Choosing Your Anti V-Day Movie? These Romance Ruiners Are Perfect

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Choosing Your Anti V-Day Movie? These Romance Ruiners Are Perfect

If you’re currently in a relationship or are married then you’ll probably see Valentine’s Day as a chance to spend precious time together. However, if you’ve recently gone through a bad break up, are currently single, or aren’t really into over-commercialized holidays then February 14th is probably a not so great pink, chocolate box, themed reminder that you’re basically alone in this cruel, cruel world. 🙂

Revolutionary Road: Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as married couple Frank and April Wheeler this 2008 Oscar nominated film shows, quite literally, that love is sometimes not enough. Frank, bored by the sheer monotony of his office sales job and April, a failed actress now performing in tiny local productions are seen by the neighbors as the perfect couple. In reality, however, their marriage is built mostly on lies, deceit, and a mutual apathy towards the other person. Both husband and wife are having affairs, a spur of the moment move to Paris is thwarted when April realizes, after two children, she’s pregnant yet again and is horrified. So while Frank is pleased about the impending arrival all his wife can think about is how dull, stale, and repetitive her life is.

500 Days Of Summer: Ever wanted to see what happens when you fall madly in love with someone and they don’t really love you back? The answer is a kooky, slightly off the wall, non-linear artistic production. So 500 Days Of Summer tells the story of Summer, Zooey Deschanel, and Tom, Joseph Gordon-Levitt who meet at work one day and begin a sort of relationship. We say sort of because it’s clear that Tom, a lovelorn slightly obsessed greetings card writer is a lot more invested than Summer is. Summer, the atypical cute pixie girl isn’t interested in commitment, labels, or even hanging out with just one person. The more Tom pressures her to make them ‘official’ the cooler her feelings towards him get until they eventually break up. Awesome!

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Flickr Image, courtesy of: sinemabed

The Break Up: Meet Gary Grobowski (Vince Vaughn) and Brooke Meyers (Jennifer Aniston), a tour guide and a curator of a somewhat odd art gallery. You can see that within ten minutes of the movie starring this relationship that is not going to last, unlike a typical Jennifer Aniston rom-com this one doesn’t exactly have a happy ending. Both Gary and Brooke are fundamentally quite selfish and neither really cares what the other person is feeling. When they both childishly refuse to move out of their sought after condo the two resort to mean tricks, playground taunts, and at one point, all out sabotage.

Assassin’s Creed: Based on the sword wielding, flashy graphics and wall scaling antics of the anti hero of Ubisoft’s best selling namesake, Assassin’s Creed is the perfect antidote to all that love stuff. This is, in fact, a brand new cinema release but Showbox viewers can stream it beforehand – just Download the APK from here and enjoy! Modern day Cal Lynch (Michael Fassbender), harnesses the power of futuristic technology that allows him to travel back to fifteenth century Spain. He then experiences the life of his ancestor, Aguilar de Nerha, a deadly Assassin belonging to a secret underground order created for just one purpose. Dun dun dunnnnnn.

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Flickr Image, courtesy of: Joshua Livingston

Featured Image By: Flickr Image, courtesy of: SPDP

911 This Is An Emergency…An Emergency List Of Precautions To Help Care For Your Health!

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911 This Is An Emergency…An Emergency List Of Precautions To Help Care For Your Health!

We all care about our health. Or at least, we should all care about our health. Too often we take our bodies for granted. The problem is that we don’t believe things will go wrong until they do. It’s that old belief that the bad things only happen to other people. In truth, we’re all at risk if we don’t take the proper steps to care for ourselves. Here’s a rundown of some precautions you can take to ensure that you get the best treatment when you need it:

Get to Know Your Doctor: When you register at a doctor’s office, you should be assigned to a particular physician. Getting to know them will help you feel more at ease when you visit. Make sure to find out the name of your doctor and request them each time you book an appointment. It may not always be possible to see them, but if the appointment isn’t an emergency, it’s worth waiting. Building a good relationship with your doctor is important for many reasons. Not only will it help you feel at ease but it also means they’ll be able to tell if something is wrong. A doctor who’s never seen you won’t know either way. A quick diagnosis from the physician who knows you could make all the difference to your recovery. If you’ve not yet registered with a doctor, it’s important that you do. Find one on sites like www.findadoctor.com and start building that all important relationship straight away!

Register at a Dentist: Your teeth are something you should include in your health journey. They are a part of your body that you can’t afford to neglect. Not to mention that an unsolved tooth issue can lead to further complications. Many things can damage your teeth. Namely, sugar from all those waffles and sugared snacks we all love so much! Signing up with a dentist is the best way to ensure that you get seen as soon as possible. If you aren’t registered anywhere when you have a toothache, expect major bills and difficulties. Registering at a dentist will also mean that you can get regular checks. These are the best way to stop problems in their tracks and save yourself money and pain. Take a look at dentists local to you like, http://www.southviewdentistrycharlotte.com/, and don’t hesitate to get signed up.

Get Health Insurance: Of course, to receive any treatment, it’s important to get health insurance. Not taking this step could land you in major debt. Worse, it could lead to your not being able to afford treatment. Don’t put yourself in such a distressing position. Take care of health insurance. It may be a monthly expense you could do without but think of it as an investment. Health insurance pays in a major way should anything happen. Don’t be the person who assumes it won’t happen to you any longer. Pay into a health insurance plan and accept that illness might one day come your way. At least you’ll be prepared if it does come knocking.

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Having A Movie Night? Make It Simple

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Having A Movie Night? Make It Simple

Okay, so everything has gone to plan. The friends you have invited over have said yes, the pizzas have been ordered, the snacks are ready to go, your place looks presentable – like it always does – and the children have been put to bed. You are looking forward to a movie night with your friends who you haven’t had a chance to catch up with properly for weeks. It is only then that you realize you haven’t got the movies ready and worse still, nothing to even put DVDs into. Your laptop is in for repair, and you don’t own a DVD player. You start to panic but then, you realize it can be sorted out quickly. Disaster averted.

It is now really simple and easy to watch movies on your TV through your smartphone, if you have the right equipment. All you have got to do is open up MovieBox on your phone, connect to the Wi-Fi and connect with your DNLA television. Select your movie or movies and then sit back, relax, and enjoy the film. This also means that it’s much easier to find your children’s favorite TV shows, so you can have a moment to yourself while they are engrossed in the latest kids show. You also haven’t got to worry about irritating breaks in the film, as you would when watching a film on a TV channel, so you and your friends can completely enjoy the movie without an advert coming up to steal your concentration.

The ability and magnitude of the internet is now the norm. We can order food, search for the latest breaking news and the live score in the sports game, video chat with family living far away, and even turn the heating at home on or off when we are out and about. It is satisfying to know that our children will grow up in a fast paced world, knowing and growing up with the internet. A lot of us had to educate ourselves about the web when it first started to come to the fore of the masses, and some of us are still learning the basic tools of how and why we should use the internet.

Say, for example, if you really need to go grocery shopping but you can’t leave the house as you have a delivery arriving at an unspecified time. All you have got to do is an online shopping order from a supermarket and your shopping can be delivered to your door on the same day. So, while waiting for that delivery, you can do the cleaning chores before the children get home from school, cook dinner, and surprise them with treats that were delivered just before they arrived home.

Even if you are not a fan of the internet, it is hard to deny that it takes a lot of pressure off of us in terms of getting things done. You can do three, four, five things all at one, with the mere click of a button and your ability to use the world wide web.

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Moisturize That Skin: How To Take Care Of Your Complexion Over Winter

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Moisturize That Skin: How To Take Care Of Your Complexion Over Winter

Over the winter, it’s hard to keep your skin looking flawless. Although we all know that the summer sun can be very damaging for our skin, we often don’t think about the damage that’s done by bitingly cold temperatures and harsh winter winds. With red cheeks, chapped lips, and sore hands, we need a winter remedy to help us feel beautiful again. Luckily, there are many tips and tricks for keeping your skin fresh and picture perfect all year long:

Step Up Your Skincare: We always make sure that we’re wearing sunscreen over the summer – or we should, at least! But people often don’t realize that it’s important to wear a high SPF over the winter, too, because the winter sun can be just as damaging with its UV rays. Make sure that you put your sunscreen or a moisturizer with a high SPF on underneath your makeup and apply it to your neck and décolletage too. Put on night cream when you go to bed at night, along with eye cream. If you get oily skin, try using a gel moisturizer instead – just make sure that you don’t use a cleanser that’s too abrasive and that strips your skin of the natural oils that it needs to stay healthy.

If you have been using skin care that is appropriate for your skin type and are still not satisfied with the results, there are other options. You can go to an esthetician for treatments or you can look for more permanent solutions with a Plastic surgeon in Corsicana, TX (or your local area). Plastic surgery is sometimes still regarded as a taboo subject, but there is nothing wrong with it as long as you are comfortable and are, of course, going to a safe and reputable practice.

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Such cute specs!

Keep Hydrated: In the summer, it’s easy to make sure that you drink plenty of water when it’s so hot outside. Skin cells are made up of water and if you don’t drink enough, then your complexion starts to look dull and lifeless, so it’s important that you keep drinking water all throughout the winter, too. If you’re finding it hard to make yourself do so, why not make flavored water at home with your favorite fruits?

Drinking water will make your skin look fresh and glowing, and it’ll improve your general health – not just that of your skin. Make sure that you take off your makeup every evening with a cleanser that doesn’t strip the natural oils from your skin. If you find that your soap or shampoo aren’t foaming up enough but leaving a greasy layer of residue behind on your skin instead, then you might live in a hard water area – try investing in a water softener to improve matters.

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Drink up!

Fake It Till You Make It: If you’re finding it difficult to get perfect skin this winter, then there is always makeup to help with that. You might need a slightly paler shade of foundation than you do in the summer – or if you want lighter coverage with more moisturizing properties, why not go for BB cream instead? Lightly coat your under-eyes with translucent powder before brushing it away to erase any dark circles and do some light contouring to highlight your cheekbones.

A blusher like NARS Orgasm will add some warm color to your cheeks and if you want to go for a more golden summery look, try a golden highlighter and a light layer of bronzer. Complete the look with eye makeup in warm shades like the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette. Winter is the time that you can be a little more experimental with your lip color, so go for a dark berry shade – just make sure you’ve exfoliated your lips first!

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Love NYX!

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The Cleaning Hacks Everyone Should Know

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The Cleaning Hacks Everyone Should Know

If you’re sick and tired of going through an endless cycle of household chores like you’re Bill Murray in a rather dull version of Groundhog Day – you have come to the right place. This post features a range of simple cleaning hacks that everyone should know. Among these hacks, you will find the solutions to some of the most difficult cleaning problems you face. So, if you want to save time and clean less (don’t we all?!), read on:

The Holy Trinity: If you want to save money on cleaning products and ensure that your home is cleaned safely and effectively, you need to invest in the holy trinity of white vinegar, baking soda, and lemon. There are few things, from grotty tiles to mucky windows, that cannot be adequately cleaned with these natural wonder substances.

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Handy is dandy!

Wield Your Razor (Carefully!): If you accidentally get fresh paint on your clothing or any other household fabric, instead of putting them in the bin, go up to the bathroom and get a disposable razor. Lay the fabric down on the kitchen table, or another flat surface, and ‘shave’ off the dried paint in quick, sharp motions.

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Hiiiii-ya!

Invest in a Water Softener System: If you’re forever scrubbing limescale off of every surface that comes into contact with water, your life will be made so much easier by just investing in a water softener system. This will do all of the hard work for you, so you won’t have to scrub so hard in the future.

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An Old Sock Works Wonders: If you are constantly battling with dust and you’ve reached your limit on buying new dusters, an old sock could be your new best friend. Most socks are pretty good at picking up dust and by using them, you will be doing your bit for the planet, too. Old socks are particularly useful for cleaning blinds when used in conjunction with a cleaning solution of half water and half white vinegar.

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Hello, new duster.

Put Your Hairdryer to Use in the Home: If you’ve lost the battle with your family and they refuse to use water coasters, don’t worry! You can get rid of unsightly water rings on your wooden tables by heating them with a hairdryer. Once you’ve got rid of the staining, rub a little olive oil into the table to rejuvenate the wood.

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Beat Bathtub Stains: If you struggle to scrub the bathtub clean, a paste containing a tablespoon of a liquid cleaner, baking soda, and a few drops of tea tree oil will make the job easy, and your bathtub will sparkle like it never has before.

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I want this tub!

Salt for Iron: If you have trouble effectively cleaning iron utensils via normal means, try scrubbing them with salt and see them shine.

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Don’t be salty! 😉

Catch Dust with Dryer Sheets: If you’re always dusting the baseboards behind your furniture, there is a simple hack that will cut your efforts dramatically. Simply place dryer sheets in those hard to reach places, and any dust and grime will automatically be attracted to them, which means that you can simply replace them rather than spend ages busting the dust.

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HANDY IS DANDY!!!

There’s no doubt that if you practice these easy cleaning hacks, you’ll be spending less time cleaning and more time relaxing in no time! How fab does that sound?!

Featured Image By: Flickr

Hmm … If I Could Have A Month Off Work, What Would I Do?

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The US Travel Association recently conducted a study of American workers. According to that study, American workers are missing out on more than 169 million vacation days per year. This could be a sign that people don’t really value their time off work, the study’s authors suggested. But it could also mean that people don’t really know how to take advantage of their time off when they do get the chance to take a break.

Making the best use of your vacation time is essential to keeping yourself on your A-game at work all year long. You don’t often get the opportunity to take an entire month off of work to do whatever you want. So here’s what successful people do to restore themselves and get back to work, raring to go, once the holiday time is over.

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Shut Everything Down: One of the things that successful people do on holiday is turn off all interruptions. Unlike most people who check their email and text messages on their smartphones, successful people don’t do that when they are on vacation. Instead, they turn off their phones and try to go at least six hours every day without using any electronics at all.

Spend Time With Somebody You Love: High-achieving people don’t always spend a lot of time with their kids, friends, or family. As a result, they use their downtime as a chance to catch up on conversations that they missed out on because they have been working so hard. When you’ve got a whole month off, it gives you the opportunity to schedule an entire week just to spend time reconnecting with the people that you love. This could mean having a big weekend getaway in a national park or simply enjoying the company of others around your house. It’s a chance to do things like barbecues, go to theme parks, and play ball games in the garden.

Improve Yourself: Because work is so demanding,  most people don’t have the energy in the evenings and on the weekends to pursue their own interests and improve their skills. But when you have a month off of work, all of this changes. Time off is a chance to try things that are completely different, but that adds to your overall skill set. Time off can be used to learn a new sport, learn a new language, or how to perform better in your personal relationships.

Managing annual leave can be difficult. If you only get 20 vacation days of annual leave a year, make sure you plan out how you are going to use those days to achieve your goals.

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Get Inspired: People who are at the top of their business often get very absorbed in what they are doing. They tend to see the world in terms of their own goals and their own achievements and they can sometimes lose sight of what’s happening all around them. Taking a month off is a great opportunity to open your mind and to try new things. For instance you could go for a hike in the wilderness, read a great biography, or watch a bunch of interesting documentaries on the TV. Once you’ve got this new perspective, you can then start out fresh with renewed motivation at your job.

Bullseye: Getting A Job In The Career You Really Want

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Bullseye: Getting A Job In The Career You Really Want

When you’re looking for a new direction in your career or finding your first job, then it’s about managing your expectations as much as possible. The job you want and the career path you want won’t always be immediately available. You will face setbacks and you will have to take side roads. But that doesn’t mean you should give up. If anything, it means you should look into the means of how to increase your chances of getting the job you truly want more than ever:

Know The Right People: If you’re solely applying for jobs by looking at listings, then you’re missing the way that the game is really played. As they say, in business it’s about who you know, not what you know. Network in spaces where the people in your coveted industry schmooze around. Join their groups in Linkedin and attend trade shows and other corporate events.

Making friends significantly builds your chances of getting the referrals for a job in your industry even when you’re not expecting it. If you’re using a bit of help to find a job, like a recruitment agency, then get specific. Instead of using generic agencies, specialized ones like Portfolio Credit Control aim directly at a specific job or industry. That kind of specialized service is what employers are going to look for when they use recruitment agencies.

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Thumbs up for employment! 😉

Don’t Be Shy: As well as upping your possibilities of building connections through others, you should be open to building that connection yourself. Learn the right etiquette for approaching employers directly. Send a cover letter alongside a resume if you’re applying for a position that isn’t being advertised. Applying directly can be a good way to show how forward-thinking and eager you are. But if you don’t prepare that approach properly, it will make you look ill-prepared. Make sure you do your research on the business and tailor your resume to the needs and the values that you’re able to see from their website and any other materials that they might have available.

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DIY: If you have the skills in the industry that you want to work in, then you might just have the ability to start working for yourself. Of course, there are some skills and jobs that are better suited for self-employment than others but don’t underestimate the value of your abilities. Bookkeeping and accountancy, marketing skills, and design are all good skills to start your own business from.

Besides figuring out whether there’s a market for your services among individuals and businesses, you also need to make sure that you’re prepared to handle starting your own business. For instance, you need to consider both the resources and effort needed to maintain an office space and a website. There are a lot of tools that can help you get started, but you need to research your options carefully before making any big decisions.

Be proactive, be open and friendly, and be willing to take charge of your own career if you can. Don’t get caught into the usual trap of getting stuck in an industry that you have no passion or love for – You deserve better.

Featured Image By: Pixabay

Need More Space in Your Home? Try These Storage Ideas!

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In every home, there tends to be a need for more space. We have more things that we need to store or our home needs to function for a few purposes. With more and more people working from home at least one day a week, you need a spare room that doubles up as an office or a dining room that will work as a study, too. Additional storage is a must for this kind of thing. So if you are short on storage space and looking to make your home more functional, what can you do? Here are a few ideas to help you maximize the space in your home.

Convert the Garage: Are you someone that doesn’t really use the garage to it’s full potential? Do you just use it to park your car but nothing more? If that is the case, then it can be a huge space for you to convert and create an additional room in. First of all, if you have a driveway, then does your car need to be stored in the garage at all? Second of all, you need to think about getting some storage units in the garage. Maximize the space that you have by using shelving in the garage, as well as using hooks to hang things from the ceiling. When you aren’t using the floor space, it really does make a difference. You could use the garage, or at least half of it, as a family room or office. Just make sure that you put in more insulation or heating and get good rolling garage doors & gates. Otherwise, it could be a bit cold in there!

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Open Up Your Entryway: The entrance hall can be a busy space in the home. It can get cluttered with shoes, coats, and book or work bags. This can make it can look messy and smaller than it actually is. If you have space, then think about getting something like a bench. Then people can use it to put shoes on and spread out a little bit. If there wouldn’t be room for that, just make sure that you have got plenty of space for shoes and coats by using things like hooks and racks. When an area is organized, it looks much better and makes the space look larger, too.

Create More Storage with Furniture: In rooms like living areas or dining areas, you need extra storage space. These are the rooms that get the most cluttered, aren’t they? They are high traffic areas and where most people gather. So think about ways to use your furniture wisely to create more space. Think about ottoman style coffee tables. They can be lifted to store things like remote controls, games consoles, and magazines, for example. You could get a TV cabinet or coffee table with shelving built in. Then you can store books, DVDs, and video games. Wooden boxes could also be used to store things in like kids toys or throws and blankets. Personalize the boxes to make them your own and you will have a one of a kind bin for all of your odds and ends.

Is It Time You Booked A Dental Appointment? Red Flag Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore

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Is It Time You Booked A Dental Appointment? Red Flag Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore

Dental health is different to general health. Most of us only tend to see a doctor when we’re feeling under the weather or if we’ve noticed changes in our mood, energy levels, or the way our body works. When it comes to your teeth and gums, you shouldn’t wait until you have a dental disaster to book a dental appointment. Prevention is always better than cure, and this is why regular checks are recommended. If you haven’t been to the dentist for a while or you spot these red flag signs, pick up the phone now!

Bleeding Gums: If you noticed that you were bleeding from any other part of your body, you’d probably take note straight away. But for some reason, many of us ignore bleeding gums. The trouble is that bleeding gums are often a sign of gum disease, a potentially serious disease, which can contribute to early tooth loss. Gum disease is caused by harmful bacteria. Mild gum disease, known as gingivitis, is relatively easy to treat with good oral hygiene and cleaning treatments. However, advanced gum disease, or periodontitis, is much more difficult for dentists to manage. It causes irreparable damage to the gums and the bone tissue that lies beneath. The end result is premature tooth loss, as the bony sockets are unable to hold the teeth in place any longer. If you do spot blood when you brush your teeth, or you’ve noticed that your gums are swollen or sore, see your dentist. Don’t wait for your next scheduled check-up, as gum disease can develop quickly.

Tooth Pain: Tooth pain is very common, and sometimes, it’s nothing to worry about. However, it can often be a sign of underlying issues, such as decay. If you have severe pain or pain that is getting worse, it’s particularly important to seek advice from your dentist. The earlier you address the problem, the better. If you have a cavity, for example, a filling can prevent further damage to the tooth and reduce the risk of an abscess from forming. Dental pain can also be caused by an infection. If you get shooting pain when you bite down or you experience throbbing pain, this may be symptomatic of an infection.

Slow-Healing Ulcers: Mouth ulcers are very common. They tend to develop when you’ve accidentally cut the inside of your cheek or lip when you’ve been eating, for example. In most cases, ulcers don’t cause any problems and they heal within a week without the need for treatment. If you’ve had an ulcer for longer than two weeks, it’s advisable to see your dentist. It’s very unlikely, but slow-healing sores can be a sign of oral cancer.

If you haven’t been to the dentist in the last 6-12 months, pick up the phone now and make an appointment! Dental issues only get worse with time, so it’s particularly important to visit your dentist if you’ve experienced problems or noticed any of these red flag signs.

Featured Image By: MaxPixel

Teaching Them To Fly The Nest: How To Help Your Grown-Up Kids Become Independent

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It’s become a main trope in popular culture that parents can’t wait for their kids to leave home. Having the house to yourself, not needing to replace the shampoo in a hurry because someone used more than they needed to. Appreciating the peace and quiet that can only come from nobody under the age of “late thirties” living in a place. It sounds like bliss.

Of course, few parents think about it in so black and white. Though there are definite advantages, you’ll miss them when they’re gone, and there will be tears when they move out. So much so that you’ll be kind of glad when your phone goes and it’s them. Some kind of emergency in their new home that they haven’t the first clue how to deal with. Mom to the rescue!

And yet… when your kids move into a new home, you want them to be self-sufficient. Whether it’s a college house-share or their first apartment, you want them to have the knowledge you’ve accumulated. You know you made mistakes when you first lived outside your childhood home. You know they’ll make some too, but you can stop them from making the ones that you may have made in your youth.

Plumbing: Give Them The Basics, Save A Lot Of Money: When we are kids, we get used to things just showing up and a lot goes on that we don’t see. Food lands on the table in front of us or in the fridge, and we don’t worry about how it got there. We turn on the tap and there is water, flip a switch and there is light. So when we’ve moved into a new place, we can be shocked when the shower drain floods after a few months. Your grown-up child doesn’t need to be an expert plumber. But knowing how (and how often) to clear a shower drain and other blockages can make a big difference.

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Prepare Them For The Marketplace: There will be some issues that occur which you’re not able to fix yourself. The first few times, you may deal with them indirectly. Going round to their new home, seeing the extent of the damage and then calling the relevant trades person to fix the problem. Before too long, though, it is important that they know who to call and how to deal with repair companies. Give your kids a list of plumbers, exterminators, and licensed electricians. Advise them on the importance of getting three quotes before hiring anyone.

Become Skilled At Hinting: Of course you will never stop caring or worrying about your own progeny. You will always step in to make sure they are safe, comfortable, and well fed. So when they come back home because they’ve run out of money and just need to eat, take the chance to teach them some self-sufficiency.

Feed them, of course. Give them a good meal and listen to the problems that everyone has when they first move out. Then take them grocery shopping. Tell them why you go here, why you walk down this aisle, and where you get coupons. Don’t tell them straight out “this is what you need to do”. Let them realize that by teaching them. You are running your household by showing them and hopefully they will do the same – or, perhaps even better!

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