While you read this I am actually in Haiti for the second time this year. I am so excited to be traveling with Soles4Souls again to distribute shoes to the children there!

This time I brought a special treat for the kids at one of the orphanages we will be visiting. Their own personalized labels! The Loot Bag Combo was great for this! I can’t wait to see the kids faces when they get a gift personalized just for them!

I will share more about the trip next week when I return!

This organizer has a confession to make. I don’t like lists! (Gasp) You now, checklists. Now don’t get me wrong lists are good, I actually make a to do list every day. But it’s those chore lists and cleaning lists that I dislike so much. I have seen it time and time again with my clients and myself actually. Some of us and perhaps you too are perfectionists. There are others that use checklists religiously and I commend you for keeping up with it.

You would think that being a perfectionist means we get stuff done with ease but sometimes it is the complete opposite. See, every time I try to use a list, I focus more on the list itself. It has to be just right or the “system” has to be just right before I can get started. A client showed me the elaborate systems she had tried one day and I told her she was spending more time fussing over the lists than actually cleaning.

For us simplicity was key. I told her to stop with the lists and just make cleaning a habit. For instance, I bought a set of cleaning supplies for each bathroom. When I help kids get ready for bed my habit is now to do a quick clean up (because the supplies are right there) and I don’t have to do a deep clean nearly as often! These spaces almost maintain themselves. The laundry gets done because it is a habit wrapped in with our morning routine.

The kids have certain things they have to help out with each day, not as a chore to earn a reward, but as being part of this team. They have a list of things they can do for money, but they rarely opt to do that.

How about you? Are you a lover of checklists? Or not so much?

It’s true, organizing can SAVE you money! Disorganization causes us to waste time, money and energy on a daily basis. Here are 5 ways you can start saving now!

1. Don’t duplicate – Have you ever made a purchase and came home to find that you have one or even more of the same item at home? Maybe you just placed it in some random cabinet or closet and forgot about it. First and most importantly organize what you already have!
2. Make a list – If your intention is to go grocery shopping make a list and follow it to avoid making unnecessary purchases. A super Walmart can be a dangerous place if you are wandering around with out a plan. You need meals for this week, but you come home with a new outfit forgot two ingredients for tomorrow nights dinner. Now your making an extra trip to pick up the forgotten ingredients and you also grab a pair of pants you had your eye on the day before. It’s a viscous cycle, your wasting time, money and gas here!
3. Avoid late fees – We’re talking movie rentals, library books and yes, bills! Have you ever looked down at your calendar and realized… “Oh, not again! The credit card bill (or whatever it may be) was due yesterday!” Perhaps your kids misplaced a library book or you can’t find the movie you were supposed to return. Late fees are avoidable!
4. Save receipts for returns – Keep receipts until the store’s return policy or warranty expires. While I was organizing with a client we found a receipt that was expiring that day. She was so grateful because the receipt went to a bench she bought that was damaged. She returned the bench right after our session together and it saved her $250!
5. Tell your money where to go – Make a budget and stick to it. Sit down with your spouse and spell it out in black and white. Decide together what your future goals are and where you want to see yourselves financially. When you find yourself out shopping with no real objective in mind ask yourself, if you really need whatever it is you are desiring and how it fits into your long term goals. Make conscious choices about your spending!

The kids and I love making brownies together. What’s even better though is eating them together!  I wish I could say that having the kids helping me bake is always a joyous occasion in our house but usually it stresses us all out. I am not the regular cook of the house, hubby is, and he is just awesome at multitasking while cooking! The kids are usually right under foot as he cooks and everything magically comes out tasting exactly as it should. I on the other hand can get easily distracted and forget which ingredient goes next. I usually line everything up and measure it all out as I go but inevitably it happens…. something is forgotten when a child starts arguing over whose turn is next to pour what.

I finally found what works for me!  This time before the kids came in the kitchen I got all the ingredients out and measured them in individual bowls. And here I thought this stuff was just for TV and making pretty pictures! Then I had the kids come over and gave them each what they could pour in, no fuss no muss and everyone gets to lick the bowl at the end!

It’s really common sense but I think I avoided it before because I didn’t want to dirty the extra dishes. In reality it was just a few extra bowls but we all were much happier during the process! Well worth it!

Are there ways you can simplify in order to cut out stress?

When school starts up that usually means a new season of soccer in our house. In your house it might be football, dance or some other activity. They certainly don’t give us Mom’s much time to get the school schedule figured out before the activities come piling on top. Of course, the more kids you have the crazier the schedule!

Among the chaos we tend to seek perfection, we envy a picture perfect schedule. The truth is we go through seasons of life and sometimes a few seasons are going to be crazier than others.

Yes we would like to get the kids, fed at a normal hour while sitting down with the whole family, homework done in a quiet serene space and bedtime gone over like a breeze. However, most days we feel frenzied as if walking on a tight rope. Take a deep breath with me now!

Remember, your bet is good enough! Now is the time to pull together as a family. Perhaps dinner has to be done in shifts and things aren’t quite as put together as they normally are. Enjoy these more chaotic years because the older the kids get the years seem to go by that much quicker!