Articles for Family Organization Tips
I don’t make it to my children’s school often. I am lucky to live in a small town where the kids still walk to school. However today a lightening storm started 10 minutes before the bell rang so I decided the mom bus needed to be started. What does this have to do with homework ? Well My daughters teacher told me ‘Abbie doesn’t seem to be interested in doing any work at school” guess what that means – we don’t finish our work at school …..
Then Darryl’s teacher says ‘Darryl doesn’t seem to be interested in doing his school work’. Sigh, I have to admit I have NOT been keeping the kids school events and homework organized. I have no homework system or home work routine. So in a hope in becoming the organized mom again I took my daughter to the dollar store to get a system in place for her.
The boys each have a school agenda, that I NEED to be using. Abbies is primary and the school doens’t order school agendas for the primary grades. So I needed to create one for her (actually it’s more for mom).
So here is our solution for organzing Abbie’s school homework.
Total cost: less then $7.00
Large zip locking bag (with a slider because the other ones are frustrating for little fingers and won’t get closed = lost homework organizers). ( I usually have these in my box but I bought 8 for $1.00) Read More→
This week’s featured busy mom Nicole Budleski shares her secrets for keeping it all together as a busy mom and business owner!
How do you keep your children’s schedules together?
My husband and I use Outlook quite a bit between the two of us to maintain everyone’s schedules. Our daughter’s elementary school web site also has a great Outlook calendar download feature that tells us everything for the year such as parent-teacher conferences, field trips, early-release days, etc. It works pretty slick!
Do you use a particular day planner ?
No, I don’t. However, I do use some of the Steven Covey principles of prioritizing tasks and not over-scheduling my day. I used to feel so defeated at the end of the day when only five of the 10 things on my list were crossed off. Now, I’m happy crossing-off the five I scheduled for myself. (Well, most of the time!)
Do you own a blackberry?
Yes, I just purchased one a few weeks ago. I set it so it only rings for phone calls. Email notifications can usually wait until I have a block of time to read them.
What is your most used ‘time saving tip’ when it comes to running your house?
I enjoy cooking, therefore I like to prepare large meals on the weekends to either freeze or reheat later in the week. I also discovered how to cut my grocery shopping time in half. I organize my grocery list in the order of the store layout, tear it in half and pass it to my husband. We each take a cart and then meet in the middle of the store to checkout. I realize this sounds a bit silly, but if your husband offers to help and you’re willing to accept selections that aren’t exactly what you would have picked out yourself then try it! It also helps keep your spouse and/or kids involved in your grocery budget and realize how much food really costs.
Do you have a favourite quick meal for your family?
Breakfast for dinner. We raise a dozen laying hens here on our property and it’s pretty easy to walk out to the coop, grab a few eggs and pull together a quick meal.
Tell us the truth ? What would we find in your car right now ?
A pair of snow shoes, a container of trail mix, partially nude Barbies, assorted Crayola markers and a couple of empty coffee cups.
What advice would you give to other moms who feel the pressure of trying to be ‘super mom’?
Expand your definition of what is acceptable and cut yourself some slack.
What is your number one goal for the year ? How do you plan to reach it ?
My goal is to expand TicklerTags into the school fund raising market this year. I will be launching a marketing campaign in a few short weeks to elementary schools and parent-teacher organizations.
Nicole Budleski is a 35-year-old, married mother of two girls, ages 7 and 2. Nicole’s marketing background and knack for organizing lead to the development of TicklerTags for her daughter’s after school activities and transportation arrangements. You can visit her site, www.TicklerTags.com to see her full line of backpack reminder tags.
How many computers do you have in your home ? I have five (but I am a self proclaimed mom geek). As the resident geek of my flock I am in constant demand to help my friends clean up their computers. Which I really shouldn’t have to do if they are maintaining their computer.
So here are my tips for looking after your family computers and keeping their maintenance up to date.
1) Check your antivirus programs and make sure they are downloading their updates. If you don’t have one, get AVG free. Make sure you only have one anti virus program or you will find your computer will stop liking you.
2) Protect your kids ? Hey PROTECT YOUR COMPUTERS. Kids will visit any and every website on the internet and downlaod all kinds of nice and not so nice things to your computer. So stop right now and get cyber patrol. Know what your kids are doing and keep them from doing things to your computer that they shouldn’t.
2) Run a disk Defrag. Go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter *do this every week. Need more ? You need to do this each week
3) Clear your internet cache. You need to do this each week. Videos: Fire Fox Internet Explorer
4) Take your videos, photos, and music off your computer. Most of us don’t have enough memory to store all of these on our computer without slowing down your computer.
5) Remove unused programs using the Control panel add/remove programs. Read More→
Tomorrow marks the start of 2010 and this mom doesn’t do New Years resolutions. She sets goals and plans. I usually draw a Life Map, though I admit I haven’t in over 3 years. Which is probably a good indicator of why I am feeling stagnant.
So for this almost always organized mom (or never organized at the moment), it’s time to go back to the beginning and set some goals for 2010 and the next three years. I wanted to share some free and affordable tools I located online to help you set goals for yourself and as a family.
Mom Goals offers tips and steps for setting goals for moms.
101 goals in 1001 days. Offers a list of goal setting and goal tracking worksheets and printables.
Tony Robbins has a great article explaining how to set your Personal mission statement. A first step in goal setting. Click here
Of course there are a lot of great goal setting resources for moms over at ListPlanIt.com as well.
Guest Post by Paula Constable
The state of the economy is on consumers’ minds again this Christmas season. Some spenders plan to reduce their budget, while others do not. I would like to suggest that the attention put on financials could actually be a positive. Yes, it might be a good thing…. for the spirit of Christmas and the Holidays.
I challenge you to move away from the “materialistic focus” of gift-giving to a “love focus.” Instead of giving stuff, give the gift of time, experiences and gratitude. Don’t buy a gift, just to get another person crossed off your list.
Clutter-free gift (CFG) giving is the act of gifting items that do not add more stuff (often unneeded) to the recipient’s home. Many CFGs also let the person know you were truly thinking about their likes, passions and interests.
Easy Action Steps to Clutter-Free Gift Giving
1. Make a list of those you would like to give a gift to.
2. Really think about each recipient. What are their likes and dislikes? What are their hobbies? What dreams have they talked about? Brain storm on paper or the computer and an idea or clue might pop up.
3. Make a list of your top 3 ideas for each person. Pick one for this year and file the list away for the next gift giving opportunity.
4. Add to your list throughout the year.
Clutter-Free Gift Ideas to Get You Thinking
• Experiences (indoor water park weekend, tickets to sporting event, spa day with your girl friends)
• Donations (food pantry, church, cancer research, local library)
• Consumables (gift cards, food, gift of the month clubs, gym membership)
• Time (offer to watch your friends kids while they finish up their shopping, volunteer at a soup kitchen)
• Expressions of your love and gratitude (a letter to your parents thanking them for all they have done for you, forgiveness)
As the Organizing Expert for Moms, Paula Constable works with busy moms and families who want to make their daily lives easier through organization. She provides her organizing services both in-home and via Teleclasses and workshops. Receive Paula’s free reports, The Clutter-Free Gift Giving Guide and 5 Must-Know Organizing Tips for Busy Moms, when you sign up for newsletter at www.stuff2borganized.com or visit her blog, Organizing Tips and Thoughts for Moms.
