Good Vibrations

I would like to sent out a kudos to Kate for introducing me to GrooveShark.com this weekend, hereby giving me the good vibrations necessary to organize the study.

The study is Ben's man cave. When we moved to the house and decided to set up the computer in there, I told Ben that it was his room to decorate in anyway he desired. So, the study has 6 swords, 3 chain mail shirts, 2 crossbows, and one huge felt poster that serves as a tribute to Ghengis Khan. Oh...and a considerably ugly monkey lamp that Ben cherishes from his bachelor days that would mean the-end-of-our-happy marriage if I threw it out.

I have learned not to mind the decor - but I still can not stand the mess. So, Friday and Saturday, armed with several trash bags and boxes, I cleaned the poop out of the study. (I mean, figuratively, not literally...ha ha.) Several strategic decisions helped to make this a productive time.

1st. Focus on the trash and eliminate clutter. (See the Clutter Test below). The first 20 minutes, concentrate on whatever you can immediately throw out. When you fill up a trash bag, immediately take it out to the trash can. Ta da! Several stacks of papers, old newspapers (or, in my case, beer cans) that you don't have to worry about anymore.

2nd. Focus on the big material articles. Ben had his chain mail shirts and implements strewn across the floor - as soon as I found a box and a shelf for them, I had cleared 1/5th of the floor area.

3rd. Organize paperwork in stages. We had a 12 inch pile of old mail and paperwork loading down my 'desk.' Start with a trash sack for the junk and two boxes. Label one box FILING and the other box SHREDDING. Eliminate the junk mail and extra papers (for example, you don't need to keep the envelopes for bills once you've paid them.) After eliminating the junk you can take a break and move to filing when you're ready. Shred LAST and double check to make sure you don't need the records!

4th. Play music. Take breaks. Walk away from the room. If you start getting frustrated - stop what you are doing and move to something different. Being positive is a huge part of being productive.

In order to be a CEO, I have to have a work space. I didn't realize how much a messy work space affects my productivity until I walked into the study to write a short letter this morning. I had everything I needed within easy reach and could focus on what I needed to get done, not the tools needed to do it. I'm starting to believe that a home must have a 'professional' work space. It may be a drawer in the kitchen where you organize the mail and keep all the spare keys, but it's got to be there for your sanity. It's so much easier to sit down at a desk with everything near me than to write on the dining room table with a mad frenzy to find paper or cards, a pen, envelopes, stamps, files for reference...etc!

Grooveshark + clean study = good vibrations. Ready to rock out!

Lullaby for the Unborn

I'm cleaning the study and came across a rhyme I thought of a couple of years ago when I read about partial birth abortions.

Lullaby, lullaby,
Fetus, don't cry.
Your mother's not here
There is nobody near.

Lullaby, lullaby,
Fetus, don't cry.
We've a right now to choose
And it's you we refuse.

Operation: Take Back The House

1. Rule of Housecleaning
You can't organize clutter.

Let me repeat that:

YOU CAN'T ORGANIZE CLUTTER.

The Clutter Test
1. Is it useful?
a. If so-is it stored in a convenient place? Where do I use it most? How will I find it when I need it?
b. If it is not useful – go to question 2.

2. Is it beautiful?
a. If so, is it displayed to its best advantage?
b. If not, how hard will it be to show it off? Is it worth the trouble to frame or preserve?

3. Does it have sentimental value?
a. If so, is it stored in a safe place? Will it be preserved? How much trouble is it to preserve? Can I turn it into something useful?

When cleaning and clearing out messes, I need to ask myself these questions. If an object doesn’t pass the clutter test, then it is going in the garbage or to goodwill.

I think I also need to draw up a schedule for cleaning so that I can do a little every day and not get swamped on the weekend. Keeping up with the laundry and simple cleaning can really make a difference over the week.

Surprise CEO

When walking down the aisle, clutching my dad’s arm, trying to smile, balance on my high heels, kick my hem forward so I wouldn’t step on it, hold up a 10lb bouquet and navigate a stair…my career was the last thing on my mind. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I was signing up for the biggest job of my life. The other day, while running errands and thinking about the mortgage payment, I wondered about how difficult and complicated life can be—why is it so hard to get basic tasks like dishes, laundry and bills done? Then it hit me, I have always separated my personal life from my professional life- but the fact is that I am the C.E.O. of my household. I work in administration, so organization at the office has never been a big problem for me- but I have never taken those professional skills and applied them specifically to my home. I may have been working sporadically in the current economy, but I have been an Executive Director since I was 25.

If our household was a nonprofit organization, I would be the CEO and my husband would be the board. He works hard, cares deeply for our mission, brings in the majority of the operating budget and works on special projects. But, he is not focused on the daily-run-of-the-mill-like-the-bathroom-needs-to-be-cleaned household details. Which means, that if something needs to be done around the house…I’m the one who has to do it.

So. What does it mean to be a Household CEO? How do to you run an effective household? What are the rewards and trials of this kind of life?

Also, how do you balance your home/work life? How do you make career decisions that also help your home? On the flip side, if you are a stay-at-home mom or wife, how do you handle those cultural pressures to be at work?

I’m here to share and to find out. I hope to add some additional bloggers from different walks of life to provide some more perspective. I feel the need to have a forum here because I haven't found one that incorporates the standard 'tricks and tips' of homemaking with a discussion on how to be a woman who is comfortable and professional at both work and home.