Our productivity and professional organizer community is filled with creative and resourceful people! I admire their skills in creating calendars that will work for our clients.

Ready Aim Organize Organize Your Life Calendar

Theresa Finnegan has designed a fold out easel, day at a glance calendar filled with different daily organizing tips.  I love this calendar because it shares something new each day and keeps organizing a daily priority. You can purchase it at www.readyaimorganize.com

A Confident Mom 2012 Weekly Household Planner

Susan Heid created this weekly planner as a complete way to organize and clean your home throughout the year.  I love this calendar because is captures all the essentials. You can purchase this planner at http://www.theconfidentmom.com/services/classes-products/household-planner-sales-page/.

Order out Of Chaos Academic Planner

Leslie Josel has created an Academic Planner for middle and high schoolers to not just record but also plan their lives.  I love this calendar because it visually represents all the dimensions for kids.  You can order this calendar at http://www.orderoochaos.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=114&Itemid=70

With the newest technologies of Kindle and Nook, book lovers still love their libraries!  Books are a tangible way to share knowledge, take to you foreign lands, and a reminder of those in our family who prized knowledge, loved to read and loved books.  To some of us, a personal library is a great reflection of our inner selves.  

• All the books in your home comprise your family library.  Refering to these as your library brings a new perspective to your books and how you care for them. 
• Keep only the books you truly love.  Review your stacks annually.  If your collection is always growing, you should also be eliminating too. 
• Remember to honor your books by placing these on a book shelf.  If your books are used as decor, books may be stacked horizontally.  Books are not best kept in a drawer or cardboard box.   Not enough book space?  Add more book cases in a hall way or a guest room. 
• Group your books by their use.  Some of for a specific reference, some of just for fun, some are collections, some are read by the bed.  You decide what your categories are, by both function and value.  Some of my clients have organized by these groups or by alphabetical order.
• Books need care too! Remember to dust frequently and keep them out of damp climates. 
• Cookbooks have special meaning to many of us. Cull through and keep what you love. Keep them in an easy to access spot in the kitchen. 
• Group your books that are “to be read” in a special spot, so you have access to these when you are ready to start a new one.  Keep a “wish list” for upcoming reads in with your other lists, either electronically or in your command center.
• Do you share books in your library? Always make a note in your task list of who you are lending to and the date it was loaned.  You will be able to retrieve your book easily.

Books will always be a special part of who you are and what defines you.   Honor them just as any keepsake.

Back to school means getting back into schedules, activities and getting to school on time.  It is hard to do, especially after summer.   One of the most important parts of back to school is getting back or getting going on good routines.  Routines are the consistent, every day ways of getting things done that make life easier.  Try out these routines this fall, starting them the third week of August, so that by the first day of school you are already in the groove. 

•  Have a set schedule for homework and other chores.  Designate a little time for down time, and then start on homework in the late afternoon. The later you start homework, the longer it takes.  Decide on what chores are done on what days and post a chart so everyone is on board with this plan. 
• Use power periods to get homework done. Instead of 2 hours straight, break your homework time into 15,30 or 45 minutes of work and 5 minutes of walking around, getting a drink,texting friends or taking a very short break. Your kids will be more efficient if they know that the homework needs to be done in 45 minutes.
• All kids and parents need planners and calendars.  Host a family meeting each week to write in on a month at a glance calendar what upcoming and regular events are going on. Include even the weekly activities, like ballet, football or other kids and parent activities.  You can use the google calendar or Cozi.com if you are a techie, and print the calendar to post too.  Kids bring their planners too to fill in so everyone is modeling and practicing how to use their planners.
• Set a bed time for the kids and parents.   Well rested kids do better in school. Well rested parents are more productive.  Set alarm clocks for everyone to get up and get going. 

Take a good look at the big picture and what you want this year to be for your family.  At your family meeting, have everyone talk about this and share.  Also think through over scheduling.  Be realistic about what your kids participate in and your commitment.  Being involved is a positive, but being over involved can cause stress and frustration.

Learning that you or your child has a new diagnosis can be scary.  Getting some background and tools empower you and your child.  Here is a short list of suggested resources for you to start your education. 

Websites

www.additudemag.com

www.chadd.org

www.adda-sr.org

http://letsgetfittofocus.com/

http://www.familieswithpurpose.com/

Blogs

http://www.additudemag.com/adhdblogs/

http://www.parenting.com/article/adhd-in-children

Books

Empowering Youth with ADD by Jodi Sleeper-Triplett

The Organized Student by Donna Goldberg

The Crumpled Paper that Was Due Last Week by Ana Homayoun 

 Journey Through ADDulthood by Sari Solden

Super Parenting for ADD: An Innovative Approach to Raising Your Distracted Child by Edward M. Hallowell M.D. and Peter S. Jensen

ADD and the College Student  or Understanding Girls with ADHD both by Patricia Quinn,MD

Attention Deficit Disorder: The Unfocused Mind in Children and Adults by Thomas E. Brown

Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary “Executive Skills” Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential by Ped Dawson, EdD

What are your best resources?  Please share!

Cell Phones for Soldiers Drive Hosted by PostNet Kingwood and Professional-Organizer.com

Your old cell phone can help a soldier stay in touch with family. Cell Phones for Soldiers wants to turn your old cell phones into more than 12 million minutes of prepaid calling cards for U.S. troops stationed overseas. To do so, Cell Phones for Soldiers wants to collect 50,000 cell phones each month through a network of more than 3,000 collection sites across the country.  PostNet Kingwood and Professional-Organizer.com are partnering to host a drop off site in Kingwood from June 1 – July 31.  PostNet Kingwood is located at 4321 Kingwood Drive in the HEB Shopping Center in Kingwood.  Drop off your used cell phones and make a difference!

 To learn more about Cell Phones for Soldiers visit

www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com

To learn more about PostNet Kingwood, including store hours, visit

http://www.postnet.com/kingwood-tx194/  or call (713) 589-2151

Sync or Swim: 201 Organizing Tips You Need to Survive the Currents of Change are the next-generation organizing tips for getting things done and controlling clutter without falling into a sea of complexity. Seventy organizing and productivity specialists share 201 of their best tips and 100 most valuable resources in home management, information organization, and organizing every basic area of life. It is a 93-page ebook written by award-winning professional organizer, Judith Kolberg, and certified professional organizer, Allison Carter.  I am one of the contributors!

Featuring:

“New Organizing Tasks”: 20 years ago we didn’t have to deal with syncing calendars, avoiding spam, scanning, defragging, or managing the overload of information that comes our way every day. Our tips help you to survive the day to day chores of this generation.

“Tech Lite” Resources: This ebook contains 140 unique resources for syncing, reminding, tracking, reducing, organizing, scheduling, balancing, and so much more! But it’s not scary high tech. It’s easy to access organizingtools you can use today.

“New School” Tips: New ways to do old tasks: Filing, cleaning up, setting reminders, viewing photos, even changing the oil.

Purchase your copy at

http://www.squallpress.net/index.php?target=banners&bid=70&sl=EN&aff_id=78

In a world where we are always “super sizing” our life,  I like to reflect about our stuff.  What is “enough”  in our world of consumption, media saturation, and bigger is better.  Here is a story to add awareness about upsizing and over buying.

A friend recently renovated her kitchen. She moved the old (meaning 4 years old) refrigerator to her office, which is a renovated 1950′s bungalow.  Once at the location, the refrigerator would not fit through the door!  In order to take it in, the doors were removed.  The refrigerator is very out of proportion with the rest of the kitchen.  What does this say about our homes now and then?

My friend said,  “The very moment they were taking off the hinges to the refrigerator door, I thought this is bigger than what the family used here 50 years ago and now I have two refrigerators at my house and a freezer. What’s wrong with this picture?”

 As we think through our choices in homes and lifestyle, are we aware that we have added “more” to everything in our lives? This not only includes appliances! Homes on the average are double the size now as in the 1950′s.  During the last 30 years, the self-storage industry has been the fastest growing sector of the U.S. commercial real estate industry, based upon the number of new companies, new facilities and amount of total square footage added.  Our stuff is outgrowing our oversized homes too.

This year I have chosen to purchase only items when needed, not when wanted.  It is really not hard, but I must be mindful of the choice.  I avoid places that make for easy over consumption or items that are not necessities.  I can already see the difference in my budget. 

So with this cautionary tale, start an awareness of less is more.  Begin your uncluttered journey in saying no to more stuff.   A client recently told me, “I used to think that having more stuff made me a better person.”  Your stuff is not who you are, it really is just stuff.   How will you know when is “enough” for you?

Want more information about our oversized homes?   Read The Ever Expanding Dream House    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5525283

One of the most versatile and effective tools for organizing is the over the door shoe organizer.  There is a long list of uses, so here are just a few

- In the art room, with crafts, colors, and paints

-In the scrapbooking area, with stickers, paper, scissors and stencils

-In the kitchen, for spices, kids snacks, craft supplies, or office supplies

-In the toy room, for Barbies and Matchbox cars

-At the back door, for bug spray, car keys, kids shoes, or sunscreen

-In your kids rooms, for hair bows, belts, or accessories

-In the office, for pencils, pens, ink cartridges, and scissors

Be sure it fits safely over the door and the door can close.  The clear shoe holders are great to see what is in the pocket.  Some are longer, some shorter. If you want your kids to access the items, be sure to use the longer one.  This item is available at Target, WalMart, Bed Bath and Beyond and more at a very reasonable cost.

The list is endless! How are you using the shoe organizer?

This weekend I worked with a team of teachers to organize a storage closet they shared.   The closet had become totally unfunctional, being blocked on the floor with extra supplies and other clutter.    I had high hopes for this project, but the teachers exceeded my expectations! In 2 hours they had cleared the clutter completely!  How did this happen?

Start with a common goal. Together we defined what was clutter and what was not. Donations were designated for charity or other schools. 

Put a team plan in action. We divided the room into areas for specific content.  We labeled each section of the floor for  math, language, science and geography . One teacher stood at each spot to assess keep or donate.  The donate piles were labeled charity or school.  Runners took items from the closet to the designated areas.

Many hands make for light work. Ten teachers arrived that day ready to make a difference for their school.

So how did we accomplish so much? We stayed on task, partnered, and made excellent decisions. As you can see from the before and after pictures, now the closet is ready for more materials. 

How will it stay organized? Each teacher knows the new rules for what to keep, each teacher has their own shelf for their materials, and we labeled each area to know where to replace materials. 

Have a big project at work? Set the date, gather the team, set the goals, and go for it!

I am a lover of learning and an eternal student. I love everything to do with school! I was grateful, humbled and excited about the opportunity to be principal for a day at our local elementary.  The day started with the magical words, “Mrs. Delap is here for Principal for a Day”. And off we go to visit kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade classrooms, learning labs and more.  What I learned was beyond my most magical thoughts!

As a former kindergarten teacher, I come with my biases. Play fair, be kind, work hard and listen carefully are all my inborn mantras. Imagine a school where communication and high expectations are part of the culture. Technology is there assisting with all sorts of learning, whether it is visual, auditory or kinesthetic modalities. Parents come to help in each classroom, feeling welcome and a part of the learning process. This is what I saw during the day.  Kids were involved, learning, and doing.  They were immersed in language and math.  

Teachers are individualizing education on both ends of the spectrum.  Not only are there gifted programs, but the school houses a special unit of Severe Communication Disorder programs for autistic students.  Teachers partner and plan as groups, adding their own flavor in their own classrooms.  Everyone comes together with their strengths to make this school exemplary. 

When asked what parents can to do best assist their kids in school preparation and success, the staff and principal mentioned learning social skills, organizational skills and study skills are the highest priorities.  Our school promotes a culture of caring, getting along, organizing your paper and time, and studying effectively.  Each month the scohol hosts a Coffee Talk about school success. 

Of course there will always be challenges in our school, especially with funding. This elementary sponsors many fundraisers. My small gift to them was a gift certificate for an upcoming school silent auction. 

Thank you Humble ISD Foundation for the opportunity to be a part of our thriving and vibrant education system. And yes, I did promise the teachers a raise and give the kids a half day of school!  It was one of the best days ever to be an educator!