It’s Time to Edit Your Entryway for Spring!

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Winter accessories bag

Winter accessories bag

Have you updated your entry way – Front door, back door, mud room – for Spring yet?  Yes, it is time!

First, pull out everything in your entry way.  Sort your stuff into

categories, and purge / recycle / donate what needs to go.Coats / outerwear:

  • Review all your outerwear.  Completely purge old, ill fitting, extra or outgrown coats, sweaters, jackets, etc.
  • Wash the items you want to keep, or take them to the cleaners this week, and make a note to pick it up next week, so you don’t forget!
  • Re-hang your Keep items on sturdy hangers, and put them at the very back or end of the closet.
  • Pull to the front of the closet the outerwear you need for Spring, like rain gear and lighter jackets.

Accessories:

  • Review hats, gloves, mittens and scarves, and toss the old or unmatched items.
  • Wash and completely dry everything, then place the items you want to keep in a clear bin or 2 (approx. 12 qt size), labeled “cold weather accessories”, or in an XL Ziploc bag (check out Target in the wraps and bags aisle) with all the air squeezed out.
  • Store the bin or bag on the highest shelf.  You can still see it, but it’s out of the way.
  • Pull to the front of the closet the stuff you need for Spring, like umbrellas and baseball caps.

Shoes and boots:

  • Review and completely purge old, ill fitting, extra or outgrown shoes.
  • Clean the mud or salt off the ones you want to keep, then store them in a ventilated and lidded plastic bin.
  • Label that bin “cold weather shoes” and store it on the floor in the back of the closet, or use a few smaller bins and store those on the top shelf, too.  Just don’t store any really heavy containers up high.  Why?  First, really heavy containers can overload shelves.  Second, you will have to pull the containers out again in the Fall to use your cold weather items, and you run the risk of injuring yourself when you pull the really heavy containers down.

Sporting equipment / Toys:

  • Free up some entry way space, and store off-season sporting equipment in a well-labeled bin in the garage or basement.
  • If you go the same places often, you could also pre-pack a “Park” bag (sunscreen, hat, hand wipes, band aids and a small snack, for example), or a “swim lesson” bag (towel, suit, shower shoes and goggles) and leave those bags ready to grab and go.
  • If you use your front hall closet like we do, try making a “front steps” basket or bucket, for small things like side walk chalk and bubbles.  The basket comes out for play time and gets tucked away when play time is over.  I worked in a closet a couple of weeks ago, and last year’s bubble bottles and side walk chalk really wrecked the closet floor under all the winter boots and shoes.  Yuck.

Hardware / Home Improvement Items:  The Ice-Melt and snow shovels can go to the garage, thank goodness.  And out come the door wreaths and flags.  Collect small hardware items and tools into a well-labeled bin or two.

Take this opportunity to wash down walls, vacuum the floor, and add some storage.

My over-the-door coat rack

  • Every entry way needs coat storage, accessory storage, and lots of shelves and vertical storage. You may have some of this in place already, but you can always add to your storage options.
  • Hang an over-the-door shoe rack, or mount it directly to a wall.
  • I am in a lot of closets, and most have one closet rod, and one shelf right above the rod, then 2-3 feet of unclaimed storage above the one shelf and below the ceiling.  Add at least one more shelf 12-18 inches below the ceiling to maximize your storage space and give you room for off-season and rarely used items.
  • Command Hooks (by 3M) are awesome for maximizing your vertical storage.  Check out the display at your local home improvement store.  They are inexpensive, easy to install, and solve lots of storage challenges.  Use them to hang bags and accessories, brooms, baseball caps or umbrellas.  The ideas are endless!

Spend a little time this week updating your entry way for the new season, and you will thank yourself for months to come!

Breakfast Planning: Make It An Easy & Healthy Habit!

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Good morning! I worked with a coaching client last week, and we strategized ways to improve her family mornings. She is very health-conscious and creative, but does not feel creative early in the morning (who does?). So we applied some menu planning strategies to Breakfasts. It was such a great idea that I just had to write about it this week!

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. It gives our body fuel and sets the tone for the day ahead. And why do we menu plan? To eat well, save time, make healthy choices, save money. Hmmmm…, yep, all of those work for Breakfast just like dinner!

Menu planning helps us to live better, and you can take this opportunity to improve your day. We have two big challenges in our house. First, I am a stickler for a balanced breakfast, supplying good energy and focus through the day.  We all operate best with a blend of fruits or veggies, good and complex carbs, and protein, but a balanced breakfast is not always a quick breakfast. Second, our morning schedule is crazy with 5 different wake times and 5 different start times for school or work. We need to have quick and healthy options that my teenagers can make for themselves.  So here is our plan!

With any menu plan, we start with our schedule. List the days, then list the events, activities or ideas you already have for those days (this is cobbled together from my client call and my life):

  • Sunday: Bagels from a nearby bakery
  • Monday: Smoothie with fruit from Sunday’s Farmers Market
  • Tuesday: Build Your Own Breakfast
  • Wednesday: purely portable, early morning meeting
  • Thursday: Build Your Own Breakfast
  • Friday: Dad’s late morning, he’s making omelets!
  • Saturday: Pancake Morning

Build Your Own Breakfast Ideas: A few years ago I put a spreadsheet on the fridge, to help my boys make healthy choices in the morning. The idea was to take one item from each category to build a better breakfast. The categories are:

  • Fruits: grapes, apple, banana, melon, orange juice, strawberries
  • Protein / Dairy: milk, yogurt, protein shake, peanut butter, bacon, sausage, omelet, hard-boiled egg, cheese stick
  • Good Carbohydrate: toast/bread, bagel cereal, pancakes , waffle, granola bar, breakfast bar

Other Tips to Make a Better Breakfast Happen

  • My kids love staying in hotels and hotel breakfasts. Take a cue from your favorite breakfast bar. We choose foods with our senses. Present good and healthy choices, and that is what your family will choose.
  • Our freezer is stocked with pre-cooked bacon (Costco), microwaveable turkey sausage patties, mini pancakes or French toast sticks (Market Day).
  • The bread basket holds whole wheat mini bagels or raisin bread for toasting.
  • The fruit basket has apples, bananas and oranges.
  • The snack basket has granola bars and protein bars (Nature Valley) and cereal bars (Special K)
  • The fridge holds leftovers (yes, I had tuna salad every day for breakfast last week), peeled hardboiled eggs and cut up cantaloupe.
  • If I am feeling really kind, I make a breakfast egg and bread casserole, and the boys will warm up a piece.
  • I made a coffee cake this evening for a school event, and my oldest son announced he loves that coffee cake and would eat it every day. So, note to self, throw together more coffee cakes and muffins, even healthy ones, and he and his brothers will eat them!

So, pick just one or two of these tips to try this week, to Build a Better Breakfast and start your days right!

I Learned New Things In My Closet This Week!

I like my clothes, but come Spring I always get the urge to purge old items, put away my winter stuff and buy a few things to green dress with accessories update my closet. I have a few challenges:  I like to look good, but often get stuck in ruts when it comes to daily dressing.  I have great accessories but forget to use them.  And historically, I dislike shopping.  I don’t know what to buy, what fits my body type or what the current styles are. I have gotten better in recent years, but I still find shopping for myself a challenge.

I met with Tamika Price, Wardrobe Coach, last Wednesday doing a “closet audit”.  (www.tamikamariaprice.com , or Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/tamikamartellprice).  I spend a lot of time in other people’s closets, but this is the first time I spent time with someone else working on mine!  As we set up our appointment, Tamika was conscientious and punctual, always plusses in my book.  Plus she is very pleasant to spend time with, and looks great all the time.  I know I’m receiving sound style advice from a stylish person!

In preparation for our appointment, I collected everything, even outerwear and my really dressy items, and brought it all togetherdonate pile for review.  Since the dressy items were out, we looked at those first.  A few items went to the “donate” pile immediately; an old dreary suit, and a full length formal black skirt that I have no business, at 5’2”, wearing … ever.  Everything else stayed, but she recommended getting my favorite formal dress shortened to a more flattering length.  Brilliant!  So I started the “to be altered” pile.

We reviewed tops and jackets next.  Since I shaved my head, I am even more drawn to bold colors.  Pastels wash me out now that there’s no hair to soften the look!  A few weeks ago, I pulled out some light-colored items I no longer find flattering, but I waited to hear from Tamika before I let them go completely.  She showed me how to better accessorize one of them, and the others went to the “donate” pile.  I repurposed a favorite but underutilized jacket as outerwear, and now I leave it and another stylish jacket at the back door to grab as I run out in the morning. And all the while we are reviewing my clothes, Tamika was suggesting ways to wear the items I already have, new and different combinations I had not imagined on my own.  And the suggestions were all awesome!to be altered pile

On to skirts and pants. I have a lot of skirts.  I like them, I look good in them, and I wear them often.  Tamika is very diplomatic and focused.  I lobbied to keep a skirt that she suggested I donate.  Respecting my desire to keep it, she suggested a shorter length and some accessories to improve the look. I also mentioned how much I hate boot-cut pants, and my need for a stylish pair of jeans.  She kept notes on all of my preferences, offered suggestions and noted everything on her checklist / shopping list of essential haves and need- to- buys.

Since our appointment, I have used my wardrobe much better.  I have dug a little deeper in my closet and been more imaginative with my ensembles, using both neglected items and regular items in new ways.  I have put together pieces I would not have thought to before, I wear my accent pieces daily, and I have dressed up a little more for client meetings.skirt with yellow tee

To sum up what I learned this week, or what I already knew but needed reminded of:

  1. Be willing to alter your current clothing items to update a look or better suit your style.
  2. Re-imagine what you have in your closet in new and interesting ways.  Tamika paired a skirt that came as a set with a totally different top for a totally different look.
  3. You probably already have really great items in your closet, you just need to      remember and refresh what you have and use it better.
  4. There are some things you just can’t fix.  Itchy or ill-fitting, items that are stretched out or just not my color, yep – let them go.dressed up gray and green henley

Most surprisingly, at least to me, is that I am really looking forward to shopping soon with Tamika!  I know the basic pieces she has suggested will stretch my clothing choices, and that the new items on the list will give me more options and more shine to my everyday work image.  And instead of dreading my shopping trip, I am optimistic that it will be successful, which is a big change!  I’ll update you after our shopping trip!

You Know Smart, Helpful People. Talk to Them.

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I talk.  A lot.  I strike up conversations with anyone anywhere.  My husband never worries about me being lonely if he takes me to some event because soon enough, I’m chatting with someone.  I meet great people and learn new things all the time.  I don’t talk to people solely for information gathering, but it’s a great side benefit! 

     A client was struggling last week with decision making, and I suggested she gather more information about a particularly important and weighty decision.  Ask the experts.  Talk to people.

     After a personal sharing of parenting struggles last week, a different client said she had never stated these things out loud, and that it is too bad we all don’t talk about these things because we could learn from each other.  Solution?  Talk to people. 

     Recently, a fellow organizer helped me change my NAPO Chicago profile address because I’m eliminating my post office box.  She is considering using a P.O. Box, so she asked why I was letting mine go, and I was happy to answer.  Direct, efficient, weighing opinions and facts – awesome.   

     You know smart and helpful and friendly people.  And if you don’t, well, you probably do, but if you don’t, you know people who know smart, helpful and friendly people.

     We still have to act, of course, in addition to talking, but we can learn a lot from each other if we ask the right people the right questions.  So, talk to people.

Ask Experts.   I don’t know how to set up a limited liability company, but I have a wonderful friend and attorney who does.  I don’t know what authors are popular with young adults, but the nice lady who owns the used book store does.

     I don’t know how to move my porch light to make room for the new awning I want installed, but my friend the electrician does and he’s stopping by later.

     I don’t know if a seller can expect a higher price on their home if they paint inside first, but I have a friend who is both a realtor and a house painter, and he’ll tell me. 

     I don’t know a lot of things, but I do know a lot of people, and they’ll help.  And remember, some suggestions are free and some you have to pay for.  Ask Experts questions, but don’t be a nuisance.

Stretch your mind and stretch your circle:  Sometimes you have to stretch your social circles to broaden your range of answers.  Ask your friends to ask their friends, to stretch outside your usual circle for new insight and ideas.

Talk to people, but consider the source.  Ask for opinions, but recognize that which friends are more negative or positive than others.

Ask for opinions, but be specific.  Your friend may rate a business or experience on criteria other than yours, so ask for specifics to back up a recommendation or referral.  If you are looking for a new physician, specify the type, or your geographical region or insurance provider.  Be specific when you answer questions, too.  I love my pediatrician because he is really good, very close to home and will always make room in his schedule for us.  On the other hand, others might not like that he is quick with his exams and explanations.  So I always tell both sides. 

Talk to yourself.  Yes, I really did just suggest that you talk to yourself.  Some of us are auditory learners, which means we learn by hearing.  When I edit articles or an email, I read the content aloud to determine if I said what I meant to say.  And my family clears the room, like they just did as I edit this article.

     I recently opened up a new business checking account, and had two accounts for a month while the last of the checks cleared the old account.  When I was catching up on my bookkeeping yesterday on Quicken, I struggled for half an hour about how to account for 2 different monthly ending balances, fees paid and reimbursed, etc.  Luckily, I live with a CPA (for whom I am eternally grateful), and I asked him for help.  However, I figured out what I needed to do just by explaining it aloud to him.  Hearing the description of the problem led me to the right solution, while my hubby nodded sagely a lot, and then confirmed that I was correct (which is good, since he’ll have to look at it all again in 10 months at Tax time!!).

     So, if you are struggling this week with decisions or options, look around at the people you know, ask some specific questions, get some new ideas and get talking!

Organize Now: Summer Is Closer Than You Think!

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The title, “Summer is closer than you think”, will mean different things to different people.  Some will dream of lazy days and long vacations.  If you’re a working parent like me, though, the idea may make you anxious, wondering what to do with your kids this summer.

I realize it’s only mid-Spring.  Summer seems far away.  But I also realize that a fun and relaxing (for me, too) summer requires planning.  Parents talk, and a hot conversation topic recently has been “how and what to plan for our selves, our families and our kids for the summer months”.  So whether you only have yourself and your schedule to factor, or you have multiple schedules to consider, there are ways to make the process go smoothly.

Carve out an hour, grab your calendar, a cup of coffee and any information you have collected so far regarding travel, summer programs, camps, etc.  Get input from those involved: for example, my sons and I discuss which activities they would choose.  My husband was in on the planning session this year, which was new and great.  Not that he hasn’t cared about our summer plans before, but until recently, Summer was his VERY BUSY WORK season, and I was the main decision maker when it came to choosing summer activities.

We pulled out actual calendar pages (instead of our smart phones or MS Outlook on my laptop), and wrote out activities and ideas on the paper.  This helped us all to visualize our schedule and make decisions.

Some tips to make it work:

Plan early.  Book your events and activities now.  This helps you take advantage of early bird registration rates, ensures openings so that you or your children can attend the activities you wish, and gives you and other adults a chance to request vacation time.

Ask around.  As I mentioned earlier, parents talk.  We share recommendations for great programs, and also war stories from activities that did not go so well.  We set up car-pools now, and share babysitters and travel advice. 

Set your budget.  Activity and vacation costs can add up quickly if you’re not paying attention.  Set a limit, and stick with it.  We are writing checks this week, towards deposits to complete our registration for a number of activities.  Then we pay the balance when it comes due, which helps to spread out the costs and make them more manageable.

Schedule big, important and unmovable events first.  Work, academic events, graduations, annual family vacations, etc. can often not be moved or missed.  Make these necessary items your first priority.  For example, my oldest son has to take a summer gym / health class to make room for certain honors classes in his Fall schedule, so we had to make room for that class before anything else.  We also schedule events for the extended family now, so folks can “save the date”.

Once we documented our big, important and unmovable items, we chose a couple of weekends to investigate for potential trips.  Which leads to….

Fill in the smaller stuff. Fill in the optional but important items like weekend trips or optional camps.  Finally, make a list of optional, flexible activities.  Call them anticipated spontaneity, if you like.  Day trips, zoo or museum or beach days, evening ice cream runs, sleepovers, movie nights, bike rides, etc.  And leave free space on the calendar.  When I was a kid, my favorite parts of summer was biking around the neighborhood with my friends or lying around reading a book.  Come to think of it, that is still the case!

So, spend a rainy Tuesday planning now, so that you can relax later on a beautiful summer day.  It really is closer than you think!

6 Tips to Tweak Your Weekends!

Recently, my brother and my niece conversed on Facebook about their “Thursday Feeling”.  Apparently, many people experience a lift, a “Whew, I’ve almost made it!” feeling on Thursday as they look ahead to the weekend.  I’m not on board yet with their “Thursday Feeling”.  Improving our weekends is a work-in-progress, so I asked my readers to share thoughts on weekends.

Based on your responses, we would ideally spend our weekends sleeping in, not cleaning the house, accomplishing home projects, playing outside, doing homework (either ours or helping our kids with theirs), shopping, watching movies, relaxing and eating good food and ice cream. Ideally.

Last weekend was just right.  Dinner out on Friday night with family, then an event at church.   Saturday morning, all 5 of us participated in a 5K around our neighborhood, raising money for a local cancer organization.  Then we spent time with my young niece, knocked out an organizing project, took naps and watched movies.  Sunday started with family traditions, then Mass, brunch, and more relaxing.  It was lovely.

In reality, weekends can be hectic and choppy.  Personally, I start out with Cub Scouts on Friday.  We have such a great time, but I am typically in charge of some planning and running our meetings, so when most people are winding down on a Friday, I’m revving up.  Occasionally, I take Saturday clients because that is the only time some of them are available.  Then we, like many of my readers, have multiple sporting or creative events, shuttling the kids here and there, fitting in house cleaning and home projects.  Sundays always start with family and Mass, but may end up filled with work or projects or more commitments.

So how can we tweak our weekends?  Where can we find that Thursday feeling?

  1. Align expectations. Trouble occurs  when I anticipate a lazy weekend, and my husband plans a family day of  yard work.  My teenagers want to sleep until noon, I want bedrooms cleaned by 10 am.  If you share your life with others, make sure to align your expectations with theirs.
  2. Communicate.  A friend shared her family’s weekend strategy with me.  She and her husband have a “meeting” on Saturday morning over coffee to discuss their weekend plans and expectations.  They write down the scheduled events, the need-to-dos and also the hope-to-dos.  She says “It feels good to have a list that we work on TOGETHER”, everybody gets at least a few things accomplished and her family feels better about their weekends.
  3. Don’t schedule too much.  Try to leave some “white space”, as my friend Jan would call it, and choose to relax how you would like.  Be selective when signing up for activities and accepting invitations.
  4. Shop during the week or on-line.  I avoid the mall like the plague every day, but especially on the weekends. Shop during the week when the stores are less crowded.  You can also automate your shopping. I shop on-line with Melaleuca.  I love the household products, but mostly I love that they ship to my house monthly.  I use Reliv as my nutritional supplement. I place my order quarterly and it arrives on my doorstep.  I use Amazon.com for gifts and harder-to-find items.  Less time at actual stores means more time for me and my family, and that is worth any money spent on shipping.
  5. Stick with routines. Schedule at least a few things.  A mother of 4 young sons admitted that she prefers the structure of weekdays.  Everyone seems happier during the week.  Unstructured time is when the kids get rowdy, and sometimes into trouble. Stick with bedtimes and meal times, and I mean all of us, not just the kids!
  6. Find your weekend somewhere else.  Because my weekends tend to be busy and not terribly relaxing, I have worked to find “weekend” time (relaxing and rejuvenating time) during the week.  Every other month or so, I might schedule a massage, or catch a chick flick at the theatre on a weekday (none of the fellows in my house would want to go with me anyway!).

So, what will you try this week to make your weekend better?  How will you promote that “Thursday Feeling”?  Slow down and enjoy!

Menu Planning as a Spring Survival Tool!

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(edited from April, 2011 post)dinner time

A friend called Spring “Hot Dog Season”.  I thought it was in deference to baseball, but it was because with all her family’s activities, that’s all she has time to make for dinner these days.   I recommended Menu Planning, and here’s why!

Menu planning is the strategic planning of your meals for the week.  It enables us to use our resources well, saving time and money, and making the most of our storage space. If we had special considerations like food allergies or a special diet, menu planning would be even more invaluable, helping us focus on what we can eat, not what we cannot.

So, how to do it?  On a piece of paper, spreadsheet or on this week’s calendar page:

  1. List the days of the week, and set some themes, if you’d like, to help you come up with ideas (my biggest personal challenge is just coming up with ideas).  For example, ours are:
  • Sunday: Family Dinner / New Recipes
  • Monday: Soup / Salad / Sandwiches
  • Tuesday: Italian
  • Wednesday: Mexican
  • Thursday: Grill-ables
  • Friday: Pizza / Lenten Friday
  • Saturday: Seafood / Grill-ables / New Recipes

2.  Come up with a list of 10-15 Favorites for your family, perhaps in keeping with the aforementioned themes. I try a new recipe every week or 2, and add it to our list of favorites if the family really likes it.

3.  Look at this week’s schedule, noting special events or arrangements.  Then put it all together:

  • Sunday (Sunday Dinner): Family Party in Michigan – No cooking for me!
  • Monday (Soup/Salad/Sandwiches) (CCD – early / easy dinner) – Chili / Mac and Cheese
  • Tuesday (Italian): Spaghetti and Meatballs
  • Wednesday (Mexican): Chicken tacos (make rice and chicken in the morning)
  • Thursday (Grill-ables) (Band After school, late dinner) – Pork Chops and sweet potatoes
  • Friday: (Meatless) – Pizza and salad
  • Saturday: (Grill-ables): (Birthday dinner) Corned Beef, Mashed Potatoes

Tips to make it work:

  1. Realize any good plan is a flexible plan. We use our menu plan as an inventory for what we have on hand. If my plan for today falls through, I can look at the menu for later in the week, and know what else I have on hand to cook.
  2. Enlist Aid: Get your family to help with planning and implementation of menu planning. When my sons help me plan, they are assured of having things they like to eat from every meal, so it is worth it to them to help me out.  In addition, they are more likely to eat  a meal they had a hand in preparing.  They are pretty good sous chefs, cleaning and peeling vegetables, shredding cheese, reading recipes or directions on boxes, setting and clearing the table.
  3. Cook dinner in the morning (or the day before).  Right now, our dinner hour is crazier than our mornings, so we get creative! Anything taking more than 30 minutes to make is relegated to the weekend, the Crock Pot, or a different time of day.  We love Spanish rice with our taco night, but it takes 35 minutes to make, so I make it in the morning and leave it in the fridge to warm up at dinner time. I have gone so far as to assemble 3 casseroles on Sunday for the next three days.
  4. Double up on your prep:
  • Clean and prep your veggies when you bring them home.  We shred a cup or two of carrots for recipes later in the week, dice extra onions or peppers, split up meat into appropriate serving sizes and add marinade while frozen.
  • We brown 3 pounds of ground meat at once, re-freezing it in 1 pound blocks, thawing as needed.
  • We also cook or grill extra meats to put in salads or soups later in the week. Which leads me to ….

5.  Get over your LeftOvers.

  •  You may have to sell the idea of Leftovers to your family, but they are a valuable component of menu planning. If it weren’t for leftovers, my hubby would eat out downtown for lunch every day. At $10 a meal. Yikes.  There are days we would starve if not for leftovers!
  • Call them something else, or Pair them with a positive experience. Instead of left-over night, call it Tater-Tot Night or Dessert night, or whatever will make your own family happy.
  • Pair a left over of one thing with a new side and a new veggie, or make it look different, like grilled chicken breasts from Monday sliced and layered on a Caesar salad on Wednesday.

Off to class and baseball practice and scouts, so glad I planned my dinner!  Try these ideas this week, and let me know what you think of menu planning!

What’s In Your Pocket? Your Essential Daily Carry

I recently discovered the concept of Essential Daily Carry and a great Reddit board with visuals of what different people carry in their pockets on a daily basis (just google the term for all sorts of visual examples).

Per Wikipedia, Essential Daily Carry or “Everyday carry (EDC) refers to a small collection of tools, equipment and supplies carried on a daily basis to assist in tackling situations ranging from the mundane to the disastrous.[1] (wikipedia)”

“The term EDC also refers to the philosophy or spirit of ‘preparedness’ that goes along with the selection and carrying of these items. Implicit in the term is the sense that an EDC is an individual’s personal selection of equipment, arrived at after deliberation, rather than a standardized kit. EDC items normally fit in pockets or small pack, and/or are attached to clothing such as a belt. Emphasis is placed on the usefulness, accessibility and reliability of these items. The core elements of a typical EDC might include a folding pocket knife, a flashlight, a mobile phone, and a multi-tool.” (wikipedia)

From a time management and preparedness standpoint, an EDC is a great idea. Key components for implementing your EDC:

  1. On a personal level, identify the difference between “need” and “want”;
  2. Find high-quality multifunctional tools to fill a range of needs;
  3. Establish one location at home, near your exit, for keeping your EDC; and
  4. Establish the habit of carrying your EDC with you.

What is essential to you? Where is it, and do you make it convenient and routine to carry it with you every day? In college, I started carrying a small wallet (with money, cards, a pen and bandaids) with my house keys attached. I can still leave the house with just those few things in my pocket with my cell phone, at least for quick, local trips. My smart phone is central to my EDC, with apps for a flash light, wrist watch, note taking, camera, calendar and a digital key ring for store cards. That one tool has lightened my load.

When deciding on your EDC, consider where you go and what you do. For example, there are essential items I don’t carry because every where I go, I have duplicates there. I always keep my work tool box in my car, so I don’t carry extra tools. I have disposable gloves and a clean shirt in there, too, and a well stocked first aid kit as well, so I carry only a very small one in my bag. My EDC can be small because I keep other items like tissues, pens, hand lotion and a nail file in my car all the time.

So what’s in your wallet? Or pocket, as the case may be? Here is a list of common items (from Wikipedia):

  • A folding knife, multitool and/or Swiss Army knife
  • A wrist watch
  • A flashlight (either a key-chain light, a headlamp, or a “tactical” flashlight which has a brighter output used to temporarily blind and stun assailants)
  • A whistle or airhorn (noise makers)
  • A cell phone or other electronic device like a digital camera to record evidence (sometimes satellite phones if in remote areas)
  • Sustainment items such as bottled water and high energy foods
  • Pen, pencil, or a tactical pen similar in concept to a Kubotan for striking and stabbing
  • Pocket notebook (smart phones and electronic note-taking devices are increasingly being used instead of notebooks)
  • Medicine for common ailments and maladies such as allergies and gastrointestinal problems
  • Prescription medicine that has to be taken daily
  • A compact first aid kit
  • Rope or paracord
  • Handkerchiefs or other utility cloth
  • Keys containing key chain and accessories like a flashlight, nail clipper, pill bottle, folding scissors, carabiner, or Kubotan
  • Gloves, which can be latex, nitrile, leather, or synthetic
  • Pepper spray/OC spray or stun gun/tazer
  • Pistol and holster
  • Lighter or matches

So, this week give your essential Daily Carry some thought. Determine what challenges you may face from day-to-day, what is essential, and what should be in your pocket all the time!

Tips For a Better Night’s Sleep

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Sleep is beautiful.  It’s essential for optimal performance and health.  It gives our bodies time to rebuild, and our minds time to process stimuli.  It is warm, soothing and lovely.  Unless… its not.

There are lots of ways to Not Get Enough Sleep, Insomnia is just one.  We all struggle at some point to get enough sleep or good sleep.  What happens if we don’t sleep?  In the short term, simple things like feeling tired, a lack of focus, irritability and lethargy.  Long term sleep loss can lead to job loss, decreased cognitive function, physical ailments and psychological issues.

A friend recently asked me how I overcame insomnia, so I want to share Sleep Hygiene suggestions for a good night’s sleep.  I am no expert on sleep, but I can speak from experience on overcoming insomnia, and as an organizer, I recognize logical, objective ways to improve routines and physical spaces.  So here some tips for chasing those elusive Zzzzzz’s!

Check your sleeping environment:

  • Not too loud: Soothing music is nice, if you need it, but set a timer for it to turn off and don’t sleep with ear phones in your ears.  And I find instrumental music is better than music with lyrics, I found myself trying to memorize words instead of falling asleep.
  • Not too quiet:  Silence can be even more distracting than noise.  A white noise machine may help, or a cool vaporizer like the one we run all winter helps drown out my hubby’s snoring.
  • A cool room is best for sleeping, and some prefer a fan to move air around.  Sleep with blankets in layers, not just one really heavy one, so you can shed or add covers as needed, as can your bedmate.
  • An actual bed (get off the couch, folks) and the right pillow – not too soft or hard, and not too many.
  • Bedrooms are bedrooms.  They are not offices, exercise rooms or craft space.  Period.

Clean up your Sleep Hygiene for better sleep.

  • Your “sleep hygiene” is your daily routine for getting a good night’s sleep.
  • Determine how much sleep you actually need.  We don’t all need exactly 8 hours a night to live our best lives.  Some folks need less and some need more, based on age, physical demands, individual rhythms and a host of other variables.  Fix your wake-up time (for me, 5:15 am) and work back from there for your bedtime, first with 8 hours, then 7.5, then 7.  Turns out, I should turn off my light by about 10:00 pm to fall asleep and feel fully rested at 5:15 am.
  • Keep your bed-time and wake-time the same, even on weekends.  Wake-time should vary no more an hour from weekday to weekend.
  • You may actually be getting more sleep than you think.  When I suffered with insomnia, it was rare that I truly didn’t sleep all night, even though it felt like I was awake the whole time since my sleep would be shallow and not restorative.  And obviously, intentionally napping or even nodding off while watching TV counts as sleep, and can undermine your overnight sleep.
  • Choose the same 3 or 4 soothing activities before bed nightly.  Yoga, wash your face, tea or warm milk, a warm shower, quiet TV viewing or reading in a darkened room.  We use book lights – the ones you clip on the book – they’re great for bedtime reading, especially if you share a room.
  • Keep a notebook and pen at your bedside, to jot down random thoughts that might keep you awake.
  • Avoid Overhead and fluorescent lighting at all costs.  They are terrible for sleep hygiene.  Turn down all your lights after dinner, to tell your brain it is time to start shutting down for the night.
  • Turn off anything with a screen (TV, computer, phone) half an hour before bed time, and keep computers and TVs out of the bedroom completely if you are having sleep issues.  The electronic fields can interfere with good sleep.
  • During the day, exercise, but not close to bedtime.  And check your medications, foods and beverages for hidden caffeine, sugar or other stimulants.  You would be amazed all the places caffeine hides, or how medicines like steroids can keep you awake at night!

A good day tomorrow depends on a good night’s sleep tonight, so employ one or two of these tips to help you tonight.  Sweet dreams!

Please sponsor me, I’m shaving my head for Children’s Cancer Research

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My link:  http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/595388/2013
My son’s link:  http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/595381/2013

Bald by choice, for those who are not.

I am shaving my head on Friday to raise awareness and money for children’s cancer research at a St. Baldrick’s event in my community.

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation collects funds for Children’s cancer research.  It began as an idea among 3 friends back in 1999 and became a foundation in 2005.  Last year they raised over 30 million dollars, bringing their total to over $100 million dollars in research grants since 2005.

My children are healthy, but cancer has touched all of our lives.  I have lost friends to cancer, and have several more suffering right now.  One friend, a father with three boys my sons’ ages, died from a type of brain cancer mostly found in children.  One of my cub scouts, Emmet, now cancer free, is a poster child for St. Baldrick’s.

My sons have participated in St. Baldrick’s, as have my cub scouts and many others in my community.  In 2012, my 8 year old raised over $800 in sponsorship himself.  This year, it is my turn to step up, so he and I will be shaving our heads together at a St. Baldrick’s event on Friday, March 15th.

Truthfully, I am nervous.  I’ve never been bald before.  I really like my hair, and consider it part of who I am, part of what makes me… well, me.

My biggest fear, though, is that I am making light of what people fighting cancer are really going through, by glibly shaving my head.  As though I can take away their pain and make them feel better with this gesture.   My second biggest fear is that my bald head may generate compassion I do not deserve, being bald by choice and not be necessity.

But I have faith that I am doing this for the right reasons, and that my outward gesture may motivate others to share what they can to support St. Baldricks and the many other cancer research fundraisers, the walks and runs and activities, so that someday, cancer will be no more.

So, if you see me around the neighborhood, here are the easy answers to your “Why are you shaving your head?” question:

  1. It is a great way to get involved, and hey – It’s just hair.  It will grow back.
  2. I am so proud of my son, this will be his third year participating in St. Baldricks.  Last year, I promised I would do it with him this year, and I am not going to let him down.
  3. Or maybe my brother is right, Being bald will really free me up when I get ready in the morning!

The tougher answer is:

If I can help, I should help.   Because let’s face it, Cancer Sucks.

Please consider sponsoring my son and I this Friday.