Category Archives: Life

5 Hacks to Make Your Moving Day as Stress-Free as Possible

03/09/2021 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

moving, house, home, packing, stress, family, kids,

Moving day is one of the most stressful times that you’ll face. Although shopping for homes and moving into your new home is fun, the process of moving itself can be difficult. For this reason, it is paramount to prepare as much as you can before the big day. Try and create the most detailed plans beforehand and prepare for all the eventualities so you aren’t caught off guard. Also, hiring professionals like this Brighton removals company will help reduce your stress and allow you to focus on other details that need to be addressed. While you should be excited to move into your new home, it’s understandable to feel stress and anxiety about the big day. So, here are 5 hacks to make your moving day stress-free.

Get Your Materials

Make sure that you have all of the packing materials and supplies you need way ahead of your move. These will serve as constant reminders that you should start packing as soon as possible. Purchasing your boxes last minute will lead you to procrastinate other parts of the moving process, like changing your address.

Make a Packing List

Make sure that you have a packing list before you pack anything so that you can create a system and keep track of everything. While it may be tempting to throw things into boxes at random to speed up the process of packing, you’ll find yourself a lot more stressed on moving day when you can’t seem to find anything.

A good system is to pack room-by-room so that all of the items for each room are together in the same boxes. You should also make a list of the items that you want to keep an eye on, like family heirlooms which can easily get lost in the shuffle. As soon as those items are packed, make a note on your list about which box it is packed in.

If you must, label a few of your boxes so that you can keep better track of them after they’ve been moved to the new home. You may also benefit from numbering every box and writing down its contents on your list. This may seem like a daunting task, but if you start early enough, you can tackle a little bit of your list each day, making moving day a lot less stressful.

Prep the Kids

Moving is difficult when you’re single, but when you add children to the equation, things can get even crazier. Preparing your kids to move ahead of time can be helpful. This time will also be stressful to them, especially if they’re moving school districts and will have to essentially start over somewhere new.

Get your children involved in the packing process so that they know where all of their belongings are for move-in day. You may also want to invest in some new games for them to play in an empty bedroom during all of the moving day chaos.

Buy New

Something that can make moving day less stressful is to purchase new big-ticket items when possible so that you have one fewer large item to move. If your sleep mattress is overdue for an upgrade, you can order one online and have it shipped to your new home. Selling old furniture or throwing it out can be especially beneficial when moving across the country, as the more items you have, the more expensive it will be for a moving company to move your belongings.

Hire a Moving Company

One of the things that makes moving day so stressful is the fact that you’re doing everything yourself. Packing is easy once you start, but the process of moving itself can be difficult. If you’re moving an entire home with a few trucks, you may run into trouble and extra stress. Hiring a moving company takes the hassle out of moving. You know all of your things will get there safely so that while your professional movers are bringing your boxes and large items inside, you can get started on unpacking. Make sure to seek out reputable companies like https://www.atlantahomemovers.com/ to take care of the big move so you can focus on the smaller yet equally important tasks of moving.

When hiring a moving company, make sure to do your research to make sure that they offer coverage for any items that are lost or damaged during your move. You should also compare pricing to find the best services near you.

Health, Life, Lifestyle, Tips

Neck Pain: What Causes It And How Can You Prevent It?

03/09/2021 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Neck pain is one of the most distressing types of pain that you can experience. In some cases, it can feel like you’re about to lose your ability to hold your head upright atop your shoulders.

Neck pain usually results from poor posture. People typically develop it when leaning over workbenches or hunched over their laptop computers.

neck pain, shoulder pain, headache, stiff, neck, stress, posture, arthritis — Pexels – CC0 License

Older people can also experience neck pain. It typically results from osteoarthritis – the wearing down of the soft tissue between the vertebrae of the neck.

Neck pain is usually a dull pain in the neck that seems to come from the spine. However, people with the condition can also experience decreased ability to move the head, muscle tightness, and even spasms. And, if the pain is interfering with your daily life, it’s best not to ignore it. Instead, consider seeking treatment from a platform like Next Pain Care Home.

So what can you do to prevent neck pain? Let’s take a look at some of your options.

Adjust The Position Of Your Chair

90 percent of young people could eliminate neck pain if they only sat in the correct position. Being hunched over a computer might feel convenient, but it places tremendous pressure on the bones in the neck, causing them to grind into one another.

Good posture involves:

Sitting upright
Ensuring that your lumbar spine comes into contact with the back of the chair
Keeping your keyboard and mouse at elbow height
Allowing your head to rest upright above your shoulders, instead of leaning forwards or back

Take Regular Breaks From Work

Researchers now believe that people need to get up and move around for a couple of minutes every hour to stay healthy. If you remain sedentary for longer than that, joints under pressure don’t have time to recover.

Don’t Tuck Your Phone Between Your Ear And Your Shoulder

You probably see people tucking their phones between their ears and their shoulders every day so that they can continue using their hands. Don’t do this, as it can create neck issues. Instead, use a pair of headphones or a hands-free device.

Get Regular Adjustment

People with healthy necks visit their chiropractor for regular adjustments. Keeping the spine aligned reduces the risk of long-term chronic neck pain developing in the future. Professionals can also coach you on how to carry yourself to prevent pain.

Quit Smoking

Smoking seems to be bad for everything, including neck pain. Researchers think that the byproducts of tobacco destroy the blood vessels that serve the bones of the neck, causing the cartilage to break down. So if you smoke, try to quit. Use patches and gums if necessary to control cravings.

Sleep In A Good Position

Your sleeping position can also determine whether you develop neck pain or not. Putting a small pillow under your neck can help ease pressure on it. Avoid sleeping on your front. Try sleeping on your back and elevate your thighs on pillows to align your body.

Don’t Carry Heavy Bags On One Shoulder
If you have to carry a heavy rucksack, make sure that you bear the weight evenly on both shoulders. Relying on one shoulder only can cause uneven development and muscularity, leading to neck pain.

Life, Parenting

Author’s NOte for “Manners Matter: A Children’s Self Guide To Social And Personal Conduct”

03/04/2021 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Manners Matter, social, personal, conduct, children, childhood, education — Manners Matter: A Children’s Self Guide To Personal and Social Conduct

Dear Parents

Children understand directives. They also understand authority. When parents’ direct children to behave appropriately, they usually do because they are well aware of the consequences of not following a directive. But children resist authority every way they can. And the most powerful weapon in their arsenal is “why”—why should I do this? Why should I sit straight? Why do I need to use a fork like this? Why can’t I throw food I don’t want to eat? And so on. Nothing tests a parent’s patience as a “why.” It just keeps coming till it becomes a full-fledged interrogation. Consequently, emotions get frayed, exhaustion takes over, and parents effectively always end the interrogation by telling their children to leave the table and/or go to their room. What permeates the home, henceforth, are feelings of guilt (for the parents), and resentment (for the children). For the children then, good behavior, following etiquette, is not a choice but an imperative. They must sit straight at the dinner table because a parent said so and not because good posture assists in good digestion.

So, they learn good behavior as a negative rather than as a positive with a good physiological reason behind it. What if it was the other way around? What if there was guide to good behavior that was a book and not a parent? Would that help? I think it might. Children resist good behavior as a way to resist authority. What if good behavior was self-directed rather than parent-directed? My book, “Manners Matter: A Children’s Self Guide To Social And Personal Conduct“, is that experiment. It’s an early-stage guidebook for good behavior and etiquette for children between the ages of 5-13 years. This book, a first in a series, is about giving children the power to craft themselves into responsible familial and social citizens without authoritative parenting. So instead of a parent saying, “sit straight while you eat,” a child who’s already read the guidebook, does so without prompts. This guidebook is not about making parenting useless but collaborative, easier even. This self-guide is for your children, parents. This book gives the children tools to practice good behavior. Here are top ten manners your child can self-learn and direct:

1. Thanking those who nourish you, every day. Parents don’t have to take care of you, but they do because there’s a deep abiding love here. Honor that with your gratitude.

2. Eating wisely and with your mouth closed. No-one likes a full or oozing mouth. It’s never a pretty sight. Do not subject others to sights you wouldn’t want to be subjected to!

3. Cleaning up after you (whether it’s the dining table or the bathroom sink). Wipe off a mat, set dirty dishes in the dishwasher, wipe off the sink after brushing. These demonstrate attentiveness and care for others. You’ll be paid forward for such micro-acts of consideration.

4. Thinking of food and water as precious and not wasting it. America wastes 40% of its edible food. Don’t add to the statistic. Reduce it by considering well how you eat and how much at a time. Similarly, water is precious. Drink what you need. Avoid plastic and also recycle every time. The fish in the oceans will be grateful.

5. Being the host that no-one expects but will love. Be attentive to your friends when they come over for sleep overs. Clean your room and bathroom. Ask them if they have any food allergies. Convey the same to your parents so they can offer food accordingly.

6. Being a good listener and an empath, especially to friends. We all feel pain sometime or the other. We just need someone to listen without judgment. Be that someone.

7. Making your bed each morning makes a Bill Gates. Making your bed may seem like an innocuous exercise. But the operative word is “organize.” Organize your brain for the day with this activity and see how productive you can be!

8. Being an honorable patron at a restaurant by thanking those who serve you. Look at your server, listen to them, thank them every time they bring out your food or address your needs. Your kindness will raise every one’s vibration.

9. Practicing gratitude every day because it makes life sweeter for everyone. Counting our blessings, shifts our emotions, making them positive, vital. More vital our emotions, more positive our social environment will be. That’s just the truth.

10. Asking parents and teachers for help when bullied. Self-care is life-giving. Suffering is not wise. Self-preservation is essential. Seek adult help when you cannot help yourself, especially against cruelty.

Thank you, parents, for sharing this book with your children. Children are already very wise. This book only gives them words and tools to negotiate a personal and social world that sometime can be confusing and at other times treacherous. This book is their companion, a friend they might not think they want but sometimes absolutely need!

Peace.

Sincerely

Dr. Shubhra Sharma