Tips For Great Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning isn't fun for anyone, but there can be quite a few perks to sorting through those messy closets and overfilled bedroom baskets. Not only will you enjoy having a cleaner, less cluttered house, but spring cleaning is also a chance to get rid of your old items and even earn some cash in the process.

One of the best ways to start your cleaning is to focus on just one room. Try to go through the entire room in a day, but be realistic in your goals. For example, a larger bedroom might take two days and a small bathroom might take just a few hours to sort through.

Ask yourself "Will I use this again?" as you look at each item. Most importantly, ask yourself if you actually like the items you're looking at. Many of us, especially busy moms, keep items for sentimental reasons even when we don't really like them. Don't be afraid to give away things you'll never use or that you were keeping just because the item was a gift.

Some items are obviously seasonal and you won't wear on a regular basis, so just toss items that are worn out or obviously so out of style that you can't wear them again. Things like winter boots, gloves, and hats can be used from child to child so those are usually good items to hang onto. Swimsuits, on the other hand, are usually safe to toss after one season.

While most of your items can be donated or given away to friends and relatives, keep in mind that some things can actually earn you a bit of cash. For example, your DVDs and CDs can be sold at MusicMagpie. Not only will you be able to get rid of movies you no longer watch, but you'll make some extra spending money in the process. Sounds like a win/win to me.

EZ Stringer Product Review

Drawstrings--a necessary evil at time.  I have athletic pants and hooded sweatshirts that use drawstrings.  I cannot tell you how many times I have had to restring drawstrings, and sometimes, I have just gotten rid of the outfit.  

I was so excited to get to try the EZ Stringer.  "As seen on the Discovery channel's, Pitchmen Show, and in Real Simple magazine as the problem solver of the month!"  There are three different sizes of EZ Stringer, and you will be grateful for those when you realize that the large one will not always fit in the tiny holes you are restringing.  This is an alternative to using a needle or just trying to do it with your fingers.  Both much more hassle than they are worth.

In order to try out EZ Stringer, I had to unstring a pair of my athletic pants.

Wouldn't you know that the one time I needed pants with unstrung drawstrings, there wasn't one!  But no problem.  Now to the process of restringing.  It was difficult to figure out which one to use since the string was thick, and the eyelets were small.  I finally ended up using the smallest one.  And it took several tries to get the string to stay put.  I understood how to do it, but it does take some trial and error to get it exactly right.

The problem I had was that the string kept coming out about 1/3 or the way around the waist.  After about the fourth time, I was ready to give up.  My mom suggested taping the string to the the EZ Stringer.  And you know what?  It worked.

My recommendation to the creator of this product is that they add a better way to keep the string attached to the EZ Stringer.  The tape held it securely, but it made it difficult  to get the string out.

As of now, you can only purchase the EZ Stringer online, but the price as pretty reasonable for what you get.  In addition to checking out their website, be sure to follow them on facebook, twitter, and youtube.  Also, watch out for a giveaway I will be hosting for this product pretty soon!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.