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?

Organizing Tips for College Freshman

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organizing your college freshman

 

It’s almost that time to set your college freshman off! It is a bit scary, a bit exciting and a bit overwhelming for you and for them.   It takes time to get ready for freshman year, so now is the time to get started.  Here are a few tips for organizing your college freshman.

  • Your child will be sharing a space that is a little bigger than their bathroom at home with a new roommate.  Remember to connect with your new roommate as soon as possible to determine who is bringing what for their room.  Most kids want their own laptops and ipads, but refrigerators and microwaves are easily shared.  College essentials also include a shower caddy and laundry basket.   as well as sewing kit, some medicines and quarters.  The Container Store check list can be a big help too!  http://images.containerstore.com/medialibrary/pdf/tips/CollegeChecklist2012.pdf
  • Your time is your own in college and being productive throughout the week is important.  Use a grid from a week at a glance calendar and fill in your classes, then your study time, then your other responsiblities like laundry, meals and activities.  This way you can see what your week will look like and where you will have time to get everything complete. Choose a great planner to transfer this plan and to keep assignments and syllabus.   For each assignment, be sure to write everything in the same calendar.  You will see where assignments from different classes overlap.  Being organized is more than organizing your stuff, it is also organizing your time.  Need a time grid to practice on? Just email me and I will send you one!
  • Organizing your papers in college means stepping up your filing system. Purchase a small box file to keep important documents like college forms, rental agreements, and more.  For your academic papers, you can continue with a binder or switch to colored folders, one for each class.  Take a few minutes each week to review what is in each folder and being sure that papers are kept in the right spot.
  • Keep all your contacts in your phone.  Contacts include email, phone numbers and even addresses.  Having these all in one spot makes it each to stay connected.  Add these right away when you get information so you don’t need slips of paper.
  • Give yourself the gift of order each week. Spend a few minutes looking ahead in your calendar, getting papers back together, and planning on the next steps.  You will be so glad you did!

Do you have ideas to share with new college freshman?

Tackling a Tiny Area: Kid Art

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You have a year (or more) of your child’s homework, art work and photos.  Your kids have worked hard and it is a challenge to let go of what seems like an overwhelming quantity of art, papers, and work.   This is a great time to evaluate what to keep and what to let go.  Kid art may not seem like a tiny area, but making this a manageable one hour project will help you move forward. 

  • Start by defining what you know to be precious to you.  Is it a hand print? Is it the first 100 on a paper? If you know what you find more important, then it is easier to make a decision.
  • Define what quantity of precious items you want and also where you will store the items. Kids keepsakes can be stored at the top of their closets, marked in a box by year.
  • Eliminate the “junk” now by recycling the paper, but be sure it is not where your child can see it. 
  • Take pictures of the art work, especially any with food items, and create a digital scrapbook of the year’s artwork.
  • Separate out the year’s school and athletic photos.  Use clear slip in pages and keep the baseball, school, and other 8 by 10 photos in this notebook.
  • Have fun with this tiny area! Ask your child to pull 10 items that they love!
  • Be sure to label the year, and the school year. 

I would love to learn how your art tackling is coming!

Pinterest: No more paper clutter

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no more paper clutter

 

 

 

Look out Good Housekeeping and Real Simple, there’s a new cowgirl in town. We all love our magazines where we pull out important articles, recipes to try and beautiful interiors to copy in our home.  With the new social network Pinterest, we can search online for all these and have easy access whenever we want to look for something new.  No need for magazines to enjoy this fun!  No more paper clutter!

Pinterest was started with the idea of sharing.  It is really a tool for women who love to see and experience.   With Pinterest, you create categories on “boards” that are shared with friends.

Pinterest eliminates your need for paper clutter by creating these boards.

  • Interiors, design and color, for renovation or new building
  • Recipes your friends love too, especially ones made from brownies, peanut butter cups and chocolate chip cookie dough
  • Teacher ideas for the classroom, for whatever grade or content area you teach
  • Personal style boards, including monogramming, favorite colors, and what were they thinking
  • Reuse/reduce/recycle ideas for items you have at home and love

Word of warning, that Pinterest can be addicting! You are jumping to lots of new websites, with lots to see. So set your timer for 15 minutes to be able to hop off.

So it may be time for you to start eliminating paper, using this new digital technology.  It can be loaded onto your ipad, tablet or slate to take it with you too!  You can search to star new boards with the easy search tool too!

If you want to get started on Pinterest, please email me to send you an invitation. Pinterest is by invitation, but it is for everyone.  View my boards at www.pinterest.com/EllenDelap.

Favorite Products for Organizing Papers

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My favorite organizing products are often the most simple ones to get your paper organized.

I love creating a Command tCenter with a desktop organizer.  This clear lucite organizer works well in a small space for your papers. You can choose whatever colored hanging files to insert and use your label maker to create labels, such as Action, Pay, File, Receipts, and other categories of paper that you use frequently.

If you are very, very visual, here is a product that can help you categorize your papers and keep these where you see them all the time. And when company is coming over, you can close up your work and keep it confidential.  Again, use a label maker to categorize your slots. Otherwise, it will all be miscellaneous!

Loving the product you use for organizing your papers makes all the difference!

5 Small Starts to Organizing

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getting started organizing with 5 small spots

 

 

I am often asked where to start organizing in a home or office. It just takes starting in a small spot. Here are 5 you can start in to feel successful and motivated.

  • Car glove box! You can easily clean out receipts, old insurance papers and other odds and ends.
  • Silverware drawer! It gets a little crazy sometimes getting utensils back in the right slot. Take a few minutes to sort and clean out.
  • Sock drawer! There are just too many socks sometimes. Match up the socks, and toss the rest. Be brutal!
  • Top drawer of your desk! We just slip papers in there, just too easily.  Spend a few minutes tossing what is old, unused or broken in there, decide what really belongs in this space, distribute the rest, and then you are more productive than ever.
  • Email inbox and processed folder. You don’t have to keep all the emails in your inbox.  Add a subfolder called “processed,” “read,” or whatever you what to name it, for the emails you have read and want to keep.  Keeping your inbox just for incoming mail will be more effective and efficient.

What small stuff do you do to get organized?

Need an organizing boost? Get my newsletter monthly!

 

Doing the Spring Fling

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spring organizing

 

Spring officially begins on March 21. It’s been a rainy and cold winter and we are ready for a sunny and warm spring. Doing the Spring Fling helps us by eliminating the unnecessary, deciding on what is most important and keeping only the best. It’s time to get started on decluttering your home and office.

 

Spring fever

Get motivated and focused first by having the end in sight. Find ideas on www.houzz.com. Tap into your inner organizer by defining 3 key words that will describe your newly organized spot, such as nurturing, simplified, inviting, or friendly. Key words for your work space might be efficient, effective or productive.  Know what you want your organized space to be and to feel like.

 

Spring time team

Gather your team to get going. At home your team can be a supportive friend, your children or your spouse. At the office it can be your colleagues, assistant or boss. It is more fun and energizing to work with partners. Set specific dates and deadlines for your organizing. Break the work into smaller units to work effectively and get this job done.  Working alongside others make organizing easier.

 

Not sure what to “fling?”

• Would you wear it today if it fit?
• You purchased a new one and it’s time to “fling” the old one.
• Your kids have outgrown it or don’t play with it.
• Post it notes about tasks that have been completed or phone numbers you don’t need.
• Rough drafts, emails you printed or interim prints of reports.
• Work for 15 minutes on your desk top or choose 15 items to “fling”.

Spring training

Add in great routines to keep your space maintained. Have a nightly family reset time or take just 5 minutes each evening to get items back to where they are stored. Take 5 minutes at the end of the day to recycle papers or notes. Plan a general reorganization each spring and fall, just to keep your home and office efficient, orderly and attractive.
Spring is just around the corner and you will be ready to enjoy your decluttered home or work space. Get started now with your Spring Fling.

 

Spring into Spring Fling with my pinterest board.

 

Need ideas for springing forward? Join my newsletter.

 

Practical Estate Planning: Organize Your Documents on April 4th at The Veranda, Kingwood.

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Practical Estate Planning: Organize Your Documents on April 4th at The Veranda, Kingwood. 

 Help your family — and make your executor’s job easier — by getting your paperwork in order.  Estate planning isn’t just about legal issues — there are practical ones as well. Join Tamara Paul and myself to learn more about this at  Lunch and Learn at The Veranda, Kingwood.  Fee of $20 includes materials, lunch, tax and tip.   
 
To register, call 281-358-2820 or email info@verandakingwood.com

Eliminate paper now!

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paper management

 

The first step in less filing is getting less paper! Here are some ways to make it happen.

1.  Eliminate catalogs with www.catalogchoice.org.

2. Get your Explanation of Benefits (EOBs) online through your medical insurance company.  Create a log in and password, then set up the email account to notify you.

3. Use E-vites instead of invites. View paperlesspost.com for lovely invitations by email.

4. If you find articles to clip from the newspaper, find the article online instead. You can find it by the name of the author and the date of printing.  Save these with a bookmark in your computer.

5. Stop clipping recipes and use allrecipes.com to find the ingredients and more.

6. Need a map? Use your GPS, google maps, or your smart phone navigation.

7. Add coupons to your email and smart phone through online sites.  See how on http://shortcuts.com/.

8.  Want to scan in your papers?  Try using the Fujitsu ScanSnap!

What ways have you eliminated paper at your home or office?