5 Clever Renovating Ideas for a Small Bathroom

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Krissyar

Having a small bathroom can be a real pain in the neck. In fact, most people would simply like to tear everything down and recreate this room from scratch.

If you are thinking about renovating your small bathroom, we got a few tricks that can help you!

 

  1. Planning your space

Truth be told, best option for a small bathroom is to make it bigger. Obvious, right? However, this is usually very time consuming and expensive. You have to tear down the walls and redo everything. People who live in a small house do not even have this luxury as it reduces available space in the other rooms. Nevertheless, you might consider it as an option. Another nifty trick during planning phase is to add windows. What do windows do, you might ask? Even though they do not increase available space within the room, they will definitely make your room less claustrophobic. As you well know, there are two major issues with small bathrooms: lack of functionality and lack of esthetics. This will definitely help with the esthetic part making you feel more comfortable.

  1. Planning the design

There is a good reason why interior designers are paid so much. The way we feel in our home is closely connected to design. If the rooms look nice, we will feel good and vice versa. That being said, design that suits your character and preferences can go a long way. Majority of it comes down to picking the proper tiles. Also, you might consider painting your walls. When it comes to bathrooms, it is much better to pick lighter colors. They create feeling of spaciousness. Previously mentioned windows can also help you with this.

  1. Remove the clutter

The biggest issue with small bathroom is our perception of it. We think that this space should serve both for personal hygiene, cosmetics and drugs. Due to this, you will end up with an enormous clutter within a room that was small as it is. Minimize the amount of items (equipment) that goes into this room. Even some stuff that is traditionally meant to be in a bathroom, such as additional towels and hygiene products, should be removed and placed somewhere else. This is not a storage room!

  1. Utilizing available space

After removing the excessive items, you will have much more room to work with. That is great! Now, the next step is to optimize available space even further. Again, you will have to be creative. Always remember that every corner of the bathroom can be used for something. Some creative ideas include shelves that are positioned above your head, towel holders that are hanging from the ceiling as well as utilization of every corner. Whatever helps.

  1. Holes in the walls

Although very unorthodox, this is a solution which you have to consider. As we mentioned, tearing down the walls may not be the ideal solution. But, there is an alternative. You can drill holes in the walls. Naturally, it all depends on thickness of your walls. This is not something you will be able to do in every home. However, if the opportunity does exist, you should definitely consider it. This will give the necessary space where you can place your bathroom necessities. Just make sure to isolate the area as thin walls may come back to bite you if you do not plan carefully.

 

Renovating a small bathroom comes down to creativity. You also need to know you home, your walls and things that can or cannot be done. No matter what you do, make sure to consult with a contractor before you start renovation.

Posted in Crafts/DIY | Leave a comment

The Many Ways Water Can Improve Your Health: DRINK UP!

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Krissyar

We’ve all heard for most of our lives we need to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. We know that our body is primarily made up of water and we need it to stay alive. Yada, yada, yada… but what we don’t realize really how important this whole drinking water thing is.

Water is essentially 70% of your body – including your brain. So when you get dehydrated (which most of us are a majority of the time) our brains aren’t working properly, and a whole lot of other things aren’t either. Water helps transport nutrients around our body, regulates our body temperature, prevents cancer, helps with kidney function, gives our muscles fuel, digest food – and the list goes on and on. . and it’s not just stuff on the inside that you can’t see that’s affected. Making sure you drink enough water can help you concentrate and stay alert, help clear up your skin, prevent headaches and joint pain, and of course help you lose weight.

So that’s the jist of it all – but let me go into a little more detail about how water really works for you.

Kidney Kick-Start. So we all know the kidneys are the body’s filtration system. But it takes a good amount of water to make it work right. Think of it like the oil for your cars engine. If it gets low, the engine doesn’t work very well does it? And it can cause some major issues; it’s the same with your kidneys. If your kidneys can’t do their job and filter the blood properly then you are going to have some problems – from kidney stones to other nasty diseases.

Water and the Brain. Being deprived of water can cause some serious issues – short term memory damage, memory impairment, and problems with your visual motor skills. You know how on occasion you get ‘brain fog”? Most likely from dehydration.

Good-Bye Joint Pain. Drinking the proper amount of water is crucial to your joints! They need cushioning! It’s the WD-40 for your squeaky joints! The synovial fluid which lubricates the cartilage that protects your joints – they need water!! Your body will be happy and in return so will you!

Drop the Pounds. No matter what type of diet – or healthy living – plan you follow, they all involve drinking water; and lots of it. Drinking water on an empty stomach first thing in the morning can improve your metabolic rate by up to 24%! Talk about a kickstart! It also helps reduce cravings and makes you feel less hungry (a lot of time we misread our body , we think we are hungry when we are actually just thirsty..so drink up). Water also cleanses the intestines and makes it easier to absorb those nutrients, which is awesome when you are trying to lose weight.

Now I know a lot of people who have great intentions of drinking plenty of water on the regular; but it’s just not happening. They forget, get distracted, or just don’t feel like they can consume what they should. Now if you are trying to stack on track try these few steps:

*Drink half your body weight in ounces of water (if you weight 160 lbs, drink 80 oz each day)
*Carry a reusable bottle of water with you EVERYWHERE you go – to remind you to keep drinking
*Check your color – when you are drinking enough water your urine should be a light color

Now if you are like me and drink nearly 100 oz of water each day – there is no way you are buying that many cases of water each week! Between what I drink, and my kids drink I would have nothing in my cart but cases of water..and my food budget blown to boot! So instead of individual bottles of water, my family buys gallons of Glacier Water to quench our thirst (and save my budget!)  

Glacier Water is great tasting water you can re-fill yourself. Each Glacier Water Refill Station is a mini bottled water plant! The water goes through a 5 step filtration process which produces some great tasting water – for a fraction of the price of bottled water!

 

We started out our Glacier Water journey with a water cooler. Now my fridge is always full and there isn’t room for gallons or bottles of water to fit! I don’t mind drinking room temp water on occasion -but nothing is like a nice cold drink of water when you are thirsty (not to mention it helps speed up your metabolism when it’s colder!) Not only is it nice and cold, but it’s way more convenient than a half a dozen empty water bottles laying around my house, and it helps save the environment. I cannot begin to tell you the amount of empty water bottles I found under my daughter’s bed (it’s shameful really) – so we decided to make a change.

The convenience of picking up a few of  the 5-gallon bottles every month – not to mention the money savings makes a huge difference! Depending on how much bottled water you are used to buying you can save hundreds of dollars a year by switching to Glacier. (Find Glacier Water in your neighborhood here.) 

 

Glacier Water and All in a Days Work are so convinced that a Glacier Water and a portable water bottle for you to  carry around will convince you to stay on track – that we are doing a giveaway! Enter to win a 5-gallon Glacier Water Bottle along with a HydraTrack Bottle with Water Intake calculator! Just enter below – and keep drinking!
Tell us – do you drink enough water each day? How do you do it – and if not, what do you plan to do to stay on track?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Start Your Year Off Right with Subway

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Krissyar

This is a sponsored post on behalf of SUBWAY Restaurants. Though I was compensated for my time, all opinions are my own.

As you all know I have always been a big fan of SUBWAY®. It’s my family’s top pick for food on the go, especially during busy soccer or baseball season.(Seriously, I am pretty sure the ladies at our local Subway had our sandwiches ready before we even get there we go so much after late games for dinner!)  It’s such a great healthy alternative to other fast-food – and it’s the only way I can get veggies in my kids without them complaining.

As you know a diet rich in fruits and veggies have been known to reduce risk of stroke, and certain types of cancer (and risk of death from it). That’s why the American Heart Association and SUBWAY restaurants are encouraging everyone to join this trans formative effort by encouraging you to start this new initiative called +color! Even if you have already fell off the wagon with your new years “I’m-going-to-eat-healthy” resolutions, you can STILL start over today!

Subway makes it easy for you to add that extra bit of color – especially on the go! With so many different combinations , it never gets boring. Adding veggies to your sandwich or salad can actually give you at least two extra servings of vegetables in your diet for the day!

Each of the veggie choices for your sandwich (or salad) at Subway – pick just one or two – or add them all! Lettuce, spinach, avocado, black olives, tomato, cucumbers, pickles, green peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos and onions. To be honest I don’t even realize what that I’m even eating veggies when I get them they are soo good. My youngest daughter loves them so much she gets the veggie sandwich and just fills her bread up with a ton of black olives, cucumbers, spinach and lettuce.

Making this one simple change is a step to a healthier tomorrow!

 

Posted in Fitness/Health | Leave a comment

Keto Diet: Week 1

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Krissyar

So as I mentioned before last Friday 12/30 I started the Keto Diet. A ton of people I know have been successful which really got me interested. I was tired of counting calories and never feeling full – and it was really nothing I could ever handle long term.

So its end of day Wednesday, so it’s not officially been a week yet. But since I did diet through a New Years Eve and a 3 day weekend from work – I feel that it more than qualifies for an entire week.

I was all psyched to get started mostly because I was sick of looking at my gut just growing. All the sugar and junk that I ate on a daily basis is shameful. So Friday I got up for work and I made eggs and sausage for breakfast, and I cooked up a steak to put on my salad for lunch. I took pickles and cheese for a snack (my favorite together) and I was surprised that I wasn’t dying to eat a cookie or some chocolate right away.

Saturday I slept in – like really slept in. I went to bed at 11 and didn’t get up until Saturday morning at 11:39 (that’s when I checked my phone). I cannot even begin to remember the last time I slept that late – or that long. I felt Ok but as the day dragged on, so did I. To be honest I can’t remember much of what I ate that day, but I was starting to feel nauseous and tired. I went and got a Sprite Zero to help with my tummy. We spent our NYE watching a Harry Potter marathon and the kids and husband wanted pizza. I ordered Papa Johns – including a thin crust figuring I could eat some of that.

This is about when I started feeling a bit anxious about being on this diet – like OMG I am not going to be able to resist temptation. It happens all the time with food in my life; it’s one thing where I can get instant gratification though I always end up feeling guilty. I ate 2 pieces of the thin crust and ended up going over my carbs by about 15 for that day.

I started to feel a bit like a failure – hello day 2 and I was already getting anxious? On Sunday it was a bit of the same. I didn’t feel well, and I snacked on what I could and drank Diet Coke. A lot of people will warn you against soda in general, but it was the only thing keeping me going. I went to bed and slept another 10 hours.

Monday morning rolled around and I knew I needed to break that pattern since Tuesday was back to work. I decided to keep myself busy and since I’m in the process of DE CLUTTERING MY LIFE (more blog post on that to come) I started doing laundry and going through all the clothes in my room (that’s a job in itself. Lord, I need shopping intervention!) I got a ton of boxes ready for a yard sale, some cleaning done and I felt pretty good. Later in the afternoon I made brunch – I made the family toast, eggs and bacon, and I skipped the toast and made scrabbled eggs (with heavy whipping cream instead of milk) and cheese and avacado. It was a bit weird missing out on the toast since I was still feeling a bit icky, but I was full and that’s what mattered. For dinner I made the family pasta and veggies and some thin sirloin steaks, and I just ate the steaks (and my Diet Coke).


Officially Tuesday my sister started this process with me – I made a delish breadless BLT for my breakfast (who knew it would be good without the bread?!) and we had steak and salad for lunch.

This is the day I started to feel better – I had more energy. I came home from work and I didn’t feel like just sitting on the couch the rest of the night. I made dinner, I got some work done around the house and I felt good.

That night I tried a Ketone Strip to see if I was in ketosis yet – (ketosis is when your body is burning up all your extra fat) anyway it was a no go. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. I thought it would be quicker since I wasn’t having any sugar and less than 20 grams of carbs a day. But I liked how I felt – so I knew this was something I needed to stick with if for nothing else than the energy boost I had been feeling.

So tonight I decided to get busy in the kitchen and make some things I could eat that my family loves. Pizza night happens at least once a week in this house (if not more) and even with thin-crust it’s not something that is going to help me stay where I need to be. (Though I did hear some local pizza joints have a ‘no dough’ pizza – I’ll have to keep you updated on that). I worked on a low-carb pizza crust and some fat bombs. (I’ll share more about that later).

AGAIN- my energy level was up. Me trying out recipes and cleaning out my cabinets on a week night? I decided to try the Ketone Strips again to see if I had gotten any closer to where I needed to be. I am soo excited to say – I made it! I am officially burning that extra body fat!

I know I still have a long way to go – I have a lot to learn, and I’m sure there will be days that I’ll just want to eat that pasta or bread, or just grab a handful of candy. But I’m taking this one day at a time, and I can honestly say for the first time this is a diet that I’m enjoying. I feel good. I eat delicious foods and I don’t feel like I might starve.

The next goal is to start adding my work outs in so I can be ready for the all 5ks and mud runs we will be doing this year. I also want to start adding more Keto recipes to my meal plan so I don’t get bored or tempted to cheat.

Posted in Fitness/Health, Weight Loss | Leave a comment

Home Time! Understanding Your Mortgage Before Signing The Dotted Line

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Krissyar

Buying a home is an exciting time for anyone. Whether you’re accommodating a growing family or buying for the first time, it’s easy to get wrapped up. This is particularly true when you’ve found your new home. At this point, priorities become heavily focused on the new home. And, of course, they should be. But, this leaves a lot of people in bad shape with the mortgageadfadfafda.

Understanding your mortgage is incredibly important. A lot of different mortgages exist out there, and they all have different features. So, you need to learn what these features are and what they mean. Without a legal team, this seems like an almost impossible feat. To help you out, though, this post will go through some of the terms that mortgages and their providers use.

Term

When you take out a mortgage, you agree with the bank that you will pay them back within a certain amount of time. This is the term of the loan. If you don’t pay back within the agreed time, banks have the power to forcibly take the money from you. In some cases, this may mean losing the house. It’s very important to make sure that the term you choose is appropriate. If you choose a term of 10 years, but can’t afford the repayments, you may be better trying to have a longer term. Banks will be open to discuss your term, even after the loan has been agreed. So, it’s not too late to change it if your situation changes.

Down Payment

Of course, when the bank is lending so much money, they want you to contribute at least a small share of it. This is the down payment. In most cases, banks will require at least 10% of the overall property value as a down payment. This means that you have to do a little saving for your house before you buy it. But, it also means that you own a portion of your house, right from the start. Saving a down payment can be hard. So, talk to your bank and see what sort of services they offer to help you.

Interest Rates

When the bank lends you money, they’re not doing you a favour. For them, giving out a loan is like making an investment. This is because you have to pay back more than you borrow. When you take out a loan, you will see that it has an interest rate. This rate dictates the overall price of the loan. For example, if you were to borrow $1000 and the interest rate was 2% a year, you’d have to pay back $1020 after a year has passed. On big loans, like mortgages, the bank makes even more money. You can use sites like Lending Tree to find the best rates on mortgages. Impartial advisors like that can be your key to success.

Fixed/Variable Rates

Interest rates vary between banks and will go up and down over time. Traditionally, you’d pay the interest rate set at the start of the year. This means that one year you could pay more or less than the next. Nowadays, alongside variable rate mortgages, you can also get fixed rate ones. With a fixed rate mortgage, the interest rate won’t change for a set amount of time. Usually, this time is something like 15 or 30 years. Once the fixed time is over, the mortgage will become variable. Each side is risky. With a variable mortgage, you risk rates going up and costing you more. But, with a fixed-rate, you risk rates going down while you still have to pay a higher one. To overcome these issues, you have to assess the current economy.

Leasing

Some people like the idea of becoming a landlord. But, to lease a property, you need to make sure that your mortgage allows it. A lot of banks also refuse to consider rent as income, especially when it’s future rent. So, you need to afford the mortgage by itself. And, then, you also need to make sure that the contract you sign allows you to lease the property, as a lot of mortgages don’t. If you need help figuring this out, you can talk to your bank.

Mortgages are very complicated legal procedures. It’s worth talking to a professional about your situation before applying. Most banks will be happy to help you find the best option. They don’t want to sell you something that you can’t pay back. That would be a waste of money for them. But, they do want to sell you something. So, be careful.

Hopefully, this will take away some of the fog, when it comes to applying for your next mortgage. The law is different everywhere, so when doing something like this, it’s always worth doing some research.

Posted in Money Matters | Leave a comment