Archive | March, 2010

Introducing e-mealz!

Posted on March 31, 2010 by in Home Organizing

Meal Planning!  This is something that I worry way too much about.  Even with the tips I wrote about in my recent blog (Meal Planning), I still struggle at times of what to make for dinner!

Through a friend of mine I found the website, e-mealz and decided to give it a try!  I love it!

I loved it so much, I decided to become an affiliate and put their banner on my website.  There are many options you can choose from and for only $1.25 a week, you can’t go wrong!  You can have menus for 1-2 people to feeding a family of 4-6!  You can have low fat menus, vegetarian meals, point menus, you can even choose the store you shop in!  They also have special menus you can buy for vacation trips and for the upcoming Easter holiday!

I highly recommend you check this program out…

The benefits it brought to my family were:

  • Saving me time!  I print out the menu, decide which meals I want to make and it comes with a grocery list – I don’t have to think about it, I just go with my list and start checking off as I put the ingredients in the basket!
  • We get to try new and different recipes!
  • The recipes are simple, nothing complex or confusing!
  • The price is so reasonable

There are many more benefits, these are just the top ones for me!  I highly recommend checking it out and seeing if this may be a good solution for you!  It’s priced at a point, where even if you do not like all of the recipes, you do not feel like you are wasting money.

I have saved the menus and now have my own e-mealz binder, filled with the menu plan, recipes and grocery list!  I look forward to the new week of menus… It makes meal planning actually fun and not such a dreaded chore!

Try it!

Happy Organizing!

“Home Sweet Home”

Posted on March 29, 2010 by in Home Organizing

We are back from a busy fun filled Spring Break!  We went swimming, we played at the bouncy house, played pickle ball for the first time, watched the Blind Side (great movie by the way) ate too much junk food, and had many laughs!

Some of my favorite memories will be of my 4 year old daughter declaring her love for Mrs. Buttercup, (Suppose to be Mrs.Butterworth – we had a lot of french toast over the break!)  Hearing the laughs from the bedroom between her and her older brother, and listening to their intense discussion about dinosaurs!  To see how excited each child was when getting new coloring books for the car ride.

We went to an arcade and my daughter wanted so badly to play the hook game where you pick up a stuff animal.  She loves stuff animals!  I let her a play a couple of times, and then told her no more, it was just a waste of money.  After more begging, I said OK one more time… And yes, one more time, meant she actually got the stuff animal… I couldn’t believe it!  She was so excited!  And my whole theory of it being a waste of money is well basically non existent… Now what do I say the next time she wants to play?

I love vacation.  There is peace and a sense of renewal when you are able to get away from your normal routine.  I always come back home being more motivated and inspired to work on projects that maybe I have been neglecting.

But once I am home, I realize how much I love being at home.  I love the routine and the structure of our lives.

Vacation is good… but there is nothing like being at home!

The Art of Family Management!

Posted on March 19, 2010 by in Home Organizing

 

As many of you may have already seen on the TCO website, facebook, and/or Twitter, I am very excited to introduce the coaching series, “The Art of Family Management”.  This teleseminar is going to be lead by myself and Susan Heid of the Confident Mom.

I first met Susan through Twitter.  I had signed up for one of her other teleseminars on ScreamFree parenting.  It was such a great learning experience for me. The class was very informative and the best part was talking with other mom’s about our experiences.  We all helped each other. It was the first time I have ever read a parenting book cover to cover.

Susan and I found out after the teleseminar that we had a lot in common. Our businesses were similiar in nature and she had asked me to be a guest blogger on her site.  After more discussion, we decided to collaborate on a coaching series we could conduct together as a parent coach and an organizing coach.  We are both mom’s, we both know and understand the challenges that families face everyday.  We knew with our different expertise, we could offer a great service to our clients and from these conversations the Art of Family Management was born!

The study group will be based off of the book, ” The Busy Mom’s Guide To a Happy, Organized Home” By Kathy Peel. Susan is certified Family Manager Coach from Kathy Peel.  We will be offering the study guide based on the book along with lots of “extras” that we feel each mom can benefit from.

There are seven major topics we will be discussing:

  • Time Management and Scheduling
  • Home and Property Management – Including excellent organizing tips and tricks
  • Food Department – Grocery and Meal Planning
  • Family Relationships / Parenting
  • Finances
  • Best ways to organize and plan for Special Events
  • Managing Yourself – taking care of you

What is so great about this teleseminar is you are getting two experts, one in organizing and one in parenting.  You get to talk with other mom’s about their challenges and their solutions.  We all can learn so much from each other.  This is a great opportunity to find support, encouragement, and practical solutions to your everyday problems.

Because of the intimacy of the group, this session is open to only 12 mom’s.

The introductory session is on Monday,  March 29th at 6:30pm (PDT).

The coaching series will be held on Mondays, April 12th-May 3rd at 6:30pm (PDT) (4 Monday Sessions, 75 minutes each)

The best part…. The series is over the telephone, No sitters or Driving!

For more information about the teleseminar and to register for the series, click here.

I hope to see you there… This is a fabulous learning opportunity, and I am so thrilled to be a part of a great service!

Happy Organizing!

“Spring into Action” – How to Organize Your Checklist!

Posted on March 15, 2010 by in Holiday Organizing, Home Organizing, Productivity

Motivation – Check

TCO Spring Cleaning and Organizing Checklist - Check

It’s Spring – Check

Overwhelmed - Check

You have the list, and yes it can seem a bit overwhelming.  How do you get all of it done, and get it done within Spring!  They do call it Spring Cleaning not Summer Cleaning right!  The best advice I can give you is- set up a plan!  Knowing when and how you are going to do something helps you achieve your wanted results in more efficient way!

Here are some simple steps in organizing your checklist:

1) Set your priorities-  Using the TCO checklist as a guideline, go from room to room and decide on your priorities.  What needs to be done first?  What can be done quickly?  Every home is different and some of the items on the TCO checklist may not apply to you.  As well as you may need to add items for your own home.  The object here is to write down on your list what is going to happen first, second, and so on.

2) Schedule and set deadlines- In order to get your projects done, you have to schedule the time to do them.  Look at your schedule and plan ahead.  For example; Saturday, March 20th from 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m., working in garage, sorting, categorizing and making one trip to Goodwill. You are being clear of when you are working and what you will be doing during that time.

3)  Delegate- You do not have to do everything!  Have a family meeting and delegate cleaning and organizing tasks that are age appropriate to your family members.  When there are more hands involved, the work will get done faster.  If you can, consider hiring outside help.  There are lots of handyman and other services that can help clean out gutters, landscaping etc.

4)  Do a little each day- We’re on a timeline and not every weekend is going to be free for household projects.  So take a few minutes everyday, to do something!  The minutes will accumulate and eventually everything will be completed… and hopefully before summer starts!

5)  Make It Fun- I realize organizing is probably not on your top 10 things to don on a sunny spring day! However, you can make it fun!  Open your windows and put on your favorite music!  Make a game out of it.  Limit your distractions and make the most out of the time you have set aside.  When you have completed a project, celebrate and treat the family to something special like an ice cream date!

Happy Spring Organizing!

TCO – Spring Cleaning and Organizing Checklist!

Posted on March 15, 2010 by in Holiday Organizing, Home Organizing

I love the change of seasons.  It has always been an inspiration for me on getting my home in order.  Many of us use spring as the time to do those “chores” that only need to be done once or twice a year.  We are so excited to see the blue sky that working out in the garage doesn’t seem to be such a daunting task after all!

To make these tasks more manageable and organized, TCO has come up with a “Spring Cleaning and Organizing Checklist” just for you!  We realize that every home has different needs, and not everything may be on this list. However, there also may be things on this list you may have never thought about…

So download this list and use it as a guideline to get all of those projects done!  Every organizing project needs to have a plan in order to achieve great results- and this checklist is your roadmap!

Open your windows, play your favorite music and get started!

Happy Organizing!