Back to School: Successful School Strategies

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Fall is around the corner and now is the time to establish successful strategies and routines.  This time of year we are ready to begin again, even more so than at the new year.   When families work together new routines, the results can be amazing!  Communication is the key.  No one likes to be told what to do whether you are an adult, teen or even a young child.  Asking questions can make the difference on helping your children be successful in school and working together on solutions for family responsibilities and routines.   Here are some questions to help your family get a great start this fall.   Host a family meeting to collaborate on this. 

What are your personal goals for this next year?  Help your child establish a minimum goal for one area by asking what specific actions they will take to accomplish this goal.   Ask them how you can help them reach the goal.  Share with them one goal you have too and ask for their help. 

What is the best way for you to keep up with your calendar, recording your homework and other activities?  Families can set up a month at a glance calendar in a prominent place for everyone to see or use a digital calendar and print out the month at a glance.  Each  child will need their own planner for use at school, either a month at a glance, week at a glance or a spiral notebook to write in all assignments, important dates and other details.  Parents need a reliable planner system too. 

What is your best way to keep up with papers this fall? Some ideas might be one binder with tabbed slash pockets, one folder for each subject and a homework folder, a small box file, or an accordion file with one pocket for each subject.  Remember, paper management is a learned skill and very important to practice. 

What ways to study help you learn best?  Auditory learners learn well with background music, softly playing in the background. Kinesthetic learners learn well with flashcards, re-writing and movement.  Visual learners learn best with color, highlighting and underlining.  Minimize distractions by keeping study time out of your child’s room.  Check grades weekly online with your students asking them to assess what is working for studying. 

Ask all your family members to brainstorm all the stuff that must be done each week, including trash, dinner preparation, dishes, laundry, and more.  Then ask each family member which task they can do best or which they prefer.  When you work from your strengths and/or work on what you prefer, everyone does a better job. Ask for family members to partner in getting these jobs done too, so that no one person has to work alone.  Record their responsibilities on a chart and post this again in a prominent place.  Everyone has come together to work together as a team. 

Start this year off with a plan for everyone in your family. Keep the strategies going with encouragement and enthusiasm, hosting family meetings to continue this dialogue and communicate about other important family values.   Starting new or getting back to routines makes a difference for everyone.

Overcoming your Organizing Fear

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Do you say, I would rather jump off a cliff, go to the dentist, or even run away when faced with organizing? One of the most basic emotions we have is fear when getting organized. Whether we fear being shamed, we fear loss, or we fear defeat, we must acknowledge this. In order to overcome your organizing fear, we must address where this comes from.

  • Will stuff be gone without my permission when I am organizing? Over and over again I hear this from clients. This is the fear that a family member, friend or possibly a professional organizer will throw away their stuff. For many of clients, helpful family and friends have intervened and done a clean out. My clients know that I respect them and their belongings and we create a trust relationship in the process of decluttering. Creating a trust relationship with your organizing partner overcomes this fear.
  • It starts with body language and reading how another  judges you when coming into a cluttered space. The fear of shame is powerful. My clients evaluate my reactions, including my facial reactions, and how I touch their belongings. My clients know that our relationship will be based on success rather than consequences.
  • Its hard to start any project when you feel defeated over and over. Overcoming the fear of defeat is build on the successes of baby steps. When organizing goes awry, our work is not to condemn, but rather to rework and “tweak” the system to work better. First, second, third and even more attempts to organize are the path to success.
  • Focus and new perspectives overcome organizing fears. In partnering with clients, I assist them in clarifying what is next in their lives and what they want to accomplish. Opening a door for them, they can release their belongings and fears and step into a new lifestyle. In order to let go, you must know what comes next, anticipate it, and find joy in it. Letting go of fear and embracing change makes this happen.

Have you overcome your organizing fear?  What made a difference for you?

Smoothing transitions

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Change is hard! We all like things, places and people to remain status quo. But there are lots of transitions that  happen and in the midst of a transition, organizing begins to lag behind sometimes.  It might be a move, a new job, the loss of a loved one, addition of a new family member or other change that has occurred.  Here are a few tips on smoothing transitions.

  • Keep your personal routine. Plan on getting a good night’s rest.  Keep up with meals including lean protein and lots of water. The first thing we let go in times of stress is taking care of ourselves, so be sure to make this a high priority.
  • Set priorities for your work during the time of transition. Know what is most important and must be attended to first, whether it is honoring a keepsake that is your’s after a loved one’s passing or getting your bedrooms set up asap during a move.   You will feel focused and with direction, which can be very calming during this time.  Create a plan so that you can work through the transition.  Sometimes just having a plan makes all the difference. 
  • Make a complete list during times of transition.  Just getting all your ideas and thoughts on paper makes you feel more in control. You can use your energy to get things done, instead of frantically worrying about all the items and how will it all get done. Do this every day so you can keep up to date too. 
  • Seek assistance.  We all work better as a team.  Find others who can help you in any way needed.  It might be having help watching your kids, getting items moved, or just processing the pieces of the transition.   Help is all around us, we just need to be open to asking for it.
  • Acknowledge that “this too shall pass.”  Transitions are just that – the bridge between the “now normal” and the “new normal”.  We transition through different phases and stages.  The “new normal” will emerge after a time too. 

Tackle a Tiny Area: Toys

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Tackling toys to many is not a tiny area! But if you tackle it in one hour segments, it gets the job done! 

Kids play with toys when they are not ovewhelmed by the quantity. Think about a kindergarten classroom.  There are 25 kids and not even 25 toys.  So less is more in this space.  If you have new toys, you can save them for holiday toy drives. If you have missing parts, just keep a bin of all strays until the parts are rounded up. Summer is great time to organize this area with your kid’s help.  This is a teachable skill to be organized and to declutter. 

Have black garbage bags with you and your timer.  Invite your kids to help and set the timer for 15 minutes. In that time, ask your kids to donate what they don’t love, what they want to share with others, and what is no longer age appropriate. Drop these into the bags, filling only until easily carried to the car. Have your kids drop off the items with you. 

Set your timer for 15 more minutes, 3 more times, working around the room.  At the end of the sessions, bring the items to the car and be sure to drop them off later that day. 

You may have a few keepsake toys to store.  Purchase 66 quart bins, with latches to secure closing, to store in the attic. 

How many hours will this take? I suggest 2, 3 or 4 one hour sessions to get the job done. Breaking this job into small units makes it happen. 

Organizing a kid friendly space means having them have access to their toys.  Here are two creative resources for you to use.  Busy Boxes from Container Store make rolling toy bins with different size containers.  IKEA has Trofast tiered units to help organize toys. 

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/toyStorage/boxesCases?productId=10000647

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/series/19027/?pageNumber=0

Remember to label to keep your toys systems and storage in order.  Pictures are a great way to label too!

Tackle A Tiny Area: Laundry Room

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Small steps lead to big accomplishments! Tackling a tiny area can make a difference in your home or office. This summer we are taking a tour of these projects and creating a plan for you. This project is the laundry room.

Laundry is an important process in our homes and for ourselves and our family. Having a well stocked, efficient space makes it easy to get this job done. 

Set your timer for one hour.  Eliminate trash first, then recycle plastic containers.  Pull out the items that are unused and donate these.  With the items that remain, group these together by categories, such as lightbulbs, cleaning, glue and tape,  pets, and laundry.  Decide if items truly belong in the garage and distribute these at the end of your hour.

Even a laundry room can be a place of beauty! Uniform, attractive containers make the difference.  Label the containers to help you and your family maintain order. Think about painting the walls a color you love too!

Laundry stuck in this room forever? Invite your family to the “laundry party” and purchase one laundry basket per person.  This way you can distribute laundry to each person’s room effortlessly, with each person putting away their own laundry.  If laundry is leaving and not getting put away in  your kid’s room, have them watch a movie, fold and put on hangers, and then set a timer for 5 minutes to put it away.  Give your family a deadline and a date to get this done every week. 

What ways are you tackling your laundry area?

Summer Routines start NOW!

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summer routines

 

 

 

Here is it, the first week of summer vacation.  Its time to start a new routine for you and your family, transitioning to ways your family can make the most of summer.  Summer routines start now!

  • Have a family meeting where you talk about what summer means to each family member.  Talk about how you can be a team this summer and about each person’s growth.  It can be working together on a family project or fun activities. For individuals, it can be becoming a better reader, building more confidence with math (for parents this is balancing your checkbook), taking on a new challenging sport (I see moms who are becoming triathaletes), or just deciding you are going to have more family time together.
  • Write up a checklist for your kids to accomplish each day, including chores and their chosen challenge.  Decide on a completion time for the checklist, so without controversy and conversation it is done.
  • Establish a bedtime for parents and kids this summer, including curfews for older kids.

Starting your summer routine also requires commitment. If these routines do not go as planned, press the “reset button” and start again the next day.

What routines are you starting this summer?

Join me for summer fun!

Tackle a Tiny Area: Linen Closet

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Small steps lead to big accomplishments!  Tackling a tiny area can make a difference in your home or office.  This summer we are taking a tour of these projects and creating a plan for you.  This project is the linen closet. 

It starts out as just a small mistep.  You are in a hurry and drop your towel on the floor. Then company is coming and you swoosh it into the linen closet.  Then you don’t know what to do with something in your room, so you open the linen closet and drop in something totally random.  And then you are so overwhelmed each time you open the door, how you could ever get organized?

How do you tackle this tiny area? Set your timer for one hour! Have 2 garbage bags ready, one to drop in what is to be donated and one that is for trash.  Start at the top shelf, taking each item out and deciding what to do with it. If you are keeping it, establish categories like first aid, medications, body wash, make up, travel, and any others. Any items that need to be distributed to the rest of your home, start a group by the door just for distribution.

Once you have decided what to keep, decide what will keep these categories together.  Is it a functional clear plastic shoe box or a pretty wicker tote? Now you know how many to buy, so measure your space.  You can order online at Amazon or make a quick trip to a local store to purchase these items.  Remember you will be labeling this container to maintain order too. 

Tackling this tiny area has big rewards! Now you now what you have, you can easily find it rather than purchase duplicates, and your success will push you forward in the next area you tackle!

Let me know how your baby steps in organizing is coming along!

Get organized for your vacation

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get organized for your vacation

 

Summer’s here! And we are ready to get on the road or to the airport.  Getting out of town and getting ready to travel can be very overwhelming.  Here are a few tips to get started, get going and get organized.

  • Start early. Flights are cheaper 21 days in advance.  Hotel availability is better with advance notice.  Pull out your calendars and make a plan to know what dates will work best for your family to go on vacation.  Be sure to steer clear of beginnings and endings of big projects, as well as clear your calendar for a day after you return too.  Your transition back to reality will be much happier.
  • Get packing in this sequence: complete laundry, make list of attire, lay out clothes to view, then pack in suitcase.  In order to be ready, complete laundry well in advance so you can pack well in advance.
  • Create checklists.  A packing list ensures nothing is left behind.  A vacation checklist ensures that your mail will be picked up, your pets cared for, and all the other details of home management while away. This is a substancial checklist provided by TravelSmith.  http://www.travelsmith.com/TravelSmith/US/TravelCenter/guide-packing-checklist/landing-path?SourceCode=GCRSS003&cm_mmc=SEM%20NonBrand-_-Packing%20List-_-Google-_-keyword=travel+packing+checklist
  • Pre-load your digital fun.  Upload to your kindle, itouch, and other digital devices a week in advance.
  •  Think about using the app TripIt on your smartphone. You can consolidate information in a paperless way. You can store your paper documents in a special travel binder, adding items as you make reservations and plans.
  • Get ready with coupons online from fun venues at your destination.  Print or add to your smartphone to access these.
  • Smartphone apps can help too.  Gowalla gives you ideas at your destination.  GasBuddy gives you locations for cheaper gas on your trip. Weatherbug gives you up to date weather forecasts.
  • Pack the essentials in your carry on. Snacks, kid friendly fun, hand sanitizer, and your digital chargers are a must for getting there.

What are your ways to get organized for a vacation?

Get Organized with Microsoft Outlook

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Join me at the Houston Galleria Microsoft Store for Get Organized with Microsoft Outlook!

Overwhelmed by email? Can’t find a contact when you need it? Not sure of meeting dates for work or family activities? We will be sharing tips and tricks to get all of this together in one place, easy to access and making communication easy!

Some tips, tricks and techniques we will be sharing:

  • Setting up your view in Outlook
  • Using Quicksteps to file easily
  • Using categorizing and color coding to prioritize
  • How to make the most of the Task Bar
  • Setting up your calendar to be your most productive
  • System  integration with your slate, phone, and laptop

Microsoft Galleria Store

May 19 at 2pm

Bring your laptop, slate or windows phone and play along with us.  Happy organizing!

Decisions and decluttering

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decisions and decluttering

 

 

Decluttering is all about making decisions.  What to keep or release? What category is this item in?  Where do I store it to know I have it?  How many should I keep? These decisions can be hard!

 

Why is decision making so difficult? Maybe you need the affirmation that you are making the “right” decision.  Maybe you need ideas and could choose one to be the final decision. Maybe you need the energy and focus to think clearly about a decision? Maybe you have never had practice making decisions.  Maybe you are too overwhelmed to know what decisions need to be made.  Research shows that not only cognitive ability plays into decision making, but also emotions.  All of these aspects come into play when decisions and decluttering are linked.

 

Here are a few ideas to help you make decisions that make sense, make letting go easier, and make a difference for you.

  • Donate it if it is “good”.  It is considered “good” if it can be used and still in working condition.
  • Freecyle if it is broken.  List it on freecycle.org and it will be picked up from your doorstep.
  • Give it a moment, then give it away.  Look at it, touch it, and then put it to the side. In a moment you will be ready to give it away.
  • Set a number.   How many do you think you need of any one object? Think of your own number as a guide.
  • Compare two.   Establish a “tournament”, do you prefer this or that?
  • Set a boundary.  Where does a specific item belong?  That is the boundary, the space where the item will be confined.  Let that guide you for how many and where to keep items.
  • Gather items all together, see how many you have and need. Once you see items together, it is easier to decide what to keep.

What is holding you back from making a decision?

 

 

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