How Do I Do It All?

I am often asked, "How do I do it all?" I have eleven children and a couple of businesses. The only way I can survive is through incorporating my children's help into my eBay business. Their help counts as school credit. My youngers have their tasks, also. Just in time for the busy season, I found a great idea article from Jeni Hunt of HuntedTreasure.com. I love her stuff! Enjoy!


Make Your Child Feel Important With The 'Ebay Box'
By: Jenni Hunt

One of the best ways I have found to make my children feel valued, is to make a point to include them in my own activities. They love it when they think they are helping me out or doing something that is ‘grown-up’ like mommy. When I pay my bills, for example, usually one of my kids is wanting extra attention. Rather than get frustrated for the interruption, I get out another calculator, ledger, pen, and gather some junk mail. Next to my work area, I set up an area for my child. This usually buys me enough time to get my bill paying done – and my child hasn’t felt like they were bugging mommy. Instead, they feel like they are participating in something fun with mom (they are still too young to know that paying bills isn’t fun!).

This is a great idea to apply to our ebay work. Here are some tips for creating an 'Ebay Box' for your child (Great for ages 2-6). It will allow them to feel like they are involved and helping you out. Rather than having your ebay time be a time where you are ‘busy’… make it a family affair.

What you will need:

A Bin large enough for the following items

> Camera (an old one from the thrift store will work – it doesn’t have to work or have film in it… although, the flash can be fun for the kids to play with)

> Envelopes (these can be recycled from your junk mail)

> Stickers

> A small blanket or towel

> A notebook or a few pieces of paper

> Pen, Markers, or Crayons

> Tape

The idea is to create a box that is pulled out whenever you are taking the time to take pictures of your ebay merchandise or packaging the items. This box is your child’s ‘ebay’ stuff. When you are taking pictures of your items, let them pull out their blanket or towel from their box and lay it out next to your picture background. Give them a few clothing items or toys to arrange themselves while you are arranging your own items to picture. They will be thrilled to have their own camera to take pictures just like mommy!

Involving our children in our daily activities is such a wonderful way to express to them their value. It keeps them from feeling like they are interrupting all the time and like mommy is excited to ‘work’ with them as well as ‘play’. There are so many ways to include your child in your ‘work’… here are just a few other tips:

> Get a child’s toy vacuum – or a lightweight sweeper they can pull out and use while you are vacuuming

> My kids have a play kitchen right next to my kitchen. When I’m busy doing the dishes, I give them each a sponge and spray bottle and they clean their little kitchen… we have lots of fun talking about how clean we are getting things. They are learning great skills while having lots of fun with mom!

> Disguise work as play when folding laundry… play a game to have your kids see if they can find the matching socks! My mom use to pay me a penny a pair.

There are so many creative ideas to get your children involved in your every day activities. It can be so difficult to separate our time as ‘ebay time’, ‘cleaning time’, and ‘kid time’… I don’t know about you, but, when I separate my time this way, I always feel guilty that I am putting off my children to clean. There is nothing wrong with having our children play alone for a while so we can get some things done. I, personally, feel better doing this when I know I have already included them in my daily activities as much as I can.

Article by:

Jenni Hunt has a passion for helping other moms succeed in their work at home endeavors. Visit iHomeMaker.com and learn more ways for managing home and business. "Secrets To Profitable Auctions - List like a Pro" Is just one of the many resources Jenni has developed to better your ebay business.