My Messy Home Essentials | Mom Life

August 29, 2021 by Summer Shemo in Products & Lifestyle

I’m going to preface this by saying: I am definitely not winning any awards with my cleaning and organizing skills 😅 And although we are far from Spring, I have been in a Spring Cleaning Mode- trying to get my home more straightened up, organized, and “put together.” As I happened to be browsing my recent Amazon purchases I thought it might be helpful to share in case anyone else may be in this “season” with me. 🧼🧹🧽

I blame a lot of the messes and dirty clothes on my kids (and they are to blame for much of it) but the reality is that I make plenty of messes on my own without their help 😬 and cleaning + adulting is time-consuming, yall. I’d love to hear if you decide to use any of these products and how it went, or if you have any recommendations to add to my list!

I reorganized our whole pantry last weekend. We are using garage shelves in there temporarily until we can do a full build out of shelving and maybe have some counter space. But things had gotten really messy and it was way past time.

The best thing I bought was this huge, 24 piece BPA-free plastic food storage set. Even Matt mentioned how impressed he was with the quality and the price point and that is truly saying something! It’s on sale for $20 off right now so it’s a great time to purchase if you are in need. I put all of our dry food storage in these bins and I can easily order more, if necessary. This set comes with black stickers and a marker for labeling. (FOOD STORAGE SET LINKED HERE)

I also grabbed these food organizer bins which can be used in the refrigerator or pantry. I am currently using mine in both and they’re great for pouches, packets, snacks, etc….And, they’re stackable! (CLICK HERE FOR BINS)

Another thing I grabbed is this 18” turntable for my pantry. For me, this thing is key because I use this to back stock condiments and opened refrigerator items (i.e. pickles, relish, dressing, etc). I can quickly look into the pantry, give it a spin, and make sure we have extra of everything so we aren’t without something when we really need it. (CLICK HERE FOR TURNTABLE)

My oldest kid has been coming to me and asking to add things to the grocery list (snacks for him) that I KNOW we already have in the pantry… and for some reason his eyes just can never find them. This double decker snack turntable has deep pockets and dividers for storing tons of snacks. So far the teen is 100% with locating his snacks since I organized them on this guy. I keep this on a pantry shelf and the kids can just spin it to find the snack they are looking for. No fuss, no muss. (CLICK HERE FOR SNACK ORGANIZER)

And for my littlest who is constantly spilling her snacks (and I’m always running close behind with the vacuum 🙃- my fave vacuum linked in previous post) this little gadget has come in handy. We’ve had it since May and I’m still amazed at how well these work to keep snacks in and off the floor. (CLICK HERE FOR KIDS SNACK HOLDER)

My favorite two cleaning products (I think these are a MUST HAVE for toddler parents especially) are a magic carpet cleaner for rugs, upholstery, etc and this magic laundry stain remover. I purchase multiples of both and keep on hand because I use them all of the time. IYKYK. THE BEST. (CLICK HERE FOR FOLEX) (CLICK HERE FOR MISS MOUTH’s)

I’m not great at ironing, it’s just not my thing really. But I do prefer clothes to look crisp, so my quick solution is a hand held steamer. This one has 50K 5-star reviews on Amazon, so it’s clearly a good one. And a huge time saver. CLICK HERE FOR STEAMER

These last two items I’m sharing just because they are too good not to.

I purchased several different herb plants and have been trying to grow them in my kitchen window so that I’ll always have fresh herbs when I need them for cooking and such. My plants just came in black squares and wrapped in cellophane and I had a hard time finding small little pots for them (that weren’t $35 each!). My Mother in Law had previously gifted me a beautiful navy and white one that matched my kitchen so I was looking to stay with that color scheme. I found this 4 pack of white assorted ceramic pots with saucers and the whole thing is less than $20! Say WHAT?!? You can’t pass up that deal if you have herbs, my plant friends. CLICK HERE FOR CERAMIC POTS

Also, I wanted to share the devotional and workbook I’m reading and studying through right now with my women’s small group. They came highly recommended and so far I am really enjoying them. I just completed chapter 2 and the invitation is open if you’d like to read along with me and join in discussions or have questions, just shoot me an email or DM on MY INSTAGRAM.

CLICK HERE FOR DEVOTIONAL

Thanks for always being here and reading along my ramblings.

Gatlinburg Recap

August 19, 2021 by Summer Shemo in Products & Lifestyle

We love the Great Smoky Mountains! We’ve been visiting this area for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is bringing picnics into the mountain parks and eating and playing in the stream. We loved exploring the mountain parks and seeing all of the wildlife. Matt and I are so excited to continue making the memories with our family. (And we hope you’ll follow along our cabin build as we share that journey on instagram!)

I wanted to share more about our trip in hopes that if you are interested in travel to this area that it may give you a few ideas. This was a pretty short trip for us and my parents booked our rental using VRBO. It was a pretty small rustic cabin triplex but slept us all comfortably.

Hiking- Growing up hiking/walking the trails was not something my family did but Matt and I have been wanting to explore them all! So this was our first trail and since we had Tess (1 year old) with us we decided to do an “easy” walk. Laurel Falls was approximately 1.5 mile walk up to a space with an 80 foot stepped waterfall drop. It was mostly paved and we took our stroller. Our total hike was only 1.5 hours roundtrip. We loved the views, waterfalls, and felt very safe throughout. Highly recommend this one! We downloaded the app “FatMap” to get detailed info about the hiking trails in the area. It was very helpful and I definitely recommend the app as well.

Whitewater Rafting- My parents wanted to take Taylen (age 4) on a beginner’s whitewater rafting trip and found a company called “River Rat” that provided this service. Usually we drive to Nantahala Outdoor for rafting and kayaking but they had a blast on this particular trip and they all enjoyed it.

Gatlinburg Sky Park- We purchased tickets online via their facebook page but it really didn’t matter because you still have to stand in line to get your actual ticket. Sooooooo.. don’t necesarily recommend that. The SkyPark gets you on a chair lift and takes you up to an overlook above Gatlinburg. You can hang out and enjoy the views, grab food/drinks, and then cross the Skybridge. This attraction offers some of the best views of the Smokies and we are so glad that we did it! I bet the sunset views are even more spectacular! Our only concern was the chair lift doesn’t have harnesses and our girls did great, but we were a little nervous about them squirming around during the ride.

Dollywood- Awesome roller coasters, yummy food, and plentyyy of fun things to do for kids of all ages… we always enjoy visiting Dollywood. We didn’t have to pre-purchase tickets or make any reservations, we just showed up and hit the park for the day. The girls had a BLAST!

Let me know if you have any questions about our weekend trip to the Smokies! Thanks for following along!

XX,

July Amazon Faves

July 19, 2021 by Summer Shemo in Products & Lifestyle

1. I owe you a HUGE apology for taking so long to provide the info and links to these products that I have received message requests for from multiple people. My brain has been super crowded and I haven’t had time to focus on this blog as much as I should.

2. THANK YOU for being here! I appreciate your viewership SO MUCH. Please always email or message me if you have any further questions!

3. I will try to do this again soon to add a few more of my favorite products, because I could go on all day with this blog. I’m limiting myself to 7 products for this post so I don’t go too crazy on ya.

Ok, here we go…. I’m gonna just start introducing you to my current Amazon favorites.

At Home Nail Dip Set

I love dip, but I hate carving out time to sit in the salon. Also, I love saving my dough by doing it at home. Saving time + money. WIN WIN.

Here is my beginner set that I started out with. It’s great. (I’ve since added more colors and another set of the polishes because I ruined the Opove ones by stashing them in my suitcase when I flew to Colorado.)

SHOP THE NAIL DIP SET

Knife Drawer Organizer

We (I) wanted to get our two knife blocks off of our countertop space and found the BEST knife holder. We have double rows and it’s so easy to reach in and grab exactly what we need. We used two in our drawer to get the correct width.

SHOP THE KNIFE DRAWER ORGANIZER

Eureka RapidClean Pro Lightweight cordless stick vacuum

We did NOT make this purchase lightly. Our home has 3000+ sf of the vinyl plank flooring plus a white oak staircase and we spent months and months looking for something that would make cleaning convenient and easy. We have to vacuum DAILY. We wanted something cordless so we could vacuum the stairs and easily carry the vacuum from room to room and up/down the stairs quickly. This has a battery that charges and we have it mounted on our laundry room wall AND we can easily vacuum the whole house with one charge. We love this stick vacuum and have even purchased as a gift for others because we love it so much!

SHOP THE VACUUM

Simple Modern Insulated Tumbler

This is hands down THE BEST cup ever. It is insulated, it’s cute, and it comes with both a straw top and a flip lid mug top. I fill mine up and take one with me every day since I work out of my car. For the past couple of years I’ve stocked up on YETI cups because they are so good at maintaining temp but these are just as good for 1/4 of the price. For me, these cups are a MUST HAVE. Hope you love them too!

SHOP THIS CUP

Stoneware Cruet Set in Marble White

I use EVOO for cooking every day and I ordered a fancy oil and vinegar set from a high end boutique website and after using them about twice I was over it. They poured out in huge amounts and then had dripping all down the side after each use. It was inconvenient and I spent more time cleaning them off than they were worth. So I stored them in my cabinet and went to Amazon to find something better. And VOILA, I found this set that is truly bomb.com. They are pretty, functional, and never make a mess. LOVE THEM

SHOP THIS SET

Plastic Apothecary Canister Set

I needed an easy peasy, pretty set for my vanity to organize some beauty items and these fit the bill. They are so pretty on my countertop and the perfect size for my toiletries. And I love the soft brass top, but they do come in rose gold, chrome, bronze, and matte satin.

SHOP THE CANISTER SET

Daily Planner

I think I found this planner because it was recommended by an influencer, but I honestly cannot recall. Either way, it was a great find and I love how this help me makes my daily to do list and prioritize my life so that I can keep up. Highly recommend if you are like me and write your whole day down each morning.

SHOP THE DAILY SHEETS

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Hugs,