Earnest Parenting » Organizing

Plan Ahead to Get More Time in Parenting

Amy LeForge — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:27:22 +0000

(Editor’s note: Please welcome Shelley’s very sage advice for those of us who need more time. Thanks, Shelley!)

Planning Ahead Creates More Time – No Magic Needed

Have you ever wished there were more hours in the day to get things done?

Would it make any difference or would you still be wanting more?

See, I don’t think its a matter of having more hours in the day. After all, we all get the same time allocation. And yet so many do so much with their 24 hours.

After all, JK Rowling managed to create her first Harry Potter book when she was a single mom and short on money.

I think it comes down to using your time effectively.

This was bought home to me more clearly when it came to buying gifts for people I knew or for my children’s friends.

Moms are busy and time-poor, that’s a given. Having time to browse for gifts is a luxury only a few can afford.
I was like that too. I used to buy all my gifts last minute because I didn’t have the time to spend thinking about what these people close to me would have really preferred.

Having 3 young children and the extra taxi-drivers job that is part and parcel of shipping children to and from school and then to extra-curricular activities means most of your time is taken up on the road.

If you’re a work at home mom, like I am, your time is even more constrained. You feel frustrated and angry most of the time because there is not enough time to do both: bring up children and try to get a business off the ground, let alone worrying about the other million things in between such as household chores, cooking and buying gifts!

Using Car Time to Plan Ahead
I went from being a rushed-off-her-feet mom to a calm and efficient mom who managed to do things on time. In doing so, I created what was impossible: more time.

Huh?

You know that waiting time you have in between extra-curricular activities, when you are waiting in your car for your children to come out of their classes? I used to use that time to take a quick nap.

Now, I use that time to plan events and make notes and to-do lists.

I plan my time and I am prepared for anything that heads my way.

Anniversaries, birthdays, the twins’ 2nd birthday party 3 weeks from now, the Halloween party – you name it, I’m ready for them.

I will have bought and wrapped presents for all calendar events (this is what I like to call them) and if we are hosting a party or an event, I’ll have bought supplies weeks in advance, apart from perishables such as food.

I have all these dates in my phone. And I have action lists in my handy notebook. It contains a mini-plan for dealing with each calendar event.

By using this “car downtime” whilst waiting for my children to finish their activity, I am planning what needs to be done tomorrow, what I need to buy on my next trip to the mall, what I need to look for online.

And it has made the world of difference to my life.

Using your calendar and a to-do list to plan might seem like a small thing and perhaps because of this it is so easily overlooked.

We all have access to calendars and phone calendars and to-do lists but do we actually use them?

Once I started to, I quickly found that I had more time the better organized I became. I went from dealing with each thing as it arose to someone who was much calmer and well prepared for whatever was heading my way!

Let me tell you, it is far better to plan ahead than to fight fires as they arise.

And this year? I bought most of my Christmas presents when Christmas 2010 ended. Amazon had great deals on toys and gifts once the Christmas season was over and I was able to buy lots of things at fantastic prices!

During the year, I kept my eyes and ears close to the ground and shopped around, buying a few things a little at a time, as online stores had promotions and offers.

I have a few more things to buy but pretty much, I have done most of my Christmas shopping and it’s not even November yet!

Sure, the kids will want some new toys that have just come on the market and I’ll be able to get those because I have already saved quite a bit by buying lots of gifts at low prices.

Trust me, try planning for the next holiday. You know when it is, so now just circle in your calendar a date a month before that. Make a plan of what needs to be bought and start taking action.

You will find that it is easier to be in control of your time rather than let time control you and be a last minute shopper.

Shelley Kim is the mother of three beautiful children and the founder of 1stToysOnline.com

Earnest Parenting: help for parents who need more time.

Image courtesy of katerha via Creative Commons license, some rights reserved.

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The Towel Saga, Continued

Amy LeForge — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:49:09 +0000

So. A few weeks ago I shared with you the story of the Bathroom Towels that Are Driving Me Batty. Recall? Well, Internets, I have an update.

To recap. When our sad story began, the bathroom floor routinely looked like this:

Mind you, this is a bathroom used primarily by boys. Who (ahem) don’t always worry too much about, ummm, accuracy.

Shall we say it together? Ewwwwwwwwwww!

After months of pondering, I realized that part of the problem was the towel bars that were too high and difficult to use. So! Towel bars were removed, and hooks installed. I was SURE this would make life better. Angelic choirs would sing.

Or not. Instead, my results were as follows.

Plus, whenever I complained about towels on the floor, boys would all point fingers and accuse one another of the crime. And keeping the towels on the hooks was a bit of a trick, especially for the younger boys.

My beloved mother-in-law was visiting and had a brilliant idea: buy each boy his own towel in a unique color so I would know whose name should be called for towel replacement duty.

Off to the store I went. Each boy was pleased to choose a nice thick towel in the color of his choosing. As soon as we got home and got them washed, up they went on the hooks. Now…NOW was the time for the Dance of Victory. Now would be when I could visit the bathroom and not shudder in fear of bacteria-laden fabric. I waited a day and checked.

This was the result.

Sigh.

Inspiration wasn’t long in coming though. What we needed was a way to keep the towels from falling off the hooks. The solution? Sew a quick loop of fabric on the side of the towel to help in hanging. I bought a cheap washcloth from the store and cut it into strips. Each strip was sewn into a tube and turned inside out, then I roughly sewed the ends of the tube right on to the towel and voila!

Here’s what the finished product looks like.

Aaaaaaand, here’s what the bathroom looks like now.

Most of the time.

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Woman Loses Mind Over Towels on Floor

Amy LeForge — Tue, 18 May 2010 05:58:55 +0000

I’m not a neat freak or a germaphobe. Really. I’m not. But I am someone who finds clutter stressful and order….relaxing. Also? I don’t like the idea of getting sick and throwing up. Especially hate the throwing up part and would rather not thankyouverymuch.

Do the boys have these particular issues in life? It’s hard to say. I’m pretty sure they don’t, because they are constantly leaving belongings EVERYWHERE. And their bathroom? [shudder] Terrifying.

One of the biggest bathroom issues we’ve had is the towels. They’re routinely left on the floor.

In the bathroom.

In the BOY’S bathroom….where the floor often gets….wet.

Ewww.

So. Being that I’m a problem-solving kind of girl, I examined the bathroom to see what was causing towels to “accidentally” be on the floor ALL THE TIME.

Exhibit A: towels on floor

(Want to join me here?? EWWWWWWWW!)

Exhibit B: typical towel bar in the Earnest Parenting home.

Note that said bars are roughly 4 feet above the floor, making towel-hanging difficult for short (read: under age 5) people.

Note to note: it’s been two years since anyone in this house met that definition.

Exhibit C: another shot of the typical towel bar around here.

Note that bars of this nature are easy to accidentally tear off the wall since the hardware used in installation is flimsy, resulting in Mom constantly saying, “Don’t pull the towel bar down!!!”

Also note: not enough towels are on the bar. Again.

All of this begs the question: What on earth will keep the towels off the floor???

I spent years on this problem, Internets.

Years.

Finally, inspiration struck. And no, don’t tell me that I could have noticed this in the hundreds of pictures of cute bathrooms you find in all those home and garden magazines at the grocery store.

I refuse to listen.

I’m choosing to live instead with the fantasy that this idea was all mine, mine, MINE!!!

The solution? Hooks! If each boy had a hook, he could easily hang his towel without worrying about ripping anything off the wall. And! I could have hooks lower down for younger people, and higher up for older people.

Brilliant, eh?

Feeling very pleased with this solution, I conned my in-laws into hanging the hooks for me and sat back, waiting to enjoy boys out of the shower, clean and dried with towels that were not bacteria-laden.

What did I find instead?

[whimper]

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Okay, I’m Ready for Christmas Now

Amy LeForge — Sat, 16 May 2009 09:12:34 +0000

Good news, Internets! After more hours than I care to admit, I have finally finished the last of the Christmas stockings for the boys.

This was one of those “seemed like a good idea at the time” ideas: 4 of those felt and sequin stocking kits you can get from craft magazines. Do you know how many pieces each one has?? Well over a hundred! Each!!

I first started the project in (gulp) the fall of 2000. Yikes, I hadn’t thought about that until just now. I made the first two and was finished by the following Christmas. I think. Can’t remember anymore. I bought the second pair of kits in…..ummmm, I have no idea. 2005 maybe? I know it took me a while to get started, and even longer to finish. As evidenced by the fact that I’m blogging this in May of 2009.

The fourth stocking belongs to Captain Earthquake, and he’s been remarkably patient as I worked on it. This project accompanied us to football practices last summer and has been my focus of attention for every piano lesson the boys have had for ten months. I’ve decided that the boys will only be able to have these in their own adult homes once their wives have signed a contract in blood stating that if the house is on fire they will stop and get the stocking before leaving the premises.

It was a long and often tedious project, but it’s finished. Now I can move on to the next thing on my todo list. (Like mailing out my Christmas cards. Do you think folks will notice if I say “Happy Spring” instead?)

How about you? Any really long projects hanging over your head?

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Teaching Time Management: Some Strategies

Amy LeForge — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:31:06 +0000

In an effort to help the boys feel more in control of their day I have tried a few different strategies.

When the older ones were four I printed out a list of things that they do in any given day, complete with a cute clip art picture for each item. I slipped the printout into a…

read the rest in my post at GNMParents.com

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