Even though we live on opposite ends of the US, and will likely never meet personally, as moms of two children of the same ages (12 & 9), we were like old friends in no time. We had a wonderful conversation about bringing our children up with Christian values, how we felt about our role and responsibility to our children to teach them to be self-sufficient, yet servants to their family, and later to be self-sufficient servants as adults in society. We also shared what life was like in our little corner of the world and some funny stories about how we each get our kids to help around the house. 

I thoroughly enjoyed sharing time on the phone with a fellow Christian mom.  Our conversation strengthened my belief and mission to continue in my role as my children’s first and most consistant teacher of home management and of life.  Thank you for that Julie ~ you did a great job on the article.

Here is a link to the article that appeared in the Redding, California newspaper on Feb. 9.

Julie’s Article – How to Get Kids to Help Around the House

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on how you see your role as your child’s first and most consistant teacher of life.

To learn more about my book and household chore system that she references, visit: http://www.KidsandChores.net or The Simplified Home.

Janet, The Organizing Genie

Originally posted 2009-02-10 20:05:52. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

To keep the price low, this valuable home management resource is available in an electronic format, commonly called an E-book. This means that you can immediately download this 75+ page guide and begin benefiting from all my insider home organization tips and strategies in less than 5 minutes from now!   No shipping costs and no waiting!

To celebrate my new book, I’m giving away a ten-part home organization mini-course (based on the strategies shared in the book) for all my valued subscribers! Each day for the next ten days you will receive a practical home organization strategy that will jumpstart your organizing efforts.

Here’s a sneak peak at what you’ll learn from Home Organization Secrets for Busy Moms:

- How to identify clutter in your life – physical and mental

- How to determine your “whys” for getting organized

- How to design your organizational goals for your home and family

- How to break through information overload and take action
- 13 must-do home organization strategies
-THE 5 essential home management systems no home should be without
- How to immediately identify where to place your stuff for efficient access

- Step-by-step “How Tos” for organizing any space
- insider tips and strategies that my personal clients learn from working side-by-side with me
- And so much more!

I’ve included two great BONUSES too!  

BONUS: Shelf-Life Guide for 100+ Common Household Items (updated & expanded)
BONUS: A Parent’s Guide to Medicine Safety

You get all this for $9.99 for a limited time!

(the regular price is $14.97)

Visit Home Organization Secrets for Busy Moms to learn more.

Talk soon …

Janet Nusbaum, The Organizing Genie
(Mom since 1997, Professional Organizer since 2004)

Janet@SimplifiedSpaces.net
317-867-1540

NOTE: Home Organization Secrets for Busy Moms can also be found in our on-line store: www.TheSimplifiedHome.net

Originally posted 2009-05-20 21:18:32. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Socks travel through several stages in the wash and wear cycle – from dresser drawer, being worn, to the washer, dryer, then sorted and matched with their mate, before they make it safely back to the dresser drawer. With so many steps in the process, no wonder they get lost and mismatched.

Socks that end up in mismatched piles and never make it safely back to the dresser drawer are useless clutter.

Have you considered the time it takes to match socks coming out of the laundry and getting them back in the drawer. Before I found the tool I’m about to tell you about, in our home our socks made it out of the laundry, but never seemed to get matched up, so they stayed in a yellow basket where each family member had to go to fish out and match up a pair of socks to wear for the day. Think of the daily chaos just trying to get dressed X 3. Only until it got so bad that my entire household’s inventory of socks were piled in a laundry basket, would I wage a sock sorting event. I got the kids involved by putting in a movie and all of us would spread out on the floor and match up socks, typically for the duration of the movie.

Perhaps you’re guilty of having “sock clutter”? Sock clutter consists of those orphan socks that litter your home, never to be worn again because the mate has been lost somewhere in the laundry process.

What if you had a tool that would eliminate both of these sock chores forever?

• The hours spent each week sorting and matching each family member’s socks
• Orphan sock clutter
• Fighting about whose socks are whose.

IMAGINE … never losing another sock or having to sort piles of socks again! Think of the time and space you’d get back. Imagine mornings running smoothly when family members now have easy access to a pair of socks.

As a Professional Organizer and busy mom of two, I am always on the look-out for home organizing and management tools that simplify daily home functions. Imagine how excited I was when I found Loc-A-Soks (also called Sock-Locks.)

With Sock-Locks you eliminate lost / orphan socks forever and save the time wasted sorting and matching socks.

With Loc-A-Sok, socks go from washer to dryer to dresser drawer all without sorting or losing socks.

Made in four bright colors (Blue, Hot Pink, Lime Green and Purple), you can assign a different colored set (10 Sock-locks per pack) for every family member and easily keep socks separated throughout the laundry process.

Sock-Locks work for all types of socks. Simply insert each sock, toes first through the grippers. The Loc-A-Sok is a one-step process designed to keep any socks paired from your laundry basket, to the washer, the dryer and into the dresser drawer.

No need to remove the Loc-A-Sok until socks are ready to wear. Store Sock-Locks near the laundry basket and attach socks to the Sock-Lock before dropping them in the laundry basket.

Made of durable plastic for long-term use, each pack includes enough for 10 pairs of socks, or 20 pairs of thin socks. Sock-Locks come in four colors making it easy to assign a different color to each family member.

As an Organizing Consultant, I recommend the Loc-A-Soks to anyone who wants to save time, eliminate inefficient home management tasks, teach their children organizational skills, save money by losing fewer socks, and be more organized, especially busy moms like me.

Sock-Locks make the perfect gift for busy moms, new mothers, caregivers, those with memory challenges … and really anyone! Everyone can benefit from this time-saving product.

Learn more about Loc-A-Soks.

Originally posted 2009-09-07 14:53:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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 Blog Post Promoter

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 Blog Post Promoter