Welcome to BusyGalTips! With a background in social work, I thrive on helping others improve their lives! This is a creative way for me to live out my passion and share ways to make your busy life a little bit more manageable. ••••••••••••• Additional bonus tips can be found on Twitter and Facebook (click the links on the left). Enjoy!

2/24/2011

Busygals in the Kitchen - Oxo Good Grips Soap Squirting Palm Brush

Fun fact about this Busygal: I am a total sponge-a-phobe (I don't think that's a technical mental health term, but just go with it people...). I hate touching sponges, they gross me out. 


I discovered the Oxo Good Grips Soap Squirting Palm Brush while at Ashley and Ryan's house (two of the most GRACIOUS and natural hosts you will ever meet in your entire life) for one of their many wonderful social gatherings. 


At the end of a laughter-filled night, I was helping with some dishes, and I picked up the Oxo Good Grips Soap Squirting Palm Brush in their sink. I was very impressed! 




Photo courtesy of www.digitaloffice.ca5
At home I use one of these, which is great, but sometimes it's hard to get into nooks & crannies with it, and junk can get stuck all over it and it can get ruined pretty quick. 
Photo courtesy of www.bedbathandbeyond.com
This baby keeps my hands away from the nasty scrubbing part, but gets into all those hard-to-reach spots, and gunk doesn't stick to it as easily. The top of it has this cool little button you can push that allows you to squirt some more soap onto the dish you're scrubbing for extra sudsing action! This thing has been a great addition to my kitchen for scrubbing dishes, and I'm sure you'll love it too!


You can find it at Bed Bath and Beyond.


Happy cooking and cleaning, Busygals!

2/20/2011

Busygals Get Ready! Save Time in the Mornings


Quick Tip:

Need to save time getting ready in the mornings? 


Pick out and set out your outfit the night before for work, it'll save you precious time in the morning! 

2/14/2011

Busygals Are Never Too Busy for LOVE

Happy Valentine's Day, Busygals & guys! 


I came across this quote today: 


May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion. 
--Thomas Jefferson


As I reflect on Valentine's Day, it is so much more than flowers, chocolates, and overpriced prix-fixe menus. Really, Valentine's Day should be an every day occurrence...not only to show your significant other (if you have one) your love, but everyone in your life...family, friends, coworkers, people you come into contact with on a daily basis. Think how much nicer the world would be if everybody just showed each other a little love and compassion on a daily basis...wow! As a Busygal, I can often get caught up in the day to day, and forget this simple idea of showing love and kindness to all I come into contact with. So, as a little inspiration, I compiled a list of quotes that stuck out to me. Enjoy, and let's make every day a LOVE day :)
Thanks to quotelady.com for these quotes.





Every day I live I am more convinced that the waste of life lies in the love we have not given, the powers we have not used, the selfish prudence that will risk nothing and which, shirking pain, misses happiness as well.--Mary Cholmondeley


Expect the people you love to be better. It helps them to become better. But don't get upset when they fail. It helps them keep trying.--Anonymous


How can we communicate love? I think three things are involved. We must reach out to a person, make contact. We must listen with the heart, be sensitive to the other's needs. We must respond in a language that the person can understand. Many of us do all the talking. We must learn to listen and to keep on listening.--Princess Pale Moon


If grass can grow through cement, love can find you anywhere.--Cher


If we discovered that we only had five minutes left to say all that we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people calling other people to stammer that they loved them.--Christopher Morley


If you aren't good at loving yourself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since you'll resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren't even giving to yourself.--Barbara de Angelis


If you think well of others, you will also speak well of others and to others. From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If your heart is full of love, you will speak of love.--Mother Teresa


Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.--Dalai Lama


LOVE it up today and every day, Busygals!

2/11/2011

BusyGals, Get the Wrinkles Out of Your Lives! Downy Wrinkle Releaser

As you all know, I've recently returned to the workforce (woohoo!). 


Well there are some mornings that I wake up to discover that the outfit I was planning on wearing is riddled with wrinkles! Luckily, I have had Downy Wrinkle Releaser around my house for a long time, thanks to the wise suggestion of my dear friend Laurel, an event organizing, creative, caring Busygal. 
How awesome are my cell phone photography skills? I know, I know...


Now honestly...who has time for ironing clothes in the morning before work? Not this Busygal! You spray a little bit of this magic in a bottle on your clothing, give it a little tug and smooth-over, and voilà!, wrinkle-free clothes! 


One thing I have been doing if something is really wrinkled, is I hang it in the bathroom while I shower so that the clothing gets a little steamed, then I spray some Downy Wrinkle Releaser on there and the wrinkles come right out. 


Go out and get yourself a bottle, it's seriously such a lifesaver in a pinch!!!

2/03/2011

Busygals, Brighten Up Your Home (Busyguys, Score Points)

I don't know about you, but I love to have fresh flowers in my house. However, I don't like the cost that often comes with flowers, and they never last that long. For those days you want some fresh flowers in your home for company you are hosting, or just because, or...ahem...hint, hint...Busyguys reading this...to surprise your Busygal and make her day...Trader Joe's has GREAT deals on flowers! 
Image courtesy of funkydivagirl.com


For as low as about $5, you can get a simple bouquet of gerbera daisies, lilies, sunflowers, and other beautiful flowers. If you really want to "splurge," you can get a full huge bouquet, complete with greenery, for around $10. That's about 30-50% cheaper than a florist, and nobody will know the difference. 


Busyguys, if you don't want her to know you got them on the cheap, grab up an affordable vase to throw them in before you get home, and maybe tie a ribbon around the vase...I guarantee she'll never know, but she'll certainly be happy and surprised :)