Ellen's Blog, Professional Organizing for Kingwood & Houston

3 Back to School Tips for Busy Parents

August 13, 2015/4 Comments/in Back to School, Family Organizing/by Ellen

The school year starts off in a few weeks. It’s a mad dash from August to June with dates, activities, homework, dinner and more. As parents we are striving for a level of organization and sanity. These three back to school tips will make your year more organized and less chaotic.

Weekly planning time

Most of your kids invitations and information comes in through email and websites. It’s hard to consolidate it. Weekly planning time gives you the opportunity to search through email, school sites, teacher sites and other spots where that information is shared. Gather up your family calendar and task list, as well as a beverage of choice, and spend an hour gleaning information. It’s also helpful to sit with your middle and early high school students and make a weekly grid of their homework and after school activities.

Choose your calendar that works best for you. If you love paper planners, use a paper planner. You can always shoot a photo and share it with your family. Cozi and Google calendar offer online real time access for everyone in your family. If you like auditory reminders, set your online calendar and “invite” your family for them to receive alerts too. Use what works best for you!

Family meeting

There may be some eye rolling, especially from your spouse, when you mention a family meeting. You can call it the family huddle, gathering time or whatever you prefer. Hosting a time when everyone shares calendar events and family activities makes family efforts run smoother. There are always last minute things like baking cupcakes and purchasing poster board. But there will be fewer emergencies when you share during a family time.

It’s hard to find a good time to meet after you are back to school. It’s in finding what works for your family that will make hosting your family meeting happen. Some families sit together after church on Sunday. Some families meet at 5 pm each Sunday. Decide when you can consistently meet and get started. It’s good to make this pay day for allowances too.

Family dinner

Family time together can never be undervalued. A shared meal is the time for us to share our thoughts and feelings. But how to overcome all those distractions? Be realistic about your options. Even if there is only one time a week, set that expectation. Dinner time should be a no tech time for everyone, including parents.

Try something new this year for family dinner conversations. This dinner conversation jar is filled conversation starters. It’s a fresh take on that same old conversation.

Wishing you and your family the best start to the best back to school ever!

More tips for back to school here.

Technology and Online School Access

August 11, 2015/0 Comments/in Technology and Organizing/by Ellen

Schools are updating technology and requiring all families to have online access. It’s quite a transition for both the schools and for families. It takes just a little bit to be more tech savvy but it’s here to stay. Get up to speed this fall with online school access technology.

Technology for online access

Now is the time for you to get started. It takes about 30 minutes. Log onto your school district website and you will find the information you need. Most of the school districts have a video on their website to help you get started. It will require for you to be the guardian and have an email address. Once you create the account, you must register through the home access account with your home address. Just like other accounts, you will have a password and security questions. (If this does not go smoothly, there is a Frequently Asked Questions section. Also, it may be because you need to use a different internet browser. )

Technology tools and Your Weekly Update

Having all this information is amazing, but often it takes work to bring it all together. Your school offers an online newsletter. Your child’s classroom teacher sends out a weekly update. These are sent on different dates. What’s a parent to do? It requires weekly planning time. Setting aside a time once a week to review all the information sent and then consolidated on your personal planner.

If your kids are online, create access for them to a family google or cozi calendar. They can update from their computer or smartphone as they learn about new activities. They can set reminders and alarms for themselves too. Having everyone online together helps share the responsibility of activities.

More ideas on weekly planning, family calendars and tech tools! Join my newsletter here.

Back to School and Back to Routines for Everyone

August 1, 2015/6 Comments/in ADD and ADHD, Back to School, Family Organizing, Organizing Skills, Student Organizing/by Ellen

Classes have already started in many places and around Houston. Football season is around the corner. Knowing its time to get back to routines is part of the end of Summer and the beginning of Fall. Our routines may have faltered during the hot Summer, but these tried and true routines make a difference in easing our stress. Back to school means back to routines for moms, dads and everyone!

Your Bedtime

It’s easy to get to bed later and later during the Summer. It stays light late and it is hard to wind down. Get started getting ready for bed earlier so you can get a great night’s rest. Most of us truly need 8 hours of sleep a night to do our best.

Your Lists

There seems to be much more on our plate during this time of year. Make it easy with making lists. It takes a lot to keep remembering all that we need to do. Your list can be digital or paper. Write stuff down and then prioritize for the day.

Organize and take stock

Stuff may get a little chaotic during the Summer. All of a sudden your closet, your supplies and your pantry are disorganized. Take a little time during August to get them back to their regular order. If you have clothes you have not worn all Summer, it’s time to donate them. Gather your office supplies together. Do you have a good routine for putting back your supplies? Simplify your access to items if you have trouble. Straighten items and review what is in your pantry. Create a checklist on paper or with an app to make shopping easier. Just giving each of these areas a little attention will make each day easier.

Your Planner

Summer fun is often spontaneous, but Fall has lots and lots of activities coming up. Get back to the routine of entering dates in your planner as soon as you know them. Enter all dates from the school calendar, sports calendars, church calendars and any other activities onto your planner so these are all consolidated. Having all the dates in one spot makes it easy to see and know what is coming up.

Check out my Back to School board on pinterest for other Back to School ideas.

Teaching Your Kids Time Management

July 30, 2015/0 Comments/in Back to School, Family Organizing, Time management/by Ellen

Telling time is part of our school curriculum in second grade. Our kids learn about analog clocks, what time it is and how to tell time. They see digital clocks everywhere in our homes. Telling time is just the first part of time management. More than just telling time, time management is about prioritizing what to do when, how long a task takes, and breaking a task into smaller steps for completion. Teaching your kids time management skills takes time, practice and patience.

Time management basics

Time management is about prioritizing, duration, and chunking.

We prioritize what tasks need to be done when we have a date or deadline. How do we know what’s important when there is neither of these? Tasks become a priority when we have a clear value for ourselves personally. We have parents shaped those values with our family.
We know the duration of a task, or how long it takes, from experiences we have. Each of us can do the same task but have it take different amounts of time depending on many parts. Allowing ourselves extra time to complete a task makes it easier.
Chunking is breaking a task into manageable chunks. We can’t always complete a task in a certain amount of time, but if we break it into smaller bits we can be assured of completion.

Time Management for elementary age kids

As parents are a “talking the talk and walking the walk” of our priorities for our kids. In elementary school most kids have a variety of academics and extracurricular activities. We have set up extracurricular activities for our kids to have varied experiences. Our priorities for their experiences shape their activities.

If your family values wellness, choose one activity that includes exercise such as baseball, dance or gymnastics for each child.
If your family values spirituality, attend weekly at church or synagogue or bible study.
If your family values academic success, establish a daily homework time starting at an early hour.

Keep mindful of how many priorities your family has. Weigh the value of over committing to an abundance of extracurricular activities. All activities are good, but which is best for your family. Your kids can be over scheduled in elementary school and feel stressed by being rushed between activities.

Help your kids learn how long a task takes by establishing time for them to work on a chore or a project. We often are unaware or unsure of how long it takes to unload the dishwasher, look up information on a computer or complete a worksheet as homework.

Keep a time log and see how long an activity takes.
Set a timer and see how long an activity takes.
Use a time timer and see how long an activity takes.

Breaking tasks into management pieces takes practice too. It could be a school related project or organizing your space, but every project can be broken down into smaller units to complete.

Use the pomodoro method with a timer, segmenting your work into 20 minutes time slots.
Use a mind map and map out a plan for each step of a project.
Make a list of the steps in a project.

Each of these tools helps you model time management and engage with them in the process. We always need improved processes ourselves. Teaching our kids will make us use these tools more effectively too.

Check out more on time management here.

Time is on my side, yes it is!

3 Surprising Tips for Keeping Your Kids Organized

July 23, 2015/9 Comments/in Family Organizing/by Ellen

Keeping our kids organized can be a challenge! We know it’s an important teachable moment for the long term, but it’s also vital for our family sanity. An organized family feels more cohesive and positive. Even the most organized families can struggle with daily maintenance.

Set up systems that are kid friendly as a start. The first step is to set up organizing systems that work for them. Create a system that works with their individual styles. A simple system is best for their clothes, media and toys. Give them a good baseline to stay organized.

Do some decluttering with them twice a year to keep pared down. Without a time line, there is more coming in for our kids than going out. Working alongside them in their spaces, your kids will learn that decluttering is an important life skill. Rather than being overwhelmed, they will welcome the time working alongside you too.

Check out these surprising ways to get your kids into organizing each week.

Think gadgets

Kids stay better organized when there is an innovative tool to use. Swiffers, cleaning wipes, and gadgets keep your kids engaged in organizing. Have a dust buster? Have them break it out under their beds to clear out dust and get organized in their rooms.

Get goofy and make it fun

There’s lots of ways preschool teachers make organizing fun. They use the clean up song or set a timer. It’s easy to incorporate these same tools at home. Have a designated time each day for “resetting” your home. Use a timer on your smart phone or create a Pandora playlist for this time. For just 5 minutes each evening, get everything back to it’s spot. Make it goofy and get in the act too! Not a spot for everything? Have your kids use the label maker (another gadget!) to set up a spot.

Change things up and rearrange their rooms

Just when you think your kids’ rooms could not get any more disorganized, it’s time to rearrange their space. Surprisingly by changing up the arrangement of the dresser, bed and books, your kids are more organized than ever. It could be the positivity of a new space. It could be the arrangement better suits their current needs. It could be that there’s new energy in the room. Kids will keep their rooms better organized once it is rearranged and they have a new room.

When it’s more fun to be organized than not, our kids love to be organized!

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Decluttering with your kids

July 16, 2015/4 Comments/in Family Organizing/by Ellen

Summer is the best time to partner with your kids in decluttering your home. You have a little more time during the week without the pace of school. Your kids need a little something more to do around the house. Most especially we all need an annual time to declutter what has built up throughout the year. There are many philosophies on decluttering with your kids. All have merit. It’s time to think about what works best in your family.

Working alongside your kids

Many of us as kids were just sent to our room to “clean up.” It might have been a frustrating experience. Where do we start? What does our room need to look like in the end? What do we do with all our stuff? Work alongside your kids to get their rooms organized. Start with trash. There’s a lot of it! Trash includes anything broken, stained or unusable. Coach your child through categories. It can be general, like toys, clothes and media. Then work through sub categories, like XBox and Wii, Barbies and Barbie clothes, or vehicles and animals. Start to pare down once everything is grouped together. It’s much easier to let go of stuff if you know what you have. Keep working steadily with your kids until they start disengaging. It’s good for you to continue without then at this point and work until the space is complete. By working together, your kids will learn the organizing process, learn to simplify and learn that less is more!

Working without your kids

Sometimes kids’ spaces are too overwhelming for them to be a part of the organizing process. As the parent, you know there need to be changes. Go ahead and organize their space without them. It will be a blessing to them that you are working at organizing. You can delete toys and place these in black garbage bags in the garage to be sure you have not eliminated a precious item. Start by grouping items together, then deleting what is excessive. Create spots to store the items so that your kids can easily access them and label each spot. Your kids will need a “tour” of the space and some reminders on how to stay organized.

Kid keepsakes

Most kids have school and other papers in their space. It’s best to have a keepsake box for them. It’s a place to stash what they think is precious for their keepsakes. If your child is an artist, think of a display area for their work. Many parents are using clothespin lines for art display. If your child creates lego structures, think of adding ledge shelving for display. Honoring your kids’ keepsakes is another way of connecting with them.

Other decluttering tips:

Your children can share their blessings by decluttering before a birthday or holiday. Encourage your children to donate to local philanthropies that are important to your family, such as a women’s shelter or relief fund.
Sell the items online or at consignment and have them also learn about money. Go through your children’s clothes at summer and winter intervals to be sure only what fits is in the drawers or closet.
If you store clothes for the next sibling, keep these in uniform, labeled containers with the size, season and gender on the outside of the container.
If your children are not ready to part with certain toys, the toys can “go on vacation” on an upper shelf or other storage area to be brought out later. Expect to work together for 30 minutes, and then finish up.

Great kid storage options

IKEA small bins

Kids keepsake boxes

Container Store busy boxes

More organizing ideas for busy parents here!

Organizing Your Purse for Work

July 14, 2015/4 Comments/in Productivity/by Ellen

Can’t find your keys, phone or badge at work? It’s the little things that matter when being organized at work. Did you know your purse is an important part of organizing and productivity? Not only will you be be effective and efficient with an organized purse, you will feel more confident. Here’s the strategy for organizing your purse!

Start with a medium size cross body style purse. This medium size purse holds your phone and wallet.

Use a small fold over wallet for your credit cards and drivers license.
Add in a larger handbag with divided sections for your iPad and notebook.

Finalize with a wristlet for use throughout the work day. Transfer your smart phone to this purse, keep your badge and pens in here all the time.

Stack all the purses inside the larger handbag as you travel to and from work.

Keep your keys in one pocket of this larger bag to be sure you know where they are at all times.
Designate a receipt pocket for all those tiny slips of paper.
Clear out your purse weekly to keep up to speed.

More ideas for productivity here!

College Preparation and Organization

July 9, 2015/0 Comments/in College organization/by Ellen

It’s a big transition that first year of college! Being sure you have the right stuff makes that transition easier. College preparation and organization make this transition easier. It’s important to get started with the right stuff.

Preview

Take advantage of your first peek at college life while you are registering for classes during the summer. Look over your space with an honest appraisal. It’s much smaller than you think! See what is built in to your room and what storage exists. If needed, use a tape measure too.

Less is more

For most college bound, the big items to take are clothes and technology. It’s tempting to try to bring it all. But that can lead to chaos. Decide on clothes by deciding on a number to take. You can can 10, 14 or or a specific number of items. Shoes and accessories are harder to store so think about practicality too.

Here are favorite college clothes storage items.

Shoe organizer, not just for shoes.

Command hooks

hanging shelves

Three Drawer Rolling Cart

For technology, bring your game system and other goodies grouped together. It may not be possible to install a 52 inch screen, but you can consolidate your games. Use a notebook for all the CDs, a bin for the controllers, and a crate for anything else.

Media Storage

Shoe box for organizing your media

More than clothes

Remember, you need to be prepared for more than just partying. Prepare for studying, room decorating, laundry, bathroom, and other room stuff.

For academics, you will need one spiral notebook for each class, a planner, flash drives, and folders for handouts.
For laundry be sure to bring a laundry basket to tote your clothes to and from the laundry room.
Find out where your bath and shower are. A caddy is a handy tote for your shampoo, soap and more.
Coordinate with your roommate who will have a mini refrigerator, microwave, and printer. Tiny spaces need just one of each of these.

College prep time line

• Start after your orientation week in June/July
• Break your preparation and purchases into baby steps with clothes, organizing, study stuff, and more
• Create a spot to keep it in while organizing
• Set a time to give away extra clothes
• Group items together and label your boxes for organized packing

Organize a July 4th Summer Celebration

June 30, 2015/2 Comments/in Holiday organizing/by Ellen

It’s easy to get in the spirit of our nation’s biggest celebration July 4th. It takes just a little organizing for summer celebrations for us to have a grand ole time! Organize July 4th summer celebration with these easy to do ideas.

Red, white and blue

Easy to pull together, our patriotic colors set the stage for fun. Coordinate your party goods, food and beverages around these colors. Strawberries, blueberries, and watermelon are healthy additions to every celebration. Make homemade ice cream and add red, white and blue sprinkles. Guests love to be a part of the food preparation and are happy to bring pot luck items to share.

Lanterns, twinkling lights, and sparklers bring light to your party after dark. While waiting for the fireworks, have on hand glow sticks, glowing necklaces and glow in the dark toys.

Patriotic music is a must for this holiday celebration. Pandora has a special patriotic music station. Create your own playlist with God Bless the USA. Choose music from all generations to play throughout the day.

Decorate your home with small flags at your curb. Place American flag toothpicks in your edibles. Share your patriotic spirit.

Let’s the fun begin

Old fashioned games are the best! Think about croquet, frisbee, kick ball and other outdoor games we played as kids. Serve water infused with strawberries and basil while you are playing to keep hydrated.

Bike rides and picnics are a fun way to celebrate the 4th too. Decorate your bike the evening before with red,white and blue streamers in your bike spokes and on your handle bars. Bring a picnic lunch with a red checked tablecloth.

Rained out on your party date? Take the fun indoors with charades, Heads Up app on your smart phone, or a top 10 July 4th movie like Independence Day or National Treasure. Watch one of the national celebrations on tv from Washington DC or New York.

Plan to pick up these items early in the week to stay away from holiday crowds. Enjoy your day with family and friends as you celebrate our national holiday.

Let’s party! Ideas on pinterest.