Jerri at Simply Sweet Home

Indoor Air Pollution and Solutions

June 21, 2015 Leave a Comment

These days we spend about 90% of our time indoors, and with more and more pollutants in the air, the risk or becoming sick from substances in our own home is ever-growing! Fortunately, we can work do combat these.

The first step is knowing what the sources of pollution are: 25% of indoor pollution comes from sources outside the home, while other indoor pollution comes from a variety of sources like mold, mildew, asbestos, radon, dust and carbon monoxide. Even everyday items in our home that you can don’t really think about can cause indoor air pollution: pet fur and dander, chlorine from the shower, and fumes from beauty products. [Read more…]

Filed Under: cleaning, Home/Garden Tagged With: indoor air pollution

4th of July Printable, Tutorial, and GraphicStock Giveaway

June 21, 2015 1 Comment

I always love decorating for holidays throughout the year, but I don’t always have a big budget to spend to spend on items I’ll only be using a few a weeks. Luckily I’ve been able to score a lot of great items at the dollar stores and thrift stores, and I’m always able to find really cute printable art online, and when I can’t find anything I like, sites like GraphicStock and PicMonkey help me to make my own.

GraphicStock is a website which offers over 250000 graphics, vectors, icons, buttons, images, and more! These can be used for home and party decor, invitations, stationary, greetings cards, and banners, as well as media for businesses and organizations, such as a logo, business cards, flyers, letterheads, and more! And you can also use the images to create your own custom graphics for blog posts and general web design.

And with so many images to offer, you can find an image, vector, or icon for any project and to fit virtually any style you are looking for. Today I’m sharing a printable that I made using an image from GraphicStock. You can download it here for FREE and then frame it. It will look great on your wall or mantel! [Read more…]

Filed Under: crafts, Giveaways, Misc Holidays, Patriotic, Printables Tagged With: 4th of July, tutorial

Top Natural Cleaning Tips

June 19, 2015 Leave a Comment

A lot of people have recently been switching to natural or environmentally/eco friendly cleaning products. If you are someone who wants to be environmentally friendly with your cleaning, natural products can be just as effective. Here are our top tips for spotless natural cleaning!

Red wine removal

One of life’s most tricky cleaning endeavors, unless dealt with properly, red wine stains can be disastrous and some can often result in professional carpet cleaning. However if you act fast, dousing with soda water and dabbing with layers of paper towel. The bubbles in the soda water can be really affective at lifting the wine. Continue doing this until no residue is left on the towel.

Laundry Smells

Laundry baskets can often get a little…fragrant. However lining them with paper towels that have been sprinkled with some natural oils (such as lavender or tee tree) will keep the laundry basket (and importantly surrounding areas!) at bay

Windows

This is an excellent tip we got from Kim and Agie but you don’t need abrasive chemicals for window cleaning – mixing 25% vinegar with 75% warm water will have them sparkling clean. Remove all residue with a towel afterwards so no vinegary smells are left.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is a natural, non toxic and cheap product that can be incredible for cleaning! It can be used in lots of rooms and for multiple purposes. For example a small pot of baking soda in any bins, fridges or cupboards will keep away potentially unpleasant food odors. Baking soda can also be used to clean sides and surfaces by just sprinkling on the side and wiping with a warm water towel – the same also applies for silver – rubbing a baking soda paste on to it is excellent for making your silver wear sparkling and shiny!

Lemon

Lemon also makes a great natural cleaner. Infuse with vinegar for a couple of weeks for a fresh smelling natural cleaner that works perfectly for cleaning windows or floors.

Stock up on lots of vinegar, lemons and baking soda and you will find natural cleaning more easier and more effective than you ever thought!

Filed Under: cleaning, Home/Garden Tagged With: natural cleaning, oranganic cleaning

Friday Favorites – Week 273 – With Homemade Popsicles

June 19, 2015 3 Comments

Hello all! Welcome to this week’s Friday Favorites party! This week I’m continue to share all things summer with a few homemade popsicle recipes! I just love popsicles, and making them at home can be a fun time for one an all. I hope you enjoy today’s fruity delights!

Please follow our lovely hostesses:

Simply Sweet Home
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MustLoveHome

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The Chunky Chef

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Emergen-C Fruit Pops from Living the Gourmet

Strawberry Mango Popsicles from The Freshman Cook

Tropical Smoothie Yogurt Popsicles from Houseful of Handmade

Thanks for partying with us! Link up below!

Filed Under: desserts, Friday Favorites, recipes, summer Tagged With: frozen treats, homemade popsicles, ice cream, popsicles

Grilled Teriyaki Shrimp Kebabs + 10 Tips to Totally Take Care of Your Family This Summer

June 18, 2015 Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received LISTERINE® Brand products and a Walgreens gift card from Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc. and The Motherhood as part of my participation in the LISTERINE® Brand Totally Taken Care Of program. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own. #ListerineMom

My family spends so much of the time indoors, but the summer weather definitely gives us more excuses to get outside, from grilling out to playing with the dog, and doing yard work. Whether we’re at work or play, I always try to take extra steps to take care of my family. Today, in partnership with Walgreen’s, Johnson & Johnson, and Listerine, I’ll be sharing some of my tips to make sure your family is totally taken care of.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: health, recipes, safety tips, summer Tagged With: grilling, health tips, Listerine, shrimp

Corn Casserole + 5 Tips to Beat the Heat When Planning a Summer Party

June 17, 2015 5 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SummerYum #CollectiveBias

The summer season is such a fun opportunity to spend time with family and friends in the great outdoors and host fun cook outs and picnics, but I, for one, have a hard time standing the heat! There are certain times of day when I can barely go outside at all for more than a few minutes, much less have fun in the sun or play hostess!

I’m sure a lot of you ladies and gents feel the same way!

Today I’m going to share some ways I beat the heat when planning my party menu, and I’ve also got a recipe for an easy side dish you can make for your upcoming picnics and barbecues: a corn casserole! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Home/Garden, Misc Holidays, party ideas, planning, product review, Recipe of the Week, recipes, summer Tagged With: 4th of July, 4th of July party, corn, corn casserole, fried chicken, party planning, party tips, picnic, Walmart

V8 V-Fusion + Energy and 5 Energy Boosting Foods and a Giveaway

June 17, 2015 Leave a Comment

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #V8EnergyBoost #CollectiveBias

Are your lazy days of summer not so lazy? For a lot of moms, the summer season is anything BUT lazy! Since we have an older kid, I don’t have to worry about planning activities for him during the day, but I still have to make sure he’s taken care of and has lunch and snacks for the day (and this is in addition to my other regular duties of making dinner, working, and taking care of the house).

And then in July when band camp comes around, look out! For my husband and I, band camp starts early, ends late, and is basically a day of driving back and forth. Since I do most of my work at night and generally get very little sleep, a day of driving back and forth is definitely not good for me! By the end of last year’s band camp, I think I was more tired than Noah!

I’ve always been known as an energetic person…people are usually amazed at how much energy I have, but as I’ve entered my 30’s I am starting to feel (dare I say it?) older and with everything I’ve got going on, my energy levels are sometimes zapped to virtually nothing! But I’m working to combat this! One key way to boost energy is with Energy Boosting Foods! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Giveaways, health, product review Tagged With: diet, food, health

Friday Favorites – Week 272 – with Peach Recipes

June 11, 2015 2 Comments

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by! As always, it’s great to have you here to link up your recipes and projects with us!

One of the best things about summer is the chance to get fresh fruits and vegetables. This week I’m continuing a celebration of summer foods with a few recipes made from one of the fruits of summer: The Peach! I hope you enjoy these sweet peachy Peach treats!

Do you follow our hostesses? You should!

Simply Sweet Home
Twitter | Facebook | Google + | Pinterest | Instagram

MustLoveHome

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The Chunky Chef

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Fresh Peach Pretzel Dessert from Best of Long Island and Central Florida

Peach and Blueberry Mini Tarts from Annie’s Noms

Peach Galette from Living the Gourmet

Thanks for linking up with us! Share your post below!

Filed Under: desserts, Friday Favorites, recipes, summer Tagged With: frut, peach, tart

Coca-Cola Happy Hour + Patriotic Coke-Inspired Table Decor

June 10, 2015 2 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CokeHappyHour #CollectiveBias

I’m so excited about the hot summer weather here! One of my favorite summer activities is just sitting on the front porch or the back deck with my hubby. Whether we’re sitting out in the hot sun or under the stars at night, it is always good to have this time to spend with him just laughing and talking as we share a Coke!

This summer Coca-Cola has brought back their Share a Coke campaign, complete with fun personalized bottles and cans. Coke has always been my favorite drink, and last year I had my fair share of cans and bottles with fun words like “Superstar” and Soulmate” written on them. Then this year I’ve gotten bottles that feature emoticons and the words “Love” and “Amor.” But even better than that, I found a bottle with my husband’s name on it! [Read more…]

Filed Under: crafts, deals and discounts, decorating, Misc Holidays, party ideas, Patriotic Tagged With: Coca-Cola, crafts, decor, DIY, party decor, table decor

5 Laundry Organizing Tips + All Free Clear (And a Sweepstakes!)

June 5, 2015 Leave a Comment

Don’t you just love doing laundry? As far as chores go, I think laundry is something that you either love or hate. I actually don’t mind it most of the time. First of all, it’s a chore that you can actually see noticeable results from; I love nothing more than to pull a fresh load of nice clean clothes from the dryer and then restock the drawers and closets around the house. Something about it makes me feel warms inside. Secondly I’ve got a pretty good system down when it comes to doing laundry, and my system and the way all the clothes are already pre-sorted for me, just makes the whole chore pretty easy! In fact, laundry is the one chore with which I absolutely want NO HELP from my husband. (No offense to him or any one else; I just have certain ways I like to do things!) [Read more…]

Filed Under: cleaning, deals and discounts, Home/Garden, organizing, product review Tagged With: All Free Clear, laundry, laundry detergent, organizing