Going Green This Summer

You know you should start living a greener life, and summer is the perfect time to start.

Summer is the perfect time for you and your family to become a little greener. Whether you’ve never thought about how you’re impacting the ecosystem or you’ve already installed solar panels on your house, we have some tips that can help your family conserve more energy, reduce your environmental impact and help you live a more environmentally conscious lifestyle.

[Read more at Hitched]

Online Tools to Keep You Organized

From synced-up family schedules to meal-planning services, you don’t need a personal assistant to keep your household running smoothly.

With Johnny going to soccer practice, Suzie taking piano lessons, a homeowners’ association meeting, a dentist appointment and shopping to do, you may feel like you’re losing it a bit—and that’s only Tuesday. Worse, when you run into a snafu—you were supposed to drive carpool, but were sure it wasn’t your turn—you feel terrible and convince yourself you’re up for worst parent of the year.

So how can you keep track of it all? Short of hiring a personal assistant, there are some innovative new online tools you can use to help your family sync schedules and stay organized while helping you keep your sanity.

[Read more at Hitched]

The Family Blog

Seven simple steps to creating an evolving keepsake that’ll keep friends and family up to date.

Want a good project for the whole family? Start a family blog. Blogs are easy to set up and customize, and fun to watch evolve. Whether you want to document your kids’ artwork, post video of their finest achievements, write about your travels or create a general newsletter that’ll keep friends and family up to date on your activities, the tools are readily available — and inexpensive.

[Read more at Hitched]

Scheduling Conflict

When your spouse works an opposite schedule, how do find time for each other?

Unfortunately, our bosses don’t tend to consult family schedules before assigning our hours. And when you and your partner’s schedules don’t mesh—especially over a long period of time—it can wear on your relationship. Fatigue, loneliness and miscommunication can all take their toll, but there are plenty of couples making it work, including some who have chosen opposite schedules for childcare purposes.

[Read more at Hitched]

Valentine’s Day Dispute

Don’t let your attitude toward Valentine’s Day leave your spouse saying “He loves me, he loves me not.”

How are you planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day? If it’s up to your local retailers, you’ll be showered with flowers, eating chocolates, wearing red and looking longingly into your partner’s eyes for the evening before a passionate end to your night together. In reality, you may be lucky if you even get a card. While many couples happily celebrate their love on February 14, others find the holiday a source of contention—especially when it means more to one partner than another.

[Read more at Hitched]

Flu Season Fixes

When your spouse is suffering from a cold or flu, help them heal while avoiding getting sick yourself.

Itchy throats, stuffy noses, aches and pains: yup, it’s flu season. And when your partner gets a nasty virus, finding ways to make them feel better—and ways for you to not get the bug—are top priority. So what can you do?

First, be sympathetic. “Everything gets exaggerated when you’re sick,” says Jackie Keller, nutrition expert and wellness coach who founded Los Angeles-based healthy food company NutriFit. “Either a relationship becomes very nurturing and supportive, or it becomes resentful.”

[Read more at Hitched]

Resolution for Two

Want to make this a great year for your marriage? Try making one of these 10 resolutions that can help bring you closer.

You hop into the new year by sharing a bottle of bubbly and a smooch from your partner, but your resolutions will probably focus on you, you and you. You want to lose weight, get a promotion and make more money. But what about that other entity in your life—your marriage? We challenge you to make 2008 the best year yet for your union by taking your partner into consideration and making a resolution that’ll benefit both of you.

Don’t know where to start? We’ve got 10 experts who can help you get the gears turning.

[Read more at Hitched]

Gifts for the Whole Family

Want to find something that everyone can enjoy together this holiday season? Look no further.

If spending more time as a family is going to be one of your New Year’s resolutions, why not help yourself out with a holiday present that everyone can enjoy together? In this last-minute push at the end of December, we’ve got five picks that can work for your family, whether you have children or not.

[Read more at Hitched]

6 Steps to a Stress-Free Holiday Season

These six tips from the founder of The Stress Institute can help you have happier holidays.

The holiday season is prime time for stress, but it doesn’t have to be. Whether it’s your budget, your family or the prospect of an expanding waistline that’s grating on your nerves, there are ways to refocus on what holiday time should be about—having fun and relaxing. Dr. Kathleen Hall, founder and CEO of The Stress Institute shares six stress-busting tips that can help you have a calmer, more fulfilling holiday season.

[Read more at Hitched]

Jealous of Success

Do you ever feel jealous of your spouse’s success? Don’t let it sabotage your relationship.

When you’re supporting your spouse in going back to school, getting a promotion or achieving an important goal, your marriage couldn’t be better. You’re a team—and more important, you’re the mentor. But once that goal is reached and your sagely role is a distant memory, you may start feeling jealous that your spouse has overshadowed your accomplishments. And if the wife is the new achiever, this scenario can be particularly devastating because of the societal pressure men are under to achieve and excel.

[Read more at Hitched]