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Podcast Episodes

Podcast episodes By Dianne Jimenez

Lead together, Raise Responsible Kids

34: Why’s It So Hard For My Kid To Do Chores

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Where the topic of chores and kids came from

So the question I’d be answering today is, why is it so hard to get my kid to do chores? Now, this podcast episode was inspired by a question that was asked at a local radio station here in Montreal. 

It’s called the Beat 92.5. I decided to call in and answer it because one, I’m a mom and two because I’m a professional organizer and I believe wholeheartedly in chores, in kids helping out and doing chores at home. If you’ve listened to my podcast episodes before, I do mention it, nine Ways to Get Kids to Help Out With Chores. So if you want to pause this episode and take a listen to that one, just head to diannejimenez.com/ 31 Alright, so let’s ask the question, why is it so hard to get my kid to do chores? 

Why’s it so hard for my kid to do chores: #1 Do they understand it (chores)?

Well, first off, and I’m gonna split this into three sections.

First off, do they understand why this needs to get done? And the reason is this: a lot of times as adults, we get motivated because there’s the why behind it. We’re more inclined to do things when we know the reason. If there’s no reason at all, where our hearts and minds are not really there to do it, then we might do it once or twice.  But the next time after that, if we’re asked to do it, it’s like, ‘well, I don’t really feel like doing it’.
So if we have that in mind, can you imagine what it is for the kids? What’s going on in their minds? You know, so they’re still developing and those, I guess, I don’t know, the science behind it is the reason. There might be a reason why with your brain or something that we don’t get motivated to do things unless there’s a concrete reason why.

Now, for us as adults, obviously, you know, the house needs to be maintained. We don’t wanna be breathing all this dust, we don’t wanna be walking on Legos and hurting our feet or you know, inviting all types of rodents or bugs into the house, even though bugs do crawl in our house all the time. But just the thought of crumbs, a mess and food all over the place, it’s just not healthy and it’s not good, obviously.

Home organizing

#33: How many shopping bags do we really need?

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Thank you so much for being here, and I’m so excited to talk about today’s episode because this is something that I’ve been observing in the last couple of years, working with clients and myself, seeing it personally with friends and family.

And what I’m talking about are bags, but we’re not talking about purses today. No, not this episode because you know, I’m a purse kind of girl myself. I’m talking about the bags that all of us use since many stores are no longer giving out plastic bags. It’s been a while now, but I’m noticing since dealing with clients that it’s still something that is hard, that’s a little challenging, I should say. To wrap our heads around, and why do I say this? Oftentimes, and I’m saying this from experience too, we sometimes forget to bring bags with us to the grocery store or any store for that matter.

Look back in the day, you didn’t have to think about it because the stores provided a plastic bag for you, but obviously for environmental reasons and definitely protecting our planet a lot better. Plastic bags are just a no-go. But from growing up where the stores just automatically gave you a bag every time you left the store, regardless of the size of your item, they gave you a bag. So it was so convenient.

Now we have to think about our own habits and the way we do regular daily stuff, and that is bringing bags with us to the grocery store or any store for that matter. Now, I’ll be the first to admit I keep forgetting to bring my bags. Oftentimes I end up going back to my car and getting my bags or just sucking it up and keeping everything in the cart. Then bagging all my things from the back of my car in the middle of the parking lot when it’s minus whatever outside.

Yeah, it’s not fun.

So that’s kind of a lesson I learned to never forget the bags, but it does happen. And I can imagine now my kids are a lot older, but as a mom of toddlers or babies, it’s a lot to think about. You know, you gotta carry the kid, you gotta carry everything that relates to them, the diaper bag, your own purse if you have one, and now you gotta think about your shopping bags. Ugh, I do not envy the moms right now in that situation because there’s so many things to think about already. It’s really easy to forget about bringing a shopping bag when you go grocery shopping, right?

Home organizing, Interview, Lead together

#32: A Husband and Wife Chat: Parenthood, Home Organization, and Couple Hood with my husband Onnig

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Dianne and Onnig discussed how parenthood can be challenging, but can be made easier with the right structure and organization in place. They discussed the importance of teaching life skills and being on the same page when raising children together. They also reflected on how different their home life was before and after having children, with the abundance of baby items. The speaker shared how they used a Marie Condo “Joy of Tidying” technique to reduce their “stuffed” clothing drawer and make their life easier. Important takeaways from their discussion include understanding that not everything needs to be kept, considering more people to help out, making children do tasks that were primarily done by adults, and sharing the responsibilities to foster an efficient and organized approach. Communication is essential for relationships and parenting and tasks must be completed on time. Jordan Peterson’s philosophy about relationships and parenting have been mentioned; including the importance of having reasonable expectations for children, persisting in moments of difficulty, and anchoring oneself in these moments as a distraction. Effective communication between partners is essential, and taking the time to explain why certain things have their spot encourages respect and trust between partners. Engaging in activities with children and taking note of their small successes is also important for their development.

Lead together, Raise Responsible Kids

#31: 9 Ways To Get Your Kids To Help With Chores

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This episode provides key tips and information on how to get kids to help with chores while instilling useful life skills. It discusses how to make it engaging by setting up a chore chart, dividing tasks, offering incentives, and breaking down complex tasks into manageable pieces. It also highlights the importance of setting a good example, being consistent and patient with teaching kids, and acknowledging their efforts. Plus get an eye-opening example straight from a client’s own experience.
If you’re struggling with getting kids to help out at home, this episode is for you.

Establish Your Time

#30: Work-life balance for moms

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Work-Life Balance for Moms
In this episode you’ll learn the reasons why it’s so tough to balance out all the things related to motherhood, work, homelife and our own personal goals. First off, I’ll give you a glimpse of HOW to balance things out using the insight from an article I recently published. Then I’ll also talk about my secret strategy when trying to prioritize the ever-growing to-do list and gain some perspective on what’s eating most of your time. Finally, you’ll get access to a free resource I created to help you get super clear on what to do next.

Basically, I guess it’s fair to say this episode’s going to be like a free mini training for how to deal with the very challenging work-life balance. So you’ll want to grab a pen and a paper, my friend, to take notes. Or, you can save this episode, listen to the replay and get to work.
Work-life (im)balance
We all know as a mom we play many roles: chef, driver, counselor, referee, judge and jury, therapist, friend, builder and finder of toys, artist, teacher, etc. It’s constantly changing from one moment to the next, and often without notice.

Ironically, we have all the answers to problems, struggles and challenges. But at the same time, have no clue what to do, or what we’re even doing for that matter. Motherhood is a constant push-pull on our emotions, energy, patience… and it’s all worth it. Because this whole adventure is for the most beautiful and wonderful creatures on earth, our children!

For these reasons alone, there’s no doubt the toll on our mental load is quite heavy. Oftentimes, we get the short end of the stick. But we keep going and push through it all. In essence, it all comes from love. Now, if you ask any mom out there, anything short of a 100% effort on our part results in guilt and/or worry. This vicious cycle of selflessness, joy, love, guilt and worry is far from healthy and putting it out there like this, just raises the question, why? Undeniably, mothers would walk to the ends of the earth for those we love most.

With the joys of motherhood, come the challenges of having to balance everything out: all the things involving the kids, the house, our relationships with others, our passion projects, trying to fit in our own personal needs and then there’s our regular job!

How do moms get a better work-life balance?

Home organizing

#29: I’m done decluttering, now what?

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In this episode you’ll learn about the awesome place to be AFTER you’ve decluttered, and that’s the realm of organizing. Beware! The answer isn’t always that 1 cool tool or organizing system you see on social media and Pinterest. Before adding to your cart, listen to this episode where you’ll learn:
What to do after any decluttering project, regardless how big or small
The rule and habit to have so you don’t go back to how it was before, and finally
The thought process I use when organizing any space
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Alright, so let’s get to today’s episode because if you’re anything like me, when it comes to doing actual work, I like to know what it all entails: the good, the bad, the ugly and especially what the dreamy future can look like! Oftentimes when we can envision our goals, it gets us moving and taking action. So you’d be stepping further away from drowning in clutter, running late, not being able to find your things or feeling frazzled all the time, and so on. Imagine if tidying up the house takes minutes and can get done by ANYONE, not just by you… Ahhh! It’s like a really heavy weight being lifted from our mind. Less clutter just allows us to have clearer thoughts and room to breathe.

It’s like freedom.

Freedom in a sense that you can TAKE your time. You now have the ability to focus on what you’re doing, move at a slower pace and have less mommy brain moments throughout your day. If you can take a few seconds to just imagine that life right now, rewind the track 15 seconds if you need to. But just let that sink in for a moment. Can you feel what the other side of decluttering a space, a room or an entire house is like? It feels like freedom.

So, if you take anything away from this episode, keep that vision or that feeling of freedom in mind. Now let’s get started. You’re listening to episode #29: “I’m done decluttering, now what?”

(H3) Celebrate The Wins After Decluttering

As a former cheerleader and silver-lining kind of gal, you know I’m typically seeing in Technicolor. Did I just date myself or what? Do people still say that? Anyway, what I’m trying to illustrate here is that we all know how much time, energy, emotions, sweat and a lot of hard work decluttering demands. Put it this way, after going through a roller coaster ride, isn’t the talk and chatter with friends after you stepped off that ride, one of the best parts of the experience? I mean, not every ride is amazing but just going over it again with your friends or kissing the ground because it’s all over, marks the end of the whole experience, doesn’t it? So why not toast this massive decluttering journey with a little celebration?

Let’s start from the beginning…
First off, taking on the decision to declutter, which I hope you do this year, is often a project that evokes many emotions and feelings such as overwhelm, anxiety, and fear. No doubt, it can be daunting and intimidating at first. Then frustrating and back to overwhelm, especially when you’re in the thick of it. I know, I’m painting a lovely picture aren’t I? But in most homes, decluttering is what’s often needed and it’s not easy to go through, let alone start. However, the results are life changing.

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