Leaving the Housework . . . or Not! Sunday, Mar 25 2007

 As a work at home mom, it is really hard to find the time to keep up with all of the housework, give attention to my son and get all my assignments in under the deadline! I’m sure most of you have the same problem.  

Everyone says that you should leave the housework and focus on your work and the kids, but I personally have found that this is not very good advice. You can only leave the dishes for so long before you have nothing left to eat off of! And with a toddler who still likes to crawl around on the floors, I still find myself sweeping and mopping three or four times a day! 

There are a few things you can do to lessen the workload. First, enlist your husband if possible. He can be taught to fold and put away clothes and other similar tasks, if willing. And if you don’t have a husband, or he is completely and utterly immune to the honey-do list, you might want to consider hiring someone. 

It sounds rather extravagant, hiring someone to come in and clean your house, but if you figure out what your time is worth and how much it costs to hire a maid for an hour or two every few days, you might be surprised. Of course, if it turns out that your hourly wage is around $3 and a maid costs $10, then by all means, do your own housework, but if not, then you should consider it a wise investment. 

Apart from hiring help, you might find that a to do list is helpful. I usually do one up on my computer the night before for the next day, so I don’t forget anything in the rush of the morning. Dividing your list into three parts is a very useful technique. One section is for work-related things, one for necessary chores, and one for chores you would like to get done. Here is an example of my daily to do list: 

Work:
-write reviews
-write articles
-update blogs
-look for work and writing guidelines
-forum posting

Necessary:
-wash clothes
-wash dishes
-sweep and mop house
-shopping

Hopeful:
-dust for cobwebs
-clean tub
-wash bedspread

This helps you not feel like such a loser if you don´t manage to get absolutely everything done, because each section is separated. If you manage to get everything in one area done, you are doing great! 

If you have any other tips on keeping your housework manageable, please let me know. The best tips will be published on this blog so we can all benefit from them!

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Nutritious Meals in Minutes Friday, Mar 16 2007

When you are busy working on your at home business, it is easy to lose track of time. Or perhaps you are struggling to finish a project before the deadline and just don´t have time to prepare a great big meal!

There are several ways to get around this problem.

1. You could order take out! Pizza is very popular with the kids, but not as nutritious as a homemade meal.

2. You could do a fast casserole that cooks while you work. An easy one is to put cooked spagetti in a casserole dish, top with cooked hamburger meat and onions, pour a can of mushroom soup (mixed with a can of water) over the whole thing and top with cheese. Bake for 20-30 min. at 350º.

3. Plan ahead and the next time you have time, make a double recipe of whatever you are doing up for supper. Freeze half for a really fast dinner next time you don´t have time to cook.

4. Make a hot pasta salad, just take hot pasta, add a couple tablespoons of mayonaise, toss and add whatever fresh veggies you happen to have in the fridge, along with some cheese cubes. This is yummy and healthy!

5. Make a massive salad with anything you have leftover in the fridge. Layer all the leftovers on a bed of lettuce, drizzle with salad dressing and serve with nacho chips around the edges! Kids love this.

6. Have breakfast for supper. Do up a fast breakfast bagel with fried eggs, a slice of ham, tomatoes and some cream cheese.  Pancakes are another good option.

 For more great ideas, check out my other blog:The Last Minute Cook

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Is Your Computer Organized? Saturday, Mar 10 2007

We pay a lot of attention to our work area, buying file cabinets, cute little baskets for mail and the like. How much attention do you pay to your virtual desktop?

If you are anything like me, you probably have a myriad of file folders and a mess of files on your computer. I can spend up to five or ten minutes looking for a specific file, sometimes! This is quite the waste of time, considering that I could write at least one review and sell it in that amount of time!

Having an organized computer takes a bit of effort, especially to start off with, but once you are in the habit, you will save hours of time every year. Not to mention the drop in frustration levels when you are able to find what you want in seconds!

Here are a few tips to getting and keeping your desktop organized:

- Regularily delete files that you don´t need, don´t let them build up to a critical mass.
- Create two separate main file folders, one for personal files, the other for work-related items.
- Consider investing in an organizational program that helps you maintain order on your desktop.
- Create several well-marked file folders within your main areas. These might include “budget”, “kids”, “recipes”, etc.
- Be sure to label files clearly. You shouldn´t have anything called “TRK22012″ or remotely as indecipherable on your computer! Imagine if your husband had to find a file and name it clearly.
- Don´t store several things in one file. For example, if you downloaded several parenting articles off the internet, don´t leave them all in one Word document, since you will never remember which one is where. Separate them and name them clearly.

Some of us are hopelessly unorganized, but at least we can make the effort! Good luck!

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The Living Room Office Tuesday, Mar 6 2007

I´m writing this post from my cramped desk beside the tv hutch. Sure, I´d love to have a separate room for my office, one dedicated just to work, with a nice bulletin board and no toys scattered under my feet, but that simply isn´t possible in my house!

Unfortunately, having an office in the living room is just the norm for many work at home moms. Some of you might carve out a space in a bedroom or in the kitchen, but the idea is the same. You are sharing space with a non-office environment and usually are completely exposed to the kids!

Here are some ideas for making a living room office workable:
- Teach the kids that your desk is off-limits. Don´t let them play there, even with supervision.
- Get a small, lockable file cabinet. If space doesn´t permit, opt for a lockable plastic file box. Keep research and records here so that no one can get into them and color on them!
- A diskette drive lock is a good investment if your kids are still little and prone to shoving things like cheese sandwiches into any orifice.
- Get a comfy chair. Preferably a swivel one so you can turn to attend to a fussy child without having to get up.
- A toy box near the computer is a life-saver. Keep old computer gear like a mouse and keyboard handy for your toddlers to play with.
- If possible, keep your office area in a corner so you can hang a bulletin board on one wall, a calendar on the other. Having the dual wall space is well worth rearranging some furniture.
- Consider investing in a closet office, a cabinet that can be closed up at the end of the day. This has two purposes, to hide the temptation to work all night and to keep kids out of your things.

Feel free to add any ideas that you have discovered work for you, I would love to hear them.

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