Dearest Dawn,
I am your avid reader. I work as a freelance artist and most of the time I stay at home and attend to the daily needs of my kids but doing this made me forget about myself. Help! Can you give me tips on time management. Thanks and God bless!
Awin Marcelo

I am all ears for you, Awin. I’m a part-time working mom myself but in my heart I know nothing can quite compare to the stability and security my son enjoys when he knows I’m around when he needs me.

Still, there are times when we get into a rut that goes on and on until we’re like robots. I won’t tell you to forget your kids and just take time off. What you can do is to get all your priorities settled before you give yourself a break.

Here are a few suggestions on how to get your home and kids organized to allow more “Me” time for you. Some of them involve little tasks that you can accomplish easily but do take up so much of your thinking and running time.

GOAL: Get everyone out the door on time and tantrum-free

- If you give your kids lunch money, prepare them on Sunday night and put them in envelopes.
- Use a whiteboard to track what you need to remember, like art materials on Monday and puppet project on Tuesday. Stash it all in a hanging clothes organizer (one compartment for each day) so you can just grab and go.
- Stock a container with food that your kids can eat and go in the morning, like cereals or biscuits. Have a stock of napkins in your car.

GOAL: Organize your laundry

- If you have no room for shelving, use a lazy Susan to organize everything from detergent bags to fabric softeners.
- You can keep smaller items like dryer sheets and scrubs in a clear shoe bag, which you can also use to hold coins from pockets and popped-off buttons.
- Give each family member two mesh bags– one for whites and one for colored clothes. I’ve made canvass bags that I embroidered with the names of my husband and son, so there is no mix-up. A 3-year-old can haul his own laundry to the washing machine. My son already knows how to undress before his bath as well as where to put his soiled clothing without coaching.

GOAL: Pay the bills on time
and never forget another permission slip

- Stacking mails, bills and paperwork into a box may be quick, but without you realizing it, they can pile up. Instead, think vertical, says Jackie Kelley, a professional organizer and a mom of two. Make a multi-pocket wall file, place it where you can easily see it like near the front door or wherever you usually work. Assign different colored folders for every member. If you get a school schedule for instance, write the dates on your calendar then put the paper on your kid’s file.
- Get rid of unnecessary papers like coupon and catalogs as soon as you get the mail. This will make your papers to sort and file much smaller.
- Place a magnet or cork board near your files and tack paperwork there that you have to act on right away. Set aside five minutes before bedtime to do this.

GOAL: Get the junk out of the trunk (and the rest of the car)

- Add a few collapsible mesh bags, where you can place anything from ballet bags to extra diapers. Put a clear plastic envelope between the front seats and put papers that you get, coupons, tickets, receipts. Sort through them while on traffic.
- Put a basket or crate for things that you need to deliver or carry en route. It will be able to remind you of where you will need to go like the dry-cleaners or the movie rental shop, plus, it will make your stuff so much neater and easily-accessed. I like to carry a canvass tote along with me that is stuffed with all of my magazines, agenda book, check payments and documents to be delivered on the way (because I hate wasting car trips & gasoline), lists of To-Dos, with a small separate envelope that has newspaper clippings and receipts that I need to file when I get home.
- Before your kids get out of the car, pass around a sack and have them throw their trash into it.

So, you’ve more or less gotten everyone’s schedules consolidated and rounded up like in the infantry. Now you’re ready to sit back and create time for yourself. Here are tips from Parenting Mom Squad organizer Janine Sarna-Jones and Katie Brown, host of Katie Brown Workshop (PBS):

Find the right spot. Get a private nook for yourself whether it is in the basement or even just a chair in the living room that you can rotate so your back is to the room. Tell your family your space is off-limits!

Set the scene. Get a cozy chair, the cushier the better. Treat your senses with music (via MP3 player or other), soothing lighting (a candle or lamp), nice scents (try an oil ring), favorite pictures, and a soft throw or pillow. Do what you love doing- read a book, browse through fashion magazines, start on craft projects. Skip on anything that has to do with family— family photos, parenting mags, kid’s toys, or any reminder of your usual routine.

Sit back and relax. Establish a ritual that you only do while you are there in your special place— drinking a cup of tea, tuning in on a song you love, or picking up a book. To make sure that you go to your spot everyday and not dwell on excuses, leave something in your space that you need everyday– say, your vitamins or eye drops.

Get this plan going for you, Awin. It may be a bit of a struggle at first, but if you discuss this with your husband and children I am sure they will understand and support you. I remember the saying, “From dawn until the setting sun, a woman’s work is never done”… Well, that may ring true for a lot of us, especially us mothers but unless we validate our own feelings and personal needs by including it in our long lists of “To-Dos”, nothing can save us from our self-infliction. Enjoy now your wonderful new routine!

(Excerpts lifted from What Matters To Moms Parenting, February 2008 and May 2008 issues)