Here are the interesting links I came across on my travels around the web this week! Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Here are some posts you may have missed from Simply Frugal:
Laundry can be an especially time consuming task. Short of hiring someone to do the laundry for you, it’s difficult to keep caught up on the piles that never seem to get smaller.
Today, I have some brilliant laundry hacks that you’re sure to enjoy since they may make the task of laundry easier for you! You can even click on the image below and print out the PDF so you have it on hand:
On top of these helpful hacks, Arm & Hammer has a brand new money-saving digital rewards program that they want you to know about! This reward program is simple to use, great for on-the-go families and allows users to redeem credits for an amazing selection of prizes. Here are the details you need to know:
Q: What is the rewards program?
A: Every time you purchase two or more ARM & HAMMER Laundry products on a single receipt and upload your receipt via text or online, you’ll be entered for a chance to win the exciting grand prize of $10,000 CDN. You’ll also be entered for a chance to win the monthly prize of $1,000 CDN and weekly giveaways of $100 CDN gift cards. Once uploaded, you’ll also receive credits that can be redeemed for digital rewards.
Q: Are purchases from any store valid for the program?
A: Yes, purchases from any store selling the products are valid for digital rewards.
Q: How and where do I upload my receipts?
A: To enter,
Text:
– OR –
Web:
Q: How many credits can I earn with my purchase?
A: Buy 2 Arm & Hammer Liquid Laundry Detergent and get 1 credit
Buy 2 Arm & Hammer Plus Oxiclean unit dose and get 2 credits
Buy 2 AArm & Hammer Plus Oxiclean unit dose plus 1 Arm & Hammer Liquid Laundry Detergent and get 3 credits
Q: What are the prizing options?
A: There is a wide selection of prizes and rewards. Credits are redeemable for music, movies, mobile apps, eBooks, and various other digital content. You’ll also be entered into random draws for a chance to win:
Q: When does the program begin and end?
A: The program begins on June 6, 2016 and ends on August 28, 2016
Disclaimer – This is a sponsored post brought to you by Arm & Hammer. All opinions are 100% my own.
Chocolate mint is one of those herbs that’s almost impossible not to love. This easy-to-grow perennial spreads quickly, meaning once you plant it, you’ll likely have plenty to enjoy year after year. With its refreshing minty scent mixed with rich chocolate notes, it smells just as delicious as it sounds!
Whether you already grow chocolate mint or are thinking about adding it to your garden, there are so many fun and practical ways to use it. From recipes and drinks to homemade treats and more, this versatile herb can quickly become a favourite in your kitchen and garden.
Here are 8 creative uses for chocolate mint that you’ll definitely want to try!
Chocolate mint makes a beautiful garnish for cakes, cupcakes, brownies, and cookies. Not only does it add a pop of fresh green color, but it also gives desserts a subtle minty-chocolate aroma that smells absolutely amazing.
Chocolate mint is delicious blended into homemade milkshakes, smoothies, and ice cream recipes. The natural oils in the leaves add a refreshing mint flavour with a hint of chocolate that tastes incredibly decadent. Just be sure to give it a good rinse before using.
Want to make your drinks feel extra fancy? Freeze chocolate mint leaves into ice cubes! They add beautiful color to beverages while slowly releasing flavour as the ice melts. These are perfect for summer parties, garden gatherings, or even homemade popsicles.
Chocolate mint is a fun twist on traditional mint in drinks like mojitos, iced teas, lemonades, or sparkling water recipes. Muddle a few fresh leaves into your drink for a refreshing flavour boost, or simply use a sprig as a garnish to make any beverage feel a little more special.
You can easily make your own chocolate mint infused oil by soaking fresh leaves and stems in almond oil or coconut oil. The finished oil can be used in homemade beauty products, massage oils, or even certain dessert recipes and fruit salads. Keep in mind that mint can create a cooling or tingling sensation on the skin.
Chocolate mint works wonderfully in DIY bath and body products. Add crushed or dried mint leaves to homemade sugar scrubs, bath salts, body butters, or soaps for a refreshing scent and soothing feel. It’s an easy way to make homemade products feel extra luxurious.
Dried chocolate mint can also be used in all kinds of crafts and homemade creations. Add it to candles, potpourri, sachets, lotions, or other DIY projects for a fresh scent and natural touch of color.
To dry your mint, simply gather it into small bundles and hang it upside down in a cool, dry place until fully dried.
8. Use it in warm beverages.
Fresh or dried chocolate mint makes a refreshing herbal tea that tastes lightly sweet and minty without needing much added sugar. IT would also taste amazing added to coffee or hot chocolate! Steep a few leaves in hot coffee, lattes, or homemade hot chocolate for a cozy mocha-mint flavour.
Chocolate mint is such a fun and versatile herb to grow, and once you start using it, you’ll probably find yourself wanting even more of it in your garden. Which of these creative uses for chocolate mint are you excited to try first?
Here are the interesting links I came across on my travels around the web this week! Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Here are some posts you may have missed from Simply Frugal:
You may have heard me from time to time talk about our small home. At only 900 square feet, there have been various times when I have been unhappy with our living situation, but other times I have been very thankful and content! In my mind, bigger is definitely not always better. If it weren’t for the needs of our family and needing a wee bit more space (namely, more bedrooms!) we’d probably be staying here for quite some time.
However, today, I wanted to list of some of the reasons why I love our small home:
I’m a weirdo and I actually enjoy cleaning, but I think that’s largely due to the fact that there is not much surface area to cover in our home. It really doesn’t take me long to get the house looking clean!
We live in a townhouse so we pay a monthly strata fee, but included in this is our water bill, garbage bill and general maintenance costs to the common areas. When you think about it, we’re saving a ton by “sharing” the costs with our fellow townhouse neighbors. We also only pay for electricity because our home is not heated with natural gas. One bill to run our place! Also, when we did our small kitchen reno several years back, it was very affordable because the kitchen is so small we didn’t need to buy a lot of materials. I can’t forget to add that it’s very affordable to live here. We paid off the mortgage when we were married almost 9 years ago. (I’ll credit my smart husband with that one ;))
Living in a small space means we usually have a storage issue. Especially with kids. So anytime I’m tempted to purchase something, I really have to think about whether or not we have the room for it or if I feel like maintaining the item. Many times I decide we don’t need an item simply because we don’t have enough room! Keeps a lot of money in my wallet. 😉
This one is a bit tricky since both my husband and I are introverts and need time to ourselves to recharge. But, due to the size of our home, there’s no where to go to get away from each other. Ha! However, this has been a good thing as well, because we’re forced to deal with our issues and put ourselves aside for the sake of our family.
Having very limited wall space has made decorating our home a breeze. Basically the only thing that gets changed somewhat regularly is our mantle. I change the minimal decor each season. Currently it has a fake plant (stays all year except at Christmas time), two decorative side plates, and three candle holders. Cheap and easy.
If you live in a small home, what are some things that you enjoy about it?
Most families with children assign at least a few chores to their kids, and this post is all about how to make that simpler. A cleaning schedule your kids can work around is great, but making it simple and easy for them is best. These tips can make cleaning and completing chores fun and easy for everyone in the family.
It’s pretty hard to have a simple cleaning schedule without a chore chart. For younger kids you can use pictures instead of words until they can learn to read the chore on a list. A chore chart can easily be divided by child, what time the chore will be completed by and what is needed to complete it. Amazon has a great selection of chore charts.
Shorter and smaller chores are best for kids to do. Anything that takes much more than 5 minutes to complete will lose their attention span and only become a hassle for you and your kids. Divide things up into small chores like emptying the garbage, feeding the pets, setting the table or sorting their dirty laundry. You can add to the list as needed, but try to keep most chores to smaller time frames.
To make it easier for your kids to complete all of their chores, divide them up between morning and afternoon. This means they can do some before and some after school each day. On the weekends it doesn’t tie up their entire morning with chores, and keeps them responsible.
A cleaning schedule won’t work if you don’t have the right tools for the job. Since kids may not be using cleaning agents, you won’t have to worry too much about this. You do however, want to make sure you have what they need on hand and easy for them to reach. Things like the pet food, broom or extra trash bags for when they take out the garbage. Having tools accessible may only mean that you set them out before they get started and not letting them have complete access to the cleaning supplies.
Kids get bored, and a cleaning schedule works best when you mix and match things. Routine is great, but kids may get tired of the same chores day in and day out. With multiple children in a family it is easy to swap chores so everyone has a turn and gets variety. For single children you may want to swap chores with them yourself.
Cleaning as a game is a great way to get younger kids excited and involved. Whether you turn on the music, set timers and race or make it a puzzle, doesn’t matter. As long as they are having fun and learning to enjoy parts of the cleaning schedule it will work great.
Giving kids rewards is a great way to keep them motivated. A simple cleaning schedule is easy to reward with things like stickers, a small toy, book or a special treat. Keeping kids on track with rewards is a great way to motivate them to stick to the schedule.
Kids love structure and routine, and you can easily keep a great cleaning schedule that allows them to help you throughout the home on a regular basis.
