Tausi Insider

Photo : EvgeniiAnd ( Shutterstock ) The season is upon us: Mailboxes are filling up with letters from children to a jolly bearded toymaker/reindeer breeder while we frantically shop for the things our children think will make them happy. But are these items really going to spark joy for them in the months—or even weeks—ahead. If we get them everything they want, will it cease to make things special or rob them of their creativity? Plus, they’ve got too many toys already. Explaining to our kids the benefits of embracing a more minimalist lifestyle can seem challenging, but it actually doesn’t have to be in practice . Christine Koh, the co-author of Minimalist Parenting: Enjoy Modern Family Life More By Doing Less , explained to NPR   that   it’s about “tuning into what your kids are interested in and what they want to do to kind of go the path of least resistance.” If you’re trying to steer your kids toward a more minimalist lifestyle even as the holidays approach, here are several...

I’m sure he’ll fall.. [Christmas Vacation] According to The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission , there were 15,000 injuries involving holiday decorating in 2012, and that was the fourth consecutive year that injuries increased. According to my math, that means there will be over 87 bajillion injuries in 2022. Don’t be one of them. Don’t be stupid with ladders and electricity, and watch your back—you’re not as young and spry as you used to be, champ. Watch out for your cat eating tinsel , your child breaking ornaments, and extra sharp wings on nativity angels. Remember: Candles can burn down all of our houses, whether we’re celebrating Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, or the Inti Raymi winter solstice festival of the ancient Inca. https://www.tausiinsider.com/the-7-deadly-sins-of-decorating-your-house-for-the-holidays/?feed_id=333459&_unique_id=647f500e7b9f6

Photo : Ground Picture ( Shutterstock ) You know when you are checking out at a department or drug store during the holiday season and you see those big, pre-made gift baskets filled with lotion and fuzzy socks? Those are fine. I usually get, like, two or three of those as gifts every year, and I have no real issue with fuzzy socks. But if you’re trying to buy a relaxing gift for someone who is always on the very edge of a breakdown (cough), you can do better. Here are a dozen gifts designed to help them relax, all of them more unique and less tacky than yet another pair of seasonal socks. https://www.tausiinsider.com/12-of-the-best-gifts-for-someone-who-just-needs-to-relax/?feed_id=328992&_unique_id=642aa31e8fc17

Photo : Maderla ( Shutterstock ) Once again , we regret to inform you that a cleaning hack you may have seen online is maybe not a great idea. This one involves sprinkling bicarb—or baking soda—on your carpet to remove stains or odors, which certainly sounds promising considering all the wonderful cleaning uses baking soda typically has . But cleaning influencer @TheBigCleanCo points out the problem here: The particles are too small for your vacuum to completely suck up, which means they’ll stay attached to the carpet fibers and actually potentially trap the odor in. This tip has been around a long time—some baking soda brands even have recommendations for how to do it, suggesting vacuuming up the bicarb after letting it sit on the carpet for 15 minutes or longer. The issue is that a vacuum cleaner may not be able to lift all of the crystals out of your carpet; they could simply become lodged there. (Just ask TausiInsider’s Managing Editor Meghan Walbert—she told me she once n...