Real Life Solutions

Keeping a neat, tidy, organized home isn’t always easy when you have children. You want to create a clutter free oasis of calm; they want to take over the house with their legos. So who wins?

Well, with a little thought and careful planning you both can win. Here are some easy tips you can use to have an organized home and create the peaceful yet child friendly home you’ve been dreaming of. Before starting you should make a plan of what needs to be done. Go through each room and identify what room needs extra storage, what type of storage, etc. You should then invest in a few storage and space saving solutions.

Bookcases, under bed storage, hanging storage (for kid’s rooms), and shelves are all great space saving ideas for clutter free rooms. You can find inexpensive and fun storage at Ikea, Target or Walmart.

This is also a good time to reconsider room layouts. By organizing furniture and storage in a practical order it will be easier to stay organized and keep things tidy. If the kids are constantly leaving clothes on their bedroom floors, give them each a laundry hamper they can keep in a corner of their rooms or closet to make it easy and accessible for them to quickly throw the laundry in the basket.

Color code their bedroom drawers or toy boxes to make it easier to put away things. For example, cars and trains can go in a yellow box while legos go in the green box. You can do this for the sock drawer or t-shirts drawer by placing a color sticker on each one or you can even label it with a picture of the items meant to go in there.

Little steps like this can make the overall task of staying organized a lot easier.

Once you have your storage sorted you can start organizing by tackling one room at a time. Make three piles, one for charity, one for keeping and one for the trash and be ruthless. If you haven’t used it within the last month and unless it has sentimental value then you can either store it or give it away. Think of how much better you’ll feel coming home to a clutter free house.

Now that you have a plan and have all your storage solutions ready, it’s time to get down to business and start organizing your house. Here are a few tips to help you do just that and more importantly help you stay organized for the long term.

Recycle old newspapers and magazines - Don’t let them pile up all around your house, more than likely you won’t get back to that newspaper article or magazine column again so once you finish with it, recycle it.

Have a message station – Keep your telephone, pens, note pads, mail and calendar in one central location. Jot down all important dates and appointments as soon as you schedule them.

Have a filing system – Don’t let piles of papers clutter your house. Deal with bills and mail as soon as you get it. Set up a filing system for pending and need to be filed items, and don’t forget to file them. Also, take a little time and actually clean out your old papers and files. If you haven’t used something in a while but don’t want to get rid of it put it in a box labeled old files and store it away in your attic or garage.

Put it Away – First you need to make sure you have a place for everything in your house, then get into the habit of putting things away as soon as you finish with them. Teach your kids to do the same. If you take a few seconds to put things away you’ll never have an overwhelming problem on your hands. Make sure the kids know there is an appropriate place for everything.

Multitask – Don’t let precious minutes slip away. If you’re on hold on the telephone why not use that time to clean out your purse. If a friend calls for a chat, clean the house or fold the laundry while you’re talking. You’ll get your chores done without even noticing.

The Basket Technique – Works especially well if your house is set over two or more floors. Go from room to room with one large basket and place items that don’t belong in the room inside your basket. Then simply put the items back where they belong. This will save you time and help keep things organized.

The Evening Tidy – Each evening take a few minutes to put things back in their place. Try to do a quick tidy and leave your things ready for the next day. You could set out placemats for breakfast and pack the kids lunches. This will help you avoid rushing in the morning but you’ll also feel good to wake up to a neat and tidy house.

Grab your copy of Finally Organized – Finally Free! Its An amazing collection of 2,175 ideas, tips and techniques for organizing your home, your clutter, your time, your schedule, your money, your paper, your family and much more!

If you’re like most people today, there’s more than enough on your plate and keeping your life at home in order has gotten more difficult with all the technology and tools we use that’s supposed to make life easier.

Well I recently discovered a simple system for getting organized. Now I’m able to spend just 15 minutes a day following five easy steps to get rid of clutter and create order throughout my home.

The Definitive Guide to Home Organization for Busy People

The thing is, because it is written for “Busy” people, it’s not made up of hundreds of crazy ideas you’ll never be able to use or filled with a bunch of fluff, which is what I really like about it.

It’s got solid strategies for regular people. and walks you through each and every problem area of your home, giving you the confidence and energy to tackle and remove the clutter creating the stress we’d all love to live without. The thing is, the organization strategies you’ll read about have been around for generations and were used to perfection in a time when life wasn’t so hectic. When life wasn’t so busy.

But life is different today and these same strategies still work. The Definitive Guide to Home Organization for Busy People gives you the tools and strategies in a friendly, easy-to-understand process that completely removes the overwhelming of being short on time and high on stress. And finally makes life simple again.

To find out how to get organized and put these strategies to use right away, visit: The Definitive Guide to Home Organization for Busy People today and get started.

For moms who work from home, balancing the home and business sides of their lives can feel downright impossible, especially when the reason they began working from home was so they could spend more time with family.

However, many home businesses actually fail because moms don’t manage to balance business and home life. How can you juggle your family’s needs, your business needs and occasionally find some time for your needs without being a super hero?

The first thing any mom should do to achieve balance is to get the family involved. If your children and husband support you, you will find that they interrupt less often and are more likely to pitch in to get household chores done. You’re probably thinking that will happen the day the moon turns to blue cheese, right?

However, if you mention that you need to get a major project done and will be able to buy a pizza and rent a video when you are paid, you may be surprised at how quickly everyone pitches in to help out.

If you have young children, they may not be able to understand the concept of waiting for a reward. To get your younger children involved, try explaining what you are doing in very simple terms and having them help you.

Set up a small desk or table for your toddlers and add crayons and paper so they can help you with your work by drawing some pictures or writing a letter. Children that are a bit older can put stamps on envelopes and seal them, paperclip papers together or do other simple organizational tasks.

Of course, no matter how supportive your family and friends are, they are not going to be happy if you work 15 hours a day.

Make sure that you ask for uninterrupted time to do your job or run your business, but also make sure that you schedule time for your family and friends. While you are making up that schedule, don’t forget your significant other. If you sit at your computer all evening after the children are tucked away for the night, you may end up with some serious relationship issues!

Once your family and friends are involved and you’ve scheduled time for them in your life, it is time to consider a few ways to make the most of your valuable work time.

While you may be tempted to work non-stop during the time you have dedicated to your business, you should actually try to take some breaks. Taking a half-hour walk or having lunch away from your desk can really help you recharge your mind and keeps your body from growing stiff and tired. When you sit back down, you can do so with a clearer view of your goals and fresh energy and focus.

Also, don’t be afraid to make a “to do” list for your business. Write the four or five items you absolutely must do on your list and promise yourself that you will get them done before you visit your favorite forums or check your email. This can really help you get more work accomplished in less time.

So, although you may not have super powers, you can still have a home life, a business life and some time for yourself. The next time you are feeling overwhelmed, take a deep breath, ask your family for some help and try out a few of these great ideas for balancing your life.

Get More Help:

Working at home can be extremely rewarding, but it’s challenging. Get the help you need with Real Life Guidance to Balancing Work and Family. It’s your practical guide to tracking your time, setting priorities, learning to say no and achieving that balance you strive for.

The trend of moms working from home to be near their children has grown in the last couple of years. Now that they have found jobs or businesses to run, they’re starting to realize that working from home is not as easy as they thought it would be. The work they do is hard to separate form their personal lives, which makes it hard to schedule time for work responsibilities and home duties.

The workspace these moms use to do their jobs at ends up being a part of their household, so that makes dividing work and home life even more difficult to do – and one of the motivating reasons for creating my Balancing Work and Family guide. Imagine that your office is a part of the dining room, which also happens to be the room where you eat your meals as a family. How easy is it going to be for you to leave your work life to be with your family when the office is 5 feet away from the dinner table?

The realities of dividing work and personal life can get smudged for work at home moms. When that happens, one’s stress level is sure to rise, which could jeopardize one’s sanity. To prevent your sanity from leaving, you should find ways to ensure that separation takes place between your job/business and your family life.

Assess the current situation. Try to find an area, within your home, to have your office so that it won’t interfere with your family life. The home office needs a room with a door where you can be apart from the rest of the house. A den or a garage can be converted into office space that is exclusive to your business. Some people have resorted to placing their office in the laundry room, just because it has a door! When that is not an option, set up shop in your bedroom to keep it away from the family areas.

Organization is the next step. A messy desk can be a huge distraction when trying to work. Everything needs to have its place. If you worked in an office, your boss would not stand for a messy work space. There’s no difference when you’re office is at home and not at the worksite.

Use inexpensive organizing items, such as baskets with separate compartments to help organize the odds and ends on your desk. You can keep rubber stamps, letters, invoices, pens, pencils, and the like in here. Organization makes finding things much easier, which results in a more relaxed work day.

Keep your business phone separate from the family phone line. When using the same line, you run the risk of your children answering business calls or picking up the phone during a conference call. This causes your professionalism to fly right out the window and takes your customers or employers along with it.

The same goes for the computer. It’s best to keep your business computer separate from what the other family members use, but budgets don’t always allow for this. In that case, make sure that the business/job files and documents can’t be easily accessed by anyone but you. This will help prevent some of the stress that could be brought on by family members stumbling on a client’s important document and accidentally deleting them.

Be sure to use calendars or planners as they are very helpful when trying to keep track of business appointments or deadlines and family appointments. This will lessen the stress of setting up family appointments when you’ve forgotten about business deadlines you have.

Consider hiring a sitter on days you have a lot of work to do. Being a work at home mom gives you the benefit of controlling your own schedule. Having a sitter keeps the kids away from your office and gives you quiet time to focus on your work and gives your kids a chance to have fun without you feeling too guilty.

Mixing business with family in the home setting can be a major source of stress. Keeping the business side of your life organized and separate is crucial to success in keeping your stress levels down and your sanity intact.

Get More Help:

Working at home can be extremely rewarding, but it’s challenging. Get the help you need with Real Life Guidance to Balancing Work and Family. It’s your practical guide to tracking your time, setting priorities, learning to say no and achieving that balance you strive for.

Here are some ways for Dealing with Panic Attacks Without Anxiety Medication

When bedtime becomes a time of worry, dealing with panic attacks can be especially difficult. Thoughts of dread and worry about going to bed only aggravate attacks and make them more likely to occur. It can be extremely hard not to fall into this cycle of fear especially when a person has experienced an attack. Having a night panic attack is an extremely distressing and terrifying experience.

Following an attack the person develops an unconscious fear of bedtime. The bed becomes associated with feelings of fear and making it difficult to sleep at night. Lying in bed, thoughts of an attack happening keeps a person awake. Insomnia affects a high number of people who suffer from anxiety disorders such as panic disorder.

Dealing with panic attacks can be done in several ways. Firstly, the sufferer needs to change habits and thoughts about sleep. It’s important to make the bedroom inviting and a place of comfort. Worrying thoughts need to be replaced with thoughts about enjoying a good restful night’s sleep. Try and focus on positive thoughts and get into a positive sleep regime before going to bed.

Herbal medication such as valerian can help soothe anxiousness and tension to help you stay asleep. Try to steer clear of TV that is too exciting or distressing that might affect sleep. TV and surfing the Internet can be highly stimulating for the body and mind.

Laughter produces a chemical known as endorphin that acts as a natural painkiller and makes us feel good. Get into the habit of trying to smile and laugh as much as possible in the day. A hot relaxing bath, a massage or a short nap can help reinvigorate and relax oneself. Practicing relaxation exercises is a great way to unwind and prepare for sleep.

Make a rule to keep away from caffeinated drinks and other stimulants that have an adverse affect on sleep. Don’t eat big meals soon before going to bed. Herbal beverages which are caffeine-free can be drunk before sleep. A glass of warm milk can also help calm nerves and induce sleep.

Make yourself tired and a reason for sleep. Make an effort to use your physical and mental energy in the day. When you exercise, you not only burn up harmful chemicals in your body, your body produces good ones. Applying yourself mentally is a good distraction from worry and also a chance to expand your horizons.

Breathing exercises can help develop and strengthen your lungs and give you more control. Learning to breathe deeply and utilize the lungs is an excellent way of dealing with panic attacks. Since in 50% of attacks hyperventilation occurs, learning to take control of breath can prevent full blown episodes. When you get to bed try progressive relaxation to help you release mental and physical tension.

Find an expert to help you in dealing with panic attacks and anxiety. As frightening as attacks may be, remember that when they occur, they are not dangerous. Switch on the bedside light and focus on your breath. Take long deep breaths and let the symptoms pass away. If sleep seems difficult, read a book or continue to breathe slowly. Before you try and sleep again, make sure you’re relaxed and ready.

You do not have to ever suffer from another panic attack or anxiety attack again! Visit Panic Away today.

Author’s Bio
Need a natural way for controlling panic attacks? Discover a fast-acting natural solution for coping with panic attacks here.

Panic attacks can have different signs and symptoms in different people, and they can vary from one circumstance or trigger to another. What every sufferer knows very well is that these attacks in general can be quite scary, especially the first time an attack hits and you do not know what is happening.

What is a Panic Attack?

A panic attack is basically an enormous amount of anxiety and tension that often hits the body unexpectedly. Some people may be able to identify triggers which bring on these attacks, but most people with a generalized panic disorder can experience an attack at any moment of any day with no known triggers to blame.

In many cases, just having the panic disorder and knowing an attack can come at any moment leads to such anxiety and tension in the body that the fear of an attack can bring on an attack. In those serious cases or when attacks occur frequently in public, the sufferer may become fearful of going out in public because they do not want to be seen having an attack in front of others or in a situation where they may not be able to get help.

Signs and Symptoms of Panic Attacks

Here are the most common signs and symptoms of panic attacks, though you will not necessarily experience them all:

•Racing heartbeat

•Shortness of breath that can lead to hyperventilating

•Shaking

•Nausea

•Dizziness or feeling lightheaded

•Excessive sweating

•Chills or hot flashes

•Pains or cramps in the stomach and/or chest

•Tingling sensation in the fingers and/or toes

The biggest sign that you are having a panic attack is the super intense wave of anxiety that suddenly hits you. Many sufferers report feeling very afraid or scared, as if in a real panic. Even though they know there is no danger anywhere near them, they cannot stop the sense of danger.

Remember, you do not have to feel all of these symptoms in order to experience a panic attack. Some people may just feel a couple symptoms along with the anxiety and fear while others feel most or all of those symptoms at once.

How Long Does a Panic Attack Last?

In most cases, a panic attack will hit suddenly with little to no warning. You can literally be sitting at your desk at work or walking through the mall and all of a sudden feel the anxiety and fear wash over you. This is quite startling if you have never experienced it before, and it is not uncommon for first time sufferers to think they are having a heart attack or some other serious medical problem at the time.

The symptoms usually set in fully within five or ten minutes, but the actual attack can last a half hour or sometimes longer. During this time, it is common to feel a disconnect between yourself and whatever else is going on around you. You may be aware of other people trying to help you, but the symptoms of the attack overwhelm you to the point you cannot focus or recognize them clearly.

What Causes Panic Disorder?

It really is not known right now exactly what causes some people to experience panic attacks, though many scientists believe there may be a genetic factor that causes it to afflict multiple members of the same family.

The leading theory right now is that something goes wrong with the body’s fight or flight system where you are stimulated into action in the case of an emergency. When you are having a panic attack it is believed your body senses incredible danger and wants you to take action, even though your rational mind knows there is no such danger to run away from.

What Can You Do?

Once you know for sure that you have experienced an anxiety episode, you are likely quite afraid that it is going to happen again. It is normal to go searching for answers and trying to find a logical explanation and solution to the problem, and that solution in the eyes of most doctors is medication that masks the symptoms of anxiety but does not solve the actual problem or completely stop the attacks.

There are some natural methods of controlling panic attacks, but it starts with learning what to do in the heat of the moment when you feel the symptoms coming on.

You do not have to ever suffer from another panic attack or anxiety attack again! Visit Panic Away today.

Ken Black is an online product reviewer and writer and a former panic attack sufferer. Check out this website for an answer to get rid of the signs and symptoms of panic attacks.

The other day, someone asked me what it’s like to be a work at home mom. I just blinked back at him, my mind blank. How could I possibly describe life as a work at home mom? Only someone who’s lived it can understand the juggling act it requires.

Work at home moms have the usual responsibilities of being a mom – folding laundry, scheduling doctor’s appointments, helping with homework, reading bedtime stories, and basically being on call 24-hours a day. In addition, there is the conundrum of how to find time to work and answer emails, do networking, update bookkeeping, make phone calls, and more. And, it must fit into a 24 hour day. So, how do we do it? How do we stay sane in the chaos?

It’s disclaimer time. I am not the person to give advice on sanity. I’m pretty sure I filed away my sanity last year when I did taxes. I have my days where I say “That’s it! I’m getting a regular job!” But, then I talk to my wonderful friend who reminds me of the reality of the real world – the traffic, the boss who won’t let me go to my son’s field trip, and the fact that I’d probably have to buy pantyhose again. She manages to slap some sense back into me every time. I hate pantyhose.

Working from home the last few years, I’ve picked up a few handy tips. They aren’t magic beans, that, when planted, will grow you a nanny and a housekeeper, but they can help you to enjoy being a work at home mom just a little bit more.

10. Freezer Cooking! This is my personal life-saver. Spend one day during the week or one day each month assembling meals and your reward is a freezer filled with food. Then, when it’s time to make dinner, just grab a healthful, inexpensive meal from your freezer, heat it up and serve. Think about it. Next time you cook dinner, quadruple the recipe and put what you don’t eat into the freezer for later. Presto! Magic food will appear in your freezer the next time you need it.

9. Pay it Forward- By helping others, it reminds us that many of our own problems are much smaller than they appear. Whether you donate money, give blood, or volunteer your time, you are setting a beautiful example for your children. Involve your older kids and make volunteering a family activity.

8. Stay Healthy – Dust off your rollerblades, strap a pillow across your bottom and hit the pavement. Or surprise your children and the dog with a nice long walk.

7. Organize, organize, organize! If you’re spending hours each week sorting through piles of paper, looking for receipts or “to do” lists, that is wasted time and unnecessary frustration. Sweep the Magic 8 ball, the empty jar of peanuts, the Slinky, and the Snickers wrapper off your desk right now. You can do it!

6. Save Money – As Benjamin Franklin wrote in Poor Richard’s Almanac “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Work at home moms know how hard it can be to earn a penny. So, do everything you can to save those hard-earned cents.

5. Time Management – Don’t let Time Stealers make you work any longer than you need to. When you’re sitting in front of your computer or talking on the phone, that is time away from your children. Always remember your “why”. WHY are you working from home? If the reason is to spend more time with your kids, then figure out how to make that happen!

4. Learn and Learn some More! – Find a mentor or someone who you like the way they handle their business. Network with other moms who are successful, take online classes, or hire a coach. Invest in yourself and you’ll invest in your business.

3. Play with your Kids – Whether you sit down to play a board game, or drive Hot Wheels around the carpet, there’s always fun to be had. If you need some ideas, check out http://www.ShowKidsTheFun.com

2. Keep your sense of humor. Laugh every day! Turn off your computer, put in your copy of The Village People “YMCA” (I know you have one) and Dance! Dance! Dance!

And the number one way to stay sane as a Work at Home Mom …..

1. Always remember “The days are long, but the years are short.” Although it oftentimes feels like the days drag by as a work at home mom, remember that the years are flying by. It’s that reminder that keeps me grounded on days when the projects are heavy and the beach is calling.

If you’re looking for me, you can find me at the beach!

Nicole Dean is the mostly-sane Mom behind www.ShowMomTheMoney.com Are you a Work at Home Mom looking for ways to get more traffic? Take her Web Traffic School tutorial – Free! www.WebTrafficBasics.com

The ‘Real Life Guidance Report to Balancing Work and Family’ shows you how you can balance your work and family time without losing yourself in the process.