Start the School Year Organized Sunday, Aug 24 2008 

Organizing Kids , , , , efficientorganization 7:43 pm

Most of us have good intentions to get our kids off to school with a healthy breakfast, two matching shoes and a friendly wave as the school bus pulls away.  How is it that more frequently it starts with a struggle to get everyone out of bed, a scramble to find lunch money and a hunt for one missing shoe?  By the time you are done running to the bus stop with kids in tow, you’re feeling frazzled and the goodbye wave is a bit lackluster.

Tomorrow will be a better day, right?

 

How can you start the school year on the right foot?  Well, it seems that pencils, notebooks and glue sticks hit the store shelves practically as soon as the previous school year ends, you can follow the lead of the stores by getting a jump start on organizing your home and family now for the new school year.

 

Follow these steps to ease stress and organize your home now:

 

Give belongings a home:  Help your kids succeed in finding what they need by giving their belongings a well-defined storage space.  What types of homes should you set up?

 

  • Hooks your kids can reach for coats and backpacks.
  • Racks, baskets or cubbies for shoes next to the door.
  • Baskets or plastic organizers with drawers for hats, scarves and gloves.
  • A separate stacker for each child’s homework.
  • An art caddy to keep homework supplies together such as pens, pencils, scissors and glue.

 

It’s important to remember that even when you set up a good system for your kids to store their belongings, there will still be times that they kick their shoes off in front of the TV and throw their backpacks on the floor.  It’s really just not as important to kids as it is to you to stay organized.  Stick with it, be consistent and remember that you are teaching your kids a valuable life lesson. 

 

Be sure to set up storage systems where your children naturally gravitate. For example, if they enter the house through the garage then set up hooks and shoe racks in the garage by the door.  Don’t expect kids to go all the way upstairs to their rooms to take off shoes and coats.  Make it easy for them to succeed.

 

Think ahead:  No one likes that last minute scramble in the morning, prepare for the next day as much as you can the evening before in the following ways:

 

  • Count out lunch money or use the school district’s prepay program.
  • Make a sack lunch that just has to be placed in the backpack in the morning.
  • Have your child pick out one or two outfits to choose from in the morning.
  • Have your child pack library books, homework and permission slips in their backpack.
  • You know the coats are on newly installed hooks by the door next to the new shoe rack-done!

 

Suggested reading:  A great book to read to help you and your student tackle homework organization is “The Organized Student” by Donna Goldberg.

 

May you begin your days with less stress, no missing shoes and may your goodbye wave at the school bus stop be filled with enthusiasm!

 

www.EfficientOrganizationNW.com

 

 

Homework Helpers Tuesday, Aug 19 2008 

Organizing Kids , , , efficientorganization 11:29 pm

School is right around the corner and with that comes homework.  To help your kids stay on task do the following:

  • Have a specific location where homework is placed every time such as a mail tray with your child’s name on it.  Don’t use that space for anything else, when it’s time to work on homework they will know right where to go.
  • Let your child work where they are comfortable as long as they get their work done.  Don’t make them go off to a quiet place if that’s not how they work best.  If they work well with noise let them listen to the radio or sit with family at the kitchen table; if they want to lay on the floor instead of sitting at a desk let them.
  • Create a portable homework kit that can go where they go.  Purchase a caddy and fill it with pencils, pens, scissors, ruler, glue sticks, erasers-whatever they need to get the job done.
  • If they have a long-term project, help them sit down with a calendar and map out how much needs to get done every day or every week to be finished in time for the due date.
  • Consistently enforce where kids need to place their belongings until it becomes a habit or they move out-whichever comes first!

Set your kids up to succeed and have a happy school year!

www.EfficientOrganizationNW.com

 

Just Say No Sunday, Aug 17 2008 

Quick Tips and Time Management & Goals , , , efficientorganization 12:34 am

It’s so easy to take on too much in our lives and then scramble and play catch-up because we can’t get everything done each day.  One of the reasons this happens is we say yes too much-someone asks us to join a group, help plan an event, help with a charity and we say yes, yes, yes.  It’s great to be involved, but you need to make sure that you say yes to something because it is important to you and fits with your goals and interests in life.  Ask yourself, “Do I want to do this or do I feel obligated to do this?”  If you feel like saying yes out of a feeling of guilt or obligation, then it’s time to say you appreciate the offer but you will have to pass at this time as your plate is full.  Let that person move on to find someone else who has the time, passion and energy to fill that role to the fullest!

www.EfficientOrganizationNW.com

 

What Does a Professional Organizer Do? Wednesday, Aug 13 2008 

Quick Tips , , , , efficientorganization 3:54 pm

So, you’ve seen the shows and it looks great to have your space transformed!  But how does it really happen?  In real life you room isn’t done in a 30-minute television time slot. 

First, here are a few reasons people hire professional organizers:

  • They feel stressed out in their space
  • They feel overwhelmed
  • They don’t know where to start to tackle their project
  • They are already relatively organized but need some new ideas
  • They have had some type of change in their life and things got a little out of control

As a professional organizer I come in and look at the space, find out what’s working and what’s not working and discuss the client’s goals for how they would like to use their space.  I make suggestions for how to set up simple systems that will work well for their lifestyle, it’s a bit of a brainstorming session.

With hands-on organizing, I set up bins with bags and labels (such as garbage, donation) and we take a section to work on and start going through each item deciding what to keep and to pass on.  Am I going to tell the client what to get rid of?  No.  It is ultimately the client’s decision on what to part with.  What I am going to do is offer support, encouragement and discuss ways of making letting go of an item ok for the client.  I am also going to be a resource for further services that may be needed such as shredding, charities, computer recycling, etc.

After sorting belongings we are left with what the client wants to keep which is either placed on display, put away or containerized and labeled depending on what we are working with. 

In the end the client will have a space that is clutter-free, they can find what they need and they feel a lot lighter!

www.EfficientOrganizationNW.com

 

Organizing Kid’s Clothing Wednesday, Aug 13 2008 

Organizing Kids , , , efficientorganization 5:28 am

What do you do with kid’s clothing that you are saving for the future?  It’s great when we hit a good sale and stock up on future sizes for a good price or receive hand-me-downs in good shape, but they need a home until they are put to use. 

  • Step 1:  Sort clothing by season and size.
  • Step 2:  Buy plastic bins with well-fitting lids.
  • Step 3:  Place long-sleeve, winter clothing of same size together in bin.  Place short sleeve, summer clothing together in another bin.  Place the child’s name, season and size on the outside. 
  • Step 4:  Keep bins stored out of the way at the top of the closet or even out in the garage until you need them.

It’s a good idea to keep a bin in the bottom of the closet to place outgrown clothing in as you find it.  That way it is either ready for donation or to pass on to a sibling.

If you are passing down a lot of clothing in your family you may need help remembering who currently wears each item.  Purchase a laundry marker and place a dot on the label for the first child.  When it gets passed on to the second child add another dot.  If it’s in good enough condition to pass on to a third child than-WOW! 

It’s fine to stock up as long as you have the storage space and you are utilizing the clothing!

www.EfficientOrganizationNW.com

 

Good News-You Don’t Have to Be Perfect! Saturday, Aug 9 2008 

Quick Tips , , efficientorganization 5:09 pm

I always worry that people will equate being organized with being perfect-you are off the hook, you don’t have to be perfect!  Being organized is about finding what you need when you need it, it’s about not losing things, it’s about reducing stress.  It’s not about having your home company-ready 24/7.

When you are organized you have a place for everything that is clear to you and to the people who live with you.  When you use something then it’s easy to put the item back where it belongs.  We live in our homes, we get stuff out, we have dishes that haven’t made it into the dishwasher yet, we have laundry on the bed that needs to be folded and that’s ok.  The bottom line is when you are organized you can quickly put those items where they belong and know right where to go when you need them again.

Get organized and remember that it will be easy to be company-ready when you really need to!

www.EfficientOrganizationNW.com

 

What’s For Dinner? Monday, Aug 4 2008 

How I Stay Organized , , , , , efficientorganization 6:22 pm

Ug-not my favorite question!  Cooking is just not one of my favorite activities (unless it involves chocolate) but I find it easier if I approach it in an organized way.  I don’t like to assign every day of the week a specific meal because I like to have choices, so this is my approach:

  1. Create a word document with the month at the top and number it down the side 1-31.
  2. Get out cookbooks/recipes & choose 15-20 that sound good.
  3. Type the names of the dishes in the word document numbered 1-31 (you will have blank dates).
  4. Print & hang on fridge.
  5. Make a list of all the ingredients that need to be shopped for.
  6. Go grocery shopping so everything is on hand that will be needed to cook with.

Each night you can look at the list and decide what sounds good for the next day.  Do you need something quick and easy, would a crock pot meal be a good idea due to a busy day?  Do you have plenty of time to cook a longer meal like a roast?  Now you can take your meat out to defrost so you don’t have the “I didn’t take anything out” excuse.

The reason I don’t plan for 31 meals solid is because sometimes there are left-overs, sometimes we may choose to go out for a meal.  You can always plan a few more meals later in the month.  If you really only want to sit down and make the list once you can plan 30 meals, just know you probably won’t be able to buy all the fresh produce at once.

Another way to save time is to double some of your recipes and freeze half so you can just defrost and bake, a healthier alternative to frozen store bought meals.

Whether you love to cook or you don’t-you’ve still got to eat so you might as well do it in an organized way and have a quick answer to “what’s for dinner”!

Here’s a great little shopping list to hang on your fridge from seejanework: 

http://www.seejanework.com/ProductCart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=600

www.EfficientOrganizationNW.com

 

Easy Attic Storage Sunday, Aug 3 2008 

Quick Tips , , efficientorganization 5:27 am

Need to stretch your storage space?  Try Atticraft-a no tools attic storage system: 

www.atticraft.net

www.EfficientOrganizationNW.com