Family Life

Navigating family life includes musing about raising environmentally conscious children and shares positive parenting discoveries made along the way.

Lunch Box Essentials to Simplify Your Life, Save You Money and Change The World!

“Buy less, choose well, make it last” Vivienne Westwood Tried and tested lunch box essentials and zero waste choices for back to school families, conscious travellers and people on the go! In this article, you will find product reviews, convenient links, recipe suggestions and a crafty #DIY to help get you well on the way … Continue reading »

Categories: Family Life, Family Travel, Hunting & Gathering | Tags: , , , , , | 14 Comments

Natural and Simplistic Homemade Christmas

Live Simply. Dream Big. Be Grateful. Give Love. Laugh Lots. Unknown Here are three quirky homemade Christmas decorating ideas showing how nature can be incorporated to create your own personalised and simplistic festive style. These concepts will especially appeal to those who, although love decorating the house for the coming season, suffer from a bad case of ‘consumer overwhelm’ … Continue reading »

Categories: Family Life, Hunting & Gathering | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

#DIY: Simple and Effective Old School Labelling Techniques​

“The stark truth that few ever grasp is that to have more we must do and consume less.” Brendon Burchard As ‘old school’ parents we are conscious of encouraging an awareness (with our impressionable children) of how our actions impact our immediate and global environment. Our Family has regular conversations around environmentally friendly values, behaviours … Continue reading »

Categories: Family Life, Naming Your Year | Tags: , , , , | 5 Comments

5 Simple Acts of Kindness – Good For The Planet and Good For You!

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not. Dr Seuss – The Lorax These 5 simple acts of kindness are for those whose lifelong plan includes participating in the many recreational opportunities this natural playground (see images above) has to offer. This relates to me so, … Continue reading »

Categories: Family Life, Talking Rubbish | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

How To Balance Homework and ‘Witching’ Hour…

“LIFE isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to DANCE in the rain.” Vivian Greene Negotiating an appropriate and calm time-slot for homework to be completed after school, is no mean feat. When the topic of starting homework comes up in our household, the family room turns into a battleground of … Continue reading »

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Merry Christmas

The suitcase is packed and our family is ready to embark on our Christmas Road Trip. Just before we leave I wanted to take the time to thank you for your support of CWMS and the journey of Keeping It R.E.A.L. I really value the conversations and connections which have been made and hope each … Continue reading »

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Real Or Fake – Yes It’s Time To Talk About The Christmas Tree…

“When you open the box of Christmas tree lights to discover they are tangled and the decorations a little tired – smile, stop, breathe, try and enjoy the delight of Christmas… you’ll be amazed at the magic that happens when you get into the spirit.” Deborah Bibby  – Editorial-in-chief, Real Living Magazine You are all going … Continue reading »

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The Cardboard Box – Inspired Creative Play

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein The Cardboard Box and The Stick are two out of 53 toys which have been inducted into the Toy Hall Of Fame. The Toy Hall of Fame is located next to The Strong, the National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY. Anyone can nominate a toy which … Continue reading »

Categories: Family Life, Hunting & Gathering, Talking Rubbish | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments

#DIY – Repurposing Your Jars in Four Easy Steps

There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere. Annie Leonard  Repurposing your jars is a fun, simple and sustainable way to jazz up any party or gathering. It will appeal to creative people who are always on the hunt for something a bit quirky and/or are consciously … Continue reading »

Categories: Family Life, Out of the Man Cave, Talking Rubbish | Tags: , , , | 10 Comments

How To Build A Treasure Garden For Your Little Collectors

Creating a Treasure Garden is a great holiday activity if you happen to have a child who lovingly collects rocks, shells, sticks, pretty leaves and anything else which grabs their attention when they are out and about. (Or maybe you are all grown up and this above statement applys to you!) Helping your little collector build … Continue reading »

Categories: Eat Throw Grow, Family Life | Tags: , , , , | 4 Comments

Friday Night is Movie Night!

Visit our house on a Friday night and you will come across our family and more than likely members of our extended family, all lined up in front of the ‘tele’, movie on, with the smell of fish and chips filling the air because – Friday Night is Movie Night! Pop into our house on … Continue reading »

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Final Stage Toilet Training – Our 17 month old is Nappy Free

 Our Early Stage Toilet Training Experiment is complete – HUGE SUCCESS to report! I was horrified to read a Media Release by the Wollongong City Council (2011) which, according to the Councils Waste Education Officer, there are 2.1 billion disposable nappies added into landfill in Australia each year. I was even more horrified to learn … Continue reading »

Categories: Family Life, Toilet Training our Baby Girl | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments