Karen – Page 17 – Eco Karen

5 Most Popular Eco-Friendly Flooring Solutions

Personalizing your home used to mean repainting the walls or getting new furniture, but now it also includes sustainable renovations. Many homeowners want to save money and go green, which starts with your floors. These are the five most popular eco-friendly flooring solutions that work in any home.

No matter what you prefer for your interior design or how much you can budget for renovations, eco-friendly flooring solutions are within reach. Check out a few of these examples to discover eye-catching options that are worth every penny.

1. Natural Cork Tiles

Cork might not be the first thing you imagine when you picture flooring, but it’s a sustainable replacement for traditional floors. Teams harvest cork by stripping it off tree trunks, leaving the trees unharmed and able to continue growing. Those cork forests store over 15 million tons of CO2 every year, removing it from the atmosphere where it can harm the planet.

It cushions every step and absorbs sound as well. There are many benefits to cork flooring, so check out the many stains and designs that would look great in your home.

2. Unique Linoleum Rolls

Many houses come with vinyl floors, but those aren’t eco-friendly. Vinyl processing converts raw petroleum into polymers, which back the vinyl material with a solid foundation. It requires gas and coal mining, but you don’t have to fund those industries. Instead, look into unique rolls of linoleum flooring. They feature identical designs to vinyl options but don’t need nonrenewable resources.

3. Engineered Hardwood Flooring

You might think hardwood is out of the question because it uses wood, but think again. Engineered hardwood flooring resists buckling and warping so they last longer than traditional wood planks. You won’t waste natural resources by replacing hardwood floors every few years or add to local landfill waste that contributes to environmental pollution. Enjoy all the benefits of hardwood flooring without any ecological worries.

4. Organic Bamboo Planks

Bamboo flooring is another alternative to wood planks that take vital natural resources away from the planet. While it’s another kind of wood, it matures in three to five years so it quickly replaces itself. Trees would take decades to do the same. It’s durable and customizable, making it an excellent material for any room in your house.

5. Polished Durable Concrete

Many industrial and minimalist interior designs pair well with concrete floors. It’s one of the most sustainable flooring materials because concrete operates as both foundation and flooring, eliminating many extra factors. You won’t need to fund carpeting production efforts that contribute to atmospheric CO2 and you won’t need natural resources.

Concrete also lasts for decades, so see how it would look in your home. Stains and polishes add flare and durability so concrete floors will match your interior design and have a finished appearance.

Explore Popular Eco-Friendly Flooring Solutions

These are five of the most popular eco-friendly flooring solutions that balance your household needs with your sustainable lifestyle. See how engineered hardwood, cork and bamboo flooring will complement your existing features like cabinets and doors. You’ll find great new floors that fit your budget and don’t hurt the environment during production or installation.

The Best Strategy To Make A Positive Change In Your Life Right Now

You shouldn’t need a significant life event to occur for you to want to change certain behaviors.

For many people, turning a specific age or dealing with a severe illness is the wake-up call they need to focus on their health, but you shouldn’t wait until then before you think about taking care of yourself and your health.

I know, I know, there are so many things we have to do that we can feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it.

From work, childcare, remote learning and work, cleaning, shopping, and making meals, today’s life has many challenges that we don’t even feel the stress building up until it’s too late.

This is why taking care of your health is so important. Stress can have short-term impacts but may also contribute to significant health issues if left alone.

Stress left unchecked can impact you in ways you may not even be aware of.

Stress can:

Lower the immune system making you more susceptible to illness.
Wreak havoc on your emotional wellbeing, even leading to depression.
Increase sense of fatigue.
Contribute to cardiovascular disease, be a cause for heart attacks and strokes.
Hamper brain function and cognition.
Impact sleep patterns making it difficult to feel rested after sleeping.

If you feel the need to make a change for the better, you need to develop a strategy to get you on the right path and one that you can maintain over time.

The biggest problem that people make as they try to change their behaviors is that they try to take on too much change without a reward system in place and lack accountability to their goals.

In fact, studies show that most resolutions fail by up to 80%.

So how do you make a positive change stick?

Make Your Changes Permanent

To make lasting behavioral changes, you first need to understand a few reasons you want to make that change and how it will benefit you. Ask yourself these questions. What is it that you want to change, why is it important, and how do you plan to tackle the issue?

Start With A Plan

When you figure out the what and the why of your goal, next start to plan the how. How do you intend to make this change, and what are the steps you can do to accomplish them.

If getting in better shape is something you’re considering, then looking to join a gym or exercise program at the local community center is a good starting point.

I know what you’re thinking. With childcare being so tricky right now, how can I take time to exercise? The answer is to find a gym with daycare, or a workout when the kids are in class or some other activity that you don’t need to be present for.

As you make the physical effort needed to change, another thing to consider is your nutrition. What you put into your body will either enhance the benefits of exercise or hinder your efforts. Think about changing your eating habits, the types of foods you eat, and considering supplements specific to your age requirements and needs.

Find An Accountability Buddy

As you act on your plan, the going can be easy at first. As you begin to get into a routine, there will undoubtedly be obstacles that will try to derail your motivation.

That’s why finding a person you can rely on, whether it’s a friend, family member, or coach, you need a person that can hold you accountable and motivate you to stay on track even when you don’t feel up to it.

Plan For Small Gains To Make Major Changes

When you’re planning your transformation, the best way to make progress is the one-day-at-a-time approach. When starting on a goal, the process may seem overwhelming, so finding a way to make small, easily achievable gains is the best way to create building blocks for success.

Think of it this way.

A marathon runner doesn’t focus on the distance, rather the step-by-step strategy. Focusing on putting one foot in front of the other allows the runner to dedicate to one thing at a time and not worry about the totality of the distance.

Understand Data Security in Database System Environment

A database system is not a standalone thing. Still, it consists of all components that control and regulate the data sources, data collection, storage devices, data management, and data usage in the database management environment. Data security is collecting preventive measures to protect data from any unauthorized access, corruption, leakage, or theft, etc. From the operational point of view, database systems are composed of five parts as below.

Hardware: It is the computer, network components, and allied devices.

Software: Including the operating system, files, utilities, file management systems, applications, and programs to generate reports from databases.

People: Data specialists, administrators, programmers, and database users.

Procedures: The policies and rules which govern the design and usage of the hardware and software components.

Data: The collection of all enterprise information.

An ideal database system will combine all this relevant information and provide ways to collect, store, and maintain all this information at a central location.

Parts of a database system

Database Management System (DBMS) is a program that organizes all the lists of information and maintains it.

Database Application, which is the program that lets you interact with the database and add, view, retrieve, and update information stored in the database management systems.

A DBMS is the platform on which the database system is based, which can be classified based on the number of users on it and based on the site locations and extent of use. The number of users of a database system determines whether DBMS is a single-user or multi-user system. Single-user DBMS’ support only a single user at a time. If the database runs on a personal computer, it is ideally called a desktop database, a single-user DB.

On the other hand, a multi-user DB supports more than one user by enabling simultaneous access and action to the database. If such a multiuser database supports only a limited number of users within a specific department inside an organization, it is known as a workgroup database. The larger databases, which are accessed by the users enterprise-wide, across many departments and locations, are known as an enterprise database.

Database site location is also used to classify the DBMS. For example, a database system that supports a database located at a single site is called a centralized database management system. A DBMS that supports databases distributed across various locations are known as distributed DBMS. The types of computer systems that a database can run are broken down into four broader categories: centralized, PC-centered, client-server DBs, and distributed databases. For identifying the appropriate database model for your organization, consult expert providers like RemoteDBA.com.

Database systems explained

Centralized database processing system

In centralized database processing systems, all the programs run on a major hosting computer, which includes DBMS, database application used to access and manipulate the database, and the network and communication facilities that send and receive data to and from the user terminals. Users can access the database through various connected locally or dial-up terminals.

Personal Computer

As we have seen above, when the DBMS is located on the local PC, it acts as both the host and user system. The database management functions and the database application are all combined into a single application. The PC’s database applications can handle all the user input and screen output and can access data on the disk. Combining all these functions into a single unit will give the database processing systems great control and flexibility, and speed. This further helps to reduce cost and also can decrease data integrity and security.

However, all recent enterprises are connected over Local Area Networks (LANs), and all individual computers function as a part of LAN. In a LAN, the user applications may reside on a File Server, a PC that runs a special Network Operating System (NOS) like Microsoft’s LAN Manager, Novell’s NetWare, or Windows NT, etc.

Client/Server DBMS

In the generalized approach to database management, the client PC is the computer from which the users request data and information. In contrast, the server offers the requested information delivered to the client’s PC. Database applications on the client PC are known as the front-end, which handles the screen operations and the user input-output processes.

The database server handles the “back-end system” of the client/server databases, where the server handles data processing based on the client queries and access the data storage disk. A user at the front end typically raises a query for the data from the DB server, and the front-end application then sends that request to the server through the network. The database server runs the DB search based on the query and sends back only the needed data against it back to the user.

Distributed processing systems

It is a simple form of distributed processing that has been there for many years. In the basic form of distributed systems, the data is shared among various host systems through updates and sent through a direct connection on the same network or through remote connections over the internet.

Data security

In the case of any database processing systems, data security is the major challenge for the database administrators. Secured data needs to be transferred from one server to another over the network at greater distances. For taking care of data piracy on data mining, appropriate security measures are necessary to be implemented. A very common method of data security is using user and password verification for data access. Data security needs to be implemented as a preventative measure in any database administration plan to protect your valuable enterprise data from theft, unauthorized access, or corruption.

All enterprises which deal with data and database management systems need to take appropriate measures to ensure data security as a priority. There are various vendors also offering data security support and plenty of tools to ensure the same. However, when it comes to data security, an organization needs to have its policies and procedures to ensure that the integrity and confidentiality of its data are protected well.

5 Tips for Improving Your Wellness Routine

In a time when there seems to be a new diet every day, some new miracle pill around every corner, and an opinion out of every mouth, trying to keep up and improve your wellness routine can feel a little overwhelming. Thankfully, there are some evergreen tips out there! We’ve put together our five favorites that will help you to improve your wellness routine right away.

Take it outside.

There have been so many studies done that prove the sights and sounds of nature have substantial health benefits. (Even just a weekend away camping can completely reset your sleep schedule and leave you feeling rejuvenated!) Sunlight has also long-since been proven to help boost your immune system. So if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to boost your wellness routine, go outside! Whether you want to have your morning cup of tea on the porch or do your yoga routine in the backyard, you’ll soon feel that much better.

Have daily vitamins and supplements.

Starting a new daily vitamin and supplement regimen can help you feel amazing. For example, daily CBD tablets are a natural way to alleviate anxiety, pain, and acne. Collagen can help your skin and hair, and iron can help your nails grow healthy and long. Vitamins D and B are also essential for your body to process and function properly. Check with your doctor before you’re on any medications or have any medical conditions and always make sure that your vitamins and supplements won’t interact with any medicines that you may be taking.

Going all-natural.

Typically, natural is better. This can be as simple as switching to natural and organic foods or making sure that the vitamins you take are natural. You can also start cutting out toxic artificial sweeteners and replace them with healthier, natural sweeteners like agave, honey, and dates. Not only will you see any extra weight melt away, but your body will feel younger and rejuvenated. A little-known fact is that you can absorb unnatural chemicals from the clothes you wear, too, so consider opting for natural fabrics, as well!

Stretch your routine.

Doing dynamic stretches for 5-10 minutes before you workout and static stretching for 5-10 minutes after your routine can be beneficial. Not only does it help to relieve muscle tension, but it can also leave you more flexible and limber. Between lengthening your muscles and increasing your flexibility, it can help your workout be that much more effective (meaning you will see the results even more quickly!)

Eat well and don’t hop from diet-to-diet.

Eating whole foods, eating every meal, and having healthy snacks throughout the day can help you stay awake, energized, and put on the right kind of weight – muscles! It may be tempting to go from diet-to-diet, but doing so can have adverse side effects. Learning how to eat healthily and well is much more beneficial for you than any specific diet plan.

While these are pretty easy tips to incorporate, it’s important to note that you shouldn’t make any huge changes without talking to your doctor first. Only you and your doctor know what’s best for you and your body. But should you decide to take your wellness more seriously – and your doctor approves – these should help you get to your next new best quickly and easily.

Live Better Through Natural Living

Natural living is more than a saying. It’s prioritizing what’s necessary for a healthy life and focusing on those things that are beneficial to a higher quality of life.

For some, a higher quality of life may be the ability to travel to far-off destinations and explore the wonders of the world. For others, the definition of a better life includes time to spend with loved ones, showering them in our love, and appreciating the memories being made.

Whatever your definition of a higher quality of life, the foundation is by adopting positive behaviors and beliefs. One of the keys to that is to focus on a more natural way of living.

What do I mean by natural living?

Natural Living Defined

Natural living means to be in harmony with the earth and choosing only to use sustainable, non-toxic, organic products rather than synthesized products. It focuses on the type of refuse we leave behind and the impacts on the environment that occur when making the product and foods we use.

For example, too often, cleaning products are made from harsh, toxic chemicals that may harm you and your family’s health over time. Choosing non-toxic ways and cleaning products that reduce your carbon footprint as well as eliminate any potential poisons from your home is a good tactic.

In fact, I made a video that walks you through how to clean your bathroom with non-toxins that illustrate the benefits of using sustainable products without compromising cleanliness.

Natural living is gaining traction throughout society, and the more people subscribe to that philosophy, the larger the impact on prices will be. Natural Living isn’t just for the rich, though processed foods are cheaper, they come with a hidden cost, impacting your health over time.

Positive Changes That Impact Our Lives And Our World

The health-cost of malnutrition and treatment options will far outweigh the grocery bill, so pivoting to healthier food alternatives is crucial for your health and wallet.

Most foods can be substituted for healthier alternatives, and some don’t even cost that much to replace. Switching to a plant-based diet can be more affordable than the processed foods we are constantly bombarded with at the grocer, on TV, and everywhere we go.

Another way to make a positive change in your life with the concept of natural living is to change your consumption of non-sustainable products. There is a whole slew of alternatives to many products, and a list of organic health products that cover a wide array of products from beauty, to cleaning, to mental health can be easily found online.

Taking an approach that prioritizes self-care is another way to shift toward a more natural living philosophy. We know that stress can build up and have subtle but severe effects on our health, and finding strategies to minimize that in our lives is crucial to a better life.

Establishing positive habits in our lives builds momentum to continue along that path. Whether it’s beginning to use more sustainable products in our homes, establishing an exercise routine, or taking time for mindfulness, these small actions start to take root. They are the foundation of the tree of natural living philosophy.

In other words, one small action creates energy that becomes another action. The series of chain-reactions creates a positive energy that we can build upon as we choose a better way to live.

Small Actions Create Major Change

Small actions and positive thoughts build upon themselves and become self-sustaining over time. As we adopt one new positive habit, we can add another one, then another, until we’ve established positive practices in our lives. The concept of natural living is a philosophy we can choose to live better and healthier.

Natural living is a philosophy, and we can take small actions daily toward living better.

It’s good for the environment, and it’s good for our health. To make the change to natural living is a process that starts with one small change than another. That chain of positive changes will create a momentum all its own, and one that will better our lives and our planet at the same time.

Natural Living For A Healthier You

Natural living is a philosophy that focuses on being responsible for the environment, prioritizing organic and sustainable options, and avoiding any toxins in products and packaging.

It’s a philosophy that strives to make less of a negative impact on our surroundings and places importance on living in harmony with the natural world around us.

From food to consumer products, cleaning materials, personal care, and alternative therapies, natural living offers an environmentally friendly solution for everyone.

When shopping for a sustainable solution, the first thing to do is read the ingredient label for organic, natural sources. Next, look for a PETA certification, a symbol that certified the packaging to be made of recyclable materials and avoids any chemical toxins in the label.

The process of living naturally is a habit and one that doesn’t happen overnight. Yes, you could throw out all your toxic, non-sustainable products in your house, but that doesn’t mean that you’re immediately living a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

To make a positive impact in your life, there are a few suggestions: repurposing old packaging, choosing a more active way of life, and considering natural remedies and alternative therapies before traditional medicinal options.

Repurpose Old Packaging Rather Than Toss It Out

Think about all the packaging waste you just tossed out!

Instead, you can repurpose some of those items and use them around the house for things other than their design.

For example, you can use an empty laundry detergent bottle, cut off the top, rinse it, and use it as a planter for some herbs or flowers.

You can decorate the planter and place it on a shelf or outside along a wall for a flowery garden rather than toss out the empty plastic that will just sit in a landfill.

As you change to an eco-friendly lifestyle, you will need to look at other solutions to your daily activities that are more suited to your new way of living.

Examples are switching from a meat-oriented diet to a plant-based menu or switching from your regular hair care to more natural hair products and personal care solutions.

Take A Hands-on Approach To Healthier Living

Changing your purchasing decisions to make them more sustainable is just one step.

There are a few daily habits and rituals you can do as well.

Journal

From industry leaders to artists and even Presidents, a daily journal is a way for you to write out your thoughts and dreams. Doing this practice every morning is a great way to focus the mind, open up creativity, and explore your subconscious thoughts and bring them to the conscious mind.

Meditate

Take 15 minutes every day to focus on slowly breathing and directing your attention to the soothing sounds of the breath as you inhale and exhale. This daily practice will relax the body and calm the mind.

A relaxed body has less stress, lowered blood pressure, slower heart-rate, and deeper respiration. This process will allow you to focus your mind on the moment, eliminate outside anxiety, and is part of the practice of mindfulness.

Mindfulness is a state of consciousness focused on the moment and not too far into the past or worries about the future.

Exercise

Adding a daily exercise routine should be part of your plan for healthier living. Combining exercise with meditation such as yoga or Tai Chi is a great way to improve your heart rate while also clearing your mind. The World Health Organization recommends that you exercise daily, even with activities such as a light walk or hike.

Unplug

Take time away from electric devices to clear your mind and direct your attention. The brain acts like a muscle. The more it’s challenged, the stronger it becomes, and taking information and stimuli in a passive form such as screens and TVs makes the brain lazy. You need to stimulate the brain through reading, physical movement, arts, and crafts to stretch and grow.

Natural Remedies And Alternative Therapies

For minor aches and pains, or sleep issues, trying a natural remedy is a great option. CBD and THC oils are often reviewed well on websites like Herald Net for treatment of these symptoms. They offer pain reduction and deeper sleep patterns and can be taken in a variety of different ways. Pure CBD oil is the most popular of these oils as they do not have the intoxicating effects often associated with cannabis.

Acupuncture and massage therapies can help with muscle ache and joint pain. Adding Turmeric and other natural ingredients may aid with digestive issues and healing.

Considering a more natural lifestyle is easier to maintain once you dedicate your behaviors to making that change. Take it slow, make one change at a time, and as it becomes permanent, you can focus on another action to change.

How To Improve The Quality Of Your Sleep

Even as things have slowed down in the past year, some studies show people at home are getting less quality sleep than before the pandemic. Studies show that people get more sleep, just less quality sleep, which is problematic.

Issues that may arise from poor sleep are increased risk of heart attack or stroke, lowered immune system, obesity, onset diabetes, and decreased mental function and wellbeing.

On average, researchers note that people are sleeping 15-minutes more per night during the pandemic than prior but that sleep lacks a deep sleep necessary for the benefits of that increased time to take hold.

One of the main issues is that people are having difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep due to different stress levels.

Stress can be a subtle issue that can affect our moods, heart health, increase the risk of illness, decrease mental function, and increase the chance of depression.

3 Changes To Make And Get Better Sleep

To tackle getting better sleep, we need to consider focusing on improving our health, and there are three things to consider.

Improve Your Diet

First, change your diet and eat healthier. Salty or sugary foods impact the digestion of more natural sources of nutrition. Your body will break down the sugary sources first, leaving carbohydrates and starches to accumulate in the body as fats. Over time these fats build-up and can wreak havoc on your cardiovascular and digestive health and make you feel tired and sluggish but unable to sleep.

Eating well can lead to a whole host of improvements in your health and sleep habits. Sometimes sleep issues are derived from what we eat, causing allergies to digestive problems or even causing imbalances in our neurochemistry that impact our health.

Exercise Daily

Next, create an exercise regiment. Exercise will help you burn off any excess energy, tax your muscles and cardiovascular system, strengthen bones, and increase stamina. As a result, you’ll be able to eliminate additional stress from the body, making it possible to relax faster and get better quality sleep.

Exercise should be something that you enjoy and an activity you can maintain for a longer duration. Too often, people start an aggressive workout routine, become too sore, or injured to continue with it. The best strategy is to start slow and consult a professional to develop the right plan for your specific needs and health condition.

Get More, uh, Sleep

Third, get more sleep. I know this is a no-brainer, but increasing your overall sleep by 30 minutes a day will give your body more time to reach a deep REM sleep that works to regenerate and recuperate the body.

The reality is that we need to work on our rest by sleeping smarter.

Creating a sleep program is a good start.

Begin by having a period of time before sleeping designed to help you relax, whether that is doing some meditation, taking a bath, or other activity that soothes you and calms your thought process. Stay away from screens, tv, and alcohol right before bedtime as these all affect different parts of the brain and may impact our quality of sleep.

Another thing to do is make sure that the bedroom is for sleeping. Your brain will recognize patterns in your behavior, and how it establishes its concept of your bedroom, whether it’s seen as relaxing or stimulating, goes a long way toward the quality of sleep you may have.

Finally, taking natural sleep remedies can offer short, and long-term solutions to your sleep issues. Various natural sleep remedies range from valerian root, melatonin, passionflower, and more.

One of the best sleep aids to consider is using CBD byproducts and oils and using a CBN product.

Why does cannabis aid in sleeping? Many different benefits range from ease of pain and insomnia and create a sense of relaxed and anti-inflammatory properties.

CBD refers to cannabidiol, the active ingredient in cannabis derived from the hemp plant. Meanwhile, CBN refers to the byproduct of THC as it ages. It is the abbreviated form of cannabinol, a non-intoxicating compound. A good option for someone who wants the benefits associated with cannabinoids but doesn’t want to experience the intoxicating effects would be to explore taking a CBN isolate. There are many products available on the market specifically geared towards relaxation and sleep.

Eco-Friendly Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day

One of the best ways to show your love for your significant other on Valentine’s Day is to help the environment. You’ll probably create a stronger bond between the both of you because you’ll make it more meaningful. If you want to help save the planet this Valentine’s Day, there are many ways to have an eco-friendly holiday.

Buy Flowers and Chocolates from Sustainable Sources

You can buy plenty of different types of sweets from sustainable sources, like caramel chocolate candies and truffles. Besides this, beautiful flowers can be purchased sustainably. For example, choose locally grown flowers, inquire about sustainable growing methods and avoid plastic. When you buy eco-friendly items, you have the chance to support the ethical treatment of laborers, offset carbon emissions, save rainforests, and protect wildlife and the ecosystem, among other things. You can give your valentine chocolates and flowers together or choose only one.

Choose a More Ethical Restaurant to Dine At

Instead of dining at an ordinary restaurant, go somewhere that has higher ethical standards. For starters, you can dine at a restaurant with locally-sourced ingredients on the menu. Another idea is to eat out at a vegetarian or vegan place. Going vegan can help fight climate change and is often recommended by health professionals for better health.

Rescue an Animal from a Shelter

One of the most selfless things you can do for Valentine’s Day is to rescue a shelter animal. You can adopt a dog or cat and give it to your significant other. Additionally, you’ll be saving an animal’s life and giving it to someone who could give it the unconditional love it deserves. Beforehand, be sure your valentine would like to have a pet, so you don’t end up having to give it back.

Make a Charitable Difference Together

Giving love to those less fortunate is one of the best ways to show you care about your valentine. Make your connection more meaningful than ever by sharing experiences you’ll always remember. For example, give to the homeless, an animal shelter, or an environmental nonprofit. Furthermore, consider making donations to worthwhile charities in each other’s names, and wait until Valentine’s Day to reveal the details.

Express Your Emotions by Creating Art

Getting creative with the person you adore can help you express your love for one another. You can paint a picture of him/her, draw a rose and color it red or make a bouquet of pretty paper flowers. Another idea is to make a Valentine’s Day card to express your personal feelings. You can develop your own ideas for creating lovely art that shows just how much you care.

Create a Romantic Playlist

Music can be one of the best ways to communicate your love. You can make a romantic playlist of love songs you both enjoy listening to. Alternatively, if you’re musically inclined, try creating your original music to share with your valentine; this could be playing a musical instrument or even singing a love song.

Other eco-friendly ideas include eating a romantic dinner you cooked yourself at home, purchasing a handmade gift that supports charity, planting a tree together, among others. Contributing to help the earth for Valentine’s Day can improve your relationship. You have the chance to grow your love by doing meaningful activities. After all, real love comes from selfless acts of charity towards the person you love and for those in need.

Turning Your Home Into a Stress-Free Zone

The world can be a stressful place, so your home should act as a personal sanctuary. Yet many people find that their houses are chaotic and full of clutter — the opposite of a relaxing space. Everyone craves a customized stress-free zone, but how do you achieve it?

You can start by implementing these three tips.

1. Give Everything a Home

Clutter sometimes seems like it’s never-ending, which can cause anxiety and can trigger guilty feelings. The solution is to clean, declutter and organize, using these two steps.

Creating Zones

Structure offer clarity and direction, which can reduce uncertainty and confusion. If you create zones in your house, it will be easier to decide where objects should go. For example, you might decide that your office is the place to address anything important. From there, you would place important bills, files, and documents into that single room. Likewise, you would put all related items in that space.

To implement this step in your life, walk into each room of your house and determine its purpose. You could give the room a dedicated name or divide it into categories like work, play, and relaxation.

Prioritizing Storage Solutions

Once you’ve created zones throughout your home, it’s time to organize items and prioritize storage solutions. You can use folders, bags, boxes or baskets — whatever suits your needs — to begin separating items. You’ll then need to assign them a dedicated place in the house.

2. Choose a Cohesive Design

With your home clean and organized, it’s time to take a closer look at your design. Does each room have a similar style? If every room is painted a different color and has mismatched furniture and decor, your house might feel chaotic even when clean.

Think about your personality and lifestyle — what furniture pieces do you appreciate the most? If you don’t have a strong design opinion, you can also look to your home’s character for motivation. When you choose a cohesive design theme, you create a natural flow and balance inside that wasn’t present before.

Popular design styles include:

Traditional
Rustic
Coastal
Industrial
Modern
Eclectic

3. Bring the Outdoors Inside

Some houses truly need a breath of fresh air to begin feeling like a stress-free zone. Here are two ways to bring the outdoors inside.

Natural Light

Natural light makes you feel energized and alive. Sunlight helps to reset your body’s circadian rhythm provides you with a healthy boost of vitamin D. In return, you sleep better and have more energy. To gain more natural light, try using sheer curtains instead of heavy materials. If you’re looking for a massive boost of sunlight, you can install additional windows or skylights throughout your property.

Indoor Plants

Houseplants make people happy and can naturally remove toxins from the air. They look beautiful and may spark a love for gardening you didn’t know existed. Begin with plants that are resilient to boost your confidence and add to your collection over time.

Take It Slow

Using these three tips, you can transform your home into a stress-free environment where you’re happy to spend time. Remember, it’s essential to take it at your own pace. By taking your time with each step, you can enjoy the process rather than adding to your anxiety. Even the most beautiful properties can seem stressful if the individual feels overwhelmed or unhappy. Use your redesigned clutter-free house as a safe space to decompress and prioritize self-care — you’ll have a new appreciation for your home and yourself.

Living Naturally As A Way To Being Happier

Learning different ways to handle stress and other challenges in our lives can be tricky but is crucial.

There are times in our lives that things seem to be overwhelming and it feels like no matter what we do we’re behind the eight-ball and life is stacked against us.

The reality is that this is just a perception of what is happening around us and not absolutely true at all. Not to discredit your concerns, but the truth is that a lot of the obstacles that we face are strengthened by how we perceive them.

Studies show that perceptions affect us in a variety of ways and that these expectations influence what information we select to adhere to.

Why does this matter?

Well, if the challenges we are confronted with are strengthened or weakened by how we perceive them, then how we think becomes how we act.

Saying that there are real challenges that we sometimes can’t understand why they’re occurring. For example, a chronic illness doesn’t become any less serious because we think about it differently, but how we adapt and handle those situations is important.

Or consider a sleep disorder. The underlying cause could be from the feeling of anxiety or stress, which may also be an underlying cause of something more severe, but there are things you can do to minimize how much sleep is impacted.

Strategies to Make a Happier, Healthier Life

So what can you do to minimize the feeling of overwhelm that we all have to deal with at times?

Making the decision to transition from standard ways of doing things to a more alternative way can be stressful, especially if you’re unsure of what you can do.

We have some great strategies that can help you regardless of the circumstance, so read on to find the one that is right for you.

Learn Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of having a calm about you and focus on the present moment. The act of mindfulness is thinking only about the moment and ignoring fears, concerns, and excitement about any time other than the present. To achieve mindfulness it takes a routine that allows for a relaxed body and mind, and a focus on the moment. Yoga and meditation are good routines to relax the body and brain.

Set An Exercise Routine

Exercise does a variety of positive things for the body. First, it elevates the heart rate, improves the cardiovascular system, strengthens bones and muscles, enhances the immune system, aids in digestion, and releases stress from the body.

The main thing to keep in mind about exercise is that in order to get any real benefits from the workout is that you have to create a routine that you can continue. Too often people make the mistake of trying to do too much all at once, get injured or burned out, and lose the motivation to continue, ruining any positive progress they’ve already made.

Choose Natural Living

Natural living is the philosophy of having harmony with nature meaning prioritizing sustainable foods, non-toxic, and organic products. A person living by this philosophy can have a sense of calm, freedom, and connection with themselves and others.

Alternative Therapies

Choosing to live a natural living philosophy also informs the majority of our thoughts and actions. Exploring alternative therapies such as aromatherapy, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, use of pure cbd oil, massage, and meditation are great ways to minimize any pain or other issues and help change the way you think about the obstacles you face. Additionally, alternative therapies can help alleviate sleep disorders, mental focus, and cognitive functions.

Eat Better

As the saying goes, “you are what you eat” should be in front of mind any time you think about what types of foods to eat. Moving away from a diet of processed foods to a more plant-based diet isn’t just healthy, it’s also a responsible way to eat sustainably.

Too many people think of better eating as being only something the rich can afford, the reality is that eating healthier provides the body with more energy, strengthens the immune system, and is more affordable than other diets that may lack any real nutritional value. The lack of any nutrition in standard diets also leads to possible costly long-term health issues.

Making a change from the typical lifestyle that we’re surrounded by can be difficult, but choosing a natural living philosophy is one that benefits your health, makes you more responsible toward your impact on the environment, and provides you with tools and mechanisms to live a long, healthy life.