Summer Organizing: Summer on the go with kids (Part 1)

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summer organizing

One of the most powerful parts of social networking is connecting to bloggers through Blog Elevated. Here are some amazing ideas about summer on the go!

 

One of the most powerful parts of social media are the connections we make!  I asked my social media peeps what helps them get started on their spring organizing and cleaning. – See more at: https://professional-organizer.com/WordPress/2014/03/#sthash.e0BVspGw.dpuf

When you’re on the go with kids, don’t forget about all the opportunities they’re taking to learn. They’ll learn with or without you, so see what you can do to guide that learning.  Pick a shape in the world – ask your children, “How many sides does it have? How many angles?” If you have older kids, ask, “How big are each of the angles? Can you approximate in degrees? If you drew lines connecting one corner to all the others, how many triangles would you make?” And then see what kinds of questions they come up with!

Bon Crowder, M.S.

Math Mom & Education Advocate 

Twitter @mathfour

Pinterest Mathfour

Facebook.com/MathFour

 

 

If there is one thing I’ve learned with three kids, it’s to be flexible and ready for best-laid-plans to change. More than once we have taken a special trip only to have the boys say their favorite part was the cheap hotel or the breakfast at McDonalds. I’m not saying don’t make plans, but hold them loosely. Realize that all your planning efforts might be trumped by a cool playground or something you would not have expected. And if you are really planning with kids in mind, then let your kids play with the hose outside for an hour even if it was only meant to rinse their hands after a special outdoor activity you set up. I am continually surprised by the things that amuse and impress my kids and long ago abandoned that personal attachment of feeling disappointed when my ideas or plans don’t hold the same allure as something else. Be ready to sit back and watch what brings your children joy, even if it’s NOT your carefully made plans. 

Kirsten Oliphant

I have a blog and I’m not afraid to use it.

www.kirstenoliphant.com

 

Have FOOD TO GO! Summers are a great time in the Woo household, but also extremely busy. We pack in as many outdoor activities in the short 3 months as possible. My “go to” is a bag of healthy snacks (re-stocked as needed) that I keep in the car. I fill it with Granola bars, dried and fresh fruit, water, nuts, turkey jerkey and healthy things to keep our energy up on the go. It allows us to be more spontaneous. . .quick trips to the beach to swim or fish. . .without skipping a beat!

Nicole T. Woodard, Author & Home/Food Blogger

http://www.facebook.com/NickiWoo

http://www.twitter.com/nickiwooguru

http://www.instagram.com/nickiwooguru

 

 

 

With two teenage-ish boys in the house, I am constantly on the go running them to a friends house or maybe even the mall for a day filled of fun and game. It’s fun for me as a mom, but it can be crazy sometimes. Even though many of these trips are last minute, I try my hardest to plan ahead. By planning ahead, I can make sure that everyone is where they need to be, when they need to be there without overscheduling anything in the process. 

 Kristi Reddell, Blog Owner at MomsConfession.com

Twitter: @momsconfession

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/momsconfession

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KristiReddell/posts

 

Love these ladies thoughts! Thanks so much for sharing!

Last Minute Mother’s Day Gifts

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Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is next weekend!  It can sneak up on us with the end of the school year, summer vacation coming up and just in general.  Are you ready? Here are some last minute suggestions for “all the moms” in  your life.   Last minute Mother’s Day gifts can be simple, thoughtful ways to tell mom, grandma, or other special moms thanks for all they have done to support you.

  • Host a family lunch with recipes from Allrecipes.com.  Have family members help with the preparation.  Pick up paper goods for easy clean up.
  • Send an e-card to moms nearby or not.  I especially love Hallmark.com and Paperless Post
  • Have mom create a wish list on Amazon.com.  You can select and send easily gifts.
  • Create a Mom Mix of her favorite music and add it to her tech gadget for her.
  • Make a donation online in honor of your mom to her favorite charity.
  • Create a book of small gift cards for organizing or cleaning Mom’s home for her.
  • A phone call early in the day saying “I love you and appreciate you Mom.”

It’s the simple gifts that are the most meaningful!

Wishing all moms a special day with their families!

 

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Organizing Family Events to Make Memories

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organizing family events

Each season  I love watching family events unfold as memories are made.  In the spring, it’s family pictures in bluebonnets, photos in strawberry patches, and kids holding eggs and baskets. In summer, it’s family reunion photos and  July 4th patriotic family celebrations. In fall, kids in pumpkin patches, family Thanksgivings and lots of pictures with Santa make me smile.  Making memories requires organization and time management.  It takes planning and research, having your camera charged and ready, choosing kids’ outfits, and a lot of energy to be sure your family traditions happen. (Sometimes it requires having candy ready to “inspire” toddlers to sit still!)  Family memories are generated by organizing family events.

So how do family memories and photos happen?  Here’s how!

  • Confer with your partner on upcoming events at a family meeting. What’s the next holiday, birthday or memory maker?  Get this on all the calendars. You can add this to your online calendar as a recurring event so you can revisit your plans annually. 
  • What will be needed?  Food? Clothing? Location? Travel plans? Jot these down and decide who is responsible for what.  Writing out these plans makes it easier to look back and check on your responsibility.  Great apps for this are Notes and Evernote.
  • It’s the little details that are important.  Create a checklist including dates.  The checklist can be a list by date or day (such as Monday or May 5.)  Include any detail that will derail the activity, such as charge camera, bring extra battery, purchase blue boy’s shirt size 6, or load bag into car. 
  • Set a deadline for getting the above tasks accomplished and check back in a week before to be sure everything is done. 
  • On the day of the event, double check your checklist and be sure everything is all set. Leave extra time for the oops that happen!

You may be shaking your head, wondering if this is really this simple. The hard part is staying on course with your family, keeping other intrusions off your calendar and working at the baby steps ahead of time.  As families, we don’t want to miss out on anything. But it’s important to prioritize!  We can’t do it all each year, but we can do what’s we love the most. 

In years to come, when your kids and you are looking at family photos, you will all remember the fun!  Looking back at your family photos from your childhood, what’s your favorite memory?

Check out my pinterest board Making Family Memories

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Keep It Simple Sweetie Keep It Organized

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organized

 

Keeping your life organized can be summed up with the adage, Keep It Simple Sweetie.  Here’s how!

Keep it simple sweetie

  • Simple, easy, routine steps make your home and your life organized.
  • Keeping clear about what items, activities and connections are your priorities make life simpler.

Keep it sorted sweetie

  • Grouping like items together and sorted makes for easy organizing.
  • Choose categories that work for you, label the groups and do a small amount of sorting.
  • After sorting, distribute the items to where they belong.

Keep it short sweetie

  • Work in short bursts to get organized.
  • Work in small spaces to get motivated for more organizing.
  • Maintain your organization with a quick daily pick up time for yourself and your family.

Keep it silly sweetie

  • Add fun to your organizing.
  • Simple silliness makes it easier to organize.
  • Silly includes hosting a laundry party in the living room with music, cleaning the kitchen together while singing, or listening to Mary Poppins music “A Spoonful of Sugar helps the medicine go down” while picking up the toys.

Keep it successful sweetie

  • Keep it positive and think of your successes.
  • Each success leads you on to creating an organized lifestyle.

 

Share a Little (Organizing) Love

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organizing

 

The month of February is all about hearts, flowers, candy and love.  There’s a lot to love about organizing and productivity! Organizing is a gift you give yourself and a gift to others. In the book, The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman refers to as gifts of service and gifts of quality time. An “act of service” is doing something for another person as an expression of love.  A “gift of quality time” is spending time together.  A gift of organizing is a small act that makes a big emotional impact to us, to our colleagues and to our family.   Share a little (organizing) love this month. Here’s a small sampling of these ways to get organized and share some organizing love.

  • Family dinner time together is often a shared act of love. It’s a gift of service for those who prepare the meal and clean up and a gift of quality time together.  Start with an easy meal plan and use a list or grocery app.  Organize and label your pantry so everyone knows what’s available and it’s easy to make dinner. Partner with a family member to make dinner and clean up together.  I love the FamilyDinnerProject.org to find easy meals and table topics.
  • There are many acts of service as part of organizing. Here’s some gifts of love to do. Put away another family member’s laundry for them. Do one of your family chores for someone.  We all love it when we have one less thing to do and that someone has helped us do something hard to do. What small gift, like unloading the dishwasher or vacuuming the car, can you do that will make your family or friend feel loved?
  • Our blessing others with our goods is an act of love. In the book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo encourages us to keep only what “sparks joy.”  Marie is sharing to keep only what we love. Take donations to a local charity with your family and see together the impact it can make.  Our community is blessed to have so many ways to help others.
  • Organizing can be quality time together and lead to better productivity. Work together with a family member or friend to declutter a space. Listen to their ideas and help them make decisions and know what to let go.  Or you can work alongside your friend or family member as a “body double.” My clients share stories that when they are organizing, just having another person in the space tethers them to the task, helps them think through ideas and helps them get organized. Set aside time each day during homework time with your kids. While they are doing their work, you can work on your paper work and administrative tasks.
  • Share your gift of service by working on a family project together. Work together on a service project for a local philanthropy. When you model acts of service, you are sharing important values and giving back to our community.

 

The true gift of organizing is the connection you create with your family and friends. Just as important as words of love, these acts of love make an impact every day, not just on Valentine’s Day. Your little (organizing) love lasts all year!

 

 

What kind of (organizing) love do you share?

3 Tips for a Productive Family Meeting

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3 tips for productive family meetings

 

 

School is in full swing.  Your kids have after school scouts and ballet.  Your work requires extra hours and your partner travels. How do you pull together your family for cohesiveness an collaboration? It’s time for your family meeting!   Follow these three tips for a productive family meeting.

What is a family meeting? It’s a time everyone gather together to share their upcoming activities, share family responsibilities, plan ahead as a family and have some family fun.  Set aside the eye rolling from either your kids or your partner as family meetings are an important way to stay on top of what is going on and prioritize your family unit.

 

Keep it short

No one wants to sit for hours in any meeting. Keep a quick agenda for your meeting. Start the meeting promptly and run through the calendars of each family member. Record this on a month at a glance calendar, either digital or paper.  This part of the meeting should be limited to 20 minutes max.Post it prominently where everyone sees the calendar regularly.   (Near food is good!)

 

Focus on positive communication

Next move on to family fun. Alternate who gets to choose the fun, including mom and dad.  Have a list of possible activities, in case there is dissension.  Whether it is a good old fashioned kick ball game, a walk, or a fabulous dessert, focus on positive communication and sharing.  There are no wrong answers to having fun! Acknowledging feelings and active listening create collaboration in families.  Promote a team attitude by working together and playing together.

 

Set a time that works

Family meetings can be any time of the week.  Setting aside a time to meet consistently is important.   It can be when your family is gearing up for the week, such as early Sunday evening.  It can also be when you are gearing down from the week, like Friday evening. Be sure it is a time everyone can attend and guard this time from other distractions.

 

My own kids recall our family meetings to this day! It has sparked their own versions in their homes, including High, Low and Dirt. This nightly conversation starter in my son’s  home has to do with what was good, bad and just plain interesting in their and their kids’ lives that day.

 

When can you start hosting a family meeting in your home?

Join me on my pinterest board with Command Center for Communication.

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Easy Organized Thanksgiving

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easy Organized Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is our national holiday for gratitude.  We are abundantly blessed in our country with privileges and resources.  The celebration focuses on an abundant table, set with all sorts of fabulous food.  It can be a overwhelming to prepare for this holiday.  Let’s plan an easy organized Thanksgiving this year.

  • Thanksgiving is when our family and friends come together to celebrate.  Start with a guest list and a meal plan.  Knowing how many guests are coming makes setting up easier.  Knowing your meal plan makes for easy delegation and participation for guests.   Everyone wants to help, so when asked you are ready to share responsibility for side dishes.
  • Write down a time line for food preparation. Frozen turkeys often take longer than expected to defrost so start early. Starting with the Sunday before the holiday, write down what you want to accomplish each day.   Be sure to include dates for grocery shopping, pie baking and making side dishes.
  • Not enough oven room? Think about crockpot dishes for sweet potatoes or green bean casserole.  You can even do your turkey in the crockpot!
  • Ask your family to help.  They can set your tables early and make table decorations too.  Set out your table ware and serving pieces and label these with post it notes.  For guests bringing dishes, be sure to have serving pieces and spots available.
  • Purchase inexpensive dollar store cartons for leftovers for yourself, your family and your guests.  Sending leftovers with guests is a special gift for them!

 

Join me for more Thanksgiving tips on food and crafts on pinterest  Happy Holidays.

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Hugs and Happy Organizing: Pantry Organizing

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Hugs and happy organizing is all about client success stories. Here you will find a pantry organizing success story.

 

 

hugs and happy organizing pantry

Families, family dinners, family holidays all focus on the pantry!  Is you pantry chaotic? Is it a jungle of different cans, granola bars and seldom used mixes? Difficult to know what to make for dinner? It’s time to organize your pantry to make your life and your family meal times easier.

  • Remove all the items from the pantry, tossing what is expired.  Everyone has their own opinion of “expired”. Decide on yours and follow through on it.
  • Group the items together by use and like the grocery store. Typical categories include baking, breakfast, canned veggies, canned meats, beverages, pastas, rice, snacks and condiments.
  • Use plastic bins to help group items together and take advantage of deep shelves.  Bins help you “reach” to the back of a deep area.  Place a front and a back bin so you can move the front bin and reach the back bin.
  • Remove snack items from boxes for easier access for your kids.  Place these bins on a low shelf for easy access for the kids too.
  • Label the bins so everyone knows where items belong.
  • Place items into your pantry by use. The more frequently used items should be stored near the entry.  Extra storage of bulk purchases should be in the back and at a lower level.
  • Keep the floor clear.  Just like a closet, blocked access creates disorganization.

Keep a grocery list dry erase board easy to access in the pantry. Family can add to the list and it’s easier to grocery shop too.

More Hugs and Happy Organizing success stories on pinterest.

Want to rethink the gift giving? Clutter free gifts make the difference! Join me on pinterest for Happy Holidays.

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Holiday Technology Tools

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 holiday tech tools

 

 

The holiday buzz starts early! In October and November is the time to get started on our holiday preparations.  Not only do we need the time, it is tons of fun to stretch out the holiday spirit.  Why not add some new tools to your holiday preparations?  Get ahead this year with your holiday planning using holiday technology.  Thanks to Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, I am surrounded (virtually) by amazing women entrepreneurs and bloggers.  I asked them to share what works best!

 

I use evite to organize all the gatherings for the end of the year holidays.  From guests, who will come or not, what to bring, attire and super cute templates, I just love this online tool year-round. I also love Shutterfly’s shared websites to organize the kids’ classroom parties. Once you create the event you can add a sign-up list of what to bring, and afterwards we all share our favorite pictures.  Having fun just got a lot easier with these tools!

 Helena Alkhas

www.facebook.com/HelenaAPersonalOrganizer

@HelenaAlkhas

www.pinterest.com/helenaalkhas

www.youtube.com/user/HelenaAlkhas

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+HelenaAlkhasHA1/posts

 

Think about unplugging for a couple days during the holidays.  Use your technology to plan better, such as google calendar.   Automate as much as you can with holiday cards and automatic payments.    

Laura Rolands

@coachforADHD

www.myattentioncoach.com

www.facebook.com/myattentioncoach

Managing the way I read the news and any other topics I’m interested has changed dramatically thanks to my favorite tool – Flipboard.  It makes every story into a beautiful magazine-like page that can be ‘flipped’ through. Personally,  I love flipping through: news, art, culture, travel, style and lifestyle topics to name a few.  

Geralin Thomas

@metrozing

www.metropolitanorganizing.com

https://www.facebook.com/GeralinThomas

http://www.pinterest.com/Geralin/

 

 

I use a binder designated Holidays and fill it with lists for cards, crafts, gifts, meals and recipes.  These are all printed from ListPlanIt, of course! 

Jen Tankersley

@ListPlanIt

www.listplanit.com

www.facebook.com/ListPlanIt

 

 

My favorite Holiday Tech Tool is SendOutCards. http://www.sendoutcards.com/11788.  I used to spend hours writing personal messages, stuffing, addressing and stamping envelopes for my Christmas cards. Every year, to try to save time, the list would get shorter and shorter. Then I found SendOutCards. I now send over 300 greetings, each with a personal message, in a fraction of the time. It allows me to send my love and well wishes in a big way.  

Stephanie LH Calahan – Business Vision Catalyst

@StephCalahan

http://www.stephaniecalahan.com

 

 

During the holidays, I do much of my shopping online to avoid mall rage. (Closely related to road rage, but without vehicles.) I never shop for anything without first checking www.retailmenot.com to see if there are coupon codes for that site. I’ve saved on everything from ordering pizza to photos. Then I log into www.ebates.com where I get paid cash back to shop! The amount varies per store, per day but when I combine those two, I’ve saved sometimes up to 25% in discounts and getting cash back. Don’t shop online without these tools!

Kirsten Oliphant

@kikimojo (twitter, instagram, Pinterest)

www.kirstenoliphant.com

Managing holiday music has never been easier with Pandora radio. It is an option for the smart phone or computer.  At www.pandora.com, you choose free music to play, choosing by artist or genre.  It creates “stations” with various artists. The most amazing aspect is the “mix” Pandora radio creates with your station.  The variety of artists is unlimited too! 

Certified Professional Organizer Ellen Delap

@TexasOrganizer

www.professional-organizer.com

www.facebook.com/EllenDelapProfessionalOrganizer

www.pinterest/EllenDelap 

 

Join me for more holiday tips on pinterest  Happy Holidays.

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Back to School: Student Organizing

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Student Organizing

 

There are really no classes that teach organizing to your student.  Teachers will assign ways to organize a notebook or keep up with papers in a way they think will work for your student. But organizing styles vary.  Here are some ways to help your middle and high school student get organized for school.

  • Take a trip to a local retailer to talk about the planners that are available. Most students need a week at a glance planner. It can be a medium or large size, preferably spiral bound to fully open, and with an array of spaces to write in assignments.  Have your student talk through how they will use the planner, how it will fit in their backpack, and how quickly they can get it out to write in their assignments.  Writing down each assignment is a critical factor in getting homework done.   If your student is dismisses the idea of a planner, you can start with an open pad of paper or even index cards.  Students need to write stuff down.
  • Start talking about times to start and end homework.  Our students are busy and have a lot on their plate. Talk about how long does it take to do homework.   Most students do best with a short break before starting homework and knowing to finish by a certain time.  Having time on the weekend is important for projects and getting a little ahead each week. 
  • Set up a space for homework that promotes productivity.  The dining room is a great spot to work because there are few distractions.  Stock a caddy with the tools needed, like pens, stapler, scissors, index cards and tape.
  • Establish a homework folder.  This is the one place all homework goes to when assigned and ends up in when completed.  Having a single spot to put any and all homework and notes makes it easy to find and turn in assignments.
  • Kids are overwhelmed by paper too.  Set up one notebook that holds all the subjects.  It’s easier to keep up with one notebook than seven. In the notebook use tabbed slash pockets for each subject. Papers slip in and out easily without needing a hole punch.  Purchase a small file box and label tabbed hanging files with each subject.  Once a marking period, sit with your student while cleaning out from the notebook to the file.

What strategies does your student use to organize?