by Mark Garro | Work from Home, Career & Education, Make Money
Being a busy stay-at-home-mom is a rewarding job, but the pay is garbage!
So what do you do when you want to remain at home with your children, but…
the money is tight…
the budget is s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d to the limit…
couponing is getting you nowhere fast…
and you just don’t have enough to go around…?
You start a business.
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by Mark Garro | Self Care, Better You
When it comes to productivity, one of the trickiest things to try and overcome is the anxiety that follows along your list of priorities and tasks. The more you have to do, the more likely you are to feel anxious. The more anxious you feel, the more likely you will be to hide away from your responsibilities. The more you hide, the more you’ll have to do.
It’s cyclical and it sucks. But it’s important to know you’re not alone and that you DO have the ability to do something about it.
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by Mark Garro | Parenting, Inspirational
Volunteering with children is truly one of the best choices you can make as a parent.
It’s a great use of your time and should be an integral part of your child’s upbringing. While it can be hard to fit volunteering into an already busy day, there are ways to do it without it feeling forced or inconvenient.
There are also many volunteer opportunities for children, even those who might not yet be old enough to realize importance of philanthropy.
Volunteer Ideas to Do With Young Children
While these are great for Days of Service, such as volunteering on MLK Day, it’s important to instill the importance of volunteering in kids all year long.
Make Cards
Make birthday or holiday cards to deliver to senior citizens at your local nursing home. Be sure to call ahead to see if there’s an age requirement for non-familial visitors.
During the holiday season, let your little one pick a couple tags off an Angel Tree. If “Santa” is brought up, you can explain that these children go without so much during the year, that Santa has requested some extra help to make sure they get all that they need.
Spend, Save, Donate
When teaching your children about money, be sure to talk to them about how important it is to donate when possible. Depending on the age of your child, it might be easiest to use something like a Moonjar to help them designate what money goes where. Encourage them to set a goal for donation and then let the child choose which organization gets the money.
Clean Up Your Community
If you’re lucky enough to live in a relatively litter-free neighborhood, then consider visiting a local park or other area prone to trash. Use a pick up tool or grabber and make sure you wear gloves!
Donate to a Local Food Pantry
While it’s typically better to donate cash than food, everything helps in the long run. Take your child to the grocery store and let them help shop for food to donate to a local food pantry. If your child is old enough, you can also use this as an opportunity to learn about budgeting. Let your child know how much money is available and help him make healthy, economical decisions.
Make No-Sew Dog and Cat Toys
There are many DIY dog toy ideas that are easy for children to help with. Pinterest is definitely your friend here! Give your local animal shelter a call and see if they could use some new homemade dog or cat toys for their furry friends.
Talk to Your Local Library
Check in with your local library as many offer volunteer opportunities for all ages. Just make sure your little one knows how to use his “inside voice.” This is also a great opportunity to start to craft your child’s love for learning and reading.
Set Up a Home Recycling Center
Teach them about the importance of reducing waste and reusing when we can. Our recycling company doesn’t require sorting, but we still talk about how different kinds of products are recycled (i.e. glass vs plastic vs paper).
Sign up for a 5K
Most encourage families to participate, which is great if you’ve got a little one in a stroller! Allow your children to help fund-raise and educate them on the mission behind the organization you’re running for.
Donate That Which You Do Not Need
Have them sort and box up toys or clothes to donate. Giving away their own items might be a bit much to handle at first, so try reading a related book (like Too Many Toys by David Shannon) the night before or have them help you sort through your own stuff first. It’s a wonderful time for the whole family to benefit from decluttering!
Community Garden
Create a garden on a budget and save even more time by having your children help out. Not only will this help you save money on groceries, but you can donate any excess produce to your local food pantry.
Create Blessing Bags
Teach your child not to look the other way when there’s someone in need. Work with them to create blessing bags for the homeless (something that can cost you as little as $5 per kit!) If you’re uncomfortable handing them out with your children around, you can always call your homeless shelter and see about dropping them there.
Cook a Meal Together
There are many not-for-profit organizations that are always in need of food to provide to volunteers at their site. While your little one might still be too young to help at the organization, s/he can still be of great service! This is also a fun way to introduce them to the basics of cooking.
Draw Thank You Cards
Have your children color pocket-size “thank you” cards to give to those who help better your day – whether it be a nice cashier at the grocery store or someone who held the door open for you at the daycare. Teach them to see the good in everyone and to be thankful for those around us. I guarantee this one is sure to brighten your day, too!
Donations Instead of Presents
If your little one is old enough to understand, you can suggest s/he request donations for a not-for-profit instead of birthday presents. Around that same idea, you could encourage the child to donate any money received while keeping the other presents. Remember, this is about instilling a desire to volunteer, don’t push it so that it becomes a “have to” instead of a “want to.”
The most important part in all of this is to make sure you lead by example, not just during the service but in everyday life.
Volunteering means putting values into action. You can volunteer at the soup kitchen every weekend, but if you then throw out leftovers each night, will your child actually see the value in your work? Sure you worked together to pick out old toys to donate to the children’s hospital, but if you then reward him with a new present each time he behaves at the store, will he learn what it means to truly give of oneself?
Doing volunteer work with children is a great bonding opportunity and an even better teaching tool. Empower them to make a difference. Teach them no limits in changing their worlds.
Do you do any sort of volunteer work? What are your thoughts on involving young ones? Comment below and let me know!
by Mark Garro | Holiday Fun, Save Time, Thrifty Tips
When you’re a parent, buying gifts and celebrating Valentine’s Day for your partner can be complicated. Doing something outside the house requires a babysitter, money spent on presents can make you feel guilty, and finding the time to do something meaningful or creative can seem impossible.
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by Mark Garro | Save Time, Thrifty Home & Family
Does keeping your house clean often feel like a never-ending battle? As if the kids don’t bring in enough dirt, then there’s usually pets (if you have ’em). That’s why you definitely need a cheat sheet when it comes to cleaning!
He’s cute but he sure makes it hard to keep the house clean!
Having toys scattered about in the evenings or mail strewn on the foyer table is one thing, those are picked up quick enough, but I cannot – DO NOT – handle dirt/dust/grime. For one, I have serious dust allergies (something, I fear, I passed down to my children).
Second, if I don’t find the time to tidy up during the week, the cat hair and dog dust threaten to fuse into one giant super beast and frankly I already have enough mouths to feed.
How to Create a Cleaning Cheat Sheet
Make Cleaning Easier
In order to best tackle the “every day” stuff – without getting caught up in trying to do too much at once while accomplishing nothing – I suggest you use either a whiteboard or a laminated sheet like the one below:
Each day has 3-6 tasks to be completed and by using a whiteboard or laminated sheet, you can check off what you’ve done without having to create a new sheet each week.
Saturday and Sunday have a bit more because there’s typically more of an opportunity to get things done on those days, but if your schedule is different, adjust accordingly!
Break Down Your Tasks
By breaking things down into easier-to-handle tasks, you’ll be able to accomplish a lot more without feeling like you’re wasting your evenings or losing sleep trying to keep a tidy house. You’ll also remove the mental stress that comes with not knowing what to do next by having it laid out exactly what you’ll be doing and when.
You might have noticed that “oatmeal jars” is one of my Sunday tasks. If you have yet to discover the joy that is this breakfast beauty, please check out my Quick Breakfasts post. They take all of 20 minutes to prep, they’re healthy, and you’ll be set for breakfasts for the week!
It’s important that you create a meal plan for more than just breakfast, which is why I also include “inventory food” as a part of my weekly checklist; knowing what you have is the first step to saving more money on groceries!
What to Include on Cleaning Cheat Sheet
Things you may want to add to your own weekly cleaning cheat sheet:
- Laundry – be sure to implement these laundry time saving tips!
- Dust furniture
- Dishes
- Floors
- Garbage
- Counter Clean Up
- Wipe down baseboards
- Windows
- Pet care (litterboxes, brush the dog, etc.)
- Pantry tidy up
The Two Minute Rule
Another great tip is that if it can be done in two minutes or less, do it now. You’ll be surprised at how much easier cleaning will feel if you break things down and tackle the tiny stuff over a week’s time.
What sort of “cheats” do you have to tackle your household chores?
Do you have any tips on how to encourage kids to get involved and help keep things clean?