Category: Gear

For me, buying furniture is hard. I’m on a tight budget, but I want my room to look nice. I also want to be able to move my furniture up a flight of stairs and around tight corners.

So, when I needed a desk for my home office, I spent several months searching before settling on the Altra metal ladder desk with set of two bookcases from Walmart. Read more…

Last week, I told you about an easy way to Go Green for Earth Month – how to make your cleaning products. It’s simple to do, doesn’t cost much to do it, and won’t take a whole lot of your time. We’re taking the Scott Brand 4 Week Test Drive this earth month – it’s a great (and free!) way to help your state win $50,000 in nature conservation.

Many people still equate being green with recycling, and recycling is a big part of green living, but did you know there are several other ways to get rid of things you no longer use, want or need? Just because something can’t be thrown in your recycling bin doesn’t mean that it has to be thrown in the trash!

Here are 5 other recycling alternatives. Read more…

I am one of those moms who actually gets excited about back to school shopping because I love buying paper, pencils, and notebooks. I only have one child, but I normally buy enough supplies for a classroom full of children.

There are very few cute options for boys, however, which is why I love Frecklebox so much. Read more…

I love reading and there’s nothing I love more than buying children’s books. So, it’s not surprising that my son has a very impressive library for a seven-year-old boy.

His room is a bit tiny, however, so we’ve been cleaning and rearranging to make room for new things over the past few weeks. In addition to planning for a summer garage sale, we’ve been looking at ways to better organize the items we already have. Read more…

We’re celebrating Earth Month this month, and there are a lot of different things that you can do to “go green” without making huge changes to your daily routine or putting too much effort into it.

I have mentioned before that I write at ChiquitaMoms.com, and I recently wrote a post about 10 easy ways to go green. I do lots of simple things in my home to live a little greener, including buying from green brands, using green products, and things like that.

We are currently also in the process of having solar panels put on our house – not cheap, but in the long run it will save us thousands of dollars. But by far, my favorite green thing I do is make my own cleaning products. Read more…

If you’ve been reading my posts here on Smart Mom Picks for any length of time, you know I’m pretty cheap. I don’t splurge on a whole lot of things, though I am willing to try out new products that can help make my life better…or ones that make me feel better!

I’ve told you before about one of my favorite online deal sites, BabySteals.com, and that’s where I found my new favorite splurge: Dara & Co. throws and blankets.

What makes these luxurious blankets so luxurious? Read more…

Like most boys, my son doesn’t normally get too excited about his shoes. However, after we were given the chance to test out a pair of cowboy boots from Justin Boots, he fell in love.

He says they make him look “tough” when compared to the Skechers he normally wears to school. Once I convinced him that cowboy boots and shorts are not intended to be worn together, I have to admit he did look absolutely adorable. Read more…

When you become a mother, you realize very quickly that the days of carrying a cute handbag are over. When you have one baby, you can carry a small diaper bag…when you have twins…or more…all bets are off and you are carrying a ton of gear when you head out of the house. Then attempt to shop at the mall or otherwise and you add other bags into the mix.

That’s where the Mommy Hook comes in. Read more…

I’m one of the few people out there who actually enjoys cleaning. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy cleaning, but my house isn’t spotless or even always clean. And with kids and pets, it goes without saying that cleaning usually isn’t high up on my priority list.

But since spring is here, it’s time for “Spring Cleaning” – that detailed cleaning we only make time to do once a year. I thought I’d share some tips for making your efforts more time efficient while making the job easier, or at least bearable. Read more…

When you’re an expectant parent, it can be overwhelming trying to decide exactly what you need to have for that little bundle of joy, especially for the first few months. But the truth is, newborns need very little in those first few months in the way of gear. They simply need a place to sleep, a full tummy, some things to help keep them warm and cuddles from Mom and Dad.

The Moby Wrap helps accomplish the bulk of those goals. It was one of my favorite items when our twins were home those first few months from the NICU. Read more…

Oh. My. Stars.

I wish I would have known about the Blooming Bath when my twins were at the bathing in the sink age. They may have actually gotten baths more often!

This product is GENIUS.

This is merely the opinion of one humble mother of three. But from one anxious mother to another who has had her share of sudsy babies slip out of her hands while attempting to wash a tushy or two, you get my enthusiasm over this product. Read more…

With 3 kids four and under, I spend a lot of time cleaning. A LOT of time. And it seems like they can make a mess anywhere they are…while sitting in chairs, sitting in their carseats, and even in the stroller. The kids seem to either attract dirt or they secretly figured out a way to produce and release dirt…I haven’t figured it out yet!

I use antiseptic wipes like they are going out of style, but they get expensive and I don’t like all the chemicals they leave behind…especially on things I know the kids will be touching. Which is why I think BuggyLOVE is worth checking out. Read more…

In my house, no morning can begin without a cup of coffee. But I’m also a busy mom, and so many times that coffee sits for a long time and ends up getting cold. Or I try to drink it before the kids come bug me wake up and I end up burning my mouth and tongue because it is too hot to drink. Put it in one of those insulated coffee cups and I swear it takes hours (only slight exaggeration) to cool to a drinkable temperature. If you love coffee like I do, but never get to have that perfect cup, you have to check out Coffee Joulies. Read more…

One tried and true method for soothing a newborn into sleep is swaddling. When we had our first child, the nurses showed us how to swaddle like only the pros know how and we realized that it was magic. So, we dutifully wrapped our sweet little bundle burrito-style each time we put her down to sleep because it meant that we, too, would get sleep.

Years later, the value of swaddling was confirmed again when we saw the NICU nurses do the same with our 28 week old preemies. Infants find comfort being swaddled because it mimics the snug feeling of the womb, which is essential when you have infants born prematurely. Swaddling also limits the startle reflex which often wakes babies from sleep. Read more…

Teaching children about money is so important. They need to understand how money works: what spending, saving, and sharing is and how they should do all of these things. My 4 year old knows that he can spend some and save some, but we’ve never taught him about sharing (giving to charity for example) or how he should save more than he spends.

It’s hard for kids to understand when they put all of their money in one place (like a piggy bank) because they don’t understand how they need to divide the money up. And that’s where a Moonjar Moneybox can help! Read more…

Eco Nuts? Sounds weird, right? I don’t remember where I first heard about these “soap nuts” but the name immediately caught my attention. So I’m sure you want to know what they are now! Eco Nuts Soap Nuts are actually a berry that grows in the Himalayas that naturally produces a soap. The soap (called saponin), is a natural cleaner that Eco Nuts sells as laundry detergent that you can purchase in liquid or nut form. Read more…