Organize Your Car for Summer!

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Your car is an extension of both your home and your self.  And we organize our Car for the same reasons we organize our home and selves:

  • to maximize the space and stuff we have;
  • to allow for new opportunities;
  • for safety sake; and
  • peace of mind.

We had an impromptu tailgate party recently, and it was so easy because I know exactly what is in my car, and it is only what I really need.  It was so gratifying to pop out the folding chairs and waterproof blanket (always in my car during little league season), break out the wet wipes and bug spray, and have fun!

So, I ask you:  Do you decline the benefits of car-pooling, because there is not room for actual people in your car?  Would you be embarrassed to have someone see or ride in your car?  Have you lost items in your car, never to see them again?  Is there a strange smell emanating from under the seats?  Spend a little time getting your car ready for your summer adventures, and be ready for anything!

Getting started:

  1. Organizing your car is just like any other organizing project.  First, think about how you Do and Do Not use your car.  My car needs are pretty basic:  transportation from Point A to Point B, and a temporary holding space for groceries and people.  It is occasionally a changing room on the way from school to baseball practice.  Your car may be for work, recreation, lodging, dining, the options are endless!

Getting it done:

  1. Now,  block out an hour and take everything – yes, everything out of your car.  Immediately throw away the trash and lay  the rest on the ground on an old sheet or drop cloth, if you have one.
  2. Sort what is left, putting similar items together.  CDs in their holder, house items or clothes to take inside, items to be dropped off like library books, dry cleaning, borrowed items or donations.
  3. Based on your deductions and decisions about how you use your car from Step 1, You can now decide what does and does not belong in your car.  For me,
    1. Yes – Water bottles and a small bag of snacks (uneaten) for the ride to and from baseball practice
    2. No –  Bags and bags of un-delivered recycling (a client’s car, not mine!)
    3. Yes – Reusable shopping bags and coupons
    4. No – Dog crate when you don’t even own a dog, or shopping bags still full of new items from 3 months ago that you never took in the house, dirty gym clothes, well you get the picture.
  4. Papers – It is ok to keep some papers in your car permanently.  Maintenance records for work done on your car – yes.  Unopened mail – no.  Also, consider if your car is your mobile office.  That is the only time that papers, files, computer and inventory should ride around for extended periods in your car.  And business papers need to leave the car eventually, too, so you can get your work done.

Putting it Away.  You have cleaned out the car and gotten rid of what needs to go away.

  1. Treat your self and your car to a car  wash, one that does the interior and exterior.
  2. Store stuff where you need it:  Now that you have figured how your stuff fits into the purposes of your car, it is time to put it back!  Out of the items you keep, most of the safety or maintenance items are not needed as you drive and can go in the trunk in a bag.  Keep only what you need to safely drive near you.
  3. Deliver all the stuff that’s been riding around in your car and needs to leave your hands.  Drop off the library books and dry cleaning, mail the mail, take the bags of cast-offs to the charity destination.

Playing it Safe: 

  1. Get a net or a tie down for other items rolling around in your car.  In the event of an accident, anything not tied down can become a dangerous projectile.
  2. According to the AAA website, you should always travel with (All can fit in a crate or bag, secured in the trunk….
    1. an inflated spare tire and jack
    2. jumper cables and flares
    3. flashlight, fire extinguisher and first aid kit.
    4. If it’s winter, you should also include: Coffee Can Furnace (the candle generates heat); Carpet Strips (for traction under drive wheels); Boots; Ice Scraper & Brush; Newspapers (great insulation when placed between skin and clothing); Shovel and Sand or Cat Litter (for traction); Tools; Food & Blanket; Tire Chains (for use on secondary roads only).

So spiff up your ride, and roll down those windows to let the warm weather in!  Enjoy!

Great Big Organizing Secret!

I am going to share a big organizing secret here.  It may rock your world, change your life, make you gasp, so you might want to prepare yourself.  Are you ready?  The secret to an organized life…..is…… (drum roll here) maintenance!  Tah Dah!! (gasps, applause, sounds of disbelief)  Told you it was big.

Ok, so it’s neither big nor really a secret, but Maintenance is the key to making organization stick.

We spend hours on organizing projects, or at least my clients and I do.  We plan, we purge, we organize, we work hard.  But the most important part of the process happens after I leave, the next morning and every day after that.  Maintenance is vital to the success of any system.  Here is an example of maintenance and a great organizing tool, all rolled up into one.

I am a stickler for routines for my family, even during the summer.   It is so easy, too easy, to get off track during the summer months and let maintenance slip.  Without the school day structure, we forget to eat a healthy breakfast at a regular time, abandon basic personal hygiene (I have teen age sons) and generally take too long to get ready in the morning, leaving much undone.  So we turn to our Morning Line-Up.

We use The Morning Line-Up every day:

  1. Starting with a clean bathroom counter, take out all the items you need to get ready every morning and Line Them Up: we’ll call these the Usual Suspects in Your Morning Line-Up.
  2. My Usual Suspects include antiperspirants, Face Lotion with SPF 30, toothpaste and brush, hair product and brush, contacts and solution, lip stain and powder.
  3. Next to these are my kids’ deodorants, toothbrushes and pastes, a comb and fingernail clippers (someone always needs those).
  4. Now, as we use items in our Morning Line-Up, we put the item back in the cabinet (or drawer, or basket under the sink, which ever you prefer).
  5. You can make this even easier by dedicating one shelf / basket / etc. for just your Usual Suspects.
  6. And as a great example of maintenance, the counter is clean again (maintenance) when we are done with our personal hygiene (also maintenance!).

This may turn your usual process upside down, to start with all your items all over the counter, and clean as you go, but it is a great habit to get into.  Think of this in terms of cooking a meal.   Prepare to cook by taking out all the ingredients you need and lay them out in order, then put them away when you are done with them.  That way you can see at a glance what is left to add to your recipe and you have a clean kitchen when you are done, instead of taking everything out as you use it, and having a trashed kitchen at the end.

This idea reaps multiple benefits:

  1. At a glance, I know for certain when I am ready, and I don’t forget things. And I know when I need to nag my sons to finish.
  2. We can add new habits to the line-up, if there is something we want to improve upon. For example, adding floss to the line up at the recommendation of our dentist recently, or when I added contacts and solution when I decided to wear them more regularly.
  3. I have a client cultivating a “Swipe and Swish” habit to tidy up the bathroom every morning. So she adds window cleaner and paper towels as part of her Line-Up.
  4. The Morning Line-Up idea can improve other areas, for example, nutrition. If I get forgetful about my daily vitamins or supplements, I take out the basket containing all of them, and dump it out on the kitchen counter. I put the bottles back in the basket after I take each vitamin, so I know if I am current.

So, give some thought to your routines this week, and how you can improve your current systems with just a little more time and attention to maintenance.    Have a great week!  Off to brush my teeth….

Life Management Strategy: Back To Ready!

This time of year brings change.  Seasons change, school years are end, schedules and priorities shift.  These are all great things, but sometime these changes and the summertime lack of structure can leave our homes and offices disorganized.  Here’s a simple idea to keep your home and offices in (relatively) good shape:  “Back To Ready”. 

We used to call this strategy Back To Normal, but as my 7-year-old always asks, “What is Normal, anyway?”  “Back To Ready” is a favorite for myself and my clients (I’ve suggested it to 2 clients just this week and one suggested I share, so I am!).  It is a proactive, positive step to manage our lives and spaces, and it prepares us for whatever the week throws our way.  We may not be able to control what comes up, but we can control how we deal with it.

Working from home, I find it difficult to focus on work when my home feels cluttered and unfocused.  In my defense, to a casual observer my home would not look cluttered.  But I know when things are left undone, and because of who I am and what I do, I have a very low tolerance for disorganization.

So “Back to Ready” is very important for my success!  What does “Ready” look like?

  • Beds made; Bedrooms tidied up / surfaces cleared off;
  • Clothes and shoes dealt with— Dirty ones in the hamper, clean ones put away;
  • Breakfast dishes in the sink or dishwasher, table wiped off;
  • Bathroom cleaned up, towels hung up, surfaces clear, mirror wiped clean;
  • Papers gathered together for me to work on them, or purge or shred them.

“Back to Ready” takes 30 minutes on a Monday morning (or occasionaly Sunday night) for us, though you can pick your own day!  It involves starting laundry and a sink of soapy dishwater, going room by room and collecting clutter, emptying trash and vacuuming.  I start the process while the kids are still home, so they can tidy up their rooms and put away their clean laundry.  And we choose Mondays because we are very hard on our home on the weekends!

Choose one spot, and start there every week, so you don’t waste time and mental energy wondering “Where to Start?”  You can choose the easiest room (my youngest son’s), or the most public room (the entry way and living room), or the hardest room (kitchen) first.  It’s up to you, just choose.  Now, only spend a few minutes in each room—this is not major cleaning, this is just maintenance between cleanings, and preparing for the week ahead. 

I carry a notebook with me, too, to jot down the random ideas that occur to me during this particular exercise.  The ideas could read “Need laundry detergent, need snacks for baseball, bake cookies for friend, new sneakers for the teenager, change smoke detector batteries, etc.”

Look around your home this week, determine the 5 or 6 tasks that would help you and your family prepare for the week, and complete those tasks early to get you and your home Back To Ready.  Summer is a great time to try something new when it comes to morning routines, so give it a try!

“Because I Said So!”

     We’re all great parents before having children.  At the grocery store or passing a park, we know just what every other parent should do with every other child.  Then life changes.  I vowed to never mix up my children’s names.  Anyone who knows me, whatever your name is, knows I mix them up all the time.  I also swore that phrases like “Because I said so!”, “Get off your brother”, “Put that down!”, or “Oh my god, who brought THAT into my kitchen?!” would never cross my lips, and that I would never yell.  Then God laughed, and gave me three sons.  And now I laugh, all the time.  And cry, often but quietly.  And sometimes I do both at the same time.  Because I’m a Mom, and that’s what we do.

     My gift to you and to myself for Mother’s Day is an article that has little to do with organizing.  Keep these thoughts in your heart for when you need some “Peace of Mind”, (just like my business name).  Why?  Because I said so.

  1. A grateful heart is the surest way to happiness.  A friend reminded me recently that people who have a truly grateful heart are less prone to anxiety and depression.  Be grateful in your heart, and let others know how thankful you are to and for them.  “And yes, to my youngest son, this means you have to finish your thank-you notes before you can spend the money you received.  And I don’t care if other people don’t have to send them, I’m not their mom.”
  2. A secret.  I am conflicted as a parent.  Having been a crabby teenager once upon a time does not prepare me to parent one today.  I want from my children, simultaneously, understanding when I don’t know everything and their faith and confidence in me to know everything.  I do know a secret, though, that contributes to my Peace Of Mind.  And my secret may be different from your secret.  My secret is to say a short prayer for patience and guidance, and then remind myself what my job is as a parent:  I am growing future adults, and helping my children get to heaven.  Those ideas help me form all the other decisions I make in a day.  So what is your secret?  Write it down, and remember it as needed! 
  3. Parenting involves our hands, our heads and our hearts.  The combination of the three varies with our children’s ages, stages and from moment to moment in our day, though the older my children get, the more I use heart and head to guide us all.  Children don’t come to us fully formed, which is a very good thing, since we aren’t fully formed, either.  We get to evolve and figure things out together.  On Mother’s Day, I thanked my teenager for making me a mom 14 years ago.  He is a teenage boy, so when I start emoting like that, he gets a funny look on his face and I know he would rather be anywhere else but listening to me.  But he’s a good sport, and said, “um – you’re welcome?”  Then he gave me a hug, so I knew it was OK.  Guess I got to use my hands, head and hearts all at once on that one!
  4. You are more capable than you know.  And so are your children.
  5. No regrets.  Recently, I sang at the funeral of a friend’s mother.  The friend stated she had no regrets when it came to her relationship with her mom and her mom’s passing.  What a gift.  I’ve been looking at my relationships with new eyes, trying to do the right thing always, and working towards “No Regrets” some day, too.
  6. My Mother’s Day was lovely and relaxing, spent with family. My sister-in-law made a fabulous brunch and my husband made a delicious dinner.  In years past, I wanted to celebrate Mother’s Day by taking a break from Mom activities like cooking and cleaning.  But I realized that being a Mom is who I am and who I want to be, so taking a day off is sort of silly.  Did I receive gifts?  Yes, thank you.  Did I do laundry?  No.  Did I declare the remote control and the couch as MINE for about 3 hours?  Yes!  Do I want to spend the day of celebration of Motherhood escaping from being a Mom?  No, I really don’t.  But if somoene could still fold the laundry, that would be great.
  7. My Mother’s Day gifts come every day, in little packages.  My oldest son leaving my side at Mass to volunteer to serve without being asked.  Because he likes be a server, and he recognized the need without being asked.  My middle son and I sharing a look and cracking each other up without saying a word. Such an old soul in a young body.  My youngest son bent over a mud puddle –  I thought he was making a mess and started to fume, but then I looked closer and saw he was saving ants one at a time by giving them little sticks to walk on out of the mud.  These gifts might not come gift-wrapped, but they are the best a mother can ask for.

Thanks for coming along with me, and for letting me ramble a bit.  I hope the next time you are searching for some Peace of Mind, one of these ideas comes back to you in time.  Happy Mother’s Day.

Organizing Secrets I’ve learned as a Mom

     To celebrate Mother’s Day, I’m sharing organizing secrets that I have learned since becoming a mom. I dedicate this article, with deep affection and appreciation, to all of the incredible women who have taught me so much.

     As a professional organizer, I have found the three most problematic areas of organizing for many women are time, clothes and stuff. For moms, those areas are more specifially time, laundry and toys. When it comes to household tasks, moms set the rules and the organizational tone. Here are some quick tips to help you in this endeavor.

Time

  • Spend 10 minutes focusing on your organization issues now; these 10 minutes will save you hours later.
  • Always have a back up for everything: work clothes, babysitter, travel plans, carpool, snacks, etc.
  • Prioritize. While recuperating after the birth of my youngest son, my husband reminded me that my  obligation is to feed, clothe, protect and educate my children. Everything else is extra.
  • Dream big, but cherish small.
  • When seeking balance, look at time in spans of weeks, not days.
  • “Take time for your self. No one is going to give it to you, and if you don’t recharge, you’ll have nothing left for anyone else.” An 80-year old great-grandmother gave me this advice. 

Clothes, Closets and Laundry

  • Keep only current size and seasonal clothes in the closet. Purge you and your children’s wardrobe of clothes that no longer fit, and store everything else, somewhere else, labeled and “containerized,” of course.
  • Invest in fewer but higher quality pieces instead of cluttering your closet with heaps of cheap and poorly made outfits. Remember, quality is more important than quantity.  Dress well, and people will notice You.  Dress poorly, and people will notice your clothes. 
  • Designate a bag for every activity—sports, crafts, work, etc. For example, pack your daughter’s soccer uniform and shin guards in a duffel bag, and place it in a location where she can quickly grab it and run to practice. Replace the bag’ s contents immediately after cleaning the items, and return it to its appropriate location in time for the next game or practice. Do this for your briefcase and handbag, as well.

Stuff and Toys

  • Pick a permanent spot for your really important items, like car keys, diaper bags, cell phones, purses, etc.
  • Store like items, e.g., Legos with Legos, American Girl clothes with American Girl dolls. Design a system that is simple. Label storage containers clearly for easy identification of the contents.
  • Rotate toys every month, with or without your children’s assistance. You may want to sort and purge toys with your children, so that they can learn the process (and you learn what items they truly value). Then take another sweep through the toys without their assistance; be a bit more ruthless this time, but make sure you retain their true treasures. If your kids are young, and you sort and purge without them, arrange their remaining toys in an appealing way, so that they don’t focus on what’s gone.

     So, Moms (and Dads, too!):  Take a deep breath.  And another one.  Resolve to spend a few minutes now on organizing, to save lots of time later. Spend the time, and get it done.  Then go do something fun with your family!

Great Party Part 2: Food Planning and Prep

     I heard from many of you last week when I blogged last week about an upcoming event – thank you! One of you asked what I meant by Food Prep: “How can you possibly have a party without either cooking all day or catering the whole thing?”  Today I’ll shed some light on party planning and food prep.

     Not everyone wants to cook for big events.  It seems like a lot of work, and early food prep seems like extra work and mess, to dirty the kitchen twice.  Also, I have a client that insists on everything being “fresh”, so she has not embraced my make-ahead suggestions, though she struggles to host big events.  Indeed, some foods are best fresh.  But many foods can be assembled a day ahead of an event to make the event go smoother, and still be fresh.  Prep as much as possible a day or two ahead of your event, and leave the final assembly to right before serving. 

I like to cook for parties and events because:

  1. Making some items is cheaper than catering the whole event.  I would rather spend my money on other things.
  2. Home cooking usually tastes better than catered foods.
  3. My family has favorite foods, and I like making those favorites for special events.
  4. Prepping and cooking food a day ahead of an event frees up my time for the event itself, and after years of practice, it’s not really a hassle anymore. 
  5. I like to cook, and it’s enjoyable for me to put a big event together.

Here is next Saturday’s menu:

Appetizers:  These will be completely assembled, so the first person home from church (probably not me) can place them out for guests.

  • Vegetable and dip platter
  • Fruit and dip platter
  • Chip tray with tortilla chips, salsa and guacamole (from Costco, I like theirs better than my homemade ones)
  • A heated chili-cheese dip (3 minutes in the microwave)
  • Deviled eggs (a family favorite)
  • Relish tray
  • Pita chips and hummus (also Costco, I like theirs better)

Beverages:  These, too, will be ready for the first guests, except for the coffee, which will be ready to brew.

  • Iced Tea
  • Beer / Wine / Soda
  • Coffee

Main Course:

  • Fried chicken (catered)
  • Make-ahead mashed potatoes (warmed in the crock pot, click here for recipe)
  • Homemade Macaroni and Cheese (vegetarian, sauce made ahead, macaroni made the morning of the party, warmed in the crock pot)
  • Quinoa and Black Beans (vegetarian, made ahead, served warm or cold, here for the recipe,)
  • Cole slaw (slaw from a bag, assembled with dressing the morning of the event)
  • Bakery bread and butter

Dessert: Strawberry pretzel salad (my mother-in-law is bringing this), cookies (mine) and Ice Cream Cake (catered)

Start with clean counters for good work space, and a clean refrigerator to store your assembled trays and platters.  Also, use cookie sheets to keep each recipe’s ingredients organized (photo).

 Image

Thursday night, when making dinner:

  1. Assemble serving dishes:  egg tray, platters, lidded baking dish for chili-cheese dip
  2. Hard boil eggs, cool and peel
  3. Clean, peel (sons will help with this) and chop veggies
  4. Shred 2 pounds of cheddar cheese (sons and Cuisinart will help)

After Dinner (an hour):  Assemble and refrigerate

  1. Chili Cheese dip
  2. Deviled eggs (son #2 will pipe the filling)
  3. Dill veggie dip (son #2 will help).  The dip tastes better after a day of chilling

Friday night, when making dinner

  1. Brew iced tea
  2. Make cheese sauce for Macaroni, refrigerate
  3. Peel and boil potatoes, make mashed potatoes (special recipe made with sour cream and cream cheese, is really delicious a day or two later!)
  4. Chop Fruit
  5. Assemble Fruit, Vegetable and Relish trays, cover in plastic wrap, place in refrigerator.
  6. Puree Strawberries for fruit dip and refrigerate (Lauren’s Fruit Dip:  8 oz each of Fruit on the bottom strawberry yogurt, cool whip and pureed strawberries.  Mix all together, serve with cut fruit)
  7. Load big white cooler with beer and soda

     So, next time you have a big event coming up, or even a big meal for your family, look at your menu and determine what you can make a day or two before, to free up your time and attention for other things.

Two Weeks to a Great Party!

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    The original title had “easy” and “stress-free” in it, but who am I kidding?  Yes, parties require some work and perhaps some stress, but let’s keep both to a minimum!

     Also, there are a few things that have to happen prior to 2 weeks before a party, like guest lists  invitations (4 weeks) and space rental (as early as possible), if necessary.  I shared the date with out-of-town family and friends months ago.  But the point of today is to help you plan and have a great party with concerted effort and minimal stress.  Yes, it can be done.

     I am working on a very specific event this week, a First Communion Party the first weekend in May.  These ideas can work for any event, though, birthday, anniversary, graduation, just for fun – You name it!

     We have two weeks until our big event. I stood in my living room today, imagining what it will look like when everyone is gathered.  Friends and family.  Food and beverages.  Fresh flowers, balloons (my little guy loves balloons), candles, a display of photos and Sacramental items on the sofa table.  I will keep that vision in my head during my planning. 

     Remember your “WHY”.  We’re having a party to celebrate my youngest son’s First Holy Communion, so our “Why” is to commemorate him and this special milestone in his life.  Remember, too, WHY people are coming to your home.  It is to enjoy your company and hospitality, not too look in your dresser drawers or under your bed.  Focus on the essentials, let the other stuff go.  Everything else falls into place if I keep the “WHY” in mind.

     Do NOT let every hour for the next two weeks be about the party.  Too often we obsess over details until we dread or resent the event.  You have a life, a job, a bedtime.  Live your life, have fun with your planning, and relax.  

House Prep and Planning Ahead Week (this week)

  • Monday / Tuesday:
    • Today we head to the craft store for supplies for his Communion banner.
    • Over the weekend, I made sure everyone has clean, dressy clothes that fit (they’re growing so quickly these days!!).  Now we just need to iron the clothes, and ignore them until the big day!
    • Check your kitchen inventory.  Save money and make room this week by using what you have.
    • Determine your menu, and what you can outsource.  For example, my son chose his menu for his party.  I will order the ice cream cake and fried chicken.  The rest I will cover myself.
    • Based on tentative numbers of people attending, make your grocery list
    • Ask friends and family for any extras you need – folding tables, extra chairs, chafing dishes, coffee urn, etc.
    • Plan / order / shop for gifts and treat bags or favors, if you need them
  • Wednesday – Start major cleaning projects (windows, carpet shampoo, big things)
  • Thursday (our trash day) – more major cleaning, if needed, but also removing clutter by dropping off bags of donations, e-waste recycling, garbage and other recycling
  • Friday – clean the fridge and freezer really well, make a note of food items you have that you can use for the party, start the ice maker

 Week Of Party:

  • Monday – check your guest list for final RSVPs, place your food orders based on your menu and number of guests.  I will also purchase flower planters for my deck and front porch.
  • Tuesday – Wrap up major cleaning projects, plus yard maintenance 
  • Wednesday – Now that things are cleaned up and de-cluttered, and the fridge is clean, do your grocery shopping for food, paper goods, liquor, beverages, etc.
  • Thursday – weekly cleaning, yard maintenance rain date, photos and Sacrament display
  • Friday – food prep and final touches, et up tables and chairs.  Dinner in the crock pot.  We have house guests for the weekend, so I’ll change bedding and lay out towels, too.
  • Morning of event:  Final cleaning and prep, pick up ice and ordered food (send a spouse or friend!), wipe down the front door and hang porch flag, blow up and hang balloons
  • Last hour – get yourself ready, wipe down the bathrooms, vacuum, take out trash, empty dishwasher, light candles and put on some music

 See, I told you – You Can Do This!  Remember your WHY, and do a little bit every day.  Relax and enjoy!

Monetary Motivation: The Price of Procrastination

Do you like money?  I do, I will admit.  I don’t love it, but it certainly makes life easier.  What I don’t like is wasting money.  And I bet you don’t either.  And yet we regularly and purposefully defeat our own plans and end up wasting money.  How? Procrastination.

A few weeks ago, I gave you the definition of Procrastination: “To indefinitely postpone or avoid performing a task out of anxiety, rather than time constraints or logic.  Unfocused wandering, killing time.”(Julie Morgenstern, Never Check Your Email in the Morning).

     Motivation for procrastination and also for action differ from person to person.  Just look at your family or co-workers.  Regardless of your motivation for procrastinating, recognize and use monetary motivation this week for action, if that helps, to break through procrastination and save or make some money!

Actual Costs of Procrastination:

  • Penalties charged for late filing or payment of your taxes this week
  • ATM fees when you have to use the closest ATM instead of planning ahead and using your bank ATM
  • Late fees from the library (my 7 year old’s contribution) or the RedBox (!)
  • Credit card interest fees for incomplete or late payment
  • Late fees when you don’t pay your bills on time.  A client said our time working together paid for itself the first month she paid all her bills on time!
  • Paying higher rates for airline tickets, and expedited passport fees
  • Paying for costly repairs instead of maintaining what you own, like your car, or paying for car rental during repair time
  • Expedited shipping, postage or delivery fees when we procrastinate in shopping
  • Paying for overnight shipping or delivery when we are sending items and are now too close to the deadline to use regular shipping methods. 
  • Are you seeing dollar signs in your head yet?  Are you motivated to act?  What about the….

Indirect Costs of Procrastination, or losing out on money-saving opportunities: 

  • Not receiving interest on your money, if you don’t file taxes early
  • Not receiving reimbursement payments until long after your money is spent, or not at all
  • Not cashing or requesting checks:  A client needed to request a duplicate check for an insurance payment (the first one was damaged), and waited too long, the insurance company said No. 
  • Not taking advantage of sales and discounts, or savings like early bird registrations
  • Voiding warranties on big-ticket items like your car by delaying maintenance
  • I own my own business, so if I procrastinate, I can lose clients or money from lost sales.
  • And don’t forget about the….

Intangible Costs of Procrastination:

  • Increased stress
  • Loss of credibility or sympathy:  a friend is a college professor.  Imagine two students come to her in one week asking for an extension on a project.  One always misses classes, turns in late assignments or misses them all together, and one shows up to class and usually turns stuff in on time.  Who is more likely to get the extension?
  • If you have certification or professional papers to submit, what about being lumped all together with the others, or even tagged as a procrastinator?  Ouch.

My goal in blogging is to educate and motivate.  My challenge to you this week is to re-read the above list, and determine if there is a task or two you are avoiding for no good reason – and “I don’t want to” or “I don’t feel like it” are NOT good reasons.  Once you identify the task, be the adult and get the task done. Or at least started, if it is a multi-step task.  A great weight will lift from your shoulders, trust me, and maybe next time you start to procrastinate, the dollar signs will flash in your head and you’ll get the job done instead!

Spring Sports Survival Secrets

     A week ago, I posted this to Facebook from the baseball field: “It has begun. Spring sports season. Three sons, 1 time, 1 soccer game, 2 baseball practices, three locations. Bring it on!”

     I am not whining (much). I asked for this. I signed the boys up, wrote the checks. I love that my boys are involved in activities. I could limit the activities, I’m the mom and that’s within my rights and power.

     But I like the busy schedule. April is especially tough, though, schedule-wise. School activities are wrapping up, with honor band and choir, and lots of concerts and events. Then we add sports to the mix, with practices and games. So while I am not whining (at least not at the moment), I must plan and strategize to maintain a normal household and business during the busy times.

     I am calling this the Spring Sports Survival Secrets, but it can be used any time you need to get back to basics or live portable-y!!

1.  Clean out your Car for spring.

  • Grab a sheet, lay it on the ground. Take everything that is not nailed down out of your car and lay it on the sheet, then use Julie Morgenstern’s SPACE method.
  • SORT what you have. Categories could include necessary electronics (GPS, phone charger); car maintenance; emergency items like jumper cables; first aid kit, etc., you name it.
  • PURGE what can go (old mail, food wrappers, homework, single gloves, old receipts, etc.)
  • TAKE A BREAK, and Wash your car, either at a car wash or by hand, and vacuum it.
  • ASSIGN a home to the items that will go back in your car, and CONTAINERIZE them.
  • Do you know what a projectile is? In an accident, it is anything not strapped down in your car.  Bundle all the car maintenance or emergency items into a clear tote, and secure it safely.  I use Ziploc zippered totes.
  • EQUALIZE means maintenance. Clean out your car every day or at least once a week. Maintenance is quicker and easier than doing major cleanings

2. Review the basics: Clothing / Shelter / Food

  • Laundry basics:  laundry goes in the hamper immediately, or the uniform will not be clean for tomorrow.
  • Buy extras of always-used things, for example we have lots of baseball pants and socks from past seasons, so our new uniforms can be saved for games.
  • Start a load every morning or every night to stay on top of things.
  • Re-pack the sports bags as soon as you get home from games or practice. Very often we go to practice right after school, so having the bag packed and back in the car is invaluable to getting to practice on time!
  • Shelter: Home Management:  Invest time in maintenance every day. The last thing you and your kids may feel like doing at 9 pm after 2 baseball games is tidying up or putting stuff away, but you will thank yourselves the next morning.

3. Food: Menu Planning is so important it deserves it’s own space. I no longer remember how to NOT menu plan, because we’ve been doing it so long, and I find it so valuable.

  • Click here for a past blog on the topic, http://colleencpo.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/how-can-you-not-menu-plan/
  • Write the next 7 days on a piece of paper, look at what is in the cabinets and freezer, and write down your dinner plan for each day.  Suggestions include:
  • Cook twice as much food on some days, to have planned leftovers the next day (for example, extra grilled chicken can go in a soup or salad the next day) 
  • This also works with meatloaf, casseroles, chilis or soups, cook two and freeze one for next week
  • Make dinner at 7 am, or 2 pm, or whatever time you have. I have been known to make rice or mashed potatoes while getting ready in the morning, to warm up at dinner time.
  • I assemble two or three dinners on an easy scheduled day or Sunday night, and tuck them back in the fridge for later in the week (lasagna, enchilada or taco casserole, etc.)
  • Make your own convenience food. We make ahead bags of salad, hardboiled eggs, diced carrots and celery and other veggies for quick meals.

4. Stock the Mom Bag to keep in the car. My Mom Bag includes: clipboard and homework essentials (for long rides to soccer games), long sleeve shirts and hoodies for me and the boys, baseball cap for me, folding chairs, a blanket or 2, first aid kit, tissues and antibacterial wipes (porta johns, anyone?), water bottles (though we try to bring re-usable ones as much as possible), granola bars, nuts / trail mix, a magazine or book for me, and a soccer ball for the 7-year-old for waiting time.

5. Go to bed. Seriously. You and the kids. Everyone lives better with good sleep.

     So try a tip or even two this week, and enjoy the sport season!  See you at the baseball game!

Time Clutter Has Got To Go!

Week Six in the Lenten Organizing Challenge.  This week we look at the Spirituality of Time Clutter.  Remember, Clutter Is anything we don’t need, use or love.  And that means time clutter, too.  How we use our time can be a very spiritual choice.  Our time is the only thing we truly own, and it is important that we use it well and wisely. 

I read a book a few years ago called “There Must Be More Than This” by Judith Wright.  In this book, Wright talks about how small, minor habits that we have every day can actually cause us a lot of harm.  She defines these habits as “Soft Addictions”, “habitual activities or moods that numb our feelings, sap our life force, and lock us into a limbo of muted experience”.  These addictions keep us from feeling deeply and experiencing fulfillment.  We “guide our lives by old, unconscious, unexamined, limiting beliefs”.  These addictions are broken down into 4 sub-headings: 

  1. Activities –  media – TV and movies, email / social media, buying / shopping , personal maintenance, physical mannerisms, sexual, risk taking, social diversions
  2. Moods / Ways of Being:  being sarcastic, being cranky or irritable, always on, jokester, perfectionist, fanaticism, moping, acting cool, blaming others
  3. Avoidances:  procrastinating, playing dumb, playing the victim, acting helpless, being too busy, over-sleeping or napping, being late
  4. Things – edible and consumable, overeating or excessive drinking, having too much or too many of any thing

There are more specific lists of these 4 types in her book and on her website, http://judithwright.com/ .  I would recommend reading this book, check it out at your local library, or you can borrow my copy!

Whenever I review this book, I challenge myself to look at how I spend my time.  I have good habits most days, but like many of us, my good habits and intentions slip, so I need reminders and re-commitment regularly.  To improve my life, there are things I can pare down, eliminate or replace with good habits:  watching TV, obsessively checking my email or Facebbok, late night snacking and thinking crabby thoughts are the first things that come to mind, and that was in 10 seconds, I’m sure I could think of more!

My major weaknesses are in Moods / Ways of Being.  I need to break free of perfectionism some days, and my inner voice needs to be less cranky and judgmental.  Spending more time being positive and loving would certainly help me live better (and those around me!!).  The Moods / Ways of Being category is tough, though, since negative moods can slide into our behaviors without notice.  So this week, I am noticing!!   

I also need to cut back on my TV consumption.  I have quite a backlog of recorded shows on my DVR from our week on vacation, and looking at the list, I realized there were shows I really don’t need to watch at all.  I have a very busy week this week, and I am choosing to not spend my hours sitting on my couch watching TV.  The shows don’t seem worth the hour I would need to spend to watch them.  So I deleted them, and will choose more meaningful endeavors like time with my family, reading, or prayer and ministry for Holy Week. 

My challenge to you is to take a long look at how you spend your time.  If you kept a diary for a week, what would it look like?  Ask yourself what behaviors or habits that you have that hold you back from leading a better life.  What are some soft addictions you could pare down or part with, now and forever?  Purge Time Clutter this week and live better.