Keeping the home safe and preparing for the colder weather

 A lot of hazardous can accumilate in the home and we often forget about home safety as we just go about our days living. 

Yet keeping the home safe is a must and should be remembered. 

So to begin, the first tip is: Don't put candles on appliances like TV's, near curtains and near baby and not put on low surfaces kids can reach. Fires can wreck a home and one of my colleagues I used to work with had a home fire. Never thiink this can't happen in your home, because it can so be safe when purchasing candles.

The second tip is keeping dirty sponges on surfaces or in the sink. They can be covered in bacteria and can be harmful. If you have kids, they will at tiny to child age put things into their mouths and the last thing you want them to touch is the used sponge and so have them wash up but supervised, until they stop putting things in their mouths and stay at bay of illnesses caused by dirty water. 

If you have a used sponge replace and keep them dry as possible, but in easy reach for yourself to use when kids aren't nearby. 

The third is. Keep coats clean and wash regularly emptying pockets in case of used tissues and near the front door, not to high reach from your kids so they know where their coat belongs when they come home and they know where to put when dirty. Jacket accumilate outdoor germs so wash and dry hygiencially.

Keep hobs and cookers clean and store cleaning chemicals in a locked up cupboard and know before hand how to use them. Some of these cleaners are toxic and when working in a industrial kitchen you'd wear a mask when cleaning an oven or a grill.

Never play on the steps and that kids are supervised when a child uses the stairs and have bare banisters so they have something to hold on, making sure doors and banisters are cleaned safely too. 

When it comes to ourselves we are all guilty of spreading germs and we can easily do that when walking around in barefeet and so when walking around your home, make sure you clean all floors, carpteted, wooden floors and rugs. These can have lots of bacteria if not and make sure you feet are clean too. Any veruccas are cleared and treated as they can spread and wear socks in the winter and good unworn shoes and these should be cleaned regulary also when walking around on different surfaces outdoors.  

During fireworks night never store in a warm room and should be in a darkened room in a garage not in other rooms as heat can cause devestation.

Any dogs or cats, make sure they are cleaned up and their fur is picked up. Make sure that they keep indoors in the warm in the winter and in hot weather they are in the shade and can burn their paws.

I hope these tips help you and many thanks for reading, 

Carrie X  

Being a keeper not a hoarder or is it the same thing?

Hello and welcome! So yes I am a hoarder and I am not afraid to admit it, but I do have regular clear outs to help me and if you to are a hoarder then I call it myself "A Keeper" of item that do bring me pleasure. Like example notepads. I love them and I do buy them a lot but that is because I do use them and won't by many its certain times. 

I write so I hoard those items because they a special to me and I like flipping through my notebooks to measure my life and how it has changed and altered. 

Yet I haven't kept things like my school books because I just wanted my school days to be over and what difficult time of my life and I felt like I couldn't get to grips with it, but taking part in plays and dancing did give a sense of purpose. 

I have kept my dancing trophies because I am proud of them and being "A Keeper" is it the same thing? You tell me. As I think many people would have different views on that so I am gonna leave it up to you.

What I like is longlastting items and still wear items I bought ten years ago if they still fit and in good condition. I do value things and clothes most definitely. I choose items which have a character about them, and I with clothes I tend to go for patterned or printed tops and plain leggins and jeans for the bottom half of me. It is what ever your style is. 

For me I like items that a different from the norm, I used to love markets and would regulary take a train to Petticoat Lane in London or Wembley market on Sundays, and find some real hidden treasures and I miss those. 

The biggest one is the one in Skegness if it is still there and could have shopped all day. When I lived in the South Coast they would have a regular market at the weekend and when it was the summer season, and Chichester is a brilliant place to go shopping and have many different shops and definitely one to pay a visit too, and so have bought different items from them, yet I can hold onto money and wait until I have the money to invest. 

When it comes to sales I am cautious and only spend if it is worth the deal, and I do like going into stores again rather than shopping online as this can be addictive and I am an  amazon fan and love shopping on there. 

I don't buy everything I can see in fact I keep a few things in my basket but don't actually buy it. I go through it and ask how important is that item to me? Often I will put items in "Save for later list" and I recommend doing that and creating wish lists. 

I have spoken about this a lot, but that is how I control my hoarding and remind me I am "A Keeper" and will get longevity items, things tha will last a life time and it has helped me save and to gain control and "Keep what serves a purpose". Are you the same? Let me know. 

Many thanks for reading, 

Carrie X 

  

 

Organize your clothes so you always have something to wear/Having a functional wardrobe

Hello, and I hope you aren't rushed off your feet. This blog is about Organize your clothes so you always have something to wear. 

Rotate your clothes and go through items you want to add to your wardrobe, I like having a sort through and it helps in terms I can mix and match. I plan my wardrobe for the year, adding and taking away items from it. I go through, items I no longer need, doesn't fit or does not give me any joy anymore. I like Kon Marie she is a woman of organizing and I follow her, on items that bring me joy. 

I go through the staple items I love to wear and want to bring into my wardrobe and I do this by regularly sorting through, and seeing what I am missing from it, that will complete my wardrobe, and not buying items all the time. 

I like having no spending weeks, and only buying what I need, and this helps with making sure I go through and wear all the clothes I have. 

Example: I own at the moment,two pairs of jeans, blue and black, my usual colours and once worn then I replace, but I don't need 25 of them, just one blue and one black. 

I do have a fashion blog on wordpress, where on Mondays and Thursdays, I do a look book, so check it out if you would like:

https://carriesversitilefashion.wordpress.com 

I do have items I stock up on though like, tights, leggins, jumpers and t-shirts. 

When it comes to bags and jewellery I could have 100s as I am a bag and shoe girl, but know I don't need that much, so stick to a good suffiicient number, 5. 

With jewellery I like having a packs with many different earrings included, and I like to treat myself to them, but again I do hold myself back and dont' buy too many. One or two a year, is not gonna damage my purse, but keep my fashion and accessories to continue to love these items. 

So how do you organize your clothes? Do you have a house full of clothes but nothing goes together? 

You can comment below.

Many thanks for reading, 

Carrie X 

How to organize without spending any money "use what you already have"

Can we organuze without spending money?

Here are some tips to answer this question:

Yes! "Use what you already have":

1. Any boxes that can be used from deliveries, use them and then when you know what needs to put togeher then look for, and it can help decide what storage ways will be good for long term storage. This can be a bin or even a bucket, I have used my sons bucket to store kitchen cleaning items, and stored up high so my son to get hold of it.

2. With recycled I think its being misconstrude as coffee cups you get made out of cardboard are not recyclable and if you check the bins outside you have two options, general rubbish, and recycle, NO DISPOSABLE COFFEE SHOP CUPS. Yet it is good to use reusable and when I tried to reuse a cup from a shop the coffee I made in it did not taste nice. You can empty them out and be used as a desk organizer for pens and stationary such as paper clips and if you want to get office supplies on sale, this is the time to shop, as they will be a load of sales as in the UK all schools all re-open. The other time is around the new year and then July when academic planners go on sale. The school year in the UK is from September to July.

3. If you have are on the moving and order items online keep the boxes and they started many retailer, using reusable bags which are handy for packing clothes, books, make up as I am using that to store in a storage bin and have a cleaning caddie for my toiletries and are great for packing if you already have any and separate your makeup from your toiletries and use clothing labels as labels for your boxes and storage containers.

4. In the kitchen, have items stored of what you use the most at the front, and others that you don't at the back. You don't need a Lazy susan, use plates that you don't often use and I used a microwave tray when I lived in my old home in Epsom and plates. 

5. Knives, forks and spoons are great stored on the counter top in a cutlery holder, rather than a draw, but if you got kids store these out of reach and you can use again bowls to store mugs too. 

I hope you find these tips helpful and there will be more blogs to follow as we move from Summertime to Autumn and get nearer...wait for it...birthdays and Christmas. 

Many thanks for reading, 

Carrie X  

 

Organizing Queen I am not but wait until my room looks sorry for itself

If you know me, you will see that I watch a lot of Youtube and the videos that grab my eye are Organization ones, and it was watching a video now about Organization that I thought of this blog. 

I am functional but I look at my desk and see that it could be better and as I began this post I found that I have just organized a Caddie I have that is my make up caddy, which was actually a cleaning caddy from TK Maxx and have another with all my toiletries and some jewellery, from Robert Dyas.

I then looked around my room to see what else I could clear and did. I need to be inspired to organize, as the word for me is one I battle with. Do I enjoy it? Or not? Answer it depends on the day and how my room looks, if it looking sorry for itself. 

As a kid I shuved things in draws so system involved and was nagged regularly about my room and now I am back living with my mum for a bit, it is more or less the same, yet I do get it done, organizing and tidying. I have to be in the mood. 

Looking at my workbase it does need a good thorough clean again, so gonna jot it down to clean it, so it gets done. 

So gonna see what items I can take back with me from my old home to here, that will also keep my room tidy and trust me when I have a new place, it will be different, but often you have to work on what you have. 

Many thanks for reading, 

Carrie X 

Organizing the summer holidays with a 7 year old/why I love spending summer with my son

Hello and welcome to a new blog. So, it is the school holidays and only week one and it has been a testing time but that is kids. You can't tell what they are thinking and often will strop and we have had some of that, like yesterday wanted to get a bus every time we got off one and walked for a bit and not his favourite thing but for me it is important for him to have some form of exercise.

He was fine though in the end but kids get be very indecisive and I like to involve him when it comes to planning activities as it gives him the sense of responsibility cause that is important for when they get older. I do write a blog called The Parenting Adventures Tips and Tricks on Wordpress.com so more content there and on my Youtube channel do a regular video called Truth About parenting if you wanted to check this out.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDFIqjVKLy7NhtcR6Hy0Tg

I do love the kisses and hugs I get and he is when we together always wants me to be with him and very clingy still. I think it is because I share him with his Dad and we aren't together anymore, and it is a adjustment, it was when my own parents got divorced, but overrall he has been fine and we my son and I, are closer than we have ever been. 

Kids when they get tired and hungry can play up, so good to have snacks on you and have some kind of plan, but I never have things set in stone. 

Do what makes you both happy and still have boundaries and rules in place, so they respect other people you may have to share the days out with, and group activities are great and now Lockdown has finished there are playdates to be held and seeing more family. 

BBQ's perhaps not as it set to rain a lot here in the UK, but still cinemas and theatres, visiting museums and a movie day or dress up and play day. I loved fancy dress as a kid and my brother and I was always entered, so why not do a home fancy dress. 

When it is sunny again why not take them to seaside and have old fashioned seaside fish 'n' chips, Candyfloss ans sticks of rock. 

I love taking my son on trips and I am lucky that I do have family who live near the English Seaside and so do visit every year if we can.

So, I will be posting more about the summer holidays and want to write an EBook to help parents during school holidays. I have a new parenting book I am writing and so this will be available shortly. I will let you know.

Many thanks for reading, 

Carrie X 

Shopping ideas/buying for kids/how to save on kid clothes

When it comes to kids they grow all the time and with Henry I was at one time clearing out his wardrobe and chest of draws everyday no lie as they grow at such a rate that it is difficult to catch up. 

Second hand clothes saved me so much money on clothes for him and if you know someone who has had kids and want to hand you down some kids clothes always take them up on it, and honestly it saves time and money, and what one child doesn't wear and you have other kids then it suits them instead, have them and go through and separate them into different ages, example 0 to 4 months, 4 to 6 months, 5 - 7 years. 

Have a system where you rotate the clothes worn and what is not to keep tabs on their clothes. Invest in some good hangers and if you can have beds that come with storage as these are always a great investment in storing kids clothes and toys then they are a game changer.

If they share rooms dedicate a draw to them and segrigatte the wardrobe by putting names with the clothes stored and who they are for. 

When it comes to cuddly toys check Charity shops and Car Boot sales, as they always have good items for kids, and great if you keep change and have a low budget. 

Keep a budget on the money spent for them and have them have their own bank accounts that you can help manage and I used to love it when I kept pennies and would pay them in, it is something I have always done and have an emergency tin of money for those last minute purchases that needs to grabbed, like need new shirts for school, nappies and if the store you got to have a points card and you use them regularly and school themes like if they need a certain coloured top or fancy dress.

Teach thema about money and how to count it and save. Teach them about budgeting and shop wisely and have them create wish lists.

I wrote more blogs on parenting on my site: https://theparentingadventurestipsandtricks.wordpress.com  

Many thanks for reading, 

Carrie X