5 Ways to Feel Safer in your Home

Feeling safe is one of the most important things for a person, though sometimes it is hard to feel totally secure even in your own home. Quite often there is actually nothing to worry about however that doesn't make you feel any safer. The following ideas will help you worry less, feel safer and relax more when you are at home.

1)Have a security system installed – Whether it is security doors, security screens, or an alarm system, having that extra line of defence between you and the outside world can make a huge difference. Not only is your place less likely to be targeted, but if it is, it will be way less chance that anyone will be able to get inside. Investing in a security system will mean you can rest easy knowing that you are safe inside your home.

2)Get to know your neighbours – There is nothing quite as secure as a community where people know each other. Make a point of getting to know your neighbours and looking out for one another. Introduce yourself, drop by with cookies or muffins, and take an interest in their lives. Some people are way more vulnerable than others so they'll feel safer too knowing that you are looking out for them. It will also be much harder for an intruder to sneak in or out of your community if people realise they don’t live there.

3)Learn self defense – Knowing how to defend yourself is an invaluable skill and even just a move or two can make all the difference. Regardless of your age, it is always handy to know what to do if you are attacked and it can be as simple as knowing a few vulnerable areas to strike out at. Taking a self defense class will give you the confidence to know what to do in an emergency and you will feel much safer both in your home and out on the street.

4)Get a dog – Dogs are great companions and are also quite territorial. Having a dog in your place will be great at both alerting you if someone is nearby as well as deterring possible intruders from targeting your place. Apart from this, just the great company provided by your dog will have you feeling less alone and way less vulnerable.

5)Choose your late night movies carefully – Whether you are actually totally safe or not, watching scary movies when you are home alone at night can make it really difficult to feel safe. Scary movies can be loads of fun, though maybe keep them for during the day or for when friends are staying over. You dont want to think every shadow in your place is hiding an intruder or a monster!

Everyone should feel safe whether in their home or not, though it's often the feeling of isolation that adds to our fears. Adding a few practical safety measures to your home will help a lot, though the real safety will come from knowing that your community is one where everyone looks out for each other. Use a bit of common sense and involve yourself in your community. Don't feel scared and isolated in your home.

Reasons Your Kit Home Needs a Veranda

Not only do verandas improve the look of kit homes it also increases their value, just as any structure added to a home makes a property more valuable. If you didn't want to put a veranda around your home patios on the side a great for providing some shade and using to shelter an entertainment area.

Shade

In our warmer climate it is hugely beneficial to have shade around your home. Homes in rural areas of Australia were traditionally built with wide verandas running all the way around the house and The Queenslander style of home, as well as being up on stilts to keep it cooler, also relies on verandas to control the temperature inside the home. A shaded area around your home gives you somewhere to sit on a warm day, you can set up your outdoor furniture on the veranda and it will shade your windows and bricks from the hot sun helping to keep your house cooler.

Play area

A veranda will give your kit home another area for your children to play. They can keep out of the hot sun during summer or shelter from the rain. Rather than being stuck indoors all the time it is good to have an area where children can get some fresh air without being attacked by the elements. Set up a table and chairs where they can play games, do drawings or play with play dough. You can buy small easels where they can stand and do paintings or build them a cubby out of blankets.

Entertainment area

Having a veranda added to your kit home will create an instant entertainment area. Build a timber decking or have a paved area where you can put your outdoor furniture and invest in a quality barbecue. Improve the look of the area by planting small trees, hedges and having creepers or plants that will grow up over your veranda or patios, such as wisteria or climbing roses. It is important to have a shaded area if you want to entertain outside otherwise you will get very hot and uncomfortable, not to mention sunburnt, sitting out in the direct sunlight.

Increase the value of your home

Adding a veranda to your kit home will also increase its value. Basically the more you add to your home the more you are going to increase its value.

Keep your home cooler

A veranda will help keep your home cool as it will stop the sun from falling across your exterior walls and from coming in through your windows. When the sun comes in through a window it can significantly increase the temperature inside the room. A house can also warm up once the outside walls become hot. Having your home insulated properly can reduce this problem.

Reduce your power bills

With a veranda keeping your home cooler for longer you will find that you need to rely on your air conditioner a lot less during summer which will in turn help reduce your power bills.

Tips for Keeping Your Kitchen Clean

It is important to keep your kitchen clean otherwise harmful bacteria can start to build up and you can risk the health of yourself and your family members. It makes it easier keeping your kitchen clean when you have good quality appliances, such as a Bosch dishwasher, plus you need to have all the right cleaning equipment, such as a good mop and cleaning products. You need to also clean out your Westinghouse fridge regularly too. It can be easy to forget what is in your fridge and as food starts to get pushed towards the back you can end up with lots of products in the fridge that are past their use by date.

The right cleaning products
It helps to have the right cleaning products. If you only have a single spray it won't do all the jobs you need to do, such as cleaning the oven, cleaning any glass surfaces or remove any stubborn stains. You should have a separate oven cleaner, a glass cleaner for your windows, something to remove oil and fat from the splash back and stove top and a spray cleaner for your bench tops. For difficult food stains it helps to have a product that has a grainy texture, so it can scratch off the stain without scratching the surface underneath. You will also need a good product for cleaning the tiles or timber floor boards.

Natural household products
You can also use things like baking soda to clean your kitchen. There are all sorts of fantastic cleaning tips, both written about in books or there is information online. For example, standing an open box of baking soda in the fridge will help get rid of odours and baking soda mixed with vinegar will cut through grease and clean all sorts of surfaces.

Cleaning equipment

You can't keep your kitchen clean properly unless you have the proper cleaning equipment. Having the right tools to do the job will make the job so much easier and you will find that you will do it rather than procrastinate about it. Buy a good mop and bucket, one that you find easy to handle, and any other cleaning tools that will make the job easy for you. Buy new sponges regularly as these can harbour germs. Have a separate one for wiping up the bench, one for wiping spills off the floor and if you have a little one in a high chair have a separate sponge to wipe this down.

Dishwasher
One way to keep your kitchen cleaner and tidier is to have a good dishwasher. Instead of having stacks of dirty dishes piling up beside the sink during the day you can rinse them quickly after use and put them straight in the dishwasher, then once it is full switch it on. Rinsing the dishes will stop your dishwasher from becoming smelly.

Clean up after dinner
So that the mess doesn't get on top of you clean up after each meal, especially after dinner. It can be too easy at the end of a long day to leave the dishes and wiping down the kitchen surfaces until the next day but the mess is always worse in the morning and it is not a good start to the day having to clear up a big mess. Food also dries and hardens on your crockery making it harder to get off.

Teaching Your Kids to be Great Adults

Is it just me, or does it seem kids are getting a little bit more arrogant and self-centred these days? I know they say the stereotypical Gen Y, although ambitious and driven, is actually more socially conscious than almost any other generation, but it sometimes seems hair gel and lip gloss are taking first place over modesty and a desire to help others.

Humility comes from our ability to find our place in the world, to know that everyone is equal – no better, no worse – and to live with some modesty and humbleness. It was drummed into many of us when we were young, but seems to be getting lost along the way.

Now kids are a product of the times – being raised during a period where technology was always increasing and readily available, money was generally in abundance, and physical appearance became a priority. Maybe they are too focused and too ambitious? Or maybe they just don’t know enough about what’s going on. Whatever it is, it’s important we teach our children to be great adults.

Why teach – why not let them figure it out themselves?
Humility, work ethic, reliability and other attributes are key characteristics in human beings. The help ensure we stay connected to each other, care for one another and focus on always improving our world through selfless acts. If we lose this, we lose a part of our humanity – we lose some of those few elements that actually make us different from animals.

If you want your children to be the type of people who care about our world – and for our people – we need to start while they’re young. So how do we do it?

1. Start small
Small acts will help get our kids in the right mindset to be humble people who care about others. Encourage them to help the elderly lady with her heavy bags, take part in initiatives like Clean Up Australia Day, volunteer at a local shelter or just take part in the MS read-a-thon. As they get older, ideas such as the 40 hour famine can give them a very practical understanding of what it’s really like to do without, or simply buy charity Christmas cards, or their jewellery from Oxfam. Many of these initiatives are already organised, so all you need to do is give your child a push in the right direction.

2.Give them a sense of place
It is important that your children are confident, smart and independent. It is also important they understand their place in the world, and just how big the world is around them. Giving them a sense of place can be achieved by also giving them a cause they can relate to. Sponsoring a child gives them the opportunity to learn and understand how big the world is, and that people live in vastly different situations. This will help them realise their lifestyle and standard of living is quite good, and they have a responsibility to try to help others achieve the same.

3.Work hard
Another key ingredient to raising a child who is humble and becomes a great adult, is to instil in them a strong work ethic. Whether they work in fast food, business card printing, for a charity or with a big corporate, they will benefit from the dedication and passion that is required to achieve. They will take instruction from others, learn from those senior to them and contribute from the bottom up.

4.Lead by example
Finally, the best way to teach your kids to be the type of people you hope them to be, is by being that person yourself. Lead by example. Be strong and independent, but genuine and caring, be confident, but humble, and intelligent but ready to learn. If you do it, maybe they will too.

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Inviting Dessert

I forget the name. This banana is baked and added with chocolate and serikaya jam. Serikaya is a jam that made of eggs, sugar and coconut cream. Yummy!

Brothers and Husband

From left to right : Ludi, Rofi (husband), Luki, and Lusman- click to enlarge-
All of my brothers and my husband can gather together is really a rare moment; as they live far each other. About a month ago, we could be together as our father being hospitalized again at one hospital in Surabaya (East Java, Indonesia). After visiting our father, we wanted to take lunch. I captured the moment while they were walking side by side on Raya Darmo St. sidewalk, Surabaya.

The Weekend in Black and White and Weekend Portrait