Does your house "Spark Joy?"

I was recently introduced to Marie Kondo and her magic "tidying up" method through some organization articles.  After watching a couple videos, I ordered her book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" and now I am hooked.

One of the statements that intrigued me, was that after following her "marathon" method, her clients never go back to untidy lifestyles.  Keep in mind, Marie Kondo mainly works with clients in Japan, where living spaces are small and keeping neat and tidy is a valued part of the culture.  So can her method work in America, land of the consumer?

There are several principles that the Kon-Mari method of decluttering is based on.

1.  You must do all the sorting at once (as nearly as possible).  Her marathon method recommends taking all of your items (by category) out at once, partly so you can see how much you have and recognize duplicates.

2.  You should follow the order of sorting she suggests (Clothes, Books, Paper, Misc., then Mementos).

3.  Rather than focusing on what you will discard, you should touch every item and decide if you want to keep it.  The criteria is whether it "sparks joy" when you hold it.

Being analytical, the "sparking joy" criteria seemed a little too variable for a disciplined criteria, but I was curious to try it.

After starting the book, I tried out the technique with my clothes.  I have been paring my closet down for a couple years now and actually have less clothes than my husband.  When I considered the "Does this spark joy?" question as I picked up shirts and pants, I started to understand the benefit.  It forces you to choose only the things that you are proud of and feel good wearing.  Why would you keep clothes that do not look good on you, just because it was a gift or you enjoyed it once?  Marie Kondo suggests you thank the discarded items for their service.  Even if it was something you never wore, it helped you know what did not look good on you.  Honestly, I was starting to feel more self confident because I truly liked the clothes that remained and had some ideas of what I needed the next time I went shopping.

There are a couple ways I would translate "spark joy" when you are considering whether to keep clothes.  

Do you like wearing it?

Do you feel good wearing it?

Does it look good on you?

I found some clothes that had got tucked away that I started wearing again.  I also found clothes that I do not feel good wearing, but got on sale.  They did not get returned to the closet, but went into the donation pile.  Now when I go in the closet, I feel good about every outfit.

I was afraid I would not have any clothes left after this round, but I have enough and it did highlight some deficiencies in my closet.  Now that I know what I need (ex. black pants), I can find some higher quality pants that I love.

Overall, I am still a little skeptical about how long before I start to notice clutter in my closets again, but I have a newly inspired respect for quality over quick and cheap.  I will continue to use the Kon-Mari method in the rest of my house and see how it goes.

For more info, Marie Kondo has a website:  http://tidyingup.com

Mass Balance of Household Waste

If you are like me, it seems like the house is filling up with junk as fast as I can take boxes to Goodwill.  I mean well and try to de-clutter a little every week, but it feels like I am constantly throwing away or donating.  So how can I get on the diminishing side of this mass balance equation?

If we want to reduce our waste output, we need to either reduce our inputs (buy less) and/or increase how much we use something before it gets thrown out as waste. 

 

1.  Inputs - Reduce what you bring in your house.

When buying something, think about how long you will use it.  Buy only what you need or think you will use.  I admit, I enjoy going through the dollar section to find a little knick knack or toy for the kids.  Sometimes it is my bribe to keep them occupied while shopping.  But more often than not those little trinkets end up in my donation pile (or broken and thrown away within hours).

Just say no to Free Stuff.  This includes the freebies at parties or random Schwag that you are not going to use.  Often I will put this directly into a donation pile, but it is even better if I do not bring it in the house at all.  I mean how many reusable bags can I really use?  I already have them spread all over my house, cars and garage.

Shop with intent. Create a clothing list (like a grocery list). Think about what you really need for your wardrobe before you shop.  (Honestly, I never have time to clothes shop for myself anymore, so it only happens when I am really desperate and run out of socks.)

 

2.  Internal Processes - Re-use

Internal processes define what we do in our household and in our daily routine.  

One option is to use less, so that a container of something lasts longer (I.e. Soap, water, paper).  I have gone to using fabric napkins, which does create more laundry, but cuts down on paper waste.

Buy quality - I have to admit, I am guilty of buying the cheapest item, which tends to get broken or thrown out quickly.  What I am trying to do is buy with intention and choose something that may be more expensive, but more sturdy and higher value in the long run.  This is especially true of children's toys, shoes and furniture.  When I was young, I never knew how long I would stay in one place, so most of my possessions were "disposable."  Now that I have a family, we should be more stable and able to build a home with intention.

Make your momentos useful - All of the "stuff" we have in our home should "bring us joy."  Either we use it or we enjoy having it around (i.e. photos on the wall and decorations).  If it is something that is meaningful to you (momentos, etc) then consider a way to display it and share it with others.  I usually pick one or two of the kids' drawings to display for a week.  Then I either take a picture or store my favorite ones.  I plan to review the saved artwork with them annually and pare it down as we go.  We also send artwork to the grandparents every once in awhile, as cards.

Use milk/yogurt containers and cartons/tubes for crafts or storage;  Pinterest can give you lots of ideas. 

Use the library.  What a great way to get fresh books every week without overflowing the book case. Think about swapping toys & puzzles with friends to have something new to play. 

3.  Outputs - reduce Trash and other waste.

Reduce what you throw away.  Monitor your trash for a week (how much, what is in it).

Compost - some communities may have a compost pickup for grass and leaves, as well as food waste and soiled paper/cardboard (like pizza boxes, tissues, etc).

Use fabric napkins and use washcloths and towels for spills, instead of paper.

 

As a consumer, it is up to us to make smart choices and vote for change through what we buy.  I will be the first to admit that I will sometimes choose the option with a hard plastic package because it is cheaper or convenient.  Sometimes there is not a comparable alternate.  The first step is to think before you buy.

Think about your packaging choices.  Monitor how much you are trashing.  Buy staples from the bulk bins. 

 

It is not easy or all that convenient, but we need to get out of the rut of a "Throw Away Culture."  It will not only help sustain our environment, but reducing clutter in our lives should help us focus on the important things.  

I suggest we make better choices about the inputs, processes and outputs of our homes (and lives).

 

 

Why join SWE (Society of Women Engineers)

I knew I wanted to be an engineer my Junior year in high school when I attended an Engineering day for high school girls sponsored by a collegiate SWE group in my area.  In college, SWE was one of those organizations in which fellow women engineering majors could have a leadership role without jockeying with the boys. 

After graduating, when I was working in manufacturing, I didn't have a lot of female role models.  I was the first Plant Engineer at my company.  I was managing men twice my age.  I was isolated in a plant environment, rather than a more diverse Corporate setting.  I needed a network of other professional women in technical fields that I could relate to and share experiences.  I needed SWE.

It wasn't until I changed jobs and moved to the Clorox Company that I reconnected with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).  In my current role, I work with chemical and mechanical engineers that are designing new consumer products and processes...and a majority of them are women.  Not only is there a network of technical women at work, the company is a strong supporter of SWE and science outreach programs.

At this point in my career, I feel that the SWE organization and mission is even more important.  I enjoy networking with other female engineers that are working mothers like me, but I also enjoy sharing my story and experiences with new engineers.  I want my children to see the possibilities of engineering and science.  I want to help shift our culture to value women in the workplace, especially in STEM fields.

For those of you who are still practicing engineering, why have you not joined SWE?  

I want to see you at the next National Conference (WE15 in Nashville in October).

For those of you who no longer consider yourself in an engineering profession, I have 2 thoughts:

1.  Once an engineer, always an engineer.  Those of us that studied engineering share a bond and were trained to think in a certain way, using science to solve problems.

2.  I would bet you still want your kids to learn how to use science to solve problems and build something great for the future.  SWE supports outreach to girls for just that reason and I encourage you to get involved in those types of programs.

We need a network that understands our challenges and can support us in all parts of our journey.  I believe the Society of Women Engineers has built a strong group of supporters of women in engineering that can do just that.

Ready to join me?

http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org

Another event to look forward to,

WE15 in Nashville, TN;  October 22-24, 2015

3 days of speakers, networking and celebrating women in engineering;  Plus they have daycare!

http://we15.swe.org

Kid Science - Train Books

My son loves trains and loves books, so not only have we been to every train ride and exhibit in the surrounding area, we also have a full library of train related books.

Here are some of our favorites, based on accuracy and detail of trains, engines and steam power.

1. Locomotive by Brian Floca, Caldecott medal winner. There are a lot of words, but is written with a nice cadence and my son has already memorized half of it.  Highly recommend this book. 
2. Steam, Smoke, and Steel: Back in Time with Trains by Patrick O’Brien - my favorite part is that one of the engineers is a woman. Can spark discussions about history and family trees.
3. Little Train by Lois Lenski - classic basic storyline about what the engineer, fireman and conductor do and points out key parts of the engine
4. Big Book of Trains by DK Publishing - we love all the big books by DK Publishing.  Very informative and detailed.
5. Trains - Eye Openers Series - Includes pictures of model trains and specific parts to find on each one.  (also DK book).
6.  My Big Train Book - Priddy Books board book;  Priddy Books usually have great close up pictures of real objects that are good for pre-readers
7. Snapshot Picture Library Trains - another series with real photographs and not too many words.
8. Terrific Trains (Amazing Machines) by Tony Mitton - Actually have not read this, but really like the Tremendous Tractors in the same series.  It not only rhymes, but describes what the different tractors do.

Some other favorite train classics with good visuals and/or stories:

1. Freight Train by Donald Crews - CLASSIC visuals for all ages
2. Steam train, Dream Train by Tom Lichtenheld - My son really liked the pictures of the animals loading the train.
3. Chugga Chugga Choo Choo by Kevin Lewis - we also really like his Tugga Tugga Tugboat boat book.
4. Crack in the Track (Thomas the Tank Engine Story) - let's be honest, any Thomas books. 
5. The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper - Classic
6. The little red caboose Golden Book - Old school, but classic

Others that are next on our list:

1. Polar Express by Chris van Allsburg
2. Smokey by Bill Peet;  the Caboose Who got Loose was cute, but not our favorite. 
3. The Goodnight Train by June Sobel
4. The Potty Train by David Hochman
5. Dinosaur Train by John Steven Gurney

Any other suggestions?

Chapter Books for Preschoolers

Here are a few books that we have tried reading to our preschooler. Most of them have some basic black & white drawings within the chapters to keep them interested every couple pages, but most of the pages are just words.  I like reading several chapters before bedtime because it allows my children to close their eyes if they want and think about the images and story.

Charlotte's Web (E. B. White) - I was concerned that this would be too deep, especially because it deals with death at the end, but my son enjoyed the story and seemed to understand the plot matter of factly. 

Mouse and the Motorcycle;  Ralph S. Mouse (Beverly Cleary) - Talking mouse, motorcycles and cars, a young boys dream.

Rabbit Hill (Robert Lawson, Newbury Award Winner) - More talking animals and a clear moral message at the end.

The Littles (several books);  (John Peterson) - They are not mice, but tiny people with tails living in the walls.  Clever stories.

Stuart Little (E. B. White) - Another talking mouse that gets adopted by a human family.  He gets to drive a car and a boat.

The Adventures of Raggedy Ann & Andy.  (Johnny Gruelle) - short chapters and good lessons;  kept engagement with some pictures.

Little House on the Prairie  (Laura Ingalls Wilder) - I thought these would be above his head, but the stories are exciting, especially when there are wild animals and native Americans.

Boxcar Children series (Gertrude Chandler Warner) - a little old school, but fast paced entertaining stories about 4 orphans having adventures. 

The Magic Treehouse series (Mary Pope Osborne) - We read the first one about going to a land of dinosaurs.  It was fun.

Amelia Bedelia (Peggy Parish) - very short and can be read in one evening.

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (Betty MacDonald) - a little silly, but a good passive way to discuss proper behavior. 

ABC Mysteries (Ron Roy) - entertaining, simple mysteries. Still a little young to get the concept (ex kidnapping) and solve the puzzles. 

The Turret (Margery Sharp) - I expected this to be a little faster moving, since it involved characters from the Rescuers (rescue aid society mice). The language was very grandiose for this age.

Winnie-The-Pooh;  The House on Pooh Corner (A.A. Milne) - a little slow at first, but may pick up once we get into the characters. 

Any other suggestions?

Preschool Presentation - I am an Engineer

It is women's history month and what better way to celebrate women than by sharing your story with your kids...as well as their friends.  My son is only in preschool, but I wanted to start making an impression on him and his friends early so I volunteered to talk about my job at his preschool.  Luckily, it was not the same day as the firefighter, but hopefully they took away something from the activity.

Using the Tech Bridge kids presentation model (Tech Bridge organizes science and engineering activities for girls.  Check out their website http://www.techbridgegirls.org), I organized my presentation into 4 parts:

1.  Ice Breaker

2.  Introduce yourself

3.  Activity

4.  Wrap up

Tech Bridge focuses on school age girls, but this model can be used for all ages (including college), with appropriate activities.

I started the kids in a circle.

1.  For the Ice Breaker we went around the circle and shared our name and favorite thing to make.  I went first to give them an idea.  "I like to make cookies."

2.  I brought a couple printed slides with pictures of different things engineers build and work on.  I also printed some key words in big letters.  Most of the kids can not read, but they do recognize letters.  Here is a sample of the introduction:

"I am an ENGINEER.

Engineers design and build things.  

Some engineers design Buildings.

Some engineers design Machines.

Some engineers design computer programs.

Engineers solve problems. 

I work on machines that make things, like soap, bottles and food, that you can buy at the store.

I help solve problems to make the machinery run faster and better. 

When things like food are made in a FACTORY, that is called MANUFACTURING.

In a food factory, we use materials & ingredients to make something that is then sent to a store for you to buy. "

3.  For the activity, we set up an assembly line to make snack mix.  I assigned each student to a job along the assembly line.  After explaining the roles, we spread the kids out along a table and the "packers" donned hair nets and gloves.  When I said "go," the Delivery team brought the box of supplies to the table, the Unpackers took the materials out and spread them along the table.  The Bag leaders opened zipper snack bags and passed them to the first station.  The Cheerios leaders put a scoop of Cheerios in the bag and passed it along.  The Goldfish leaders put a scoop of Goldfish in the bag and passed it.  The Pretzels leader put a handful of pretzels in and passed the bag.  The Bag Sealer sealed the bag and put it in a box.  When the box had a few bags, the Store Delivery team put one bag in each cubby.

I have to admit, it was a little hectic and some kids sampled the snacks before the bag was closed (including my son), but in the end we successfully made enough snack bags for each child to take home.

4.  Finally we wrapped up back in a circle and talked about how things are made or MANUFACTURED in a FACTORY.

Materials come in the FACTORY - >

they are Processed ->

They are Packaged ->

And then they are shipped to the grocery store.

Do not be afraid to share what you do with your kids early and often.  I want my kids to declare proudly "My Mom's an Engineer."

Making Your Partner a Real Partner

I recently presented at a Society of Women Engineers conference about how to succeed in a Dual Career Household.

Here are the Highlights:

1.  Communication is Key
a.  Manage expectations - Share your values with your partner.  Let your partner know that your career is important to you.  This can start when you are dating.
I remember when I went out to dinner while I was still dating my now husband.  I was the maintenance manager at a 24/7 dairy plant and I got a call from work.  The plant was down and they needed my help troubleshooting the failure.  I bowed out of the rest of the date and although my husband was disappointed, it was not the last time I got calls at inconvenient times or in the middle of the night.  That said, further into the relationship I also had to set boundaries with my work about when I would go into the plant and when I would counsel by phone, but the experience demonstrated the nature and importance of my work.

b.  Build Trust - Effective communication requires that partners have built a level of trust so that they are able to be honest and open with each other, without fear of judgement.  I really like the book The 5 Love Languages, by Gary Chapman.  It helps identify what style of love your partner appreciates so that you can demonstrate your love in a way that speaks to him/her.  Building a strong base of love and trust will help the communication and planning towards a family vision.

c.  Planning - Life is busy and in order to support each other, you need to coordinate your plans and schedules.  Especially after kids, the daily schedule requires more rigor and communication.  My husband and I share an online calendar that we can each see from our phone.  We add work events as well as weekend plans.  We discuss any unusual events at the beginning of the week and confirm who will pick up and drop off the kids on a daily basis.

2.  Clear Priorities - Defining a clear vision for your family helps when you are making decisions along the way, especially around relocation and kids.  This is a difficult discussion, especially when you are new in careers and not sure where you want to go personally, let alone together.  If you can not articulate specific goals, then describe what a successful future feels like.  This vision can change, but it is important to define your values and dreams for the future.  The vision can help set priorities as well as intermediate goals that you can work towards as a couple.  Think of yourselves as a team, working together to accomplish something great.  As you both grow, you can refine your vision, as well as the priorities and goals.  

3.  Division of Duties - With an increased number of dual income households, women still bear a majority of the household duties.  Do not just assume you need to do the same things your parents did.  Discuss the duties that need to be done in your household and who will do them.  It could change from week to week, depending on travel and work demands.  These duties should not be delegated to one or the other;  the work needs to be taken on voluntarily.  Another trap I tend to fall into is gatekeeping.  My husband will volunteer to cook during the week and I will get stressed out because I do not see him planning the way I would and I start to take over.  If you decide to split the duties a certain way, do not hover and provide negative feedback, unless you just want to do it yourself.  Outsource the mundane tasks that you do not need to do yourself (housecleaning, laundry, pre-made meals), if you can afford to.  There is no secret formula, this division can be what works for you and your partner, but you need to be honest when you need help and share the burden.

4.  Continuous Improvement - We are not perfect and circumstances change.  Be flexible when situations come up.  Have empathy and appreciate the work your partner is doing, both at home and work.  Forgive your partner when mistakes are made.  You are in this together and you need each other.  Continue to develop your "process skills" (time management, stress management, conflict resolution) to reduce conflict and stress.

Think of you and your partner as a team.  The same skills and tools that make work teams successful, help spouses and parents.  If you are clear about the Vision and work together for a common goal, the results can be very fulfilling.  

Let me know if you have suggestions that work for you.

What I am Reading Now

I have read several books that I would recommend recently.

Lean In:  Women, Work, and the Wll to Lead, Sheryl Sandberg;  ok, I read this awhile ago, but I refer back to it often.  If you are a working woman and have not read it yet, get it now.

Never Eat Alone:  And Other Secrets to Success, Keith Ferrazzi & Tahl Raz;  The author is a great salesman and master networker, but he has some good ideas and suggestions that can help all of us expand our sphere of influence.

Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office:  101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers, Lois P Frankel, Ph.D.;  A lot of good ideas about how to be perceived as a capable leader in the office.  There are enough suggestions you can pick and choose which are most relevant & important to you.

The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts, Gary Chapman;  Great relationship book that helps identify what methods of showing love are important to you.   Suggest reading with your partner to build communication and trust in the relationship.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus:  The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex, John Gray, Ph.D.;  Although this book is a little dated and tends toward generalizations, there are some insightful observations about how women and men relate to each other.  Unfortunately, since we tend to be problem solvers, I think female engineers are from Neptune (a little of both).

Getting Things Done:  The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, David Allen;  I admit I love lists.  This methodology takes lists to another level and helps organize your action items for maximum productivity.  It sounds complicated at first, but once implemented, it can be rolled into your daily routine.

Rich Kid Smart Kid:  Giving Your Child a Financial Head Start, Robert T. Kiyosaki;  This book covers some of Mr. Kiyosaki's methods from Rich Dad Poor Dad, but also introduces ideas to help teach our kids to think like entrepeneurs and learn from failure.  

Others that are on my list, but I have not read yet:

Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain

The Richer Sex:  How the New Majority of Female Breadwinners is Transforming our Culture, Lisa Mundy

What suggestions do you have?

5 Ways to Engineer your Village

I recently "read" (i.e. listened to on CD during my commute) Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi (http://keithferrazzi.com/).  The author promotes the importance of building connections, for business and for life.  He gives specific examples of how to build your network of friends and not just collect business cards.

As a mom, building connections and relationships is no less important.  You need a village to thrive, so how do you create that?

As an engineer and slight introvert, too much networking and socializing wears me out.  I feel like I do not always have time for my family, let alone a bevy of friends and neighbors.  After college it gets harder to meet people and even more so after you leave the dating scene.  But after hearing the message in Keith's book, I am convinced that continuing to build relationships is critical.  Here are some key takeaways from Never Eat Alone.

1.  Identify people you want to meet.  

Keith suggests making a list of people you want to meet to help drive your life goals, both current and longterm.  As a big fan of list making myself, I have found that the more specific I make a goal (like naming a person in the job I want), the clearer the path becomes.  If you make a list of people you want to meet, when you see them you have more incentive to talk to them or you seek them out for advice or perspective.

2.  Join a club.

What better way to meet people with similar interests than to join an organization dedicated to a specific subject.  As a working mom, mother's groups are critical for emotional support and to share ideas.  I also belong to industry focused organizations, like Society of Women Engineers.  You could even join a club for something you want to learn more about, (like writing for me).  Toastmasters is a great organization to practice speaking skills and you are typically exposed to people from varied industries and backgrounds.  In Toastmasters everyone feels vulnerable when they are giving speeches, so you tend to build strong bonds with others in your club.

3.  Invite people to lunch/coffee.

This is one that I struggle with because I like to work through meals.  I want to be able to leave work on time, so I typically eat lunch at my desk.  I need to start using the power of the network by making my meals opportunities to connect with others and drive my career, instead of just the day to day details.  This month I will work on creating stronger bonds with co-workers and maybe even get some critical negotiation or decisions

made. 

4.  Stay connected by sharing relevant news.

My main source of news these days is either Facebook or NPR on my way to and from work.  News is great for small talk and building an intro with someone.  If you find an interesting article, you can share it with someone else that may find it interesting. 

5.  Throw dinner parties.

I know, I know.  When I heard this one I thought "No way!"  My house seems to be constantly in chaos and I barely have energy to feed my family.  But then I started looking at it as a chance to connect with other families in small groups.  Now I am considering a monthly dinner/playdate with a few local families with similar age kids.

My goal for February is to build relationships, with new friends and the ones I already have.  If you hear from me, now you know why.

Attached is a calendar of suggested activities to stay on track making connections daily.

Kid science - Space exploration

Tonight we decided to make a spaceship out of large cardboard boxes (thanks Amazon subscribe and save).  We did not do anything fancy, just drew some portholes on the side of one box, got in and commenced a countdown.

10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...Blastoff!

And then my explanation began about how we had to pick up speed to escape the earth's gravitational pull.  We passed the moon and somehow got too close to the sun, but started our exploration of the solar system with Mercury.

Mercury is the closest to the sun and requires special heat proof clothing and goggles.

After collecting specimens (things in the room that were green), we moved onto Venus.

Venus is a rocky planet with lots of volcanic activity.  We collected objects around the house that looked like rocks.  

Mars is the red planet and very stormy.  We collected items that were red.

Jupiter has a lot of moons.  We collected round specimens.

Saturn is the ringed planet.  We collected rings for further study.

Uranus and Neptune are the farthest from the sun and cold.  We collected items that were blue. 

Then we practiced what other words start with the same letter as each of the planets and discussed what extra terrestrials or "martians" might look like if we discovered life outside our planet.

It was a very basic excursion, but we covered an intro to the planets.  I guess we need to get some space themed books so we can learn a little more about each planet and specific tasks we might accomplish on future expeditions.

Check out some kid friendly websites on space:

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/#.VMscx4E76rU

http://mrnussbaum.com/space-2/

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/space.html

Decided to take a book to space.  It's a long flight.

My Lean In Story

Your career, like life, is a journey.  I have shared one of my "lean back" stories and to show that I have learned something over the journey, here is a "lean in" story.

After my son was born, I changed companies and locations to improve the pace of work and be closer to my family.  My new job was a project management role and was not based in the plant, so I had flexibility in my work schedule and I was not on call 24/7.  My new location was 30 minutes from my sisters and 2 hours from my parents (vs a plane ride previously), so I was happy. I enjoyed my job and was looking for opportunities for advancement when I got pregnant with my second child (2 years later).  

Even after I had announced my pregnancy, I continued to apply for open positions and was even sought out for a promotion.  I applied for the new role and discussed the impact of my impending maternity leave and subsequent travel limitations during the first year.  I was assured that if I was the right fit, the team would make it work.

Well, I did get the job and they did make it work.  I started with the new department as a manager and promptly went on maternity leave after 6 weeks of frantically getting to know everyone and the basics of the group processes.  When I returned after 4 months off, I ramped back up and prioritized communication so that I would not need to travel right away.  

Having this type of support from a company and a manager is exactly what we need to keep women motivated in the workplace.  I am much more energized in my job, let alone loyal for the trust and support I have been given.  

After writing this, I thought "why should I be thankful?  Would a man even consider that or just assume he was entitled?"

Either way, I believe we need to support employees in their circumstances, if they are the right fit.  We have a saying at my work about "bringing your whole self to work," so you can spend your energy doing valuable work instead of worrying what others will think. 

This story is not as much about me being proactive, but finding the right company that values my skills. 

Here is to more companies and managers with these type of values. 

TerraCycle - New Green Option

In my pursuit of all things new this month, I have discovered a new disposition for disposable items that are not typically accepted as part of municipal recycling facilities. It is a recycling company called TerraCycle. 

According to the website, "TerraCycle partners with Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) manufacturers to administer free programs which pay consumers to help collect non-recyclable packaging, which is then upcycled or recycled into eco-friendly products."

You can sign up for a "Brigade" and send relevant empty containers to them, postage paid.  They take the waste and either up cycle it (use potato chip bags to make a purse) or recycle it.  Each brigade is sponsored by a consumer products company, which pays the postage (and may help with the recycling).  If you send enough material for recycling, you can earn points and money for your local non-profit.  This seems like a great opportunity for a local school or club. 

I signed up for every Brigade possible, but many of them had waiting lists.  I focused on the brigades for diaper packaging (sponsored by Huggies), toothbrush & toothpaste (sponsored by Colgate), and beauty care packaging (sponsored by Garnier).  They also have brigades for potato chip bags and juice pouches, but we do not really consume much of those in my family. 

I promoted and collected packaging at my church and local moms clubs. Most of the brigades have minimum ship amounts (by weight) to earn points.  I can not accumulate anywhere close to the minimum on my own.   Although I do not need the points, I want to make the shipment worth it from an environmental perspective as well. 

After 3 months, I felt like I had enough to ship, so I printed out the free shipping label, packaged it up and dropped it at a local FedEx store.  Super easy. After several weeks, you can see the actual weight that was received and if you earned any 

Points. Even after 3 months and collecting through my network, I did not meet the minimum for the diaper packaging or beauty care brigade. Maybe I can expand where I collect next time. 

I hope they are making good use of the materials I sent.  Like your municipal recycling program, it is difficult to tell how much actually gets recycled, but I would like to make every effort I can to keep waste out of the landfill.  

Check it out at www.terracycle.com

Kid Science - Airplanes

After a family plane ride to Phoenix and a work flight for me, my son has been curious about airplanes.  What makes them work and gives them the ability to fly through the air?

Fortuitously, my son also just received a model glider kit for Christmas.  I eagerly "helped" him put it together (i.e. he watched me put it together) and we tested flying it around the house.  Note, the kit was designed for age 8+.

Here is an example of how we followed the scientific method during our build and test:

Step 1 - Research - how do airplanes work?  The glider kit came with a little booklet that explained basic aerodynamics (ie fluid dynamics of air).  Bernoullis' principle demonstrates that the faster fluids move, the lower their pressure.  The Lift force pushes the airplane up when air flows over the wings.  (Lift is always perpendicular to the direction of the airflow.)

Step 2 - Define a problem - How do we make an airplane/glider that flies across the room?  How do we maintain the airflow across the wings to create the lift force long enough before it falls?

Step 3 - Form hypothesis/design test model - The glider kit gave us several sample designs to try.  The main one had slightly curved wings, extending in series from the body of the plane, as well as stablizers in the back.

Step 4 - Test.  Test flights are the best part of any model airplane/glider experiment.  Sometimes the experiments went well and the glider went across the room and sometimes it nosedived almost immediately.  Either scenario was greeted with shrieks of surprise and delight from my 4 year old.  The test and experimentation phase is usually the most rewarding of any scientific process.  It gives you the chance to get hands on and see success...or at least break something. 

Step 5 - Analyze results and repeat from Step 2.  Crashes were the most exciting part of the experiments, but then we had to adjust our design and try again.  Do we need to start from a different spot in the house (top of the stairs)?    Should we move the wings forward or back to balance the weight?  Did we break a piece and need to re-evaluate the design?

Final step - review what we learned.  After we finished our test runs (and it was time for bed) we talked about what worked best and why.  We noticed that if the wings were too far back, the nose was too heavy and it would crash.  We noticed that if the wings were at an angle, it made the plane turn.  We also looked forward in the booklet to see what we might want to build next time.

Overall, it was a fun experiment.  Now I am motivated to look for some basic paper airplane suggestions on Pinterest, that we can test without as much destruction.  We can build several models and determine the best design for maximum distance, hang time, and speed.

(see my Pinterest pics After a family plane ride to Phoenix and a work flight for me, my son has been curious about airplanes.  What makes them work and gives them the ability to fly through the air?

Fortuitously, my son also just received a model glider kit for Christmas.  I eagerly "helped" him put it together (i.e. he watched me put it together) and we tested flying it around the house.  Note, the kit was designed for age 8+.

Here is an example of how we followed the scientific method during our build and test:

Step 1 - Research - how do airplanes work?  The glider kit came with a little booklet that explained basic aerodynamics (ie fluid dynamics of air).  Bernoullis' principle demonstrates that the faster fluids move, the lower their pressure.  The Lift force pushes the airplane up when air flows over the wings.  (Lift is always perpendicular to the direction of the airflow.)

Step 2 - Define a problem - How do we make an airplane/glider that flies across the room?  How do we maintain the airflow across the wings to create the lift force long enough before it falls?

Step 3 - Form hypothesis/design test model - The glider kit gave us several sample designs to try.  The main one had slightly curved wings, extending in series from the body of the plane, as well as stablizers in the back.

Step 4 - Test.  Test flights are the best part of any model airplane/glider experiment.  Sometimes the experiments went well and the glider went across the room and sometimes it nosedived almost immediately.  Either scenario was greeted with shrieks of surprise and delight from my 4 year old.  The test and experimentation phase is usually the most rewarding of any scientific process.  It gives you the chance to get hands on and see success...or at least break something. 

Step 5 - Analyze results and repeat from Step 2.  Crashes were the most exciting part of the experiments, but then we had to adjust our design and try again.  Do we need to start from a different spot in the house (top of the stairs)?    Should we move the wings forward or back to balance the weight?  Did we break a piece and need to re-evaluate the design?

Final step - review what we learned.  After we finished our test runs (and it was time for bed) we talked about what worked best and why.  We noticed that if the wings were too far back, the nose was too heavy and it would crash.  We noticed that if the wings were at an angle, it made the plane turn.  We also looked forward in the booklet to see what we might want to build next time.

Overall, it was a fun experiment.  Now I am motivated to look for some basic paper airplane suggestions on Pinterest, that we can test without as much destruction.  We can build several models and determine the best design for maximum distance, hang time, and speed.

After a family plane ride to Phoenix and a work flight for me, my son has been curious about airplanes.  What makes them work and gives them the ability to fly through the air?

Fortuitously, my son also just received a model glider kit for Christmas.  I eagerly "helped" him put it together (i.e. he watched me put it together) and we tested flying it around the house.  Note, the kit was designed for age 8+.

Here is an example of how we followed the scientific method during our build and test:

Step 1 - Research - how do airplanes work?  The glider kit came with a little booklet that explained basic aerodynamics (ie fluid dynamics of air).  Bernoullis' principle demonstrates that the faster fluids move, the lower their pressure.  The Lift force pushes the airplane up when air flows over the wings.  (Lift is always perpendicular to the direction of the airflow.)

Step 2 - Define a problem - How do we make an airplane/glider that flies across the room?  How do we maintain the airflow across the wings to create the lift force long enough before it falls?

Step 3 - Form hypothesis/design test model - The glider kit gave us several sample designs to try.  The main one had slightly curved wings, extending in series from the body of the plane, as well as stablizers in the back.

Step 4 - Test.  Test flights are the best part of any model airplane/glider experiment.  Sometimes the experiments went well and the glider went across the room and sometimes it nosedived almost immediately.  Either scenario was greeted with shrieks of surprise and delight from my 4 year old.  The test and experimentation phase is usually the most rewarding of any scientific process.  It gives you the chance to get hands on and see success...or at least break something. 

Step 5 - Analyze results and repeat from Step 2.  Crashes were the most exciting part of the experiments, but then we had to adjust our design and try again.  Do we need to start from a different spot in the house (top of the stairs)?    Should we move the wings forward or back to balance the weight?  Did we break a piece and need to re-evaluate the design?

Final step - review what we learned.  After we finished our test runs (and it was time for bed) we talked about what worked best and why.  We noticed that if the wings were too far back, the nose was too heavy and it would crash.  We noticed that if the wings were at an angle, it made the plane turn.  We also looked forward in the booklet to see what we might want to build next time.

Overall, it was a fun experiment.  Now I am motivated to look for some basic paper airplane suggestions on Pinterest, that we can test without as much destruction.  We can build several models and determine the best design for maximum distance, hang time, and speed.

(See my Pinterest pics  http://www.pinterest.com/mymomsanenginr/kid-science/).

My "Lean Back" Story

As I have mentioned before, I am an engineer.  I have a Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering and a Masters degree in Manufacturing Engineering.  I started my career in manufacturing plants for consumer products (i.e. diapers, food, etc).   It was not always easy being female and young in a manufacturing environment dominated by older males.  I succeeded by balancing my technical capability with a humble leadership style.  This served me well through several promotions, but the ultimate manufacturing position, as a plant manager, made me apprehensive.  I was not confident about my abilities to take on the responsibility of being a plant manager and the direction my career was heading.

After getting married, I expected that kids would be in my future, so I started to re-evaluate my career path.  I mentally decided that I could not perform as a plant manager with kids, since there would be more demands on my time.  My husband reminded me that I would have good people working for me that would support me in daily decisions and I might actually have more autonomy from the top position.  In theory I agreed with him, but it still felt incompatible.  

When a plant manager position came open, I declined to apply, even though I was encouraged to put my name in by other leaders.  I was planning to have kids soon and I did not want to be tied down to a new role or the specific location.  I wanted to eventually move closer to my family that lived in another state after I had kids.

After my first baby was born, I started looking for another job.  I found one that was not in the plant and closer to my family, but still related to manufacturing.  I successfully got the job and moved my family.  I was making a little more money because of the cost of living, but the position was less responsibility than I would have had as a Plant Manager.

In hind sight, I realize I only looked at the negative aspects of the plant manager job and my shortcomings, instead of being honest and open about the possibility.  I had already demonstrated leadership of salaried employees and union personnel, so the increaed responsibility was not significant.  I was already getting calls in the middle of the night, which probably would have reduced once I was in the plant manager position and had another manager working for me.  If I had accepted the position, but wanted to move closer to my family after having kids, I could have left the company (which is what I did anyway).  So, by leaning back and not having confidence in my ability to learn and adapt, I did not get a chance to prove my capability, to myself or others. 

I do not know if a different decision would change where I am today, but it certainly would have given me a different experience. I hope that I will be open to other unique opportunities in the future. 

Stay tuned. Next week I will share one of my "lean in" moments. 

Mom Hack #1 - Delegate

When I was in college, I dressed up as Wonder Woman for Halloween.  It was my favorite costume and became one of my personal icons for many years.  It was not until I had kids that I realized my definition of "Wonder Woman" was not possible.  I could not do everything on my own.  I can still do a lot of things, but if I want to do things well, I need to prioritize and let some things go.  Basically, I need to DELEGATE.

 

This is a continuous learning process for me.  I like to do things on my own.  I like to be self sufficient.  I have a hard time asking for help.  But, like I stated above, I can not do the important things well, if I do not ask for help for some of the less critical tasks.

 

1.  Build your community - First you need to build your village of helpers.  This could be family, neighbors, mom's club members, church members, etc.  They can not only help with tasks, but give you moral support and trusted recommendations.  They can help you find a good babysitter, housekeeper or nanny to help with your tasks.  Building a network is a two way relationship.  You should offer help, support and information to them when you can, as well.  

 

2.  Prioritize what can be delegated.  First, identify the most important tasks and ones that are important to you to own yourself.  For me, that is playing games with my children in the evening, cooking (although it is also one of my biggest stresses) and laundry.  Then, identify what are less important tasks that must get done, but that you do not mind if someone else did them.  In my home, cleaning the house is at the bottom of my list.  I know it needs to get done, but I do not like it and I do not prioritize it when given the choice between cleaning and taking my kids to the zoo.  So, that is a task I delegate to professionals.  Yes, it is an added expense, but it takes a lot of stress and worry off my mind.  Another stress that I am evaluating delegating is meal planning.  I am currently trialing eMeals.com so I do not have to think about exactly what I will cook at the beginning of the week.

 

3.  Be Gracious to others.  Make sure to thank those that help you.  Thank you cards or small gifts (like home made cookies or chocolate) go a long way. 

 

4.  Give yourself Grace.  Delegating work or tasks does not mean you are a failure or a bad mom.  Identifying when you need help is a very important leadership skill.  If you look at the best leaders, they surround themselves with experts and skilled people so they do not need to do or know everything.

The process of delegation can also (and should be) applied to your work as well.  Take some time to re-evaluate your task list and priorities and identify something NEW to delegate today.