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Practical Mama

Practical wisdom and balanced lifestyle for parents

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Gardening

Compost tumbler vs compost bin: product review and comparison

By Practical Mama |
This post may contain affiliate links

I have been composting since I’ve started my vegetable garden in my backyard in 2008. It gives me a great satisfaction to be able to compost our kitchen waste, grass clippings, dry leaves and all other garden waste to use them in our garden again. We initially purchased a standard rectangular stationary compost bin and set it up at a corner of my … [Read more...]

Home Organization

Smart organization and storage ideas for kitchen cabinets

By Practical Mama |
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Smart organization and storage ideas for kitchen cabinets

ORGANIZING KITCHEN CABINETS Our house is spacious and has an open layout where it looks like we have a big kitchen. However, compared to how much I use my kitchen and number of the tools and utensils I use, we have very limited counter space and cabinets. Not only do I have to be very selective in what I store in my cabinets, I also have to be … [Read more...]

Home Organization

Smart storage and organization ideas for small bathrooms

By Practical Mama |
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Smart storage and organization ideas for small bathrooms

Struggling with organization ideas for small bathrooms?  Small bathrooms require smart storage and organization solutions to keep it organized and free of clutter. Especially when all family members or residents are using the same small bathroom, you need to make the use of every nook and cranny including the cabinet under the sink, over the … [Read more...]

Backyard Chickens

Chickens make great pets

By Practical Mama |
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Chickens make great pets

LET ME TELL YOU WHY I THINK CHICKENS MAKE GREAT PETS We’ve celebrated our 4th anniversary of being backyard chicken owners this past month. It’s amazing how time flew since my son came home with a chirping shoe box and I had to scramble through the city to find baby chick feed, feeder, and waterer. Since then we had a rooster, which had to move to … [Read more...]

Home Organization

DIY: Trash and Recycling Center

By Practical Mama |
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DIY: Trash and Recycling Center

DIY TRASH & RECYCLING CENTER We recently completed a  DIY trash and recycling center.  The trash bin with a butcher block we've built by hacking a kitchen cart with wire baskets 6 years ago started to fall apart. I really liked the fact that trash can was hidden and we had the additional space to use as either a cutting board when cooking or … [Read more...]

Home

DIY: Dry erase whiteboard wall

By Practical Mama |
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DIY: Dry erase whiteboard wall

I've been planning to turn one of the large walls in our basement into a dry erase whiteboard for a long time. I even purchased a set of dry erase paint, black chalkboard paint and magnetic primer but as always things got in the way. When I started to get ready and finally paint the wall, I read that dry erase paints had an expiration date and … [Read more...]

Home

10 uses of headlamp indoors

By Practical Mama |
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10 uses of headlamp indoors

What do you use when you need extra, focused lighting: Flashlight? Lantern light? Smartphone light? Before smartphones, all we knew were flashlights. They are handy but hey always occupy one hand, leaving you only one hand to work with.I always knew people used headlamps outdoors in the dark but until a friend of ours got one for my son for his … [Read more...]

Home, Product Review

10 must-have products for parents on the go

By Practical Mama |
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10 must-have products for parents on the go

I feel like I'm always chasing someone or someone is chasing me. And this is with only 2 kids. Sometimes, I feel like my mind is left behind while I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Somehow, most of the time, I manage to pull off looking as if I have my act together with the help of few life-saving products.For me, … [Read more...]

Sewing

How to turn flat sheets into fitted sheets

By Practical Mama |
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How to turn flat sheets into fitted sheets

Fitted bed sheets are one of my favorite modern inventions. It annoys me to my core when flat sheets slip, get crumpled at the corner of the bed and I find myself on the bare mattress in the morning. When I buy a single bed sheet I always opt for fitted ones. However, I also buy duvet covers as a set and most of the bed sheets included in the sets … [Read more...]

Sewing

Upcycle: Sweatpants to leggings

By Practical Mama |
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Upcycle: Sweatpants to leggings

My daughter has been wearing only leggings for quite a long time. She doesn't wear jeans, any type of fabric pants or sweatpants. She prefers tight and soft fabrics. That's fine during fall and spring but leggings are not cold-weather clothes. Definitely not for Chicago cold. Even though I consider myself a laid-back mama when it comes to kids' … [Read more...]

Sewing

DIY: Hairdressers cape with window

By Practical Mama |
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DIY: Hairdressers cape with window

I cut everyone's hair in our household. I have a small kit including Conair 21-piece haircut kit and a hairdressers cape.I'm fairly quick but kids love to read books when I'm cutting their hair. Then hair clippings fall on to the book. It's annoying and hard to get rid of all the hair from the pages. I decided to put a clear vinyl window on the … [Read more...]

Home Organization

DIY: Laptop Stand for Fitness Equipment

By Practical Mama |
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DIY: Laptop Stand for Fitness Equipment

I had purchased this Gazelle Edge Elliptical Trainer a while ago to keep me moving indoors during winter. I like it better compared to regular treadmills. It's easy on the knees. I sometimes listened to music or podcasts while I use it but I wanted to read a book or work on my laptop while I ran on Gazelle.It has an odd shape so you cannot … [Read more...]

Sewing

DIY: Bedside organizer caddy with printable pattern

By Practical Mama |
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DIY: Bedside organizer caddy with printable pattern

We still have bunk beds in our children's room. They don't have bedside tables to put their things on. They like to read and write. My daughter needs a place to put her eyeglasses away and likes to mark her calendar. My son needs a place to put his bedtime medicine. I have been planning to make this bedside organizer caddy for a long time. In this … [Read more...]

Sewing

DIY: Minecraft knee patch for kids – w/ printable pattern

By Practical Mama |
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DIY: Minecraft knee patch for kids – w/ printable pattern

My son had already ripped two of his pants' knees before I was able to prevent them from being ripped. Those were good sweatpants. I didn't want to trash them. So I decided to patch them. You can find really neat knee patch ideas on Pinterest. My favorite is monster knee patches. My son wanted Minecraft instead of monsters.So I did it using … [Read more...]

Home

DIY: Reupholstering the old office chair

By Practical Mama |
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DIY: Reupholstering the old office chair

We have an old office chair that is pretty sturdy but very uncomfortable. The seat cover has worn off and the cushion was flattened. I was having pain in my tailbone after sitting on this chair for a short while. Instead of throwing it out and buying a brand new one, I decided to reupholster the old office chair.This is what it looked like … [Read more...]

Sewing

How to prevent knee holes in pants

By Practical Mama |
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How to prevent knee holes in pants

My son's pants never survive more than a month. It doesn't matter whether he is wearing jeans, sweat pants or cargo pants, knees get ripped within few weeks. Considering my son's growth rate, reinforced knee jeans are not that economical. Patching knees isn't easy either. I decided to do something to stop pants' knees from getting ripped.I got … [Read more...]

Backyard Chickens

DIY: Chicken Waterer from Beverage Cooler

By Practical Mama |
This post may contain affiliate links

DIY: Chicken Waterer from Beverage Cooler

In order to avoid any illnesses that other birds might bring over by using our chicken's waterer, I decided to make a waterer with nipples. I didn't use the water pipe to attach nipples because, first we only have 2 hens and the effort would not be worth it. Second, we don’t have a clean water source near our coop.I decided to use a beverage … [Read more...]

Gardening

How to grow potatoes in a reusable bag

By Practical Mama |
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How to grow potatoes in a reusable bag

This year, I wanted to try out growing potatoes in my garden. I had a reusable potato growing bag that I got for a buck last year. I would have purchased more, if I had known how many seeds I could fit in a bag. I found seed potatoes at a grocery store. Planting them was fairly easy.1. Open up the bag and roll down the sides until you have … [Read more...]

Backyard Chickens

Adventures of runaway chickens

By Practical Mama |
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Adventures of runaway chickens

The last two chicks we've adopted turned out to have very different personalities than the ones we had before. We had a White Leghorn Rooster (Fluffy), an Orpington (Yellow) hen and an Austrolorp (Chick Vader) hen before. From what I've read, these are heavier, more domestic, humand-friendly breeds. We usually let them roam in the backyard instead … [Read more...]

Home Organization

DIY Garage Ball Storage Rack

By Practical Mama |
This post may contain affiliate links

DIY Garage Ball Storage Rack

This project is one from the summer. The number of various balls in our house have been increasing over the summer. The football ball, basketball ball, soccer ball. The smaller ones for my daughter, the bigger ones for my son. We needed to organize all the balls and get them out of the way. You can find similar ball storage racks and organizers all … [Read more...]

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I am a mother of two and a type of person who you would call “Jack of all trades, master of none”. As you might guess from categories, I love my children, reading, sewing, gardening, traveling and cooking. I also work full time so I have to be practical to do all the things I want to do in a 24-hr-day. More About Me


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