Okay...I'll admit it...I've been 'teasing' you with those last few blog entries.  (Forgive me?)

No more suspense, I want to tell you what I have found, tested and LOVED!

Many years ago, I saw Kathy Peel, "America's Family Manager" on Oprah.  Her ideas and book seemed great, but I wasn't a mother yet, so it didn't apply to me much.

More recently, I heard her on a podcast, and I got excited about the Family Manager system she created.  What she said just made so much sense!  

She explained that the same priniciples which create successful organizations and businesses, when applied with the 'family manager touch' will help you to create the warm, nuturing, and organized home you've always wanted.  She talked about using business priniciples like managing  your it by department, team building, delegating  and establishing  standard operating procedures  to create a household that runs smoothly and is a pleasure to live in.

This goes beyond traditional home organzing and is not about creating a Martha-Stewart like perfection or a cold corporate environment. Rather, this is about making it much easier for all of us to feel great about our families, and where we live.

One thing that really caught my attention, is when she explained that a Family Manager could manage their home more effectively by "departments"  The seven departments of of any household are:

* Home & Property -- The maintenance and care of all tangible assets, including belongings, house and its surroundings, and your vehicles

* Food/Meal Prep -- Meeting the family’s daily food and nutritional needs of your family.
   
* Family & Friends -- Dealing with relational responsibilities as a parent and spouse, and with extended family, friends, and neighbors.
   
* Finances -- Managing the budget, bill-paying, saving, investing, and charitable giving.
   
* Special Events -- Planning and coordinating occasions--birthdays, holidays, vacations, garage sales, family reunions, and celebrations -- events that fall outside one’s normal routine.
   
* Time & Scheduling -- Managing the family calendar and daily schedule; dispatching the right people to the right place at the right time with the right equipment.
   
* Self-Management -- Caring for one’s body, nurturing the mind and spirit so you can run your home without running yourself into the ground.

I have found it so helpful to organize my household around these "departments!" In fact,  I’ve found in my own family that the Family Manager strategies help reduce clutter, chaos, and stress in huge ways. Kathy offers a myriad of time-tested, mom approved solutions for each of these departments.

***** 

On a more personal note, you know that I make it my mission to seek out great solutions for busy moms.

I've seen it all.

It takes a lot to impress me.

But this time I was so impressed, I did just want to tell you about it, I wanted to be a part of the company that offers this solution as well!

Now I am qualified and authorized to teach you the Family Manager System through your very own Family Manager Makeover!  Just click here to learn more about the Family Manager System and Makeover!

PLUS...

To celebrate my new coaching certification, later tonight I will be starting simple contest where one lucky winner will get a FREE Family Manager Makeover...so check back soon to enter to win a FREE Family Manager Makeover! 

When we were new moms, we all heard it said at least once, "Babies don't come with instruction manuals, you know"

But that didn't stop us!  We STILL bought every baby book, hoping for a magic manual, or combination of manuals, to help us get motherhood right, and demystify the learning process of that first year.

As our kids grew, we never stopped reading those parenting books, searching for solutions...

And if you are 'domestically challenged' like me,  you probably also kept reading books and magazines, trying to figure out how to keep your home neat, clean and clutter free.  

If you grew up with household help, like I did, you may have also  assumed, that one person should handle pretty much everything related to housekeeping -- and never got your husband to help or taught your kids to pick up after themselves.

And if you're anything like me, you ended up hating the housework and, yes, a little bit resentful of your family (Even though it wasn't their fault -- they were behaving the way YOU trained them to.)

If you're anything like me, you kept searching and searching for "solutions" that "magic bullet" to make managing it all (almost) effortless! You kept looking for the "Missing Mom Manual"  You watched videos, joined flylady, read books on housekeeping and organizing -- and not much changed. You were seeking something that would make homekeeping so simple that it would just "CLICK" into your life (and maybe you could even get your kids and hubby on board)...

And nothing ever "Clicked"

Until now...

Ladies, I started to tell you about this the last time I posted...

And I am still doing a bit of work on it...

But I am so excited that I just wanted to tell you...

Relax Mom. The search is over. I think that I have FOUND "The Missing Mom Manual"   That ONE book, that ONE system, that we should ALL be handed the day our chilldren are born.

You all know how I love to find and share solutions -- and  I don't take that job lightly either.   When I say I have found something this good...I really mean it!

This is  NOT another baby book.  Rather it will help us manage our home and familes, much more easily  THROUGHOUT OUR ENTIRE LIVES.

And I am PROUD to bring it to you...

In my next post!

I had an "ah-ha" moment the other day when I found Hannah Keely's book Hannah's Art of Home: Managing Your Home Around Your Personality    I realized - That's it!  Some of my favorite solutions for busy moms are  based on finding the right answer for YOUR PERSONALITY.  I am drawn to those type of solutions because, as I have found with my coaching clients - ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL. What helps one woman, will not help another woman with the exact same problem because we are all different. What motivates one, will not motivate another!

My Favorite example of a great personality based solution is Janet Penley's book MotherStyles: Using Personality Types to Learn to Parent from Your Strengths. As you'll see in my review, this book was instrumental in giving me the confidence to stop comparing myself to other Mothers.  It was so comforting to find my mothering "type" in that book.  I realized "Oh my gosh - THAT'S ME! And if this is a 'type' there must be OTHERS like me." It also helped me appreciate other mother's mothering style.  

Personality-Based Solutions aren't only for moms -- they can also help us understand our children. Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, Energetic was a *huge* help to me in understanding my son.  My beloved Yosef has always been a bit of a challenge for me. He's doesn't have any diagnosable problems like ADD (Thank G-d) but...as Mary Sheedy Kurcinka says...he is just *MORE*.  More everything! More Sensitive, More intense, More Needy, More Persistent etc.   Raising Your Spirited child really helped me in so many ways.  In addition to giving great advice on how improve our relationship, it helped me realize that Yosef intensity was not necessarily a result of something I was  doing wrong. It helped me learn that many of his more challenging qualities would be an asset later on on life. And it helped me feel that I was not alone.

Another great example of a personality based solution is Julie Morganstern's Organizing From the Inside Out. Julie's Video is so great because it's not just a bunch of organizing tips or storage solutions, but a personality-based organizing system!  In my experience, where there are several different solutions for several different personalities, you're sure to find the right solutions FOR You.

I'm waiting to get my copy of Hannah's Art of Home: Managing Your Home Around Your Personality in the mail...but I can't wait!  You see ladies, when I grew up, we had a housekeeper and I didn't do any housework (Yes, I was spoiled!). So consequently, I never learned how to clean a house.  I tried watching Miss Laurie's Smart Guide to House Cleaning, reading cleaning books , and I even tried Flylady (several times) but nothing seems work for me. I still feel totally overwhelmed by housework (and I can't wait till the day when we can afford some cleaning help!)  After I read this article about different personalities and took this brief personality test, I found my  type & I am hopeful that this book will have some good advice for me. I'll let you know if it really helps!

Another great personality-based book is The Busy Mom's Ultimate Fitness Guide.  I just love how Cathy Moxley helps you figure, accept & find solutions for your personal your workout style (even if you are an exercise avoider!) This book is a great motivator because of it's personality based solutions! (You can see my review at Amazon.com)

Well, I've blabbed on about my favorite solutions long enough...I'm curious - do YOU have any great personality-based solutions that you recommend to your friends? I'd love to find more. Please share!