The Household Helper Talk Show #24

How To Start Organizing

Cara always frequently gets asked the same question (in different forms): “Where Do I Begin?” “How Do I Get Started”. This episode is all about the tips and processes that helped Cara get her act together years ago – and remain organized!

Cara first reviews the importance of formulating a plan and then shares the key tips to to get organized:

• Set Goals
• Know Your “Why”
• Take Inventory
• Focus A Little Bit At A Time
• Get An Accountability Partner
• Reward Yourself

The two most important tips she shares are: 1)make sure you keep you and your family’s style in mind. Don’t try to work with a system that will require too many changes in your personality and daily routine. 2) stick to your plan!

The Household Helper Talk Show #23

Finding WAHM Balance

On any given day, you can hear at least one work-at-home-mom cry to herself “How do I do it all”. The responsibilities of home, family and business are hard to balance. Join Cara and her guest Nicole Dean from ShowMomTheMoney.com as they share their tips on how they have managed their homes and businesses.

• Create yourself an office
• Teach your family to respect your time
• Get your family to help
• Planning ahead
• Remember that nobody is perfect!

Listen in as the Cara and Nicole laugh a lot, share some great tips, and find out just how sweet Nicole’s hubby is!

The Household Helper Episode #22

The Household Helper Talk Show Is Back!!!

Declutter Smarter

Conquering the clutter in your home can be so overwhelming that you become paralyzed. But the mess can be resolved with just a bit of knowledge, time and motivation.

There are three keys to decluttering: tackle one area at a time, don’t be afraid to throw stuff away, and seek tips and advice from others.

Once you get decluttering, here are Cara’s tips to help:

1. Start decluttering 15 minutes a day.
2. Pick one room or area to start with, and stick to it until it’s done.
3. Declutter your storage areas first.
4. Be ruthless when deciding what to keep and what to get rid of.
5. Deal with paper on a daily basis and have a system in place to keep it under control.
6. As soon as you bring something into the house, make room for it.

Cara also gives you the 3 habits you should start today to get you decluttering – and to keep on going!

Household Helper Talk Show #18

Working Outside The Home

When I started to get my act together, I was working outside of the home. Believe me it was hard to maintain my home and family responsibilities while I was ‘working for the man’. But I found balance – IT CAN BE DONE!

There are 5 things that every mom, whether working outside of the home or not, need to do. I think of them as my tools for home and family management. They are:

1. Develop daily routines – if you work outside the home, develop a before work, an after work, and a bedtime routine. (recommended reading: How To Succeed at Becoming Organized)
2. Keep a calendar – list everything on that calendar. Appointments, games, etc. Even include any work activities that will impact your home life. Having this info all in one place will help you better plan your week. Especially helpful for the next tool.
3. Check today what is going on tomorrow – know before what is up for the following day before going to bed. Start your day out right. Make lunch, get dinner out of the freezer, etc.
4. Develop a weekly routine. Assign a specific task for you to accomplish each day instead of trying to do it all. For example, dust and vacuum Monday; pay bills and handle paperwork Tuesday; etc. etc.
5. Meal Plan – one of our primary responsibilities as a wife and mother is to nourish our loved ones. Food is a very important part of our lives – heck, that’s why the Food Network exists. Planning the week’s meals ahead of time will accomplish 2 things: A) Only going to the grocery store once and always having what is needed in the fridge, freezer and pantry. B)You can plan quick and easy meals for the days that will be extra busy. (recommended resources: Meal Planning for Busy Moms ebook or Dine Without Whine – s family friendly weekly menu service)

Once these routines are in place, and you have begun to effectively use these tools, you will find extra time on your hands. These pockets of time can be used to tackle organization projects. Use this time to organize your closet; sort and purge your kid’s clothing; maybe straighten out your holiday decorations.

Household Helper Talk Show #17

This episode I talk with Kristine McKinely from OnlineBizTaxTips.com about organizing our taxes NOW for next year. I really enjoyed this call with Kristine -

- Create a system NOW: a folder for 2008 taxes where you can easily insert paperwork related to your taxes.

- Rule of thumb: keep copies of anything you will be deducting, for 7 years. Keep the tax return as well as the back-up for that return.

- If you are NOT deducting things like utility bills or credit card bills, you DO NOT need to keep it.

- If you are deducting things for home office expenses, you must keep them. (Mortgage Interest, Internet, Utilities, Phone Charges, etc.)

- Kristine gave us some fantastic tips a inform and information on how to deal with our money in 2008 as well as some unknown deductions. She even surprised me with a deduction I missed this year!

PS: Sorry for the background noise: my son and dog just didn’t want to cooperate! But if you’re a WAHM, you understand!

The Household Helper #16

Chores For Your Little Ones

Alice Seba, from Schmoozins.com, and I talk mom to mom about getting our little ones to help around the house. With a little creativity, and patience, toddlers can start to learn to do some chores. This is not only helpful to Mom, but it teaches them skills they will need throughout their lives. This is a very fun chat with Alice. We both really enjoyed talking – and you can tell from all the giggling we did! Alice also told us all about her new site Schmoozins.com – a great place to hang out.

There is so much going on this week!!

Mommy Fest 2008 is all this week! Mommy Fest is a week long interactive online convention for moms. Beginning tomorrow, join me for lots of fun: contests, freebies, exhibitors and blog hopping! It’s a wonderful way to meet new moms – and to learn from moms like yourself. Join the fun at MommyFest.com!

Moms Talk Radio is giving away an iPod! Listen to Moms Talk Radio shows for the rest of the month for your chance to win a Pink 8gig iPod Nano! Click here for more details. (but not before listening to my show!!)

Did you notice that I’m one of Kelly McCausey’s guests on this week’s episode of WAHM Talk Radio. She and I discuss how to keep your home from falling apart while you build your business.

The Household Helper #15

Gardening: Growing Your Own Food

This episode I’m joined by Tiffany Washko from www.naturemoms.com. Tiffany and I talk about fruit and vegetable gardening: how to start, getting the kids involved, community gardening and organic gardening. We also mention a few fun gardening projects to do with the kids!

For all the links related to today’s show, visit TheHouseholdHelper.com/Podcast/. Don’t forget to grab your free copy of my free report “Gardening Tips from TheHouseholdHelper.com“.

The Household Helper #14

This episode Cara gets on her soap box for a few minutes and ‘rant’ about volunteering. But then,she talks with Wendy Walker, author of the book “Four Wives” (available at www.wendywalkerbooks.com). They discuss her inspiration for the book, chat about ‘opt-out’ moms, and how we sometimes feel despair. Cara also asked Wendy the important question – how did she find the time to write a book?

Household Helper Talk Show #13

Sorry for the unexpected hiatus of my show – but I’m back!

I chat with Annette Yen, home school mom of two. Not only that, she’s a busy work-at-home-mom with several websites including CrittersWhoCare.com and RelaxedHomeschooling.com.

I also give a shout-out to the new podcasts at MomsTalkRadio: Snuggles Podcast and New Urban Mom Podcast. Check them out (links are on the right).

Finally, I talk about my involvement with The March of Dimes and how you can help. You can learn more here.

The Household Helper Talk Show #12

Based on some listener feedback, I interview Marla Martindale, a RSD Coach. Marla and I discuss how to manage your home and family day to day if you have a disability or are elderly.

The day to day management of your home and family can be a challenge in itself. Add to that a family and a physical disability and things seem impossible. Marla and I talk about how to deal if you are dealt with an ‘affliction’.

1. Acceptance of your affliction
2. Lower your expectations of yourself
3. Ask for help

Marla gives us some awesome tools to use around the house. She uses a ‘tool belt’ her husband made for her to carry things around. She also mentioned a few times about using a ‘gripper’. I found this one at, available at rehabmart.com.

Marla’s website is AWinningLifeWithRSD.com. She can also be heard every Tuesday at her talk show on Blog Talk Radio – WinningLifeThroughPain.

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