How to Create a Calmer Household

Kids running everywhere? TV blaring at its loudest and the ping, ping of video games driving you insane? Meanwhile, neighbors and friends keep dropping by and your spouse is hiding in the downstairs bathroom waiting for peace to descend... Does this sound awfully familiar? If so, then it might be time to start instituting some peace across the household and to try and lead a slightly calmer life together.

Steps

1. 1
   Be willing to set limits and ensure that your way is followed. This is the first and most important thing that you can possibly do. This means limits as to the times, levels of noise and activity and yes, bedtimes. For the parents too, If the kids have to get their parents out of bed for a ride to school that will be a horrible reoccurring situation every morning. That can easily be avoided by going to bed at the same time as your kids, your sleep is important also but don't expect to sleep when your kids need rides to school.

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2. 2
   Visualize a calmer home. What do you see? Write down the things that you visualize and turn them into goals to achieve in creating your calmer household. In your subconscious mind, you will unearth a true picture of the house that you'd like to be in - always keep this focus in your mind and work towards it gradually.
3. 3
   

   Sit down and write a list of the things that seem to be creating the most noise and sense of rushing in your home.
   Sit down and write a list of the things that seem to be creating the most noise and sense of rushing in your home. These are the first things that you will target with your limits. Consider such things as when you are prepared to receive visitors, limiting the noise level of the TV and limiting to computer usage. And put a ban on running indoors for the little ones.
   • Kids need toys and entertainment but this doesn't mean TV and video games. Play Chess, Mahjong, Backgammon instead of video games. An investment in good traditional games or board games may prove cheaper than running a TV or video games console.
4. 4
   Write a task chart. This task chart must apply to every single member of the household and it must contain days and deadlines. The larger the job that needs tackling, the longer the timeframe you must give it in order to maintain a calm approach to it - bit by bit will get it done rather than rushing around juggling too many things at once.
5. 5
   Tidy the clutter away. Clutter enhances the feeling of stress, rushing and inability to think straight. The fewer bits and pieces in your pathway, the calmer you are going to feel. Not to mention the less cleaning up involved. If the kids must keep so many toys, books, and video games, make a deal with them. They can be kept in storage spaces but if they are found strewn across the floor more than 3 times in a row, they will be donated to the nearest charity store. You must mean this and you must be prepared to do it for this ultimatum to have real effect.
6. 6
   Clean as you create. Cooking creates less mess if you can wash items as you use them in between cooking moments. Same for anything that gets used - retrain everyone to put it back where it came from the moment it has been used. Buy storage bins or baskets with labels if this helps to encourage everyone to do the right thing.
7. 7
   Plan meals. If you are always wondering what to make for dinner, spend half an hour a week (Sunday evening is often a good time) to write out a plan of meals. It doesn't have to be incredibly specific or you will dull down the cooking process and spontaneity, but at least write "pasta - Mon", "steak - Tues", "pizza - Wed", "sushi - Thurs", "take-out - Fri". That way you have an idea of the main meal and can decide on the flavors and style on the night, with the main ingredients at hand.
8. 8
   Ask visitors to respect your limits. Inform visiting family, friends, kids, dogs, and any other guests who regularly traipse in and out of your home that closing time is whatever you set it as. In addition, feel free to set out of bounds hours, such as family lunch times on Sundays. This will enable you and your family to connect together over a special meal or activity without outside interruptions. This also includes taking the phone off the hook and closing e-mail applications.
9. 9
   File it or lose it! As soon as it arrives in the post, the schoolbag or the briefcase, deal with it. Open envelopes and toss them into the recycling immediately. Read the letter, bill, or note and file it. Make bill-paying time once a week and sit down with the file and deal with it in a matter-of-fact way, one by one. If you get school notes, decide when to sit down with your child to discuss these matters, then sign them away and put back in the schoolbag, and if money is asked for, write the check there and then and put it into the schoolbag. These actions will take several minutes, but spending more time on school and child matters is more important.
10. 10
    Set aside calm time. At least once a week, and preferably once a day, set aside calm time for yourself in which you do nothing more than relax and shut out all that is around you. Eventually encourage other family members to join you in this. Select a special corner or room in the house and set it up just for this purpose, with soft pillows and drapes and call it something neat like "Mom's Relaxation Corner" or "Family Downtime Zone". Familiarize everyone in the house with this space as only ever being for relaxation by any member of the family at any time of the day or night. It must be away from TVs, music or other sources of noise and disruption. Peace is a virtue and can be hard to acquire in our busy lives. However, there are many simple ways that we have overlooked and should try to encourage in our day to day lives.-

How to Be a Happy, Spiritual Family

In this modern age, family closeness has been threatened by a competitive culture and great technological change. Many families are suffering from such issues as separation, turmoil, selfishness and for some, domestic violence. Traditional education within the family and neighborhood structure has been overtaken by television.
While television in moderation can play a positive role in children's lives, excessive viewing and using the television as a babysitter has resulted in children learning predominantly negative values, including the presentation of a false idea of what equates to happiness and fulfillment. When the whole family is swayed by the false ideology of pursuing outer happiness at the expense of inner contemplation, everyone feels unhappiness. In this article, you'll learn how to begin shaping a spiritually happy family.

 steps :

1. Create a family identity. Forging a family identity together can create a sense of cohesion and purpose as a family. Begin by finding a family motto that each member of the family has contributed to, whether by way of words, ideas, or reflections.
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   • What will your family motto be? Write a family vision statement. Describe your family's goals and dreams. Also write down what your family likes to do.
2. 

   Work together.
   Work together. A happy family depends on teamwork. Every member of the family should feel that he or she has a stake in wanting to have a happy family life. Create guidelines in your family for how you can work together as a team.
   • Start with simple chores and work your way up to shared vacation plans and learning new things together.
3. 

   Nurture your children's positive features.
   Nurture your children's positive features. The first step to guiding your children to become resilient is to foster positive values. The most important values are love, wisdom, self discipline, inner peace and happiness.
   • Explain to your family that the property of love means that you are positive to yourself, to your family, and to the whole world. Encourage each of your children to live for the happiness of all beings and, at the same time, develop their own happiness.
   • Show children that wisdom is to live healthily, to think positively, to read spiritual books, and to relax often enough. As a parent, recognize that it is difficult to educate some children to wisdom when they like to eat sweets, watch TV, and do only what they want to. As children grow, they are in a constant struggle between short- and long-term thinking, and as a parent, it is your role to guide them in learning how to tune into their deeper selves, to delay instant gratification, and to realize the virtues of self-discipline.
4. 

   Turn your children into winners.
   Turn your children into winners. Ally yourself with the wisdom within your children and strengthen their predominantly positive characteristics. The best approach is to emphasize the positive actions and traits and to ignore their negative behavior, if this is possible.
   • Lead by example: be strong, clear, and show them the value of freedom to make choices and to think for themselves. Children learn primarily by watching positive role models, with education supplementing what they have already learned from those they trust and love the most.
5. 

   Create the environment for inner peace.
   Create the environment for inner peace. Inner peace is very important for every family. Protect your children from sensory overload, which means in particular, protecting them from too much television. 
6. One hour of quality TV per day is the maximum amount suitable for children. While it would be even better to abolish the TV, few families have the courage to go to this extent. Instead, teach your children to be watch TV critically. For a young child you might just ask simple questions during the program like, "is John's character being naughty or nice." For older children you can dig deeper, like, "why did the writer have John's character do that?" or, my favorite, make a game of it, "whoever can tell me how this plot will end gets a prize." The goal is to get children to realize that an author wrote the show they are watching and perhaps they can write a story too.
7. Encourage and guide your children to implement their own sense of self-discipline. A long-term positive and fulfilling life is only possible when we grow into adults with a sound sense of self-discipline, and the sooner you are able to provide the means for this in their lives, the better.
8. Read How to raise no TV children, How to get your children away from TV, and How to set television rules for your kids.

Anchor all thoughts in the positive.

9. Anchor all thoughts in the positive. Encourage all family members to learn to pay attention to their thoughts. Do this by having regular honest discussions, positive activities, and positive rituals, such as eating together, telling stories, reading spiritual books, singing songs, saying prayers, and practicing meditation, etc.

• In your family, avoid succumbing to using consumption as a means of activity and reward; rather, look for inspiration in seeking inner happiness through non-material pursuits and through living one another, and spending time together.
• Help each family member work through their spiritual concerns and needs; give each family member clear points of reference to work from in order to avoid confusion. This will include explaining your own beliefs, and being honest about the shortcomings of many modern day promises of happiness.

 10. Work with a spiritual role model. In addition to consistently focusing on your child's positive actions and efforts as a means to building their inner resilience and confidence, it is vital to provide your child with a specific spiritual role model. Ultimately, having a spiritual role model provides your child with a sense of support and purpose to draw on when seeking to lead a positive life. Most people need the inspiration of a positive role model to walk the long path of inner happiness.

• The model is the consolidation of all positive qualities in one person. It shows us that it is possible to realize inner happiness and to lead a happy life. There are many different models for the path of inner happiness. (i.e. Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad) Find those role models who inspire our children personally.
• Be sure that to include positive stories. The story books are full of good stories, and often it is the stories that help a child relate to a particular spiritual model. Tell these stories by heart, or read them aloud. Or devise stories yourself. Find stories in which the model wins over all the bad guys in the world, helps the weak and realizes enlightenment (a life in finding God and asking God to guide you to His and your happiness), etc.