us! Here is the link: https://goo.gl/LXjGC5 

 

As a thank you, we are giving all of our email list members $10 to spend on our website that can be applied to all orders $40 or more.

We are very happy to have you in our lives and whether you've been a customer with us since the beginning, you've just discovered us or you are somewhere in between- we want to celebrate YOU. You are the reason we are here making products that give you peace of mind and keep our planet safe. We love doing it and we can't wait to see what this year has in store for us!

If you are a member of our email list check your inbox! If you aren't a member, join here: https://goo.gl/LXjGC5

Our 3 Day Celebration Event Ends at 11:59 pm EST on January 5, 2018.

The statistics for sticking to New Year Resolutions are dismal. My most used resolution was to quit biting my nails. Another popular personal resolution was to be more organized. These both make me laugh today so you can guess how successful I was at keeping them! So I say, forget the New Year’s resolution!

I did someone last year and I did it secretly. I wanted to see if it would work and since I didn’t seem to have much willpower when it came to resolutions. Last December I picked a word or a “theme” for the year 2017. My word was STRENGTH. I told no one. I picked this word with intention. I knew I wanted to be physically stronger and I also knew I would need a lot of mental strength to get through a few very big projects professionally. I thought this word STRENGTH would be the perfect theme to get through 2017.

Losing weight is the most common New Year’s resolution. Once I decided on my word I started working on my physical strength right away. In order to get stronger I needed to start eating better so I started following a meal plan and writing down everything I ate. I measured myself and began strength training. I took pictures so I could see the progress since I wasn’t going to “lose weight” but lose inches. So when the clock struck midnight on January 2017 I was already 5 days into making myself strong!

A few weeks into 2017 I began a class I was very much looking forward to: Brick House Branding. It began at the end of January and was 8 long weeks of honing into the knitty gritty of what I wanted the core of MamaSuds to be inside and out. It was HARD but it was necessary. My mental strength was challenged when I had to make key decisions on my business. I hired a graphic designer and stayed awake a lot of nights worrying about decisions I had made and whether they were the right ones. I hired a business coach/advisor that helped me through the really hard stuff and relied on my business network a lot. I bounced everything off my closest friends and family and in the end the results were nothing short of spectacular!

Sourcing new packaging took a different kind of mental strength: patience. Finding a bottle company who would sell me a small amount of bottles was exhausting. Then once I found them they changed the price on me a few times, then delayed the delivery so many times I wanted to say forget it and look for new packaging.

My body started changing from strength training and I developed muscles I never knew were there and muscles I hadn’t seen since high school. My physique was slowly transforming but my energy as what changed very quickly. Cutting out all the sugar I was consuming and the nonsense calories raised my energy levels dramatically.

Looking back on 2017: The Year of Strength, I feel accomplished and... strong!

What’s my 2018 theme? Stay tuned!

What is your word/theme for 2018?