Indoor Wireless Switch

Continuing my rental house theme this week, I want to talk about one of my absolute favorite products for making your home's electrical wiring work for you - without rewiring anything! Maybe you live in a rental like us, maybe your home was built before modern expectations of plentiful outlets and logically-placed light switches, or maybe you have realized a need recently that you left out of your home's original plans. This wireless switch is here to help!

Here's the gist: you plug the receiver end into any outlet (i.e. the one closest to the light you want to turn into a switch light), plug your light into the receiver, and mount the wireless light switch anywhere that's convenient for you (I like to use 3M strips). Boom. Insta-light-on-a-switch.

We've used these things in two apartments and a rental house (and I used them in a third apartment when I was single). Trust me, there is ALWAYS a use for these babies. As someone who hates harsh central lighting, our current house's setup wasn't ideal - every room has a built-in wall remote thing that controls the fan and its light instead of a light switch with a corresponding outlet. I've included a pic for reference. The green button is super hard to push, and when you do, you're rewarded with a too-bright overhead light flooding the room. Since we already have a small cache of wireless switches, we utilized them to create the following lighting situations:

- In our living room we've plugged two floor lamps into an extension cord that plugs into a wireless switch receiver. Then we mounted two corresponding switches near our back door and our staircase so we can easily flip on the lights when we enter from the garage (the most common way we enter the house) and flip off the lights as we head upstairs at night. In this scenario we needed two sets of switches, and, this is important, they HAVE to be the same frequency channel - something that you can't control when you order from Amazon. The switches and receivers have little stickers on the back that tell you what channel they're set to. I've heard rumors that you can fiddle with the switches and change the channel yourself, but the whole point of me ordering these things is to avoid any sort of electrical fiddling, so yeah... lol

- In our guest room we tucked a floor lamp in the far corner of the room and mounted the wireless wall switch next to the fan switch at the room's entrance. It makes for a much more welcoming room, and as you can see from review photos, the wireless wall switch blends nicely with other preexisting switches.

Helpful Info
- Here's where you can get these switches. They've updated the model since I purchased ours (the ones we have look like the ones in the reviews).
- Currently $16.97 for one receiver and one switch.
- Comes ready for use.
- Like I mentioned earlier, each switch comes with its own frequency channel (such as D, E, F, maybe more). You can't control what Amazon sends you. So, if you only need one switch, no worries. If you're going for a more complicated setup like our living room, it might be worth it to try ordering these a few times (if you're someone who doesn't mind returning things to Amazon) to get a matching pair. We lucked out in the living room situation as we already had a matching pair on hand.

Always Helpful

     If you don't use the Honey browser extension tool, you should. Not only does it automatically search for coupon codes to apply to your order for thousands of online stores, it also alerts you to better deals on an Amazon product, as well as tracking the price of said product (so you know if now is a good time to buy!). It's free, it's easy, and you can get kickbacks like Honey Gold.

Disclaimer: As always, this isn't a sponsored post. I just really like this product and feel that it is my privilege and duty to share my personal opinion with you. :)

LED Motion Sensor Table Lamp / Night Light

We live in a rental house, which means we have limitations. I take this as a challenge. How can I make this house work for us? Awkward space between a separated double vanity? There's an IKEA bar cart for that. Flimsy closet doors falling off tracks? Take those suckers down and hang up a pair of curtains! (We've done this twice now - it's awesome to have easy access to your entire closet in one sweep!)

Shortly after we moved into our current house, I ran into a little problem with our upstairs landing/hallway. I wanted some sort of night light since it turns into a bit of a black hole at night, and since it's a spot guests have to walk through on their way from their bedroom to the bathroom, I knew some additional light was needed. Who wants to awkwardly shuffle-creep down an unfamiliar hallway for a 2am potty run? In case you're struggling to really visualize my problem, I've provided a helpful diagram below. Why yes, I used to be a teacher, why do you ask? :P

After countless searches for battery-powered electrical outlets (spoiler alert: they don't exist), I finally settled on a battery-powered nightlight. Yes, I do things the hard way sometimes. That's when I came across this little gem. It's cheap, it's small enough to fit on a little hall table, and it looks super modern and trendy. It very clearly comes from China (the instructions are hilariously bad), so I was dubious, but it's been six months, and it's still going strong! I like that it's motion-activated, so it really conserves battery power. It also has an automatic daylight sensor, again conserving batteries. It can be turned off and on manually as well if you want consistent light.

This item definitely falls into the category of cheap and easy home improvement fixes - it's worked great for what we needed, and I definitely recommend it!

Helpful Info
- Here's where to buy this light. The link takes you directly to the "Round Orange White" option, which is the one I have.
- Currently $9.49
- Needs 3 AAA batteries (not included)
- Dimensions: stands 15.5cm tall, 7.5cm wide (this is a small light)
- The light has three modes: automatic (motion-sensor, with daylight shut-off), permanently on (steady light), and permanently off.

Always Helpful

     If you don't use the Honey browser extension tool, you should. Not only does it automatically search for coupon codes to apply to your order for thousands of online stores, it also alerts you to better deals on an Amazon product, as well as tracking the price of said product (so you know if now is a good time to buy!). It's free, it's easy, and you can get kickbacks like Honey Gold.

Disclaimer: As always, this isn't a sponsored post. I just really like this product and feel that it is my privilege and duty to share my personal opinion with you. :)

Rachael Ray Lasagna Lugger

It's potluck season, y'all! Or wait, is that in the fall? Or maybe around the holidays? I have a feeling that it's ALWAYS potluck season if you attend church. Can I get an amen? And since I am now a full-fledged adult, I've graduated to actually taking a casserole dish to potlucks, and not just wimping out and making dessert. Well, maybe I take a casserole dish 50% of the time... and I'm perhaps being a tad generous with my calculations...

Anyways, moving on. It's important to have the right equipment for the complicated task that is baking a dish before leaving for church in the morning (without delaying the family!), and yet being able to serve that dish at a proper temperature hours later (without delaying the fellowship meal!). A few times into doing this (which may or may not have involved beach towels and an ill-fitting insulated grocery bag), I found a better way. Yes, friends, a better way.

Introducing the lasagna lugger! If you're a Rachael Ray fan, all the better! My personal stance on Ms. Ray is ambivalent, but she has made? endorsed? a darn good lasagna lugger. For my church's Easter potluck I made a smothered green beans casserole dish that I was able to take directly from the oven, cover with a lid, pop into this carrier, and serve 2+ hours later. For posterity's sake, I used a Pyrex Easy Grab 3-qt. dish, similar to this one (my lid is blue).

I ordered this carrier because the good reviews, good price (I was able to score it for $20 using the Honey price tracker), and it had a color option that my husband wouldn't feel silly lugging into church. ;) The company has since released a wider range of colors to choose from - they currently have blue, purple, orange, and red in addition to green. Some color options come in two different styles as well.

As you can see in the picture above, there is an exterior zippered pocket - this is great for tucking in a serving utensil (has anyone else reached for a dish at a potluck, only to realize there's no way to serve it?). Pro-tip: If you tuck in a gallon Ziploc bag along with the utensil, it makes for an easy and mess-free transport home. Speaking of mess-free, somehow my carrier was jostled on the way home on Easter Sunday and green bean casserole juice leaked all inside of it. Awesome. However, it was very easy to rinse out the carrier in the sink and let it air dry overnight. It's good as new and tucked away for our next big church meal!

Helpful Info
- Here's where to buy this lasagna lugger!
- Currently $25 for all colors (in my experience, certain colors have gone on sale at different times)
- Spot clean only
- Fits most 9 inch x 13 inch dishes

Always Helpful

     If you don't use the Honey browser extension tool, you should. Not only does it automatically search for coupon codes to apply to your order for thousands of online stores, it also alerts you to better deals on an Amazon product, as well as tracking the price of said product (so you know if now is a good time to buy!). It's free, it's easy, and you can get kickbacks like Honey Gold.

Disclaimer: As always, this isn't a sponsored post. I just really like this product and feel that it is my privilege and duty to share my personal opinion with you. :)

Windsor Glider and Ottoman

Having a baby? You need a rocker. Or, in this case, a glider. I'm sure you've heard this, and many of you are nodding your heads in agreement. A glider is great for... well, rocking, of course. However, there are several varieties of rocking - sleepy newborn post-feeding session rocking, sick and fussy baby with a fever rocking, pre-nap cuddling and story rocking, sleep regression middle of the night rocking, bedtime Bible story rocking... and on and on. In short, you'll be using your rocker a lot! When I bought this glider, I had three governing principles at play, listed in order of importance: price, compactness, and comfort.

Price: Baby stuff costs a lot of money, and since mine was a honeymoon baby, we had just experienced the joys (and financial costs) of our wedding, honeymoon, moving in together, and me switching from my career to part-time work in a new city while the dust settled. This glider is the single cheapest one on Amazon, currently coming in at $120 (a full $25 cheaper than what I paid in 2016).

Compactness: I love that this glider doesn't have a large footprint - even less so if you ditch the ottoman (gasp), which is exactly what I've done. I still don't know how to rock in a glider with your feet resting on a moving object. I much prefer using my feet to push off the floor. Also, our current nursery is pretty small, so ditching the ottoman freed up a lot of floor space.

Comfort: There are some super plush trendy gliders out there, and I realize this one doesn't blow your mind in terms of style. However, it is super comfortable, in my opinion. I mean, I bought it for rocking my little one to sleep, not for spending my nights sleeping upright in the nursery (though I have dozed off in it once or twice by accident - yes, my rocking ability is so stellar that I can, in fact, rock myself to sleep).

Beyond what I've already written above, here are a few more reasons I really like this glider -
- It's survived three moves so far, one of which was a cross-country move.
- Its high back is awesome for resting my tired Mama head during those late night rocking sessions.
- Its arms are padded - that will come in handy, trust me.
- It has little pockets on both sides, which are great for tucking in a pack of tissues for wiping away tears and runny noses - I use a Puffs softpack.
- Its muted colors make it more likely to complement the color scheme and decor of your nursery, guestroom, living room, etc.

Helpful Info
- Here's where to buy this glider. There are other options available, but they cost a bit more. This link is for the specific glider I have and like.
- Currently $120 - cheapest glider on Amazon!
- Spot clean only
- Dimensions: 24.8 x 25.8 x 39.5 inches
- There is some assembly, but I don't remember us having any trouble. And I loved that it was delivered to our door!

Always Helpful

     If you don't use the Honey browser extension tool, you should. Not only does it automatically search for coupon codes to apply to your order for thousands of online stores, it also alerts you to better deals on an Amazon product, as well as tracking the price of said product (so you know if now is a good time to buy!). It's free, it's easy, and you can get kickbacks like Honey Gold.

Disclaimer: As always, this isn't a sponsored post. I just really like this product and feel that it is my privilege and duty to share my personal opinion with you. :)

Bamboo Charcoal Air Purifier Bags

I had a problem. Well, two problems, but they were the same problem. So, one problem. And it was... stinkiness. Specifically, nasty diapers and a distinct elderly-person's-home odor. The first came from the general vicinity of my son's diaper pail (no matter how tight it auto-twisted those bags shut!), and the other came from an amazing yard sale score: a gorgeous cream, navy, and coral Mexican blanket for $1. ONE DOLLAR!!! Anyway, said blanket came home with me, lived in a box for a few months during our move, then emerged and graced our new guest room/office with its presence. And it's odor, as I found out a few days later.

I wanted something to eliminate the odor and not just cover it up. Sound familiar? Yeah, Febreze didn't cut it. And I can't really Febreze a plastic diaper pail. But, my Amazon hunting yielded these little treasures. Charcoal-filled bamboo bags meant to absorb odors. I hung one up behind the diaper pail (right at stinky bag-top level) and laid the other one on top of the folded blanket in the guest room. Days, or weeks, or maybe a month passed (#momlife), and I suddenly noticed that the odors were gone. These things work! One keeps the diaper stankiness to a minimum (there's no avoiding that blast when you open the lid to cram in just. one. more.) and the other sucked all the "mung bean" smell outta that beautiful blanket.

Helpful Info
- Here's where to buy these awesome things.
- $6 for 2, $12 for 4 (ah, I see what they did there...)
- Recharge once a month by placing the bag in direct sunlight for an hour.
- Other suggested uses include shoes, the refrigerator, freezer, car, gym bag, purse (though that might be a bit awkward, right?), bathroom, closet, drawers, sporting equipment, and luggage.

Always Helpful

     If you don't use the Honey browser extension tool, you should. Not only does it automatically search for coupon codes to apply to your order for thousands of online stores, it also alerts you to better deals on an Amazon product, as well as tracking the price of said product (so you know if now is a good time to buy!). It's free, it's easy, and you can get kickbacks like Honey Gold.

Disclaimer: As always, this isn't a sponsored post. I just really like this product and feel that it is my privilege and duty to share my personal opinion with you. :)

I'm not an Amazonaholic. I promise.

This blog used to be about crafts, and the title, Lemme Try That, referred to my attempts to replicate ideas I saw on Pinterest, Etsy, etc. Let it be known that I still do crafts! However, now that I'm a stay at home mom, there's just a little less time on creative pursuits for some reason... :)

Something that I've been spending more and more time doing is researching, and not quite the same type I used to do in grad school. In the past three years I've researched wedding decorations, home improvements, baby stuff (So. Much. Baby. Stuff.) and home decor, and I've bought a lot of it on Amazon. How much? Well, in the past three years my orders from Amazon have more than quadrupled, from 29 in 2015 to 131 in 2017 (I'm already at 40 so far in 2018...), and I have a feeling a lot of others are experiencing the same as we change up our shopping habits to meet the times and our life situations.

That being said, I'm not an Amazonaholic - although I do have Prime, I'm also a huge fan of comparison shopping, and I'm not above sending those little smiley boxes right back to their warehouse homes full of my rejects (most recently I returned a full-sized floor mirror. Yup). The thing I love about Amazon is the ratings system. Oh, and the free shipping. And the incredible niche stuff you can find. What was I saying? Oh yeah, I'm not an Amazonaholic. I'm just an aficionado.

I know, I've been going on and on about Amazon. But that's because I want to explain where I'm taking this blog - I've decided to turn it into a recommendations spot, since I've found some really cool, well-priced, useful things on Amazon. None of my posts will be sponsored (I'm not that big of a deal), but if you order something through my referral link, I get a kickback! A lot of these items I've already recommended to friends and family, or have repeatedly reordered as gifts, so I stand behind them. And I take a lot of stock in my own opinion, so therefore I also stand behind that. ;)

Brave New World Bookmarks

At the end of each semester I give a little gift to my seniors (non-food, since that's illegal #ThanksMichelleObama). Since my seniors spend a lot of time outside of class reading an assigned novel (Frankenstein in the fall, Brave New World in the spring) and the last few weeks of class completing a multi-genre project on it, I’ve developed a tradition of giving them bookmarks made from the pages of their particular book. I’ve posted about this craft before, but I did something a little different this past spring.

The first steps were business as usual – pulling out pages from my chosen text and trimming them down to size (I always try to center the book’s title at the top).

However, Brave New World stymied me when it came time to choose an accent detail. Typically I’ve stamped a design of some sort on each bookmark, but I kept coming up empty with Brave New World. So, I decided to utilize the key icons of the book (Greek letters indicating castes) and replicate them on the bookmarks by hand… after looking them up to make sure I drew them correctly!

After making my ‘key,’ I selected a few colors and drew each letter in a variety of shades. Since I knew the higher castes would be more popular (duh!), I allocated them a larger number of bookmarks.

Once I had my bookmarks prepped, I ran ‘em through the laminator (my favorite thing to do!), cut ‘em out, and then used my nifty corner-rounder to finish 'em off. Tip: If you’re going to round corners, wait until after laminating – that way you only have to do it once. A good corner-rounder will punch through laminated paper just as well.

Lastly, I added a little sticker label to the back of each bookmark with references that encompassed the scope of the class (‘epic’ refers to Beowulf, the first text we read at the beginning of the semester). And, there you have it! Maybe not as neat as their stamped cousins, but my students didn’t know the difference. ;)