Organizing Summer Fun When Everyone is Bored: Outdoor Decathlon

 
"I'm bored!" My response is usually, "Sorry, that's your choice!" Over the years, I've come up with some activities to do when there doesn't seem to be anything to do. Most of these I've made up or adapted from other ideas. Sometimes merely reframing ordinary activities creates fun!

So ... I'm going to do a series on some of these crazy activities. Hope you enjoy them! 


Outdoor decathlon: 10 games - a combination of silly games and games of skill. See possible games below.

I keep the list of games a secret. Then it's a series of surprises.

Gather all the supplies needed for each game. 

Create a box or bag of prizes. 

Create a score sheet chart with each person listed and each game listed. 

After each game, record the scores. If you have five people playing, the person who comes in first gets five points, 2nd place gets 4 points, etc. 

After all 10 events are played, the person with the most points is first, etc. #1 get to choose a prize first, #2 second, etc.

Possible games (you may need to adjust to kids' ages): 
dropping clothespins in a bottle
horse (basketball)
elimination bocce ball
bubble gum blowing contest
tossing a coin into a muffin tin
bowling with a toy bowling set
paper airplane making/flying
frisbee golf
croquet
bouncing a tennis ball on a tennis raquet
tossing a tennis ball into a waste basket
ladderball
relays
balancing a ball on your finger


What fun activities have you created? 

More on creating fun: 
Organizing Some Fun

Organizing Your Fun Time

Five Health Benefits of Laughter

 

Get Organized With These Sneaky Tips

 

Here are some great tips from Anna Miller, my guest blogger for today. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Get Organized With These Sneaky Tips

There are some people who are anal about cleanliness and order and others who are totally unconcerned about the clutter they live in. The former are sometimes obsessive compulsive about keeping their personal space neat and tidy while the latter have no qualms about co-existing with filth and disorder. 

Thankfully, most of us fall somewhere in the middle of these two opposite ends of the spectrum – we wish we were more organized, but we’re too busy at times, too lazy at others, and just not in the mood many a day. 

It’s good to be organized, especially if you want to save time and effort every day. When you know where everything is, your day goes by more smoothly and you minimize your stress while maximizing your energy and efficiency. So if you feel your life slipping more and more into the disorderly side of the spectrum, here are a few sneaky tips to get organized:

Do more when the mood strikes: I like to think that I’m a fairly neat person and that my things and schedules are as organized as they can be. But while I do believe that there must be a place for everything and everything in its place, I find that there are times when I’m just too pressed for time or that I’m not in the mood to organize and clear up the clutter. 

But then, when the mess accumulates beyond a certain level, the mood to clean takes priority over all else. I try to get more done during this time, because I know I tend to slip back into laziness soon enough. So if you’re in the mood to clear up, milk it for all its worth and get more done around the house or your workspace.

Procrastinate once, not any more: It’s ok to put off things if you don’t feel like doing them, but not more than once, especially when it comes to cleaning up your clutter and organizing your space and belongings. Remember, the longer you leave clutter around, the more time you need to get organized. 

So if you don’t feel like washing or clearing up after dinner because you prefer to laze on the couch and watch TV, go ahead by all means. But make sure you wake up a few minutes early the next day so you can clean up before you leave for work or get started with your day. It’s when you keep putting off organizing your space that you find yourself losing control and getting stressed out.

Entertain: I’ve found that the best incentive for me to clean up is to throw a party or invite people over for dinner. When guests are expected, I know my home has to be perfectly neat and clean. It doesn’t have to be big, just a small gathering with friends is enough to do the trick.

I find myself tidying up and getting rid of the clutter every Friday because I know I will have company on Saturday. This weekly routine ensures that I stay organized and on top of things.

The point I’m trying to make is that you don’t really have to be neat and organized all the time; it’s enough if you realize your strengths and weaknesses, and play to the former while avoiding the latter as much as possible.


This guest post is contributed by Anna Miller, who writes on the topic of online degree . She welcomes your comments at her email id: anna.miller009@gmail.com.

More on organizing tips: 
Don't Make the #1 Organizing Mistake

Color-Coding Your Storage

5-Minute Stress Relievers - Organizing and Cleaning

 

Right-Brained People - Enjoy Your Creative Organizing!

   
If you are a creative, right-brained person, don't despair when it comes to organizing! Use that creativity to come up with organizing solutions that work for you.

Just because you may not be organizationally minded doesn't mean you can't organize. As my right-brained daughter has said to me many times, "I can organize, just not the same way you do."

Right-brained people are good at brainstorming and thinking outside the box. Use those skills to come up with creative solutions to solve your organizing issues. Create systems that work for you. 

Don't feel that there is a "right way" to organize. Organizing is very personal and needs to work for you. Even if a system works for others, it may not work for you.

Try out your creative solutions and see which ones work. If they don't, tweak them or throw them out all together! 

The key is to drag yourself away from more enticing projects and take some time to use your creativity to organize. It's hard to do. But the result is worth it: your mind will be freed up for more creativity because it's not cluttered with visual chaos.

Right brained people, tell us your organizing solutions!

More on organizing differences:

Is Decluttering/Organizing with Your Spouse Making You Angry?

How to Stay Organized When No One around You Is

Organizing the ADD Household

 

Organizing Some Fun

Happy Memorial Day!

I was trying to think of some fun for today. We have some limitations: one of our foster daughters has a sprained ankle and another needs to do a bunch of reading before tomorrow (what? procrastination? one word: her.choice! LOL) So we can't do anything that involves walking, which eliminates almost everything.

The reader was planning to come downstairs and read for about four hours straight. Sprained ankle offered to read at the same time. So we are all going to read - to me that's luxurious!

But I'm going to change it a little. After about 2 hours, we are going to go on a progressive fast food lunch. Sounds nutritious doesn't it? We'll give each girl $6 and go to various fast food establishments where they can spend their money. The only catch is that they can only buy one item at each place and they don't know where we are going until we get to each place!

This is my plan: MacDonalds, Taco Bell, Sheetz (gas station), Burger King, and the dollar store. Sounds horrifying, doesn't it? A teenager's dream meal!! I guess I could add a grocery store on the list and make them buy a piece of fruit. One word: not.going.to.happen. 

Then we'll come back and continue our reading time.

Yesterday we did a flip a coin adventure. Flip the coin once: heads = go straight; tails = turn. If tails, flip again to see which direction to turn. Heads = right; tails = left. We go about three blocks between flips so we're not just going in circles. Sometimes we start a little distance from our house, so we're in new territory. 

Yesterday we ended up in some beautiful areas where we had never been - fun! 


What creative fun have you invented?


More on fun:

Organizing Your Fun Time

Organizing An Intentional Summer for Your Children

In a Winter Rut? Here's How to Climb Out!

5-Minute Stress Relievers - Being Generous

 

Wrapping Up the School Year

     
 As the school year closes, it's a good time to wrap up end-of-year activities. Even if you don't have kids in school, many activities take a break for the summer - a perfect time to put closure on those activities.

If you volunteer, declutter and organize any paperwork for your position. If you are passing that position on to someone else, hand off that paperwork by the middle to end of June so the transition goes smoothly. 

If you've taken a class, organize your class notes and related material. Look over your notes for action points you want to take away from the class.

If you have school-age children, sit down together and look over school papers, projects and artwork you have saved. Determine an acceptable amount to save and work with your child to determine which masterpieces to keep. 

If there are too many for your comfort, take pictures of the rest and put them in a photo album. Or send them to relatives or soldiers. Or create placemats, lamp shades, collages, etc. with them.

Print photos you want to keep from this year and divide into categories. Or copy to CDs or DVDs or another medium. Organize according to activities. Remove these pictures from your camera to make room for your summer fun.

If you haven't done so already, evaluate summer clothes for the family. Get rid of those that don't work and fill in the blanks with new ones. While you're at it, if other clothes are outgrown, get rid of those also. Donate, hand them down - whatever, but get them out of the house!

Celebrate the end of school! Make something special, decorate, do something silly, make certificates to celebrate milestones. Whatever you do, celebrate all the work each of you has accomplished during the school year.


More on wrapping up:

Getting Organized for School - Organizing Your Child's Artwork and School Papers

Overwhelmed by Unfinished Projects?

Organizing Your Keepsakes into Bins

Is Clutter Distracting You From Work?

       
Are you easily distracted by some of your clutter? Is it distracting enough that you stop working? Examples: the newspaper, magazines, catalogs, golf clubs, etc.

If you find that your work is suffering because of these distractions, remove them from your office! Make it a weekly habit to remove such distractions.

Work hard. Take breaks which refresh and rejuvenate you. Refuel yourself during your breaks with food and liquids. Get enough sleep. And you'll be operating at peak efficiency and energy.

More on clutter:

Your Priorities, Passions, and Gifts Create Context for Your Clutter

Can Clutter Cause You to Lose Your Job?

Clutter in Your House or Office Means Clutter in Your Mind  

 

Finding Charities that Will Pick Up Your Clutter

      
On a recent organizing job, my clients were getting ready to move and wanted to get rid of some items to reduce moving expenses. As I was driving home, I noticed a nearby Salvation Army.

I called, and sure enough, they pick up unwanted items. While on the phone, they gave me an extensive list of what they will and will not take. As it turned out, Salvation Army took everything except some wood. 

While arranging for the disposal of these items, I was thinking it would be nice to go to a website that listed charitable organizations who pick up discarded household goods. Since I was working in an unfamiliar location, I wasn't sure what organizations were available in that 
area.

Since that time, I discovered Donation Town - a website that lists such organizations by zip code. Just go to Donation Town, enter your zip code, and you have a list of charities that will pick up your unwanted items.

I took the following section from their website, listing such charities:

• Salvation Army Donation Pick Up
• Goodwill Donation Pick Up
• Arc Donation Pick Up
• Vietnam Veterans Donation Pick Up
• Big Brothers Big Sisters Donation Pick Up
• Humane Society Donation Pick Up
• Habitat for Humanity Donation Pick Up
• Hospice Donation Pick Up
• And hundreds of other charities that serve the homeless, children's charities, veterans charities, faith based charities, disability charities, medical charities, and More!!!!!

More on donating:

Donating Business Clothing for Job Interviews

Get Organized Month 2009 - Decluttering Your Electronics

Get Organized Month - Decluttering Your Suits/Coordinated Outfits and Jackets

 

Test Taking Mistakes

    
 We have a few days off, which we are thoroughly enjoying! Our girls return Wednesday night for dinner. 

Schools around here are not out yet - not until the first week of June or so. Our girls get out June 8.

If your kids are still in school and have tests to take, have them take a look at the three biggest test-taking mistakes, according to Julie Baird, The Grade Coach.

While there, snoop around - Julie has great advice to students who want to be successful in school. 

More on doing well in school:

Getting Organized for School - Peaceful and Organized Surroundings

Getting Organized for School (and life!) - Getting Enough Sleep

Getting Organized for School - Study Shows Flashcards Help Improve Memory

Spring Cleaning Your Career

 

Part of time management is knowing your priorities, passions, and gifts so you know how to invest your life. Helen Coster wrote the following article for Forbes, which provides hints for examining your career satisfaction and productivity. 

"You've sent your sweaters to summer storage, stashed away your snow boots and vacuumed up five months' worth of dust under your bed. Your career needs a spring-cleaning, too. Whether you're actively looking for a new job or just willing to jump if the right opportunity comes along, use this season as an occasion to make yourself a better job candidate.

Tackle the most intimidating chore first, by designating time to take stock of where you are professionally. Many of us get so caught up in our day-to-day duties that we lose sight of whether we're on the right path to begin with. 

Do you enjoy going to work every day? Are you stimulated by what you do? Are you making enough to live the way you want and save for the future? Are you pursuing your professional dreams? If not, take steps. 

"The most effective thing you can do to get to your next job is get a sense of where you should be going," says Win Sheffield, a career coach with the Five O'Clock Club, a career coaching organization. "Many people discount this question, because they assume they're at the whim of the market."

You don't need to figure out your life's purpose or have a laser-focused vision of the future before you can make a move, Sheffield says. "While that kind of focus is great, it's not in most of us." Instead, he recommends, have an open mind about different careers that might satisfy you. 

Start by developing a sense of what naturally interests you now. What do you read about in your spare time? What are your hobbies? Consider careers that could develop out of those passions. 

To get the most out of your current job, take on added responsibilities that will challenge you. In mastering new skills you may discover new things that excite you and give you ideas about what you want to do next.

Next, dust off your résumé. Sheffield says that employers look at a résumé for an average of 10 seconds, and that people who have worked for less than 10 years should keep theirs to one page. If you've been working longer than that, consider two pages. Replace hackneyed expressions like "strong team player" and "possess organizational skills" with strong, active verbs that demonstrate results.

"An employer hires you to solve his problems," Sheffield says. "The single best indicator that you're right for the job is an example of where you've solved other people's problems."

Whenever possible, use numbers to document your performance. Instead of saying, "Managed a team of three," say, "Managed a team of three employees who interacted with clients and had a 100% client-retention rate over two years." Include keywords related to your skills and background, since many big companies use computers to screen résumés for phrases, like "analyst" or "financial modeling." Have a friend double-check your résumé for spelling and grammatical errors, and always be honest.

Update your LinkedIn profile. Add links to any websites that showcase your work. Write a summary of your career, including as many keywords as possible. Enlist colleagues to write recommendations. Increase your volume of connections by reaching out to former colleagues. Send a brief personal note with each invitation to link. Flesh out the "Experience" section to include a description of every job you've had.

Clean up your online reputation, as well as your workspace. Either set your Facebook settings so prospective employers can't see your updates and photos or be very sure to post information that presents you in a positive, professional light. 

Set aside an hour before or after work to declutter your desk. File business cards in some kind of searchable way, and file random documents. 

Brush up on the latest skills in your profession. Work on your public speaking with an organization like Toastmasters International. Ask your office information-technology guru for a lesson in Excel or PowerPoint. Sign up for a continuing education class. If you have an area of expertise that you can share with others, gain visibility by starting a blog about it.

Network both inside and outside your organization. The best time to network is when you're not actively searching for a job. "When you're gainfully employed, you're in a position of strength when you meet new people," Sheffield says. "They're not worried that you're going to ask them for a job." Join an alumni organization, and network internally by meeting colleagues for lunch or coffee at least once a week.

---

Clean up your schedule by considering all the things that compete for your time, and decide what to keep and what to discard. If you volunteer with three nonprofit organizations, select the most meaningful one, focus on it and stop giving your divided attention to all three. Focus on the things that are important to you and ditch the extraneous.

Lastly, update your "bragalogue," a short, pithy story that incorporates a few bits of information about who you are and what you've done. Think of a few positive things you can say about your work, and be prepared to share them during fly-by encounters with your boss. 

If you don't already have one, create a journal in which you keep track of your achievements. Every time you accomplish something, add an entry, noting what you did and why it was important. When possible, show how that achievement helped your company. The list will help you make your case for an internal promotion. Or, if you've stopped being excited about your accomplishments, it will indicate that it's time for something new."

More on careers:

Announcing My New Coaching Package - Rethinking Life

Creating Routines and Systems

Three Steps to Time Management at the Office

 

 

Top 10 Workouts For the Busy and Budget-Strapped

I'm the time management expert for Campus Calm, an organization devoted to helping college students have balance while in school. Amy Lademann, Fitness Expert for Campus Calm gives the following advice when you're short on time and money:

"I know many people skip their workouts because they are too bored with the same old jog, or weight training program, and struggle to think of something new to do. 

Here are my favorite workout ideas when your time, and budget are limited. These exercises will help make you fit, healthy, and strong. Of course before trying any new fitness routine, you may need to evaluate your current health and/or check in with your doctor. Always listen to your body, and work within your limits.

10 – Group Sports
Remember the days of playing outside with your friends? Many of us headed outside after school, and stayed out until dinner time, riding bikes, playing tag, playing sports, and more. If you have a group of like
minded fitness friends then make a regular time to meet at the park and do some sort of workout. Even taking cues from your childhood could lead to new fitness routines, and improved strength.

9 – Swimming
Living in Southwest Florida, the white sandy beaches, and hot summer days, and beautiful blue waters call to many of us. If it is hot and you feel like you should do something healthy then go for a swim. Swimming can be an amazing workout, to strengthen your entire body, and increase your endurance.

8 – Jumping Rope
I love jumping rope, because it makes me feel strong. Also, a 10 minute skipping session is probably worth about 30 minutes of jogging (depending on your pace) which may save you time and give you something new to practice. Jump ropes are cost effective tools, that can shape your shoulders, tone your legs, and increase your cardiovascular endurance. They pack easily, and can be used anywhere.

7 – Hiking
Hiking is an amazing workout. An all day hike is good for the body, and the soul. It challenges your core, helps your stability, strengthens your legs, increases your stamina, and more.

6 – 100’s
When you’re looking for an amazing way to measure your progress and want to boost your overall fitness level try 100’s. Take any exercise you can think of and do 100 repetitions. Then, think of another exercise
and do another 100 repetitions. Obviously this is an ambitious goal. 

Start with a lower number like 20 and work your way up by 10’s until you reach 100.
 

For example, try 20 minute workouts of:
• 100 crunches;
• The 100’s from Pilates
• 100 pushups;
• 100 squats
• 100 bicep curls
• 100 jumps with a jump rope
By the end of it you should feel tired, and totally invigorated.

5 – Variations of 1 Exercise
If you travel frequently, don’t have a gym membership, and/or are limited on time, try the Variations Workout. The idea is to take one exercise and do it in all different ways for a whole workout. For example, do pushups for 20 minutes in a variety of variations. Try a normal width pushup, a wide one, narrow one focusing on your triceps, a declined pushup, an elevated one… keep changing positions until you have exhausted them all.

Start with a reasonable number, based on your current fitness level and add 10 each time you do this workout. If you only have a total of 30 minutes, try this with 2–3 exercises do each exercise for 10 minutes,
and then change to another body part.

4 – Hill Sprints
Hill sprints work your whole body, and really test your fitness level. Two or three sessions of these a week, is worth double that amount of jogging. Your heart rate increases higher in a shorter amount of time, and your body will be pushed to its limit. You’ll burn more calories than jogging alone, and change up your workout a few times a week.

3 – Circuits
For your circuit workout, use one exercise for each muscle group, and perform them one after the other with no breaks in between. Then work your way back down to the start. Some great exercises for a good
circuit are:
• Pushups
• Crunches
• Bicep Curls
• Squats
• Overhead Press
• Chin Ups
• Dips

2- Dance
Put on your favorite tunes and dance! You can do this any where, and at any time. No dress code required, no reservations required.

1- Hula Hoop
Want to feel young, carefree, and alive again? Grab a hula hoop and hula! See how long you can go swirling it around your hips. Time your sessions and work your way up to several minutes at a time. Your
core will work, your balance may be challenged, your waist may become slimmer, and your energy will soar.

Just remember, fitness, and healthy living, is about incorporating workouts into your lifestyle. Finding things that you love and that make you feel good, healthy, and fit. 

It’s not about being perfect, wearing the ideal outfit, or joining the best gym. Fitness is about being consistent, at times pushing yourself further, and sometimes pulling back, or taking a day off. Listen to your body, and have fun exploring your full potential."

For more information on creating fitness programs, visit Go Beyond Motion  or contact Amy at info@go2beyondmotion.com.

More on exercise:

The Best Time of Day to Do Your Cardio Workout

Time is Money: The Best Times to Do Everything (100 Tricks & Tips) - from Online Degrees

Spring Cleaning Your Mood

 

New Study - Fathers Who Clean and Declutter Have Happier Marriages

   
I love this article! It resonates with my belief that unselfishness is the key to a happy and mutually encouraging marriage. John Stevens wrote the following article about the fascinating results of a study about husbands and housework.

"Sorting possessions, organizing closets, and packing objects into boxes can be hard work. But husbands and fathers who do these chores can now regard themselves as investing in their own future happiness, according to a study released Thursday by the London School of Economics (LSE).

The LSE study shows a clear connection between marital happiness and the amount of housework done by fathers. Fathers who clean house, shop, and are actively involved in the care of their children are much less likely to end up divorced. Fathers who shirked these chores and who also had wives who worked outside the home doubled their risk of divorce, making them the demographic that was most likely to get divorced.  

The researchers who gathered the data did not ask fathers how much housework they were doing. Instead, they asked mothers how much housework their husbands did. They began the research process in 1970, talking to wives who had just given birth to their first child, and followed up with the families periodically over the course of the next 16 years.

About 20 percent of the couples in the study divorced by the time their first child was 16. About half the fathers were doing little or no housework, so little that they almost seemed to be campaigning for a divorce. About one quarter of the husbands did three or four chores per week, according to their wives. Those were the husbands who hit the marital jackpot, so to speak.   

The connection between men doing chores and marital happiness was so strong that researchers said it canceled out the destabilizing effect on marriage of mothers returning to the workplace. Researchers also noted that the improvement in marital happiness when husbands did chores occurred whether or not wives worked outside the home.

Scholars analyzing the study’s results were quick to point out that the important factor in keeping marriages happy was that the amount of work to be done is shared equally. It did not matter who did what tasks, as long as there was no imbalance in the arrangement, with one partner (the wife) doing far more than the other. Traditional marriages in which the husband works outside the home and the wife stays home and does most of the housework and childcare can be just as happy as marriages in which both spouses work -- but only if each spouse does a fair share of the tasks that need to be done. 

The study, which was led by senior LSE lecturer Wendy Sigle-Rushton, was done on behalf of Britain’s Gender Equality Network, which is part of the Department of Business’ Economic and Social Research Council. The Gender Equality Network was established to study the ways in which changing gender relations might be affecting families."

More on Clutter and Relationships:

Is Decluttering/Organizing with Your Spouse Making You Angry?

Is Clutter Putting a Strain on Your Relationships?

Spring Cleaning Relationships

Are Boys More Disorganized Than Girls?

    
Here's a video you might enjoy about whether boys are more disorganized than girls.

Sorry - they took it off the air!

The upshot of the video: boys' brains develop slower in the area of organizing than girls' brains.

   

10 Signs That Your Parent Shouldn't Be Living Alone

   
Kind of a dreary day here in Ohio today. But beautiful with new life! I've been watching two little birds flitting back and forth from our bird feeder to our birdhouse, where I'm assuming they have a nest. Neither one goes far, fearing harm may come to their little ones. Fascinating, isn't it, how they instinctively know how to care for their young? Ok - on to our blog for today ...

Are you worried about your parent living alone? Here are some signs that he or she might need assistance decluttering and organizing, might need to move into a care facility, or might need some in-home assistance.

1. Piles of mail and unpaid bills

2. Difficulty walking safely through a home

3. Frustration trying to organize

4. Difficulty managing activities of daily living

5. Expired food in the refrigerator 

6. Jammed closets and drawers

7. Compulsive shopping

8. Difficulty deciding whether to discard items

9. A health episode such as a stroke or dementia

10. Loneliness.

To find a professional organizer near you, visit the National Association of Professional Organizers. 

Resource: Home Instead


More on downsizing:

The Advantages of Downsizing

Downsizing - Factors to Consider when Choosing a New Residence

How to Find Help When You’re Ready to Downsize

Residential Options when You Downsize

 

DC Area - Donate Your Denim to Habitat

    
If you live in the DC area and need to declutter your jeans, help out Habitat for Humanity at the same time. Vastu Design Clique and professional organizer Scott Roewer have teamed up to collect at least 500 pairs of jeans.

The jeans will be turned into natural cotton fiber insulation for Habitat homes. 500 jeans will insulate one house. They have collected 300 pairs already.

You can drop off your jeans at Vastu Design Clique, 1829 14th St, NW Washington, DC 20009 from Tues - Sat 11 am to 7 pm, Sunday noon to 5 pm (closed Mondays) through Sunday May 23.

Organizing Stitchery Supplies

      
DMC Threads has been having several guest bloggers describe how they organize their stitching supplies. If you're a stitcher, you might enjoy the insights and ideas these women offer.

More on crafts:

Storage Ideas for Crafts and Art Supplies

Organizing Art or Craft Space

Saving Time by Cutting Out Craft Clean Up