A Well Planned Move

You can tell from the time between now and my last post that I've been a little preoccupied lately. (Sorry to my loyal readers!) Since then a lot has changed. My husband's company moved their headquarters to Boston (we currently live outside NYC), we learned we're going to be parents (again!) and we decided to sell our home and move to New England (besides, our current house won't be big enough with another bambino).

Over the last few months I've been in the throws of preparing for a well planned move. People say that the top three most stressful life events are moving, having a baby and starting a new job (heck, we don't mess around, do we?) So I figured I could minimize the stress of moving by planning well for it. In this post, I'll share my ideas for a relatively seamless move, whether it be across the street or across the country.

• Get a jump start on packing before your house even goes on the market. Most realtors would agree that minimizing personal belongings and streamlining your possessions is a must when selling your home. Think about the items you or your family are not likely to use in the next few months and pack them away. If you don't absolutely need it to use personally (like a waffle iron) or to show your home (staged), pack it away. Don't just shove things in closets! You'll save time on the back-end if you pack them away now. Prospective buyers will be looking in your cabinets and closets (partly because they're nosey and partly because they want to see the depth of your cabinet/closet space) and if there are a minimal amount of items in them, they'll feel that their belongings can fit too.

•  Use a master inventory list! Don't get stuck after your move, wondering what box your iron was packed away into. Most people mark boxes with the room they belong in and that's it. Yes, that's a good move, but minimize chaos of trying to find which of the 18 boxes labeled "family room" your favorite CD's are in. Create an inventory list. Here's how:

• Create a master document that has columns for box #, contents, room, and special notes. This can be done electronically in a word or excel document, handwritten on a legal pad, or printed and then filled in by hand (my choice for ease of use). Here's a version I use.
• Number each box you pack. Start with box #1 and be sure to clearly mark the outside of the box (on all sides) with the box #.
• Start in the room that you use the least. Keep like items in the same box (such as office supplies or kids' craft supplies). 
• Jot down the contents of each box as you pack. Don't be afraid to put down detailed items, such as "hand-painted platter from Spain" or "framed pictures from stairwell". You'll be glad you did when you're trying to decide which boxes should take priority when unpacking.
• Mark which room the box belongs in. Okay, common sense here. If you're type A, like me, you can pre-print a bunch of labels from your home computer with rooms so you can quickly stick them on multiple sides of the box so the movers have no question where it goes.
• Know where this list is at all times! Every time you go to pack a box, grab your handy inventory list and jot down the contents of the box. Believe me, it will be your lifeline when you move-in to your new home and have no idea where anything is...oh, but wait...you do!  

•  Don't worry about keeping box numbers consistent for all rooms. Chances are you'll need to leave some things to use in each room before the actual move. So you're likely to go back to a room and finish off the last few boxes of items a few days before your move. Don't get caught up in trying to keep all bedroom boxes numbered 10-20...if you do, you'll just frustrate yourself. The important thing is that you know which boxes things are in when you go to look for them. It doesn't matter what number the box is.

• Count how many rooms you need to pack and how many weeks you have left before the big move day. I'd like to take credit for this, but my DH thought this one out and it has worked like a dream! We had six weeks before our closing and 12 rooms to pack up. So we agreed to pack up two rooms per week to avoid the last minute rush. I started by choosing the rooms we use least often, like the dining room (when was the last time we used that beautiful china?!) and assigned each week two rooms. I put it on our family calendar so I could always reference which rooms I should be focusing on that week.

• Create a timeline. Determine everything that needs to be done (and there's a lot) and make a timeline that works best for you. You can find a ton of them on the web, but you're better off creating your own to work with your schedule. Here's one from About.com that will give you a pretty good idea of what to put on your timeline and how far in advance to plan for things.

•  Create a move binder. This has been my lifeline for the last few months. Think about what information would be handy for you to have all in one place. Use a 3-ring binder (mine zips all the way around which I find securing in some way), and include some clear sleeves and pockets. Mine has an ongoing to-do list in the front and includes sections for:
• Packing Inventory - the list mentioned above (I just keep adding pages as needed)
• Moving Company Documents - quotes from moving companies and final contract from selected mover
• New House Info - MLS sheets from search, house tour notes, specs on selected house, mortgage documentation, web printouts of new washer and dryer I want :-), etc.
• Utilities - telephone numbers of utility companies and confirmations for shut-off at old house and turn-on at new house
• Change of Address - a checklist of all accounts that need to be notified of a change of address, with phone numbers and account numbers to make process easy. Don't forget all loans (student, car, etc), cell phone companies, credit cards, investment accounts, car/life insurance policies, magazine subscriptions, etc.
• Insurance - home owners insurance quotes, insurance policy documentation and contact info
• Remodeling Plans/Documents - plans and quotes for any work to be done in new house
• Schools- printed web pages of preschools to consider, notes from conversations and potential tours
• Doctors- referrals for new doctors in new area, notes on where to send records, checklist of current doctors contact to forward medical records
• Other - a place for miscellaneous items that don't necessarily fit into the other categories.

So there you have it. A few tips on a well planned move. Ironically, not matter how well planned you feel like you are, things are bound to come up that you don't and can't plan for. According to my timeline, I should have moved nearly two weeks ago. (Sigh.) But while I await our new move date, I'm 90% packed and at least I know where to find just about anything my family may need.

Good luck on your Well Planned Move!

Display Those Holiday Cards: A Quick and Pretty Solution

I love getting holiday cards. I love the greetings, the pictures of friends and their families and seeing how quickly their children grow. But like many, I used to struggle with what to do with all those cards. While there were always good intentions, they ended up in a pile sitting on the dining room table. People put so much effort (and money!) into their holiday cards and deserve better treatment, don't they?

So I created a solution to display my holiday cards without nailing a huge display holder to my 1910 walls (my husband would freak if I put holes into our wall for a display that lasted four weeks).

Here's what you need:

• 3+ yards of grosgrain ribbon (any color will do, but red was my festive choice)
• 1+ thumbtack
• a stapler

Here's how it looked... 

Here's how to do it:

1. Find a suitable door jamb where cards will not be in the way. I chose one that was wide and wouldn't be brushed by shoulders upon going through the doorway.
   
2. Take your ribbon and cut it the height of the door jamb, less a few inches from the floor.
3. Use the thumbtack to secure the ribbon at the very top.
4. Take your holiday cards and staple them to the ribbon. Start at the top and work your way down. I like to overlap them just a tad and arrange them so they're angled a bit here a bit there, to create more interest.
5. You can create as many as you need based on how many cards you receive. Here's another wall I did...
   

 

I love this solution because it takes a matter of 5 minutes to create and when a new card comes in the mail, it instantly has a home! If you've spotted your card in my display - give me a shout out and let me know you like that your card didn't end up in the bottom of a pile!

Meal Planning Makes for a Well Planned Week

Even before I had children I'd stop my work day to make that infamous call to my husband to ask what he wanted to do for dinner that night. Of course, it was never an easy answer and it was usually preceded by..."I don't know...umm...", which would then be followed by a trip to the market (which seems to be when everyone else is buying dinner ingredients too). I hated thinking about it. I just wanted it done for me. Now that I have two children, I need to be a little more 'well planned'. Not only do I not only have time to buy ingredients everyday, I couldn't fathom braving the grocery store every day with two kids in tow. It's hard enough to do it once a week (which is why I'm a big fan of Peapod).

I hate that feeling at 4 o'clock when you realize dinner time is coming but you're not quite sure what to do and whether or not a trip to the market is in store (no pun intended;-). With two small children, I really need to be more well planned than that. So I've been dabbling with a few meal planning solutions, both of which I'll share with you since everyone should find a system that works best for them.

But first a few reasons why it's so important...(Note: this is a long post, but well worth the read if you struggle with the infamous question..."what should we have for dinner tonight?")

• Meal planning saves you time. Yes, you'll end up spending time up front putting it together, but you won't have to worry about it all week (or month if you're that ambitious) nor will you waste countless hours on various trips to the market figuring it out as you go.
• Meal planning saves you money. How many times you do use one small portion of a fresh bunch of basil or cilantro and then the rest goes bad before you use it again? When you menu plan, you can select meals with some similar ingredients to get the best bang for your buck and you can plan to use your leftovers more wisely. You can also use your weekly supermarket flyer to plan your meals, buying on-sale meats and vegetables. Most stores make them available online now, so you can take a quick glance before you plan for the week.
• Meal planning means healthier eating. When you know what's for dinner and plan for it, you're less likely to give-in to ordering out or eating cereal for dinner (although my husband would eat cereal for three square meals a day if he could!) When you plan for well-rounded meals your family is more likely to consume fresh fruits and vegetables.

Some simple tips on how to make the most of your menu planning...

• Look at your calendar and determine what nights you'll need to have dinner ready for (some nights you'll be out, some you'll get home late and will eat leftovers, etc.). Identify how many meals in the week you'll need to plan for.
• Pick a day that you'll habitually do your meal planning for the week. If you're a bargain shopper, sit down with your weekly sales flyers (if you get them - or look it up online) and your recipe binders (or cookbooks) and pull out meals that use on sale ingredients and fit your schedule for that week. 
  
• Pick recipes with similar ingredients. You'll get more bang for your buck when you do.When you settle on a meal with ingredients in small amounts (like coconut milk or cilantro), try to find another recipe later that week that will use the remainder so as not to waste it.
• Scan your pantry and refrigerator for items that are on their last leg (or near expiration) and should be used soon. Plan a meal around the polenta you bought on a whim and have been meaning to chef up.
  
• Don't forget to think about lunch (and snacks, especially if you have young kids). We tend to forget to think about lunch in the overall plan and end up spending extra money and time figuring out lunch on the fly.
  
• Create a shopping list based on the ingredients of all your meals. The meal planner I'm going to share with you below has spaces for ingredients, but I also like the Real Simple version available at Target. If you're overly ambitious, draft your own based on the aisles of the store you frequent.
  
• Consider doubling recipes and freezing them for two weeks from now. Homemade mac & cheese and lasagna are great for this. It will lighten your load quite bit by just taking it out of the freezer the day before and popping it in the oven. I try to use a frozen meal once a week. It makes a big difference.
• Make a list of meals you know your kids will like and eat (for lunch or dinner) and refer to it when planning your menu for the week. Even knowing what's on the menu for my kid's lunch is one less thing I need to think about.
  
• If the idea is to reduce trips to the market, consider drafting a list of items you always want on hand and check that list before you head to the store.
• Post your meal plan to your family calendar, the fridge or another visible location. It creates accountability to use those fresh ingredients in the refrigerator before they spoil. It also helps me remember why I bought that ginger root.
• Be flexible. Life always throws us a curve ball now and again, so don't fret if you can't make that night's meal. Just remember to make it within a day or two before the ingredients aren't as fresh.
• Save your meal plans and reuse them down the road. This is when the electronic versions are handy!
• Don't make it harder than it is. Use at least two tried and true recipes each week to reduce preparation time.
  
• Start slowly. If you've never planned your meals before, start slowly. Don't rush out of the gates trying to plan out your entire month - you'll likely fall victim to quick burnout, thinking it's too much work. Start with the next three or four days, a week at most.

I personally, plan my menu for one week at a time. A dear friend of mine, Kimberly (author of The Sweet Spot blog), created an awesome monthly meal planner that I tried but never really got a handle on as you need to dedicate one block of time to do it, but then you're done for the month (how great is that?!) I may get there over time, but for now I'm sticking with the weekly meal plan until I can reuse previous weeklies and just plug them into the monthly plan - then bam...I'm done! Kimberly gave me permission to post her monthly version too, so you can try what will work best for you.

My weekly meal planning document has a space for kids and parents. Let's just state for the record, I am not one of those parents that typically cooks something different that we're eating. However, I've found that there are occasions when I do. This is usually when my husband and I are out or when I find a recipe that I really want to try but know that my kids won't eat it for whatever reason, so I plan something that they will eat. These rows dedicated to the kids is also helpful for lunch and snacks, when they have a simpler version of what I might have.

Below is a sample of one of my family's weekly meal plans. If you'd like the blank template, click here.

You'll see I've listed space for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and two snacks over the course of each day. I also have a column for "Happenings". This is just a mental reminder of what might be going on that day that might affect a meal (such as a dinner party or PTA Meeting). And lastly, I have a column for groceries associated with that meal that are needed. I find this extra handy when I want to get an ingredient with a short shelf life (like fish) the day I'm using it. The electronic version in Excel is nice (for Type A's like me) because I can add little notes about where the recipes is (what cookbook or binder) so I don't go on a wild goose chase looking for it.

Kimberly's monthly meal planner allows you to bang it all out at once and not deal with it for another month. It has tabs for each month so you can just keep building on it, or reuse menu's as you go. You'll also see that I attempted to add a grocery list tab in October (when I tried this method) so I could keep everything in one place. If you choose to do the monthly planning, I would definitely recommend using this or something similar (edit it to fit your needs). Half of the work involved in planning menus is building the shopping list, so if you have all four weeks of lists done at once and all you need to do is print them out and go to the market...how nice is that?! The version available here is for 2009, which is almost over, but if you'd like the 2010 version without updating it yourself, post a message and I'll email it to you when it becomes available.

Happy meal planning!
Janelle

Lessons Learned from Completing the Fly Lady Challenge

For the last 31 days, I've put my best foot forward with Fly Lady's Beginner Babystep Challenge. It's designed to help you create healthy habits; habits that help you get your day rolling and help you accomplish what you need to accomplish. I'll be the first to admit I didn't ace this challenge. Now that it is over, I can't say that each and every day's task is now a habit - they take several weeks of consistently doing them to become habits. But I can say that some small but meaningful tasks have become habits and even if they're not habits, I'm much more conscious of them.

Here are the top 31 things that I learned over the last 31 days and some insights I've gleaned from this journey.

1. I can go to bed at night with a spotless sink. All it takes is the mindset to do it. This is now a habit for me and my clean shiny sink welcomes me every morning. It sets a good tone for the day.
   
2. Since my kids require me to address their needs before my own in the morning, I'm typically not able to get "dressed to the shoes" before one needs a bottle or the other is screaming for breakfast. 
3. I don't think Fly Lady  had young children when she created these rules.
   
4. I do, however get dressed immediately after attending to those needs (whereas before I'd have lounged a bit longer with coffee in hand). I'm okay with this compromise for now.
   
5. I have a hang-up about wearing the proper shoes with my outfit, so the same pair of lace up shoes (or sneakers) every day will not work for me.
6. I did attempt my friends solution - wearing plastic zip lock bags over my shoes (we have a shoe-free home) and it just felt a little too weird (although Krista, you wear them very well darling).
   
7. I also found an old pair of sneakers, washed them and deemed them my "house shoes" but quickly got frustrated when I needed to take off the house shoes, just to put another pair on to take the dog out quickly (which then I'd have to take off when I came back in and replace with the house shoes). 
8. I clearly need a new method with the shoe thing (and welcome suggestions). I do agree that wearing shoes first thing in the morning makes a huge difference in the way you approach your day. It's more laid back with bare feet or slippers. I've definitely noticed the difference and accomplish more on those days I follow the rule.
9. I am able to make my bed every morning. This sounds ridiculous as I write this, but I was never brought up to make this a priority, so it wasn't second nature for me. It literally takes less than two minutes and it makes a big impact on how you feel when you enter your bedroom. This is also a habit for me now and I love it!
   
10. I love my timer. 
11. I use it for my 5 minute room rescues - which are the best way to speed clean an area that is just screaming - clean me! Sometimes, 5 minutes is all that I have and I feel accomplished in those five minutes.
12. I use it for my 15 minutes of decluttering. While I haven't stayed super-consistent with it every single day, I do it more often than not and it helps to not feel overwhelmed with whatever challenge is facing you.
13. When I set the timer and it goes off, sometimes I'm already in the groove and if I have the time (meaning no screaming kids or dashes to preschool pick-up) then I keep going for another round. 
    
14. I use it with my kids. We play the "switch game" when my son and his friend are battling over the same toy. We set it for 3 minutes and then they have to hand it over. We set it again and the switch game continues. They get tired of it after one round and the argument is settled.
15. While I don't do the full-blown "swish and swipe" every morning, I am now very conscious of taking that extra 15 seconds to put the hair dryer back in the drawer, toothbrushes away, etc. so I can wipe down the sink and freshen the mirror with a quick spray of Windex.
16. I created a 'control journal' with a morning, afternoon and before bed routine.
    
17. I'm not very good at reading it regularly for it to be truly effective. Perhaps I'll work on this.
    
18. My morning routine is rather habitual now, except depending on the day's schedule, it turns into an afternoon routine by the time I finish everything. At least I put forth the effort and I'm okay with that.
19. My afternoon routine doesn't really exist. Every day is too different with regard to our schedules. Besides, my morning routine runs into the afternoon anyway. LOL
    
20. My before bed routine is a crap-shoot. I always have my sink shiny, but the other stuff I sometimes wait too long to do it and then I'm wiped and just want to go to bed.
21. I need to start my before bed routine BEFORE I sit down and relax for the night.
22. Sometimes, once those kids are in bed a tired mamma just needs to sit her fanny on the couch and relax with a glass of wine and the 'before bed routine' just has to wait.
23. I failed MISERABLY at the task "pick a bed time and stick to it". When I say miserably, I mean I didn't go to bed by my designated bed time ONCE. 
24. Sure, I'd love more sleep, but once the kids are down and I've got some time to myself to catch up online or watch some DVR'd shows - that time is SO precious. It's the only sanity-saving time I have and I don't want to give up that love affair.
25. If I'm ever going to get up, showered and dressed to the shoes before my kids get up I'm going to HAVE TO learn to go to bed earlier (usually around 11:30/12am - that's late when your kids are up 6-6:30am!)
26. I have more hot spots than I care to admit.
27. Two minutes is not enough time to extinguish them daily.
28. I get sidetracked by the computer and need to make a conscious effort to shut it down or agree not to log on until I've completed what I need to do.
29. While I've mastered a few of them, I fail at several of Fly Lady's 11 commandments. 
30. I'll continue to work on them. Progress happens over time, not over night.
    
31. I am thankful for this journey and know that while I haven't perfected everything in her program, Fly Lady has helped me become that much more of a Well Planned Woman. I encourage you to attempt her challenge if you'd like a better handle on your day!
    

Let's Not Cry Over Spilled Milk

Okay, so you've probably been wondering if I decided to abandon my quest to complete Fly Lady's 31 day beginner baby step challenge. While it's been a full week since my last report and you might have felt like I abandoned you, I have not given up. Day 13 hit and my momentum came to a halt. Perhaps we can chalk it up to the unlucky number 13 or the fact that it was Friday the 13th, but in reality, I was just feeling overwhelmed and Kelly's Missions were the catalyst that propelled me from the wagon. On day 13 we were asked to read and try one of Kelly's Missions. In essence, they're tasks that you'd otherwise save for a bigger "spring cleaning", but it's her approach to tackling these things in small doses throughout the year, so you never have to do "spring cleaning". Great in concept, right? She creates zones and spends one week in a particular zone. Last week (when my assignment was to complete one of her missions) was the kitchen.

I looked over the various missions for that week and decided I didn't really 'have the time' to remove everything from my counters and clean every square inch, nor did I feel like emptying out the fridge and scrubbing it down, so I opted for sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor. I made a mental decision to do it and then...got "lazy". Well, I like to say "tired", but I made a conscious decision to bag it. Well, you know how it snowballs. You miss one task and then you feel like it's holding you back, so I get off track with the days that follow Kelly's Mission. Now, if you're following along on the FlyLady.net site, then you'd probably notice that some of the tasks this week were simple, like reading an essay, testimonial or Fly Lady's eleven commandments. Something you could knock out in two minutes. I managed to get those done, but day 13 still lingered over me...until day 17, when the decision to complete it was made for me.

I made the brilliant choice to follow the suggestion of a parenting magazine to give my nearly 4 year old a glass of milk at dinner time. This was an effort to make him feel like a big boy and to suggest to him that "I trust you to be careful." Needless to say, I spent the next hour on my knees cleaning up shards of glass and wiping down milk laden furniture and walls. I have a breakfast nook that's a separate room, but closely attached to my kitchen that this happened in. Since I had to pull out the vacuum and mop to clean up my son's mess, I continued on into the kitchen and finally accomplished one of Kelly's Missions. Check.

Ironically, that days task was to pick a bedtime and stick to it. I could have gone to bed at a reasonable hour but I had two more lessons to complete for the next night's bible study (my fault, again, for falling behind). I'm just not the kind of person to show up without having done what's expected of me in exchange for some shut eye, it was nearly 11:30 when I went to bed. While it's written on my 'bed time routine', I have yet to complete that task. Another reason for my lack of postings this week. I could just hear Fly Lady whispering..."Go to bed! Your body needs rest!" I just need a few more hours in the day and we'll be all set. I'm starting to think that while Fly Lady has some awesome ideas and tips on maintaining your home, I doubt she did it with two young children. Or am I just making excuses?...I'll revisit that question at the end of the month.

I have been able to complete most of the morning and bedtime routines, but not always immediately every morning. Sometimes it's nearly lunch by the time I get to my 15 minutes of decluttering or my 5 minute room rescue. But I'm okay with that since I'm still making the effort and getting it done. I successfully added making my bed upon waking up to my morning routine as requested on day 15. When I am running late and think I don't have time, I say to myself that it literally takes less than a minutee  to do, and then do it. So far so good on that one.

So, to end on a good note, while Kelly's Missions derailed me for a few days, I'm happy to be back on track. Only ten more days to go. Tomorrow we tackle laundry. Oh heaven help me. If you've been attempting this baby step challenge at home and you're at any point in the journey, let us know about your progress and/or setbacks. For me, while it may not be a perfect journey, I'll be that much more on my way to becoming a well planned woman because of it.

Days Eleven & Twelve: Easy Breezy

The last two days of tasks on the beginner baby step challenge were quick and easy: add an inspirational page to your control journal and delete all emails from Fly Lady.

We were asked to spend 15 minutes and write down quotes or phrases that inspire us and add that page to our control journal. She gave us some of her favorites and I added one of my own. No, I didn't have a few memorized. I did a search online for quotes and grabbed those that spoke to me.

Fly Lady's Faves:

• You can do anything in 15 minutes
• Housework incorrectly done still blesses your family
• You can't organize clutter, you can only get rid of it

I added:

• The most important work you and I will ever do will be within the walls of our own home. (Harold B. Lee)
• If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your house that you know not to be useful or beautiful. (William Morris)

I really liked the first one because it reminds me of those days that I become disenchanted with being a stay-at-home mom. Those days that my daughter is extra needy and I just need a moment to myself. Or those days that I can't play one more game of Transformers. This work, while unglamorous, is the most important work I will ever do. Teaching them manners and values. Making a home for my family that is a welcome retreat from the world around us is just as important. And that, my friends, is one of the main goals of Becoming a Well Planned Woman.

Day 12's task was to simply delete all emails received from Fly Lady (you would need to have signed up for them on her site to get them.) They will all come around again. Delete. Done. I wish I could do that with all the other emails in my inbox. I think I'll add that to one of my 15 minute decluttering tasks. Declutter my inbox. I'm embarrassed to even say how many I have living in there.

Streamline Your Closet

It's almost Thanksgiving and that means that we're not to far away from putting our Fall wardobe away and pulling out the chunky sweaters for winter. It's the perfect time to start streamlining our closet so when that time comes to put Fall clothes away, you're only putting items away that you'll want to wear next Fall.  
As a general rule of thumb, we wear a very small percentage of the clothes we have in our closets. Some people put the figure as low as 20%. Take 15 minutes to go through your closet and ask yourself, "When did I last wear this?" If you haven't worn them in the last 12 months, then it's likely not something you'll wear in the next 12. (Caveat: if you've been prego and didn't fit into most of your wardrobe for a while, you get a 'by'.)

If you're not ready for this exercise, take all your hangers and turn them around so the open end is facing you (yes, awkward to remove). Once you wear it, put it back the regular way. This way you know if you've worn it and within 6-12 months, if you haven't turned that hanger back around, chances are you can bless someone else with that piece of clothing who'd get more use out of it than you.

Days Nine & Ten - It's about time!

Over the last couple of days on our beginner baby step challenge we've learned how to 'declutter a few minutes at a time' and that we 'declutter anything in 15 minutes.'

Fly Lady's approach to decluttering is that we can tackle it a little bit, consistently over the course of time in small increments. On day nine, we added a 5 minute room rescue to our morning routine. We are to spend just five minutes clearing a path in our worst room. The room you'd never want anyone to see. For me, that's my basement. Albeit a finished basement, it's the landing spot for all things in purgatory, or with no home at all. On an average day I'd have gifts for family members not yet sent, arts and craft supplies I didn't have time to put away, papers I need to "file" or just things that I know I want to keep but I'm just not sure where to put them. And since clutter attracts clutter, it becomes an inferno and somehow multiplies day by day. Occasionally it will get to me enough where I'll spend a good portion of a day trying to make it pretty once again. But in reality, I rarely have that time without a one year old on my hip or getting summoned for a snack. Yesterday, I took Fly Lady's advice and spent just five minutes clearing the path. I used my handy dandy kitchen timer, hit start and began my 5 minute room rescue. I made some serious headway in my basement and almost didn't want to stop after the timer went off (actually I didn't stop right away). Within a few weeks my basement will no longer be my 'dirty little secret', but a place I will be proud to show off.

Today, we took it a step further and learned about the power of 15. Taking just 15 minutes each day, you can declutter anything. On my list: My pantry. My kids' toyroom. My coat closet. My basement (see paragraph above). She walks us through tips on how to properly declutter. She goes into greater detail but here they are in a nutshell:

1. Decide when and how often to declutter. Do a small amount over time so you don't burn out.
2. Have boxes and garbage bags handy, labeled with "Give Away", "Throw Away", and "Put Away".
3. Set your timer for your predetermined amount of time.
   
4. Start at the entrance to the room (or go from top to bottom if decluttering a small space).
5. Ask yourself if it's useful or beautiful. If not, toss it or donate it.
6. Toss the garbage immediately. Put the donations in your car immediately. When the Put Away box gets filled, put the items back in their home.

If you clicked on the link above, you'll see I left out a cheesy song about "let me go, please release me" (as if sung from the clutter's point of view) but if you feel so inclined...

So in 15 minutes today, I tackled my back entry. I've really been wanting to declutter my pantry, but felt like once I got started I wouldn't want to stop (and well, a girl can only accomplish so much during the little one's nap). Doesn't that defy Fly Lady's rule, though? That anything can be decluttered in 15 minutes? I'll have to bite my tongue and tackle the pantry another day and see if it really can be done.

Today, I didn't follow the rules exactly. I didn't have the three boxes/bags, but rather just one for donations and did the other two mentally. I figured I'd use most of my 15 minutes finding the boxes and knowing my type A personality, I'd end up wasting time making some pretty signs for them on my computer. Since my purse was in the back entry and it really needed to be decluttered, I spent over half the time going through my purse pulling out old receipts and filing them and making a pile of lipstick, jewelry and other personal items that needed to make their way back up to my bedroom. In 15 minutes I had a clean back entry AND a clean purse. Nice. I'll take it.

As for the other things I'm supposed to be keeping up with on this journey, I'm doing most of them, although to be honest, can't seem to tackle all of them exactly the way I want to everyday. I've been getting dressed, but not to the shoes. Here's the thing...I need a cute, comfy pair of lace up shoes. Wait. Was I just making an excuse to go shopping? I did, however, find a pair of lace up shoes in my attic that look like the old bowling shoes we used to wear in 1996. I wore them one day. Yeah. With a clean house and sane mind, comes looking like a dork. I'll need to work on that one. If anyone finds any cute lace up shoes for everyday wear - please post about it!!

I am proud to say my sink shines most of the day now. Yay! (Yes, that was the ex-cheerleader coming out in me.)

By the way...is anyone out there? Please post a comment here on the blog so I can have some company on this journey. I'm starting to miss you all.

Days Seven & Eight - One Not So Great

If you're following along with our Fly Lady Beginner Baby Step challenge day by day, you might have noticed I didn't write a posting last night. Day 7 on our 31 day challenge was to pick out your clothes for the next day. Easy enough, right? Welll, around 9:20pm last night, I went upstairs to tackle my challenge when I saw that my bedroom light was already out and my hubby was fast asleep (he's a hunter and it's hunting season, which means he was up at 4:30am). Needless to say, I didn't feel right about turning on the light and rummaging through my closet to find an outfit for today. So I 'mentally' picked out what I was going to wear, hoping Fly Lady would forgive me. I have, however, already picked out my clothes for tomorrow and they're hanging on my closet door. Although it's hard to explain, I have to say there's a nice feeling about having already made that decision. One less for tomorrow. I'm starting to feel like a well planned woman.

Today's task was to start the beginnings of our control journal. Simply to get a 3 ring binder and put some paper in it. On one sheet we had to write "Morning Routine" at the top, on the other "Before Bed Routine" and fill in the simple routines we've learned so far in her program. She insists to write in pencil (which I hate) and to not let our perfectionism get in the way (I have a real problem with this). I attempted this challenge several years ago and didn't follow her advice. Of course I drafted a long list of things I thought would make my life easier by implementing them into my morning and bedtime routines. I neatly typed them up, printed them out and placed them in clear plastic sleeves before putting them in my binder. The result? Burnout. I became overwhelmed with all these new routines and gave up. Her process is designed to implement routines slowly so you're more likely to keep with them.

This time, I followed her recommendations. I took loose leaf paper and used pencil.  Here's what she has us doing and here's where I stand so far...

Morning Routine

- Get up and get dressed to lace up shoes; fixing your hair and face - having big challenges getting dressed before having to go downstairs. I end up feeding my daughter her bottle and heading back up to shower/get dressed etc. I am however, getting dressed and ready for my day much earlier than I did before this program. But will have an ultimate goal by end of the month to be dressed to the shoes before my kids get up. Anyone else struggling with this one?
- Looking at your posted reminders in the kitchen and bathroom- the one above my sink is definitely working. A visual reminder to keep my sink shining (ie. empty of dishes and other crap). The one in my bedroom reminding me to get dressed to the shoes isn't helping much. I don't know if that's because it's not in a noticeable enough place or if it's because I do what I have to do (like feed by daughter), regardless of the reminder. I think it's the later.
- Reading 2 minutes of reminders - I have been logging on to my email and reading Fly Lady's flight plan (I get the daily digests as getting the emails individually would be annoying to me). I don't read all the testimonials, mostly just the flight plan and anything else that grabs my interest. It's helped in that it inspired me to do a complete meal plan for the upcoming week because it reminded me that the habit of the month is menu planning.
- Recognizing the negative voices and changing them; YOU ARE FLYing NOW! - I didn't really write this in my routine...it's just in hers. ;-). I haven't needed to pull out by dusty pom poms yet.
- Put out your Hot Spots for 2 minutes - this goes by quickly and works!

Before Bed Routine

- Keep your sink shining - doing well on this. yay!
- Lay out your clothes for tomorrow - check!
- Put out your Hot Spots - I'm finding that I leave this until right before I head up to bed and have no mental energy for it and sort of half-ass it. I think I need to move it a bit earlier in the night.

Thanks for sharing in this journey with me. If nothing else, it's motivating me to keep at it. If Fly Lady and her program have changed the lives of thousands, I'm hopeful she can change mine too. If you're missing my regular posts on tips I've found that save time, money and sanity, don't worry! I'll be aiming to post one per week while I'm tackling the baby step program. Gosh, that sounds like I'm in rehab. Good thing we're all friends. 

Day Six: Hot Spots!

 Today we learned about hot spots on day six of Fly Lady's Baby Step Program.  A hot spot, is an area, if left unattended, will eventually take over, making the house look awful. When you walk into a room, the hot spot is the first thing you see.  We all have them.  It's where you drop things when you come in the house. It's where you temporarily put things that have no home. In my house it's the back counter in our breakfast nook and the back entry area. The back counter is the drop spot for mail, my son's art projects from school, cell phones, sunglasses, hand lotion...you get the idea. It frequently becomes overflowing with papers (mostly junk mail), catalogs and magazines (that I can't bring my self to toss yet) and other "useful" things we need regularly. The back entry is the drop spot for shopping bags, coats, backpacks, dry cleaning...whatever is in our hands that needs to get unloaded. Sometimes things sit there for days on end. Fly Lady is right: clutter attracts clutter. If the hot spot is cluttered with items, then it's not a big deal to drop one more thing there - you barely notice it. But if it's neat and organized you're less likely to "mess it up".

So today's task was to practice putting out our hot spots for two minutes. I set the timer and went to work on my back counter (and boy today was a good day to work on hot spots!!). Although I didn't finish, I made some major progress in two minutes. And although it went super fast, it became clear that we can make a difference in just two minutes.

My sink is shining. See you tomorrow!

Day Five Love Fest

Today's task on Fly Lady's Baby Step program was to write down what you hear in your head...that nagging voice that speaks negative thoughts in your head, and turn them around and say something nice to negate those nasty words. I feel like I'm in a psychotherapy session - learning to love myself. Perhaps this is really intended for those stuck deep in the depths of chaos and/or depression. But I bit my tongue and jotted down those negative thoughts that pop into my head. And then I attempted to turn them around. Honestly, I felt like I was just making excuses for myself. But I think the main objective was to not allow these negative thoughts to keep you from moving forward and accomplishing what you set out and need to do. By acknowledging them, we can move beyond them and keep them from creeping into our minds moving forward. Awe. Now a big group hug!

It also has us "reading reminders for two minutes" again. In yesterday's post, I admitted I didn't know what this referred to, but I contacted FlyLady and got a response within a couple hours. Now that's organized! (Considering their following and the volume of emails they must get). Here was the response...


Dear Janelle,

Thank you for your email. We suggest that you read our daily Flight Plan. It has everything you need for that day...However, just read..do not do..we only want you to start to become familiar with the email(s). Then delete the rest of the email..Yes, delete..delete... :-)

If you have not subscribed to our Big Tent email(s)..the daily Flight Plan is located on the home page under the section..Today, We are in Zone... :-)
Hope this helps!!!

Flylady Laura

Day Four Finished

Today's task for Fly Lady's Baby Step program was quite easy and I was finally able to tackle one day of my 31 day challenge without too much interference. I set my alarm for 6am thinking it'd be my only way to get showered and 'dressed to the shoes' before my kids got up. But silly me, I forget that my daughter has a supernatural sense of bad timing and just so happened to wake in unison with my alarm clock. However, I was able to bring her into the bathroom with me, plop her on the floor with a basket of her tub toys sitting nearby and get a shower in. I spent most of it peering out to make sure she didn't yank her glasses off her face and start chewing on them (her favorite pastime - we're on our fifth pair for the year so far). The challenging part is what comes after the shower. It's not always terribly difficult to fit in a 5 minute shower. It's the tedious blow drying and flat ironing (yes, I need it) and makeup and the whole process that follows a shower that's the time-eater. So today that part didn't happen. I went downstairs fully clothed (to lace up shoes!) but with wet hair and no makeup. I figured I'd get her bottle in and then mosey back upstairs to finish the process once she had something in her tummy. It seemed to work okay - although it wasn't exactly in line with Fly Lady's process. It was one step better than yesterday!

So today's task was to simply write down reminders on sticky notes and put them in places that will remind you to do those things. The old me would have kicked into perfectionist mode, pulled out the laptop and spent 15 minutes picking out my favorite font for my homemade reminder notes (you can stop laughing now). But I didn't do that. I grabbed a good 'ol pack of 3M sticky notes and wrote "Get dressed to the shoes" on one and "Keep your sink shiny" on the other. I did take a pair of scissors and cut a wavy border around them to make them feel a little less sticky note-ish and that seemed to appease me. I put the "get dressed to the shoes" sticky on the door jam next to my door so I see it when I'm walking out. I put the "keep your sink shiny" on the frame around my windows above my sink. Done. Now, let's hope they work.

It also says to "read two minutes of your reminders" on days 3 and 4. Now, what does that mean? It can't possibly mean the two sticky notes we just made - that would be quite repetitive for two full minutes. Perhaps it's the reminders she sends out via email from her site. I'll have to email them and ask. See ya'll tomorrow.

Day Three Do-Over

Today was a do-over day. Day three of Fly Lady's Baby Step program was to "do what we have already done". Repeat steps from days one and two: Get up and get dressed to the shoes and keep your sink shining. So, considering yesterday I wasn't able to accomplish the days task first thing in the morning, I was really looking forward to waking up and hitting the ground running today. Until...I woke up and heard my husband on the phone with the car company that was supposed to pick him up and take him to the airport for this business flight, but didn't.  He's stressed that he's going to miss his flight and the next thing I knew I'm swapping my pj's for a pair of sweatpants and sneakers and I'm in the car with the two kids on our way to the airport. Crap. So much for Day Three's Do-Over! I did end up getting dressed for real after I returned from the airport, while I heard my daughter fussing in her crib attempting a morning nap (unsuccessfully).

I also had to "keep my sink shining" (as I will have to do every day forward until the 31 days is complete). I just read that it said "keep". Oops. I thought I was supposed to do it right before bed. Oh well. Needless to say it didn't shine all day. A few moments ago I realized I still had a couple of sippy cups in the sink and I was soooo tempted to just leave them there for tomorrow. I'm tired. Who would know? But that commitment to following through and documenting it here prevailed. I muscled through two more sippy cups, rinsed it down and dried it out with a dish towel (much to my dismay). And then I turned around and saw one more cup of milk on the counter and a glass of wine I took one sip from and got too tired to drink (gasp-have you ever?!). What the !@#%#$^! So I repeated that step all over again.

Okay, so what I've learned so far about my life in this process is that I can't count on a whole lot of consistency. Well, at least for now.

Day Two Down, But Just Barely

So today's quest on Fly Lady's baby step program was to "get dressed to the shoes". By this she means first thing, before anything else. This includes "fixing your hair and face" as she puts it, and putting on lace-up shoes. The idea behind it is that you act differently when you've got clothes and shoes on. Being a stay-at-home mom, I've had many a day where I'd still be in my pj's at lunchtime (not that I'm proud of it). Getting dressed first thing gets you ready for your day. You start your day off purposeful. Totally agree Fly Lady. So here's how I fared on today's challenge...

Last night my 18 month old daughter had us up several times throughout the night (which is unfortunately quite typical) so of course I used every last minute she gave me in the morning to sleep. The problem with that is that it pretty much extinguished my chances of getting "dressed to the shoes" first thing this morning. See, little Chloe is pretty high maintenance for her age. As soon as she's up she's ready for her bottle or the sky will start falling. So down the stairs we go. Day two's challenge already on the back burner. Ugh.

Lucky for me, my dear husband is an early riser and happened to be up, dressed and working from home today. He agreed to postpone his workday just a bit to help with the kids so I could shower and get dressed. And yes, today, I needed a shower. Now, if you work outside the home, then you probably get the luxury of showering and washing your hair every day. (Settle down, I was saying 'luxury' tongue-in-cheek.:-) Please, you working moms out there - tell me your secret to getting this done with young children that seem to need you every waking moment! But for now, I rely heavily on my favorite dry shampoo and quick body showers (quick enough that my daughter doesn't ingest her cute little glasses on her face before I'm done). Let's just see how today's task works out for tomorrow morning when he's in Denver. Hey, I thought these were baby steps!

I don't really have lace-up shoes (that aren't sneakers - and I wasn't wearing sweats today) so I put on flat knee boots, thinking it was still within the idea of not being easy to kick them off. I typically wear socks or bare feet in the house so my feet were quite tired and not happy by 5pm. I'm thinking I need to figure out a comfortable alternative.

According to the baby step program, we're supposed to build on each day, so I "shined my sink" before writing this post. I still think it's silly to wipe a sink dry, but did it anyway. Actually, from 'somewhere out there' I got some energy to clean the rest of my kitchen the same way. I began taking off the drip pans on the stove and spraying them with my favorite cleaning spray. Before I knew it, my whole kitchen "shined". And then I sat down and had a beer so I wouldn't have to clean a wine glass and mess up my shiny new sink.

Day One Down: A Shiny Sink

So, if you read my previous post about needing an intervention, then you'd know that today I started a personal challenge of completing Fly Lady's Baby Step program to create habits and routines to make my home and life run more smoothly. This 31 day program takes one baby step at a time and builds on each one, day by day, bit by bit.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those cat ladies with years of Smuckers jars packed to the ceiling, or rooms you might find on Clean Sweep. Actually, my home is quite nice and I take pride in it. I'm just a mama looking to feel a little more in control of her home, life and schedule. According to testimonials, Fly Lady has done it for many...so for the next 31 days, I am her student. Anyone care to join me?


Today's challenge: Shine Your Sink.

Sounds easy enough, right? Well, Fly Lady has a very specific process for shining your sink, so according to her plan, here's what I had to do...

• Take all the dishes out of the sink. This was easy. They were already washed, except for two items, which I quickly washed, dried and put away. 

•  Run some very hot water into the sink. Fill to the rim. Only do one side at a time. Then, pour a cup of household bleach into the hot water. Let it sit for 1 hour. Now, pull the plug with a pair of tongs. If you don't have tongs, then scoop some of the water out of the sink into the other sink and use your hand to pull the plug (wear gloves and don't get the bleach-water on your clothes). Easy enough. I let the bleach water sit while I bathed my son and put him to bed. I'm usually pretty anal about cleaning my kitchen and keep my sink relatively clean on a regular basis, so I didn't think it would make that much of a difference but I swore it looked brighter afterward.

• Rinse your sink well. Forgot this part. Oops. 

• Use some cleanser (Comet, Ajax, or Baking Soda) and scrub your sink. Ensure you rinse ALL of the cleanser from the sink. I started with some Bar Keepers Friend, since I had it on hand and she mentioned it worked for many people. I had some silver "scratches" on my white sink that appeared to be from metal pans scraping it or something. It did seem to help. However, as noted in #3 above, I forgot to rinse it well before adding the Bar Keepers Friend. Maybe this is why I was smelling that weird smell. LOL. I then rinsed well and did the same thing with Soft Scrub (with bleach) since that's what I typically use. So far so good.

• Take a sharp edge and clean around the rim of the sink, just like you would clean dirt out from under your fingernails. Umm...seems I forgot this one too. I guess I should have printed these steps out and read one by one rather than 'memorizing' what to do. But in my defense, I didn't really have a lot of dirt around the rim. (guess I'll make up that part tomorrow).

•  Clean around the faucets too. You may need an old toothbrush or dental floss. I grabbed a steak knife and used the sharp edges. This really seemed to help with the built up calcium deposits that don't wash away. The rings around the faucet and handles were slightly tinged, so this step made a HUGE difference.

• Now, get out your window cleaner, I use Windex, and give it a good shine. I rinsed first (making up for previous set-backs) and then used Windex. Gotta admit...it looked nice. Here's before & after pictures. Okay, not a huge difference, but notable if you saw it in person.
  

• If you still don't like the way it looks, then you could try some car wax. What? Car wax? Just know in your heart that you have cleaned it very well now and it doesn't have to be perfect. Thanks Fly Lady, I'm all good.
  

• Every time you run water in your sink, take your clean dishtowel and dry it out (I lay out a clean one, every night with my before bedtime routine). How realistic is this, really? I feel like I'm running water in the sink several times an hour. It's one thing to be clean, but to be dry too? Sounds like a big time waster to me, but I'll be a good student for now...perhaps there's more to it than I realize.  

She goes on to say that the dish drying rack should go under the sink when you're finished with it (implying that dishes should be washed, dried and put away all in the same day...uh, I mean moment) and the drying rack need not be a repository for dishes. Heck, I'm lucky to get them washed with my schedule and two young children. This should be an interesting adventure.

Taking Baby Steps Toward Sanity

As you can tell from the lack of posts lately, my time to write has been limited. Or perhaps it's just my energy since I feel like 99.9% of my daily tasks involve taking care of everyone else. Most days I feel lucky to squeeze a shower in edgewise. So, this Well Planned Woman In Progress needs an intervention. And I know the perfect person for the job. FlyLady!

FlyLady's program for creating routines and combating CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) has been proven to change many people's lives. I've been a fan of FlyLady for nearly 7 years...as well as a FlyBaby on and off for years, implementing some of her strategies for organizing and maintaining a well-run home here and there. But with the craziness that the upcoming holidays brings, I can just tell it's time for more serious action.

She has a baby step program (for...FlyBabies) that has you doing one baby step at a time over the course of 31 days. It has you building upon the previous days task to create routines in your life (that are proven to help your sanity!) I recently saw the movie Julie & Julia at the theater and thought how perfect that someone would give themselves a challenge and write about it on their blog daily. Now, my challenge is only 31 days, not 365, but nonetheless by committing to it here on my blog to my readers, I am now accountable. It's funny how sometimes we just need someone else to know we're doing something to feel an bigger sense of commitment. And seeing that tomorrow is the first day of November, I figured it's the perfect time to start day one of her baby step program.

So who wants to join me on this journey for the month of November? Check out her baby step program here and if you feel up for the challenge, post a comment and we'll motivate each other as we become more organized and less overwhelmed.

Grab & Go Snacks

I don't know many people with too much time on their hands, which means most of us are busy women. I regularly find myself frantically putting together a snack for the kids before running out the door. I'd open my pantry door and wonder what to grab - many times I'd grab something way too messy for a car ride, or something not as nutritious as I'd like, but it's quick and easy. Or I'd just grab the whole bag of Pirates Booty because I didn't have time to find the lid for the snack trap and I was already running late (a condition of having children I've learned). I don't know about you, but giving a big bag of booty to my three year old son won't have a happy ending (ooh, that didn't sound too good). Seriously, he'd stuff his face with as many as he could before I reached the next light to grab it away and when I did, he's fuss that he wasn't done. On top of it, he'd probably accidentally tip the bag (or I would as I snatched it away) and litter the car floor with delectable cheese puffs.

I've figured out a solution for my madness. By creating a bunch of pre-packaged snacks, they're ready to go when we are. And, my son can go grab his own snack (with permission) because they're accessible.
They're also portion-controlled and are a snack of choice rather than some cookies that were the closest to the pantry door.

Here's what I did...
I bought a pack of the snack sized zip lock bags and made a list of healthy (or mostly healthy) snacks for my kids. Pretzels, Pirates Booty, graham cracker sticks, trail mix, dried fruit, veggie chips, etc. Then I grabbed a 1/4 cup measuring cup and began measuring one portion of each for each bag. I sealed them up and put them in a wire bin just inside my pantry so my kids could access them (a drawer would have been ideal, but they are limited in my kitchen). You could also pre-package bags of grapes, little carrots or cut up veggies and keep them in your crisper ready to go. It's nice because it give the kids choice, and you know how they love to feel in charge!

Now when I'm running out of the house I grab a couple of pre-made snacks and I'm out the door. The snack sized bags are great because they appear full (vs. filling a sandwich baggie 1/4 full) and if they do get dumped, it's not the whole bag on my car floor. I also keep a few extras in my car console for when I'm running later than expected and the kids are complaining of being hungry (or my tummy tells me that I am). I try to keep a couple small water bottles or juice boxes in there too. When push comes to shove, they don't care if they're chilled or not. And now that the cold weather is coming...that won't be an issue.

Just one more baby step to becoming a well planned woman...

So there are people out there reading...

As a novice blogger, you sometimes wonder if there's anyone out there in the abyss reading your posts. It's so much easier and motivating to keep writing if you know there are people out there that enjoy reading your posts and that your thoughts somehow have a positive impact in their life (or at least put a smile on their face). I received the message below from a reader that I knew from my college days. Not only did I not realize she was reading my blog - it was just boost I needed to keep posting.

Hello Janelle! I am so happy to have you as a friend on Facebook, not only because I am nosy about what everyone is doing in life.. but because I LOVE reading your well planned women posts. But the journalist in me wants to know, do you do this just for kicks or for a job? You're so good at it I'm sure you can find a website/magazine that will pay for your editorials.. Anyways, it may sound crazy but I look forward to seeing your new notes. I may be an "older" woman with just one kid that's older your than your 2, but I always feel like I learn something new and at least it helps preserve my sanity! It's good to know that I'm not the only one who has a coupon for the Children's Place but left it at home and stand at the register wondering if I should buy those pj's or wait when I go back to the mall, then my thoughts shift to.. can i really drag my whining 6 year old back to the mall again in the next week? Anyways, I thought you'd like the feedback. Thanks for the advice.  - Kelly from Florida

Kelly, thanks for brightening my day. And no, I don't get paid for what I do (for now) - although someday it would be nice to add to my shoe fund by writing about things that interest me. For now, I'm on to concept my next post.

Making Time for Things that Matter Most

I've been struggling lately with the overwhelming guilt that comes along with being a good stay-at-home mom and the pressure (self-induced, of course) of keeping a perfect home. While one might assume the guilt is usually with working moms, let me assure you we have it too. I'm constantly finding myself telling my son that I'll play transformers or monster trucks with him after I get the dishes done, or after mommy gets dinner prepped. But the reality is, I've ALWAYS got something to do around the house.

Embarrassingly enough, I remember asking my best friend what she did all day when she was a new stay-at-home mom and I was still childless and in the workforce.(gasp! Sorry Kim!) First, I can't believe I was actually ignorant enough at one point to say that, and second, now I know how stay-at-home moms are pulled in so many directions. But occassionally I need to remind myself that my "job" is my children. To love them and challenge them and teach them the oh so many things that they need to know in order to be respectful, well-rounded and loving adults. It's quite easy to get caught up in the day to day "chores" of life that need tending to and push off just a few moments longer that request to play with them, while the pile of clean, yet unfolded laundry stares you in the face.

So, in my attempt to battle this guilt and take one more step in becoming a well planned woman, I've made mommy play dates on my calendar. Not with other kids, not with other mommies. Just me and my kids. I'm setting aside time every day to do things I know my kids love to do with me. I asked my three (almost four) year old son (my daughter can't yet talk now, but she'll have her turn too) what his favorite things to do with mommy were. We came up with a list of something to do every day that will put a smile on both of our faces. His because he's got my 100% attention and we're doing something he loves and mine because I feel good about focusing on him and making him happy while doing it. This picture is my son having a blast painting about a month ago. Now I'll get to see this big painty-face grin every week.  The iPhone (and addicting instant access to email) is away. The computer is away. The To Do list is away. Magazines or anything else that distracts me is away. Game on.

Here's what we came up with...

• Monday: Playdough Playdate
  
• Tuesday: Pretend Play Playdate (usually Transformers)
• Wednesday: Painting Playdate
  
• Thursday: Glue crafts & Cutting Playdate
  
• Friday: Puzzles Playdate
  

Each day our schedule forces us to do these at different times, but typically it's in the afternoon while my daughter naps. Soon enough, she'll be joining us; but for now she'd just eat the playdough, paints, paper, puzzle pieces, etc. While she can't do what her big brother does, I have also been trying to consciously spend more one-on-one time with her to teach her all those things I had unlimited time to teach my son at her age as an only child.

I'm sure many of you working women can relate to this too - you have your own struggles, some of which are very similar to many of us SAHM's. I'd love to hear from some of you working moms to let us know what you struggle with and any tips you've discovered that help you along. We can all learn from each other. If you can relate to any of this, give these mommy play dates a try or post a message so we know we're not alone on this journey.

Is that still tasty?

For all of you who share my fear of what happens to food that's been eaten past its prime, I came across a very cool website I had to share. Ever wonder how long that package of shredded cheddar cheese stays safely edible in the fridge once its been opened? Did you know that the bottle of opened capers you have in the depths of your refrigerator is still good for up to a year? These are just a couple of helpful tips you can find at www.stilltasty.com; your ultimate shelf life guide.

I'm so paranoid about eating food beyond it's shelf life that I use a sharpie to mark it with the date I open it. Seriously. I keep one in the drawer next to my fridge. How many times do we wonder how long that pasta sauce has been sitting in the back of the fridge and we open it to see if there's any mold growing on it? Well, dear, if you checked www.stilltasty.com you'll realize that if you opened it more than 10 days ago, you can toss it, or chance tossing your cookies.

StillTasty.com also has some cool topics of discussion they appropriately call "shelf talk". You'll learn things like how to decipher the difference between sell by, use by and best before dates and if you must eat the chicken the same day you defrosted it or if you can save it for another night if your dinner plans change. The answer in case you're wondering - it depends on how you defrosted it. :-)

And for me, well, I'm off to toss all those dried spices I've had since my wedding; since they're only fresh for up to three years and I'm about to celebrate my seventh anniversary. Ciao!