The Simply Organized Parent & More

Life Happens...

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:08:16 PDT

While I was working away in my office this afternoon I noticed our cat (a.k.a. "the huntress") laying in the middle of the front yard. This seemed a little odd, but not enough out of the ordinary to cause concern.

Then, I heard ~ what I thought was the water being turned on outside, that was concerning enough to investigate (since no on was suppose to be home except me).

Coming around the corner on the porch I managed to startle our poor lab (enjoying a lazy summer nap - no doubt) as well as myself. But, no one was there. I must have been hearing things.

As I headed back inside the typical teasing & friendly chasing began, I'd seen it enough times - it's not cute anymore, I B-lined for a glass of water.

Standing in the kitchen, however, I caught site of the dog standing a few feet away from where the Huntress had been & staring at the ground. Then ... it made a run for it!

Yup, once again, she had carefully stalked, pounced & captured a rodent only to have the "mutt" take off with her trophy & have all the fun with it!

When I came out to try & release the prisoner the dog ran while gulping it down.

The cat & I exchanged looks (like so many times before). Mine always says "sorry, I tried" hers always says "Dumb Dog!"

This got me thinking though, how many times have any of us done the hard work only to watch it slip out of our control?

We plan, prepare, worry & then 'life' happens.

In this case, the dumb dog happened. But for many of my clients its been things like a death in the family, the frozen water pipes bursting during the thaw, or even just the changing of the kid's schedules.

So before you go surrendering to the thoughts that "you'll just never get it" & "you're destined for a disorganized life" remember the story of my hard working Huntress & her cohabitant she tolerates.

april

**note: I love the dog dearly, but can't help to agree with the cat sometimes :-)**

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april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:09:21 PDT

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The Meaning of Home

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:05:58 PDT

Due out in theaters June 25th is the new movie "Away we Go" ...

Director Sam Mendes and written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, brings us a fresh tale about a couple who is expecting their first child. As they travel around the U.S. in order to find a perfect place to start their family, they encounter misadventures and fresh connections with an assortment of relatives and old friends who help them discover "home" on their own terms.

Which begs the question ~ what exactly is the meaning of home for us all?

For my family, we live in Small Town USA, our home is our sanctuary. It is the gathering place for the neighborhood kids, where we socialize with our friends & a B&B for our guests.

Funny enough, it isn't elaborately decorated (unless you count the mound of tennis shoes by the door) & we rarely need to change our lifestyle to accommodate anyone (except for our elderly guests). The laughter is bountiful, the fruit of our labor is modestly apparent & the relaxed atmosphere is exactly what we had hoped for when we built the house that would become our Home.

We do have to make the time to maintain systems that have slipped away though, they just become part of the weekly or monthly chores. (no added stress needed)

As summer break approaches for our kids & the lazy days are promising relaxation will you appreciate this time? Or is disorganization threatening to steal away any sense of calm? How would you answer the question ...

What is your meaning of Home?

Busy Morning Breakfast Strategies...

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:18:24 PST

This morning while making pancakes I realized I probably haven't shared my own breakfast strategies with y'all.

So here goes...

Each weekend I try to make a family breakfast & while pumping out the pancakes, waffles or fruit salad I just keep going.

What I mean is ~ I'm already there ... making the kitchen a mess, prepping food, taking the time to stand at the stove, having to clean ... so I make a double or triple batch.

Usually the kids are hanging out with me & we can have some great conversations (bonus family time!).

Then, I put the leftovers in the fridge either by portion size (the fruit salad) or in a quick grab-n-go container. The waffles & pancakes can easily be put in the toaster (like a piece of bread) to warm up & the portion size ensures easy access!

This simple strategy has eliminated the "making breakfast" task on busy weekday mornings when we all are pressed for time! And I know as we pull out of the driveway the kiddos have eaten something I made (love quality control on the ingredients!).

The next step for you is to figure out what your family likes in the mornings & how you can 'bulk it up' the next time you make it. Remember, you're already there just mix up a little extra & throw it in the fridge for the week!

(My favorite pancakes to make are the whole grain pecan with maple syrup - they make the house smell great warming in the toaster & we all love them!)

Hope your busy mornings are less chaotic this week,

april

Procrastination...

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:24:47 PST

For those who know me best, they know that there really is only one thing I procrastinate about ... doing my bookkeeping.

So, as tax season approaches (we always have our appointment in February) and my anxiety begins to increase I thought it would be perfect timing to share with you my day (as well as allowing me to procrastinate some more!)

What I did instead of preparing my books for our tax appointment:

Made some tea
Ate some chocolate
Washed my face
Did some laundry (sweaters - the kind that NEED special attention)
Vacuumed
Picked a station on XM Radio Online
Vacuumed my office
Vacuumed under my desk (where all the cords are)
Changed XM stations
Evaluated whether my desk was in the right spot for the best productivity
Moved my desk
Re-arranged all the cords under it
Dusted the top of the desk off
Changed the XM station
Re-arranged the other movable items in my office (my comfy chair, the rolling filing cabinet, lamps)
Moved the client files to the rolling filing cabinet
Purged my lateral filing cabinet
Made a pile of files that need shredded
Made a home for all the receipts that need to be inputted into the financial software
Considered moving the printer (chose against it since that move would require re-routing wires & connections - blah)
Ate some more chocolate
Changed XM station
Picked the kids up from snowboarding
Offered to make them dinner (they declined due to my superior ability to burn food)
Chit chatted with them about the hill
Showed off my cleaned & rearranged office

The list does keep going, but I'm sure you've gotten the idea.

Now is about the time you're asking:

"April ~ where's the lesson in this post?"

What a great question!

I could go all Organizer on you & point out that all of my distractions were in the attempt to improve my office space.

Truth be told?

I DID NOT need to do any of that (and that list only took about an hour). My guess, is that if you were to expose your procrastination of an afternoon "What I did instead of ..." it would look a lot like mine - only with your own version of what comes easily to you.

The bottom line - I still have to get my bookkeeping done.

Now I only have 3 days left in the next 2 weeks to accomplish it. Don't worry it will get done - this is my routine every year! It drives my husband crazy ... who knows, maybe that's what motivates me (heehee)

Honestly though, today just wasn't the day for it. I've been in bed for the better part of a week with a vicious head cold & today is the first day 'back on my feet'. It was more engaging to poke around at my responsibilities than to actually jump in & tackle them head on (grin)

I hope this helps you in some way as you enter your own tax season!

april

Do you TIVO?

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:13:04 PST

Alrighty Organized Parents!

I have to share my TV secret ... it's equivalent to the TIVO, only mine is through the cable company & it's called a DVR. I still refer to it as "tivo" though!

Why is this important when it comes to being an organized parent?

Well, if you're like any other families I work with ... you're too tired to watch prime time (let alone available at the right times!) So, why not "tivo" it?

This past weekend our family time was scheduled around a basketball tournament & yet we were finding sections of 2-3 hours between games at home. So I managed to get caught up on some of the recorded shows in the Queue as well as preview the new TNT series "Trust Me".

Let me tell you ... if you enjoyed the series 'Ed' (remember the bowling alley lawyer) you'll love the transition Tom Cavanagh has made.

Trust Me is about two guys - who happen to be best friends as well as ad firm partners. Coming up with more than just jingles - these guys go to great lengths to cover for one another both professionally & personally. It was refreshing to see a male friendship that was real on the small screen.

Although I talked Hubby into watching the preview DVD with me, (it was my birthday) he commented that while he wouldn't look for this series to watch all the time he would watch it with me if it were recorded. Not bad for a guy who tends to only sit still for American Idol or Survivor but races from the room when Fringe or Heroes are playing! (grin)

I hope you'll practice your recording abilities & check out this addition to the TNT line up on Mondays ~ (gotta say, I'm lovin' a lot of these TNT series ... don't miss Leverage if you've always wondered what the modern day Robin Hood would look like! Tons of twists & lots of humor!)

Using the 'tivo' mentality keeps you in control of your life ~ not the other way around! Plus allows you that all important down time we all need as parents!

Stay sane ... stay healthy ... make time to relax ... & work toward that orderly life,

april

New Year ... New You???

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:20:39 PST

With the 7th day under our belt of 2009 I'm curious to know how those New Year's Resolutions are going?

Did you listen to the tip of the week on Tuesday about how to really succeed this time? (see player to right)

The basics begin with taking an honest look at your current habits & evaluating what kind of lifestyle change needs to be implemented for your intentions to become a reality.

Often I'm called in by clients in January to help them with the organizing projects they've resolved to conquer. Unfortunately, they have set a much too ambiguous goal "get organized" instead of figuring out what they really want to improve on "be on time for meetings" or "have a plan for dinner 5 nights a week".

What is your specific improvement request this year? Do you have a plan? Are you willing to stick in there even when everything is going wrong?

I'll cover all those tips next week on the show!

In the meantime, comment here or drop me a line via email april@simplyorganizedonline.com

I hope this finds you healthy, happy & making time to relax,

april

I am Now Publishing on AddsYou.com

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:44:16 PST

http://www.addsyou.com
username=MjAwOC0xMi0yOCAyMjo0MjozNA==

The Glass Cupboard...

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:50:30 PST

I experienced my first intentional Solitude Stay-cation this weekend!

So, let's start at the beginning ... what exactly is a stay-cation?

To the best of my knowledge it is when you take a vacation while staying home, thus the stay in the stay-cation.

Now, I have had plenty of weekends to myself but this was the first 80 hours I knew were going to happen ahead of time & had a loose agenda for.

The day after Christmas my husband (the fireman) & my two wonderful children loaded up into the commuter car & headed over the pass. The kids were dropped off with their Auntie while hubby headed to work (for a 3 day stretch).

What bliss!

I walked through the now empty house (except for the dog & the cat) & promptly went right back to bed. Did I mention they had to leave at 5 am?

I was back up at 7 & cleaning the kitchen. Not because I had to get it ready for breakfast, but because I was quite excited to see it stay clean!

I then headed to my office where I had planned to spend most of this stay-cation working on projects that have little tolerance for interruptions.

I found a few things to be true through this weekend...

My "read it someday" pile wasn't as interesting as I had thought
Interruptions still happen
The dog & cat loose their patience for one another after about 24 hours without the kids
I have a new found respect for my teenager when he suits up & snow-blows the driveway
Whoever created the 'break, bake & serve' brick at Nestle is a genius!
I can sit through 2 chick flicks in one night
I forget to eat when I don't have others sharing their hunger pangs with me
Meanwhile, I can live on mini cookies (freshly baked) & Yogi tea
My kitchen CAN stay clean longer than 3 hours

But most importantly...

When all the glasses are clean in our house - they don't all fit in the cupboard!

As usual, I haven't gotten as much done as I would have liked.

However, this quiet time wasn't about checking off the to-do list as much as it was about renewing my own sense of inner peace.

I know when the door opens tomorrow to reveal my 3 missing housemates I will hug & kiss them like crazy, listen to their adventures from the weekend longer than usual and just feel a sense of being whole again. Understanding that the ability to feel so complete began with me taking care of myself first.

For many of you, (especially my clients) you've heard me say how important it is to fill up your own gas tank ... I thought this week I would share my experience as a way to lead by example.

Whether you can take a whole chunk of 80 hours or you find your "me-time" in 10 minute increments I hope this has inspired you to carve out the time & enter the new year rejuvenated!

april

Clearing Clutter Rewards...

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 09:09:24 PST

When was the last time you made clearing the clutter from a space a game?

All great games have some sort of reward - whether it's bragging rights or a trophy!

I've found with many of my clients that quality time as a family is quite a motivator!

Recently I was able to preview a made for TV movie that I think just might be a great currency for getting through some of your clutter this weekend.

Watch out ER fans ... Noah Wyle stars in "The Librarian" on TNT tonight. So think Heroes meets National Treasure meets Da Vinci Code - sort of. In this particular installment vampires are the villains and they are trying to find the 'Judas Chalice' (their Holy Grail). In the meantime, Noah Wyle's character is struggling with his destiny of being the Librarian & the sacrifices that are part of the lifestyle (protecting artifacts). Along the way there are lessons, laughter and history - perfect for any family to discuss later at the dinner table or in the car during the commute.

So the idea here is to set a goal for your day ... determine the space you want to deal with & then ... hang the carrot off the stick.

For example, if you want to get that guest bedroom ready for loved ones to stay in for the holidays ... determine what can be accomplished just today (clearing off the bed & making a pathway to get from the door to the bed). Put some music on or set the timer for increments of work & breaks. Then, as a team agree that for the effort of today's job, you'll be finished & ready to watch "The Librarian" tonight as a family.

Sometimes, just making a plan and knowing that something relaxing or rewarding is waiting at the end can be enough to jump start every one's motivation!

Till next time,

april

Do you Qlubb?

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:27:06 PST

I'm so excited it's the week of Thanksgiving!

This is my ALL time favorite holiday for many reasons! There are NO gifts required, it's all about quality time with the ones you love & there's always amazing food to eat!!! What's not to love!

Well OK, I know many families deal with difficult personalities - I encourage all my clients facing the challenges of stress (no matter their source) to find a way to focus on what's good in the situation - but again I ask ... What's not to love!!!

I wanted to give you a heads up if you will be trying to coordinate an event this holiday season, I came across this free site called Qlubb.com - it was created for all those busy folks out there trying to make events happen in their life!

When I first found them in September I was creating a spot for all my entrepreneur girlfriends to gather & find support, since then I've realized this site could be utilized by so many!

I love the options like "Classroom", "Sports Teams", "Book Club" - the potential is endless! Be sure to check out the interview I did with them regarding the challenges of time management & groups ... http://blog.qlubb.com/2008/11/organizing-advice-from-professional.html

I hope your turkey day (if you celebrate it) is relaxing, full of laughter and most of all rewarding!

Till next time,

april

National DeClutter Day???

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:12:05 PST

Okay, so there seems to be a National Day for every reason these days - but this is a new one even for me :o)

A site that looks similar to Craig's List (only more colorful) has determined that November 22nd (a Saturday) should be National DeClutter Day. Hmmm ... not a bad marketing campaign.

If you've heard of this National Day & you plan to participate then let's make sure you have some proper tools for success shall we?

Clear the schedule for the entire day
Rally the troops (this should be a family affair, if possible)
Stock up on some healthy snacks for sustained energy
Determine a goal for the day
Discuss the charity of choice for donations

(letting go is easier when the item has a value beyond the original owner)

Once you have accomplished all the above, move on to the strategies:

Stick to one space at a time (if you're tackling the bonus room - complete your bonus room goal)
Sort according to categories

- Simple: Keep, Toss, Recycle, Donate, Not in this space
- Specific: Mom, Dad, Garage, Kitchen, Scrapbooking, Movies, XBox games

Take a timed break when you see motivation lagging (10 minutes, 1 hour - don't forget to set a timer!)
Follow through (once sorting is complete - put things away accordingly)
Schedule the trip to the donation location or call for pick up
Involve the kids as much as possible (their things should be their responsibility!)

Use these tips as a starting point to find the way you're going to take action on your DeClutter day ... and if November 22nd doesn't work for your family, find a day that will & make it happen on your terms!

Happy Decluttering,

april

Holiday Stress Relief...

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:33:09 PDT

Holiday Stress Relief...

For the month of October I have gone over several stress relief tips in my "Organized Week by Week" group on YadaHome.com as well as on my weekly online radio show "Authentic Organizing". (both can be accessed by clicking the names here)

Tips have been:

Week 1: Covered making a plan for your budget in light of the difficult financial times ahead & then sticking to it.

Week 2: Suggested evaluating the coming holiday commitments & how to schedule accordingly.

Week 3: Encouraged the listener/reader to determine if the items on the "to-do" list were actually tasks or projects

Week 4: Took care of Gift Giving 101 & conscious consuming.

Whether all of these topics are a source of overwhelming stress or just one - rest assured that I have covered each of them with useful tips and handy ideas!

Coming in the weeks ahead...

Clutter Free Gift Giving (& my new eBook)

Simple steps for when the guests are in your home

Kids and making room for new gifts

and much more!

I hope this finds you having a Fun & Spooky Halloween!

april

Summer Vacations

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:42:45 PDT

Recently, my darling husband & I took our first vacation in 5 years together (with NO children!). As the hustle & bustle of traveling began to take shape I also had to prepare the kids for their vacation away from us. Yes, the thought did cross my mind that it would have just been easier to bring them along ... for a fleeting moment, then I returned to my senses!

Preparation is always key to being organized, however, there is something about the summer vacation from school that seems to break all the rules. So, I thought I would share a few general words of wisdom to help get you started!

Start with what you know:

This has quickly become my new mantra for many clients. When something seems overwhelming often times its easier to start with what you know.

For example:

If you know that you & your husband are taking a 10 day trip to Mexico in June (eh-hum), then begin by putting the dates on the calendar. This simple step will already combat against over scheduling or double booking. Next, take a look at the kids schedule while you're away. If they have commitments, will be staying with relatives or you need pet sitting then you'll know you need to figure out who will help. As you can see, this has already started the snowball effect & figuring out the next step will always present itself for you.

Make a Plan:

Some feel the whole point of summer vacation from school is to get a break from such a rigid schedule. I agree, sort of. Sitting down with the kids when school gets out & talking about what they want to get from their summer break not only gets the conversation rolling but allows them to make goals & lets us parents sneak in some crucial lessons on responsibility while still letting summer be lazy.

For example, every summer both of my kids:

make a request of somewhere they'd like to go or see
a project they'd like to complete
something they want to save up for

Then I let them know how we can work their goals into the things I'd like to see them working on. It looks something like this:

My older son is:

Researching potential colleges
Working as my personal assistant
Saving up for an iPod & a laptop.

My younger son is:

Updating our family website
Reading 30 minutes or a chapter every morning before practice.
He was saving for an iPod, but we just ordered that so now he is looking for his next big thing to save for.

In all fairness, I also participate in this "plan".

I am:

Learning how to sudoku.
Reading books for my book club
Saving for an elliptical machine

We've all decided that we want to

Float the river as much as possible
Visit the water slide park every other week
Catch up on all the Netflix movies in our queue.

Once we've laid out what we want from all this free time, we figure out the best way to "schedule it in". Having just a few things on the list ensures that there will still be plenty of time for the fun stuff like sleep overs & bike rides!

Preparing for Spring Break

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:46:24 PDT

As Spring Break approaches for many of us parents there may be many plans in the works ... here are a few tips to keep things flowing effectively:

Going on Vacation:

Pack plenty of snacks (nutrition will help with better moods)
Be prepared to entertain EVERYONE during the travel (car games, music, a fun magazine)
Have the kids pick out their most comfortable clothes to wear going & coming
Throw in a favorite item like a blanket or stuffed animal
Have each person pack their own "Car Bag" to keep their things in

Staying Home:

Schedule the week for both fun stuff & organizing projects
Go through school artwork that has accumulated, take a picture & purge out larger akward items the kids are willing to let go of (remember to let them make the decision when they are ready)
Go through closets & have a "fashion show" to eliminate things that are too small
Plan a trip to the charity of choice together for the end of the week to donate any items that no longer "belong" in their space
Do one project together that is fun (cook dinner together, plant some flowers or play a board game)
Rotate their winter items out of the living spaces & bring in their summer stuff!

What ever your plans for the week are be sure to remember that a little work getting things back in order can go a long way to get you through the rest of the school year!

Welcome 2008!

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 13:28:39 PST

As January is well underway in my home I wanted to connect with all my T.O.P. (The Organized Parent) newsletter readers.

Tips for the beginning of the year can be endless so I thought I would just give a few that seemed most appropriate...

Putting away the Holidays:

Using large plastic conainers, put away the rooms together. For example: in our Great Room this year we had all the decorations for the mantel, some festive blankets that were left on the couches & the tree. I used one ornament box for the tree & one large plastic bin (Rubbermaid) for the remaining items. Now next year when I'm ready to decorate I can just have my husband deliver those two bins to that room & I can focus on one area at a time! And yes, let's be realistic here - I'm not going to be the one on the ladder in the garage hoisting those heavy containers down, my amazing husband will be! :o)

Note: Before cleaning up from your holiday season evaluate what you didn't use this year & determine if it's time to purge.

New Year's Resolutions:

Tis the season for resolving to change ... unfortunately, most people struggle year after year to keep the promises to themselves. I recommend finding ONE thing you'd like to improve on & focusing on it until you're happy. Then, whether it is January or not ... find another thing & continue the process!

National Get Organized Month:

Yes, you guessed it ... January is National Get Organized Month!

Among 90% of the New Year's Resolutions made "Get Organized" is in the top 5 things to do!

So if you have resolved to bring order to your year you have definitely begun at the right place!

The Simply Organized website is full of tons of opportunities!

I've added...

Teleclasses you can attend from the comfort of where ever you are (whenever you are!),
Workshops will be given at the Wenatchee Valley College - Continuing Education facility (Confluence Technology Center)
Virtual Organizing
A new partnership to be the exclusive Contributing Organizing Expert for Smart Women's Coaching!

Be sure to let me know via email if there is anything I've missed!

In closing, I want to wish all my parents out there a wonderful & orderly 2008! I invite you to propose questions I can answer in this blog & be sure to visit often to see what others are facing in their homes.

I hope this finds you healthy, happy & making time to relax!

april

Kid's Rooms...

april@simplyorganizedonline.com (April Welch, CPO) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:23:19 PDT

Well, it's been a long weekend in our school district & anyone who is familiar with my family knows this can only mean ONE thing.

The kids rooms are getting an overhaul!

As I teach in my workshops, the kids have done the initial purging & sorting, now we are on to maintainance mode. I'm proud to report that they both have passed with flying colors!

Some things I noticed during this check in:

My younger child during his last attempt at cleaning his room (to go to a friends house) was VERY creative & scooped up the floor only to deposit it into the bottom drawer of his dresser.
My older child had simply given up on seeing the actual floor of the room :o)

I share these things with you so that you understand we are as normal as any other busy family! Of course, the passing with flying colors part - that's simply meant to be a light at the end of the tunnel. If the kids of a professional organizer can be messy & pull off an orderly room by the end of a long weekend - anyone can!

Also, I hope by sharing what actually takes place behind my closed doors helps all those other parents out there not to be so hard on themselves. Kids are meant to have messy rooms! It's only our job as the adult to teach them how to 'DEAL' with their stuff - it's their job to decide to do something with the information :o)

I also want to point out that I enjoy seeing their rooms get messy - it means we get to practice more organizing skills!

Seriously though, I would never put my kids in a position to feel as though they needed to be perfect. I want them to grow up feeling as though living their life was the most important thing about their childhood, not whether or not they could locate their 'things' in 5 seconds or less.

Happy Organizing!

aw, CPO