Sasha Says… – Page 7 – Family and Home. Money Matters. Life in General. And More.

4 Reasons To Ask For More Help Around The House

May 25, 2022 No Comments

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In the quest to become the perfect parent, many moms take on huge amounts of responsibility. But, eventually, it catches up with you. All that work around the house can often become too much, particularly if you have more than one child.

In this post, we take a look at some of the reasons why it makes sense to ask for more help around the house. Nobody is saying that you have to delegate entirely, but just getting a little help here and there can go a long way.

You’re At Risk Of Burnout

If the household chores are solely your responsibility, you’re putting yourself at dire risk of burnout. Constantly working during the day, and then at evenings and weekends, doesn’t give you any space to just relax, unwind, and forget about life’s troubles. You’re always on the go, moving from one room to the next, fighting a never-ending battle.

Getting some help, though, can provide you with the equivalent of one evening off per week, if not more. Having other people shoulder the burden gives you time to recharge.

You Feel Frustrated

Managing a household isn’t just physically demanding, it’s also emotionally burdening as well, particularly if other family members aren’t pulling their weight. It only seems fair that each person should share the work equally, but that rarely happens. Instead, you seem to be the one who is always cleaning and tidying up, which inevitably leads to frustration.

Again, asking for help can prevent this. Once your spouse and children are doing their bit, you have less reason to feel angry with them.

You Can’t Solve Some Problems

No matter how much cleaning and tidying you do around the house, there are sometimes problems that you just can’t solve. Take storage, for instance. If you have too much clutter in your home, no amount of “putting away time” is going to fix it.

Similarly, if you have mold in your bathroom, scrubbing won’t usually solve the problem. Without using mold mitigation services to investigate the root cause of the issue, you’re battling away in vain.

Asking for help isn’t capitulation. Instead, it’s an admission that some problems are just intractable and that you need help. Once you get the assistance you need, you often find that many household tasks get easier, or simply disappear altogether.

You Want More “Me” Time

A scarcity of “me” time can really hurt your happiness. If you’re constantly serving others and never taking time for yourself, you can feel trapped in your own home. You’re not living the life you want at all.

The good news is that asking for help is a way of grabbing more time for yourself. If somebody else is cleaning the bathroom because you’ve been doing it all month, you can finally put your feet up, do some exercise, or indulge in a hobby.

Just remember, it’s okay to ask for help around the house. The job of a mom is to raise healthy children, not operate a hotel service. Getting other family members to contribute helps you, and also helps them as well.

Brain Wave, Life in general

Keep Your Move Organized With These Simple Suggestions

May 17, 2022 No Comments

One of the things that you have got to do when you are moving is keep yourself organized. It’s not the most difficult thing in the world to do, but a lot of people struggle with it. It’s for this reason that we have written this article. If you know that you struggle to keep things organized and you’re going to be moving soon, you’re going to want to keep reading down below in order to find out more.

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Hire Professional Help

First, you need to make sure that you are hiring professional help. There are a number of different services that you are going to need in order to make this move a success. Ideally, you will plan this as far in advance as possible so that you can book the best services available. You need to look at movers such as Allied Van Lines to help get you going with moving your items, you are going to need cleaners to come in and clean the place up, and so many more. We recommend that you make a list of all of the services that you are going to need, and keep track of reviews until you can decide on the company that you want to choose.

Make Yourself A Checklist

The next thing that we recommend you do is make yourself a checklist. This list should be detailed and include who needs to be doing what, when they need to be doing it and whatever other information you think that you are going to need. You can tick each item off as it has been completed, keeping you up to date with where you should be at any given time. As well as this, it will help you understand what still needs to be done, and if you are running behind you can amend this as needed.

Start In Advance

Finally, we want to say that you should start preparing everything to do with the move in advance as much as you can. The reason for this is that it avoids the last minute panic and stress that comes when you are not prepared for the process. If you can get most things sorted and in place before they need to be, it is going to be far easier to keep yourself organized as the process goes on.

There is a lot of stress involved in moving, and the closer you get to moving day, the more stressful it is going to become. Avoid this with fantastic organizational skills.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you need to do in order to keep your move organized. The most important part of a move is maintaining the organization and knowing where you’re supposed to be, when you’re supposed to be there and so on. If this is all working out, then the rest will fall into place. We wish you the very best of luck and hope your move goes smoothly.

Brain Wave, Computers and gadgets, Entrepreneurship & Business Talks

How to Take Your Own Photos to Promote Your Business

May 16, 2022 No Comments

You need photos of your products if you want to sell them online. Sometimes you might be given good images to use if you’re purchasing your products from elsewhere. But there are often times when you need your own photography to promote not just the products you’re selling but also your brand. One option is to pay for a professional product photoshoot but that can get expensive. Although it’s more time-consuming, you also have the possibility of taking and editing your own photos. If you’ve never done that before, you’re going to need to pick up a few tips to help you.

Learn to Use Your Camera

The first thing you’ll need to learn to do is use your camera. It doesn’t really matter what the camera is. It doesn’t have to be fancy and could just be the camera on your phone, but it’s wise to make sure it can take decent photos before you commit to using it. Whichever camera you’re using, you have to know how to put it to use so that you can take the best photos. You need to learn what the different settings mean and how changing them will affect what your final photos look like.

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Pick Up Some Composition Tips

As well as knowing how to operate your camera, you should also know how to use it to get photos with good composition. Part of this is about the angle of your camera and factors such as the perspective and zoom. But you also have to consider what you choose to put in the frame and how it relates to everything around it. Of course, you might be taking different types of photos. Straightforward product photos that you want to use without backgrounds will be different to photos of your products being used or displayed in a more artistic way.

Know How to Use Editing Software

After you’ve taken your photos, your job isn’t finished. You also need to know how to edit them to get the best from them. This will likely involve using software such as PhotoShop or something similar. It doesn’t necessarily take long to pick up some useful skills, but it’s worth spending some time experimenting. You should also know how to troubleshoot some common problems. This article tells you how to tackle a frequent Photoshop problem that you might come across. It could prevent you from opening the program if you don’t know how to fix it.

Use Your Photos in the Right Way

Another important thing to keep in mind is how you’re going to use your product photos. Once you have some professional-quality photos to use, you have to think about the best ways to make use of them on your site. This might mean learning a few more skills in graphic design so you can use your photos to create banners or other images that make your online store look good.

You don’t have to hire a photographer if you want photos of your products. You could do it yourself if you’re willing to learn.

Brain Wave, Work at Home

7 Things That Make Working From Home A Drag (And How To Solve Them)

May 16, 2022 No Comments

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Working from home shouldn’t be a chore, but sometimes it can feel that way. Staring at the same four walls day after day soon gets boring.

In this post, we take a look at some of the factors that make working from home a drag and what you can do about them.

Lack Of Work-Life Boundaries

The lack of work-life boundaries when working from home is one of the most annoying aspects of having a career in 2022. Family starts intruding on your workspace, and because you are WFH, your boss is constantly harassing you, asking you to carry on working well into the evening, even though that’s usually family time.

At first, these blurred boundaries seem novel. But over time, they just start to grate. You wish you could go back to the way things always were.

The trick here is to negotiate new rules of the game. Bosses have no problem with people clocking out of the office at 5 pm, but they seem to have an issue with the concept now that people are in their homes.

The trick here is to point out the issue and insist on working hours. If communications are outside working hours, they don’t require a response until the next day.

Lack Of Equipment

Doing work from a home office is okay if you have all the right equipment, but that’s rare. Desks, proper seating, and printing equipment tend to be in short supply when in the domestic environment.

One option is to simply go out and buy all the equipment you need yourself, but that hardly seems fair. The other option is to lobby your company to provide it for you, just as they provide regular equipment in the office as a business expense. If your company offices have closed, you may be able to ask to use desks, chairs and so on until it opens again.

Virtual Time-Keeping

You would think that with people working from home, they would have more independence and autonomy. But in some businesses, that hasn’t happened. Digital technology is making the problem even worse. Companies are using web-based tools to make it easier to monitor precisely what their colleagues are doing in real-time.

Naturally, you want some accountability when working from home, but you don’t want your Big Brother boss breathing down your neck while you are trying to concentrate on your work. The solution is to suggest to your employer that they move towards goal-oriented performance supervision if they are worried about staff slacking off. This way, nobody needs to monitor anyone else. Employers simply collect the data they need and then use it to measure worker performance.

Isolation

Isolation is a big issue when working from home. People are alone all the time, unable to interact face-to-face with their colleagues. For extraverts, it’s a disaster. Slack and other messaging tools just don’t cut it.

The problems go beyond one’s mood as well. Social isolation isn’t good for personal well-being and can, in many cases lead to real breakdowns.

One option is to insist on video calls for the morning meeting. Another is to suggest team building exercises every month for everyone in the office. The more cohesion you can build, the less it will feel like you’re working solo.

Solving Technical Problems

When there’s a technical problem in the office, IT support staff quickly descend to resolve the problem. If they’re not there straight away, it’s unusual.

However, when you’re working from home, things are different. Mostly, you have to solve problems yourself.

The trick here is to read more about the problems you’re likely to encounter and how to solve them. You can also ask your firm to continue hiring IT staff remotely and provide them with digital tools that let them take control of your PC if there is a problem.

Problematic Performance

When you work from home, the temptation to procrastinate is extreme. It’s hard to knuckle down and work when there are so many distractions and other things that you could be doing.

The trick here is to find ways to make yourself more conscientious. Think about the negative emotions you experience when you don’t put the effort into your work that you know you should. Usually, it is better to just get on with it.

Difficulty Loving Your Company

It’s easy to love your company while you are there, but when you work from home, it feels like you are in a long-distance relationship. Again, encourage more engagement with your team.

Brain Wave, Health and medicine

How to Naturally Relieve Pain

May 14, 2022 No Comments

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Healing pain naturally is something that you may be interested in. Even if you take over-the-counter medications for pain or prescription medication you may be interested to know some natural remedies that can get rid of pain fast.

The good news is that there are many ways in which you can relieve pain naturally. Here’s a look at some of the most effective ones that you can try at home.

Exercise Regularly

It may seem as if exercise would cause you more pain than relief but the truth is that exercise is one of the easiest ways to relieve pain especially when it’s done consistently.

You can exercise to strengthen and support the muscles in your body. Exercise will release endorphins in the body and these will have to relieve pain.

Heat and Cold

One way that you can quickly relieve pain is to use an ice pack on the area that has been affected. This will ease the pain because you numb the area where you are feeling the discomfort.

This can go a long way to help relieve pain over time and it is very easy to use, as you normally will have ice available at home.

Alternatively, you can use a warm compress to relieve pain. When you use heat on an area of your body that is affected by the pain, you are helping to bring blood to the area where you have applied the warm compress.

This is great for helping to relax your muscles and prevent spasms that can cause pain.

Use Peppermint Oil

Peppermint oil offers a great way for you to relieve pain naturally. It is especially good for treating headaches or migraine attacks.

Peppermint oil contains a lot of menthols and this can help to relax your muscles and ease the pain.

You should dilute the peppermint with a carrier oil such as coconut oil and then apply it to the affected area.

Try Fish Oil

Fish oil is a great oil to use if you are seeking to reduce inflammation.

Inflammation causes a lot of pain and if you can reduce it significantly then you will be able to relieve the pain that you are feeling in your body. It’s not one of those remedies that work instantly but if you continue taking it over time, you will see significant benefits especially if you have chronic pain.

You can also try using cbd oil sometimes and see if this also helps.

Get Pain Relief

Pain relief does not have to come from over-the-counter medications or from prescription medications. You can easily reduce or eliminate it naturally. Many of the ingredients discussed here can be found in your home.

You do not have to spend a lot of money buying new things to access these remedies. The best thing about it is that they have limited side effects because they are natural.

Brain Wave, Entrepreneurship & Business Talks

A hobby and small business idea.

May 9, 2022 No Comments

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I read somewhere that a person has to have three hobbies: one to make you money, one to keep you in shape, and one to be creative. But if you can find one hobby that has all the three mentioned? That would be great!

A friend accidentally found such a hobby. Growing plants. It was the start of the pandemic in 2020 when, with no job and nothing better to do inside the house, she went out and tended to her mom’s little garden. She saw one dying plant, decided to revive it, and what do you know, she found out that she has a green thumb! She began growing plants already in her mom’s little garden before she proceeded to look for plants that she could grow and sell. The idea to turn a hobby into a business came to her when the next-door neighbor offered to buy a small pot of cactus. Succulents. Herbs. Indoor plants. Small plants that she can grow at home where she has limited space.

The last time I talked to her, she was looking for hose reels worth the money, preferably one from Eley Hose Reels. She is expanding her business because demand is really high. Her old backyard hose reel would not do anymore as she has a lot of plants in her ‘inventory’ now. She now needs a commercial grade hose reel, sturdy enough to get the water supply going for her plants.

I envy people who have found such a hobby. My hobby is writing novels and, somehow, I have turned it into a side hustle. I earn lunch money from writing but my friend’s plant-growing-selling business is something else. There are days when I think about growing my own small garden, an herb garden to be exact. I just wish I can sustain it.

Brain Wave, Health and medicine

How Exercise Will Benefit Your Health

May 6, 2022 No Comments

Exercise is like a medication, so if you look at it as such and start doing it regularly, you will wonder why it has taken you so long. Many people think that exercise is just about losing weight and is for pure vanity reasons, but really, for most people, it can be so much more. Once you get your fitness routine up and running, you will find that you never look back.

If you need more convincing, here are some of the ways in which exercise can improve your life:

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Improves happiness levels

While many people who do suffer from mental health issues need medication to help keep them under control, for others, simply getting out and being active can make a massive difference.

Exercise is in a position to improve your overall mood. This works by encouraging the brain better to regulate the ‘feel-good hormone,’ serotonin. This is the same substance that many antidepressants are trying to balance in the brain. Serotonin is a happy chemical, and if you can get the balance right, you are naturally going to feel a whole lot more comfortable. Exercise also decreases stress and anxiety by helping the body to get rid of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline.

Improves the immune system

Exercise helps the body combat infections, illnesses, and diseases. This also makes your body stronger on a molecular level. Exercise adds years to your life as well. It can help to reverse damage to the heart and other organs, for example, and in doing so, give you a new lease of life.

Helps to reduce levels of pain

Regular exercise can help to relieve mild to chronic levels of pain. It does so by increasing muscle strength, increasing flexibility, and increasing muscle tone. It also contributes endorphins to the bloodstream, which are natural painkillers, as well as a happy chemical. It does not have to be intense exercise because even gentle activities such as yoga can have the same effect. In many cases, gentle exercise mitigates the need for artificial painkillers such as paracetamol, which can harm your liver, among other things. If pain is stopping you from exercising, using things like kt tape for elbow pain can help you.

Helps to keep your brain youthful

Suffering from a condition that takes away your memory is something that many people have to contend with. Since the rise of disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia, it is clear that many of us are concerned about cognitive deterioration. It is so crippling in so many ways that it must be terrifying in those moments of lucidity.

Nevertheless, several studies have shown that physical exercise can minimize the onset of Alzheimer’s by as much as 50%. If you want to stay healthy, exercise may be the key. It can stimulate the brain in a variety of ways. We are supposed to treat the brain like a muscle, and one way to do that is exercise. Exercise also releases other proteins and chemicals in the body that enhance efficiency and neurological regeneration.

As you can see, exercise is not only about losing weight and looking good but the health of your whole body and mind.

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