Every fall I look forward to getting things organized and cleaned up around our home as the holidays are just around the corner. I like to set aside one full weekend in early October just for our fall cleaning.

As a housewife, I don’t tackle this job myself. There is no reason why your spouse and children can’t do their fair share of the work… after all, they live in the house too.

Here are a few important tips to help things go smoothly.

1. If you can afford it, do a few takeout meals during the weekend. This will save you time plus it acts as a family reward for your cleaning participants.

2. Make the weekend fun. Play music, joke around with the family and keep it light-hearted. Don’t run around barking orders and rushing to get things done.

3. As a family, sit down before your cleaning starts and decide what the family reward will be. We always picked things like a new television, stereo, comfy chair, trampoline for the backyard, etc. Your family reward can be something inexpensive or expensive… but it should be something that the entire family can enjoy.

4. Have a prepared list of chores that you want to get done. Have each family member select a few of those items that he/she can complete. Try to equally split up the tasks. Smaller children can assist the older children or parents. Cross off each task on the list as it is completed.

5. If you need cleaning or home repair supplies, purchase them ahead of time. You don’t want to waste time during your weekend running around shopping for supplies, when your time should be spent on completing your tasks.

If you start when your children are young and make this a family event, over the years this will become a regular fall routine. Our daughter knew that the weekend was approaching and would keep her schedule free. This ‘routine’ saved us a lot of stress as every family member knew what was expected from them ahead of time.

The most important thing to remember is… be prepared and be organized. If you preplan your family cleaning weekend, you will find that things will be a lot less stressful for everyone involved
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Family life today has been affected by a culture change over the last 20 or 30 years which has meant more and more people are working away from home 4 or 5 days a week. Personally, I have had spells where I have worked almost completely at home but I am currently going through a spell where my job takes me to a location 250 miles away – and I have been doing this for nearly 8 months. If you have a young family this can be difficult to manage so here are my tips for keeping both yourself (and your family) sane:

• Make sure you keep in contact with home regularly. The phone is the obvious choice but my 8 year old daughter loves instant messaging (Google or MSN) especially when she gets home from school. It is more ‘instant’ than email. A webcam is also a good idea if you have the technology and are maybe stuck in a hotel room with only a laptop for company. This is a great way of keeping up to date with what is going on in your family so you are not playing catch-up at weekends.
• My 8 year old also loves a story at night. We have made up a character (Sophie) who has a magic bed. When she goes to sleep she can travel anywhere and we make up the story as we go along. Often Sophie travels to places we know, sometimes she visits characters off the TV or TV shows – either way my daughter loves the stories and it is always the last thing she does before she goes to bed.
• Set your boundaries at work. If you can, negotiate to work at home (or locally to your home) on a Friday and stick to it as much as you can. By and large, if you put the hours in Monday to Thursday then this will be respected. At the very least aim to leave the office Friday lunchtime so you have a full weekend available to you.l
• If you do work at home on a Friday make sure you bring home the work you need to do! (either electronically or physically!)
• Negotiate your time to be in the office on a Monday morning – there may not be any need to get up at 4am if you can agree a late morning start and make the hours up in the evening
• When you are staying in a hotel the evenings are a really good opportunity to put the hours in, catch up with work etc. If you adopt this approach and are prepared to stay late a couple of nights a week then it will strengthen your case to have Fridays at home and a later start on Mondays.
• Protect your weekends – if at all possible switch off the computer/phone and concentrate on your family
• Join a gym, or find something to occupy you at your work location. Many gyms you can pay monthly – or do an evening class, go to the local comedy club, or go to the cinema (you can get monthly passes very reasonably these days). Find things to occupy your time other than work and the hotel TV, even if it is going for a walk or run.
• Make sure that if there is a crisis at home you communicate well to your bosses and peers so they know exactly where they stand. If you have to stay at home for any reason or travel home unexpectedly – make sure they are fully aware – by and large they will understand as long as they know what is going on.
• Make sure you eat well, get exercise and sleep well while you are away. You want to be ‘there’ for your family at the weekend – not burnt out
• Use the time in the evenings to do a self study qualification – either work related (e.g. Accreditation training) or not (e.g. Learn French)
• Do your expenses in good time – they can build quickly and this will save the anger of your bosses and avoid any unnecessary build up of personal expense – Friday afternoon (assuming you are working at home not travelling) is ideal for admin.

It is not easy working away from home but often it is an essential part of family life today, but with close management and a little thought it can work out well for all concerned.
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I think that the care of the elderly should be carefully considered depending on the situation and circumstances. If the person isn’t deathly ill or, doesn’t have special needs requiring around the clock medical attention then, they should be cared for by a family member. Of course, the family member should be someone who isn’t always on the go, has multiple projects going on and, can devote quality time to that person. The caregiver should also be physically, mentally and, financially able to care for that person. Sure, the elderly may need their meals prepared, medication given to them and maybe even bathed but, if you’re able and, you love them that shouldn’t be a problem. Now, if the elderly has medical issues that require constant medical attention then, by all means they should be cared for by medical professionals.

That’s not to say that, just because they’re professionals that you should throw your elderly family member in there so that you don’t have to burden yourself because, that would be wrong and, it’s thoughtless and selfish. But, if it should come to the point whereas, you consider putting elderly family members in a nursing home you should definitely research various places before doing so.

There have been one to many cases on the news about mistreated patients at nursing homes. The personal care of elderly patients should be discussed in detail with the elderly patient and, any family member who would possibly be a good candidate for their care. Family is very important and, should alway stick together whenever possible.

Summer’s here and school’s out! Need some ideas for fun? It doesn’t take much time or money to make a day memorable for you and your friends.

Here are some simple ideas to sprinkle throughout the summer:

1.Plant flowers. You don’t have to plant an entire flower garden. A few seeds sprinkled into a flower pot will add color to a window sill. An old boot makes a good planter, too. Be sure to water your plant every day and watch for new sprouts!

2.Play in the sprinkler. Get out those cut-off shorts and bathing suits and cool off.

3.Collect leaves and transform them into art. Gather leaves. Lay a piece of white paper over them. Hold firmly in place and color over the top of the leaf. Remove the leaf and create a frame around the edge of the paper. Tada! Instant art.

4.Feed the birds. Cover a pine cone with peanut butter and roll in bird seed. Tie a string around the pine cone and hang it from a tree. The birds will love it!

5.Catch fireflies at night. Have your parents put a few small holes in the top of a plastic jar. Catch fireflies and place them in the jar. It’s a homemade lantern! (Be sure to let the fireflies go before you go to bed.)

6.Make snow cones. Most refrigerators now have icemakers that shave the ice. Fill a glass with shaved ice and add juice or Kool-Aid for a homemade snow cone! You can make your own snow cone holder out of a piece of cardboard, coffee filters, and tape. Cut the cardboard and coffee filters in a big triangle. Lay the coffee filter on top of the cardboard and roll it up with the cardboard on the outside. Tape edges closed.

7.Make rock pets. Use different size rocks to shape turtles, frogs, or other animals. For added fun, paint them.

8.Make seashell paintings. Paint pictures or designs on the inside of medium-sized seashells. (Paint shouldn’t be too thin or the colors will run.)

9.Make a summer hideout. Hang sheets from a clothesline to make a tent. Add chairs, boxes, or anything you want to make furniture.

10.Play basketball. Use a mop pail or bucket if you don’t have a hoop.

It doesn’t matter which activities you choose as long as you have fun!

Home security is always a matter of extreme concern for people. Nobody wants to loose his or her precious belongings and other objects at home. You implement several locking solutions some traditional, some modern and automatic locks to ensure maximum security of your homes. But a few inputs from your side is very important for your own home security.

It’s you only, who has to take initiative and ensure proper security for you. You need to be cautious, prompt and active to make your homes secure for you and your loved ones. First, you have to create a friendly and co-operative environment in your neighborhood. You and your neighbors have to be ready to help each other in case of emergency. It is very important for security of your homes in your absence.

There are following handy and easy tips that can help you in securing your home:

1. Keep Your Locking System updated: Always secure your home with latest locking solution from trusted goldsmiths with proven record of accomplishment.
2. Cross check that every doors and windows are properly locked when you are leaving from your home. If kids or elders are at home, tell them to bolt from inside properly to avoid any kind of security threats.
3. If you are going on a vacation, inform your neighbors that you are leaving for a vacation, so that they can have an eye over your home in your absence.
4. Do proper enquiry before employing any servants, house cleaner, gardener or drivers. Check their past records, if possible take details of their origin and check their criminal records.
5. Always keep important phone numbers like nearest police station, fire brigade, nearest hospital and ambulance with you. They can be of great help in emergency.
6. Loose electric wirings can lead fire, so do proper maintenance of open electric wirings in your home. Check fire alarms on a regular basis. Teach your kids, how to act and whom to contact in emergency.
7. Never keep large sum of money or ornaments at home, keep these things private from your servants.

The most important thing is your own sense of responsibility. Always remember that home is an asset that relates to various memories of your family and life. It’s as precious as your loved ones, so keep proper attention towards security.