Philanthropy Realtor’s Consumer Tips

10 Tips for Donating to Charity without Spending a Dime

Most people think that the only way to contribute to your community is by giving money to a charity but most people are not aware that your contribution can go beyond a direct donation. Philanthropy Realtors is one of many organizations that will donate money in your name. Listed below are some friendly tips that help consumers give to charity.

• Give an old cell phone back
  Americans replace their cell phone once every 2 years. By giving your phone back to Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon or AT&T you are giving to a charity (all vendors listed donate proceeds of used phones). Sprint states that since 2001 the company has donated $4 million to charity through the sale of used phones.

• Lend your knowledge to a charity.

Sometimes your expertise can make a huge difference. If you are a plumber who can fix a pipe or you are a student who can make phone calls on the weekends.

• Donate junk from the garage for a fundraising drive.

Don’t feel bad about throwing away that old bicycle or television; raffle it off at a fundraiser.

• Join your neighborhood council.
  Most major cities are too large to know the needs of the local community. By volunteering your time or opinions you can help issues like traffic, land usage, building regulations, and more.

• Take a pet home for a week

Many no kill shelters have so many animals that they need volunteers to take a cat or dog home for as little as a couple of days to free up room and resources.

• Donate your organs and plasma

Most people don’t realize the importance of telling DMV that you would like to be an organ donor in case of an emergency. Or if you don’t feel squeamish you can always give blood and make money!

• Donate books and other media to your local library Your local library is a government agency and is most likely in need. Take that old collection of paperback books and bring it to the library. The library has been known to take equipment, real estate, stocks, artifacts, works of art and collections.

• Allowing a charity to use your name or company name
  Most would be surprised how far you can go by lending your name. If you own a small business or just want to be put on a list of people that support a 501C3

• Go for a walk.

Many charities will donate money on your behave by participating
in walkathons, marathons, or other events

• Have your realtor donate his fees to charity

Philanthropy Realtors recruits from all agencies both commercial and residential letting the seller donate to his or her favorite charity by using part of the realtor’s commission as a donation. Some of the charities working with Philanthropy include, Homes for Our Troops, Starlight Children’s Foundation, Getavision, LAPD,American Cinematheque, Learning Rights, and many more. The licensed realtors who are joining Philanthropy have been literally nation wide. Philanthropy Realtors works with all agencies; ask your realtor.

Licensed realtor Miguel Gonzalez started Philanthropy Realtors, in association with Keller Williams Los Feliz, after seeing his father die from cancer and battling the deadly disease himself. He uses a simple formula taught by his father of giving back to the community by giving a piece of the real estate profits to select charities. Miguel hopes other real estate companies will follow his example. Philanthropy Realtors is located in Los Angeles California. http://philanthropyrealtors.com/

Shared by: The Plus Size Mommy

HELP! Clothing Dilemma

I have run into a Dilemma in my bedroom and I need your help/suggestions. I am hoping to get some great advice from my bloggy organizer friends (Organizer Sandy?). I wonder if they ever ran into this problem before.

Well, as most of my readers know, I am on a weight loss quest. A journey to lose weight and keep it off completely. It has been really hard. When I had started this journey, I decided that I was NOT going to buy any new clothing until I had to. Like when clothes were so baggy they would be falling off my body. I have, however gotten some great clothing to review on my blog, but I wasn’t counting those, and they are out of season now anyways, mostly.

Well, here is my dilemma. I have clothing that I bought last year, summer, that no longer fits (is too small), plus a ton of winter clothing that is now too small. I also have the clothing that fits me. I am planning on losing much more weight this Spring & Summer and do not really want to get rid of a ton of clothing because when I DO lose the weight, I will need those. However, my bedroom and house is small as it is for a family of 6, and there is hardly any storage space. I am beginning to feel clostrophobic in my own bedroom because of all of these clothes taking over. There is no more room in my closet, so now they are stacked up in piles on my side of the room. I have been spring cleaning this week, and dreading what to do???

Part of me, says, throw out everything I cannot wear (well, not really throw out, but I donate it), and buy new after I lose the weight. The other 1/2 of me says, these clothes are pretty new and I will need them as I lose weight. Also, do I want to re-spend money for clothing later ?

Part of me is saying there are woman who need these clothes somewhere and they aren’t doing nothing but sitting in my room cluttering up the place and making for a great fire hazard. And that I can buy back the clothes a little at a time and use the new clothes as rewards as I lose weight.

The other part comes in and says, I just spent a lot of money on clothes last time I lost weight and I could use that future money on something else.

UGHHHHH !!!! HELP !!! lol

I talked to my husband about it, because he is quite sick of it too. After all he is also in our bedroom and has to look at it everyday and he is also not a clutter bug, and is always seeking safety. But on the other hand, he also doesn’t want me to spend anymore money on clothes unless I must!

He did suggest I could stick some in totes and stick them in the basement storage. Which I too thought of. But then I think of the bugs and sometimes critters that sometimes get into totes, and don’t want that in my clothes either. And God forbid a mouse get into it, and chew them up, then donating them IS a better option.  I also worry that they will get lost in the abyss down there. That is where we store all of our decorations and stuff like that too. So then I would probably forget about them and go buy new anyways. and again, there is NOT a lot of room left down there.

This feels like the same dilemma to me that I go through when my hair color is growing out, or when I am trying to grow back from a short haircut. It is at the point where I don’t know if I should cut it or let it be!!!!

What would you do?  Have you ever been through this?

Please leave me your advice and comments and tips. Any idea’s I will love to hear them.

And I may pick a random draw of anyone who leaves me a comment that is worthy, and you just may get a prize of some sort. Also, if I use your idea, I may reward you with a prize. So comment away.

THANK YOU in advance !!!

The Plus Size Mommy

*Photo used is courtesy of ehow.com

Spring Into Action With Aller-Ease and The Motherhood, Giveaways Too!*

I am so excited to tell you that I have been asked to participate in this Great campaign:

Just in time for Spring!!!! I will be featuring a lot of great Spring cleaning products this week and to kick it all off I bring to you the “Spring Into Action” presented by Aller-Ease campaign!

I was chosen as part of  a great group of 15 top mom bloggers to help bring this great info. and 2 great giveaways to you. This campaign is also teamed up with “The Motherhood”.

I must say, I do not like to clean but the newness of Springtime just instills a Bug into me to have my house freshened up and get it ready for the wonderful Summer to follow. It is a way of bringing a sense that Winter is finally over and when everything outside starts to blossom and bloom, I like to think the inside of my home smells and looks so fresh too.

It is time to clean out the cobwebs, dust mites, dander, mold, and any other things that can cause allergy problems in your home.

My family is SUPER SENSITIVE to many things, and ALL of our allergies flare up in Spring. My son who is 10 has extreme eczema has had allergies from birth. My husband is super sensitive to dust mites and cats. And I am allergic to any pets, dust, pollen, and ragweed. I try to search for ways to reduce or eliminate dust and anything around my home as much as possible. So you can imagine how excited I was to be apart of this campaign and to learn more techniques and about products to help me and my family, and also to tell others about them to help them and their families.

The products I received from Aller-Ease were 2 pillow protectors, a mattress cover, and a Aller-Ease pillow. I immediately put the pillow covers on one of my pillows and on the new pillow and started using them. Then I also covered my mattress too. The covers are all white and crisp and the pillow is sooooooo nice and comfy. I am all about pillows. Which with allergies isn’t always a good thing because mites thrive in them. But with the Aller-Ease protective covering I no longer have to worry as much.

When Spring cleaning I always go through my children’s rooms too. I get rid of stuffed animals that were collected in the previous year. The “Special” ones I wash in hot water. This is just one of the many things I do while Spring cleaning.

Aller-Ease would like to know what cleaning tips/advice you do that you will share with other moms and families for a chance to win a great gift basket. Which cleaning supplies do you love and cannot do without? Are you a “Green” Spring cleaner? Do you go through bottles of Clorox and pine sol ?  What cleaning tips were passed down to you from your mother and grandmother?  Aller- Ease & The Motherhood want to know! (and so do I).

From all of your tips Aller-Ease will be putting together “The Best Spring Cleaning Tips of All Time” tip sheet.

For more info about the Spring into Action campaign please visit the Aller-Ease website ,Aller-Ease Event on Facebook and the Aller-Ease Spring into Action Circle at The Motherhood. You can also follow along on twitter by searching the #allerease hash tag.

Now onto the giveaways, there are 2 separate ones so be sure to follow the guidelines for each :

GIVE AWAY #1 -

ONE subscriber to The Plus Size Mommy blog will win the following -

• 1 Aller-Ease Pillow
• 2 Aller -Ease Pillow covers
• 1 Queen Size Mattress cover

Here is how to enter  (USA Entries Only) :

1. Comment and tell me your Your favorite Spring cleaning tip = 1 entry per tip (no limit, separate comment for each)
2. Comment and tell me your favorite cleaning product = 1 entry per product up to a total of 5 (separate comments for each)
3. FAN “The Plus Size Mommy” on Facebook = 1 entry
4. Join the Spring Into Action Circle at The Motherhood = 5 bonus entries (leave 1 comment 5 times letting me know you joined)
5. follow @plussizemommy on Twitter = 1 entry comment and let me know you did
6. FAN Aller-Ease on Facebook = 1 entry, comment and tell me you did this
7. Post about this giveaway on your blog = 5 bonus entries, link to this post and comment 5 times letting me know you did
8. Tweet the following on Twitter ” Share your Spring cleaning tips and you can win from #allerease  http://twurl.nl/xtesm8  ”              You may Tweet this as many times per day as you like, leave a separate comment with tweet thread for each tweet.

THEN :

From all of these great tips, Aller-Ease and theMotherhood will be combining all the spring cleaning tips posted ontheMotherhood and will randomly select THREE bloggers to win a Spring Cleaning prize basket!

This Spring Cleaning basket will include :

• An Aller-Ease Queen Cotton Mattress Protector
• An Aller-Ease Cotton Comfort Allergy Protection Pillow
• 2 Aller-Ease Cotton Comfort Allergy Protection Queen Cotton Pillow Protectors
• Kleenex
• Halls Cough drops
• Clorox Wipes
• Various cleaning supplies
• Spring linens (hand towels, etc.)

So don’t miss this chance to win this wonderful gift basket as well. Don’t forget!  You get extra chances to win if you post your tips over at theMotherhood “Spring Into Action” circle as well.

You can gain more chances to win by visiting the other sites who are participating in this campaign as well :

All Star Aller-Ease “Spring Into Action” team:

Caryn @
Rockin’ Mama
http://www.rockinmama.net

Felicia @
Go Graham Go
http://www.gograhamgo.com/

Stacie @
The Divine Miss Mommy
http://thedivinemissmommy.com/

Tonya @
A Family Completed
http://afamilycompleted.blogspot.com/

Diane @
Something Snappy
http://somethingsnappee.blogspot.com/

Becky @
Nickles-n-Dimes
http://blog.nickels-n-dimes.com/

Piera @
Jolly Mom
http://www.jollymom.com/

Angie @
My Four Monkeys
http://MyFourMonkeys.com

Kimberly @
Pretty Pink Momma
http://prettypinkmomma.blogspot.com/

Shannon @
The Mommy Files
http://www.themommy-files.com/

Stephanie @
And Twins Make 5!
http://andtwinsmake5.blogspot.com/

Tammy @
Tammy’s Two Cents
http://tammystwocents-tammy.blogspot.com/

Robyn @
http://www.RobynsOnlineWorld.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/RobynsWorld
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/robynsonlineworld

Bing @
Icefairy’s Treasure Chest
http://icefairystreasurechest.blogspot.com/

This giveaway starts NOW and ends on 4/12/2010 at 8PM EST. Winner will be chosen via random.org. Winner will be posted by 4/13 and will have 48 hours to claim their prize by emailing me their name, address, and phone #. Winners Will NOT be emailed, so if you enter, please check back to see if you won. Only Subscribers to this blog can win and must be an address in USA.

Good Luck to everyone !!! Thank you for your entries.

The Plus Size Mommy

*Disclosure – I have stated my true personal opinion on the Aller-Ease products.  I would like to thank  The Motherhood for asking me  to participate in the “Spring Into Action” Aller-Ease campaign. For my participation, I have received an Aller-Ease package with several of their products and a stipend.  Depending on the participation of my blog, I may be able to earn a gift card.

What I Have Learned From TV Moms On Parenting

Being that I am a mother of 4 children. Sometimes people come to me and ask for advice or ask me how I manage 4 children.  Well, I have to admit, I try and incorporate a tiny bit of technique from some well known TV Moms.

A good mixture of Roseanne, Carol Brady, Clair Huxtable,  and Edith Bunker never hurt anyone!

Roseanne always lives life one day at a time (no pun intended) and embarrasses her kids when needed. She doesn’t fret over grades like a maniac, she has low expectations for her kids and then when they over achieve she is super grateful. She is a parent with struggles and ups and downs just like all of us moms. She tries to instill in her children morals and expectations without coming out and saying thats what she is doing. One of my favorite episodes on Roseanne was when she dressed up in overall’s and had a huge red lipstick smile and was going to walk her kids to school like that. The fear of her doing this was enough to straighten them out right away. I remember when my mom and dad would threaten to come and sit in the back of my class at school, and how scared I was that they really would. Putting that touch of fear in a child over something like this, I believe is a good thing.

Kids tend to be more and more fearless these days and thats why they will do things right in public eye’s and could care less about who see’s and what wrong they are doing. They no longer seem to have that little angel sitting on one shoulder telling them to think about what they do before they do it. The devil is there and just tells them to go one and there is no one telling them otherwise until something terrible happens. This terrible has extreme’s. It can be from saying a swear word to committing crimes.

I am not saying I don’t set high goals for my children. I am just one of the kinds of parents who tells my kids, I would love to see straight A’s, but I am not going to kill you over a B, and maybe even a C.  I think not putting the extra stress on a child helps them know, what I Wish and Hope for them, but if they do not reach that level, it will be okay. And you know what ?

My 2 children who are in school (one in 7th grade and the other in 5th) have BOTH been on honor roll during both report card periods this year. My 7th grader has gotten 1 B in his life, which totally astonishes me, but makes me very proud.

I try and be friendly with my kids, guide them, give them the skills they need to make it in life, and back away a little bit. All the while letting them know Each and Every Day how much I love them.

The Clair Huxtable in me comes out when I am upset. I love the line she uses in the one show where her daughter Vanessa wants to wear make-up and she tells Clair how “the other girls wear it”. Clair gets her “rolly” eyes out and her pointed finger and tell’s Vanessa, how she could care less what the other girls are doing and what their parents allow them to do, but that this is her house and as long as she is under her roof, she will not be wearing make -up until said age, I think it was 15.

I pull the “Clair” out when I need her, which isn’t a lot of the time, but I am glad she got my back. I try and be firm with my kids, let them know where I stand on issues such as dating, clothes they are allowed to wear, gadgets they are or aren’t allowed to have/get, and places they can go/movies they can see.

I refuse to do or allow anything that can compromise my children’s well being or safety. I don’t care how hard it is to follow if it means they won’t have a cell phone till they are 18, they won’t. Heck, I didn’t have no cell phone growing up, and I got into enough trouble without one. Sometimes I think all these gadgets enables the children of today and Tweens/Teens of today to get into more trouble. I proceed with caution in these area’s and if I see or hear anything that disturbs me, they are cut off completely.

I build trust with my children, and boy is it a disappointment when they let it crumble and fall. Even just 1 brick of trust that falls or gets a little chipped, it is a huge blow to me.  When children lie it is hard to swallow. As parents we put soooo much effort into growing up upstanding children who won’t lie, who won’t steal, who won’t cheat, etc. and when peer pressure, or just them having a brain malfunction happens and they don’t be an upstanding person, WOW. I always let my kids know how much work it will take to build that back, even if it is just 1 brick, it is a Big one.

Edith Bunker- I love to be dippy with my kids. It isn’t unusual for me to sing like a crazy woman as I am cooking dinner. I like to keep my home fun. On a whim I will pull out crafts or a game or a movie and call my children to the living room or dining room to participate in it. I love my kids and want to enjoy them while they are young. I want to build many memories with them so they can look back and know how much I love them. I want them to laugh and have fun. And I want them to remember me as a sometimes zainy mom who they had fun with.

Another thing that is important in my home is family meal time. Edith mastered this as well. She always had a hot meal on the table, partly for Archie but also for Gloria and Mike. I try very hard to have EVERYONE in my family eat dinner together, around the dining room table every night. Sometimes we eat at 9PM  but we are together and talking and eating together. It is interesting how much you can learn about your family and/or how your families day went from one meal.

And finally Mrs. Carol Brady. She is the one I turn to when I visit the kids school, any events, or out and about around people. She is laid back, loving, helps at school, and mature. Well, I can’t start singing like Edith at the PTO meeting, although I am sure the other moms would get a kick out of it (or perhaps kick me out and ban me). So I go to the school prepared to do whatever it takes to stay involved with that aspect of my kids lives. Parents are key to children learning and succeeding. Children NEED NEED NEED to know Parents care. Care about them, care about what they do/or don’t do, care about what friends they have, what activities they like, care about where they are, who they are with. EVERYTHING.  If you are active in your child’s school and they see it, then I believe they will appreciate it and you. It also helps to throw a little Clair in there and let them think you have other PTO moms watching their every move, and also you have an “in” with the principal and that they will let you know ALL about your child  and that if they do something to goof off, you will be there to nip it in the butt.

There are lots of great TV Moms who we can learn from and who through their character can help us real life moms get through with some laughter, tears, anger, and every other emotion out there. We as moms need this support and help in learning how to raise our children. Raising a child is no easy task, not one bit, so make the most of it, try your best, and be proud of what lovely children you have!

The Plus Size Mommy

*Photo’s courtesy of Google Search – Web Images

Create a Healthy Meal or Snack – Share & WIN a Your Shape Game!

A couple weeks ago as part of the Your Shape Challenge I am in, the challengers were asked to come up with healthy snack idea’s.

I found nuts, Craisins, blueberry rice cakes, and dried fruits to be some healthy snacks that I loved to eat.

This upcoming week, we are going to be preparing healthy meals for our whole family to share as part of our challenge.

Also this week, I am getting to give away a copy of the YOUR SHAPE by Ubisoft for Wii game to one of YOU

Here is my challenge to you, for you to try and win :

1. Leave me a comment with a healthy snack idea you use, or you would like to try. = 1 entry
2. Create a healthy meal idea for a family, comment and share with my blog readers = 1 entry
3. Fave Your Shape by Ubisoft for Wii on Momfaves.com = 1 entry
4. Share the luv and share this giveaway on Twitter using the following quote, ” Win a #Yourshape exercise program by Ubisoft for Wii on @plussizemommy  ’s blog here :     http://twurl.nl/37wx8w  ”  = 1 entry per tweet (comment with the tweet thread, you may tweet up to 3 times per day for a total of 3 entries per day)
5. Share a “Get Healthy Tip”, comment with a tip you have that can help others get healthier = 1 entry
6. Write your own blog post about the Your Shape exercise program for Wii and why you would like to win one, link back to this post. Leave a comment with the link to your blog post = 3 BONUS entries!!!!

Winner MUST be a subscriber to this blog in order to win. Winner must also be a resident of USA (continental U.S. only). This giveaway starts NOW and ends on Sunday March 28th, 2010 at 9PM EST. Winner will be posted to this site by March 29th, and will have 48 hours to contact me with address,phone number to claim their prize. (my email is plussizemommy@gmail.com). One winner will be chosen by random.org.

Have Fun with this giveaway, I cannot wait to read all the great comments, hear all the great recipe idea’s and hear your thoughts!

Good Luck!

The Plus Size Mommy

*Disclosure – The Your Shape Challenge is sponsored by Ubisoft & Collective Bias. So is the Your Shape exercise program giveaway. The Your Shape program will be sent direct from the company at no charge to me.

Expressions Exchange from 1-800Flowers & I am Featured!*

Expressions Exchange is an informative, online resource for connecting, gifting, etiquette, décor and much more. 1-800-Flowers.com has created this site so people can share their stories with others. I am a Featured Guest Contributer for the site.

I also wanted to remind you to enter to win a $50 gift card to 1-800-Flowers.com that you can use to brighten someone’s Easter, Mother’s Day, or just to cheer yourself up!  You can enter by going here :  http://twurl.nl/h6ean6 .

And even if you aren’t my winner, everyone wins with this 15% off discount code with any flowers ordered through 4/30/2010, The code is  TULIP15 .

Have I told you by the way that Tulips are my favorite flower? So if you win and can’t decide who to send some flowers too….lol  (j/k)

So enjoy the code with the great discount and good luck to you for the giveaway. And thank you for checking out the Expressions Exchange at 1-800-Flowers.com . I am honored to be a featured contributer of theirs. I received the floral arrangement shown above with the tulips from 1-800- Flowers.com. It looks exactly like the one in the photo! I am loving the beautiful arrangement it is so beautiful and really cheers up my day when I pass by it. It is like Spring came a little early for me and a touch of it is inside my home

Happy Spring !

The Plus Size Mommy

*Disclosure – I was sent a floral arrangement at no charge to me from 1-800-flowers.com. All opinions, thoughts, and idea’s are my own. The image above of the tulip arrangement is courtesy of 1-800-flowers.com as well.

Ride & Learn Giraffe from VTech Toys*

The Jungle Gym Ride & Learn Giraffe Bike teaches toddlers (ages 18–36 months) letters, objects, numbers, animals and melodies through active play.

FROM ME : I was sent this toy from VTech Toys prior to Christmas, and cannot believe I forgot to do the review and let you all know about how wonderful this toy is. (I am so ashamed believe me ).

This toy is one of my daughter (who is now 21 mo. old) favorites and she learns form it. Not only educationally but also I think she will be learning to ride a bike this summer! And although it makes an awesome Holiday gift around Christmas time, it still is an awesome gift at Easter as well.  So if your wondering what you can get your toddler this Easter or for their birthday this is definitely a toy they will love.  It has music, games, and it is a cute giraffe that looks like a stationary bike. When your child is playing the games they can win as they pedal the bike part! It is a great invention for children. It is very stable too. This was one of my concerns as I didn’t want it to be able to tip over. But it’s platform is spread wide so chance of tipping is minimal. The base also is adjustable so that as your child gets older and bigger, it “grows” with your child for many fun years of play!

You can see more about the Ride & Learn Giraffe and also more of the great VTech toys here : http://www.vtechkids.com/

My household has always been a VTech Toy family. I have 4 children and all of them grew up playing with VTech toys. They are educational fun which I love and so do they

VTech Toys was also so great to work with over the Winter Holiday Season, they allowed me to Donate some wonderful toys to a local church to brighten 4 children’s Holidays. I was able to donate 2 of the VTech Kidizoom camera’s and also 2 of the V-Smile Motion game systems. I donated them to 4 children in the community where I live. These children’s parent’s were not able to provide too many presents for them this past Christmas and so I was happy to be able to help them with some great presents for their children. The children were VERY happy and thankful to receive these very nice presents this Christmas.

THANK YOU VTech !!!

The Plus Size Mommy

*Disclosure – VTech sent me the Ride & Learn Giraffe and also the 4 presents for donation FREE of charge to me. My review of the Ride  & Learn Giraffe from VTech are my own honest opinions on this product. The idea’s are mine as well. Please also know that the PR firm OlilvyPR, that VTech uses maintains a HIGH standard and code of ethics with bloggers. Also maintains a very high standard of integrity. Therefore in no ways shall this Free product sent to me for me to review shall be held as compensation for a favorable review. As stated before all of my reviews and comments and idea’s about a product are my own honest opinions.

New Dove Men + Care*

The new Dove Men + Care product line targets men who have reached a point in their lives where they are comfortable with themselves, but not in their skin. Dove Men + Care address these issues so men can literally be comfortable with their skin.

The Dove Men + Care Manthem commercial follows the journey men often take to get to a place of comfort in their lives: from childhood to fatherhood.

Dove now provides their first ever product line designed just for men. It Provides the cleansing and refreshment that men want combined with Dove moisturizers to provide total skin comfort.

• Built on the Dove brand’s heritage in cleansing, moisturizing and care
  • Clinically proven to fight skin dryness
    • No irritation or tightness
  • Dermatologist recommended
  • Official site  where you can learn more is at www.Dovemencare.com.

You can also get your  $1 Coupon offer available  here  http://content.dove.us/mencare/Offers.aspx .

Products in this great new line include the following product line up

Body and Face Wash with MICROMOISTURE 13.5 fl. oz. / SRP $4.99

Body and Face Bar 2 bars/ SRP $3.19   OR      6 bars/SRP $7.49

Active Clean Shower Tool SRP $3.99

Dove is also holding an awesome Spring giveaway on their site :  Where you can celebrate their men’s unsung moments on www.brickfish.com/doveunsungmoments, whether it’s a story, photo or video. Their story could win their man in their life a backyard makeover, just in time for spring!  - What an awesome Welcome to Spring/Summer, or Father’s Day gift would this be !!!

These would make really nice Easter Basket gifts for the man in your life this Easter. I am planning on getting some of these products for my husband, teen son, and pre-teen son. (Nothing like a good smelling man )

The Plus Size Mommy

*Disclosure – I am being sent some of these products for my husband to try courtesy of Dove. All opinions and idea’s are my own. The info. re:Dove is information provided by the Dove company.

DiggersList For Disasters

We often lead ourselves to believe that a natural disaster will never hit our home. Yet, thousands of people’s homes are annually hit by fire, floods, earthquakes, tornados and hurricanes.  What’s worse, many home owners don’t carry the proper insurance to cover damages caused by natural disasters.

Matt Knox, Founder and CEO of DiggersList, a home improvement online resource, has 10 quick and cheap home-protection tips that will help you minimize damages to your home and your wallet.

For earthquakes:

• Fasten lamps, china and other small valuables to shelves or surfaces with puttylike anchoring or museum wax.
• Install latches on cabinet door in order to keep contents inside
• Secure your water heater to a wall stud with a water-heater strap

For fires:

• Install a fireplace screen to keep embers inside
• Have a spark arrestor installed in your chimney

For floods and rain:

• Install weather-stripping on and around doors and windows to prevent water from seeping into your home.
• Install storm shutters or create your own using precut sheets of plywood cut to fit into each window
• Install storm doors

Many of these items can be found via DiggersList, which when compared to stores like Home Depot can get save you 50 cents to the dollar on every purchase.

DiggersList is now available in Arizona, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, and Texas. However, they are looking for referrals to new cities to start lists in. So you can goto DiggersList.com and suggest a new city now.

The Plus Size Mommy