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Any work at home mom knows that getting work done with kids underfoot is no easy task. Here’s your chance to share your BEST tip on how to keep the kids busy (and happy!) so that you can work with fewer interruptions!

Post your BEST tip to help other moms get ready for the upcoming Winter Break when the kids will be home and ready to rumble!

Be sure to include your URL and a short description of what it is you do from home with kids hanging all over you! Makes the tips more interesting!

As a professional organizer, the top two questions I get asked are:

“How do I decide what I can get rid of?”

“How do I know I won’t need that item in the future?”

The secret will be revealed in this article: knowing where to get started, what to get rid of, and what to keep.

What to Get Rid Of: If it’s not meaningful or useful, get rid of it. How will you know you won’t need it in the future? You don’t! You only know that you don’t need it right now. Here is what you must believe: you will be able to get that item again just as you were able to get it in the first place. You have to trust the market place. It is as ready as you are to swap things. If you find that you do need it in the future, you will be able to simply find a substitute on Craigslist, eBay, or another of the online free markets in the US.

Let’s say you have an unused bookcase that you decide to sell on Craigslist for $40 and that a year later you find that you really need a bookcase. You should be able to find one within a week or so. In most cases, you will find one that meets your needs better than the previous one. Also, you’ve had the bonus of having $40 in your pocket over the past year.

What to Keep: Meaningful or useful items should be kept. If you are someone who loves memorabilia and cannot let it go, try this easy three-step process.

1. Pull out the top 10 items that mean the most to you and that you truly value.

2. Honor your memories by beautifully displaying them. Frame a special t-shirt, hang it on the wall, or create a shadow box of special jewelry, news clippings, and other small items.

3. For each member of your family, get a single large bin or box (less than 15 gallon). Have each person pick out favorite items to fill the bin. Donate or sell the remaining items.

Where to Get Started: Prioritize all the areas you want organized and make a list. Begin with the area you use most often. In one area:

Start clearing out stuff that is obviously garbage or recycling. You will get distracted, but focus on garbage and recycling; don’t touch anything else. Here’s a focusing tip: put on your favorite song and have it cleared out before the song ends.

Next, have three large bins set out in the area you are working. Items to donate go in one bin, items to be sold in another bin, and items that belong in a different area go in the last bin. If necessary, more bins can be used. When you are done sorting, the bins should be removed from your working area.

After all items have been sorted you can begin organizing. Organize only the items you are keeping. Re-evaluate the area. What specific purpose should it serve? How can you make the most of the space? Is there a way to use the walls to display items and keep them off the floor? Let the answers to these questions direct the organizational process.

If you get stuck on one of these steps, or if you need help maximizing your space, consider hiring a professional organizer. Check with the National Association of Professional Organizers (napo.net) to find a qualified organizer in your area.
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 Today I’m handing over the page to Nicole Dean, who with Jimmy D. Brown runs Outsourcing Weekly. Outsourcing has been on my mind a great deal these past few weeks as the work has piled up and life has fed me some time constraints. This is admittedly an area of automating or making my business more efficient that I could do better.

Here’s Nicole…..

Afraid To Take A Vacation? Put Your Business On Cruise Control
By Nicole Dean

“I started my business so that I’d have freedom, but I’ve never felt more trapped….”

I come across a statement like that at least once a day on a forum post or in email. You start your internet business because of the freedom of being your own boss and working on your own schedule and then promptly sit on your hind-end for 12 hours/day EVERY DAY. No wonder you feel burnt out.  And no wonder family and friends are feeling neglected when all you can think and talk about is your business.

Freedom sounds pretty miserable to me if it means freedom from fun and the ones that I love.

So, how do you break free?

Start by taking a good look at your business and getting your goals and priorities straight. Don’t worry, it’s not nearly as complicated as it sounds. I’ll walk you through it right now. Ready?

Grab a pen and a piece of paper or open your favorite word processor. Divide your page into four columns.

Now you’re ready to brainstorm. Write everything down as it comes to mind. Don’t overthink this. Just start writing.

First, figure out what is working. Whatever it is. It may be one of your websites, your ecourses, a joint venture, a certain marketing method. Where is the bulk of your money coming from, currently? (If none yet, where do you believe will be the place where the largest profits will come from?) Write those items in column #1 under: “Do More”.

Second, figure out what is not bringing in money. Is it hanging out on forums or posting classified ads to freebie sites? Is it endlessly checking your stats, or email?  What are your daily time-suckers? Write those under column #2: “Do less”.

Third, figure out what could work better. Do you have upsells in place? Are your websites designed to bring you cash from every visitor? Make a list of ideas in column #3: “Improvements”. (If you don’t know yet, don’t worry. There are plenty of ways to improve your business as you learn and grow.)

Fourth, figure out what can be automated. Which tasks are repetitive and boring, albeit necessary? Many of those types of tasks can be automated with simple tools. For instance, if you’re submitting articles to directories by hand, there are tools and services to do that for you. Add these to column #4: “Automation”.

Now that you’re armed with your list, it’s time to get to work.

Look at your list in Column #1: “Do More”. Those are the tasks that you should focus your energies on. It’s a good idea to tackle one or two of the tasks on that list first thing in the morning – every morning. Believe me, it’s much more productive than checking out your favorite blogs or logging into twitter. And you’ll be amazed at how much you can get done quickly when your mind is fresh.

Look at your list in Column #2: “Do Less”. These activities should be forbidden until after you get your #1 list done, if you do them at all. For instance, hanging out on Twitter is fun, but do not do it until everything in column #1 is finished for the day.

Now, go back to Column #1, 3, and 4. Your “Do More”, “Improvements”, and “Automation” lists.

Look at all of the items that are on those three lists. Now, circle each task that you …

• Can’t Do
• Don’t Have Time to Do
• Don’t Want To Do

Those are the tasks that you’ll outsource.

Freedom means a lot of things. It means freedom to do the things that you want to do. However, it also means freedom to NOT do things that you really dislike doing.

For me, it’s graphics. I have outsourced all of my graphics since 2001. I don’t have the time, patience or inclination to learn how to make my own graphics. I have more important things to do, like write this article and then go on a bike ride with my son. Perhaps when I get back from my bike ride, my graphics will be waiting for me in my inbox.

Now, that’s freedom to me.

Want to outsource but don’t know where to start? Nicole Dean and Jimmy D. Brown invite you to Outsource Weekly where you’ll learn how you can get free time (and earn more money) while others run your business for you.

One of the most exciting elements of running a business efficiently, in my opinion is leveraging other people’s work and talents to get goals accomplished. I often will purchase someone’s expertise, whether it be a piece of software that automates a process for me, an ebook which shortens the learning curve on a subject or purchasing someone’s expertise by having them do something for me that I would rather not do myself.

While I have to admit that I need to “outsource” more, it’s been a goal of mine to build a team of people I can rely on anytime for any project I’m working on. Because I like to seek out experts, it was a no-brainer when I learned that Nicole Dean, “outsourcer extraordinaire” (and fellow Mom Masterminds member) would be participating in a great discussion about “Avoiding the Five Common Outsourcing Mistakes”.

She’s available to listen to now, for free here! Her recording and advice is available today only for four hours from 9am Eastern until 1pm Eastern. So hurry and listen! I’m listening right now and it’s full of great info and advice!! She rocks!

Go there now and listen while it’s still available!! More outsourcing experts and secrets are available there as well.

Here’s a little fun for a Monday morning! Click on the adorable baby below for your chance to win a $250 gift card from BabyUniverse! Quick and easy entry!

The 42-Day Product Launch Incubator is open for business again! Get in while you can!

This 42-day program helps you create and release a new information product step-by-step! Kelly McCausey, Head Mama in Charge over at Mom Masterminds is heading up this session and will help guide through each step required to release and sell a successful information product. If you’ve been wanting to create an ebook or other product but didn’t know how to go through the process from “idea” to “product” then this coaching opportunity is for you!

During the 42-Day program, you will learn how to:

 - Create & release Articles

 - Create & release a Special Report

 - Create & release a Press Release

 - Recruit Affiliates to help you sell your new product

 - Set up a ‘Name Squeeze/Burning Question’ Page

 - Create an Autoresponder Sequence

 - Plan & Hold a Live $1 Seminar Event

 - Create Bonus Resources

 - Create a short Sales Letter

 - Bundle your Recording, Transcripts & Extras into a Product

The group will meet Tuesday nights starting tomorrow (HURRY!) September 15th and will last for, you guessed it, 42- days or six weeks until the final session on October 20th. There are only 10 spaces available each time Kelly offers this program so hurry and signup while you can!

SIGN UP NOW!

I’ve mentioned before that I am a member of a fantastic online mastermind group for Work at Home Moms called, “Mom Masterminds“. I was so anxious to join in 2006 that I joined even though I wasn’t a mom or even a wife yet!

Since joining this community of work at home moms, I’ve found friendship, support, networking opportunities and much more. Co-Owner, Kelly McCausey recently hosted our weekly, “Breakthrough Session” webinar (every Monday morning) and asked us to consider how to break through our limiting beliefs about how much money we can realistically earn and really go for our professional goals in Internet Marketing or any other business. She’s going through some changes in her life, stretching her own expectations for herself and plowing through personal barriers and encouraged us to as well. She deemed us in that session, “The Hungry Women of Internet Marketing”!

I know many of my readers are in a similar situation, especially with this economy and all of the changes it has brought people with regard to their incomes. Do you find that you are feeling held back and not able to advance? Do you feel like you need a sounding board to bounce ideas off of, but find that your family and friends don’t understand what it is that you “do all day”?

Why not join us over at Mom Masterminds and get the support, encouragement and networking opportunities you need to take your small business to the next level? I can honestly say that my membership at Mom Masterminds has been the most beneficial membership and educational resource I have purchased in my 12 years in business! When you are a Mom Masterminds member, you are among people who are actively working, building businesses and supporting their families with their incomes. This isn’t a group of people who just talk about making money and creating a profitable business….these are people who walk the walk.

Some Mom Masterminds members have:

*Left their 9-5 jobs and now work exclusively from home
*Pulled kids out of expensive daycare and now care for their kids at home while they work
*Supplemented an existing income with a part-time side business
*Supported their families entirely after a divorce, illness or other crisis
*Spent more time with family and friends as a result of a flexible schedule
*Purchased new homes, expanded existing businesses or traveled more extensively
*Taken a small part-time business and turned it into full-time income
*Enjoyed time off with new babies, or to care for family and friends while passive income continued to be earned
*Replaced lost income from downsizing, layoffs or spouse’s career changes

Do you see yourself or your situation in that list? Chances are, there is another Mom Masterminds member who has been exactly where you are now. Join us for support, friendship, resources, networking, education and other opportunities today! We’re waiting for you inside Mom Masterminds!

Check out Mom Masterminds with a free 7-day preview membership! What do you have to lose?

I’ve mentioned Melissa Ingold’s “Special Report Club” here before, but I absolutely cannot believe the offer Melissa has cooked up for anyone who is looking for the highest quality PLR content I have ever come across!

This is a really limited-time offer so pay attention! It expires August 31st!

Normally, the “Special Report Club” retails for $27 a month and it’s worth every single penny. She puts together a package of content that can be repurposed, added to, pulled apart and sold. It’s really the closest thing I have ever seen to a “business in a box” for information marketers.

This weekend, Melissa has seriously outdone herself!

Look at what she is offering for a one-time $97 payment (you won’t believe how far you’ll be scrolling to take it all in, so get your mouse ready)!

Hint: Melissa added up what you would normally pay for all of this and its….$720.58! Read on!

* 1 year membership to PLR special report club that includes all of this each and every month:

- A 30-page report on an Internet marketing topic
- A sales letter to sell the report from
- A thank-you page for the sales letter
- A 10 page “giveaway” report
- A prewritten and designed squeeze page
- Confirmation & thank-you page for squeeze page
- 5 prewritten autoresponder emails
- A ready-to-use solo email
- 1 ecover for the 30-page report
- 1 ecover for the 10 page freebie report
- PSD versions of the ecovers
- 5 blog posts
- 5 articles
- A list of affiliate programs

* Access to 6 archived packages that includes all of the above:

- Sales funnel strategies
- Upsell profit tactics
- The business blogger’s manual
- Marketing with content
- Product launch wealth
- Essential guide to outsourcing online

* 1 year membership to PLR pre-written emails that includes all of this each month: (you’ll have a total of 12 reports, and 48 emails at the end of your 1 year membership)

- 3 pre-written info-packed emails
- 1 promo email
- 10-page report
- All the affiliate product info

* Access to 2 archived email & report packages that include the same as above:

- List building secrets
- Social media and your business

* 3 PLR video packages that include:

- 10+ Flash Videos
- 10+ AVI Files
- Sales Letter & Download Page
- 2 Different Mini Site Templates
- Video Transcript
- Report On The Topic
- Wordpress Themes to match each mini template
- Powerpoint Files
- PSD Versions Of Graphics

*10 PLR wordpress sales letter themes:

- 10 PLR wordpress themes
- Comes with rights to resell the PLR

Amazing huh? I personally think she’s lost it….but you know what…she would agree!

This type of deal NEVER happens so I highly recommend you take advantage of it before it expires! I’ve been amazed at how much Melissa overdelivers when she puts together these packages every month, and the fact that you can get 12 of them plus all of this archived content is a fantastic offer!

Check it out, but hurry….it expires August 31st!

Just wanted to welcome my new visitors from AFC, AFullCup.com!

I occasionally post some deal and coupon posts, but what you’ll primarily find here are tips for getting organized (and we know how important that is when couponing), reviews for products and services that help automate tasks around the house and in your business, and other cool tips and tricks that I learn about to make life a little more organized!

For my visitors who may not be familiar with AFullCup, it’s a site that…well, for a couponer like me….it’s heaven! Seriously, I can’t even explain all that is there for couponers and bargain shoppers. It’s Nirvana. I’m not kidding, if you are at all interested in saving money in brick and mortar stores (grocery stores, Target, drugstores, etc) you simply have to click the link to see what’s it all about. You could spend DAYS there learning about how to “work the deals”.

Thanks for visiting, my friends from AFullCup.com! I’m glad you dropped by!

  This is probably the best deal I have seen yet on the famous, “Entertainment” coupon books, so pay attention!

Right now, you can get a FREE 2009 Entertainment Coupon Book if you reserve a 2010 book! What a great deal!

I don’t know about you, but summertime is the time of the year I tend to use most of these coupons anyway, so there is plenty of time to get your money’s worth before the coupons expire in November! Besides the 2 for 1 dining coupons, there are coupons for national chain stores, online stores, car washes, gasoline, dry cleaning and more. Add in the great deals on movie tickets. amusement parks, museums, local kids’ attractions and more and well, let’s just say keeping the kids busy this summer won’t be as expensive as you would think!

Coupons and offers vary by region, so your book my vary, but I have purchased an Entertainment coupon book every year since I was about 21 years old and I have always made my money back and then some on the savings inside. Getting a 2009 book for free is a really fantastic deal (and I almost wish I had waited a bit to get mine!).

To claim your FREE 2009 Entertainment coupon book with a 2010 reservation, visit Entertainment Coupon Books now! This is a limited time offer and I’m not sure when it may expire!