The Productive Mom

Martha Stewart's Home Office Products Now at Staples!

Guess what's hit the shelves at Staples?  Martha Stewart's latest venture - Home Office Supplies!  I happened to be at Staples today taking advantage of their 25% rebate on all purchase promotion (yay!) and saw the shelves full of organization gems and had to restrain myself from picking up one of everything.

According to the announcement on Martha Stewart's blog today,

These exciting products are made by Avery Dennison Corp. and there are hundreds of items from binders and accessories; to journals and notebooks; to labels, tags, and bands; to sticky notes and note tabs; to filing systems; to dry-erase decals; to Stack+Fit™ desk accessories.

Here's what came home with me,

The small format binders in Shagreen (a faux croc tiffany-bluish cover) - I am planning to use these as mini scrapbook albums.

The 1-, 2-, and 4-pocket sheet protectors in clear.  Both in the small format size and in letter size. - So easy to trim down photos and just slide them into the protectors.  Journaling cards fit too!

In typical Martha Stewart style, the colors are classic and subtle and have small touches that gives it an extra touch.  For example, I use page protectors for all sorts of use - to organize important documents, display frequently-used menus, to house recipes, file articles in my inspiration binder, and to scrapbook.  But the extra touch I love with the page protectors from the Martha Stewart line?  These top flaps!

Once I saw these I knew I was going to be able to use these right out of the box to hold my stamps and embellishments.  (Today, I sew the compartments into a standard 8-1/2 X 11 (letter-sized) page protector so they will stay in place.)

I went to my trusty stash of letter-sized kraft cardstock (purchased in bulk from the paper manufacturer) and trimmed the sides down to 8.25" then cut two 5.25" X 8.25" backing pages to stiffen the page and to use as a support for the stamps and embellishments.  It was so ZEN to see my current stash organized in minutes!

Some of the other things that caught my eye,

      

X Bands - Not sure how easy these are to use but intrigued by how convenience this could be for some of my work folders.

No-Iron Clothing Labels - Perfect for my kids' coats, swim and gym clothes, and extra sets of clothing sent to daycare or the school.

Dry Erase Labels - Label once and feggeddaboutit.

Tips for Living Green

 
Furoshiki Chart courtesy of the Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan. 
Click to go to download site.

I had the pleasure a long while back of joining in the chat session with Annabelle Gurwitch of the Show Wa$ted on the topic of “Saving Money While Living Green With”.  On the grand scale of being a Green Mom and promoting green living and habits within my family I would say that I am a novice but all good intentions are there.  Some of the things we have done in the last 2 years:

Installed ceiling fans in the upstairs bedrooms – we have not had to turn on the air-conditioner until a couple days ago.  We've REALLY wanted not to this entire summer but we caved into this insane heatwave this year.  But bearing with the heat for about 2 hours in the evening has been manageable.

Utilizing the recycling program in our city by separating our recycleable items and setting them out for pick-up on trash day

Reducing our kitchen paper towels usage by buying a Costco packet of cloth kitchen towels and using those where possible and just throwing them in the wash when we have enough for a load

Using environmentally-friendly clothes detergent.

Purchasing reusable snack bags for the girls’ and my lunch snacks, reducing our use of Ziploc bags.  Also using plastic containers a lot more for marinated meats than Ziploc bags.

Continue to drive our small cars despite having a family of 5 (my mother-in-law lives with us) – you should see us on Saturday evenings when we all squeeze into my car to head to church – definitely a bonding experience.

As our lightbulbs are wearing out, I am purchasing CFL options.  Home improvement stores are really marking these down now to encourage them to use it.  It puzzled me because growing up in Singapore, we all used CFL lights.

Some of the other tips that came out of the chat that I found helpful,

FOOD CHOICES

"Most important is organic milk for kids, if you can’t afford organic milk, go for skim milk because the pesticides seem to gather in the fat. The same is true with meat, if you can’t afford organic the leaner the meat, the less pesticides."

"Spending your money first on organic fresh foods like produce, milk and dairy. If you buy processed foods like crackers, chips and cookies then organic becomes less important."

"Highest level of pesticides: apples, pears, peaches, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, sweet bell peppers.  Lowest levels: bananas, citrus fruits, mango, avocado."

"Here's something I've noticed with organic foods: when it's truly in season, organic sometimes costs the same as conventional. Strawberries are a good example."

"The U.S. Dept. of Ag estimates that people throw away 30% of the food they buy (think of that old spaghetti rotting in the back of the fridge). People complain they can't afford organic food, but if they managed what they bought, they could easily afford organics."

ENERGY SAVINGS

"Window film is a very inexpensive way to help lower your energy costs by providing insulation and also blocking the sun. It's inexpensive, easy to install, I recommend that it'll save you a lot of money."

"Another great strategy was changing the light bulbs. We cut 60% of our electricity bill associated with lighting by going all CFL/LED."

"Another great suggestion: plug computers and other electronics into power strips you can easily turn on and off; reduce amount of energy they use by 25% or more."

BUYING WISELY

"Does your child really need a new back-pack every year? How about buying gently used clothes from the thrift or consignment store instead of brand new? Can you re-use school supplies from last year?"

"Fabric wrappers - seriously - invest in them - they are so pretty and fun and you don't have to buy wrapping paper ever again!" 

"I made us ours and I love it! We have used them or several years. For now we only use them for gifts that stay inside the house (i.e. for my kids birthday, our christmas presents, etc). It's awesome. There are so many pretty ones on-line and even if you have basic sewing skills you can make your own!"

"I do gift bags for people outside the family (hoping they will reuse those) with tulle instead of tissue paper. (If you aren't sure, tulle is like what tu-tu's are made of). I don't know if people actually reuse them or not, but everyone thinks using tulle is very elegant and pretty so it's got a bonus there too! LOL!"

"I save money by swapping used books. I use paperbackswap.com where you pay only shipping. But I also frequent my friends of library sales for books. you can usually find pretty recent books. Since I don't have as much time to read as I like, I don't mind waiting to read bestsellers. http://www.bookmooch.com for book swapping. There you can get "credits" for posting books as well as "mooching" from one another."

I posed a concern to the panel of experts about the amount of packaging materials we throw away,

“OK so I *feel* that we're doing a little here and there in our household, that over time, has helped us incorporate green living into our routine. But there is one aspect that does not seem to be improving and that is the amount of packaging-related trash we put out every week. If it can be recycled, we do, but the sheer volume of the amount put out to be recycled itself is disconcerting. Any tips/insights to this?”

Diane Mac Definitely buying in bulk rather than single servings; buying concentrates (esp. for cleaning products); using reusable baggies for loose produce....

Renee Limon Hi ProductiveMom. Over at EnviroMom we ran a campaign called One Can a Month, and we walked through a house room by room, looking at ways to Reduce and Reuse, to minimize all that packaging. It's archived, so check it out. Stick with your slow approach and do what you can when it fits your family.

Heather Hawkins Start small, baby steps. Look at what you are throwing away and tackle one at a time. Mostly food packaging? Is there one thing, like individual string cheese for instance, that you can stop buying and instead get a large block of cheese? Is it toy packaging? Take advantage of garage sale season and start stocking up now?

In addition to the helpful information I received, I also won one of the four books  up for grabs titled "You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up",

 

which was co-authored by Annabelle and her writer-actor husband Jeff Kahn (Curb Your Enthusiasm, and he won an Emmy for scripting The Ben Stiller Show) .  I cannot wait to read it as they are both so hilarious!

Here's a review of the book from Washinton Post as well.

The Productive Mom's One Little Word for 2011 - PREPARE

 
My word for 2011 is actually going to be the same for 2010.  The word is PREPARE.  I have experienced the benefits of constantly referring to it in 2010 and would like to carry over that positive momentum into 2011.  Basically, this entails thinking about the day/week/month/year ahead and noting down any preparatory-type things that can be done ahead and doing so, or adding extra time to prepare before each event.  Our family has some things that are already pre-planned and I (we) have made some strides this year in preparing for things ahead of time (e.g., packing the diaper bag WAY before leaving the house, planning for a week’s worth of meals, and adding an extra 20 minutes to our usual “get-ready-to-go-out-start-time”) but in many cases, we still find ourselves rushing and at times short on the reflective time pre- and post- event that allows us to have a more peaceful vibe around our lives.

I further focused on two aspects of PREPARE into Family and Friends.  These are the two areas of my life that I want to always focus on so it is just a natural extension to start there.

Starting tomorrow, I embark on a new exciting position at my day job which will require us to tighten the morning routine so I can drop off our younger daughter in daycare and still get to work on-time without rushing.  I was able to identify many things that I can prep the night before or even the weekend before, and I know there’s more that will come to me through the year.  For example,

• Lunch notes for my older daughter – I already preprint blank ones but I can easily write these the night before (more reflective messages) as well.
• Packing non perishables in the lunchbag ahead of time – I try to pack my lunch daily and we pack my older daughter’s lunch daily so we can lay out our bags and non perishable items in there the night before
• Laying out clothes for everyone the night before
• Scheduling the replenishment cycles for diapers/wipes/school snacks on our end so we’re not rushing to bring stuff in last-minute. 

We also started using Cozi this year (an online calendar/list/task manager catering to families) and with both our schedules now in e-sync (versus paper-sync which was very unreliable), we can also schedule “prep” time on the calendar so everyone knows when to get started and their tasks.

I have failed miserably this year in terms of keeping in touch with family and friends.  So I am preparing to be better at this by,

• Blocking out a day to write and send out birthday cards for the entire month ahead.
• Committing to calling my family overseas at-minumum once every two weekends and doing a web cam session every two months – this might seem a little to others but my family in Singapore stays very busy (maybe it’s genetics!) and this schedule has to be considerate of their busy schedules and our 12-hour difference as well.
• Making a standing lunch appointment on the calendar with friends.

I really like how the one little word effort is more about making it a way of life, referring to it as a general frame of mind and then extending it through all facets of my life.  Even though I have two focus areas, I can use it in my day job and with my business as well.  What about you?  Do you have a One Little Word for 2011?  If no, consider putting some thought into starting this year. :o)

Why we have too few women leaders by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (via TED)

The School Lunch Dilemna

Laminated cotton (wipe-down-friendly!) lunch bag from Urban Harmonie Design
 
Now that Naia's in kindergarten and with her food allergies and the not-so-ideal lunch options in her school (which in chatting with other colleagues at work, is apparently not-to-bad in comparison to their school district *yikes!*), we find ourselves having to pack a school lunch for her every day.

Initially, it was working great.  But girlfriend is now developing these sudden aversion to certain foods on certain days, and since I am not there at the lunch table with her, she would just choose not to eat her lunch entree for the day.  Also, I feel like I am packing the same items in her lunch every few days.  Although she probably does not mind, I wanted to introduce more options and variety.

So when I heard that The Motherhood was hosting a chat on Kids, School, and Food, I logged on towards the tail-end (day job calleth) to see if other moms were going through what I was.  The full transcript is still online but here are some of the gems I collected from the chat,

Definitely check out One Hungry Mama's "The Only Back-To-School Lunch Post You’ll Need" blog post.

As well as this feed from Jennifer at Savoring the Thyme.

And although I don't think I could swing these weekly menus for a sustainable time frame (we started planning our meals for the week for both adults and kids and it has been a life- and money-saver), there are some nice ideas in Cooking with Z's feed of weekly menu plan and This Week for Dinner's weekly menus.

List of school lunch foods/ideas mentioned:

(Peanut butter sandwiches was mentioned many times so it's obvious alot of kids like it. But most of the conversation centered around moms asking for alternatives either because that seems to be all that their kids enjoy, or because their schools either do not allow kids to bring it in or discourages it.)

Carbs

• Pasta
• Mini pizzas on whole wheat english muffins
  (with a little bit of spinach, sauce and cheese)
• Homemade potato chips
• Whole wheat bagel with strawberry cream cheese
• Tortilla skins/wraps
• Crepes
• Waffles

Dairy

• Hard boiled egg
• String cheese
• Yogurt
• Milk

Vegetables

• Vegetable skewers
• Vegetables with dip (use a cookie cutter for fun)

Fruit

• Apples Slices + homemade applie chips
• Grapes
• Strawberries
• Bananas
• Dried cranberries


Snacks

• Kashi crackers
• Granola bars (need to find nut-free versions!)


Soup

• Butternut Squash Soup

So some new ideas to try that I think she might be open to and I am looking forward to adding them to next week's family menu!

Under-Sink Organization

A few weekends ago, I finally said, "enough is enough" and reorganize the space under my master bath sink. 

For some context, we do not have any freestanding storage in our Master bathroom and there’s only space under our his and hers sinks for storage of more commonly-used toiletries.

Anyway, I thought I would share the general approach I tend to take when tackling these organizational tasks.  It's Here’s the approach I took:

Assess the Space

I identified the key reasons as to why I could not keep the space better organized:

1. ME (of course I am the key culprit – owning up to it!)
2. The white wire baskets you see here on the right did not really do much for me. I could not access the second and third wire shelf easily and once I put bottles in front of it, it was worse.
3. I had too many lotions and potions I felt bad about throwing away.
4. There were toiletries that were there to have on-hand, but because I could not always keep track of how many were mixed into the mess, I’d end up buying more only to discover that they were under something else.

So based on the above, I knew that the wire baskets had to go, that I was going to have to make some brutal decisions on the keep vs toss pile, and that I needed a clear way to see what I had left of a type of product and that these different categories of products needed to stay separate.

Based on the above and the type of space I was working with (under the sink so use top-access storage options vs. front-access), I ended up switching out the hodge podge of baskets and small boxes with my current go-to containers.  You may have seen them on here before – these containers are semi-clear and their long shape allows me to reach the products closer to the front, without having to wonder what I have left in the back.  Perfect!

Clear and Clean the Space

So after all that “strategizing”, it was time to get down to the actual doing.  I removed all of the items and gave the inside a good cleaning.  Then I replaced the shelf liner with a fun marbling handmade paper. 

One of my BFFs gave me a whole set of recycled cotton papers and although I was at first hesitant about using this beautiful paper as a liner, I figured that since I access this space daily, that it would serve the purpose of making me smile just seeing that something pretty each time I open the cabinet.

Purge, Purge, Purge

I recognized a little bit of Hoarder’s Tendency happening here so I adopted an extremist attitude to not keeping the sample lotions or half-used and never-will-use-again products.  I mean really, I did not need 4 bottles of the same deep red nail polish!

By the time I was done, I had 2 plastic bags of packaging, expired products and duplicated but old items to throw away and a small brown bag of brand new products to gift to colleagues and friends.

*Insert moment of zen feeling here*

Sort into Categories

The leftover products went into the following categories,

OPEN CONTAINERS
Hair Products
Body and Facial Products
Cotton Products
Shaving Products
Hair Tools

CLOSED CONTAINERS
Pedicure Kit
Spa Kit
Travel Kit

Put Everything Back Together

I first labelled the bins and then before putting all the products in, I did a mock-arrangement with the empty bins to see what arrangement would work.  For instance, I knew that I wanted to place the hair tools closer to the front since I use it every morning. 

And that most of the on-hand products could be placed futher back since I did not need to access them often. 

 

Once that was established, I put the items into the designated bins and then sat back and enjoyed the view of an organized space.What do you think?  Was it a vast improvement? :o)

Right after, I felt so motivated that I purged the items on top of our sinks as well and so the entire area looked SO MUCH BETTER.  Now I look forward to walking into the area versus feeling stressed about it!  I am going to definitely try to allocate a few hours every other weekend to doing this around the house.

The Productive Mom Co-Hosting Live-Talk at TheMotherhood.com

I am so excited to announce that I am co-hosting a live talk session at TheMotherhood next Tuesday Oct. 12th, 2010 at 1:00pm EDT.  The live talk session is titled, "You Have More Time Than You Think" and will center around organization (or lack there of), our favorite tips and tricks, how we make time for ourselves and our own priorities.  We are so honored to have the author of "168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think", Laura Vanderkam as THE HOST of the session.

I downloaded the e-book from Amazon onto my Kindle for iPhone (free app!) and have been skimming through it as I can and it is such an easy read.  I liked how relevant it is to me, a full-time working mom of kids, running a side business, who has hobbies and who is engaged with her family. Though some of the advice like hiring help may not be as practical for those who cannot afford it.  However, the central theme of not focusing on increasing the quantity of things you can do but assigning only worthwhile things to your 168 precious hours should ring true regardless of your personal situation.

Joining me as co-Talk Experts,

Joy of Creative Momma

Holland of Life Simplified

Deborah of Apples in Wonderland and Indigo Jones Studio

Trisha of 24/7 Moms

Julie of Using My Words

Hope you can take the time to join Laura and all of us at TheMotherhood for this online text chat - it's a very welcoming group and is not overwhelming because it is a text chat. :o)

The Issue We All Face: Mom Guilt (via SimpleMom.net)

via simplemom.net

Brief but down-to-earth blog post covering how to let go of guilt that may be weighing us down.

Practical advice categorized by:

• When guilt is nestled in truth
• When guilt is brought on by unrealistic expectations
• When guilt is founded on things that don’t matter

Managing Paper Clutter - My Journey So Far

Did you know that my kryptonite is paper?  As in scraps of pretty paper, paperwork for the household, warranty papers, school artwork, scrapbook paper, permission slips, work benefits paperwork, inspiration tear-outs, coupons, mail, and the list goes on.  They overrun my office space and are usually the biggest offender for the chaotic-looking home office workspace.  Which is a pity since I have one foot in the paper goods business.  So this year I vowed to put a concerted effort into taking control of it.  It’s June now and although I still have weeks when the paper management process goes out the window, I am always able to recover from it, and overall, I am really motivated by how things are coming along so far.

What has helped me was having a two-step paper management approach.  First step was for me to think about the types of paper I get and set up a system for putting papers away when it first enters the house – it did not need to be a detailed sort because that was why they got dumped in stacks in the first place but I definitely needed to put papers in their rightful groupings from the start.  The second step was to get into the habit of using the 10-15 mins downtime throughout the day to sit through and further file the papers away by categories that makes sense.  Investing in some tools also helped motivate the change – for instance, making the leap into putting together a proper inspiration binder, complete with a high-quality binder, and page protectors per page, made a world of difference in reducing the hording of whole magazines or tear-out pages.

So if I had to choose the top 4 tools through this journey that I feel have been and continue to be indispensable to my journey to overcoming this handicap, I would pick the following,

(From Left to Right, Top to Bottom)

1. Multi-Purpose Bins
from The Container Store

This series of bins are my choice for Paper Organization Tool Discovery of the Year. They are really generic-looking clear storage bins. But what makes them special is that they can accommodate papers up to 12" (perfect for my scrapbooking papers and cardstock), are incredibly sturdy, and come in different widths. I use these to hold incoming magazines/books/papers by categories (To Read, For Inspiration Binder, Claims and Receipts) as well as the different prints from my business and when I need to weed through them and file them away, I just take the entire bin with me with no concerns that it will fall apart on me. The price is also right, I stocked up when they had a sale going on where each bin was an extra $1 - $1.50 off.


2. Home and Office Labeler (PT1290)
   from Brother

   The style and model of my labeler is no longer available but this is a close enough option. I have had mine for over 8 years now and it has been a great tool for me. I label my girls' water bottles, their clothing bins, our paper bins, our divided folders, pantry items, and memorabilia boxes, amongst many other things. Sure you can just write on a label and stick it on but the harmonized look and resilience of the tape and the ability to peel the tape off without damage to the surface beneath is worth the investment.
   

3. 3-Ring Page Protectors
   from We R Memory Keepers

   I buy these in bulk when they go on sale because I used them for my inspiration binders and to file key preschool papers/memorabilia that my girls bring home from school. I also purchase kraft cardstock in bulk as backing paper for magazine clippings that are smaller than the letter size. Imagine all of your papers neatly filed in a 3-ring binder and held in page protectors like these, organized by categories. Ahhhh . . . . .zen.
   

4. Hot Chocolate 13-Pocket Accordion Folder Circle Design
   from Carolina Pad

   These, together with the multi-purpose bins are my first-line of defense for incoming papers. Although this version I am listing here is definitely a prettier version of what I have today - I bought my plain white plastic accordion folders from the $1 bin at Target. :o) They are the perfect size to hold letter-sized administrative papers and business receipts by categories. I have had so-so experience with the accordion folder system before this year but by allocating a folder each to Home, School, and Business, and with greater than 10 pockets per folder (vs 5 with my previous attempts), the system is now working for me and I am able to file away and locate a piece of paperwork much more easily.

I will post more photos about the inspiration binders and incoming bins in a follow-up post.  In the meantime, I would love to hear from you about your journey to manage paper clutter - do it have it all under control?  Or are they tucked away in drawers and stacked on top of any flat surface you can find (a la Grace style)?

The Balance of Productivity and Living Life with Intention

If you’ve been reading blogs for a while – especially in the personal development sphere – you’ll have come across a lot of posts about productivity. There are entire blogs devoted to this subject: complete with tips, tricks, systems and hacks to help you become more productive.

via www.aliventures.com

Strong piece from Aliventures that I feel is in line with the theme of balancing being productive and living life with intention, a theme that I hope this blog will come to represent in time. I personally do not think these two elements are mutually exclusive. I enjoy being productive and living life with intention. Am I there yet? Some days I am. And other days I feel like a complete farce when someone gives me a high-five or a pat on the back and say, "I just don't know how you do it." But I like this journey and I think it's absolutely a journey of personal growth and awareness.