Time Savers — Moms of Faith

Dinner Cooperative, A New Trend?

November 23, 2009 By Chere Williams 1 Comment

I was never a big fan of pot luck parties. One of my great joys is throwing dinner parties. I enjoy pouring the love I have for my friends and family into a home cooked meal accompanied by good conversation and lots of hugs afterward. I want them to visit my home without worrying about a dish to bring. Since joining a lunch cooperative at my new job the idea of a potluck is starting to grow on me. Basically, a lunch cooperative is similar to a potluck. Basically, you form a group, decide on recipes that everyone will enjoy that are nutritious, and choose the day of the week that you will cook for the group. Depending on the group size you will bring lunch approximately once a week or with a large group once every other week.

Being eager to participate and put my best foot forward at my new job, when asked if I wanted to sign up I jumped at the opportunity. I have to admit at first it was a bit intimidating cooking for a group of five people, and I started to fret about the time commitment. Then I realized that there were some benefits to this program. First, four out of five days I do not have to bring my lunch which means I actually save some money and time. Second, with everyone preparing different recipes it brings variety to lunchtime. Third, it is nice to have a group that has the same goal, to eat healthy and support good habits. It got me thinking that this could be a good idea to implement at home.

A dinner cooperative would work the same way. Most likely it would not be every night of the week, but maybe once a week or once every other week. How nice would it be to provide dinner for friends or have dinner provided for your family? Once you find a family that wants to participate, trade recipes, find out any food allergies, and set the cooking schedule and decide whose home dinner will be served.

You may want to try the dinner cooperative on a trial basis. It may not be for everyone, but it is an alternative way to help cuts costs, especially if you have a larger group of people participating. Dinner can be made in advanced and dropped off or you can spend the evening together. With the economy on the decline, families are open to trying a number of different ideas to cut costs. After a long day at work knowing you are coming home to a precooked meal definitely makes room for more family time and a relaxed evening.

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Filed Under: Articles and Such, Blog, Columns, Cooking Tips, Recipes, Time Savers Tagged With: All Moms, Columns, Mom's Kitchen

Preparing Your Home for the Thanksgiving Countdown

November 9, 2009 By Chere Williams Leave a Comment

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is around the corner. It hardly seems possible that we will be eating turkey in a few weeks, but we are. I love the holidays and try to make them as special as possible for my whole family to enjoy. I am one of those moms who can’t wait to decorate for the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, especially Christmas. Most importantly, I want to make sure that I spend quality time with my family, without getting too caught up in the cleaning and house preparations. If you have guests visiting for Thanksgiving, below is a time line to make entertaining a little less hectic.

Thanksgiving Countdown

Three Weeks Before Thanksgiving

Finalize the Guest List – I urge you to get a count of the number of people who plan on attending dinner. The sooner you know the sooner you can start preparing. Ask your guests if they have any food aversions this can help avoid an uncomfortable situation.
Check Magazines for Ideas – There are a number of magazines and internet sites that have creative ideas for decorating for the holiday. Check them out for new recipes for dinner and desert and try something different this year.
Prepare Your Menu – Take a half an hour out of your day, sit down and plan your dinner menu. Create a list of all the food, drinks, deserts, and ingredients required to prepare your meal. This may seem like a no brainer, but I have run to the store the hour before guests arrived many of times because I didn’t plan carefully. If you are cooking a new dish this year, you may want to have a trial run with your family. Many grocery stores will have great discounts, make sure you take advantage of them and start clipping those coupons now.

Two Weeks Before Thanksgiving

Finish Decorating - If you decorated for the fall season than skip this step. Decorations can be simple, a nice fall wreath, warm candles, some pumpkins, acorns or squash arranged in a bowl for a centerpiece, and even some fun crafts from the kids. Make it simple but cozy.
Prepare the Guestroom - If you have guests who are staying the night, start preparing their room and keep it off limits to everyone else. Change the linen, clean under the beds and in the closet, lay out the towels, and add any other small touches that will make them feel at home.
Take Inventory of Your Dinnerware - Make sure you have enough dishes, silverware, glasses, serving trays, pots, pans, and utensils for your meal and your guests. Think about how you want your table to look, and the little details such as, if you will use linen or cloth napkins, do you want a casual or formal dinner, will you have a kids table, or are there seating arrangements, these are all details you want to decide before the holiday.
Grocery Shop – Grocery shopping depends on your schedule. Some people rather wait until the week of Thanksgiving in hopes of taking advantage of bigger bargains. Personally, I find the last week to be too hectic and the stores too frantic. Choose a day that you won’t be rushed. Be armed with your list and a plan. You may want to bring your children depending on their age to share in the experience of preparing for the meal.

Thanksgiving Week

Touch Base with Your Guests - Take time out of your busy schedule to confirm with your guests that they are coming and what time to expect dinner.
Clean the House - If you clean the house earlier chances are it won’t stay that way. There are certain chores you can do before the third week, such as tidying up the yard, or cleaning out the hall closet to make space for coats, whatever you can do before countdown, by all means do it. I do a thorough cleaning of one room at a time. I find that if I jump around I get less accomplished. I suggest assigning the whole family specific chores to get the housecleaning finished quicker.
Meal Preparation - Have everything you need for your meal at your fingertips. Chop vegetables a couple days ahead and store them in Ziploc bags in the refrigerator and place cans and ingredients out the night before. Anything you can do before the actual day will save you a ton of time.

Most importantly don’t neglect yourself. Take time to relax before your guests arrive. It isn’t uncommon for exhaustion to settle in, making you cranky and stressed. Take a long bath, have some quiet time, and don’t lose sight of the real meaning of the holiday. Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to make everything perfect that we miss out on just having fun and enjoying our family, friends, and reflecting on God’s many blessings.

Also don’t be superwoman! Allow your family to help with the cooking, baking, and preparations. Holidays are a time for families to bond and create traditions, and this is the perfect time to share in the festivities. Sure we want our house to be clean, and the turkey to be golden, but people really remember the laughs, hugs, and good conversations that holiday memories are made of. Enjoy the holidays without all the stress.

Filed Under: Blog, Columns, Entertaining, Holiday Helpers, Time Savers Tagged With: Columns, Entertaining, Holidays, Seasonal Topics, Thanksgiving, Time Savers

Time Management Guide for Busy Families

August 2, 2009 By Faith_Mom 3 Comments

If you’re like most families whose members are running here and there, you may be wondering how to keep your head on straight while you try to get everyone where the need to go when they need to be here. You know there has to be a better way to manage everyone in the family’s schedules without losing your mind.

Time management for families is important, perhaps now more than ever before. With family members going in a multiple of directions each day, your family really can’t afford not to consider time management. By using some of these time management techniques, it can make a huge difference in how your home is run, how stressful your home is, and how much time you have available to spend as a family rather than everyone running late to their respective activities.

It’s important to note that time management for families and team work go hand-in-hand. The sooner your family realizes the parents can’t do everything around the home, as well as running the children from place to place, the sooner your family’s life will improve.

There are many ways you can begin to implement time management skills in your home, but it’ll take your entire family to make it work. Where do you begin?

Know your family’s activities

You can’t improve the way your family’s household runs if you’re not sure where your family members are supposed to be each day. So, your starting point is to gather a few items:

* Each family member regardless of how old they are
* A large, new calendar with spaces you can write in
* The calendar you currently use to keep track of appointments
* Any papers your children may have brought home with important dates on them
* A pencil, pen, and possibly markers for color coding
* Paper to take notes
* Any individual calendars your family may keep

Once you have the above items gathered together and you’re ready to work on getting your family better organized, it’s important to not be interrupted. You may not get another chance to accomplish this task; ask someone to be sure the answering machine is on so it can catch any calls that come in. Try to disregard the phone until this part of your time management planning is complete. If the telephone call is important, they’ll call you back or leave a message that can be returned later.

Give everyone a piece of paper and a pencil or pen. Ask them to write down every activity they’re involved in. This includes time at school, work, and commute time. Have them write down regularly scheduled meetings, practices, lessons, doctor appointments, dentist appointments, or weekly religious activities if your family has them. Younger children may need someone to help them complete this task but they shouldn’t have many activities that another family member isn’t involved.

Next, go through each person’s individual calendar to see if any appointments were missed. Write these down on that person’s list. After you’re sure you have everyone’s planned activities written down, it’s time to look at papers you may have kept with important dates on them. Add those appointments to the respective lists.

Instead of writing everything on the new calendar right away, you might want to start a list for each day during the month: first Sunday, first Monday, first Tuesday, first Wednesday, first Thursday, first Friday, first Saturday, second Sunday, second Monday, second Tuesday, and so on for each of the days of the month.

Go through each person’s list and write the meetings, appointments, or normal activities on each corresponding page. This accomplishes two things: 1) it allows you to see what activities are scheduled on the same days so you can decide who will be responsible for transporting people, and 2) it allows you to decide if there are too many activities planned for any particular day.

Another thing you might want to do before transferring information to the large calendar is to assign each person a particular color – use their favorite color unless two people like the same color. If you color code your family with their activities, it will be easier for each person to see at a glance if they have an activity on a particular day.

After you have all appointments, meetings, activities, and normal daily events listed on the daily pages, it’s time to start putting them on the large calendar. Use the color coding system if you’ve chosen to do that.

Set aside a central location for everyone in the family to place papers with future important dates on them so they can be added to the family calendar. This will make over scheduling a thing of the past because you’ll be able to see quickly if there’s already something else planned for that time on a particular day.

Get Everyone Involved

It’s amazing how having a master calendar with everyone in your family’s activities in one central place can be freeing. Updating it as needed affords you an opportunity to think about things a little closer to home. You know how much time each person has at home and which days they’re at home so now it’s time to think about chores.

Before everyone heads off into myriad directions, you may want to approach the subject of your house and making sure it runs smoothly. Today people don’t follow traditional roles quite as much as in the past. Men can cook and clean just as well, if not better, than some women. Some women have a green thumb and thrive at keeping the lawn manicured. With this in mind, there’s no reason why the adults in the family should be responsible for keeping the house clean and organized.

There are enough things to be done in any home to allow each person to chip in. Not only will having children help take care of the household chores train them for the future, it will give the parents in the family much-needed help. They may actually be able to enjoy some relaxation during the weekend rather than spending both days cleaning up after a long week.

If you look on the internet or in parenting books, you can find a list of chores children can do at different ages. Even toddlers at 2 or 3 are able to help. They can learn to pick up their toys and put dirty clothes in a hamper. Obviously the older the child, the more skills they should be able to master.

Perhaps you’ve never asked your children to help with chores before. Don’t despair, it’s not too late! You may have to start by showing your child how to do a particular chore, but before long they’ll be doing that chore on their own without your supervision. Of course, the younger you start expecting your children to help, the fewer problems there are likely to be as they get older.

Take the pen and paper back out and talk with your family about household chores. Make a list of all chores your family can think of. Include outside and inside activities as well as chores that would be seasonal. There are many home organization books you can either purchase or find at the library which might give you a list of typical chores. You can also look on the internet at home organization websites. They may even have free printable chore lists to make this task much easier. Go through the list and assign chores. Each person should have several depending upon the size of your family. You can create a weekly schedule for each person in the family, if you’re so inclined, so they know what activities they have for the week, when you expect them to do chores, and when they have free time. Of course, this isn’t a requirement, but it may make the transition from being time challenged to having your family’s time managed.

How can you encourage everyone in your family to do their share of the household chores? Here are some things you can do to make doing chores less of a dreaded task:

Make doing chores fun, especially for younger children. Have a race to see who can pick up the most toys out of the floor in five minutes. Ask them to pick up only items that are green and you pick up items that are red. Count to see who picked up the most items and give a small prize such as a piece of chewing gum.
Make sure your family knows how. If you’ve never expected your children to help keep the house clean, it’s unlikely they’ll know how. Take the time to teach them how to clean the refrigerator before leaving them to do it on their own.
Follow up. You must check on their work.
Make sure there are consequences if the chores don’t get done.

Setting priorities

You’ve come quite a ways with your time management for your family. They know what they’re doing each day by looking at the calendar. They are helping you around the house so you’re not doing everything. Now it’s time to think about teaching your family about priorities.

Prioritizing tasks and activities each day can help you avoid being overwhelmed, stressed, and frustrated. By learning to prioritize, you and your family can determine what is most important to get done right away and what can be put off until a later time or date.

Multi-task

You know the time will come when you’ll be waiting with your child for a doctor’s appointment. Instead of sitting there mindlessly reading a magazine, you can use that time to accomplish something. Go over your calendar to see if it’s up-to-date, plan your menu for the next week and then make a shopping list.

If you’re sitting during your child’s sports practice, you can make telephone calls you’ve been putting off. You can also write a letter to a friend who doesn’t have the internet. Commuting time is another opportunity to multi-task if you take a cab, bus, or train. It’s amazing how much you can get done while you’re waiting.

Turn Media off

Most families don’t realize how much time they spend sitting in front of one screen or another. You may spend 6 to 8 hours a day sitting in front of the computer for work. Then you go home and watch television while you check your personal email. This goes back to priorities and deciding what is more important to you.

Sure, you and your family can watch particular programs you may enjoy, but that doesn’t mean you leave the television going after the show is over. Instead of spending the little family time you have in front of the TV set, why not plan a family game night?

Drag out the family’s favorite board games and set it up. If you don’t have any card games or board games, or the ones you do have are for toddlers, you might want to start a new collection. Playing games as a family enables you to bond while having fun. It also keeps the communication lines open with your children, no matter what age they are.

Set family goals

Goal setting as a family is a foreign concept for most families. The parents may be aware of setting goals for business, but they may not have considered setting goals as a family. What types of goals would you like to meet as a family?

Life is precious. Each day you’re given 24 hours to spend as you see fit. You can squander your time on things that aren’t important, or you can start setting family goals you can work on together.

Have you dreamed of a week-long vacation at an exotic destination? Your family can make that dream a reality if you start planning for it. What types of goals would you make to reach that goal?

Working together as a family isn’t going to happen overnight. It’s going to take time for everyone to get used to the changes you’ve made. It’s important to remember you’re only given a certain amount of time each day. Choose to make the most of the time you have while you still can!

Filed Under: Back to School, Balance, Blog, Family Activities, Teenagers, Time Savers, Toddlers, Tweens Tagged With: All Moms, back to school, Balance, children, Family, Moms, Organize, Parenting, Teenagers, Time Management, Toddlers

6 Quick Time Saving Tips for Busy Moms

April 23, 2009 By Faith_Mom 1 Comment

Time is a precious commodity and those who learn to use theirs wisely will always be ahead of the game. First the bad news, the one thing you can’t do is add more hours to your day. No matter what, it’s just not going to happen. The good news, you can do certain things to make every precious minute count and in turn leave you with more free time.

Time Saving Tips for Busy Moms

Buy in Bulk – If you have the space plan ahead and buy things in bulk. You’ll save money and precious time by not having to go to the supermarket so often.

Don’t Let The Housework Pile Up – There’s nothing worst than spending your weekends cleaning. If you do a little bit each day you won’t ever need to spend a whole day cleaning. For example, do a load of laundry daily rather than letting it all pile up for Saturday, same thing with the vacuuming and other tasks. Once the weekend comes around the house should be fairly organized. You may just have to give the bathroom and kitchen a good clean, leaving you with plenty of time to enjoy your family.

Meal Plan – Plan meals for the upcoming week and write your shopping list according to the meals. Make sure you stick the meal plan on the fridge so you can know what foods need to be thawed daily, etc. This will save you a lot of time and money.

Organize Your Life – Spend a little time organizing your house, the time spent doing this will save you a lot of time and hassle in return. Have a set place for everything. For example, have a place near the front door where you can hang your keys and purse. Don’t forget items like umbrellas, hats, gloves and scarves for those rainy or cold days. Set up storage for the kids toys or all magazines and books.

Pay Your Bills Electronically – If you can do this then you should. You will save a lot of time by not having to write out and mail checks. If you really can’t or choose not to do this, then set up a work station and keep your checkbook, stamp, envelopes, pens close at hand. You can also have a calendar with all your important dates and appointments written on there. Go a step further and have an inbox for mail and papers that need to be files. You’ll never waste time looking for these things again.

Plan ahead – Don’t go anywhere without a list. Especially if you have the kids with you, you’re more likely to forget something without a list. So, don’t go on your errand run or shopping trip without a list. Also try to go shopping in the evenings when there are less people in the store. Why waste an hour fighting the crowds when you can be done in 30 minutes. Better yet, do your shopping online.

Filed Under: Mom Tips, Time Savers Tagged With: All Moms, Moms, Time Management, Tips

A Minute Can Turn Into Hours for the Child of a Work-at-Home Mom

April 21, 2009 By Faith_Mom Leave a Comment

In theory, working at home is an ideal situation. But in reality, it’s difficult to balance the needs of your family with the needs of your clients.

Phones, fax machines and e-mails have no common courtesy, nor does your client really care about your personal situation. You are simply a means to an end consisting of a telephone number, an e-mail address and a 1099 at the end of the year. For the most part, you are not afforded special considerations and must respond to their needs or your business will suffer.

Long before I began my career as a writer, I was already a work-at-home mom. I provided outsourcing solution to a variety of clients, which included bookkeeping, personnel records, reports and creating employee handbooks and mission statements. Initially my clients were leery; it was a time when home businesses were just emerging. I went to great lengths to establish and maintain my associations. Part of my success was the perceived illusion was that I was available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Continuously, I had to prove my home life did not interfere with their business needs or deadlines.

One day, as I absentmindedly brushed my son off and repeated the phrase, “just a minute” for the fifth time, I suddenly realized why he had no concept of time. That “minute” I was speaking of was hours away, at best. The business I built so that I could be at home with him was also the business that was taking me away from him. I turned back to my computer to complete the report I was working on and my son returned to his video game in frustration. It was then I realized my solution was only a paragraph away.

I was experienced in writing mission statements for my clients. These leadership tools are used in the corporate world to define goals, values and purpose. A successful business takes commitment, resources, responsibility, problem solving, honesty and hard work. Doesn’t that also define raising a child? Parenting consists of all those factors and so much more.

As in any business, the business of raising a child will bring accomplishments, successes and rewards, but it will also have it’s share of conflicts, disappointments and setbacks. However, when it comes to the business of family the stakes are much greater than a new client, a contract, a promotion or a raise; they involve the well being of your child.

The emotional difficulties of childhood serve to build strength, courage and character. But to a child, these conflicts may feel catastrophic if they have no one to turn to. You can help prepare your child to cope if you take time out each day to remind him how much you love him, express your commitment to his well being and provide positive affirmations that help foster confidence.

Just as you keep focus on your business goals and rise to meet your company’s mission statement, keep focus on your personal goals as a parent. Run your family business with the integrity and respect of a healthy, thriving corporation. Define your ideals, set plans to action, keep communications open and reward success. Encourage individuality, praise creativity and share the wealth. Be positive and proactive. The business of family is one to be celebrated and cherished. It may not be listed as a FORTUNE 500, but it is the most important business of all.

A PARENT’S MISSION STATEMENT

The purpose of this Mission Statement is to express my love, support and commitment to you. As your parent, I promise to help you achieve your dreams and goals by providing you with a safe and nurturing environment. I respect your opinion and I encourage your creativity. I will be there to praise your accomplishments and comfort you in your disappointments. I promise to accept you as you are, support your decisions and honor you as a special and unique individual. You have the right to a safe and happy childhood and as your parent, I am committed to providing this to you.

TIPS FOR WORKING AT HOME

The luxuries you dreamed of as a work-at-home mom can quickly lead to burdens unless you are organized and scheduled. This schedule consists of a balance between business and family and activities should work in harmony with your child’s needs, not against them.

Define your work area and organize it so valuable time can be spent on the task at hand.
Determine quiet times, such as early morning or after your child goes to bed. Use this period to complete tasks that need the most concentration.
Set a start and finish time for your workday.
Allow a full day off from work each week and stick to this schedule as much as possible.
Start each morning by talking with your child about the day’s events. Include your child in these plans. By informing him of your activities, he will be comforted in the knowledge that there will be time for him.
Remember that you are entitled to breaks, lunch, vacation time and even sick time. You are the boss.
When it comes time for your break, stop working, compliment your child for his cooperation, and spend the next block of time enjoying the moment.
Record an “out to lunch” message and set your phones daily. Even if you are sitting at your desk, do not answer the phones. Your clients will become accustom to your schedule.
If you need to run an errand, but are concerned about missing an important call, don’t wait around stressing, forward calls to your cell phone.
Consider hiring a babysitter a few hours per week to read or play with your child or do a special craft.

Most of all, remember your priorities as a parent and your commitment to your personal mission statement. When your child needs to talk, be grateful he or she is turning to you. Keep the lines of communication open, there will come a time when they need you for more than a glass of milk and a snack. And when that time comes, they might not be able to wait, “just a minute”.

About the Author: Patricia Gatto and John De Angelis are the authors of MILTON’S DILEMMA, the tale of a lonely boy’s magical journey to friendship and self-acceptance. As advocates for literacy and children’s rights, the authors speak at schools and community events to foster awareness and provide children with a safe and healthy learning environment. For more information, please visit Joyful Productions at www.joyfulproductions.com

Filed Under: Time Savers, WAHMS Tagged With: Time Management, WAHM Central, WAHMS

Moms of Faith

Dinner Cooperative, A New Trend?

Preparing Your Home for the Thanksgiving Countdown