Converting Miss C's Nursery in to a BIG Girls Room!

{Post brought to you in conjunction with Sleepmaker}

 

Do you have one of those rooms in your house, that no matter what you do to it, it never feels done?! Well Miss C's room is a little bit like that for me. Even when it was in its' nursery form, I was always playing/chopping/changing and fiddling with things and never really felt 'finished'.

 

If you want to see more of Miss C's nursery, you can catch those posts here and also here.

 

Towards the end of my pregnancy with Mr T, I hit my nesting phase BIG time! So not only did I start on a 'gender neutral' nursery space for baby, but I also got cracking on a big girls room for Miss C.

To be honest, because Miss C was only 18 months old at the time Mr T was born (crazy age gap I know for a third bub!), I wasn't yet sick of the colour scheme, the polka dot feature wall or many of the elements in the room. So instead of changing it completely, I simply added a few toddler essentials - new bed, chest of drawers, and side table. There are a few new accessories that you may spot, such as the rug, coat rack and little reading chair.

Everything else in the space (including her cot mobile) has been recycled and worked in with the space. Because a new bub is certainly a super big expense in itself - everything was done on a budget!

 

Without a doubt my favourite thing in her room is her bed!

 

I will do a separate stockist post for you all, but because I know I will be asked, this is the Mia Bed from Hip Kids. This is my biggest splurge item for the room. But at just shy of $400, I think is a pretty darn good price for this bed considering I saw similar beds for over the $1000 mark in my shopping research. The bed is nice and low to the ground so it makes a really good 'transitional' bed from cot to first bed.

 

To help us select the right mattress for Miss C, we used the Sleepmaker Comfort selector tool. This little online questionnaire helps you find the perfect mattress without having to leave the house (fabulous if you have 3 kids, aged 3 and under to make life hell tag along!).

All in all, I am pretty happy with her little 'grown up' room - I just wish she'd sleep in her bed (not ours) more often!!

 

If you have any questions on the room, as always please feel free to contact me or comment below and I will address these in a room questions and stockists post very soon :-)

 

Dyson V6 Absolute Vaccum: Product Review

{Post brought to you in conjunction with Dyson}

Last month I was invited along to see the latest and greatest Dyson - the V6 Absolute - in action at the One Fine Baby Fair in Melbourne. Now I am a bit of a Dyson fan from way back, we have had our trusty Dyson upright vacuum for around 6 years now and it is a very well loved member of the family. Needless to say, it didn't take me much convincing to get along to this gig (and leaving my two toddlers at home was a bonus too!!).

The Dyson V6 in action at out place!

Even though I am a bit of a neat freak, it is actually my hubby that is super pedantic when it comes to the cleanliness of our flooring at home. We popped new carpet and flooring in some 6 or so years ago, but still to this day he insists on shoe removal and not eating a morsel of food within 500 metres of any carpeted area!! However let's just say in the name of peace around here, when hubby is at work, sometimes I may 'relax' the rules a bit with the kids and myself. This usually results in a huge last minute dash before he gets home to remove any mess from the floors. And boy is there mess...

Life pre Dyson - on a good day!

On any one day we have craft remnants, food crumbs and dog hair littered around the place. I simply don't have the time (or the patience) to lug the regular vacuum out to tackle the spot mess, so the V6 stick vacuum is an absolute saviour compared my old dust pan and brush alternative!

I found the unit itself to have all of the power of our regular Dyson, but in a far more convenient 'stick' design. It is super light (only 2.2 kilos), so much so that the kids can easily zoom around and clean up their mess and I must say mine LOVE doing it too.



The kids love using the V6 as a handheld vacuum

Not sure that they will feel the same way about vacuuming and chores in 10 years time, so I am enjoying it while it lasts!

We have a combination of wood floors and carpet in our home. The V6 Absolute model is perfect for tackling these different areas with two specially designed head attachments included with the unit.

One is a soft roller cleaner head designed for hard floor surfaces such as wood, tiles or vinyl. The other head has a Dyson engineered brush bar to whip your carpeted areas in to a state of cleanliness you've probably never witnessed before! 

Boy does this thing suck (in a good way!). The Dyson never fails to amaze me when it comes to just how much dirt, dust and grime they suck up compared to other models.

The sheer power behind this machine does mean that it chews through the charge at a rapid rate. Whilst I wouldn't be able to get our whole 4 bedroom home done on the 20 minute charge time that you get, it would definitely replace a traditional vacuum entirely if I lived in a smaller home, unit or apartment.

The filter itself is not huge and does need emptying after each little clean. This is super easy to do with the push of a button, you can empty straight in to the rubbish bin.

Quite simply, the Dyson V6 Absolute vacuum has the convenience of the good old fashioned dust buster, but with the horsepower of the leading barrel Dyson models! My favourite bit? I love the flexibility to remove the stick and use as a handheld unit- perfect for cars, stairs and those icky spaces in between your sofa too. Loved by adults and kids alike (seriously!), ladies and gents this should be on your Chrissie wish list this year!

The Dyson V6 Absolute has an RRP of $899 and is available at all leading electrical retailers.

Dyson fan? Have you tried the V6 Absolute? Love to hear your experience. Definitely worth checking this out in store near you!

Win Tickets to Santa's Magical Kingdom in Melbourne!!

 

I have it on good authority that there are now only 7 weeks TODAY until Christmas! So I say it is officially time to get in the Christmas spirit and I may have made a few sneaky Christmas decorating purchases this week to that effect... I am just proud of myself for the restraint of waiting til November to do this!

 

One of the biggest highlights in the lead up to Chrissie last year was our visit to Santa's Magical Kingdom here in Melbourne. If you missed that post last year, you can read it right here. It is so weird to look back on those pictures this time last year and not even have Mr T in the picture (or be pregnant). It really does go to show just how much can change in a single year!

 

Anyway I am super excited that this amazing Christmas experience is back again this year - and better than ever! I guarantee that the kids (and you) will love the different activities on offer including the Circus Spectacular Show, the roving Christmas characters, all of the rides and carnival attractions, Snowland and my favourite - the gingerbread decorating - yum!! For more information, dates and times, pricing and everything else, you can check out the website here.

 

If you would like to get aong to check this out with your family, I am lucky to have a faily pass to be given away for the opening on Saturday 21 November 2015 at the 10:00am session (please note that this pass can only be used on this date and is not transferrable).

 

To enter, simply follow the Rafflecopter prompts below.

 

Entrants MUST comment as what they love most about Christmas time below in the comments section. Please ensure that your comment also includes your full name so that entries can be verified.

 

Good luck!

 

Enter Here

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Terms and Conditions

- The giveaway will be hosted by Rafflecopter and is open to Australian residents only
- There will be one lucky winner of this prize

- Prize includes 1 x Family Ticket for 2 adults and 2 children (aged 2-12 years)
- Ticket is only valid for Saturday 21 November 2015 at the 10am session (no other sessions or dates available)
 - The announcement of the lucky winner will be made on the Utterly Organised Facebook Page
- The lucky winner will have 5 days to contact Utterly Organised and claim their prize
- Failure to claim prize within designated period will result in another winner being drawn
- Entrants must like the Utterly Organised Facebook Page
- Any questions on the competition can be directed to utterlyorganised@gmail.com 

 

I will be heading along this year, so will be sure to share some pictures again this year!

 

Win!!! Pincinox Stainless Steel Peg Giveaway

If you missed my review on my latest and greatest laundry product - the Pincinox Stainless Steel Peg - then you must catch my latest review here!

 

Thanks to the lovely folks at Stainless Steel Pegs, today I have the chance for 5 lucky readers to each score themselves a 20 pack of the Pincinox Stainless Steel pegs. These really are the Rolls Royce of the peg world :-)

 

 

 

To enter simply follow the Rafflecopter prompts below.

 

Each entrant MUST comment below this blog post as to why they need these pegs in their house...

 

Please also ensure that you pop your full name beside your comment so that your entry can be verified. Entries without this information will be sadly disqualified.

 

Full T&C's are detailed below...

 

Enter Here

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Terms & Conditions

• The giveaway will be hosted by Rafflecopter and is open to Australian residents only
• There are five prize packs available for five separate winners, each is valued at $31.00 and includes postage
• Entrant must comment below this blog post as to why they need these pegs in their life!
• Failure to comment as required above will result in the entrant being ineligible to win and entries will be verified
• Entrant must include their full name with their comment below, so that entries can be verified
• The announcement of the lucky winner will be made on the Utterly Organised Facebook Page and displayed on the Rafflecopter widget above
• The lucky winner will have 5 days to contact Utterly Organised and claim their prize so that the prize can be finalised
• Failure to claim prize within designated period will result in another winner being drawn
• Any questions on the competition can be directed to utterlyorganised@gmail.com 

 

 

Good luck everyone! Don't forget that I also have an exclusive reader offer to receive 30% off your order at Stainless Steel Pegs. For the voucher code or further information, please check out the review post here.

 

 

 

Pincinox Stainless Steel Peg Review & Reader Discount Offer

{Post brought to you in conjunction with Stainless Steel Pegs}

 

Washing, washing and more washing - seems to be the common theme in my house at the moment. In fact I seem to be spending more time with my washing machine and clothes line than with my own family at the moment, it is that insane!

 

I was asked way back in April this year to try out and review the Pincinox brand of pegs, which are imported from France and sold through Stainless Steel Pegs here in Australia.

 

 

 

After learning a bit more info about these legendary little pegs, I was super keen to try these out as pegs are something in high rotation here at the moment let me tell you!

 

So what's so special about the pegs?

Promoted as a 'purchase for life' these high quality pegs are made from a superior grade of stainless steel. In fact the company is so confident in their durability, that they come with a lifetime guarantee to never rust - ever!  

 

 

 

I have had these on my line in all of Melbourne's weather elements over the past six months and I can honestly say that these still look as good as new.

 

What I love about them...

• No rusting if left on the line in all sorts of weather - and in Melbourne we certainly know all about the four seasons - usually in the one day!!
• Because the pegs don't rust, you can keep these on the line forever. This is perfect for the lazy Mum short on time, who cannot be bothered packing away pegs after each load
• Unlike regular pegs, these don't leave pesky marks on clothes which you cannot seem to remove, even with the most robust of irons
• These pegs stay put! They don't move an inch, even on windy days
• These don't fall apart, break or twist like regular plastic or wooden peg varieties
• You can use these in your freezer without damage. I use these to seal up my open frozen goods (peas and corn bags) with great success
• Compared to plastic and wooden pegs, these are a teeny bit more pricey. But you'll never have to buy pegs again - enough said!

 

 

Discount Reader Offer to Purchase

If you'd like to try these amazing little pegs out for yourself, then head over to the Stainless Steel Pegs website.

 

Simply enter the code UTTERLY at the checkout for a 30% discount on the 20 Pack of the Pincinox Pegs. Please note that the discount only applies on this 20 peg pack size and Pincinox brand of pegs.

 

These pegs retail for $31.00, but you will nab these for the reduced price of only $21.70. This also includes postage too, so it is a great chance to try out.

 

This offer (and voucher code) is valid until the 30th of November 2015, so don't delay!  

 

And a Giveaway too?!

Yes, yes, yes!! Thanks to Stainless Steel Pegs, a little later on this week I have the chance for 5 lucky readers to win themselves a 20 pack of the Pincinox Pegs valued at $31. See you a little later on in the week for that :-) 

 

Have you tried these pegs? Love to know how you found these too!

 

 

 

 

 

My Visit to the Myer 2015 Christmas Giftorium

One of my favourite things about being a blogger (apart from you fabulous readers) is being invited to some pretty special events every now and then! And last Friday I was absolutely chuffed to be invited to attend the Myer 2015 Christmas Giftorium Launch right here in Melbourne. It is no secret that I absolutely adore all things Christmas, so needless to say this event was right up my alley!

 

So what is the Giftorium?

Well in a nutshell, it is a magical little Christmas Kingdom designed to make your Christmas shopping a cinch! You see Myer have created a gifting experience like no other across all of their stores nationally.

In each store you will find seven gifting themes including:

• For Her
• For Him
• Tech Gurus
• Kids Cubby (for Kids)
• Paws Corner (for Pets)
• Stocking Fillers, and
• Food Fanatic

This really does make shopping so much quicker and easier for your loved ones! Within each designated section there are an array of gifts to suit every budget and taste.

In addition to these gifting themes, Myer has introduced a few little areas where you can create unique and personalised gifts too. Here you can do everything from having bathrobes, towels and Christmas stockings embodied to having a wallet embossed. For the sweet tooth you can have a jar of Nutella personalised with your name (yes please!) and for the kids a Peanuts or Mr Men/Little Miss Cartoon print personalised too.

While you are wandering around the store, you are greeted by amazing displays, friendly (and helpful) staff and some fabulous in store activities.

I have to say that the amazing Star Wars display was well loved by Mr B!

A BIG thank you for Kids Business for inviting us to attend this event. Miss C clearly loved the Nutella doughnuts on offer...

And Me? Well I just loved getting my selfie (and mitts on) Kris Smith :-)

 

If you have no plans next month, then you must head to the Myer Melbourne Official Launch for customers on Saturday 14th of November. X Factor winner Dami I'm and Hi-5 will be there to celebrate too.  I'll be definitely heading back in once the Myer Windows are open and Santa is back in town - cannot wait!

 

Win a Dettol Spring Cleaning Pack!

I hope that you have enjoyed my posts this week with some tips and ideas on Organising your Laundry and Bathroom spaces at home. Now to kick start your clean, the lovely folks at Dettol have given me two amazing Spring Clean packs to give away. Each pack will include:

 

- 1 x Dettol No Touch Automatic Soap Dispenser
- 1 x Dettol No Touch Automatic Soap Dispenser Refill
- 2 x Dettol Surface Cleaner Wipes (my favourite!!)
- 1 x Dettol Instant Hand Santitiser
- 2 x Dettol Profresh Shower Gel in Citrus Scent

 

Packs are valued at $53.00 each.

 

To enter simply follow the Rafflecopter prompts below.

Important to note: All entries must comment below this post as to what area of their home is in desperate need of a Spring Clean.

Please, please, please ensure your entry/comment has your full name next to it so that I can verify entries. Failure to do this will mean that your entry is disqualified, so please don't forget :-)

 

All of the T&C's are listed below.

Enter Here

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Terms and Conditions

• The giveaway will be hosted by Rafflecopter and is open to Australian residents only
• There are two prize packs available for two separate winners
• Entrant must comment below this blog post as to what area of their home is in desperate need of a Spring Clean
• Failure to comment as required above will result in the entrant being ineligible to win and entries will be verified
• Entrant must include their full name with their comment below, so that entries can be verified
• The announcement of the lucky winner will be made on the Utterly Organised Facebook Page and displayed on the Rafflecopter widget above
• The lucky winner will have 5 days to contact Utterly Organised and claim their prize so that the prize can be finalised
• Failure to claim prize within designated period will result in another winner being drawn
• Any questions on the competition can be directed to utterlyorganised@gmail.com 

Good luck everyone!!

 

Spring Cleaning and Organising your Laundry - my Top Tips and Ideas!

{Post brought to you in conjunction with Vanish}

 

By demand, today I am offering up my tips for Organising and giving your Laundry a bit of a Spring Clean and boy does this room get a workout from me at the moment!! How is it that babies can generate SO much washing? I am just thankful for having a bit of sunny Melbourne weather as of late to get it all dry each day.

 

If you have been reading my blog for a wee while, you may recall that I did a bit of a Laundry feature some time ago (wow I cannot believe that was 3 years ago!). You can read those posts here and here. But it was definitely time in my house for a bit of a laundry refresh and overhaul.

   

Cut Clutter from Laundry Cupboards

  Much to my husbands disbelief, towels and sheets don't last forever. Use your Spring Clean as a good opportunity to go through your towels, sheets and linen and discard any items that are looking a bit worse for wear or that you haven't used in over 12 months. I had a stack of towels in colour schemes that were a bit dated so out they went!   If you completed my Bathroom Spring Clean earlier on this week (you can read that post here), then I reckon you (and I) deserve to treat ourselves with some bright new towels for Spring don't you agree?!  

 

I have been lusting after these towels from Adairs - gorgeous aren't they?!

 

Consider donating any old linen and towels to a local animal shelter, they are always in desperate need of these items.

   

Organise your Laundry Cupboards

  For those new to the blog, this is a little preview as to what my Laundry looked like pre Spring Clean.  

  The basket organising solution that I put in place several years ago is still working brilliantly today and the baskets from Home Storage and Living (sadly no longer available) are still going strong! I was getting a little bit tired of the labels that I created, so I decided to give these a bit of a revamp once I completed my cull and tidy.  

  The little labels have been created by Kate at Pretty Paper Labels and I have stuck these on mini peg blackboards that I purchased from Ebay. I have to say that I love the new clean look of the laundry space.

 

Of course if you liked the old labels, you can still download these from my blog as a free printable here.

 

   

 

I know I sound like a broken record, but baskets really are the BEST thing for sorting out your Laundry/Linen cupboard.

  I also have a basket solution to sorting out my washing (which is never ending at the minute). This has been in place for a few years too (you can read more on that here) and I absolutely love the way it keeps my washing a bit more under control as the number of family members has grown!  

 

The drawer unit was also updated with labels from Pretty Paper Label.

 

 

Under Sink Organising

 

The sink area under washing machine trough is traditionally a bit of a dumping ground. If you have enough room, consider popping a basket in here to contain the washing products and powders.

       

I absolutely think a laundry tin is a great investment to keep powder fresh, neat and looking pretty too!

 

 

Clean Washing Machine and Dryer

Did you know that you should be regularly running your machine at 90 degrees to kill bacteria? Yup I neglect to do this too! Why not incorporate this in to your Spring Clean along with popping in a satchet cleaner designed to clean, sanitise and descale your machine.
 

  I pick this up at my local Supermarket in the cleaning aisle and try to do it a few times a year. Once you have finished this cycle, clean the drawer seals and the detergent drawers.    

Refresh your Whites!

 

As you can see from my pictures, we have quite a bit of white linen in our cupboards. These can tend to get a bit discoloured and flat particularly over the Winter months. Using Vanish Gold for Whites is brilliant for soaking whites that need a bit of refresh as this product can lift up to 3 shades of white. If needed, pre-treat with the Vanish Preen Oxi Action Spray before soaking to lift any stubborn stains such as dirt, grass, coffee etc.

   

My Essential (Budget) Buys for the Laundry

KMART Metal Soak Bucket
Price: $7.00

KMART Laundry Powder Tin
Price: $9.00

Sadly the baskets that I have are no long being sold. Here are a few different alternatives for you....

 

HOWARDS STORAGE WORLD Storage Tote

Price: $21.95 (Medium Size)

 

  IKEA Gles Box  

Price: $2.99

 

 

 

FREEDOM BUCO Basket

Price: $20.89 (on sale at the time of publish)

 

 

KMART Rattan Style Plastic Basket

Price: $8.00 (also in teal and white)

I hope that you have picked up some tips for Organising your own Laundry space and enjoyed a peek at mine. I would love you to share any tips, ideas or pictures with me!

 

If you are feeling all inspired to Spring Clean, please stay tuned to the bog as thanks to Dettol I have some Spring Cleaning packs to give away on the blog tomorrow....