The power and responsibility of social media

Several articles about students and social media have been in the forefront lately. Blogger/author/mom Lysa Terkeurst recently offered advice to adults who are active online based on her reading of Karen Ehman's work regarding social media presence and interaction. In a USAToday article, Marymount University coach Brandon Chambers is quoted for tweeting this on August 25, 2014: "Never let a 140 character tweet cost you a $140,000 scholarship." 

Colleges and employers are reviewing students' social media accounts. Are we ensuring that our students are representing themselves appropriately online?

Five Suggestions for Students Who Use Social Media

1. Pause before you post. Think about the message you're sending and how it reflects on you and the subject of the post. Nothing is ever truly private online and posting is instantaneous.
2. Imagine the audience sitting with you. Would you say the same things you're about to type if the person were sitting in the room with you? If all of your followers and FB friends were in the room?
3. Remember: When you're on-line, you're also on stage. Online words are available for others to see. If you say something in person and later realize your error, you can go back apologize. However, something posted on social media is archived - it can be retracted/taken down, but there is no way to find all of the people who might have seen the original comment...and it can sometimes be found again.
4. Ask yourself if you have the right to speak on the subject. Do you have expertise in the area about which you are commenting? Do you have proof to verify your assertions?
5. If you retweet it or share it, you own it. And the consequences of it.

Social media provides excellent opportunities for interaction, sharing and learning. It is causing more people to read and write more often than they ever have in the past. The benefits - and the responsibilities - are innumerable.

Getting Rid of Clutter

After a holiday hiatus, we are back and ready for an exciting new year! Now that the decorations have been stored away, everyone has enjoyed time with family and friends, and we've made a few resolutions to make 2015 one of the best years yet, it's time to start putting those resolutions into action. Many families resolve to declutter their homes at the beginning of the year, but getting started can be an overwhelming and daunting thought.

Getting everyone in the family on board is one of the first steps. Setting goals together can also be a useful way to motivate the family (Do we want to repurpose a space? Do we want to redecorate? Do we want to make room for something new?).

Thankfully, there are many helpful resources on decluttering available to help us plan. Depending on your organizational style and time designated for the project, one of these Five Resources for a Decluttering Plan of Attack 

may be helpful to your family:

1. Blogger and author Jen Hatmaker took on a project in 2012 to eliminate excess from her family's life. In her book on the experience, she details her family's journey to "fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence." Our take on this project included getting rid of seven items each day for a month. Think it can't be done? Challenge your family to give it a try!
2. Parents Magazine (Parents.com) provides a day-by-day guide for Conquer[ing] Clutter in 31 Days this month. Our take on this project is actually happening in bursts due to time and we've been pleasantly surprised at how manageable it is to actually accomplish several of the suggestions in one day.
3. Blogger Joshua Becker offers a variety of challenges that could be issued within the home to motivate family members to declutter. Our favorites include the 5 Minute challenge, the 12-12-12 challenge, and the Fill 1 Trash Bag challenge.
4. Real Simple's Stephanie Sisco appeared on Today Show recently to offer some tips to Purge the Clutter as well. We like her suggestion to move through one area/category at a time, which makes the big task much more manageable for children.
5. Organized 101 shares strategies for Staying Clutter-Free once we've tackled the job of removing items we no longer need. Their ideas for building good habits will help our families stay clutter free this year...we're committing to establishing clutter preserves for a start.

Let us know if you have helpful decluttering strategies to share!