6 Easy Strategies to Help Your Family Succeed in 2020

I love the feeling of getting a fresh start at the beginning of the year. When it's time to buy a new calendar, it's also the perfect opportunity to reflect on the past twelve months and plan new ways to improve my family's life ... and my own! Here are a few of my favorites.

Create a new everyday tradition

The holiday season is when most families celebrate traditions. The one that my family treasures each year is opening new pajamas together on Christmas Eve. I choose a theme each Christmas, and we all get matching ones, regardless of everyone’s ages. It’s a blast, especially when we take a family photo under the tree in our PJs, which range from whimsical footed onesies to jammies that light up or make noise.

Find ways to celebrate the ordinary, everyday moments you spend together.

Once the hustle and bustle of this exciting (and exhausting) time of year is over, however, its the perfect time to focus on your family. Find ways to celebrate the ordinary, everyday moments you spend together. You might choose to begin a Sunday brunch tradition for the first Sunday of the month. Or, you can grab your new calendar and schedule a few electronic-free evenings several times a year where you order pizza and play board games together. Your new tradition can be as simple or as elaborate as you’d like. To succeed in making the practice a true family tradition, all you need to do is be consistent.

Traditions, no matter the time of year, become special rituals your family will cherish and perhaps pass on to their own kids one day.

RELATED:  6 Ways to Create Family Traditions

Establish a daily routine

One of the best gifts you can give your family is to establish solid daily routines. Here's an example. If you find that you and your child are always stressed when it comes to getting organized and rushing out the door in the morning, form a new habit. Have your child pick out his clothing the night before school. Then, have him organize his backpack and place it by the front door. Imagine how much simpler both your morning routines will be!

Start with one area that your family has the most difficulty with—like the morning rush—and pick one or two ways you can improve on that.

You don’t have to go crazy and build in a dozen routines at once. Start with one area that...

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11 Family-Friendly DIY Projects for the New Year

New Year’s resolutions aren’t just for individuals, it’s also a terrific time for families to set goals. If freshening up your home space is one of them, make it a winning combo by creating DIY projects you can dive into as a family. You’ll get to spend time together with the added bonus of completing creative projects you can all feel good about.

Organize your home, family, and style

Welcome January with projects that will help tame your clutter and keep your loved ones organized. Gather your family together and sort out which areas of your home need attention. Think about the high-traffic areas like your home’s entryway, laundry room, kitchen, and family room and figure out how you can all reduce the extra stuff that clutters up your daily life.

Remind your family that by investing time now in getting these problem areas in order, you’ll all have more free time to do fun things because you won’t be living in cluttered chaos.

Pinterest has hundreds of ideas and projects for every area of your home. Check out this list to help you get started.

Create bird feeders and bird baths

Creating bird feeders and bird baths is an easy way to add some really cool elements to your yard. There are many benefits to feeding birds, including the sheer enjoyment of watching the wonderful world of nature right outside your window. The National Bird-Feeding Society provides a free illustrated guide with everything you need to know about feeding birds.

Water is one of the most important things birders can add to their backyard to attract birds. Here are some adorable bird bath ideas from Morning Chores to inspire you.

Create a family art gallery

Surrounding your environment with favorite family photos is a great way to personalize your space. Get your family on board with one of these ideas to create a family art gallery.

• Decoupage a designated space such as a bedroom hallway with family photos 
• Frame your children’s artwork and display in common areas such...

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3 Mini Mindfulness Exercises You Can Do Without Meditating

Happy New Year, everyone! How was your holiday season this past year? If it was anything like mine, you probably not only had lots of joyous moments, but also lots of hectic running around, getting things ready, hosting, traveling, ordering last-minute presents, and getting in touch with loved ones.

Times like these can sparkle with fun energy and can leave us feeling frazzled. That’s because all this running around makes it hard to be mindful. By mindful, I mean being present in the here and now with a non-judgmental attitude. The opposites of mindful are multi-tasking, judging, worrying, mentally planning, and getting stuck in our minds instead of being simply and fully in the real world in this current moment. 

When was the last time you were fully mindful? What did it feel like?

If the answer comes readily to mind, good for you! You’re probably reaping the benefits of being mindful by being regularly tuned into the here and now. Those benefits include better physical health, better relationships with sleep and food, better job satisfaction, higher self-esteem, and being less prone to worry. In children, mindfulness training may improve the development of their self-regulation skills. In adults, mindfulness training can improve coping with health problems, stress, anxiety, and depression.

How to be mindful without meditation

I hear you protest: “Sure, I’d like to be more mindful, but I don’t have time to sit down and meditate for 30 minutes every day!”

We want to be present for all of these events, whether pleasant or unpleasant, to live a rich and full life.

Worry not! Although meditation is an excellent practice, it’s not the only way to cultivate mindfulness. The ultimate goal of practicing is to become mindful in our day-to-day lives, during our commutes, our work, our play, our diaper-changing and fights with spouses, our awkward conversations, and our giddy triumphs. We want to be present for all of these events, whether pleasant or unpleasant, to live a rich and full life.

There are some mini mindfulness exercises you can do during any of the scenarios I just described. No meditation required! Put these in your back pocket to use for five seconds or five minutes, any time you could use a dose of mindfulness.

1. Riding your breath

The breath is always my first go-...

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Why Are There so Many Different Scripts in East Asia?

You don’t have to learn a new script when you learn Norwegian, Czech, or Portuguese, let alone French, so why does every East Asian language require you to learn a new script as well? In Europe the Roman script of Latin became standard, and it was never seriously challenged by runes or by the Greek, Cyrillic, or Glagolitic (an early Slavic script) alphabets. You still have to learn the Greek alphabet for Greek, or the Cyrillic alphabet for Russian, Bulgarian, and Serbian, but they are the only exceptions. On the other hand, in East Asia today, the logographic script based on the Chinese characters is used in China, while Korean uses the indigenous han’gŭl alphabet, Japanese uses a mixture of Chinese characters and two different syllabaries, Vietnamese uses the roman alphabet, and Mongolian uses the Cyrillic alphabet. (A syllabary is a set of written symbols that each represent a syllable.)

There were even more scripts in earlier times. The Vietnamese used their own indigenous characters known as nôm, the Mongolians used their own vertical script, which was also used by the Manchus in north-east China, the Tanguts in western China invented their own characters, and so did the Khitans in the north-east. So, the first puzzle is the profusion of scripts in East Asia: why are there so many? The second is why none of these scripts actually replaced Chinese characters, at least until modern times. These days, the han’gŭl alphabet is used exclusively, without any Chinese characters, in North Korea, and South Korea is rapidly moving in the same direction; and in Vietnam both Chinese characters and nôm characters have been replaced by an adapted form of the roman script. But before the 20th century every society in East Asia with an indigenous script also used Chinese characters. Sometimes, as in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, the writing system used both Chinese characters and the indigenous script in the same sentence; in other cases, such as Manchu and Tangut, they were kept apart but both were in use. What is the explanation for this state of affairs?

We can start with the assumption that the Chinese characters were the first form of writing known in East Asia. In all societies on the periphery of China therefore, writing was first encountered in the form of Chinese characters and the literary Chinese that they were used to inscribe. Consequently, the earliest texts produced in Vietnam, Japan, and Korea were written using Chinese characters. Local place-names and personal names were written using Chinese characters phonographically, just for their sound alone, and this principle was then taken further, using Chinese characters to inscribe the local vernacular languages. So why...

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How to Prevent Ingrown Hairs

Shave with the Grain

To prevent ingrown hairs, both men and women should shave in the direction of hair growth. For ladies who shave their legs, that means from the knee down to the ankle. For men who shave their faces, swipe down on the cheeks and beneath the jaw, and up along the neck. Take your time and look carefully to determine the best way to shave.

No Pulling!

When shaving, you might be tempted to pull and stretch your skin taut for an extra-close shave. But don’t! The just-cut hairs will retract back into the skin when it’s released from your grip, and they’ll likely grow into the skin rather than out of it.

Expert Exfoliation

Speaking of exfoliation, it’s the best way to get smooth, shiny, ultra-clean skin. It’s also a great help in preventing ingrown hairs, since the scrubbing removes grime and dead skin cells that can clog up your follicles. To exfoliate before you shave, simply rub the area with a dry cloth, loofah, or exfoliating gloves. Not only will you eliminate dirt, you’ll also gently pull hairs from their follicles for easier shaving.

Go Electric

If you don’t mind a not-so-close shave, consider using a straight electric razor. These gadgets trap hair beneath a foil screen before trimming, so newly cut hairs are less able to curl, reenter the skin, and become ingrown.

For more health and beauty tricks, check out our Health and Beauty Tips board on Pinterest. And don't forget to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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10 Horrible Habits That Keep You from Growing Rich

For most people, success doesn’t come without first developing good financial habits. But sometimes what’s more important is acknowledging bad financial habits that need to be dropped. When you recognize counterproductive behaviors and eliminate them, you can achieve much more with your money.

Here's more about 10 horrible habits that can keep you from growing rich and sabotage your financial future.

1. Living without an emergency fund

Life is full of financial surprises and costly emergencies. The antidote is having cash in an FDIC-insured savings account, known as an emergency fund.

Even a tiny emergency fund is better than nothing.

Having a cash cushion to fall back on helps you reduce stress, navigate financial hardships, and avoid going into debt. Even a tiny emergency fund is better than nothing.

Commit to putting away a set amount on a regular basis, such as $100 a month or $50 a week. Automate your savings with a separate direct deposit that puts a flat amount or a percentage of each paycheck in the bank. Just ask your employer to set it up.

If you’re self-employed, create a recurring transfer that moves money from your checking into a savings account on a monthly or weekly basis. Out of sight means out of mind.

If money is tight, try working overtime, getting a second job, or starting a business on the side. It doesn’t have to be forever—just until you reach a savings goal. I recommend having a minimum of $1,000 on hand; however, working up to three to six months’ worth of living expenses is the best goal.

2. Forgetting about retirement

It can be difficult to think about your golden years when you’re a new graduate or in an entry-level job. But when you start investing early, you lock in your ability to grow rich. In fact, it’s almost like getting your retirement at a fire sale.

One of the most important factors in how much you accumulate depends on when you start investing, even if you don’t have much to invest.

One of the most important factors in how much you accumulate depends on when you start investing, even if you don’t have much to invest. Getting an early start allows your money to compound and grow exponentially over time.

Let’s compare two people who each invest $250 a month with an average annual 7% return. If Sam starts at age 25, he’ll have over $650,000 by age 65. But if Lisa doesn’t get started until age 45, she’ll only have $130,000 by her 65th birthday. To end up with as much as Sam, she’d have to invest $1,260 per month.

So, don’t delay making...

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4 Secrets to Keeping Your New Year's Resolution

Happy New Year, everyone! Did you make a New Year’s resolution this year? If so, you're in good company. 

The Secrets to Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions

Coming hard on the heels of the party-hearty holidays, January 1st seems to be a natural time to start fresh. But is there any point? Psychologists say that many resolutions are broken before the day is out. The fact that we seem to make the same resolutions every year suggests that few of them stick. But even if you broke last year's (or every year's) resolutions, this year can be different. The first step is to pick your resolution carefully.

What Makes a Good Resolution?

The other day, I sent out an email asking my coworkers about their New Year's resolutions. My friend Alan responded that he was resolving to "run more." Now, if I were a betting woman, I wouldn't wager very much on this resolution becoming a reality.  

1. Make your resolutions as specific as possible 

Vague resolutions like "eat better" or "exercise more" are hard to quantity and, therefore, easy to fudge and, eventually, forget. You’ll have a much better chance of succeeding with a specific, measurable goal like taking dog for one mile walk before dinner every night. When I pressed him, Alan came up with a more specific resolution. He pledged to run a minimum of 3 miles, two times a week. The odds of Alan keeping his resolution just got much better.

2. Choose a goal that is realistic but meaningful  

Grandiose plans to radically overhaul your diet on January 1st are usually doomed to failure. You'll get a lot more mileage out of choosing a couple of small but meaningful changes that you can stick to until they've become ingrained habits. For example, my friend Gerry, who needs to lose a couple of pounds, has decided she's going to start putting milk in her coffee rather than half and half.

Don’t underestimate the power of small changes—especially when you stick with them.

That is a great resolution—it's specific and it's extremely doable. I think the odds are high that this time next year, Gerry will still be drinking milk in her coffee instead of half and half. And don’t underestimate the power of small changes—especially when you stick with them. Over the course of the year, Gerry stands to save 18,250 calories, or the equivalent of five pounds, by making this one small change.

3. Be positive

By this, I don't mean "be optimistic" (although that...

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