Tag Archive for: Family Organizing

Date Night

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When asked to give advice to newlyweds, I always answer to include a weekly Date Night in their activities. Daily life takes it toll on relationships, when conversations about finances, kids and work can take priority over relationships.  Date night is one evening (or day) once a week spent having fun with your spouse.  It is a time to connect on different levels, including communicating about what you are thinking about as well as making plans for the future.  It is also the time to renew the fun you had when you began your relationship.  Date night does not have to be expensive or elegant. It can be a dinner and movie in or out, ice cream at Sonic, a trip to a museum or zoo, or whatever simple activity you both enjoy.  Date night keeps communication and fun in your most important partnership. This is just another way your planner  help you prioritize and  empower our relationships. 

 

Others agree too! http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/6544045.html

 

JQ and my favorite date night is dinner and a movie.  What is your’s? 

 

 

Clutter has its cost

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Has “clutter-it is” taken over at your home or office? Is every flat surface obscured by paper or belongings? My favorite Peter Walsh statement is about the cost of clutter.  Peter Walsh has a way of saying this in his book Enough Already.  Clutter is demanding, it robs us of space.  It promises everything, delivers nothing, and eventually stresses you out.  Clutter costs us peace of mind and drains us of positive energy. Imagine what you could do with the time and space your clutter is currently taking up!

Choose 15 minutes to declutter your home every day. You can do anything for 15 minutes! Take a few minutes to get items back where they belong in their homes. If items do not have a home, decide if you will “use them or lose them” being ready to store, donate or toss. This routine will get your home or office back to running order very quickly.

Choose 5 items to declutter. What do you truly love, truly use and truly need access? Walk around your home and think about items you truly have not used in YEARS! Do this once a week, and with this baby step, your living and working space will evolve into a clear space.

Declutter your mind with lists. Use paper and pencil to clear out all those required activities, last minutes errands, purchases and more. Keep paper and pencil in your car, by your bed and by each telephone. If you always have access to paper, it is easier to make a list!

Do you have “virtual clutter” – email, forwards, or spam? Eliminate this clutter by using the spam filter provided by your service provider. Hit the delete key for unwanted emails as soon as they arrive. Add a note to your signature line on your email stating “Please do not forward unnecessary email or chain letters to this me. Thank you.” Junk mail and junk email are the same – toss these as soon as these arrive in your box!

Stop clutter before it begins! Before you purchase any item, evaluate how and when will you use it, where will you store it, and whether or not you truly love it!

What is clutter costing you?  Has it cost  you too much already?

Family Manager

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Creating a happy, organized home helps each family member be the best they can be! By building a cohesive family team, you are affirming all of the family members and nurturing yourself and them. For several years I have been a fan of the Family Manager program and Kathy Peel.   The program emphasizes a fresh perspective on your home and life.  And sometimes this new perspective makes all the difference for your family!  As a Certified Family Manager I help people review what is going on in their homes and lives as if it were a business.  Your home is viewed from the perspective of 7 different “departments”, including home and property, food, special events, time and scheduling, finances, personal management and family and friends.  A family manager uses the same skills and strategies of team building, delegating, and standard operating procedures as a business would.  By knowing what our job is, “managing” each department, knowing our mission and communicating well, we empower ourselves and our family.   Learn more about family manager at www.familymanager.com.  Kathy’s book, A Busy Mom’s Guide to a Happy, Organized Home, tells all about this system and more!

 

Family Celebrations

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family organizing

 

Your kids will remember all your family celebrations and traditions.  Birthdays, confirmations, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day  are events that bring your family a special joy of celebrating a person. Holidays like July 4th celebrate family values like patriotism.   Holiday traditions like Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa celebrate spirituality.  Precious family memories are formed this way.

 

 

Planning ahead

All family events require planning and execution.   Keeping your plans simple and including the family team in the execution make family celebrations joyful.  Brainstorm with your family which events to celebrate including birthdays.  Mark your calendar for these events on both your personal and family meeting calendar.  Create a list for the event including invitations and purchases. Develop a time line for invitations, purchases, and preparing your home and food.  Can you delegate to your team members according to their strengths? Can you kids address invitations? Can your spouse do the food shopping?

 

Make family time more manageable.

As the event comes closer, break the jobs into small chunks. Manageable pieces, like setting the table, decorating, and cleaning one room at a time, can make the event less overwhelming.  Get a good nights rest the evening before the event.  All families require energy to be flexible and enthusiastic. 

 

Fun is the focus

Welcome the fun of a family celebration, regardless of what goes awry! Sharing in family events is about the time together! Don’t worry about it being perfect. Focus on the happy times.

 

 

 

 

 

Keep It Simple Sweetie

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Simplicity makes a difference in all our lives.  Creating a simple plan, working on a simplified project, and communicating simply are all important aspects of simplying our lives.  I love the mantra of Keep It Simple Sweetie because it reminds us in a fun way to keep things as simple as possible.   Often complexity makes a task overwhelming and paralyzing. The details become the project instead of the outcome.   Think of the tasks to accomplish, whether for home or work, and see what the most direct path to accomplish that can be.
  • Start with the end in mind. What do you want to accomplish and what is the deadline? What is the path to accomplish the goal?
  • Ask for help from your team, whether it is your family or co-workers.   A team effort makes the work more fun, gets the job done quickly and lessens your work load.
  • Stay on task for completion.   Keep off those bunny trails.  If you are easily distracted, create reminders to keep going and get it done.
  • Remember that done is perfect! Balance your perfectionism with the time allotted to get the job done.

Simple steps for your work at home or elsewhere create effectiveness and efficiency.  Your benefit is your great sense of productivity for accomplishments! And you get to do the really fun stuff now!

Team approach for your family

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dscn3190

 

Creating your family team takes consistent systems and routines.  Team building includes the family meeting where the assignments of “who is doing what” become reality.   Today a client shared with me what works for her familiy. It is a system called “I did my chores.”  My client assigns chores with points for each of her 4 children.  Two kids working together each earn points too! Full instructions include various rewards for points earned, such as staying up 30 minutes late,  dessert and more.  Why does it work? The kids love it and the parents consistently reinforce this. 

What works for your family routines? Email me so we can share it!