Ask Anna

Meal Planning 101

I have written about meal planning before but it’s been a few years and I’ve slightly changed how I do it, so I thought I’d revisit the topic. The way I meal plan is so easy, and even though it takes a little time, at the same time it’s a valuable tool and saves me so much time in the long run! Step 1 The first thing that’s important is to write your recipes on a meal calendar. Here’s the one I use. It doesn’t have to be this one but it’s important that you write your recipes down so… Read More

Two Places You’re Missing When Cleaning the Microwave

Hi it’s Kim from A Real-life Housewife here to share a couple tips about cleaning your microwave. I don’t doubt that you know to clean the inside of your microwave as well as the front panel. These are the most obvious places to wipe down when it comes to cleaning the microwave. However, there are two more places that you’re likely not getting to – the exhaust grill and underneath the microwave. If you don’t have a mounted microwave, well then, you are not missing out on these two places! For the rest of us, let’s get started! The Exhaust Grill… Read More

Laundry Room Reveal (AGAIN)

You’ve seen a couple of my recent laundry room projects, like our industrial shelves tutorial and the hooks I installed, and if you follow me on Instagram then you’ve also seen some sneak peeks of other things I’ve been up to in the laundry room. But today I’m going to show you the whole laundry room. I love how it turned out and I actually enjoy being in there now, rather than trying to get out as fast as I can! One of the things I love doing is revisiting pictures to see how far our house has come. Since… Read More

DIY Industrial Shelves Tutorial

My laundry room was the first room I ever made over in our new house. It was cute and the charm lasted for awhile but after a few month I decided I didn’t really like what I’d done because I decorated it before getting a good feel for the house and what it’s style was. So for about a year my laundry room has kind of driven me crazy… When Price Pfister emailed me a couple weeks ago and asked if I’d like to review some of their upcoming products I knew exactly what I wanted to do – a… Read More

Coat Closet Organization

Too much stuff in your coat closet? Me too! So I’m sharing some simple coat closet organization ideas that will make life easier. Our coat closet drives me crazy. It’s full of jackets (of courses) but it’s also the place we store our umbrellas, vacuums, mops, etc., so essentially it’s our mini mudroom. Unfortunately this means every time I pull out a vacuum it gets stuck on a coat, or every time I put away a coat, it knocks over a vacuum (AHHHH!). Well after knocking the vacuums and mops over about 900 times I decided something needed to change…. Read More

25+ must-do Spring Cleaning Tasks & Free Printables

Spring is just days away and it is also time for… Spring Cleaning! Today I am sharing 25+ must-do spring cleaning tasks and some free printables that I know will be so helpful for you! Don’t worry, I’ve included helpful tips and tutorials to help you along the way! Let’s get down to business! The best plan of attack for Spring Cleaning is being totally prepared. This free printable checklist will help you tackle every room in the house! I think you’ll also like Freebie Finding Mom’s Spring Cleaning Checklist. This printable includes what you need to clean every… Read More

Raspberry Sour Cocktail Recipe

What do you do when you have delicious raspberries and fresh limes? Well I don’t know about you but I get out the shaker and make a deliciously fresh raspberry sour cocktail! I love fresh fruit cocktails when the days start getting longer and the weather is warmer, they are the perfect way to end a long day. Ingredients 6 and 2 fresh raspberries (6 for the drink, 2 for the garnish) 2 oz vodka 3/4 oz freshly squeezed lime juice 3/4 oz simple syrup Directions Place the raspberries in the shaker and add a splash of simple syrup. Use… Read More

How to get Stains out of Carpet (old, new & pet stains!)

We recently rearranged our bedroom and when we did I noticed a couple stains on the carpet. I have no idea how long they’d been there and where they even came from (gross!). They’re like matching little stains right smack in the middle of the floor! I added the arrows because I learned that it’s really hard to take pictures of brown stains on tan carpet but in real life they are very noticeable. 🙂 Since I didn’t know what the stains were from I wanted to use a product that would keep them from coming back. I recently discovered… Read More