#AskAbby: How to keep your family organized?

Most moms can relate to always being short on time and don’t need a reminder to it’s importance. Since AJ is often on set, I’m the family task manager and the one making sure everything and everyone is where they need to be. I’ve found a few “best practices” that have been my saving grace in keeping the family organized, and my sanity!

 

Tools

 

  1. Planner: I may be old school with my physical planner/calendar and yes I know that I can move everything to a digital one.  Yet, I’ve found that writing things down by hand in my planner as soon as I hear them has been key to staying on top of daily tasks and other things that may pop up.
  2. Color coding: As a nurse, EVERYTHING is color coded at work! I’ve carried this over to my home and it has been equally as useful. I even used to carry around a 4 color pen! In my planner, I’ll use different colors for notes pertaining to different people/categories of notes.
  3. Post-It Notes: (Also color coded!) These are all over my house! I use sticky notes for things that NEED to be done that day, I’ll write them down and then stick them on the back of my phone so there’s no way the task will escape me. No excuses with this method 😉
  4. Shared Google Calendars: My one “with the times” best practice! I LOVE this feature on Gmail. I have AJ’s calendar shared to mine and vice versa so we are always in the loop with each other. Plus, Willow has her own within my account so I know who has to be where and when. I love how everything auto-populates and there are so many different customization settings that would work for anyone’s needs.

 

Habits

 

  1. Putting daily items back where they belong: I’ve found this to be so helpful so I’m not wasting time during the day looking items I need. Whether it’s as simple as putting the keys back by the door or a mug next to the coffee pot to putting AJ’s eye mask back on the bedside table… I’d rather put these items back where they will be needed than be asked for help looking for them later 😉
  2. I coordinate all of Willow’s activities at the same time: I do my best to sign up all of Willow’s extracurriculars for the same time slot during the day so that even as her activities change, our routine doesn’t.
  3. Doing “fast tasks” immediately: Whether it’s opening the mail and paying bills right then and there or responding to an email… anything that can be done right away and in a few minutes should be. If I don’t do these tasks right away, I mentally file them away and forget to do them by the time they are due.
  4. Daily check in: This tends to be unscheduled but I always make sure to take a moment to review what needs to be done for the rest of the day/week. This moment also simply helps me to feel more organized.
  5. Planning a month in advance: I always made fun of friends who would do this but now as a mom I TOTALLY get it and practice it!! Maintaining friendships is extremely important to me so I make sure to actively reach out and suggest a date ( a month out) that works for me.
  6. Not being afraid to ask for help: I love my role and everything I do for the family but sometimes help is needed. I’m so lucky I have the ability to get help whether it’s hiring a sitter for Willow when I need to go to meetings or even have my mom coming to visit and lending a hand. Doing it all doesn’t have to mean doing it alone.

How To Make Almond Milk At Home

We stopped drinking dairy milk in our household quite some time ago. In our family we found that dairy wasn’t so easy on the tummies, so we incorporated almond milk into our diets. I usually bought the in-store almond milk, but always wanted to try to make my own. So with a little trial and error I ended up with an easy recipe that the whole family loved.  Its simple and quick, plus it is a great activity to do with the kids.

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds

2 cups water (if you like a thinner consistency add more water, for thicker consistency add less)

1 tbsp agave

1 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment:

Blender

Bowls

Cheese Cloth

Strainer

Measuring Cup

Measuring Spoons

Instructions:

Pour one cup of almonds in a bowl, cover with water. Cover the almonds with a cloth and soak the almonds overnight or for at least 8 hours.

Drain and rinse the almonds under cool water.

Add almonds to blender (I use a Vitamix) along with water.

Add agave and vanilla extract.

Blend on high for 2 minutes.

Pour the almond milk through a cheese cloth into a bowl.

Press the almond milk from the almond meal inside the cheese cloth. You should get about two cups of almond milk.

Bottle almond milk, refrigerate for up to two days and enjoy!

Photo Credit: Kate Hauschka

Where To Spray Your Perfume (Hint: It’s Not Where You Think)

Where do you spray your perfume everyday?

I would bet money that most of you would answer, my neck, chest and behind the ears. Unfortunately most of you beauties will end up in a dermatologist office due to this practice alone!

Why you ask? Well most perfumes contain alcohol, and when applied to sun exposed skin causes a photosensitivity to occur in direct sunlight. Thus increasing your chances of sunburn, which can lead to a list of problems. Such as hyper-pigmentation,  wrinkles,  Poikiloderma (google it, it is not pretty) and even skin cancer.

I take great care to avoid sun exposed areas when applying my perfume and so should you! I like to apply it under my clothes and I also do a spritz in the ends of my hair. Be careful not to spray too much in your hair, as the alcohol in the fragrance can also leave you with dry ends!

 

Shop My Favorite Fragrances Below:

Photo Credit: Kate Hauschka