Around The House

Homemade Air Fresheners

May 21, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 8 Comments

If there’s one thing I am certain about myself it’s that I can live in a messy place, but not in a stinky one. Because of this, I actually end up spending a lot on commercial room scents and deodorizers. The ones I choose are quite pricey too, because I find that the cheaper ones smell like buses and bathrooms, and I don’t like them much.

So, a few days ago as I was blog hopping, I found this great tutorial for homemade air fresheners by Sharon on the Make It Or Fix It Yourself blog. The best part about it was that you only needed two basic things – baking soda and fragrance oil or essential oil, both of which I have at home. Yay!

Learning to De-Clutter

January 2, 2012 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

01.02.12

Cleanup Time

My Makeshift Dresser (Photographed with my Nikon D3000)

One of my biggest challenges to myself this year is to find a way to finally clean up our room. The kiddo is slowly but surely getting bigger, Mr C and I keep getting bigger (which should really stop now that the holiday season is over), and we keep acquiring new stuff, even though we know there isn’t enough space to put everything in anymore.

Our room was designed as a bedroom for two children, and it now houses two adults and a child, so go figure about the lack of space. However, I’ve watched enough Lifestyle Channel to know that something can be done to make the space work for us. We just need to try, and I mean really try. More than anything, what will be difficult for me is the actual letting go of stuff. I find sentimental value in everything and still keep even old notes passed in class. Yes, it’s true.

I took the first step yesterday by organizing my makeshift vanity table. I got new makeup boxes from Muji, and now everything has its own little place. One step at a time, and I know I can finish the rest of the room. I should probably quit buying stuff too until I can manage to sort through and store everything properly. This would also be a good incentive to keep going. I really don’t think I lack storage so there isn’t any need to get any more, except for those makeup boxes hehe.

So here’s to me learning to be clutter-free for real. Every year I try, and every year I fail, but I really think I should get to it already while my space to manage is still small. Within the next two years, we plan to move into our own home, and by then I need to be a master cleaner/organizer already. I know that when the time comes I will finally get my own dresser – a real one – and a nice space that’s big enough for our small family. It means a lot to me that when we have our own house, I’ll know what to do to keep it clean and livable.

So yeah, I think I’m gonna start now.

Buttons, Sewing Not Pushing.

November 17, 2011 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

Mr C’s uniform has these raised single hole buttons, typically found in barong-type office uniforms. Thing is these buttons keep popping off, which means I need to keep sewing them back on. I’m not complaining, don’t get me wrong. I’m just trying to figure out why this keeps happening.

At first I thought it might have been because the original stitching wasn’t strong enough. Then recently, I noticed that I’m re-sewing buttons I had already sewn back on. In fact, some of the original buttons already got lost somewhere between Makati and Alabang, and fortunately we found almost identical replacements at our friendly neighborhood sewing needs shop. Now the thing is, I’d at least like to think that my sewing skills are slightly above average, and I use good quality thread. So why are these buttons still popping off?

Maybe it’s because we machine wash the uniforms, and since the buttons are raised, the stitching gets a massive beating from the spinning? It could be the way Mr C removes his uniform, tugging on the buttons. Or maybe the buttons get caught on the edge of his desk or on his ID lanyard, and he yanks on his shirt to pull it loose? I honestly don’t think I have the answer. Maybe someone out there good shed some light on how I can make the stitching stronger so I don’t have to sew buttons back on as often?

Please help. I’m starting to see buttons in my sleep.

Covered buttons from Craftin’ Cafe as seen at the Zonta Muntinlupa Bazaar