LifeWorx Blog » Family

working mother new year resolutions

admin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:50:58 +0000

The Chinese have a concept of the“year of” for every New Year. If I have to declare the “year of” for 2010, it would be the year of Women, or the year of Moms. Moms are amazing. Mothers have taken on more responsibility and leadership every single year, from child care, to elder care, to making the home an amazing place. Women are also powerful executives, powerful forces in the higher education realm and driving forces in many community service projects. I have witnessed many women in my life taking care of elderly parents. Every employee at LifeWorx speaks with Mothers all day long, and we serve many working Mothers throughout Westchester, NY, Fairfield, CT and Westport, CT. Many of these Mothers in CT & Westchester are single, married, and some are even taking care of multiple children, as well as running the entire household. We believe this is more than a full time job, and commend these powerful women for taking charge in so many different areas of their lives.

In the current recession, women have continued working while many of their husband have been laid off. Of the 10 million job losses, ¾ of these losses have been men. How long with women continue to work so hard without receiving any time of relief? I say this not to discount the role of men, because as a male provider, we work very hard too. However, my sensitivity toward women is because they take on more physical and emotional challenges as they become overloaded. Many of these efforts have not yet been recognized by society at large.

Here is a suggestion for New Years Resoltuions for Busy Moms:

Take 4 hours a week for yourself
Take the time to enjoy a book you have been anxiously awaiting
Take a walk
Join a new yoga class
Go to the gym and enjoy a great working
Find a new hobby with a friend that you find fulfilling

Consider this as a time you are investing in yourself in order to give more to your family, and ultimately to yourself. Many times throughout parenthood, I felt guilty and worried when I took time to take care of myself. This was a mistake! I now know that taking this personal time is vital in becoming a stronger and more balanced individual. It is important to take these New Years Resolutions in steps. Simple resolutions and suggestions such as taking 4 hours for myself every week became manageable, simple, flexible and valuable.

our first family

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:34:02 +0000

Our First Family …. The first family that LifeWorx worked with is composed of 3 brothers and sisters, and they are a group of one of the nicest people we have ever serviced. We provide an assortment of services for all of the family members, and they call us whenever they need anything from LifeWorx. The family has multiple residences in New York City, Lower Westchester and the Hamptons. Last week, their cousin called up requesting one of our personal chefs.

How did LifeWorx ever get this much trust and respect? I believe we have accumulated this trust and respect over time due to the quality, transparency and strength of the relationship. The first time we ever sent our price sheet to our clients, we worried about our competition. To combat this fear, six months ago, we put all of our pricing on the LifeWorx website so that every prospect knows that our prices are standard whether they have a two bedroom condominium or 20,000 sq feet luxury estate in Greenwich, CT. One of my utmost personal passions is transparency of information in the services we provide. When you go to a dry cleaner, a hairdresser, a bank or an accountant, all of these places would receive more trust from prospects if they displayed their prices openly and honestly, ultimately removing the guessing game and receiving a higher bill after the services were completed. There should no longer be a guessing game when it comes to compensation, which is why we have chosen to display all of our service prices very openly.

As for the first family we work with, I continue to get joy out of talking to any one of the family members, because they respect LifeWorx and truly appreciate what we do for them. When their housekeeper goes on vacation, we find them the best temporary fill-in, even if it is just for a week. No one has to worry about laundry, healthy meals and toddler care arrangements. LifeWorx is able to take care of them so that they can go away and come home to a stress free environment.

lifecycle cost

admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:00:01 +0000

Our country is back in the saving mode. Anytime we purchase something, a product or service, it makes a lot of sense to look at all the costs that are incurred and assess the value we receive. Last week, I was at a sidewalk sale in New Canaan, CT. There were silk shirts for 50% off, reduced from $80, to $40… A steal. I was not totally thrilled with the color, but it looked like a good bargain. I started to reflect on how often I will use it and would I be excited to wear it often. The shirt would need to be sent to dry cleaning at $8/dry cleaning; I will probably spend $120 for 15 dry cleanings. Hence, the total cost of buying and using the shirt would be $ 160; still $40 less than the original cost of $200. Not a huge bargain though. If the product or service does not bring the value it is worth, the initial bargain gets washed away. No pun intended. The same logic applies to household help; nanny, babysitter, elder care provider, Chef or a housekeeper. Most families will spend about $30,000 to $50,000 for a full time household employee. Over 5 years these costs add up to $150,000 – $250,000, a significant cost, but an essential need for busy professionals and moms. Each individual service provider is different, and families need to make sure that the person working for you in your home is the best you can find for the duties, skills, personality and character. It takes effort to find this right person and any effort that you put in upfront will bring you years of rewards in terms of quality of life for your child, family and peace at home. In light of the implications, one should plan to spend about 80 hours if you are going to advertise and recruit a person yourself; 40 hours, if you are going to use your network and 10 hours; if you are planning to use a reputable agency. There is a right combination of pocket cost and time commitment choice for each family.

three generations of memories

admin — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:56:33 +0000

One of the first major organizing projects we did was in Hartsdale, NY, at the home of an old, very active couple in their 90s. He had a twin brother and they recently celebrated their 100^th birthday together, which brought all our memories back. The project started with their daughter, in her 50’s, calling us to help her parents. This is the home where she grew up and where the family also enjoyed raising their grand children. We asked her… as we always do, “Are your parents ready of this?” She said that she told her parents, “If you die with all this stuff in the house, I will just have to burn it!” Of course, everyone knows it was a joke, but the humor gave the project a great start. Our parents’ treasures can be our clutter. We put a team of an Organizer, a Cleaning crew and a Personal Assistant together, ordered a dumpster and took care of three generations of “stuff”. There were old fishing poles, skating shoes, a wooden sleigh and tools that could be sold as antiques. We de-cluttered the attic where boxes of books were kept (he was an attorney), cleaned out the basement and garage and filled a dumpster. The whole place was hosed down and scrubbed clean too. They were an amazing and warm family to work for with a baby (their great granddaughter) crawling around in the kitchen. How do people in their 90’s have the energy and passion to take on a project like this? Only when they can truly care for their children and grand children. Claudia, the daughter that made the first call and the leader of the project was the key to such grace and harmony, since she had an amazing bond with her parents. I hope all of us grow old this gracefully; with humor & health to share.