Packing Tips - Super Simple and Easy!

With summer quickly approaching many of us are getting ready for family road trips, tropical destinations and the must have weekend getaways. One of the biggest 'ughs' I experience with packing is making sure what I pack is what I need and where it should be in the suitcase. I have this fear ill open my luggage and everything will be wrinkled or a makeup bottle will have leaked out onto all my shoes! Here's a round up of tips I started using and noticed my packing anxiety seemed to fade away to a stress free experience. 

If you have any other tips let me know! Also don't forget to follow along on the social media! I have a North Carolina trip coming up soon and a Japan trip! I plan to use these tips and will update you guys on international packing tips when I start to prep my suitcases for that vacation!

Don’t forget to follow my socials!

LEMON8: https://www.lemon8-app.com/brittmcadenmills?region=us

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittmcadenmills/

Home Account: https://www.instagram.com/mcadenmillshome

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Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/brittmcadenmills

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrittMcAdenMills

Best, Brittney 

Ultimate Stay-at-home Moms Guide for Activities!

As a fellow Stay-at-Home Mom, I too have hit roadblocks where I'm out of ideas or my child is just 'bored' of playing the same old stuff. Most "SAH Moms" have a budget set for the 'out of the home' activities but (let's be real) we can't go out to the zoo every day! Below I gave my Ultimate Stay-at-Hom Moms guide for activities (home edition).
*I will give a guide to Activities outside the home that are affordable too!*

If you're down to be creative, search around for some normal everyday items and a bold imagination add some of these Ultimate Stay-at-Home Moms Guide for Activites in your daily routine! Before you know it, it'll be bedtime!

*** Tip*** I don't do these every day. In fact a lot of these I have set aside in baskets in the top of Holly's closet. Each Day I grab out 2 or 3 different activities and sometimes I only grab out one depending on the weather and if we have appointments. I do recommend sitting these aside in small zip bags or boxes and even labeling them "Monday, Tuesday, etc". This keeps the activities 'fresh', new and exciting! 

- Color Time
Jumbo construction paper, Toddler size crayons, and some parental supervision. Even grab some giant soft stickers if you want to add texture!

- Make Bubbles
Sink, some bubble bath soap. Grab a bubble wand too! This activity can be done in the bathtub, kitchen sink or containers outside!

- Bathtub Crayons or Paint
I found these amazing crayons and bath paints that Holly really enjoys during bath-time but also I sometimes will let her sit in the tub and paint/color as a activity as well.

- Nursery Rhyme Dance Party
Pandora some Children safe music and bust a few silly dance moves! Your toddler might not dance but she'll get a few laughs.

- Kitchen Items Music Class
Containers, Different size pots, plastic mixing spoons. Make some music! *Don't sit out dangerous kitchen items*

-Sorting Cardboard Box Game
2 larger boxes, some round items, some square items. Use the big boxes and cut the shape (a nice large circle) in the middle of the box. Do the same with the other large box of a square or whatever other shapes you decide to use. Then have your toddler sort out the shapes into the correct box! You can even have your kiddo decorate the boxes too! Once finished keep or properly dispose of the boxes!

- Safe Finger Paint
Use baby food (mashed carrots, mashed peas, ketchup, etc) as finger paint. Grab some jumbo paper or even use a large white paper plate to paint on! This paint is safe so if your child wants to taste the foods she can.

- Story Time
grab some books and read! Even if your little one is busy playing with blocks she is still listening to you and learning new words.

- Big Puzzles
My 19-month-old is learning how to pick up and place big puzzle pieces. Our favorite is her farm puzzle. Even if she doesn't get the pieces back in the puzzle we still pick up the different ones and make the animal sounds.

- Copy Cat
Toddlers are all about copying their best friend (which is you!). So sit and do some simple things like stack a few blocks or tap on your toes and his toes. He'll most likely pick up on the game.

- Dress Up Silly
Grab a few hats, gloves, sunglasses a jacket, whatever you find that is in the coat closets. Sit on the floor and dress silly! As you grab the articles of clothing tell her what they are. She might even try to dress you up!

- Stuff Animal/Doll Challenges
A fun thing to do is grab your child's favorite stuffed animal and have your child help the toy with an activity. For example, Dolly needs help taking a bath (no water, just a large plastic bowl), a small hand towel, and an empty mini travel bottle of soap. I show my little one how to give dolly a bath.

- Backyard Explorer
We spend a lot of time outside in the backyard. We walk around, pick up leaves, sticks, and other unique things and make a collection on the carport. My 19-month-old is too young for slides, sidewalk chalk, and its too cold to get the kiddy pool out. But when once its summer she'll be old enough for her first slide and we can splash in her kiddy pool too!

- Laundry Sorting
When I get a fresh load of laundry out of the dryer I always drop the clothes in the floor and have my little one touch the different items as I hang or fold. She loves to sort the socks into a pile and will even hand me clothes hangers!

-Little Texture Box
Plastic box, tons of different textures (large feather, soft squishy, bumpy shell, Crunchy paper, etc) use the box to let her feel the items.

- Empty Tissue Box Tissues
Empty Tissue Box and Lots of Tissue Paper. The little one can pull out the tissues, feel the textures, and hear the sounds!

I hope this sparks some ideas for you and your tot! If you would like, follow my instagram page! I post daily and even post some of my Toddler Holly and her adventres!  Simply click here to be sent to my Instagram page!

Lifestyle - Technology Clean Up!

Today its all about ways to clean up our technology! Currenlty my phone has 300+ emails and a constant reminder that I'm out of cloud space, my phone hasn't been backed up, and to purchase more storage. If your phone, laptop, or any tech gear sounds similar to mine continue reading on some of my technology clean up tips!

De-clutter + Unsubscribe emails
A chore I dread doing is de-cluttering my emails. Every few months I take a good 45 minutes to focus just on deleting old un-needed emails and ‘unsubscribe’ link to get off email lists that blow up my inbox 5 days a week. Seriously, once this chore is complete my emails are easier to load and no more random promotional emails!

Save your photos and free up data space
I panic when my phone tells me the photo storage is full and needs space. I recenlty linked phone and MacBook so my photos automatically store into my computers photos file! Now I can erase them off the cellphone! If you can't link your phone and computer like me purchase a photo memory card and photos up as often as possible to free up data space. 

Delete any Apps you haven’t used in 3 months
My rule is if I haven’t used it in 3 months, take it off the phone. It helps so much with your storage space! And no worries cause if you ever want to upload again its in your purcahse log!

Delete anything you don’t need or want
I have tons of untitled documents I started to type and stopped. Or lists I made on my phone. So deleted anything thats just sitting and taking up space. Notes, Documents, videos, powerpoints, etc. 

Bye Finger Prints!
Get a glasses cloth and clean the screens of all your devices. If you scroll for hours and then talk on the phone you’ll be surprised how much germs go from the screen to your face. Wipe your screens as much as possible.

Clean behind the cases
An area I forget to clean is behind the cases. So when I do I am shocked at all the dirt and dust that has coated behind the case. 

Lastly, turn off the phone!
Doing this will help your phone reupdate itself. And if there was a glitch slowing it down the restart will repair it. I try to turn my phone off at least 2x a month. And I turn my phone off anytime I'm inside a plane or in a location I dont want my phones speaker collecting information of (yes your phone speaker is always on and listening!)

I hope these tips will help you on your next technology clean up! And if you’re not following the Instagram please click this link and follow along! I post daily on fashion, beauty and lifestyle! I appreciate all the love and support from everyone.

- Brittney 

Cleaning Tips! *Daily Chore Log Idea Too!*

When people visit our home I often hear “This place is so clean… How do you do it all?” Then I get the rundown on how much I have on my daily plate. Which are a lot and I know that.

The mass majority can’t stand cleaning (a good example is my husband) but I’m one of the few who loves to clean. I’m in charge of all the cleaning. Bryce spends all day at the office; it just doesn’t seem right for him to work all day and then come home to do chores. Don’t get me wrong, my job isn’t easy. I’m in charge of tending to Holly all day and night during the week so Bryce can rest, plus all the other projects I have. But I’m very fortunate that Bryce works a job that can support me being a “FTM”.

Anywho, cleaning is the best stress reliever for me. I have a weekly chore log that’s broken into daily cleans. The breaks help so I’m not overwhelmed, doing the same thing every day, and still have my weekends to relax. My cleaning list might not work with everyone’s lifestyle but I’m happy to share for anyone who needs ideas on how to create a cleaning log.

Daily:
Make the beds
30 minute pick up before Bryce comes home and/or pick up before bed
fold bathroom towels after baths

Monday
Laundry
Mop floors
Clean kitchen

Tuesday
Clean bathrooms
Clean towels

Wednesday
Dust
Vacuum
Clean livingroom + office
* Once a month (normally the last Wednesday of the month) I dust the baseboards, crown molding/molding around the doors, etc. This takes a lot of work but its a chore you only need to worry about once a month to get the extra dust. 

Thursday
Recyclables ( I take our recyclables to a center because this Condo we currently live at doesn’t provide recycling; and personally I’m a big supporter of helping the planet)
Clean bedrooms
Clean bedding sheets

Friday
Mop floors
* I try to do the least amount of work on Friday’s so I can relax for the weekend!*

Saturday
This is a day we relax. Bryce normally goes to the gym and I can have “me time”. It’s also a day we head to Destin, Seaside or visit family.

Sunday
Meal plan for new week
Grocery shop for the new week
We mainly relax on Sundays as well. We almost always do our grocery shopping this day but sometimes we bump grocery day to Monday. 

Extra tips: 
- When cleaning an area do everything within that area. For example: when I plan to clean the bathrooms I always throw the bath towels in the wash first. Then by the time I have the entire bathrooms cleaned the towels will be clean/dry as well.

- If you have small children like me do the bulk of your cleaning during their naps. I also knock out some good cleaning when Holly is having her ‘tv time’, eating lunch in her high chair, or when she’s having her “alone play time”.

- Keep the clutter down -> clutter is the root of all evil. We trash and recycle as many items as we can. When clothes and shoes are worn out, we pitch em. If it's something we never wear, we donate.

- If you have a busy week, meal prep or make large portions to have leftovers. Bryce isn’t big on leftovers but I grew up on leftovers. I think for families large portions + leftovers help keep the stress of meal planning under control.

- Do a deep clean day once a month. For people with children try to have a relative watch the kiddos so you can focus on deep cleaning with the products needed. Take advantage of a rainy day to do the deep cleaning too! 


My Cleaning Products:
Here's a photo of the cleaning products I use when cleaning. DISCLAIMER: These products are the ones I select and use. They fit my personal lifestyle and I’m not pressuring anyone to purchase these. 

For cleaning tools, I use the rubber gloves I have shown below (purchased at Dollar Tree!), A few brushes and sponges (from Dollar Tree as well) and some paper towels (We get whatever is on special) and/or some reusable towels.

Sweater Pilling + Razor?

This post is perfect for if you noticed your Ugly Christmas sweater has some pilling and need a quick fix. (Of course this is for anytime of the year if you notice your clothes is having some pilling issues!!!!).

There’s very few options of repair and some can be costly.
1. Take the sweater to the cleaners and see if they will fix it for you at a price.
2. Purchase a Fabric Shaver (FYI: I’ve had the WORST luck wit this. I’ve purchased 3 in one year because the blades break!).
3. The “Old Wives Tale” use a simple razor.

Since many of us might be in a rush and the cleaners is something you have to give time.
The Fabric Shaver can work but  if you’re in a rush - like at a hotel - this wont work.
So we gotta try the Razor..... Scary right? Taking a razor you use to shave to... Repair your pilling garment..?

Today I decided I will test this “Wives Tale” to see if it actually works! I’ll have photos below.

Results: YES. This shockingly does work.
My tips:
- Do the sleeves first and to shave towards you in small groups while holding the garment down with your other hand.
- Use a very simple 3 blade razor (not a fancy one or electric razor); this style of razor can be purchased at a drug store or if you were at a hotel they would have these available at the front desk.
- Do not wet the razor.
- Do not use the razor on your skin before or afterwards!!!!!!!
- For me to do my entire Cardigan inside - out it took about 20 minutes because I wanted to find a good system and was wanting to be extra careful with the detailing within the sweater.

I hope this quick and simple post will help anyone who is in a garment pilling crisis!

Best,

Brittney “Pomp and Palms"

Stress-Free for the Holidays TIPS!

This is a post I was very excited to do... Why? I love helping people; especially if it’s something I’m familiar with. Stress during the holidays is something I know all too well. 

FLASHBACK: in my retail management days I was having to balance a stressful work and personal life. So many associates calling out or no showing, strict bosses who expected the store to look spotless during the busiest shopping months of the year, and THEIFT. Then my life of having family members to see, presents to purchase+wrap, at the time I was single so having to have the perfect excuse why I’m STILL single, and making sure I don’t pick up any ‘holiday blues’. 

As you can see, I dealt with some Holiday stress and over time I discovered the magic recipe to have the “Stress-Free” holiday spirit!

Below you’ll find some tips and tricks I do to keep my life Stress-Free during this busy and beautiful time of year!

1. DON'T wait till the last minute!
This is a major and I mean MAJOR. I always witness the most stress on folks who wait the week... day... hour before Christmas to shop for gifts, wrap gifts, or prepare their house for guests. Today this post is going live at 7:00AM central time Tuesday... You have 3 weekends (3 Fridays, 3 Saturdays, 3 Sundays = 9 full days) don’t waste that time!

2. Get your rest.
Rest is important for being positive. Even if you have a million and two things to do remember to get a good nights sleep.

3. Calendars and Sticky Notes.
Have A LOT of holiday parties to attend? Worried you’ll forget them? Bookmark it! Sticky Note it! Calendar it! I like to hand write on a calendar and at breakfast time I glance over to see what my week has in store. When I see an event is approaching I’ll double check to make sure I have everything I need.

4. Don’t drive out of the way in holiday traffic for something unnecessary.
Okay, gotta have coffee to get the day started; thats fine. But if you’re having to drive 20 minutes out of the way to get your red Starbucks cup before you walk into HomeGoods it might not be top priority and is cutting into your time (which is stressing you out). 

5. Ask for help when needed!
For some reason everyone thinks help is non-existent... But it’s not! If you’re need to buy the Holiday Ham and your Mother-in-Law is on her way to pick up a prescription; simply ask for her to pick on up and pay her back. It saves time, money, and gas! This is also important if your have a Toddler like me. Ask for help or hire a sitter for a few hours to get all your tasks complete without chasing down a little one!

6. Not EVERYTHING is important. 
When planning out your holidays there might be some things on your list “To Do” that A: isn’t important or B: can be combined with something else. 
Example: My 13 month old is too young to understand Christmas lights; so take that off the “Holiday To Do” list. 
BUT instead of wrapping some presents on 12/4 and the rest on 12/12 maybe try to combine the dates and wrap them all at once!

7. Know when to DRAW THE LINE.
Sometimes you’ll catch yourself adding more to the list of things to do and forgetting to enjoy the Holidays. Know when to stop and say no. 
Yes, it's fun to help the Preschoolers do their Christmas class party - go out and buy those mini Christmas stockings and popsicle sticks to make homemade Christmas ornaments... But maybe leave the Christmas play to the Church instructors so you can sit and enjoy the show. :)


I hope these tips help! Also don’t forget that sometimes Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat) can be more of a distraction and can get in the way. Turn the phone off and I’m sure you’ll see a big difference in how much you get completed before Christmas Eve!

Best,
Brittney “Pomp and Palms"

LifeStyle: How to get the wax out of used candle jars

For today I wanna crack into a helpful “LifeStyle” post. When I go shopping at some of my favorite boutiques I always end up getting adorable candles with the most beautiful jars and lids. But once the candle runs out what to do? I’ve got a helpful trick on how to get that extra wax and wick out without using a knife and scratching the jar (or throwing the jar away).

I love using the jars with lids to store travel size/sample beauty products, jewelry, and small trinkets. They also make great Christmas gifts too! (Imagine, a super cute jar with some Holiday candy and a gift card to Ulta <3)

Super Easy Steps:

Step One: use the candle till it can no longer burn.

Step Two: Boil water (enough to fill the entire jar) and pour into your candle jar (make sure to fill it to the top).

Completely used up candle. As you can see there is some wax left.

Once the water is boiled; pour into the jar to the top. Wait a few minutes then put the top on the candle.

Step Three: Let the water sit over night to loosen up the remaining wax and the wick base.

Water is filled to the top. You can already see wax loosening/melting from the bottom.

Once you let the water sit you’ll notice the wax makes a film on top. Just pop the film and remove the water.

Step Four: Next day, pour the water out and remove the wick base (properly dispose the wick base), and clean the inside of the jar out with some dish soap.

Pouring out all the water. And I dispose the wick into the trash can.

Clean the jar out. If you need extra help getting the wick out of the jar (mine was glued to the bottom) use some Dawn! It works wonders.

Step Five: Dry the jar out with a dry cloth or paper towel. Vola! You now have a cleaned out candle jar! 

How to Un-Shrink Clothing

Today is a major lifestyle hack I’ve been doing since my college days. The easy way to Un-Shrink clothes. This only takes 35 minutes!
The backstory as to why this post is on the blog is the other night my husband added some of my whites to his laundry. When I was placing all the clean whites into the closet I noticed one of my tops went from a 'boyfriend style' tank to a short tank. Below you’ll see steps and photos! Enjoy.

Here’s the tank and the tank next to another so you can see how much shorter the top is:

I love this tank. It’s from American Eagle and perfect tucked into High waist shorts or jeans. Sadly, didn’t know how easy it shrinks in the wash.

Here’s a comparison to a similar tank top. As you can see the top shrunk A LOT at the bottom but also the sides and arm area tighten up.

Step One: Collect the items you’ll need. The garment, a conditioner of your choice, a tablespoon used for measuring, a bowl or bucket, and lukewarm water. 

Step Two: Measure out 1 tablespoon of conditioner and put it into the lukewarm water. Mix the contents with your hands and/or the spoon till the water has a thick milky like texture from the conditioner. *You can use any brand of conditioner* *You can use a bowl, bucket, or sink!*

I selected my conditioner from the shower and grabbed my spoons to measure.

Measure out 1 whole tablespoon. I filled it to the top and then pressed it down to make sure it was exactly 1 TBS.

With lukewarm water in a bowl I pour the conditioner in and start to stir with the spoon and my hand to break down some of the lumps of conditioner.

Once you mix for few seconds -1 minute and you can tell the conditioner is broken down (less clumpy) and the water looks thick you’re set for step 3!

Step 3: With your hands press the garment into the lukewarm conditioner water. Make sure the garment is FULLY submerged into the water. Then set an alarm for 30 minutes! *If you accidentally go over 30 minutes its okay! I’ve went 2 hours before.*

My fully submerged top in the lukewarm water. I mash it once or twice to make sure the entire garment is wet.

Setting the alarm for 30 minutes on my phone. While the top is soaking this is a good time to start prepping an area for your top to dry at and a clean sink or tub to wash the garment.

Step Four: Times up! Take the garment to the area you plan to stretch and wash. Once you remove the garment from the lukewarm water start stretching to your desired goals. If you only want to focus on one area just stretch that spot. For me, I stretched all around. Simply pull on the garment (your arms might get tired after a bit) 

*there’s no time limit on how long or how much to stretch, its up to you. I spent about 5 minutes working my top to make sure its back to the relaxed boyfriend fit*

Step Five: Once stretched wash out all the conditioner by hand (no need to use soap). Then hang the garment wherever is best for you so it can HANG DRY. 

I decided to stretch and hand wash my top in the special wash tub our washing machine has.

After stretched and washed I decided to hang the top over my sink so the extra water can drip out naturally. As you can see the top already looks longer than the first photo!

FINAL RESULTS! 

As you can see my top is not nearly as short fitting as the first photo at the top!

Here’s a comparison to the tank top in the beginning. The white tank is back to the longer “boyfriend” style fit it was when I purchased!

Hope this helps anyone who had a garment shrink in the wash!

- Pomp and Palms