Interior design has the power to truly transform a property, but that doesn’t mean that any design upgrades will have your house feeling like yours. If your house feels out of balance, less than personalized, or decorated to someone else’s taste, your beloved property isn’t going to feel like that safe, homely space that you deserve it to be.

This guide will help you to think differently about your space and how you can make it more tailored for you.

6 Signs Your House Needs a More Homely Touch

1. There are not enough personal items in your home
2. You don’t feel comfortable with the way it’s decorated
3. It feels more like a show home than a personal home
4. Others have commented that it doesn’t feel like your space
5. Your property lacks coziness or warmth
6. You feel like you’d enjoy more company in the property, as it lacks signs of activity
   
   

How to Make Your House a Home: A Guide

Put Time and Energy into Your Bedroom

Your home should be a safe space to sleep at night where you can relax and forget about the stresses of the day. That’s why your bedroom is going to be one of the most important rooms in your home. If you’ve neglected the bedroom, it can have you feeling less than relaxed when you retire for the night. Especially if you haven’t put much thought into decorating, cold and bare bedrooms with no personal amenities can make a bedroom feel uninviting.

The most important aspect of a bedroom to think about is the bed. Your bed should be completely tailored for you and how you like to sleep so that you can call it your own. If you have a bed that isn’t your preference — such as a mattress which isn’t your desired firmness, or maybe even a bed frame that was gifted or furnished with the property that you don’t particularly like — then you aren’t going to feel fully connected to your bedroom space when you’re trying to relax.

Therefore think about upgrading your bed, choosing the perfect mattress for you, and furnishing your bed (and room) with soft, cozy furnishings and items which help you to personally relax.

Choose a colour scheme for the room which best helps you relax, too. The bedroom is always a room worth decorating. If blue is a colour that soothes you the most, then make sure this appears somewhere in the room. Or, if dark and bold colours are your preference to help you feel at home, then make sure they’re there.

Get a Pet

Pets do make a house a home. They provide a warm greeting for you when you arrive home, they provide lots of activity for the property if you get an active animal like a dog or a cat, and they provide love and companionship. Getting a pet can be perfect if you live alone and would like to fill your property with extra company and liveliness, or they can be the perfect completion for family life if you have young children (or are planning on any).

The right pet for your home will depend on your budget, the type of pet you’re looking for, how much time and energy you can spare, and what your particular property can provide. The following are some pet tips to help you decide.

Dogs are a great option for lively companionship, home protection, and an active lifestyle.

Cats are a great option for loving companionship, but if you don’t have a lot of time to spare for daily walks.

Small pets are perfect for those who don’t want bigger or active pets, and animals like hamsters or rabbits can be great for indoors.

Exotic pets are a great choice if you want something different and would like to keep a tank or cage indoors, such as lizards or snakes.

Whatever pet you choose, always remember to have a good vet selected, like an Easy Vet clinic, for health checkups and initial vaccinations if you are getting a young pet.

Put Personal Items on Show

This doesn’t mean that you have to put every photograph you own on every shelf or clutter rooms with personal items. Even minimalists can enjoy a few very important personal items in their space. Think about some treasured items that you would really love to show off or would make you happy to see every day. This could be your favourite books on a shelf, a photograph you particularly love, a unique piece of wall art, or maybe a wall of trophies you’ve won over the years.

Anything personal you can introduce to your space will have it feeling like yours, and yours alone, because only you can have those memories or make those particular design decisions with your belongings.

Don’t Be Afraid of Clutter

It’s okay to be tidy, and in fact, it’s encouraged, but also allow yourself to let items stay on display. It’s these small touches that can really have your property feeling like a home. This could be your favourite pair of shoes always left on a mat by the door instead of packed away. It could be a coat rack on display instead of coats stored in cupboards or behind doors. It could be the bookmarked novel you were reading left askew on the coffee table or your favourite cozy blanket left in your favourite spot on the sofa instead of neatly folded away.

All of this is evidence of your daily life in your home, and if you try to remain too tidy or remove any evidence of you going about your daily routine, it’s going to feel too much like a show home without much personality.

Final Thoughts

Only you can know what would make you feel more at home on your own property. Is it a certain colour of the wall, a particular photograph on the shelf, or merely letting yourself be a bit messier and leaving out your favourite daily items? Making your house a home is all about extra personality, coziness, and whatever you can do to feel more relaxed.

I can't believe 2022 is already here! Looking back, it feels like I didn't accomplish much the past year with the pandemic and Omicron variant still going strong. I know it might seem like we were never able to see light at the end of the tunnel. But on a positive note, there was still a lot to be thankful for. I was able to see my friends and family a lot more in 2021 compared to the previous year. I was able to take Justice out more often for some basic childhood activities after the lockdown was over. I got to celebrate my grandmother's 94th birthday when dine-in was allowed. Despite being a small, intimate celebration, she was happy she could see the people she cared for. And seeing her happy is one of my greatest joys.

I've returned to work in Fall from my maternity leave. There was a lot of uncertainty returning to work but thankfully, the transition back to work was relatively smooth and manageable. I'm lucky that Will was able to help out and look after Justice in the morning while I work. I also got accepted to a new job just before the holidays. It was something I wanted to pursue before I had Justice and now I have a second chance. I'm most excited about the new year because now I have a new job to look forward to.

Sales from my Etsy shop hit an all-time high. 2021 was the best year yet since launch. And I'm super thankful for all your support!

I hope you too were able to find things to be thankful for no matter how small they are. Let's hope that 2022 will be a better year!

Here's a recap of my posts from 2021.

Family matching pyjamas from Iffei

A Year in Review:

HOME

1. 7 Ways to Decorate You Home for Winter
2. Cute Ways to Improve Your Small Kitchen
3. 6 Ways to Introduce Farmhouse Design to Your Home
4. Useful Home Improvements that Make Your Life Easier

LIFESTYLE

1. Yoga Keep Us Healthy During Pandemic
2. 5 Tips to Look After Your Teeth
3. Inspo for Hosting an Intimate Wedding
4. 6 Deep Cleaning Tips for Your Home
5. How to Cut Down on Your Electricity Bills This Spring
6. Quirky Ways to Repurpose Your Old Possessions
7. Easy Ways to Keep on Top of Your Bathroom Cleaning
8. 6 Ways to Get Your Family Fit and Healthy This Fall
9. Heartfelt Personalized Christmas Gift Idea From Hooray Heroes

MOTHERHOOD

1. Justice's Superhero First Birthday Party
2. 7 Ways Friends and Family Can Lend New Parents a Hand
3. Personalized Gift Ideas for Parents and Children
4. How to Baby Proof Your Home
5. Nursery Room Update
6. Easiest Way to Holiday Shop For Your Children

TRAVEL

1. Weekend Getaway to Florence
2. Top Tips to Avoid Dehydration When You Go on Holiday
3. 5 Tasks to Do Before Road Trip
4. 7 Simple Hacks to Make Traveling Easier

DIY/TUTORIAL

1. DIY Christmas Holiday Shaker Cards
2. Love is in the Air Papercut Valentine's Day Card
3. DIY Stamped Christmas Wrapping Paper
4. DIY Yarn-Wrapped Letter Ornaments
5. 5 DIY Ideas for Valentine's Day
6. Easter Bunny Hot Chocolate Bombs
7. DIY Superhero First Birthday Party
8. Best Mom Ever Papercut Mother's Day Card

FASHION

1. A Guide to Looking Fabulous for Summer
2. Pink Tropical Family Matching Swimwear

FOOD

1. Recipe: Fiery Bulgogi Kimchi Burger

Every year, I try to add some new ornaments to our Christmas tree. And this year is no different. I added a few including these yarn-wrapped letter ornaments that I made from my Amazon cardboard boxes and yarn that I have lying around my house. I made the letters in our initials and they turned out super cute! 

Justice loves these ornaments since he's at the stage where he can identify alphabets. He'd point at his initial and say, "J" out loud. He had fun helping me put up ornaments to our tree. But at the same time, it makes me realize how fast he's growing up. He was only able to crawl under the tree and touch the ornaments at the bottom last holiday. 

I think this DIY ornament would be a great craft idea to do with kids too. It's so simple and requires almost zero cost (well, except the money that actually went into your Amazon purchases). But isn't it fabulous to put those Amazon boxes to good use? And nobody could tell that these were made from cardboard boxes!

How to Make Yarn-Wrapped Letter Ornaments

Supplies you'll need:

• White Yarn 
• Tinsel Yarn (I got mine from Oomomo's craft section!)
• Cardboard (Put those Amazon boxes to use!)
• Mini pom poms (The dollar store is your best friend)
• Scissors
• Glue gun
• Tape (optional)

Instructions:

Trace out letters onto your cardboard and cut them out with scissors. I cut 3 pieces for each letter to add some dimension to the letters.

Then, glue the end of the yarn to the letter and start wrapping the letter until the entire letter is covered. Seal the yarn end with hot glue.

Cut out a piece from the tinsel yarn and tie a knot at the bottom. Hot glue the knot onto the top of the letter. And that's it!

This tutorial is so straightforward. But in case, you want to watch how I did it. Head over to my Instagram for the video of this tutorial.

I hope you like this DIY tutorial! If you give this a try, be sure to share your pictures with me on Instagram and tag @tingandthings_ or use hashtag #diywithting. I'd love to see your take on it!


Happy crafting and have a wonderful holiday!

Check out my other Christmas DIY ideas!

DIY Stamped Holiday Wrapping Paper

DIY Holiday Shaker Cards

DIY Paper Cutout Holiday Cards

Make Your Own Holiday Cutout Cards

Rudolph the Reindeer Christmas Cake Pops

DIY Gold Hand Lettering Christmas Ornament

Sweetest Present to Give: Christmas Cupcakes Bouquet 

Tis' the Season to Make Gingerbread Cookies

Holly Jolly Chocolate Cake Pops

I'm not sure about you but comes the holiday season, I'm always in search of the most perfect and meaningful gifts for my loved ones. When Justice turned one, I made him a special personalized book from Hooray Heroes and loved it. So it's a no-brainer that they'd have something unique for this holiday. And, they do not disappoint. They've got a great selection of personalized Christmas books for husband, wife, partner and children!

 
What makes Hooray Heroes storybooks so special is that you can personalize the characters to look like yourself and your kids, combine with beautifully written stories and vibrant illustrations. I ended up choosing this Mommy-and-kiddo book that imagines what my little boy might wish for his mommy. 

Personalize Gifts with Hooray Heroes

With a few simple clicks, I can preview how my book looks like with our names and personalized characters in the stories. The toughest part I must say though is choosing the 10 stories/wishes. Each one is heartfelt and sweet to read. I spent a lot of time reading the stories and choosing which ones to include in our book. 

Here are the stories that I get to choose from:

• Training with Reindeer
• Writing to Santa
• Winter Walk
• Toy Factory
• Delivering Santa's Letters
• Bringing the Tree Home
• Xmas Sweater Selfies
• Decorating the Tree
• Gift City
• Making Up New Traditions
• Snowman Beach Party
• Reading Stories by the Fire
• Making Snowflakes
• Baking Cookies
• Making Snow Angels
  
  

Besides storybooks, Hooray Heroes also offer other personalized gifts for other occasions. I'm eyeing their "Fun Family of Three" personalized puzzle for Justice! 

Take a look at how their personalized storybook magic comes to life.

This is a sponsored post by Hooray Heroes. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

As parents, we want to give our children everything in this world, we want to provide them with what they ask for within reason. While it's recommended to buy toys that help in learning and development, we tend to buy things they've been asking for most during the holiday season. Below is a simple approach to follow to make our holiday shopping easier.

The simplest way is to shop for things that follow these four categories: Wants, Needs, Wear, Read. You don't have to stick to the philosophy of just one item per category but it's a great method to implement to make sure the holiday gifts are both something useful and something they'd like. Let's expand on each section to get a sense of the things you could gift in each area.

Wants

For this category, you get to have a lot of fun. Perhaps, they want an elaborate dollhouse or train set that they've been eyeing for a long time. Expensive video game systems or anything else you wouldn't usually buy on a typical Target run falls into this category. This category is also useful when other people shop for your child. It's like putting together a wish list. This is especially useful for yourself too to indicate to your partner what you want for the holidays. You might be eyeing the most popular perfumes or a pair of boots. You can be specific with your list. The holidays can be stressful for mamas, and we deserve to get a treat too!

Needs

You know your children's needs best. Does your child need a new snowsuit or new winter boots? These are the types of things you can buy from this category. You can also include big-ticket items like a "big kid bed" if your toddler is transitioning out of their crib or toddler bed. You can even get your family members to help get the items in this category too. When you buy from this category, you'd know the items will be used and not wasted.

Wear

While some items in the "needs" category can also fall into this category - let's face it, children run through and ruin clothes pretty quickly! So, you can go for items that they could wear a lot, something trendy or you can make it seasonal. Since the holidays occur during wintertime, the wear category could include warm, winter clothing like mittens, scarfs and toques. 

Read

The holidays are all about making memories with our loved ones, and that includes our children! Studies show that reading with one another can be beneficial to children's language development. Instilling a love of reading and learning in your children is helpful for the long run. So feel free to splurge in this category! The more extensive your child's library, the more diverse the selection is for them to choose from - and you! We've all been there reading their same favourite book night after night, and as much as we love it, it can also get old! Books are great options for other people looking to buy a gift for your child during the holidays. You might even want to consider a gift card from your local book store so the child can choose a book on their own - it also eliminates the chance of getting duplicates that you would have to return or donate.

Utilizing the want, need, wear, read method of shopping will save you a ton of time, energy, and money. As parents, sometimes it might seem like we don't have enough of one or all of these categories. So, if you're feeling overwhelmed this time of year, as many can, try implementing this method for a more effortless shopping experience. That way, you have plenty of time to enjoy the time with your kids and other loved ones, which is what the season is all about. Have a Happy Holidays!

If you're looking for ways to add some personal touch or pizazz to your gifts this holiday season, I've got you covered! In this tutorial, I'll show you how you can make your own stamped Christmas wrapping paper that will definitely make your gifts unique and stand out under the Christmas tree. 

Forget store-bought wrapping paper and make your recipient feel extra special with this DIY wrapping paper that you create using a stamp made from an eraser! All you need is a simple polymer eraser that you can purchase from any dollar store, some carving tools, paper (of course), a stamp pad and a pair of crafty hands. 

How to make your own gift wrapping paper with a stamp carved from an eraser 

There's something about carving an easer that makes it so therapeutic to me. With the right tool (I used Speedball carving tools),  the blade just glides onto the polymer material so smoothly. It's like gliding through butter! And, the possibilities are endless. I can go from the simplest shape to a more intricate pattern like a greeting or a phrase. 

And the best thing? No two papers are the same. It's low cost to make and you can reuse the stamp every year. Just switch out the ink colour and experiment with different colour paper for a whole new look. Let's get right into it, shall we?

Supplies You'll Need:

• Speedball carving tools
• Polymer eraser 
• Pencil
• Kraft paper
• Ink Pad
• Printer (optional)

Instructions:

First, type out the greeting in a font that you like. Choose a font that is bold with straight, simple lines. The thicker the strokes are, the easier it is to carve. Avoid fonts that are very thin with a lot of curvy lines. Mirror this font so that it's flipped horizontally and print it out. 

Then, with a pencil, trace the outline of your font. Put your outline directly onto your eraser and burnish the font by shading over the back of the outline. The outline of the text will appear on the eraser on the right side.

Start carving out the unwanted areas (not your text!) carefully with your blade. I like to start with a smaller blade to carve an outline of the text first. Then, carve larger areas towards the text outline. That way, I could avoid carving the text because the outline serves as a border for my larger blade to stop. There's no right or wrong technique here, as long as you're carving the unwanted areas. Refine as needed. 

Lastly, plot the eraser onto an ink pad and stamp it onto the paper. That's it! 

Check out my video below to see these steps in action.

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A post shared by Ms. Ting Ting | Ting & Things (@tingandthings_)

I also carved Justice's face on another eraser. The possibilities are endless! 

I think I might have started a new obsession with stamping! I hope you like this DIY tutorial! If you give this a try, be sure to share your pictures with me on Instagram and tag @tingandthings_ or use hashtag #diywithting. I'd love to see your take on it!

Happy crafting and have a wonderful holiday!

Check out my other Christmas DIY ideas!

DIY Christmas Holiday Shaker Cards

DIY Paper Cutout Christmas Holiday Cards

Make Your Own Christmas Cutout Cards

Rudolph the Reindeer Christmas Cake Pops

DIY Gold Hand Lettering Christmas Ornament

Sweetest Present to Give: Christmas Cupcakes Bouquet 

Tis' the Season to Make Gingerbread Cookies

Holly Jolly Chocolate Cake Pops

Hello everyone, I can't wait to share with you my latest shaker cards for the Christmas holiday! In case you don't know what shaker cards are, they are cards that have clear windows and are filled with little bits of decorative items such as confetti, sequins or ornament fillers. I'm so in love with how they turned out and they are so easy to make! Follow along my step-by-step tutorial and learn how to make these shaker cards with my hand-lettered svg file at the bottom of this post.

Supplies You'll Need:

• White and red cardstock
• Ornament fillers/sequins/confetti
• Acetate
• My handlettered SVG file
• Foam mounting tape, glue/adhesive tape
• Cricut or other cutting machines

Instructions:

To make these cards, You'll need some cardstocks. Choose a colour for the outer layer (I used red) and a lighter colour for the inside. I used white for higher contrast but you can reverse the colours for a different look, like my papercut holiday cards, for example.

To create this card, you'll need my SVG file for your cutting machine (I use Cricut). Load the svg file onto Design Space and click Make it! Put red cardstock onto your cutting mat. Press the Load button. I like to use the default settings (fine point blade) for cutting paper materials. Choose cardstock setting (unless you're using a different kind of material, then you'd need to choose that specific setting for that) to cut the file onto the cardstock.

Now, you should have the red outer layer in 4.25 x 5.5" cut out as the front window trim of your shaker greeting card. Next, you'll need to create the actual window using the acetate. Cut out your acetate in the same size (4.25"x5.5" or slightly smaller) and attach it to the back of the red layer using glue or adhesive tape. 

Create a border to contain all your fillers by attaching your foam mounting tape along the edge of the red layer and acetate. Next step is my favourite part, add the fillers, confetti, glitters (you can get creative here!) inside your border. You'd want to make sure that you leave a bit of room for these fillers to move around when you shake the card. So don't go overboard with your fillers!

Take a piece of white cardstock and trim to the size of 8.5 x 5.5" and fold in half. This will be the inner layer for your personal message. To close off the window and contain the fillers, peel off your foam mounting tape and carefully attach the front of your white cardstock onto the border. The fold should be on the right hand side of the red layer. You'd want to make sure the red and white layers align with each other for a cleaner look. Apply pressure onto the card and that's it! 

You've just created a beautiful shaker card! Pretty easy, right? I love the endless possibilities for these shaker cards and they are soooo fun.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ms. Ting Ting | Ting & Things (@tingandthings_)

I hope you like this DIY tutorial! If you give this a try, be sure to share your pictures with me on Instagram and tag @tingandthings_ or use hashtag #diywithting. I'd love to see your take on it!

If you don't have time to make your own, you can also grab this card made for you in my shop as well! 

May your holiday sparkle like these shaker cards! 

Happy creating! 

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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links and I may receive a cute commission if you make a purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support :)

Check out my other Christmas DIY ideas!

DIY Papercut Christmas Holiday Cards

Rudolph the Reindeer Christmas Cake Pops (Tutorial)

DIY Gold Hand Lettering Christmas Ornament (Tutorial)

Sweetest Present to Give: Christmas Cupcakes Bouquet (Tutorial)

Tis' the Season to Make Gingerbread Cookies

Holly Jolly Chocolate Cake Pops (Tutorial)

During recent times, many of us have understandably fallen into bad habits and been pulled in by the temptation of munching on a bit too much fast food and sugary snacks for convenience at home. So, it’s time for your family to get active again and start following a healthier lifestyle.

We have come up with some suggestions of ways you can make sure your family gets fit and healthy once again this fall.

Why Ensuring You Do Physical Activity and Get Plenty of Exercises is So Important for Your Family

Exercise is essential to your family’s physical and mental wellbeing. Being more physically active helps improve essential organs such as your heart and lungs and means your body is much better equipped to fight off infections and diseases.

Staying physically fit is particularly important if you know your family has a history of a genetic family predisposition to serious health conditions such as heart and lung disease and cancer.

Making sure you’re physically fit is important for your daily family life. Being physically fit will help you to make sure daily tasks around the house get done such as chores, gardening, washing the car (s), and so on.

Make Sure as a Family You Follow a Healthy and Balanced Diet

Eating a healthy and balanced diet is crucial for enabling your family to stay active, keeping the pounds off, and looking after your bodies properly.

Watching what you eat is important to staying healthy and having a good diet. The seven factors essential for a balanced diet are carbs, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and water. Eating plenty of fruit and veg and getting in those vitamins is vital for a healthy diet. The WHO (World Health Organisation) advises people to make sure they have 5 fruit and vegetables a day. Your family getting their 5 fruit and veg a day will make you all less at risk of suffering serious health conditions such as heart problems, cancer, and strokes.

It’s also important that members of your family monitor how much they eat so that you don’t all end up piling on the pounds or suffering from malnutrition if you don’t get enough nutrients from your diet. Daily guidelines recommend consuming around 2500 calories for men and 2000 calories for women.

Undeniably, anyone who has ever lived in the U.S will know that the temptations of eating junk food and drinking sugary drinks are everywhere. Your family may just need a little injection of motivation and self-discipline to follow a healthy and balanced diet.

Activities You Can Do That are Ideal for Getting You Fit as a Family

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends that adults should do around 150 minutes a week or 30 minutes a day Monday-Friday of moderate aerobic activity, this includes exercise such as jogging or quick brisk walking. Children should be even more active and do more exercise as they have more energy.

So, getting off the sofa and tearing your family away from the screens at home, and doing some exercise together is a great way to bond as a family unit and stay healthy.

Cycling

Cycling is a fantastic activity to do as a family. Cycling provides a great workout for your heart, lungs, and blood vessels. If you’re going out on a cycling adventure with your family in a remote rural location that isn’t easy to get to you may find it useful to learn how to fix a flat bicycle tire. Getting bike insurance is a wise idea and choosing the reliable national bike insurance provider Velosurance is a top way of covering your family and your bikes for injuries, theft, damage, and liability if you damage other people’s property whilst riding.

Swimming

Swimming is another activity you can do as a family which is a fantastic exercise for the entire body. So, get your swimming shorts and bathing costumes out of the drawers at home and head on down to your local swimming pool together for some family fun that will also have a positive impact on your family’s health.

Jogging or Running

Running is a form of physical exercise you can do pretty much anywhere and at any time. Running is also fantastic for your cardiac health and getting the blood pumping all around your body. So, get yourself fit and active by going out running as a family and try to keep up with the kids this fall if you possibly can.

Research shows that being physically active can increase your life expectancy by up to 6.9 years. Making sure that you stay active and do physical exercise, so you all stay healthy and in good shape is important for ensuring that as a family you can enjoy plenty more memorable happy moments together long into the future.

During the pandemic, we have been dreaming of being able to enjoy a relaxing break away and going on holiday once again someday. Do you enjoy going on sweltering hot beach holidays during the summer months and coming back home with an impressive glowing tan? Do you go on adventurous activity holidays and exert yourself physically and do lots of exercise? Making sure that you don’t fall seriously ill by getting seriously dehydrated whilst away on holiday is essential, and the consequences of not taking precautions and dealing with your dehydration in time can be fatal.

We have come up with some top tips on how you can avoid getting dehydrated, so you are free to fully take advantage of the moment, enjoy the now and have fun during your break away.

You Need to Look Out for the Key Signs That Your Body is Getting Dehydrated

So how can you know when you are becoming dehydrated on holiday and know when it is time for you to take action? There a several clear signs to look out for that indicate you are getting dehydrated on your trip away:

• Developing dry skin, mouth, lips, and eye beds
• Feeling thirsty
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Your urine smelling or being a dark color
• Passing less urine than usual
• Low Blood Pressure

If you start to notice one or several of these symptoms of dehydration together it tells you clearly that your body is getting dehydrated, and you should not wait about, act fast to get yourself rehydrated again.

Make Sure You Take Plenty of Fluids

The most essential way to ensure your body’s tissues and kidneys get enough water that they need to function properly and so you don’t become dehydrated is by consuming plenty of fluids and drinking lots of water. Drinking water is much better for you than drinking sugary drinks such as soda.

It can be easy to lose track of time and forget to drink when you’re laying back relaxing reading a book in the sun on a sun lounger, spending the day going skiing or snowboarding with friends in the mountains, or going on adventurous hiking walks. You should have a great holiday and make memories that will last a lifetime, whilst also making an effort to make sure that you take in plenty of fluids on a regular basis

Make Sure Your Body Gets Enough Electrolytes

There are several ways you can deal with dehydration on holiday and take effective action to deal with it immediately. Some measures to combat dehydration once you realize that you’re dehydrated include drinking more water, sitting in the shade out of the sun, wearing a cap, relaxing and taking a break from physical exercise, seeking urgent medical help if you need it and maybe even going to a local hospital and having an IV drip to quickly get fluids into your body. Dehydration affects your kidney function, and you get dehydrated when your kidney is not able to get enough of the electrolytes that it needs such as magnesium, potassium, and sodium. To make sure your body is able to get enough electrolytes whilst you are away on holiday, check out these hydration drops from DripDrop ORS.

Take Breaks to Relax After Spending Time in the Sun or Doing Any Physical Activity

If you have been being doing physical activities on your holiday such as walking, climbing, snowboarding, skiing, sailing, fishing, and maybe even bungee jumping, you will most definitely feel quite tired and exhausted. Doing lots of strenuous physical exercise always has an impact on the body, so you most certainly don’t have to be on holiday in an extremely hot destination to become severely dehydrated.

It’s advisable that you take regular breaks from the sun if you are on a holiday in a hot place. Go and sit indoors or under a veranda roof in the shade to let yourself cool off and give yourself a nice much needed break from the constant heat. Spending too much time with your body openly exposed to the sun without being under any shade can leave you severely dehydrated as your body loses water and can cause long-term damage to your skin.

Taking breaks is not only important for avoiding dehydration on sunny hot holidays, but your body will also need a rest on any holiday where you are physically exerting yourself a lot. Do not forget the cardinal rule that the main aim of holidays is primarily for you to take some time relax and chill. You most certainly want to avoid the hassle of getting severely dehydrated and then having to use your holiday insurance to pay for an IV drip and spending your precious holiday time in a hospital.

So, with everything starting to open up again, flights to destinations abroad operating, and travel becoming possible again if you take a few simple coronavirus tests, why not go on an exciting trip away? Just don’t forget to look after your body and stay properly hydrated.

The bathroom is one of those rooms that always seem to get dirty again just as soon as you have finished cleaning it. Rather than let it get grimy and then sweep in and give it all a clean, it can be better to just do a little bit here and there. Here are some of the easiest ways for you to stay on top of your bathroom cleaning.

Have Everything Ready in the Bathroom

Try to ensure that you have all the cleaning materials you want to use ready and waiting for you in the bathroom. As lazy as it sounds, it can be so easy to just think “I’ll do that later” if you have to trek halfway across your home to pick up cleaning supplies.

Put aside space in your bathroom cupboard so you have easy access to everything you might need for a quick wipe down. You will obviously need cleaning products and a sponge or two, but there are a few other items that can be useful to keep a hold of. An old toothbrush is great for cleaning drains, tiles, and other hard-to-reach places. An old towel and a squeegee will prove to be vital in removing water droplets that could leave streaks. If you have a bin in your bathroom, make sure that the right bin bags are also with this little collection of cleaning materials. With everything close at hand, you will find it very easy to grab whatever you might need to be able to whip around and make things clean.

Look for Preventative Steps

There will be several things out there that you can try if you want to take preventative action in your bathroom. If you can think of a few things that will help prevent the mess from building up, then try to implement them in your bathroom. For example, if you do have a squeegee to help get rid of watermarks, make sure that it gets used. Make it mandatory that after a shower you need to wipe the screen down. If everyone in the household gets into the habit of doing so, it will make cleaning the shower even easier.

Cleaning out your drains can also be one of the most unpleasant tasks in looking after your bathroom. Using a drain protector from TubShroom will make this much easier to manage. Simple changes such as this might be all that you need to help introduce some preventative steps that will help to keep your bathroom cleaner for longer.

Tackle Mould as It Appears

Mould loves humid and damp places, and there is no room in your home that is as humid and damp as your bathroom. You need to just accept that you are going to get mould here and try to come up with some ways that you can fight against it.

A deep clean of your grouting every now and then will be a great preventative measure. Use that old toothbrush to scrub some bleach in between the tiles and grouting and leave it to sit for a bit. Rinse away what is left, and you will hopefully take away the mould with it. Make sure you buy some cleaning products that are good for tackling mould too and try to give affected areas a scrub as soon as mould begins to grow there. Don’t give the mould a chance to grow – instead tackle it as it appears and you will have a much more pleasant bathroom overall.

Be Disciplined

You won’t see any improvement in your bathroom if you are not prepared to be disciplined and actually stick to the decisions that you have made. You could have everything you need to clean at your fingertips, but you need to be the one to make the decision to actually have a whip-round and ensure that everything is indeed clean. If you want to enjoy a clean bathroom, you need to make sure that it is going to be kept in that condition.

It can be truly astonishing just how quickly a bathroom can get dirty again. It does not matter if you live alone or as part of a massive household – if you aren’t prepared to step in and clean where necessary then you are going to quickly discover that things will get grimy very quickly.

Staying on top of the cleaning in a bathroom is easier than you might imagine. Even a wipe-down at the end of each day will make a massive difference – and it is easy for you to do before bed! Take the time to work out how you can always keep your bathroom as clean as can be.