Yesterday, tradegy struck at my house! My laptop died. Well, not really, but it does appears as if my power cord died. Buying a new one is not only expensive (although necessary) but it will also take a while to get one and I am NOT patient when it comes to my computer. And this is MY computer. All of my work documents, emails, music files, pictures are on it. I am not worried that I have lost them (I subscribe to Carbonite and have everything backedup to the clouds. See my earlier post of this process), only that temporarily I cannot access them! Because I am preparing for my first business expo this week (Thursday, August 26, from 4-7 PM at Rozar Park in Perry), I need my files! So now my husband is trying to find me a new/old/borrowed/begged power cord.
Then this morning it hit me, I can't see my calendar! My choice is to keep my master calendar electronically on Microsoft Outlook. It works well for me because my husband keeps his master calendar on Outlook as well so we can send each other events and reminders to keep up with each other's schedules.
Now today is Sunday. This is the day I look at my calendar to see what is going on for the week and plan my schedule accordingly, but what is a busy mom to do if she can't see her calendar! Luckily I have been turned on to Google Calendar, thanks to my fellow organizer Monica Premo. Like Carbonite, it is an "in the clouds" product, but unlike Carbonite (or Mozy) it is free. After the initial upload of data to the web, I have set up my Outlook calendar to sync on a very regular basis (several times a day) to my Google Calendar. So after my initial panic this morning, I remembered Google Calendar and went to the shared family computer and was able to access my calendar in a matter of keystrokes. Shewww! I feel better now except for the fact that I now have to share the computer with the other 3 members of my household. Oh, well, it's only temporary, right?
This is just a reminder that in our highly technology based world we need to have backups for our data whether it be our picture files or our electronic calendar. Putting our data securily in the clouds allows us so many options for retreival of the data when things go awry back here on Planet Earth.
Are you, like millions of other people, fascinated by shows like Hoarders on A&E and Hoarding: Buried Alive on TLC? These shows give us a voyeuristic look into the lives of "OTHERS". People, not like us, messy people, people who can't control their impulses, right? Wrong. They are people just like us and they are very brave people who have asked for help and want to work on their issues and their stuff.
Of course, like all reality shows, these shows don't show it all. In the real world houses don't get cleaned up in an hour. And if we were to believe shows like Clean House and Clean Sweep, our houses will end up devoid of stuff and professionally styled! Not so, unfortunately. However, these shows give us all hope that even under the most trying of circumstances, with help and understanding, we can persevere.
One lovely example of this that I just discovered is The Stuff Project: The Purge of 2010. (Thanks, Julie Bestry!) This blog is written by a young woman named Dariane. In her own words she is
spending approximately two months working 10-12 hour days completely cleaning up my childhood home. There’s no professional organizer. There’s no clean-up crew. It’s just me and my family working together to fix this mess we’ve made on our own.
So far she is 10 days in and making remarkable progress. This blog is a fascinating look at the mindset of the "hoarding" family and process Dariane (mostly, but also her family) is going through to make her childhood house a home again. This is the true clean-up story, more so than what is encapsulated in a one-hour TV show. It is real (no hot water in the house), it is gross (spiders, cockroaches, ants, and unicorn poo), and it is inspiring. I wish her and her family so many good things. I can't wait to see how this very personal project unfolds. Join me, won't you?
As the summer break draws to a close, parents and children across Middle Georgia are going through the pre-school rituals of buying backpacks and school supplies and wondering what the new school year will bring. The crazy routine of back-to-school can derail even the most organized, stable household. Taking a little time now can help set your stellar student up for success this school year.
Create Routines
Does your child do his homework as soon as he gets home or does he zone out by watching TV and playing video games before doing his homework? Find what works for your child and stick to it. Morning routines are also important to be sure everyone gets out of the house on time and with a bare minimum of bedlam. The night before lay out clothes, pack the lunch boxes and be sure the backpacks are packed up and ready to go including all completed homework assignments.
Set Up Homework Station
Having a dedicated place for your child to do his homework is an important part of your school routine. It can be a desk in his room or at the kitchen table or even curled up on the couch. A nearby bookcase, cupboard or even a portable bin, should serve as supply store for your child’s work. Stock with any necessary tools such as notebook paper, pens, pencils, crayons, markers and rulers.
Have a Home
When you child comes home from school, does she know where her backpack and lunch box live? They should have regular landing zones. It could be a hook next to the child’s desk in her room or in a cubby by the entry door. Having a consistent place to put these items will make them easier to find and cause fewer headaches during that mad dash out the door in the morning.
Plan It
Students from elementary school to high school are expected to keep track of their assignments and manage their time. One way to do this is to use a planner. When students write down specific homework assignments, they do not have to trust their memories when they get home or spend time phoning classmates to get the assignments. Older students enter upcoming tests and projects so they can budget their time by breaking large assignments into smaller chunks. These are great skills to master at a young age because once the children get into middle and high school, their schedules and work load are much more complicated. As a parent, you should look at the planner regularly so you can help keep your child on task.
By giving your child the tools of organization, you can help them relieve the stress of finding their backpack and knowing when the next test is. When they are not as worried about those kinds of things, they can put their energies into the academics of school and, who knows, they might actually like it!
