3 Kids and Us

5 steps to help you clean your home

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Cleaning your home is like going into battle with your own house. There’s cupboards full of surprises, coffee stains that will put up fierce resistance, problem areas that you thought were long gone and treacherous conditions caused by dust. It’s a minefield.

How to overcome it? Well, as any good tactician will tell you, the way to win the battle is to come up with a battleplan. A strategy that you believe is so good that your enemies – in this case, clutter and dirt – won’t be able to overcome.

That’s where we’re here to help. Here are five steps to help you clean your home.

Put some music on

First things first – get some upbeat music on. There is nothing more depressing than cleaning with just the sound of a vacuum cleaner and the thoughts of “This is hell” rolling around your mind. Have a look at this cleaning playlist which will help the time fly.

Set about decluttering

The temptation when cleaning is to simply pick everything up and throw it in a closet. Out of sight, out of mind is a technique that might work in some areas of life, but not when it comes to cleaning. Take the opportunity to declutter your home. If you come across clothes you no longer wear or toys that the kids no longer player with, then consider donating or recycling them. By getting rid now, you’ll be ensuring you have less to clean and put away next time the task rolls around.

Be methodical when it comes to dust

Dust is horrible, isn’t it? No matter how hard you try, you always manage to miss a spot. The best way to dust is methodically – go from left to right, top to bottom across every surface in the house, and not just those that appear dusty to you. Something may look clean, but once the sun shifts around or the natural lighting of a room is replaced with artificial lighting from a lamp, you’ll discover areas that looked clean earlier but now are covered in dust. For the faces of framed photos and screens, use glass cleaner to avoid streaking.

Invest in the right equipment for floors

If you are mopping a kitchen or bathroom floor, then start in the furthest corner of the room and move backwards towards the entrance, rinsing the mop after each four-square foot area you’ve cleaned. By working in that way, you’re taking yourself out of the area you’ve cleaned rather than marooning yourself in a corner, surrounded by wet floor. When it comes to carpets, a powerful vacuum or Dry Carpet Cleaner will produce the best results.

Don’t be afraid of what is down the back of your furniture

It’s not enough just to beat down the cushions of your furniture. Use a vacuum to suck up all the dirt and be sure to get right down the back of the sofa. Sure, the prospect of what you mind find down there is a scary one, but you might also be surprised. Who knows, there could be enough loose change for you to be able to hire a professional cleaner for next time? If that doesn’t encourage you to clean the sofa thoroughly, then what will?!

Safety and security products to make your home a safe place

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There are many young families staying on their own with both the young parents having to work away from home. They have no choice but to employ live-in maids or part-time maid to look after their little kids while they are at work. As with little children, they are extremely inquisitive and they love to explore all over the places. There are many reports of children injured in accidents in and around the home even with adults in the house.

There are many ways we can help reduce or prevent these accidents from happening to our little ones such as using toddler safety products. You can easily get these safety products from supermarkets, baby equipment shops, home safety products shop, online stores, etc. Most of these products are relatively inexpensive, easy to use, and they are strong enough to prevent hazards from happening.

Before you buy these products, be sure to check out the installation instructions. There is no product that is completely child proof, but these products can help reduce accidents and injuries to our children. There are many types of safety products such as the child monitoring devices to alerts you when your child wanders off from your sight. There are also child locators and bulletproof backpacks available.

For parents who leave their little kids in the care of maid, fixing a hidden indoor security camera is a good way to keep tabs on the movements of the maid and kids while you are out of sight. The hidden camera can be fixed in the child’s bedroom, playroom or any area they frequent.

Hidden camera can also be fixed in different parts of your home to monitor who is coming and going, or sign of trespassers especially when you are away from home. There is no limit what a high quality hidden spy camera can do. It can show you who has been stealing your newspaper from your doorsteps or if there is any uninvited visitors in your compound.

A spy cam usually comes with built-in DVR recorders to smartphone hook ups to motion activated sensors. A spy cam can be disguised as a cute teddy bear or a wireless LCD wireless LCD screen you can watch from your work place.

No home is safe without keeping some home defense weapons at a standby in case of any break in by intruders. As parents, we need to maintain home safety for our family members by installing high quality locks, portable door alarms, emergency systems, doorbell cameras, door stop wedge alarms, etc. There are many types of safety devices we can use for our home such as dog-barking alarms, doorbell security cameras with wi-fi and night vision.

How To Make Your Next Summer BBQ Your Best One Yet!

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There is nothing quite like the smell of meat grilling outdoors to really put you in a summer mood. Throwing a barbecue for your friends and family can be a wonderful way to enjoy a summer day, some fantastic food and good company. If you are someone who tends to throw a lot of barbecues in the summer, then here are some new ideas to help you take your summer 2018 barbecues to the next level! Just wait for a nice hot day, get everybody over, open a few drinks, and enjoy the sun!

Find Some Interesting Sides to Prepare

While the things that you cook on the grill are usually the main event when it comes to the food at your barbecue, by putting in some interesting and surprising new side dishes you can really make your barbecue stand out. Think about vegetable dishes that you can also cook on the grill such as stuffed peppers or onions, grilled mushrooms spiked with garlic or, of course, the classic corn on the cob, but also consider cold things that you can prepare in advance such as special coleslaws with additional ingredients to give them an interesting twist, or salads with delicious toppings such as Greek feta cheese, halloumi, and spicy chicken. Preparing some potatoes either as a salad or as a hot side dish can also be a good way to make your barbecue food more interesting and memorable if you look for recipes such as chipotle spiced roasted potatoes.

If you are not having your barbecue at home, then make sure that you can pack any of your side dishes in a refrigerated bag so they will still be cool when you serve things like your salads.

Mix In Some Seafood

Another way that you can make your barbecue a little bit unique is to include grilled seafood. This is quite common in some countries, such as in the Caribbean and the South Pacific, and also in Australia. The smell of grilled seafood cooking on your barbecue along with your meats will be a great mood setter, and even if you don’t live by the coast, it will give a nice seaside feel.

Just be sure that you are careful to understand the correct cooking temperatures for seafood and that you keep your meat and seafood separate.  Some things like cod grill very well on a barbecue, and swordfish or tuna steaks can also be a really good choice. You can also consider making cold seafood side dishes, for example, buying or making some sushi, or making shrimp or crab salads.

Use Novel But Practical Ways of Serving

Serving food outdoors usually means that you won’t be using your best tableware, however, this doesn’t mean that you can’t have an attractive setting for your food. Consider novel ways of serving things in single serving dishes, such as using mason jars to hold single serving salads or layered desserts. Read more about making cool single serving mason jar salads at Cinnamon, Spice and Everything Nice!

These are just a few easy ways that you can up your game when it comes to your summer barbecues this season.

Clever Ideas for Small Baths

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It’s true that small bathrooms can be a challenging design project, especially if you have a family. However, that doesn’t mean that you cannot make the most of the space you have, and still create something beautiful, relaxing and functional. There are various tips and tricks that can make designing a small bathroom a truly rewarding process with satisfying results. If you too are struggling to find the best possible solution for your bath, check out the following possibilities.

The question of storage

Usually, storage is the biggest issue when it comes to small bathrooms, but you can approach this task creatively. In the end, if you don’t have enough storage space such as cabinets, don’t feel the need to stuff your bathroom with more cabinets. If the space is small, this won’t look or feel good. Instead, you may utilize vertical space by installing floating shelves. Open shelving looks infinitely better in small bathrooms, and it allows you to grab whatever you need instantly. This is especially important for families with kids. What’s more, colorful towels or bath products can add a personal touch to the overall bathroom design. If you have a bit more space though, you can use storage ladders instead of shelves, or stack wooden/woven crates for an affordable cabinet alternative.

Functionality and order

Functionality and order are two most important features of a small bathroom if your goal is to make it feel pleasant and relaxing. Basically, everything in your bathroom should have its purpose so declutter and remove things that simply make a mess with no real use. Once you do that, it’s important that you create order in your bathroom. You should have a designated place for everything. For example, cleaning agents can be under the sink – if you don’t have a built-in cabinet already, you can use a crate, or any other type of container that fits the purpose. You can use a sink curtain to block these cleaning agents from view as well. Another example are your bath and beauty products. Instead of having everything in a total mess, you can get an angle suction cup shelf that will help you divide your shower products from hair ones, etc. If this is not possible, even a hanging door rack can be useful for this purpose. Just make sure that you keep only the necessities, and know where they are at all times.

Design around the bathtub

When you’re redesigning any room, you should determine a focal point and continue the process from that point. The same goes for your bathroom. Even if your bathroom space is small, you can benefit a lot from a nice bathtub when it comes to both functionality and looks. After all, there are plenty of small and stylish bathtubs available on the market today. What’s more, having a bathtub is very important for families with kids, as the tub allows you to have more control over the kids as you’re giving them a bath, or have to reach for something from the previously-mentioned open shelves. Once you deal with the choice of tub, the rest of design will be easier to plan out as functionally and beautifully as possible.

Creativity to maximize the space

Your choice of colors and other accessories can affect the size of your bathroom visually. So, why not make your small bathroom visually larger and definitely more appealing? In general, keeping the main palette theme in your bath clean and neutral is the best choice. White and other neutral shades are perfect, but you can always add a pop of color. You can do this with bathroom floor tiles if you’re up for a more striking look, or other details such as towels, shelves and hanging racks, curtains, mirror frames, etc. Speaking of mirrors, don’t hesitate to use one that’s as large as it can be for your small bathroom. It will reflect the light, making the space appear bigger. The same thing happens with glossy finish tiles, so if you’re planning to add retiling to the design process, keep this in mind.

Just because your bathroom is small in size doesn’t mean that you should automatically give up on making it as practical and pleasant as it can be for you and your family. The important thing is to work with what you have in order to create the best version of that space. As it’s one of the most important rooms in one’s house, don’t hesitate to put some effort into making your bathroom suitable and comfy.

Family Activities – Tyre Recycling Projects

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Replacing your tyres leaves you with four old tires. Throwing or giving them away is one option, but there are other options, ones that are much more interesting and useful. If you’re the creative type, you’ll know exactly how to recycle your old tyres, but even if you aren’t, there are things you can make from tyres that don’t require any special skills. Plus, if you include your whole family in the project, you’ll get to spend quality time with your children while creating something together.

When and how to replace your tires

Replacing your tyres is the basic thing you need to do for your own and other people’s safety on the road. How often to replace them is determined by your driving habits and tyre maintenance, but also by the state of the roads. It’s important that you inspect the condition of your tyres at least once a month, checking the tread depth, looking out for uneven wear patterns, bulges or blisters on tyre sidewalls, lacerations, flat tyres or tread punctures. It would be best to replace all four tyres at the same time, since it’s important that they all match. You can find a great tyre dealer with a wide selection of premium tyres here. Make sure you go through the vehicle’s manual or talk to a professional before making a purchase, so that you’re properly informed of what exactly to buy. And as soon as you replace the old tyres with the new ones, the fun can begin. Here are some ideas for recycling tyres.

A dog bed

If you have a dog, use a tyre to make a bed for them. It’s an easy project and you can include your children by allowing them to paint and decorate the bed to their own liking. All you need is a used tyre, some paint and a cushion to place in the middle of the tyre, so that your dog is always soft and warm.

A tic-tac-toe table

This is another fun thing to do with your kids and for them at the same time. Use an old tyre, paint it the colour you and your children like and shape a wooden board to fit the centre of the tyre. Draw a hash and, instead of X’s and O’s, pick some stones of approximately the same size and use some paint to turn them into bees and ladybirds, or simply paint them two different colours. Let it dry and play a game or two with your little ones.

Garden chairs

These will go great with your new tic-tac-toe table. All you need are two (or more) tyres, two types of rope, glue and some patience. If your children help you with this one, pay extra attention to how they use the glue. You don’t want their delicate little hands glued to the tyre, or the rope at the end of the day.

Rocking chairs

Turning old tyres into little rocking chairs for your kids is a simple task, but a very rewarding one, since they’ll probably love them and spend a lot of time on them. Cut a tyre in half, paint it, cover it with a wooden plank and add a handlebar. Instead of a classic handlebar, you can turn it into an animal head, to make the rocking chair even more appealing to your children.

Tyre swings

You have an old tree in your backyard? Perfect. Find a stable branch and hang one or two old tyres on it using some rope. Of course, you get to decorate the tyres, or better yet, your children do. Make them nice and colourful, so that they make your kids cheerful as soon as they look at them. After only a few minutes on the swing, your child’s mood is bound to improve, so be prepared for some joyful giggles.

A sandbox

When it comes to this particular project, the bigger the tyre, the better. Paint it, find a nice place to it in your garden, fill it with sand, stick a parasol in the middle to protect your children from the sun, and that’s all. Let them bring their little shovels and other plastic tools for hours of carefree play.

A seesaw

This is a perfect project for families with two or more children. If you build a seesaw, two children can play on it at the same time, avoiding an argument over who wants to go first. Use half a tyre, a long wooden plank and two handholds for each end of the plank. Pick a colour, or pick as many as you want, sit back and relax while your children play.

Flower pots

There’s nothing as easy as turning used tyres into flower pots. Simply fill the centre of the tyre with some dirt and fertilizer and plant whatever you choose inside it. Leaving the tires black is an option, but why do that, when you can colour them, or even place them one on top of another to make a Minion, a frog, or even a well.

These recycling projects can be a lot of cost-free fun. They can turn your garden into a beautiful and fun place for your whole family. So, start today and make some wonderful memories in the process.

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We left our home in Sydney, Australia many moons ago in May 2012 and, other than a brief stint back in Perth for Christmas and a wedding in early 2014, we have been travelling the world nomadically ever since, running a business from our laptops and we’re here to show you how to do it!