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.

How to Keep Your House Organized as a Working Mom

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Organization is likely a word you hear often, and you probably hear it more frequently when you become a parent. It seems to be one of the ways that you can keep your head above the water and survive the many challenges that accompany each day. When you’re a working mom, however, it is likely that your workload as well as responsibilities increase. To avoid becoming overwhelmed, you’ll need to ensure there’s a level of organization in your home. Everyone has a different method and approach when it comes to organizing, so it’s important that you find what works for you. On those premises, this article should help you find a few ways that you can make this happen if you’ve been struggling.

Get Cabinets

Cabinets can be a saving grace when you’re a parent as they help you put things neatly. This is often necessary when your kids have a million and one items and always seem to have one missing sock as well as other lost items. You can never really have enough cabinets so if you have the space for it, you should put extra ones in the house. You could also consider plastic drawers or containers as they’ll be useful for storing items as well. You should have a drawer for different items so that things don’t get mixed and lost. This might mean having a drawer dedicated to arts and crafts items, having one for learning items, while another can be allocated to small toys that have many parts and can easily get lost such as legos, for instance. Whatever the case, look for ways to use storage boxes or cabinets to keep things in order.

Encourage Tidy up Time

Getting kids to tidy up at several periods during the day can be helpful to you as well as them. It is also a great way to spend quality time together and teach them core skills as well as values. If your child is relatively young, trying to keep the house tidy can seem near impossible when trying to get work done, preparing meals and doing the laundry. For this reason, it is imperative that you encourage them to help tidy up any time they make a mess to save yourself zooming around the house endlessly to pick things up. Some secrets to cleaning with kids include starting them young and encouraging tidying as early as possible. This helps build their confidence and makes them feel like they’re an important part of the household as they’re contributing to helping it run smoothly and neatly. It is best to stick with age-appropriate tasks, but for a two or three-year-old, you could perhaps consider getting them to put their toys away, put their dirty clothes in the laundry basket, or put their food mat back once they’re done eating.

Get a Work Desk

As a working mom; it is essential that you have a desk that you can work on. It could help you sit down and focus when it’s work time so that you can get some work done. Transitioning from mommy mode to worker mode can be a difficult transition to make, so creating a serene work-life environment may help. One of the items you may need is a work desk that you can place your laptop and documents on that you need for work. A sit stand keyboard tray may also be ideal so that you can alternate between standing and sitting when you’re working as well as move your desk around if need be. This should also help working more comfortable which hopefully will enhance your productivity so you can get enough work done in between mommy duties.

Clean Twice a Day

It can be tempting to want to clean up several times a day especially if you’re a bit of a neat freak, however, if you’re a work-from-home mom, spending all of your time cleaning won’t leave you with much time to get your work done. At the same time, the last thing you want is a big pile of mess at the end of the day, so it is advisable that you consider doing 5-10 minute cleans twice a day. When trying to keep a house clean with kids, you could opt to clean before nap time and then do a family clean before dinner time. As mentioned earlier, letting the kids help is often a good idea as it takes a little load off your back and teaches them how to keep the house tidy. However, you should try and leave serious spring cleaning to the weekend or your day off whenever you have one. Some things to stick to on a daily basis include arranging the living room, washing the dishes, organizing the kid’s toys, and putting dirty clothes away.

Organize Your Time

The importance of time-management can’t be stressed enough whether you’re a working mom or stay-at-home mom.  You should begin by tracking your time to see how it’s being spent and then making a note regarding how you can make adjustments. Some key things you should consider in time-management is keeping up with the kids’ needs, how much time you need to work on a daily basis, and how long it will take you to keep your house organized. Once you’ve figured this out, you can then go on to create a schedule that works for you and enables you to get everything done. It will most likely take time for you to get the hang of it and things won’t always go according to schedule but keep working at it.

Keeping your house organized with busy and active kids can seem like an uphill battle. However, to ensure you live in a thriving environment and one that you can work from, making sure things are in order, and there’s little to do at the end of the day is crucial. The hope is that by applying a few of the tips mentioned above, you’ll be a pro at organizing with little ones in no time.

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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!