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Choosing a Caravan for Your Family
Staycationing has never been more popular in the UK with over half of Brits planning holidays in their home country each year. This desire to get to know our own backyards has gone hand-in-hand with the rebirth of caravanning. And it’s easy to see why. It’s the joy of retreating to rural settings with the luxury of home comforts.
It’s the pleasure of getting the family together in one place. It’s the sense of freedom you don’t get with other holidays.
NCC approval
The majority of caravans sold in the UK will be approved by the National Caravan Council (NCC), which is the official industry trade body. The NCC also operates certification schemes for other potentially dangerous components of the caravan: gas installations, water systems, emergency exits and tyres. It’s always worth conducting your own independent checks but any vehicle that carries an NCC badge will have been subjected to rigorous examination to ensure all of these aspects are up to spec.
Size and weight
How many people does your caravan need to sleep? You might think you need four berths for a family of four but there are other ways to create enough space for everyone.
Your caravan choice will naturally be influenced by the towing capacity of your current vehicle. You can divide your car’s kerbweight by 100 and multiply it by 85 to find the upper limit of its comfortable towing weight.
If it’s your first caravan, a lighter more compact model is generally a safe bet, offering you greater manoeuvrability, cheaper ferry fares and road tolls, and better fuel economy. Paired with a simple awning, you can easily house and sleep a small family in a two-berther with basic kitchen and bathroom facilities.
Amenities
Well-equipped caravans can look incredibly flash in the showroom ,and this can easily trick you into believing you need more amenities than you really do. Bathrooms take up a lot of space. Cooking units add serious weight onto any vehicle, and attractive carpets can easily become begrimed with mud.
It’s especially important to consider the practicalities of layout. If you’re likely to be staying in places with good on-site facilities, you can afford to cut back on interior vehicle space dedicated to bathroom and kitchen areas.
Cost and financing
Once you’ve chosen your vehicle, you have to work out how you’re going to pay for it. Bear in mind that as well as the initial outlay of purchasing the caravan itself, you’ll also have to shell out for additional running costs: insurance, road tax, MOTs, servicing. If you’re looking to buy, you can source generous financing packages from Auto Finance Online, who offer a range of options to suit every budget. Paying an initial lump sum towards your new caravan should help you to access more attractive interest rates.
Less is more
There’s something to be said for more compact options when it comes to choosing your first caravan. If you start small, you can always add space on later. The same is not true for a larger vehicle, however. You’ll also be looking at dropping less of your hard-earned cash if you choose a smaller option. Not to mention the fact that there’s less of a steep learning curve when it comes to hitting the road.
A Guide- Running a Tight Ship in Your Family Home
Is your family abode currently a bit chaotic? Are things always going missing? Is there constantly a pile of mess on your dining table? For yours and your family’s sake, you need to seek to tighten the reins and run your home in a far more ship-shape fashion. Once you do, you’ll no doubt wonder why you didn’t make this kind of effort sooner!
Put the following advice into practice, and you’ll be running a tight ship in your family home in no time.
Draw up a weekly plan of all jobs that need doing
The plan that you draw up doesn’t need to be set in stone. In fact, the tasks that you set yourself and your family don’t even have to be completed on or by specific days. Merely having a list of all the things that need doing by the end of the week will benefit you, as it will act as a constant reminder of all the tasks you have at hand. Whether it’s something as simple as taking the bins out or whether it’s something more complex like putting a shelf up, put it on your plan, and it’ll be more likely to get done.
Being an essential task, cleaning should be the first thing you consider when drawing up your weekly plan of jobs that need doing. To ensure that everything gets done and your home remains in tip-top condition, you should make sure everybody is contributing in this instance. You can do the dusting, your partner can do the dishes, and the kids can be tasked with picking up their toys and putting them away. If you all chip in (and if you all put in a bit of elbow grease while you’re at it), your home will look spic and span in no time.
Create meal plans
Another kind of plan that you should draw up at the beginning of each week is one that covers what meals you and your family will be eating over the coming days. By making an effort in this instance, your wallet, your health, and your schedule will all stand to reap a host of benefits.
Money-wise, you will find yourself saving cash as you won’t be wasting it on food that isn’t going to be eaten. Health-wise, you’ll be able to plan wholesome meals in advance and avoid having to settle for ready-meals. Plus, schedule-wise, you won’t spend as much time deliberating what to buy and what to prepare, meaning you’ll be left with more time to focus on tightening the ship in other areas of your home.
Sound advice in this instance is to leave an online grocery order open throughout the week and to add to it whenever you think of items you need. Doing so will stop you missing essential items on your shopping list.
Embrace the KonMari method of organizing
The KonMari method has reinvented and even somewhat rejuvenated the tedious task of keeping your home organized. Instead of advocating a room-by-room approach to organization (as most other tidying methods do), the KonMari encourages homeowners to tidy by category. Embracing this method will see you tidy up your worldly belongings based on their function, not where they are currently located. It is an effective form of organizing as it will help you to avoid that dreaded plight of becoming fatigued after cleaning only one room. The KonMari will see you tackle the entirety of your home in one go, not just one corner of it.
Another good way to approach organization is to clean as you go. In this instance, be sure to make sure the mantra ‘Don’t put it down, put it away!’ is something the whole of your family abides by.
Fix things whenever they break
For your home to be in ship-shape condition at all times, everything within it needs to be working at optimum capacity at all times. It means that, as soon as something breaks or malfunctions, you need to set about fixing the issue right away.
The task of fixing things in your home doesn’t necessarily have to fall upon you. It doesn’t even have to fall upon your partner. There is plenty of professional tradespeople out there willing to fix your issues and keep your home in ship-shape condition for you. Thanks to the Internet, you don’t even have to put a lot of effort into finding these professionals. Should your electrics ever blow, for example, all you need do is head to Porch and search for “residential electricians near me”. The website’s extensive database will match you with available professionals in your area in seconds. It will then be down to you to choose the electrician that you believe is up to the task of fixing your specific issue.
Once put into practice, the above advice will help you to run a tight ship in your family home.
All Eyes On Kitchen Health For A Happy Family
Many sayings claim that food is the most direct way to the heart. In reality, while you can certainly put a smile on your children’s faces with a delicious meal, you need to consider the bigger picture. Don’t just think about how food affects your family, but evaluate the importance of the kitchen in your household. Indeed, the kitchen is by far one of the most important rooms in your house: It’s a place dedicated to nourishing the family and preparing them for the challenges of the day to come. It’s also an area of your home that is closely connected with your health, both physical and mental. Consequently, your role as a mom is to make sure that the kitchen is a haven of health for all.
Keep your kitchen fresh and healthy
A kitchen is a lot of work; delegate a little
You know it: Running your household can be stressful and exhausting. And while some people are born natural homemakers, most of us have to work hard to make it work and manage both family and household duties. But as a mom, you’ve got an advantage that nobody else has. You can share the kitchen maintenance with your family. Indeed, delegating tasks is also part of your kitchen responsibilities – trying to manage it by yourself all the time will only lead to high stress levels. So why not let your kids give you a hand? You might need to invest in little gadgets that can make your life easier. Using a peri bottle as a dish soap holder, for instance, can make it easier for small hands – or for a mom holding a baby – to gain full access and be able to do the dishes!
The unwanted visitor you don’t want to see
You might not know it, but the food you’ve got in your cupboard has an odor. While you can’t smell it when it’s still in its package, other creatures with a better-developed sense of smell know exactly what’s going on. You may not notice anything different until one day, you get the oats out of the cupboard and realize that the box has some holes. You might even get to see some tiny droppings hidden at the back of the cupboard. Yes, you know what this means: A mouse family lives in your home. How can you best get rid of those unwanted guests? You can afford to waste any time. At the first sign of droppings, it’s best to get in touch with a professional pest control company that can evaluate the occupation and the risks. You might also want to check all electric appliances in the kitchen: MIce love to chew cables!
What’s in your pantry?
The kitchen is the place where most common diseases are developed. From diabetes to obesity, what you eat affects your health. Consequently, as a parent, you need to make sure that your family is encouraged to follow a healthy diet. Ultimately, it starts with the pantry organization. Indeed, if you can make healthy food look appetizing, your children will be more likely to eat well-balanced meals than to grab a pack of chips. It’s always an exciting idea to keep your pasta and rice in cute glass jars – make it a habit of buying brown rice and alternative kinds of pasta to make sure your display is as healthy as pretty. You can also add a jar of oatmeal and one of nuts and seeds to make breakfasts more fun.
Beware of the Halloween pumpkins
It’s nearly time to carve the pumpkins! Most accidents that happen at home during the Halloween period are linked to carving injuries. Consequently, you need to take all the precautions you can to keep your family healthy during the pumpkin season. For a start, if you haven’t yet, you should keep the carving tools away from children – they should be kept in a box outside of the kitchen. Additionally, young children can be kept entertained by painting a small pumpkin while you can carve a proper-sized one carefully. This will avoid stress and injuries!
Mindless snacking is a no go
Ultimately, when the weather goes cold and gray – as it is the case during the winter months – it can be tempting to look for an indulging snack. Biscuits, cookies and chocolate bars are some of the favorite snacks when the temperatures drop. However, in an effort to encourage the family to stay healthy – and to help children to nourish their bodies with all the vitamins they need – you might want to keep the sweet snacks hidden in the cupboard and replace them with a bowl of fresh fruit. Using a fruit basket filled with healthy options that keep your fruit fresh and yummy is the best investment you can make for your kitchen health!
Your kids probably consume too much sugar
Do you know that American toddlers consume over 7 teaspoons of sugar per day, which is more than the recommended amount for adults? You may not think you are feeding your kids too much sugar, but it can be present as a hidden ingredient in a lot of processed and pre-packed food. As sugar can dramatically affect the development of infants and creates addiction in the future life, it’s essential to learn to differentiate healthy from unhealthy foods.
All natural cleaning
Your kitchen is a living area. Children who play in the kitchen or help to prepare the food can accidentally ingest toxic chemicals. While every parent knows to childproof the kitchen and store cleaning products away, you can take a step further and ditch the poisonous chemicals altogether. Indeed, you can keep the room clean with safe DIY alternatives. White vinegar is a base ingredient as it’s a natural disinfectant and is excellent at eliminating grease and grime. You can add a few drops of essential oil for smell and antiseptic properties!
Do you have a pet?
If you have a dog or a cat, you need to make sure that the kitchen is safe for them too. Indeed, pets are naturally curious. To avoid any accidents, you need a garbage can they can’t open – or push open with the nose or the paw. Additionally, you need to be very cautious about the food you leave around. A lot of your favorite ingredients are poisonous to dogs and cats. Most pet owners know that chocolate can cause vomiting, seizure and heart arrhythmias in pets, but not many realize that sharing a slice of fatty bacon could cause health issues to their furry friend.
Who wants mold in the kitchen?
You may not notice it at first, but when you begin to smell the distinctive musty odor, it means you’ve got a patch of mold in your kitchen. A water leak under the sink can encourage the apparition of mildew and mold. Similarly, if your kitchen fan isn’t effective, you may not be able to get rid of the excess dampness that occurs when cooking. It’s important to keep your eyes open for any risk factor in the fridge, around the sink, and with your cooking utensils.
Get the right color for the room
Last, but not least, your kitchen is designed to make you feel happy. It’s the room where you prepare the family meals. Consequently, you need to pick a color palette that boosts your mood. A dark kitchen can encourage you to opt for an indulging and unhealthy diet to compensate the mood factor. Instead, you should pick bright and vibrant color schemes such as yellow, green, orange and pink.
Your kitchen deserves several chapters in a health guide. It is, indeed, a challenging area that affects your body energy, your mental health and the health of your family – including pets. But everybody knows that a good day starts with a delicious breakfast in the kitchen. The challenge is to make every day fantastic!
Preparing Your Family For A New Baby
If you’re pregnant, it’s important you prepare your existing family for a new baby – especially the children you already have! Depending on their ages, they may feel mixed emotions about having a new sibling. Some may be excited, some may be scared, others may be resentful. It can depend on their age, as well as how you handle the situation from the time you announce your pregnancy to the time the baby is born. When you’re preparing for a new baby it is always daunting, whether the pregnancy be through IVF from Fertility Plus or natural conception.
Using the tips and advice here will help you to prepare your family for a new baby as best you possibly can. Take a look now and ensure everybody is ready:
During Pregnancy
During your pregnancy, it’s important you know the right time to tell your existing children. Children ages 1-2 may not understand, but your attitude will rub off on them, so it’s important to be excited! Children 2-4 are still very clingy, so it’s important you are delicate about the situation and ensure that they know they will still get your love and attention. Involving them can help to get them excited. It’s also important that you involve older children, and that you talk about their feelings with them. Don’t invalidate them or tell them they are being silly. Some children may even regress a little and start speaking in baby talk. This is all down to them being afraid that they won’t get a look in anymore.
When explaining when the baby will arrive, try using the season rather than saying in a few months. Children don’t often understand the concept of months, so say the baby will be born when the weather gets warmer/cooler, for example. If they ask questions, answer them in an age appropriate way. For example, tell them babies come from the uterus if they ask where they come from – you don’t need to talk to them about sex, unless you feel they are old enough to understand. You can also try looking at baby pictures from when they were little, and coming up with names together. Consider going to listen to the baby’s heartbeat as a family. Some of these things can be difficult if you have made the choice to use surrogacy or another method, but you must still prepare your children and explain to them the best way you can..
Sibling birth classes may also be useful, where children will learn how to hold a baby, amongst other things.
Planning For The Birth
When you are planning for the birth, make sitter arrangements and explain to your kids what will happen when the time comes, so there are no nasty surprises for them. Make sure you let your child visit in hospital soon after the baby is born, and have minimal visitors to ensure it is an intimate family event. This will allow your children to create a bond with the baby early on. You might even consider letting your children to help you to pack your hospital bag.
Bringing The Baby Home
When you bring the baby home, involve your child as much as you can so they don’t feel left out. Your child might like to help you dress, burp, bathe, or entertain the baby. This will give them a sense of responsibility, and is another great way for them to bond with the baby. Ensure you take advantage of one on one time with older kids when the baby is sleeping, as this will help to ease any resentment that may be present, and prove to them that you’re not going to forget about them. It can be a good idea to have a set time for spending time with them so that you stick to it. You might also want to do something special with them/for them, such as take them to the park or buy them a small gift. When you are expecting, buying gifts for the little one is very important. Why not try one of the best electric cars for kids, they are great fun!
It can be tempting to have your kids home from school or nursery, as if you’re home, it may feel like everybody should be home. However, it’s best to keep kids in a routine at this time, or you will confuse them further.
child
Start preparing for the birth of your new baby as soon as possible, so you can ensure the whole family is super excited. You might be surprised at how well your child takes to sibling-hood. If you’d like even more tips and ideas, you can speak to mums with multiple children and see if their insight can help you.
Leave your own thoughts and ideas below!