So here are a few crazy things from my life as a single mom of three this last week; 1) My children were reported to MY MOTHER by her friend (how old am I ?). Her friend felt the need to tell her that my two youngest children were late for school because they were outside splashing in puddles at a turtles pace walking to school. Yes, this is the same friend of my mother who caught me skipping out of school in 9th grade and felt the need to call her. OK that I understand but calling my mom ab... Read Full Story

Guest post by Paula Constable I love routines to help me make the most of my time. It’s about picking a day or time of day to do recurring tasks or activities. By doing this you take control and decide, based on what works best of you and your schedule, when you want to get stuff done. It’s all about having a game plan. Of course that plan can always be done away with when you are a mother, but I find it’s helpful to start with one; you can always adjust as needed. Here... Read Full Story

Guest Post by Paula Constable Think for a moment how your family starts off the day. How would you describe the mornings in your household? Do they tend to be calm and peaceful or rushed and stressful -or, somewhere in the middle? I found that planning ahead really helps to curb the morning madness. Here are nine quick ideas to help make your mornings less of production for you and your family. Tip #1: Get up 15-30 minutes before the kids. Give yourself time to get up and ready to go before ... Read Full Story

How do you keep your children’s schedules together ? It’s a constant juggling act! My main tool is a calendar. As soon as the kids bring home any kind of schedule (baseball, show choir, etc.), I transcribe the dates and times onto my family calendar. I also then tack the schedules on the bulletin board near the calendar, just in case I need to go back and double check the location of an event or need to call a coach. Do you use a particular day planner ? Nope. My “day planne... Read Full Story

This week’s featured almost always organized mom is Tara Reed. Mom, artist, and designer. She recently launched a new website as well ! Here are Tara’s interview answers and tips for moms to get organized: How do you keep your children’s schedules together ? My household is a family of 2 – me and my son. I’ve been divorced for 5 1/2 years now, run my own business out of the house and my son just got his driver’s license… some days it’s a tad busy! I... Read Full Story

You might think that as a professional organizer, my stress is relieved by organizing or cleaning. Not so. If life is chaotic, and things have gotten messy, organizing is necessary for me to even function. As a Myers-Briggs personality profile facilitator, I have learned that stress relievers are not generated from the areas of your natural giftedness, but the opposite. Can you see that moving out of the area where you spend most of your time is a break from the usual – a relief? For s... Read Full Story

I am a single mother. The sole financial provider and caregiver for three children… So this week was parent teacher interviews at my children’s elementary school. What does that mean? Well, for five days straight two of my children were dismissed from school at 1:10 pm. This causes problems for most working moms and a few extra for single parents. First, we feel bad that we can’t attend and then we have to figure out who will care for our children. I was thinking today abo... Read Full Story

Guest Post by Lisa Gessert This is a great time to get yourself organized. This time of year everyone is switching closets from summer to winter and getting ready for the holidays that always seem to come too quickly…here are some Helpful Hints and Tips and a few Misconceptions to Keep You Organized. Myth #1 My home HAS to be clean to be organized: There are many days my home could use a cleaning, dusting, vacuuming but I am still organized. People think if their home is dirty or mes... Read Full Story

It’s more tips from another Almost Always Organized  Mom. Cleo blogs about Consumer advocacy at Consumer Mom. She is a 40 something full time mom, a freelance consultant, and part time consumer advocate, serving on the board of directors of two consumer organizations. How do you keep your children’s schedules together ? Some days, I don’t. When I do keep it together, it’s usually thanks to the Gmail calendar program! I have set it up w/ different colors for my work, the ... Read Full Story

Guest post by: Sheila Zayas You’ve race around all day running errands, cooking, picking up and dropping the kids off. At the end of the day, you plop down in your bed – exhausted and feeling as if you did so much yet accomplished so little. Sound familiar? A disorganized schedule can lead to stress, frustration, anxiety, and quarreling with loved ones. Fortunately, hope exists for those families with extremely busy schedules that usually leave a burden on Mom. One of the easiest and faste... Read Full Story