Mandy, Author at Serendipity Mommy

4 Common Problems with Home Offices

March 25, 2020 by Mandy

If you’re like most people on the planet, you’re probably spending a lot more time than usual in your home these days. What’s more, many employees already work remotely from their own homes fairly frequently. On the surface, there are many advantages to working from home. After all, remote workers can skip the commute, set their own itinerary, and work at their own pace. Yet, many home offices aren’t effective work spaces, and professionals may suffer a dip in productivity as a result. With that in mind, today we’ll examine four common problems with home offices so that you can identify and address them accordingly.

Noise Pollution

Home offices need to be private spaces. Period. It’s very easy for remote workers to get distracted by others in their house. As such, noise pollution from kids, significant others, roommates, and even neighbors can act to break concentration and ruin a day’s work. Do your best to ensure that your home office is sufficiently isolated and that you have items like noise-canceling headphones on hand to help you stay on the task at hand.

Tech Troubles

Ideally, home offices should afford professionals the chance to do basically everything they would normally do while at their place of work. This means that home offices need to be able to accommodate your tech needs. First and foremost, solid WiFi is a must. Beyond that, home offices may also require quality microphones and cameras for video conferencing. Additionally, some pros may even need a printer and/or a fax machine to handle their workload properly.

Cramped Conditions

Unless you are very well off, odds are you don’t have tons of free space to create the home office of your dreams. Still, way too many home offices turn out to be cramped, cluttered spaces that certainly aren’t conducive to good work. To combat this problem, make it a point to clean your desk area on a regular basis, and remove any furniture or fixtures that you don’t need. Don’t wait until spring to do cleaning –– especially if you notice a stale smell in the air!

Poor Lighting

It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a blog about a new type of ultrasonic mixer, or you’re troubleshooting software issues, sunlight can help boost your energy levels throughout the day. Of course, not every home office has access to lots of sunlight. If you can’t open windows and let in sunlight that way, consider investing in modern light bulbs that are both energy-efficient and sufficiently bright. This is a small purchase that can pay big dividends in the long run.

How to Go Vegan on a Budget: Your Complete Guide

March 25, 2020 by Mandy

If you’ve scrolled through social media posts for vegan recipes or diets, it may seem like a massive and expensive undertaking. It doesn’t have to be. You can achieve a healthy vegan lifestyle without breaking the bank.

Keep reading for tips on how to go vegan on a budget!

Reasons to Go Vegan

If you’ve spent your life as an omnivore you may wonder why people go vegan. The answer varies from person to person. Someone may live a vegan lifestyle:

To reduce their carbon footprint and produce less waste contributing to climate change
To adopt healthier eating habits
To help control or reduce your risk for a chronic disease
For personal or spiritual reasons
In opposition to animal cruelty and industrial farming

Cutting consumption of animal products may help you lower your risk of conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and lower your cholesterol. Plant-based diets come with a lot of benefits and changes.

What Happens to Your Body When You Go Vegan

You may find going from omnivore to vegan to be a difficult process. You’ll likely feel the effect of the lifestyle change after a few weeks. You may experience:

Changes in weight (either loss or gain)
Different food cravings
GI discomfort
Boosted energy levels
Clearer skin

It is important to monitor your nutritional intake and consult your doctor before any drastic dietary changes, as you may need to take supplements (such as B-12 or Iron) when giving up certain foods.

How to Go Vegan on a Budget

According to the USDA, the average American can meet the daily nutritional requirements of fruits and vegetables for less than $3 a day. You can easily save money and meet all of your dietary needs with healthy vegan foods.

Fresh v. Frozen

Frozen fruits and vegetables are just as healthy as fresh ones. The vegetables in the freezer aisle were picked at peak ripeness, unlike the fresh produce. Fresh produce is picked a few days shy of ripe in order to extend its shelf-life.

Frozen fruits and vegetables are often cheaper and are good additions to meals like stir-fry, soup, and smoothies.

Buy in Bulk

Many vegan staples can be bought in bulk. This is often cheaper than buying in smaller quantities. Here are some common vegan staples:

Legumes (dried beans, chickpeas, lentils, etc.)
Tofu
Rice and/or quinoa
Pasta
Nuts
Oats
Nutritional Yeast
Nut Butter

You can use these foods in recipes or eat them on their own. All of these listed also have a long shelf-life, so you can stock up without worrying about expiration dates for a while.

Cook Your Own Food

Plant-based products, such as burgers, have been added to many fast food and quick service restaurant menus, but this is not the most cost-effective option for a vegan lifestyle (nor a healthy one). Making your own vegan dishes at home will save you money.

Maintaining a Vegan Lifestyle

Now that you have a better idea of how to go vegan on a budget, you can start incorporating these tips into your life.

Adopting a vegan lifestyle is affordable, sustainable, and one of the best choices you can make for your health!

4 Tips For Starting A Home-Based Business

March 20, 2020 by Mandy

Are you thinking about starting a home business? This is something which many parents are now doing, and it is easy to see why because it allows you to have a stream of income while still being able to stay home and look after the kids. This can give you a great work-life balance, and many people find that starting their own company can be good fun and highly rewarding. It does also pose a few unique challenges, so here are a few tips to succeed with any home-based business, which will hopefully allow you to enjoy all the benefits that this can bring.

1. Separate Personal & Professional Life

One of the biggest challenges that running a home business presents is separating your personal and professional life. You need to have a dedicated area in the home purely for work, to keep the same schedule each day, and to avoid distractions while working. If the kids are home, then you may need to supervise them, and you might want to consider having a more flexible schedule (one of the perks), but it is a good idea to generally start and finish at the same time each day.

2. Create A Strong Brand Identity

As a small business, you will want to stand out from the crowd so that you can stick in the mind of the consumer, and the best way to do this is with a strong brand identity. You can then have various marketing materials made up and save money on this with the use of a Vistaprint promo code. This could help you to make business cards, promo products, labels, stickers, branded clothing, and anything else which will help to reinforce your brand identity and stand out.

3. Have A Strong Online Presence

No matter what industry you are setting up in, it is important that you have a strong online presence, so people can find out more about your company and buy your products/use your services. You should have a professionally-designed website, presence across the main social media channels, and then make the most of the digital marketing services available to create a strong presence online.

4. Humanize Your Brand

In today’s day and age, it can make a huge difference if you are able to humanize your brand. You will reap the benefits if you make a connection with your target customer. People have been used to dealing with much larger organizations where there is no human contact at all. Therefore, when you can humanize your company, it will help to build relationships, encourage customer retention, and help you to attract new customers. You can do this by including information about yourself on the website, by writing all content in the first person, with handwritten thank you orders and by making customer service a priority area.

It is understandable to see why so many parents are starting businesses that they can run from their own home. This can bring many benefits and rewards to your life, but it can also be challenging as it is very different to going into work each day, so, hopefully, these tips will help you to find success.

5 Ways to Prepare Your Body for Pregnancy

March 19, 2020 by Mandy

Whether it’s your first or second child, preparing to start or continue a family is a beautiful step to take. It will likely change your life in ways you would never imagine and also add a new dynamic to your family. Housing a baby in your body for nine months isn’t an easy thing to do, so it’s important that you’re as prepared as possible. This means being mentally prepared by having as much information and knowledge as possible as well as being physically prepared. There are several ways that you can get physically prepared and most include making modifications to your lifestyle. This article is going to help you get started by giving you 5 ways that you can begin to prepare your body for pregnancy.

Get a Check-up

Before doing anything, one of the first things you should try when preparing your body for pregnancy is to go and get a full pre-pregnancy checkup. If you’ve never had one before, ideally the appointment will begin with the doctor going through yourself and your partners’ medical history. They may then go on to run a blood test as well as a pap smear in order to check for any conditions that could affect your likeliness of getting pregnant. Some other diseases they may be likely to check for are hepatitis B, HIV, Herpes, or other STDs. Depending on your ethnicity, they may also check for genetic diseases such as sickle cell, Thalassemia, or Tay-Sachs disease as they could affect your baby in the long-run. When going for a checkup, it is also important that you discuss any existing medical conditions that you may have with your doctor too. If, for instance, you have high blood pressure, epilepsy, diabetes, or asthma, keeping these illnesses under control is crucial. If it is discovered that you’re unable to carry a child for any reason, then you could also explore options such as adoption or a surrogate pregnancy in which another woman helps you carry your baby but uses your eggs.

Find Out When You’re Most Fertile

Tracking your cycle is another way that you can prepare for pregnancy. Everyone has a time of the month where they happen to be most fertile. You should, therefore, try and figure out when your most fertile period is as this will likely help you get pregnant faster. If you’re wondering how you can do this, you can begin by recording the beginning and end of your cycle every month. You should also look out for any irregularities such as abnormal bleeding and spotting. It is said that you’re likely to ovulate halfway through your cycle which is day 14. Your fertile window should begin at about day 10, so you’re more likely to get pregnant if you have sex between day 10 and 14 of a 28-day cycle. There are apps available that can help you identify your fertile days such as Fertility Friend, Glow, Clue, Ovia, Period Tracker and Conceivable. Aside from these, there are several others that you can look for in your app store. Also, if you’ve been on birth control, it’s a good idea to stop so that you can get back into the swing of a regular cycle again.

Avoid smoking and Drinking

If you happen to be a smoker or heavy drinker, then while preparing for pregnancy you should think about dropping those habits. This is because they can make it difficult for you to get pregnant as well as cause complications in your pregnancy too. Research shows that it’s likely that drinking more than five alcoholic beverages on a weekly basis could cause lower fertility. This could be because alcohol is said to depress the adrenal glands and slow the release of hormones that are produced by the adrenal glands which could directly impair your egg health and libido. You shouldn’t worry too much if you consume alcohol moderately, however, as this shouldn’t affect your ability to conceive. In terms of smoking, apparently, 10 or more cigarettes a day could affect your ability to get pregnant. More specifically, smoking can cause blockages in the fallopian tube, increase chances of an ectopic pregnancy, damage your eggs as they develop in your ovaries, cause cervical changes and increase your risk of miscarriage. For these reasons, it may be best to just avoid these things altogether.

Stress Less

When you’re under a lot of stress, it can make getting pregnant more of a challenge. Some ways that stress can affect fertility is by affecting the functioning of the hypothalamus which is the gland in the brain that regulates your appetite, emotions, and most significantly the hormones that tell your ovaries to release eggs. When you’re stressed, this could mean that you ovulate later in your cycle or you don’t ovulate at all. This then obviously has a direct impact on your ability to get pregnant. You should also note that it is sudden stress, both positive and negative, that could have an effect on your cycle. Some ways to manage your stress levels to speed up the process include taking time out to relax, not overburdening yourself. and engaging in relaxing activities on a regular basis.

Exercise Regularly

Exercise is an important step you should take when preparing your body for a baby. Being physically active prepares your body for the many changes that are going to happen during and after pregnancy. It should give you the energy that you need, ease constipation, help lift your spirit and reduce the chances of high blood pressure. Working out could also help prepare your body for labor which can be a stressful and challenging time for both you and your baby. For these reasons, it’s best to get into an exercise routine before getting pregnant.

Certain studies link exercise with fertility, and you can confirm with your doctor any recommended or restricted activities as you prepare to get pregnant. You may have also heard of wearing compression clothing when exercising. These garments are designed to help boost blood circulation and provide relief from muscle soreness.

For pregnant women who may be experiencing swelling in the ankles and lower leg, wearing compression socks may help in that area. On your to-buy list, consider having a pair of compression socks for exercising, walking, and traveling before and during pregnancy. They can come in a wide-calf option to get the right fit.

When preparing for pregnancy, it is likely that you feel many different emotions in addition to a little anxiety. It can be nail biting waiting for a positive pregnancy test every month as well as challenging trying to make lifestyle changes. You should remember, however, that everything happens in its own time, so the best thing may be to relax, look after your body and think positively in the interim.

What to Do If You Struggle to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

March 18, 2020 by Mandy

Getting enough sleep every night is critical to living well. Not only does sleep allow your brain to shut down and unwind from the stresses of your daily life, but also your body does most of its recovery during deep sleep. Moreover, the adverse effects of not getting enough sleep are almost too many to count.

If you think that you have insomnia, it is a good idea to consult your physician to get their take on the situation. However, if you have been simply struggling to get the right amount of restful sleep at night as a result of an overactive mind or some new stresses in your life, there are a few home remedies that you can try out which might help you catch the sleep that is eluding you.

Switch Off the Screens

While phones, tablets, and laptops are powerful and helpful tools that are used every day, they also might be the things stopping you from getting good sleep at night. The screens of these devices emit what is called blue light.

When your eyes are exposed to the blue light of your phone screen right before bed, for example, it can result in your mind becoming more alert and stop the release of melatonin, the hormone that helps you relax. If you are in the habit of looking at your phone before you sleep or watching television in bed, consider making a switch. Try cutting your screen time one hour before going to bed. This should allow your brain enough time to unwind and prepare for sleep.

Try CBD Oil

CBD oil, while not recommended for the long-term treatment of sleep issues like insomnia, has been proven to help those who struggle with falling asleep to relax. CBD will not produce the effects of marijuana in that it lacks enough THC to result in the user feeling “high”. Rather than cause impairment, CBD oil might assist in calming anxious thoughts.

There is, yet, no concrete proof that CBD will work as a sleep aid for everyone who tries it, but there are virtually no adverse side effects to using it. So, the next time that you find yourself struggling to sleep, it might be worth seeing some hemp distillate for sale.

Watch What You Eat (And Drink)

The things that you choose to eat and drink close to bedtime can profoundly impact the quality of sleep that you can get. Try to avoid eating heavy meals close to bedtime, particularly meals that contain too many carbs. Such meals might be throwing off the release of melatonin in your body.

Caffeine is the obvious stimulator that might keep you from resting, so try cutting back on caffeinated drinks a couple of hours before you plan on going to bed.

If you are in the habit of drinking a glass or two of wine before bed because you assume that it will help you relax, think again. This is another habit that could be drastically disrupting your body’s ability to release melatonin, which factors into your circadian rhythm.