Home Hacks Design

Home Hacks Design for the bathroom such as Simple Hacks To A Prettier Bathroom. Similarly, this also feature Toilet Shopping Tips.

Another Home Hacks Design are for kitchen like Cleaning Tips For Your Dirty Kitchen and cleaning products that is perfect for cleaning.

Kitchen Hacks You Wish You Should Have Known Before like the other great use of paper towels.

Creating an effective cleaning schedule; divide it into categories; daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.

Cleaning schedule that you also need to consider are those that is done every 4 months such as air conditioner cleaning, pest control, and deep cleaning of windows.

Cleaning of roof and rain gutter are done every year. Cleaning/draining of the septic tank should be done every 3 years or 5 years.

Cost of home make over and DIY for cheaper make over ideas.

Bedroom decorations ideas and where to buy the cheapest bed lines.

Kitchen make over ideas and DIYs for cheaper make over ideas.

Tropical living room themed and where to buy cheap tropical plants.

Home make over ideas in the Philippines. Home interior ideas in the Philippines

Mommy Blog with home hacks topic in the Philippines.

Where to buy cheap wood furniture in the Philippines.

Price of Aluminum Screen Door in the Philippines. Price of the brown aluminum and silver aluminum.

Furniture stores in the Philippines. Abad Santos furniture store address.

Uratex foam custom cut online. Uratex foam price online.

Unilab Run United 2

Lesson learned: leave the toddlers at home unless they will be joining the run – Run United 1

And because I do not want to leave my two Ceelin protektodo toddlers at home, both joined the 500m dash!

It was raining that morning and I was actually thinking of not going..and because of that, I was late for the 3k run..Ganoon pala ung feeling pag di ka nakatakbo.. nakakiinis 🙁 Good thing, the rain stopped and we were able to make it for Run United 2 500m dash.

My two older boys went ahead as they fall under the age category 9-12.. or more like, I told them to join that category instead of joining 4-8 category..para solo kame nila Chico at Sati (LOL) and so that they can run without me. Chico was the only registered runner (they won’t register Sati kase below 4, kaines) so we fall on the boys 4-8 category. We were advised to be the last one to run, but of course! Takot ko lang madaganan ang mga chikiting ko!

So there we were, running/walking and having the time of our life.. and we did finished the 500m dash but not without Sati asking for Karga! (di man ako nakatakbo sa 3k, bawing bawi sa bigat ni Sati! gang ngayon sakit ng braso ko ahuhu). Muntik na kame buhatin ng organizers haha..

Remember when I said last Run United when parents have to walk a few meters just to fetch their kid to the safety booth (the place where kids go right after the race and that parents have to claim their kids before the staff let them out, it’s also the place where the finisher’s kit was given)? Well, I was glad that the organizers did something on it, parents don’t have to walk far to fetch their kid/s. I guess the fact that the 500m track for Run United 2 was different from the last leg made it possible. Last run, the starting line and the finish line was located in different areas, Run United 2 500 dash track maximizes the use of U turn, thus the starting line and the finish line was located on the same area. But because of that, the place was more crowded, then again, we parents were less worried. We can monitor our kids from the start up to the finish line up to the safety booth. Ang saya! Another good thing, the run started on time!

Aside from the good changes I noticed at the 500m dash, here are other things that’s worth to mention:

Kudos to run United 2 organizers for putting up a Kid Zone… you nailed it! Or is it just me who’s very happy about the zone? I bet all family runners are!

Active Kids Zone offers a lot activities for kid runners such as Fight Sakit from Enervon, Speedy Game from Dolan and a shooting game from Ceelin (waah I forgot to ask what it’s called..)

Kids can also have fun posing at Museo Pambata’s poster caricature and read some books at the mobile library:

But our most favorite part of the Active Kids Zone was the Active Health Day Care.

There was story telling, balloon twisting, a clown, art & crafts activities and a corner covered with rubber mats with bean bags.. entering day care will make you think you’re not in a running event but in a children’s party! My boys had a great time making mouse puppet:

The kid had a blast at Ceelin’s inflatable.. it’s free when you purchase Ceelin. I bought two chewebles and my kids got 8 minutes of play on it (5 minutes lang talaga, makulit lang akong nanay haha):

Oh! I also have to commend the organizers for giving a belt bag as part of the kit.. o di ba keri ng mag photo ops while running, instant camera bag! or cellphone holder 🙂 And it’s a good timing for me, running with two toddlers is not easy, the least I want to worry is where to place my camera (at hindi naman pede na hindi ako magdala no! first time kaya ni Chico at Sati).

The finisher’s kit was nice but my first born commented that most of the items/ freebies on the bag were for ladies wahaha in fairness he do have a point, it would have been better if the finisher’s kit for the 500m dash would include products/ freebies specially for the kids, just like last leg’s 500m finisher’s kit.

That’s the contents of 4 finisher’s kit, except for the Dolan tumbler which we won from the Speedy game and two Ceelin chewables bottle which we bought at Ceelin booth.

I hope Run United 3 will have Active Kids Zone too! As for the Run United expo run.. although I enjoyed going there to get our race belt bag, bib with timing chip, and Riovana 10% discount stub (and the kid’s singlet).. it would still be more practical if we can get it all when we register.. so as to save on time and gas.. or maybe online registration would be better (haven’t tried it though).

All in all, we enjoyed Run United 2 more than we did Run United 1. I hope Run United 3 will be as much fun! or even more..

For Unilab 2012 Run United 2 race results, I think official result will be published on Unilab Active Health and RunRio Facebook fan pages one week after the race just like last Run United leg.

Practical And Time Saving Laundry Tips

I say practical and time savings because those two words best describe how I run my household. Practical in terms of finances because I have four kids.. and raising four kids financially is not easy, we have to be very practical in every aspect. Time saving because, again, with four kids, I have to spend little time doing the household chores, and more time with the kids. Years of being a home maker taught me how to save time as well as save money on the laundry department.

errr… allow me to use my local tongue with my 10 Practical And Time Saving Laundry Tips (oh yes, you’re welcome to imagine as if Doña Delilah is doing her magsumikap ka spiel):

Ihiwalay ang panty, bra at medyas sa mga damit. Hmm not necessarily in that order, just make sure that yo have two laundry bins, one for clothes such as shirts, shorts and the likes and one for undergarments. Clothes and undergarments are washed separately, if you do not have a separate bin for each, you will have to separate each from each, which adds up to your laundry time. Another thing, dirt coming from clothes and undergarments are different too, if you do not have a separate bin for each, the smell and dirt would mix and you will end with dirtier clothes than you already have.

Ihiwalay ang Puti sa de Kolor. Just the same with the undergarments, separate the colored garments from white garments. If you can’t have too many different laundry bins for undergarments, colored clothes, white clothes, just make sure that when you do the laundry, do not mix colors. There are clothes that bleeds when washed and that can be damaging to your white garments.

Gamitin sa de kolor and pinaglabhan ng mga puting damit. That, I got from my grandmother. Is it a common practice? I asked some friends and they said that they do that too. After washing the white garments, they use the laundry solution for the colored garments. But only do this if you think the laundry solution is still clean.

Ihiwalay ang paglalaba ng mga itim na damit. This, I learned the hard way. As I practice tip above, I noticed that our black clothes are slowly turning into white garments. White threads from white garments were left at the laundry solution and when I use it to wash the black garments, the thread stick to the black garment. Ang sagwa!

Maging praktikal sa pagpili ng sabong panglaba. Oh yes dear! be very very practical, in a sense that you not only save money but time as well. It should always be quantity vs quality, with quality winning the game. Do not buy laundry detergent that’s cheap and yet you will end up using 2x the amount that you need. Use detergent such as Ariel Stain Lift.

Ariel was kind enough to let me try their newest product, Ariel Stain Lift with deep cleaning technology. As my boys wear white sando as pambahay, stains are inevitable. I usually rely on stain removal solutions for stains. And of course, that’s additional expense on our budget. When I use Ariel Stain Lift, it was effective that I no longer need stain removal solutions.

Gumamit ng mg Produkto na makakatipid sa oras mo. Well, that one I learned when I had my third born and I still have no helper. I have seen innovative products on TV to minimize laundry time and I tried it and saw the result was OK. I think I have mentioned how thankful I am to Downy for bringing their Isang Banlaw variant.

Sa pag gamit ng dryer, siguraduhing puno ito. It can save you a lot from paying high electricity bill, specially in the rainy days where washing machine drying is needed. Imagine if you have 3 loads of laundry that you can squeeze into two loads on the dryer, that’s one load save.

Kung ma-araw ay gamitin lang sandali ang dryer. Another tip when using your washing machine, if it’s sunny, use your dryer just a few minutes, just right amount of time to squeeze out excess water. During summer, I use my dryer for less than a minute each load.

Itiklop na agad ang damit at Ihanger ang mga palantsahin. This one, I still have to master but this is one of the best time saving tip I can offer. For one, folding the clothes as soon as it dries up will save you from wrinkles. I mean the clothes will not be wrinkled. Leaving the clothes that needs to be ironed in a hanger will also prevent it from wrinkling, making it easier to iron.

This year, as I face the challenge of being a full time home manager (my sister used to live me and helped a lot in the household chores) again, I will share with you more tips on home management and how to make the most out of your time. Saturdays will be about House and Gardening so expect to see more practical home management tips every Saturday (as well as photos of my garden).

What’s The Dirtiest Item In Your Home? Nay, Gising!

I almost spit the coffee I was drinking when the host showed us a video of a crew washing the dishes using a dirty sock.. WTF! is it the same plate I used to eat my appetizer? oh noes!

Apparently.. washing your dishes using dirty sock is much more cleaner than the practice that most household do in cleaning their dishes.. the use of BAR SOLUTION.. you know, an old bar soap (too little or too thin to use for laundry) + sponge + water.

That’s what we learned from Philippine Society for Microbiology. But before that, host Duday Gallingez assured that our plates was not cleaned using a dirty sock.. whew!

Dr. Jessica Simbahan, Immediate Former President of the Philippine Society for Microbiology, conducted a survey (+ third party research agency) with the use of LUMINOMETER (a germ meter) to measure the amount of contaminants in bar solution and commonly perceived dirty household items. The survey was commissioned by Joy to serve as a wake up call for Filipino moms and as part of the campaign, “Nay, Gising!’ which aims to educate moms on proper kitchen hygiene.

Joy Brand Manager Ms. Jan Ang shared, “Many moms in the Philippines use a dish washing bar solution, which is made up their leftover laundry soap, water and a dish washing sponge. These moms believe they are saving money by using their leftover laundry bar to wash dishes. They do not realize that this bar solution is very unsanitary, especially when the bar solution is left exposed for many hours.”

The bar solution, based on the survey conducted by Dr. Simbahan, has 10x more contaminants than a dirty sock! Here’s the shocking figures:

6,921 RLU (Relative Large Units).. and when you add the amount of contaminants found on toilet seat cover+ dirty socks+ toilet bowl rim and sides + living room floor + trash bin cover, the contaminants present in the bar solution is still higher!

BUT HOW? What makes the bar solution THAT dirty? It’s a bar right?a cleaning agent, so it must be clean.. and the sponge has to be soaked on it (overnight as much as possible) so that the sponge will be clean too..

Dr Supachai Basit, Philippine Society for Microbiology, educated us on Microbes in the Kitchen and what makes the bar solution that dirty:

It’s a fact that when a detergent solution is left exposed and is kept soaking, the level of contaminants including germs and bacteria increases.
There were published reports that pathogenic organism could grow in detergent (ewe!)
Sponge is another culprit as a study in Japan, it was found out that dish washing sponge contained Escherichia coli (can cause Gastroenteritis) and Staphylococcus aureus (can cause food poisoning)

Madalas magtae? madalas sumakit tyan ng mga bata? Alam na! Nay, gising! It’s your bar solution that is the culprit.

Given the fact that bar solution can actually bring more disease than lean your dishes, Philippine Society for Microbiology suggested that when washing the dishes, use antibacterial dish washing liquid and Joy Antibac (with power of Safeguard) is accepted by Philippine Society for Microbiology.

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So yes, my dear readers.. the answer from the survey:

Which of the following do you think is the dirtiest item in your home?
a. toilet seat cover
b. dirty socks
c. toilet bowl rim and sides
d. living room floor
e. trash bin cover
f. bar solution (used laundry soap + sponge + water)

is F. BAR SOLUTION

out of 200+ respondents, only 133 got it correct 🙂

~~as soon as I got hold of the name of the winner, I will include it on this post.. for now, Team F, hold your breath 🙂~~