Welcome to the Third Edition of "Creative Living."

Saturday, February 15, 2003

In this issue we have:

 1.) Article: Juggling Your Family and Your Work 
 2.) Hot Craft Tip: Don't Throw it Away
 3.) Recipe: Salsa
 4.) On Parenting: - Hug and Compliment
 5.) Home Tool Tips:
 6.) Car Tool Tips 
 7.) Tasteful Joke
 8.) Reader's Questions:
 9.) Editor's Word Pick
10.) Last Minute Reminders
11.) Inspirational Quote

********************

Juggling Your Family and Your Work 

By: Teresa King

Is your house a chaotic mad house with unfinished chores,
rushing out the door to get to work, and trying to stay 
organized?

You are not alone.

It is a Super Person to be on call for your family 24 hours
a day. It is a double Super Person who has that job and
a "Real World Job" to bring in a pay check.

Little Tommy needs to be at little league and little Susie
has to be at her piano lessons. The pets need feeding,
the plants need watering, and if you have a spouse,
he/she needs you too. 

By the time you have managed to get to work on time,
get the grocery shopping done, and dinner on the stove,
you have had a very full day. But alas, you know as well
as I do, it just doesn't stop there.

School clothes need to be ready, laundry, dishes done,
homework chased after, and PTA meetings are just
some of the multiple chores that one has got to do.

Okay, you know it is work that has to be done. This leaves
you two choices:  You can be overwhelmed with it all,
or you can get organized.

Whether you work in your own home, or you have a career
outside your home... the first thing you need to do is get
is a large calendar.  The calendar should be put on a wall
in an area where it is accessible to the whole family.
Have it with a pencil, chalk, crayon or whatever implement
for writing that you can find and each night make sure you
are prepared for the next day by reading the calendar.

You also need a bulletin board, with a pins and a note pad
that can easily be written on, and pinned to the bulletin board
for reminders, from what needs to be purchased for groceries
or making doctor appointments.

For your desk and bill paying, you need an in basket, out
basket, a to do (pending) basket, and a to be filed basket.

For your house, you need one junk drawer, and several
laundry baskets. The baskets can be used for throwing 
toys in that go upstairs or downstairs, or for you child's
entry to dump their books and homework in.  Or,
( brilliant thought) they can be used for laundry, too :)

Designate chores for your whole family. 

It is a fact, that children feel more part of the family when
they are given some responsibilities. This does not mean
make a slave out of your child.  However, even your
two year old can help.  He/she can be set to work, putting
folded laundry in their bottom drawer, putting their toys
away, to even being given safe dishes to help you put into
the dishwasher. They can do all kinds of things for you
from throwing away their dirty diaper, or getting one for
you, if they are still in diapers.  

Whatever age they are, they can help. If you have a 
spouse, you need to talk to him/her and find out what each
of you will take the responsibility for. 

A family should be filled with willing, helping hands. Teach
them right when they are young. If they want allowance, then
let them know what their responsibilities are to get that 
allowance. Stay consistent with your children and you will
be deeply rewarded.

When you work and have to get your family ready, you need
to be prepared for emergencies, from an extra white shirt/
blouse in case of spills before you walk out the door.
You need to make sure your car has gas, or that you have
bus/subway change/tickets. And, you need a friend who
you can call in an emergency in case of a serious accident
or something that somehow got past your new organized
skills. No one is perfect!

Plan your days off with specific things that need doing, such
as when to wash the toilet, to vacuuming.  Again, get the
whole family involved.  You can try all kinds of things, from
putting different chores inside a hat, and have your kids
pick one. You can sing and create a family, loving 
atmosphere and turn the work into FUN. Or, you can play
some upbeat music for an hour while everyone bounces
around, and gets those pesky chores done.

Also, plan for some quality time with your family. This could
be special time set up so that each person gets positive
attention from you.  

If you work at home, you need to set up a schedule when,
unless an emergency, you will not be interrupted by friends
or family.   

BUDGET.... sit down and think about what you can give up
to have what you want.  Like you might decide to give up
your latte each day, and take coffee from home with you,
and use that money to hire in a teenager to come in on
two Saturday's per month to work for a couple of hours,
or to babysit for you while you get your necessary work 
done. Or, go somewhere to get some quiet time, such
as the library.

Remember how to laugh. Children laugh approximately
400 times per day, while an adult laughs 15 times. Put
some enthusiasm in your life, and stay positive with the
things you cannot change, and change what you can.  

And, most importantly, make some time for you. 
Whether it is an extra long bath or shower, or
getting your hair done, or getting a couple of hours to
go shopping by yourself or watch a football game.
Learn to have some time with yourself, because in this 
hectic world, you need to learn how to relax.

Remember, if you can take care of ninety percent of what 
you are doing, the other ten percent will take care of itself.

Teresa King (c) 2003

**********************************************************
Teresa King is a work at home writer and entrepreneur,
Delight yourself with her book, "What Did Mama Forget
to Teach You" http://www.tipsfortop.com/whatdid.html
Sign up for her newsletter for more articles
http://www.tipsfortop.com
 

Craft Tip:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don't Throw Stuff Away. Use it
Again. Here are some great free
ideas.
http://www.make-stuff.com/recycling/index.html

~~~~~~~~~~~
Recipe:
**********************
Salsa

3 Medium Plum Tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt 
1/4 of medium onion
1 T of cilantro
1/4 of a lime juice
Dash of Hot Sauce

Chop Tomatoes, onion and cilantro
add salt.
Put in refrigerator until ready to serve,
then add lime juice and hotsauce. 
 

Oh, I have to mention this. I got the Ultimate Chopper
I LOVE it. It is so easy to use, clean up is a breeze
and it even grates cheese with three quick pushes
of the button. It is also safe, it will not turn on unless
it is locked in.  
http://www.tvseen.com/chopper

The recipe above is made with that chopper, oh,
the work it saves, and time

~~~~~~~~~~~
Parent Tip:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hug Your Kid today.
Find something that he/she has done well
and compliment her/him.

Children need hugs and compliments to
build their self-esteem

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Household Tip:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cotton Swabs are great for
cleaning keyboards and getting
into little spaces that gather dust.

************************
Car Tip
~~~~~~~~~~~
Did you know you put twice as much
wear and tear on your tires when you
drive 70 miles per hour instead of 50?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Tasteful Joke -

**************
An English professor wrote the words, "a woman 
without her man is nothing" on the blackboard and 
directed the students to punctuate it correctly.
 
The men wrote: "A woman, without her man, is nothing."
The women wrote: "A woman: without her, man is nothing." Punctuation is everything!
********************
Editor's Word Tip on Commonly Misspelled Words
~~~~~~~~~~~~
message - Did you send out a Valentine Message
massage - Wouldn't a massage be nice?
believe - Believe in yourself
relief - It's sure a relief that the weekend is here.
*************
Last Minute Reminders
~~~~~~~~

If you have a question that pertains to this newsletter,
please hit reply and send it in.
If you have some advice in any category to offer, please
hit reply and send it in.  

Inspirational Quote:

"You can complain because roses have thorns, 
or you can rejoice because thorns have roses."
ZIGGY
 

Thank you for being my reader.

Creative Home Living
is sponsored by
http://www.tipsfortop.com
eBooks and Marketing
and by
http://www.candykit.com
Personalize Candy Bar Wrappers
for Fun or profit

If you would like to recommend this newsletter to a friend,
please do so. The best way is to write them and tell them
where they can sign up. http://www.fazzles.com

To Second Sample Issue
Back to Home
 

Teresa King
59 Porter Creek Road
Elma, Washington 98541
360-482-2796
Email

 Copyright 2002 - 2003
Sister Site Tips for Top