AND THE SPRING “CLEANING” BEGINS

In my house, I don’t do Spring Cleaning so much. It’s more of Spring Organizing. If you know me at all, you know this fact: I DON’T CLEAN! Now don’t worry, I don’t make my family live in filth, I just hire out the cleaning part. No, it’s not like I’m rolling in the money, it’s just that I know where my priorities are, and having somebody else clean my house is definitely one of my top priorities. Even when I didn’t have 2 nickels to rub together, I still had a maid. (Woops, I mean housekeeper. Is that the more politically correct way of saying it?) Seriously, give me a toilet brush, and I’m going to wonder if I’m supposed to clean the oven with it! (I know, ewww, right?)

So while the housekeeper (I’ll say this because I know I’m supposed to, but even she calls herself the maid!) takes care of the Spring Cleaning, I’m doing my Spring Organizing. My first step is to eradicate all memories of winter. So even though we may still see some chilly nights, too bad. All winter clothes are put away and summer clothes are out. No more of having both seasons crammed into the closets and drawers. Bye bye sweaters, hello swimsuits!

That’s the most pressing project. After that, it’s just taking a look at things that need to be done. But to make sure I don’t get overwhelmed, I could go about this many different ways. The key here is to just don’t try to do it all at once. How do I do it? I start with what annoys me the most! This weekend it was my closet! Changing out the clothes was a great start, but it needed so much more than that. After the closet, I moved to the laundry room. (And hey, as long as I was working on the laundry room, why not do laundry? Who says I’m no good at multi tasking?)

Anyway, you get the idea. I had no illusions of getting the entire house organized in one day, even one weekend. I was darn proud of myself for doing as much as I did! So whether you’re Spring Cleaning or Spring Organizing, break it down into manageable projects and take them one at a time. You’ll see, soon the important ones will get done, and the others will follow eventually!

Karen

Review on Care4Hire.com

Review:

You know… we’re busy. And not just a little busy, a LOT busy. On any given day we can be a chauffer, housekeeper, problem solver, mediator, entertainer, mechanic, nurse, employee (or boss), dog groomer, concierge, and above all, caregiver. We seem to take care of everyone (except ourselves, but that’s a whole different issue) including our kids, our spouse, our parents, our pets, our neighbors, and even the stranger at the grocery store who needs help getting something off the shelf.

Whew! We need help sometimes, if for no other reason than to save our sanity. But where to go for this help? I’d hire someone if I just knew where to find them. Well, now there is such a place.

Care4hire.com is an online database for families and caregivers to search babysitters, housekeepers, tutors, elder/companion care, pet sitters and other miscellaneous services. A free preview of available caregivers is available to families. Whether you need a caregiver for a few hours to a few days, you will find it at Care4hire.com. Once you are a registered member, you will be given immediate access to caregivers through email and phone.

So I went to Care4hire.com and entered my zip code. Here’s what came up for me within a 25 mile radius:

• 348 babysitters/nannies
• 9 housekeepers
• 8 tutors
• 16 companion/elder caregivers
• 19 pet sitters
• 17 miscellaneous helpers

WOW! Surely, even someone as neurotic and picky as I am should be able to find somebody to help me out from all these prospects. And they even offer background checks (for an additional fee) and suggested interview questions.

GIVEAWAY:

The president of Care4hire.com, Candi Wingate, has generously offered a gift certificate for 1 month of free service, a $29.99 value. The contest will end on July 15th at midnight CST, when the winner will be picked at random.

HOW TO ENTER:

Primary Entry: Go to Care4hire.com to check out what they do. Let me know which service would be most useful to you and why.

*This entry is mandatory to allow additional entries!

Additional Entries (be sure to leave a comment for each entry):

• Subscribe & Follow my blog via email
• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway (remember to use @karmelpub when tweeting)
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GOOD LUCK!

An AWWWW moment from Mexico

As most of you know, my sisters and I went on vacation to Mexico last weekend. Whenever I go out of town without my children, they each give me a stuffed animal to bring with me so I won’t forget them. (Okay, just because I want a little break, does NOT mean I’m going to forget them, but whatever!) So I let the boys pack the animals in my bag and I make sure to take them out as soon as I get to my destination. We wouldn’t want the little guys suffocating, now would we?

So this trip was no exception. Twin1 gave me his Raccoon named Rocky (my suggestion – you know, Rocky Raccoon by the Beatles!) and Twin2 gave me his frog, Ben. Just as I was directed, I took them out when I got to the resort. Well, the housekeeper who gave me my turn-down service each evening may not have spoken English, but she sure understood my animals! Each night, she would put them in different positions on my bed, ready to greet me when I came in the door. Here are two:

When I talked to my boys on Skype each night, I would show them how Rocky and Ben were sitting. They LOVED it!

It was a small, yet warm gesture that she made each evening. To me, she is somebody who shows pride in her work, and wants to make others happy, as she did for me and my boys. And yes, she got a big tip!

Karen