- You don’t get anything clean without getting something else dirty. -Cecil Baxter
- A perfectly kept house is the sign of a misspent life. -Mary Randolph Carter
- Housework can’t kill you, but why take a chance. -Phyllis Diller
- Cleaning up with children around is like shoveling during a blizzard. – Margaret Culkin Banning
- Your home is living space, not storage space. -Francine Jay
- In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. -Mary Poppins
- A new broom sweeps clean, but the old broom knows the corners.-Irish saying
- Everybody wants to save the earth; no one wants to help mom do the dishes. -P.J. O’Rourke
- Why can’t the house clean itself? It seems to get itself dirty. -unknown
- There’s something about a clean house, a clean room. It does wonders for the psyche.- Brian Sansoni
- Cleaning and organizing is a practice, not a project. -Meagan Francis
- A clean place makes a happy space. -unknown
- Excuse the mess, but we live here. -Roseanne Barr
- Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don’t do it.-unknown
- Housework is like cleaning fish. No matter how often you do it, it still stinks.-Thelma Harper
- Cleaning is just putting stuff in less obvious places. -unknown
- My house was clean last week…Sorry you missed it. -unknown
- At worst, a house unkept cannot be so distressing as a life unlived. -Rose Macaulay
- This is a self-cleaning kitchen. Clean up after yourself. -unknown
- Nothing inspires cleaning more than an unexpected guest. -Radhika Mundra
It’s that time of year again. We all know what’s coming.
January 17 is officially Ditch Your New Year’s Resolution Day. This year, you don’t have to participate in the failure fiesta. Here is a guide to making–and keeping–fruitful and meaningful New Year’s Resolutions.
What is your why?
In a day and age where New Year’s Resolutions have become more of an April Fool’s joke, why are you really trying to make one? The number one way to make sure you keep your resolution is to only make one if you are serious about committing to it. If you start out half-heartedly, you’ll be lucky to make it to the 17th. If you are really passionate about your goal, it is much more likely to come true.
We’ve surveyed a few resolution makers, and their answers vary from “Being healthy for my kids,” to “Improving my quality of life.” No matter what your “why” is, you need one.
What is your plan?
If you go on a road trip without a map, it is highly unlikely you will reach your destination without getting lost, if you reach it at all. Similarly, if you set a goal without making a plan, the odds of meeting your goal are slim to none.
Making SMARTER goals is an easy way to ensure you have a fool-proof plan in place to help you meet them. SMARTER goals are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
- Evaluate
- Re-assess
You can read more about SMARTER goals here.
What is your focus?
Setting goals is great, but if we only focus on the result we end up very disappointed. So many elements of life are out of our control that the final result is often a lot of effort mixed with a bit of luck.
So, let’s turn that upside down. Focus on the effort, not the end product. If you make effort based resolutions, you are likely to feel more successful which will help you to stay dedicated to them.
What’s your resolution?
We want to know what you are going to do this year to make 2018 the best year ever. Share your New Year’s Resolutions in the comments!
9 Ways to Entertain Your Child Without a Smartphone
For those of us who have spent time with small children in public places, we’ve all been there. You know, when they get tired, bored, hungry…and therefore, cranky? Your heart beats a little faster, your eyes check the room for those “looks”, and you need a solution – fast. And you want to entertain your child without a smartphone.
If your go-to solution is an electronic device, you may enjoy a short reprieve, but you may also wonder what kind of pattern you’re helping to establish.
Reaching for an electronic device anytime you feel bored or unhappy may not be the healthiest option to impart. Learning to interact with people, and learning to entertain yourself are healthier AND doable strategies.
Crayons, paper, pens? Good choices. What if you’re without your usual bag of tricks? Here are 9 ways to entertain your child without a smartphone. And avoid the oncoming apocalyptic meltdown.
1. Name That Tune
Get your Frank Sinatra or Barbra Streisand on and hum a familiar song like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” or “Old McDonald,” and see if they can: a) name it, b) complete a line c) sing along for as long as possible.
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Try this at a restaurant. Grab several objects, like silverware, packets, stir sticks and place them on the table. Instruct your sweetie pie to take a good look. Cover your collection with a napkin, and carefully remove one of the items without them being able to tell which one. This is your chance to be Houdini! Remove the napkin and ask which one is missing. Repeat as many times as possible. Try role reversal. They’ll love “fooling” you!
Also, check out this easy travel game –> Which Ninja Is Missing? An Awesome Memory Game For your Kids. It’s such a fun game that takes ZERO time to set up and keeps your kiddo completely interested and focused. Ninjas always rock, right?!
3. Who Am I?
Choose an animal and play whatever version of 20 question your child is suited for. “Do you crawl?” “Do you swim?” When they guess correctly, spend some time making whatever animal sound it makes.
4. Touch Something That Is….
Find objects in your surrounding of different colors. Ask them, “Can you touch something that is X?” If your location is suitable for walking around, you can go mobile.
5. Shape Hunt
Ask your children if they can see anything around them with a certain shape. “Do you see a circle?” “What do you see that’s a triangle?”
6. I Spy
It’s the classic! Certainly solid territory for a little older child able to process this guessing game. Choose something both of you can see, then say, “I spy something, and it starts with ____.” If your child has a basic understanding of the alphabet and a modest vocabulary, fill in the blank with a letter. “I spy something, and it begins with the letter C.” It can help to sound it out: “Ca-Ca-Ca.” For the preliterate set who knows only their colors or shapes, substitute those categories instead. You can also describe the objects’ properties: “I spy something, and it’s rough and scaly/smooth and shiny.”
7. What Is Different?
This one requires a pen and paper. Divide the paper into a quadrant. Draw the same shape in three of the squares, but draw a different one in the fourth. Examples: 3 cats, one elephant. Have them point shape that’s different. You can make a more advanced version for older children.
Toddler Pattern Sort and Drop Game Make a toddler motor skills activity using pattern cards to sort and drop! This is early math and fine motor skills in an easy, DIY game using recycled materials.
8. Simple Riddles
Riddles can be fun for you to come up with and for your child to solve. For example: “I 
have four legs and am covered in fluffy white wool. What I am?” or “I’m shaped like a circle, I have two hands, and numbers all around me. What am I?” Need a little inspiration?
Check out –> 15 Fall Riddles and Jokes for Kids
9. Hidden in the Hand
Show your kid your open empty hands. Place an object like your keys in one of your hands and close both hands. Put your hands behind your back and switch the object back and forth between them. Bring your closed hands back in front of you, and ask your child to guess which hand the object is in.
So, there they are:
9 Ways to Entertain Your Child without a smartphone.
Do you have some tried and true non-electronic kid entertaining ideas? Leave your tip in the comments below.
Ideas found in The Everything Toddler Activities Book via The Art of Manliness Blog.
