Nix9to5

So, What Do You Do All Day? (by Amanda)

// October 3rd, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Children and Babies, Life in General, Time Management

Note from Nicci:  While I’ve been hard at work trying to get this new cleaning routine down from the I Hate Housework Challenge, the Amazing Amanda has been thinking about some of the ways she tries to make housekeeping manageable with two small boys.  She shares some of her ideas here.

On days we stay at home, I feel like I work all day to keep the house clean, and by the time my husband gets home, the house looks pretty much exactly the way it did before (at best.)

Productivity and Working at Home

// September 29th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Family, Organization, Time Management, Work at Home

Let me just start this post by saying, “Happy birthday,” to my wonderful Hot Husband.  He’ll probably never read this post, but now you all know that it is HH’s birthday.  It’s a pretty lame one, too, since he has Parent/Teacher Conferences and will have to work until 8:15 tonight.  We celebrated early by going out to dinner at the Wedge (yum), and we’ll be celebrating late by having an 80′s theme birthday party Friday night to celebrate his Rhymes-with-Schmortieth birthday.  I’ll post pics of the cake and our attire . . . well, that is, if I look like a cute 80′s girl and not like some old hag dressed in Goodwill 80′s garb (which I will be–the Goodwill part, not the hag part).

Anyway, I’ve mentioned before that this week is going to flat run me into the ground, and I’m about there.  However, I will say there is nothing like a deadline and pure panic to motivate productivity.  Remember that list I posted the other day about how many projects I needed to complete by the end of the week?  Well, I wrote sixteen web pages today.  SIXTEEN.  That’s twice my previous record of eight.  Man, that’s pretty, pretty good.  I’m starting to feel as if maybe, just maybe, I’ll get it all done.

Well, probably not, but I’ll be a lot closer than I thought possible.

I’ve been doing a great job with the I Hate Housework Challenge, too.  Yesterday when HH came home from work, he took one look at our kitchen and passed clean out from shock and joy.

Okay, maybe I exaggerate, but he NOTICED, which is pretty substantial for most men.

Yesterday I accomplished all the daily tasks on the list, including the room of the day (dining room).  The dining room part involved cleaning windows, dusting baseboards, and even climbing on the table to clean the light fixture thoroughly.  I even took it an extra step and cleaned the “Tupperware Cabinet” in the kitchen.  You know, the one you can’t open when guests are around because everything will fall out and you’ll be flat mortified because their “Tupperware Cabinets” are probably perfect?  Well.  Mine’s perfect.  I should photograph it.  And the linen closet.  And under the sinks in the bathroom.  They are, quite frankly, works of art.

Today I didn’t get everything on the IHH Challenge completed.  I didn’t do the living room windows or dust thoroughly, and I didn’t do the daily Swiffering in the kitchen.  I’ve even got a dryer full of clothes that need to be put away.  But did I mention that I wrote SIXTEEN web pages today?  Or that my cabinets are the most beautiful gems of organization or that my dining room light practically sparkles?  The rest of the house is “clean enough,” and we’ll get more of the deeper cleaning accomplished Friday morning when we get ready for the party.

So what are the secrets to my productivity the past few days?  Well, I’ve given it some thought, and these are some of the things that have helped.  Take what you can and leave the rest:

1. Priority Determines Capacity - I cancelled some appointments and focused my energy on the things that really need to be done.  And no, Pinterest doesn’t really need to be done.
2. I moved my laptop back into the office.  I don’t watch TV or anything when I’m working on the couch, but I really do feel more like I’m working and not like work is interrupting potential lounging time if I’m at my desk and not on the couch.
3. The Amazing Amanda - She has bailed me out with several posts on times when I just wouldn’t have been able to get to it.  I hope she doesn’t mind being paid back with a Pinterest scarf rather than money.  Because this blog, as she has discovered, ain’t a paying gig.
4. Beela and Papa – Bear’s grandparents, as always, have stepped up to care for Bear when I just absolutely had to have more time to work.
5. Bear himself – My goodness, that little guy has been helpful.  He’s finally at an age where he wants to “help” me clean.  I give him the Swiffer and he goes to town.  I give him a dust rag and he wipes everything in sight.  I give him a spray bottle, and Hello, Dolly, it’s like he’s won a prize.  He has been patiently watching Disney movies and has been just as sweet as he can be this week.  I could not love that little boy any more or my heart would just absolutely burst into a million pieces.
6. Hot Husband – That handsome man took over Bear duties so I could work.  He ran to the store and picked up milk, taking Bear with him, when I mentioned we were running low.  He took over bedtime, reading to Bear, so I could work.  Bless his heart, he’s so exhausted from his long days at work during conference week, that when he rocked the Bear to sleep, he rocked himself to sleep.
7. Flat Out Panic – I’ve been so stressed that I won’t be able to get everything done before the end of the month (read:  by deadlines and in time to put on this month’s invoices and before guests arrive for the party) that I’ve been working like a madwoman to get it all done.  The sheer terror I’ve felt has really motivated me to get a lot accomplished.  Tomorrow is going to be another challenging day, but I feel confident that, even if I don’t get it all done, I’ll be close enough that none of my clients are annoyed with me.

I Hate Housework Challenge Day 1 (and Other Assorted Stuff)

// September 27th, 2011 // No Comments » // Life in General, Organization, Time Management, Work at Home

I cannot thank the Amazing Amanda enough for her guest posts on the Nix9to5 blog.  I’m pretty sure that without her, I’d already be lapsing on posts.  I’m telling you,  I don’t know how she manages to have time to make and implement all these ideas with her boys.  I mean, it takes me weeks to even round up the supplies, much less start and finish a project.  (True story:  I decided to knit a baby blanket for the Bear when I found out I was pregnant.  I just found it in my closet.  It is exactly half finished.  Bear will be three in a little over a month.)

As far as getting things accomplished, this week is going to be CRAZY.  I have to finish all of my work projects before the end of the month for billing, and I just took on another project for a client.  I asked him if I could start it next week, but he needs it sooner, so I’ll be shuffling priorities and working extra late to make sure I get it all done.  By the end of the week, I need to write about 32 pages, 18 social media updates, and 9 product descriptions.  That doesn’t count any Nix9to5 posts or a few other pages that I should get done this week, but are secondary to the other bazillion projects (give or take).  I also have an all-day business meeting/work group on Saturday.

Oh, and did I mention that I’m throwing an 80′s themed birthday party for Hot Husband this weekend?  I’m not saying how old he will be, but it rhymes with schmorty.

I’ve already cancelled on appointment for the week, and I’ve already called in Babysitting Reinforcements in the form of Beela and Papa today.  Still, I’m not sure how it will all manage to get done.

In the midst of all this, I have officially begun my I Hate Housework Challenge.  I didn’t manage to get everything done–kitchen cabinets are still cluttered, and I didn’t sweep the floor, but I did at least buy new Swiffer cloths to help in this endeavor.  We went out to dinner tonight for an early birthday dinner for HH, so there weren’t too many dishes to load/unload, but my sweet HH did it anyway, even though it was his BIRTHDAY DINNER.  (Note:  If I did dishes on my birthday dinner night, I would pout about it.  Just so you know.)    I did, however, make the beds, sort the mail by taking care of what needed attention and trashing the junk mail immediately, tidy the living areas, and straighten and organize a bathroom (which wasn’t on the list).  And yesterday, I took the master bath and cleaned it so well that it turned into an all day ordeal.  You should come look in my linen closet and under my sinks.  Gorgeous.

Anyway, I’ve got work to do, a party to plan, and a house to clean before I pick up Bear from Mothers’ Day Out in a few hours.  This week is going to be busy, but it sure should prove to be productive!

I HATE Housework: Free e-Course

// September 23rd, 2011 // No Comments » // Life in General, Organization

http://vanchick.files.wordpress.com/

My struggle with maintaining a clean and tidy home while simultaneously raising a rambunctious toddler and working as a freelance writer is well documented.  During the past year, I’ve juggled my tasks poorly and don’t feel like I accomplished any of them to my full potential.  This second year seems to be improving–I’m not (as) behind on writing tasks, I have more time to play with and learn with the Bear, and my house . . . well.  It’s still a mess.  A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about taking Baby Steps to organization, and there has definitely been some improvement in all areas.  The house IS tidier, clean laundry isn’t left waiting to be folded and put away (at least, not for quite as long) and I’m getting more accomplished each day.

Still.  Overall, things aren’t running as smoothly as I’d like them to.  While I’m getting closer and closer, I still haven’t found or developed the system that seems to work the best for me.  Most of the “housecleaning checklists” I’ve found are way too comprehensive.  I’m not ready to dust the corners of my attic just yet.  For now, I’d like a system that helps me get dried toddler food off my kitchen floor without daily mopping.

Who am I kidding?  I’d settle for getting the bed made every day.

“But, Nicci,” you say.  ”Making your bed takes, like, 30 seconds.”  I know, right?  And yet it never manages to get done.  So how do I find a program or strategy that helps me develop a routine, a habit, of accomplishing all these 30 second tasks each day without it turning into a full on marathon cleaning session?  Or worse, allow me to get distracted enough to start cleaning closets, which we all know requires an entire vacation to accomplish adequately?

I Google it, of course.

As I turned to the Magic of the Interwebs to solve my housecleaning/organizational problem, I kept encountering the same thing as before.  Too.  Much.  Cleaning.  I mean, I’d love to spit shine my baseboards and all, but first, I need to fight the army of giant dust bunnies that has set up a impenetrable perimeter around the walls.

And then I found this:  The I HATE Housework free e-course.  Now, I know you can get daily emails from a bunch of different sources, notably The Fly Lady, but she wants me to put on my shoes even if I’m not leaving the house, and that, my friends, will not stand.

For the life of me, I cannot remember which site led me to the I HATE Housework e-course, but I do remember that the writer made it sound like something lazy normal people can accomplish in 35 days–with or without appropriate footwear.  I headed right over to MomChats and signed up for the email.

Right away, I began receiving daily emails with tasks to accomplish.  Over the course of the 35 day Housework Challenge, I should be able to establish cleaning routines that don’t take up all my free time, and I should be able to have a house that is clean enough to be presentable to mourners in case of my untimely demise. (Quote from my mother as I was growing up:  ”What if I die and people come over and see the house like this?!”)

Now.  I haven’t actually BEGUN the Housework Challenge yet.  It says it’s designed to start on a Monday, and since I signed up mid-week . . . well, that was just the perfect excuse to procrastinate.  However, I’ve created a folder in my email account and named it “Housework Challenge,” as the first I HATE Housework email suggested.  Now I can begin the challenge whenever I want, and I can revisit it any time my good intentions lapse and I find myself needing to rekindle my housekeeping efforts.

When I DO actually begin the I HATE Housework challenge on Monday, my first task is to begin implementing the daily chores.  These are as follows:

• Make the beds as soon as you get out of them.  What?!  Do I have to?!  Isn’t just getting out of it enough?
• Sweep the floor. This seemed a little much to me, but with the constant kitchen mess of the Bear, probably not a bad idea.  I’m going to cheat and Swiffer or vacuum, though.
• Clean off the kitchen table and countertops.  Ours are a catch-all for whatever we bring in the house.  Drives me nuts, but I’m as guilty as anyone.  Must nag talk to Hot Husband about this.
• Load/unload dishwasher.  This is, typically, Hot Husband’s job (*swoon*).  I could help out here, though.
• Tidy the living areas.  Not clean.  Tidy.   As in the “10 second tidy” type of clean up.  Pick up stuff and put it where it goes.  NOT on the kitchen counter.
• Sort mail and toss junk mail immediately.  The I HATE Housework challenge says if you don’t have time to sort it, leave it in the mailbox.

The SAHM Experiment: One Woman’s View

// September 21st, 2011 // No Comments » // Family, Work at Home

Yesterday, a headline from Huffington Post grabbed my attention:  ”An Experiment in Being a SAHM (Stay-at-Home-Mom).”  The article was about what it was like for a career woman, couples mediator and best-selling author Laurie Puhn, to spend a few days in the life of a stay at home mom.  I’ll give this to her, she calls it like it is.  Puhn calls being a SAHM the hardest job there is, and she relates the horror of trying to grocery shop with an infant and toddler–something many of you do expertly.

Image from http://www.superstock.co.uk

Instead of reading my summary of the article, I’d like to to take a few minutes to read the article itself.  Go on.  I’ll wait.

Okay.  What do you think?  In reading the comments below the article, I heard people describe how self-centered Puhn is for thinking that being a SAHM is difficult.  Really?  Are these SAHMs blissfully happy all the time?  I’ll tell you this, I would not trade being at home with my son for anything.  But it is hard work.  Sometimes, I’m tired.  Sometimes, I’m cranky.  Admitting to being tired and cranky does not mean that I’m not a good mother, or that I am selfish.  It’s just a fact, and I think most WAHMs and SAHMs would agree with me that sometimes our work is challenging.  Anything worthwhile is.

I think one thing that particularly rang true for me was when Puhn wrote about having a hard time keeping up with the housework.  When I first started working from home, I couldn’t figure out why keeping the house clean was so difficult.  I was bemoaning the fact that, when I worked outside the home, I was able to keep the house clean, but once I was actually at home more, it became nearly impossible.  I was so confused and frustrated until Auntastic, bless her, pointed out that when I was working outside the home, Bear was in child care, and neither one of us was home to mess it up.  There were no lunch dishes, there were no toys out of the playroom, there were no Play-Doh crumbs strewn across the kitchen table.  That explains it.

One think I would say to the author (besides, “Thank you!”) is that a few days really isn’t enough time to decide if being a SAHM is right for you.  After more than a year of staying at home with my son, I’m still trying to figure out the best routine for work, play, cleaning, and everything else we do in a day.  She wouldn’t ALWAYS have to take the kids to the store with her–frankly, I almost never take the Bear grocery shopping with me.  She wouldn’t ALWAYS have emergency doctor visits–thankfully, for us those are extremely rare.   And with time, she’d find routines that made all of her tasks, disruptions, and meltdowns manageable.

Yes, being a WAHM is difficult.  It’s also one of the biggest blessings of my life.  You just can’t go into it with the illusion that everything will be perfect.  It won’t be.  But it will be worth it.

What are your thoughts on “An Experiment in Being a SAHM (Stay-at-Home-Mom)?”

What a Crock!

// September 19th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cooking, Time Management

I’ve shared with you before my love of the crock pot as a lifesaving timesaving tool for busy moms–WAHMs, SAHMs, and WOHMs alike.  Obviously, I’m not alone in my belief that a slow cooker is integral to being able to prepare a hot meal for one’s family while still managing all of the other Mom Tasks one must accomplish.  In just a couple of days, the Crock Pot Girls went from a brand new Facebook page to having over a million fans (by comparison, Nix9to5 has been up for a year and a half, and I’m up to 245 fans.  Holla.).  If you haven’t heard of Crock Pot Girls, I can only assume that this is your first time using the internet EVER, and in that case, I’m wondering how you found my page.  Welcome.

Anyway, I was wondering what it would be like if I cooked dinner for a week only using recipes from Crock Pot Girls.  Not such a crazy venture when you look at Stephanie O’Dea’s Crockpot365, in which she used her slow cooker every day for a year (by the way–awesome recipes there, too).

Anyway, I’ve made two recipes in the last few days that I found on Crock Pot Girls.  Following are the recipes, my tweaks, and my reviews.  For the record, I’m posting the recipes EXACTLY as I copied them from the Crock Pot Girls discussion board. (more…)

Guest Post: Feeding a Family for $400 a Month?

// September 17th, 2011 // No Comments » // Budget, Money Matters, Work at Home

Feeding a Family for $400 a Month?
by Tawra Kellam
http://www.LivingOnADime.com

Tawra Kellam, editor of LivingOnADime.com , does something that most people think they can’t do today. She feeds her family of 6 for $400 a month.Most people say that’s an impossible feat but what’s even more impressive is that she does it without using coupons.

How does she do it? First, Tawra says, “I use what I have. If I don’t have milk in the house, I don’t make a special trip to the store for it. The kids won’t die from malnutrition if they miss drinking milk for a day or two. If I’m out of bread, I’ll make some cornbread or muffins. If I’m out of fresh veggies, I will use canned or frozen instead. Stop going to the store for one or two things. I shop for food 2-3 times a month and that’s it.”

Shop the clearance sections. ”I regularly find milk on clearance for $1.75 a gallon. My store marks the milk down a few days before the “sell by” date. The great part is that milk stays fresh for 1 week after it’s opened. I just throw several in the freezer and then I don’t have to make a special trip for milk. Just thaw, shake and serve.”

Purchase meat only on sale or on clearance. Again, butchers mark down their meat a day or two before the “sell by” date. Generally, meat is good for 3-4 days after the “sell by” date in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer. Tawra says “I never buy meat unless it’s on sale for $1.99 or less a pound. If it’s not on sale, we don’t eat it. You can get some great unadvertised deals just by watching the meat counter’s clearance items. I found 5 lb. rolls of hamburger for $2.95 each after New Year’s Day. Of course we stocked up and will have enough hamburger to last 6 months. I can get “soup bones” with enough meat on them to make a great vegetable stew for under $2.00 for the entire family! Add some rolls and you have a complete meal for 6 for less than $3.00. When chicken is on sale for under $2.00 per pound, I stock up. I do this with all my meats. This way we can always have a variety of meats.”

Ask. Most people are intimidated by asking, but Tawra regularly asks when things will go on sale or be marked down. By asking, she found out that bananas, milk and meat are marked down each morning. She tries to shop in the mornings to get the best deals. She says, “When we lived in another state, they marked things down in the evening so that’s when we went shopping. Adjust your shopping times to find the best deals.”

Serve your family proper portions of food. ”Most parents give their kids way too much milk, juice and soda. My kids get soda on special occasions only. They eat milk with their cereal. For snacks, they eat a piece of string cheese, fruit or one or two cookies. The kids don’t sip on milk or juice all day long. They drink water and are just fine with it. As a general rule, I try to give them one vegetable and one fruit for lunch and dinner and then a piece of fruit with cookies or cheese as a snack. This gets their “five a day” in very easily. Stop letting kids just “graze” on chips and other snack food all day. My kids get one small “bowl” of chips a day and that’s it.”

So what do the Kellams eat? Tawra shares some of their menus with us:

• Slow cooked roast, brown gravy, onions, carrots, potatoes, buttermilk muffins and a fruit plate

  (The next day, the leftovers from the roast are used as BBQ beef along with potato salad, green beans and strawberries or grapes.)

• Pizza (homemade), tossed salad and fruit
• Maple glazed chicken, scalloped potatoes, glazed carrots, applesauce and dinner rolls
• Sloppy Joes, cucumbers and tomatoes
• Tacos, refried beans, green beans, sliced apples and tortilla chips w/ honey

With savvy shopping, you too can cut your grocery bill even when prices are going up!

Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam are frugal living experts and the authors of the Dining On A Dime Cookbook. Dining On A Dime will help you save money on groceries and get out of debt by cooking quick and simple homemade meals. For free tips & recipes visit http://www.LivingOnADime.com , sign up for our free Living On A Dime Newsletter and learn to save more!

“Priority Determines Capacity”

// September 13th, 2011 // No Comments » // Balance, Time Management

I joined a Mom’s Group that began today.  The first class talked about time management and priorities, which, if you’ve ever read this blog before, you know I need.  The lesson today didn’t teach me anything new or earth-shattering, but it certainly put things into a perspective I could understand.

To begin the class, we watched a video from Andy Stanley‘s “Time of Your Life” series.  In this video, Stanley gave a demonstration of how when we prioritize correctly, all of those things we think we don’t have time for suddenly seem to fit.  I wanted to share a clip of the video with you, but I couldn’t find it.   I did, however, find another blog that had its own pictures of the demonstration, so I’m going to share them with you (providing attribution and hoping that the author doesn’t mind me sharing with you). (more…)

Finding Writing Jobs for WAHMs

// September 12th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Opportunities, Work at Home

Since I’ve become a freelance writer working from home, there are two main questions I get about my job:

1. What’s that?
2. How can I do that?

To be a freelance writer, you must have a strong grasp of grammar, spelling, vocabulary–in other words, you have to be a good writer.  You must have an engaging voice and be able to adapt your writing style to the needs of the client.  If you can’t write, don’t like to write, or don’t know how to wield a semicolon, then perhaps writing is not going to be an effective moneymaker for you.  You may think that editors can catch your errors and “fix” your writing, but in a freelance gig, your clients are paying you to do it right.  If they wanted to run everything by an editor, they’d have an intern do all their writing for free.

If you are a good writer, the next step is finding someone who will pay you to write. (more…)

Baby Steps

// September 9th, 2011 // No Comments » // Organization, Time Management, Work at Home

Yesterday Bear finally started back to Mothers’ Day Out.  I was a little nervous taking him, even though he went last year.  As the summer wore on and we spent so much time together, I was he was starting to get a little bit clingy, and I was afraid I he might get a little upset when I dropped him off.  He is definitely a big talker and can narrate his entire day when he’s with me, but when he’s in groups, like Sunday School or Mothers’ Day Out, he tends to get shy and quiet.  I was worried that I was sending my little vocabu-monster into a world where he becomes a silent observer.  Fortunately, when I dropped him off, he gave me a huge, cuddly hug, then turned around and looked at his teacher with a big grin on his face, and just went be-bopping through the classroom door before I could even finish saying good-bye.

Guess I didn’t need to worry.  When I picked him up, his teacher used words like “so good,” and “angel,” and “perfect,” to describe my little Bear, and all I could think was, “How well she knows him already.”  I swear, that boy is going to make  his poor mama’s heart just burst with pride and love.

Now that Bear is back in Mothers’ Day Out a couple of days a week, I’m ready to get myself back into a routine. I’ve been doing a much better job of budgeting time for work and been doing a lot less procrastinating.  On the other hand, I have nothing in the freezer, haven’t worked out since I got pregnant (well, maybe once or twice), and my house is a cluttered mess.  I also have a lot of housecleaning projects I’d like to get taken care of in addition to the normal stuff.

My plan is to try do find a way to schedule a little bit each day, reserving MDO days for big work days.  I’m  not sure how I’m going to make that all work, yet, but I guess it will just be trial and error.

We did get a new gym membership, and while that may seem a little silly considering my old gym membership has not yet expired (not that I’ve been going anyway), the new one is practically across the street.  Saving about 40 minutes of total drive time from heading to the gym should really help by eliminating an excuse.  Plus, who’s got an extra 40 minutes to waste in the car?  Not me, that’s who.

For my work organization, I’ve been scheduling my projects on a monthly calendar, then breaking them down by daily tasks.  I’m able to see at a glance when my standing deadlines are each week, and my evolving projects I can break down by day into manageable tasks.  I haven’t perfected this yet–I still  have a tendency to overschedule and underproduce on many days–but it’s getting closer and I am getting more accomplished.

As for housekeeping, I still haven’t found a schedule or  that I like for cleaning the house, and I haven’t been crazy about any of the ones that I have come up with.  I tried the FlyLady routine, but my heavens, that woman is out of control.  It was too much for me to think about, and even her baby steps wore me out (Seriously?  Shoes every day?  No.  I don’t think so.).  I’d like something that gives me one or two tasks a day with a day off for random projects, and I’d like something efficient.  I mean, is it better to do all the floors one day, dust another, clean windowsills another, or is it better to do a whole room each time?  Room-by-room, or job-by-job?  What do you think?  Have you come up with–or found–a routine or schedule you like?  If so, I’d love to hear it.