At the Fence

Running a household is exhausting. Not only do you have the mission of keeping your children healthy and happy but also you and perhaps even your partner healthy and happy. It’s a 24/7 job, and you never have any idea if you’re doing it correctly or not because there’s no boss who can tell you either way. However, there are basic guidelines you could follow when it comes to maintaining a healthy standard of living and a home which is hygienic both in terms of the household itself and the people who live within it. Here are some ways in which you could keep the family healthier at home. Picture Source The diet. It’s so important that you get the family diet right. No “fad” diets; ensure that what you’re eating is healthy rather than cutting down on the amount you eat . Skipping breakfast does more harm than good, though you likely wouldn’t let anyone in the household do that anyway. Think about replacing empty carbohydrates with nutritional ones wherever you can; ditch the ma

Having your home broken into is one of the most unpleasant things that you can possibly experience. Sure, there's the initial horror of the damage done to your home and the loss of valuable or expensive possessions, but there's something that goes deeper than that. There's simply something horrible about having to face the idea that someone was able to invade the place that you consider to be your sanctuary. That someone was able to get into your home, the place where you're supposed to feel safer and more secure than anywhere else in the world, and that they were able to do it without you ever knowing. This kind of emotional trauma is something that can be far more difficult to deal with than many of the practical effects of a break-in. So what can you do? Well, if you find yourself the victim of a break-in, here a few things that you should do right away in order to feel safe again. Remove all evidence of the break-in Picture Taken From Pexels It's goi

Summer brings warm and long days you can enjoy in the sun. Sitting outside in the garden, watching nature and sunbathing, it doesn’t even seem likely that the warm season also can threaten to pull our tiny home up with its roots; hurricanes, tornadoes, and hailstorms are known to pay us a visit during our summer holiday. Make sure your home is weatherproof and ready to house you if it hits again by using this handy list - most of it is quite simple to do on your own and will give you a peace of mind for the coming months. Image by: Pexels The Windows The windows of your home are often a weak point; frail and old glazing is a scary companion when you hear the winds pull outside, and they should be one of the first things you check. If they’re especially old and you have a bit of extra to spend , it might be time for an upgrade; go for strong double glazing, and you’ve already increased the quality of your home quite a bit. If you don’t have that much to spend, don’t worry -

Many homeowners choose to create monthly budgets for their families. They do that because money is tight and they need to ensure there is enough for the essentials. However, there are lots of unexpected issues that could throw your plans into turmoil. That is especially the case if something breaks and you have to pay for repairs you didn’t predict. With that in mind, I’ve listed some common problems in this article. Hopefully, reading about them now will encourage you to keep some extra funds in your rainy day account. When all’s said and done, these are important jobs, and you won’t have time to wait. Without careful planning, you might struggle to find the money. Image Kitchen appliances Your family won’t survive for long if you don’t have somewhere safe to prepare food. Sure, you can eat out until the appliances are fixed. However, that’s going to cost a small fortune and money is already tight. So, you need to put some cash aside for possible kitchen appliance repairs

Image Everyone knows that people judge a house depending on how it looks from the street - even you do - it's hard not to. If you drive up to a house with a messy driveway full of cracks and weeds growing through them, you're not going to think that it's the most beautiful of houses, are you? So whether you do plan on selling your home , or you just want to make it look better because it's your place to do with what you will - go for it. Tidy it up and add some color - it really isn't as much of a job as you may think once you get stuck in. Here's what you can do. Clean up the edges If you leave your driveway unkempt, you can expect all different weeds to grow around the sides, so you will want to either pull them all out by hand or get some weed killer and sprinkle it down where you see fit. If you keep on top of this regularly, the weeds will reduce the speed in which they grow, and may even stop growing there altogether, so even though you ma

Everyone needs to make sure that the space they live in is prepared for a fire. There are certain steps that can be taken to make sure that you are prepared to deal with a fire in your home if one does break out. Of course, most people will never have to face that situation. But fires can start in all kinds of ways, and sometimes can be hard to predict. To avoid and be prepared for this situation, follow this advice. Use the Right Doors The right doors can help you to stay protected. When there is a fire, you want to stop it from spreading. Everything from having the best access doors to good interior doors dividing rooms can help. Strong and fire resistant doors can help to slow down the spread of the fire, and that can be the difference between life and death. It’s not something that you want to take a chance on, so give them some thought as soon as you can. Avoid Overloading Electrical Sockets Overloading sockets is one of the most common causes of fires in the home. I

We all long for the fresh outside air, the sound of a river nearby, and the chirping of birds in the morning. Undeniably, living among nature has an intuitive appeal to humans, it’s just as well to admit it and start living the way we want to. Image from Pexels It’s odd how such a natural need is supposed to be a trend these days; bringing the outside in, breathing fresh air, and even using common Scandinavian phrases, such as ‘friluftsliv’ to label it a philosophy. I think we all know, even those who make money off it, that living with as much nature around you as possible is not a philosophy - it’s possibly a lifestyle, but a very natural one, in that case. Here are a few ways you can feel a bit more like nature and get back to basics, without only keeping succulents or spending all of your savings on building fancy tree houses. Find Your Plant I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a few plants die on me. It’s sad and makes you feel like a bad plant parent; I even avoi

Image Source Working with animals and living off the fat of the land is a dream for many. But like any career, the road into farming isn’t clear and simple. For some farming is a family business that gets passed down through the generations, making it easier to pick up skills from a younger age and get subsequent jobs. For those with no farming experience, it can be harder to get one’s foot in the door but still perfectly achievable. Here are some of the criteria you’ll need to follow your passions. Getting agricultural training You don’t need a degree in agriculture to become a farmer, but having some schooling can help. You should start by reading up on farming from books and possibly volunteering on a farm. From here you can consider a college course or other form of training. www.hotcourses.com has lots of classes to choose from. There’s a lot of science and technology know how involved in farming nowadays (e.g. agricultural mechanical engineering, crop science, veteri

S o, you think you’ve got pests in your home? No one ever wants to uncover a pest infestation but, unfortunately, they can’t be completely prevented. Thankfully, they are very easy to deal with once you have found the infestation. But that’s the tricky bit! Some homeowners go for years without noticing all of the pests that share their home! Are you worried that you might be living with some unwanted house guests? Here are some useful signs that you should look out for. https://pixabay.com/en/animal-apple-attractive-beautiful-1239394/ You Hear Scratching In Your Home Have you or anyone else in your family heard any scratching or other sounds in your home? If so, then it sounds like you might have an infestation of rats or mice on your hands! The usual sounds to listen for include scratching, squeaking, and gnawing. You will probably hear these noises coming out of your attic or other upstairs areas that don’t get a lot of foot traffic. If you have a basement, you might al