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Organized isn't necessarily clean, it's knowing where your stuff is and putting it back there everytime.
~Andie Gallagher, The Kid Organizer
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Posted by The Family Matters Organizer at
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"Worry is the darkroom where negatives are developed." ~ Author Unknown
It's much easier to stay positive when you are not worried!
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Posted by The Family Matters Organizer at
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My kids just learned a great lesson, a number of lessons actually.
There are always issues surrounding Halloween candy. I'm forever having to establish rules about where it's kept, how much can be eaten (a day), and how much gets stored or frozen for later.
This year they could keep their separate candy stashes, but it had to be in a labeled ziploc in our kitchen freezer. That way I could track the sneaking if it were kept in their rooms or in our garage freezer and they had a bit of time to think about what they were going to eat and if they still wanted to eat it as it was thawing out. (Of course there are some that are just plain better frozen!)
There were no specifics on how much they could eat in a day, but they had to ask first. If they ate any without asking or I found any in their rooms, or there was any fighting amongst them regarding the candy, it all went in the garbage. This was very clear.
Day 4: Andie's got chocolate on her chin. "Andie, did you eat some of your candy?" "No, it was Britney's...she offered it to me!"
I didn't have to say any more. She went and got Brit and they both dumped their entire bags of candy into the outside garbage bin (to keep them from retrieving later). Bummer. They were actually not as sad or mad as I thought they'd be; they knew the consequences and they knew I'd follow-through.
Let me tell you about how sad I am, though. I actually went out and looked in the trash container and wondered why I'd made such a stupid rule - now what was I going to eat?
Oh, yeah...the other two kids haven't lost their stash yet!
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Posted by The Family Matters Organizer at
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Dr. Amie Ragan has Fun Friday Stuff on her blog - Psychology of Clutter. Take the 100 Acre quiz and see what Pooh character you are. Just for fun!
I'm a Pooh - see below. Seems accurate enough although I don't know what all the others are. Does that mean I'm a chubby little tubby all stuffed with fluff?!
Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!
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Posted by The Family Matters Organizer at
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My daughter Andie is 9. She has a monthly column in my Organi-zine called, Ask the Kid Organizer. She was getting out the door to school this morning and said asked if I would post an organizing tip from her today. Of course I would, what is it?
To avoid wasting time re-doing buttons or snaps when you are putting on a shirt or jacket and you accidentally get off by one or two, always start at the bottom. Once the 2 bottom buttons are matched up, it's really hard to make a mistake on the rest going up.
She's always thinking about little things like this...cracks me up!
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Posted by The Family Matters Organizer at
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"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses." ~ Jean Baptiste Alphonse Karr
It's all in your attitude and perpective. Pick a good one!
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Posted by The Family Matters Organizer at
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A friend of mine mentioned yesterday that her daughter was dealing with the fear of monsters when she goes to bed. It reminded me of when my daughter was that age and had the same fear. I thought I'd share what worked for us in case others have the same problem and can adapt from it to suit their needs.
We made up signs that said, "No Monsters Allowed!" We hung them on the outside of her bedroom door. She added some along the way on her closet door and on our front and back doors to the house. See the thing about monster is, that they always follow the rules. So if you put a rule out, they have to follow it - or else...
Then since I had this recipe for Anti-Monster spray , we pulled that out and whipped up a batch in an empty non-aerosol spray bottle. She called it Monster Spray since the Anti- had no meaning to her and colored a label with a mailing label sticker. The recipe I remember had water and vanilla in it and other things that aren't coming to mind, but the point was that monsters do not like things that smell good, so the recipe should contain a nice scent.
We had a ritual then before she went to bed where she would take the spray and spray it where she just knew the monsters lived or she had seen them. The whole house was a target at first, then just starting at the front door down and then throughout her room, and eventually she forgot about it/them. It was never my initiative. She had to remember and do it on her own (with me by her side for protection, of course), but I never did it for her. Even when she'd wake up in the middle of the night and say she'd forgotten or the spray had worn off, I'd go back to her room with her, let her spray it, and then tuck her back in her bed.
Then one day I noticed the signs were down from all doors except her bedroom, and about a month later that came down, too. The whole process was probably about 6 months, but only the first couple weeks were actually any 'work'.
On about the 3rd batch, though, we were out of vanilla and by now she knew vanilla was in the recipe, it was a little nerve wrecking until we found a neighbor at 9pm that would borrow us a tsp.
I'm just going to say use common sense with ingredients, I hate all the "you are really a dumb-a**" warning labels that are out there. Be smart. And Good Luck!!
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Posted by The Family Matters Organizer at
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"The whole secret of freedom from anxiety over not having enough time lies not in working more hours, but in the proper planning of the hours." ~ Unknown
Do you take the time to plan your day? Your week? Your life? Planning ahead saves time, energy, anxiety, stress, and so much more. Take the time, it comes back to you tenfold!
Check out the article on my website, Use it For Good.
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Posted by The Family Matters Organizer at
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I'm watching my 3 year old, Zilla, out the front window yesterday afternoon. She's singing and dancing in the front yard, playing with leaves. I can see her picking up a leaf, turning it around examining it, talking to it, and then after she decides whether it meets her criteria or not she either places it in her other hand to hang onto or drops it back on the ground.
This goes on for awhile, until she has a good dozen leaves in her hand of various shades of yellow and green. Then she sits down and starts arranging them. First flipping them all so that all the stems are facing one way and then turning and twisting until she gets the arrangement she likes.
Then she comes skipping in the house and announces she brought me a bouquet of leaves! She's so proud! (And she should be, she worked hard on this.)
Well, I'm thinking to myself what am I going to do with a bunch of dead, crunchy leaves? They aren't even colorful or pretty!
She's waiting expectantly for my reaction, which of course I give enthusiastically and make my way to the hall closet for a vase fitting of such a magnificent bouquet.
Lessons learned:
Everything is what we make of it.
We need to make the best of everything and every situation.
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Have fun, no matter what you're doing.
Give.
Receive.
Be open to new ideas. (I didn't really think dead leaves needed water, but Zilla did.)
Play. Imagine.
Take the time to watch and enjoy.
Try new things. (She thought the bouquet should be placed for display in our main bathroom. I thought otherwise. She moved it from my location to hers when I wasn't looking. My next trip to the bathroom, I saw the vase - and guess what? It actually looked good, like we purposely decorated for fall in there. Now of course I told her they looked nice, but let's not go overboard here or I'd have vases of leaves all over my house!)
I'm sure there are more, but if you'll excuse me - I've got a child to enjoy!
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Posted by The Family Matters Organizer at
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Wally Amos, aka 'Famous Amos' of the chocolate
cookie brand of fame has a wonderful
watermelon credo that I wanted to share with you.
WATERMELON CREDO
W hatever you believe creates your reality
A
ttitude is the magic word
T ogether everyone achieves more
E nthusiasm is
the wellspring of life
R espect yourself, as well as others
M ake
commitments, not excuses
E veryday can be a fun day
L ove is the
answer
O ne day at a time
N ever give up or become a victim
"Watermelon is "fun," inspirational and a reminder
for us to always live from our highest self"
- Wally
Amos.
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Posted by The Family Matters Organizer at
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