A Time of Reflection and Planning for the New Year
It seems like this year has gone by in a blur. There were so many wonderful things that we celebrated together as a family – like my daughter starting first grade, learning how to read, finishing her first YMCA triathlon for kids and has the medal hanging in her room that she likes to show anyone who comes to visit, to getting a new family dog. We are attempting to teach him that he is a dog and not a human as he so thinks. When I look back at the photo’s I took on my iPhone over the past year, I realize we really did have a great time this year and I am so happy to have these pictures to remind me as it does seem like it went by too quickly!
But a part of me is torn. While we have done so much this year and really are so blessed to have each other, I do feel at times I wasn’t as present as much as I would have liked to. Between my two sites and learning more about the whole mom blogging sphere – things probably took longer than expected to figure them out as I went along. I do love what I do and am reminded of this often when women will write to me and say a post really helped them or they liked some of our contributors ideas or fashion tips. For me, featuring the Inspirational Moms and companies who are helping others – either by showing that you can realize your dreams and to just go for them, to helping others in need – such as the Project Night Night non-profit – have all been rewards unto themselves. These have been really special moments for me and it has been so rewarding to see others be inspired to help out in their community as well.
The message of dandelion moms – of dandelion parenting is about being present and enjoying the moments. It is a real challenge for me to do this and I am constantly having to remind myself of the importance of really being in the moment and not get distracted with all “stuff” that needs to get done with work and family life. I guess that is the challenge for many and I plan to help others and myself in the process – to get more organized this year so that there is more time spent on the things that really matter and less time worrying about what’s for dinner at 4pm because it wasn’t organized into the day. I have written about this in the past and with the new year starting – let’s support one another on our journey of getting our “stuff” organized that we have been putting off. Here are some of the things I would like to see happen this year:
~Organize our house so it has less clutter and filled with the things I truly love and need.
~Spend more quality time and make sure to take time out each day and do something my daughter wants to do. (These days this includes either playing Minecraft on the iPad or Xbox or talking about what type of world we would create together).
~Plan more date nights with my hubby.
~Take more mini-trips.
~Make more time for my friends.
~Less time worrying about what needs to get done and more time spent having fun.
In support of getting our “stuff” organized, I will provide two dandelion moms with the Modern Parents Messy Kids Project Organize Your Entire Life kit. I love how the author of this eBook, Stephanie Morgan, breaks each aspect of our life into different sections with recommendations on how best to get (or keep) it all organized. Let’s work together this year and share in our journey of getting more organized so we can enjoy the other moments without the stress of worrying about things like whether or not we have something to make for dinner that night – because we have our chart and know we have something ready-to-go! Please share with us on Facebook what tips have worked for you, challenges you are facing or triumphs you want to share (I finally have cleared off the kitchen table and organized my paperwork). Here’s to a more organized and thus less cluttered mind in 2014!
Here is what will be included in the Modern Parents Messy Kids Project Organize your ENTIRE Life kit and downloads that include: eBook and 38 page Printable Planner Pack. See more at Modern Parents Messy Kids.
Plus over 35 pages of sheets to help you get organized (notebook can be picked up at your local Office Depot or Target).
Good luck!
UPDATE: We have our two winners! Thanks all for participating!
- Name: Debnmike Moretti Facebook
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Melissa
Melissa Northway, M.S. is a mom, founder of dandelion moms, and a children’s book author. Her award-winning book Penelope the Purple Pirate was inspired by her little tomboy. Penelope is a modern-day Pippi Longstocking who teaches girls and boys the importance of having fun while at the same time teaching them to be kind and respectful of others and their differences. Dandelion moms was created for moms to share their stories and to inspire and be inspired! You can reach Melissa at: info@dandelionmoms.com and follow her @melissanorthway and @dandelionmoms. Check out her author web site at: www.melissanorthway.com, as she hands out loads of goodies from the treasure chest.
19 Comments
jennifer
I have actually gotten much more organised in 2013, but still have a way to go. I would like to organise my child’s art projects more efficiently.
Jan Bohn
Love this site….so need this to organize my life, my classroom, MY BRAIN!!! Thanks for offering it!
Jamie Colombo
My family of 4 and I have lived in a camper for the past 7 years….so like it or not we HAVE to be organized to make it work. My gosh we still get clutter build up. Yesterday I went through all the paperwork that builds up. Taxes, bills, and documents of all kinds. Man that was a bear to dig through. I have decided to spend some quality time with a scanner and try to store as much as possible digitally. My goal for the year actually is to round things up and move us out of the “baby stage.” My son is 6.5 now and daughter 3. Time for mommy to start working from home as an artist again….I hope!
Caren Sue Evans
Paperwork! Bills, artwork, schoolwork, important papers, etc!
Lisa J
I need to make sense of the growing pile of special needs info I have collected over the years as an educator/parent. Because I wear two hats, the many resources I have can become interspersed and far-flung. I would like to develop a better system to know what I have, what, areas I need more info/resources, and what areas require more tactile or different maferials.
Andrea Wooldridge
I need to organize my new classroom.
Terri
Love learning new organizational techniques!
Niamh
My filing cabinet. Terrible habit of dumping papers on top of the filing cabinet in a to be sorted tray but never get round to the actual filing. On my to do list for this month 🙂
Melody Latimer
We have just moved. Expecting a baby. Have two special needs children. It’d be so lovely to be able to keep our lives organized this year. Seems like we’re at a prime beginning spot as well!
Ali
Organize my meal plans, and hopefully, in turn, my grocery shopping days!
Dina Kyle
What is something you want to get organized this year? I need to get my life in order. I need to have things written down so I can refer back to them. I am very unorganized, even more so after my back operation. This looks like it would help me tons. Ty
Sylvia
toys at home!
s.pipes
I’d like to organize my kids toys in a rotating fashion. We donate every so often, then a birthday rolls around. If I could organize or set up a plan to rotate the toys we keep I think we could learn more from them. Maybe even give me time to dream up new ways to play w/ them.
Shea
With two little guys running around the house, I really want to get better organized with our day to day routines and cleaning schedules! For every 10 minutes i spend cleaning, they turn it all upside down again in less then a minute!!
CD
My life and my clutter!
Mihaila Carmen
My Money ,my house ,my son room!,
Virginia Gammon
I would love to get my finances more organized. Monthly bills, payments, etc. And, my business office needs a better system. Who am I kidding-my whole house!
Caroline Nystrom (Mrs. Tempered Sunshine)
I need to get our daily routine, especially fitting in my own cleaning and exercise, organized.
Debnmike Moretti
My Cub Scouts calendar.