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People enjoy crafts of all kinds. Some take up little space, and some take up a lot. Some crafts need very few supplies, and some require enough to fill a cabinet or more. Whatever the crafts, if there is more than one person in the family, creating the perfect craft area in your home is probably something you all only dream about.

Crafts like sewing require quite a bit of space. You need to have a sewing machine, ironing board and iron, an easily accessible space for notions, and space to store fabric and patterns. Dad and the kids have their own crafts. Wouldn’t it be great to have one room where all of this could be located?

Begin by deciding which room you will turn into a craft room or if you will have to add one to your home. If you have a room to use, measure it and draw the room to scale on graph paper. Measure each piece of furniture that will go into the room and transfer those to the same scale size, cut out each piece so you can try different room arrangements without having to move heavy furniture.

One recommendation would be to divide the room into zones. If someone is interested in painting, they will want to have access to direct sunlight. Sunlight wouldn’t be so important to someone who was scrap booking or putting together models. Create a painting zone nearest the windows.

Be sure to have plenty of overhead as well as task lighting in the room. Each task requires lighting for close tasks as well as something more general. that can be adjusted for specific tasks would be a good idea. Do you have enough wall outlets or do you need to add more?

Work space will probably be a premium concern. Someone who sews would need a place for the machine as well as space to spread out when cutting out patterns. Of course, that area could be used by someone as long as they weren’t trying to do so at the same time. The longer the flat surface, the better it would be. If it were long enough, it might be able to accommodate two crafts at one time.

Seating would be another area to consider. Comfortable chairs are a must, especially if you’re sitting for long periods of time. However, you don’t want to get lounge chairs. Something that is ergonomic and practical would be best. You want to be comfortable while working on your craft, but not so comfortable you fall asleep. Good quality office-style chairs will probably do nicely.

The final component is where to store everything. How much of the supplies needed for each craft can be stored on shelves rather than in cabinets on the floor? Peg boards, wall-mounted organizers, and multiple shelved units could store a good amount of things. What about putting strips of metal along the walls near each work area? These would be a handy place to hold scissors, little jars to hold beads or , and more. The options are limitless if you think about it.

Crafts are an important part of our lives. They help us relax and give us a creative outlet. They help us to dream. If they’re so important to us, why is it we don’t enjoy doing them more often? Having a great space designated just for crafts might be the answer your whole family is looking for. Think about the benefits, and then create the perfect craft area for your home.

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Scientific studies show 40 percent of your happiness level is up to you.

Some people are generally glum and joyless. Others are generally happy most of the time in spite of trying conditions. Are people just born that way?

Yes! At least in part.

Groundbreaking scientific research by University of California psychology professor Sonya Lyubomirsky shows that 50 percent of a person’s general outlook is inborn. Another 10 percent of a person’s happiness level can be attributed to life circumstances such as divorce or loss of a loved one.

But wait! That leaves 40 percent of your present capacity for happiness strictly up to you. Her new book, The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want, is a gift to all who would take their level of happiness into their own hands.

Basic to the whole process is her conclusion that staying active is profoundly related to happiness.

Exercises she prescribes include keeping a “best possible self” journal to outline future goals over the next six weeks or more. Even nine months later, she reports, the positive effects were being felt. She also recommends:

Don’t overthink a situation. Decide to spend 30 minutes later to ruminate. It may seem less consequential then.

Learn good coping skills. Write down traumatic experiences and learn how to recognize them and argue with overly pessimistic thoughts.

Savor life’s joys, even if they are just a good meal or a shower. Conjure up a favorite memory when you feel down.

Unlike many self-help books, all these recommendations are supported by scientific research.

The strategies can make the difference between a happy and an unhappy life, says the author. That’s good news for the gloomy among us.

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Quite often, women feel they must be superwoman or supermom, regardless how difficult that may be to pull off. One area where women struggle trying to do everything is cooking. Follow these cooking tips for busy moms and give yourself a break!

If you’re like many women today, you’re working a full-time job during the day and then come home to put in at least another eight hours taking care of the home. Finding things that will make your time at home less taxing would be great, especially when it comes to being able to feed your family nutritious meals that they will enjoy.

Truth be told, everyone prefers to eat a good, home cooked meal. But if you’ve just spent a draining eight hours outside the home, you may not have the energy to cook from scratch. You can create great meals that don’t take a long time; here’s how:

• Make a plan before going grocery shopping. Creating a meal plan for at least a week at a time will solve two problems. Firstly, you’ll know what you’re going to fix so you won’t be racking your brain after you come home trying to figure out what to fix. Secondly, you’ll be able to better control how much you spend because you’ll already know what ingredients you need.
• After you’ve done your shopping, wash all the vegetables and cut them up into the sizes you’ll need for each meal. This may take a while on the front, but will save you a lot of time when you’re preparing each meal later. Don’t forget to ask for help from those that are old enough to use a sharp knife. This will greatly lessen the time you need to spend.
• Make your crock pot your best friend. This one cooking tool can make your life so much easier, and your family much more satisfied with the meal. Put your ingredients into the crock pot, turn it on, and leave it alone. By the time you return home, you’ll have the makings for a great home-cooked meal!
• When you plan a family favorite, prepare more than one meal’s worth. You can double, triple, or quadruple the amount that you make. Freeze the separate meals for later use. When you’re craving a particular meal and don’t have time to fix it, you’ll have one in the freezer; all you have to do is take it out and reheat it.
• If you don’t want to spend an entire day cooking extra meals, plan on cooking enough for one extra meal that you can use as a planned leftover one night. If you’re using making chili one night, make a little extra that you can add to baked potatoes on another night.
• Stretch your home-made meal with a great tossed or pasta salad. Salads are quick, easy, and nutritious. They’re also good to add when you’re having leftovers. They’ll stretch the meal quite nicely.

You may not be able to be supermom or superwoman, but you can accomplish your goal of providing nutritious, home-made meals even after working outside of the home all day long. By using these tips, you’ll reduce some of the time you need to prepare those meals. You might actually find that you have a chance to enjoy your meal, as well, and that should make you feel super!