• Happy Haul-idays • 5 Tips To Declutter This Season

Happy Haul-idays! This blog is sponsored by 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

My decluttering journey started a number of years ago. I was gifted the Marie Kondo Book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” over the holidays and the book truly resonated with me in a big way. I started the process of simplifying my home, donating access items and creating more space for friends and family in my home.

This holiday season, I invite you to join me on this ongoing journey - get your junk hauled away and create more room for holiday cheer this season. Here are a few tips I incorporated into my home that I think will make a huge difference in your spirit levels this Christmas.

If It Doesn’t Spark Joy To The World- Let It Go Go Go

When I applied this principle to my closet, I was able to gift, donate or toss the access away without any pain. I just held the item in my hand and if it sparked joy I held on to it. No joy - it went in the donate bag.
Who doesn’t take advantage of those amazing deals during the holidays? Making room in your closet this time of year can help for when you bring home all those pieces you stood in line for during those save the tax events! By using the “Spark Joy” tip, I now have so much more room in my closet for those holiday parties and dinners!

Holly Jolly Decluttering! All Similar Things Go Together

Not only does decluttering give my brain more space to live whole heartedly but my life has become so much easier when I am not panicked and looking for my car keys all the time. This is a very easy principle to start your decluttering journey. It’s simple really. All the Tupperware are in a single drawer in the kitchen and all the snacks in another. Bags go inside of bags, purses inside of purses. Once you get all the same things together, you can see how much you have and can get rid of the access! Doing this also creates a sense of ease for your guests, so they can find everything easily!

Happy Places, Happy Faces!

With so many different cooks in the kitchen during this time of year, making sure everything is easy to find, accessible and organized is incredibly helpful. Doing things like putting ingredients into clear containers, so you can see what you have. Putting all like items such as spices, baking items, tea, coffee, etc in their own little baskets or clear containers helps to keep things together. Last but certainly not least, labelling is life changing. When you label what things are, it makes life so much easier, not only for you, but for your guests too!

Now for a few personal tips that I have garnered along the way.

Tis’ The Season For Giving - Declutter & Donate When Your Kids Aren’t Home!

Lennon has outgrown so many clothing items or no longer plays with certain toys. Now is the perfect time of year to donate her once loved items to other children. How many times have you gone through yours kids old clothing and toys, put them into bags, only to have them tear back through them and pull out various items? Lennon’s classic line is “I want to save that for my kids!” Really? There are a few sentimental items I don’t mind holding on to in a small box or chest for her, but trust me, those sneakers you wore the rubber out on, are not going to be worn by my grandchildren.

This pattern of me bagging all the clutter up and her unloading it back onto the floor has happened one too many times, so now I know. I declutter when she is out of the house, and make sure it is hauled away before she gets back! Out of site, out of mind. Just the other day her closet got a major face lift when she was at school and she has not mentioned a single thing she thinks is missing.

Lennon’s Closet AFTER

Lennon’s Closet BEFORE

GIVE THE GIFT OF SPACE!

It’s a great time of year to clean out the closet, get rid of the clutter and open up your space and your home to guests. My entry way and mud room are usually filled with so many coats and shoes, bags and every day items, but as the seasons start to change, I know I need to make room for family and friends. Having open coat hooks, spots in the closet and places to put shoes make guests feel at home and like they aren’t taking up any of your personal space.

If you need help making your clutter disappear, it’s easy with 1-800-GOT-JUNK? All you have to do is point and junk disappears! Not only is 1-800-GOT-JUNK? happy to help, they’ve been a trusted junk removal since 1989!

Here are just a few reasons why I love donating my junk to 1-800-GOT-JUNK? :

• They work on your schedule - They come when it's convenient for you.

• They do all the heavy lifting - just point and the junk disappears.

• The World’s Largest Junk Removal Service

• Whenever possible, they donate the donatables, and recycle the recyclables!

• When Got Junk has finished helping you declutter, your home will sing a happy song!

  Goodbye Junk - Hello Relief!

• How Efficiency Pays Off! •

Are you planning on doing a renovation? Make sure you take the time to build in energy efficiency and get the most out of your reno. Keep reading to hear all about my personal tips and recommendations for cashing in on Efficiency Nova Scotia’s rebate programs when you are renovating a house!

*This blog is sponsored by Efficiency Nova Scotia

Where Do We Begin?

You might think planning the design of a home is the most intimidating portion of renovations. Surprisingly, it’s actually much more intimidating to figure out how to run the house efficiently. There are so many options for heat sources out there - it’s hard to know where to start!

For my mid-century modern home, my top priorities were efficiency and saving a bit of money. Fortunately, Dave at Acumen Home Assessment was so helpful. He pointed me in a direction that would help me with both. Here are some great ways that I am able to see important savings, both environmentally and financially!

Reimagining Spaces

Space is precious, and as I love to host friends and family, I knew I needed a space for them. As you might have seen in Season 4, I decided to transform my furnace room into a guest bedroom.

I made my home so much more energy efficient by taking out the oil furnace, adding insulation into the attic and installing two mini split heat pumps. Doing this not only saved me energy costs but allowed me to utilise the space so much better.

Making changes like this to your home not only adds visual appeal and utilises the space better, but also helps the environment.

Big Statement, Big Savings

Front Door After

This pink door is not only a statement piece, but due to the materials used during insulation, it also keeps the heat in and the cold out. That might not shock you, but what might is that it came with amazing rebates!

This is what my front door looked like before!

Front Door Before

NEED HELP?
If you need a little extra help making your home more efficient, my big tip is to book a Home Energy Assessment for someone like Dave to assess your home before doing a home renovation project. Doing this can steer you in a direction you might not have considered before. Energy Advisors know how to help you save on emissions, costs, and your households environmental footprint! It was well worth it to have Dave come by early in the process, and together we came up with a plan to maximize rebates and make my home more energy efficient.

Once I finished the renovation of my property, Dave came back to give me a final home energy assessment. My rebate cheque is in the mail and I am continuing to look for new innovative ways to be eco-conscious in my own home and all other home renovation projects I have on the go.

Instant in-store product rebates

Efficiency Nova Scotia also offers year round in store rebates. Save up to $400 at the checkout and long-term on your energy bill.

Examples of this are:

Washer and Dryers- $75 off per appliance

Dimmer switches- $3 off per unit

Smart Thermostats- up to $100 off

For the full list of in store instant rebates click here:

I hope you are inspired to look for ways to make your home more energy efficient while renovating. Feel free to email me with your questions or watch my Youtube Video below to see the before and after of my efficiency makeover!

We can all do our part to help our planet by being more energy efficient. No effort is too big or too small, so why not start with booking your energy assessment with Efficiency Nova Scotia today!

XOX

DIY MOM

• I • WANNA • PINATA •

Smash The Coronavirus. You’ll Feel Better!

This DIY Piñata Is A Fun and Creative Way to Help “Beat” The Coronavirus

The times are in fact, a-changin’. I must admit that the Covid pandemic has proven difficult to navigate. Being a self-employed, single mother naturally comes with it’s own set of challenges. Throw a quarantine into the mix and then suddenly I need to be a teacher and full-time entertainer on top of it all! I have always had a profound respect and admiration for our school teachers and child care providers, however over the past few weeks, that appreciation has grown leaps and bounds. Finding innovative ways to educate Lennon while maintaining her interest (especially while being surrounded by the temptation of her toys…) was quite the conundrum. Upon some reflection, I decided to teach Lennon the best way that I knew how: DIY Crafts!

Learning doesn’t always have to be sit down, do your work, study and memorize. Sometimes learning can be a little more tactile and hands-on. For example: This Coronavirus Piñata that Lennon and I made for her (quarantine) birthday. Let’s call it Chemistry, Science and Art class all mixed into one dynamic lesson! So let’s gather our materials and get ready to get a little messy with this Piñata DIY.

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SUPPLIES

Most of these supplies you will likely already have around your house!!

1. BALLOON

2. PAPER PLATES

3. MASKING TAPE

4. NEWSPAPER

5. WATER

6. BOWL (large enough to hold piñata)

7. TWINE/STRING

8. CANDY

9. GREEN PAINT AND BRUSH

10. GLUE STICK

11. TISSUE PAPER

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1.

Blow up your balloon and tie a knot at the base.

STEP 2.

Cut a paper plate into quarters (pizza shaped pieces).

Step 3.

Roll the paper plate pieces into cones, tape them so they remain in this shape, and cut one-inch strips at the bottom of the cone. 

Step 4.

Flare out the strips and tape them to the balloon.

STEP 5.

Make the paper mache with equal parts water and flour, then mix.

STEP 6.

Tear your newspaper into strips and coat them in the paper mache mixture. Layer them onto your balloon in different directions smoothing out any bubbles.

STEP 7.

Let the paper mache dry overnight. Once dry, cut a small flap in order to put the candy in the pinata. 

STEP 8.

Stuff the pinata with candy!

STEP 9.

Using the twine, tie a knot around the balloon leaving some excess to allow the pinata to hang.

STEP 10.

Paper mache over the twine to keep it in place.

STEP 11.

Paint the pinata using your green paint.

STEP 13.

Roll your tissue paper and stick them into the spikes. Using the end of a paintbrush helps!

STEP 12.

Cut your tissue paper into small squares and glue them onto the pinata.

Step 14.

It’s time to finally get the upper-hand! Here’s Lennon showing the villainous virus what she’s made of! Smash away and retrieve all of the goodies as your reward. Hopefully being a little “batter” will make you feel a little better, about these pandemic vibes.

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That’s it! It’s that simple.

I would love to see if any of you attempt a coronavirus piñata! Share with me in the comment section below your projects and how they turned out.

Thanks for following my blog and I can’t wait to connect with you on my next project!

Stay tuned for more do it yourself projects coming soon as well as a sneak preview of Season 3.

xox

DIY MOM

Finding Inspiration…

Inspiration can come from anywhere at anytime. The internet is a great resource for sparking your creative energies and discovering projects that you may enjoy trying! The case could never be truer than for this project here. Being cooped up in the house all day, I did tend to find myself peering on social media sites more often than usual. But upon stumbling onto this New York Times article and doing a bit more research (as well as taking some creative liberties), I decided that this would be the perfect project to elevate Lennon’s Bday and really make it a SMASH!