7 Good Reasons To Consider Moving Home

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Moving home can be stressful and costly. However, it could be just what is needed to improve your quality of life in the long run. Here are seven good reasons to consider moving home.

You’ve ran out of space

It’s possible that you may be running out of space in your home. Perhaps your family are growing – you may have had kids or an elderly relative may have moved in with you. Or perhaps you’ve got too many possessions to fit into your home and you don’t want to part with any of them.

Upsizing to a bigger home could be the solution giving you the extra space you need. You do however need to understand that a bigger home could be more expensive (unless you’re able to move to a cheaper area).

Moving home may not always be the answer if you are running out of space. Other solutions that can allow you to stay put include:

·         Building an extension

·         Converting an unused loft, garage or basement into an extra bedroom

·         Decluttering

Your home is too big

On the opposite end of the spectrum, a home that is too big could also be a valid reason to move. If the kids have moved out, you may have lots of empty rooms that could leave your home lacking the cosiness it once had. If you’re getting older and have mobility issues, you may even find that a big home results in too much physical work to get around and maintain.

Downsizing could mean having to part with a lot of possessions. However, a smaller home could feel cosier and be less work to maintain and get around. It could also have the joint benefit of being cheaper to run and if you are currently a homeowner, downsizing could even potentially offer you some leftover equity to spend on other things such as retirement or travelling or business plans.

You can’t afford the bills

Moving could also be necessary if you can’t afford the bills. If you’re renting, the rent possibly be too high causing you struggle from month to month. Alternatively, energy bills could be too high if the property isn’t insulated enough. You could even be struggling to pay for repairs if you own an old property that is seemingly falling apart.

You may be able to move somewhere with cheaper rent simply by downsizing or moving somewhere less popular and urban. Moving to a modern home from an older home meanwhile could cut energy costs and repair bills. Of course, you need to be certain that you can afford the move itself.

There could be ways to stay put and reduce your bills, so look into these first if you otherwise have no reason for moving. For example, if you’re paying high energy bills, you may be able to invest in insulation rather than having to move to a more energy-efficient home.

You can afford somewhere bigger and better

If your income has increased while living at your current property, it’s possible that you may be able to afford somewhere bigger and better. This could allow you to buy a home with more luxury features or a home in a better location.

Many people are attracted to this idea of climbing the property ladder. Just make sure that you’ve considered other ways to spend this extra disposable income first. You may be able to pay to renovate you home and make it grander or you may be able to focus on paying off your mortgage faster so that you have even more disposable income in the future to put towards an even bigger and better house.

You don’t like the location

Another reason to move could be that you don’t like the location of your current home. You may not like your neighbours or you may not like the area in general.

For instance, where you currently live could have bad weather. Maybe it’s too hot and you’d prefer to live somewhere cooler. This is a good reason to move, however you should be certain that you won’t find any new location too cold. Moving in the winter could give you an idea of just how cold your new location can get. You may then be able to make a better judgement of whether it’s worth moving for the weather.

Other reasons you may not like a location could include a high crime rate, a lack of job opportunities, a lack of decent schools, threat of natural disasters, noisy neighbours, too much pollution, lack of scenery or perhaps a lack of family/friendship ties (or possibly a bad ex or toxic family members that you want to get away from).

You need somewhere more family/pet friendly

If you’re thinking of having kids or a pet, you may decide to move in order to find somewhere more child-friendly or pet-friendly. A city apartment may not offer the outdoor space that you need or it may have hazardous balconies.

It’s possible that you may be able to renovate a current home to make it more family-friendly/pet-friendly. Stair-gates and cupboard locks for instance are small improvements that you can make to any home without the need to relocate.

Your home has issues with pests/mold/ghosts that you cannot solve

There could be other ongoing issues that you’ve tried to solve but can’t seem to fully eradicate. Recurring problems with pests like mice or cockroaches could be irritating – especially if you’re scared of them. Mold meanwhile could be dangerous if it keeps appearing and you can’t seem to keep it at bay. You could even be convinced that your home is haunted – perhaps you’ve ever called up paranormal investigators and found no end to the bumps in the night.

Whatever the case, these recurring issues are certainly valid enough for you to consider moving. Just make sure that you have definitely tried solutions and aren’t moving away from an issue that is in fact an easy fix.

Psychological Tricks That Help You Escape Bad Health Habits

Ask any modern lifestyle physician, and they’ll tell you that most of the health issues that people experience in the modern world are a direct consequence of how they live their lives.

When you think about it, this is a dramatic about-turn from the situation that prevailed for thousands of years. For most of human history, the world did damage to us. It bombarded us with storms, famines, plagues, and violence. The Earth was a dangerous place to live, and the average person was lucky to make it to their thirtieth birthday. 

Today, though, the lion's share of harm is self-inflicted. It lies in our habits: what we eat, drink, take, and do. 

Overcoming so-called “bad habits,” therefore, is a health panacea, allowing us to avoid many of the common diseases that afflict many people today. 

But how do you overcome a bad habit, exactly? What do you need to do? Take a look at some of these ideas. 

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Always Take Baby Steps

Habits are ingrained: that’s what makes them so powerful. We get used to living our lives in a particular way and are always tempted to return to type. That’s what’s easy; that’s what we know!

Worse still, making significant changes is often too much for any of us to cope with. It takes time and effort to overhaul your lifestyle - it’s not something that we can do in an afternoon.

There’s a psychological problem here too. Telling yourself that you have to do a considerable amount to change actually makes it less likely that you’ll start doing the things you need to do. Very few people give up processed food and sugar overnight. It takes time. 

Take baby steps and don't punish yourself for backsliding. It’s a normal part of the process. 

Be Clear On Your Triggers

Our environment is stuffed full of things that trigger us to engage in unhealthy behaviors. It’s a big problem. For instance, one of the first things that addiction therapy programs will do is remove people from their triggers. Sometimes this can mean confining them to a room where they’re free from anything that could encourage further abuse. 

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You need to be clear on your triggers. If TV advertising affects you in the evening, watch YouTube instead. If you find yourself raiding the fridge, go for a walk. Do something that lets you avoid triggers and mold your environment to be more health-promoting. 

Try It For Three Weeks Only

Making lifestyle changes, like cutting unhealthy foods out of your diet, is a challenge, especially when you think that you have to maintain changes forever. 

The trick is to avoid having this conversation with yourself. Just tell yourself that you’re going to try eating well and exercising for three weeks - a short amount of time, but long enough to start experiencing the benefits. Often people who try a new diet or lifestyle for a short period feel so much better that they’re unwilling to go back to their old ways, making the new approach sustainable. 

#MyLittle Pony 3DLightFX Deco Lights Night Light Makes a Great Christmas Gift!

UPDATE: we have had this product almost 2 years now, and my daughter still uses it every night!

You may remember I posted a couple of weeks ago here about the 3DLightFX  Deco Lights and was so excited to try out the product. When it came, Eva was SO EXCITED and had her dad put it on her wall by her bed immediately!

Eva loves Rainbow Dash!

We enjoy so many things about this product and think it'll make a great gift for anyone we know, especially since they have so many different characters!

We love that it's Rainbow Dash.

We love that it's 3D and comes out of the wall like it's alive!

We love the bright colors.

We love the decals that come with it to jazz it up!

We love that it's the perfect brightness for falling asleep.

We love that it shuts off automatically in the night so it doesn't waste the batteries, but it's next to her bed so if she wakes in the middle of the night and wants it back on she can easily take care of that!

Her 3DLightFX next to her Funko Pop Rainbow Dash

This could not be any cooler and I wish they had these when I was a kid!

Here's how to purchase or head to your local Target to check it out!

Update one year later: this product holds up very well, even through being dragged all over the house to different locations where my daughter likes to sleep. It survived a move across states. It survived being taken from Kansas to Florida by car and back and survived two weeks on vacation. It survived being dropped multiple times. I highly recommend this product a year later!

How Complicated Can Health Get, Really?

Health is something that changes over time and has all sorts of twists and turns to it. And when you think about it, taking care of your health can get pretty complicated! It can be hard to keep up with what’s good for you and what might not be, and it can be one of the hardest things to know when to give your mind a break too. 

So, with all that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the main things that can make health seem like a really complicated matter. If you’ve been stuck in a rut with your wellbeing recently, sometimes it can just be nice to know you’re not alone in that! 

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Not Everything Works for Everyone

Health is complicated mostly because we’re all different. We have different bodies, and different minds, and different things make us who we are. Because of that, not every single remedy out there is going to work the same way for everyone in need of them. 

At a base level, some of us have allergies that make us allergic to certain medicines, and at the top of the ladder, some of us just don’t find a treatment routine relevant or useful to the way we live our lives at all. Mental health and physical health go hand in hand, after all, and there’s no saying how you’re going to respond to treatment until you try it. That uncertainty scares quite a few people. 

Mental Health Can Feel Like a Fight

Speaking of, mental health is something we all have to cope with from time to time - it can often feel like the smallest thing can affect it. When you’ve had a bad night’s sleep, and a long day at work, you might just come home and cry it out, for what seems like no reason whatsoever! You’re tired physically, and you’re drained emotionally, and now the day’s gone and you have nothing to show for it. 

How many days like this have you had? Don’t worry if it’s a lot - you haven’t wasted anything! Your mental health demands release sometimes, and that’s simply what you’re doing here, but mental health is often the core of 90% of life’s problems. Realising that is often the key to making healthy and permanent lifestyle changes for the better. For example, needing to check into an addiction treatment center starts with your perception of yourself and how you fit into the world. 

There’s a Lot of Pressure to Be Healthy

And of course, in a society where ‘looking healthy’ is prioritised above all else, falling out of the norm puts a lot of pressure on you. And often enough, our health levels aren’t our own faults! This perception adds a whole new level of complexity to the way we look at and treat our health, and it’s important to keep this in mind. 

Your health can get complicated, on multiple levels. Being aware of this makes management easier. 

5 Unique Baby Gifts

Babies are very precious and it is our duty to look after them by showering them with love and affection. If you are buying gifts for a new baby or for a baby’s birthday party, you want the present to be unique and meaningful.

There are a vast number of baby gifts available to buy today; in both shops and online. If you use your imagination, you can make sure that your gift is special and different from the usual and boring gifts that are out there.

The following are five baby gift ideas that will be both special and unique for the recipient.


Birth charts are an excellent idea as they make a distinctive baby gift. The baby’s childhood and all their details can be recorded on this making it a very memorable and precious keepsake gift.



Personalized gifts such as photo frames, trinket boxes and birth certificate holders etc. are another wise option. These gifts usually come in sterling silver so they can be engraved with the baby’s name, date of birth and any other details that you would like to include. Personalized gifts should be treasured and minded until the baby gets older and he/she can understand and appreciate the sentimental value that it holds.



Diaper cakes are a relatively new craze and are a great option if you would like to give something that is of great use to the baby. Diaper cakes are made up of baby gifts like blankets, diapers, clothes, baby combs, teething rings, baby bottles and toys. All the gifts are arranged in such a way that they look like a tiered wedding cake.



Personalized baby bracelets have always been very popular, and they have not lost their touch. You can buy them in either silver or gold and get a message engraved on it; name, date of birth or maybe who it is from. There are a vast number of different bracelets on sale; from plain silver to yellow or white gold, to pearl or diamond encrusted pieces. They are a lovely idea for a baby gift, especially if you are buying for a girl as we all know how much women love their jewelry!



Candles – personalized candles are meaningful in their own right. The baby might not be able to wear it or use it as such, but it will hold great sentimental value when the baby gets older. You can buy lovely baby pink or sky blue ones, and they come in all different shapes and sizes too. The candle can then be used for the baby’s Christening, Communion and Confirmation which makes it a lovely keepsake to have.


These gifts are unique, give a personal touch to your gift and at the same time, they are inexpensive. These are only some examples of gifts available today which can be used for baby showers, newborn babies, toddlers and babies birthday parties.

If you don’t have children of your own, it can be very difficult to choose a gift that is suited to a particular occasion. With the guidance given above, you should have no problem in finding the most unique gift for that special baby.

Brenda O'Brien is a full time mother and part time parenting blogger based in London writing on behalf of Sleepymoon Cards a start up business selling unique, top quality baby thank you cards.