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101 Free Family Summer Activities

Summer may be the ultimate time of year to a time to relax and get away, but tell that to kids who are bouncing off the walls. Or espousing the dreaded I’m bored eighteen hundred times a day.

As parents, we want each summer to be more memorable than the next but its often hard to come up with ideas for activities that are family-focused, sensory-prone, yet fresh and new each year. Ideas that are both fun and frugal too. Especially if your child is too young to for ye ole’ summer camp this season.

It’s also important to remember that there are only eighteen summers that we as parents can take advantage of the course of our children’s lives. So we need to be able to make the most of each and every bright sunny day and warm summer nights each week with our children.

101 Free Family Summer Activities

So with this in mind, I’d like to share with you 101 free fun family-focused ideas for the summer:

  1. Go to the Library: Most libraries around the country offer free summer reading programs that encourage kids of all ages to read, and often host other activities like, parties, storytelling events, children’s book clubs, and puppet shows. Check out libraries in neighboring towns too – they might offer something your regular branch doesn’t. Click here to find local libraries.
  2. Tour a Local Business: Local restaurants are often open to giving kids a behind-the-scenes look at a working kitchen during slow times if you stay for lunch. Many factories offer tours, which can come with freebies to take home. Call ahead to find out this summer!
  3. Free Museum Passes: Many museums and cultural institutions, like botanical gardens, children’s museums, zoos, and aquariums, that offer free programs to children, parents, and educators (and homeschoolers) before noon weekdays. But even the ones that charge admission often offer free or reduced-rate days or hours weekly or monthly. Also, check Children’s Science and Art Museum calendars for special summer activities – many offer classes, concerts, and tours just for kids. Bank of America offers such free passes too!
  4. IKEA: Ikea has supervised playrooms for potty-trained kids. Take turns with other moms shopping while the kiddos get a play date on the cheap!
  5. Home Depot: Home Depot runs free weekend project workshops for kids ages 5-12 for Home Depot every third Saturday of the month. Book your free project today!
  6. Michaels: Micheals holds free and $2.00 project demos and classes that will keep creative kids happy, ages are craft-specific.
  7. Apple stores: Apple Stores run free 3-day Apple Camp where kids ages 8-12 learn how to make films. Check out these programs here.
  8. Whole Foods: Whole Foods offers free in-store kid’s summer cooking classes; check your local store for details.
  9. Barnes & Noble: Barnes & Noble offer free storytime. Check with stores in your area to see what they have planned here.
  10. Visit a Farm: Check with farms in your area to see if they offer tours for your pint-size volunteer.
  11. Volunteer: Develop the spirit of service in your kiddos by plugging you both into a great non-profit or volunteer opportunity this summer. Whether it’s cleaning up a local park, walking dogs at an animal shelter, or visiting residents at a nursing home, summer is a great time to introduce children to the joys of giving back. Search for opportunities in your area here.
  12. Catch a Movie: Beat the heat this summer with a free movie from your local library. Or if your willing to pay a little, Regal Cinemas’ Summer Movie Express offers $1.00 movies on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings each summer, and Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse movies are only $0.50 per movie, per child. Check theaters in your area for similar deals.
  13. Take a Hike: The great outdoors is always open and waiting for little explorers with REI’s free Kids’ Adventure Journal, where young hikers (ages 6-12) can log notes and draw pictures about their experiences.
  14. Tour National Parks: Each national holiday, America’s National Parks offer free or reduced admittance to families all summer long. Click here to check out dates for parks in your area.
  15. Geocaching: Allow your pint-sized anthropologist to explore, find and log adventures this summer with geocaching. Your only one app and a car ride away from finding your family’s next hidden treasure. Click here to find out more today!
  16. Bake cookies: Celebrate National Ice Cream Cookie day by baking your own cookies and making ice cream at home this coming August 2nd!
  17. Volunteer at a nature center:  Invest your kiddos talents and skills to make a difference in helping wildlife this summer by volunteering at a local nature center. Contact your state’s forestry department for opportunities for your family this season!
  18. Make a family yearbook: Get a jump-start on holiday year-in-review cards by going to Canva to create free family yearbook e-cards for friends and family this coming holiday season!
  19. Have a luau in the backyard: Learn about Hawaiian and Polynesian culture this summer by throwing your own luau this summer. The Dollar Tree also hosts plenty of low-cost items to get you started.
  20. Visit the beach and collect shells: Connect a day at the beach with prehistoric history with just a few seashells and free worksheets for kids! Click here for more details.
  21. Make a fort out of cardboard boxes: Explorer early American westward expansion and the Oregon Trail by making your own cardboard forts. Click here to learn more.
  22. Visit a farmer’s market: Give your kiddos a true appreciation for the unsung heroes that are local farmers with a trip to your local Farmer’s Market this summer!
  23. Stage a neighborhood scavenger hunt: Develop your kiddos sense of awareness with a DIY neighborhood scavenger hunt. Click here for free idea sheets!
  24. Pick berries: Check with your local co-op to find local organic berry picking dates in your area. Keep the fun going by introducing kids to the skills needed for zero-waste canning.
  25. Pack a picnic: Pack a zero-waste picnic with nothing more than mason jars and great treats. Then head out with your kiddos for a free summer playdate at the park!
  26. Sit under a tree: Nothing beats sitting under the shade of a tree in summer. Especially while listening to free e-books for kids from Guttenburg Press!
  27. Learn a language: Introduce the kiddos to foreign languages with the free Dualingo app for kids this summer. Available for both ios and Android.
  28. Go canoeing at a local lake: Many public lakes offer free canoeing days for kids each summer. Check your local parks and recreation department for dates and times in your area.
  29. Build sandcastles: Head out to the beach and practice your engineering skills while building sand castles this summer. Also, see if your area hosts professional sandcastle building festivals to give kiddos inspiration for future beach builds too!
  30. Write and illustrate your own book: Check out Mystorybook.com and have your kiddo publish their own free e-book this summer.
  31. Campout at home: Create a campsite in your back yard. Cook outdoors. Sleep under the stars. All without leaving working toilets behind!
  32. Clean up trash at a local park: Contact your local parks and recreation department for kid-specific trash pick-up days and help your kids develop a sense of civic pride this summer!
  33. S’more competition: Create a backyard smores competition. See who in your family can create the most imaginative smores recipe this summer!
  34. Make homemade pizza: Create homemade pizzas at home with the kiddos while learning about Neopolitan pizza history this summer. Click here for ideas.
  35. Create summer collages: Go for a walk and then make a collage from nature objects you find along the way. Click here for ideas.
  36. Wetland Conservation: Head to a creek and look at the ducks. Explore wetlands and learn about wetland conservation too. Click here for more ideas.
  37. Set up a lemonade stand: Teach proprietary skills and a strong worth ethic by helping your kiddos set up and run a lemonade stand this summer. Click here for more ideas!
  38. Teach Multiculturalism: Introduce issues of multiculturalism, ethnicity, worker’s rights, human rights, and compassion from the Education for Students video series on Youtube!
  39. Practice your origami skills: Pick up origami paper at the Dollar Tree and create DIY origami installations while learning about Japanese origami culture at home. Click here for an awesome video series to get you started!
  40. Go biking on a trail: Learn useful navigational skills while biking with your kiddos this summer. Click here to find trails in your neck of the woods!
  41. Learn your family history: Interview an older relative about what life was like when they were young. Take this information and create a family tree.
  42. Mini-Chef Monday’s: Get your kiddos into the kitchen with you developing kitchen skills while watching other littles and their parents online too! Click here for more information!
  43. Create a summer reading list: Print out a list of children’s books that have won Caldecott Medals. Visit the local library and read as many of these titles as you can this summer.
  44. Create salad spinner art: Learn about basic physics, prisms, and modern art all with just a salad spinner, tempera paint, and paper this summer. Click here for more information!
  45. Create shadow puppets: Create a shadow puppet theater and then put on a show with your characters with items sitting around your home.
  46. Plant a garden of herbs and veggies: Teach kids about germination and photosynthesis by planting an at-home kids garden at home. Click here to request free seed packets by mail!
  47. Make a sidewalk chalk mural: Learn about Amerian mural art by making your own sidewalk murals at home. Click here for lesson sheets.
  48. Learn about engineering: Teach your kids about engineering with free games, articles, worksheets, movies, apps, and activities on Engineering.com.
  49. Free kids learning classes: Keep the school year going on a budget with free summer school learning classes from Khan Academy online.
  50. Teach your kids typing: Teach your kids valuable typing and computer science skills online for free from NitroType.com this summer! Teach your kids f
  51. Teach your kids how to budget: Start your children on the part of debt-free living early in life by creating a kids-friendly budget this summer. Click here for more ideas!
  52. Visit a fish hatchery: Teach kids about fish and water safety with a free trip to a fish hatchery. Contact your state forestry department for locations.
  53. Plant a butterfly garden: Teach kids about metamorphosis up close and personal by planting a butterfly garden at home.
  54. Pretend to be pirates for a day: Dress up in costumes, plan a treasure hunt, and challenge your kiddos to walk the plank. Then learn about the real Blackbeard, colonialism, and Carribean pirate culture here. Later you can recreate your summer fun on September 16th this year for Pirate Day at your local Krispy Kreme, where when you dress up like a pirate you get a free doughnut!
  55. Cow Appreciation Day: Raid your closets and play chests for your best DIY cow costumes. Then mosey on over to your local Chick-Fil-A restaurants on July 11th for a free meal on Cow Appreciation Day!
  56. Free Behind-the-Scenes Tours: Make communication and multimedia come alive this summer by contacting your local tv station to set up a free kid-friendly tour this summer!
  57. Microsoft Youth Camps: Check your local Microsoft Store for free in-store Youth Spirit kids computer science camps this summer!
  58. Free Bowling: Strike up two free games of bowling every day of the summer with free bowling pass coupons from KidsBowlFree.com.
  59. Reward your kids for reading: Reward your kids reading this summer by enrolling them in the Pizza Hut Book-It Summer Reading Program!
  60. Go to college: Many colleges and universities hold free overnight, week-long dorm-style summer learning camps for middle-school aged kids each year. Camps designed to prepare tweens for college live. Contact schools in your area to find participating institutions this summer.
  61. Free Camps for Military Families: Click here to see listings for free all-expenses-paid camps for children of active military and veterans this summer.
  62. Tour historic homes: Check with your state’s historic league to find free historic home tour dates in your area this summer.
  63. Kids Skate Free: Treat your kiddos to a day of free skating this summer at participating Kids Skate Free rinks. Click here for more information.
  64. Free AMF Bowling: Register your kids for the Summer Games program at AMF so they can enjoy free bowling every weekday this summer from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. and weekends from until 4 p.m. The Summer Games program runs May 22nd through September 4th. Click here for more information.
  65. Scholastic Summer Challenge: From May 8th to September 8th, kids can log their minutes spent reading and unlock online activities, earn rewards, and even enter to win books from Scholastic online. Click here for more information.
  66. TD Bank Summer Reading Program: By reading 10 books and recording them in the TD Summer Reading Form, your kiddos can earn $10.00, which is deposited into a Young Saver account. Kids in kindergarten through 5th grade are eligible for this program.
  67. Pottery Barn Kids Book Club: Every Tuesday from 11 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., join other local parents and kiddos at Pottery Barn for free story time sessions this summer! In addition, kids will receive a special free gift after attending five sessions. Click here for more information!
  68. Free App Friday’s: SmartAppsForKids lists free educational and art learning apps for kids, for both ios and Android, each Friday at 8 am EST. Also, check out their list of the 100 best free apps for toddlers, preschoolers, multilingual, and special needs students too!
  69. Youtube Videos: Check out this list of the best YouTube family-friendly children’s learning channels!
  70. Kindle e-Books: Check out this list of awesome free Kindle e-books, learning games, videos, and learning software this summer!
  71. Lego Magazine: Click here to score a free 2-year subscription to LEGO Club or LEGO Club Jr. Magazine for your child!
  72. Turn the backyard into a carnival: Create a carnival at some with DIY face painting and DIY Palette games.
  73. Create Totem Poles: Create DIY Totem Poles and introduce your kiddos this summer to awesome Native American history!
  74. Perform Shakespearean Play: Learn about Shakespeare, the Globe, and all things Elizabethan and then put on your own kid’s Globe-style play! Click here for more information!
  75. Learn about Bollywood: Check out this list of some of the best Bollywood family-friendly movies for kids. Also, check out this Bollywood dance routine video for kids and then create your own Bollywood-style dance number at home this summer!
  76. Learn about the Hispanic Culture: Learn about the Hispanic culture, music, art, language, and cuisine this summer at home! Click here for free lesson plans!
  77. Learn about the African American Experience: Teach your kids about the rich cultural heritage of the African-American experience, created by several renounced African-American professors, and NPR and PBS personalities this summer with resources found here.
  78. Learn Riverdance: Teach your kiddos about Irish Culture and then try your hand at traditional Irish Riverdance this summer at home!
  79. Introduce your kids to Opera: Introduce your kids to opera, learn about famous composers such as Verdi, and then watch Hansel and Gretel the Opera!
  80. Stargazing: Learn about stargazing and identify as many constellations as possible. See if there are any local astronomy groups for kids in your local homeschool co-op or public school central offices.
  81. Learn with Starwars: Bring the Force into your home this summer with free, fun Star Wars-themed learning materials online here.
  82. Puppeteering: Teach your kids how to create and mastering puppeteering at home this summer. Click here for more information!
  83. Kabuki Theatre: Learn about Kabuki Theatre history and then throw your own performance at home this summer!
  84. Learn about Aesop Tales: Teach your children valuable moral tales by learning about Aesop this summer!
  85. Norse Mythology: Teach your children about Norse mythology, culture, religion, and history. Click here for free online lesson plans!
  86. Free Piano Lessons: Receive free online piano lessons for kids from the Hoffman Academy of Music, here.
  87. Splash Pad Fun: Check your local parks and recreation department for times and dates of free summer splash pad activities this summer.
  88. Free Cooking Lessons: Cook with your kiddos this summer with free interactive online cooking lessons from the Chop Chop Cooking Club!
  89. Free Vocal Lessons: Receive free beginner vocal lessons for kids online from the Pitch Perfect Media.
  90. Learn about baseball: Teach your kids the history of America’s best-loved sport and then break out your baseball gloves and start a game, Sandlot style.
  91. Go fossil hunting: Bring out your inner archeologist and try your hand at a public archeological dig in your area this summer.
  92. Learn about Women’s History: Teach your kiddos about women’s history this summer with these free online lesson plans.
  93. Learn Civics: Schedule a tour of your local courthouse and municipal building to teach your kiddos hands-on examples of civics and local politics this summer!
  94. Visit a fire station: Help your kiddos learn about fire safety by scheduling a tour of your local firehouse. Then reward your local firefighters by bringing them a homemade meal you and your kids make at home!
  95. Game night: Take in a family game night at home or challenge other families online on the Hasbro Family Game Night site!
  96. Online Family Talent Show: Bring the whole family online with Google Hangouts, Skype, or Facetime. Then have each family member perform a 2-minute skill or talent. Take turns enjoying the fun with friends and family far and near for free this summer!
  97. Visit a police station: Visit a police station. Familiarize your family with your neighborhood precinct. Also, learn at home about ways to prevent police brutality, racism, and create dialogues for positive cultural tolerance for others in your own community. Then create a family police interaction strategy with your family this summer.
  98. Teach kids about voting: Teach your kids about voting and create your own mock-family election at home!
  99. Host a debate: Teach your kids about open dialogue and positive communication skills by learning about the history of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and then throwing your own debate at home this summer!
  100. Make a comic: Click here to learn basic comic book drawing techniques for kids and then have your kiddos try their hand at making a comic book this summer!
  101. Become an Olympiad: Teach your kids all about the Olympic games and they have your hand at creating a DIY Olympic games at home with your kids this summer!

So those are my 101 suggestions for free, fun, and frugal family-friendly summer activities for kids! I hope this list will inspire you to think outside the box when it comes to planning fun and frugal activities for your kiddos this summer at home! So now, I have to ask, how do you and your kiddos plan to have fun this summer? I’d love to hear about it below!

101 Free Family Summer Activities

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How to stop being a stuffaholic

 13 Tips to stop being a stuffaholic!

Picture a place. A place where each room was filled to capacity with piles of things. Some lovely. Some not. Lots of laundries needing to be folded, magazines were thrown about, piles of papers in abundance, mail collecting by your doorway, and kitchen counters covered with belongings, most of which were from who knows where.

A time when seemingly every square foot of my home was covered in games, toys, papers, books, manuals, legal books, clothing, and all things dusty. I the blink of an eye I moved from a newlywed collecting articles for a new life of wedded bliss towards a home full of chotzskys, clutter, and chaos. I had turned into a full-fledged stuffaholic.

Had there been a 12-step plan for Stuffaholics Anonymous, I would have been the perfect test subject for treatment.  I can see myself standing up and saying, Hello, my name is Nicole, and I’m a Stuffaholic. So, how did I get myself and my family to stop being stuffaholics? Slowly, over time. Specifically, in the past year while in the process of becoming a minimalist I was forced to examine why I was a stuffaholic. This soul-searching didn’t take long as I knew where all of this stemmed from.

My cluttered home and my cluttered emotional state stemmed from my childhood, a fear of the unknown. Growing up I remember my grandmother keeping two toasters in our home, one for use and a spare. She would often tell me that items in a home should be maintained like Noah, in pairs. And through this experience, I slowly over time developed the just-in-case disease. The disease that tells you that you cannot be happy or productive without the things you think you may one day need. This fear of the unknown was at the root of my unnecessary spending from year’s past, was causing me anxiety, and was turning my house into the set from Sanford and Sons.

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. And when in my own home I saw the evidence of just-in-case’isms at work I was taken back.  We owned toolboxes full of tools, just in case we need to fix something. My kitchen was full of appliances just in case we want to prepare a new, different sort of meal.

We even have closets full of clothes I knew we’ll never wear just in case an occasion should arise. What was worse? Many of these items were hugely valuable assets, costing hundred upon hundreds of dollars that only get used occasionally, such as televisions in spare rooms, gaming systems, formal furniture, appliances, and expensive handbags, jewelry, and shoes. In the grand scheme of things, my home lay as a monument to the incredible waste of natural, economic, and emotional clutter.

Resources that once lost did little more than cause phantom power leaks and collect dust. With time and consideration, I have been able to curb a lot of spending, shopping, and unnecessary accumulations in my home. And so you may be asking, what can be done to cure this need to bring more and more things into our homes? Here are the thirteen tips to help you curb shopaholic tendencies:

Tune out Marketing

Advertising and marketers know us very well.  They are so well-versed in ways to make us want their shiny new stuff. But unlike children are drawn to Saturday morning cartoon commercial propaganda, we now can control both our emotions and purse strings. We can simply say no to spending. Turn off the commercials, unsubscribe from email listings, recycle your weekend advertisements, and put marketers on the back burner.

Utilize the Sharing Economy

Utilize public service first. Before buying books check out your local libraries, before purchasing music check out Youtube or Pandora to listen to the music for free.

Borrow before you buy

Need a tool? Ask a neighbor. Utilize the tools knowledge, and help of friends, family, and neighbors first.

Adopt a potluck lifestyle

You don’t need a house full of dishes, service pieces, platters, and the like. Have only dishes, cups, plates, and utensils you both love and utilize lately. When it’s time to entertain ask others to bring pieces from their homes with them. Being a gracious host sometimes means allowing others to be generous to you as well.

Consider a Capsule Wardrobe

Sometimes pairing down your items capsule wardrobes, wardrobes consisting of under 37 pieces, allows users to laser focus on making the most out of the least amount of clothing options you already have on hand. You can wear your truths right on your sleeve. No credit cards needed!

Conduct a household inventory

Before you shop look in your closet, check your pantry, check your fridge, look in cabinets and cupboards to make sure you’re not buying unnecessary duplicates. If you have enough shoes, dresses, electronics, DVD’s, food items to last you a season, just stop! You don’t need to buy another couple of outfits from Gymboree, a new purse, or another soon-to-be-lost kitchen gadget.

Carry a shopping list

Make a list of what you plan to buy and what you plan to spend on each item before you shop. Buy only from your list. This can greatly help eliminate unnecessary spending in-store.

Put items that you want to buy on hold for one week

Placing unneeded items that you want to buy “on hold” for one week. And at the end of the week, you might find you really didn’t need it after all.

Sales are for suckers

Not every sale is worth shopping. But it’s worth noting that most sales, for nearly everything, are cyclical and will be back around in one seasons time. I tell myself there will be more sales.

Bring cash

Leaving your credit cards at home and using only cash will help you see just what a true financial impact overspending can have on your budget and on the clutter coming into your home.

Track what you spend

Don’t fudge the numbers. Track your spending by writing down everything that you bought this month. Put down the exact price. You need to see where your money is going. You may be shocked at what you see. You may be surprised to see how easy it will be to stop budget leaks too!

Purpose your time

In lieu of spending, use the time you would have been shopping to find ways to pay down credit card debt.  Start by making a list of all of your credit cards, the balance due, minimum payment due and interest rate. Put the card with the highest interest rate at the top. Plan to pay off that balance first. Talk to creditors about lowering the interest rate. You might need to liquidate stuff to pay off debt too!

So, those are my tips for ending stuffaholic ways. And just so you know, it’s not so much about stuff. It’s about subtracting the clutter to allow more joy into your life. And guess what? Those who live lean think about stuff as much as “stuffaholics” do. Only we think first about the “what” and the “why” of the things we have purposefully chosen for our homes, life, and families.

What it’s like to live lean is to live with more intention, less debt, and without the fear of the just-in-case prison we have created for ourselves. It’s like living for today. No more, no less.

I challenge you to put away the excuses. Stop it’s impossible to do with children, minimalist style is cold, I couldn’t live with as little as I think you live with, one-channel thinking, obsessed with neatness notions. You have permission to pack away your stuffaholic notions in a drawer or closet. For it’s just not true. You can be debt-free. You can live with less. You can do without clutter and stuff. Think intentional creature comforts, not clutter.

You can live without excess. You can have a home that has soul, space, and tranquility – even with a toddler, even with pets, and anything else you hold near and dear. You may be thinking that living without being a stuffaholic may not be for everyone, but it’s something to think about.

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Onguard Flea & Tick Topical Treatment Review

Please note, this review was sponsored by Chewy.com. All opinions expressed are my own. Thank you.

 

Living in the deep south, our warm weather seasons are quite long. And as a family with several pets, buying year-round flea and tick treatment for our pets is a must! Which is why we included Onguard Flea & Tick Treatment for Cats & Kittens, 6 treatments (Compare to Frontline Plus) in our monthly order from Chewy.com!

Onguard Flea & Tick Treatment for Cats & Kittens is an FDA approved topical treatment used to control fleas on cats? It promises to kill all adult fleas and the treatment works for 4 hours. Effective for both dogs and cats. This flea and tick treatment is also safe for use on kittens above 2 pounds of body weight and at least 4 weeks of age. It comes as a single box of 6 tablets or 12 tablet value pack. We received the 6-pack this month.

What I like best about Onguard is that a single dose does the trick! With each tablet dose of a single dose of flea killing action. Keeping in mind, this product is only effective for killing fleas that are already on the pet. Especially if your dogs and cats spend copious amounts of time outdoors, use outdoor runs, or engage in nature walks, hiking, or the like!

For best results, give your pets one pill every 2 days until all the fleas are dead. As the typical flea hatching lifecycle is 3 days, so it is best to remain regular with the dosage.

I also like that Onguard is very convenient to administer to pets and can be easily kept on hand at home. And when ready to give to your pets, simply hide it in your pet’s favorite treat. The pill gives you a 24-hour window, giving you a window to treat your home for fleas. Especially to vacuum carpeted areas, baseboard, pet bedding, and crates.

A few things to remember:

is ideal only for small to medium sized dogs. For stronger breeds, the product may not be enough.
You have to repeat the dose to ensure newly hatched fleas are killed.
Contains FDA approved Nitenpyram.
Each pill contains 11mg of Nitenpyram.
A single dose of Onguard starts the flea killing action and can be very distressing to pets, especially in the fall. Because flea and tick prevention is a year-round job. Friends, prevent this issue by ordering Onguard for your pet family at home!

Like with all of our previous Chewy.com purchased, Onguard products arrive at your doorstep in just a couple of days of ordering, without any quality control issues, and so we will continue ordering Capstar in the months to come as well! It’s our new favorite way to treat adult fleas that may hitchhike their way into our home on our dogs this season!

Now I have to ask, what flea treatments will you be buying for your pets this season? I’d love to hear about it below!

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Fresh Step Triple Action Scented Clumping Cat Litter Review

This post is sponsored by Chewy.com expressed here are my own.

 

Cats can be picky. Some cats will use nearly any litter. Others will refuse to use pelletized litters. Trial and error is the key to lasting litter training success.

From personal experience, I suggest trying several varieties of cat litter to find the best fit for your pet. We literally inundate our cats with their litter. One of our favorite tips for litter continuity is to leave your litter packaging about your home, to allow your pets to become acquainted with the scent of the litter.

Once you have found a litter that seems to be accepted by your cat, don’t switch to another kind. Even if it may seem more convenient for you. Litter brand continuity is uber important to cats. For us, we chose Fresh Step Triple Action Scented Clumping Cat Litter from Chewy.com.

Fresh Step Triple Action Scented Clumping Cat Litter is a low-maintenance, high-quality, affordable cat litter solution. We also love that it can be conveniently found on Chewy.com.

I also love that this litter helps to lock away odors that can lead to the face you make when your house indicates you have litter boxes nearby! You know, the super stinky litter box odors that can make even the most dignified person’s face look like a petrified tree! Luckily,  Fresh Step offers consumers a wide range of products, so every cat owner can find the best litter for their cat’s needs, which means that you’ll never have to make another Stank Face again.

It is also made with paw-activated plant extracts that release a fresh scent on contact, which means that a hint of freshness will be released only when needed! Then the unique Carbon Plus technology clumps and grabs odors, allowing the powerful antimicrobial agents to eliminate odors entirely. Allowing out cats litter boxes to be clean and fresh whenever he needs them!

A few other things we love about this litter:

  • Made with paw-activated fresh scent and an even more antimicrobial agent to fight even the toughest odors created by multi-cat households.
  • It features Carbon Plus technology and plant extracts help to destroy litter box odors
  • Has highly absorbent granules of clay form solid clumps to allow for an easy litter-box cleaning
  • Helps to reduce tracking throughout the house.
  • You can confidently enjoy up to 10 days of long-lasting freshness at home with each use
  • This is America’s first clumping cat litter made from a premium blend of natural minerals and clay
  • Which is why this litter is our go-to brand for all of our cats. So be sure to purchase Fresh Step Clumping Cat Litter from Chewy.com. After all, your cats
  • deserve it!. It’s the feel-good way to keep your homes fresher and to protect your cat’s urinary health. Even our other love bug, Shadow, approves this message too!

Now I want to ask, are you the adoptive guardian of a shelter cat? And do you pamper your pets with Fresh Step Triple Action Scented Clumping Cat Litter at home? Share your stories below!

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5 Ways To Spring Clean Your Life

Please note, this is a sponsored post on behalf of Lawyers of Distinction. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

5 Ways To Spring Clean Your Life

Spring is officially here! And while many of us are knee-deep in the process of Spring Cleaning, I decided to write a post on something that you may have overlooked this season. The need to declutter your overall perspective. Something we should all do each and every Springtime at home.

After all, who couldn’t stand to improve our lives, homes, and businesses with the start of each new quarter? And what better time to give your life a proverbial refresh than Spring. With that in mind, here are 5 ways that you can spring clean your life!

1. Your Home

When it comes to Spring cleaning, its only right to start with your environment at home. There is just something about having a clean, de-cluttered, and organized space that helps improve your life, clear your mind, and to redirect your focus and your mind.

For me, I know that a new season starts with a clean, cleared space. It helps me feel productive and stay more focuses on my business at hand and can do the same for you!

Studies also prove that decluttered spaces increase your happiness and contribute to reducing your stress levels. Which benefit your health and overall well-being.

I love to start my Spring cleaning in my bedroom and then move on to my office area. This ensures that two of the most profound areas in my life, where I work and where I regenerate each day. is what they should be. I also make a point of scheduling administrative days on the last working day of the month. Days devoted to making sure my goals are being met for my home, my business, and my family life too!

Now if you are just starting a season of decluttering, start off with de-cluttering things you don’t need or use anymore. You can also get rid of things that simply don’t bring you any happiness or remind you of a bad experience. Whatever works best for you.

My general rules of thumbs are to donate an item that hasn’t been used for one year, won’t be used during the holidays, or can easily be replaced in the future.

It’s also helpful to make a list of all the areas of your home that you want to spring clean and have a designated day for each task. This helps you make the most of your decluttering time at home.
Re-arrange your home and organize it in a way that will bring in more space to your home.

2. Downsize your Digital Life

As a digital entrepreneur and blogger, I know the idea of downsizing your digital life can be daunting. But think small. Make a list of your digital distractions and see if you can do without any specific apps, social media accounts, or browser extensions. Consider decluttering unnecessary pictures, documents, pdf files, printables, and software that may be bogging down your systems.

If you work from home, be sure to do a legit scan of your mobile devices to make sure that each of your apps still serves a purpose in your business and home life. Deleting any apps that you’ve not used within the last 3 months. Then set a date on your calendar one season from the date of your digital decluttering to reevaluate your progress.

3. Let Go of Busyness

It’s easy to get addicted to the business of everyday life. From overbooking our schedules to taking on too make volunteer responsibilities, busyness can easily creep into your life. To remedy this, look at your planner or calendar and ask yourself if all those To Do’s are truly necessary and cost-effective in your current season of life? Are there places in your schedule that can be decluttered?

Instead, create a daily schedule of small, obtainable tasks. Goals that can not only be marked off your list but help progress your life, home, and business from one hour to the next.

And to give yourself a workable measure, remove just one task from your daily schedule each day and replace it with 30-minutes of self-care time. Then before you add more tasks to your schedule, ask yourself, “is this task worth my self-care time?” More than likely its not!

Because in the end, you sometimes have to say no to others to be able to say yes to yourself. Something that cannot be accomplished with an archaic, overbooked schedule.

We need to learn that we can’t get everything done in just a day, it is best to take it one day at a time. If you find that you’ve overbooked your day with too many things, then try to prioritize them and see which ones can get done the next day.

4. Rid Your Life of Negativity

One of the best ways to Spring clean your life is to rid your exitance of things that may be physically or emotionally holding you back. Including negativity.

A few ways you can easily accomplish this goal is to first and foremost, think more positively. Making a priority out of thinking positively can change not only your perspective, but the atmosphere in your home, and the course of your life too!

Some of the best ways to rid your life of negativity are to get rid of toxic people, online and in real life, and instead choose to surround yourself with positive people. Folks that challenge you in healthy ways. Keeping in mind, that just because you don’t see completely eye-to-eye with someone else doesn’t mean they are a negative person. And that surrounding yourself with only like-minded people doesn’t truly help you grow as a person. Being placated is never a good look on anyone!

Also, consider how you consume information. Consumerism, the news media, and even friends and family can inundate us with information that can leave us feeling drained and in a mood of uncertainty and anxiety.

I personally remedy this by focusing less on social media and online publications and instead ascertain my news information from credible sources in print form. Including my local newspaper, medical journals, seasoned publications such as the New York Times, and my quarterly law school review.

5. Get Your Legal Affairs in Order

No one likes to discuss the harder aspects of life. But it’s one of the most important areas of life as we age and so it bears repeating- In order to properly Spring clean your life one must get your legal affairs in order too!

As a former legal professional, this is a measure near and dear to my own heart!

And what I mean by getting your legal affairs is to first make sure the big tasks are covered by proper estate planning. Including the following questions:

  • Is your will up-to-date?
  • Do you have a notarized medical directive?
  • Does your family know you wish to be an organ donor?
  • Do your loved ones know you wish to have funds posthumously given on your behalf?
  • Do you have a trustee appointed for your estate?
  • Do you have longterm plans for your retirement years?
  • Will your children be properly provided for, both financially and in terms of guardianship, in the unlikely occurrence of your death?
  • Are you are your spouse or partner legally mentioned on one another’s wills, records, deeds, business ledgers, titles, utilities, and accounts?
  • Are your pets and their care mentioned in your estate planning?

All measures that can turn the passing of a loved one into an emotionally draining fiasco. Measures that can be quickly and painlessly avoided by the visit to a legal professional in your area.

And when it comes to finding the right legal professionals, you don’t want to leave your most important issues to change. Make sure to check out the Lawyers of Distinction website. A directory of legal professionals that can quickly help you find the right attorney to meet your personal legal needs in your area.

Lawyers of Distinction also offers consumers tax aid advice and a directory of members for quick referencing this season.

All-in-all, Springtime is the perfect season to make sure your hardest hitting tasks are checked off your list. Especially when it comes to the legal security of yourself and your family.

So, everyone, those are the 5 ways to spring clean your life. I hope you found this post helpful and you found some inspiration to start spring cleaning your life! Now I want to ask, will you be using any of these tips to Spring clean your own life this season? If you are, please share your thoughts below!

5 Ways To Spring Clean Your Life

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Why I’m loving Nature’s Miracle Enzyme Cleaner at Home

I’ve often said that a house becomes a home when a cat resides there. Which is very true in my world as I am the adoptive pet guardian to two amazing, lovable, precocious cats, Boo Radley, and Mr. Darcy. And on most days, I love them to pieces.

Okay, so I love them every day. But some days its harder than others. Especially when you are dealing with a cat that believes he owns the house and can relieve themselves of any and all bodily fluids as they please indoors. Days you have to remind yourself how much you actually love their furry little faces.

As a multi-pet household, we’ve tried most of the leading products out there to get rid of pet stains and odors, and have finally settled on a few that we feel work best for us. Products designed to help remove cat or dog urine smells from carpets, clean common surfaces, and to remove stains from hardwood floors and tiles.

I’ve also found that avoiding products intended to cover up animal smell only exasperate the problem. Because most animals sense of smell is much greater than our own and just because you don’t smell it, that doesn’t mean they can’t. Which often leads to the habitual act of marking corners and areas within homes. And in order to solve these issues, pet owners need to start by eliminating the odor completely. How is this best done? With enzyme cleaners.

Why enzyme cleaners? They are the best, easiest, and safest way to completely remove pet odors from your home. As enzymes are biological molecules, specifically proteins, that accelerate chemical reactions and dissipate protein-rich messes in their tracks by way of binding to protein molecules on a molecular level. To catalyze the chemical reaction that breaks pet stains and their scent tractors including ammonia and carbon dioxide. Leaving nothing behind on the surfaces of your home, including carpet and floor.

Enzymatic cleaners work great on any biological mess including urine, feces, blood, vomit, and the like. And my cleaner of choice? Natures Miracle Advanced Severe Mess Enzymatic Stain and Odor Remover deeply clean to remove the odor of cat urine and other messes. This bacteria-based formula produces cleaning enzymes when it comes in contact with bio-based messes including urine, diarrhea, vomit, and blood. The enzymatic cleaner will continue working as long as the food source is present.

Nature’sMiracle is safe to use on carpets, hard floors, furniture, fabrics and more, when used as directed. Contains a light fresh scent and works on even the toughest pet odors in our home, including cat messes including urine, diarrhea, and vomit. Natures Miracle Advanced Severe Mess Enzymatic Stain and Odor Remover are affordably priced under $11.00. I purchase our products from Chewy.com. This allows us to make sure all of our pet stain and odor removing products can be easily kept on-hand and shipped right to our door quickly and easily.

This allows me to maintain a clean, manageable home that’s also healthy for my cats and dogs too! Friends, I encourage you to check out this awesome enzyme product for yourself this season from Chewy.com. Now I want to ask, are you currently Nature’s Miracle user or do you currently use other enzymatic cleaning products at home? Share your favorite products and cleaning tips in the comments below!

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5 Tips For Better Litter Box Cleaning Sessions at Home With Glade

This post has been sponsored by Chewy.com. All opinions are mine alone.

 

Glade Winter Pine Clumping Cat Litter

If you’re anything like me, a house only becomes a home when a cat resides there. While the benefits of owning a cat, the companionship, the empathy-building nature of a pet and owner relationship, as well as the various studied conducted over the past few decades, which state that pet ownership in general, and cat ownership in particular, can improve your quality of life. These are only some of the reasons I have loved being an adoptive cat owner.

If this wasn’t enough reason to consider owning a cat, for me, there is still one even greater reason. I love that cats. Particularly my cats, Boo Radley, and Shadow. They are the most loving, thoughtful friends a gal could have. I also love that generally speaking, my cats required little training to use their litter box, as they have an innate desire to dig and bury their waste, making cats clean, conscientious, fastidious pets. So, if you love a clean, tidy home, team pride may be for you.

For you see, unlike other pet training scenarios, the challenge for cat owners is not to train a cat to use a waste removal system, but to see that the behavior continues. You see, once a cat develops undesirable litter box habits, the problem can be very difficult to resolve. So, here are a few suggestions to help you have successful litter box cleaning sessions at home.

Making sure your cat knows where their box is located is vital to a successful litter box routine. Ideally, a litter box should be placed in a semi-private covered area, removed from high-traffic zones, but not so isolated that it isn’t cleaned regularly. Also be sure to avoid placing the box next to food and water feeding stations.

All wastes, both solid and wet clumps, should be scooped out of your litter box daily. The entire box should be emptied, washed with warm water, and mild soap and enzyme cleaners weekly. Be sure to avoid strong-smelling cleaners when cleaning your litter boxes, as this may discourage your cat from using their litter box. Once cleaned, litter boxes should be refilled completely at least once a week. A two-inch layer of litter in the box works well for our cats. A tip? Keeping your litter close to your litter box, along with a small handled brush and dustpan set, along with a litter box scoop by each litter box makes for easy, simple litter box cleaning!

Glade Winter Pine Clumping Cat Litter

Many cats will refuse to use a litter box already in use from another cat. As a general rule, each home should have one box per cat, plus one. For example, a household of three cats should contain four litter boxes. In our home, we have three litter boxes, one in our kitchen, one in our storage room, and one in our hall bathroom to accommodate our cat’s litter box routines.

Your cat’s health can also cause litterbox issues. Everything from Colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperthyroidism, kidney or liver disease, urinary tract infections, and diabetes can all contribute to inappropriate, outside-the-box elimination for cats. If your cat refuses to use their litter box it’s always advisable to check with your veterinarian to determine if a physical ailment is causing the litter issue.

Just like with people, stressful situations can cause distress for your pets. In cats, stress often manifests itself in litter box rejection issues. Instances including moving to a new home, the adoption and inclusion of a new pet, changes in routine, rearranged placements of new furniture, and even moving your litter boxes to a new location, even a few feet away, can cause litter box rejection and inappropriate urination. To avoid stress spraying, maintain a constant location for your litter box and cleaning schedule as well. Also keeping a minimal, low-distraction litter box station will keep your cats stress to a minimum while using their boxes each day.

Cats can be picky. Some cats will use nearly any litter. Others will refuse to use pelletized litters. Trial and error is the key to lasting litter training success.

From personal experience, I suggest trying several varieties of cat litter to find the best fit for your pet. We literally inundate our cats with their litter. One of our favorite tips for litter continuity is to leave your litter packaging about your home, to allow your pets to become acquainted with the scent of the litter.

Glade Winter Pine Clumping Cat Litter

Once you have found a litter that seems to be accepted by your cat, don’t switch to another kind. Even if it may seem more convenient for you. Litter brand continuity is uber important to cats. For us, we chose Tidy Cats® Tough Odor Solutions Glade Winter Pine Clumping Cat Litter. I like to think that Boo Radley likes this brand as well. Whenever I bring his litter home he always likes to check out the new jug for himself as well. He’s a brand loyal cat!

We find that Tidy Cats® Lightweight with Glade is a low-maintenance, high-quality, affordable cat litter solution. We also love that it can be conveniently found at my local Kroger grocery store.

Tidy Cats® Lightweight with Glade on Chewy.com, with it’s guaranteed TidyLock™ Protection which helps to lock away odors that can lead to Stank Face. You know, the super stinky litter box odors that can make even the most dignified person’s face look like a petrified tree! Luckily, Tidy Cats’ wide range of products, so every cat owner can find the best litter for their cat’s needs, which means that you’ll never have to make another Stank Face again.

Glade Winter Pine Clumping Cat Litter

So now, as a family, we can save time with Tidy Cats® Lightweight with Glade, as this litter helps control those stinky litter box odors while helping you save time and money by purchasing the litter online through Chewy. Where you can purchase this awesome litter in a 20-pounds, two-jug pack delivered conveniently to your home. Perfect for cold winter days ahead.

We love that that this litter is pleasantly scented with Glade scents, as one of our boxes is located in our kitchen, as so many scented litters are rejected by cats, this makes the Tidy Cats® Lightweight with Glade a winner in my book!

Friends, I cannot say enough great things about the Tidy Cats® Lightweight with Glade and recommend you pick up a container on your next trip to Kroger stores this season. Your nose and cats will thank you!

Glade Winter Pine Clumping Cat Litter

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