September 6, 2010

I work from home. While it’s a blessing to our family, for me to be able to be here for our five kids, it also comes with it’s own set of challenges.

Working from home means I’m here all the time, but working from home also means that I’m, um, HERE ALL THE TIME. Spending anywhere from 3 to 8 hours per day in my home office necessitates that there be some sort of order or, dare I say, organization in my day. Otherwise I’d lose my mind. I have a calendar, a work schedule, filing systems, tracking systems and billing systems.  Although things don’t always go as planned, these systems and schedules keep me on task, most of the time.

Life in the office (or life in general) will never be perfect. There will always be some sort of variable thrown into my day to test me and keep me on my toes. Whether it be the child who forgot their gym clothes, a husband who calls unexpectedly for lunch date (which I love!) or a 6 yr old who needs me to come RIGHT NOW and see what he built using legos, Lincoln logs and scotch tape.

It’s easy to get so caught up in what I’m doing that I lose sight of why I’m doing it.  I continue to organize my work and schedule, and my days so that I can have the priviledge of being there when my little girl needs a hug or when my 6 yr old needs an audience or on those rare occassions when my teenagers “just want to talk”.

I don’t organize just for the sake of a clean closet or a pretty calendar. I do it so I can be there for those people who are important to me at the times when it’s important to them.

Those things aren’t a disruption to my daily work schedule. They are the benefits of my job!

As I look around me, I realize that things here are pretty great. I could wish for a spacious office with walls painted in a calming sea blue colors, hardwood floors, oodles of storage space, matching storage boxes & file folders and an endless supply of paperclips. But would it really matter? Probably not, but today’s my birthday…. And a girl can dream, right?

September 3, 2010

It’s hard to believe its September already…where did summer run off to? The weather is changing, kids are starting school again, and yes it’s time to start thinking about the holidays (ahhh!).  Ok now that I have completely stressed you out, let me offer some encouragement. The start of a new school year brings new opportunities. Now is the time to get a system set up to help you keep track of the paperwork that comes with school. 

I home school my kids, I will be homeschooling two this year, which is a bit overwhelming when I think about it in a broad sense.  I have to keep track of everyone’s work, make sure they are progressing and keep a toddler busy and out of their way. With no help from Mr. TV…he’s a distraction. So I sat down and thought about how I’m going to accomplish all of this, and honestly my head hurt! I know there are a lot of families that face the same dilemma and have no problem at all. Me, I start to panic just thinking about how the whole thing will work.

This year I set up one of those plastic drawer sets, you can buy them at Target. It has three drawers, just perfect for my kids. It’s not very big it fits easily under my computer desk, so it’s out of the way, which is another plus. Each child has their own drawer, and all of their things for school go in their drawer, nothing else! We all know how other things can get crammed in there when we are in a hurry to clean up. Resist the urge! My kids also think it’s neat that they have their own drawer.

So once again, let me encourage you, you can do it! Even if you just pick one thing you want to keep organized this year, do it and stick to it! Let me throw this question out there: Homeschoolers or not, what is the hardest thing to keep organized during the school year?

September 2, 2010

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love that the holidays are just around the corner, the cooler weather and the blanket of colorful leaves on my lawn. Oh, let’s be honest -the best part of fall, is the fact my 4 kids will be out of the house for 6 hours a day!

In my constant quest to be organized, I found some items and ideas to ease the transition into the new season.

Lego Create a Watch~

Help your kids stay on schedule with this colorful time piece 

Kid’s can create their own band including length. Amazon.com , $20.00

Groove Pencils – aid children in getting a better grip on their writing utensils, $10 dixonusa.com

Back Packs – should not weigh more than 15% of your child’s body weight. They must be worn on both shoulders, to prevent injury and don’t buy one for him to “grow in to”. LL. Bean has this great pack called the Deluxe Book Bag for $39.95

Here are some new ideas for some old things you may have around the house

1.) Old Socks – Place an empty jar into an old, colorful sock. Tuck excess fabric inside the jar and fill with pencils, pens, etc…

2.) In and Out Boxes for kid’s school papers

Make space on a wall, counter or even inside a kitchen cabinet for two “in boxes”. Label one “In” and one “Out”.

Kids place permission slips, etc into “in box”, after school. Come morning, they can grab signed permission slips and anything else that needs to get back to school from the white “out box”.

3.) Large Hooks

Lastly, install a hook near your child’s workstation, for her to hang her backpack. That way, all assignments are within reach when she’s doing her homework.

September 1, 2010

It is a well documented fact that kids do better when there is structure and routines in their daily lives. That being said, I often have moms tell me that they have a hard time and get very frustrated when it comes to getting their kids to follow them. Due to the fact that it turns into a power struggle and therefore they completely give up with trying to enforce them. Implementing routines and having your kids follow them doesn’t have to be frustrating. Here are some quick tips to end the power struggle.

• Repetition and consistency is key. For a while you might sound like a broken record but eventually it will become part of their everyday life just like brushing their teeth.
• Make sure you have systems in place so that your child knows and understands what is expected of them. Be very specific however make sure it is age appropriate and easy to understand.
• Have the child take responsibility for their daily task by making them a list they can check off. Use pictures for younger children.
• Be generous with praise. Everybody likes to be acknowledged for a job well done.
• Model the behavior you want them to follow. Don’t expect them to keep their room clean, if the rest of the house looks like a bomb went off.
• The most important tip I can share with you is this. Lower your expectations don’t expect perfection and stay calm. Remember at the end of the day they are still children who need our guidance and love everyday whether or not they follow routines and power struggles accomplish squat.

Jennifer Ascher
Professional Organizer
Organizing Without Limits
Professional Organizing Company in Oakland County,MI
Website: http://www.organizingwithoutlimits.com/

August 30, 2010

I got an opportunity to interview Sabrina Soto, host of HGTV shows Get It Sold and Real Estate Intervention.  Watch the interview and make sure to go to http://www.ilovegain.com/scent_sational_fun.do to enter the Home Scent-ervention contest!

In the interview she will answer my questions about affordable ways to make your house looking great, even using items you already own!

August 25, 2010

Over on my Technology for Moms blog I’m discussing kids & entertainment all week!  I am even giving away a Harmony One universal remote control from Logitech!  So definitely go check it out.  I will also be having a Twitter party tonight about the subject!  Over here, though on the Organized Mom blog, I’m going to talk about different ways you can set guidelines for your children, or monitor the time they spend on entertainment activities. 

First there is my sister’s, queen of Healthy Kids, method.  She gives each child 30 minutes of video game time a day.  After they have used their 30 minutes, they can earn extra time throughout the day by doing chores that my sister needs done.  Such as sweep the kitchen or clean the bathroom.  They use this time right away, so she doesn’t have to keep track of how much they’ve earned.

Veronica (an Organized Mom contributor) allows her kids to earn time based on reading.  If they read a book for 30 minutes then they’ve earned 30 minutes of game time.

Other ways of “earning” time could be that they have a jar with Media Money in it.  Whenever they do something good, do an extra chore, read, etc they can add media money to their jar.  When they want to play a game or watch TV they pay you the “money” and you allow them as much time as they have paid you.

Make it part of their routine.  For my daughter we have a chart on the fridge that has all of the tasks she needs to accomplish during the day.  she check marks or x’s the task as she completes each item.  It has things like feed dog, do 2 pages of homework, read 2 books, brush teeth, get dressed, etc.  It also has 45 minutes of video game time.  Once it’s crossed off, it’s done for the day.

Please share your methods of controlling the time your children spend with media!

August 24, 2010

We’ve had A problem in our house for a while.  My husband likes to have framed pictures on the wall, and yet does not know how to hang them.  I have screws in the wall and some of the frame are precariously perched on top of the screw.  Not only does it leave huge holes in the wall, the pictures tend to fall.  As evidenced by this picture, sometimes they fall hard.  The glass in the frame broke, the baseboard got worked, and it’s going to cost us a bit of money to fix both. 

A little while ago I was contacted by 3M and asked if I wanted to check out some of their new adhesive products.  I said of course, cause who could use some more organizational products!  I received in the mail a huge box full of products! 

My husband who we’ll call “the Organized Dad” because he’s very seriously WAY more organized than I am, decided that he didn’t like our “bucket o’ controllers” and make quick work of all the products.  He placed the bucket on the wall for the various cables, used the set of 4 hooks for the Wii remotes and hung individual hooks for each of the Wii wheels.  He also used hooks for the Xbox and PS3 remotes, and then for the Guitar Hero guitars he used the picture hanging strips. 

The hooks were very easy to install.  You place the velcro type strips to the back of the hook, and place it on the wall.  Once you press and hold the plastic down for 30 seconds and then give it an hour to “set” it can hold a LOT!  After he was done organizing all of our game systems, my desk got an overhaul as well. 

 I took my headset and placed a hook on my wall to keep that in a handy and convenient location.  Then I placed the picture hanging strips on the back of an expanding file folder and placed all of my folders inside for bills, receipts, cards, etc in there.  I love that I have everything I need within arms reach. 

And what about all those frames that were falling off of our walls?  They are now using the Command products and haven’t even budged, even when the dog and kids are running into the walls.  The really great thing is that when we want to change the way the wall is set up, removing the adhesive is even easier than installing it.  You pull the tab at the bottom down and it comes off the wall quickly and cleanly!  I may even be able to put my Spackle away for a very long time! 

If you want to get things off the ground and out of drawers, these products are a great alternative, and a great way to get organized!

*Disclosure – 3M gave me a package of their various products to facilitate my review.  The images though are of how we actually used the products, and we couldn’t be happier about the setup!

August 23, 2010

I put the call out last week for contributors, and got an incredible response.  I’m thrilled to introduce you to our new contributors for the Organized Mom blog!  You can start looking forward to their posts in September.  Be sure to take a look at our editorial calendar to check out who will be posting on which days and what topics they are planning on discussing! 

Veronica

At my house I am the wife & the mom.  In my home office I am a Virtual Assistant. Behind closed doors I am a container-aholic and have a severe office supply addiction. Most wives love to receive flowers, but my husband knows the way to my heart is with paperclips and file folders.  You can find me on twitter: @SavvyVeronica or on either of my blogs: welcometomychaos.com & veronicasviewpoint.com .

Debbie

Debbie Cluff is the CEO of Links for Learning, Online Coaching and Instant Homework Help. She was born and raised in South Pasadena, California, USA. Debbie has taught in both the home and the classroom and has her Masters in Reading and Writing at the Elementary School Level. She is a reading specialist and an author. She has written over a dozen articles for online publications and has been a contributing author to such online companies as, earticle.com and ezine.com. Her first book 7 Easy Ways to Help Your Student Succeed: How Ordinary Parents can Make Extraordinary Students, can be purchased or downloaded free directly from her website, www.links-for-learning.com. Debbie loves to read any books. Her favorite books are anything by Mary Higgins Clark and Jane Austin. Debbie know resides in South Pasadena, California with her husband and three children. She would LOVE to hear from you and your personal educational stories, please contact our Founder directly at debbie@links-for-learning.com

Cheri

Cheri Iadevaia lives a modern day version of His, Mine and Ours.  She and her husband raise their family in the coastal city of Ventura, California and have four kids between them(ages 4-16).

Though Cheri’s days are jam-packed with caring for her family, she added “Business Owner” to her resume this year.  Cheri opened up a Women’s Fashion Boutique called Bludress. This has been a dream of hers since childhood.

To relax afer a hectic day, Cheri makes time to write, cook and search for new and effective organizing strategies to balance her full and blessed life!

cheri@bludressboutique.com www.bludressboutique.com

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/Cheri.Iad

Blog titled~ The Second Time around - http://bludressboutique.wordpress.com/

Jennifer

Jennifer Ascher(better known as an Organizing Geek) Professional Organizer and owner of Organizing Without Limits in Oakland County, MI started the company because of her sheer passion for organizing and helping other people. Being a busy mom and business owner, Jennifer understands the importance of getting and staying organized as well as efficient time management. With her hands-on approach Jennifer prides her self on being able to meet client’s needs on a personal level. She most enjoys showing other moms and dads how to set up and run an efficient household. In such a way that things get done and they still have time to themselves. She is also the Oakland County Organizing Examiner for the national online newspaper Examiner.com. Where she writes articles on organizing and local resources.
It is her belief that organizing goes beyond pantries, closets or even time management. It’s about taking control of your WHOLE LIFE!

Organizing Without Limits offers both hands- on and virtual organizing services.

You can reach Jennifer at http://www.organizingwithoutlimits.com or http://organizingwithoutlimits.typepad.com or http://www.facebook.co/organizingwithoutlimitsbiz

Sabrina

I am a 29 year old married mother of three. I home school and I love to bake! My family recently just made the switch from processed foods to whole foods and we couldn’t be happier! I love to read…listen to music..and just plain SOCIALIZE!!! I was born in West Virginia, grew up in California, but now I’m back in West Virginia raising my kids.

August 21, 2010

When I was in Chicago at an event sponsored by Hoover they took us to dinner at a restaurant.  I was laughing so hard at their “House Rules” that I had to snap a picture (Mine didn’t turn out, but luckily Melanie’s did)

August 19, 2010

As I continue to re-evaluate this site, and deciding between a new direction or posting less, or selling it… I’ve come up with a few different options.  I’m going to try this option out and see if it sticks, and if there is any interest in it. 

I’m calling for guest posts (or even regular contributors).  If you are interested in writing one or many posts for the Organized Mom site please let me know as soon as possible at sarah@organizedmom.net.  You would benefit from my excellent search engine traffic and ranking!  Utilize what has taken me 3 years to build!  Contact me and let me know if you are interested.  Thanks!