Tip Tuesday : Back it Up!

Fynn’s the resident backing up expert when it comes to trucks … not so helpful with computers though!It’s old and tired but no less true … if you’ve got anything precious in digital form, back it up!!  Two friends went through hard-drive crashes in the last 2 weeks, and it’s top of mind for me right now.  I’m hunting for the cheapest (reliable) hard-drive I can find to get the pictures from the last 8 years on something other than just my laptop.
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Tip of the Week : Take time to watch your kids

I’m reading some John Holt at the moment, a commentator on education and creativity and schooling.  So far it’s fascinating stuff, and one of the things he talks about is observing in a classroom, and staying long enough that the kids forgot he was there and acted completely naturally.  He saw many things that he never saw when he was in front of the class teaching, and he figured out a lot about the kids’ motivations in what they were doing.  How many things were purely for the teacher’s benefit, for example. 

If you can, find a way to observe your kids when they’re not watching or aware.  You know when you hear things from a teacher and you can’t believe they’re talking about your kid?  I’ve been there many times :).  So many things are purely done to get a reaction out of us it’s not funny.  Come early to pick them up from a playdate or class, and stand in the back.  It gives you great perspective on who they are, and how much your presence tailors their decisions!  I know it’s helped me to realize where I was putting too much pressure on them, and how my expectations shape them.  It only takes a few minutes sometimes to find some really good insights. 

Tip Tuesday : Keep a Sacred Space

I struggle to find space in my house that’s not a free-for-all.  I’ve been over it before: we live in tight quarters, share the space with housemates to boot, and our bedroom is also the living room, playroom, and storage space.  I have a desk, but it’s not currently situated in a way that I feel like using it, and has become a collector space.  It’s also regularly raided for tape, paperclips, paper, cutting mats, etc.  About the only spot that the boys can’t reach is the top of my dresser, and it’s amazing how I feel when that space is tidy, and has only a few of my favorite things on it.  It becomes a sacred space, one that’s calm, reflective of my personality, clean, and enjoyable.  My mind rests when I see it, especially amid all the clutter of life around me.
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Tip of the Week : How to tackle those resolutions!

Ok, I’m betting many of your made resolutions, even if they were in the form of “this year I hope to …”.  Right?  Something new, something rolled over from last year, something big, something small.  Whatever it is, you’ve either tackled it gleefully, or are eyeing it suspiciously from a distance.  Resolutions/shmezolutions, I’m not too fond of them!  They ARE handy ways to focus on something new however, and the new year is a great, fresh, wide-open vantage point to tackle them from!

A few tips …

  • First off, make sure it’s something you really WANT to do, not something that some vestige of guilt is goading you into!
  • Allow yourself a truly clean slate.
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Tip of the Week : Mind the D's during December

Remember the D’s of December
To keep the holidays (and life in general sane) here are a few D’s that you might find to be good reminders.  Put the list in whatever order works for you, just don’t forget your options!
DIY : Do It Yourself  Can’t afford it?  Make it!  There are lots of sources for plans, directions, and ideas if it’s something that you want but can’t afford. 
DIN : Do It NOT  Give yourself permission to say “no thank you” and say it often.
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The Hat : Guest post from Rahti

The Hat

I came across a solution to my inability to clean the apartment.  First off, of course, I don’t do it alone.  As I like to say, this is a frat house, or whatever the non-sexist equivalent is.  Everybody chips in, and we all take turns nudging to get it done.  But there are many weekend days when I am literally unable to get out of bed, greatly due to the prospect of household projects my husband has coerced me into agreeing to. 

My son’s favorite show was once ‘The Comfy Couch’.  In it, a girl-clown named Lunette would do the ‘10-Second Tidy’ at the end of each episode; a speeded-up taping of her shoving things under pillows, sweeping and straightening-out until the space and couch are again pristine, as in the top of the show.  This inspired bit has been one way I’ve motivated my son, and myself, to get the surface insanity wrangled from time to time…

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Tip of the Week : Set Your Holiday Limits

Set your holiday limits now, if you haven’t already!

How many trips?  How much money to spend?  Where will you spend them?  Simple rituals to start?  Perhaps you’re a great advance planner and have everything nailed down, if so please share your tips!  If not then set aside a half hour to get some thoughts and numbers and dates down on paper, with your partner.  Plan a menu.  Divvy up responsibilities.  Start making multiples of an easy gift.  Make SURE you make a budget, and stick to it!  Piggy banks are not for just the kids, get yourself an envelope or jar and set aside for your holiday spending.
If you’re like me, you’ll need to get your plans on paper, and repeat it 3 or 4 times, for your partner to get it straight!  So repeat it early and often :)

Any tips on how to make it easier?  Please share!

Tip of the Week : Dream with your kids!

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dnorman/ / CC BY 2.0

Involve your kids in your dreaming. While the young ones don’t get the idea of “someday” too well, they love playing make believe and it’s a great way to get them involved and on board.  Pretending isn’t far away from planning. 

Planning a move some day?  Want to open a business?  Go back to school?  Talk about what you’d like to do and get your kids to share their ideas.  I was amazed at the creativity and thoughtfulness at our dinner table yesterday when we talked about what kind of house we’d like to build!  Fynn (3) was talking about ladders to rooftops and maybe wheels so it could move (I’m sure that thought came from here) and Douglas was into tunnels, tree house extensions, and hammocks on pulleys that can be raised to become the floor of a lofted clubhouse.  We had a ball together, even if it was just dreaming for now.


Give it a try!

Tip of the Week : Financial Smarts

I’m snitching from Mary Hunt over at Debt Proof Living, and you should go over there to read the whole article, as well as LOTS of great thrifty advice. 

The gist of her article is that there are Four Steps to Financial Freedom:

1.  Change your mind about credit: make it not an option
2.  Give and Save: Save 10% and give 10%, live on the rest
3.  Create balance: Don’t forget family and faith too :).
4.  Commit to Cash: Only use cash, not even debit.  Ouch, but so necessary for me. 

If finances are at all an issue (and if they’re not, more power to you!) I’d highly recommend you check out the whole article, it’s short and to the point.  I’d also recommend signing up for her Everyday Cheapskate newsletter.  A little ultra-thrifty for me sometimes, but great ideas nevertheless. 

Thanks Mary!

Tip for today on a recurring theme ...

I’m realizing lately, yet again, how much being on the computer affects me.  I don’t like it or who I become.  I feel like a lab rat, being enticed with the promise of cheese (emails from friends! fun blogs!) and while eating the cheese I find 4 projects that need attending to, and get bitten by the “do it quickly, right away, before you forget!” bug and end up spending time working (or indulging in too much cheese!) rather than tending to the other things that need doing.  Like dinner, or settling squabbles, or, yes, playing games with my kids. 

How is this a tip?  PLAN YOUR COMPUTER TIME!  (or TV time, or whatever your distraction of choice is)    Schedule it.  Use a timer.  Make a chart.  Stick to it.  I’m getting another timer for the desk, so I can stop swiping the kitchen one constantly.  I like the clunky ticking ones that remind you that time is passing swiftly :).  Set it.  Use it.  Walk away. 

A corollary to this would be SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS!  How long a job will take, whether your friends can expect instant responses, and how much you’ll accomplish in a day.  Easier said than done. 

/end of soapbox :)

The bottom line : Keep a timer on your desk, and underpromise just in case.  

Tip of the Week : Check up on yourself!

Did you make a list at the beginning of the summer of things you wanted to get done? Pull it out, or fire up those brain cells again, and see if there’s anything on it that’s truly important that you’ll regret not doing.

Look good? Happy with where things are at? Then tear up the list :). Winging it is great, especially when the days are long.

Have something you really DO want to get done? Figure out a plan, and get it started!

Lists are meant to help, not hinder. If they’re depressing, make them short and realistic. If they’re inspiring and motivating, put them out where you can’t miss them. Whatever you do, don’t miss a chance, any chance, to cross something off, even if you’ve just decided not to do it.

Happy summer listing!

Note to self: Schedule Governors Island and Sony Wondertime Lab NOW!

Tip of the Week : Just do it anyway!

If you’re debating a daytrip or an outing with your kids, or keeping them up late, or doing something spontaneous and out-of-the-ordinary with your spouse: do it! The best memories rarely come from the most meticulously planned events. They come from that late-night-firefly-catching ramble or last-minute trip to the beach. It’s never practical, rational, or well thought out. It’s just plain a good thing to do.

Find something absurd to do this week, grab your kids, a friend, or your kids friends, and do it!
My spontaneous impracticality yesterday was to load Fynn into the racing stroller at noon (in 83 degree heat), get Douglas on his bike which is too small for him and hard on his skinny 7-year-old legs, and take off for the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s a 5-mile round trip to the other side from our house, and we had a sweaty wonderful time. No regrets!

Tip of the Week : Menu Plan!

Make a Meal Plan!

I know I’ve been over this before, but I think I need to revisit it, with more specifics :).  Meal planning makes for a happier, cheaper, and more efficient kitchen.  Ditch it, and we end up with leftover cupcakes for dinner.  Which isn’t all bad, on the first day of summer vacation, but it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the week!

Some of my favorite inspirations:

SAJ is doing a meal-planning segment, check it out here!

Hot by Six has a great meal-planning service, which I sadly don’t use because I’m too picky about recipes. (Anybody want the rest of my annual subscription?!) They let you share menus with friends and help you schedule group prep days. They’re all about making it fast and easy when you get to dinnertime. Love the idea, just not quite right for me.

OrgJunkie.com is home to Menu Plan Monday, and definitely worth checking out.

Kristen, over at FoodRenegade, is one of my personal foodie/recipe planning favorites. She doesn’t post every week, but I get great ideas when she does. Easy food, but it all takes advance planning! Which is the point, right?

Please share your menu helps below!