The Organized Mama

Task to Tackle Tuesday 5: Plasticware Drawer

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 17:28:00 +0000

T2TT: Plasticware & Cutting Board Drawer
Location: Kitchen
Time: 10 minutes (plus time to purchase CD rack as lid holder)

I have very limited kitchen space. To be honest, I have just one lower cabinet, a sink cabinet, a lazy susan and three large drawers. In the bottom large drawer I store my plastic ware (because like most people I seem to have a lot) and my cutting boards (because I really don't have another place to put them away.) I hated the fact when I would get in the drawer to get the cutting boards my plasticware would topple all over the placethat . It also bothered me that my plasticware lids were buried at the bottom and I would have to dig through playing the match game every time I wanted to store leftovers. Not to mention, this drawer seemed to become the catch all for things we didn't have room for elsewhere like slider makers.

On a recent visit to a thrift store I picked up this CD rack for $4 because I had seen different examples of how to use these racks to store your lids to help find which lid goes with which bowl easier. First, I matched the containers and lids, recycling what didn't have a match. Next, I weeded out anything that didn't belong like the slider makers (stored with seasonal "grilling" items in the basement) and the large water cup (stored with, shockingly, the cups). I decided put the cutting boards back in at the front of the drawer because I use them more than I do the lids and plasticware. When I placed the rack in for the lids, I noticed some of my lids were wider than the slots so I used wire snips to take a couple of the dividers to fit these larger lids. Now I can see my lids right away when I choose my container. And I don't have to dig for my cutting boards.

Do you have a task you tackled today or one you'd like help with? Comment below or tweet with me @organized_mama or use #T2TT.

Task to Tackle Tuesday 4: Hat Attack

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:56:00 +0000

T2TT: Baseball Cap Clutter
Location: Hall Closet
Time: 7 minutes (includes gathering supplies)

While tackling my coat closet clutter 2 weeks ago, I noticed that my husband had an absurd amount of baseball caps and visors strewn about. When I saw this post on Pinterest last week I thought "I have both of those things...That is the task I will tackle next week!" It was so simple and makes a huge difference.

1. Find or purchase 1 hanger and 1 set of shower curtain hooks. (The demo website used a wooden hanger and clear shower hooks. I had white around the house so that's what I used.)
2. Attach hooks to bottom of hanger and hats to hooks. I found if I lined up all the hats on the bed and then attached the hooks the seemed to hang a bit better.
There may be a bit of shifting but it is definitely better than a pile. I hung it in the back of the coat closet rather than with the coats to help prevent the hats from getting smashed.

A note on why my Task to Tackle Tuesday is coming to you on Wednesday...Even the best laid plans made by a professional organizer have to have some wiggle room. So when your husband comes home and wants to take you to see your favorite movie of all time (Hitchcock's North by Northwest) on the big screen, you say yes. Even if you haven't finished editing the pictures for your blog post. :)

Task to Tackle Tuesday 3: Office Overflow

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:47:00 +0000

T2TT: Office Overflow
Location: Basement
Time: 50 minutes (so far)

I knew when Q was born the day would eventually come when I would need to give up my office. Frankly, with both sets of parents living out of town and wanting to come visit and babysit for free, I WANT to give up my office as a guest bedroom. We made this move over the summer. Along with losing the room, I also lost a bookshelf which we moved to Q's room for toy storage. While I was able to house a majority of the office items in their previous home, I did have a slew of leftover items that needed new homes. And so this brings me to today's T2TT.

I started with my regular process of sorting and purging. But the process took me a bit longer than I estimated it would. Actually a lot longer. My goal was to completely clear the table and what was underneath. But as you can see from the "After-ish" photo, that did not happen. Probably due to a combination of needing more storage space and a child with a shortened nap.

This inability to complete the task brings up a great point that I stress to my organizing clients. It's OK if you don't completely finish a task your first time out. Is it ideal? Of course. Is it always possible? No. And as you can see from the picture, I am a little better off than I was before. I have a good idea of how long I need to finish the remaining task (about another 50 minutes). Some organized is better than none organized. Right?

If you want to jump on the Task to Tackle Tuesday bandwagon, visit The Organized Mama on Facebook or tweet your before and after shots using #T2TT.

Task to Tackle Tuesday 2: Coat Closet

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:31:00 +0000

T2TT: Coat Closet
Location: Hallway
Time: 50 minutes

It is finally starting to feel like fall around here. So I know that the cold weather and winter is not far behind. And when I went to grab a jacket out of our coat closet one chilly evening, my next Task to Tackle became evident. Our coat closet had become a catch all for many things other than coats. And forget trying to grab anything off the shelves without 4 other things falling on your head.

I began by removing everything from the closet and sorting it into appropriate piles (coats, hats, gloves, etc). Anything that made sense to store someplace else I moved since we have limited space and have recently added another coat wearing body to the family. So things like our travel dog crate and my husband's large winter work boots found new homes. I also pitched things like the bag of bags (as in paper shopping bags like the ones from Victoria's Secret) that were hiding on the top shelf from our move (three years ago). I also discovered a fun 6 piece flashlight set I had received in a white elephant gift exchange one year that really would have come in handy during our 6 day power outage this summer. Oh well, c'est la vie!

I began reloading the closet by adding additional storage for hats and gloves. Now my husband and I each have our own bin on the shelf above the coats. When loading the coats back in, I took care to make sure they were buttoned or zipped and hanging properly to take up less space. I removed any "coats" that weren't actually coats like hooded sweatshirts, sweater coats or suit jackets. Since these can be stored in our regular closet I didn't want them taking up space in the coat closet. I designated the left side of the closet for my husband and the right side for me. And yes, I did label it with my label maker :) With what I was able to purge and reassign, I gained an entire shelf of space (above where the hats and gloves are stored) plus floor space where I can eventually add small bins for Q's hats and gloves.

Want to join the Task to Tackle Tuesday party? Come visit me The Organized Mama on Facebook or tweet with me using #T2TT.

Tasks To Tackle Tuesday 1: Hidden Basket

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:18:00 +0000

Even as a professional organizer there are tasks around the house that fall by the wayside. Closets that become disorganized, corner that get forgotten or projects you mean to get to but just don't seem to find the time for. I have all of these. So I am starting "Tasks to Tackle Tuesday" here at The Organized Mama. Each Tuesday, depending on my time constraints (and perhaps energy level) I will delve into one of these projects, both big and small, that I have been avoiding.
If you have projects you need motivating to finish (or start), join me on my journey. Follow me on Twitter @organize_mama and use the hashtag #T2TT to talk about your Task To Tackle Tuesday or join my The Organized Mama Facebook community where we can post and shares pictures about completing our tasks.

So here we go with Installment #1

T2TT: Hidden Basket
Location: Living Room
Time: 24 minutes

Before

When Q started motoring about we lost our coffee table. This basket used to live under that coffee table and became sort of a catch all for magazines, remotes, burnt out candles, etc. When we removed the coffee table, this basket found its way into the corner of our living room where it has made its home for about 3 months now. Untouched, I might add. Until today.
I sorted the items inside which included about $3 in change, the wrapping from a baby shower favor gift (that I attended nearly 2 years ago), a pair of scissors I have been searching for and 3 pairs of fingernail clippers (so that is where fingernail clippers go when we can't find them.)

After

After sorting, purging and cleaning out the basket I was ready to re-purpose it. I filled it with the larger toys that don't seem to fit in our current toy cabinet. Q loves to play with these things so I want them to remain accessible but I did want to contain them better. I moved the basket out of the corner and placed it nearer the cabinet when we keep Q's toys. Viola! My first TTTT task complete! Join me next week and together we can tackle those tasks you've been trying to complete!

Moving Forward By Backing Up

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 01:00:00 +0000

My laptop is on the fritz. I am prepping myself for the day (probably soon) when I go to turn it on and it goes "poof". Now I know there is probably some sort of technical fix to retrieve all my personal and business information but frankly hunting down a laptop will take all the extra energy and time I have to spare. I really don't want to have to hunt down a way to get my files back. So I've begun the process of backing my files up, both on a hard copy and in the the cloud.

For my documents, I have chosen cloud based storage. Sites like Mozy or Dropbox offer a FREE 2GBs of storage for home use (business users will need to pay for the upgraded service). I can even get you an extra 256MB of space through Mozy if you sign up HERE. Both sites offer scheduled backup so even if you forget to add new files you've created, the site will remember to add it for you when it updates each night. I've chosen the cloud for documents because frankly we have too many pictures and my husband uses such a high resolution that we have about 10 times the amount of free storage in pictures alone (and Q is only 1!)

Many people still have questions about security when dealing with cloud based storage. When this question arises, I encourage my friends, clients and anyone reading this to keep any documents or personal data they do not feel comfortable uploading to the cloud on a hard copy backup like a thumb drive or CD. This is also the method we have chosen to back up our photographs since we can catalog them by month or event. I also recommend making at least 2 copies when you backup to a hard copy in case the CD breaks or you lose the thumb drive.

All in all, the piece of mind backing up the files on laptop before it dies cost me about 2 hours of my time and $15 in CD's. Well worth it to guarantee I don't lose the documents and photographs I love and rely on.

The Social Media Time Vacuum

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 18:12:00 +0000

I am totally guilty of getting sucked into Twitter. And Facebook. And now Pinterest. It doesn't help that as a small business owner with a limited advertising budget, social media is a great way to meet new clients and advertise. I may say I go on for my business, but I know I stay for the pleasure of social media.

I have a theory about women and social media...back in the days before subdivisions, technology and hyper-commitmentism, women used to gather together more. I think it is in our nature as women to seek out a community. But unfortunately with the busy lives we all now lead, we have lost that sense of community. Many of us don't know our neighbors names years after we move into a neighborhood or the names of the other moms of our child's soccer teammates. BUT social media creates that community we seek. And we can do it on our terms and make it fit our availability. Our neighbor may not be available for coffee at 1am but Pinterest certainly has plenty of ideas for your son's birthday party at any time, night or day.

Alright, enough theorizing and excuses...we like social media. It's good for us. It helps us moms create a clan, like the good old days. But what about when it starts to interfere with getting things done (I'm totally guilty of this.) There are options if you need someone or something to tell you "Hey, get off Facebook and go make dinner." Check out Rescue Time, Minutes Please and Facebook Limiter for both free and paid plans. These sites are super user friendly and will block selected sites during certain times of day or set a timer to say "time to get off the computer now." And now I have to wrap this up...my timer says I only have 10 more seconds....

Controlling Baby Clothes Backstock

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:16:00 +0000

They say hindsight is 20/20. Now that I am through my first year of parenting, I can say with confidence there are items I was convinced I needed that I did not and items I wish I would have thought to ask for or create prior to baby's arrival. One such item would be an "Outgrown Baby Clothes Containment System" aka pre-labeled bins, drawers, or underbed boxes that I could quickly store away the clothes that no longer fit by size. Sure, at first when he was sleeping 10 hours during the day I was great at filing his tiny newborn wear away. But now that he only naps for around an hour and a half once a day, I must admit that I have gotten a little behind. So like my Baby File suggestion, I will now be creating these storage drawers or bins for my friends and family as shower gifts. Here are the steps to create

Start with drawers like these Like It Modular Storage Drawers from The Container Store or these Stackable Underbed Drawers by Iris from Amazon.com. You can also use traditional lidded storage bins depending on the type of storage space you have available (you'll need room to stack if you want use storage bins.) You will need 4-5 total and may want to vary the size based on the size of the clothes. For instance, since most children wear 6 month clothes for the longest time in their first year, the bin/drawer for 6 month may be larger than the others.
Create labels for each of the following sizes: Newborn/0-3 Months, 3-6 Months, 6-9 (or 12) Months and perhaps 18 months.
Affix labels and viola! You are set and ready to give a great shower gift or keep your child's clothes neat and organized once they've outgrown them.

Homemade Baby Food Meal Planner

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:29:00 +0000

After my post "My Homemade Baby Food Making Plan" I received requests for more details into my process. Well ask and you shall receive. I have broken down fruits, veggies and grains into Flavors, Flats and Fillers. In the early months I would give him a single selection (starter fruits and veggies such as pears, apples, bananas, avocado, sweet potato) along with his steady diet of breastmilk. As he got older I would give him a selection from at least 2 of the categories. Each time I would plan to make baby food, I would select 4 different items (a No Cook, a Bake, and 2 Steam) from the previous batch. That way I would have a variety of options to choose from at all times. I have included my 5 easy steps for making homemade baby food in the most efficient way possible. I have also noted under each category whether the item is No Cook, Steam or Bake. Simply click on the picture below or HERE if you would like a pdf copy of the file to print for yourself. Feel free to share it with your Mom's group or friends, just give credit to The Organized Mama and send them here for more great organizing tips for Moms. And as always, feel free to share your tips and advice for making baby food making easier.

When The Lights Go Out In Your City

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 18:43:00 +0000

Despite blogging and teaching classes about Organizing for Emergencies, I learned this past week that you can never be truly prepared until you're in that situation. Our power was knocked out for 5 1/2 days by a derecho (a.k.a land hurricane) which swept through the midwest and eastern seaboard. To add insult to injury, we were experiencing record high temperature (high 90's-100's each day). The power did come back eventually and here are some tips that I learned to help in case of another outage:

You Cell Phone Can Become Your Lifeline...In a world without cable and internet, a cell phone can become a great tool for information about weather, news, traffic, power restoration, what is open, what is closed and entertainment. You can even download flashlight apps on both Android and iPhone which can be very handy when you've misplaced the lighter you were using to light candles. Keeping your phone charged without power in your home can present challenges. Make sure you have a car charger (some newer cars can charge phones without needing to be turned on.) Take a charger to work if your place of employment has power. You can also check into these handy and relatively inexpensive solar chargers from Solio available at Radio Shack and on Amazon.
Eat from Your Fridge First...According to most research I read, keeping your refrigerator closed after you power goes out is the best course of action to save your food. The second you open your refrigerator or freezer, the temperature starts to rise and food begins to spoil. If you need to get at what is in the refrigerated part, cook at eat what you can in the first 12-24 hours (depending on how soon after the power goes out you open the door). If you keep your freezer well stocked and closed, you have between 24-48 hours before the items inside start to thaw. Keeping cooler stocked with ice (or even better dry ice) can keep condiments and other refrigerated items at an acceptable temperature until power is restored. Check with your local supermarket to see if they carry dry ice. Remember, if items in the freezer start to thaw, they cannot be refrozen and need to prepared and eaten or disposed of.
Get Your Grill On...The grill can be used for more than just burgers, brats and steaks. During the outage we cooked everything from frozen pizzas to frozen burritos. If grilling is unfamiliar territory for you, learn how to safely light it from someone in your home who knows their way around the grill. From there, get creative. It's better than all that good food going to waste. There were even reports of neighbors getting together during the outage and sharing grilled goods to keep everyone well fed and their spirits up. Be sure to keep grill lighting instruments (lighters, matches, propane, etc) filled and accessible.
Keep Cool Creatively...The temperature in our house got as high as 95 during the outage, which with an 11 month old, two dogs and a cat is just no good. We purchased a baby pool which became essential to keeping body temperatures down for all of us. We had to get creative for nap time during the hottest part of the day. Thankfully we had air conditioned malls to walk around in the stroller, kind friends who lent us rooms (and laundry facilities) and pools with shade. And some days we just drove around in the car (enjoying the a/c and charging the phone). Environmentally sound, probably not. But definitely sanity saving.

Do you have any tips from power outages you've experienced with your family? If so, I'd love to hear your suggestions below!

An Organized Potty?!? You Betcha!

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 22:51:00 +0000

When we were visiting friends a few weekends back in Chicago, I noticed they had a great toilet seat with a built in potty chair. The Church NextStep Toilet Seat is available at your local big box hardware store or online through Amazon and the like and runs about $35. It's great because the potty chair for the kids is a magnetized insert into the lid of the toilet. It comes in both round and elongated bowls. It's pros would be less clutter and discussion about where an appropriate space to store a potty chair really is. And like our friends (whose daughter is only 5 months old right now), you could replace your toilet seat at anytime and be ready to practice. A drawback may be that you cannot take it with you when you visit grandma & grandpa...but at least your little guy or gal will have real-toilet experience when on the road!

Another clutter-free friendly option may be the BecoPotty, a potty chair made from bamboo waste and rice husks that will biodegrade when buried in your yard. Yep, that's right, a biodegradable potty chair. The BecoPotty is available through a variety of online retailers as from eco-friendly baby sites to Amazon.com. They run around $20 plus shipping. They ergonomically designed and have a high back to prevent splashing. The website claims that you can use this potty through several children and that it will not breakdown until buried. This product definitely appeals both to my mommy side and my eco-friendly side...but then there is that nagging question of where to keep the potty.

My Homemade Baby Food Making Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:40:00 +0000

I've had a couple of friends recently ask me how I find the time to make homemade baby food. I try to explain it's not necessarily a matter of finding time but making the most of the time you have available to make the food. Which of course means I have have an organized plan when I sit down to make the food...'cause I'm a geek for organization as we all know. I typically spend about an hour a week making food for my now 9 month old. I try to plan to make it on the day or two after I have worked since I will have freshly pumped breastmilk to use (I'm lucky to have a good supply frozen to use when I'm away at work). Once I've "scheduled" the time to make the food, here are sample of my plan to make baby food in a time efficient manner:

I choose foods that need to be prepared different ways. For instance I'll pick a non-cook (bananas, avocados, frozen berries, very ripe pears), 2-3 steam items (veggies like broccoli, green beans, asparagus, carrots), and a bake item (sweet potatoes, squash, potatoes).
I put the bake item in the oven since it takes the longest to cook.
I start the pot of water with the steam basket and start steaming the first item.
I chop and puree the non-cook item. Once I have finished pureeing and storing the non-cook item, the 1st stem item is usually ready.
I put the 1st steam item into the blender and add the 2nd steam item to the steamer in the already boiling pot of water. I puree & store the 1st steam item then move to the 2nd steam item ( I think you see where this is going).
Puree & store the 2nd steam item. Repeat steaming step if you would like to do a 3rd item.
Check the baking item. If it is finished, pull it out of the oven and let it cool.
If you are looking to make a grain (oatmeal, rice, quinoa, millet), use some of the steaming water to prepare your grain at this time while the baking item is cooling. (Be careful not to burn yourself when moving/pouring hot water).
Once baking item has cooled to the touch, chop, puree & store baking item.
Depending on if and what grain you choose, it should be ready in around 20 minutes or less. Start cleaning up if it isn't quite ready once you've finished your purees. Once it's finished, let it cool a bit then divide and store it.

There you go! You've spent about an hour and made a whole bunch of baby food. Now, I wanted to focus on the process so I didn't go into much detail about how to tell if it's done or not. There are tons of websites and baby food cookbooks out there that can answer these questions for the age of your child. Also, I freeze everything I make in ice cube trays that make .75 oz cubes. I like these from OXO because they come with slide on lids. Got questions or tips? Post below!

A Baby File

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:25:00 +0000

I had one of the those "If I Knew Then What I Know Now" moments at my sister's baby shower recently. While I tried to keep our registry to what I truly thought we would need, there definitely were a few items that found their way into our collection that I look at now and think "why did I want that? I never use it." Which got me thinking, what are some gifts I could give a new mom to help them stay organized and would actually be used. My first thought was a Baby File. Remember all the instruction books and warranty information you said you would find something to do with after your shower? Remember all that important paperwork that the hospital sent home with you? Remember the gift cards you know you received but just can't quite remember what you did with them? What if you already had something that was contained, labeled and ready to accept your information. Ta da! I give you the Baby File. When I made my personal Baby File, I just purchased a small hanging file box from the local office supply store along with some hanging files and manila folders. I labeled folders for basic categories like Medical Bills, Gift Cards, Product Info and Important Documents. Even though it is a smaller file box there is plenty of room to expand to include things like photographs, birthday cards, artwork, etc. So any of my new mom friends out there, you can probably expect one of these coming your way at your shower. Trust me, when you're exhausted post birth with piles of papers you don't want to deal with you'll thank me.

The Toy Dilemma

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:45:00 +0000

The overwhelming issue when I work with moms is too many toys in the house. The toy manufacturers have done a fantastic job of convincing both kids and parents that they need the newest, greatest, latest, updated thing-a-ma-jig. Despite the fact that the previous version of said thing-a-ma-jig is still perfectly fine and lying on the toy room floor. After seeing this process over and over, I felt as if I had the upper hand on preventing toy overload when it came to my little one. But round about 4 months old, when he started grabbing for things like cell phones and remote controls I found myself scanning amazon.com for things to shake, rattle, roll and amuse him. We started out small. Just 4 toys in a small bag under the coffee table. Then Christmas came. A few more and slightly larger toys were added to the collection. I added some baskets to a cabinet in the living room. Next thing I knew, there were toys piled on the kitchen table, in our bedroom, in his bedroom AND the baskets and bags I had designated for toys were filled to the brim. How did this happen??
And here's the worst part...remember when you would hear your friends who already had kids say "I spent all this money and the kid spent more time playing with the box." Yep. My little guys loves nothing more than to take off his socks and suck on them. Or to chew on the strap of his highchair. Or play with the zipper on his hoodie. And when you give him a toy to distract him from these actions, the toy ends up on the floor and it's back to the sock.
So what do I take from this? I think buying toys for my baby was more exciting for me than the toy actually was for him. This can be said for a lot of gift giving. The gift-giver gets great joy and excitement in choosing and giving the gift. And the receiver feels joy that it has been given. Until they realize 10 years down the road that they are still hanging on to an item that they neither use, nor need, nor want but since it was a gift feel like they have to keep. I hope that I don't sound like an ungrateful hag. It is not my intent. But what is my intent? To give some tips to help cut down on unnecessary, unused items we have coming into our house so we don't have to feel guilty about getting rid of them.

If it is near a birthday, major holiday or family visit, don't buy anything new yourself. Chances are, despite efforts you make to ward off an influx of new toys, new toys will make an appearance in your home following most if not all these events. And why not? As we said before, people love shopping for gifts. But you have the ability to control your contribution.
Try to politely guide the gift giving of relatives. For instance, if there is a hobby or sport your child is dying to take up, ask for assistance in getting the child started in these activities instead of contributing to an overflowing toy box.
Ask for family gifts on holidays such as zoo memberships, museum passes, amusement park tickets or even hotel gift cards for family vacations instead of individual gifts.

"Your child needs your presence more than they need your presents." Jesse Jackson

Add some BLIS to Your Family's Organization

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 13:50:00 +0000

BLIS is a mom created, web based program to help you keep track of all your families' important and not so important details. Here's a great example of how this application would work in real life...let's say your son falls, cuts his leg on a nail while playing outside and he is going to need stitches. On the way to the emergency room, you realize you don't know if his tetanus vaccine is up to date, you have an appointment at the eye doctor this afternoon AND there is some bill that is due today but you can't remember which one. But you did manage to grab your iPad while rushing out the door. Ah ha! BLIS to the rescue. You can access all your families' medical history and records, look up your eye doctor's number (because you never saved it in your phone) and check the calendar to figure out which bills were due today. You can even save websites to make it easier to directly link to your accounts. And hey, since emergency room waiting rooms move about as fast as molasses on a cold day, you can even use the menu planning section of the site to plan your next week of meals and generate a shopping list to make the stop at the store on the way home easier. And boom goes the dynamite!

BLIS is available for around $10 a month (based on the yearly subscription price.) For more information, click on the logo above or visit their website at www.myblis.com. Here is a sample of how you can organize your home with BLIS:

Full Calendar with Day, Week & Month Views
Email Reminders
Create, Edit & Save To Do Lists
Plan & Save Vacation & Party Details
Menu Planning, Grocery Lists, & an Electronic Recipe Box
Organize Household Contact & Emergency Information
Record Home Inventory Room By Room, Maintain Household Appliance Records & Home Repair Information
Organize Account Records, Medical Records & Medical Histories
Child Care Worksheets
Multi-User Friendly & Remote Access

What's the Price of Your Maternity Leave?

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 23:28:00 +0000

My 7 month pregnant sister just realized that she is unable to use her paid sick leave to add on to her maternity leave. So essentially she will only be paid for 6-8 weeks for her maternity leave. Which all in all is better than NOT having any paid maternity leave. But since they recently purchased a new home, she does not know how much unpaid time she can afford to take outside of her paid leave. According to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), as long as an employee has been continuously employed by their company for 12 months they are allowed to take up to 12 weeks of leave for the care of a child (either birthed or adopted). BUT the leave is not paid. So what is a new mom to do if she wants to take all her leave but thinks she can't afford it?
Taking the additional leave unpaid may be a financial stress for parents. But with a bit of planning you may be able to save the extra cash to help finance a bit more time for mom to stay home with baby. To start, you should have 6-8 months after you find out about your bundle of joy prior to the birth to save. Take a look at your budget early on to determine if there are ways you can trim some spending to save. Every little bit helps. For instance, just $5 of saving per work week day is $25 per week, $100 per month and between $600-$800 for the length of your pregnancy. You may also want to consider asking friends and relatives to donate to a "maternity leave" fund rather than buying gifts. While a diaper wipe warmer or bouncy chair may seem necessary when registering, consider how much you REALLY need these items and how much you may REALLY want to be home with your little one. Sites like MyRegistry let you set up cash gift funds through PayPal for your registry so you can have the money directly deposited into your bank account.

How Making Baby Food Improved My Own Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:29:00 +0000

When I am helping clients clear out their kitchens, their cupboards and pantries are often filled with shelf stable food items liked mac and cheese, canned beans, and breakfast cereal. Sometimes the items are expired, sometimes they admit they only stocked up because the items were on sale. Many times we end up discovering that no one in the home really even likes a good bit of the food that has been stockpiled.

Now what does this have to do with making baby food and fresh veggies you ask? Well, I too am a recovering food over-buyer. I would buy 2-3 cans or boxes of something to have around "just in case" but it would usually just end up taking over cupboard space in my small kitchen. When my 7 month old started eating solid foods, I decided it would be fun (and cheaper) to make my own purees to feed him. I started with some basics like apples, pears and sweet potatoes. The nice thing was I only needed a couple items to make several servings of food. The remaining fruit and veggies were there for us to enjoy. I found myself eating more apples when I needed a snack or baking sweet potatoes as a side dish in order to use up the fresh produce before it would go bad. The positive side effects of buying more fresh food are A) we are eating more of what we purchase immediately and B) we are finding ways to eat more healthy foods. Our cupboards are less full and so are our waistlines.

Keep & File Your Reciepts

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:41:00 +0000

As a new mom, I must admit that the last thing I was thinking about after my baby shower was organizing my instruction booklets, sending in my warranty cards and finding my sales receipts. But alas, this lack of attention has come back to bite me this last week. I have had two issues with different products/gifts in the last two weeks and two vastly different experiences.
Since I have worked in customer service since I started my first job, I am incredibly conscious of companies customer service policies. The first company I dealt with was Brica, maker of several baby & child safety products. A simple email led to a replacement product within one week. Amazing! I will search their products first for items my children may need. The second was Motorola, maker of my baby monitor. After I emailed because the product was not operating properly, I was told to first turn the monitor off and remove the battery for 10-15 minutes. If that didn't work, they could open an issue if I had my original receipt as proof of purchase. Otherwise there was pretty much nothing they could do to replace or repair my product, even though the product was a gift.
What does this have to do with organizing? I have learned my lesson to staple any receipt or proof of purchase to my product instructions and file them away immediately. For more expensive items I receive as a gift (such as monitors, furniture, car seats, etc) I will make sure that I ask for a copy of the original receipt and make it a priority to send in the warranty information. And while decorating the nursery may seem like way more fun before baby comes, I certainly wish I had taken a few minutes to file away this information when it was fresh in my mind.

Make Your Priorities a Priority

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:37:00 +0000

I haven't seen the movie "I Don't Know How She Does It" yet but I think I can relate to the character. As a new mom and a working mom I often find that I am pulled in what seem like 90 different directions at once. And he's only 6 months old and hardly mobile. But it's not just working moms who feel that overwhelming feeling of feeling overwhelmed. No matter how much you read about becoming a parent or people tell you how much your life will change, you don't really realize how much things change until you are in the thick of things.
It is important to prioritize activities and commitments as a parent. I've learned the importance of the word "no" in the last 6 months. I've learned that the world won't end if I have a little dog hair built up in the corner of my living room. I've learned it is possible to work part time, run a business, cloth diaper my baby, make my own baby food and train for a half marathon if I make these things a priority. I stay on track by deciding what is important to do each day and which tasks will help me achieve my goals. This may mean less TV watching, a somewhat less clean house, definitely less sleep and saying no more often (which was really hard for me to start). But at the end of the day I feel I am not missing out because I am living the life I choose.

Guide to Getting Out the Door

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 18:52:00 +0000

We are lucky enough to have arranged our work schedules so our little guy is at home with one of us while the other parent works. At least most of the time. This week is the first time we had to take to him to a sitter outside of the home. I gotta tell you, I have mad props for the moms that do this every morning.

I sorely underestimated the amount of planning and effort it would take to arrive at both the sitter and my appointment on time. I went to bed thinking "all I need to do in the morning is pack up some bottles and diapers and I'm set." But alas, it was not that easy. I also needed to consider regular activities such as feeding the pets, feeding myself, packing a lunch etc. Not to mention these regular activities took a bit longer than normal because I had baby in tow (where I can normally pass off parenting duties on a normal day). Here are some things I'll consider doing the night before the next time I have to get ready to take my little guy to a sitter on a work day:

Lay Clothes Out--Both for you and your child.
Make Up Bottles & Pack Diaper Bag--If you are thawing breastmilk overnight, at least set the bottles out & be sure to put breastmilk you need to thaw in the refrigerator. Check your diaper bag to make sure you have enough diapers, wipes, pacifiers, & extra clothes for the sitter.
Pack Your Bag and/or Lunch--Go ahead and grab your phone charger, planner, lap top & other items might need for work the night before so you can just grab your bag and go. Gather items you would like to have for lunch the next day including any snacks or water bottles you regularly use.
Look Up Directions--If you are unsure of where you are headed, for either your sitter or your appointment, look up the directions the night before to familiarize yourself with where you are heading. That way if you GPS conks out while you're driving, you will have an idea of where you are going. (Yep, this happened to me!)

When setting your alarm, consider giving yourself a minimum of an extra half hour of prep time to account for feeding, dressing & prepping your child in addition to yourself before you leave. The more planning you can do the night before, the smoother your morning will be.

To Grandmother's House We Go

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:43:00 +0000

It dawned on me this morning that next week is Thanksgiving and I am going out of town with my little guy for 6 days. Did I mention I have yet to travel with my little guy any longer than a few hours and never overnight? I figured this would be a great time to put together a list of what needs to come with us when we're heading out of town overnight. I spent a few days jotting down items I use for the care of my little guy on a daily basis and determined what I need to bring and what can stay home:

Pack n' Play--Unless the place you are visiting has a place for you little one to sleep.
GoPod & Toys--My GoPod is the fold and go version of an exersaucer that I recently reviewed (I bought it because it was easy to travel with). My guy isn't quite old enough to play with toys regularly but they are a welcome distraction for a short term if needed.
Diapers--In my case, I cloth diaper so I also need to bring detergent to wash the diapers and my wet bag to store the dirty diapers. I also use cloth wipes so I will need those and the wipe solution I use.
Clothes--Both the basic everyday onesies and jammies and those outfits I've been saving for special occasions (and because I just don't see dressing my up to hang around the house.) I also want to be sure not to forget bibs and, my favorite daily accessory, baby socks.
Breast Pump & Accessories--Just because I'm out of town I need to keep up my schedule to keep my supply up. Also, I am hoping to take advantage of free grandparents babysitting while we're there so I will also want to pack a couple of bottles.
Everyday Baby Basics--Things I use regularly and don't want to be without like burp cloths, swaddling blankets, baby vitamins, a blanket for tummy time and pacifiers.

Now, my little guy is just 4 months old so I am sure this list will evolve as he grows and his needs and habits change. And this list doesn't even touch what I need to bring for myself or my two dogs. Which leads me to believe I should probably start looking for a larger car...

Kidco Go-Pod

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:47:00 +0000

Here is my next purchase for my little guy that helps to keep my home kid friendly without becoming overrun with baby products. The Kidco Go-Pod is a super basic version of the traditional exer-saucer. It comes with four different seat heights and is suggested for babies four months of age and older. I chose this as an alternative to the traditional exer-saucer for two reasons. First, I love the fact that it is collapsible. It folds up into a bag similar to camp chairs which makes it portable and, most importantly for me, put-away-able (yep, I just made that word up.) Second, it comes with five velcro straps to hold toys. This makes it easier to utilize the toys I already own or that I know my guy likes rather than having additional toys for play outside of the exersaucer. The Kidco Go-Pod runs around $50 and is available from a variety of websites from Amazon.com to Babies R' Us.

7E3WKNA7ZZ4W

Giving Thanks for Family Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:31:00 +0000

Ever since Martha Stewart burst onto the scene, the holiday season seems to have taken a turn for the crazy. What used to feel like a standard family gathering can now feel like a competition for the most involved centerpiece or best twist on traditional turkey recipe. And with all this increased effort to create the "perfect" holiday comes increase stress. So, I am here with planning tips to help you minimize your holiday stress and (hopefully) maximize your enjoyment with your family.

Make A To-Do List The more detailed the list, the better. Start with what needs to be done...plan the menu, shop for groceries, make centerpieces, get dishes out of storage, etc. From there, break down to-do's into steps to get them done. For instance, once you've planned your menu, figure out what items you need to make what you will serve.
Create A Flow Chart Not only is it important to know what needs to be done, but it helps to know when it should be done. It is not necessary to give everything #1 priority. Prior to the holiday celebration, figure out what the order of importance for you to-do is. Create a separate flow chart for the day of the celebration to figure out when things need to go in the oven, when the table needs to be set and when it is time to drink that celebratory glass of champagne (maybe that should be first.)
Ask for Help This step is hard for many of us who love to plan and host holiday gatherings. We stress ourselves out because we love to prove we can get it all done. But take it from me, after planning and serving almost Thanksgiving dinner for almost 30 people while 6 weeks pregnant last year, when you ask for help it is WAY more enjoyable. Farm out the cooking duties or at least the hors d'ouevres, beverages, etc. Assign tasks to your immediate family such as setting the table, clearing the table and doing dishes.
Relax & Enjoy Sometimes the less perfect, the more enjoyable. Be sure to spend time with your friends and family rather than creating the perfect radish rose by yourself in the kitchen.

Creating the perfect holiday for your family may not mean that everything needs to be perfect. By taking time to plan what needs to be done ahead of time you can achieve your best possible holiday with the least stress possible.

And A Baby Makes... Life Expensive

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 01:06:00 +0000

So a baby is on the way (or perhaps ANOTHER baby is on the way)! It's so exciting to walk about the house deciding how to decorate the nursery or jump in your 2-door car for a quick run out to the closest baby store. Until you realize "where are we gonna put this thing?" (And by thing I lovingly mean the bundle of joy growing ever so quickly in your belly). Now by no means do I advocate getting a larger house or car just because your family is expanding. What I do advocate is spending a bit of time organizing your finances to clearly see what you can reasonably afford if you do find that you would like to find a larger house or car.

If you are looking to expand your residence, there are a couple general rules to follow so you don't find yourself "house poor" with an additional mouth to feed. Whether looking to buy or rent, your total monthly payment for housing should be no more than 28% of your gross monthly income (that is, your income before taxes). When purchasing a home, this would include your mortgage principle plus any interest, taxes or insurance included in your monthly payment. Depending on your tax rate and loan interest rate, these costs can figure anywhere from 10-20% of your monthly payment. Once you have a ballpark figure, a mortgage loan officer at your bank or a real estate agent can help you solidify a price range you feel comfortable searching in.

Here is a simple formula to see how much car you can get for your available bucks. This should give you an ideal price range in that will fit your budget and your needs:

Figure out what you can afford to pay monthly and multiply it by the number of months you would like to pay (typically 35, 48 or 60 months).
Add to that amount any down payment or trade-in value you may have.
Now subtract out any taxes (around 7-8%) and loan interest (2-7%).

By spending some time organizing your finances and figuring out what you can afford, you can alleviate some of stress related to your upcoming family addition. If you need further information, please consult a financial planner. Now if I could only come up with a formula for alleviating the stress of labor pains.

My Handy Little Wristlet

noreply@blogger.com (Christy Lingo) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:22:00 +0000

I'm a new mom with ants in my pants. Well, maybe I'm not so much ansty as busy. Along with my newborn I have a part time job, a business to run AND I'm trying to maintain a small amount of an adult social life. I know I am not the only mom with this kind of a schedule. Along with changing places I am frequently changing bags from diaper bags to work bags to purses. I am bound to leave my wallet at home eventually. To help prevent this act of "mommybrain" I have purchased a wristlet. This handy wallet with a wrist strap (hence the clever name wristlet) is great for moms on the go because it is small enough to slip into most purses and diaper bags but large enough to carry on its own when you head out for the night sans children. Mine holds all my important cards (those of the credit, insurance and grocery store frequent shopper variety) as well as my keys and my cell phone. Wristlets are available all over from superstores like Walmart and Target to high end department stores like Nordstrom's or Macy's and start at around $10. A great small investment that could prevent you from realizing you have no wallet while in line at the grocery store with a cart full of groceries.