Life Hacks

Sometimes life can throw some real curve balls at us. But even though we might not feel happy during challenging times. I think that it’s important to remember that there are a whole lot of things that we can be happy about. It’s important for our mental health and well-being to practice gratitude. So today I have put together a list of simple things to be happy about. When we recognise the simple things that bring us a sense of happiness then we will soon realise that we really do have a whole lot of things in our lives that we can be thankful for every day. Simple Things To Be Happy About A Hot Shower After A Long Day Washing away a long hard day in a soothing hot shower is my absolute favourite thing to do. When I step out of the shower and feel all squeaky clean then put on some fresh clothes I instantly feel happier. Dancing It’s hard to stay grumpy when you hear your favourite music from your teenage years. Go ahead and dance like there is no one watching. Better still find a fun exercise dance class and dance your way to happiness every week! Laughing So Hard Your Sides Hurt This is just such a great feeling! Apple Pie And Ice Cream The best go-to comfort dessert ever! Perfect for either cold winter nights or warm summer days. Stationery New pens, notepads, sticky notes and shiny paper clips. They are just instant mood lifters. My favourite stationery shop for all these lovely stationery items is Kikki. K. Fresh Clean Sheets The feel and smell of crisp clean sheets are one of the most simple things to be happy about. Washing Your Hair I love how soft my hair feels after I wash it. Then every time I catch the smell of shampoo it just makes me feel so happy. Cuddling Up Next To Your Partner On The Sofa I feel warm cozy and safe when I cuddle up next to my husband on the sofa. Of course, if we are watching something scary on TV then he is on his own because I’ll be cuddling the closest pillow! Lunch Breaks I always joke with my coworkers that the best part of the working day is lunch breaks! Fridays Even the hardest days are bearable when it’s a Friday and you know that you have the weekend to look forward to. Scented Candles Lovely soft scents evoke feelings of warmth and coziness. Getting Dressed Up I love having a fun event to look forward to that requires getting all dressed up. I feel so happy planning my wardrobe, hair and make-up leading up to the event. Cheese Boards And Wine Any favourite food will always make me feel very happy. But enjoying a lovely glass of wine with a cheeseboard just always feels so luxurious. Sleeping In Waking up naturally without the shock of the alarm going off makes me feel so relaxed for the rest of the day. Rainbows When I spot a rainbow in the sky I am reminded of how even after all the dark clouds and rain there will eventually be some bright sunny, colourful days. My beautiful friend also encouraged me to remember that rainbows are like a sign from our loved ones in heaven saying hello to us. Holding A Baby Cuddling new life in our arms is just so precious. Long Distance Phone Calls From Family Or Friends I love chatting with my aunt and cousin who live so far away in the USA. We spend ages catching up and reminiscing. My face almost hurts from so much smiling after we have finished our long-distance conversations! Watching A Good Comedy Spending a couple of hours lost in a good comedy plot can do wonders to lift my mood. Receiving Parcels In The Mail When I receive a parcel in the mail, I feel as excited as I do when I unwrap a birthday gift! Seeing A Ladybird Ladybirds remind me of spring. So whenever I see one I feel happy because it means that warmer days are just around the corner. They are also the only bugs that I am not deathly afraid of! Having  A Clean House Nothing beats the feeling of a fresh clean house because it means that I can relax and enjoy myself without worrying about any housework waiting to get done. Seeing The Bottom Of The Laundry Hamper Even though this lasts about one minute in our house. It’s still one whole entire minute of happiness! Squeaky Clean Teeth Squeaky clean teeth mean lovely fresh breath Visiting An Antique Store My happy place is a big antique shop called Mitchell Road Antique And Design Centre located in Sydney. Whenever I go for a visit it’s like I take a trip down memory lane. Seeing all the fun decor from the ’70s and ’80s makes me feel so happy…….ah those were the days! Fairy Lights Fairy lights are just so magical and can make any space look so inviting. You can’t help but feel happy whenever you are around some pretty fairy lights Family Get Togethers Having family in our life is just so special and I think that it’s so important to never take them for granted. The happiest memories that I have are the ones of my family being together. Having My Hair Stroked I love having my hair stroked because it just feels so soothing. It’s just the best feeling when someone plays with my hair!   Related Articles Ways To Be Instantly Happier How To Stay Positive In A Negative World    

Life hacks are simple and very useful shortcuts that make everyday tasks easier and save you time. Everyone needs some simple life hacks that they can refer to for sensible solutions.  Here is a list of 15 simple life hacks that actually work and that I use all the time. I hope that you find them useful too! A List Of Simple Life Hacks That Actually Work 1. Keep Your Alarm Out Of Your Reach If you struggle to get out of bed in the mornings as I do. Then one good tip that I have found to be incredibly useful. It is to place your alarm or phone across the room and away from your comfy cozy bed. That way when the alarm goes off in the morning. You will have no choice but to get out of bed to turn it off. There is no chance of hitting that tempting snooze button if your alarm is not within your reach. 2. Prepare The Night Before A good way to start the day off feeling more organised is to get your things ready the night before. Doing simple things like deciding what to wear and then laying out your clothes the night before can be a real game changer. If you have kids this is also a great habit to teach them. It’s no fun running around looking for sports uniforms, misplaced shoes or library bags in the morning. Everyone will leave the house feeling totally frazzled and it’s definitely not a nice way to start the day. Another thing that can make mornings easier is to pack lunches the night before. I know that it can be tempting to leave it until the morning. But again if lunches are all made the night before then this is one less chore that will eat away at your precious morning time. 3. Have A Designated Spot For Everything A place for everything and everything in its place. This is such a great motto for life! If you have a designated spot for things like keys, wallets, sunglasses and hand sanitisers etc. Then you will always know where to find them. I think that the best place to keep all these things is right near your entryway. Even if you have a small entryway it’s still very helpful to have either a shelf, table or even a basket where you can drop all these essentials when you walk in the door. Then all your items will be in one place ready for you to grab when you leave home again the next time. 4. Clean As You Cook Another simple life hack that makes everyday life so much easier. Is to clean the kitchen as you cook instead of leaving a pile of dirty pots and pans until the end. While you are waiting for something to boil or the oven to heat up. Why not go ahead and clean and pack away the things that you have already used and won’t be needed again? You can also use this waiting time to do things like wipe out your microwave, clean the finger marks off your cupboards or give your fridge a quick tidy up and throw anything out that has seen better days. 5. Make Your Bed Every Morning Your bedroom will look instantly tidier once you have made your bed. It takes only minutes to make your bed in the morning. And the benefit of feeling like you have already accomplished a task is great motivation. 6. Keep A Water Bottle On Your Bedside Table If you keep a water bottle on your bedside table then it is so much easier to remember to hydrate first thing in the morning. I function so much better when I remember to drink water. I also like to have a small glass of water before bed and sometimes I get thirsty during the night. So it’s handy if I have water within easy reach. 7. Cook Extra Whatever you cook for dinner, go ahead and make a bit extra. That way you will have leftovers for lunch the next day. Or a meal for the freezer which will always come in handy. If I am making a casserole I will usually make a double batch and freeze one batch in a zip lock bag. Perfect for those crazy busy nights when there is no time to cook! 8. Easy Way To Clean Your Kettle Kettles are one of those appliances that can get easily overlooked. Have you looked inside yours lately? Chances are that it might need a good cleaning. A super easy way to bring your kettle back to its dazzling shine. Is to fill it with a mixture of half white vinegar and half water then leave it overnight. In the morning all you need to do is rinse it out and it will be as clean as can be. 9. Sock Solution Odd socks are one of those things that drive me crazy. A simple life hack to deal with this is buying the same type of socks whenever possible. 10. Washing Toys Children’s toys can get very germy and even sticky. A good way to give them a good wash is to simply pop them inside a laundry bag to keep them contained. Then wash them in warm soapy water and lay them out to dry in the sun. This simple hack is useful at home if you have children or if you work in an early childhood education setting where toys need to be washed regularly. 11. Lint Rollers Lint rollers are not only perfect for removing pet hair from your furniture. Lint rollers are also great for removing dust from fabric lamp shades. 12. Easy Glass Cleaner If you want sparkly shower screens, mirrors or glass table tops, ditch the spray-on window cleaners. Because they always seem to leave streaks. Even the ones that say streak-free on the label. Instead, simply use a damp microfibre cloth

I’m always excited to join the weekly “hello Monday” link-up with Holly and Sarah. It’s such a great way to start the new week and it’s always nice to share all the fun things that have happened during the weekend. But poor old Monday usually gets a bad rap. Sadly it cops all the hatred and bad feelings. Because let’s face it. Who doesn’t just love staying home, being on vacation, or not having to go to school or work? So I thought that for today’s post we could look at a few reasons to love Mondays and hopefully turn the whole negative vibe about Mondays around. (That’s of course assuming that some of you guys are like me and maybe need to give Mondays some extra love). Let’s start with some………. Fun Facts About Mondays Monday is the only day of the week that is an anagram of a single word ‘dynamo’ There are usually 52 Mondays in a year Scientists have found that people weigh more on Mondays. The cartoon character Garfield is well known for strongly disliking Mondays Monday is the day of the week when most people do online shopping. Statistics show that the US stock market tends to rise on Mondays. People will usually call in sick on Mondays. Monday is the best day of the week to buy a new car because it’s not a busy day for salespeople. Therefore you should get a better deal. People are much less productive at work on a Monday. Almost 50% of employees will arrive to work late on a Monday. People feel less attractive on Mondays. Reasons To Love Mondays Mondays Are A Fresh New Start Monday means an opportunity to forget the previous week and start fresh with a positive frame of mind. Just like we get excited about the beginning of a new year or a new month. Maybe we can have the same attitude towards Mondays! Mondays Are Another Day That We Can Be Grateful For When the alarm goes off on Monday morning instead of wishing the alarm would explode. Maybe we could be thankful for waking up to another day of life. All around the world sad things are happening everywhere. Not everyone gets to wake up to the start of a new week. Let’s be thankful for the blessing of another chance to enjoy a beautiful Monday! Mondays Are A Great Day For Online Shopping Deals It’s heading towards that time of the year when the online shopping deals are on. Cyber Monday falls on the 28th of November 2022. It’s a fantastic time to grab a bargain and get onto that Christmas shopping. The Chance To Set A New Tone For The Rest Of The Week This is probably one of the best reasons to love Mondays. Mondays give you the gift of setting the tone for how the rest of your week is going to run. If you look at Mondays with fresh eyes and in a positive light then you can have a healthier, happier and more productive week. You Will Feel Recharged And Ready For A New Week If you make sure to balance your weekend with fun activities as well as rest. Then you should feel refreshed and full of energy on Monday. Mondays Means That You Get Back Into Routine Weekends are wonderful for staying up late and sleeping in. Or taking time off from the usual rush of chores. But it’s always nice to have Monday bring back some order and routine to our lives. Mondays Are A Great Opportunity To Get Up Early This is a big challenge for us night owls. But Monday mornings are the perfect opportunity to get up early. It’s the start of a brand new week and even if you have failed all of the previous week. Then Monday is a good day to wipe the slate clean and try again to get up early and get moving! Try Meatless Monday Eating less meat is a great way to improve health and it’s also good for the planet. Meatless Monday was first introduced during WWI and then revived in 2003. The reason why meatless Monday falls on a Monday is not just because of its cool catchy name. Research says that people are more willing to attempt healthy behaviours at the beginning of the week. How Can You Learn To Love Mondays If You don’t already love Mondays here are some tips for how you can learn to love poor old Mondays. Have Something To Look Forward To Just like we plan our fun Friday nights why not plan something for a Monday night that you can look forward to? It doesn’t have to be a big thing. Maybe just something small like buying some fresh flowers for the week. Or maybe find a really good binge-worthy show that you only watch on a Monday night. If you want to stay in touch with friends. A great way to do this is to schedule a dinner catch-up one night a month. Why not make it a Monday night? Most restaurants, clubs, pubs and bistros are much less busy on a Monday night. So you are guaranteed a table and great service. Get Some Good Rest On The Weekend It’s so fun to stay up late and weekends give us that great freedom. But try not to overdo it and make sure to get enough sleep during the weekend. That way you won’t feel tired and groggy on Monday mornings. It is just too hard to be positive and sunny if you are sleep deprived. Use The Weekend To Get Organised A great way to feel like you can conquer Monday is to take a bit of time to get ready the day before. Maybe get that meal planning done or lay out your clothes the night before. If you get at least one tiny chore out of the way. Then Monday will run a whole lot smoother

Today I want to talk about some small changes that you can make to simplify your life. I am not a minimalist but am drawn to the minimal way of life. The thing that appeals to me about minimal living is the goal of making things simple. So you can save time, money, and energy from all the things that are not important. Allowing you to instead focus on the more valuable and fulfilling aspects of life.  Tips For How To Simplify Your Life 1. Make Your Bed This will immediately give you a sense of achievement as well as make your bedroom look instantly tidier. 2. Simplify Your Wardrobe Free up wardrobe space and get rid of those clothes that don’t bring you joy or no longer fit you. Because it can be so extraordinarily daunting to have a wardrobe full of clothes yet feel like you have nothing to wear! 3. Take Breaks Taking breaks throughout the day is essential for your physical and mental well-being. We can all get so busy that it can be really easy to forget to take important breaks. A great way to remember is to set a timer. So that way you will still be productive but once that timer goes off then you can have a quick stretch, get some fresh air, or have a drink of water. If you own a smartwatch one of the great features is that it will automatically remind you to stand up and take a break if you are sitting down for too long. A smartwatch can also prompt you to do some breathing exercises and practice mindfulness. So a smartwatch can be a very useful investment. 4. Layout Your Clothes The Night Before Another great tip for how to simplify your life is to lay out the clothes that you want to wear the night before. This means that you will have one less thing to do as part of your usual morning routine. 5. Declutter Your Bag Edit the contents of your bag so that you only carry essentials for the day. Having a bag full of ‘stuff’ can cause so much frustration when you can’t actually find the things that you need. Furthermore carrying around a bag full of unnecessary contents can be really bad for your back and neck. 6. Minimise Visual Clutter Having too much visual clutter around you can be very distracting and make it so much harder to focus. If your workspace is clean and tidy then it will be so much easier to be productive and feel more relaxed. 7. Organise And Minimise Your Wardrobe A fantastic way to save time getting ready in the morning is to create a simple capsule wardrobe. If you start with some essentials then it’s so easy to mix and match them to create totally new looks every day. 8. Edit The Photos On Your Phone Try and get into the habit of deleting unnecessary photos on your phone. Keep the ones that you really love and get rid of the rest. This frees up the storage space on your phone. And it also means that you will spend less time scrolling through trying to find a particular photo that you really want. 9. Carry A Water Bottle Wherever You Go It is so important for your health to stay hydrated. So it’s a good idea to get into the habit of carrying a water bottle whenever you are out and about. Furthermore carrying a water bottle is a great sustainable practice. As well as being cost-effective too! 10. Focus On One Thing At A Time If you try to focus on too many things at once you will end up exhausted. Try and finish one task before you move on to the next. You will feel a real sense of achievement when you start and finish a task that you focus on well. 11. Breathe Take a moment to stop and take deep breaths throughout the day. We all live busy lives and are on the go constantly. Before you even realise it, you might just be shallow breathing and that’s no good. We must breathe in oxygen so that we can think clearly and effectively. 12. Unsubscribe From Email Lists That You No Longer Need Get rid of those spammy space consuming emails and unsubscribe asap! 13. Go For A Walk Nothing clears your head better than a walk. Going for a daily walk will also give your body some exercise and can reset your mood. 14. Use Routines To Simplify Your Life Create routines and habits to make your life simpler. You will feel more in control if you stick to routines that will help you complete daily tasks. An example of a simple routine to make your days easier is to make sure the kitchen is clean and tidy before you go to bed. You will thank yourself the next day when you walk into a fresh clean kitchen in the morning! 15. Write A To-Do List For The Next Day Write down all the tasks that you want to complete the next day. It’s a great way to prioritise important jobs that need to be taken care of. Then as you cross off your to-do list you will feel like a champ seeing all that you have accomplished! 16. Plan Your Meals Try and create a meal plan and stick to it! Life is just so much simpler when you meal plan. You will save money and time if you spend a few minutes deciding what nutritious meals you are going to serve your family the following week. Even if you are single, it’s still a good idea to plan your meals and avoid going down the expensive takeaway route. 17. Say No You don’t need to say ‘yes’ to everything. Set important boundaries so that you don’t stress yourself out by over-committing your time and energy. 18. Eat Slowly If you eat slowly and mindfully