Dear children

I have a comment about building a modern home in Singapore.

Again Mum’s views are mostly slanted towards the home economics perspective…

The modern home is ideally equipped with possessions based on the kind of life you lead (meaning ‘lifestyle’ ). It is fruitless to ignore this aspect whilst raising a home and family in urban Singapore where life is often harried.

If this point is ignored, symptomatic tell-tale signs like clutter, falling ill often, rising tensions at home or between close relations, and not being able to find things when one needs them within the home, will surface.

Considering the lifestyle you lead as a starting point or foundation, one can focus on building upon the love and health of the family living within one’s homestead.

Tips for Shopping for the Home:

1)When you shop for things, always try to buy things that you or your family members might favour – in that it is your ‘style’ or the way you ‘live’ your life every day (or at least for most of the days).

Incorporating what family members might like and understanding why they may gravitate towards certain items may take a bit more time but it’s worthwhile and sustaining in the long run towards building a happy and healthy home..one is making progress.

2)Consider the colour scheme of your home (if this is not important, leave it out )

3)What sort of surroundings would you want to live in –

in minimalistic surroundings with essential furnishings

an eclectic look (meaning one may start with plain colours and then add in other possessions of various colours or styles)

co-ordinated (you like to be surrounded by carefully selected purchases and are proud to live in an ‘interior-designed’ home)

4)Which possessions will you maintain the upkeep (important because stuff accumulates pretty quickly)

5)And do you have help to keep everything tidy and clean?

6) If you are unsure, do not buy as yet (as it will eventually contribute to overcrowding of the immediate and far-off surroundings – when you need to dispose or donate -and this leads to upstream clutter- if no one wants the items you purchased).

7)Advice for shopping can be found in :

websites, local lifestyle magazines (they are the fastest hacks to looking for advice on what you at least must minimally want/need/have), blogs, online focus groups ( Scandinavian, Japanese, frugalist, minimalist), newspaper ads or your ‘community’ of acquaintances who will volunteer suggestions to get the best bang for your buck! )

8)Final tip: unless you have paid help EVERYONE in the home must contribute to cleaning (homes, for now at least, do not clean themselves!)

-and if you want it very clean, you will need to get paid help.

Bearing all the above in mind (including the tips from Homemaking Part I), I hope you are at least inspired into thinking of how to start building a home surrounding, and then raising a healthy and loving home!

You got this:)

From your loving mum