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How to support children towards toy minimalism?
Toy minimalism is a decision, it requires thought and intention. It also has quite a few benefits for the children, you can read about them here. So, what can we do to support our children towards toy minimalism and where do we start? Let’s talk about four aspects to consider and how addressing them might help. THE SPACE The “space” idea we talked about in the post “Toy minimalism – 4 easy steps to reduce the toy clutter with the kids” will help tremendously with keeping toys to a minimum. THE WISHLIST Going shopping with kids in a shop that has toys is a scenario that might frighten parents and…
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4 easy steps to reduce the toy clutter with the kids
When it comes to personal stuff, we can easily find ways to declutter and be more minimalist. But when it comes to kids and toy minimalism, things can get a bit complicated because we are not the only ones in charge of what enters the house or what stays in it. I want my kids to learn to value who they are more than what they have. To value experiences and people more than objects. I want them to understand that happiness and contentment cannot be found on a shelf in a shop. Therefore in the last couple of years, we have gradually changed our approach when it comes to…
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Cutting down on sugar
UPDATE: The group has been deleted (details below). Last week I was browsing online and saw a post on a group regarding gluten-free foods to eat when out and about, and someone mentioned a group for those interested in finding out what restaurants and shops have gluten-free foods. And that’s when I realized that a group to support those trying to reduce their sugar intake might be useful. At some point, a few weeks ago, I was browsing through the shelves of the local library and found two books about sugar. I borrowed and read them. And while reading them I realized that sugar can be quite tricky: it is…
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Thoughts on the business of alternative medicine
I’ve never been a fan of alternative medicine. One day, while browsing at the local library, I saw a book called “Suckers: How Alternative Medicine Makes Fools of Us All“. I took it off the shelf and borrowed it. I didn’t need to be convinced of the inefficiency of homoeopathy or magnet therapy. Yet I was just curious about what I would learn from this book. Now I’ve reached page 43 and it is too early to talk more about this book. Yet I’ve read some mind-blowing information so far and I felt the need to share it here. The author writes that “the total UK annual spend for Complementary and…
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How to make the first step towards a minimalist lifestyle
About a week ago I watched a movie called “Minimalism”. It made me realize we had already taken the first step towards a minimalist lifestyle. But let me tell you about us and about the movie. 3.5 years ago we decided to move to London. We knew we couldn’t take with us all that we owned. So we had to go through everything that was in our home: clothes, books, dishes, cables, shoes, toys, everything. And we kept only the essential. That’s when we realized how many useless things a person can collect in a few years. We donated or thrown away old shoes, clothes we hadn’t worn in over…
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Converting a van into a motorhome – our family’s DYI project
You might’ve already guessed that we love travelling with our kids. We have always enjoyed discovering new places, encountering new people, admiring new views and learning about other cultures. We used to dream of going on a trip with a caravan, all the way to Japan. Yes, through all the Asia! Obviously, this was just a dream, but it was a nice thing to think about especially when we were tired and a holiday seemed too far away. After moving to London and buying a car two years later, we started travelling throughout the south and east of the UK. We fell in love with the geography of this part…
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The unexpected cause of stained teeth
My teeth had always been pretty healthy. Small fillings here and there but nothing too serious. I never had the terrible tooth pain I hear a lot about. Hopefully, I will never do, especially since I decided to reduce my sugar intake (I wrote about my reasons to do so here). I used to drink coffee and eat chocolate, especially dark chocolate. In the years prior to getting pregnant with my son, I had also started having a small glass of red wine in the evening. I never smoked, not even out of curiosity. Therefore, even though my teeth were never shining white, they have always been good enough when…
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One simple step to spend less time on your phone
When I learned how to tell the time, there were no mobile phones (though there were computers, as I am not THAT old). We had an analogue clock in the house and my parents used analogue watches. As I grew up, mobile phones entered our lives and now we can use them to know what time it is. I can’t really remember my first mobile as I was never really fond of this technology. At some point though, in my mid-twenties, I relied on my phone to tell the time and completely forgot about my analogue watch. I had my phone everywhere at any time, in the pocket of my jeans, and…
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How does sugar intake influence our dental health?
Reducing sugar in our everyday diet is still a challenge. We have no medical condition that forces us to do so though. Then how come we made this decision? Let me start by saying that it was a sudden decision and it all started with a book. Note: when saying “sugar”, I am referring to “table sugar” also known as “sucrose”, extracted from sugarcane or beet sugar About eight years ago I started reducing the amount of salt in my diet, replacing salt with mixed herbs. After becoming a mum and reading books about baby weaning, I decided to reduce, as much as possible, the sugar intake my kids would have. I…
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What’s this all about?
Welcome to Zagura’s blog. I meant to say “world” but I know someone’s world can never be fully written on a blog, not even in a really big book. Therefore what I try to do here is just talk about ideas and experiences that I have while surrounded by my family (consisting of my husband, our son and our daughter) and living in South-East London. Having two pre-school kids means having wonderful and hectic days, filled with love, smiles, hugs, tantrums and adventures. We moved here in 2014 and have been exploring the area since then. In 2015 we bought a car and started to travel here and there on short distances. Yes,…
Parenting – Tackling motherhood challenges, one day at a time
