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Pack Leaders:: Deann Polanco
& Janet Russell of Motivated Moms
Motivated Moms began as a seed of an idea in 1999 when Deann Polanco and Janet Russell,
both stay-at-home moms, met on a frugal living email list. In addition to emails regarding
frugality, they had several conversations about home organization and time management.
Planning Ahead.
Deann
shared with Janet her scheduled system for keeping her house picked up and her home maintenance
chores up to date. She indicated that her ideal plan was to have a checklist planned in advance
for every day of the year, thereby eliminating the need to plan at the beginning of every day.
From this seed of an idea, they worked on a plan for a checklist-based planner that has become the
Motivated Moms Chore Planning System, a downloadable ebook that the user can either print herself or
refer to on her computer.
 Most
women would prefer having a system for keeping up with
their housekeeping duties,
but few want to spend the time doing the planning; some of us just don't know where to start! The Motivated Moms checklist system and
planner makes homemaking easier. Each day of the week has a checklist. Major holidays are indicated throughout the 52-week planner and
those who use the planner can refer to the group's email list (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MotivatedMoms/) if they have a question.
Members of the email list also receive a daily chore reminder via email.
Kim, a long-time user of the system, has this to say regarding Motivated Moms:
“We homeschool, and as most
homeschoolers know, it is HARD to stay organized! I've found this system to be so simple, yet so thorough that it
makes getting organized easy! A real blessing! I'm getting so much more accomplished now. If you're a scattered
person like me, you will love this system!” Kim M.
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Michele, a newer user, shared this:
“I just wanted to let you know that I am really liking your
book. I am generally very organized and yet there were always
those nagging little things that needed to get done and yet I
could never find time to do. Also it sure helps to keep on top
of things. More family time on the weekends. I noticed at
first, it took me a long time to get through the list . . .
then as I started to memorize the daily chore list, it goes
really fast. What I like is when you have written in there ‘
work on craft or hobby.’ That is good, because it is also
something that gets neglected.” Michele
Janet Russell, the co-creator of Motivated Moms, is an author, a knitter and a rubberstamp designer.
Her Motivated Moms planner allows her to delegate household duties as needed (by highlighting and color-coding for
other family members), and gives her the option to pick and choose from the planned chores based on her activities
and obligations. There's never any pressure to "move" incomplete chores to the following day. Every day is a new
opportunity to check items off the list. "The beauty of this system is that it is guilt-free. I don't allow the
checklist to rule me. I understand that things need to get done and 99% of the time, they do. If they don't, it's
usually in favor of a creative endeavor for which I've consciously carved out some time."
Deann has also tailored her planner to
fit her lifestyle and says, "Each week I print the page
for the coming week instead of printing it all at the
beginning of the year. I prefer to put one page on my
refrigerator, rather than have another notebook or pile of
loose papers to keep up with in my home." Like many other
Motivated Moms, Deann is a home-schooling mother. Her 10-year old son
checks the list each day and knows which chores are his to
complete. She shares her overall philosophy about the reason
behind the Motivated Moms system, "The goal in life isn't to
do housework just for the sake of cleaning. But, it's
something that needs to be done in order to have a clean and
organized space and to free up time and energy to do the
really important things in life. If you're always hunting for
clean clothes to wear or trying to clear a space on the table
before you can do a craft, how will you have time to do the
things that are really important to you?"
DOWNLOAD the 2005 MOTIVATED
MOMS eBook Planner
HERE!
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