This might look like a traditional Thanksgiving dinner but there's an intriguing

twist and it's so easy.

You'll never guess what it is. Watch this video and you'll see!

 

 

 

 

KIDS GROW QUARTERLY

and with winter and the holidays coming, a new supply of warmer clothes and of course toys,
books, games and such will be coming into your home very soon. This is a great time to organize the children’s rooms.

 

Children are much more likely to keep their rooms neat if they don't have constipated drawers and closets and too many toys, books and games. Parents have to be the laxative here, because kids can't do it alone, it’s too overwhelming for them.

We’re already a month into another calendar quarter and if the weather hasn’t hinted at a change in clothing, it will. The House Fairy

has several ideas for helping your kids to streamline their rooms. If you are a member of the Snuggle Bunny Club you’ve probably seen her show the “Un-shopping Video.” 

 

Take some department store shopping bags from your stash and with your child in tow, go into his/her bedroom and play like you’re in a store to buy clothes. That means your child will try on questionable keepers. It’s a quick way to see what is not being worn. Also bag up all the summer clothes (they won’t fit next summer) along with the stuff that doesn’t fit now. 

 

 

They gutted his room (including the closet and dresser drawers) of almost everything. 

 

Peggy and I were known as the Slob Sisters and appeared on hundreds of TV shows. On CBS Morning news we demonstrated the crazy ways we came up with last-minute Halloween costumes for kids and how fun they were to throw together.

 

As usual, our television talk show hosts were somewhat speechless (that happened a lot!) when we'd shove coat hangers into tights and smear our faces with Karol syrup and coffee grounds.

The important lesson here is when we become more organized we set the stage to play with our creativity. We become creatives! Clutter gets in the way of our creativity.

Decluttering and ending your "stuff management" days will pave the way to fun, creativity, new adventures and excitement on Halloween as well as all the days of the year!

Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy our ideas for Halloween Crises Costumes!

 

We want a happy home.

 

We intuitively know there is peace when there is order. We want our homes to be peaceful, organized and a joy in which to live, love and play.

In a book called The Tipping Point, the author, Malcom Gladwell, really grabbed my attention when he wrote about the Broken Window Theory. It was the brainchild of criminologists James Wilson and George Kelling. Kelling wrote, “Crime is the inevitable result of disorder.” Getting organized reduces crime.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not saying because your house is a mess you’ll inevitably rob a bank or shoot your husband, but it’s a fair guess you’ve been late for church because you couldn’t find your car keys and broke the speed limit to get there on time, or you’ve been pulled over for driving under the influence when really you were just trying to put a little lipstick on while getting to your meeting.

Wilson and Kelling claim, “If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge.” They tell about the horrible crime in the New York Subways in the 90s and that by cleaning up the graffiti on the outside and inside of the cars, crime plummeted! A cluttered room, among other things is like graffiti. It’s symbolic of the collapse of a system. It sends a message that no one’s in charge and no one cares.

Here are 6 simple household tasks that convey the same message as the graffiti-free subways did.  

 

Is there a broken window in each room?

Let’s use the metaphor of the broken window in each room of our homes and make “repairs” that will take you less than five minutes each. That means that in about 20 minutes you can fix five windows and you’ll show yourself and your family that you are back in charge and that you care.

 

Do your children like to be read to?

Have you heard people say, “The kids today have short attention spans because of electronics and quick-paced television for kids”? It’s true they’re used to watching three to four-second bytes and they enjoy fast-paced computer games, but to date I’ve never met a kid who doesn’t like to be read to. 

 

As I sat in the Kelso, WA Amtrak station waiting for a train that was 38 minutes late, I watched a grandmother read Curious George to her five-year-old grandson.

From my vantage point, she appeared to be a rather listless reader, void of expression, sound effects and lifted eyebrows accompanying some of Hans’ and Margaret’s incredible thoughts, yet the child was glued to his grandma’s side listening to the story! 

When the book was finished, I thought for sure he’d get up and run around the waiting room, but instead, he pulled another book from his backpack and she proceeded to read it in the same dreary way. The train turned out to be an hour late and the child remained interested in books the entire time. So much for short attention spans and quick-paced actions to keep a child’s attention.

So here are what I believe are 7 benefits of reading bedtime stories to your children.

 

1. Cultivates Imagination

 

Now that visual stimulation is served up via television, IPads, IPhones, Xbox etc., children rarely get to tap into their imaginations unless we read to them, or until they can read. As a child, I loved radio (it was before we had television) because my imagination provided the visuals. Because we don’t have kid radio, unless we read to our kids, their ability to use their precious imaginations and be able to visualize will weaken. 

I remember one Christmas, my daughter Peggy bought a bunch of children’s books at a neighborhood garage sale and recorded reading them on a cassette tape recorder for her non-reading cousins as gifts for Christmas. As adults, those cousins still speak of how they loved her gifts of being read to.

My husband Terry and I recorded books on CDs, the same way Peggy did with a cassette recorder. This way our grandchildren could listen to us read the books we gave them as gifts.

 

2. Creates a Bond

The House Fairy not only encourages and inspires your children to clean their rooms and keep them clean...she also helps with good manners. This video might even enlighten some adults you know.

Do  you ever wish your kids would simply hang up clothes or put them in the laundry rather than dropping them on the floor or tossing them over a chair?

If your kids are three to ten, the House Fairy can help you help your kids get chores done and get out to play.

Watch this short video and see if they like what the House Fairy has to say about helping Mom and Dad.

Set Priorities Learn to Say No!

Life is really, really busy for all of us. Whether you’re running a business, going to school, dealing with keeping the house clean and enjoying family, friends and loved ones, it’s important to learn how to prioritize. That’s why being organized, just enough to please you, starts with knowing what’s important to you.

Prioritizing can be difficult because it requires you to be aware of what you really want out of life. It requires you to be mindful of what’s important and have the ability to say no to what isn't.

In Sidetracked Home Executives: from pigpen to paradise, I wrote:

We were afraid to say no for fear of being stamped uncooperative. We needed the approval of others, and saying yes was one way to get it. In that first week of soul-searching, we made the astonishing discovery that we needed to give others the opportunity to be praised. By leaving some of the work for others, we also were leaving them a chance to get the credit. So, charitably, we posted a sign by our phones that read, in capital letter, “SAY NO!” and from that day on, we rejoiced in our freedom to decline.

Personally, I still dislike saying no. I want to help everyone. I want to be everywhere. I don’t want to miss out on something that could be a really good opportunity. But in order to be a loving wife, mother and friend and an inspired writer, I HAVE to say no.

In The Joy of Being Disorganized, I had this to say about saying no.

Eat healthy food.            

Have healthy children.    

                                           

                    Have happy children.      

 

 

 

 

Come and join my bonus daughter Kristi Marsh and our two adorable grandsons Tanner and Kyle as we all explore what is called a CSA, or just simply a shared farm! Kristi and the boys show us how much fun it is to actually see where your food comes from and take part in growing it. You'll never have to wrangle your child to the floor again pleading “one more bite of green beans!” when they actually pick them themselves. Your kids will love the fresh taste that just can't be found in the supermarket aisles and will leave them loving the crunchy, sweet taste of sun washed fruits and vegetables. For more great ideas on ways to live a healthy life be sure and visit Kristi's website at choosewiser.com!

 

Are you thinking about Easter? 

 

 

 

Do you have visions of sugarplums dancing in your head?

 

Does your mouth water at the luscious looking Easter candy being displayed at your grocery store?

If so, I think you’ll find this very enlightening.

I received this email this morning and it became the subject of my blog.

        Dear Pam,