Top 5 Ideas to Save Money at Home

1. Make your own cleaning products Vinegar It is widely known that white vinegar is one of our best friends when cleaning. It is powerful enough to dissolve grime from smooth surfaces, yet it cleans hardwood floorings without damaging them. White vinegar can be used to neutralise unpleasant smells, too. When you undertake a cleaning task around the kitchen, mix water with vinegar and use the solution to clean countertops and backsplash zones. In the bathroom, you can use the very same solution for cleaning the shower/tub walls and even the outside of the toilet. If the grime is too stubborn, heat the cleaning solution in the microwave and spray the affected area. Let the solution sit for a couple of minutes. Then rinse and that's it. Did you know that you can use vinegar as a fabric softener substitute, too? It is perfect especially if you have a sensitive skin. Baking soda The baking soda is the perfect replacement for expensive store-bought cleaning detergents. Sprinkle some soda onto a dampened sponge or a towel to deal with dirt particles. It has deodorising properties which is only another advantage. If the grime is a lot tougher than you thought, mix water with baking soda till paste is formed and apply it to the affected areas. The paste has to sit for about 15 minutes till the dirt deposits can be removed. Rubbing alcohol To wash the window or other glass surfaces, use rubbing alcohol. 2. Use old rags instead of paper towels If you want to save more money then using paper towels is not the right step you need to take. Actually, rags are much more absorbent than a paper towel. When they get dirty, you can easily launder them in the washing machine. 3. Ketchup to shine brass? Yes, this is not a joke. You can use ketchup to shine brass! So it is not necessary to buy a specialised brass detergent which definitely costs a lot of money. If you have ketchup in your fridge, all your problems are solved. Put a small amount of ketchup on a towel, scrub the surface and then rinse! 4. Dish soap for the win Not many people know it but dish soap can be used not only for washing the dishes. It can also remove stains. If you accidentally drop something on the carpet, treat the stain with a solution of warm water and a liquid dish soap. Forget about rushing to the near store to bye expensive carpet stain remover. 5. Make your own Laundry Soap You do not have to throw away precious money on buying a specialised laundry detergent when you can make your own at home. You will need 1 cup of washing soda, 1 cup of borax, a few drops of essential oil and a bar of grated bar soap. Start with grating the soap, then the washing soda an borax should be mixed. Simply add a dew drops of essential oils and mix all of the ingredients. Keep in hermetically sealed container or a jar.

Creating a Better Work/Life Balance

Futurists and scientists in the last century spoke in glowing terms of the coming of an age of leisure. Automation and computing would take over, they said, liberating the individual to pursue a rich, rewarding and balanced life. Instead, this is what modern life in the western world has actually turned out to be. The employed work harder and longer. The unemployed live in straitened circumstances. Stress levels are climbing ever upward. An increasing number of households have both parents at work In single-parent homes, the parent has to work inhuman hours just to make ends meet. Work/Life balance education is a tool to boost productivity, and improve the quality of life, by teaching people to higher levels of both achievement & enjoyment every day, on as well as off the job, attempt to achieve better management of the individual's projects as well as relationships. To achieve a better work/life balance, think about what really matters to you. Getting your priorities organized is the first, most essential step on the road to a well-balanced life. Remember, figure out what YOU want, not what you THINK your priorities should be. Take a couple of days off from work. Ask yourself If your life had to focus on just one single thing, what would it be If you could add a secondary focus, what would that be If you could add a third focus, what would that be If you could add a fourth focus, what would that be And so on If you answer yourself honestly, the result would give you your list of top five personal priorities. In most cases, a top-five list tends to include the following, in any order: Kids Spouse/ life partner Career Success Job satisfaction Religion/spirituality Community service Health Sports/activities Art Hobbies Adventure/travel The key is to know your priorities and devote your complete attention to a single priority at a time. Split up your total timeline, all your time, so that you think about work at work and pay attention to family when you are home. Also, be sure to get rid of unnecessary activities. Once you have a list of what really matters, you need not devote much time to activities that are not a priority. Try to drop commitments and pursuits which are not on your top-five list. Unnecessary activities will only keep you away from things that do matter. We all think twice before canceling work, or a doctor's appointment, but forget that our private time deserves the same respect. Guard personal time just as positively, and keep work and distractions from intruding. If work interferes constantly with your personal time, discuss adjustments with the boss. Show him that you deliver better results in fewer hours and that job performance cannot be judged merely in terms of hours. If you are self-employed, create boundaries that prevent work from intruding. Accept help from your partner, family members, or friends to balance your life, for example, let them watch the kids or run an errand leaving you free to focus on other priorities. Work on a tag-team system, by turns. Get more solo time with your partner and accept a friend's offer to babysit, or better still, arrange a regular trade-off with another couple. Don't forget to plan fun and relaxation. Until taking time for yourself becomes a habit, set aside planner space for relaxation and fun. Plan and make arrangements, to ensure that you keep your commitment.