Celebrate March’s Clutter Awareness Month

The word “clutter” derives from the Middle English word “clotter,” which means coagulate. Think stagnant, accumulated … stuck! When clutter invades our homes and offices, it can our space cluttered … and us disorganized as a result. We lose things, forget to pay bills, we procrastinate and waste time. So stop contemplating your clutter and dedicate some time to conquering it!

DEFINE “CLUTTER.” Clutter is anything unnecessary and extraneous. It can be more than the physical clutter most of us think of. Getting organized means clearing out the clutter in your mind, heart, and life.

START THE PROCESS OF DECLUTTERING. Start small. Divide your desk or room into sections. Pick one section (like a drawer, cabinet or closet) and begin decluttering. Try to touch things only once while going through this process – quickly make a decision to keep or toss.

ASK IF YOU CONSIDER EACH ITEM BEAUTIFUL, USEFUL, OR LOVED. If not, why are you keeping it?  If you’re still not sure if you should get rid of an item, ask yourself, “What is the worse thing that could happen if I toss this?” The answer may help give you the power to discard the clutter.

TO STOP CLUTTER, PREVENT IT FROM ACCUMULATING IN THE FIRST PLACE. Don’t give clutter a chance to form. As you’ve probably experienced, once clutter occupies a space, it has a way of multiplying. Always remember to place your emphasis on quality or quantity. In other words, it’s not important to have a lot of things, many of which you never use. It’s more beneficial to have fewer things, all of which you use and/or enjoy.

THINK BEFORE YOU BUY. Try to look beyond the initial “thrill of the purchase” and see what provides deeper moments of meaning. Once you rid yourself of clutter and make space only for what’s special and useful, you’ll find it’s easier to get – and stay – organized!

Hope you’ll visit The Organizing Genie blog again when you need home and office organizing suggestions and advice. I’m always here for you!

Tackling the Dreaded To Do List

Trying to get things done around the house, but feeling overwhelmed by your never-ending list of things-to-do?

Here’s a simple system that works.

Make a Master Task List of everything you have to, or want, to do. Don’t worry about the order right now.  You’re basically brain-dumping on paper all your To-Do’s to get the thoughts out of your head and onto paper. This exercise  creates a master laundry list of tasks.

Now, beside each task on your master list, assign a letter of priority:

A = Important / Urgent

B = Important, but Not Urgent

C = Would be nice to do

Each day, transfer no more than 4 items (3 is ideal) from the master list to your To Do List (two A Priorities, one B Priority, and one A, B or C Priority). Focus on completing only those items and forget the rest for now.  When you’ve completed the 4 items on your list, feel free to transfer 4 more items from your Master List to your To Do List.

The key to this system is that you’ve gotten all those pesky tasks that swim around in your head, onto paper. Then by moving to your To-Do list and focusing only 3-4 tasks per day, you’ve kept your list manageable and attainable, rather than setting yourself up for failure by a To Do list that not even Super-woman could accomplish.

By using this system every day, you’ll be amazed at all you can accomplish in less time and less stress!

Find this To Do list notepad at The Simplified Home.

Originally posted 2009-11-07 16:48:10. Republished by Old Post Promoter

9 Strategies to Save on Groceries

With gas prices at an all time high, are you searching for ways to reduce your spending in other areas? In our household, we’ve renewed our interest in using coupons and for added savings we target double-coupon days. Here I’ve offered 7 ways to save money on household groceries.

1. Cut coupons – Each Sunday I look forward to receiving the newspaper, where we receive upwards of 100 coupons in our Sunday newspaper.

2. Download coupons off the internet – Check out www.coolsavings.com or www.couponcart.com for great on-line deals on your favorite items.

3. Join frequent buyer clubs at your local grocers – These no-cost programs offer club members on select products. In my last grocery trip I saved $15 as a member of my local grocer’s club and another $10 in clipped coupons.

4. Join a local warehouse club – Locally we have a Costco and Sam’s Club, as well as a Super Target and Super Walmart, where I have found significant savings over our name brand supermarkets. The wholesale clubs can save you 20

5. Purchase generic brands and/or store brands – I have often compared store brands to name brands and find that there is rarely a difference between the two. In fact, like many other products we purchase (i.e., electronics, appliances), the same manufacturer that makes the name brand often manufactures the generic product.

6. Purchase fresh products instead of processed/packaged products – It’s no surprise that fresh unprocessed foods are healthier for us, but these foods not only save in calories, but are also less expensive than packaged and processed foods.

7. Prepare a List – when you go to the store with a plan, you are less likely to succumb to impulse purchases. Check out the ‘All Out Of’ shopping list notepad that allows you to create your grocery list as you deplete household items. It has a magnet on the back so you can affix it to your frig.

8. Shop your supermarket’s weekly specials – Each week we receive our local supermarket’s brochure of advertised specials, which often include two for one sales. These circulars will also advertise double-coupon days. During double-coupon days and two for one specials, I’ve taken the opportunity to stock up on often used staples.

9. Choose products on the top and bottom shelves – It is no accident that higher priced products appear at eye-level on our grocery shelves. These are often the smaller sizes of a product, which typically have a higher per unit cost.

Originally posted 2008-08-24 09:24:48. Republished by Old Post Promoter

McD’s has Free Mocha Mondays until August 3

I learned today from Lynette Chandler from MomsGadgets that McDonalds is offering a promotion on their Mochas. So I went into my local McD’s to check it out. They had a poster that said Free Mocha Mondays. The promotion ends on August 3rd and it’s only for the 8oz  (small cup), but who’s complaining for free?

If you’d like one, walk into your local McDonald’s one of these Mondays, 7am to 7pm (I believe are the free hours), to get yours.

Since I, for one, love their Mochas ~heavenly! I had to pass this along.

Enjoy!

Originally posted 2009-07-13 18:55:53. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Where to Find Money Saving Coupons

Now that you know you can save money with coupons where do you find them? There are the obvious places that coupons hang out, but you may not be aware of some other places you can get coupons. Keep reading to find out more.

The most likely place to find money saving coupons is the newspaper. On Sunday especially, the newspaper is full of store circulars and coupons for products you use all the time and new items that you can try for next to nothing. This is the first place that everyone looks.

Manufacturers also offer printable coupons online. These coupons have barcodes and can be printed off of your printer and used in their store. Most people don’t think about these coupons but they save you lots of money. I have gotten into the habit of searching online for store coupons before leaving the house.

Have you ever received emails with links to recipes for sites like Betty Crocker, Bisquick or Cooking Light? If you like to cook or rather like to eat, check out these links. You can unsubscribe to these emails whenever you like, but give them a look first. Not only do you find interesting recipes but they usually include coupons as well. Simply agree to receive new offers and your electronic mailbox will be full of coupons for cake mix, pancake mix, free trial size lotions, hairsprays and other toiletries.

Printable coupons are also available on websites. Try sites like www.coolsavings.com or www.allprintablecoupons.com. You can search by category or brand name to find coupons that fit your needs. Just point, click and print those that interest you. It couldn’t be easier.

If you belong to survey sites, you know that you can make extra money by offering your opinion. Some survey sites also offer points for taking advantage of their offers through links on their sites. On MyPoints.com, one of these discount links leads to printable grocery coupons. Every coupon that you redeem at the store earns you points towards gift card rewards when you reach a certain points level.

Don’t neglect magazines either. While you are reading the articles and looking at the pictures, take a glance over at the advertising pages. Many advertisers include a coupon along with their ads to entice customers to buy their product. Some types of coupons offered can include, Buy One, Get One Free or up to $1.00 or more off of a starter pack for air freshener or a new mechanical mop. If you ignore them, you’ll be throwing away money.

Look for displays at the front of your grocery store. Some grocery stores have coupon bins where customers can drop off coupons that they don’t need in case someone else can use them. You could find a coupon for several items on your list if you take time to look.

Another place that I look for coupons is in my Angie’s List magazine. Need your house painted, an interior decorator or even tickets to a local show? A membership with Angie’s List will surely pay for itself in the discounts and coupons you’ll get from participating vendors.

Coupons are a valuable asset to the shopper trying reduce household spending. Get in the habit of looking for coupon deals everywhere so you don’t miss out on great savings.

Chores and Contracts

An important part of implementing a household chore system is creating a formal agreement, commonly called a contract, for every member of the household. A contract defines the parent’s expectations and provides direction and parameters for the children. A contract can be a general form explaining household rules or a complex detailing of chore responsibilities for a specific person. For households with teenagers or even adults who shirk their responsibilities around the home, contracts can help pave the way to a new, orderly household in where everyone formally agrees to carry their own weight.

One main advantage of using contracts as part of a household chore system is that it reduces confusion about what needs to get done how, when, where and by whom. Contracts allow both the chore assigner and the chore assignee to agree on specifics. If chore processes are outlined in black and white, expectations are more likely to be understood and chores are more likely to be completed. For a household newly introduced to a formal routine of chores, contracts can be an invaluable tool for negotiating the maintenance of and organization the home.

Contract types aren’t limited in content. It should reflect the family’s personality and values. When devising your own, consider important areas that you’d like it to cover. Some common topics touched upon in contracts are listed below.

• Behavior. Outline acceptable and unacceptable behavior and attitudes towards chores. Provide guidelines for interaction with other household members also participating in the chore routine.

• Description of chores. Detail what specific chores are expected to be completed by each family member. Step-by-step descriptions reduce confusion and make the successful completion of each chore non-negotiable.

• Time line and dates. Define the time line that chores are to be complete. Also take the opportunity to insert clauses about periodic contract review times in which a signer can look forward to having their contract modified.

• Consequences and Rewards. Make signers accountable to their contract by reminding them what the consequences and rewards are for abiding by the contract or by breaking it. Define specific consequences and rewards, including punishments. Put figures into contracts if you’re working with allowances.

• Miscellaneous. Add anything else that you feel is important to include in the contract. Many parents think to add stipulations to the contract here. For example, they may say that rewards for completed chores are forfeited if homework is not completed, household rules aren’t respected or if the chore performer is disrespectful about completing the chore.

It’s inevitable that as a household evolves, its needs will change as well. Making an allowance for future contract modifications, on top of the agreed to review period, can keep all family members satisfied with its contents.

By developing contracts that parallel the needs of your family, its members perceive their agreements to keep a household functional to be binding. Don’t be surprised if you find a new, more committed attitude toward the upkeep of your home, from the entire family, when a formal agreement is in place.

Originally posted 2008-09-05 11:58:15. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Important Tips for Closing Out 2008

Originally posted 2009-01-04 20:06:49. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Are you prepared for an emergency?

March is Red Cross Month. As we approach the season of increased weather related emergencies, we are reminded of the unprecidented natural disasters of 2008. At no time in my lifetime can I remember so many natural emergencies occurring so close together. 

Regardless of how busy our daily lives are, we must take personal responsibility for our own care and safety by developing a preparedness plan in the event of a national emergency.  As the Red Cross says “Help Starts with You.”  Preparedness is all about planning ahead, having what you need on hand, storing things in an accessible way and making sure you know what to do before you need to put that knowledge into practice. Even though predicting every disaster scenario is impossible, preparing the basics is smart and simple. Take the time NOW to accomplish the below steps and your family will be basically prepared for any natural or unnatural disaster.

• Prepare a Family Communication/Reunion Plan. The Plan enables your family to communicate and to meet during a disaster. It records all important phone numbers, email addresses, and meet-up locations so that family members can reach one another by phone, email or in person. But keep in mind that you may not be able to rely on land or mobile phone communication, so be sure to have a back up plan.
• Stock three days and three nights of provisions to get you through 72-hours of living without electricity. The provisions are obtainable at any Walmart or Target and most large grocery stores. Just add these items to your regular shopping list.
  • One gallon of water per person per day (for three days). For a family of four, you’ll need 12 gallons of water.
  • Ready to eat, non-perishable food (dried fruit, cereal. protein bars, canned food, crackers, soups, pasta, rice, peanut butter and jelly, pudding cups, powdered milk are highly recommended)
  • Paper plates, cups, dinnerware, paper towels, plastic food bags, plastic gloves and a manual can opener
  • One flashlight per person plus extra batteries
  • Travel size toiletries, including sun screen
  • A First Aid Kit for the home, one for the car and one for the grab and go bag.
• In a central location put a change of clothes for each family member plus extra underwear and blankets and basic toiletries like soap, toothbrush, shampoo, toilet paper and razors. Use a shelf, an extra large plastic trash bin, or an extra large plastic container for these items.
• Have a supply of cash for a 72-hour period. ATMs may not be an option.
• Prepare a supply of family over-the counter and prescription medicines.  Remember the pets too.
• Purchase a NOAA weather radio. Radio Shack, Walmart, Home Depot and Ace Hardware carry them. Set it for your county. It will tell you the status of the disaster, evacuation information, and alerts. Get a transistor radio with batteries. It will tell you local conditions, school closings, travel hazards, and local shelters. While you’re there pick up a landline telephone (it costs under $12.00)
• Pack a grab and go bag (backpack or small rolling luggage) in case you have to evacuate your home to a hotel, shelter or relative’s home. Keep it light with just the basics: toiletries, change of clothes, medicine, 2 bottles of water, protein bars and cell phone.
• One person in the family needs to carry a first aid kit.
• Depending on your family, add special items like extra eyeglasses, favorite plush toys, or portable electronic games.
• A dust mask, duck tape, scissors, a whistle, can opener and other similar items.
• Copy the contents of your wallet (both sides of credit cards, insurance cards, and license). Stick it in a grab and go bag.
• Prepare for the care of your pets too – food, water and food bowl, leash, a toy, medications, vet records.
• For a complete, portable document system, get a PortaVault at http://www.securitaonline.com.

Schedule a natural preparedness day to review your plan with your family. Everyone needs to take personal responsibility for their own safety when a natural disaster does occur. Then practice your family disaster plan at least twice per  year.

For more information on developing your family’s disaster plan, visit:

American Red Cross - “Help Starts With You”

www.Ready.gov

Originally posted 2009-03-17 10:50:07. Republished by Old Post Promoter

John Rosemond is my Hero!

When I began writing my book, Mom, Can I Help Around the House? I consulted the expertise of many highly regarded child experts. One of my favorites is John Rosemond. Several years ago, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend a presentation of his at my church and found his traditional philosophies about raising children to be identical to my own. I have read several of his books as well. This week I happened upon an article by John Rosemond that I had to include on my blog. His no-nonsense approach just tells it like it is, and I believe today’s parents need reminders like this to bring them back to reality of what our role is of a parent. This is what my book and chore system is all about, but I could never say it as eloquently as John Rosemond has in the following article.

Teach children the skills they need to be independent

The purpose of raising a child is to get him or her out of your life and into a life of his/her own.

1. Put yourself at the center of your child’s attention, not the other way around. It is a simple matter to discipline a child who is paying attention to you and nigh-unto impossible to discipline a child who is not.

In that regard, always keep in mind that the more attention you pay a child, the less attention the child will pay to you.

2. Put your child into a meaningful role in your family, one that is defined in terms of responsibilities known as chores (remember them?).  By the time your child is 4 years old, he should be contributing significant time and effort on a daily basis to the maintenance of the household.Your child’s chores should not be assigned haphazardly, but should be established as a routine.

In addition to picking up after himself and keeping his own living space clean and orderly, he should be working in “common areas” of the home, doing such things as dusting and vacuuming.

You do tell people that your child is gifted, do you not?

Without chores, a child is a mere consumer, on a perpetual entitlement program, and entitlements do not strengthen people or culture. Grow a strong child.

3. Keep television and other electronic media out of your child’s life until your child has learned to read well and is self-entertaining.The research is clear that electronic media shortens attention span, interferes with the development of certain critical thinking skills and develops a dependency that leads to frequent complaints of boredom.

Remember that an average of just two hours of “screen time” a day means your child is absorbing electronic stimulation to the tune of 730 hours a year. That’s the equivalent of eighteen 40-hour work weeks.

Think of the creativity that’s being lost. Grow a child with a strong brain.

4. From day one, keep clutter out of your child’s life by keeping toys and other “stuff” at a minimum.
Paradoxically, children who entertain themselves well (low-maintenance children) tend to have few toys. These children are also more grateful for and take better care of what they have. Grow an imaginative, creative child.

5. Emphasize manners, not skills.

Sixty years ago, most children came to overcrowded first grades not knowing their ABCs, yet at the end of the year were reading at a higher level than today’s kids, most of whom are already reading in kindergarten.

That happened because parents of 60 years ago taught proper behavior, not skills; therefore, teachers taught skills, not proper behavior. Grow a polite child.

6. Love your child enough to grow a happy child.

Family psychologist John Rosemond answers parents’ questions on his Web site at www.rosemond.com.

As I write this, my two kids are happily doing their chores. To receive the first chapter of my book Mom, Can I Help Around the House? F’ree, visit href=”http://www.KidsandChores.net”>www.KidsandChores.net.

Originally posted 2008-12-13 19:28:33. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?

Movies and TV shows have depicted the drama that comes from the emotional and complex job of dividing inherited items among family. Most families can tell stories about fights that have broken out over Mom’s good china or Grandma’s doll collection. Perhaps you have already experienced this madness and fighting, but hopefully you have been spared so far from this torture. I’ve experienced this twice in my family ~ one experience was a positive one of reflection and family bonding. The other however, was a nightmare. As a result of how personal property was divided in my in-laws family, family bonds were broken. A brother and sister haven’t spoken in five years.

As we Baby Boomers age, these issues will become increasingly prevalent and they deserve consideration in your family. In the past few years as a Professional Organizer, I have had increasing numbers of clients who call on me as an objective third party to help in these family transitions.

When a loved one passes away, it is not just the items in a Will that need to be dispersed, there is also the personal property as well. Estate Attorneys reveal that it typically isn’t how the monetary assets are divided that causes conflict in families ~ it is the dividing of personal belongings that cause the emotional conflicts. Childhood and family memories are tied to these physical items. Unless the family is proactive in planning for this inevitable transition, conflict, misunderstandings and hurt can result. 

When I started working with families and seniors in transition, I found a wonderful book that helps families plan for this inevitable process. Written from a true story, the workbook “Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate” was researched and developed by the University of Minnesota Extension Service. Full of fill-in the blank forms and order of importance forms, the topics covered in this 83-page workbook are:

•        The importance of recognizing the sensitivity of the issues

•        Determining what you want to accomplish as a family

•        Deciding what’s fair to all involved family

•        Understanding that belongings have different meanings to different people

•        Distribution options and consequences

•        Identifying that the family relationships are more important than stuff

•        The importance of making agreements to manage conflicts if they arise

Some non-titled property that this workbook may help you to divide are china, collectibles, jewelry and family heirlooms. The workbook guides you and your family through the steps of developing a plan for the easiest and most painless way to divide everything, with the goal of preserving family bonds and remaining on speaking terms afterwards. This book is a great asset for any family who will be, or already is, in the emotional position of dividing personal property of a loved one.

 

 

 

Originally posted 2009-01-09 14:18:27. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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