lifestyle blog posts focusing on home, lifestyle, parenting, pregnancy, family life and home and style. Home decor and working at home, working at home as a self employed freelancer and blogger. Family lifestyle blog posts including family reviews, family products and saving money as a family. Being a more eco friendly family.
Filter Free by Lauren Derrett celebrates and shares real life stories of real women and their struggles, trials and accomplishments. I’ve felt all the emotions whilst reading this collection of experiences and it’s really inspiring to read so many amazing and personal accounts from these women, many of which I could relate to. It was my secret santa present this year and it took me just a few hours to absorb.
Amazon Affiliate Link – https://amzn.to/2Dqm9Bp
We need more stories like this, we need to share these accounts of lives of women who have experienced real hard hitting decisions. Who struggle but cope with their mental health. Who reach out and are passionate about sharing their struggles so other women can relate and actually look at themselves and think I’m so glad to read that it’s not just me.
That’s what I love about blogging really, I’ve been able to share personal accounts which I hope have helped others and I hope I continue to do so. Blogging also bought me the gift as I know my book was from a fellow blogger, I think I know who…
I urge every woman to read Filter Free as there is guaranteed to be a story you can relate to. The more we share, particularly the hard times where we feel we hit rock bottom, the more we can be open about just how hard it can be to make certain life changing decisions but actually knowing that it’s not just us and that we’re not alone, well, it certainly made me feel better.
Filter Free is available to buy on Amazon. The below link is an affiliate link.
One of my goals for 2020 is to read 52 books or around one a week. Some might be new, some are ones I’ve had for a while or been meaning to read, some I haven’t quite finished yet and some will be recommendations from others. You can see all the books I’ve read so far on my Good Reads 2020 Reading Challenge.
My baby is four months old already and he seems to be changing and growing all the time. I can’t quite believe we are four months post birth and my second c-section to be honest. He is absolutely more like a baby, or an infant, I suppose than a newborn in that he’s very interactive with us all and is surprising us often.
Socially he seems to be quite a happy little baby. He is very vocal when he’s not so happy and as most babies wants that instant gratification. He babbles and shouts at us a lot, he grumbles when he is displeased and reserves his best smiles and giggles for Evangeline. He’s very curious when it comes to new faces and gives off a great death stare if he doesn’t quite recognise you but he’s also very quick to smile if you give him a bit of a ruffle. He likes getting undressed and often has a lot to laugh at when it comes to rolling around and getting vests off.
Physically we haven’t had him weighed or measured since his 6 week check as I just haven’t managed to get to the one place that offers it on the other side of the town we live in. However, he is starting to stretch out the 3-6 month babygrows so I have a feeling we will be going up a size in those in the next few weeks. He has chins for days and you can really feel he’s getting heavier. His feet are almost completely touching the floor in his jumperoo and some of his tops are a bit of a squeeze getting over the head.
He has rolled from back to front and front to back a couple of times but prefers to get on his side and rotate his way around to see what he wants to see. He can push off on his feet on a hard surface and his kicks are really strong. He does the worm from time to time, particularly as a sort of wake up ritual which really makes me laugh. His neck muscles seem really strong and he wants to be sitting up on you now so he can see around. When he’s on his tummy his head is fully elevated from the floor and he can turn and look from left to right.
At four months he is showing great hand eye co-ordination and can get most toys with a good grasp which of course go straight to the mouth. He can sit fairly well with plenty of support but we try to minimalise that as it’s still better for him to be on his back laid flat. He is still in the basinet of the pram although whether he will be in it until six months I’m not sure as he’s very long and may not fit laying flat for much longer.
Teething is very apparent and he seems to have a few really bad days but most of the time good days. He dribbles a lot and blows bubbles so I am constantly wiping him up to prevent him getting sore. His most common teething sign is the flushed red cheeks and fighting sleep.
He seemed to be teething and having a growth spurt at the same time recently as well as, perhaps, a bit of that four month sleep regression as he started waking at 2am & 4am through the night, ready to start his day at 6am. For the most part he sleeps pretty well at night, usually going off between 6-8pm and waking between 4-6am. He can have a few restless periods throughout but doesn’t seem to fully wake up. He usually has a three hour routine of change, feed, sit up (because, reflux) change, play, nap and repeat throughout the day. His naps are usually 30-45 minutes with the few almost two hour naps every few days or so. I’m really happy with his routine but I do wish I had a bit more time during the day to get things done. 45 minute intervals just isn’t quite enough!
The hard days are the days where Adam is either at University or spending most of the day sleeping to recover from his night shift. I do struggle a bit as I’m still trying to find my feet but it’s become easier since we moved Evie into a different school which is much closer (and, so far, better) I am trying to take some of the pressure off myself though and have to remind myself that it’s not up to me to do everything all the time.
Through past experiences, it’s become much clearer to me just how much good work charities do. The thing is, over the last few years, people have become very sceptical about whether most charities actually use the money they receive for good, or whether they lie about what they do. This has only been made worse with the recent charity CEO salary scandals and all-around, society just doesn’t seem to trust charities much anymore.
Having seen the good that they can do, it seemed sensible to try and create a shortlist of things to look for when you’re donating – just to make sure that you’re contributing to a charity that will do good.
A Clear Purpose
The first and most important aspect of any charity is that they have a clear purpose. This is important for you because you need to know exactly what your money is supporting. The purpose of a charity can vary a lot depending on their chosen goals. For example, some charities may support war veterans based in Manchester, whilst another may choose to help homeless women across the UK.
It’s important to differentiate the purpose of a charity from its beliefs. For example, a Muslim charity may believe in the five pillars of Islam and operate with them in mind (click here to learn more about it), but that doesn’t mean they will only support Muslim individuals. Make sure to do your research and find out exactly what your money is going to achieve. If a charity has no purpose, then you’ll want to find another that clarifies what they do.
The Charity Register
In the UK, we have a list of official charities who are permitted to ask for donations and have confirmed that they are non-profit organisations. This list is called the Charity Register and when a charity enters it, their name is noted, and they are given a charity number to help them be identified. One of the first things to look for when you’re hoping to donate to a charity is to see if it has been registered. The quickest way to do this is to search the organisation’s website for a charity number but if you can’t locate one, then you can also search the charity register online.
The charity register is important because it removes the risk of you accidentally donating to a profitable organisation that is posing as a charity (who will likely just pocket your money and not help anyone with it). Do your research before giving your money.
Reviews and Feedback
Just like big corporations and businesses, charities rely on workers to operate. Many charities operate solely through volunteers, which is incredible but many also hire employees as dedicated staff (if this appeals to you, you can find charity jobs here). The effectiveness of a charity can usually be understood from speaking to or observing a member of staff working there. It’s a good idea to do some research and see if you can find an employee of the charity you’re looking into, so you can see how they behave and what they think of their workplace.
At the same time, many charities receive online reviews from those that they help. These reviews are a brilliant way of checking what the public think of a charity and their work. Just remember to take each review with a pinch of salt because people tend to make their experiences sound worse than they are when they leave reviews online.
Hopefully, this post will help you the next time you’re looking for a charity to donate to. Charities do incredible work and we really should support the good ones where we can.
As someone that works primarily online I need to find ways to market myself and reach the people I want to reach. When it comes to content creation it seems that there are many ways to market yourself across many platforms which of course helps with business reach. Here are some effective ways to market your business online:
Marketing List
If you have relevant content that your customers will find helpful and useful then a marketing or subscription list is ideal. This gets your message into their inbox which can really help with sales and getting your message heard. Many businesses use email lists or CRM Marketing to help keep in touch with people who are interested in their products and services. The strategy is highly effective but businesses should be very careful with their email security to prevent data theft which could result in a PR disaster.
Social Media
Social Media can be a great tool to use if you do it right although unlike marketing lists if a social platform closed one day you would lose a lot of your contacts so social media is great to use alongside email marketing but is not effective as the only way to reach people. I would say I use social media the most to promote my blog posts in various relevant groups, paid for advertising and sharing to my followers. Using hashtags is a great way to get your content seen on Instagram and Twitter however you are not always going to be reaching your target market or ideal client.
Instagram has a fantastic Swipe Up feature for Insta Stories if you have 10,000 followers although I urge you to build this authentically with people that want to engage with you. Buying followers just for the sake of having the swipe up feature is not a guaranteed way to market yourself as buying followers very rarely actually equals views.
Leaflet Dropping
Not particularly eco friendly however if you have a service based business and want clients or customers in the local area this is a good way to get your name out there, especially if you have a website where you can collect email addresses and build your subscriber list.
As consumers we are able to really put pressure on brands to be more inclusive within their advertising methods whether they are on or offline. Brands now feel they have a duty of care to make more informed decisions surrounding marketing materials and present themselves as the go-to brand for a diverse range of people.
Teenagers are particularly interesting to market to given that they are the consumers of tomorrow. There are now many more diverse platforms to advertise on, and in turn, reach more people such as social media. Online influencers frequently share reviews with their audience. Nowadays teens can access so much information and therefore so many more brands and products recommended to them. When I was younger I was advertised to primarily through television, the Argos catalogue and from word of mouth. It’s different now as young people can steam so much on platforms like YouTube, this is a generation that grew up with the internet.
It’s interesting to look at which brands are actively trying to break the mould with their marketing to support teens:
Lil-Lets
I am always interested in seeing how period products are advertised because more needs to be done to break the stigma about something that no menstruator can control; their period. Starting your period can bring on mixed emotions, stress, anxiety and embarrassment. Lil-Lets seem to be doing their best to try and make this an inclusive time for tweens and teenagers which is a great thing to see!
One thing the brand has created is period starter kits with age appropriate products making sure that everything is designed to reflect what appeals to this age group. The design is typically fun and feminine with pastel colours and cute designs. Lil-Lets are trying to reinforce the message that having a period is a normal and natural thing, that it doesn’t have to be scary and that there are many discreet ways of carrying period hygiene products.
Lil-Lets have also created specially designed Teen pads which are smaller, and narrower making them a much better fit for the body, comfortable but still as absorbent as a regular adult pad.
River Island
River Island are acting in partnership with anti-bullying charity, Ditch the Label. Launching the “Labels Are For Clothes” campaign to champion self-expression and reject stereotypes. For River Islands 30th birthday, the fashion store created advertisements that features a range of body types and abilities to heighten inclusivity.
The AW18 campaign is diverse, uses people from different backgrounds which is including those with disabilities. River Island want to be a brand for all teenagers. They have acknowledged the responsibility to protect the world around them because clothing is a basic right and necessity.
Shopping with high street brands is just one part of growing up and to see that different people are being more accurately and kindly represented on a national scale will hopefully allow young people to become more conscious and accepting of the world around them
Clearasil
Skincare can be a real issue for teenagers and another thing they frequently get embarrassed about. There are a few tried-and-true brands that generation after generation seem to relate and head back to. Clearasil is one of those brands and a frequently recommended brand for those suffering with skin breakouts.
It was a bold move for the brand to release a campaign admitting they “didn’t know teens”. Perhaps more triumphantly, the brand’s ad campaign rose from their incorrect use of a meme, which was duly torn apart by teenage viewers saying Clearasil clearly didn’t know what teens liked. The campaign consisted of a series of videos in which employees of the brand presented themselves as being woefully out of touch with teenage culture. The employees admit that while they may strive to help with teen acne and promote clear skin, they were a bit out of touch with teens themselves. The campaigns success lay in the sense of honesty which became more relatable and allowed teens to connect more.
Doritos
A recent study by Google claimed 13-17 year olds placed the brand Doritos higher than the likes of Apple and even Instagram in terms of “coolness.” One key way for brands to appeal to teenagers is to support the movements that they support. Doritos did this by showing their support for LGBT campaign with their limited-edition rainbow-coloured snack. To get one of these colourful packs, a donation had t be made to the It Gets Better project. Naturally, this resonated really well with young people and other consumsers as the packs quickly sold out. Here, Doritos showed support for a world concern that teenagers value without claiming to be the entire solution.
Dove
Dove are a firm that believes in allowing young people to reach their full potential and has launched the Self-Esteem project that has changed 40 million lives since 2004 through educational programmes. The research discovered that 9/10 girls suffering with low self esteem put their own health at risk by not seeking help from professionals and skipping meals.
The brand offers free parent, teacher and youth leader educational resoureces to help adults talk to teenagers who might be lacking in confidence. Dove’s blog has lots of key information and articles about the key areas that really influence a teenagers life such as social media, reality stars to bullying and mental health issues.
Nike
Nike seem to be another brand that teenagers relate to, thanks to a Google study outranking brands such as Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Twitter. The brand has not shied away from supporting powerful movements that teenagers value and support. The classic Just Do It campaign recently featured Colin Kaepernick, the American Footballer who started the “Take A Knee” protest against racial and socail injustices by kneeling during the national anthem. Nike continued to show their support for sports stars who were standing up against racial injustices with their latest campaign featuring Raheen Sterling. This willingness to “speak out” in defence of equality has a huge value to teenagers in particular, who have great appreciation not only for what a brand sales but also what it stands for.
It is great to see that there are a variety of big name brands that are making the move to meet the demands of modern culture and cater to their newly found audience. Teenagers will become the consumers of the future so making these connections early makes a lot of sense. By capturing their custom at this age, brands will be able to focus on retention to ensure loyalty as teenagers transition into adults.
