8/13/09

Pretty Organizers Top Tips

Ladies, today I feel a bit like a soggy noodle. Fair warning should be given that the chlorine that I took in while training for the swim portion of my triathlon this evening may have reached toxic levels and affected my brain... at least my thoughts are clean! Thus, today's post has little rhyme and even less reason to it's composition...

Remember this secret?
I'm uber Pretty Organized... that is- fairly or moderately so, and I'm hoping to make this Christmas a little calmer than last. Why... okay, shhh... I'll let you in on a secret... Promise not to laugh, hate me, or shun me because I've consequently had to cut down on my chocolate intake.... I'm training for my first triathlon. {Konk, gafaw, snort... stop laughing family and friends} No worries though... it's a Sprint triathlon-- those are triathlons for chocolate bingers like me! Race day is December 5th.... so if you visit December 6th and there's no triathlon post it's most likely due to the fact that I drowned mid way through the swim portion and my relatives are reading the will to find out who has the "laundry for 7 life sentence". If that is the case, I'll be in heaven resting, eating heavenly chocolate and watching all of you do your laundry.
Well, I'm blaming all my folly these days on triathlon training... you ought to try it, it's all the rage and everyone thinks you're some super athletic chic (I am, I gave up chocolate binges while training...Ahh.. yes, now on to my tips. (Sound tippsy don't I?) dang check out my bad punctuation!
Tip #1: Make every piece of furniture count. If you have a bed- jack it up and store things underneath. If you need a table- improvise with something that will "store" Christmas or treasures or whatever! Wasted space is such a waste! Stop complaining about your shortage of closets and invent your own!

This is not the correct way to keep your child in time-out... though I give this parent an E for effort.
Tip #2: Ask your child to stand on one foot for his/her time out. I have kiddo's that wouldn't stay in time out. Desperation is the mother of invention... I asked my son to serve his time-out on one foot. The amount of concentration it takes for a kid to balance on one foot seems to chase away the thought of leaving the spot.
Tip #3: Let someone else do the nagging. Teach a lesson without saying a word. I talked about silent lecturing in THIS POST.

Often when my kids get in trouble I assign sentences for them to write. I got tired of thinking up great sentences and decided that the hymnbook at my church had about every lesson covered in it. When I want to drive a message home I sit them in front of our hymnbook and have them copy the words to the hymn... (and if I have the song, I play it in the back ground).


This works great for our musical family because my kids are learning hymns while they write and I don't have to lecture! So far I've found hymns on honesty, making good choices, not speaking ill of others or gossiping, increasing love in the home, and serving others.

If you don't have a hymnbook to use you can try poems on different character traits or values. Try an online search and let your kiddos learn the message you want to deliver without ever telling them a word.

photo credits: Southern Living and Flickr

16 comments:

Pam said...

Great tips! I like the idea of the hymnal. You could also find scripture passages on the subject and let that be their copywork. I homeschool my son. Inevitably, his handwriting book is completed way before our school year, so, we use scripture passages for him to work on his penmanship.

Kudos to you on training for a triathalon. That's probably good stress reduction, too, I would think. Good luck with the rest of your training.

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

Good tips!! :) I love the photo of the trashcan bedside table. :)

Good job for keeping up with your training!

Beth said...

Great ideas! I never would have thought of hiding a trash can for the sake of extra storage! I'm going to use the sentence writing idea when my daughter gets older.

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

That little one duct taped to the wall made me spit out my drink - thankfully it was only water! Love your tips - in selling my home, I absolutely, positively believe in using underneath the bed. What a lifesaver sometimes!

Amy said...

Okay, Great! Now I have a good reason to go and spend money on vinyl lettering! Thanks for the nudge! :)

I love your practical ideas!

Sometimes I walk around singing part of a song my kids learned in sunday school:
"O-B-E-Y, obey your mom and dad". I wish I knew the rest. Sometimes I hear them singing it. It's little moments like that, that make it so apparent that they hear and see all that we do as parents!

Shayla said...

Excellent post!

I love your one footed time out idea!!! AND the hymnal- genius!

Jenna said...

Great tips! Good luck on the triathlon - sounds fun (for you!). I hope that there are barrels of chocolate waiting for you at the finish line.

Amy {The Red Chair Blog} said...

Love that trash can idea! So clever!

Jena Webber said...

O.K. the kids with duct tape is hilarious--appears to like the attention too! I have been thinking about a triathalon except it involves running, swimming and biking. LOL. How about a blogathon?

Small House said...

Like the tips! I could have used a couple of those a few years ago.

Such a cute picture of time out! I wondered what my teenagers would say if I told them to stand in time out on one leg. HAHAHAHAHA I sure wish I would have had that tip when they were small. Hymn writing was another good one!

I've enjoyed your blog. So pretty and relaxing. Be back soon.
Sandra

Magic Brush said...

I am considering having my 2 boys memorize scriptures weekly for an allowance. Thoughts on that?

Magic Brush said...

How do you make time for a triathlon? I am just wanting to train for a half marathon and can't seem to get it together!!! Good for you!!!

Anonymous said...

My Dad trained for a triathlon after he retired. He didn't know how to swim well so he took swimming lessons twice a day. He competed in the Dallas White Rock Triathlon in 1982 - the oldest competitor and won his age group. My hat is off to you and best of luck.

ness said...

oh..your doing a triathlon? My sister and I just did our first one yesterday!!! You can do it-good for you:)

Laura said...

Love the hymnal idea! :)

Nishant said...

Good tips!! :) I love the photo of the trashcan bedside table.


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