• Limit your children’s activities, sports, birthday parties and play dates.
• Go through your mail once or twice a week.  Shred the junk mail.
• Check your email, Facebook, twitter, etc. once or twice a day.  Don’t look at it in between.
• Schedule a certain amount of time for email, Facebook, twitter, pinterest, etc.  The rest can wait until tomorrow.
• Turn your phone OFF during hours when you are with family or at work.
• Limit your volunteering at school, church, etc.
• Say no to social engagements you don’t want or need to attend.
• Cancel newspapers or magazines you don’t read or love.
• Send holiday cards any time of the year.  It doesn’t have to be in December.

The “just say no” check list suggests some little things you can say no to that make a big impact.  Check off a few and add a few of your own to the list.  If you start to panic and think “Oh, I have to do this, I can’t not do that,” then ask yourself, “What’s the worst that would happen if I don’t?”  The answer is usually “not much!”

Random {but not so random when you see the relevance at the end} question: Have you seen the movie I am Number Four?  One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when the Mom brings a basket to the dinner table and asks everyone to relinquish their cell phones into the basket before they eat. {I looked on the internet to see if I could find the scene to no avail.}  What a great idea!  I have written before about the importance of family dinner time.  Dining together will strengthen and unify your family.  Don’t let distractions interfere with precious TIME with your family.

I ran across a book today looking for a different book.  I picked it up to thumb through and decided I had to share this part of it with my readers.  The just say no check list comes from one of my favorite books, Happy Home: A Family’s Guide to Finding Balance in a DizzyBusy World by Lorle Campos.  Happy Home gives simple solutions to ensure success of a happy family.  The first step mentioned is saying no to activities that don’t add value.

Quote from Happy Home

Oh how I wish I could buy a copy of this book for every family.  Reading Happy Home helps you put your family first so that you can have a happy home.  You realize while reading, it’s not as difficult as we think it is.  We let go of guilt and enjoy our families.  You can do it!

Click on photo to get your copy

Because Happy Homes don’t just happen,