Featured on NBC News Channel 5 Tonight 10pm!

I'll be on the news tonight organizing news anchor Don Lemon's home as part of a segment on "Craigslist," an online classified community. If you're in Chicago, check it out! It airs tonight sometime after 10pm.

Debra

you can email me directly at debramichaud@hotmail.com

Kids' Artwork

Before you know it, the whole house is full of it. How do you discern between the gems and the toss-able?

When helping clients sort through kids' art, I look for those pieces which show a kids' personality and development. This goes against some parents' intuition, which is oftentimes guided by a very "adult" idea of art. Parents often think the goal of a child's artistic development is to be able to create a similar rendition to the original object. A house that looks like a house. A person that looks like a person.

I disagree. Children's art provides an amazing window into a child's development at all levels -- psychological, spiritual, intellectual. Search for those gems that exemplify your child's development at that particular moment, not the art teacher's idea of a beatiful snowman.

The Command Center Continued

The typical command center will contain the following:

Files for:
Children's School (current)
Children's Current Activities
Children's Future Activities (file for each season for advance planning)
Family Leisure/Day Trips/Cultural Activities
In-Process (for example, waiting for a medical claim form to go through)
Immediate Attention
Bills to Pay
Files for Current Projects (some examples: Computer Search, Nanny Search, Current Trips, Vacation Planning etc.)
Menu Planning
Take-Out Menus



Then in stacking in/out boxes:
Incoming Mail
Catalogues
To File (in main filing system)

Supplies:
Stamps
Calculator
Envelopes
Stationary
Pens/Pencils
Scissors

Note:
The purpose of the command center is to have at arm's reach those pieces of paper you come across frequently. It will hopefully make sorting and dealing with the mail a breeze, and will help you with advanced planning. You don't want this area to get cluttered, so be very selective as to what you allow here. All other papers should go in your main filing cabinet.