Moving is a process. Moving with kids is…a very complicated process, which I had the opportunity to learn the hard way recently after 14 years in our beloved first home. Little did I anticipate the amount of work, frustration, and sheer exhaustion that comes with hauling over a decade of belongings, memories, and people (little and big) from one location to the next, while still “wifing”, mothering and working, not to mention looking somewhat human in the middle of a pandemic, in the process.
I remember moving as a child, and it seeming like the most exciting adventure, albeit my mother screaming in the background for us to get it together. Fast-forward a few decades, a couple of kids and one husband later, the sense of adventure was still there. Except this time, it was a different kind of adventure. The kind that makes you want to pull your hair out, pour yourself a glass of rose before lunch, as you still manage to wonder at the grace of God allowing you to stand on two feet and move forward…It’s also the kind that teaches you so much more than any HGTV home renovation show ever could, from how not to pack fragile glasses to how to keep your cool when you can’t find anyone’s underwear for days…
If you’ve gone through a move or two as a working mom without losing your sanity, first of all, you’re my kind of woman and I salute you. If you have, you’re also my kind of woman and I’m right there with you. In any case, I’m thankful, and you may be too, for the lessons learned in the process, some of which I have gathered below as my 10 Commandments of Moving as a Working Mom:
Thou Shalt Pack Well!
You don’t know the importance of proper packing until you tearfully unpack a box full of broken glassware, and there’s no one else to blame but yourself. As a repeat offender guilty of poor packing, I have changed my ways this time around, and have invested instead in Uhaul moving kits complete with boxes, tape and bubble wrap, plus the labeling markers to boot.
The upside to this is you can make the whole packing experience a fun process for the kids too. They will love to put boxes together, organize their own things and learn in the process too…
Thou Shalt Find the Right Moving Transportation
Here’s the thing with accumulating stuff for over a decade. Other than going through it all and packing it, you’ve got to physically move it from one location to the next. In the middle of a pandemic and with social distancing in effect, this was a real challenge! This is where booking the appropriate moving trucks through companies such as Uhaul or Zipcar comes in handy, reducing the number of trips you have to make and condensing the entire process.
This also helps to keep family life organized, as you can free up the use of your own car for work and family needs, and still be available for the kids’ activities.
Thou Shalt Get Help!
Moving is hard, and moving in the middle of a pandemic is extra hard. Hence the need for extra helping hands, which you can get from companies such as TaskRabbit, where you can get help with moving by vetted individuals right in your area.
As a working mom and a working parent in general, this is so important as time is such a precious commodity.
Thou Shalt Plan Ahead
If you can, allow yourself a week, or at least a couple of days between closing and moving in, especially if you’re both selling and buying at the same time. This will give you time to schedule any work that needs to get done before your kids start baptizing the new walls or experimenting with hammers and other construction tools.
In addition, don’t forget to plan ahead for mail transfer services, as well as to change your utility and phone services. Trust me, there is nothing like spending hours on the phone with your utility company as the kids are complaining non-stop about the lack of wifi in the house…
Thou Shalt Get Connected!
Just because you’re moving doesn’t mean life has to stop, which means work, emails, and kids’ cartoons still go on. Which also means you need to get connected at your new place, especially if you’re in the middle of a pandemic with nowhere else to go, and you’re also working from home…
This is where companies such as Verizon or AT&T for instance, can help in establishing your new or continuing connection, before your boss realizes you’ve missed about 100 emails and your kids go on a strike because they now have to use their imagination…
Thou Shalt Get organized
Organization, organization, organization! This seems to be the keyword when moving, especially when you cannot locate your toothbrush for a couple of days or have to hunt around for soap. It happens…
Instead of struggling to fit all the kids’ socks into one corner of a drawer, consider investing in organization essentials, such as shelving tools, closet accessories, and decorative storage from places such as The Container Store for example.
Thou Shalt Abort the Diet
The first few days after moving are hard enough without having to watch your waistline. Those are official non-diet days, during which services like GrubHub and HelloFresh delivering food or ingredients to your door are more than welcome. Besides, the kids will thank you for the occasional Chick-Fil-A dinner delivery and being able to still have Taco Tuesday in the middle of unpacking boxes…
If you really insist on whipping out your grandmother’s favorite rice and beans recipe, then you can always order groceries through Amazon Prime for Whole Foods or Peapod for instance.
Thou Shalt Consider DIY
A new home also comes with new…projects. Whether they are small or big, these may require you to do some level of DIY work. We’ve recently spent more time than I would normally care for at the likes of Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond . I’m actually growing to enjoy home décor and renovations quite a bit, and my new favorite place to hang out is Hobby Lobby. For larger construction projects, my brother-in-law put me on to Build.com, which I cannot recommend enough.
If like myself you’re not anticipating much DIY work, think again, there’s always something to adjust, fix, or put to your own taste when you change homes. This is also a great opportunity to involve the little ones, and make them feel part of the process as they’re getting accustomed to their new space…
Thou Shalt Furniture Shop On a Budget
For those of you upsizing, you may need to shop for new furniture, which also means additional expenses on top of all the other expenditures you’ve already faced. However, I’m finding that there are ways to shop for quality furniture on a budget. Some of my favorite places to do so include Ashley Home Furniture and Raymour & Flanigan for example.
If you’re working from home, you can get affordable, quality office furniture at places such as OfficeFurniture.com.
Thou Shalt take a break!
Lat but not least, taking a break from the whole ordeal of moving, especially as a working mom, is absolutely crucial. This moving thing is not a matter of a few days, weeks or months. It’s a marathon that may take longer than expected, especially when tackling DIY home improvement projects or re-decorating a larger space.
Take breaks whenever you can, and build in a self-care routine as part of your everyday schedule so you don’t burn the candle on both ends. Order yourself some spa and skincare goodies from Sephora, Ulta, or Birchbox. Or chill out with a movie on Hulu or Netflix.
Yes, moving is a process, especially as a working mom. Yet, with a bit of advance preparation and your own take on my 10 commandments of moving as working moms, we can all do it…without too much of our sanity left behind.
What are your best tips to move efficiently as a working mom?
PS: Please note this post includes some affiliate links, which means that if you purchase products or services through some of these links, I may get an affiliate commission. Please note I only recommend the products and services I believe in and hope will server you well.
One thing this pandemic has taught so many of us is that our financial situations can change from one day to the other. While some were able to save money working from home, many lost their jobs during the pandemic, and others were furloughed, uncertain as to their futures. During times of uncertainty like these, it can be hard to think about saving any money at all when we’re barely making ends meet, if at all.
However, it’s in times of harsh crisis that we learn our most valuable and powerful lessons. Most of my financial learning didn’t come from books or classes, but rather from lean episodes of my life during which I had to learn to budget, save and avoid financial mistakes the hard way. This pandemic is no exception.
Being at home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic also means potentially falling prey to a host of temptations, among which online shopping and impulse spending. With the world at our fingertips with a decent wi-fi connection, whipping out our credit cards is far too easy and convenient…until it no longer is.
The first step to saving money in any circumstances, and especially in times of crisis, is to control one’s impulses. This is not just a matter of willpower, but also and most importantly one of setting up the right processes and systems in place not to fall prey to the spending call. One of these systems can be a realistic yet tight budget, setting up automatic payments to avoid the temptation to over-spend, or even having an accountability partner. It can also be reflected in small daily decisions such as opting to cook more at home as opposed to ordering out, or replacing the time spent shopping online with exercise or educational pursuits.
Be proactive about saving
Saving money, especially during a crisis, requires being proactive about it. It takes being mindful of one’s expenses, and researching the appropriate outlets and systems, to succeed in setting money aside during an unpredictable time such as this.
This may mean researching cheaper deals through applications such as Groupon for instance. It may also entail calling utility providers such as Internet provider Verizon Fios or mobile provider AT&T , to inquire about existing rate rebates, or re-negotiate existing contracts.
Build emergency savings funds
Last but not least, building an emergency savings fund can go a long way towards helping improve one’s financial situation in times of crisis. It is typically recommended to have emergency savings of 3 to 6 months’ worth of living expenses. However, just starting with one month goes a long way…This starts with the conscious decision to set money aside, and also find other avenues to make extra money, especially online.
Have you tried saving money during this pandemic? Share your insights with us by emailing us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com
PS: I am using affiliate links in this post, which means that if you click and purchase any product through these links, I will get a commission. Please note I only recommend and write about products and services that I believe in.
It’s back-to-school time and it certainly is looking much different than any other back-to-school times we’ve experienced so far. We’re in the middle of a pandemic as a potentially life-changing election is looming near, and none of us has any idea what tomorrow will look like. As parents, and especially as working moms, this is not back-to-school as usual, it’s back-to-school as our tired minds and hearts can muster it. And frankly, at this point, we’ve been stretched so far beyond what we can take that we’re not sure how much more we can take…
As we plan for sanitized back-to-school lunches and super-hero-themed masks (or not), along with preparing for the threat of Zoom fatigue in our kids’ eyes, it’s hard not to feel the tight grip of parental anxiety and stress. As a matter of fact, it’s hard to get rid of it most of the time, as we admonish our little ones to wash their hands 100 times a day, and take the limits of safety and cleanliness as far as we can.
However, dealing with this anxiety is neither healthy nor sustainable for ourselves, our families and anyone who comes in contact with us. While we may have to learn to live with it, here are a few tips to alleviate it as we navigate through this back-to-school season like no other:
Obtain as much accurate information as possible
While none of us can predict tomorrow, getting as much accurate information from the right people as possible helps. This means getting better acquainted with official information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), from your own state, city and town, as well as from your school department and particular school as well.
While there is a lot of misinformation on COVID-19, there are also reliable sources of information, especially those directly affecting our families and children that should be consulted periodically.
Don’t forget to take the kids’ perspective into account
It’s no wonder that this pandemic and current crisis has stressed and stretched working parents to the limit. Yet, it has also affected our children’s mental health and well-being, as they have seen their familiar freedom, habits and ability to socialize taken away from one day to the other.
This back-to-school season is not just different, but is also bound to be traumatic for many, if not most of us. This is where care comes into play. Not just self-care, but also family care for the entire family unit. This may take the form of regular family conversations, or some time away from each other, or maybe some therapy.
Setting up a family care program that encompasses everyone in the family may also help bring unspoken issues to the forefront, and help the entire family overcome this back-to-school season together.
How are you coping with this back-to-school season?
Welcome to Let It Be Friday!, our weekly news roundup, where I say hello (and TGIF), and round up the lifestyle, career and business news that inspired, excited, made me smile (or laugh out loud).
History is being made again as Black History reports the first Black woman astronaut, Jeannette Epps, will join the international space crew next year;
Breonna Taylor is honored on the cover of Vanity Fair with a portrait by Black artist Amy Sherald;
The Glassdoor Blog lists 20 companies offering remote positions this week;
Got a video interview? Recruiter tips you off on how to get started;
Recruiting Blogs answers the question: Why more women are choosing their careers over family?
Want to boost your chances of getting hired? Business Insider shares the optimal times to apply;
Working Mother reveals dads are three times more likely to get promoted when working from home during COVID-19 than moms;
WhoWhatWear shares 12 effective hand sanitizers that are actually moisturizing;
As working women and moms, working from home is a challenge considering all the other hats we’re called on to wear day in and day out. This is especially relevant in these times of pandemic when most working moms are bearing the brunt of the crisis, forced to handle both childcare, housework and work every single day. This has not given much option to many working moms out there, who have had to forego their careers as a result. In this context, thriving in one’s career or business as a working woman and mom can seem nearly impossible.
At the start of the pandemic, working from home while homeschooling my kids felt incredibly overwhelming. Not being able to fully concentrate on anything fully, being far from colleagues and offices, and dealing with the constant guilt of not being fully present as a parent, was gut-wrenchingly hard. If you add to it the fears related to the virus and to the economy declining, the echo of job losses and business closures everywhere, and the focus on thriving at all, let alone in my career, was taken away.
However, when it is humanly possible, succeeding at work when working from home, and even scoring a promotion in the process, can happen with the help of a few tips, among which:
Communication, communication, communication!
Keeping the lines of communication open when working from home is especially important for us as working women and moms already suffering from being made “invisible” or the minority in the workplace. It can be so easy to fade in the background of virtual Zoom calls and remote work sessions as working women and moms, especially as our voices are already muted and disregarded.
This may take the form of checking in periodically with your team and management, to make sure any changes, updates or issues are communicated in a timely manner. It may also be responding to requests in a more timely manner, and keeping everyone in the loop as much as possible. Using the right tools to do so, including a reliable connection through companies like Verizon or AT&T and the right brand of computers for you, such as Dell, or HPfor instance.
Align with expectations
Expectations can be quickly misunderstood or not taken into account when working from home. That’s why it’s so important to make sure to set and clarify expectations with your team and management right from the start, and work on proper alignment.
Clarify expectations by checking in periodically and confirming there is a mutual understanding, preferably over email when you can keep a record of past communications.
Express yourself!
Last but not least, don’t’ forego expressing yourself and your goals because you’re working from home. While speaking up on virtual meetings can feel a bit cumbersome, not doing so may cause you to fade in the background and not be considered in the decision-making process.
Despite it feeling so much different from being in the office, it’s important to continue to express yourself, speak up and share your goals.
How do you ace your career as a working mom and woman when working from home?
