“Evidence suggests that it’s best to view willpower as something that can be strengthened like a muscle: hard work will improve your endurance and discipline. Believing in your ability to fortify your willpower will in turn help you persist.”

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Mind over Mind? Decision Fatigue Saps Willpower — if We Let It | Time.com | 8.23.11

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I’m on a mini-sabbatical but while I’m away, check out my tips on the Rubbermaid blog on how to stay on top of your cleaning routine. Here’s one to get you started…

Clean by Room

I tend to focus my primary cleaning activities on the rooms that I spend most of my time in, like the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom. That said, I’m also fanatic about having a clean bathroom. So, I mix my “clean all the time” method in each of those rooms often. That means that I’m not deep cleaning, but focusing on those areas first and regularly. Frequency: Daily or every other day

Read All Three Tips

I’m on a mini-sabbatical and have lined up a few posts ahead of time, like this one for first time parents. It’s a bit of a sequel to my guest post for Geralin Thomas about things you should do to baby proof your home. Did you baby proof before or after you brought your little one home?

It’s time for a new 5 Minute Organizing Challenge! What can you do in 5 minutes to gain a little order in your life? You can put a few things back in place or gather your important items. Here’s a new set of five things for you to consider adding to your routine this month. Try try them on for size and feel free to suggest a few of your own.

 1. Install smoke detectors if you don’t have them already. If you do, test them and/or put in new batteries.

2. While you’re at it, install a carbon monoxide detector, too.

3. Do you have a fire extinguisher in your house? If not, add it to your list of things to buy.

4. Need gates? Put them in off-limit areas, especially those with stairs.

5. Adjust the temperature of your water heater to lower than 120° F to avoid scalding.

*EXTRA CREDIT*

6. Be sure that your child’s regular caregiver(s) is healthy and up to date with all his/her shots, like this one.

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Check out the December 2011 Organizing Challenge

“Annual vacations cut the risk of heart attacks in men by 30 percent and by 50 percent in women. Leisure and rest build resiliency and it’s much easier to keep a person well, with less medication, than it is to improve a depressive state.”

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America Avoids Vacation | HuffingtonPost.com | 7.26.11

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I’m taking a sabbatical and have lined up a few posts ahead of time, like this one about getting control of meal times. What are some of your favorite tips for staying on top of things?

Many of us struggle with food…what we eat and how much…and sometimes, what to cook (for those of you who are fond of spending time in the kitchen). While decluttering is very much like dieting, today I’m focusing on ways you can get a better handle on meal planning.  

It might take a bit of time in the beginning, but once you get in the swing of things, you’ll be happy you spent that time planning so you can get on with the business of eating!

The Six O’Clock Scramble

Aviva Goldfarb, author and founder of The Six O’Clock Scramble, wanted to find a way to help busy parents cook healthy meals…often…AND save time and money. Sounds like a great combo to me! You can also search for specialty meals, like gluten- and dairy-free, vegetarian, low-sodium, etc. recipes.

When you sign up for one of her three subscriptions, you will get:

• Family-tested meals

• Grocery List (weekly)

• Healthy Eating Tips

• And, a bunch more stuff!

Get Two Weeks Free with The Scramble

..

Plan to Eat

Plan to Eat lets you keep your recipes, shopping lists, and meal planner all in one location. You can import and share your recipes (and shopping lists, too) and tag them for easier searching. Use the drag and drop feature to plan your meals with the online calendar. Even better, your shopping lists are taken automatically from your meal planner.

Sign Up for a Free 30-Day Trial

“83 percent of American adults own some kind of cell phone and…a lot of people find it difficult to switch off once they’re at home.”

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I’m on a mini-sabbatical and will be re-sharing some of my fave OTR articles and re-introducing you to some favorite OTR guest authors, like Helene Segura. She has advice for parents on how they can help their children tackle educational challenges.

It’s a tough job for parents to walk that line between being a non-participant in their child’s education and being overzealous. The latter calls teachers at all hours of the day and night to ask why their child only made an eighty-nine on a homework assignment that they stayed up all night completing for their child.

The former waits until the last week of school to ask what makeup work can be done so their kid can pass – ignoring the twice monthly requests on progress reports and report cards to call to discuss their child’s grades.

You reside somewhere in the middle. You were as supportive as possible, but tried not to pry too much. You kept up with communications from the school and attended all meetings and events in which your child was involved. But when the first semester report card arrived, you were disappointed with and extremely concerned about the results. Either there were one or more failing grades, or the averages had nose-dived by five or more points.

There are a variety of factors that could have caused the changes, many of which you’ve probably mulled over while scratching your head:

1. Does my child have a learning disability that I never before noticed?

2. Are the teachers being unfair?

3. Is my child not telling me everything that’s happening in class?

4. Is my child experiencing some type of emotional or behavioral struggle?

5. Has my child started “hanging out” with the wrong crowd?

One question that is often not asked, however, is “Has my child reached a point where his/her organizational skills no longer meet the challenges s/he faces?”

As adults, we often heap on more commitments and responsibilities and sometimes push ourselves to the breaking point. We’ve managed to develop coping skills because we’ve been doing this for decades. Kids lack the lifelong experience that we have, and we sometimes forget that they need to regroup and recharge more often than we do.

Organizationally, there are many avenues to explore, but the challenges often trace back to two core issues: lack of time management and lack of structure.

To begin addressing these challenges, take a look at:

1. Your child’s extra curricular schedule.

By the time you factor in practice time, commute time, chores and eating, how much time is left for studying and fun? As adults, we tend to deny ourselves of the fun; it’s crucial that kids do not. I typically find with my clients that homework is supposed to be done on the go – in between practices or in the car. Those are not environments that are conducive to uninterrupted study periods. I encourage those clients to set up a specific amount of time at home each night so that their kids can focus. Sometimes that means shelving one of their activities.

2. Your child’s study area.

Do your children have a specific area where they can do their homework? Is there a desk or table where they can write? Are there supplies located there so that your kiddos don’t have to hunt all over the house for what they need? Having a designated spot allows your children to focus on the task of studying instead of killing time trying to find a place to get settled. When it comes to studying, they shouldn’t be nomadic; they need a home base.

3. Your child’s routines.

Even the most creative, right-brained children thrive on routine. Tasks don’t necessarily need to be completed at the exact same time each day, but they should be completed. If necessary, have a task check list in the kitchen, in their bedroom, and/or on the front door to help them remember what needs to be done each day. Whether diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, or nothing at all, my clients who struggle the most with keeping up rely on checklists in multiple places, including their smartphone.

If the report card was not what was expected, it’s time for a sit-down with your child. Depending on the age, this might be while cuddling during Mommy and Me time or in between gaming sessions of Call of Duty. The important thing is to open up the lines of communication.

Discuss the three points above. If it doesn’t solve your child’s issues, it will at least act as a springboard into what is causing their struggles.

About the Author

LivingOrder San Antonio CEO, Helene Segura, is a Certified Professional Organizer^® and Certified Productive Environment Specialist™. A former award-winning teacher turned organizing and productivity consultant, Segura’s book, Less Stress for Teachers: More Time & An Organized Classroom, addresses the thinking behind how to overcome “the overwhelm” that teachers feel on a daily basis. It’s a thinking pathway that helps teachers bust through the emotional, psychological and organizational walls that prevent them from utilizing planners and other tools.

Connect With Helene: Less Stress For Teachers | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google+

I’m on a mini-sabbatical, but before I left, I wrote a guest article  for OTR friend and hoarding expert, Geralin Thomas. Here’s a snippet from my guest post…check out my top five baby proofing tips and feel free to share your own.

Everyone wants the best for their children, and as a new parent, your protective instincts will likely kick in well before you meet your new baby. That means getting your home up to snuff for when your little person starts living in what used to be an adult only environment.

There’s a lot to consider like when to baby proof and what exactly you should do. One thing you must do before baby gets home is ensure that the crib is securely put together. A safe and secure sleeping environment is essential.

And, while those bumpers are super cute, they can be a hazard (i.e., cause suffocation), so resist the temptation to use them.

Top Five Baby Proofing Tips

Once it’s time to baby proof, here are five things to consider:

#2  Use magnetic locks for lower cabinets and drawers.

#5  Keep medications high out of reach. Go one step further by putting them in a locked box.

 Read All 5 Tips

We took the day off today in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. day, a holiday that some observe here in the US. Hope your day has been productive AND relaxing. =)

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Orthorexia, though not an official mental disorder, is what some people call an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food. It’s very similar to an obsessive-compulsive disorder only the focus is really food.”

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When eating too healthy becomes harmful | Today.com | 8.25.11

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