The Blog

Tips, tricks, hacks, DIY projects and more. It’s all here. If it’s not, let us know and it will be soon!

Pumpkin Spice Chili

Pumpkin Spice Chili

The cooler temps are here. Time to lug out the crockpot and add pumpkin spice to literally everything. This slow-cooked, chunky chili is awesome to...

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Our Go-To Stain Dictionary

Our Go-To Stain Dictionary

How do I get wine out of my shirt? I just dripped candle wax on the carpet? Do I have to replace it? I tried to dye my hair and ended up getting it...

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How To Peel an Orange

How To Peel an Orange

TIP OF THE DAY... Seriously? If this really works and I haven't been doing it all these years, I'm going to be really irritated at myself!

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Instant Gift Ideas

Instant Gift Ideas

We have done this on more than one occasion. Usually, if you look at your friend's pinboard about a week before their birthday or a holiday, you can...

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Power Naps are Good for You

Power Naps are Good for You

Coming from someone who typically has just about 30 minutes to nap...or would prefer 30 minutes over a couple of hours, this tip was really helpful....

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More Candy Crush Lives

More Candy Crush Lives

We kind of feel like enablers in this situation because Candy Crush can literally suck every moment of your day. However, a tip is a tip. Don't...

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Hidden House Key

Hidden House Key

Whether you have company arriving or you just want to protect yourself during your airhead forgetful moments, hide a key. It's for the best. Don't...

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Day 10: Pumpkin Face Mask

Day 10: Pumpkin Face Mask

Guess what y'all? Pumpkin ain't just for food and drink. It's great for your skin, too! How country can I make myself sound? I'm a Washington girl...

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Fall Cleaning Checklist

Fall Cleaning Checklist

All I can think about is cooler weather, cute sweaters, pulling out those boots, drinking warm drinks and a cozy home. I'm literally sitting in 90...

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Learn Two, To and Too

Learn Two, To and Too

TIP OF THE DAY: Brush up on your grammar! There are more than two ways to use this word. You need to know when to use them correctly. It's too easy...

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Sealed Lunch

Sealed Lunch

TIP OF THE DAY: Use Glad Press 'n Seal to keep your packed lunches from looking like a mess. I packed rice in my son's lunch and I know he'll be...

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You Suck Parking Card

You Suck Parking Card

TIP OF THE DAY: Don't you love those people who park sideways taking up two of the remaining three parking spaces? Have some of these "business"...

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Supplies on a Pegboard

Supplies on a Pegboard

I have my brooms, mops and sponges in different places. They are either in a basket, hanging from a hook or, really, anywhere else I don't want them...

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Toothbrush Kickstand

Toothbrush Kickstand

Germaphobes will TOTALLY get why today's tip is so imporant. TIP OF THE DAY: Create a kickstand for your toothbrush by using clothespins or even...

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Hidden Alcohol Cabinet

TIP OF THE DAY: Adhere binder spines together to create the look of a bookshelf when it's really a pretty sweet alcohol cabinet. Of course, this is...

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Pack-and-Read

TIP OF THE DAY: Re-purpose your old pack-and-play by turning it into a reading tent (or even indoor camping spot). Take the  mesh out of one side,...

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Whip the Cell Out

TIP OF THE DAY: Take some time away from being connected and live in the moment. Something you can do when out with friends is stack each of your...

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Coffee Mate Creamer Storage

Coffee Mate Creamer Storage

TIP OF THE DAY: Just remove the wrap from a Coffee Mate bottle. Fill with anything from sugar to Goldfish. The spout is perfect for pouring, and the...

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Alone and Invisible

Alone and Invisible

TIP OF THE DAY: When you're sitting alone and a stranger comes up to you, act as if you're invisible. (see image) I'd seriously die laughing if I...

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DIY Sprinkler

DIY Sprinkler

TIP OF THE DAY: Make your own sprinkler for the kids to play in. Grab a 2-liter bottle, poke holes in it and tape that sucka to the hose. Now kids,...

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Put a Knot in Your Earbuds

Put a Knot in Your Earbuds

TIP OF THE DAY: Instead of trying to read those teeny Right and Left letters on your earbuds, just put a little knot in the right one. Now you can...

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Pom Pom Erasers

Pom Pom Erasers

TIP OF THE DAY: Glue little pom pom balls on the top of your dry erase markers to be used as an eraser. Great tip for teachers and these babies are...

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Fancy Fans

Fancy Fans

TIP OF THE DAY: Fancy up your ceiling fan by adding fabric and Mod Podge. This is, seriously, one of the cutest ideas I've seen in awhile. It's...

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Graduation Tassel Keepsake

Graduation Tassel Keepsake

TIP OF THE DAY: Grab the graduation tassel that's hanging from your rear-view mirror and preserve it by dropping it into a clear Christmas ornament....

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Paint a Color on the Bobby

Paint a Color on the Bobby

There are a limited number of colors when it comes to bobby  pins. Want to spruce up your look with what you already have? Paint them with nail...

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Free-hand Stencils

Free-hand Stencils

Don't have a Cricut or Silhouette or any other laser cutter that I lust after when I'm at the craft store? You don't need one when creating labels...

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Keep Track of Cords

Keep Track of Cords

  Another awesome submission today. This one is from Abby who wrote us on Facebook. We've seen this over and over again but NEVER remember to...

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DIY Painted Rug

DIY Painted Rug

I'll admit that I've been lazy. Well, maybe more nervous. Lazy nervous? I bought the Erslev rug from IKEA because I saw that someone had painted a...

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Let’s Go Glamping!

Let’s Go Glamping!

Glamping. What is it? Glam + Camping = Glamping Bottom line, glamping is for people like me. The ones who don't want to "rough it" camping, who...

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Protect Your Nutrition

Protect Your Nutrition

We got this awesome tip from our friend Katelin. Seriously, we LOVE hearing from you all and think it's awesome to have an opportunity to share your...

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An Organized Purse

Here's the deal. Purses are pretty and gross all at the same time. Go find your "life in a bag" (as I like to call it) and open it up. What do you...

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Ironing Board Hanger

TIP OF THE DAY: Keep your ironing board up and out of the way by simply hanging two coat hooks on the wall. If you want to get all fancy, you can...

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I Don’t Read Blogs

I Don’t Read Blogs

I don't read blogs, I read email. Sound familiar? I can't find enough time during the day to hop around to different blogs to read updates. If I...

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DIY Pore Strip

DIY Pore Strip

TIP OF THE DAY: Create your own pore strips with only a small pack of gelatin (not the entire box - it comes with 4 packs) and a bit of milk. I...

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Keep it to a Carry On Bag

Keep it to a Carry On Bag

Passengers on major U.S. carriers spent more than US$1.74 billion on bag fees in the first half of 2012, US$78 million more than in the first half...

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Store Onions in Pantyhose

Store Onions in Pantyhose

TIP OF THE DAY: Got some spare pantyhose laying around? Store your onions in them to keep them fresh for up to 6 months. Here's how: Inspect all...

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Lazy Susan in Refrigerator

TIP OF THE DAY: Place a lazy susan in the refrigerator to maximize space and keep your food organized. Yes, organized food. Let's get real. Buy a...

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Outdoor Cup Covers

TIP OF THE DAY: For any event outdoors, cover your cups or glasses with a cupcake liner. Just use a hole punch or the straw to create a hole in the...

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Earring Travel Tip

Earring Travel Tip

TIP OF THE DAY: When traveling, stick your earrings through the holes in a button to keep them together and tidy in your bag. We found a bunch of...

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Keep Your Fruit Clean

Keep Your Fruit Clean

TIP OF THE DAY: To keep your berries from molding and to completely clean your fruit - Fill sink with water, add 1 C. vinegar, mix. Add all fruit...

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Get Rid of Ants!

Get Rid of Ants!

[pinit] Mix two tablespoons of borax with jam, jelly, honey or syrup until there is a paste. Smear a little on a piece of paper or paper plate, and...

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Hopscotch On the Grass

Hopscotch On the Grass

TIP OF THE DAY: Spray paint a game of hopscotch on your grass. This is great for younger kids or if you don't want to play in the street or...

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Flat Top Cakes

Flat Top Cakes

I keep seeing this tip on how to bake a flat-top cake and am now starting to feel pressure to bake. TIP: For a cake with a flat top, wrap the pan...

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Organize With Washi Tape

Organize With Washi Tape

It seems that when cool products become popular, there's little time to get on board after the masses. For example, washi tape came out, crafters...

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Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day is coming up on May 12th. I mean, whatever. We're totally breezy about it. I guess maybe we'll go browsing for things we would love to...

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Make Your Own Suckers

Make Your Own Suckers

The Botched Bakery is open sporadically. Sorry, we are unable to post our hours because we have no idea when we're going to open our doors to...

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Mel’s Comin’ to Town

Mel’s Comin’ to Town

You may feel the earth shift a bit. Be aware of it late tonight. Why? Mel is comin' to town! I'll call it the Melawsha (Mel/Tawsha) Show comin' to...

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Hiding Your Cords

Hiding Your Cords

Why are cords so ugly? They drive me crazy. I've been known to be on my hands and knees on more than one occasion, tucking cords in between the...

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Why I Don’t Workout

Why I Don’t Workout

Ever since I can remember, I've been active. I like finding things to do and I also wanted to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. Not the point, here,...

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My Own Blog – Should I?

My Own Blog – Should I?

Hi! That's me. Almost always. I say that I wear yoga pants every day. I am not kidding. Not one little bit. Oh, and no makeup. Not the point of this...

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Top 10 Baby Shower Gifts

Top 10 Baby Shower Gifts

When you're prepping for a baby (especially your first), you register for all sorts of great things: Onesies, bedding, cute clothes, strollers, a...

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6 Minute Caramels

6 Minute Caramels

[pinit] Welcome to the "Botched Bakery". I'm Tawsha. I like to bake but I always think I know of a better way. I assume that a professionally...

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20 Minute DIY Tote

20 Minute DIY Tote

I've been looking for a little tote to make, but didn't want something that would turn into a major ordeal. I found this simple little tutorial that...

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DIY State of Mind

DIY State of Mind

When I met my husband we lived in Spokane, Washington. Just a few months later, I got a job in Seattle, Washington and that's where we officially...

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I’m in a funk

I’m in a funk

I'm in a funk. Like, big time. My personality is one of extremes. When I have an idea and I'm focused on something, I'm unstoppable. When things get...

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20 Minute DIY Spa Gift

20 Minute DIY Spa Gift

Reader note: I had posted this on another blog as a great idea for brides. Since then, we've received a ton of feedback and photos from those of you...

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When Birds Attack

When Birds Attack

I seriously could have died. Okay, not seriously. Well, maybe. In my life, birds are not welcome. I had a bird when I was little and we loved him....

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Do You Hate Your Name?

Do You Hate Your Name?

We've all known someone with that  name everybody makes fun of. "Sunshine Ray", "Jack Hoff", etc. etc. Did you end up with some cheesy name that...

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I Have An Addiction

I Have An Addiction

It takes over my life, becomes my priority and puts my family second. I also feel like I don't have enough friends, don't have enough great clothes,...

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$5 Easter Centerpiece

$5 Easter Centerpiece

I'm the queen of late. Organized doesn't always equal being prompt. Also, plans change. When plans change and it involves people coming over to the...

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A Leprechaun Hunt?

A Leprechaun Hunt?

A leprech-what? Seriously?!?! My mother-in-law is a first grade teacher and for years she has been telling me about their classroom leprechaun hunt....

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6 DIY Shower Curtain Ideas

6 DIY Shower Curtain Ideas

I was stalking looking at Instagram for the millionth time yesterday (Find me, I'm @tawshaconnell) and came across an image a friend posted. Oh,...

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Cleaning Toys

Cleaning Toys

I'm bitter writing this post today. Just warning you. If I step on one more Lego, marble or Cars 2 miniature drifter, I will chuck each and every...

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Organized Lists and Notes

Organized Lists and Notes

We are list people. Always have been and always will be. The thing that has changed is how we write our lists. Post-It notes are a staple in our...

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Relationship Q&A

Relationship Q&A

  [ddownload id=11962] Valentine's Day comes at us like a punch in the face. Talk of diamonds, sweets, doing something unique and extra special...

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Super Bowl B I N G O

Super Bowl B I N G O

We're not saying that the game isn't important but when your team isn't playing (and was so freaking close) - the game isn't important. However,...

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Putting the House to Bed

Putting the House to Bed

Trying to keep life organized seems to be an unending project. Even for us. We're constantly trying to find a new system, create a better way and...

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Simple Mantle Makeover

Simple Mantle Makeover

This is what I've been looking at for a couple of days. When the holidays are over they are really over. I don't like decorations hanging around....

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Make Your Own Marquee Sign

Make Your Own Marquee Sign

If I can't buy it, I'll make it. That's my mantra. Well, it's now my mantra. Welcome to the first day of me realizing it. This Christmas, I wanted...

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The Pantry Purge

The Pantry Purge

If you ever came to my house pre-pantry purge (pictured above), there's NO FREAKING WAY I would have opened the pantry in front of you. I would have...

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Quick Last-Minute Gifts

Quick Last-Minute Gifts

We are the queens of last minute. As in, finishing getting ready in the car on the way to somewhere late or putting the finishing touches on a...

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Prayers for Portland

Prayers for Portland

Panicked customers rushed to the exits when a gunman opened fire Tuesday at a mall outside Portland, Oregon. Some people huddled behind store...

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Striped Canvas in 8 Steps

Striped Canvas in 8 Steps

I am an absolute perfectionist so if I think that something I do won't be just right, I won't do it. This statement is ironic because most of the...

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Christmas Sheet … Music

Christmas Sheet … Music

I have this dream of walking in my house and being in awe of the cool details around Christmastime...okay, anytime. The problem: I don't have an eye...

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Cookies like Crack

Cookies like Crack

My  husband's office held a cookie contest. I'd hold one in our office but there's only two of us and we both have the same recipe. I asked my mom...

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BloG

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Pumpkin Spice Chili

Pumpkin Spice Chili

The cooler temps are here. Time to lug out the crockpot and add pumpkin spice to literally everything. This slow-cooked, chunky chili is awesome to make quickly or keep in the crockpot all day. There's nothing that annoys me more than a giant back story before a...

DIY Backyard Privacy Inspiration

DIY Backyard Privacy Inspiration

I Want Privacy in My Backyard! Do you ever just want to carve out a chunk of your backyard that's cut off from the rest of the world? Your very own little santuary? Yeah, me too. Last year I was determined to create my own space that I could go hide and read in peace...

We’re Back And Jumping In Feet First

We’re Back And Jumping In Feet First

Life went nutty and happened completely out of the blue. The two of us were just plugging along and then our worlds changed with very little warning. We now live closer together (yay!), we have completely different jobs (kind of yay) and we are taking the blog to a...

Why Are Things So Wonky Lately?

Why Are Things So Wonky Lately?

The website has been a hot mess for over a week AND we have some cool things coming up. It's been an emotional rollercoaster here at oCo headquarters. We would have called you, but we were moody. If you are new to the blog or read on a regular basis, you may have...

DIY Cold and Flu Care Package

DIY Cold and Flu Care Package

    Who isn't sick right now? Good heavens, there is something going around and it's brutal. It's taking us all down one-by-one. I have a friend who was fine one day and then didn't move from her bed for three days. It's coughing, fever, stuffy nose, cloudy...

How To Clean Your Computer Files, Programs and Images

How To Clean Your Computer Files, Programs and Images

Do you have any idea what is on your computer? We're talking programs, temp files, support files, toolbars,  updates, coupon printer software, registrations, enhancements and even downloads you used once a long time ago. Yeah, us either. Let's be honest, most of us...

We Can Do This! – 8 Tips for Holding a Plank Position Longer

We Can Do This! – 8 Tips for Holding a Plank Position Longer

Planks Are you doing the 30-Day Plank Challenge with us? These suckers are hard, but not impossible. It never hurts to have some tricks up your sleeve to help you hold your position when you think you can't go o-n-e  s-e-c-o-n-d longer. When you're starting to shake...

Purge Your Closet: Simple and Guilt-Free

Purge Your Closet: Simple and Guilt-Free

Purge your closet. You can only avoid it for so long. Eventually it will swallow you whole and all that will be left is a pair of old bedazzled jeans and a shirt you saved in your "I'll wear it one day" pile. I love to be organized but the thought of purging my closet...

How to Keep Sentimental Things, But Reduce Your Clutter

How to Keep Sentimental Things, But Reduce Your Clutter

photo credit: Easy Giving I went to a Catholic school through the 8th grade. Nuns enforced rules and punishment. It was a life of rituals, uniforms, memorizing prayers and strict education. I learned piano. I made lifelong friends. I won a National penmanship award. I...

Quickly Turn Your Recipe Collection Into A Book

Quickly Turn Your Recipe Collection Into A Book

  I have a cabinet full of recipe books but over time, I've collected random recipes from Pinterest, family members and magazines. I was shoving them into a folder because it looked organized. The problem was that every time I went to find something it was...

We’re Doing the Plank Challenge. Are You In?

We’re Doing the Plank Challenge. Are You In?

We need motivation, and after reading your feedback, it sounds like you may need some too. Let's help each other out. We need to exercise, but with our crazy schedules, we know that committing ourselves to an exercise program that requires a chunk of time or a...

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