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Change Your Attitude, Change Your Life

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Although it is only August 25th, it feels like the start of a new year for millions of families with children heading off to school. Even if you don’t have children yet or yours are grown and out of the house all the advertisements and news on the TV reminds us.

This is a good time to take stock of your attitude towards home organization and routines. During summer have you found house cleaning more of a chore that takes time away from playtime? Have you eased up on daily routines with your children because of lack of schedules? With the start of school and end of summer are you having a hard time shifting gears and feel overwhelmed?

It’s time for a fresh start and a new attitude. Look at cleaning your home as a blessing for you and your family. You are creating a clean and clutter free environment so everyone, including yourself, can accomplish homework or work, enjoy creative activities, or just relax as a family.

When you decide to clear out some of the clutter look at your unused items and think how you can bless other people by giving them a chance to use them. Sell or donate the items.

When you take the time to plan, shop and cook nutritious foods you are blessing yourself and family by helping everyone try to stay healthy.

So when you have something you have to do but dread it, think of how you can change your attitude towards it. In other words, find the silver lining in the chore and it will become easier to do. Flylady always talks about changing your attitude from looking at something as a chore to looking at it as a blessing. This kind of attitude will make any chore as something you want to do instead of dreading it.

Take the start of the new school year and change of seasons as a time for a fresh attitude. It can change your life from dreading and procrastinating chores to doing them with a smile on your face. That can set a good example for your whole family. They won’t want to miss out on the fun and will be happy to help you.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://facebook.com/CutClutterWithScissors

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

 

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Back to School Tips

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I sent out a newsletter yesterday that had a lot of links to help you set up routines to get the school year started on the right foot. For all those readers that are not signed up to receive the newsletter I am posting it on today’s blog post. To receive future newsletters in your email box, please sign up on the right sidebar.

Decluttering Tips Newsletter
Volume 1, Issue 13

Back To School Time
As I hear the school bus pick up the children at the corner of my street I am reminded that many schools are already in session. My youngest is away at college in his last year so I tend to lose track of the start of school days for younger children.

Some schools haven’t started yet so those parents are still in the back to school shopping mode. One reader, Sue, had some back to school shopping tips I wasn’t aware of. The main one was that some schools do not allow solid fabric backpacks or book bags. Since it has been awhile since my children were in the elementary and secondary schools the safety rules have changed. Some schools that are in high risk areas are more strict on what is allowed on school grounds. If you are not aware of these rules, which also include dress codes, you should contact your children’s’ school for a list of them. It could save you from buying things that are not allowed and the hassle of having to return them. It can also prevent arguments with your children if it is school rules and not just your rules on not allowing your children to have certain clothes or other items.

Whether your children have already started classes or about to now is the time to set up routines to make this transition a lot smoother. The Flylady web site (http://FlyLady.net) has a great control journal just for students. It will teach your children to take responsibility to follow routines that will help them learn to take care of themselves.

Here are some other sites for you to check out ideas on how to prepare your children and yourself for the upcoming school year. Work on keeping your children’s routines as simple as possible. That will help reduce the emotional clutter and keep them and you from being overwhelmed.

http://www.familycorner.com/homegarden/organize/back_to_school.shtml

http://holidays.kaboose.com/back-to-school/

http://www.nasponline.org/resources/home_school/b2shandout.aspx

http://childcare.about.com/od/behaviors/bb/backtoschool.htm

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/schoolage/going_back_to_school.html

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice Scissors

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com
http://facebook.com/CutClutterWithScissors

 

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Back to School Shopping

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Many states are having the “School Tax Holiday” this weekend. If your state participates then you will want to take advantage of it especially if you are in need of a big ticket item like a computer.

This week’s Decluttering Tips Newsletter has suggestions on how to take advantage of these tax savings. You don’t want to buy more than you need because the extras can easily end up as clutter. If you haven’t signed up to receive this newsletter then please do so on the right sidebar. I will be sure to send out a copy to anyone who signs up in the next couple of days.

If you are already signed up to receive the newsletter then please check your inbox.

Back to school shopping can be exciting or stressful. Planning ahead and writing down what you need to buy will help reduce the stress. It’s important to keep children enthusiastic about going to school. Their whole future depends it.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

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July 4th Fun

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July 4th is this weekend and there are many fun and safe ways to celebrate. If you didn’t receive my July newsletter then you can check it out on this blog. It’s located on the sidebar under Newsletters. I have included lots of links to sites that can give you ideas of how to celebrate this holiday with your children.

If you are having a barbeque with the traditional hot dog and baked beans then there are lots of recipes for you to try. Ice cream and/or watermelon for dessert are also summer time favorites.

If you are getting ready to send your children off to overnight camp then check out the best way to pack them up.

Planning a vacation this month? Then make sure you pack everything you need and not one thing more. Many airlines are charging for each piece of luggage now so you don’t want to take any extra suitcases if you don’t have to. Check out the July newsletter for ideas of what and how to pack light.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

P.S. Be sure to sign up for the for the weekly Decluttering Tips Newsletter and the monthly Organize Newsletter. One sign up for both newsletters. Sign up now so you don’t miss out on all the great tips and information!

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Staying Organized When Chaos Reigns

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Last week was one of those weeks where my plans were thrown out the window and I had to deal with some minor and not so minor emergencies.

First my dishwasher went out on Tuesday morning. The water inlet valve broke so there was water in the bottom of the dishwasher. I shut off the water from under the sink and scooped out the water from inside the dishwasher. I checked it later in the day and the water had filled in again. The shut-off valve under the sink had corroded and continued to let a little water through. The plumber couldn’t come out till the next day so I scooped water out of the dishwasher twice a day so it wouldn’t overflow onto the floor. Minor problem.

Wednesday morning the air conditioner went out. Being that St. Louis can get very hot and humid this time of year, this was a little bit more than a minor inconvenience. So I waited for the plumber to show up to stop the leak and started calling to set up some bids for the A/C replacement. Because the A/C was 20 years old and the furnace was 16 years old I was prepared for this to happen. I just didn’t plan for it the same week the dishwasher broke and my husband was out of town.

Then I had a health issue come up on Thursday evening that I have to deal with. As they say, when it rains, it pours.

Well I now have air conditioning. The plumber had a problem with installing the new dishwasher and will have to return with a part next week. Oh well, my hands work well as a dishwasher. At least it is comfortable in the house now.

As you can see I have been a little too busy to write any posts this week. We all have crazy things happen to us and have to prioritize what we do with our time. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when so many things go haywire at one time. But we have to stop, take a deep breath, and realize it will all work out.

As Annie sings in the play “Annie”; “The sun’ll some out tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that the tomorrow there’ll be sun!” I always think of this song when things get me down. Here is a recording of the song.

I plan on getting my “Decluttering Tip Newsletter” out tonight and the July issue of “Organize By The Month News” by this coming Sunday. If you haven’t signed up for these newsletters then please do so now. (On the right sidebar) There are lots of links in the Organize newsletter for fun things to do on the Fourth of July. You won’t want to miss this issue.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

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