Organizing the Home

DeLonghi Experience: A Gift Guide for the Special People in your List

December 20, 2017 By thegomom Leave a Comment

It is seldom that we get to experience a product before a purchase, especially for kitchen appliances and coffee machines. We just buy it based on ads or the reviews we have read. De’Longhi Concept Specialist changed the retail experience of affordable luxury appliances when they opened the De’Longhi Concept Store at Ayala Vertis North Mall last November 23, 2017.

The store is very cozy. You can sit back, relax and savor some coffee while deciding which machine speaks to your heart best.

The grand opening had A-list celebrities coming in all through out the day. Most of them wanting to have a peek of what the DeLonghi Concept store has. Daphne Osena, who is one of my fashion and home style icons are there along with other celebrities from Angel Aquino, Jackie Go, Lynn Ching, Tin Dychiao, Team Matsunaga among others. If you want to know the other celebrities who are onto DeLonghi visit the official instragram account of @delonghiph [Read more...]

Organizing our Kitchen Pantry

November 30, 2017 By thegomom Leave a Comment

The pantry is an essential part of my kitchen. In fact everything starts from what my pantry holds. If I want to make chicken curry, my pantry should have coconut milk. If I want to make pasta, my pantry should have linguini and tomato sauce.

That is why I have to make sure to stock my pantry well and keep everything orderly. Last week, Mothers who Brunch together with Lock and Lock held a wonderful lunch for us moms. We had a super duper fun cooking competition and were given tips on how to organize our pantries. Like store by category, not by size and have kid zone where kids can easily access their snacks.

Lock and Lock has always been in my pantry. My primary reason for having it is that it is air tight. Alam nyo naman in the Pili-Pines, no matter how well you clean up, ants find their way and I don't like wasting food because ants crawled into them. Second, is that it comes in sizes that are very functional. Third, is that it is a clear container so I can see what is inside. See how Lock and Lock is very much integrated into my own pantry.

Everything in it's place. A place for everything! Everything is much organized if we put them in Lock and Lock containers. I even have labels for my containers so new maids won't mix them up and I end up wasting precious time looking for ingredients. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home Living, Organizing the Home

Usapang Labada: Managing our Household Laundry

June 22, 2017 By thegomom Leave a Comment

I have my favorite clothes. Clothes, that no matter how many other clothes are in the closet, I always end up wearing. So when it looks worn out in just a few washes or worst kapag natalsikan ng bleach, gusto ko umiyak.

Plus, I’m not sure kung Amazona ang laundry woman namin because numinipis ang damit. And lastly, when I check my grocery list, a huge chunk of the budget goes into laundry items. I have a detergent bar, laundry powder for washing machine, laundry powder for general cleaning, bleach for whites, bleach for colored, fabric softener and dinagdagan pa ng ironing spray. Sandamakmak!

So when Tin of MFO invited me to an open table laundry exchange hosted by Perla, I thought I could use some advice.

Sharing with you some of the new things I discovered:

Bleach is not always necessary. Dahil may love-hate relationship ako with bleach, I am excited to trade it with a product that will make me reduce if not totally stop using it. It has already ruined too many clothes in our household. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home Living, Organizing the Home Tagged With: advantages of perla laundry soap, disadvantages of synthetic detergents, how to minimize laundry expense, what is perla laundry soap

5 Simple Ways to Ensure Safety of your LPG with Petron Gasul

January 7, 2016 By thegomom 2 Comments

Gasul-Delivery Boy

I'm a very practical mom. Whenever I am buying something for the house I always compare with other products in the market in terms of quality, quantity and price. That is probably the reason why I take 10 years to do my grocery shopping. But there are some things that are already a given. No brainer. Automatic. Take for instance Petron Gasul. It has been my trusted brand of LPG for years.

Petron Gasul in my service kitchen.

For me safety of the family must never be compromised. I shudder when [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home Living, Organizing the Home Tagged With: How to find out if LPG installer installed LPG properly, how to make LPG use safer, Petron Gasul, Safety of LPG inside the kitchen, what are the trusted LPG brands in the Philippines

Waiting Time in Doctor’s Offices Should Change

September 25, 2014 By thegomom 2 Comments

I brought my 3 year old who is running with a fever to the pedia this morning and I was told the wait was 3 hours at the least!?! OMG! Hindi kaya lalo magkasakit anak ko nyan?

Can't we come up with a better system for this? True, it has been like this for decades but we can change. In the US, doctor's consultation is by appointment. Maybe we can run on a similar system?

Time is very much of essence for everyone, patients included. Plus, waiting in the hospital for hours is not healthy for someone sick or otherwise because exposure to germs and virus run higher.

Doctors would probably argue that Filipinos are known to not keep appointments well, myself included, but maybe if we exact a higher bar for ourselves we can probably make it. If you have an appointment and you are not there on time, you get booted out to the end of the list. You just have to wait. Patients can be asked to come at least 30 minutes in advance so doctor will always have patients in the clinic because of the 30 minutes overlap. In cases where the doctor has a medical emergency, the secretary can give the patient a text of the change in schedule.

Hopefully, the secretaries of the doctors would be able to manage that. Through this simple change, doctors would be doing their patients better service.

How about you? What is your waiting time at the doctor's office? Do you think change is necessary?

Change is Good!

Filed Under: Home Living, Organizing the Home Tagged With: standard waiting time in doctor's offices in the Philippines

Clean Home = Clear Mind = Full Pocket

September 4, 2014 By thegomom Leave a Comment

I have a full closet, nag-uumpaw! O di ba parang I have so many clothes but when it is time to dress up, haaay, wala akong masuot! Half or maybe 1/4 of them kasi I don't use anymore. Some are faded already, others are when I was 20 pounds lighter (baka sakali pumayat eh), some naman I bought but it's not so nice on me pala.

Moving on to my toddler's stuff, we have the crib, high chair, clothes, infant toys at kung ano-ano pa that he doesn't need anymore! Hayayay! Tambak republic!

Ang gulo, right? Each unused item adding to the house clutter. As they say, "Clean home = clear mind." OLX goes all out in promoting clutter free homes by selling unused items through OLX. O di ba! Not only did you de-clutter, you earned money pa!

Like millions of Filipinos, OLX (previously Sulit) is my go-to online selling site for 2nd hand and even brand new items. Pinoys turn to it when they want to sell something and Pinoys turn to it when they are trying to find pre-used and bargain stuff. Perfect match! All of the stuff I posted thru OLX gets inquiries and eventual buys. Selling is as easy as 1-2-3. 1 - take photo 2 - upload 3 - wait for buyer and transact. Easy, breezy!

OLX came up with a catchy and humorous video of people getting lost amidst all the mess in the house. Can relate much? Here is the video:

at para tama ang lyrics ng LSS (last-song-syndrome) natin, here is the lyrics of the jingle.

I'm putting up a few items from my toddlers pile for sale at OLX. Here is the first batch ...

Pre-loved Lamaze Plush Toy with wrinkly plastic sound babies love; Pre-loved Original Converse Shoe for 2-3 year olds; Kept and Never Worn Gold Bug Suede Shoe; Kept and Never Worn Tip Toey Joey for 1-2.5 year olds.

I'm on! How about you? Let's get rid of all the stuff we don't need and create clean homes, clear minds and fatter wallets!:-) OLX here we go!

Disclosure: Thanks to OLX for sponsoring this post and giving Filipino homes an online venue to sell pre-loved stuff!

Lyrics:

Halina at tayo'y magbenta,

Sa OLX ka pumunta,

Ang hindi na ginagamit,

Cellphone, TV o damit,

Ibenta na sa OLX.

Ipahayag mo sa mundo,

ang gamit na ibebenta mo.

Magbawas ng kalat sa bahay,

I feel good at gumaan ang buhay.

Come and join me, it’s for everybody.

Just Post- Usap- Deal, believe me it’s that easy,

Simple lang at mabilis gamitin,

Thank you po, next time, sa uulitin!

Halina at tayo'y magbenta,

Sa OLX ka pumunta,

Ang hindi na ginagamit,

Cellphone, TV o damit,

Ibenta na sa OLX.

Filed Under: Home Living, Organizing the Home Tagged With: getting rid of unused things in the philippines, how to organize your home, OLX philippines

My Great Food: Super Duper Helpful Meal Planning and Recipe Tool for Filipino Moms

May 10, 2014 By thegomom Leave a Comment

One of my most dreaded tasks as a homemaker is meal planning. I drag my lazy hands to put the pen to the paper and start planning the menu for the week. I go crazy menu planning while considering the likes and dislikes of 5 people (including me) who are not very timid showing their disappointment if the food prepared is not to their liking. Their faces fall, and depending on my mood, my heart is crushed or I want to crush theirs:-) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home Living, Organizing the Home Tagged With: Filipino Meal Planning Website, Filipino Recipes Website, How to use My Great Food website, My great food Manila Launch, My Great Food website review, Pure foods launches My Great Food

Real Property Tax Deadline for QC is March 31, 2014

March 15, 2014 By thegomom 4 Comments

Hi! Just reminding everyone in QC area to pay your real property tax before March 31, 2013 to avail of discount and to avoid penalties. We just paid ours yesterday and it took less than 15 minutes! Yes, world record for a government office! But I went there 4:40pm in order to avoid the crowd. True enough the lady attending to me said it's good I came in late. The lines were horribly long in the morning and afternoon. Discount on real property tax is applicable for annual payments only. For Quezon City properties, discount is 20%! Discount and deadline VARIES PER CITY.

Requirements:

1. Real Property Tax Receipt for your land and for the improvement (house). 2 receipts.

2. Cash. The real property tax to be paid is usually the same as last year’s. City Hall does not accept personal checks.

Process:

Step 1: Go to the assessment office in your local city hall. Upon entry, you will be given a number and you just wait there till your number is called.

At the window, show last year’s real property tax receipts (2 – one for land and one for improvements). Assessor will issue you their assessment for the year. Cashier should return the original real property tax receipt to you and you should keep the original for your file.

Step 2: Go to the payment area and pay the assessed tax.

Note: Please verify with your local city hall the requirements and procedure according to your area. It varies per area.

Disclaimer

TheGoMom shares this information based on TheGoMom’s actual experience as of date of post. It is not meant to serve as nor claim to be a replacement of information of the government agency used for reference.

Filed Under: Home Living, Organizing the Home Tagged With: Deadline in paying Real Estate Tax in QC, General Procedure in Paying Real Property Tax in the Philippines, Procedure in Paying Real Property tax in Quezon City, Real Property Tax in the Philippines, Requirement in paying real property tax in the Philippines

Checklist for your Home and Kids while You’re on Travel

October 9, 2013 By thegomom Leave a Comment

True to form, I am stress organizing my a week away 10 day trek in Nepal. Apart from the checklist I have for my travel, checklist for the office and turning on my "I will be away" reply in my email, I have a looong list for my kids and our household helpers who will be left behind. Hopefully, the checklist will have the whole household in order, kids happy and me a little less guilty and worried for leaving the kids behind. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home Living, Organizing the Home Tagged With: Checklist for your Home and Kids while You're on Travel, Traveling without your child

Is it Time for a Gadget Upgrade?

April 16, 2013 By thegomom Leave a Comment

I'm not really a gadgets fan. I mean I don't necessarily have to have the latest cell phone every month of the year. As long as the gadget is serving my needs, I just frugally wait for it to die out on me.

For the longest time, I was on Nokia N73 and only changed to an Iphone 4S a year ago. Nope, my handy Nokia didn't die on me. It was because I already needed some features that my old Nokia phone didn't carry. Features like a powerful camera, internet connectivity and I had to get my hands on some of those wonderful apps.

With technology on a roll, features apart from the basic function, adds a lot of value to the gadget. These features simply make life easier, period. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home Finds, Home Living, Organizing the Home Tagged With: HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 5525 review, HP Deskjet Ink Advantage Line, HP Deskjet Ink Advantage Review, hp philippines printer giveaway 2013, it it time for a gadget upgrade, knowing when it is time for a gadget upgrade

Things to Consider Before Planting a Bamboo in the Garden

April 6, 2013 By thegomom 1 Comment

We have re-landscaped our teeny weeny garden for the nth time in the 5 years that we moved to our new house. The culprit of our endless landscaping - our lovely, Zen-ish bamboo tree.

I loved our bamboo tree. It looks fresh, full of life and I can see its lush leaves from my home office window. Problem is it mutates as fast as a virus and nothing else in our garden grows except it! We changed our blue grass 4 times over the years until we finally succumbed to putting in the hideous looking carabao grass. And it too, the sturdiest of all grasses, died:(

Finally a few weeks ago, we have decided to cut down our bamboo tree, dug our soil pretty deep to ensure no bamboo roots are left and put in new soil. We traded the bamboo for a simple palm tree and tada we have a tidy, simple garden sans the verdant bamboo tree but green nevertheless.

Here are the top 5 things, according to Mother Nature Network and my personal experience, you should consider before putting the very trendy bamboo tree.

1. It spreads very fast with some bamboo species growing more than 3 feet per day. And when it grows it doesn't respect property line. So the Zen looking bamboo will not look Zen-ish to you and your neighbor as it intrudes on their line.

2. Bamboo can cause ecological problems. Just as I experienced, nothing grew in our small yard except the bamboo. It spreads its roots and eats up all the nutrients of the soil leaving the other plants lifeless. There is a way to contain it from spreading its roots but its far too expensive and complicated to actualize.

3. Getting rid of bamboo can take years. We have dug as deep as we could to ensure we got rid of all the roots but it warned to expect the shoots to keep coming back despite the digging. Oh my!

4. The right bamboo can be hard to find. Apparently, there are 1,000 bamboo species and and it is very hard to distinguish slow invasive from fast invasive ones. When we bought our bamboo, we were assured that it won't grow much and it didn't. It grew very, very, very much!

5. On my end, apart from all those mentioned above there is also the endless bamboo leaves that falls off from the tree! The maid has to constantly sweep the garden for the fallen leaves.

In conclusion, the bamboo may look very good specially on modern Asian houses but consider the above warnings. If you still do decide to get it, read up on how to contain it and make sure you get the correct variety. Happy gardening!

Reference: Mother Nature Network

Filed Under: Home Living, Organizing the Home Tagged With: Is a bamboo tree easy to maintain, why bamboo trees are not good garden plants, why bamboo trees are not good yard plants, Why you should not plant a bamboo tree in your garden

Real Property Tax Deadline for QC is March 31, 2013

March 8, 2013 By thegomom Leave a Comment

Image from flippinisles.wordpress.com

Hi! Just reminding everyone in QC area to pay your real property tax before March 31, 2013 to avail of discount and to avoid penalties. We just paid ours this morning at 7am and the whole process just took 1.5 hours. Discount on real property tax is applicable for annual payments only. For Quezon City properties, discount is 20%! Discount and deadline VARIES PER CITY. I understand deadline for other cities was January.

Requirements:

1. Real Property Tax Receipt for your land and for the improvement (house). 2 receipts.

2. Cash. The real property tax to be paid is usually the same as last year's. I am not sure if City Hall accepts checks.

Process:

Step 1: Go to the assessment office in your local city hall. Upon entry, you will be given a number and you just wait there till your number is called.

At the window, show last year's real property tax receipts (2 - one for land and one for improvements). Assessor will issue you their assessment for the year. Cashier should return the original real property tax receipt to you and you should keep the original for your file.

Step 2: Go to the payment area and pay the assessed tax.

Note: Please verify with your local city hall the requirements and procedure according to your area. It varies per area.

Disclaimer

TheGoMom shares this information based on TheGoMom's actual experience as of date of post. It is not meant to serve as nor claim to be a replacement of information of the government agency we have used for reference.

Filed Under: Home Living, Organizing the Home Tagged With: General Procedure in Paying Real Property Tax in the Philippines, Procedure in Paying Real Property tax in Quezon City, Real Property Tax in the Philippines, Requirement in paying real property tax in the Philippines

Practical Tips to Welcome the Year of the Water Snake 2013

February 7, 2013 By thegomom Leave a Comment

Image from www.macmillan-academy.org.uk

First practical tip is to put a fountain on the northeast part of your house. Kidding:-)

February 10, 2013 is the day we welcome the Year of the Water Snake and like most Filipino-Chinese families our house is gearing up for practical ways to usher in good luck for the New Year. Here are some of the easy to follow tips:

Preparing the House

Before the New Year hits, you should ensure that the whole house is clean. This brushes away any bad luck that occurred over the past year. According to feng shui expert Princess Lim Fernandez in an article in Philippine Star, "The 'Disaster Star' for this year is in the center, so I suggest that everyone keep the center of their home neat, clean and clutter free. Apart from keeping the center neat, one should also avoid placing anything dominantly red in that area. So that you wouldn't fuel the fire of the 'Disaster Star' all the more."

According to superstitionsof.com, Water Snake likes moist environments, so it is necessary to clean the bathroom. We need to wipe the floors with a damp cloth, because the water will remove the negative energy from the house.

Decorating the House

You must know that Snake is an aristocrat in Chinese horoscope. Therefore, the home should be decorated very elegantly. Snake adores classic and tradition. Therefore, we must choose luxurious items and antiques and classical decor. Place the porcelain and crystal on the table. And do not forget silver.

To welcome the Year of the Snake you can decorate the Christmas tree with one color. Then, the primary colors of the year of the Water Snake are black, gray, navy, blue and green. But, Snake likes and glittering gold and silver shades.