Productivity @ Home

Avoiding Orphan Sock Syndrome

HT to Danielle at the new Faith and Family Live blog for bringing to my attention a laundry sanity saver, the Sock Cop. Who among us isn't frustrated by the orphan socks in our lives? We all have ways of dealing with them - some turn them into dusting devices or whiteboard erasers. Others are able to simply and guiltlessly throw them away. Not me - perhaps it's the optimist in me that keeps a small pile of mateless socks next to my washing machine, convinced that someday their long lost mates will reappear.

Danielle, a self professed "laundry geek" recommends the Sock Cop, a small plastic device that clips two socks together and keeps them clipped throughout the laundry cycle. I'm not sure how much time I waste every week sorting socks, but I'm fairly sure it's at least twenty minutes per week. Would the acquisition of some Sock Cops help me write that next best-seller? Could I do more volunteer work at my church or spend time on my home business? What would you do with the extra time you spend sorting socks each week?

In my home, sock sorting is less of a chore since I purchase different styles and brands for the four sets of feet that live here. But if sock sorting is one of the banes of your productive existence, you may want to check out this handy little tool and make life a little more efficient.

Sock Cop ends lost, mis-matched socks - Laundry Accessory, Sock clips that keep Socks Organized

Family Garage: Organize Those Possessions!

Is your family garage the place you park cars and bikes, or is it a certified disaster area?  Today's guest column by John Bakers offers some tips and tricks for helping you reorganize the family garage.

The garage is not just for cars, of course. This space has become very important as a storage area as well. While the amount of storage space in the garage can be limited, with efficient use and some planning, it can take on the job of preserving some of the family's most important possessions. With the right combination of cabinets and shelves, the garage can truly become an efficient part of the family home.

However, because the garage is so important as a storage area, occasional cleaning and renovation may be in order. Homeowners have found there are many options when it comes to reorganizing the garage, from a complete remodeling to a cleaning and rearranging on newly-installed shelves. The final floor plan depends on family needs.

Modular storage kits have become popular for garages, with components that can be mixed and matched to take care of most storage issues. Some homeowners have been ambitious enough to construct their own storage shelves and cabinets, customizing their garage to fit family needs. This may be necessary if the number of items collected in the garage is too much for even the most creative modular kits. It is also possible to use a combination of modular storage kits and rented storage space to solve space problems.

Among the most popular garage storage solutions are plastic containers, wall-mounted racks, shelves and cabinets. Cabinets provide the extra protection from moisture and dust that shelves and open modules don't offer. Shelves can provide space very efficiently and make may items accessible. But a number of people have chosen wall-mounted racks as the perfect solution for their garage storage needs. Combining one of these methods with plastic containers will solve many garage-space issues.

It would be great if, on a nice spring or summer day, the homeowner could walk to the garage and find the bicycle or the fishing gear without a lot of digging and searching. If the family wants to enjoy the weather with a picnic, it would be nice if the needed picnic items could be easily found. But if things are scattered around, in a hit-or-miss family members are often disappointed or frustrated long before it's time to leave. Organizing the garage is easy, once the homeowner and family determine where to start.

Garage cleaning and organizing begins with separating items, categorizing things that will be stored together, given away or sold. Sporting goods can be placed in a particular cabinet that may not be opened until the appropriate season. Tools can be placed on wall-mounted pegboards or shelves next to the workbench. During this process, family members should be firm about throwing items away and not getting emotionally attached to something that will just take up space. Seasonal items such as boots, hats, sleds, and so on, should be carefully sorted and stored in cabinets or small closet spaces that can be opened when the items are actually needed. The simple act of organizing and eliminating might even create space for the car!

About the Author

Being very passionate about workbench designs and building a workbench, John Bakers is authoring quite some summaries on the topic. His articles on woodworkers benchs are found on his webpage in addition to various other web publications.

Sustainable Houses - The Things We Can All Do To Live A Little Greener

On the 12th of every month, my friendly neighborhood PG&E guy comes to read my gas and electric meters.  I frequently joke with him, pleading him to have mercy on me and my checkbook!  In the hot summer months, I particularly dislike opening those PG&E bills! Today's guest columnist Scott Salter has a few tips for living "sustainably" in a fashion that's likely to please my pocketbook as well.

In a consumerist society, we are frequently confronted with life style decisions that can impact on our environment and one of the largest decisions that any of us will make is the kind of house that we choose to live in. The twin prongs of global warming and rising energy costs has seen in a shift in emphasis in recent years away from “environment be damned, show me the plasma!” to looking at ways in which we can live more harmoniously with our surroundings. As such “sustainability” has become a guiding principle in all manner of decision making. Sustainability is all about using resources in an environmentally friendly and healthy manner that provide for the long term needs of the community. A sustainable home will emphasize two broad themes. It will be constructed of and furnished with environmentally sound materials and it will utilize energy as efficiently as possible. Environmental homes seek to be an extension of their environment rather than an imposition, or more importantly a drain on it.

A person wishing to live in a sustainable house is going to be faced with one of two choices: building a sustainable house from scratch or retro-fitting their existing home to make it more green.

There are things that all of us can do, regardless of which materials our home is constructed, to live more greenly. These measures are largely centered on more efficient use of energy and water. By utilizing energy efficiency technology, expertise, and common sense, homeowners can dramatically cut their home energy costs and the pollution associated with energy use and production. The first place to begin with is electrical appliances. If you need to purchase a new refrigerator, washer, dryer, air conditioner, or other large power consuming item, then do your research to find a highly energy efficient option. By the same token if you have old heating and/or air conditioning equipment, you may want to replace them. The energy savings will see that they will be paid for in a few years. You can also save energy and money by using efficient lighting. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are a good option for homes where lights are on for a few hours a day. They can reduce energy usage by as much as 80 percent and go for years without replacement.

The way we conduct ourselves around the house will also have an impact on energy and water usage. Simple measures such as taking re-usable bags when we go shopping, having shorter showers, switching appliances off at the power point whenever possible, starting a compost heap and installing or topping up ceiling insulation will all have a positive impact on the environment and go some way to helping us live more sustainably.

For those who are looking to build houses from scratch however, there is even greater scope to adhere to the tenets of sustainability. A house that is being designed with sustainability in mind can make use of solar power for heating and electricity, as well as the sun (via skylights and sun pipes) for natural daylighting. Greywater systems can be installed to ensure the most efficient use of water, and the house can be constructed with non-toxic and sustainably harvested materials.

About the Author:

For more information on Scott Salter and Sustainable Houses go to http://www.sustainable-home-site.com

Boost Your Child's Brainpower by Simply Letting Them Spend More Time on a Playground

Who doesn't want to spend more time playing?  I know I do!  Today's guest column by Marina Mironov underscores the benefits of play for our kids.  We grown ups benefit from our relationships with happy, well adjusted children too!

We all know kids love playgrounds. Now, research shows that playing on the playground can boost brainpower too! Playing has been linked to emotional, social, motor and cognitive development. Playgrounds facilitate the benefits of pure, spontaneous and active free play. Some ways they do it are listed below.

Play and Free Play

While we take the playing done by children for granted, we seldom ponder the mechanics of it. There are many ways that children play and they have unique benefits to the child's development. Physical play such as running, jumping, dancing promotes physical fitness. Fantasy play such as dressing up or pretend play expands the mind and imagination. Young children play in a very simple manner, their games and scenarios becoming more complex as they grow and develop.

Although structured, organized activity has its place in a child's day; it is really through free, spontaneous play that a child is able to develop critical thinking, problem-solving and imagination. Since most children are naturally active, they often combine their natural tendency physical activity with playing. Playgrounds provide an optimal environment for a child to be active, explore his environment, interact with his peers and play in his own unique style.

Brain Development

Most of us are aware of recent findings that the most crucial period for brain development is under the age of five. We have all probably also heard that "play is important for children". There is actual science behind that statement! The act of playing stimulates brain development and function. Vigorous gross motor activity is also critical for proper brain development, by creating and establishing vital neural pathways.

Playgrounds help to develop a child's cognitive development, because they provide sensory-motor stimuli, which directly corresponds with the small child's preferred method of learning. Through running, climbing and pretending, the child is building his brain while having fun!

Motor-skills

There are reports which suggest that children which fail to properly develop motor skills by the age 5 will likely have a hard time developing the essential skills later on. The best place to gain those skills at an early age seems to be the playground. Toddlers have a chance to explore new surroundings and learn new skills, while older children enjoy the challenge of testing their strength and trying more difficult pieces of equipment. Playgrounds provide the space children need to freely run and expend their energy and advance to the next stage of development. Children who lack physical activity might face health consequences as adults, and playgrounds are a fun, cost-effective way of ensuring that children receive the recommended amount of daily physical activity.

There are various physical development opportunities which playgrounds present. Tactile panels promote manipulation and coordination; bridges and ramps promote loco motor skills; and slides and swings promote balance and coordination. Monkey bars and climbing ladders teach children fine motor control such as reaching, grasping and releasing. There are also ample opportunities for jumping, running, balancing and stretching.

Language Development, Intelligence, and Social Skills

Through play children learn to develop their imagination, intelligence and language. The playground allows children to safely congregate with their peers and interact together. The children's eagerness to create and join in games expands their social and communication skills.

Through the act of creating games and inviting each other to play, children learn societal rules and functioning in a group setting. Negotiation, cooperation and compromise are essential talents children must possess in order to feel comfortable and as if they belong in their group of friends.

The children's way of spontaneously creating "games" illustrates how playing on a playground stimulates social and emotional development. Children, whether they know each other or not, will gravitate towards one another and start a game of "tag" or "hide and seek". Or perhaps an elaborate fantasy game will be created, with the playground structure being transformed into a castle and the children being assigned roles of knights, kings and wizards. In order for the game to function smoothly, vital communication must take place, through discussion, agreements and the ability to resolve conflicts. A child who can not handle his frustrations, or abide by the invented "rules" will find himself out of the game.

Summary

There is more to a child's play than meets the eye. Playing is crucial to the successful development of the brain, body and intellect. It helps to create neural pathways that will last the rest of the child's life. Playing promotes motor development by exploring and expanding the limits of the child's growing body. Finally, through playing with his peers the child learns social, emotional and oral skills.

Playground equipment and space provide a suitable environment for a young child to engage in appropriate developmental play. The fact that it is a fun activity that most children enjoy will have lasting positive effects on their overall development.

About the Author

Marina Mironov is the owner of DreamGYM Inc. As a mother of two active boys, she faced the problem of keeping her children physically active all year round. After creating the first jungle gym in her house, Marina envisioned the idea to make this product available to all children. Now she sells her indoor jungle gyms and swing set accessories through her online store KidsDreamGym.com.

The Awesome Power of Yes!

Thanks to today's guest columnist, John Bishop of TeachingMoments.com for the following inspiration.  Many of John's comments are relevant for all of us, not just those special teens in our lives!

The Awesome Power of YES! ---- Help for Teenagers

Are you a Yes person?

The word YES speaks volumes about the type of person you want to be. It tells people that you are willing to make a commitment and be held accountable.

Yes says you will take responsibility for yourself and others. Many of us say No much more easily. The negative word allows us to remain in our comfort zone, but it also stops us from reaching our full potential.

No validates our fears. Yes vibrates us from them.

John Bishop the Executive Director of Accent On Success, a nonprofit dedicated to helping teenagers succeed, is introducing three YES! bracelets as a daily reminder of the awesome power of YES. Each teal colored silicone bracelet is embossed with a message. The choices are: YES! Count on Me; Yes! I Believe; and YES! I Can Make It Happen.

Yes people are solution oriented

Yes people seek out others who can help them succeed

Yes people minimize excuses

Yes people have a sense of urgency

Yes people do more than is expected

Yes people are results oriented

Yes people are determined

Yes people understand good decision lead to good results

Yes people are courageous

Yes people know the rewards of a job well done

Yes people are committed

Yes people are open to change

Yes people know how to set and achieve goals

Yes people have desire

Yes people have self-respect

Yes people are disciplined

Yes people help others

Yes people take responsibility

Yes people are dependable

Yes people are accountable for their actions

Yes people are problem solvers

Isn’t this what we want for your teenagers?

Mr. Bishop, the Executive Director states: “Let’s face it; today’s world can be scary. We want the YES! bracelet to be a daily reminder that this single word, when used correctly, can positively impact our teenager’s future. As parents we know our teenagers will face many new challenges and opportunities when we are not around. But, we still want them to make the good decisions.” The YES bracelet remind teenagers that good decisions lead to good results.

The Yes! bracelets can be used anywhere teenagers are being encouraged to succeed. For example in various school programs such as character education, sports, after school, school detention, alternative and at-risk. The members of youth development groups such as the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, church groups and sports boosters can benefit from these effective daily reminders. The bracelets can be very helpful for those individuals going though difficult rehabilitation programs for drugs, alcohol or physical injury. They can be also be used for a Junior Achievement project or as a fund raising item. And, of course, by concerned parents wanting to remind their teenagers of the awesome positive power of YES.

Note: The YES! Bracelet is being offered as a fund raising item. Proceeds will go to fund other books and projects to help teenagers succeed. They can be purchased directly from the website. www.TeachingMoments.com Thank you!

New Podcast Helps Families Learn about Home Based Businesses

If you work from home, have an interest in home based business, or just want to learn more about organizing your time, I would love to recommend a new podcast to you: the Home Biz MomCast. Becky and Cheryl are two mothers who have successfully built home based business, but more importantly who have a focus on keeping family first. Becky and Cheryl have just released the first episode of their podcast and I found it very entertaining and informative. I'm looking forward to future episodes and wanted to take this opportunity to share with you the great work these two awesome moms are doing.

Home Biz MomCast: Uniting Families Through Home Based Businesses

Hancock - Fun, but Foul Mouthed

Yesterday afternoon, we had a rare family outing to the movies and went to see Hancock, the new Will Smith flick. My sons are now nearly 17 and 14, so my desperate attempts to talk them into Wall-E were met with scowls. Hancock won out, since I'd seen the trailers and really love most Will Smith movies.

The first thing I'd like to say is that Hancock is definitely not a movie for young kids. The film earned a PG 13 rating and an "A III - for adults" classification from the USCCB. The most objectionable thing about this movie, for me, was the bad language, including one instance of the "F" word. Right away, that takes it out of the running for a feel-good family movie. That being said, I enjoyed the movie and our family dinner discussions after the viewing.

One of my favorite aspects of the movie was the Jason Bateman's character Ray's outlook on life. Ray is a PR executive who's out to get big companies to help save the world through acts of charitable giving. Ray honestly has an optimistic, altruistic outlook that seems to permeate the way he lives his life. Perhaps I gravitated towards Ray's character because I, too, have the hope that each of us in our own ways can do our part to make this world a better place. In the end, Ray and Hancock (played by Will Smith) come together in a partnership that does much to benefit both of them - but you never get the feeling that Ray is out to help Hancock simply to get something for himself in the bargain. Ray honestly believes that the foul mouthed, rudely behaving Hancock, can make a difference in our world.

I don't want to spoil the movie by giving away any of the mythology that plays a large part in the second half and ultimate climax of the film. I found the story interesting, the portrayals believable and the action gripping. I could have done without the running "A-hole" gag or a lot of the bad language. The relationship between Hancock and Ray's wife Mary (played by total stud Charlize Theron) prompted an interesting discussion over family dinner. I wish that the movie could have been made without these instances of bad language, thereby making it more of a family film.

If you've seen the movie, or plan to, I'd love to hear your thoughts. In the mean time, head over to Hancock's Helping Hand Mortgage Payoff Contest for your chance to have your mortgage paid.

Hancock - Official Site

It's Not Too Early to Begin the College Application Process

If you live with a high school student, you may have received notification last week of his or her SAT scores for June. This marks the beginning of the fun - the next several months hold lots of excitement as you and your student begin to discern the college choices. Many colleges are now using the Common Application to simplify the process for students and admissions professionals. It's not too early now to begin assembling the data your student will need to apply to college this fall. Also, check out the Common Application website to see if the college of your choice is listed there.

Welcome to the Common App!

Get Your Paperwork Organized

Life has been full of adventures and very busy for the past three weeks, keeping me away from my home office quite a bit!  I'm looking forward to returning to my routine and to regular blogging this week.  A special thanks to Debbie Dragon, today's guest blogger, for sharing her wisdom!

Get Your Paperwork Organized

Paperwork at home can get out of control fairly easily.  If you consider the school papers your children bring home, the incoming mail including your credit card statements, utility bills, and other fun household documents, it's no wonder many of us have papers randomly stashed in drawers all over the house.

Organizing your paperwork seems overwhelming amidst all of your other daily tasks, but it's one of those things that if you just take the time to set it up right in the beginning, you can easily maintain it with very little effort or time.  It's well worth it- and you may never be late on a misplaced credit card bill again!  One popular method of organizing your household paperwork is to use three-ring binders.  They're inexpensive, and help keep things in order.

Step One: Put all of your paperwork into a pile.  Go through the house and gather all the mail that has been stuck in various places to “file” later; receipts, children's school related or activity related paperwork, menus, user manuals, directions, contracts, and whatever else you have to keep.  When you think you have all of your paperwork in one place, quickly sort it into categories (“children”, “home maintenance”, “hobbies”, “bills”, etc)

If you have a home of active children, it may be necessary for each child to have their own three-ring binder.  As you've made your piles of categorized paperwork, you'll be able to see how many binders you'll need.  You may be able to create a single binder for “household” paperwork, to contain appliance maintenance schedules, filter replacements, planned improvements, exterior maintenance; another for bills and credit card statements, utility statements and a schedule of due dates, another for each of the children, etc. 

Other ideas for binder organizational systems:

• menu planning, nutritional records

• hobby information, articles, topics you find interesting

• home reference materials, like how to manuals, product receipts, warranties, etc

• phone and address lists, internet log-in's and passwords, goals and deadlines, records of expenses

• home based business records

Step Two: Divide each binder into subcategories.  In the children's binders, you can use three ring binder dividers (inexpensive to purchase, or simply 3-hole punch colored cardstock and label it) to separate activities, school schedules, and other information pertaining to each child.

For binders that may contain receipts or small slips of paper, you can get the dividers that contain pocket folders as well, and simply slide them into the appropriate binder and category.  For documents that you need to keep for a long time, or things you don't want to put holes in, keep a supply of translucent page protectors on hand so you can slide the paper inside them to view once placed inside the binder.

Step Three: Stick to it.  Once you've set up your various binders, the hard part is done.  All you need to do to make this paperwork organizational system work for you is maintain your hard work!  When you get the mail, go directly from your mailbox to your binders and file the documents where they belong.  Promptly trash anything you don't need.  Whenever you refer to information in one of the binders, be sure to replace the paperwork when finished.

For a small investment of money (binders and supplies) and a reasonable time investment, the returns are tenfold.  You'll know at a glance when your credit card bills and other bills are due; know whether Johnny has soccer or baseball on Wednesday or Jenny has ballet or piano lessons; and best of all- you'll always have a place to keep the important paperwork around the house.

Debbie Dragon is a work-at-home mom of two boys and a full time freelance writer.  She provides content and articles for Creditorweb.com; where she writes about credit cards, rewards programs, and personal finance topics.

Help Grandma Learn to Work Her Digital Camera

Two special friends of mine, Scott and Christine Maentz, have created a new website called RememberGranny.com, which is devoted to helping grandparents leave a "digital legacy" for their grandchildren. For many, the thought of doing much with the computer beyond simply checking email can be a bit overwhelming. That's where Scott and Christine step in! Here's some information on their new site:

Ok, so you’ve bought into the idea that it would be a good thing to leave a digital legacy for your kids, grandkids and the generations following them. Awesome! Congratulations on taking this important first step. Now what do you do? Where do you get started?

There are so many choices and options that you really do need someone to guide you through the technology maze. This is where Remember Granny™ shines. Our mission is to provide practical information for getting your life online and to keep things simple, always striving to speak to you in plain English. We know that much of this is completely foreign to many of you. Like traveling in a foreign country, you need a good guide to make the most of your time. We know you can easily learn to take full advantage of the Internet with the right guidance. Remember Granny™ hopes to be your personal Internet guide.

Here at RememberGranny.com we’ll be teaching you everything you need to get online. We’ll have instructional videos as well as articles on this web site that will help you filter through all the noise to make good choices and save you valuable time. It’s all free and is yours for the browsing. Just give me a couple of months to build up the articles & videos and we’ll soon have something really helpful here.

For those of you who are not inclined to take the time to do this yourself, we’ll be starting a services business that will take care of getting everything set up for you. I’ll have more information on this coming soon as well. One way or another, we’ll make sure you have what you need to take advantage of today’s digital age by using today’s rich digital media to communicate your life, your values and your ideas to future generations.

Remember Granny - Virtual immortality made easy.