Halloween: Trick or Treat Alternatives
It is that time of year again where ghouls and gluttony rule. The time any vague notion of nutritional plans are thrown out the window and are replaced with pillowcases full of candy and sugar. A glint of greed glows In the eyes of otherwise mannerly children. Parents begin to actually steal from their children when their backs are turned and the lights are out and some existing behaviors exasperated by all that goo sky rocket!
The alternatives? Can you bear to be the neighbor that is passing out granola bars? Would any fruit or homemade treat land in the trash in today’s suspicious world? It is a vicious cycle.
It makes me ask the question, what makes Halloween fun? Is it really the actual candy or is it the costumes, the interaction with friends and neighbors, the décor. Is it the feeling of just going door to door and be given a gift and coming home and just looking at all that candy!
Can you change what you distribute?
- A toy – Not a plastic throw away. Something that might have longevity. One mom went through her son’s old beanie babies and action figures and set aside the best ones for Halloween.
- Art Supplies – A little water color set , play-dough, markers, sketchbooks
- Books – Activity books, little easy readers, comics, notepads
- Coupons – McDonald’s and Wendy’s have them and I know they are still fast food but it at least its not plain sugar.
- Money – How about a bowl of change! I always wondered if you offered the money alternative, how many kids would go for gold!
If you can’t commit 100% maybe you can at least start with providing a choice. Offer an alternative bowl, make it attractive and see what happens. I would love to hear from you and I would love to hear more ideas!
Keeping it Green: Halloween Costumes
Photo provided by Etsy seller PipandBean.com
What was your most favorite Halloween costume you ever wore? Was it one you bought or one you put together creatively? Sometimes the best memories are made when you just make do because the pressure is off and it’s time to have fun. Often when your creativity shines through, the costume becomes a real show stopper and the added bonus is no one will have the the same one as you!
The most eco-friendly suggestion is to use what you have or do a “costume swap”. You can organize this with friends, neighbors, or even schools. There is even a National Costume Swap day on October 13th and a website, www.greenhalloween.org that facilitates setting up your own swap. Also be sure to look at consignment and thrift shops. They often have costumes that are in perfect condition and ready to go at bargain prices.
Another great place to look for great handmade items that are clever and eco-friendly is www.etsy.com. We found these adorable ideas from Etsy seller Pip and Bean and they are absolutely adorable!
There is plenty of time to let your creative juices roll this Halloween and empower your kids to find fun and easy ways to get ready for their big night in a EEK-o-Friendly way!
Back to School: Organizing the Paper – Part Two
PART TWO: THIS YEAR’S PAPERS…
Let me start by saying I would like to pass legislation stating anything that comes home from school and needs my attention should be allowed to be returned to school the next day. It is usually the active papers that are the problem and having a guideline on what is active, what is reference and what is archive is crucial. Getting clarity on this from teachers and students will make all the difference. You will be able to have a streamlined system and you can help your child with this skill. Many times kids are paralyzed with paper too and tend to carry everything in oversized backpacks and overstuffed desks and lockers because they don’t want to be embarrassed by not having what the teacher wants and inevitably this creates a situation that papers get lost in. This skill takes time and support not just verbal instruction. Do it together to build better habits.
Every home needs a LAUNCH PAD or CONTROL CENTER for school papers.
Here are some components for a good launch pad:
- A one step space for EACH child’s backpack
This will save the day for you. Have a place to hang that backpack and create a procedure for going through it after school. Make sure it’s loaded for the next day and many stresses will disappear with putting that one step into place.
- A place for important ACTIVE papers
Use a red folder for active papers, I think of them as HOT. Everyone in my house knows where the HOT file is and that it is important and things that belong there are typically safe and not lost!
- A work space for HOMEWORK
I am a big believer in the dining room table homework area. I like to have that activity under my nose because I have found it’s easier for me to answer questions and keep things on track if they are centralized in the home rather than hiding in a bedroom. So many parents think the answer to a distracted student is a desk in their room but 9 out of 10 times that desk is on Craigslist a year later because it becomes a clutter catcher and not a work space. Using the dining room or kitchen table has other added benefits, it helps to get homework done before dinner because things have to get put away in order to eat. I realize this won’t work for everyone, but take the ideas to your home and see what does work.
- A place for SCHEDULES and INVITES
Along with the HOT folder I have a folder for soccer schedules the directory and invites. This is one clear plastic wall pocket that I nicknamed ”my brain” because when stuff gets in there I don’t have to remember it all. I put important info in my phone or on the calendar but I keep the details there until the event is over then I toss it.
- ONE family calendar
Our family calendar hung above the wall pocket (my brain) and everyone could see it in my kitchen. It is where all the info resided for everyone. If you want your activity to be counted, it better be on there. I delegated a bit here because frankly I couldn’t keep it all straight.
As time went on smart phones came into play so the calendar on my phone was THE calendar and everyone entered info on that. I can remember the kids asking if they could do something and passing the phone to them so they could see if there was time available and what was going on that day. Like the HOT file, the calendar gets respect because if it’s not on there I can’t really get it scheduled or done, so everyone quickly knew to get on board and get their events in the calendar.
- Night time routine for readiness
When you get this in place you will be a rock star! It is so easy to do, but so easy not to do. Think of it as PEACE for you and your students. Just take ten minutes to go over what needed to be completed that day, what is needed for the next day and put it away or where it needs to be for the next day. It will calm everyone down, and set the stage for a more relaxing evening or bedtime as well as a smooth morning exit.
For examples of launch pads or family control centers, check our Back to School board on Pinterest!
Back to School: Organizing the Paper – Part One
Are you shuddering to think about those back to school papers? Is your child’s back pack from last year sitting exactly where they put it on the last day of school? If so, you need make a plan for handling the deluge of paper that is about to start flowing into your home again. Here are some ideas on how to get ready for the upcoming school year.
PART ONE: LAST YEAR’S PAPERS….
What to keep:
- Report cards and official documents
Of course you need to keep report cards and official documents from school and they should be filed with your family documents for easy retrieval.
- Academic paperwork
Keep things that show development. When you look at everything and notice papers showing an important highlight or lowlight, hang on to it. Keep personal writing, especially when it is about them, or about family. Ask your children what is important to them. It is a lifelong skill they need to develop and leaving them out of the process takes away an important learning opportunity. Listen to them! Generally toss spelling tests, worksheets and papers that seem repetitive or less student oriented.
- Artwork
Keep what is pretty and makes you happy. Look for developmental leaps and write the child’s name, date and any other notes, like why you kept it on the back. Look at previous items you kept and pull out what doesn’t seem important now. Have kids go through it too, sometimes they can identify items they truly engaged in rather than pre-cut crafty projects that teachers really did most of the work for them.
Where do I put all this stuff?
Decide what enough is. I like to use under the bed bins for art and a file box for papers. I keep it in the attic and I add to it through out the school year. At the end of the year I invite my children to look at all the stuff that is saved from previous years and add what is “worthy” from the current year. I am often surprised that the lid goes on those two boxes when we are done because we naturally get rid of things that just seem less relevant as time goes on. We then find things to scan, frame, toss, or give as gifts and it seems to work.
TIP: Both of my children took two AP art course in High School and the art got bigger and better as time went on. I often scan larger projects and frame the reduced versions to hang on an art wall I created for my kids work. I could recreate them in black and white and even hang similar project they each did side by side.
For examples of launch pads or family control centers, check our Back to School board on Pinterest!
Do You Have the Oldest Refrigerator in PA?
I am always looking for fun new ways to get rid of “stuff” and when I opened my Duquense Light bill today I found this fun challenge! Just go to www.WattChoices.com and schedule a pick up of any refrigerator and its FREE! You will receive a $35.00 check, save an average of $150.00 a year and if your refrigerator is the oldest one they collect you could win $1000.00 dollars! Sounds like a win-win-win to me. The icing on this cake is that Duquense Light has partnered with JACO Environmental and they recycle 95% of the components of your old refrigerator in an environmentally friendly way.
I do have an old refrigerator and have been considering the practicality of that now that my children are not at home. It was in my grandmother’s and I just think it is funky and cool. But after looking at all the information on http://www.WattChoices.com it may be time to retire that old fridge. Check out the site for ton of great tips and money saving advice. You can also call 1-877-270-3521 for more details.
* Limit 2 per household:)
Funny Things Keep Happening
So remember how I mentioned yesterday that the new colors on our sites were popping up everywhere in my life? Well it has happened again!
I love it when fun and funky things enter my life by chance and it just so happened that I received a necklace from my aunt for my birthday and guess what? It’s all of the same colors that are part of the the new logo and site design!!!
Special thanks to Aunt Mary Lou for the necklace! It couldn’t have been a better a choice!
Big Announcement: New Site Launch!
Over the past few months we’ve been a bit quiet here because we have been working in the background on a whole new look for our entire online presence and we launching it today! We are very excited to share them!
Our new look celebrates a few things, first, we have been in business for 12 years this month. Through those 12 years, I had noticed as we grew our business, our web site evolved too. However, we just kept adding on to what was already there and it started to be a bit cumbersome. We have a website for organizing, a website for our Closet Systems site, a website for The Resource Database and the Simplify Life blog. As time went on they ended up looking like four different businesses so we decided it was time to rebrand and expand their usefulness.
The process started with a new look, went through many ideas and color palettes but we finally settled on this. We all just love it!
When we finally committed to the new color scheme, I started noticing funny things that were already happening in my life. Apparently, my husband dresses in those colors, because as I passed his closet I noticed his shirts were arranged in a way that mimicked our new branding choice. No wonder I was so attracted to them and I hope clients will be too!
In addition to celebrating a birthday for our business, I am also celebrating my 50th birthday this month! On my 49th birthday, I set my mind to rolling into 50 feeling great and have spent the last 365 days taking care of me! I added a new workout to my routine (and I mean new as in I never worked out seriously before), a new diet and a bunch of new fitness related activity. I really feel healthy and strong as I enter the half century mark.
It’s fun to celebrate my personal and business transformations. Life is good and I am doing exactly what I want to do everyday. I have a wonderful husband and partner in business, the greatest kids that are growing to be my very favorite people on the planet, and the best friends and clients in the world. Thank you.
Garage Sale Advice
Welcome to May! With May comes many things, but one in particular is Garage sales! I was asked to talk to the crew from the KDKA Radio morning show early this morning about garage sales and I wanted to share a few more tips with you here. Whether you’re shopping or selling, here are a few things to help you along the way.
If you are looking for sales in your neighborhood good places to start are The Pittsburgh Post Gazette classifieds, the Pennysaver newspaper, and Craigslist. You can also search sites such as Oodle, which syndicates its garage sale listings with a handful of other social networking websites and newspapers, as well as Garage Sales Tracker’s Pittsburgh area garage sales section.
If you are already on the road then no need to worry since there are smartphone applications for finding a local sale. A service called Garage Sale App is available for 99 cents. The app mines data from Craigslist to show you what local sales are in your area. If you want a free app then Garage Sales Tracker also has a free app you can use to map out which sales in the area you want to go to that day and the best route. Another fantastic app is iGarageSale where you can search sales for specific items. It’s available on both iPhone and Android smartphones.
Now that you know how to find all of the sales, here are some tips for holding your own garage sale:
- Determine when to have the sale. Summertime and spring are naturally the best times, and being an early bird pays off!
- If you have a lot of stuff, you may want to break the sale down into 2 days.
- Advertising is very important. Utilize the resources mentioned above as well as signage that you can pick up at any local hardware store. Or you can design your own sign. Just make sure you include the address, put the arrows in the right direction, and mention the date of the sale and time.
- Be prepared with supplies, such as balloons on the mail box, proper change, tables, and tags for pricing.
- Placing the person in charge of the cashbox in the back of the sale makes people walk through the whole sale, and increases the chance that they may buy something else as they make their way through.
- Make price tags big and place them on the TOP of the items.
Most of all, Have FUN!
KDKA Feature: Product Reviews From NAPO
Leslie was featured on KDKA Pittsburgh Today Live this week! Watch her interview here to learn more about some of the best new organizing items!
Spring Fling: The Bathroom
GETTING STARTED
There are so few places where we get to completely relax. The shower/bath should be a place of total rejuvenation. Today we’ll turn this grime collector into a cleansing oasis.
TODAY’S TASKS
* Remove any product you don’t use or love – especially if there is less than an inch of product left in the bottle.
* Remove anything that is old or worn out – look at razors, scrubbers, and even the shower curtain.
* Clean the tub and make it shine.
* A certain peace comes with less decisions. Try living with one shampoo, one conditioner, and one soap this week. What did you miss? What was OK?
A NEW WAY TO THINK
Are you looking for a quick fix or magic potion when you collect shampoos, body washes, and lotions? In your search, you may have found several duds. If you can’t seem to use the last drop of anything, you may struggle with completion issues or with feeling that you are undeserving. Saving everything simply puts obstacles between you and your best things.
I had one client who creatively solved this problem by concocting her own shampoo by marrying the last few drops of several favorites to simply get rid of a collections of bottles. It was quite an effective solution.
If you don’t want to combine nor throw away usable soaps, you can keep one of the bottles inside your shower and store the rest outside of the shower. You can move on to the bottles in storage after you’ve successfully finished the one in the shower.
Your reward today is just too obvious, pamper yourself with your favorite little potion!
