There are just days where as a parent, we have things we need to get done and our kids don't follow along with our plan. On my other blog, I posted some tips and tricks that can help you. Check out the links and comment with your ideas!
To your success!
One of my Twitter friends @CarlaYong just posted this question
I am asked this question frequently, so I thank Carla for the blog post inspiration! Keep reading for my reply.
When my son was about 2 years old, we started teaching him how to make choices about his belongings. He was very into picking toys, books, clothes, etc. that could go to another kid that did not have as much as he did. He was excellent and empathetic, and we thought, "Wow, this is going to be easier than we though."
At about the same age he was a complete and total Elmo fan. He had all kinds of Elmo things. There was one in particular -- it was a simple stuffed Elmo. Nothing fancy to him, but Elmo was his best buddy and went everywhere with him.
Well, over time, he of course, lost interest in Elmo. When he was about 5 years old, we were in his play room in the basement going through his things. Out popped Elmo. Since he had not played with stuffed toy in at least a few years, I suggested that Elmo should go to a new home. This is somewhat of how the conversation went...
"NO!!!!!" he screamed, quite passionately. "I don't want him to go...." he whimpered
So I tried to reason with him first...
"But D, you have not played with him in a long time. Do you really think that you are going to play with him again?"
He then looks at me with those loving, pittiful eyes that only your child can get away with...
"Momma, I'll play with him now that I remember him."
OK, reason did not work like it used to. He is now old enough to have learned that "things" hold some kind of emotional value. Elmo represented his first best buddy. Elmo was comfort and fun times. Elmo was before school work.... This would require a totally different strategy... how about greed?
"OK, but what if we sold Elmo at the resell shop and he will go to a little boy or girl that really likes him? You can take the money and get something else."
"No, I don't want Elmo to go to someone else. He is MY friend."
AAAHHHH!! I had it figured out now. I could do a lesson on friendship and still de-clutter.
"But how do you think Elmo feels?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, have you been a very good friend to him lately? I mean, think about it D. Elmo used to go with you everywhere. He played with you and visited cool places with you and stayed in your nice comfy bed at night. Now look at him. He is in the cold basement in the back of a dark cabinet!"
"Oh no! I have been a terrible friend. I am so sorry Elmo." he cried hugging the toy. "Mom, I don't want Elmo to feel sad."
It was at that point that he acknowledged (to himself) that he really would not play with Elmo anymore.
"OK, I tell you what... Ms. Jeannine has a little boy who LOVES Elmo now. How about we drive over to her salon and we can give her Elmo for her little boy. That way, you know where he is going and you know that he will continue to be loved."
"OK. Can we do it now?"
So, we drove over to my friend's salon and while we were parked, my son had a tearful goodbye with his first best friend. We then walked into the salon and he talked with my stylist and explained that he wanted her son to have him.
She was so touched, because you could tell that this was a difficult parting for my son. She even teared up a bit.
As we drove home, we stopped by Dairy Queen for a little treat. As we ate our ice cream he was already giggling and talking about other things.
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I told this in a story form because I think it is important to see how this technique can play out in a situation with your child. By personifying Elmo - by giving him feelings and making him more like a live person - my child had a totally different way of looking at the situation.
Yes, the drive to the salon took more time than I had originally allotted for that particular project, but my son learned so many good lessons:
Overall, I'd say that was worth it for me! Since then, we have had other challenges when it is time to let things go and as he gets older, I use more of the techniques that I use with my adult clients. But this, by far, is one of my favorite de-cluttering stories.
How would you have handled this situation? Do you think I took it too far? What are your thoughts? How have you helped your child let go of things? I know my Twitter friend would love the tips and my other readers would too. Please share in the comments section below.
To your success!
Stephanie
@StephCalahan
Are you a closet DIYer? Do you like to make things for your home or office? If you are like me, you may like to "hack" things more than make them from scratch.
What is a hack? A "hack" is when you take something and make it into something else.
What is IKEA? The store IKEA is a world-wide company that offers a "wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them." Their designs are very utilitarian most of the time, but high quality in workmanship.
So, an IKEA Hack takes IKEA products and modifies them for form, function or design to work for what the user needs in their space. If this is of interest to you, check out the blog IKEA Hacker. IKEA Hacker shows you how to transform IKEA stuff and takes hacks from all across the globe to feature. Check out the link below for great ideas.
http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/search/label/storage
Thanks!! to @lisamurphyTO, @chrissychrzan and @tinkugallery for sharing this site!
The kitchen is often the most used room in the house, and the price of an unorganized kitchen can be high. Lots of wasted time looking for items and money wasted purchasing duplicates can add up to a lot of unwanted stress. But the payoff can be big and the best place to start your kitchen organizing project is the pantry.
Tip: Think of your pantry like the grocery store and section it into useful zones.
The grocery store arranges like items together in order to help you find things.
Another consideration is arranging items so that they are easy to see and access.
Some possible zones in your pantry include:
Zoning your pantry will also provide you with a quick way to inventory what you have at a glance. It also makes putting away your groceries a lot easier on shopping day.
Tip: Arranging items so that they are easy to see and access is one of the key strategies to an organized pantry. Since many canned items are the same size and everything is stacked at the same eye level, it is easy to lose track of what you have.
Tip: Be sure that you are working within the space that you have. I know that it’s tempting to stock up on items because they may be on sale. But the truth of the matter is that if you don’t have the storage space, all you’re doing is creating clutter. Only buy items that you will use within a two-week period. This will help streamline your pantry and actually save you time and money down the road. And don’t worry —those items will be on sale again soon.
What do you do?
What do you do to manage your kitchen? Share your thoughts with the group!
I love to hear my grandchildren talk about what they want to be when they grow up. While some children stay with their chosen career path from preschool through adulthood, most children find new interests that lead to other kinds of life work.
Adults frequently identify new interest areas throughout their lives. For example, my husband started golfing in his 50's. My sister started quilting in her 60's. They were both able to identify something they wanted to do, acquired the necessary equipment and skills, and carried it through the action phase.
New interests are sometimes the source of clutter, and I call this Wannabe Clutter. My definition of Wannabe Clutter is the material that accumulates as a result of start and stop interests.
For example, Ana's co-worker is an avid cross country skier. Ana thinks the sport sounds like fun and would be good exercise. She invests in the equipment. Upon trying the activity once, she finds she dislikes it. Now the equipment, which once offered so much promise, is now a pile of clutter in her garage. Ana really wanted to be a cross country skier but never became one. For her, the activity became a start and stop interest. The unused equipment became Wannabe Clutter.
Do you know of examples of Wannabe Clutter? I hope you will share them with us.
| Chronic Disorganization - Possible Symptom of a Medical Condition (6 minutes, 23 seconds) |  |
The American Chronicle had a great article today about how to make your kitchen the space of your dreams. You can find the entire article at Kitchen Savvy Leads to Abundance. Author Pat Heydlauff tells you of a Feng Shui focused 3-step system to
"creating great energy in your kitchen – the kind of energy that stays with you and nurtures you every day of the week."
Check it out for some great kitchen ideas.
Your Turn!
Do you have things that help you stay organized in the kitchen? Please share them. We love to hear your ideas.
