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Small bathrooms with limited storage space make it tough to stow all the stuff you use daily and still keep the space looking tidy. Check these smart solutions discovered by Good Housekeeping Magazine:

Expand cabinet space. If your under-sink cabinet is stuffed to the gills, invest in an over-the-door storage basket that can hold your hair dryer, curling iron, and more.

Use the corners. Suction cups keep a tower of small storage spaces”as many as you’d like”firmly tucked into a corner of the shower.

Narrow organizers fit anywhere. Three-tiered organizers less than 5 inches deep fit into any space, even between the wall and a sink with no vanity. Slim storage carts can hold your toilet paper and lots of other stuff.

Outlet shelf. This ingenious little “power perch” creates a shelf over your electrical outlet to keep shavers, electric toothbrushes, and more, stowed away from limited counter space.

Swing towel holder. No need for stacking towels. Swiveling racks can hold four or more towels and swing flush to the wall to save space.

Hang a tub caddy. This handy silicone pocket goes over the edge of the tub, holding all your bath essentials in one slim space.

Over-the-door towel holder. Hang one (or two) of these over the bathroom door to stow extra towels out of the way.

Standing toilet tissue caddy. With a shelf on top to hold reading material”or your cellphone if you want to keep it handy”these hold more than toilet tissue rolls.

Keep cosmetics out of sight. Install small plastic cubbies on the inside of your medicine cabinet door to hold lipsticks, nail polishes, and more, at the ready but out of sight.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Everybody needs sleep, but many of us dont get enough. This can make it hard to get through the day and can have long-term effects on health. The risks are particularly serious for children, who need to get enough rest to grow and succeed in school and other activities.

Potential Problems

Inadequate sleep can affect kids in many ways. A child who is tired may have trouble getting ready for school on time and concentrating in class, which can lead to academic struggles. Kids often experience behavioral problems when they dont get enough rest. They may have outbursts, throw tantrums, be hyperactive or behave aggressively. Children may be more likely to develop mental health or substance abuse problems.

Why Kids Dont Get Enough Rest

Despite all these risks, many children dont get enough sleep, and there are a variety of reasons for that. Some kids want to pursue interests in sports, music and other activities, and their parents want to be supportive but allow them to do more than they can realistically handle. Sometimes kids have a lot of homework, or they put off doing it because they would rather watch TV or play video games.

Technology often causes kids to not get enough sleep. Many children have TVs in their bedrooms and smart phones that they use to talk, text and participate in social media. The problem? All those distractions can make it hard for children to fall asleep, or can cause them to wake up in the middle of the night. The light from a screen has also been proven to make it harder for people to fall asleep.

How to Make Sure Your Child Gets Enough Sleep

The best way to make sure your child gets enough rest is to have some frank conversations and set rules. Talk to your child about the amount of sleep they need and how a lack of sleep affects things like your childs mood and school performance. If your child is involved in so many extracurricular activities that there simply isnt enough time in the day for them to get enough sleep, you may need to make the difficult decision of having them cut back.

Establish a firm bedtime and enforce it. While your child may whine and complain, stand your ground. Dont allow your child to have electronics in their bedroom during sleeping hours; there is too much potential for distraction. If your child uses the alarm on a phone to wake up, an alarm clock is a better solution.

Recognize the Importance of Sleep

Getting enough sleep is essential for your childs health. While seemingly not a big deal, not getting enough sleep can have serious side effects on your childs health and development. Talk to your child, set rules and make sleep a priority.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Programmable thermostats let you set the temperature in your home and have the thermostat change it based on the time of day. What makes them ‘smart’ is that they can learn from your behaviors, let you control the climate remotely, show you energy consumption in real-time and even adjust themselves based on conditions like humidity.

You can tell them to shut off after you leave for work and spring back into action in time to ensure the house temperature is comfortable by the time you get home. Many models can be managed from your phone or a website.

If youre thinking of upgrading to a money-saving smart thermostat, here are four models highly recommended by independent reviewers at BestReviews, WiseBread and LifeHacker:

The Nest Learning Thermostat
This model tops most lists and is backed by over 17,000 five-star reviews on Amazon. The Nest is easy to use and install, and works with Amazon Alexa, the Nest App and other smart devices. It features energy-saving options, a remote control, auto scheduling, and more. This Energy Star thermostat uses Farsight for an easy-to-read display you can see from across the room, and can alert you if something is wrong in the home while you’re away. It costs about $225.

Honewell Smart Wi-Fi Color Touch
The Honewell also works with Amazon Alexa, features flexible scheduling, smart response technology, on-screen comfort information, an indoor humidity sensor, auto alerts and energy-saving options. It includes an app so you can control your thermostat from anywhere. Control features include a customizable color touch-screen, simple setup and Wi-Fi remote access. Another Amazon customer favorite, it costs about $189.

Eccobee 3 Light Smart
This one is easy to install, with an easy-to-use touch screen display, and also takes local weather into account and can be scheduled to desired comfort settings. It works with Alexa, as well as with optional room sensors and the mobile app. At about $169, it offers hands-free control and hundreds of integration possibilities.

Emerson Sensi-Smart
The Emerson is also compatible with Alexa. This model is easy to install and you can remotely control temperature and timeline with a free mobile app. It uses a GPS feature for location-based temperature control and flexible scheduling to help reduce utility bills. It runs around $135.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Good nutrition is essential for childrens health, but countless parents struggle to get their kids to eat right. For many families, mealtime is a frequent source of conflict and power struggles. If your child is a picky eater, you need to understand that it’s not uncommon.

Give Your Child Time
Many kids are reluctant to try unfamiliar foods. Their taste preferences take time to develop”a child may need to see, smell, feel and taste a food several times before deciding that they like it. If your child says they don’t like a food the first time you offer it, dont force the issue; that will only create stress and frustration for both of you. Accept that your child doesnt want to eat the food, and then offer it again in a week or two. Introducing it in another dish with a different collection of ingredients may make your child more willing to give it a try.

Dont Cave In
If your child refuses to eat what you’ve prepared for dinner, dont make them a separate meal. You can offer a healthy alternative, such as fruit or vegetables, or a nutritious snack later, but dont interrupt your own meal and go out of your way to cater to your child. That will only reinforce your childs picky eating habits.

Dont Bribe Your Child With Dessert
Dont tell your child that if they eat dinner, dessert will be a reward”that sends the message that dinner is something that needs to be endured to get to the reward. This strategy could cause your child to overindulge at every opportunity.

Set an Example
Children learn by observing others. If family members talk about how much they enjoy a particular food, a child will most likely become curious and want to try it sooner or later. Don’t just talk about the taste of a particular food, but also the smell, the texture, and the way it complements other ingredients in a particular dish.

Get Your Child Involved
Let your child have input when deciding what to make for dinner. Look at recipes together and take your child grocery shopping with you. Have your child help you prepare meals in age-appropriate ways, such as rinsing vegetables or stirring together ingredients. Your child will be more likely to want to eat a meal that he or she was actively involved in preparing.

Be Patient
If your child is a picky eater, dont despair”tastes and preferences change dramatically over time. Be patient and offer a variety of foods, but dont force your child to eat anything they don’t want to. Keep mealtimes as relaxed as possible, and your child will be willing to try new foods when he or she feels ready.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Credit cards can help you afford things you need if you dont have the money right now, but they often lead to trouble. Some people overspend, while others are forced to rely on credit cards more than they’d like because of a job loss or an unexpected expense.

No matter how you got into debt, if you’re struggling to make your monthly payments, you’re probably feeling overwhelmed. It may feel like you’ll never be able to get out of debt, especially if you have high interest rates.

Debt consolidation can allow you to pay off your balances in a relatively short amount of time. It can enable you to combine all of your credit card debts into one bill with a single monthly payment. That can make it much easier to manage your finances.

Debt Consolidation Options

One option is a balance transfer, allowing you to transfer your balances from one or more high-interest credit cards to another card that offers a lower interest rate. Some cards even offer balance transfers with zero percent interest, but you’ll have to pay balance transfer fees.

You can also take out an unsecured consolidation loan to manage your debt. The interest rate on the loan will be lower than the interest rates on your credit cards, which means you’ll be able to put more money toward principal and pay off your bills faster.

A third option is a debt management program. That can help you create a plan to pay off your debts and allow you to receive counseling to help you avoid running into a similar problem in the future.

Things to Consider

When you consolidate your debts, you’ll be able to significantly lower your interest rates. That means with each payment, a higher amount will go toward the principal on your balance. This way, you can pay off your debt in a fraction of the time it might otherwise take.

Consolidating your debt can help you avoid damage to your credit score because of missed or late payments. Consolidation can make your payments easier to manage, which means you’ll be less likely to have missed or late payments and will be able to maintain or improve your credit score.

If you decide to consolidate your debt, you need to be careful not to overuse your credit cards while you’re paying off your balances and dig yourself deeper into debt. You need to stick with the repayment plan, or else you might wind up facing penalties and interest.

A Way Out of Debt

If you’ve gotten in over your head with credit cards, debt consolidation could be what you need to get back on track. By consolidating your debt, you can lower your interest rates and pay off your bills faster. If you stay on the right path, you can get yourself out of debt and keep it that way.

Published with permission from RISMedia.