Travel Must-Have: Malong

Aside from a first-aid kit full of medicine, an absolute travel must-have for me is the malong. Similar to a sarong, a malong is a "tube" skirt often made locally of batik. It's so versatile and it truly comes in handy for many uses! Namely: 

1.) As a budget traveler, I've had my share of gross bedsheets in hotels. My malong has saved me and have assured me of a good night's sleep as it acts not only as my security blanket which reminds me of home, but when worn, it helps to add an extra layer between me and the bacteria-ladened mattress and sheets!

2.) There are certain dress codes when you visit temples. Just put on a solid-colored shirt and don your colorful malong and there you have it -- a fashionable and comfortable outfit for a day at the temples. 

3.) For those long bus trips or boat cruises, the malong can act as a warm scarf or blanket which you can share with your significant other as you snuggle beside each other!

4.) When packing your stuff and you have fragile items, you can wrap your malong around it to act as a bubble wrap. Or if you're out of plastic bags, you can use your malong to separate the dirty or used items from the clean ones. 

5.) Finally, the malong can be used to cover any valuables that you have -- shielding gadgets and  electronics or what-not left at the hotel or during quick layovers in flights. 

When traveling, you want to make sure your luggage is light and easy to transport. It's important to bring items that are multifunctional. A malong certainly comes handy and you can get them as cheap as PHP 300 at Greenhills or Quiapo. 

Image source:  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUW1JoeCoak6QW7PlU3Ed96wvsKct4pIBNh1-_y0odOD5aBFW38rg8mfnWmh_B_Co-lWFGwgh1LrLAhhDhR8E5EIhKxpUHqgGlnH1lLNx6M4qKrh4CI32F2cpfofqVG0Xz-Pj9XKQtdw/s800/tmcc-inual-malong.jpg

"Beautifying" Your Closets and Drawers

My husband LOVES hardware stores! I'm not too fond of them but I tough it out because he does spend hours on end following me around when I shop for shoes and clothes. It's only fair right? ;-) While he's looking at halogen bulbs and snooze-worthy electrical wires, I just try to amuse myself at the Gardening section or the Kitchen Gadget aisle.

Yesterday was one of those days. We were at the DIY Shop at Greenhills. Jojo's latest home project is illuminating that area above our kitchen cupboards. He was trying to go for that homey and subdued lighting effect in the kitchen. It took a while to decide what to get, measuring the wires, figuring out the right intensity of light, the switches, etc. etc. Again, I just tried to walk around the store to try and amuse myself.

It's a great thing that the DIY Shop at Greenhills has this Japanese Store-type area within it. Everything is sold for 88 pesos there. Admittedly, there's not a whole lot of interesting buys there. They've got the usual plastic ware -- coming in different shapes, sizes, and uses. There's Japanese ceramics, a bunch of knick knacks, kitchen ware, and many others. It's just like any other Japanese store in the metro. Nothing too exciting. But there was one thing there though that caught my eye. I'm talking about these pretty, scented drawer liners. It comes in five different colors and scents.

Since it's presented in a hard-cover folder, it's actually easy to mistake it as stationery. But inside it, you'll see five 22.5 x 17" drawer liners with a floral design, folded nicely. One set is more than enough to line a whole closet, really. I only needed two sets -- one for the closet in the master's bedroom and the other, for the drawers in the guest room. It took me a while to decide since they all smelled nice. But I eventually went for the Lily-scented one in beige and the Bamboo and White Tea-scented one in green. Between the two, I prefer the scent of the Bamboo and White Tea one. It has that fresh linen fragrance. Nothing like detergent, of course. I guess a cross between fresh linen and a Victoria-Secret type mist or something. The Lily one has a mild floral scent. A little bit on the "talc-y" side. But not overpowering. To be honest, I chose it because of the color. The beige and white combination would go well on our wenge closet. ;-)

The best part of all is that I got the drawer liners for only 88 pesos per set! That's only 176 pesos altogether! I'm not sure how long the scent will last. But I do know one thing. My closet looks very pretty now! ;-) I'm really loving them. I'm thinking these liners will make excellent stocking stuffers for Christmas. For its price, you can give each of your friends or relatives all five sets and variants of the drawer liners! If they're as "OC" as me, I'm sure they'll be loving them too! ;-)