Category: Life

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Adulting For the Home Home Life

3 Things To Do When You Discover A Leak In Your Home

What To Do When You Discover A Leak In Your Home

Discovering a leak in your home is never a good thing. Depending on the severity of the leak, it can cause untold amounts of damage to your property. Small leaks in the bathroom might just cause staining and damp issues, but a leak in your attic could seep through and cause problems in other rooms.

leak in your home
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The worst thing is, improper action will just make a leak get worse. What starts off as a minor issue turns into one that affects your whole home. So, here’s what you need to do when you discover a water leak.

What To Do When You Discover A Leak In Your Home

1. Keep it Contained

If possible, try to contain the leak in any way you can. The most obvious idea is to put a bucket or a tray underneath it. This will ensure the water doesn’t leak into other parts of your home.

It’s especially useful in cases where you have to wait a long time for the leak to be fixed. If you just let it drip onto the floor or inside of your bathroom cabinet, you’re asking for some expensive water damage.

Most leaks are easily visible and can be contained this way. The only time it might not work is when you have a leak within the walls. In which case, you’ll only notice it when the damage starts to appear, so you should immediately move to step number two. 

2. Call Professional Help Immediately 

There’s no reason to waste time when you have a water leak. As soon as you notice it, call a professional. Your best bet is to ring a local plumber and get them to come and check it out.

Ideally, you want someone that offers emergency service so they can come out right away. The longer you wait, the worse the leak is likely to become.

Obviously, spend a bit of time looking at reviews or asking for recommendations, just to be sure you hire a good plumber. Still, this is a decision you should make in hours, not days!

It’s possible that a leak or issue with water has already caused significant problems for your property. If that’s the case, then you should think about using a property damage restoration service. They can make sure that any problems here are handled the right way and get your home back in the right condition.

3. Avoid Tampering With Anything

What can cause a water leak? Type that into Google and you’ll find loads of possible answers. Funnily enough, that’s a big problem.

Water leaks could be caused by all sorts of things, and you are unlikely to know what has caused yours. There is a reason there are professionals in this field. So, it doesn’t make sense to mess with anything and attempt to fix the leak yourself.

Unless you have plumbing experience, the chances are that you’ll just make things worse. Many people have fallen victim to this – they try to fix a leaky pipe, only for it to burst and shower your home with more water. Or, they try to fix it and cause even further issues and more expensive repairs.

Leaks are a real danger to both your home, your belongings, and your finances. Not only does it damage the things you own, but it can waste so much water. The longer it stays unfixed, the more money you waste on your water bill. Follow these three steps to get things sorted as quickly as possible!

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Family Activities How To Life Parenting

12 Proven Ways You Can Make Your Family Life Easier and Happier

family life

Family life has its challenges. It doesn’t matter where you live or how much money you have, you’re probably going to run into some struggles. That being said, there are numerous ways you can make your family life easier and more enjoyable.

If you’re not happy with the way things are for you right now, or you know you could do with less stress and more joy, try some of these suggestions! 

How to Make Your Family Life Easier and Happier

Make Sure Everybody Has Responsibility

One of the best ways to make your life easier and more enjoyable is to make sure everybody has responsibility. They should have responsibility for their own space as well as the house in general.

If your teens have had friends over, make sure they know it’s their responsibility to tidy up. If they have been cooking or made a mess some other way, ensure you raise them knowing that it’s their job to clean it.

It’s also a good idea to ensure that your family has equal responsibility when it comes to any pets. Feeding, grooming, and walking pets, shouldn’t just be your job. Responsibility for both the house and pets will make you a stronger family unit and ensure your life is far more enjoyable. 

Eat One Meal Together Each Day

Eating one meal together each day might not seem possible at first. After all, you have work, school, and other things going on. However, the meal doesn’t have to be dinner.

You could all have breakfast together, or if it’s possible you could have lunch together. If you can find the time to put all of your devices and work away and spend time eating together for a short amount of time every day, you will notice so many benefits. Studies have proven that doing this can help kids perform better at school, will help them avoid peer pressure, and more. 

It doesn’t matter what you want to eat, whether you’ve got the best frozen Chinese food out of the freezer for a homemade takeaway, or you want to make your own pizzas and everyone gets a slice of each. As long as you’re taking the time to be together while eating, you’ll reap the benefits of a family mealtime. 

At our house, we all eat dinner together each evening. We don’t allow phones or other electronic devices during this time, and we make it a point to talk about our day. One person begins by asking someone else, “What was the best part of your day?”, and the person being asked answers the question.

Then, the person who just answered the question will ask the next person the same question. We do this until everyone has talked about their day. It usually lasts the entire time because it really gets the kids talking.

Eat The Same Things Each Week 

Eating the same things each week will help you get a handle on food prep, as well as your shopping. Eating the same meals on corresponding days throughout the week can help you to make mealtimes more of a fun tradition, too. You can keep your food budget down this way and ensure food shopping is more effective. 

*For a free meal planning & grocery list printable, click HERE!*

Family Life
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Reduce Time Doing Laundry and Ironing

Doing laundry and ironing can feel like it takes ages to complete. However, with the help of items like ironing spray, you can minimize the time spent doing this and ensure your family remains clean and tidy.

It’ll help your clothes last longer, too. There’s no need to do a full wash after every single wear. 

Child Proof Your Home

If you ever worry about your children hurting themselves at home, it’s a good reason to spend time childproofing your home. Here are some ways you can do this:

  • Ensure there’s nothing your children can get tangled up in, such as blind cords. 
  • Avoid leaving children unattended if you have ponds, pools, and other bodies of water in the yard. It only needs to be shallow to suffer the devastating consequences. 
  • Get down to their level and see if you can spot any hazards.
  • Cover up sharp corners.
  • Avoid having hard floors with no rugs. 
  • Use dark colors and ensure materials wipe clean. 

Find Fun Things To Do Together

Doing fun things together brings you closer together as a family. There are so many more things out there you can do instead of just watching TV or playing on electronics!

Why not go on hikes, try arts and crafts, or read together? These are the moments you will treasure when your kids have grown up. Plus, it’s always a good idea to avoid too much screen time. 

Avoid Cluttering Up Your Home

When you have a family, the home can become easily cluttered. If you need help figuring out how to improve this, take a look at Marie Kondo on Netflix.

Keeping the things that truly bring you joy will make your home a tidier, happier place. Rather than buying your kids useless toys that they will use once and forget about (not to mention the plastic use and environmental impact this has), invest in experiences for them and things they can use again and again.  

Download Apps 

Apps can help to give you peace of mind. Some of them will help you know where your family is if they are out with friends or elsewhere. You can even use certain apps to control different parts of the house from a remote location. You can make it look like you are home by turning on the lights, for instance, even when you’re at work. 

Take A Break From The Screen

When you take a break from the screen, you’ll have less stuff cluttering up your brain. You’ll also have more time to focus on your family life and immediate surroundings. Get creative and find new things to do! 

Focus On What You Can Control

Rather than worrying about what you can’t control, focus on what you can control. You won’t always be able to stop bad things from happening, but you can put things into perspective and work on the things that are in your control. 

Family Life
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Simplify Your Wardrobe

Coming up with capsule wardrobes for each family member will have a tremendous impact on both your lives and the planet. You’ll save money, have high-quality pieces you can use again and again, and find getting dressed so much easier. This guide will help you get it right. 

Prioritize What’s Important To You As A Family

Different things are important to different families. Having a family motto can help you to define your values and morals and ensure your kids grow up to be great people. It’ll also allow you to better communicate with one another, and make decisions from a good place. 

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How are you going to make your family life easier and more enjoyable? Let us know in the comments!

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Adulting For the Home Home How To Life

3 Easy Ways To Update Your Family Home

Update Your Family Home

Memories are made in a family home, so it is important to update your family home whenever necessary. It should be a place that you enjoy spending time in and a place that brings peace. Plus, it should be functional for your family.

The family home can quickly get messy and unorganized, which can result in feeling overwhelmed. This feeling can interfere with the memories you could be making, and it could make it hard for you to want to relax in your home.

It can be hard to know where to start when it comes to updating your family home, though. You want the update to be uplifting and still meet new daily standards.

Luckily, you don’t have to renovate the whole home. You could update certain areas of the house to give it a new lease of life, instead.

Update Your Family Home

***This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.***

How to Update Your Family Home

Start in the Kitchen

The kitchen is often where people will spend most of their time. Whether it is cooking for the family or sitting around the kitchen table with friends over a glass of wine, you and your guests will see it often. Companies like NVS Kitchen and Bath are specialists in creating the most beautiful kitchen areas.

Keeping your kitchen looking modern and updated can be hard if you try to do too much. An easy way to update your kitchen is to update the cabinets and countertops. Doing this will bring new life to the kitchen without gutting the entire room.

A room full of vibrancy is a great space to catch up with family and friends so pick out a style that shows off your personality. Hiring a professional such as Panda Kitchen & Bath Expo will take the weight off your shoulders. They do the work for you by designing a space that will fit all your items in a way that looks good.

Having plenty of savvy storage will ensure your sides are free to cook. It will instantly make the room look tidy and clutter-free because you will have space to put your kitchen appliances and products inside cupboards.

Move on to The living room

Another important room in a family home is the living room. To instantly bring warmth into the room, bring in a fireplace. Looking at the roaring fire will make you feel cozy, helping everyone feel relaxed while warming the whole house.

Making the fireplace a feature will change the style of the room and will draw your eyes to it. Adding tiles or wood around the fireplace can make it stand out even more. If you need to fill a gap then stacking some logs next to it will bring a modern twist.

Update the Entryway and Hallways

The entryway is often forgotten about, but it is the first room you and your guests see when they enter your home. It can set off a big impression on the rest of the house.

Changing up the wall paint and flooring to a lighter option will brighten the area, making it look larger. Adding furniture such as radiator covers or console tables will bring the room together while allowing the hallway to flow to your other rooms.

The flow is very important because otherwise, you will end up working around things to get from one part of the house to the other. Experiment with various layouts and you will understand what works best for your family’s lifestyle. 

Update Your Family Home, make your home a space you love

What are some of the ways you suggest to update your family home? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

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Adulting For the Home Home How To Life

4 Ways To Increase The Value Of Your Home

Increase The Value Of Your Home

Many assume that adding value to your home means spending a large sum on home improvements. But, there are many cost-effective ways to increase the value of your home.

Increase The Value Of Your Home

How to Increase The Value Of Your Home

Improve Insulation

An essential feature of a home is good insulation. Double glazing windows and durable door frames will not only make your home more energy-efficient but will also add value to your house.

These features do not have to be expensive. Finding a reasonable window installation cost is simple with the right companies. Some companies may offer discounts if you install new windows across the house, increasing the value further. 

***This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.***

Revamp Your Yard

Increase The Value Of Your Home

Your home is more than just what’s inside. Your yard matters, too. If your yard is neglected or lacking, redesigning the space is a great way to add value. Water features, a better lawn, and patios can make the area more appealing and functional.

Upgrading your yard will also mean you get to enjoy it before you move. As you spend time in the upgraded yard, you might even find that you want to add other things such as sheds or energy-saving tools, which will only increase the value of your home further.

Make It Energy-Efficient

A more sustainable home is a more valuable home. The upfront cost of energy-efficient features such as solar panels can seem daunting. But, it will lower your future energy bills and lower maintenance costs. More effectively, it will increase the interest for environmentally conscious buyers and give your home more edge than those without such features. 

Adding features such as new light bulbs, wall insulation, a new boiler, and solar panels is a great way to implement more sustainability into your home while making it more profitable when it comes to selling.

Fix Anything That Is Broken

Increase The Value Of Your Home

Keeping your home in excellent condition is an easy way to increase its value on the market. It can be easy to let broken features slide and get lazy with repair jobs. But, leaving a broken tile or sink fixture may lead to more issues, which will cost you more money. If things are left unrepaired, then the value of your home will automatically decrease. 

A home in excellent condition with little to no work to do will appeal more to future buyers and make them consider your home to be worth the asking price. Plus, fixing things as they break instead of putting them off will make your life easier and save you money.

Increase The Value Of Your Home

Adding value to your home is a great way to profit if you plan to sell. These four methods will maximize your home’s value and make it more attractive to future buyers. It will also benefit you in the meantime as your bills will reduce, your home will be easier to maintain, and you will enjoy the space. 

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How To Life Mental Health

4 Easy Tips to Be Happier With Your Appearance

happier with your appearance

If you are unhappy with the way you look, you are not alone. More than 80% of people are unhappy with their appearance, and this can have extremely damaging consequences in their lives. It can lead to low self-esteem and confidence, which can affect social relationships and career prospects. If unchecked, it can also result in mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. The good news is that there are easy ways to be happier with your appearance.

happier with your appearance
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No one should have to feel bad about their appearance but it can be hard to shake these negative thoughts. The personal care industry makes a colossal amount of money from advertisements that tell people the way they look isn’t good enough.

These advertisements lead people to believe that they need to buy expensive moisturizers and hair products to be attractive. It’s important to remember that this is nothing more than a marketing tactic (albeit a very successful one), and has no foundation in truth. As Eleanor Roosevelt famously said, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

If you want to learn to be happier with your appearance, there are things you can do. Forget about buying the most expensive cosmetics and punishing your body in the gym.

The key to being happier with your appearance lies in changing your mindset, not changing the way you look. Here are four ways to improve your self-confidence and body image.

How to Be Happier With Your Appearance

Avoid Negative Thoughts

Anytime you find yourself looking in the mirror and criticizing your appearance, stop and think about what you’re doing. You would never say such things about someone else, and your loved ones wouldn’t dream of saying them about you.

You have to treat yourself the same way you would treat others. Try to catch yourself next time you start forming a negative thought and replace it with a positive one instead.

Focus on Your Strengths

Every single person on the planet has positive attributes. It may be that you’re brilliant at your job or you’re a great parent. Perhaps you’re a fantastic sportsperson or a talented writer. Whatever it is, focus on this rather than the things you perceive to be negative.

What’s more significant: the fact that you’re a good person or the shape of your body? Focusing on your strengths and improving yourself in ways that really matter will do wonders for your confidence and self-esteem, and help you put things into perspective.

Avoid Sources of Negativity

There are always people who take pride in putting others down. If someone makes you feel bad about yourself, the problem is with them, not with you. Cut out toxic people from your life and surround yourself with those who make you feel good.

Although social media and the internet can often be a force for good, it can also knock your confidence. If you are constantly bombarded by pictures of happy people with supermodel good looks, you will feel worse about your self-image. Limit your time spent online and avoid sites that make you feel bad.

Change Your Perspective

Remember that even the most objectively beautiful celebrities and models have issues with their appearance. Just as you don’t notice flaws when you look at an A-list star, other people aren’t as concerned with your appearance as you think they are. When you change your perspective, you’ll realize how insignificant your concerns are.

happier with your appearance

We all struggle with our self-image once in a while, but there are ways to be happier with your appearance. What are some of the ways you work to be happier with your appearance? Tell me in the comments!

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Adulting Family Activities Home How To Life Marriage Our Family Parenting

How to Have a Happier Family Life

How to Have a Happier Family Life

Whether your family life is already blissfully happy or you feel like you have room for improvement, it is always worth thinking about what you could do to bring harmony and happiness to your home. There are no downfalls to having a happier family life. Instead, you will find that it makes your home life blissful, which is something everyone should strive for.

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Ways to Have a Happier Family Life

Improve Your Work-Life Balance

It can be tough to find the right balance between work and family commitments, but it is something worth trying. The less stressed and burnt out you are, the happier you and your whole family will be at home. This leads to more quality time you will be able to spend together.

How do you achieve a better work-life balance? Start by looking at your schedule and crossing out at least one commitment that isn’t really essential. Use the spare time you’ve created to have a family movie night or a trip to the park.

Do this every month and soon you’ll have a more streamlined schedule and a better work-life balance.

Live Healthily

Looking after yourself and your family is vital for everyone’s happiness. That means making a real effort, as a family, to eat healthy nutritious meals, exercise, and spend time talking about your feelings.

If one of you is going through a tough time healthwise, you should all band together and offer support. This might include having family therapy sessions, looking into sober living homes, or just clearing time to be together non-judgementally. The healthier you are, the happier you will all be.

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Practice Discipline

Discipline is important in families. Children need to be taught boundaries, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of the family as a whole.

Discipline can seem like a scary word, but it really isn’t about punishment – it’s about knowing what is expected of you and learning how you can stay calm, keep the peace, and do the right thing.

Disciplining your children in this way will give them healthy boundaries and healthy boundaries will lead to a happier life. When children know what is expected of them, everyone will be happier.

Listen to Each Other

As a family, it is important that you all take time to communicate with each other in the good and bad times. Listening, in particular, is a really important skill to learn.

The more your family feels heard and respected, the more they will open up and the easier it will be for you to solve your problems together. Of course, it’s also important to share your triumphs and revel in each other’s joys, too.

Be Flexible

When you have a busy family life, it’s important to be flexible if you want to avoid arguments and live a life with less misery, If you’re too rigid and inflexible, it will cause many arguments and end up with no one doing what they want.

Obviously, some commitments can’t be moved, but if it doesn’t need to be set in stone, don’t put it there. This will make life much easier and happier for everyone.

With all of these tips, you are well on your way to having a happier family life. What are some of the ways you create a happier family life? Tell me about it in the comments!

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Family Activities Learning Life Our Family

3 Ways Going Remote is Good For Families

going remote

As much of the world has employees working from home and children learning virtually, life seems to be a bit uncertain. Whether you are enjoying the remote lifestyle or you’re hating it, it is something we are all dealing with. Luckily, there are a few reasons that going remote is good for families.

Location is a primary concern when it comes to choosing workplaces and schools. In fact, it’s not uncommon for families to consider moving for work or school. Living closer to places of interest can give parents and children a better chance of finding high-quality education and employment. Now, however, location doesn’t seem to be so important.

Some parents were already familiar with the advantages of remote schooling by enrolling their children in online charter schools. Online charter schools have been integral to the homeschooling experience for many families, even before the pandemic.

Unlike the unexpected digital teaching approach that many traditional schools have had to implement in 2020, online charter schools have already mastered the art of providing high-quality digital education. They provide access to some of the best teachers in the world, making the location of staff and students irrelevant.

Consequently, they have become more popular during the covid crisis since safe and effective schooling methods have been essential. It has been a rocky road for most of us, but going remote isn’t all bad. There’s much to gain for families who choose to remain in digital work and school environments.

going virtual
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How Going Remote is Good For Families

1. It Fits into Your Lifestyle

According to a survey, most Americans want to keep working from home. This includes even after covid vaccines are safely rolled out to the population.

Working at home makes employment and education an integral part of your lifestyle, without causing disruptions. For many parents, their kids’ school schedule is one of the major issues when it comes to maintaining a full-time job. When parents have to see their children off to school and then be there when they get home, it is hard to work full time.

With going remote, however, parents can work in the morning before their kids leave (or start their virtual school work). Plus, parents can continue working after they get the kids home for the day. This gives parents the opportunity to work more hours while still being an active, supportive parent.

Think about it this way – if you aren’t remote and have to go to the office every day, are you able to be there for your kids while still working full time? You may be able to, but the majority of Americans are struggling with this. Going remote can change that, however, because you can be there for your children WHILE bringing in a full-time income. Win-Win, for sure.

While flexible work arrangements are available in some places, it’s easy to see how digital technologies can eliminate disruptive schedules for parents and children. 

If you are a work-from-home parent, read this post for Easy Tips on Working From Home With Kids.

2. It Helps Separate Households Share Custody Rights

When families do not live together, such as divorced or separated parents, it’s tricky to make everybody’s schedules fit. More often than not, one parent gets most of the custody rights, ensuring the safe continuation of education for their children.

However, when you replace physical schools with online institutions, both parents can share custody rights equally. It’s a new challenge for family lawyers, but many are willing to embrace it for the sake of families.

Additionally, it can also change the approach to the whole settlement process – you can see more about it here to understand how going remote can make the transition easier for children. In a remote world, there’s no need to worry about changing jobs or schools when one parent moves out. 

3. Going Virtual Makes Time to Explore Together

Families that travel together stay together. It is a silly statement, but one that is true. Sharing memorable experiences with your partner and children strengthens your bonds.

In the past, traveling has been extremely limited for families due to time constraints. Children only get so much time off school, and adults get even less time off work. This makes it difficult to plan long trips or to truly explore the world.

With going remote, however, there is no need to plan trips around school breaks and week-long vacations from work. Plus, when you travel during school breaks, tourist areas tend to be expensive and crowded. If your family is remote, you can plan these trips anytime of the year.

Of course, you will still have to work, but if you can take a longer trip, it wouldn’t matter if you had to spend time working during it. So, in this case, going remote is a good thing! It doesn’t matter when you embark on a trip, which saves you money and unnecessary stress! 

There is still a long way to go for families to get used to going remote for employment and education. We are only at the start of the path! But, there are already plenty of advantages that could improve our lifestyles and family lives.

We are on a learning curve to make our world safer and better for all, and perhaps digital workplaces and schools could play a significant role in that. If you have been against going remote, I hope these reasons that going remote is good for families will help change your mind!

What are some of the reasons you think going remote is good for families? Tell me about it in the comment section!  

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Adulting For the Home Home Life

4 Easy Ways to Make Your House Feel More like a Home

make your house feel more like a home, house feel like a home

As the old saying goes, “there’s no place like home.” In many ways, our homes are the places that we turn to for comfort, rejuvenation, and even inspiration. Our homes are where we spend some of our most cherished moments with the people closest to us, and they are where we refine our sense of who we are. For these reasons alone, you must make your house feel more like a home.

make your house feel more like a home, house feel like a home
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Taking care of your home is so important, and there are many things that can contribute dramatically to making your home feel more like a home. You can make it the kind of place where you enjoy spending time, and where you and your family can thrive.

Perhaps you have just moved into a new home and haven’t quite settled yet. Or, maybe you just aren’t quite happy with how you relate to your existing living space. Either way, taking steps to help make your house feel more like a home is essential.

How to Make Your House Feel More Like a Home

1. Get a Pet

There are many brilliant upsides to getting a pet – especially for families with young kids.

For one thing, getting a pet such as a new Labrador puppy, from a responsible breeder such as https://chocolatelabradorretriever.ca, can immediately fill the home with a rich sense of innocent, jubilant energy, while simultaneously allowing every member of the family to participate in the wonderful aura of enthusiasm that results from this.

For another thing, pets – for many families – symbolise the real solidification of a home. They complete the “white picket fence” dream of what a family home should look and feel like.

In addition to all of this, pets can teach all sorts of valuable lessons to all members of the family, but especially to children. Lessons concerning things like responsibility, to give just one example.

2. Personalize Your Home with Things that have a Personality and a Story

There is certainly a kind of allure connected to the simple and streamlined aesthetic that you will find in many home décor catalogs these days. But, there are setbacks to filling your home with this type of furniture.

The things you fill your home with will dramatically affect how the place feels to you, how you perceive it, and how capable you are of relating to it. If everything in your home was mass produced in a factory, there’s a good chance you will feel alienated from your home.

This is because for a living space to really feel like a home, it has to feel like something that you have a relationship with. Something that has character, personality, and that is personal and relevant to you – rather than just being something broadly utilitarian and pretty.

The more you can ensure that the objects in your home are more than just “objects,” but that they have a story and personality – or, at least, can develop a story and personality over time – the more your house or apartment will come to feel like a home.

3. Get Your Home in Order and Keep it That Way

No matter how great your house may be or how many meaningful items it contains, it will be hard to feel comfortable in your living space if it is messy, and chaotic.

While “comfort” isn’t exactly the same thing as your house feeling like a home, it is at least a significant factor to consider. If you find yourself in this situation, it can be difficult knowing just where to start. You may even struggle with getting the energy and momentum to step forward and begin the process.

Despite those obstacles, the best thing you can do for transforming how your home feels overnight is to dive into the cleaning and organizing process. Make sure that there is a place for everything, and that everything gets put away.

From there, you will be able to see, feel, and appreciate the unique and beautiful features of the place that had been obscured before.

4. Develop Routines to Create a Sense of Happiness and Meaning Each Day

Your home is much more than a place where you simply sleep and eat in between going to work or school.

It’s meant to be a place where you flourish, and where you can get in touch with yourself and appreciate some of the small pleasures of everyday life.

One thing you can do to make your house feel more like a home is to come up with routines that can introduce a sense of happiness and meaning on an everyday basis.

This might mean having a family breakfast each morning at a beautiful dining table, or it may mean sitting on your porch with a cup of coffee before starting the day properly. It could even be as simple as enjoying a good book in your favorite chair.

Your home is supposed to be a special place where you can truly let go. You should be able to relax and enjoy the time you spend at home. This means finding a way to make your house feel more like a home is essential.

What are some of your tips for making a house feel more like a home? Do you have any simple daily routines that help you find pleasure in your home each day? Tell me in the comments! I’d love to hear about it.

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Adulting Decor For the Home How To Life

5 Easy Ways to Create a Cozy Living Room You Will Love

how to create a cozy living room, living room, comfy living room, comfortable living room, cozy up in your living room

There are certain times of the year where you just want a cozy living room to enjoy. The winter is one of those times, but how can you make your living room as cozy and relaxing as possible, with minimal effort? Well, here are some quick tips for making your living room as cozy as possible.

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How to Quickly Create a Cozy Living Room

1. Clean Up

No one can be genuinely cozy in a place that needs to be decluttered. Most people tend to clean during the winter and again in the springtime. So if you’ve been putting off your winter clean, it’s time to get it started. 

Declutter as much as possible, though you’ll likely do this to make room for a Christmas tree or some sort of festive decorations, anyway. The more you eliminate, the better you will feel as you cuddle up on your couch to read a book or watch your favorite show.

2. Add Texture

Some textures are super comforting during the winter months. Look for textured fleece blankets, chenille sweaters, or warm fluffy socks to keep nearby. If you already have them, it’s time to grab your most comfortable blankets and have them ready on the couch. This is one of the most important things you can do to get that cuddly, cozy feeling in your living room.

Having a soft fluffy rug will also help to keep your living room warm and insulated, as well as add extra texture to the living room too.

***This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.***

3. Consider the Lighting

If you want to create some specific atmospheres, then lighting is the way to do it. One of the best things you can do is to add fairy lights to the space around your living room. Wrapping fairy lights around shelves, around your Christmas tree, or around windows to add a festive twinkle to your living room. 

Then, when the sun sets early in the winter months, you can turn the sparkle up. For an extra cozy feeling, you might want to keep the overhead lighting off and let the rest of the twinkling lights work their magic. 

4. Make Sure It’s Warm

Part of being cozy is being warm, so make sure your living room is well-heated. If you haven’t had your boiler checked out for a while, now is the perfect time to do it. Many people find themselves in need of a water heater repair just as winter hits. 

Plan ahead so that you don’t get stuck in this situation. If you have a fireplace, consider getting that checked out, as well. There is no way to be cozy if you aren’t warm, and you don’t want to get stuck this way in the middle of the night.

Before switching on the radiators in every room in the house, read this handy guide and how you can save money on your heating over autumn and winter.

5. Fragrances

Some fragrances just remind us of the winter. Spiced apple, cinnamon, pumpkin and Christmas cookies are all great scents that can make a room feel extra cozy. If you don’t want to have open flames, then reed diffusers can help bring comforting smells to your living room. 

Many fragrance brands have brought out specific holiday-themed fragrances, which means you can recreate that cozy Christmas feeling all year around. You can also opt for a simple plug-in. 

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So, once you have created a cozy living room, it’s time to get settled in. Put on your favorite comfy clothes, get a cup of coffee, and grab a blanket before hopping on the couch.

I always like to watch Gilmore Girls when I have a chance to get cozy on the couch. What do you like to do when you’re cuddled up on the couch in the winter? Tell me in the comments!

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Big Kid Home How To Life Our Family Parenting Teenager

How to Handle Family Issues Positively in 2020

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It’s no secret that 2020 has been a real struggle for most of us. With so many unknown situations occurring and life constantly changing, it’s been hard. Unfortunately, this causes many issues for families. Luckily, however, there are ways to handle family issues positively.

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Challenging situations will affect everybody, be that in our jobs, or physical and mental health, and in our relationships with our friends and families. 

While it is natural in all relationships to experience rough patches, placing a global pandemic that leaves us all trapped inside all the time into the mix makes it worse. The feeling of wanting to escape or take it out on others around you increases dramatically.  

In challenging times you will need the support of your family to get you through. However, family relationships can be complicated at times, and conflict within the home is hard to escape from. 

Here are some of the things you can do to help to restore your family (dis)agreements during one of the most challenging global crises in the 21st Century. 

How to Handle Family Issues Positively

 1. Stop playing the blame game

Relationships, particularly within a family unit, are about more than just one person. Attempting to, or even suggesting changing any family member can invite defensiveness. Nobody likes to be told that they are doing things wrong or need to change.

When dealing with issues, it is vital to come at them from a place of wanting to fix them, not of wanting to come out on top. This may mean coming to tackle an issue by starting with your role in the disagreements or tensions within family relationships. By admitting your fault in it, the other person will be more likely to accept your suggestions.

If all of you seek to facilitate your own changes individually, the family unit will flourish as you all try your best to be a good mom, dad, husband, wife, son, daughter etc. Each person in the family unit has a responsibility to uphold, so it is important for everyone to work together.

Quite often, problems in relationships are just that: problems that need addressing. Stop blaming yourself or others and think about what the issues are that cause tensions. 

2. List all of the things that spark disagreements 

From not completing chores, to harsh tones in communication, small things can build up to a pretty big deal when managing family relationships. If you’re constantly asking your kids to clean their rooms, or your partner to give you some space in the mornings and these requests are ignored, you can feel disrespected and lacking in value.

That said, it may not just be you that ends up feeling that way and tensions may be high from a number of reasons. 

Have everyone in the family write out what they feel causes tensions within the household. Create a safe space in order to allow them to do so. The key is to not get offended by some of the responses you get. 

The lists should include all of the things that each family member fears talking about due to not wanting to run into any disagreements. Doing so will help to identify any potential issues within the family unit.

You may notice several family members will identify similar areas of concern which will make it easier to deal with the issues – especially if you can come to an agreement as to how they can be dealt with. Do this collectively and each of you will feel responsible for the rest of the family unit. 

However, if it seems impossible to write just a few things on the list because you argue about everything, then this determines that the issues run deeper than simple misunderstandings. 

3. Express concerns constructively 

It’s easy to come into addressing concerns with accusation, but as previously mentioned, issues are rarely to do with an individual and precisely to do with a root cause. 

Take the pandemic, for example. The outbreak wasn’t anybody’s fault. How it was dealt with and the things that have happened as a result have sparked a whole load of discontent and disappointment that certain things haven’t gone according to plan. 

Having each of you expressing your concerns constructively will open the doors to honest and open discussions. Ensure that any comments are not accusatory comments, but comments that demonstrate how you feel. Here are some examples of ways to open up a dialogue which limit the potential for conflict.: 

  • My concern is….
  • I feel/felt  (one word eg- sad, anxious, scared) …when/ that (what it’s about?) 
  • What are your thoughts about….?
  •  I would like to (and never use I would like YOU to…) 
  • How would you….?
  • I love it when… 

Attempt to move away from unhealthy, accusatory comments which go nowhere and more often than not end up causing further fights. 

4. Seek outside help 

Sometimes it feels impossible to deal with things on our own. This means we need a neutral, outside perspective to give us the clarity that we need to get through. Going through some family counseling together will help you all to work through any issues that you’re facing as a family unit. 

Family issues can occur as a result of traumatic experiences, so having a professional is necessary to help you to navigate them as a collective and deal with them head on. 

Their job is to help you all identify which behaviors are a direct response to the trauma and to give you the tools to work through them.

5. Prioritize family time 

Pre COVID-19, many families would struggle to find evenings to do things together. Now, forced time together isn’t always the blissful time together you had hoped for. Especially if you haven’t quite been as informed about the goings on in your family’s lives as you would have hoped. 

There may be tensions due to people feeling ‘misunderstood’ and ‘unheard’ which can cause friction. Even while at home, your teens may wish to spend more time in their rooms speaking with friends. However, it is important to try and figure out the things that most of you enjoy doing together and make those things a priority.

Find the joy in getting to know your family again. While going out at the moment comes with additional risks, there are plenty of things you can do at home. Small things done together can make the world of difference to everybody’s emotions during this incredibly challenging time.

6. Recognize The Right Decision For Everyone Involved

When you become emotional due to a domestic issue, it’s easy to do what you think is right without focusing on anyone else’s point of view. Once you calm down, you must swallow your pride and lose your ego. When you work together properly, solutions become so much more apparent.

Whether it’s something that leads to the contact of custody attorneys or something much less significant, be sure to talk it out and understand all angles. You’ll be a lot more content and issues will be handled so much more positively.

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Family conflict is impossible to avoid. Luckily, there are ways to handle family issues positively. The key is to work together as a family unit and figure out what the issues are.

Once you have determined the issues, figure out how to solve them. Involving everyone in the solution will make it easier, and it’ll make everyone want to do their part.

Do you have any other tips for handling family issues positively? Leave a comment and let me know!