by The Organizer Lady dot com on June 21, 2007
Being a work at home mom is great in many ways. You can set your own hours, work when you want to, be with the kids more, and you are your own boss. The perks are wonderful. But having a home business can also become overwhelming quickly when it comes to balancing work and caring for the home and family.
It’s important for a WAHM to be organized so that the home business and the home and family are taken care of. Being organized doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. Enlist the rest of the family to help out.
Instead of trying to run your home business and do everything around the house that needs to be done, delegate chores out to the rest of the family. This can either be done on a rotating basis where the chores change each week, or you can assign certain chores to family members that they will be responsible for on a daily or weekly basis. Almost everyone can do something.
In assigning chores to be done, it’s helpful to remember that the kids and hubby will no doubt not do things the way you do them. Unless something is really needing taken care of better or in a different manner, don’t go behind them and redo it or complain to them. The idea is to get help so that you can work. If you go behind them, you’re not getting work done.
Kids are very capable of helping with day to day chores around the house. Have them clean their own rooms and do their own laundry and take turns doing the dishes. Those that are old enough can also take turns, along with the hubby, in cooking dinner. Even young kids can help fold clothes and put them away, plus vacuum and take out the trash.
Work at home moms absolutely need a work schedule. Organizing your time helps you to work more efficiently. Your work schedule doesn’t have to be the same time every day. Schedule around events such as school and after school activities or homeschooling, shopping, going out, family time, etc. A day planner is very helpful for keeping up with important dates and events so that you can schedule work time around things you want to do.
Your work time should be just that, work time. Once you have an established schedule, family and friends need to know that this is your work time. Let the answering machine pick up phone messages unless it’s business. Have ready made and easy to prepare snacks for the kids.
Being a WAHM can easily become overwhelming without being organized. To prevent yourself from burning out with a work at home business, get the entire family involved in helping to care for the home. Your home will be organized, and your business will likely be more successful when you aren’t stressed out in trying to do it all.
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by The Organizer Lady dot com on June 21, 2007
These are tips that the entire family can and should use. All family members living in the home should help take care of the home they live in. Almost everyone can do something, even small children. There is NO reason why Mom should clean up behind herself and everyone else too! After all, if everyone is partaking of the blessings of the home to live in, everyone should help take care of it. While no one will change overnight, incorporating these tips into your daily life will soon make new and neater habits for even the messiest of the messies.
1. If you make a mess, clean it up immediately. Don’t say you will get it after a while, do it now. Once you walk away from it, chances are that you won’t go back to it. Make a habit of cleaning up as you go! This saves time and keeps the home clean and organized. Washing dishes as you cook works great if you don’t want a pile after the meal, fold and put away the laundry as soon as it’s done, and have the kids put away toys they are done with before they take more out.
2. If you use it, put it back where it belongs. Don’t wait until later, do it immediately! Again, once you leave it, chances are you won’t go back to it, and whatever you used will not be put away. Have family members learn to put things where they belong when they are done with the item.
3. Have a place where things live. Everything has a home! Instead of just laying something down anyplace, always put it where it belongs. If you make a habit of putting things up THEN, and having the family do the same, it will become a habit to automatically put things away in the correct place.
4. Never go to bed with a dirty kitchen. Even if you don’t do dishes right after a meal (I don’t), make sure the kitchen is clean before bed. If the kitchen is clean and someone decides on a snack after, have them clean up anything they mess up. Wipe the counters, the stove, and the table, and make sure the sink is empty and clean.
5. Bathrooms should always be clean! Keep Clorox Wipes in the bathroom so that anyone can use them immediately if needed. These are great for cleanups!
6. When you are cleaning out, have a bag or box for items no longer needed or used. Donate them, sell them, but get rid of them! There’s no greater clutter than things we don’t have need for. Clothes that we no longer wear, toys the children are too old for, books we have read and that just sit on shelves…. whatever is in your home that’s not needed, get rid of it as you clean. When you put items no needed or used in that bag or box, make a note to have the items out of your home no later than seven days from the date you packed them. Don’t just move the clutter, get rid of it!
7. If your home is really cluttered, make yourself start the cleaning process by taking at least 15 minutes a day to clean it. It’s a great thought to try and clean the entire house at once, and if you can do that, great! But for the person that cannot do that, make it a goal to start at 15 minutes and work on up to more as you go in the following days. Start with the kitchen and bathroom. These are two rooms that should always be clean and sanitary. Make it a goal to clean those two rooms and keep them clean. Then work on the rest of the home. Once you have a room clean and organized, KEEP it clean and organized!
Each of these tips are attainable! While everyone is different and works at a different pace, at the same time, everyone can do this! It cannot be stressed enough that ALL members living in the home should do their part. There is no excuse for anyone to not help out unless they are physically or mentally unable to do so. Even a baby that crawls at six months can be taught to begin put their toy into the toy box. Get everyone involved and get organized!
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by The Organizer Lady dot com on June 21, 2007
The stresses of day to day living can often overwhelm us, leaving us feeling that we have no control over what’s going on around us, even in our own homes. If our homes are disorganized and cluttered, it can easily overwhelm us. Activities as simple as looking for something, trying to decide where to start cleaning, or even where to store something can overwhelm us causes unnecessary stress. Decluttering and organizing the home isn’t difficult and it makes day to day life so much simpler.
When you get organized, you not only have an organized home and a clutter free home, but you have better time management. This gives you more time to do things you want to do or need to do, not to mention the benefits of less stress on the mind and body.
One of the first steps to getting an organized life is to declutter your home. Uncluttering the home gets rid of things that you no longer need or use. This can be clothes that you or the family no longer wear or fit into, books and toys the kids have outgrown, things that you keep that serve no purpose, papers ad magazines that have piled up over the months, etc. It it serves no useful purpose and isn’t being kept for sentimental purposes, it’s probably a good idea to toss it out. Once the clutter is gone, then you can begin to organize your home room by room.
Everyone has a different idea of how to organize their home and belongings. The best way is to organize for how you use things. Items that you use the most obviously need to be more accessible than items that are used less often. So you will want to organize used items in a manner that they can be easily obtained when needed.
Everything in the home should have a place, or its own home. When something is used, return it to its home after being used. Setting it down will often result in the item remaining where you put it down at. Get in the habit of putting things back where they belong immediately after use. This the main factor in getting and keeping an organized home.
Clean as you go. When you mess something up, clean it up. Don’t leave dishes in the sink overnight, don’t leave something spilled, don’t leave clothes in the dryer when they are done, don’t leave dirty clothes laying all over the house. Wash dishes as you go when cooking, clean up spills immediately, fold and hang clothing when dried and put away, and keep dirty clothes in one place in each bedroom or bathroom. Doing as you go keeps your home less cluttered and it saves you time because you’ve already done half the work.
Paper can pile up around the home faster than anything and lead to a clutter problem repeatedly. The best way to avoid your home being cluttered with paper is to go through paper items as they enter the home. Organize or dispose of the paper items. Paper items such as magazines, newspapers, grocery bags, coupons, receipts, notes written to remember things, and mail should be taken care of the same day they come into the home. Taking care of the paper trail is one of the main priorities in keeping the clutter at bay.
Clean out the bedrooms and bathrooms and closets. If you don’t need it or use it, toss it. If it’s seasonal, hide it in the closet behind the things you use all the time. Items in the bathroom that you don’t use should be tossed. Keeping 20 bottles of various shampoos that you bought and didn’t care for only takes up space. If you aren’t going to use them, get rid of them. If you have clothes in the closet that you haven’t worn since your last child was born 27 years ago, chances are it’s safe to let go of them. Boxes of packed items that have hibernated in the corners of your bedroom since you moved in seven years ago need to find a home in the closet or out the door.
Kitchen cabinets should be free of items you don’t use. Having 100 glasses that you never use only takes up space for something that you do use. If Aunt Jane bought you a dinner setting for Christmas ten year ago and you have never used it, it’s properly safe to pass it on. Obviously you don’t want to hurt feelings by giving away something that you received as a gift, but keeping gifts that you just totally hate only takes up space.
Get the entire family involved in keeping the home organized and clutter free. Even young children are able to put their toys in their proper place after playing with them. Everyone in the family should be responsible for cleaning up after themselves. Getting the whole family involved in home organization will ensure an organized life, plus teaching the kids good habits for later in life.
Once you have a clutter free home and an organized home, then you will want to keep it organized and decluttered. Keeping the home organized is fairly easy to do if you do something everyday towards home organization. But to keep it clutter free, it’s important not to bring clutter back into the home to replace what you just got rid of. The best way to solve this problem is to simply not buy what you don’t need. While it’s tempting when you run upon sales or good deals, the rule to remember is that if you don’t need it or have a use for it, don’t bring it home.
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by The Organizer Lady dot com on June 21, 2007
We all put off things that need to be done. But when it becomes routine to leave necessary tasks unattended, it’s possible that we have turned into a procrastinator. Procrastinators put off things that need to be done, on a regular basis. There are ways to help break the cycle of procrastination.
Some people put off doing things out of fear that they won’t do the task correctly, believing that they will fail in whatever they do. So they simply put off doing things, believing that they will only mess up whatever they are doing anyway. Instead of trying, they give in to the belief that they can’t do it, so why even try.
No one is perfect. We all mess up, we all fail at times, and we all make mistakes. But without trying, we cannot possibly succeed. In order to succeed, we have to try, we have to make an attempt at doing what needs to be done, and not procrastinate. And if it turns out that we do indeed mess up after we tried, there’s usually always a next time to try again. Instead of putting off what needs to be done, just do it and hope for the best.
Often it just seems that the tasks at hand are too overwhelming, that there is simply too many things that need to be done. Rather than tackle one task at a time, we simply don’t do any because we don’t know where to begin. Making a list of things to do and keeping an ongoing plan can help to alleviate the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Determine what needs to be done and make a list, with the more needed tasks at the top. Set aside an amount of time per day to do the things on your list. Appoint a certain day and time to do certain tasks. Having a set routine for certain tasks can help establish a regular pattern for getting things done, thereby helping to stop procrastination.
Tell yourself that whatever needs to be done will be done to the best of your ability, and that no matter how a task turns out, you did the best you could. Give a project your best effort, and know that if you tried your best, you didn’t fail. Each time you do something that seems to be too much or too overwhelming, keep this thought in the back of your mind. Seek to please yourself only, and to be satisfied with your accomplishment.
If you are a chronic procrastinator, rewarding yourself for accomplished tasks can be a nice self esteem booster. This can be something like frosted sugar cookies or chocolate, or renting a favorite movie. Keeping an ongoing plan of action that’s up to date gives you something to physically see, helping to reduce the amount of procrastinating.
Focus on the here and now. If you procrastinated in the past and didn’t get tasks done that needed to be taken care of, don’t beat yourself up over it. Each day is a new beginning and a new chance to take care of business. Instead of reminding yourself of what you didn’t do that needed to be done, tackle one task at a time and take it one task at a time. We can’t undo yesterday, but we can do today.
Make lists of priority goals, short term goals, and long term goals. This helps to take away the feeling of being overwhelmed at the sheer amount of tasks that need to be completed. Keep an ongoing list of daily things to do, weekly things, monthly, etc. Remember to reward yourself for a job well done.
Don’t allow the fear of failure or of what someone might think take control of you. Procrastinating only puts off what needs to be done. The fact that we procrastinate doesn’t undo the need for tasks to be accomplished. Keep focused on the goals you have listed. Once you have established a routine for accomplishing tasks, the procrastination will be gone.
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