Category: Family & Home

6 Reasons to Feel More Hopeful

The rollercoaster of the past few years has left even the most optimistic among us struggling to feel hopeful from time to time. Though it seems that crises come one after another these days and the future appears uncertain, if you look carefully, you’ll find a number of reasons, big and small, to have hope….


Easy Swaps to Give Your House an Instant Upgrade

Sometimes the simplest decorating swaps can yield the biggest returns. These one-hit-wonder changes will invigorate your spaces with minimal effort on your part. But be forewarned: One swap may make you want to do another … and another. But that’s what makes decorating fun, right? Pillows Swap standard-issue pillows for something with personality. Ditch the…


Practical Life Skills You Can Teach Your Kids Through Homeschooling

As dedicated homeschooling parents, your goal is to ensure your kids receive a well-balanced education. As loving parents, you look beyond academics. You strive to equip your kids with the essential life skills they’ll need to grow and mature into thriving, independent adults. Thankfully, homeschooling gives you the freedom to incorporate practical life skills lessons…


Boy Bereft After Bullies Smash His Guitar—Until NJ Police Officer Gifts His Own as Replacement

After a 9-year-old boy and his parents appeared at their local police station to report that the boy’s guitar had been smashed by bullies, one officer went above and beyond—he gifted the devastated boy his very own guitar. Patrol Officer Andrew Skae from Hawthorne, New Jersey, was on duty on Aug. 28 when his colleague…


Better Than Gold: The Value of Friendship

Of all the gifts we might desire in life, surely friendship stands near the top of the list. Those of us who have a close friend or two feel blessed. We share our dreams and secrets with these companions of the heart: our joy and our sadness, our victories and our defeats. And when we…


Moms of Babies Switched at Birth Raise Daughters Under Same Roof: ‘Love Is Fundamental’

Two mothers who gave birth on the same day, at the same hospital, made an unconventional decision when they found out their daughters had been accidentally switched at birth. They merged families, raising their girls under the same roof, and today they are inseparable. Marinella Alagna and Gisella Fodera, from the Sicilian town of Mazara…


Ancient Tales of Wisdom: Old Tiger and a Greedy Traveler

Ancient tales of wisdom remind us of the traditions and moral values that have been treasured all over the world. We hope the stories and messages in our Tales of Wisdom series help uplift the hearts and minds of our readers. “Old Tiger and a Greedy Traveler” is a tale about greed and how it…


Readers Need to Know: Pay Down Debt or Invest? and Help! Horrible Odor in Leather Couch

I love it when readers send me their questions. Today I pulled the following letters from the EC mailbag. Dear Mary: We are better off than most. We have no credit card debt. We have several hundred dollars in cash stashed away in a safe in our house. And we have about $5,000 in savings….


Build a Lightwell Under an Attic for a Skylight

Dear James: My living room is too dark, so I want to add a skylight. My house has a pitched roof. How can I add a skylight when there is an attic above the living room?—Colleen G. Dear Colleen: Installing a large skylight will definitely bring more natural light into your living room. The basic…


15-Year-Old UK Girl Reels In Massive 100lb Monster Catfish—And Its Bigger Than Her

A teen fishing ace who didn’t think she’d catch anything as it was Friday the 13th snared her biggest yet—a massive 100-pound catfish bigger than her. Hannah Truscott, 15, specializes in netting the species and has now caught her own personal best—a 96-pound-4-ounce beast. She was fishing with her father, Paul, at White Lakes in Essex…