Archives for January 2015

Fundraising is a brilliant way to raise money for something close to your heart. It’s also an opportunity to challenge yourself and perhaps do something that you would never have done otherwise. Everybody who sets out with a fundraising project would of course like to get amazing results, but how do you ensure the ultimate success? Use this guide to help you!

Recruit More Volunteers

The more volunteers you have to help you, the more money you’ll make. If somebody would like to get in on a sponsored bungee jump or bake sale, then let them. They’ll attract more people, and your charity will thank you for it. Don’t be too precious about what you’re doing and remember why you’re raising cash in the first place!

Make Sure What You’re Doing is Legal

Before you start anything, make sure what you’re doing is legal. You can’t go far wrong with bake sales and the like, but you need to be careful that you aren’t violating any rules, regulations, or complicated jargon that I won’t repeat here to avoid boring you. When you think you’ve decided what to do, do a lot of research to get ideas and ensure that your idea is legal.

Team Up With a Large Company

By teaming up with a large company, you can get way more exposure than you would on your own. People will also be more likely to trust you, as this big name is backing you up. See if any large companies would like to get involved. You could even consider local companies in your area. Plan an elevator pitch before you approach them designed to impress, so you have the best chance of getting them on board. Think Dragon’s Den!

Howard Lake

Get Kids Involved

Kids love to help, so get them involved. People can’t say no to them either, which will help you when racking up the sponsors. Take a look at some sample donation request letters to get an idea of what to give the kids before you send them off to get sponsors.

Get Active

Getting active is one of the most popular ways to raise money. You could try your hand at white water rafting, for example. You could even try something a little tamer, like going on a bike ride. Whatever you decide, you can keep fit while doing something for a good cause. You could even do a sponsored weight loss challenge if you’re overweight. It’d be the perfect motivation to stick at it!

Get Arty

Show off your creative talent and encourage others to do the same by holding an arts and crafts fair. You should attract lots of people, and it’ll be beneficial for the entire community as well as your charity. You could even simply make jewelry and sell it to give the profits to your charity – it doesn’t need to be a huge event!

Have a Bad Hair Day

Suggest a bad hair day to your boss at work. The aim is to make your hair look as funny, scary, or ridiculous as possible. This will make it less painful when people hand over their cash to you…they’ll be too busy laughing at all of the insane hairstyles!

Have a Talent Contest

Host a talent contest at work or at a school. Everybody will have fun, and you might even find an upcoming star! Let anybody show off their skill, even those who want to burp the alphabet. This probably isn’t going to be aired on TV, so don’t worry!

Put Your Cooking Skills to the Test

Try cooking some tasty baked goods and selling them. You could attend car boot sales, school fayres, or even go and knock your neighbour’s doors. I only advise doing this if your skills are up to scratch, though! I once bought lemon cake for charity that was hard to chew…I think they’d been selling it for a while.

Kids and cleaning do not go well together. You may feel that you are always cleaning up after your brood, only to find that they have messed it all up again. Kids! Who’d have them? Well, we love them really but it would be good to keep our home in impeccable order.

What you need is a quick fix. Or, at the very least, a guide to cleaning your home in a jiffy. Here is a busy mom’s guide to cleaning.

Cleaning as You Go

One of the easiest ways to stay on top of the housework is to ensure that you are cleaning as you go. Pick up toys. Put away newspapers. Wipe down sticky surfaces as you see them. Once you do this, the rest will come easily.

It’s Time to Teach Those Kids a Lesson

Of course, it shouldn’t be down to moms to make sure that the house is sparkling. Children need to learn that if they are playing that they are responsible for the mess too. So, request that the kids start cleaning up after themselves. Start a reward chart. Put stickers on the chart every time something is put away. Make sure that they are aware of their tasks. That way, it’s less pressure on you to keep a clean home, and the kids are taught a valuable life lesson in the process.

Ariel Grimm

Devise a Deep Clean Day

Every now and then, the house will need a deep clean. Cleaning as you go is all well and good, but trying to keep on top of the vacuuming and polishing is vital. So, set up your own cleaning schedule. Devise a day that works for you. Make sure that you have a full day to gut the house top to bottom.

Invest in Quality Cleaning Materials

Make sure that you have all of the cleaning implements that are needed to carry out your cleaning tasks. You can see reviews for the top rated vacuums of 2015 to find out what is the best vacuum cleaner here. After all, you don’t want to put in all of the hard work. It’s time to invest wisely. After all, you should have to do all of the hard work.

Be a Super Mom: Get Organized

One of the easiest way to keep on top of the household chores as a busy mom is to make sure that you are organized. Schedules can be an excellent way of making sure that your home is sparkling clean. Devise a timetable and ensure that you stick to it. For example, Monday could be laundry day. Tuesday could be used to polish the bedrooms. Getting organized is the key to a happy and clean home. Plus, you will feel less stressed by the mess.

Judith Doyle

Ditch the Stuff That You Don’t Need

Once you have a schedule in place, you will find it easier to get rid of the things that you don’t need. You will come across old toys, too small clothes and clutter that you simply don’t need. Establish a sorting out day and get rid of the old stuff that you don’t use or need. Donate to charity or simply throw away. Your home will look fabulous in no time.

With so many great apps available for free right now, it’s no wonder some are going viral. Whole families compete against each other on their individual devices to see who can get the highest score. This new way of spending time with each other has raised some issues and questions about community, culture and families. But if you are like the millions of other people out there who just enjoy a quiet few minutes trying to beat their best score, it probably doesn’t bother you!

There are several games that are among the most popular for friends, families and even colleagues to get mega competitive over. Angry Birds, Minion Rush, and Bejeweled have all had their time. Dozens of new apps become available every day, but only a few make it into the viral game hall of fame. What does it take to make a game that is popular enough for millions of people to want to download?

Where do you game – image thanks to Flickr

Candy Crush continues to top the league tables of favorite games for all ages. It’s not exactly high brow, and it seems to be quite repetitive on the face of it. But it has kept us tapping our smartphones for a few years now. Kids, teens and adults have posted their high scores on FaceBook. Some have even tweeted about it. The best thing about it is it gives us a reason to talk to each other, if only by posting messages on the internet!

Wherever we are in the world (or the room), these light entertainments keep us connected. Never before has it been so easy to strike up a conversation with a distant relative or even a complete stranger. And it is something we can do anywhere anytime. It gives us all something in common. Because it is a game, the kids are more than happy to tap or swipe away. Perhaps if you can’t beat them you should join them!

Of course, it is easy to cheat some of them, or at least get a little prompt. You can get tech logo quiz help online and hints and tips for most of the quiz games out there. Wordstorm and other anagram games are becoming hot as they have an educational element to them. Zynga provides a number of games like Scramble that push to learn new words and improve your spelling. Other games are just harmless fun. Or are they?

Lots of parenting websites recommend limiting the time on the internet and TV for children. The truth is, we live in an age where our entire lives are online. It is hard to restrict the time for activities that can be fruitful, educational and useful. Admittedly there are more important things in life than gaming, but if a half an hour session in an app helps a family bond and improve temperaments can it really be a bad thing? The choice is yours as a parent. Some parents would say anything that keeps them calm can’t be too bad. Others would say that time should be spent studying or playing outdoors. Can there be time and opportunity for both?