About Dana White & her Blog
Dana is a winner of Top 25 Home Management Moms - 2012
How do you encourage your children to help keep the house organized?
Limit the stuff! I've learned how much easier it is for ME to keep things under control when there's less to deal with, and this is even more true with children.
Keep decluttering their belongings until you find how much they can handle. At that point, use the one-in-one-out rule to keep things under control.
But remember, cleaning and organizing are two different things. I have an e-book called Teaching Kids to Clean with ideas and lots of printable lists both for readers and non-readers. http://www.aslobcomesclean.com/2012/05/bring-on-the-summer-of-clean/
What advice do you have for moms trying to manage their home more effectively?
Purge, purge and purge some more. It's impossible to effectively manage a home that has too much stuff in it. Decluttering will get easier over time, but even the smallest decluttering project will do wonders for your attitude and energy.
What's the biggest challenge when keeping a home organized?
Maintenance. Getting organized is "easy." Staying organized feels impossible sometimes. Daily habits and maintenance are what will allow your organizing projects to have a lasting impact on your home.
What are your favorite blog posts?
Dana's Answers
What's a great cleaning product you've discovered?
I LOVE micro-fiber cloths! I was skeptical that they would be any different from normal washcloths, but they really are. They are just so much better at grabbing gunk off of the counters/table, and really make wiping things down much easier!
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What is your best tip for keeping the entryway clean and clutter-free?
Don't fall for the allure of pretty flat surfaces!!! I've completely eliminated a cute piece that did nothing but catch clutter and stress me out. It was difficult, but worth it!
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What is your best tip for keeping the bathroom clean?
Daily pick-ups are key! I'm not even talking about wiping things down!
I've had to train my brain to see the clutter. When I see the clutter (and then pick it up!), cleaning is so much easier!
And really, a clutter-free bathroom can pass for a clean bathroom at first glance . . . .
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Can you share a favorite Valentines Day project or recipe that moms can do with kids under the age of 6?
We make Valentine's Day special for the whole family by having a candlelit dinner and dressing up in fancy clothes.
Generally, though, it's the middle of the week and often falls on the same night as basketball practice, so we have French Dip Sandwiches which are sooo yummy and special, but are as easy as you can get!
So it's fancy . . . but simple and easy!
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Should allowance be tied to chores?
Honestly, yes. I know it's a controversial subject, but in our house it works much better. The main reason I like to tie the two is that it helps the kids be motivated to remember their chores. As someone who struggles to remember to do my OWN chores, I can go days (at least) without thinking to remind them to do theirs.
Here's a post about our system (it includes a free printable chart):
http://www.aslobcomesclean.com/2010/09/daily-checklistchore-chart-for-kids-now/
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Do you have any tips for managing the mail so that it does not pile up?
To keep mail from piling up, I have to go straight from the mailbox to the trashcan! This may not prevent all piles, but at least I know that my piles are only of the important stuff!
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What are your tips for throwing a party that both adults and kids will enjoy?
Set up different areas for food and hangout. At a kids' party, put things adults love but kids don't (like spinach artichoke dip, guacamole) and chilled soft drinks in the kitchen away from the party's main commotion. Adults can hang out there and enjoy themselves.
For an adult party, set up a special room with games and snacks and a movie for the kids. I've hired a teenager to be stationed in that room, and that lets parents relax more.
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What are some creative ways that a bride can involve children in her wedding day?
My best friend threw a candy bouquet for the kids, and the "real" bouquet to adults.
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Please share a link to a photo of the most organized space in your house -- whether it's a closet, drawer, toy shelf, etc.
Hmmm, that's hard. I'm always decluttering and re-re-organizing! I've found that the more extreme my decluttering and the more defined the space, the better it stays organized!
Right now, my favorite space in the house is my recently re-defined gameroom. I worked so hard to change it from being a catch-all, multi-purpose room to being a useful space for our family's real needs. It was a long process of figuring out what this really meant, but the result has been great!
And I find that the more true-to-the-way-our-family-lives I can make a space, the more easily it STAYS organized. And that's what it's really about, right?
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What's a great theme you've done for your child's birthday? Please share a link with a photo.
For my third child's third birthday, I finally accepted that three year olds just want to PLAY! I created a ladybug themed party, and made huge tissue paper flowers which "grew" all over the living room! I put out lots of climbing toys and made a tent shaped like a toadstool for the kids to play in. It was soooo much more successful than the parties I'd thrown for my other kids at age three where I'd planned tons of games and activities.
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What's a creative gift wrap idea? Please share a link to a blog post if you have one!
Modpodge is perfect to dress up a plain gift bag with cut outs or pics!
And my art-major roomie in college always wrapped gifts with the Sunday comics! So cute and fun!
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What's a creative way to display family photographs?
I loved the strips of photo booth pics my kids took at their cousin's wedding! They had so much fun with the props and costume pieces and I have the best memories of my boys standing in line over and over again to take more pictures because . . . it was FREE!
I found a large matted frame from IKEA that I'd had stored for years because it was oddly shaped. The picture strips fit perfectly and now it's a favorite displayed on my mantle!
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What's your best tip for teaching a gradeschooler about money?
Kids learn best about money when they get to an age where they really want pricey items. My philosophy is to use these times to teach them about the value of work and how it relates to money. When my boys got to the point where they really wanted their own hand-held video game system, I made them pay for them themselves. This helped teach them to not "blow" money from grandparents on small things, and motivated them to be consistent with their daily chore charts.
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