Journaling Archives - Elle Chic Printables

4 Tips to Reduce Chemical Exposure in Your Children

Children are the most precious asset in this world. They are vulnerable, and require your protection. As they grow up, some of these children will become scientists and come up with new discoveries and advancements. Others will become the doctors and nurses that will take care of you as you grow older. No matter what they grow up to do, they all deserve to be given the best start in life.

As a parent, you do everything you can to keep them safe and healthy. You install baby gates and monitors, make sure they eat their fruits and vegetables, and make sure they get enough sleep.

Many parents are aware of the necessity to reduce the number of chemicals that their children are exposed to. After all, children are more vulnerable to chemicals as their bodies and minds are still growing and developing, and they tend to spend more time on the floor crawling and putting their hands in their mouths.

You may have already taken some steps, such as including more organic foods into their diets. This is a great start, and in what follows, are a few more tips to reduce chemical exposure in your children.

1. Switch to non-toxic cleaning products –

Stop using harmful chemicals to wash your floor, clean your carpets and bathtubs, and even clean the dishes or your baby’s high chair. These chemicals will eventually make their way into your children’s bodies.

In addition, use safer laundry detergents, stain removers, and fabric softeners. Look for products that do not contain the known carcinogen, formaldehyde.

2. Do not clean toys with certain commercial disinfectant products –

Some companies advertise their cleaning agents and disinfectants by showing that they can be sprayed or wiped on children’s toys. This can be a sure way to increase your children’s exposure to chemicals, if there are harmful chemicals in the product. Instead, hand wash them with simple dish soap and water. If you feel the need to disinfect something, you can do this after cleaning with soap and water. There are some natural thyme disinfectants that have been proven to be powerful at killing germs.

3. Do not use tick and flea collars on your pets –

It is surprising that these collars are even still made. If they are made to keep ticks and fleas away, they are definitely laden with chemicals. So any contact your pet has with you, your children, and other surfaces in the house (such as your pillow), can mean contamination with chemicals.

4. Vacuum often

If you can afford it, it is better not to use carpet, and instead have wood or tile in place. This is because carpet tends to trap dust, which contains chemicals that are either in your home (such as fire retardants) or have been tracked in from the outside (such as pesticides from your lawn).

However, if you do have carpet, be sure to vacuum frequently and get into all the corners and along the baseboards too. Make sure that your vacuum has a HEPA filter as this will ensure that the dust stays in the vacuum rather than being recirculated into the air.

Posted on by Admin — Leave a comment

Home Organizing Tips

Seems like everyone can use a little help getting organized. Whether you work from home, juggle career and family, share co-parenting responsibilities, or just want to make time for loftier aspirations than cleaning toilets… we’re all looking to simplify and streamline our lives so there’s more room for the things we enjoy doing most.

Below you’ll find some great tips for keeping your home tidier and more organized.

Stock supplies in strategic locations. You know that you need specific cleaning products and tools in order to keep your home in dirt and dust-free, sanitary condition. These many include a broom and dustpan, upright vacuum, hand-held vacuum, bucket, mop, cleaning rags, paper towels, scrub brushes, toilet brush, glass cleaner, abrasive cleanser, floor cleaning mix, spray bottle with surface cleaner, and so forth. The trick to keeping a cleaner home is to buy dupes of your most frequently used cleaning products or homemade mixes, and store them near the areas where you tend to use them most.

For example, if you typically clean the upstairs bathrooms as well as the kitchen using an abrasive cleaner, then buy two cans – one for each floor of your home. Store one under a bathroom sink upstairs, and another under the kitchen sink downstairs. Also keep two bottles of glass cleaner in both locations. If you have a basement laundry area and/or slop sink, you’ll need stored cleansers in this location as well. Along with your cleaning products, be sure to also stock necessary supplies such as a sponge or bunch of cleaning rags, so that you can make a quick task of wiping up when necessary.

Lose the perfectionist attitude. Did you know that perfectionism is actually counter-intuitive? When we set our aspirations too high, we end up overwhelmed and accomplish even less than if we had set a smaller, more attainable goal. Let’s use the task of straightening up before a guest is expected to stop by, as an example.

A friend is coming over, and you haven’t cleaned the house in about 5 days. You want your friend to feel relaxed and comfortable, in clean and organized surroundings. Instead of trying to do a whirlwind deep-cleaning marathon, it makes more sense to just tackle the easy jobs that you can do quickly but will still make a difference.

Vacuum ONLY the living room carpet and kitchen floor, because that’s where you’ll be spending most of your time with said friend. Wash dishes and throw out stinky kitchen garbage. Wipe up table surfaces. Run to the bathroom, pull out your easily accessible cleaning supplies, and do a quick squirt and wipe of the sink and mirror. While in the bathroom, replenish liquid soap, stock TP, change out the dirty hand towel. Swish the bowl. You’re done in 30 minutes!

Go by task. Instead of cleaning one room at a time, tackle cleaning one task at a time. Your tasks can be broken down into wet cleaning and dry cleaning, sub-divided as necessary. You generally need to dry-clean first, to get rid of dust, crumbs and dirt, before you can sanitize. If you’re strapped for time, vacuuming is more important than dusting. So that’s one task for the entire house. Grab the vacuum. But wait! Before you vacuum, you must make sure there are no obstacles in the way of your cleaning path.

Pick up in-the-way items and stash in their proper locations or temporarily store on table tops. Inspect the floor for dropped change and small objects; stuff into your pocket or find a makeshift receptacle for odds and ends. Grab your vacuum and go from room to room, first on one floor, then up or down the stairs, then the next floor. Don’t get sidetracked by things you discover along the way. Just vacuum.

When you’re done with all levels of your home, put the vacuum away. Now, you can either begin whatever wet chores you were planning; or, if your schedule is putting demands on you, you can put your cleaning project on pause and come back to it later. Now, one feature of the entire home is clean – the carpets and floors no longer have dirt crumbs and dust. As a final step, return all the temporarily moved items to their proper locations. Now you’re officially done with vacuuming. It’s a good time to take a technology break, or fulfill whatever obligation is on your calendar.

Dry chores first. The best time to wipe down and sanitize the surfaces of your home, such as counter tops, table tops, cabinets, sinks and floors, is after you’ve vacuumed and/or dusted. In the busy life of a modern-day person, this is not always possible. So if you happen to be doing your chores in reverse, don’t sweat it.

Again, instead of cleaning one room at a time, aim for one chore at a time. Floor-washing for the entire house can be a single task. There’s no way around the fact that they should be swept or vacuumed first. Once you remove surface crumbs, dust and dirt, fill up your wash bucket with your favorite floor cleaner, and mop or Swiffer if you use one, or get a floor cleaning rag if you’re a hands-and-knees person.

After you finish washing the floor of your kitchen and other downstairs areas, move onto the bathroom. It should be noted that if you have a tile or linoleum floor in some rooms of the house, and hardwood floors in others, these tasks must be handled differently and therefore should be considered separate jobs. A wood floor in your hallway may not need to be washed as frequently as linoleum floor in your kitchen. So if right now you’re cleaning tiles and linoleum, just keep focused on this task, and bring your wash bucket and scrubbing rags, brushes and/or mop around with you to clean the kitchen floor and then the bathrooms. You do the bathrooms last because that’s the dirtiest room in the house. When you’re done, put all used rags in their designated “dirty laundry” spot, to be washed and sanitized before using again.

By now you should be getting the idea that your home will look cleaner if you break it down by urgency of the matter at hand, and by chore, rather than by room. Look at it this way. You could spend all day perfecting the living room – sorting through old magazines, meticulously dusting every picture frame and knick knack on your mantelpiece, shining the furniture, scrubbing the baseboards, mopping the corners of the ceiling, wiping down window sills, steaming the drapes, and vacuuming – all in that one room. But when you’re done, you’ll have an immaculate living room but every other room of the house will remain a wreck. So, use common sense when you’re deciding what to clean, and when, according to how much time you have and which rooms will be in immediate use thereafter.

Storage bins are your friend. Another aspect of keeping a home clean involves managing all the “stuff” that accumulates. Think of the sinking feeling you get after every Christmas, and the explosion of holiday gifts from well-meaning family and friends. What will you do with all of this extra clutter? It helps a lot to embrace that age-old cliche, “a place for everything, and everything in its place.”

Take the first step in organizing the stuff and things that take up valuable space in your home, and clutter your mind with their distracting presence. Go out and buy a bunch of storage bins. If you aren’t sure how many or what sizes you’ll need, start by writing a quick list. Think of all the categories of items that you own in your home. Depending on what time of year it is, a certain number of these items will either be in active use, or packed away for a different season. Some sample categories for storing things in bins: picture frames and knick knacks. Blankets. Outdoor sports equipment. Linens and towels. Christmas and holiday decor. Garden supplies. Old toys. Beach items. Pet supplies. Rarely used kitchen appliances.

Don’t forget to label your bins. Blank labels or masking tape will do for this purpose. Make sure that you keep your labels and markers in close proximity to your bins so you don’t have to go searching. Any time you have to hunt around for supplies, you lessen your chance of completing the organizational task that you set out to accomplish.

Out of sight, out of mind. Your storage bins should not be in sight. The idea is things are in storage, so hide them away for greater peace of mind. You can clear a spot in your basement, attic, garage, guest room, or wherever you prefer to contain your clutter into an “out of sight, out of mind” area. It’s okay for all your stuff to not be on display, and may in fact be better for your mental health not to look at it. Another good reason for storing plastic bins away from you and your family is the possibility of breathing in toxic fumes as the plastic off-gasses. We don’t know what lots of cheap plastic will do to our bodies. So, put it away.

Get rid of whatever you don’t use. The best part of sorting and categorizing items in your home is that it forces you to be realistic about what you use versus what you just think you use. As part of your organization agenda, you should be eliminating all superfluous items. For example, let’s say you have a box of maternity clothes, but you are of the age where it’s very unlikely that you’ll ever be pregnant again. You might be tempted to keep the box around for “just in case.” But in all honesty, if you get pregnant by some slim chance there will probably be scores of family and friends ready to hand you everything you require. So, now is your chance to help out a sister in need, and put those gently used maternity outfits in their own bin, then drive them over to the nearest Salvation Army.

These are just a few great tips for keeping a cleaner and more organized home.

Posted on by Admin — Leave a comment

6 Things to Avoid During Pregnancy

While you probably already know about the things you should do during pregnancy such as ensuring a healthy diet including adequate folic intake and prenatal checkups, do you know what things you should avoid during pregnancy? There are many, but what follows is a list of a few things you should avoid.

Eating too much seafood

But how much is too much? There is still some controversy, but most experts agree that somewhere between 6g – 12g per week is safe. However, it is still advised that you choose fish lower in mercury such as salmon, crab, shrimp, and canned light tuna. Shark and swordfish are two examples of fish to avoid, due to their higher mercury content.

Exercising heavily

This is especially important if you were not very active before getting pregnant. If this is the case, you will need to start exercising slowly. Even just beginning a regular walking program can improve your endurance before the birth of your baby.

If you are more conditioned and you exercised prior to pregnancy, you will likely be able to continue your exercise routine. However, you will want to avoid high-impact exercises, contact sports, and other sports/activities where there is a risk of falling. Weight lifting is generally safe in a low-risk pregnancy, but you do not want to be lifting too much weight and straining.

You never want to exercise to the point of exhaustion or overheating, as this can be dangerous for your baby.

Always check with your physician before beginning or continuing any exercise program, as there are times when exercise is not recommended during pregnancy.

If you have oral sex, your partner must not blow air into your vagina

This can result in an air embolism, an air bubble that develops in a blood vessel of the body. If this air bubble makes it to the heart or lungs, it can be life threatening.

Do not have sex with people whose sexual history is unknown

When you do not know someone else’s sexual history, it is never a good idea to have sex with that person. Not only do you risk contracting a sexually-transmitted infection (STI), your unborn baby does too.

If your partner possibly has genital herpes, you should avoid sex with your partner during the third trimester. Also, avoid oral sex if your partner gets cold sores. This is because an infected mother can transmit the herpes virus to the baby during a vaginal birth, and herpes is very serious in newborns. If you do have herpes sores or you feel an outbreak coming on before the birth of your baby, a cesarean section will be necessary.

You should not smoke or breathe in second-hand smoke

It is known that tobacco smoke increases the chances of having a low-birth weight infant, one who is at increased risk of dying from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), and other medical complications for both the mother and baby.

You should not drink alcohol

Alcohol is the only cause of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, a completely preventable disorder. Children exposed to alcohol in utero can have a wide range of disorders ranging from identifiable facial features to less obvious, but serious, learning disabilities and impairments in reasoning, to name a few.

There are many things that you need to avoid when pregnant. A few of these have been discussed above, and can help ensure that the baby you have is as healthy as possible when born.

Posted on by Admin — Leave a comment

3 Reasons Why Smoking During Pregnancy is Not Recommended

You already know that smoking is not good for you. You probably have tried to quit many times in the past, but it just did not work out. If you are thinking of getting pregnant or are already pregnant, it may be time to revisit why smoking during pregnancy is not a good idea. Knowing that your baby is counting on you may be all the motivation you need to give up the habit for good this time!

Here are 3 reasons why soon-to-be pregnant or expecting mothers should give up smoking:

Lower Birth Weights

Women who smoke are twice as likely to have children of low birth weights.

Why is this?

Unfortunately, when you smoke, so does your baby. Tobacco smoke contains around 4000 harmful chemicals, such as carbon monoxide, arsenic, nicotine, and formaldehyde! In addition, at least 70 of the chemicals in cigarettes are known to cause cancer.

These chemicals smother and reduce the amount of nutrition and oxygen your baby gets, resulting in less growth in utero and a lower birth weight.

Another reason for low birth weight is that women who smoke increase their chances of having pre-term labor and having a premature infant.

Increased Risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)

SIDS is the name given when an infant less than a year old suddenly dies, usually during sleep. This infant was seemingly healthy.

Although SIDS also occurs in babies of non-smoking mothers and households, there is an increased risk for babies who are exposed to smoke in utero and/or after birth. This risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked.

Although the causes of SIDS are not fully understood yet, it seems that tobacco smoke may affect the development of the baby’s nervous system. The nervous system includes the brain, where breathing is regulated. Smoking is also linked to sleep apnea (pauses in breathing) in infants.

If you are unable to quit smoking fully during pregnancy, it is recommended that you at least significantly reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke in order to reduce the chances of SIDS.

Increased Risk of Medical Complications For The Expecting Mother & Baby

Placenta Previa –

The placenta covers part or all of the cervical opening within the uterus in this serious condition. Placenta Previa can result in heavy bleeding, putting the mother at risk of shock or need for blood transfusions. Early labor may also result, and if labor cannot be stopped with medications, an early delivery means potential health complications for the baby.

Placenta Abruptio –

This is another serious condition in which the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus. It can occur after an injury such as a fall, but it also happens more in women who smoke during pregnancy.

In conclusion, it is clear that smoking during pregnancy is not recommended. A few reasons why this is so, have been outlined above. If you have had a hard time quitting, knowing some of the reasons why smoking is not good for your baby may make it easier to stick to your decision to quit. After all, you have one shot to provide the best uterine environment for your child – now is the time to do it!

Posted on by Admin — Leave a comment

3 Common Questions About Sex During Pregnancy

When you get pregnant, there are a number of questions that you are likely to have that deal with the issue of sex during pregnancy. In what follows, you will get answers to some of the most commonly-asked questions.

Is it safe to have sex during pregnancy?

You might not want to ask the question, but you are likely wondering it! The answer to this is, “yes, unless you have or develop risk factors.” Under normal circumstances (a low-risk pregnancy), you can have sex during all three trimesters.

Whether you and your partner choose to have sex during the entire pregnancy is a separate issue. You may be feeling more tired, especially during the first and third trimesters. Nausea during the start or all of the pregnancy can also put a damper on sex.

However, as your hormones fluctuate, you may be feeling more turned on and wanting to have sex more. The increased blood flow to the pelvic region can result in engorgement of your genitals. For some women, this correlates with an increase in desire, while others find it makes sex more uncomfortable.

Does having sex hurt the baby?

Once again, if you have a normal, healthy pregnancy, having sex will not cause harm to the baby. The baby is enveloped in the uterus and membranes, and the mucus plug blocks the cervix. However, if you or your partner has sex with other people, make sure to use condoms to decrease the risk of you and your baby becoming infected with a possible sexually transmitted infection (STI). Better yet, avoid the risk of STI’s to your baby through monogamy.

When is sex not advised during pregnancy?

Your physician can best advise you when sexual intercourse and/or orgasm are not permitted, but here is a short list of some reasons why you may have been advised against sex:

Incompetent Cervix

If your cervix is known to dilate prematurely, it can result in a miscarriage or premature birth.

Placenta Previa

If the placenta covers part or all of the opening of the cervix, your physician will advise you against intercourse. Placenta Previa carries a risk of heavy bleeding, and risk to both the baby and the mother.

Ruptured Membranes

When the amniotic sac ruptures, there can be leakage of amniotic fluid. Risk of infection is high if sex occurs during this time.

Previous History of Miscarriage or Premature Labor

If you have a history of this, your physician may advise you against intercourse, orgasm, or both.

Previous Premature Birth(s)

Babies born before 37 weeks gestation are considered premature. Your physician may advise you against sex if you have gone into early labor before, resulting in a premature baby.

Bleeding or Cramping

Your physician will need to do an evaluation, and will be able to advise you further whether it is safe to be having sex during your pregnancy.

To conclude, sex during pregnancy is safe when you have a low-risk pregnancy. Sex, under healthy circumstances, does not hurt the baby. However, there can be some conditions that put you and the baby at risk during pregnancy, making sex inadvisable. Your physician knows best, and will be able to guide you throughout your pregnancy, and as new questions arise.

Posted on by Admin — Leave a comment

Pets During Pregnancy – What You Need to Know To Prevent Infection

If you work with or live with animals, there are some precautions you should take when you are pregnant. This is because all animals have germs, and they can transmit illnesses to you and possibly to your unborn baby and young children.

No matter what kind of animal(s) you have, here are some tips to apply to any animal or pet, especially when you are pregnant:

Follow good hand hygiene practices to reduce the chances of being infected.

Do not allow your pet to be in contact with any food surfaces, or where you wash or store your dishes.

Also, avoid kissing your pets or allowing them to “kiss” you on the face.

Avoid cleaning pet supplies and cages in your kitchen sink. If you use the tub to clean anything, disinfect afterwards.

In what follows, you will learn about the risks posed by specific animals or pets, and what precautions you should take with each of them.

Dogs

Ensure that your dog’s vaccinations are current.

Make sure that your dog has been dewormed.

Ensure that your dog does not jump on your abdomen when you are pregnant.

Do not touch your dog’s feces.

Cats

Toxoplasmosis is the most common infection that can occur. You get it from coming in contact with a parasite in your cat’s feces.

Cats can contract it after eating infected rodents, hence a good reason to have only indoor cats. They can also contract it before they are born, if the mother cat is exposed to it.

You can have your cat tested by your veterinarian to determine if he has been exposed to the bacteria.

Infection with toxoplasmosis can result in miscarriages, and birth defects such as blindness.

You do not need to get rid of your cat. You can still pet and enjoy your cat. Just make sure that someone else in your household cleans the cat’s litter box.

If you do have to clean the litter box, make sure that you wear gloves to avoid contact with the feces. Then wash the gloves (or use disposables) and your hands thoroughly afterwards.

Toxoplasmosis can also be transmitted through soil, so be sure to wear gloves if you are gardening. Also, be sure to wash your hands well after you are done gardening.

You may want to cover your other children’s outdoor sandbox to ensure outdoor cats cannot use it as a litter box.

Birds

Birds can transmit infections such as salmonella and other germs.

Ask someone else to clean your bird’s cage.

Guinea Pigs, Hamsters, and Other Rodents

These pets can become infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV), when they are at breeding facilities or at the pet store. The common house mouse carries this same virus.

It is a threat to pregnant mothers, as it can result in miscarriages and various birth defects.

In order to reduce the risk, it is best to stay away from rodents of any kind – domestic pets or wild. This is because the virus can be transmitted via the feces, urine, saliva, and nesting materials of these animals.

If you have a pet rodent, be sure that you do not change its cage. In addition, keep it in an entirely separate section of your home where you do not spend time.

Amphibians and Reptiles

These include salamanders, frogs, snakes, lizards, turtles, etc. Unfortunately, these are not safe pets to have during pregnancy or the first five years of your child’s life when your child’s immune system is still developing.

They carry risk of infection from salmonella, which they carry on their skin and can be passed in their feces.

In the past, pet constrictor snakes have killed unattended babies and young children.

Cattle

If you own cattle, you likely own a ranch or a hobby farm. Cattle can carry the E.coli (Escherichia coli) bacteria, which is passed through their feces.

Ensure you wash your hands thoroughly after being in contact with cattle. Also, be sure to wash fruits and vegetables well, as they may have been exposed to contaminated soil. During pregnancy, you may want to avoid drinking well water, if there is any risk that runoff from your farm animals has contaminated your well.

In summary, you must use common sense when handling any animals during your pregnancy. Some animals such as amphibians and reptiles pose more risk. By making wise decisions now, you can ensure that you increase the chances of having a healthy baby.

Posted on by Admin — Leave a comment

5 Daily Simple Ways to Reduce Your Stress

Are you ready to actively do something to reduce stress on a daily basis? If not, I would like to encourage you to pick up and develop a daily habit that helps you accomplish just that. Stress not only reduces your quality of life; it can also negatively affect your health. There’s a reason why they say stress kills. Start doing something about it and embrace life to the fullest with some of these simple techniques that help you stress less.

Start Meditating

One of the best tools for reducing stress is meditation. You can start with a simple breathing meditation by getting comfortable in a quiet spot and focusing on relaxing and thinking about nothing but your breath. From there, give some of the free guided meditations a try. There are even some wonderful apps out there that turn your smartphone into your favorite new meditation device. Set aside a few minutes each day to meditate and watch the stress melt away.

Keep a Journal

This one may surprise you. A journal is an effective tool to help you worry and stress less. The simple act of writing about what’s on your mind can be incredibly freeing. A journal is also a great tool to help you look back and figure out what’s triggering or causing periods of high stress. This is valuable information to have since you can’t work towards reducing or eliminating a trigger if you don’t know what it is.

Go for A Walk

Another simple, but very powerful technique is to go for a walk. Get outside if possible, but if that’s not a good option, hop on a treadmill or pace around your house. It doesn’t take a lot of walking before you start to see the benefits. If you only have ten minutes, walk. If you have an hour lunch break, walk for 20 minutes and spend the rest of the time relaxing and eating. Make it work and get in the habit of walking regularly.

Hug

That’s right. Something as simple as a hug can help you relax and fight stress. Make sure the hug is genuine on both sides and for best results, hold the embrace for at least twenty seconds. You’ll start to feel yourself calm and those endorphins will flood your system. Don’t have anyone around to hug at the moment? Laughing out loud is pretty powerful too. Turn on a fun comedy that leaves you in stitches.

Clean Up Your Diet

Last but not least, take a look at what you’re putting into your mouth. A clean diet of mostly whole foods that’s low in sugars and preservatives will nourish your body and fight much of the damage stress causes. It will also help you feel calmer and more in control. Start making some small changes and see if you don’t start to feel better.

Posted on by Admin — Leave a comment

Family Budget – How to Create One

For singles, creating a budget is relatively easy. They tend to have a good handle on how much money they have coming in, and when tracking expenses, they only have their own to think about. But creating a family budget is a whole new ball game.

Most families have multiple sources of income. And when there are multiple spenders, that makes things much more confusing. This is one of the main reasons that families lack a formal budget. But having a budget and sticking to it can greatly improve a family’s financial outlook.

Making a family budget may be tricky, but it can be done. Here’s how.

Take inventory of all income. If a certain source of income fluctuates from month to month, use the lowest amount or average it out.
Keep track of all expenses for a month or so. Keep all of your receipts, and ask all family members to turn theirs in to you each day.
Add up your monthly expenses. Be sure to include bills, debt payments, groceries, and everyday expenses such as lunch money and transportation costs.
Get the family together and discuss ways you can trim the budget. Getting input from other family members will help you determine which expenses are necessary and which ones could be cut down or eliminated. Maybe you or your spouse could start taking lunch to work instead of eating out, or maybe the kids can drop an extracurricular activity.
In addition to individual expenses, discuss how you can cut down on the electric bill, groceries and other necessary family expenses. Consider such things as carpooling or taking public transportation, buying more generic foods and adjusting the thermostat.
Estimate how much you can save on regular expenses, and cut the completely unnecessary items out of the budget. Then refigure it and see where you stand.
If you end up with a surplus, allocate a portion of it to savings. If you’re in the red, go back and rework the budget until you have more income than expenses.

Be Realistic!

One reason that family budgets often fail is because they’re just not realistic. It’s great to cut down on expenses, but sometimes we tend to go too far. For example, cutting entertainment out of the budget completely might look good on paper, but we all need a little diversion every now and then.

Instead of cutting such things out of the budget completely, consider finding ways to lower the cost. Going back to the entertainment example, maybe you’ve been going to dinner and a movie as a family twice a month. But eating in and renting a new release would be much cheaper, and you would still get to spend quality time together.

Individual expenses can also be tricky. This can be resolved by allocating a certain amount for each family member to spend each week. If someone spends his entire amount before the week is up, reevaluate his expenses and adjust if necessary.

Creating a family budget can help keep spending under control, leaving more money to pay down debts and save for future goals. But in order to succeed, close monitoring is essential. Your efforts will be rewarded, however, with less financial stress and more money in the long run.

Posted on by Admin — Leave a comment

How to Make Journaling Part of Your Day

The way to ensure that journaling works for you is to do it long term. Long-term journaling gives you more insight into your life because you’ll be able to look to the past, present, and even the future (sort of) to get answers in your life. But first, you have to do it. And you need to do it daily to make it a habit. Let’s review a few tips for making journaling part of your daily routine.

Make It Easy – Don’t make it a huge deal, and it’ll be simpler to get done. For example, it’s easier to use a notebook and paper than a computer for most people. You can have the book in your bag or on your bedside table or wherever you plan to write in it.

Choose a Time That Works – The best times to do it are early morning, first thing, or the last thing before you go to bed. However, that might not work for some people. If you know a better time, do it. For example, some people like journaling while on lunch at work in the park. It’s up to you.

Get a Drink and Eat a Snack – You don’t want to have any excuses or extraneous thoughts while you’re writing in your journal. Make sure you’re fed and hydrated.

Create a Comfortable and Cozy Space – It’s easier to get into your thoughts if you’re comfortable and not thinking about how bad your tailbone hurts or your wrist hurts. Some people like using a desk, some a comfy easy chair, others their bed.

Combine It with Something Else You Enjoy Doing – If you enjoy cleaning the house, then reading in your clean house with the windows open and the breeze flowing in, why not journal at that moment? If it’s a daily thing, add journaling to it, and it’ll create a habit fast.

Add Some Relaxing Music to Set the Mood – Now it’s true that some people prefer silence, so that’s fine if you do. But consider trying some music that doesn’t have words and that is relaxing, to help you gather your thoughts and say calm and focused.

Use a Particular Type of Journal – For some people, using a style of journaling like bullet journaling, prayer journaling, project journaling, and more, works better since it defines some rules for entry.

Consider Using Journaling Prompts – You can also find journaling prompts online for any type of journal you want to use.

Reward Yourself – When you have been diligent for a month writing in your journal, take some time to read what you wrote, then reward yourself for doing it. You might buy some colored pens or some scrapbooking materials so you can add some definition and interest to your journal.

To truly experience the full benefits of journaling, it needs to be done most days, which is why you need to find a way to incorporate journaling into your everyday life. The best way to accomplish this is to make it easy and turn it into a habit.

Posted on by Admin — Leave a comment

How to Get the Most out of Journaling

Any type of journal that you keep can be beneficial. It doesn’t matter if it’s just to document your life or to work through problems – you can use a journal to do it all. From tracking your projects to documenting vacation to overcoming anxiety, a journal will work for you if you pick the right type and make journaling a ritual.

Find the Right Medium for You – For some people, that’s pen and paper. Many experts claim that’s the best way because of its simplicity. However, you have to do what works for you, and what works for you is what you will do daily. If you make it too hard, you won’t do it.
Turn Journaling Daily into a Habit – To be most effective, journaling has to go on for a long time. It’s a long-term strategy to improve your life and not something that is going to have any effect overnight. For this reason, ritualize your journaling so that it becomes a daily habit.
Set Up a Comfy Journaling Spot – Find a good space you can journal in each day, one which is relaxing and without stress. Some people like to keep their journal by their bedside so that each night when they get into bed, they can quickly write in their journals.
Choose the Right Style of Journal for Your Needs – The type of journal you want to keep depends on how you plan to use it. You may want to track a project, in which case you’ll need a project journal. If you want to simply document your life, you’d want a classic journal.
Use Your Journal to Work Through Life and Reach Goals – Don’t just write in the journal; actively seek to improve something in your life – whether it’s the thoughts which drive your feelings or improving your actions so that you experience more success.
Consider Using More Than Writing to Document Your Life – You don’t need to just use text. You can use images, pictures, tickets, and other memories inside your journal too. Sometimes a few pictures and mementos mean more than anything you can write to help you remember.
Read and Reflect Occasionally – Take at least a few minutes to re-read parts of your journal. Once you’ve kept it for a year, it’s fun to go back and read the same day from last year to find out what’s different now and what’s the same and why.
Keep Your Journal Secure – You don’t want to worry about anyone getting into your private business when you’re not around, so keep it hidden. If it’s on your computer, keep it password protected.

If you know why you want to journal, it’ll be easier to figure out which type of journal you need to keep to make your journaling more effective. Sometimes you just want to document your life, while other times you want to work through something difficult. It really depends on your goals and the point of the journal.