Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Getting Organized for Halloween: 10 Spooktacular Tipsby Maria GraciaGhosts, witches, goblins and black cats . . . yes, it'sHalloween once again. Here are 10 tips to ensure thisholiday is a fun one for your and your family.1. MAKE A LIST.Make a checklist of everything you'd like to do forHalloween--such as making/getting costumes, having a party,attending a festival, carving a pumpkin, getting some scarybooks or videos at the library and taking the kidstrick-or-treating, safety precautions, and baking pumpkinpie.2. DECORATE FOR THE SEASON.It's time to pull out your tried-and-true Halloweendecorations from year's past. If they're not in oneorganized place this year, be sure you put them all in oneorganized place for next year when you're done with them.3. FIND THE FESTIVITIES.Using the Web and your local newspapers, find out whatHalloween festivities are happening in your area. Schedulesome outings for your family and enjoy the season. Applepicking, pumpkin picking and hay rides are popular thistime of the year.4. SEARCH YOUR TV LISTINGS.Search through your TV listing and make a schedule of allHalloween programs and cartoons you wish to watch. If thefamily can't be together when a particular program isairing, video tape it and watch it together later on.5. BUY TREATS AHEAD OF TIME.Pick up Halloween treats at the supermarket now so you'reready for trick-or-treaters.6. ORGANIZE TREATS INTO TREAT BAGS.Spend time before Hallowing, placing an assortment oftreats into each treat bag (or plastic baggie.) Everytrick-or-treater will then get an equal amount of treats.7. ORGANIZE A HALLOWEEN PARTY.If you plan to have a Halloween party at your house, planfor the party ahead of time. Make a list of everything youplan to do, and everyone you wish to invite. Be sure toget the invitations out early. Begin preparing meals andbaking before October 31st.8. GET READY FOR PARTIES YOU'RE ATTENDING.If you already have plans to go to a Halloween partyelsewhere, determine what you'll need to bring to theparty. Will you need to bring food? Find out what dishyou'll be bringing, and determine if it can be preparedahead of time. Need a costume? Begin making one now, orbe sure to hit the costume shops early, while you stillhave time.9. SEND OUT HALLOWEEN GREETINGS.Halloween is a great time of year to keep in touch withfamily and friends. Send Halloween greetings in the mail,or save money and send e-mail greetings.10. ENJOY THE SEASON.Go outdoors and enjoy the fall foliage. Take a walk in thebrisk air. Enjoy your neighbors' Halloween decorationsaround town. Take some photos for your memory book. Afterall, this holiday doesn't linger after October 31st--you'llbe heading right into the holiday season!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~by Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now!http://www.getorganizednow.comFREE Idea-Pak and E-zine filled with tips, ideas,articles and more to help you organize your home,your office and your life at the Get Organized Now!Web site!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Well, If You'd Help With the Laundry! (writing)
Well, If You'd Help With the Laundry!By Angela Giles KlockeAs I walked through my house the other day, I was amazed at how muchit had changed. I remember the way it used to be. It would always beclean and ready for the kind of company that never calls beforestopping by. But now, it was terrible. Clothes that were waiting tobe folded were piled on the recliner, dishes overflowed the sink, andthe kitchen floor was less than desirable. What had happened here?It was obviously a gradual change or else I probably would havenoticed it when it happened. But over the last year, my house wasseriously lacking, err, cleanliness. And though it seemed likenothing had changed with my workload, it had. I seemed to add morewriting duties to my load weekly and stopped being maniacal about theway my home looked. The end result was that I have gotten more downabout my whole home-life in general since I work here, too.It was time for a change.How can you work from home as a writer and be totally creative if youare feeling upset about the way your home looks? As a parent, youobviously already know that spotless won't happen for quite sometime, but messy and chaotic can be avoided. Unless your children areall infants, they can help while you get that much needed writingtime you've been seeking.My oldest child recently learned how to do the laundry. It was aforced lesson. He wanted certain clothing for a field trip and I wason deadline. The time it takes to load a washing machine is minimal,you're thinking, so why couldn't I just do it? When you look at thefew minutes it takes to move the dry clothes out of the dryer, thewet clothes into the dryer, and load (after separating) more clothesinto the washer, you realize you could have written at least 100words. Sure you could! If you have those few extra minutes to sitwith your writing rather than fuss with clothing, you will be thatmuch further into your work. Any family member can take time out oftheir schedule to help you have those extra few minutes for yourself.My son now handles half of the laundry and I don't have to worryabout running around during inspiration to pour fabric softener in.Almost everyone in your family can learn to rinse their dishes andload them into the dishwasher or sink after each meal. By doing so,when it comes time for you to clean up the kitchen, it will be a loteasier and you'll be back to writing in half the time. However, manywriters find dishwashing time, though tedious, as one of the greatesttimes to brainstorm, so you may want to rethink handing any of thoseduties off.Believe it or not, your three-year-old can vacuum your carpets. Whatfun they would have chasing your pets with the "scary machine", allthe while sucking up the grit and grime left behind them in earlierhours. More toddlers than not enjoy housework and you'll oftentimeshave to make them stop helping. But if you need a few extra minutesto write and your floor needs vacuumed, let them go for it!What about yard work? Do you have a child old enough to mow thegrass? Rake the leaves? Weed the garden? All of these duties may needto be done on a regular basis and you may not always have time. Witha little help from the family, you won't have to have a neglectedyard or miss deadlines.Of course, I have mostly mentioned your children or family ingeneral, but what can your spouse/significant other do? What about ifthey agree to mop the floors every other week, or clean the bathroomsat least once a week? They could help you with your filing, readthrough mail to weed out the junk and actually throw it away for yourather than how we as writers have this need to hold onto everything"just in case."The best and most helpful thing our spouses/significant others can dois this: Rather than walking into a room and declaring it unfit forhumans, they could clean it instead. How could that ever happen, youwonder. In my home, it seems that about the time I stopped walkinginto my husband's own section of the house (his bar room is hissection, much like my office is all mine) complaining and insteadpicked up a few things to straighten up, he began doing the same inthe living room area. Now, rather than complain and moan every timehe trips on shoes that really shouldn't be in the middle of thefloor, he moves them without a word (at least, none said aloud). So alittle understanding and silent support and assistance can go a longway.Now, the last thing I would advocate here is to having your family doall of your housework for you. After all, if you stop helping,they'll soon feel the same as you did when no one helped you. But byhaving them pitch in when you need it most, and then doing your sharewhen you have that available time, you will all be working togetheras a family and find yourselves on the way to happier lives.What Can You Do While the Family Helps Out?Write, write, write!ResourcesControlling Clutter -http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/controlling_clutter Suite byJanet Kitto.Need some help to get you and your family on the path to a cleanerhome and less chaotic home life? Check out FlyLady today.http://www.flylady.netCheck out The Organized Writer Is A Selling Writer by Kathryn Lay."The Organized Writer Is A Selling Writer is a 59 page, single spacebooklet I either print from my computer or sell as an emailattachment. It is $8 as a hard copy and $6 as an attachment. It hasinformation on goal setting, organizing, finding ideas, marketing,selling reprints, contesting, following up, query letters, etc." Forfurther information, contact Kathryn at mailto:rlay15@...*This article originally appears at the Writing Help for Parents siteat Suite101.comAngela is the publisher of THE WRITING PARENT, the zine especiallyfor parent writers(mailto:TheWritingParent-subscribe@yahoogroups.com), and owns her ownpublishing business, Klocke Publishing(http://www.klockepresents.com).[end]===========================Angela Giles Klockehttp://www.klockepresents.com===========================Do you have coupons you don't use? Yarn just sitting around?Or moment to support and mentor a young parent?If so, visit One Young Parent today! http://oneyoungparent.comOffering a hand UP, not a hand OUT.---Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).Version: 6.0.281 / Virus Database: 149 - Release Date: 9/18/01


A Blessing Book
There are many ideas for passing down legacies and making memories. I think ablessing book is one of the more positive and encouraging things you can do, notonly for yourself, but also for your children. When you keep a blessing bookfor yourself, it is up to you how often you want to write in it. You can do itnightly, monthly or whenever you find the time. I would encourage you to writedates in there as well. Write down things you are thankful for and things thatmake you happy. It's ok if you end up repeating things along the line.If your children are old enough, encourage them to keep a blessing book too.They can do it with you, on their own, or you can even make it a chore for themonce in awhile so they get in the habit of writing. I bet they will realizeafter time, how much they really have to be thankful for.If your children aren't interested in keeping a blessing book, you can stilltreasure yours and pass it down to them when they are parents themselves. Ithink at that point, they will find your entries give them precious memories andlessons as well.Dionna Sanchez is mom of two precious little girls and one energetic stepson!She is Editor of Emphasis On Moms focused on encouraging a mom's heart.Subscribe free at http://www.yahoogroups.com/subscribe/Emphasis[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]