How To Grow A Beard: Fuller, Faster & Thicker – 10 Amazing Tips

Just about every man you run into these days is trying to grow some sort of facial hair. Facial hair is the new fashion accessory. But it isn’t just a bit of stubble these guys are growing. Many are opting to sport full grown, thick beards.

This rugged look is becoming ever popular, and you can’t deny that the majority of ladies love this look! The only problem with growing a beard that most men experience, is time. It can take a long time to grow a half decent beard.

One that’s full, thick, and worth bragging about. However, it does depend in your hair type, colour, and a number of other factors. Regardless of your hair type, you usually need to put up with having some rubbish facial hair before the real thing starts to come in.

1. Start Taking Care of the Skin on Your Face

The better you take care of the skin on your face, the quicker and better you can expect your beard to grow through. You should make sure you’re keeping your face nice and clean, washing it with warm water every day. Most men don’t exfoliate, but this is a huge mistake if you’re trying to grow a beard. It’s an essential part of any skincare routine and will make a big difference to your beard.

You should exfoliate most days, as this will get rid of any dead skin cells and help the beard to come through at a faster rate. All you need to do is make sure you’re not rubbing your skin raw, as too much exfoliation can be bad for sensitive skin. Make sure you’re using an exfoliant that suits your skin type.

They say that using a moisturizer, after exfoliating, that contains eucalyptus will help too. Eucalyptus is supposed to be amazing for encouraging beard growth! Each day, you should at least cleanse, tone, and moisturise. Maybe exfoliate with a grainy product 3 times a week. If you use a wash with grains in it, then you can skip that step.

Apply a face mask once a week if you like, as this will encourage hair/skin condition. Make sure you get into a good routine and keep up your skincare to see the best results. Always use products that are suited to your skin type. If anything causes problems, then don’t continue use. If you don’t know your skin type, speak with a professional to advise you. Using the wrong products won’t help you at all.

Make sure you keep your new found skincare routine up even after your beard has come through. It’ll help to maintain the condition of your beard, as well as improve your skin condition. The ladies love a man who takes care of himself!

2. Learn How to Manage Your Stress

Stress is one of the main causes of hair loss. If you’re too stressed, you could be hindering your beard growth! Make sure that you’re managing your stress properly to encourage your beard to grow. You can do this in many different ways, depending on what works for you.

You might like reading, taking a hot bath, doing an exercise class, or simply doing some breathing exercises. Controlling your breathing, through a practice like yoga, for a little while could be enough to get rid of any stress that you might be feeling. Don’t do things like drink excess alcohol to de-stress, as this might adversely affect your beard growth.

Go about de-stressing the healthy way and your beard will grow through in the best way possible. It might take you a while to learn what works for you, but it’ll be worth it. You can’t control what happens to you externally, but you can control how you deal with it internally. Don’t let things bother you as much.

3. Take the Correct Supplements

There are supplements out there that can encourage your beard to grow. Now, don’t get us wrong. Supplements alone aren’t going to do the work for you. However, if you ensure you’re doing the rest of the work in this post, you should be able to tell the difference on your beard. Supplements can encourage your beard to grow faster.

A multivitamin may help your beard to grow quicker, so get into a good routine where taking your supplements is the norm for you. Make sure you’re buying supplements from a suitable retailer and you’re reading up on them first. Don’t go for any dangerous supplements or supplements that make ludicrous claims. Supplements always work best in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise.

When you have a healthy lifestyle, supplements will enhance that. If you live an unhealthy life and expect supplements to do all the work for you, you’ll be disappointed.

4. Eat Lots of Protein and Get Other Nutrients

Something even more important than the supplements you take, is the foods you eat. You absolutely must be eating the right kind of food if you want your beard to grow ASAP. Protein is one of the most important macronutrients for encouraging beard growth. Make sure you’re getting plenty of your diet in the form of eggs, meat, nuts, and other high protein sources.

You might even like to take shakes and bars to up your protein intake, and monitor how much you’re getting with an app like MyFitnessPal. You don’t just need to make sure you’re getting plenty of protein though.

Make sure you’re also getting lots of vitamins, minerals and nutrients with your vegetable and fruit intake. The more natural foods you can fill your diet with, the better. You need to nourish your body, and your beard will grow as a result.

Eating great food like this also has the added benefit of keeping your weight at a healthy level, which is great for your testosterone levels. The amount of food you eat may depend on your health/fitness goals. It might benefit you to do some more research online or use a food calculator to ensure you’re not overeating or undereating. You should be eating enough to support your daily output. This is especially important if you’re exercising!

5. Get Plenty of Sleep

Getting plenty of rest is a must if you want your beard to come through quicker. Damaged cells are repaired while you sleep, which will encourage your beard to come through. Lots of rest will ensure your testosterone is at a good level, not to mention your well being! Not getting enough sleep can be a big factor when it comes to stress too, so by getting enough you also lower your stress levels.

You’ll automatically look better when you’re getting plenty of sleep too, beard or no beard. Make sure you’re getting 8 hours a night for the best results. The 8 hours you get should be quality, so make sure you’re not watching TV or doing anything that could be keeping you awake at night. If your sleep isn’t high quality, then it doesn’t matter how much you get.

Some people find that a white noise machine can enhance their sleep quality.

6. Avoid Grooming Your Beard Too Early

When your beard first starts coming through, it can be really tempting to groom it straight away. It might look all over the place, and a bit misshapen. But stop right there! Grooming your beard too early could make it patchy in places, and stop it from coming through as quickly. Don’t listen to the hype that says if you shave your beard it’ll come through faster. It’s false! You really need to persist.

It’ll take a good 4 weeks before you can really judge how your beard is coming through. Only when it’s at the level you want it to be should you try shaping and grooming it. You really don’t want to jeopardise it when it’s just coming through. Make sure you persevere no matter how many people comment on your beard. The time will be over before you know it, and your beard will be full and thick.

7. Get Some Exercise

You’re probably wondering how exercise can help your beard to come through faster and thicker. But hear us out! Exercise has many benefits, so you’ll do well to incorporate some into your daily routine. It’ll lower your stress levels and help you to get a better quality of sleep, so you’re already making sure your beard is coming through nicely!

Exercise can also help you to get rid of any excess weight, which is great for increasing the testosterone in your body. The more testosterone you have, the better the beard you’ll grow. Exercise will also increase your circulation, which is perfect for making your hair grow through better. Weight lifting is perfect, especially when you’re talking about upping your testosterone levels.

Exercise is something that will make you look better with or without a beard, so consider this an essential step. If you’re not currently in the habit of exercising, try getting in just 3 sessions a week. Add in more sessions as you feel ready. When you get into the habit of it, you’ll wonder how you ever went without it!

8. Apply Special Oil on Your Beard

There are a number of special oils you can apply to your face to encourage your beard to grow through faster and thicker (or so it says on the bottle at least!). Amla oil is one oil said to increase the hair growth on the face. However you can buy a number of beard oils that are said to do the same job. You could even try an oil such as coconut oil, which has a number of other benefits too. Whatever you feel most comfortable with! They’ll all add to your skincare routine and improve the condition of your facial hair.

Groom+Style has found the biggest advantage of beard oil is that it can help Stop The Itch. Itchiness is the most frequent reason given for abandoning the growth of a beard.  Make sure you use a high quality product like the one linked below.

9. Get a Facial

It might seem a little girly right now, but getting a facial could be the key to making sure your beard grows through as quickly as possible. Facials will improve the condition of your skin, as well as encourage the growth of your beard. The products used will be great for your skin and hair.

The massage movements will encourage circulation, which in turn encourages hair to grow faster. Not to mention how salon treatments like this can really relax you and help you to de-stress. Having a facial or two while you’re waiting for your beard to come through properly could really make a difference. They might even be able to give you some pro tips on skincare and beard care to help you in the future.

10. Power Through the Itchy Stage

Every man has to go through the itchy stage when growing his beard in. This is usually close to the start of the process. The hair starts coming through, feels itchy, and looks a little rubbish. It can be tempting to shave it all off at this point, but persevere! This stage will usually only last a week.  If the itch is quite bad you might find a product like the one linked below helpful.

If it’s really itchy, and as a last resort, you could even see the doctor and get something prescribed for the itchiness. You’ll be so glad that you powered through it once you see your beard coming through properly and the itchiness has disappeared. Everybody has to go through this stage, so stay strong.

Bonus Tip – Straight Beard Grows Faster

Straight (beard) hair grows faster than curly hair, so straighten that beard with a beard straightener to three times the speed of growth!

Conclusion

We think these 10 amazing tips should have you growing a beard to be proud of in no time at all. The time will pass and before you know it, you’ll have a thick, full beard. The more of these tips you use, the better your beard will look. The faster it’ll come through. You’ll even have better skin condition. You might even lose weight and build muscle thanks to the recommended exercise and diet! Don’t be surprised if you have women throwing themselves at you after this!

Of course once you have that beautiful beard you will need to worry about trimming it, so you had better be prepared by reading about the top 5 best beard trimmers.

Some guys choose a beard to help make them look more rugged, others to make them look more sophisticated, more grown-up.

Whatever the reason, there are as many styles of beard as there are face shapes, and finding the right fuzz for you can mean the difference between a beard that rocks and a beard that sucks.

It’s not super difficult, either. Finding the right kind of beard for you depends somewhat on your hairstyle (if you have any hair), and largely on the shape of your face. Presuming that you want to balance out your face and either highlight or tone down particularly strong features, then following Groom+Style’s simple tips for choosing the right beard for your face shape, will ensure that you look good no matter what.

Choosing The Right Beard Requires Common Sense

When it comes down to it, choosing the right beard is easy. As long as you don’t fight what nature’s given you, you can’t go far wrong. As with everything else in life, trying to be something you’re not, will only lead to disappointment in the end.

Be true to the face you have, to the hair you have, and the right beard will find you.

We really can’t hammer this point home hard enough: you don’t really need to choose the right beard for your face, you just have to accept the one that’s right for you. There will be one that’s right for you, and finding it is easy once you understand how that facial hair is related to the shape of your face, and the size of your head.

Identify Your Face Shape, Get The Right Tools Then Style On

Start by identifying the shape of your face (see below) then grow (or continue growing) and shape your beard as you desire – don’t take the process to seriously remember to have fun.

Additional Notes and Pointers

If you want to get really specific with identifying the shape of your face then get a tape measure and write down the following length:

• The length of your forehead
• The length across your cheekbones
• The length of your jawline
• The vertical length of your face – top of your forehead to your chin

If your beard still needs some work then check out Groom+Style’s 10 Tips on how to grow a full beard fast!

Once you have identified your face shape and want to get styling then you will need the right tools (if you do not already have them):

The Right Beard Trimmer

If you are ready to get styling but need some help finding the right lines then we can highly recommend the Cut Buddy which you can find on Amazon.  This compact little tool will give you all the options you need to shape, groom, trim or cut your beard along your desired  lines.

1. Square Face: Beard Style, Longer on the Chin

Square Face – The length of your forehead, cheekbones and jawline (horizontal lengths); and the length of your face (vertical length) are roughly the same.

Guys with square faces, you’re going to want to bring the facial hair down to the chin. Grow the hair out more on the chin and keep it shorter on the sides and around the cheeks. This will help to create length in your face, while retaining your naturally strong jawline.

2. Round Face: Beard Style, Longer on the Chin

Round Face – The length across your cheekbones (horizontal length) is roughly the same as the length of your face (vertical length).

Just like your square-faced friends, if you’re a guy with a rounder face, then shaping your beard to be longer at the chin and shorter on the sides, can help to elongate your face and make it appear more balanced. Keeping it neat around the edges will also help to strengthen your jawline.

3. Rectangular or Oblong Face: Beard Style, Experiment with Side Length

Rectangular or Oblong Face: The length across your forehead, cheekbones and jawline are roughly the same (horizontal lengths); and the length of your face (vertical length) is longer that the horizontal lengths.

Note – an oblong is effectively a rectangle where all the sides are not of equal length.

The oblong face can be a tough one to stick a beard onto, since your jawline is likely rounded and sweeping, giving you no real feedback about where to go longer or shorter. Our advice, is to keep the beard fairly short all over, and experiment with a length which brings the overall shape into more of a rounded form.

4. Oval Face: Go for Broke, You Lucky Sausage

Oval Face: The length across your cheekbones (horizontal length) is less than the length of the face (vertical length).  The length of the forehead is larger than the length of the jawline, and the angle of the jaw is rounded.  Think of an American football, which has less pointy ends.

If you have an oval-shaped face, you’re pretty much good to go on any beard. Your jawline sweeps down from wide to a point at the chin, and your bare face is pretty symmetrical and balanced as it is. If you want to find the perfect beard for you, then let it grow out quite a bit, then trim away gradually until you find a style which suits you the best.

For the oval-faced lot, a beard which is even all over, tapering into slightly longer on the chin can work really well. Just remember that you’re more likely to be naturally symmetrical in your face, so complement that with your beard. Don’t go for crazy styles and varying lengths, or you’ll lose the effect of having such a versatile face shape.

No matter which stage of the beard growing, designing or shaping process you are at don’t be afraid to talk to everyone about your journey – or at the very least hint that they are free to bestow up you a wide range of beard care gifts! 

Enjoy this journey with your facial hair, and don’t be afraid to experiment.

Graduating from college, while a great achievement and cause for celebration, can put many young adults in a difficult position.

Expectations are high for landing the right entry-level position, while for many the threat of student debt and rent create a feeling of financial instability.

This guide is here to help you figure out what you need to know to get on your feet and keep moving, as your academic development turns into professional development.

Young Professionals in the Workforce

The college grads joining the workforce are a combination of younger Generation Y (aka “Millennials”) or the oldest members of Generation Z.

Generation Y is the largest generation in the US workforce right now, and 62 percent of them are already in management positions.

As an individual, you might identify with the term technological native. Your generation is prized among the workforce for its communication skills and technological adaptability.

Young Professional Management Styles

According to general trends, young professional managers often like to coach employees through things rather than issuing commands.

This can allow for greater communication and feedback throughout the workplace.

New generations also prefer more adaptable and customizable experiences, such as personalized workspaces, workflows, and even methods.

Much of this is to a company’s benefit, since emerging technologies, competition, public representation, and social images force many companies to think on their feet when facing crucial decisions.

There is also a greater emphasis on transparency and access.

New generation employees frequently don’t appreciate being held on a need-to-know status. They want to be actively engaged, and when kept in the dark about certain decisions, many young professionals will use their technology and communication skills to sleuth it out anyway.

New Generation Lifestyle Preferences

Many, though not all, young professionals tend to be socially liberal. They work to be open-minded, and they are very aware of identity politics and prefer to remain without labels or generational identifiers.

Young professionals are both highly aware of the power of trends.

This means they work harder to understand people as individuals. College grads have had plenty of nurture versus nature debates in their college years, and due to such cultural and interpersonal examination, young professionals inherently excel in career skills like personal branding.

The lifestyle ideal is sometimes characterized by balance. This means a lot of attention is paid to personal health and hygiene, including dieting and exercise. Many young professionals will link their healthy physical choices to developing a healthy mind and intellectual balance as well.

Challenges for New Generations in the Workforce

One of the challenges that newer generations face, as they move forward with their lives and mingle with other generations in the workplace, is that they will often have different priorities from the generations before them.

One theory chalks this up to the young professionals’ access to technology and alternate forms of media that allows you to develop and embrace divergent paths. This means that you or your peers might not be interested in traditional status symbols like property, marriage, and even family-making.

Young professionals are not only distrustful of markets, due to experiencing the Great Recession during formative years, but they are also a generation that tries to keep its ear to the ground and is growing increasingly distrustful of the future due to environmental instability.

These concerns may heavily influence life priorities, including the big priorities of past generations which often included buying a house and making a family.

Among their challenges in the workplace, young professionals positively crave work-life balance.

Finding such a balance can be a major difficulty for them since workplace technologies and their own technological skills often keep them constantly connected even when they aren’t working.

Sometimes the transition from college, especially the liberal arts environment, to the workforce can be jarring simply in the kinds of interaction you will have with coworkers and other employees.

Many college campuses foster the sense of overarching camaraderie throughout the student populace that makes it easier to make friends.

On the other hand, coworker friends might seem to come less easily and might possibly bond less deeply then college friends.

Some company cultures even frown on close friendships between coworkers, for better or worse.

If there’s someone in your office that you think you could really hit it off with, wait for the company happy hour or talk to them on your own time, rather than trying to get to know them in the workplace.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be friendly with your coworkers. You will be spending eight or more hours with them a day, in most cases, so treating them with kindness and respect are nonetheless important for good coworker relationships.

Similarly, the college experience often prides itself on being an open forum for students to develop their mind by voicing ideas and opinions.

While most workplaces value input and would likely benefit from ideas and suggestions, many workplaces will provide a time and a place for sharing these suggestions. So it’s best to think them through fully and then submit them through the proper avenues, rather than interrupting someone’s lunch to chat about them.

What Are Your Goals in Life?

Why Set Goals?

Transitioning out of college is a great time to set goals for your life.

The next few years will feel like they pass quickly, and it’s easy to be caught feeling unprepared or even unfulfilled after your first few years out of college. This is especially prevalent when you haven’t made steps toward your larger life goals. Setting these goals and thinking about what you want is a necessary step toward making them happen.

Planning is invaluable for helping you know what you want.

You may have things that you want for your life or that will give great personal meaning. There are many things you may not realize that you want until you start thinking about them. And goals like learning a new skill, such as speaking a new language, learning photography, or even experiences, such as hiking the Appalachian trail, will take time, dedication, and practice.

Most of the goals that we really want in life aren’t automatic. They take planning, time, and effort. But learning to plan makes it much more likely that these goals could be accomplished.

How to Begin Goal-Setting

While some people have burning goals inside of them, other might have to dig a little bit to figure out what they want. This can be done with brainstorming. A common brainstorm, often used in financial planning, is to think about your life in terms of year increments.

What kind of lifestyle do you see yourself living in five years? What do you need to do to get there? Ten years down the line? And twenty?

You might also take a more freeform approach asking yourself, what’s important to you? What are you pondering and thinking about lately? Just relax and set down everything that comes to mind.

When it comes to actually setting your goals, you’ll want to narrow this down to the most important factors. Then you can start working on goal plans. It’s usually best to work on your goals one at a time. Too many changes in your life all at once can throw you off your progress, be too difficult, and cause you to revert.

Now take this with a grain of salt, because what we’re really telling you is how important it is to prioritize your time. If one of your goals is a long-term goal that you plan to chip away at weekly, such as a savings goal, then you will most likely have the capacity to take on other goals, such as a skills goal. There are also feasible combination goals, such as weight-loss or muscle-training goals that require both dieting and exercising.

These are two different goals that you’ll pursue at once, as they go hand-in-hand toward the overall purpose.

This single goal rule helps you to avoid burnout.

Many people experience that learning new skills or hobbies take a lot more dedication outside of school.

No one will be grading you or holding your accountable for doing these things but your own will and determination. Your career might also get in the way as it starts to take a massive chunk of your time.

For this reason, if you’re starting a big project, such as a new skill, it’s best to pick one and stick with it until it becomes easier and takes less time and effort.

Keep in mind that your goals are for you.

Many of your peers, friends, and coworkers will have different goals and views.

For instance, you might know that you want to purchase a home someday but many of your friends are more interested in the long-term mobility of renting. Or you might be saving your money for long stints of overseas travel while your peers are able to spend more money on other things.

The spending habits and abilities of others should not influence your individual goals.

Steps to Setting Goals

1.  Make Sure Your Goals are Realistic and Possible

You need to begin by believing that your goals can be accomplished. It will be even more difficult to accomplish something that you don’t think will ever really happen.

2. Write Down your Goals and Keep Them Nearby

Write down your goal. This will allow you to create something with your goal. Goals that aren’t written down are more likely to be forgotten. Put it somewhere that you can see it. For this reason, many people create an inspiration wall or cork board of things that remind them of their goals and motivation.

Have a purpose. Your purpose will remind you of why goals are important. Perhaps your goal is a stepping stone to being able to affect bigger changes in the world or in your own life. Having a purpose will affect your determination to achieve your goals.

3. Make a Plan and Keep Track of Progress

Break it down into a plan. What are the steps needed? You may not know all the steps you need to take but that’s okay, you just need to know the first few steps ahead of you. The rest of the path will clarify as you take it. Actionable steps need to happen for you to get going.

4. Don’t Procrastinate

Do it now. Some of our greatest productive time is spend stalling, overthinking, and wondering whether we’re unqualified or good enough. Not only is this stalling faze hard on us emotionally, but it takes away from the time that you could be using to improve your skills and make headway toward your goals.

Stalling takes many forms and is easy to justify to ourselves. Sometimes it means watching video after video or reading informational articles without taking meaningful action. We will always find ways of justifying procrastination to ourselves when we stall. The best thing we can do for ourselves, however, is to start.

5. Find Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable

Seek support and hold yourself accountable. Working toward our goals can be tough. It’s helpful to have friends and mentors who can hold us accountable. Support groups, entrepreneurial groups, and even tracking with your own journal or planner can help to keep your momentum up.

Tips for Setting Goals

• Be positive with your goals. We all have goals that we know to be long shots. But if you are going to actually work toward them, you need to believe that these goals are accomplishable.
• Make your actionable steps so precise that you can mark it on a calendar.
• If you have multiple goals, make sure you know which ones top your priorities.
• Start a journal to mark down your goal progress.
• Set your own realistic goals and have confidence in them. It’s common when you tell someone that you’re starting a project, including friends, family, and employers, that they show support and enthusiasm by raising the stakes of the goal.
• You might tell someone that you’re writing a book and they will express their confidence in you by saying something like they’re sure it’s going to be a bestseller. This could make you feel as if they’ve co-opted the goal and transformed much less realistic write a bestseller.
• Keep in mind that these are your goals and it’s up to you to set the realistic parameters that you need for your own best performance.
• Learn from your process. If you notice something as you work toward your goal that would alter how you would approach your next goal.
• Challenge yourself. If you finish a goal too easily make the next one harder.

What Are SMART Goals?

Smart goals refer to goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.

When brainstorming your SMART goals, you can pick the categories that are important to you and then select goals for each category.

Common categories include:

• Career
• Financial
• Education
• Family
• Artistic
• Attitude
• Physical
• Pleasure
• Public service

Making SMART goals can help you to finetune the things you want to achieve into actions that you can take in the time you have.

A SMART goal is the difference between writing down that you “want to bike across the country,” and adding a time-bound parameter by saying you “want to bike across the country in the Spring of 2020.”

This time-bound component is especially relevant for financial goals. For instance, knowing that you want to buy a home in 2022 tells you how much money you need to be able to put away monthly to meet that downpayment goal.

How Much Do You Spend Now?

Starting a healthy budget begins with knowing your typical expenditures. While you have a feel for how much you spend every month, it’s helpful to use a calculator like this one while budgeting.

• Household Bills, e.g. rent, electricity, natural gas, water, sewage, trash collection
• Living costs, e.g. daily spending habits
• Financial products, e.g. insurance
• Family and friends, e.g. presents
• Travel, e.g. car costs and maintenance costs, gas, public transport
• Food and Dining, e.g. bar and restaurant costs
• Grocery, e.g. food materials that you purchase to prepare yourself
• Leisure, e.g. holidays, sports
• Hygiene products, e.g. soap, wash, makeup, and cosmetics

Putting your expenditures in different categories can help you examine your spending habits, and decide whether it’s all necessary.

How to Set Up a Budget

If one of your goals is the learn how to budget your money and become more financially responsible, you’re not alone. Budgeting in its most basic form helps you to manage your money. It gets a bad rap, similar to dieting, for being restrictive of for forcing you to stop enjoying yourself.

This isn’t always the case, however, as budgeting has numerous life-enhancing benefits. Like goals, your budget helps you plan for the future. For one, it allows you to feel that you have control over your money and your spending. It also keeps you focused on your money goals, which can make you feel trapped or overwhelmed without a plan.

Budgeting has many benefits and is recommended for everyone who manages their own finances. It can give you a peace of mind and grasp on the cost of your day to day spending.

Budgeting gives you the padding and security to deal with unexpected costs. Having an updated budget gives you the right information to help you with long-term and short-term decision-making. Your budget will also allow you to spot and solve big problems in advance.

The more comfortable you are with budgeting, the easier it will be to communicate about money and problem-solve with partners and loved ones. This can help you to get a grasp on your debt load and think of whether you can take on more, such as a car loan or mortgage.

Build an Emergency Fund

Your emergency fund is a savings account that you don’t use unless you find yourself in the midst of a big financial emergency or something goes afoul with your employment. Your first saving project should be working to establish your emergency fund.

If you look above where you laid out how much money you spend each month, many advisors will recommend an emergency fund that can get you through three months of normal expenditures. Once you have that set aside in an accessible savings account, you can start saving toward your other financial goals.

Budgeting Strategies

The Envelope System

If you have difficulties with overspending throughout the month, try out the envelope system. Keep your weekly allowance of cash in an envelope with you. Spend only cash or if you make a purchase online with credit remove the cash and put it in a separate envelope. When you spend all the money in the envelope, you have used your weekly budget.

Automatic Savings Deposits

Schedule automatic savings. Automatic savings will transfer a certain amount of money from your checking account to your assigned savings account. This will let you stay on track with your savings goals when you forget to transfer the money yourself.

You can, start small with growing your savings account, then gradually grow the amount that you save, as you become comfortable with budgeting and as you earn more.

What Do Spend Your Money on Now?

One way to start noticing your expenditures is to spend a month collecting receipts or printing receipts from bills and everything you purchase throughout the month into one envelope. This will help you to understand by the end of the month where all your money is going.

Tips On How to Save Money

Eliminate Unnecessary Fees

• Make sure you aren’t paying bank fees for either your checking or savings accounts. Sometimes banks require your account to hold minimum balances or a direct deposit wired into your account. If you are unable to meet the minimums, switch to a new account. There is no reason to pay these fees as there are a number of account tiers available as you get started on your financial journey. While shopping around check out accounts that offer a sign-up bonus to make a little extra.
• Save on energy by installing a smart thermostat, as well as CFL and LEDs. You might also consider outlet timers for your electronic banks to switch off the energy to printers and other home electronics at night.
• Maintenance your possessions, including your car, kitchen appliances, and computer. Furniture maintenance and carpet cleaning could also save your investments and give them a longer lifespan.
• Examine and cancel unused subscriptions, such as gym memberships, cable, phone plans, and wifi usage, as well as club and subscription boxes.
• Keep and eye on services that might be inflating your bills.
• Consolidate your student loans into a low-rate package.
• Use online bill pay to avoid unnecessary late fees.

Embrace Thrifty Lifestyle Choices

• Sell off unwanted items and clutter.
• Make plans to stay in with your friends rather than going out for expensive dinners and drinks.
• Learn to patch clothes and sew and replace buttons, instead of throwing away usable clothing.
• Use a public library for a variety of services and resources, including borrowing books, movies, and magazines, as well as inexpensive public workspaces where you don’t need to purchase a beverage before use.
• Buy used items, such as clothing and dishware.
• Pack your lunch for work, and learn to jazz up your leftovers.
• Learn to DIY simple household fixes.
• Use a deep-freezer or chest-freezer. These spaces allow you to buy food ingredients in bulk and cook in batch, making your own frozen meals for later.
• Go out to free events in town. Keep an eye on festival markets, free markets, free community concerts, and other free activities will help you get out of the house on the cheap.
• Start an indoor or outdoor container garden. This is a great option for someone who loves to cook with herbs and spices but it starting to find it a little expensive.
• Get a friend to cut your hair and do a DIY spa and facial day.
• Try out DIY cleaning supplies, which are both less expensive, and offer reduced health and environmental risks within your home.
• Make your own coffee and beverages.

Control Your Spending

• Avoid impulse purchasing by waiting thirty days to decide on bigger purchases. If, after a month, the urge to buy hasn’t passed, it could be something that you really want.
• Make a shopping list when you go out to buy groceries and household items. Shop at inexpensive stores and save the higher tier stores for purchasing the occasional specialty item.
• When you do make a large purchase, such as a new appliance, make sure that you buy a model that is hardy and built to last.
• When you know online purchases are a problem, remove your credit card number from express checkouts so that you will need to enter it every time.
• Calculate purchases by your hourly income rather than the dollar amount.
• Implement no spend days weekly. These are days that you prepare your own food and don’t online shop.

5 Things You Should Be Doing Immediately After Graduation

1. Decide on Housing

Deciding on housing after college can easily make people feel unsettled or directionless. If you know where you’ll be living, you might have a lot of confidence in your career path. Your housing decision is wrapped up in where you plan on going to make your career, what your job prospects are, and what kind of support you have.

Many young professionals spend a year or so moving back in with parents or relatives after college until they are able to get on their feet. This gives them the opportunity to learn to budget, build savings, and develop a plan without having to pay steep rent prices. While generous and certainly a leg up, many find the lifestyle to be rather restrictive and eventually decide to move out.

Others may not have this option. This is when it’s good to ask yourself whether you’re better off getting a roommate or going it alone. Sharing expenses with a roommate offers considerable financial relief as you get started with your career.

A good roommate can also offer solidarity and a relief from feeling alone if you’re in a new place or new situation. However, a bad roommate situation can exacerbate these issues, possibly causing you to feel more alone, unsupported, or uncomfortable in your living space. Essentially a good roommate can help you through a difficult time, and a bad roommate might make everything feel exponentially worse.

The best way to judge whether or not you need a roommate, besides looking at rent prices and your potential finances, is to think about what you personally need. Are you the sort of person who has a difficult time being alone and finds yourself seeking out friends? Or are you the sort of person who really values your alone time, and looks forward to making your adult home a personal space for yourself? Living alone gives you the benefit of fewer distractions when you’re trying to focus, an environment that reflects your personal preferences, and a space to rest and relax alone.

2. Update Your Wardrobe

Appearances can matter greatly when it comes to how people will treat you in the workforce. Your clothes should fit correctly and be age appropriate. They should also allow you to be comfortable in your own skin. If you dislike the feel of a certain fabric or fit, that discomfort will show an impact others’ perceptions, as well as how you feel throughout your day. Just be sure to get rid of the old as you bring in the new. You may also want to be careful about things such as piercings and tattoos. If you want to add a bit more individuality to your wardrobe, then you should consider some accessories.

Learning to dress for your career doesn’t need to be a matter of buying high-priced outfits. Since every office is a little different, and you may not know exactly what you need until your first week or so. Waiting until you’re on the job to purchase your work wardrobe may make you feel like you’re on a time crunch, but it could save you from expensive, unnecessary purchases in the long run.

Sports shoes and sportswear are usually not acceptable in most office settings. Suits and shoes are noted as the best place to splurge on your work wardrobe since these pieces will last a long time. Items like shirts and pants will stain and undergo more wear and tear, meaning that they will need to be replaced more often. Nevertheless, one staple piece to get you started is a nice pair of pants that aren’t jeans (or designer sweatpants).

Keep It Simple with a Capsule Wardrobe

Capsule wardrobes feature versatile separates in neutral colors that you can mix and match. This wardrobe strategy recommends an investment in a few essential and timeless items that can be supplemented with seasonal pieces. And if you’re interested in even more minimalism than that you might consider a personal uniform for yourself that will help you to look professional every day without having to stress over wardrobe choices and appropriateness.

To get started, go through your wardrobe and figure out what you do have, and then fill in the gaps from there. Buy for versatility, so that everything can be worn multiple ways without having items that only fit with one outfit. This also means learning how to dress minimally so that it’s much easier to mix and match your clothes. You can then use accessories, such as an attractive watch or seasonal scarf, to add a little more character when you want to.

3. Prepare Your Kitchen: Quick and Easy Recipes On the Go

Meal prepping refers to cooking a large batch of quick, combination-style meals that you can put into containers for grab and go lunches. This can help you to save time, and money, in the long run, while allowing you to feel organized when it comes to your lunch hour. Here are a few quick ones to try out:

• Burrito Bowl – Burrito bowls often combine salad, beans, rice, a stir-fry with veggies and meat, and some form of salsa or guacamole into a single container meal. These can be endlessly varied based on different preferences, including the use of different kinds of spices, for example, lime-cilantro one week and south-west chipotle the next, and different ingredients to keep you from growing too burnt out on this all-in-one meal.
• Skewers – Skewers are a very useful grab-and-go option since they do not require you to have silverware or even a normal plate and bowl. Skewers can be put in a bag and eaten with a napkin and possibly a dipping sauce. These can be anything from salad skewers, with cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, to chicken skewered along with grilled or roasted vegetables.
• Egg Cups – Great for breakfast, egg cups are made from using egg to bind together some of your favorite ingredients. Do this by lining and greasing a muffin tin and the ingredients that you want in the mix. This can include potatoes, fried vegetables, onions, tomatoes, and basically anything that you would normally add to a quiche. Then bake these in the oven at around 350 degrees Fahrenheit, until the eggs are completely set.
• Meat, Spinach, or Vegetable Hand Pie – Hand pies take more work in the prep stage; however, many can be made at once and frozen for later. Hand pies can be very nutritious, depending on the filling you choose and easy to eat on the go. Fillings, such as spinach and cheese, or lean sausage and vegetables, can be mixed raw and then cooked in the oven inside the pie crust. You can either put together your own pie crust and roll it out to shape individual pies by placing the filling in the center and sealing the pie crust around it, or you can buy pre-made pie crust from the store.
• Smoothies – Smoothies are quickly made in the blender, often taking just a few minutes to prep the ingredients and toss them in. Smoothies are easily portable in a water bottle and one of the best parts about it is the minimal cleanup after prepping since many blenders can even wash themselves. Common smoothies include frozen and fresh fruit, a caffeine element, such as green tea, fruit juices, and greens, such as kale and spinach.

4. Update Your Social Media and LinkedIn

It’s no secret the employers and recruiters look at social media accounts when vetting applicants for a position. In fact, this survey found that 70 percent of employers are likely to snoop on applicants’ social media profiles as well as googling an applicant. It’s no wonder why they check, since there’s a lot of information that they can get from the way an individual represents themselves on these networks.

When you start prioritizing building your career, we recommend taking a second and thinking over how appropriate your posts are. However, this doesn’t mean that social media only hurts your chances of getting a job. In fact, there are many situations where it can actually help you.

Here are things employers and recruiters want to see on your social accounts:

• They hope to find information that supports your job qualifications. For instance, does your application say that you have great communication skills? Social media is a venue for demonstrating your ability for expression, diplomacy, and engagement in your chosen industry.
• They like to see that you have any professional persona online at all. Some people keep social media sites just for connecting with friends and family. As long as these profiles are good, clean fun, that’s usually just fine. However, to show a more professional side of yourself, you can design a professional domain for yourself or use a well-known work-oriented social networking site like LinkedIn.
• Employers are also looking at what other people are posting about you. If you have a positive standing among your peers and family members, this will be easy to maintain.
• They want to see great communication skills and even a little creativity and personality.

What should you not post?

• 39 percent of employers say that they won’t hire a candidate who posts provocative or inappropriate photos, videos, or information. You don’t have to be the source of this content to be flagged either, so it’s best to be careful of what you share.
• 38 percent of employers have rejected candidates for posting information about drinking or using drugs. So if you do have photos where you are visibly inebriated or partying, you might want to remove those or set more strict privacy standards on them.
• 32 percent have flagged candidates for posting discriminatory content regarding race, gender, or religion.
• Another red flag is complaining about or bad-mouthing a coworker, previous employer, work situation, or coworker.
• 27 percent say they flag you if they find that you’ve lied about your qualifications, or display poor communication skills.
• Avoid being linked to criminal behavior.
• Don’t share confidential information from a previous employer.
• Avoid using unprofessional screen names or handles.
• Lying about absences or sick days can get you fired.
• 17 percent of employers even flag users who post too frequently.

LinkedIn Etiquette

Nevertheless, you need a professional online presence. 57 percent of employers note that they are less likely to call a candidate that has no online presence at all. One of the easiest ways to do this is to connect professionally with LinkedIn.

However, experiences on LinkedIn may feel a little different from your other social networking experiences, since it is a professional network. LinkedIn most often functions with normal professional communications and posting etiquette. It’s a good place to show new skills that you’re working on, and classes that you’re taking toward your professional development. Any content that you post on LinkedIn should be work appropriate and in most cases work-oriented. Similar to office rules, LinkedIn is less of a place to air political views and opinions than it is to connect to individuals within your industry.

5. Network and Visit Events Related to Your Career

Many colleges bring networking events to campus to get you started. You might be familiar with career fairs and even particular events meant to introduce you to aspects of specific careers.

These kinds of events are still around as you transfer to developing your career, though it may require you to seek them out. Networking opportunities take the form of anything from Ignite events to city-wide career fairs, company happy hours, industry happy hours, and even entrepreneurial groups for those considering starting their own projects.

A great way to begin networking is to ask people who are successful in your chosen career path and industry what education measures they took and whether they would recommend it. You can email professionals in your field offering to buy them coffee so that they might meet with you and answer some questions about their career. While many emails will be ignored and many will be too busy, you might find one or two people who are happy to meet with you.

Applications to Help You Succeed in Life

It’s no secret that most young professionals are constantly connected. In some cases, this can be a cause for concern, but it also means having the know-how to use productivity applications to make your life easier, more flexible, and help manage your time. Here are some apps that we think spectacularly help with goals of personal growth and development:

• Forest – Forest is a great way to put down your phone when you need to focus on an activity or task. Once you start a timer on Forest, you begin building a tree. Accessing other applications on your phone will force you to cancel out of the tree. It’s a great way to make yourself think twice before looking at something on your phone.
• Productive Habit Tracker – This application allows you to track daily habits and work towards your goals. The ability to see your daily progress makes a good incentive for you to keep up with your goal plans.
• Evernote – This is a powerful all-in-one cloud notebook app that allows you to clip pieces from the web while also taking notes on all your devices.
• Pocket– When you’re browsing online but don’t have the opportunity to read every interesting article you come across, Pocket allows you to save content to read and look through at a better time.
• TripIt– TripIt helps you organize your travel plans and itineraries so that you can keep everything in one place.

Continuing Education and Advancing Your Career

Further education might be something to keep in mind as you look at your career going forward. One of the best ways to determine whether further education will benefit you is to look at qualification requirements and to speak with professionals in your field.

Professional degrees are required for advancement in many traditional fields, such as medicine and law. Graduate school becomes necessary for most individuals wanting to practice scientific research and development, as well as some technology-based careers. Education careers will require degrees, such as Education degrees, Masters, or Doctoral degrees, as well as additional certifications, depending on your location and educational niche. Some might also consider adding a Business degree to their C.V. to receive management credentials.

If you’re considering further education, it’s crucial to have a mentor who can help you determine your career goals and professional development. In some cases, this mentor is an academic advisor, but many will find mentors who are in their professional field. One way to begin this is to look for individuals who exemplify your goals within your field. Try to find local professionals that you can actively approach and network with, as well as high-profile national and international names in your field.

For those unsure of how they want to develop, entry-level continuing education takes a variety of forms from classes offered from a variety of sources. These include accredited universities and individual organizations, as well as free library lectures and unaffiliated language learning groups.

Keep in mind that many universities offer career counseling services to alumnae for about a year after graduation. Many of these career centers also offer continuing education courses and networking events as well.

Conclusion

We know you have a lot to think about as you transition, but this is also a fun time to take in a lot of experiences and learn for yourself the way that you want to use your time and money. Setting goals and budgeting can set you on the right path for designing a fulfilling and enjoyable professional life for yourself.

Creating a child-friendly home entails more than decorations, bright paint, and toys to teach and inspire. It also means creating a safe and secure space for the child to grow up in.

As children grow and explore, injuries from falling, pulling objects down onto themselves, and banging against sharp areas at home are more common than you may think. Additionally, our homes are full of sharp objects, tools, and hazardous materials that can be toxic when consumed even in small quantities. Household injuries are one of the more prevalent reasons that children under the age of three years old are likely to visit the emergency room.

It’s too easy for parents to underestimate how curious their children are. It may require multiple walk-throughs of a space before you can identify all the hazards around your home, as well as places that would be enticing for a child to try to climb.

Building a child-friendly home means identifying as many of these risks as possible and coming up with strategies to eliminate as many risks as you reasonably can. A study by the University of Alabama found that when first-time moms of children between one and three years old were asked to walk through a model home, they identified fewer than half of the potential child-safety hazards.

Nonetheless, even with the best childproofing possible, supervision is still the most important way to ensure a child’s safety. Watching over your child not only helps to protect them from hazards, mishaps, and injuries, but it also helps to teach them what’s safe and what isn’t.

Basic Goals of a Child-Friendly Home

A child-friendly home should promote safe exploration and learning while also making sure that children aren’t put in the way of unnecessary risks.

Some general signs of a child-friendly home include soft corners, reducing unstable objects, minimizing access to electrical outlets, and blocking off areas of the house where you won’t be able to supervise the child.

Throughout the home, it’s recommended to:

• Pad down sharp edges and corners with cushions and guards. The type of padding that you use can be important in this case. Be wary of simply taping foam to corners, as children can pull it off and put it in their mouths.
• For children older than two, be aware of anything that your child might find interesting to climb. This might be open drawers, an empty bookcase, a cabinet, or floating shelves on the wall. Anchor and support heavy furniture as much as you can.
• Use safety gates and doorknob covers to block off unsafe or unsupervised rooms or sections of the house.
• Don’t neglect basic household safety, such as working smoke alarms, to warn against house fires, as well as carbon monoxide sensors. Test smoke alarms every month and don’t neglect to replace the batteries when necessary.
• Make sure that anything that belongs to the child, which they will want to get, is within their reach. You can save a lot of accidents by not luring children to try to grab or climb for something out of their reach.
• Place plants out of reach and remove any poisonous plants from the home.

Making Rooms Child-Friendly

The formula for a child-friendly home tends to be consistent from room to room. However, some rooms, such as the kitchen and the garage, run more risks than others. It’s important to pay attention to what makes each room different so that you can identify the specific risks to eliminate.

Kitchen

Young children should always be supervised when in the kitchen, since it’s almost impossible to make a kitchen completely risk-free. Nonetheless, kitchens are particularly dangerous for toddlers and children who start exploring and grasping.

• Consolidate dangerous items into one cabinet and lock them up. We often put some of our most dangerous items in lower cabinet storage, such as heavy pots and pans, toxic detergents, drain cleaners, and other cleaning supplies. This makes it very important that lower cabinets are protected from children. This can be done with a magnetic lock or a latch.
• Lock the dishwasher at all times, and don’t add detergent until you’re ready to run it. Since ingesting detergent is such a common hazard, it’s important to make sure that the dishwasher remains locked and that you run it as soon as you put the detergent in and it is ready.
• Observe microwave safety around children to avoid burning or scalding. A mounted microwave is best when there are children in the house, since this keeps it out of their reach. It’s unwise to turn on the microwave and leave it unattended or leave hot food in it. Additionally, make sure that children are not close to you when you are removing hot foods from the microwave.
• Make sure children cannot turn on the stove. If your children are able to reach the stove knobs and are in the stage of reaching and grasping for things, then it’s wise to remove the knobs when you’re not using them. This will make it much more difficult for children to accidentally heat up the stove.
• Keep small appliances out of the reach of children. This is particularly important for any appliances that have blades, such as blenders or coffee grinders, or that are self-heating, including coffee pots and countertop microwaves. Additionally, keep an eye on any cords that are sticking out.
• Keep an eye on the placement of your kitchen knives. Keep kitchen knives out of the reach of children. This also means keeping the whole knife block out of reach, since kids may easily take a knife out of a knife block as long as they can grasp it. Make sure that knives are not only secured but out of reach of a child on a step stool.

Living Room

Living rooms are often places where we keep our fragile accessories, entertainment systems, and the other odds and ends that constitute our leisure time.

While it can be tempting to deck out the living room with accessories and items of interest, such as coffee table books, vases and other ornaments to make our home feel beautiful and inviting, it’s important to premeditate how children will understand and use these items. Consider what mementos and items you have strewn around your living room. Anything that’s in reach of a child is fair game for them to pick up. Certainly remove anything that could be dangerous, sharp, fragile, or could hurt or injure the child.

• Avoid having any lighting in reach of children. Keep in mind that children will put anything in their mouths, and that includes the candles. Keep these on a higher shelf out of reach, or opt for LED and flameless candles to set the mood around your home.
• Consider all the glass within range in the living room. There are also hazards that you may not necessarily think of as fragile, such as glass photo frames which can shatter when dropped. Frames should be mounted on walls, displayed out of reach, or replaced with plastic as opposed to glass.
• Fill your room with safer accessories that the child can use, grab, and play with. Safer accessories can include but are not limited to: books, soft pillows, and blankets.
• Block off the fireplace and keep fireplace tools out of reach. Fireplaces mark unique hazards for children, as they combine dangerous heat with sharp tools, such as pokers and shovels.
  • Pad over sharp corners, hard brick, or stonework. 
  • Close and lock the doors when not using the fireplace.
  • Keep fireplace tools out of reach, including matches, shovels, and pokers.
  • When possible, install heat-resistant gates for when the fire is lit to limit the exposure in the house to burning hot surfaces.
  • Gas fireplaces tend to be safer since they cool down more quickly; however, some gas fireplaces use small decorative stones that can be choking hazards.

One of the best ways that you can improve the child-friendliness of your living room space is to offer children a dedicated place to be within it. Giving children their own spaces to enjoy will help keep them out of trouble while allowing them to stay near you.

It’s best if the space that you create for the children remains close to your own. This will keep them from taking over your space when they want to be nearby, and it will also help to put them at ease. For some, this might mean setting up a children’s’ desk where they can play and paint. Another example could be setting up reading cushions.

Hallways

As far as safety walk-throughs go, hallways are easy to overlook, since we normally only think of them as a way of getting from one place to another. Nonetheless, there are a few particular risks in hallways to child-proof.

• Protect doors with doorknob guards, or make sure that they don’t close all the way. Finger and thumb injuries and amputations are among the most prevalent surgical injuries for children two or younger, and this most often comes from closing heavy doors on them. You can prevent this by making sure that doors that children should be opened have guards on them.
  At the same time, doors that children will frequently use shouldn’t close all the way. One easy way to prevent a door from closing while it’s in use is with a doorstop or a towel draped over the top.
• Don’t forget to cover the hallway outlets. Cover all electrical outlets when not in use with plastic (non-conducting) safety caps. This also includes any outlet on a power strip as well. If your child has a history of prying up the  basic plastic caps, look for press-to-release outlet covers which are even safer.
• Guard heat sources. Make sure that heat sources such as stoves or radiators have guards on them so that children can’t get close enough to burn themselves.
• Clear away the clutter. Clutter lining a hallway, whether it’s toys or chores, creates a tripping hazard for young ones. Try to make sure to put everything away and clear the hallway to give your children plenty of space to explore and learn to walk.
• Add in a night-light. For older children that can walk the hallways without supervision, a night-light can be a good way to put them at ease and help them navigate a dark hallway.

Garage

Most garages aren’t safe for young children to spend time in without supervision. They often contain sharp objects and power tools, as well as toxic materials for the home and lawn. 

Additionally, the garage may not always represent our finest organizational skills. This is a place that often becomes cluttered with odds and ends that don’t belong anywhere else, and those piles could constitute a physical hazard if they fall on children.

• Lock cabinets and storage. Make sure that all cabinet storage and drawer storage is latched or otherwise locked so that toddlers can’t get into them.
• Store rope and string safely. Do not allow rope, twine, or even loose chords that can result in strangulation, to lie around or hang down from spaces in the garage.
• Store ladders horizontally. Ladders should be stored horizontally so children will not try to climb them and they won’t fall on anyone.
• Unplug and disconnect all power tools unless immediately in use. These are easier for young ones to turn on or accidentally operate than you may think. Additionally, if a tool has a safety lock, make sure to use it.
• Get rid of fire hazards. Fire hazards often come from clutter. This could include stacks of newspapers or magazines, as well as bags of old clothing or rags. Additionally, avoid storing flammable liquids such as gasoline near tools that produce heat, such as a hot water heater.
• Remove the doors from large appliances before storing. If you are storing a large appliance that isn’t currently in use, such as a refrigerator, chest freezer, or laundry machine, make sure to remove the door first and place it somewhere stable where it won’t risk falling on anyone. Removing the door from large appliances reduces the risk of children getting trapped inside.
• Lock cars parked in the garage. Car doors can easily crush young fingers. Additionally, the car’s interior often contains various hazards, such as small objects to swallow.
• Use garage door sensors. Childproof your garage doors with sensors that cause the door to stop and reverse when it comes into contact with something.

Bathrooms

Bathrooms will be one of the rooms that your child uses the most. At the same time, bathrooms offer a number of places where children can bump and scrape themselves. There are also numerous drowning, slipping, and poisoning hazards.

• Use a rubber guard on the bathtub faucet. One common place that young children scrape themselves in on the bathtub faucet, which often has a sharp edge that can hurt a child that falls back on it. While young children should always be supervised in the tub, you can help to eliminate cuts and bruises from sharp edges by using rubber spout covers.
• Use sensors to check for scalding water in the bathtub. If you have a sensitive water heater, you might invest in an anti-scald device with a heat sensor or locks for the hot water knob on your tub to keep children from turning up the heat and accidentally scalding themselves.
• Keep an eye on slippery spots and places that collect puddles in your bathroom. A puddle that isn’t taken care of promptly can mean a heavy fall for your toddler. 
• Keep the toilet lid closed to prevent drowning. You can install toilet locks to keep the toilet lid closed when not in use.
• Unplug hot beauty tools in the bathroom after use. This often includes hair dryers, straighteners, and hot curlers. These are tools that a child can easily turn on and cause burns.
• Keep toiletries out of reach or locked away, particularly those that aren’t child safe. Children are curious and will open things, play with different textures, experiment, and often stick things in their mouth. Many of our toiletries can be toxic when used topically or consumed even in small amounts.
• Lock away cleaning supplies in a cabinet. The ingredients found in most cleaning supplies, particularly bathroom cleaners that frequently contain bleach, can be toxic to adults and children alike. Lock these cabinets to keep cleaning supplies out of curious hands.
• Keep medicine and vitamins in childproof bottles and away from children. When consumed inappropriately, many medicines can damage your child’s development. Additionally, some medicine may be toxic to those who do not exhibit the condition that requires these medications.

Your Child’s Bedroom

Your child’s bedroom is one of the most important places to go all out with your childproofing. As they grow older, they will spend more and more unsupervised time in their room. It should be safe for them to explore within.

• Safely set up the crib. Read every direction when assembling your crib to make sure that it is structurally sound. Be aware of any suffocation risks in the crib or sleeping areas, such as too many stuffed animals. Additionally, a crib full of toys can make it easier for the child to climb out of the crib.
• Guard and lock windows. Windows in your child’s room should not be able to open more than three inches. You can ensure this by installing a window guard in your child’s bedroom to keep them from opening the window enough that they can fall through. Guards are also necessary for window seats and windows that are located close enough to the floor that they are at the child’s level.
• Install cordless window blinds. Over 200 young children have died from strangling on window blind chords since 1990, according to the CPSC. Make sure to only use cordless window blinds, to avoid a strangling hazard from the chord. If this is not possible right now, cut all loops and tassels that may make it around the child’s neck.
• Check that all furniture inside the room is secure. Falling furniture may hurt and crush children, this is particularly common with dressers. Dressers that tip over have been known to cause over 15,000 injuries each year. Heavy furniture should be anchored to the wall, and drawers should be secured so that they will neither tip over the dresser nor come all the way out of the dresser when yanked.
• Consider all glass and ceramics as potentially breakable. Most parents are very aware of when there’s glass inside of a child’s room, but that doesn’t always translate to porcelains and other breakable ceramics. Piggy banks are one of the main culprits since when they break, their contents tend to yield small coins which can block airways posing severe choking risks.

Other Bedrooms

Each bedroom in a house will have its own set of risks, and hazards, depending on who lives in that room. Adult bedrooms will often be full of small objects that children might put in their mouth, as well as cosmetics, lotions, and fragile items. In many cases, children should only visit other rooms under supervision. Nonetheless, there are some key ways to protect them while they’re visiting.

• Stabilize and anchor all heavy furniture. All furniture in the bedroom needs to be stable and secured so that it won’t tip over.
• Use safety latches on drawers and cabinets that contain fragile, sharp, or dangerous objects. And lock them when possible, particularly if they contain fragile, sharp, or dangerous objects.

Backyards and Front Yards

The outdoors are full of potential obstacles and dangers for a young one, so it’s important to evaluate your yard on an individual basis to know the risks. Supervising your children is the best way to keep them safe outdoors.

• Water fixtures can provide a hazard for young children. It only requires one inch of water for a young child to drown. If you have a pond or water fixture in your back or front yard, always supervise the child when they are playing near or around it. This is true of natural creeks, streams, and ponds, as well as of landscaped water features and swimming pools.
• Put away all gardening and landscaping tools. Don’t leave out any outdoor tools, such as power tools, lawnmowers, and sharp tools. This may also include sharper gardening items, such as shovels. Lock them away and secure them somewhere that the children don’t have access to. Additionally, make sure that the child is out of the way, whenever you are using such lawn tools. Keep them unplugged when they are not actively in use.
• Keep the ground clear and fill in holes. Potholes present tripping hazards. Keep an eye on such holes as they pop up, since they can easily be made any time without warning by vermin such as moles.
• Set up a playpen in the yard. A playpen limits the area that the children can explore to in the yard, allowing you to examine the area for risks. While supervision is still recommended, this can be a more relaxing way to enjoy the outdoors with a young child.

Outdoor safety continues to be important as children become old enough for outdoor toys and activities, such as basketball games with their neighbors, jumping on a trampoline, and learning to skateboard or longboard. Instilling a sense of safety early will help your children make better safety decisions as they grow older and more ambitious.

Staircases

Stairs are the most common places for a child to fall in the house, often resulting in an emergency room visit. Consider your staircase safety plans for the long-term, as it can take years before your children can safely climb the stairs on their own.

Baby gates are the most effective way of blocking a child off from using the stairs without help or supervision. For the most part, staircases should be gated off until children can learn to navigate them safely on their own.

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to choosing your child gate, However, not all baby gates are created equal. You should never use a pressure mounted gate at the top of the stairs.  Top of the stairs gates should ALWAYS be mounted with engineered hardware. They should NEVER open over the stairs. 

Size and height are both a key factor, as well as ease of access. Standards require that gates are not less than 22 inches in height with a floor-to-gate distance of not less than 3 inches. Many child gates are designed so that adults can open them with one hand. This makes it easier to carry larger objects or children up the stairs when you need to.

Finding the right gate becomes particularly tricky for those who might have open staircases in their home. In this case, you might require gate extensions to surround the mouth of the stairs. Expandable gates are also useful for irregularly sized doors, staircases, or staircase openings.

• Anchor your baby gates to make them more secure. This allows them to not only deter children from taking the stairs, but it also offers more solid support for children who tumble into or pull themselves up onto the gate. All top of the stairs gates must be anchored. Anchoring may require drilling into the banister or wall, depending on the kit that you’re using.
• Keep the stairs well-maintained. Keep an eye on stairs for areas where they might have rough patches, slippery patches, and therefore need maintenance. Keep an eye on splinters, loose steps, or loose nails.
• Install shields on banister gaps, lofts, and overlooks. Some staircases also have railing and banisters with wide gaps and spaces that a child can slip through and hurt themselves. If you have a banister with gaps, you can get a banister guard to protect children from falling through.
• Consider carpeting your stairs. Carpeting helps to make stairs less slippery and therefore less likely for a child to fall on. At the same time, carpeting offers some cushioning for if the child does fall or slip.
• Keep stairs free of clutter. Navigating around clutter can make even older children stumble or trip. In many cases, this clutter can be toys and other items that have ended up on the stairs.

By the time your child can start to climb up the gate, it’s time to remove it from the mouth or bottom of the stairs. When children can climb or get around the gates, they pose more of a hazard than a safety measure.

Maintaining a Space for Yourself

Having children often means that their stuff becomes littered in every space, and you find that you will never have enough storage.

Closed storage is a must to help you maintain the feel and appearance of your own spaces. This is often best as a combination of drawer and door storage that can therefore accommodate the different shapes and sizes that children’s toys run. Additionally, organizing children’s items in baskets and boxes on bookshelves can help keep everything organized.

There will likely be a room or two in your home that you cannot childproof. This is often an office that’s full of electronics and outlets, a sitting room that’s full of glass and fragile objects, or a workspace with dangerous tools or chemicals.

In this case, it’s best to limit access to these spaces, using gates where there aren’t doors to block access. It’s also important to supervise children any time that they’re in these spaces.

Finding a Balance Between Safety and Practicality

In many cases, providing safety measures around our homes for little ones can mean more work for us, as we may have to clear away baby-proofing devices to perform everyday duties.

One hazard can lead to another. If you don’t properly use and replace your child-proofing gear or return it to place after you use it, it can create a clutter that only makes another hazard. For example, you don’t need to lock every drawer in your home. This makes them inconvenient. It also makes it more likely that you’ll leave small parts lying around.

Instead of putting cabinet locks everywhere, reorganize your cabinetry so that all the hazardous materials and sharp objects are condensed into one or two cabinets that you can lock up.

In the end, direct supervision is ultimately more important than any other measure you can take to child-proof your home and reduce risk.

Tools and Devices that Can Help

• Night-Lights – Use night-lights to help children see in their own rooms or in hallways at night. This is a good way to help older children get to the bathroom without fear or tripping.
• Cabinet Locks – Cabinet locks help to protect children from hazardous and poisonous materials, particularly in the kitchen and bathrooms.
• Guards and Gates – Guards and gates are indispensable for keeping younger children from accessing areas that are unsafe. Guards also help to keep children away from stumbling hazards, sharp edges, or hot surfaces.
• Door Knob Covers – Most homes don’t need doorknob covers everywhere, but they can be very useful to keep children from accessing hazardous rooms, such as workshops, doors that open up to stairs, including basement doors, and other rooms that you would rather make off-limits.

Securing Potentially Dangerous Objects

One of the most dangerous parts of our homes are electrical equipment, including electrical outlets and power strips. It’s all too easy for children to wrongly unplug an unstable power chord, stick a metal object into an outlet, and risk electrocuting themselves. You can make this safer by using plastic protectors in your outlets or tucking them out of reach altogether.

Also, be aware of anything that contains a battery. Batteries are not only choking hazards, but they can also cause severe damage when swallowed. Many batteries, such as watch batteries, small batteries from an unsecured remote control, or those found in some toys, are small enough for this to be a common liability too.

Storing Things Safely for Children

Just as it matters how we store our own items, it can save us a lot of accidents by properly storing items that children will reach for. This includes putting all of their items within their reach so that they don’t have to climb for their things.

• Use hooks for storage. Hooks make items more accessible to children and can be positioned at the right height for them so that they don’t have to reach for things above their heads or among shelving where something might fall on them. Coat hooks are great for frequently-used apparel and outerwear, as well as bags and hobby equipment.
• Remove heavy or free-falling lids from chests. This is particularly for toy chests that the child will want to access frequently.
• Lock drawers into furniture. Make sure that all drawers the child will use won’t come all the way out of the furniture. Some furniture, particularly older pieces, will have drawers that can come all the way out. Children can easily drop these drawers on their toes and hurt themselves.

Creating a Safe Play Space

Once you have made the rest of the house safe for your children, it’s important for them to have at least some space in your home where they can safely play and explore. This space is best decorated to stimulate the child and draw out a sense of creativity and learning. Children respond well to bright colors and a variety of textures.

• Furnish their space with functional, child-sized furniture. Having furniture their size will help them feel at home. As they start to mimic what they see you doing in your spaces, this furniture will play a key part in their education and independence.
• Use playpens when space is limited. If you don’t have the space in your home to set up a permanent play area, you can use a temporary gate to create a playpen. This method allows you to restrict access to a room that may not be the safest for the child, while you keep an eye on them.
• Furnish with hardy materials. Play spaces may take a lot of abuse from children. They can quickly become messy when not properly cared for or designed. 
• Hardwood flooring in a play area might be easy to clean, but it does risk being damaged when children drag furniture over it repeatedly. 
• Carpeted play areas are going to quickly fall into disrepair with stains and other wear and tear. If you really want a carpeted space, it can be a good idea to use carpet tiles as opposed to a full length of carpet. These tiles can be replaced in pieces rather than having to replace the entire room.
• You can easily cushion hardwood or tiled flooring with a thick rug.
• When choosing rugs, opt for ones that are easy to clean and come in forgiving colors or patterns.
• Have a storage space for everything, including every toy. Have plenty of storage boxes or baskets and a place for everything, using drawers and boxes for small, many-part toys. Even older children should avoid having toys lying around where someone can trip on them. This also limits loss.
• Make sure that choking hazards are properly put away after use. Often yourself or older children use their own items that can be a hazard to little ones. Broken crayons, colored pencils, Legos, and other toys can easily become choking hazards. Try to keep these in their proper places, keep them neat, and put them away properly to avoid the younger children finding them.

Working with Multiple Children

As your children grow through different stages, you will have to learn and adapt to new risks in your home. Older children become more adventurous and experimental. They frequently like to climb objects, pull things down, and rearrange whatever they can. They are also more inclined to open things and search around as they explore.

While exploration is a good impulse for a young mind, it’s important to make sure that children have a safe way of exploring and expressing their sense of creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving. As they’re learning about their surroundings, this is also the time to teach them about what could possibly be safe and what isn’t.

When raising multiple children of different ages, some children may be at the earlier stage, where they require constant supervision; whereas other children may be at the more adventurous age when they’re determined to climb and explore.

In this case, it’s important to think through and scour all the stages of childproofing your home at once, so that none of the children are vulnerable to potential risks around your home. Nonetheless, when you are raising multiple children, behavioral aspects may become a safety issue as well, making supervision more important than ever.

Preparing Your Furniture

When choosing furniture for child-friendly spaces, opt for furniture with rounded corners. Try to eliminate as many jagged edges and sharp corners as you can. Sharp corners are a safety risk, since bumping into them could cause bruises,  bumps, and even lacerations. 

Choose furniture that does more than one job for the space it takes up. Tables can also offer storage. Consider storage trunks for furniture, as well as anything that has drawers. Additionally, heavy furniture is best, since children will not be able to knock it around as easily, push it over, or drag it across the floor.

When arranging furniture, avoid making areas that children can, and will, climb up on. If your home is an obstacle course, your children will take up the challenge, which runs the risk of children falling or furniture breaking beneath them. This is particularly true in the case of free-standing furniture, such as bookshelves, and anything that has been mounted to the wall, including mounted televisions. Make sure that all furniture is secure and anchored.

When it comes to upholstered furniture, use couch covers or fabrics that are easily washable and stain-resistant whenever you can. Fabrics such as leather, suedes, and high-quality velvets are also more difficult to stain, but can have other risks to watch out for, such as wear and scratching.

Conclusion

Child-friendliness will appear different in each and every home. Nonetheless, the key factors are to keep spaces safe, soft, and open for exploration. With the right supervision and careful consideration of the hazards in each of your spaces, your home can be a secure and comfortable place for your child to grow up.

Weight gain often creeps up on us. One second you’re at your ideal weight, then a few weeks of not weighing in and you’ve gained 10 pounds.

Throughout our lives, our weight often fluctuates. However, there’s a big difference between gaining a pound or two and ten pounds. The problem with weight is that it’s easy to gain and incredibly difficult to get rid of. Those extra pounds always seem to stick, meaning that when it comes to losing them again, it’s not an easy process. However, it doesn’t have to be a nightmare to shed the extra weight; you can easily shed 10 pounds in just a few days. When it comes to weight loss, how you go about it is key.

1. Increase your vegetable consumption

If you want to shed that extra weight, at every meal, at least, half of your plate should consist of vegetables. The best vegetables are leafy greens – spinach and kale, and nutrient-packed broccoli and peppers. In comparison to meat, vegetables are much better for your body as they’re lower in fat and easier to digest. While a small amount of protein with each meal is fine, anything more than a quarter of your plate being filled with meat is too much (so you probably want to share the meat from that fancy home electric smoker). If you want to slim down, always stick to lean meats like steak and chicken. Or another option is to switch to eating Quorn – it’s a healthy and low-fat alternative to meat. On your plate, as well as half being made up of vegetables, you should have a small amount of protein and a small amount of healthy carbohydrates. Quinoa, brown rice, couscous, or whole wheat pasta are all good options. It may also be worth swapping to a smaller plate size, as when your plate is large it’s easy to overfill it. Constant overfilling leads to the consumption of too many calories, and eventually, weight gain. For meal times stick to a smaller plate and ensure that the majority of what you’re eating is green veggies, and the weight will drop off.

Juicing is another option you might want to consider on your way to a better you.

2. Be smart about what you drink

When it comes to losing weight, what you drink can have a big impact. In fact, liquid calories can have more of an impact on your weight loss success than the food that you eat. If you drink lots of sugary juices, fizzy drinks, you could easily be doubling your recommended calorie intake. It’s far too easy to forget that drinks come with calories. Unless it’s water, every sip counts as calories. That’s why when it comes to losing weight, sticking to water is your best bet. Soda water flavoured with fresh fruit is a good alternative to fizzy drinks, as it’s sugar and calorie-free. Infusing fruit into water is a great way to make it more enjoyable. It’s much healthier than drinking sugar filled drinks and will help the weight to fall off you. If you want to shed ten pounds in ten days, ban any drinks containing sugar. Instead, stick to water and coffee and tea that are free from sugar or flavoured syrup. Alcohol is also a big no-no, as the calories in just one small glass of wine can reach the hundreds. If you have to drink, opt for vodka and soda water – a low-calorie, low-sugar option. Be wary about what you drink, as plenty of drinks are packed full of hidden calories.

3. Do short, intense workouts

Studies have shown that when it comes to burning fat, short, intense workouts are much better for you than slow, longer ones. Instead of running for an hour each morning, swap to sprinting for 30 minutes. Although the time you’ll be working out for will be shorter, a burst of intense activity will burn more calories than a longer, slower stint. Simply by making this small change, you can give your weight loss a massive boost. If you’re not sure how to swap to more intense workouts, joining a Crossfit club could be a good idea. The short, intense workouts that Crossfit is famous for are perfect for helping to give your weight loss a boost. Believe it or not, Crossfit isn’t as hard to get into as you would think. It’s suitable for anyone, no matter your abilities or strengths, so don’t be afraid to give it a go. If you want to drop those ten pounds, it’s the perfect workout option.

4. Cut down on sauces

It probably doesn’t even cross your mind but those sauces you’re adding to your food all add up. Most sauces are full of calories and fat, and adding just a spoonful or two to your food can take the calorie count up significantly. If you want to drop pounds quickly, cutting out sauces like mayonnaise is worth doing. Food doesn’t have to be bland just because you’ve cut out sauces – you can make your own easily. For a low-fat salad dressing or sandwich sauce, fat-free yogurt mixed with the herbs of your choice can make a great alternative. It tastes good, is low in fat and will help to aid your weight loss. Just by swapping to yogurt sauces you can save up to 100 calories per meal. Shop made sauces are packed full of hidden calories, so if you want to lose weight, it’s best to avoid them.

5. Plan out your meals each morning

The most important thing you can do when it comes to cutting down your calorie intake is plan out your meals for the day. If you don’t know what you’re eating throughout the day, it’s far too easy to consume too many calories. By planning out your meals in advance, you can see how many spare calories you have. Each morning, work out what you will be eating through the day so that you can ensure you don’t consume too many calories. By knowing what you’re going to be eating, you can control your calorie count to ensure it doesn’t exceed your daily limit for weight loss. If you can’t plan out your meals, assign a certain amount of calories to each meal. That way you will know what you have to work with and can go from there. Stick to your calorie limit for each meal, to ensure that you don’t overeat.

6. Go DIY when it comes to food

Did you know that ready-made foods and sauces are packed full of fat and unhealthy sugars? If you want to lose weight quickly, going DIY when it comes to your food is crucial. This means no shop bought pasta, curry or stir fry sauces, as these are all full of empty calories. Your best bet, if you want to shed those extra pounds, is to make your food from scratch. This means that every meal, from the base to the sauce, needs to be homemade. While this might sound daunting, the truth is it doesn’t have to be. Believe it or not, making your own food from scratch is much easier than you would think. Steer clear of any recipes containing cream, cheese or butter, instead stick to vegetable based sauces. If you have a look online, there are plenty of recipes for low-fat sauces and meals that are quick and easy to make. As well as being great for weight loss, homemade meals are better for you and cheaper to make. Try fresh fruits and juice them using purpose built juicers.

7. Reduce your portion sizes

When it comes to portion sizes, most of us are eating more than we should be. It’s an easy mistake to make, but it can cause your weight to balloon. So if you want to shed those extra pounds quickly, cutting your portion sizes is a must. If you’re unsure of how much of a certain food you should be having, you can find out online. As a rule of thumb, a serving of carbohydrates – pasta, rice, etc., should be no larger than the size of a fist. Your meat or fish serving should be no larger than the length of your hand. If you choose to add condiments to your food – mayo or tomato sauce, the serving should be no larger than a ping pong ball. If you struggle with serving sizes, you will almost always be overweight. Your best bet is to buy a serving measurement device online so that you can work out exactly what you should be eating. It’s far too easy to overeat; that’s why knowing the amounts you should be having is so important.

8. Walk don’t drive

Want to shed those pounds – walk don’t drive. Popping out to the shops or dropping the kids to school – use your feet, not your car. It might take longer to get places, but if you want to lose weight quickly, the more active you are, the better. Walking not only helps to shed pounds, but it also increases your leg and core strength, helping with toning. You’ll find that simply by walking an extra mile to three miles a day, your weight loss with quickly increase. This is especially true if you walk at the start of the day, as this will help to wake up your metabolism and speed it up. Meaning that throughout the day you will be burning more calories than normal, as your metabolism is working faster. If you want to shed those pounds, walk wherever you can. If you can’t walk, consider cycling.

9. Always carry healthy snacks

Unless you want to get caught short and be hungry where there’s no healthy food, it’s best to carry snacks with you. When we get hungry, our bodies start to crave everything and anything. It’s this that often leads to us satisfying ourselves with unhealthy foods. That’s why it’s a good idea always to carry healthy snack foods around with you, so that should you get hungry, you’re covered. The best foods to have on hand are fresh fruit – grapes offer a great energy boost, nuts and seeds, or baked fruit. Dried fruit is packed full of added sugar, so don’t opt for that. Baked fruit, however, tends to be baked naturally so makes a great healthy snack. Another great option for a healthy and filling on the go snack is nut butter and celery sticks. Or hummus and cucumber and chopped peppers can also make a great healthy snack. Always make sure that you’re prepared, so that when hunger strikes you’re not caught short.

10. Eat little and often

We’re often told that snacking is bad, but actually that’s not the case. If you want your metabolism to run as quickly as possible, eating small amounts little and often is a must. Aim to eat small meals or snacks five to eight times a day, to help your body effectively burn calories. As long as these meals are healthy and fat-free, you should start to see the pounds dropping off. If you only eat a couple of times a day, your metabolism will become sluggish and burn fat slowly. However, if you eat little and often, your metabolism will constantly be running. This will help to burn fat more quickly, resulting in faster weight loss. Snacks like a handful of strawberries dipped in low-fat yogurt (you can even use a top blender to mix them together into a yummy smoothie), cream cheese on a breakfast muffin, or a handful of pretzels, are all ideal. Eating small snacks little and often can have a big impact on your weight loss. If you want the pounds to melt off, snacking regularly, is important.

Gaining weight is no fun, especially when the weight seems to stick. If you’re struggling to get rid of those extra pounds, it could be a good idea to give the tips mentioned in this guide a try. Weight loss is never easy, but if you persevere, the pounds can quickly drop off. If you’re really struggling with weight loss and nothing seems to work, it could be worth going to see your doctor to get checked over. Sometimes weight gain can be down to an illness or condition, so getting checked out could be a good idea.

As a complement to this guide please read Natural Weight Loss for Women.