How to Stay Focused On Your Business Everyday
photo credit: JoelZimmer
One of the most important things for a Work At Home Business it that we HAVE to work our business everyday to stay focused. What happens if we do not do that? Well, we would not have any income coming in. I, for one, would have a problem with that… I mean the whole reason I work at home is to have income. So what can we do every day to keep our business in the forefront without it running our lives??
Depending on the type of business that you have is going to determine if some of these are workable for you, but in general purposes, everyone should be able to do these things.
Make customer service calls. What does that mean? Stay in touch with your customers. Call someone to check and see if they are enjoying X product they bought from you. If it is makeup, make sure it is working properly, and that they like the results. If it is home decor, see if they have used the product yet. Are they enjoying it? Have they gotten complements on the results? Maybe these complements are referrals that your customer can make to you. Offer a small discount for referrals.
Send Thank You notes. Send out Birthday cards, if you keep track of your customer’s b-days. How about Thinking of You cards to those you haven’t heard from in a while? Offer a small discount on their next order. This may get an order for you.
Send out flyers for a special sale or Open House. Are you doing a booth at a local craft show or festival? Here is another reason to send out a quick flyer. Again, offer them a little discount or free gift if they mention the ad and then show up at the function.
Get on the phone to past hostesses and book parties, shows or whatever your business. Make yourself make 2-3 calls per day. Put it on the calendar.
Go in the internet and research your industry. Find articles that you can learn from.
Go to sales seminars, read sales books and how to books.
Get all of the training that you can from your company. If they run out or you have taken it all, find other sources.
Get on the internet and take advantage of all the free advertising avenues out there. Join groups and free WAHM sites. The more you get your name out there, the better your sales will increase.
Work on your calendar. You need to do this everyday.
Join local groups that you can network at. Again, getting your name out there is crucial for name recognition.
Go back to the chapter on How to Kick Start Your Business and work on some of those items.
Doing these types of things for even a few minutes a day will keep you in the Work At Home mode. It is easy to say, “Oh, I am just going to take today off. Oh and maybe tomorrow too.” Before you know it, you have taken off more time that you have been working and what has that done for your sales? NOTHING! You have to stay in a working frame of mind to be successful.
Ways to Use an Autoresponder in Your Direct Sales Business
Are you in a direct sales business and trying to figure out, like me, how to streamline your systems so that you can spend more of your precious business time working on income generating activities?
Well, I’m here to tell you that there are some simple steps you can take NOW to help your business for the long term and an Autoresponder is one of those ways! An autoresponder is an online program that takes a prewritten email message or series of messages that you’ve created and sends it out automatically when someone signs up either via email or a web form.
That sounds a whole lot more complicated than it really is. So let me give you examples that might work in various aspects of your direct sales business to help you see how easy this really is:
Lead follow up and tracking.
Do you advertise either online or offline? With an autoresponder you can put an email address into your advertisement and when one of your potential customers/recruits emails you to find out more about your company, they are automatically sent your initial packet of information instantly. Take it one step further and you can even put a different email address into each ad, making it easy to track which ads are producing results.
Lead Generation.
Do you have a coupon or e-book that you can give away to potential new customers or recruits? Set it up in your autoresponder and create a web form (all free with most systems) that you can place in your blog or on your website. Then just add a quick statement of “Request more information on my business today and receive a free gift” sending interested prospects to your autoresponder where the gift and the information are sent to them automatically!
Downline newsletters.
If you’ve built a team of distributors under you, you’ll want to stay in contact with them regularly. An autoresponder can do that easily, first with a “welcome to my team” email and then later as you broadcast your team newsletter through the list.
Help your new consultants get off to a great start in their new business with a series of email training messages geared toward those days when they are waiting for their starter kit. It’s a great way to keep the enthusiasm high during those first days!
Is there a specific area in your direct sales business that seems to generate the same questions from all the distributors in your group? Set up another series of emails specific to that business topic and set up your team members there as the questions come in.
Leadership communication.
As your direct sales business grows you’ll promote leaders from your team. Set up a series of emails congratulating them on their promotion and encouraging them in their new role as leader. Many people in direct sales have no idea what it means to lead a team of their own and you can set up a system to get them trained and equipped as well. and have it work for
you continually.
Customer newsletters.
Stay in contact with your customers by using an autoresponder series just like you do with your downline. Have a welcome series for new customers to keep your name and information in front of them.
Customer classes.
Set up a series of emails that highlight a product of the month from your product line, or an email class on how to use some of your products.
Contests
Set up a series of contest emails for either your customer base or your downline. For instance, have a “scavenger hunt” through your catalog and use the autoresponder system to create the excitement over a series of
days.
I’m guessing that most of you, unless you’re brand new to direct sales, have much of the information for many of the above ideas already in your computer somewhere. With an autoresponder it’s just a matter of transferring that information into the system where it can work for you, even when you’re off doing other things. Give it a try. Many autoresponders have a free trial offer so you can check out how they work before you take the plunge. but after just 6 months of using it with my own direct sales business, I can tell you it’s well worth every penny!
Manage Your Inbox
Is your email out of control?
Does it take you longer to sift through your inbox than you have time to spend in the office? Don’t be afraid to turn your computer on! A recent direct sales training event showed me how important it is to manage your email.
During the call we spoke very briefly on managing your email system for better productivity. Recently at a live seminar one of the attendees said that she incorporated my inbox management system into her office routine and has streamlined her daily email operations.
Check Your Email Daily
I get a ton of emails every time I turn my computer on. The first secret to this system is going to be a very simple technique. Make a habit of checking your email at least once a day, preferably twice. This alone will make a huge impact on the manageability factor in your inbox. I am always amazed at how many entrepreneurs go for weeks without ever checking their emails. Your email is a revenue generation system. It may not be easy to physically see the cash flow from checking your email, yet prompt attention to your inbox will defiantly increase your ability to produce income. Anyone in business needs to check the email and respond daily. Just yesterday, Thursday, I had an email from some one who wants me to speak to her company’s national conference in the Spring. She planned on making a decision on the following Monday in regard to whom she was going to hire. Systematically checking your email reduces the enormity of it and keeps you timely to generate income. If you are in business to make money then, check your email daily.
Delete-Delete-Delete
Delete all irrelevant messages before beginning the review process. When you first open your email on a daily basis, start at the top, and highlight the first on in the list that is to be deleted. Holding the control button down, go down the column and highlight each one to be deleted. When you hold the control button down, you can just go down the column and touch everyone that you want to delete. You should be able to tell by the subject bar which ones those are. Also highlight all of the ones that are forwarded. A little discretion can be used here although not much. It is pretty safe to say that it is a rare email that has been forwarded that is worth keeping or that needs your attention. As I said earlier email is cash flow generator so don’t mess with forwarded email, spasm, social games or any of the such rubbish. This is a really quick process, just hold the control button down and touch each one to be highlighted. You will have a column of blue highlighted emails, then just push delete. And Wam! They are all gone! This morning when I hit delete, a huge column of emails that went off the page, and zip………it went down to only 6 that needed my attention. The deleted ones probably numbered 30 or more. Later on in the afternoon when I checked back, I did the same thing and zip……only had 3 to attend too. You will be thrilled at how well this technique works.
Deal With It And Move It
Next deal with each email as you have time. After it is taken care of, responded too, printed out, etc. you can either file it or delete it. If it is an email that you want to save move it to a pre-set up folder on the side. You can have as many folders as you want under your inbox. For example, I have one for publicity, real estate, direct sales consultants, my tech advisor, my accountant, etc. There are probably 15 folders, in which I file emails that I want to hold onto for a while. If you do not have time to take care of something, maybe it will take more time than you have at the moment, then just leave it in the inbox. Your inbox is only for incoming mail and mail not dealt with yet. Your inbox should all fit in one view pane at all times. Once it is taken care of either delete it or move it to a folder for future reference. If you send a reply back and you are waiting for a return reply, then keep it in the inbox so that you do not forget about it. The folders at the side are like filing cabinets for future reference. Deal with it, delete it, or move it to a file. Pretty simple, huh? This system really works and frees you up to generate income.
7 Email Tips:
- Keep your email for business. If you are a social emailer, then have two identities. Don’t clutter up your office or your time with personal emails.
- Don’t forward junk. Don’t forward at all. If it is important, save it to a file and attach it to your own outgoing email.
- Keep you outgoing emails clean. If you are replying, then delete what is irrelevant, in the reply and change the subject bar to a new subject.
- Keep emails brief. If it fills a page or takes up more space than the window then maybe you should be talking in person.
- Be professional. You are conducting business and your business deserves to be represented professionally in print. Do not fall into the casual mode of no caps, and poor spelling or cute abbreviations.
- Beware of email addiction. When used correctly email is a tool that will compliment your other business tools. When used incorrectly it can become and obsession and an excuse not to provide real customer service.
- Did I say check your email every day?!
You will be amazed and impressed at how easy it is to keep your emails manageable with these two simple strategies. And don’t forget to check your email every day! It only makes good business sense.
FREE Leads – Take ‘em Or Leave ‘em
Anyone who does not have enough business is not taking advantage of the unlimited FREE leads available to them. There is unlimited leads our there and if you do not have enough business then you should take advantage of the free direct sales training available to learn where to find more business.
Here is a starter list of where to find unlimited free leads.
- Bulletin Boards: Bulletin boards are all over town you can be picking up leads at every mini market, grocery store and bulletin board. This is multi-tasking because you are putting out your marketing material, picking up leads and generating an income tax deduction by logging your mileage to and from everyday errands.
- Public speaking is one of the best ways to have an unlimited supply of free leads for any business. It doesn’t matter if you are selling vitamins, coffee, plumbing supplies, or financial services, becoming a free local public speaker will generate business for you and create an unlimited source of FREE leads. I know that you are probably saying that you hate to stand up in front of people and talk. Some of you probably say you hate to speak, yet already do it in your direct sales business. Let’s face it, performing an in home demonstration is public speaking. If you do not have more leads than you can use, then you really deserve to take advantage of public speaking as a lead generation factory. Check out the local clubs. Many of them need fund-raising opportunities and a weekly or monthly speaker. Again, you will be multi-tasking when you make calls to clubs, churches and organizations offering your services as a fund-raiser program and also a speaker.
- Expos: Most people think of fairs and expos in the traditional sence, Pay to set up a table and network. That is awesome and you should go to a fair or expo at least monthly. It doesn’t always have to be a paid vendor event though. You can go as a guest. Pay your $2 or $7.00 to get in and network with the other guests as well as the vendors from the guest side of the table. It works!
- Internet: Most direct sales professionals never think about all of the options of networking on the internet. Your own web site is the obvios way and there are hundreds of leads for the taking on the internet. Maybe you are a home décor rep. Have you ever Googled home décor and checked out the possible leads that come up? Are you a company who is looking for professional reps, then try Googling other sales professions like realtors. You will find lists of people who actually answer their phone and may have an interest in your company.
When you take advantage of all of the lead generation sources available to you, then you will never be hurting for sales. This is only a short list of where to find UNLIMITED FREE leads. Check out other ideas at www.CreateACashFlowShow.com
Recommended Reading for Growth
I have read many, many books in my lifetime, some fiction novels, some based on a true story, and some Christian self-help books. Since beginning my journey as a Christian back in 1997, reading books with solid Christian principals and guidelines has really helped me grow in confidence, spiritually, emotionally and in business! Below are the books I have read through the years and why I highly recommend reading them:
- The Confident Woman, by Joyce Meyer:
Joyce Meyer is an amazing speaker and writer. In The Confident Woman, she helps you understand why we as women lack confidence and how to overcome it, with God’s help and love.
- Wild at Heart by John Eldredge:
One of my favorite authors. His eloquent, descriptive writing makes you feel like your right on the mountain top, overlooking the river below, with the breeze blowing in your hair. In Wild at Heart he also helps you understand how and why God created the male species the way he did. It’s a really great book for women to read, as well as men.
- Secret of the Vine by Bruce Wilkinson:
This was third in a series of books for me. It started with The Prayer of Jabez, which was really popular in the early 2000’s, and then I read the Prayer of Hanna which is recommended below. The Secret of the Vine talks about abiding in the Vine (which is Jesus) and how we wither and die if we are broken apart from the Vine. This book changed my Christian walk.
- The Prayer of Hannah by Kenn Gividen:
The Prayer of Hannah describes how she prayed for a child and how God answered her prayer. Great book for any woman or girl.
- The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian:
Stormie talks about how powerful praying is for women, not only for their families and others but for themselves as well. She shows you how to draw closer to God, discover His plans and purposes for your life, and receive comfort, help and strength for everyday life.
- The Battle of the Mind by Joyce Meyer:
I read this book in the very beginning of my Christian walk. Joyce’s insight and understanding of God’s workings and creation, really helps you overcome depression, anxiety, habits, addictions, and hang ups.
- Extravagant Worship:
Extravagant worship was written by Darlene Zschech in 2001. Darlene is the worship leader for Hillsong Church in Sydney Australia and also the writer of the most popular worship song of the time, “Shout to the Lord”. Darlene shows us that worship is more than lifting our hands in worship to God, but that worshipping God is something we do every day with our lives.
- A Call to Die by David Nasser:
My husband and I heard Mr. Nassar speak at a National Youth Worker’s Convention in Pittsburgh, PA, the year we were married, 2005. In a Call to Die, he tells us why dying to self in important and how to do it, with scripture, prayer and study.
- Captivating by John and Staci Elderidge:
Every woman should read this. As John wrote in Wild at Heart about God’s creation, man, he and Staci write about God’s next creation, woman. Staci really gets to the heart of understanding women and why God created us the way he did.
- The Five Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman:
A must read for every person! After reading The Five Love Languages you will understand how to communicate love to others so that they feel loved. Not everyone speaks the same love language, and Gary shows you how to determine yours and how to know how to speak someone else’s love language.
- A Leader in the Making by Joyce Meyer:
Another great book by Joyce (told you she was an awesome author!) Joyce teaches us to find your calling, determine your spiritual gifting, develop your God-given potential, empower your dreams through effective action, and live a balanced life.
- The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren:
I read this book as part of a bible study in church. The Purpose Driven Life will help you understand why you are alive and God’s amazing plan for you.
- The Battle Belongs to the Lord by Joyce Meyer:
Joyce again teaches us how to give our battles up to God. Battles in our everyday life that keeps us from experiencing the fullness of life God purposes us to have. This book also changed my walk with Christ.
- 101 Questions to Ask Before You Get Engaged by Wright, H. Norman and Gary Oliver:
When my hubby and I were dating, we studied this book together as a couple. It really helps you open up to each other with some of the touchier subjects, like finances, raising children, and personality issues. It also helps you get to know your potential marriage partner, see any red flags that may need to be worked out or that may help you see why you shouldn’t marry this person, before you walk down the aisle.
- Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge:
Both authors show a glimpse of God’s heart in Sacred Romance. I recommend this book for anyone wanting to deepen their relationship with God no matter where they are in their spiritual walk.
- Journey of Desire by John Eldredge:
We are all given desires by God. And God desires us to love Him and live for Him. John takes us on this journey of discovering God’s heart and love for us in Journey of Desire. Everyone wanting to fulfill their heart’s desire should read this.
- A More Excellent Way, Be in Health by Henry W. Wright:
I am currently reading this book, but I have found it so compelling and helpful. Pastor Wright teaches us the root of disease and how to be healed of all disease, no matter how small or big the disease is.
- Boy Meets Girl by Josh Harris:
Josh Harris is most famous for his book I Kissed Dating Goodbye; however I did not read it. I did read Boy Meets Girl though when I was single and loved it. Josh really shows how courting helps us stay pure until marriage and how to he waited for his wife. I recommend Boy Meet Girl for teens, singles or parents.
- Choosing God’s Best by Don Raunikar:
Another great book my hubby and I studied together before we got married. Don helps us understand the difference between dating and courtship and why courting works to help us stay pure and find the man or woman that is meant for us. I recommend this book for teenagers, singles and parents.
- 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper:
This was recommended to read by a lady from the Methodist Church when Jeff and I were attending there when we were still dating. It is a true and amazing story of dying, coming back and living to tell about it.
I hope you take some time to browse these books on Amazon or in your local bookstore. They really are worth reading and have helped me overcome low self esteem, fear and shyness. They have also helped me be a better wife, mother and leader. I know you will be just as blessed.
18 Ways To Practice Frugality As A Family
photo credit: Samuel Mann
When someone embraces frugality they often view it as a common sense way to live. Frugal methods and tricks quickly become a daily routine. However, it is much easier to make frugal habits permanent when the whole family is on board. One of the easiest ways to do this is to make frugality fun and to practice it together.
Here are some ideas for practicing frugality as a family.
- Start teaching early. Even a child as young as 2 or 3 can be taught to turn the lights off when leaving a room or to not let the water run unnecessarily.
- Present a united front. Dad and mom need to agree on how frugality will work in their family, or at least they need to pretend like they do. If one partner or the other is discontent and looks down on frugality, the rest of the family will as well. If there is no unity when it comes to frugality, do your best to find a happy medium so that everyone in the family can work as a team.
- Menu plan together. This is one that everyone can really get involved in together. Work together to plan out meals, perhaps letting one child pick out all of their favorites for a certain day of the week. (However, if the favorites don’t fall into the frugal category, you may need to present them with acceptable options first.) Make sure every voice is heard, from the oldest to youngest, and carefully consider each suggestion. If there are suggestions made that will not be added to the menu plan, make sure you explain why. This will prevent hard feelings towards both menu planning and frugality.
- Form a coupon-clipping team. As soon as a child is old enough to use scissors correctly, let them begin clipping coupons for you. Many children take real pride in this task and even view it as a fun way to spend some time. With older children who are less inclined to enjoy this project, let them make some of the choices. Tell them if they can match up coupons with sales on some of their favorite items that are not ordinarily purchased, you will purchase that item if it comes in under a certain amount. They will quickly learn the thrill of the bargain-shopping chase.
- Make lists together. A grocery list is the easiest way to teach the value of a list as well as the importance of sticking to that list. Even young children can grasp the concept that only things written on a grocery list will be purchased at the store. But once that skill is understood, move on to other lists. Encourage your spouse and children to write lists for things that they really need. Use this as an opportunity to teach what “real need” really is. Then together watch for sales on those lists.
- Create a set of “Frugal Family Rules” together. Frugality looks different for every family and is not one size fits all by any means. So decide together what is important to your family. Write those rules down, let the kids decorate the paper they are written on, and post them in a place where everyone can see them as a reminder. If there are financial or other goals tied to your frugality, make sure those are included on that list as well.
- Shop together. There is no better way to teach real world frugality to children then to have them shop with you. They can learn to price compare and quickly realize the difference between quality and price, brand names, and doing things from scratch or using second-hand items versus costlier options.
- Teach the importance of saving money. When a child really wants something, have them save up the money to purchase that item. Together, look for the lowest price. Help your child understand that immediate gratification isn’t such a good thing if they can save money by delaying a purchase or going to a different store. Encourage them to look for cheaper alternatives on other items, and if they find a great deal, give them the difference in price to bolster their savings.
- Show the benefits of hard-work. This can go hand-in-hand with #8. Show children that their hard work will be rewarded with an allowance or special treat that doesn’t cost money.
- Display a cheerful attitude toward frugality. When you are trying to instill frugal attitudes in your family, it is important to keep your own attitude in check. Do not let your children hear you bemoaning the fact that you can’t purchase something because it isn’t frugal. They will follow your example.
- Brag about yourself. There is nothing wrong with letting your family know of your frugal successes. This is really easy in the kitchen. For example, if a restaurant is advertising a dinner special of $8.99 per plate and your entire dinner for the whole family cost less than $5, tell them! Give them a break down of how much it would cost for the whole family to eat out and the savings of eating at home.
- Remember it’s easier to stick to a task when there is a goal in sight. Even if your goal is intangible for the children, such as getting out of debt or building up a savings account, let them know your frugality is serving a purpose. Share as many of the details as you are comfortable sharing. And if necessary, relate your goals to something more on their level.
- Work together to maintain your belongings. Teaching children practical, frugal skills is a great life lesson. Teach them to, or let them watch you, remove stains, mend clothing, maintain household appliances, or even fix “broken” toys. Stress the importance of properly caring for their belongings.
- Turn price comparisons into a game. Frugality doesn’t have to be boring. Put a fun twist on frugal shopping by challenging children to find the lowest price on an item. Give the winner a reward, even if it’s just a big smile. Let older children have a mock competition with the ads from a few different stores and a list of products you need. Whoever gets the lowest total once the “shopping” is done wins.
- Divide and conquer. Just like most household chores, certain family members will gravitate toward certain types of projects. Take advantage of that and use it enhance your frugality. If your spouse is great at finding the best deals on electronics or furniture, let him or her have that job. If a child likes to cook, teach him or her how to cook from scratch.
- Have free or low-cost fun together whenever possible. Visit the library together, take a picnic to the park, explore museums on half-price days. If someone in the family discovers a great frugal activity or outing, do your best to make sure the whole family participates together.
- Sometimes, let the kids have a final say. If you are planning a vacation and there are two options – say, staying at a hotel but not being able to go to a costly attraction vs. camping and being able to afford costlier attractions, discuss this as a family. If the end result is inconsequential to you or your spouse, let the kids decide which option makes the most sense. There is real pride and accomplishment in having a little power.
- Don’t be afraid to indulge on occasion. Rewards help maintain a cheerful attitude. On occasion, treat the family to take-out pizza or an ice cream cone. You deserve the treat, and so does the rest of your family!
10 Days to Christmas: A Christmas Checklist
photo credit: clevercupcakes
Here we are, 10 days until Christmas!!! Here’s quick check list to make sure you’re ready for the big day!!! You can print this list off and check the box next to each item as it’s completed.
- Christmas shopping complete
- Gift wrapping done
- Christmas meal planning complete, including breakfast, Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas dinner
- Christmas meal shopping complete
- Christmas cards or newsletters out in the mail. If you haven’t done this as of today, they probably won’t make their destinations before Christmas.
- Christmas decorating complete
- Christmas baking done
- Acts of service cards or certificates created by hand or computer and filled out
- Travel plans set and double checked! Be sure to check on flights! Sometimes they cancel them or change flight times without notifying you!
- Backup plan for travel in case of bad weather
- Last minute gift items bought
- Last minute gift items wrapped
- Stocking stuffers bought
- Stocking stuffers put away in a safe place until Christmas Eve
- Ecards or email newsletters created and set to send out Christmas day
- Online shopping complete. If you are doing the majority of your shopping online, you want to make sure you can still get your items delivered by Christmas Eve at the latest.
- House cleaning schedule/checklist in place. Make your house cleaning/preparations easier by following this guide!
- Gift for teacher(s) bought, wrapped and ready for delivery.
- Cookies or other goodies ready for school party(ies).
- Gift exchange items bought, wrapped and ready for delivery
- Kids Christmas plays or concerts marked on the calendar
- Christmas outfits bought and cleaned for parties, plays or entertaining
- If blogging is a source of income for your family, be sure you’ve got some posts preset to go out automatically during the busy Holiday season.
- Secure all your Christmas plans with family. Be sure everyone is on the same page as to date, time and location. This is especially important if you have divorced parents, or married kids who have 3 or 4 different family groups with which to spend the Holidays.
- If you have guests staying the night, be sure all the guest bedding is clean. If using air mattresses be sure they are leak-free and that you can find the pump!
- If you have babies coming over, be sure to baby-proof your house with gates, plug protectors and cabinet door stoppers
Using this check list will help you feel less stressed and like you’re not forgetting to do something! So, print it out, hang it on your bulletin board or refrigerator and be sure to check things off as they are completed. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment as you do!
Merry Stress Free Christmas!
10 Days To Christmas: House Cleaning Schedule
photo credit: eyeliam
Trying to figure out you’re going to get everything done before Christmas, and your house is a mess too? Here’s a schedule that may help you out, starting today! Do one of these each day until Christmas. You’ll feel less stressed and your house will be ready for Holiday Entertaining.
1. Pick up all the clutter! Throw away unnecessary papers, mail, etc. Put everything in its proper place.
2. Dust everything, including cobwebs in the corners!
3. Get out your Christmas dishes and wash them all.
4. Wash your windows, mirrors and glass doors.
5. Clean your oven, stove and microwave
6. Clean all of the bathrooms, including the floors
7. Vacuum, sweep or mop all flooring
8. Clean kitchen countertops
9. Set up extra table and chairs for guests
10. Do a once over throughout the house. This should be a breeze if you followed the schedule above.
Don’t let a messy house stress you out during the Holidays. By following this simple step by step plan, your house can be clean and guest-ready for Christmas! You can also follow this plan for any other entertaining you might do throughout the year. So bookmark this page for future reference!
Merry Stress Free Christmas!
10 Ways to Make Your Life Simpler with Kids
photo credit: renfield
Our kids can bring us lots of joy in life, but they can also bring a great deal of chaos to life as well at times that is. So, how do you make your life a little simpler, even with children, so that you can all enjoy the day to day? Make your life simpler (even with kids) by:
1. A routine. I know some people do not like routine but some semblance of one will help you more than you might think. After all, don’t we all create routine even if it isn’t positive routine? So being proactive about it can only do you good rather than harm.
2. Set chores. Another bad word, especially for kids is chores. But, think about the order it is helping to create in your home as well as the discipline it is establishing in your children. That is a win-win.
3. Don’t take on too much. Extracurricular activities, volunteering, and the like can be good things, but as the old saying goes you can have too much of a good thing. So, take this into consideration as you take things on and learn the power of the word, “no”, as hard as it may be to say it can pay off big time.
4. Honor old traditions and create new ones. Whether it be the old ones that were passed down from your parents or grandparents or the new ones you have created traditions can truly make your lifes simple, after all you’ll already know what is expected year after year.
5. Assign personalized items to each child. This works well with clothes baskets, shoe cubbies, and other areas that can help to keep you organized. It is a great way for each child, especially younger ones to know right where their belongings are or go saving you all time, and simplifying the process.
6. Always be prepared. With kids this is a must. You never know when one of them is going to make a mess, get sick, be hungry, you know all the normal things. These are all things that you can be prepared for if you truly try and plan ahead.
7. Prioritizing. With multiple children especially there tends to be a tendency to simply get too much on your plate, therefore you have to sit down, prioritize and often rearrange your schedule and your life in order to keep first things first.
8. Take your time. All too often these days we tend to rush, rush, rush, never taking the time to slow down and truly enjoy each other and the activities that we are involved in. You can make a decision to change this and it can help your life be a little easier .
9. Work together. For families everything is a learning experience and that’s why working together can be important. Working together to make meals, clean up or plan an outing all of which can help your children to learn valuable life lessons and make things simpler at the same time.
10. Talk to each other. A lot of times things are complicated in a family due to a lack of communication, good old fashioned conversation can save you a lot of trouble. You will know what is expected by each other and conflict can be avoided. So, open up!
10 Restaurant-Style Meals You can Create At Home
photo credit: jvree
We all know that eating out costs much more than eating at home no matter how you look at it. Therefore, a great way to save money, is by recreating your favorite restaurant-style meals at home, allowing you to eat them more often, and save money at the same time.
The following are ten restaurant-style meals that you can easily create at home:
1. Chinese takeout. From fried rice to stir fry Chinese takeout can easily be recreated at home, especially with the vast array of items available in your local store’s international foods section, you can practically be in a different country every night of the week.
2. Mexican Fiesta. Let another night create your own Mexican fare. Anything from tacos, to nachos or enchiladas, each can be recreated at home to calm your craving without paying restaurant prices.
3. Gourmet Sandwiches. There are dozens and dozens of them out there today from the gyro, to the muffaletta you can pick your sandwich apart at your favorite local gourmet deli, take a mental note and then recreate it next time at home.
4. Greek food. Greek food is hearty and contains some key healthy ingredients including spinach, meat, usually lamb or veal, feta cheese and every Greek’s favorite, garlic, and lots of it.
5. Homemade Pizza. Many times you can create a better pizza than you can buy as take-out. You can test and try until you create one that is as yummy as take-out or better.
6. Gumbo. It is a Cajun tradition and a stick to your bones type food. You can find some yummy recipes for it online or can even buy the boxed variety, though homemade is better. You can choose to create the seafood type or just use chicken and sausage, either way you’ll have a yummy meal for less than the restaurant.
7. Better burgers. You know every restaurant has it’s own variety and you can create your favorite at home, grab your grill, the meat, special buns and other condiments and build your best burger ever!
8. Catfish Dinner. In the deep south especially, a meal out at a catfish house is quite popular. Fried catfish is yummy but can be costly if eaten out. Whip up your own catfish dinner at home, and don’t forget the fries, hushpuppies and slaw.
9. Steak Dinner. Firing up the grill and preparing your own steak can result in a wonderful meal. Most times you can buy two steaks for the price of what you’ll pay in a restaurant, sides included.
10. Appetizers as a meal. We all have a favorite appetizer. Whether it be the buffalo wings or the spinach and artichoke dip. Why not create a whole meal based on your favorite appetizers? It could turn out to be a family favorite.
