Top 5 Outdoor Activities for Fall

Fall is a wonderful season. The trees are changing colors, and the sweltering heat of summer has drifted away. It is a great opportunity for the whole family to enjoy some time outside. Here are five fun outdoor activities for you to try this fall!

Five Swimming Safety Tips to Teach Your Children

Teaching your children about proper safety when going swimming at the beach or even at the pool during a fun family vacation getaway can literally be a lifesaver. Before letting your little ones free to run and play on the beach or around a pool, talk to them about these proper safety tips. However, always remember that no safety tip given to your children will replace constant supervision while they go swimming. Adults must always be close by with a watchful eye in case of an emergency.

Children Should Pay for Their Auto Insurance After Graduation

It can be a difficult decision cutting financial ties with your children. No mother or father wants to do that. You've provided for your child or children for 18-plus years and then what? A lot of money (if not, majority of it) comes out of parents' pockets each year to pay for their child's college education, housing, insurance, and sometimes even food or books. Auto insurance can be a hefty sum of cash coming out of your pocket to allow your child to drive to and from home, work, and school. Transportation is definitely important, especially if you want you kid to make it to their internship or job on time or even visit you at home. So how long should you pay for your child's auto insurance?

How to Choose a Family Dentist

My name is Sandy and my family and I just moved to Lansing, Michigan.  I've spent most of my life growing up in northern Michigan, where everyone knew everybody, and businesses were run by neighbors. I wanted that same feeling even though we’re now living in a much bigger city. For 30 years I went to the same dentist. I took my kids there, I recommended it to my friends, and it was a relief to have a dentist that cared about me as a person, not just my teeth. So I made a list of qualities that I wanted my new dentistry to have.

With 3 kids in the family, and my husband, I wanted to make sure we’re getting the most quality care with a trusted staff. I broke my list down into 3 major categories: location, staff, and services. As far as location goes, I wanted the office to be close to work, home, and my children’s school. Things change all the time, having a dentist that’s close and easy to locate can take out a lot of the hassle. Hours matter to me as well. We’re all up early and out the door and don’t stop all day. Having dentistry with flexible hours is a redeeming quality. I also want the office to appear clean, neat, and orderly.  I want to know that the dentist that they have is well trained, knowledgeable, and friendly.

Before selecting a dentist, I made sure to do a little background research on some of the dentistry’s websites. I even asked our local pharmacist if she had any recommendations. I don’t want to have to go to other places to get different procedures done as well. If I need a crown, x-ray, cavity filling, extraction or any other service, I want to make sure I can get it done in the same place. A one stop shop for all of my dental needs.  In the end I visited a few places and talked to the staff, and based my decision upon my list (eventually selecting Derksen Dentistry). But going in and actually meeting the staff beforehand was the deal breaker.

What I Want My Kitchen to Be

Since full-time mommies like me spend most of the time in the kitchen, you can’t blame me for wanting it remodeled more than the master bedroom. Based on the survey made by Houzz.com, 94 percent of the respondents want to replace their kitchen countertops. Sounds like I’m not the only one dissatisfied with my present countertop! 

How to Help Children Manage Grief

As parents, we want to shield our children from the pain of losing a loved one. But no matter how hard we want to protect them, children can’t help themselves from feeling grief. What we can control on our part is to help the child feel safe and to let him express his feelings in his own way. By helping the child deal with the loss, he’ll learn to build a very important life skill that he will need in the future—healthy coping skills.

Tips to Remove Mold From Your Home

Nobody wants mold growing anywhere in their home. Unfortunately, mold can sometimes appear, even if you clean consistently and thoroughly. Mold will most commonly appear in a home’s bathroom due to the moisture, heat, and lack of ventilation. Bathrooms may provide mold with perfect growing conditions, but it can appear anywhere in your home. If you ever have a run-in with mold, try using these household items to remove the mold:

Lemon or Lemon Juice

Depending on the size or location of the moldy area, use a lemon or lemon juice to remove mold. If the area can be reached, cut a lemon in half or into a smaller wedge. Rub the lemon on the moldy surface and allow it to sit for approximately 10 minutes then rinse the area with water to kill the mold. If the location of the mold is hard to reach, try using lemon juice with a toothbrush and scrub the area to remove the mold.

Vinegar & Baking Soda

Sprinkle baking soda on the mold you are trying to remove then spray it with vinegar which will cause the baking soda to fizz. Allow the baking soda and vinegar to settle for a short period of time and create a paste. Once the combination has become a paste, use a cloth or toothbrush to scrub away the mold and rinse with water.

Bleach

Apply a combination of 1 part bleach and 3 parts water to the moldy area using a spray bottle or rag to kill the mold. Tougher mold may require scrubbing with a rag or toothbrush for smaller, hard to reach areas. Even though you are diluting bleach with water, its active ingredients sodium hypochlorite and sodium hydroxide will be strong enough to remove mold. When using the combination of bleach and water, be sure to wear protective gloves and make sure there is proper ventilation.  

This post provided by Michigan Cedar Products, a distributor of white cedar siding and paneling. Visit their website, www.michigancedarproducts.com, to learn more about their products. 

Related articles

• The Easiest Green Cleaning Recipes You Can Make at Home via @the_daily_green
• 45 Uses for Lemons That Will Blow Your Mind!
• Black Mold Be Gone