Guest Post - 5 Tips to Keep Your House Clean While Having Kids

Being a parent is the most lovely and responsible thing at the same time. After a tough day at work, you need to dedicate time and attention to your kids. However, a moment of silence and peace also needs to exist. That is the only way to recharge your batteries and prepare yourself for a new working day. Is something like that easy?

Things become challenging when a family house requires cleaning. That type of obligation reduces the amount of time that moms and dads have to relax. There is no reason to delay the cleaning. Instead, parents who want to have a tidy house and healthy nerves should improve their time management. Here are a couple of tips for all parents who want to keep their house tidy with no extra effort. 

Every Item Needs to Have a Place!

Communication between grownups and children needs to be kind and simple. You need to explain to kids that every toy or any other item has its place. However, your task is to design the area where the toys should stay while no one plays with them.

For instance, wood bins are an excellent area where kids can place their toys. Despite that, parents can also be creative and improvise things. An upcycled shoe box can also be an excellent place for trinkets.

It may be tough at the beginning. Parents will probably need to repeat a couple of times the "put this away" request. Fortunately, sooner or later, kids will do that without any additional instructions. 

Some Playtime Rules Need to Exist!

Defining some playtime rules will help you keep the house tidy. For instance, kids often like to take all the toy collections they have from the wood box or any other area. Unfortunately, they usually live the mess after they finish playing. That brings another duty that parents need to complete. 

Instead of that, parents should help their kids to self-organize with the appropriate rules. For instance, wherever children want to play, they can use only one toy collection. However, if they want to get another one, they need to put the first collection back to the designed area. In that way, cleaning the mess will be much easier for both parents and kids. 

There is a good reason why this method will pay off in the end. First of all, kids will get the necessary discipline quicker than usual. Parents will not have to clean instead of them or remind them of the duties they have. Sooner or later, that duty will become part of their subconsciousness. 

Organize a Team Work

There is one sad fact that some studies confirmed. Parents spend around five hours a week communicating face-to-face with their kids. Understandably, people work hard every day. Because of that, they need to organize their time to be able to dedicate more attention to their kids. 

For instance, let's imagine that you need to complete some paperwork at home. Instead of completing that part of the job, you can look for a standard writing service that will make things easier. In the meantime, you can play with kids and use that time to clean together. 

Parents and kids should be a team. Encourage your child to participate in cleaning the house together. The cleaning process, in that way, will be more entertaining for the kids. When grownups are not home, it may happen that kids will continue with the same routine. 

Additionally, parents can try to organize some sort of "cleaning party". For instance, they can turn on music while all the family members are participating in cleaning. Everything will look easier and more entertaining when all participants are in a good mood. 

Teach Your Kid to Clean Properly

Parents do not only have to make cleaning more entertaining. They also need to ensure that their kids use appropriate methods to complete their job. In many cases, kids will try to clean their room, but moms and dads will probably need to re-clean it. Re-cleaning sometimes takes more time than usual cleaning.

The reason why this happens is simple. As mentioned, you should try to make cleaning look similar to the games kids would enjoy. However, some sort of balance needs to exist, and children need to realize that cleaning is also a responsible task that requires concentration and hard work. Music, teamwork, and other tricks should only serve as a tool that will simplify the entire process. 

Clean Regularly!

After a tough day at work, cleaning seems like the most challenging duty ever. Parents would rather spend the remaining part of the day relaxing. However, the mess won't disappear. Because of that, they usually need to complete that part of the job during the weekends.

Weekends serve as the time when people recharge their batteries. It would be much better to spend 1 hour a day cleaning and divide all the duties in that way. For instance, one day all the family members can clean the living room, the next day the bedroom, etc. When the weekend comes, there will be enough time to enjoy family time without any need to worry about additional obligations and rest. 

Bonus: Why Don't You Help Other Parents?

Parents should reorganize their time until they reach their goal. However, when they finally reach it, sharing success should serve as an inspiration. Many parents would like to know whether the tricks you were using are effective or not. Pieces of advice that you have can be valuable for many families. 

One of the ways to share your “knowledge” is by entering different social media groups. Despite that, you can try out to start a parenting blog. If the partners are not good content writers, they can always use the assistance of thesis writing services like GetGoodGrade. In that way, they will manage to share all the tips throughout simple and engaging content. Doesn’t this sound like a good idea?

Conclusion

Thanks to these five tips, parents will manage to keep their house clean. All family members should participate in the cleaning processes. Teaching kids to clean properly will not only make the free time of a parent more relaxing. It will help children improve their self-discipline and make them more responsible. 

With proper communication with kids and adequate time-management, the most difficult task will become a lot easier. Isn't that the goal that all parents have?

Author’s bio. Jessica Fender is a professional writer and educational blogger. Jessica enjoys sharing her ideas to make writing and learning fun.

Adding on an Addition? 4 Ways to Keep It Streamlined and Simple

Home additions are often worthwhile, practical, and appreciative. It’s a need that strikes a more profound urge to improve your personal living space. You could be looking to build a new garage, a pool installation, replacing the roof, or even upgrade your entire house to perhaps accommodate your growing family. The requirements of each may vary, but the underlying principle remains constant. In this article, we will discuss four ways to keep things simple and streamlined.

Engage Professionals

Great and reliable architects and contractors are quite pricey. But paying for quality is often deserving of every penny you commit. Carrying out preceding consultation is crucial as it ensures you get all the information you need for the project. It’s essential to engage several professionals to get various proposals and choose the best that suits your expansion and financial needs.

Specification

It’s essential to be specific about what you want. For example, if you are looking to change your whole roof design, be precise with the roof trusses you wish to install. There are several to choose from, starting with a scissor truss, standard-fink trusses, raised-tie trusses, and a mono truss. It helps you estimate the cost of the addition. Specifying enables you to figure out what kind of roof you can afford and what fits your budget.

Local Building Codes, Zone Laws, and Homeowner’s Rules

Before you commence the addition, ensure you engage the professional to know these guidelines. The professionals might know them, but it’s your house, be responsible and ensure they are adhered to. If you are a member of the homeowner’s associations, you must be conversant with the rules that govern the kind of addition you plan to carry out.

Handle Disruptions

Professional builders know how to minimize dust, noise, and any activity that might be considered a nuisance during the addition process. However, your house will still be a construction zone. You can take a vacation during that time to avoid any inconvenience or injuries to your family and pets.

In conclusion, home addition is one way that increases the value of your home or estate. There are very many factors that result in a notable decision, such as renovation. It’s vital to look at it from as many angles as possible to ensure success. Spice up your home in style for a better living. Gi for professionals to ensure value for money.

6 Things to Consider Before Moving to a New Home

Whether you are moving into new construction, or just moving into a home that is new for you, relocating can be burdensome - unless you know the tricks. Here are 5 things to consider before you start moving:

1. Preparation

Make the moving process significantly simpler by starting a to-do list. It may seem like a no-brainer to relocate - until you arrive and your new place has no power, or you can't find your birth certificates. Then you will see how important a list can be to the process.

2. Utilities

Nothing is worse than moving to a new home and being in the dark. The power company, cable or internet services, or even gas and water, could take several days to get your utility ready. In the meantime, you would have to live without it - unless you remembered to schedule ahead. Not only does this prevent you from forgetting, but it also allows you to have what you need in your new home while you are still moving in.

While you are at it, change your address so that your mail will follow you in a timely manner. You will need your new address for the utilities, so it only makes sense to update your address at the post office while you are getting your utilities in order.

3. Organizing the Move

Besides the moving into a house checklist, you will also want your other important documents bundled together for safe-keeping during the move. Consider a fire-proof safe for things like birth certificates, social security cards, insurance documents, and other important information. Mark the outside of your box with the words 'personal' 'sensitive' or some other keyword that lets you know what's inside the box. Don't forget photos of your valuables, jewelry, and expensive computers for insurance purposes. These photos need to be placed with the other important documents.

4. Color Codes

Using color-coded boxes (yellow for the kitchen, black for the bathroom, etc.) will save you time when you start sorting through boxes for things you need for a new house. Put all of the same color boxes in the same room. That way you can unpack bedroom items in the bedroom, kitchen items in the kitchen, and so forth.

5. Shipping

Depending on how far you go, or what you are transferring, you may decide that shipping is your best option. Make sure you purchase insurance so that if your items get damaged, they can be replaced. It is also important to note that some shipments may not arrive at the same time. Fragile glassware, art objects, and delicate vases may be shipped separately to avoid being damaged.

6. Foods

If you are shipping perishable items to your new home, the packaging is key to how your foods arrive. To avoid spoilage, leakage, and damage, make sure your air-tight cold boxes or thermal boxes are scheduled to be delivered and picked up in a reasonable amount of time. What good does it do to wrap and ship perishables perfectly if they are not picked up in a timely manner?

When you decide to purchase or move to a new home, making a list and doing some simple organizing will make the transition go smoothly.

Cost-Effective Ways to Save Money and Energy This Winter

The wintertime can wreak havoc on your checkbook if you're not prepared. While you know that you'll be spending an arm and a leg on heating expenses during the cold season, there are some things that you can do to lower your costs. To help you out, we're going to share our most cost-effective ways to save money on energy costs during this winter season.

Program Your Thermostat Effectively

Most people have a smart thermostat or at least a programmable one. One surefire way to save yourself some green in the cold winter months is to program different temperatures depending on the time of day. For example, you can drop the temperature 10 to 15 degrees during the daytime when no one is home. You can also drop it by that temperature at night to help save energy.

Get Your Furnace Serviced

One of the best things that you can do to save yourself a good chunk of change in the winter is to have your furnace serviced. This entails calling an HVAC expert who will come out to your home and evaluate the state of your furnace. They will lubricate motor fans and check belts and other components for wear. They will be able to alert you of any minor furnace repairs that should be done now before the dead of winter hits and the problem gets much worse.

Turn On Ceiling Fans

You're likely familiar with using ceiling fans in the summertime to assist with your air conditioning needs. However, the wintertime is also a great time to run your ceiling fan, just in the opposite direction. Your fan should be spinning clockwise in the winter months. This will bring cold air up towards the ceiling and naturally push the warm air towards the floor. This will make your home feel warmer.

Take Advantage of the Sunlight

If you've ever sat in front of a window on a sunny day, you know that the sunlight can provide an adequate amount of heat. Take advantage of that heat by opening up the windows of your house that face the sun. Try to let in as much sun as possible throughout the daytime as it will provide free heat for your home that you don't have to pay to produce.

Saving money on energy costs in the wintertime is all about identifying where you're losing it. From programming your thermostat to be more cost-effective to taking advantage of the natural heat that sunlight offers, there are many things that you can do. Your best bet is to perform multiple different methods to boost your energy savings this winter season.