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If like many people you care about the environment and want to do your bit for climate change and global warming, then one thing that you could be doing is looking after your things better. Our need for wanting new things all the time is having a hugely negative impact on the environment as companies make products to meet the demand for them. For every new product you buy, suppliers will keep producing more because they think that’s what you want. However, this isn’t doing the planet any favors and is depleting the earth’s valuable resources, such as oil, forests, and water supplies. The more we start repairing our things, upcycling or even buying second-hand, the more that companies will reduce how much they are making. So, before you decide to buy something new, look at if you can repair it first or do something else with it. Take a look at the following list to see what and when you should be throwing your things out and what you should be maintaining for the sake of the environment. 

Electronic Devices

When it comes to electronic devices such as a phone or laptop, then while a cracked screen can be annoying, you need to think seriously about whether you need a whole new device or you can get it repaired. Try fixing things yourself first because there are a number of tutorials online which can help you and whether it’s troubleshooting hearing aids or fixing the backlight on your TV, there is information out there on how to do it. This will not only help the environment but it will also save you money. When it is time to get a new device then you should look at how you dispose of the old one. There are places you can go to recycle computers and phones or you could consider selling them for parts. Whatever you do, don’t just throw them in the bin. 

Appliances

When your fridge or washing machine breaks, if it is under warranty, then obviously you can get it fixed and that is the sensible thing to do. However, if you don’t have a warranty on it, then you have a decision to make and you should look at how long you need the appliance for and how long this one should last. If you think that the appliance has a long life expectancy and you can find the part easily, then repairing it is probably the best option. Look online for parts to see if what you’re looking for still exists. If you do decide it’s time to get rid, then again, see if you can sell it for parts or donate it for parts so that the appliance doesn’t just go to waste. 

Clothes

Clothes are something which people tend to buy often to keep up with fashion and then because many clothes are so cheap these days they are easily thrown away and replaced. However, if you want to do your bit for the environment, then repairing your clothes either by learning how to sex and fix clothes yourself or taking items to a tailor to see if they can fix it, will not only reduce waste but it will mean that you can keep your beloved items for longer. If you do decide however that you have clothes you don’t want anymore then rather than just throwing them away, you could donate them to charity or think about selling them on Vinted or Depop. You could make a nice bit of money from them which is never a bad thing. 

Furniture

Rather than spending hundreds or thousands on replacement furniture, even the oldest chairs and sofas can be recovered or reupholstered to look as good as new. This is something you could either look at doing yourself using an online tutorial or if it’s too big then you can take it to an expert to see how they can help. Older furniture is often really well made and it will be worth saving rather than replacing and there is so much you can do with it now that there’s no need to worry about it looking old-fashioned. 

Before you throw anything away, think about where it is going and if that is the best option for it. Remember some people don’t have much and could really benefit from some old furniture and there are also some very clever people out there who could make something out of old parts.

Please note: I received this product for free from Moms Meet,. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links. My opinions expressed are my own.

Just as each woman is different, as is each woman’s unique pregnancy journey. While it’s widely known that women tend to air on the side of caution, refraining from sharing their individual pregnancy journey with friends, loved ones, and co-workers until a second-term confirmed pregnancy is viable and confirmed. Often due to the struggle, many couples face in becoming pregnant.

If this sounds like your own pregnancy journey, you’re not alone. As 1:8 couples face infertility annually in the United States, a staggering 6.7 million people each year have trouble conceiving. Coupled with the common, natural fertility rates being somewhere around 20% per month for a healthy, fertile 30-year-old woman. With every 100 fertile 30-something women trying to get pregnant in one cycle, only 20 of them will become pregnant each cycle at home. Leaving roughly 80% of couples being unsuccessful each month. 

All of which is greatly linked to ovulation with 25% of all clinically diagnosed cases of long-term infertility linked to issues in charting personal at-home ovulation. Luckily, there are natural ways to combat ovulation issues at home. Including the SmileReader Ovulation Test Kit, which includes 50 ovulation test strips and 20 pregnancy test strips.

With the SmileReader Ovulation Kit, with free access to the SmileReader app that detects your most fertile days, including with situational messages and easy-to-follow hormone levels by numbers. All designed to help women like you and I avoid confusion. with month-to-month ovulation observations at home.

Once you have entered the date of your last menstrual cycle, the Smiley Reader app calculates the best time to start ovulation testing. Based on your personal LH levels that have reached peak-levels, the app provides a message reading “You got a peak today, you have the maximum chance of conception,” indicated by an image of a baby’s smiling face.

If several months have gone by without conceiving, I highly recommend ordering the SmileReader Ovulation Kit. The simple, affordable, and accurate first-step in naturally conceiving at home. Featuring a free, app and easy-to-follow test strips offering women the peace of mind in 99% ovulation accuracy. Helping to take the guesswork out of natural conception and ovulation success at home. 

The ovulation kit also includes pregnancy tests, that when used in conjunction with the SmileReader ovulation kit, can help detect pregnancy hormones up to six days early. And as anyone who has struggled with conception knows, every day counts. Making the SmileyReader Ovulation Kit the perfect addition to your natural conception toolkit for women, and couples, this season at home. 

The SmileyReader kits are available in several size options. Including both ovulation and pregnancy tests. Retailing around: $3.49 for the 5 LH + 1 HCG kit, $11.89 for the 30 LH + 10 HCG kit, and $13.98 for the 50 LH + 20 HCG kit. Currently, TheLadyPrefefers2Save readers can save 20% off the SmileReader 50 LH + 20 HCG kit by using the promo code SMILE5020 on Amazon. Friends, are you currently looking for better ways to chart your ovulation cycles at home? Leave your thoughts below.

Striving to live a kind and compassionate life, both for yourself and others, is a worthy goal, but what do you do when you’ve no motivation to do so? When you’re struggling in your daily life, it can be very hard to show kindness to yourself or the world around you when you’re viewing it in a negative light or feeling as though you don’t have the energy to do anything which brings you joy. 

This is what issues such as mental illness, low mood, and low motivation can do to you. Here’s what you should do if you want to regain your motivation during trying times. 

Take it One Step at a Time 

The biggest challenge when thinking about fulfilling an activity can be how overwhelming the idea is. You know that you want to exercise, cook a healthy meal, partake in a hobby you enjoy, or go outside, but suddenly, the idea is too big or takes too much effort. 

Taking it one small step at a time can help you to sink into a better pattern without it being too overwhelming. Don’t try to do everything at once or succeed the first time. Regaining your motivation could be getting out of bed early and getting dressed, rather than sleeping in. The next day you could then try to do the same, but add making a healthy breakfast to the list. The day after that, do the same. Soon, you’ll feel more motivated once you overcome the first initial hurdle of taking action. 

Let Others Help You 

The motivational power of others shouldn’t be overlooked. While it’s always important to be your own number one motivator, sometimes it simply isn’t possible if you don’t have the energy for it, through no fault of your own. That’s why it can make all the difference having other people on your side, especially if those people are professionally and emotionally equipped to focus specifically on low motivation and low mood. You could then let a dedicated treatment center like Ignite Teen Treatment help you find your motivation again. You can also speak to loved ones for support and inspiration for positive change. 

Change Your Environment 

Your environment can have a huge impact on how you’re feeling and your desire to do better, whether it’s your direct surroundings or even the people you associate with. If you find yourself stuck in a rut and perhaps have been spending too much time in one place, like at home in an untidy room or a room which has little natural light, you’re more likely to feel unmotivated and negative. A change of scenery may be all that is needed. 

Take a walk outside, or visit a loved one. Spend time in the garden instead of in your room, or spend time with people who really motivate you instead of those who don’t. 

Finding motivation can be extremely difficult, especially when you’re suffering from a low mood. However, it can often be the very first step that is the most difficult. Once you have overcome that barrier, you can settle into a routine and start to reap the benefits. 

When you have a family, looking after your money becomes all that more important. However, you need to live on a budget that works for you and your family. Making healthy financial choices to help eliminate debt, decreasing your costs, saving money, and stretching a paycheck without the need to crunch the numbers is what you want, and to do this you need to create yourself a good budget that you know you can stick to. 

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Let’s have a look at some of the important things you should focus on to help your financial security when you have a family: 

Set A Budget 

The first step to financial stability to start living in a family budget. Start by tracking your income and expenditure; gather all your bills, payslips, bank statements, and things like receipts. Then you can start to write out your budget to help manage your money. 

If you wing it each month without a budget, you’re missing out on opportunities to cut unnecessary costs and save money. If you spend a few minutes to make a budget now it will save you big money in the future. A great way to help you stick to a budget is to be on the lookout for ways you can save money such as using the latest Peacocks discount code when next buying some clothes for the family. 

Set Goals 

If you struggle month to month just to pay the bills, thinking about saving money seems like a long-term goal that’s always out of reach. Whether you want to save for your child’s future, a family holiday, days out, or for your retirement, setting goals is an important step in protecting your family’s future. 

However, you shouldn’t neglect your family’s short-term financial goals either. Whether they include a reduction of utility bills, broadband bills, and other expenses, all of which are keeping you from saving more money each month. 

Get Out of Debt

Being in debt can be overwhelming, however, managing your debt becomes easier when you set yourself realistic goals. You should think about creating a debt management plan alongside your family budget so you can pay off your credit cards, mortgage and eliminate your overall level of debt. 

You may not be able to pay off all your debts straight away, but you can create a realistic plan to stick to. Your budget will be able to show you where your money could be reallocated to help reduce them down as much as possible. Any unnecessary expenses can be minimized and you can see where you’re money really needs to go. 

Plan For Financial Emergencies

Facing an emergency that suddenly eats into your family funds can pose a crisis for even the wealthiest of families. If you establish an emergency fund, you should be able to tackle and unexpected expenses head-on. Whether it’s the boiler breaking, a leak in the bathroom, or the car breaking down, they can all easily put a dent into your budget if you don’t have the savings in place to pay for it. Consider placing some money to one side each payday to cover you for any unexpected costs you may face. 

It’s also a good idea to have life insurance in place. Even though it’s the last thing you would expect or want to plan for, it will help to shield your family from any financial hardship if anything was to happen to you or your spouse. The peace of mind and benefit of having them in place by far outweighs the cost. 

Control The Amount You Spend On Food

Food is one of the biggest costs for any family, but it can be helped with a well-planned food budget. One of the easiest ways to reduce the costs of a food shop is to go with a prepared list of items that you need rather than winging it when you get there. This means you will always be able to what just what you need and then top up with sales on your regular staples. 

If you want to save even more, don’t just think about the supermarket. There are many different places that offer budget-friendly options and even some kids eat free with a paying adult. 

Budget Travel 

Most families will see a family holiday as the ultimate budget buster. However, stretching your money for a family holiday can be easier than you think. With a few extra steps, you can save money on your holiday to include a getaway as part of your budget. 

If you can’t make your budget stretch for your family travel plans, consider a staycation instead, it will keep you close to home but you can add in some day trips and fun activities at home. 

These tips should help you to remain financially stable when you have a family. Is there anything that you do to keep your family’s finances in order? Please share your tips in the comments below.

Please note, this post is sponsored by Diamond Bloggers. All opinions expressed are my own. Thank you.

Falls. Generally not the word that strikes fear in the hearts of most people. But it should. Falls are all too common and can have devastating consequences.

According to the National Safety Council, falls account for nearly one-third of all non-fatal injuries in the U.S. Especially in the geriatric population. As they are the leading cause of injury and death in adults over the age of 65 years. With 1:3 older American adults falling each year. With 24% of those who fall sustaining serious injuries and 6% sustaining fractures.

A person who falls may experience pain, hospitalization, require surgical intervention or admission to long-term rehabilitation services, all in addition to an overall reduction in their previous abilites and a general lessened quality of life.

For some, falls result in hurt feelings and skinned knees. For others, falls can signal the beginning of lifestyle changes – or even lead to death. Which is why preventing falls, especially in the home, is important.

If you are looking for ways to help prevent falls in your home this season, here are five ways to start that process at home:

Find a community falls prevention program:

There are many national agencies and non-profits that specialise in fall prevention, including The National Council on Aging Go4Life Program. Their website is full of information, community resources, and counseling services, often without charge, that can offer you or your loved ones information on preventing falls and accidents in the home this season. 

Speak to your physician:

Speaking with your doctor is the first step in figuring out your personal fall risk and what changes you can make to be safer. Ask your physician to review your prescriptions and over-the-counter medications regularly, paying attention to sedatives and antidepressants. Medicines that can affect balance and cause drowsiness, dizziness, or light-headedness. All of which help prevent falls at home this season. 

Walking Aids:

Proper walking shoes can mean the difference between safely navigating your world or experiencing a falls in the process doing what you love each day. Don’t shy away from speaking with your doctor or physical therapist about the right footwear, or walking aids, to help prevent falls at home.

Make Your Spaces Safer:

While falls can occur anywhere, they most often occur at home. Which is why making the spaces you utilize most at home safer is paramount in helping to prevent falls this season including:

• Removing clutter from walkways, entryways, and railed areas.
• Remove small, used furniture, pet gear, electrical cords, throw rugs and anything else that might cause someone to trip from walkways and high traffic areas.
• Add grab bars inside and outside of your bathtub or shower and next to water closets.
• Install railings on both sides of the stairs, and make sure stairs and hallways have proper lighting.
• Make sure outdoor areas are well lit and walkways are free of ice and debris.

Falls outside your home:

For falls and slips that do not occur within your home does, such as at work or in common public spaces, beyond the immediacy of medical attention, you may need legal representation to help with your long-term and lasting experiences associated with falls.

For those in the Tampa Bay area, for example, there are Tampa personal injury attorney representation needs. For those outside the area,  the National Safety Council lists practicing attornies in areas throughout the country.

Friends, while its a fact of life, that we all are aging every day, falls do not have to be a part of that process. Understanding fall risks are the first step to keeping our loved ones and ourselves safe

Now I want to ask, how are working in your home to prevents falls at home this season? Leave me a comment below and let me know the steps you are implementing at home this season!