Create A Home Office That Suits Your Needs

Home offices are becoming as common as family rooms. Many moms are opting to work at home instead of in the office. Although I travel into the office daily, I have the capability of working remotely. As a single mom whose parents live four hours away when my daughter is sick it is a blessing to have the accessibility to work at home while still being able to take care of my daughter. Telecommunicating is a way of life for many moms and dads. This week my daughter was struck with the flu and unfortunately the flu bug bit me too. At my previous job I would’ve been completely stressed about having to report off, although I would have regardless! My policy is daughter first. My new boss completely understood and encouraged me to stay home, get well, and take care of my daughter. Since I haven’t acquired a ton of sick time I worked from the comfort of my home while nursing myself and daughter back to health.

Home offices are essential for those of us who need to escape to a private space to work. Even if you aren’t employed creating a home office can be a sanctuary for you to write, spend some private time with God, or work on personal projects. If you have a little space it doesn’t take much to create a comfortable home office.

Cheap and easy tips to make a home office that suits your needs

Furniture

A great desk is the centerpiece for any home office. The desk should be sturdy and have enough drawers to store paper, folders, office supplies, etc. Check out garage sales for antiques desks at cheap prices. If you spend much of the time in your office glued to your desk a comfortable chair that supports your posture and back is essential, so don’t skimp on the chair.

File Cabinets or book cases are great for storage. Look at Target or discount office stores for reasonably priced book cases or file cabinets. Overflowing book cases add character and coziness to any room.

A chaise adds a classy touch, but more than that sometimes you just need to relax on something other than a chair!

Organizing Tools

File folders, binders, and accordion folders are great for keeping those papers in order. Use them for your job and for your financial papers.

Use pretty pots or pottery as pencil and pen holders.

Busy moms need a calendar or planner to keep it all going. Get a calendar that either hangs on the wall or fits comfortably on your desk.

Decorative Touches

Work doesn’t have to be so serious! Liven up your office with a fun vibrant paint color for the walls.

Pillows, curtains, plants, and decorative throws are great touches that bring coziness into your work space.

Give the office character with pictures of your family and artwork. Gather all those pictures your kids draw for you, put them in frames, and let them see how proud you are of their masterpieces.

A home office can be as formal or as informal as you want it to be. Most importantly it should reflect your personality and your working style. Your office space should be welcoming and inspiring. I always find I work better when I have spiritual literature or quotes around that encourage me throughout the day. Incorporate small touches that bring a smile to your face or warmth to your heart. With more opportunities to work remotely a home office is a good investment whether you are a writer, a lawyer, or a stay at home mom that needs her privacy.

Copyright © Chere Williams, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved

Get Financially Organized in 2010

One lesson the economy has taught us is the importance of keeping our finances in top shape. It is easy to forget to pay the cable bill when it is hidden under a stack of junk mail on the kitchen counter. A good credit rating is an increasingly important factor in today’s financial world. Those three little numbers carry weight when you are considering applying for a loan, mortgage, or credit card. As a single mom I am extremely conscious of my finances and credit score. Recently, I was blessed with a car that I desperately needed and thankfully because of my credit score I was able to purchase a car with a doable monthly payment on a single mother’s salary. Early on in my journey in single motherhood I realized the importance of being financially organized. This year take control of your finances by getting organized with a few of these helpful hints.

Tips to Become Financially Organized

Create A Space for Your Mail

Junk mail can cause havoc in your mailbox. There are countless pieces of mail that you will discard throughout the year. Usually junk mail ends up in a pile on the kitchen counter. Put a stop to this bad habit and create a designated space for your mail. It can be as simple as a basket, or mail bins that hang on the wall. The mail bins are great, because you can separate the mail into its different compartments. When you are consciously placing your mail in a designated area you are more likely to pay attention to deadlines and due dates.

Open Your Mail

This may seem obvious, but how often do you find pieces of unopened mail lying around? Open your mail the day it comes in or no later than the next day. Unopened mail leads to late payments and unnecessary stress.

Formulate a Financial Spreadsheet

If you want to take control of your finances you have to know your finances. Formulating a financial spreadsheet allows you to keep track of when a bill is due, the amount due, the minimum amount due and the balances. There is financial software available that has all the bells and whistles, but if you want to save a few bucks create your own spreadsheet. A spreadsheet is only helpful to you if you are diligent about taking the time to record your finances and update the spreadsheet on a regular basis. Getting your finances on paper gives you a clear idea of the direction you need to go in to meet your financial goals.

Create File Folders

The accordion folders are best for organizing bills that come via mail. You can cheaply purchase these folders, label them by sections, for example, electric, gas, charitable donations, school expenses, mortgage, student loans, etc. You may want a separate folder for income tax filing and returns. If you do most of your finances online create Word folders that can house your e-bills. Financial organization is important whether you do your billing online or via mail. This is a great way to gage how much you spend each year on utilities and to create financial family goals like lowering the electric or water bill. Find a place in your home that your files will be accessible and safe such as a home office or even a closet in your bedroom.

Organization is key to keeping your finances under control. By opening your mail, organizing it, and keeping financial records you’ll be on top of your game. Why pay a $35 late fee because your electric bill was buried under the pizza flyer? Take that $35.00 and put it into a savings account. God wants us to use our money wisely and be financially responsible. When your finances are running smoothly your household will run smoothly as well. Make 2010 a fiscally sound year for your family!

Copyright © Chere Williams, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved

The 15 Minute Cleanup

A clean house gives me a clear mind. When my home is clean I am more focused, relaxed, and I have more time to spend with my daughter and doing the things I love. Moms are busy whether you are a stay at home mom or a working mom. I am a single mom, so the household responsibilities fall squarely on my shoulders. Since becoming a single mom, I am always on the search for quick ways to accomplish household chores. I do a thorough cleaning probably once a month.

However, cleaning is part of my every day routine. I have discovered that breaking your chores into quick 15-20 minute segments, makes cleaning less stressful and overwhelming. Another way to break up the segments is to have designated days for each room. Washing dishes and taking out the trash are usually an everyday chore, so they would not be included, but there are many cleaning chores that are.

Fifteen minute Clean Up: Rook by Room

Kitchen

Beside washing dishes and wiping down counters, take 15 minutes to sweep the floor, rid the refrigerator of any expired food, and wipe the inside, outside and top of the refrigerator. On another day take that time and arrange the inside of your cabinets.

Living Room/Family Room

The living room and family room gets a lot of use and it shows. In 15 minutes you can dust and polish your coffee tables and furniture, pick up magazines or books, and vacuum under the pillows of your couch.

Bathroom

I love using the organic all natural purpose cleaner from Seventh Generation. It smells great and it isn’t filled with toxic chemicals. I squirt this on my sink, toilet, and handles in the bathroom and in 15 minutes my bathroom not only smells good but looks great.

Bedrooms

This may seem like a no brainer but fixing your bed automatically makes your bedroom seem cleaner. Sweep the floor and don’t neglect dusting headboards, you would be surprised how much dust they gather. With the cold weather ushering in take 15 minutes to clear your drawers from any summer clothes you won’t be using until next year. If you need to switch out the clothes for your children, assign a day for each bedroom and give yourself a time limit to clean them out.

General Chores

There are certain general chores that you can fit in your 15 minute schedule.

15 minute General Cleaning Tips:

• Sweeping
• Emptying all the trash in the house
• Choose two rooms a day and clean the baseboards in your house
• Throw a load of laundry in the washer and fold another
• Wipe down the windowsills in each room
• Arrange and clean the cabinets in the bottom of the sink
• Dust above the archways in your home, which are commonly overlooked
• Plan meals for the week
• Create a grocery list
• Clean the books shelves
• Sort through magazine and either donate old issues to doctor offices or recycle them
• Separate your bills and mail and file them appropriately

Fifteen minutes may not seem like much time, but there numerous chores we can get done that really help us throughout the week. Even spending 15 minutes in each room can make your house look great. Stick to the time limit, you may even want to set an alarm so that you don’t get carried away. Breaking down these tasks gives you more time to spend with God, your family, and yourself.

Copyright © Chere Williams, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved

Tuesday’s Mommy Tip: Clean Lines

Do you have a great tip for Moms? They can be about anything (family friendly, of course) that pertains to a Mom’s life, including; beauty, kitchen, health, parenting, and so much more! Click Here to find out how YOU can join Moms of Faith’s Tuesday’s Mommy Tips!

NOTE: PLEASE read the rules. We have a few who are not posting to the ACTUAL TIP post on their blog. I need you to post your link to the actual TIP POST…NOT the main page of your site. THANK YOU!!

OK, on to this week’s Mommy tip…

Clean Lines

I have been doing a lot of cleaning and rearranging over the past few weeks to prepare for the new homeschool year, and get some much needed deep cleaning done. As I have been doing all of this, I am also redesigning the way everything looks, and I have discovered that clean lines look best and give the appearance of neatness and organization. One example of “clean lines,” is how you align books on your book shelf.

Instead of pushing them back, or trying to line them up from the biggest to the smallest and have this tiny little section at the bottom, follow these two steps…

1. Arrange Books by Categories. Put all your reference books in one section in size order. Then, maybe your readers or literature section next to that, again in size order. How you order them is your business. Obviously if you do not homeschool, you will have different categories!

The books will fluctuate up and down since they are set up by category, however, they are in order of subject, which will make it easier to find.

2. Pull them up to the edge. All your books should be lined up to the edge of the shelf for a clean and organized look. It will also save you on dusting!

I hope this helps you get ready for the new school year, homeschool Moms…It is also a great tip for anyone with books! LOL!

Copyright © Lara Velez, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved

Organize Your Home Life Before the New School Year Starts

With a new school year starting soon, an organized home life will be needed for a smooth transition and stress free days. A simple and affordable way to get your home life and family activities in order is to create a home life planner.

It does not have to break the ban either. I have shopped around for ready made planners and have found them very expensive and not tailor made to my personal needs. Creating your own can be fun, include the kids and very affordable.

First, you will need to buy a 2 or 3 inch three ring binder. Let the kids pick the color and design a fabulous cover for it. This way they are involved in the pending order that will make Moms life less stressful!

Once that is done, you’ll want to have the following items on hand to fill the home life planner:

• 8 1/2” x 11” calendar (purchased or one you print for yourself)
• 3-hole punched dividers with pockets
• 3-hole punched dividers with tabs
• 3-hole punch

Decide which categories you’ll need in your home life planner. A few category ideas to get you started are;  finance, contacts, school, medical, scheduled activities, church events, bills, take out menus, etc. Tailor make the categories to fit your family’s needs.

Print off blank contact pages which include name, address, telephone, and cell phone numbers. There are many sources online which offer this type of file to print out for free. You can also find blank calendars to print off to include in your home planner.

Find papers that have accumulated in your family – notes from school, old calendars, take-out menus, etc. – and determine which category they’ll fit into. Three-hole punch them and place them behind the tab they belong to. Smaller items that can’t be punched can be placed in the dividers with pockets to keep them from being lost.

After you’ve found papers with important dates on them, transfer those dates to the calendar you have or have printed out. You may want to color code your family so you can see at a glance which person in the family has activities on a particular date. Don’t forget to write down standing dates such as birthdays and anniversaries so you can plan for them.

Not sure if you’ve paid a bill for the month? Having a schedule of all bills owed, when they’re due, and when they’re paid behind the finance tab can make that problem a thing of the past. The home life planner is also a good place to put all bills as they come in so they’ll be available when it comes time to pay them.

Meal planning is another task that can be made easier by having the home life planner. You can create weekly or monthly meal plans and store them in the planner. Make sure you allow for fast food and take out nights. Especially on days that are busier than others. The home life planner is meant to help make life easier and less stressful for Mom.

Be creative and make your home life planner. Of course, after your planner is made and you’ve used it for a while, you may wonder why you didn’t put one together sooner.

Copyright © Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved

Tuesday’s Mommy Tip – Organize Stuffed Animals

Do you have a great tip for Moms? They can be about anything (family friendly, of course) that pertains to a Mom’s life, including; beauty, kitchen, health, parenting, and so much more! Click Here to find out how YOU can join Moms of Faith’s Tuesday’s Mommy Tips!

NOTE: PLEASE read the rules. We have a few who are not posting to the ACTUAL TIP post on their blog. I need you to post your link to the actual TIP POST…NOT the main page of your site. THANK YOU!!

OK, on to this week’s Mommy tip…

Organize Stuffed Animals

I am not sure how the stuffed animal situation is in your home, but in ours the ratio of stuffed animals v/s human occupants is 100 to one. ROFLMBO! I have managed to get rid of some … er … more like a couple over the years. However, when you have daughters that can literally recite each of their names, and tell you when, where and how they got them right down to the outfit they had on, keeping a lot of stuffed animals is inevitable!

So…I have managed to compromise with my little darlings. I bought a small hammock and installed it kitty corner in an upper corner near the ceiling of their room and tossed most of the little buggers up there. It is up high and out of the way. They are all NEATLY on display, but not taking up a bunch of needed space. It also prevents the bed from being a stuffed animal shrine, that makes it impossible for a God loving Mother to make and stay sane! Whew!

I should post pics…Maybe another day…LOL

Copyright © Lara Velez, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved

Make your Guest Room Feel like Home to Your Guests

Summer is a great time for family and friends to visit. Many people have vacation time and enjoy visiting relatives they normally don’t see during the year. If you have guests coming in, you’ll want to make their visit as comfortable as possible. Making your guests feel at home does not have to take a lot of work or money, it just requires some personal touches and careful thought. Here are a few ideas to make your guest room inviting.

Clean your Guest Room

First and foremost, before your guest arrives clear the clutter from the room they will be sleeping in. Often times guest rooms become storage rooms when they aren’t used. Clean the closets, shelves, and remove anything under the bed. Clean the windows, wipe down windowsills, and make sure the room is dust free. The closets should be empty enough that they can hang their clothes without squeezing them in. If you have a dresser in the room, clear at least two drawers for their belongings. They will feel at ease if they aren’t living out of their suitcase for their stay.

Bedding

Air out the mattress for a day, and squirt some fabric freshener on it for a clean smell. Make sure the sheets and bed spread are fresh. Add some throw pillows and have a few extra blankets and pillows available to them. Place a couple pieces of good chocolate on their pillow for a sweet touch.

Bathroom Necessities

Nothing is worse than getting out of the shower and realizing you have no towel! In your guest’s room on a chair, dresser, or if they have their own bathroom, have at least 3-4 towels and wash cloths available. Have a fresh cake of soap, a new toothbrush in case they forget theirs, toothpaste, a shower cap, small shampoos/conditioners, and lotion ready for them to use.

Personal Touches

I thoroughly enjoy having friends and family stay at my home. I want them to be relaxed and feel like they are on vacation. I find that personal touches make their stay most memorable. One of the quickest way to brighten up a room is by adding flowers. On a nightstand place some cheerful flowers in a vase, if you know their favorite flowers try to put them in the room.

Candles are a wonderful way to make the bedroom cozy and inviting. Place scented or unscented candles around the room. Pictures always add a nice touch, surprise your guest by placing a few framed pictures of you and them on their nightstand. If you know their taste in books add a book and make it a welcoming gift for them. Giving gifts to your guest is a great way to welcome them in your home. The gifts don’t have to be expensive. It could be bath salts, a box of chocolates, or a photo album for the pictures of their visit. Add a pretty card with a personal message, letting them know how glad you are they are visiting.

Throwing a small welcome party for your guests is a fun way for them to meet your friends and possibly get together with other relatives. Keep it simple, coffee and dessert or a barbecue.

They may want to lounge in bed a little longer in the morning the day after they arrive. This is an ideal time to serve breakfast to them in bed. Breakfast can be as easy as muffins, orange juice, and fruit to get their day started.

Practical Tips

If there is a television in the guest room, make sure the remote control has batteries and there is a television guide with the channels. Place some updated magazines in a magazine rack for reading materials. Have a nightlight for them, so they aren’t stumbling in the dark. Give them spare set of keys along with a list of useful phone numbers in case you won’t be with them. Also if there is an alarm code give them the number so that an unexpected visit from the police doesn’t occur.

If your guest are going to be doing activities on their own, it is a good idea to give them a map of the area, along with a list of attractions in your area to visit. Give them a personal list of suggestions of places to eat and visit.

Being a hostess to your friends and family is a great privilege and opportunity. It allows you to show them how much they mean to you and how much you appreciate them taking the time to visit you. Opening up your home is a meaningful way to love your neighbor and to show your gratitude for your relationship with them. Be sure not to get carried away with all the details. Spend quality time together, remember it is the simplest pleasures and gestures that mean the most.

Copyright © Chere Williams, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved

Tuesday’s Mommy Tip – Teach them Organization Young

Do you have a great tip for Moms? They can be about anything (family friendly, of course) that pertains to a Mom’s life, including; beauty, kitchen, health, parenting, and so much more! Click Here to find out how YOU can join Moms of Faith’s Tuesday’s Mommy Tips!

NOTE: PLEASE read the rules. We have a few who are not posting to the ACTUAL TIP post on their blog. I need you to post your link to the actual TIP POST…NOT the main page of your site. THANK YOU!!

OK, on to this week’s Mommy tip…

Teach them Organization Young

As a self proclaimed wannabe neat freak, the messies are unfortunately a very real struggle in my life. I never had to clean up after myself as a child. Now, I really struggle in this area. It may sound silly, however, it is the one area I seek balance in regularly! If we teach our children young to be organized it will remain with them. The Word tells us to train a child in the way they should go and they will not depart from it. Well, this goes for more than teaching them about our Beloved Saviour. It is also for something as practical as organization!

Quick Tips for Teaching Children to Keep the Messies at Bay!

• Make it fun.
• Be consistent.
• Praise them even when they only do a little.
• Make an effort to keep it a part of their daily lives.
• Do not let them go to bed until they have picked up that days mess.
• Implement a one toy at a time rule. Put the first one away before they get another.
• Make them help clean up before leaving a friends house.
• Reward them for effort and consistency.
• Walk it out before them.

These are very simple things we can do to help our children to learn order and balance. God will bless you for your effort!

Copyright © Lara Velez, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved

Back to School Organizing Tips

Well, next month many kids will be heading back to school. Now, is the time to prepare for what you will do and how you will stay organized during the next school year.

Think back to last year…does this sound familiar…your child comes home and is often accompanied by an avalanche of books, backpacks and sport equipment. It can be a very difficult to keep things in order. However, the more organized they are, the less chance you’ll hear, “Has anyone seen my homework?”

Back to School Organizing Tips

Do you have a spare room or area in your home that can be used for  homework? It can be pretty easy to convert it into school zone. You can pick up a desk, table, etc, at yard sales for a fair price. Add some hooks to the wall to hold backpacks; shelves for books and you have a wonderfully organized place for school work to be done. You can also use this for any bill paying or things like that you need to do as well. A “Work Station” may be a better term if space is an issue for you. Just be sure and give your child(ren) their own desk so there are no crowding issues.

The point is to get a system in place and make sure everyone remembers to put their school things in the same place every day. It may take a few reminders before the kids do it on their own, but eventually it will become something they do automatically when they come home…The final result will be less stress for Mom!

Copyright © Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved