Saving time, saving money, saving space, saving your nerves; wouldn’t it be nice to be able to save in every aspect of your life?  Wouldn’t you enjoy waking up each day and knowing that you’ve got a system with which you can plan your day and accomplish your goals without getting bogged down and annoyed by simple things?  It’s amazing how one small, minor detail can set someone off when they’re already on edge.  When I was living in Memphis for college I would get so stressed that I would literally be stretched so thin you could see right through me (in a hypothetical sense of course!), and it would often shock me how the smallest things would just irritate me to no end!  I would have papers to write, homework to finish, work deadlines to meet, a non-profit organization to run, meetings to attend, extra-curricular stuff to do, dishes to wash, errands to run, my apartment to clean, the cat to feed, and bills to pay; I simply couldn’t do it all!  I noticed that once I got too overloaded I would simply shut down at that point. 
I called this my Top Out Point (aka. TOP).  I looked at it as though my life were a pot of water on the stove.  When everything was calm the pot was sitting at room temperature, but then as I started turning the stove up the heat began to rise and the water soon began to boil.  I would then add a handful of “ingredients”, then another handful, and yet another and had completely forgotten that the pot is only big enough to handle a certain amount.  Now, anyone that has ever boiled anything knows that if you boil the water for too long, at the highest temperature, the water will eventually bubble up and boil over; well, that is what I call the Top Out Point.  It is the point in your life when you finally “top out” of things that you can handle.  For the Super Hero Mom it may be that one plate of spilled spaghetti or maybe that broken lamp from the indoor football game your son decided to play with his buddies.  For the Hardcore Employee it may be one too many stressful phone calls or that one customer that just strikes a nerve.  Regardless of how it happens, there will be some point where you will just have to step back and say, “Whoa! STOP!”, and that’s perfectly okay.  We all need those moments in our life, whether it’s personal or business related, where we take a moment to just breathe and actually stop working or stop cleaning or stop picking up after your lazy husband or filthy kids!  Take a moment for YOU.  Sip on some Chamomile Tea (great for relaxation), read a book, watch some TV, take a walk or just lie back on the couch and close your eyes. 
I’ve heard so many people say that stay-at-home moms have it easy.  They just sit at home, watch Soap Operas, gossip on the phone, clean up a bit and wait for their hardworking husband to get home while they graciously meet him with a hot meal already on the table…what a bunch of bull!  Stay-at-home moms are Full Time Mothers and their job should be appreciated.  Do you know how difficult it is to pick up after five kids running around, a husband that won’t put his dirty plates in the sink, a teenage daughter that refuses to even talk to you because you “don’t understand” and a nosey mother that is constantly complaining because your house doesn’t meet her standards and that she raised you better than that?  On top of all that they have to cook three meals a day (plus snacks), clean up after those meals, do the laundry, clean the house, make the beds, scrub the bathroom, dust the furniture, and still have time to help the kids with homework and be a loving and caring wife!  It’s not easy folks, give them some slack!  They only have two arms and they don’t have super powers! 
If you’re one of those husbands that helps your wife then I commend you, but if you’re not then get off your lazy behind and help her organize and clean some stuff!  I’ve been talking about organizing and getting things in order for the past five weeks but it’s pretty darn difficult to do that if you don’t have the participation and support of your family.
To all you moms out there, this week is for you.  I challenge you to take some time out for yourself everyday.  Five, ten, thirty minutes or an hour, just take some time for you.  You deserve it.  If you’re a dad reading this article, or even a single man or woman, then I give you the same challenge.  You don’t have to be a parent to be stressed, and you don’t have to be a parent to deserve some time off every once in a while.  If you’ve been following my column and organizing your stuff then I want you to take a break this week, and from now until next Wednesday I want you to take a few moments out of each day to say, “Hey, this is my time right now and I’m going to enjoy it.”  There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  Take some time from the kids, take some time from the spouse and just breathe.  Feel free to check out “Saving Dollars & Making Sense” on www.facebook.com/savingdollarsandmakingsense and give me your feedback.  I’d love to hear how you spend your relaxation time this week.  Good luck!