The Five Minute Tidy: How to Keep Your House Clean in a Few Stolen Moments per Day

November 30, 2011 by

The weekend is finally here and you are exhausted from a busy week. You are looking forward to sleeping late and lounging around thefive minute tidy house, enjoying your day off. However, the sink-full of dirty dishes is staring you in the face, the shower is in desperate need of a scrub, and the dust creatures under the couch are starting to growl at you. Oh well, looks like another Sunday will be spent cleaning the house again!

So many of us are so busy during the week that we leave our housework until our day off when we finally have time to commit several hours to giving the home a good clean. However, there is a clever trick to remember that will help you keep your home clean throughout the week and reduce the amount of time you have to spend scrubbing and dusting on your precious days off.

The Five Minute Tidy

The Five Minute Tidy is the idea of taking advantage of any small burst of time within your day, even if it is only five minutes, to clean or tidy something in your home. There are many moments throughout our day to day lives when we are waiting around for a minute or two, whether it is for our dinner to heat up in the microwave, for the computer to boot up, or between commercial breaks during our favourite show. If you can take advantage of these small moments, you can keep your house tidy through a serious of many short cleaning sessions rather than one big one on the weekend.

You can do a five minute tidy in any room, but here are some ideas for the kitchen and the bathroom, two of the most daunting rooms to clean!

Five Minute Kitchen Tidy Ideas

Waiting for the popcorn to pop? You can:

  • Wipe down all counters and surfaces.
  • Clean the food from the oven elements.
  • Sweep the kitchen floor.
  • Open up the fridge and throw away anything that has expired.
  • Wash and put away a few dishes.

Five Minute Bathroom Tidy Ideas

Waiting for your bath to run? You can:

  • Wipe the toothpaste stains from the sink.
  • Clean the bathroom mirror.
  • Organize the bathroom cabinet.
  • Scrub the toilet.
  • If you are taking a shower, you can even take a bottle of shower cleaner with you and give it a spray as you are getting out!

If you can get in the habit of doing a five minute tidy whenever you find a spare moment, when the weekend rolls around you will discover that you won’t need to spend your entire day off cleaning because everything will already be done!

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Do You Do These? Three Unhealthy Habits You Might Not Be Aware Of and How to Kick Them

November 28, 2011 by

Eating While Distractedfacebook addict

How many times have you been eating while watching TV and thought that you had another few bites left but then realize you have devoured the whole thing? Not watching television while eating will actually help you lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle.

Since your mind is so entranced by the television, cramming the food into your mouth becomes automatic and it is hard to notice when you have eaten too much.

How to kick it: When you make dinner, sit down at the table instead of on the couch. If you live with a partner, converse and enjoy each other’s company while you eat. If you live alone, give yourself some quiet time to focus on how yummy the food tastes. Savour each bite slowly and chew it well, and stop when you feel full.

Skipping Breakfast

“I don’t have time before work.”

“I’m just not hungry in the mornings.”

“I’m trying to lose weight.”

No matter what your excuse is for not eating a morning meal, this is an unhealthy habit that you need to kick. Studies have shown that people who eat a healthy breakfast in the morning perform better on tests and are more alert.

Also, forget about skipping breakfast to lose weight, as studies have shown that this will actually make you more likely to indulge in an unhealthy mid-morning snack or eat more at lunchtime. When you starve your body your natural metabolism tends to assume that you have ended up stranded on a deserted island and that you might not get a meal again for days.

Once your body is in starvation mode, you will horde more calories when you finally do eat something.

 How to kick it: If you can’t stomach a large breakfast first thing in the morning have a simple piece of multigrain toast and jam before you leave for work, and then bring fruit, nuts, and yogurt to eat at your desk an hour later.

3AM Facebook Sessions

We’ve all done it. We can get so distracted doing something online, whether it is watching clips from your favourite television shows, chatting with friends, or clicking through funny forums, that we don’t even notice that we have stayed up way longer than we need to being hypnotized by the computer’s glow.

Studies have shown that using electronic devices such as computers right before bed can increase the risk of insomnia. The bright flickering screen hinders the natural release of the hormone melatonin, which is what puts you to sleep.

Lack of sleep makes you less alert, more susceptible to illness, more emotional, and not to mention those bleary eyes are so not attractive!

How to kick it: Create a “computer curfew” for yourself that is at least 2 hours before bedtime. Shut down your laptop. Take a relaxing bath, listen to music, or read a book instead.

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Got Junk? How to Tame an Unruly Cluttered Garage

November 26, 2011 by

Your garage seemed innocent enough when you first moved in to your home, but now it has grown into a cluttered jungle of junk which Junk in Garagehaunts your dreams.

It begins as a covered space to park your car, but your garage soon becomes a dumping ground for any odd objects and a place to store the odd few tools and things that didn’t fit in the house.

Broken lawn furniture, toys that your kids haven’t played with in years, tangled webs of garden hoses, half-finished DIY projects, garbage bags of clothes that you meant to donate to charity, and that hammer you borrowed from your neighbor are all stacked precariously in dusty corners.

It’s getting to the point where you can barely even squeeze the car in, and something needs to be done.

Taming a garage that has gone out of control is a big job, but if you have some helping hands and a day or do to dedicate to the task, you can hack your way through the mess and turn it into a space that works for you.

Get Rid of the Junk

The very first step is to get rid of anything that doesn’t need to be in your garage in the first place. Although it is tempting to hold onto stuff for sentimental reasons, be brutal in your elimination of junk.

Is it broken and not worth fixing? Throw it away. Have you not used it in the last year? Give it away or sell it. Is it something you borrowed from a neighbor? Give it back.

Keep only the tools and other items that you really need and use often. It is much easier to organize your belongings if you have less of them.

Once you have removed everything out of the garage, this is a great opportunity to give everything a good sweep and scrub so that you have a clean space to work with.

Create a New System for Storage

If you want your newly clean garage to stay clean, you need to create an organized storage system for keeping everything tucked away where it should be. For example, you can get a pegboard for the wall where you can mount rakes, brooms, tools, and hoses neatly without taking up floor space.

If you often work on projects, bring in a table or a cart to work on with drawers for storing your supplies and tools. Keep seasonal gear or other objects in sturdy plastic tubs. You can even get special hooks for bikes and kayaks so that they can be stored hanging from the ceiling.

Congratulations, you have transformed your savage and untamed garage into a practical and efficient storage space!

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Got a New Bundle of Joy? Health Tips for First-Time Parents

November 25, 2011 by

Being a new parent is a very exciting time!Healthy Baby and Parents

It can also be exhausting, because many new parents are so caught up in caring for their child as best they can, that they forget to also look after themselves!

However, it is very important to look after your own health as well when you have a new baby. If you are well-rested and healthy you will be much more able to be a loving and effective parent to your little bundle of joy.

Here are some tips for staying healthy as a new parent:

  • Get as much sleep as possible. Chronic lack of sleep will not only leave you irritable and less alert, it will also lower your immune system and leave you more susceptible to illness. When you have a new baby, your sleep schedule will already be disrupted by late night feedings, so try to make up this as much as possible by going to bed early and taking naps in the day if you need to. Take turns getting up in the night with the baby, and take the opportunity to sleep whenever the baby sleeps.
  • Take a break. In order to keep your relationship with your partner healthy and rejuvenate your energy, it is important to take a night off from diaper changes and baby talk once in a while. Put on some clothes without spit-up stains on them, leave the baby with a sitter, and head out for a nice meal or a quiet walk. Taking a break doesn’t make you bad parents; it will actually make you less stressed and happier together.
  • Eat a healthy and nutritious diet. This is especially true if you are a nursing mom because you will need to replace the nutrients that you are passing along through your breast milk. If you find it hard to make the time to prepare healthy meals, make them simple and prepare them in advance so that you can freeze portions for thawing later.
  • Get some exercise! Even though you might be tired, keeping active will actually refresh you and give you more energy, so why not take the baby out for a walk in the stroller in the fresh air or join a post-natal yoga class?

Taking care of a new baby is a lot of work, which is why it is important to take care of yourself and stay healthy so that you can be the best parent you possibly can.

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I’ve Gotta Get Outta Here! Will it Hurt Your Career to Go Traveling for a While?

November 23, 2011 by

Perhaps you dream of renting a tiny cheap apartment in the Marais district of Paris and spending your days strolling along the Seine, sippingParis France Eiffel Tower coffee in quaint cafes, and reading poetry in the Jardin de Luxembourg?

Or maybe you have always wanted to go hiking in Peru, and watch the sunrise over the holy ancient ruins of Macchu Picu?

Do you fancy the idea of living for a season in a small beachside town on Australia’s Gold Coast, learning to surf and staying up to watch the stars? Or perhaps you want to trace the genealogy of your ancestors back to a tiny village in England?

However, whenever you think of taking a month or two or several to pursue one of these experiences, you ultimately freeze up with dread at the thought of quitting your job and having to find another one when you return.

Ultimately, many people will give up their dreams of traveling the earth and discovering its many wonders because they are afraid that taking six months or a year off from work will permanently damage their career prospects.

They fear that if they wander off the career path for too long, their goals will not be achievable when they return. They are terrified that the empty gap of unemployment or unrelated work abroad will stain their resume and banish them from future jobs forever.

The answer is: It won’t.

If you are good at what you do and have a good work ethic, you will always be able to find work in the career field you choose once you return from your worldly adventures. In fact, traveling will actually be an asset to your resume for many reasons!

Why Travelling Looks Great on a Resume

  • Going abroad requires planning, organization, and confidence, and the fact that you have been on an adventure of your own overseas will demonstrate this to a potential employer.
  • Doing something interesting with your travels, such as volunteering, working abroad, or visiting somewhere out of the ordinary, will make you stand out from the other applicants and provide an interesting conversation starter in an interview.
  • Experience interacting with other cultures can be a huge advantage in many jobs, especially when you are dealing with the public.
  • If you go on a working holiday or international internship, you can demonstrate that you have experience working in your field in another country, demonstrating adaptability.

The truth is that if traveling is your true dream and passion, it is absolutely worth it to go for it! You don’t need to worry about your career, because you can always pick up where you left off when you return, with a whole new set of skills and experiences from your travels to draw on that will make you better at what you do. Don’t let your job get in the way of following your dreams!

What about you?  Have you ever taken an extended trip?  How did it impact your career and your life?

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Tips for Learning a New Language

November 21, 2011 by

Whether you want to go traveling, move abroad, or just impress your sexy foreign neighbor, learning a new language can be a very advantageous skill to have. Learning to speak another language is not only a great way to open up many more opportunities for yourself, it can also be a fun challenge.

However, learning to speak a new language can also be very intimidating and difficult. You will have to start right back at square one when it comes to communication, and it can be very humbling and frustrating to only have the conversation skills of a three year old. Memorizing vocabulary and learning grammar in a new language is not necessarily easy.

If your goal is to learn a new language, here are some helpful tips that will improve your learning experience and make it easier for you to reach your goal:

  • Study the language in small bursts each day. It is better to study for 30 minutes each day than for 3.5 hours in one day. This will make it easier to find time in your schedule to stick to your goal. Also, a 3.5 hour session is not as effective, as you will remember and retain more if you study in shorter and more frequent sessions.
  • Find a learning method that works for you. Everyone has a different learning style, so try many different classes, software, CDs, or other learning tools until you find the one that “clicks” for you.
  • Don’t be shy when speaking. A lot of the time we are hesitant to test out our foreign language because we are afraid we will sound stupid if we use incorrect grammar or forget a word. Don’t let this get in the way of practicing your language! You wouldn’t judge a non-native speaker if they made a mistake, would you? Anyone listening to you will give you the same patience and understanding, so give it a try!
  • Make learning a language fun! The learning process doesn’t have to be all study and no play, as there are many ways you can make language learning entertaining. You can watch foreign films, learn some jokes and songs, or read comics and cartoons in your target language.

Last but not least, don’t give up! The benefits of being able to communicate in another language are so rewarding that they are worth your hard work, so good luck!

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Got Student Loans? Tips for Graduating Debt Free

November 19, 2011 by

Going to a university or college can be a great opportunity to obtain the education and qualifications you need to pursue the career of your dreams. However, many students find themselves under huge mountains of student debt after graduating, which will take years to pay back.

Taking out student loans to go to college is not always necessary, and with a little foresight, hard student loan debtwork, and ingenuity you can get through your degree without having debt cast a shadow over your life. Here are some tips for graduating debt free:

  • Don’t go to school right away. If you spend a year or two working full time and saving first, you will have a nest egg to support you while you study rather than taking out a loan for it. You will also have more time to gain life experience, think about what you want to study and choose the best program for you.
  • Use the summer time when you are not studying to make as much money as possible. Work a full time job and take on extra hours if you can. In the school year, work part time alongside your schooling.
  • Apply for as many scholarships as possible. There are many to choose from and they can reward huge amounts of money to students. Not all scholarships are entirely based on academics, so even if your grades are not perfect you can still apply.
  • If it is possible to live at home with your parents during your degree, this will save you a lot of money and really help you get through your education debt free. If not, try finding the cheapest apartment or on campus accommodation you can and sharing it with a roommate. It’s not the ideal living situation, but you can have your own apartment in a few years when you are working and can actually afford it!
  • Anytime you get an unexpected windfall, such as birthday money, or prize winnings don’t think of the money as extra but use it to pay for your education instead.
  • Buy only what you need, and buy it as cheaply as possible. When you are decorating your university dorm room, you don’t need brand new furniture when a used desk you found on Craigslist for $15 will work just as well. Buy only the essentials, and try to find them used rather than new so that you will spend less money.
  • Many of your friends will be flashing their designer clothes and brand new laptops, and going out on the town every weekend. It can be difficult to resist wanting to fit in, but it’s important to remember that these students are either being funded completely by their parents, or spending student loans foolishly that they will need to pay back. You might feel like you are missing out as a student, but you will be much richer later as a result.
  • Find free or cheap ways to entertain yourself, so that you don’t spend a lot of money on expensive recreational activities. Go for walks, make dinner and watch a movie at home with friends, or go out on 2 for 1 drinks night at your local bar. The fun part is hanging out with friends, not spending a lot.

These are just a few things that you can do which will help you graduate without a huge student debt.

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Ten Strange Facts You Didn’t Know About Sleep and Dreams

November 18, 2011 by

The human brain is fascinating and bizarre, and even the most advanced scientists still don’t understand exactly how it works. One of the strangest phenomena that the brain produces is dreams. What are these sleeping hallucinations and why do we have them? There are many theories as to why we dream, but no one really fully understands the science of sleep and dreaming.

Here are ten of the strangest facts about sleeping and dreaming:What is a dream?

  1. Within five minutes of waking up, you have already forgotten 50% of your dream. Within 10 minutes of awakening, you will have forgotten 90%.
  2. People who have been blind since birth do not see images in their dreams, but they do dream about smells, sounds, sensations, and emotions.
  3. Your mind does not invent characters for your dreams, as any human face in your dreams is someone that you have already seen before. You might not consciously remember seeing them, as they might have been just a face in the crowd, but your mind stores in your subconscious.
  4. The most common emotion reported to be experienced in a dream is anxiety.
  5. Not being allowed to dream can make you crazy. A study showed that people who were woken up and not allowed to experience the Rapid Eye Movement stage of sleep when dreams occur, experienced a vast array of psychological symptoms within only three days including irritability, loss of concentration, and hallucinations. As soon as they were allowed to dream again, their brains compensated by increasing the percentage of REM sleep within their sleep cycle.
  6. The outside world can enter your dreams. While you are sleeping your senses are still alert and outside stimuli will have an effect on what you are dreaming. Have you ever had an outside noise incorporate itself into your dream, or dream that you are drinking water and then wake up to find that you are very thirsty?
  7. Statistics show that 1% or less of the adult population is prone to sleepwalking.
  8. There have been many famous reports of dreams predicting the future. A few days before he died, Abraham Lincoln was said to tell his wife about a dream that he had. He was looking at a coffin surrounded by hundreds of people mourning. A soldier beside him in the dream told him that the president had been assassinated.
  9. The dreaming stage of sleep, known as “REM” stage, is beneficial in helping us learn. When we dream, the cerebral cortex is stimulated and protein is increased in the brain, helping us to increase our mental power and develop new neural pathways in the brain.
  10. The most common negative dreams include falling, being chased by something, being at school, and having your teeth fall out.
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Ka-Ching! Simple Tips for Trimming Down Your Grocery Bill

November 16, 2011 by

Do you gulp with fear every time you approach the checkout at the supermarket? saving money on grocery shopping

Do you end up spending a huge amount on grocery shopping every week, yet only coming home with a few bags of items?

It is possible to cut down your grocery bill drastically; you just need to know how to outsmart the supermarket and get more for your dollar.

Here are some clever tips for getting the most food for the lowest price next time you go grocery shopping:

  • The most important rule is: never go grocery shopping when you are hungry! Make sure you go after you have eaten, or your growling stomach will talk you into throwing many indulgent treats and snacks into the shopping cart that you just don’t need!
  • Don’t be loyal to brand names, because you pay extra for their familiarity. For example, although Heinz ketchup is the most well known, it is also usually the most expensive. The generic brand will probably taste just the same on your hot dogs and hamburgers and if it costs $1.50 less, why not give it a try?
  • Think about where you are shopping. Is it a high end chain supermarket with fancy displays, nice lighting, and beautiful interior design? These types of gourmet grocery stores often overcharge for the same items that can be found at a budget grocery chain for much cheaper!
  • Use coupons on the items that you regularly buy. You can find coupons on fliers in the store, and also at several websites online.
  • Don’t pay extra for convenience. Packaged foods such as microwave meals, prepared snacks, and other easy and quick dishes are usually much more expensive. Buy the ingredients and cook it yourself to save money.
  • Stock up on “loss leaders.” These are items that the supermarket is advertising at a ridiculously low price. They are very cheap because they attract customers in, who will likely spend more money on other more expensive items once they are in the store. If you can stick to only stocking up on the sale items and avoid being tempted by anything else you can really save a lot of money.

These are just a few easy ways that you can trim down your grocery bill and save money at the supermarket!

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Can You Get Sick On An Airplane? Health Tips for Air Travel

November 14, 2011 by

It is exciting to fly somewhere far away, but the long distances, cramped conditions, and stress of flying can often have a negative impact on your health.

flying healthy

When you are travelling by plane, you will be within small spaces with many people which increases the potential for catching an airborne illness. You don’t want feeling sick to ruin your holiday, so here are some ways that you can keep yourself healthy on your next plane ride:

  • Use vitamins to boost your immune system before going on your trip. Try taking doses of Echinacea and Vitamin C which help you to ward off illnesses.
  • Bring a bottle of water with you on the flight to keep yourself hydrated. It is easy to get dehydrated on a long flight, which can lead to fatigue, headaches, and lowered immune response.
  • Try to avoid large amounts of alcohol or caffeinated drinks, which will dehydrate you even more.
  • Bring a bag of healthy snacks with you. The airline might serve a meal, but if there are large delays you might end up without food for several hours, so it is good to have your own fuel to keep your energy up.
  • Dress in layers. The temperature on the airplane is often too cold or too hot, and if you get chilled you will be more likely to feel ill afterwards. If you wear several different layers you can remove them when you need to and control your own temperature. If you will be sleeping on a long flight, be sure to ask for a blanket so that you don’t get chilled while you are asleep.
  • Get lots of sleep. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation drastically lowers immune response, so make sure that you are well rested before your journey and try to catch some sleep on board if it is a long flight. Ear plugs and eye masks can help you fall asleep on a plane.

These are just a few things to remember which will help you arrive at your destination feeling healthy, refreshed, and ready to have a great time. 

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