I'm a full-time mummy

With the rising in population, accommodation has become a major problem that makes house hunting a key issue in today’s world. When searching for an apartment, there are several things to consider: place of work, amenities, location and security among other factors. For a family friendly apartment, this calls for more. The location of the house has to favor your kids since it means a lot to them as they gradually mature. Anyone looking for a house for rent in KL especially young parents with has to keep the following in mind:

Learning institutions
Before moving in to a new house, do a thorough survey of the area to make sure there’re ample learning institutions such as schools and tuition centers. Usually such area will see quite a number of families with kids that will definitely make up a family-friendly neighborhood.

Security
The security of the area is crucial especially for the little ones. Several areas of the house have to be under locks to avert the trivial matter of “missing child” that pretty much can be related to child abduction. Yikes!

Windows
This should be the case in a storied building. For floor-to-ceiling window, make sure the window is locked always or ensure the opening is small enough to not being able to fit a person. For toddlers, the opening should be high enough to be out of reach. Not forgetting windows with broken handles should be repaired as soon as possible before the family moves in so as to be sure of safety.

Balconies
The porch should also be child friendly and tough enough to sustain any kind of pressure exerted on the fencing. It should also be raised to prevent any child from going over it.

The rest of the house should also have few turning points to prevent the child from knocking over hard objects, which might lead to serious injuries. Another factor to consider is the compound outside. Is the house fenced well enough to prevent stray animals and idlers from accessing your property and hurting your kids? Does the pool have proper fencing to rub away the idea of small children drowning in it?

Apartments with drive way should also include road signs within the perimeter of parking cars to avoid knocking down children playing in the hallway. The houses should always have adequate space where children can play as you watch over them from the kitchen.

Neighbors
It shouldn’t come as a surprise for parents to have
A lot of parents want their children developing a healthy relationship with other parents’ children of the same age like playing football in the hood. This way, even parents themselves get to bond making it a big happy family. A set playground for kids is an added advantage.

Sanitation
Always cross check the interior part of the apartment before giving out the cheque. A place filled with molds or other contaminants should be dealt with by either renovating the place or calling a specialist in such cases to help you out. Your family health should be your top priority

Size
The house should have a decent size that is huge enough to contain all the necessities that your family will need especially for your children upbringing. Extra spaces will always come in handy to keep things organized.

These are the ultimate qualities to look for in a new house to move in with your children before making a final decision of buying it. Ultimately, you can always rely on property portal as the like of PropertyGuru to look for a house for rent in KL that will give you a good idea on whether the house is a right fit for your family!

However, if you have already settled down in a rented home and would like to keep your home safe to your children, you might find this guide handy and helpful.

If you’ve been shopping around for a vacuum cleaner you’ll probably have noticed ‘energy-efficient’ labels stuck to the body of the machine. These environmentally-friendly cleaners are designed to use less energy to do the same job as traditional models. This should result in reduced household energy bills, which always gets a thumbs-up!

Many countries have now banned the use of powerful, energy-sucking household appliances and this includes vacuums rated above 1600 watts, but are there real benefits to low-energy cleaners?

A manufacturing challenge

The introduction of eco-friendly vacuum cleaners has obliged manufacturers to find innovative ways to create a product that allows people to hoover but uses less energy to do so. As a result, they’ve actually started creating models that required only 1000 Watts and even 800 Watts to clean thoroughly and efficiently. For the consumer, this meant their machine produced the same results but used much less energy to achieve them. Ultimately, this means another household appliance has been introduced that is not only kinder to the environment but will also help to keep utility bills down.

Performance through design

Thanks to the rise in home electronics, we’re consuming more energy and this is one of the reasons why it makes sense to use low-energy products. But manufacturers know that the design of the product, not the actual energy consumption, is what makes a difference to performance. To this end, some manufacturers have gone back to the drawing board to produce quieter models that feature a higher pick-up rate than traditional cleaners. There are also models that offer turbo features for deep cleaning, including pet hairs, which are hard to pick up.

Additional features

The new cleaners do come with some excellent additional specifications, including filtration layers to remove particles from the air when cleaning. This has been designed to help people who have allergies. New, 3D dust bags are also part of this process. Charcoal filtration is available on some models too to absorb odours such as pet smells, which can become ingrained in carpets. The features available will depend on the brand of cleaner and there will be price differences depending on the technology involved.

In some countries you now have no option but to buy energy-efficient vacuum cleaners. However, low-energy cleaners make financial sense when it comes to a cost-effective household purchase that’s also kinder to our planet.

** Image by Photographing Travis, used under Creative Commons licence

Most parents have enough on their plates without having to worry about how much money they’re spending on the family’s internet access.

But if you never make time to compare broadband deals, there’s a strong chance you’re paying more than you have to for your internet.

To save money, and maybe get a better service with faster speeds in the process, the best place to start is a trusted broadband money-saving website that’ll do most of the hard work for you, showing packages from all the main UK providers available where you live.

Here are some tips to help you compare broadband and get the best deal:

1. Keep your eyes peeled for bargains
Internet providers are constantly updating their deals and offers, so even you’re happy with what you’ve got at the moment it doesn’t hurt to keep a lookout for something even better. If you use the web to shop around, you’ll often come across online exclusives such as half-price broadband for the first six months of your contract.

2. Pick value for money over price
It might seem slightly counter-intuitive to say you can save money by not getting obsessed with prices, but a certain extent it’s actually true. If you skimp on your broadband - signing up to a cheap basic package with a low usage limit - then you’re likely to rack up extra costs further down the line, for example if you need to increase your download allowance.

3. Don’t get stung by expensive hidden costs
It’s easy to get carried away when you see a broadband deal with a super-cheap price, but it’s important to look a bit deeper to make sure you’ll definitely be saving money. The main thing to watch out for is line rental, which you need to pay in order to receive the vast majority of broadband services in the UK. Prices vary a lot, so it shouldn’t be overlooked.

4. Bundle with one provider for everything
If you’re trying to save money, one of the worst things you can do is have separate providers for your family’s broadband, home phone and TV. It almost always works out cheaper if you bundle the whole lot with one company, such as BT, Sky, Virgin Media or TalkTalk, which all offer landline, internet and digital TV packages rolled into a bundle.

5. Switch every couple of years
Providers generally save their best offers and discounts for attracting new customers, so while you might get everything half-price for a few months you’ll usually have to pay the full amount for the remainder of a 12 to 24-month contract. As soon as your contract period expires, it’s time to shop around again. There’s usually a better deal to be had.

Author bio:
Anthony Hill is a writer for broadbandchoices, where you can compare broadband, TV and mobile phone deals and that’ll save money for you and your family.