Summer is an exciting time for kids. It means running around outside under the sprinkler, building sandcastles at the beach with friends and cooling off with a refreshing ice cream. Keep your child’s summer untainted by sunburn by following these few safety tips.

Protect their skin

Sunburnt skin ruins summer fun. Teach your child early on how to be sun smart; then they can enjoy the benefits of a healthy Vitamin D dose and not suffer the associated pain of itchy, peeling and painful burnt skin. The first step is to engrain habits early. Make a routine, do each task in the same order every time. Sunscreen should be SPF 30+ and be applied at least 20 minutes before going outside and reapplied every 2 hours thereafter. Get your child used to wearing sunglasses from an early age and make it fun by purchasing bright colours, or let them choose their special pair. Lead by example and wear a broad brimmed hat. Retail stores stock a range of stylish items; you don’t have to look like a daggy parent to be sun safe. Again, let your child have some input in the hat purchasing process (within reason). Spending a little more on the spider man hat is well worth the extra 10 dollars if they are excited to wear it. Shelling out a little more money now may mean saving them from skin cancers later.

Responsible fun in the sun

It’s easy to play in the sun safely if you know how. Being in the sun at the wrong time can be the difference between a great summer play day and vomit inducing heatstroke. Dehydration can cause a myriad of problems. Prepare your children and have them drink plenty of water before they go out in the sun. Ensure they take periodic breaks to rehydrate and snack on water based fruit. If your child happens to get dehydrated during the day, make hydration fun and give them electrolyte ice blocks. No amount of diligent water consumption will keep your child hydrated if their essential salts are depleted. Limit time outside between the hours of 11am and 4pm or have your children play in the shade during this period. Don’t be fooled by cloudy skies, the majority of UV rays cut through cloud cover and your child could still end up with burnt skin. Get your kids in the habit of applying an after sun moisturiser such as aloe vera to keep their skin soft and hydrated. Grown your own plant for a fun holiday project.

Swim safely

Swimming in the backyard pool provides hours of entertainment and forms irreplaceable childhood memories. However, extra precautions need to be taken when spending sunny days in the pool. Sunscreen washes off in water, therefore more frequent applications are necessary. Body parts submerged in water are still susceptible to the sun. Check the pH level of your pool and have your children wear protective goggles to ward off all-too-common eye injuries sustained from pool chemicals. Invest in a pool cover, such as those at Fabric Solutions, to minimise evaporation, thus, reducing the need to use extra chemicals.

Implementing a sun safety routine will make it second nature for your little ones. Summer time will be a breeze and they will thank you later in life when they don’t have to go under the laser.

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Australia is an amazing place for the four wheel drive enthusiast. The harsh landscape lends itself perfectly to the adventurous pursuit of four wheel driving. The advancements in four wheel drive technology mean these journeys are no longer quite so perilous, but they are still loads of good fun. The new discovery 4 is a great example of modern four wheel drive technology, it’s a solid 4×4 and features advanced traction and terrain handling systems, making it perfect for off-road enjoyment. There are so many infamous four wheel drive tracks in Australia, here are 10 favourites.

The Birdsville Track

This one isn’t for the feint hearted or the inexperienced, passing right through the Sturt Stony Desert. It is famous for its challenging conditions. Starting in South Australia, this track finishes in the outback town of Birdsville. This one is better undertaken in the cooler months.

Cairns to the Tip of Australia

The Cape York Peninsula Development Road is only accessible in the dry season. It’s one of the best known four wheel drive routes in the country. You’ll meet lots of fellow travellers and have fun with tricky creek and river crossings as you drive through lush rainforest.

Anne Beadell Highway

Travel from Laverton in Western Australia right through to Coober Pedy in South Australia. Crossing the edge of the Nullarbor, this trip is very remote. You need a travel permit.

The Canning Stock Route

This is one of the most difficult four wheel drive journeys in Australia. It has all the ingredients of a tough challenge: sandy dunes, rocky outcrops, saltpans and much more. It will take you from Wiluna to Halls Creek in Western Australia.

Kings Canyon to Palmy Valley

This Northern Territory trip can be difficult in the wet. You will find some great camping spots along the Finke River and the scenery is amazing.

Gibbs River Road

From Derby to Kununurra in Western Australia, this is one of the most spectacular four wheel drive expeditions you can take. It passes through the awe-inspiring Kimberley region. You will strike some pretty heavily corrugated roads.

Cape Arid

This track starts at Cape Arid National Park near Esperance and ends up about 30 kilometres East of Balladonia on the Eyre Highway. It’s about a 2 day journey.

Fraser Island

Fraser is the largest sand island in the world and is perfect for four wheel driving. The island is criss-crossed with four wheel drive tracks. This place is a beautiful spot to explore and camp. You do need an official permit though.

Winton to Lake Constance

This trip will take you into the Bladesburg National Park, on to Gragg’s Grave and to the Diamantina National Park and the Diamantina Lakes. This journey is really scenic and you will see many creeks and rivers. There are plenty of great camping spots along the way.

Mount Mee State Forest

This one is close to the city of Brisbane so is great for a day out in the four wheel drive.

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So as you are running around like mad preparing for Christmas with the kids, have you ever imagined the possibility that you could have all the fun, with someone else doing all the work for you? If you are tired of the Christmas experiences where you spend most of your time running after the kids, getting them food, drinks and keeping them occupied, while missing out on having any fun for yourself, then a cruise might be just what you need.

There is no time like the present to start planning your next Christmas with a family cruise where you will really have the chance to actually relax, sit back and smell the roses (or the fresh ocean air, as the case may be!). The great thing about cruises is that everything is catered for you, and Christmas cruises are that little bit more special because they have the whole Christmas thing going on, and you don’t have to lift a finger. On a cruise ship, the staff are trained for one purpose – to ensure that you are having the time of your life. This means that they will be in charge of looking after all aspects of the planning of the time. They have dedicated staff to look after your kids, which includes every aspect of keeping the little munchkins happy, whether that be with activities, baby sitting or food. They cater to children of all ages, so there are things to do for everyone, including you! For the older kids there are games and activities to suit them, and the younger ones will be delighted to be able to spend their days hanging out with kids their own age. No matter who you are, or what your interest is, a cruise will have something to suit every taste.

Christmas is supposed to be a time when the whole family gets together to enjoy each others company. But if you are finding that you are stressed and working like a dog to keep everyone happy then you aren’t going to be the best fun to be around (which kind of defeats the purpose of even having Christmas). On a Christmas cruise, you get to be everyone’s favourite person because you are super happy while the staff take the worries out of every aspect of organising and executing the big day. While the kids get to spend their time swimming, dancing, cooking, playing and generally doing whatever it is that kids like to do, you will be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy doing sweet nothing.

Aside from the fun of having everything done for you, the cruise will also pull into various ports along the way, where the kids will have the chance to see other cultures, explore exotic lands, and see the way other people live. They might even start to get ideas about living more simply, and maybe next Christmas they won’t have a present list as long as your arm, as they will have a better idea that ‘things’ are not such an important part of life! For info about Christmas cruises head to the Cruiseabout website.

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Guest Post written by Mick Cutcliffe.

Bio paragraph: Mick Cutcliffe leads a very busy life, a single father of 3 boys, working through the day and writing through the night. Cutcliffe is an avid writer for Fort Knox business storage.

A garage can be a really useful space for storing things and depending on how well you organise the space you can usually have room for storing the car and some of your stuff. One important thing to do to ensure that you are making the best use of the space is to declutter, and only keep things that you really need to in the garage. Here are 5 tips to decluttering your garage.

Have a Chuck Out

First things first, before you can really utilise the space you will need to have a chuck out, and get rid of everything that you no longer need. Often the garage space can be a place where we dump anything that we don’t have a place for, and it builds up in piles and becomes a really untidy space. Getting rid of the things that you don’t need will free up your space, both physically and energetically, and your home will feel a lot clearer.

Store What You Don’t Need Now

If there are things in your garage that you need to keep, but don’t need to use on a day to day basis then an option that might work for you is to put them into storage. Often we may need to store papers and other things related to business etc, and only need to access them once a year, or once every few years. Business storage would be a good investment for you, but make sure you keep your storage facility in a place where they will be kept safe and sound for future needs.

Define the Space

One great way to utilise the space as well as it can be used is to work out what you want to use it for, and plan accordingly. If you are using it to store your car then you will want to organise the remaining space accordingly so that you can make the most of it. If you decide to use it as a studio or work space then shelves, benches and cupboards will be of great assistance to keep the place clear and uncluttered.

Overhead Shelf

If you are using the space to store your car but still have a lot of stuff to keep in the garage then you might want to think about installing some overhead shelving above the car. This way you can use that space that would usually be left unused. There are some really interesting designs for this that can be made easily and attached to the roof to make this shelving unit.

Tool Board

An interesting way of storing tools is to create a tool board with hooks where you can have your tools hanging on display so you know where they are and can easily grab them when you need them. The display board can be used for storing other things in your garage according to what purpose you are using the area for.

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