We tend to mention home staging often here on The Fun Times Guide, probably because it works. 

For example, in Tips For Staging Your House To Get The Highest Selling Price, Lynnette explains why home staging is so important:

If the home you're selling is brand new (or a flip), you should count on spending 1% of your home's asking price on "staging". In return, you can expect to get 10 times that back!

Still, house staging is quite an elusive creature.  How exactly do you stage a home?  What are all the items in the home you need to look at?  How much does it really cost to stage a house?

Have you seen the price of bath products lately? You know the ones I mean, bath salts, bath oils, those cute little round ball bath bombs.

Now, have you looked at the ingredients as well? I have, and let me tell you neither the price nor the ingredients in them makes me want to buy them. Far too many of the products we use these days are loaded with chemicals I can't even pronounce, let alone understand exactly what it is that they do.

Because of that, when I became interested in aromatherapy it wasn't much of a stretch to think about making my own bath products using my favorite essential oils. Not to mention the fact that you can save oodles of money making your own, rather than using store-bought. Plus, homemade bath products make great gifts for Christmas and birthdays!

So, how can you make your own bath products? And what kinds of things will you need? Well, it depends on what products you want to make. I'm going to share with you how to make your own bath salts, fizzy bath bombs, and homemade bubble bath.

I just found something interesting with regard to "maximum strength" ingredients in anti-perspirants.

Yes, much like my recent experiment with dry skin body lotions and body washes, I decided to research deodorants and anti-perspirants. I was eager to explore some of the newer formulations, in hopes of finding one I really liked... finally.

For the most part, I've been a loyal Secret Invisible Solid user (or whatever their "best" formulation was before that one came out). However, I'll try anything new that hits the store shelves, hoping that it will one-up the Secret. It's very good, but not great, in my opinion. And a great deoderant/anti-perspirant is imperative to enjoying your day to day life. Take it from a girl who oh-so-obviously sweatted through the armpits of her brand new business suit during an interview one time. (But I still got the job.)

Upon closer inspection of the labels on anti-perspirants on store shelves, I found that the ones I was most interested in have very high amounts of Aluminum Zirconium (or technically, Aluminum Zirconium Trichlorohydrex Gly).

Here's the most surprising thing... (No, it's not what you're probably thinking.)

After reading through some recommendations on lotions and products that make your skin really soft (I have rather dry skin, just needs more moisturizing), I clipped these pages from a couple of magazines I read and respect and headed to the store.

Yep, I splurged for a change -- on 3 hand & body lotions, as well as 1 bath & shower wash.

Up til now, there have been 2 big bottles of  Aveeno Daily Moisturizong Lotion and Jergens Ultra Healing lotion perched at my desk and near my bed. But I've still been having dry skin. Neither has the "wow" factor that I'm looking for in a lotion.

Perhaps their formulations are old? Perhaps lotion itself ages? (These bottles are over a year old.)

Either way, I was determined to try some of the newer lotions that are supposed to make your skin silky smooth.

By George, I think I've found it! During this trial, I actually found 2 lotions that I liked. One that I didn't. And a new bath & body wash that I am now using daily.

Moving soon? Wondering where to begin in terms of packing and preparing for your move?

Here is a list of just about every single item you could possibly need in order to pack for your upcoming move.

If I were you, I would start gathering up these moving supplies now -- to ensure that your packing and moving will go really smooth.

I've moved 8 times. Usually, I moved myself -- with the help of friends and family. Once, I hired a professional moving company (actually my employer did). Soon, my husband and I will be moving once more (from our home in a subdivision to a log home we are building in the country), and I'm the calmest I've ever been about a move. By now, I feel like a pro at moving... I pretty much have packing and moving down to a science at this point.

Here's my best advice -- everything you'll need to have on hand in order to pack for your move.

Moving insurance is one of those things that people usually think they can get by without.

After all, your moving or relocation company will cover any damage or destruction of your property while it's being moved and during transit. Right? Well, not exactly.

People also assume that even if the moving company doesn't cover everything, then their homeowner's or renter's insurance will cover any damages.

However, the truth is while both of these types of insurance do cover some damages, they should not be relied upon when it comes to making sure all of your property is completely covered in the event of damage or complete destruction.

Well, not exactly.

Believe it or not, there are actually some big differences among the many types of plastic hangers that are available.

How do I know?

Because moments ago, I finished switching out every single plastic hanger on Jim's side of the closet for a similar (but different) type of plastic hanger.

Here's the scoop...