Category: Organized Family

“If I Had A Nickel…” Getting Buy-In From Your Family

       If I had a nickel for every time I was asked “How do I get my family to get and stay organized?” I’d be rich.  Perhaps you want to get organized, but you feel challenged with young children, your spouse, maybe even aging parents or grown-up children who are still / again living at home. 

     Remember, please, I am an organizer, not a parenting expert or marriage counselor (as my husband and kids will attest).

     We love our family members.  No one is broken, and No one needs fixed.   Each of us has strengths and skill sets.   And sometimes, a family member’s strength is NOT organizing.  Or maintaining systems, or even seeing how their actions or inactions affect others.   BUT, we need to be able to live together in shared space.   So, here are ways to gain cooperation or “Buy-In” from family members (or co-workers, employees, etc):

Determine Your Needs.  Not Wants, but Needs.  We need clothing and shelter, we want nice clothing and a big house.  Stating “Needs” instead of “wants” creates urgency.  For example, I want things to be pretty, but I need things to be organized.  So I am willing to spend effort and money on organizing first, and “pretty” later.  And I live in a house with all men and “pretty” is not a want for them.  So I stick with needs. 

Solve a Problem.  Identify specific problems in your household, and how organizing can solve each.  If the problem is “We’re always late”, organizing your time and Launch Pad better could help you be on time.  Focus on one specific challenge.  Resist trying and failing to change everything at once.

Get Clear in Your Own Vision so that you can communicate it to others. 

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” (Mahatma Gandhi)  Set the example.  This helps us to Speak From Experience, which lends us believability.  Be willing to step up and organize yourself if you are expecting others to get organized, too. 

Keep it Simple.  Keep your ideas and message simple, dispassionate and to the point.

Keep it Realistic.  Keep participant ages, skill levels, attention spans, etc. in mind when you ask for assistance.  Strive for little steps in the right direction instead of big global changes.  Also, don’t make organizing look so easy that no one will ever offer to help; or so difficult that no one will ever want to help.

Don’t Tell, Teach.   Remember Organizing is a process, and we often need to teach the process.  No one reads minds.  Lay out each person’s part of the process for them.   I learn more every day, and I do this for a living.  Understand there is a learning curve for all family members.  

Use Marketing to sell the Organizing Process:

  1. Make a statement, how every one is going to try this new idea.
  2. Make it a Team Effort.  And let everyone know they are needed.   
  3. Express the “Why”:  Why and how everyone will benefit.
  4. State the expectations for everyone.  (And mention that you are only human, and you, too, are feeling your way through these changes).
  5. Offer assistance and resources for your projects and to help others.

Find a Motivator.  Point to something personal, specific or tangible: More money?  Less stress?  Different stuff?   With kids, the motivators could be:

  • A better morning routine will get us out the door and on to activities sooner. 
  • Purge and sell your extra toys and games and use the money for a new game system.
  • If we clean out the basement, we can gain a play / recreation room.
  • If we get more organized, we can stop driving Mom crazy. (maybe that is just me…..)
  • If we prove we are responsible in one area, we can get xx or yy privilege. 
  • If we plan the menu and put stuff on the shopping list, we get foods we like, and the cabinets are full.
  • Use life transitions, like a new school year or moving from tween to teenager, to motivate change. 
  • My boys are growing, as is their understanding of the world around them. We try to do things because sometimes they are just “the right thing to do”.  Recognize motivators can change as people grow.
  • Take advantage of Summer Vacation.  Plan an organizing project per week, and offer a reward upon completion.  E.g., Clean out the garage this morning, play this afternoon.  Work on a new habit or behavior for a week, with a trip to Rainbow Cone at the end. 

If you can’t achieve Buy-In, create boundaries.  If a family member is unwilling to participate in the organizing efforts, allow chaos in their own room but not in common space.  And if they can’t keep common space organized, then limit access to that space (this works for kids, not so much for adults!!).

     So, be specific about your organizing projects, be a good advertiser for the process, and find creative ways to get your family members involved in the process.  You will gain assistance in the short-term, and a more organized family in the future!

Healthy Convenience On the Go, Go, Go!

It has begun.

     What is “It”, you ask?     

     “It”  is Spring Sports Season.  On any given day, we could have 3 kids at 3 games or practices in 2 sports in three different locations.  It really is fun, but it makes scheduling thing like….oh, say….. homework, dinner, orthodontist appointments, haircuts and sleeping a little dicey (that is just today!).

      With this busy schedule, healthy eating becomes much more important and much more complicated.  These growing active bodies need fuel but time is at a premium.   We need quick and healthy food at a reasonable cost.   If this is the crazy season for you, too, or maybe you just want to Make Healthy Eating More Convenient, Read on!

1.  Make your own single serving snacks.  Invest in snack-size baggies or small GladWare bowls with lids (1/2 cup size).   Check out the serving size on your snacks and dole out the snacks into single serving bags or bowls.  Some of our favorites:  dry cereal; prezels; raisins or dried cherries; almonds, cashews or mixed nuts; Chex Mix; cookies (Newtons, Gingersnaps); crackers like whole wheat Ritz and Cheez-its.

2.  Clean and prep food when you bring it home from the store.  My family will eat carrots, cantaloupe, grapes, celery, you name it.  But we have to cut it up first (the boys help me with prep, too!), and put it in single serving baggies. 

3.  Use refillable water bottles.  We all have one, we wash them often, re-fill them, and put them back in the fridge.  When the weather gets warmer and my kids actually need electrolytes (usually they don’t!), I’ll purchase the Gatorade powder packets instead of buying Gatorade at the concession stand, and add the packets to our water bottles.

4 (a).  Make your own trail mix.   We toss some of our favorite things in a bowl, like nuts, chocolate chips, dried cherries or banana chips or raisins, pretzels, teddy grahams, whatever is in the cabinet.  Then we fill up our snack bags and take our favorites with us.   

4 (b). I just started Weight Watchers and it is great, but sticking with the plan makes convenient eating even more of a challenge.  I mix my own trail mix with dry cereal, almonds and dried cherries.  I know how many points each baggy is worth, and the portable snack keeps me from eating junk food I may regret later!

5.  Plan quality, portable after-school snacks:   Add an extra bag to the lunch bag line-up in the fridge (we pack our lunches at night).  Include fruit, juice pouches or water bottles, and some of your newly created single serve snacks.  If you have a cooler bag and plastic utensils, you can add chicken or tuna salad, yogurt, hummus or ranch dressing for dipping your crackers or veggies, string cheese, hardboiled eggs, etc. 

6.  Make the rest of your life more convenient too:

Pack The Magic Bag:  This is the bag that lives in my van during sports season.  Inside you will find: Umbrellas; granola bars and extra water bottles; tissues and anti-bacterial wipes (can you say Port–o-john?); a soccer ball for little brother to play with at big brother’s game; first aid kit with instant ice packs; blanket; small plastic garbage bags for wet, muddy cleats or garbage or whatever; and an extra hoodie for me or a child who gets chilly.  Also in my van, you will find folding chairs.

Just for me in the magic bag, I have:  the master schedule for all teams; a magazine; a WW friendly snack; a notebook for jotting down all the to-do’s that occur to me while I am goofing off at the games; and some mindless busy work, like coupons to cut or blank grocery lists to fill in.

Also in my van is the Homework Bag:  clip board, pencils, pens, eraser, scissors and ruler.  Because who are we kidding?  No, they will not feel like doing their homework after their game.

     So embrace the spring weather and a busy active life style, but do it on your terms.  Maintain quality health and convenience on the Go, Go, Go!

Organize to Your Family’s Learning Style

     I took a class recently on Organizing to specific learning styles.   There are three main learning styles: auditory, visual and kinetic. 

  1. Auditory learners prefer to hear or speak messages;
  2. Visual learners learn by seeing and / or reading; and
  3. Kinetic learners learn by doing and by moving around. 
  4. The most prevalent styles in the general population are visual and auditory learning styles. 
  5. And we all may have strengths in more than one style.

      This is good information for all of us to understand, that different people learn in different ways.  As a Professional Organizer and as a parent, I use this knowledge every day because everyone I encounter has different strengths in learning styles.  Every day, I need to remember to communicate my messages to them in their learning styles, if I expect them to learn and understand me.

      As Mom, as She Who Sets The Schedule, I took a few moments this week to fix some glitches in our morning routine.  With each of my sons’ combinations of learning styles in mind, we made some changes. 

 Visual:  
     It’s spring.  Every morning, my hopeful middle son asks what the temperature is, to decide between winter coats or the preferred Hoodie sweatshirt to wear to school.  Every morning he asks, multiple times until he receives a response, regardless of what I may be doing at that moment.  So, I am using the large bathroom mirror and a dry erase marker (favorite organizing tool ever!!) to daily publish:

  • Today’s Forecast
  • Reminders: e.g., Monday is Dress Like a Rock Star Day
  • Schedules for School and afterschool:  D – Band Today, A – Book Club after school, J – Scouts Tonight!
  • Projects:  A – don’t forget your book report

     Also, I thought we could learn from our favorite hotels – I started laying out all the breakfast stuff on one counter – toaster, bread, bagels, cereal, hard boiled eggs, fruit, bowls / plates / cups.  It has been days since anyone has asked me what was for breakfast!  They all see their options in front of them, and can choose.  My youngest actually asked to take his vitamins the last two days, and everyone has been eating more fruit.  Win-win!

Kinetic:  
        Things have changed for us since the beginning of the school year.  All 5 of us now shower in the morning, even the youngest.   Now, everyone heads out the door in the morning sans bed-head and smelling sweetly (I have a teen and a pre-teen boy.  Nuf said.). 
     Logistically, this requires that I take on a better habit for all of us (especially if we want hot showers).  I get up and get in the shower, at 5:45 am, without thinking about it – just doing it.  Kinetic learning.
     The older boys have been relegated to shower downstairs, to keep the upstairs bathroom free for the little guy and for all of us to finish getting ready.

Auditory:  
       I set the kitchen timer for noon the other day, so even though I was not home, the boys would eat lunch at noon and be ready to leave when I got home to pick them up at 1 pm.  And it worked!  Gotta try that again soon!
      Also, my teenager has been verbally objecting to expectations lately (yes, I know, he is a teenager) because I have not told him of upcoming events.  He feels I am springing these things on him.   So he will be keeping a copy of the family schedule in front of him for a few weeks, and reporting verbally to me and the rest of the family what is on the schedule for the day and the week.  He felt he did not have enough information, I have a feeling now he will think he has too much.  But too bad!

     So, remember that we all learn in different ways.  And we can use this information to teach and communicate better with the people in our lives!

Are You Drowning in Kid Papers?

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      A friend recently stated she was “Drowning in Kid Papers”, and I know we all feel that way some days.  So let me lend a hand and pull you out of your paper flood!  

     There are 3 kinds of papers:  Archival, Passive and Active.  Most of those Kid Papers bogging you down are Active Papers.  Active Papers require a next action and soon!  They are items such as permission slips to complete; a party invitation that requires a phone call, and then a trip to the store for a gift; coupons to take shopping and redeem;  and bills to mail, etc. 

     How do we get to Act on these Papers?   Decide on One and Only One place for these papers to live.  In our house, the active papers live on the kitchen desk (our Command Center).  They live in Only One Place because that makes acting on them a lot simpler!   And This One and Only One Place is also where all papers land when they come into our house, either via our mail box, backpacks, work briefcases, etc. 

  1. Use the Steps from Julie Morgenstern, Organizing From the Inside Out:
  • Sort and Purge – Make purging easy:  What can go now?  Trash?  Shred? Recycle?
  •      Complete forms and put right back in the backpack (we keep envelopes and small $$ in the desk drawer)
  •      File school papers right away. 
  • Sort the rest into Active, Passive and Archival papers
  •       Put away passive and archival immediately
  •       These are Active papers, so sort them by action:  Calls to make, Forms to complete.  Or, Sort them by when you want to Act on them, By Day:  I have a file for each day, so if I have calls to make, I’ll tuck all those reminders in this week’s Thursday file, when I know I will have an hour at home to make the calls.  Or, The Best idea:  Act on them RIGHT NOW, if you can, and move them along.
  • Assign a Home / Containerize:  Have a work space the whole family knows about, and if it tends to be a kitchen counter, so be it.
  • Equalize (Means Maintenance):  Regular maintenance is vital to any paper management system, so plan to act on your Active Papers every day or two, and to look at your Passive Papers every month or two.  Purge the information that is no longer important to you or that is about events and seasons now over.  Every Friday we clean out backpacks and folders, with my sons standing next to me.  We use four categories: Papers for Mom to Act On, Recycle/Toss, File (keep) and Homework to Complete. 

       Here are some examples of files on my kitchen desk, use them as inspiration to create and name your own files:

  1. “To File – Child’s Name” files, one for each child. I fill this file during the week as backpacks come home with papers, then file the items in a bin on each child’s closet shelf when I clean house (every week or 2)
  2. “Academics – Child’s Name” file, one for each child, for quarterly assessments, certificates, awards, etc. throughout the year.  These become part of their Archival records in their binder.
  3. Kids Activities: Current team rosters and contact lists, receipts for paid fees, raffle tickets, etc.
  4. Kids (Possible) Activities (for ideas when they come in the back packs or mail)
  5. Kids Extra Pix (pictures people give us through the year, extra school photos)
  6. Kids Religious Education (handbooks, general information)
  7. Kids Music (handbook, repair information, copies of completed sign ups)
  8. Kids Gifted Program (handbooks, overviews, resources)
  9. Kids Boy Scouts (contact information, handbook and yearly info)
  10. Kids Service (ideas for service projects, things to do)
  11. Kids School (handbooks, schedules, Principal notes and newsletters, sick child policies)

I also have a file holder on the desk, for general Family files.  All of these are accessible to all family members.

  1. Family: Adventures (ideas for places to do and things to do, parking passes, free day passes, etc.)
  2. Family: Events (guest lists for RSVPs; info or permission slips from venues, menu and party ideas for upcoming events)
  3. Family:  Home Improvements (ideas like paint colors or new front door brochures; active bids for projects, info on a new couch)
  4. Family:  Memberships (membership cards and literature for aquarium, zoo, museums, etc.)
  5. Family: Menus and coupons (take out and catering menus, along with coupons and such)
  6. Family:  Recipes (finally, some place to toss all the recipes I grab out of magazines, in a place where I can actually flip through and try them out!)
  7. Family:  Travel (travel info and packing lists for upcoming trips, accessible to me and my hubby, file goes on vacation with us)
  8. On a clip above the desk, we have upcoming event information, in reverse chronological order.  These are just for information purposes, Actions have already taken place:
    1. Invitations I have already responded to
    2. Newsletters from the library, with events I have signed up for circled or initialed
    3. forms to be turned in, like registration, with the due date noted on top
    4. Look ahead to tomorrow’s schedule

      Archival Papers are those items worthy of Long Term Storage, For example: mortgage papers, wills, passports, birth certificates, etc., and annual tax papers (for 4-7 years).  We store archival papers in small and movable labeled bins (not too big), file cabinets, or bankers boxes.   Archival Kid papers could be Keepsakes and treasures from each school year.  A great way to store those are Binders (a separate blog published 2/20/2011)

     Passive papers will most likely not be needed or retrieved except for disposal.  We keep them for a pre-determined amount of time and then discard.  Passive Kid Papers include: Completed everyday assignments and art projects; Yearly school handbook; contact lists for teams, or schedules and calendars (after we input the information into our date book / PDA of choice).   Here are a couple of ideas for How to take care of Kid Passive Papers:

  1. Short term – Open file holders on the desk or counter top, see above for suggestions 
  2. Monthly “Reminder”  files – a file for every month, for upcoming events, reminders, deadlines, etc. more than a month away (birthday party ideas and gift ideas are great to pop into monthly Reminder files).
  3. Also, if your young Picasso’s artwork and projects are gumming up the works, keep a few from year to year, or save them all to review in June, after school is over, and have your child pick their top 10.  Or, take a photo of the artwork or project, and print up and keep the photo as a memory (then you can toss the big cumbersome original)

     So, friends, if you, too, feel like you are “drowning in Kid Papers”, consider this your Life Preserver!  Spend a little time setting up your space to manage the deluge, and then spend a little time every day maintaining, or “staying a-float”.   Peace to you – Colleen

Bind Up That Paper Monster!

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Published originally in July, 2010 via  my website.   Copyright © 2010 M. Colleen Klimczak

 

I hear paper management questions all the time:

  • “What do I do with my kids’ school papers?”
  • “I cut out lots of recipes, how can I remember to use them?”
  • “How do I store my papers so that I can find things easier?”
  • “Maintenance is a pain – how can I make it go easier?”

            The answer to all these questions can be “Binders!”  Early on in my business, a friend and client helped me embrace the idea of Binders, so thanks to DCD!

 When to use a Binder system:

  • When you work with categories, like Children’s School / PTA or Medical Papers, 2009;
  • If you are a visual person or prefer to see your papers instead of filing them in file cabinets;
  • When you want or need your papers to be portable;
  • You have space limitations, binders work well instead of large file cabinets;
  • When you don’t have a system that works, or are ready to try something different to get a handle on your paper management (WHICH MEANS ALL OF US!).

Why use a Binder system:

  • You can read your information like a book;
  • You can organize your information how it makes sense to you;
  • Binders are Portable, to work on when you are on vacation, when you travel, when you are out and have some time while waiting, etc., or to take with you to doctor’s appointments;
  • Binders are Flexible, you can add or subtract folders as life evolves;
  • Binders are Duplicate-able, meaning if they work for one family member’s medical issues, perhaps you can use them for other areas of your life.

Situations that might benefit from a Binder System:  I use them for:

  • Working with categories, like
    • Children’s School / PTA or Medical Papers, 2009
    • Class topics / presentation notes, organized by topic
    • Recipes, like Main Dishes, Appetizers, Desserts, Beverages, Family Favorites
    • Children’s academic papers, organized chronologically and by child (see below for example)
    • For Bills, organized in pockets in the Binder…
  •  
    •      Chronologically by year, then by vendor
    •      Chronologically by year, then by month
    •      Use pockets for pen, calculator, check book, stamps / address labels

How to set up a Binder system:

  • If you don’t have Binders and accessories at home, take a trip to the office supply store.
  • Pick up a few 1”-3” 3-ring binders, a 3-hole punch, a stapler, 2 or 3 sets of binder pocket folders with tabs, plus pens and notepapers.
  • Sort your papers into categories, if you have not done so already, and pick a category like “Your Name – Medical” to try out the Binder idea.
  • Within my Colleen- Medical binder, I have clear binder pocket folders labeled:
  • An example of a non-medical Binder is a Binder for each student in your home.
  • As my kids get older and involved in more academic and leadership opportunities, it is so easy to access their report card history, special achievements and activities, since all the information is already grouped together.
  •  
    • Insurance Statements from my insurance company
    • Bills or statements from my physician appointments
    • Completed / Paid bills for those insurance statements and paid bills, once they are matched up and paid in full
    • Notes or articles I want to ask my doctor about
    • Articles about things I want to learn more about, like Heart health or weight loss
    • Other items might include pre or Post-operative instructions, prescriptions to fill, information about prescription meds I am taking, etc.
    • You can also keep your lab results or similar items in a binder, to make it easier to flip through them and review your progress over time.
  • We have 3 sons, therefore 3 Binders on the shelf in the kitchen.
  • Each child has a Binder, and in that Binder is a pocket for each school year.
  • We 3-hole punch the various papers or use sheet protectors (also available at your office supply store) to store awards received, newspapers articles, school pictures in photo pages, grade reports, team pictures from sports, notes, etc.

     Imagine the Binder system is like the main drive and folders in your computer.  The Binder is the main drive, and the binder pocket folders are the sub-directories for different areas of your life.  Think about the different areas, the “categories” of your life, and give paper management and a Binder system a try! 

Published originally in July, 2010 via  my website.   Copyright © 2010 M. Colleen Klimczak

Soar to New Heights: Your Landing and Launch Pad

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Every day is a good day to to work on your “Landing and Launch Pad”.

Your Landing and Launch Pad:

  • Is the flat surface near a door where you drop your stuff and bags when you enter your home and pick them up again to take with you when you leave;
  • Is crucial to your success in arriving at destinations on time and prepared; and
  • Is one organizational project that will improve your life immediately.

Why do you need a Landing and Launch Pad?

  • We come and go from home daily, often multiple times! At Klimczak Central, 5 people come and go, to and from many destinations and events.
  • Assign a Home to your necessary items (like backpacks, briefcase, keys and cell phones), corralling them in one location.  Eliminate the last-minute scramble on the way out the door!
  • You probably have a L/L Pad already, but maybe you haven’t given it much thought.  This is your chance to consider your stuff and space, and make both work better for you!

What belongs on a Landing and Launch Pad?

  • Essentials like backpacks, briefcase, keys and cell phones
  • For Launch
    • Shoes, coats and accessories
    • Boots, gloves and hats in winter
    • Umbrellas, sunscreen, ball caps and sunglasses in summer
    • Activity Accessories:
      • For Example, Bags for Soccer with shin guards and uniforms; a bag for Band with music and instruments, etc.; and the bags to go to Choir with me, Cub Scout meetings with us, etc.
  • For Landing:
    • A place to hang your keys and empty your pockets, an envelope for receipts, a jar for loose change, and a shallow bowl for your pocket contents
  • Time between Landing and Launch:
    • Phone chargers and a surge protector
    • Stock items for purses, backpacks and diaper bags, like our stash of small snacks, tissue packets, chap stick, band-aids, anti-bacterial lotion or wipes

 Where should a Landing and Launch Pad be, and what does it look like?

  • Just like your Command Center, let function dictate form.
  • Choose one door as your main entrance, and funnel all the family through there so stuff doesn’t end up all over the house.
  • A L/L Pad near your coat closet is a great idea, but not always feasible, for example our coat closet is at the front door, and our L/L Pad is at the back near the garage door.  We just limit the number of coats out at any time to 1 per child, and 2 per adult.
  • We set a 2-pair shoe limit per person at the L/L Pad to cut clutter.  Extras are stored in bedroom closets.  This time of year, we see boots and sneakers, and sneakers and crocs in the summer.  (I am the worst offender of the 2 pair rule, but I am working on it!)
  • To encourage participation, consider each family member.  For example, my youngest son has a row of hooks for his coat and backpack at his eye level, and he’s great about hanging his stuff there!
  • Use vertical space – coat racks, baskets under benches, over-the-door shoe organizer with pockets for shoes, of course, but also seasonal accessories like gloves and mittens, or umbrellas and sunscreen.
  • We keep it basic.  A bench for staging bags and for putting on shoes, hooks for coats and bags at varying heights for all of us, a basket for extra hats and gloves, and a large rubber (waterproof) mat for boots and shoes.

As with any Organizing Endeavor, maintenance is critical to your Landing and Launch Pad:

  1. Pick a spot for your essential items and stick with it.  Label it, if that helps.  But ALWAYS USE IT!
  2. Give each person assigned and labeled space (e.g. a hook or two, a cubby or basket, even a magazine holder on a shelf) for their Launch stuff AND USE IT!
  3. Re-pack bags immediately upon returning home.
  4. Keep only current season (weather and sports) items in your Landing/Launch Pad, to cut confusion and clutter.    There is so much activity there, it is essential to keep only the stuff you really need.

Invest a little time and thought (and perhaps a little money) this week, and set up your Landing and Launch Pad to make your comings and goings run more smoothly!

Your Command Center: Knowledge is Power

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Every home needs a Command Center.  Your Command Center:

  1. Is one (and only one) centralized location to manage all information (paper and electronic) that enters and leaves your home or business.
  2. Is often a part of your Landing/Launch Pad (next blog topic!).  Command Centers are all about information, Landing / Launch Pads are all about stuff,

 Why do you need a Command Center?

  • Because life is complicated!  And lack of communication, resources or information complicates it further (“Houston, We Have A Problem”)!
  • Command Centers are all about information.  Knowledge is Power.
  • A Command Center makes life simpler, easier and better.  It
    • Keeps you informed and guides your actions.  Where to go, what to do, who is going, etc.
    • Keeps you informed as a family, with everyone working off the same information.
    • Keeps you prepared for whatever life may throw your way.
    • Helps you make good and informed decisions.
    • Enables you to act on your action items, like school papers, bills to pay, forms to complete, errands to run, etc.
    • Saves time, money and peace of mind by keeping vital info on your day-to-day life easy to find.

 What belongs on a Command Center? 

  • Communication or Message Boards:
    • Contact Lists, like soccer team rosters, phone trees and our permanent one with doctor’s numbers, neighbors, family members, poison control, school, etc. (I have all the info in my phone, but it is nice to have a reference for everyone else!).
    • Lists everyone’s use, like grocery lists, task or chore assignments, homework reminders.
    • Notes to each other:  “Band Practice After School”, “Late Meeting – be home by 7 pm”, etc, keeps things running smoothly around here!
  • Calendars
    • Menu plan for the week
    • Travel plans and itineraries
    • Schedules, like Band and sports teams
    • Reminders for upcoming events.  Our event reminders, like invitations or fliers from school, are clipped together in chronological order.  As soon as an event is completed, the reminder comes down and the next event reminder is now on top.
  • Paper (just some suggestions here!):
    • Shopping lists
    • Grocery lists
    • Receipts
    • Bills to pay
    • Errands to run (receipts for returns, mail to mail, papers to drop to other people)
    • Other to-dos, like calls to make
    • A folder for current house projects, to collect bids, contact information for contractors, etc.
  • Note: Many of my Command Center functions are on my smart phone and laptop in MS Outlook.  However, I want other family members to participate, so the same info is also available in my Command Center, accessible and visible to all family members.
    • There are great websites and apps out there, like www.Rememberthemilk.com, TaDalist.com and Todoist.com to manage tasks and schedules, and multiple members can have access.

What does a Command Center look like?

  • Let Function dictate your Command Center.  Make sure there is a place for communications, calendar and paper management, and perhaps an inbox or board for each family member.
  • Google “Command Center” and see what is available.  There are some ultra cool ideas out there, but resist the Racoon Response (don’t jump at something just because it is shiny and pretty!).
  • Surf around, grab some ideas and put together what works best for you.  Make sure your ideas work before investing $$.  Pre-fab or complicated Command Centers are not necessarily better tools, they are just more attractive.  Here are two cool examples, from Real Simple, easy to implement and not too pricey:
  • The kitchen or your family entrance are the most successful places to set up your Command Center.  It needs to be centralized and convenient or it won’t get used.
  • The refrigerator door seems an obvious place for a Command Center, but beware, magnetic clips can slide down the front if they get overloaded, and strongly shut doors can send everything flying (trust me on this one!).

So, spend a little time this week and think about what you want on your own Command Center, where you want it to be, and who should use it.  Then get creative!

Cure the Back-To-School Insomnia!

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I had a hard time getting to sleep Sunday night.  We traveled over the weekend and I was back in my own bed, but Monday was the first day of school for my kids and it had been a busy weekend.  I had a late night case of monkey mind, with a million thoughts running in a million different directions. 

I have kid projects to work on.  My little guy requires parent time every night for flash cards and reading.  My middle guy is always struggling with time management.  There are the new challenges of Junior High for my eldest.  

I have a data project to assess marketing, client care and advertising effectiveness for the business, and a web page in need of updating.  And personally, we are starting a self prescribed wellness program as a family. 

The first draft of this listed even more challenges, but I will spare you.  Your time is precious and I am not going to waste it.  So, Monday morning, I took a deep breath in a moment of quiet, and I gained some clarity.  I reminded my self of things I tell my clients all the time.  So here they are:

  1. I may already have what I need.  I just need to look. 
    • I was headed to Target, but before I left, I took a trip through a child’s desk drawer.  I found all the items I was seeking to stock a homework basket for the dining room table, like stapler, pencils, scissors, extra glue, flash cards and a ruler.  Cha-ching!
  2. Not all these projects need to be finished today.  They just need to get started. 
    • Back-to-school routines can take a few weeks to perfect. 
    • My data projects is self assigned.  So, if it takes a few days instead of one to compile my data, so be it.  Which leads me to…
  3. Progress in little pieces is still progress.
    • I exercised this morning and took my vitamins.  Yeah Colleen!
    • I have to admit, I only walked 30 minutes instead of my goal of 45, and I did not take my vitamins until after 10 am.  But I still did both.  And since I did not have a chance to do either on Sunday, I still made progress.
    • Doing my data project one year at a time, or tackling the academic record binders one child at a time is still progress.  And much less intimidating that trying to do it all at once.
  4. Multi-tasking is a myth (that will be another blog for another day), but sometimes things work out.  And if results are more important than relaxing right now, use waiting or down time efficiently. 
    • I am safe and hands free, but I formulated this while driving on the Tollway, on the way to a client appointment.
    • My youngest has soccer practice Thursday afternoons, so I walk the loop around the park while he plays.
    • I used travel time in the car over the weekend to ask my pre-teen’s opinion on some ideas I have for my Organizing For Teens class that I am creating.  He gave me excellent insight!

So, if Back To School is keeping you up at nights, too, take a deep breath, remember these ideas and gain some perspective on your situation.

That age-old Ritual: Back To School Clothes Shopping!

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Take a walk with me down memory lane…. 

Way back when, my mom would pick, what seemed like at the time, the hottest afternoon in August.  I can remember the sunlight bouncing around the yellow walls of my room as we pulled every item out of closets and drawers, and I tried it all on (tights, turtlenecks and sweaters, even) to figure out what I needed from the Back-To-School sales.  Did I mention we did not have air conditioning?  Anyway, my mother is a saint, and I realize that now, because….

It is that time to do the same with our kids!  The tax-free shopping days are August 6-15th in Illinois, which means we are heading to the stores next week.  Lord, please give me patience.  Seriously.

This Ritual process has 4 parts – Quantity and Type, Inventory, Shopping and Prep.

1.  Quantity and Type: 

  • First things first, decide on how many of each item you need.  I have boys, and they are not too picky, but I am.  Girls or teenage boys may require more options. 
  • Also, determine size needed – I know all my kids have sprouted since the end of the school year!

2.  Inventory: 

  • Starting with the oldest or largest child, try on everything, regardless of what size in on the tag (manufacturers vary widely on actual sizes).
  • Check items for stains, holes or needed repairs.  Purge the stained and old, fix the broken and pass down (if you can) items to younger, smaller siblings. 
  • Then, factoring in the pass-downs, complete the same process for each of the younger children, in decreasing order of age / size.
  • By the time I got through the big kid stuff, and delved into our pass downs in storage, my youngest really needs nothing new.  He’ll get a couple of new snazzy things for first days and picture days, but everything else is new to him!

 3.  Shopping:

  • I do the “all-kids-at-once” shopping trip, mainly because I don’t have a choice.
  • You can try the “one-child-at-a-time” trip if you would like, which prolongs the process but may be saner.
  • We head to the stores with our lists, our myriad of coupons, our sale fliers and our clean white socks for trying on shoes, of course. 
  • Thankfully, we don’t have to buy pants and long sleeve shirts yet.  That can be put off until September or October, to spread out the impact of costs.

4.  Prep:

  • After bringing home your spoils of war from the mall (well, Kohl’s, in our case), now you have to de-tag and wash it all, get it all hung up or in the drawers, and ready for that first day of school. 
  • The rest of “Prep” can be a weekly affair, of putting together outfits for the week, or hanging tops and bottoms together, to help your young ones get ready in the morning with a minimum of fuss. 

Hope these ideas help!  See you at the Mall!

Our list looks like this:  Child’s Name:

Shirts – Short Sleeve     Size:                 Needs: 13        Has:                 To Buy:
Shirts – Long Sleeve     Size:                 Needs: 13        Has:                 To Buy:
Shirts – Hoodies           Size:                 Needs: 3          Has:                 To Buy:

Pants – Shorts              Size:                 Needs: 7          Has:                 To Buy:
Pants – Long                Size:                 Needs: 7          Has:                 To Buy:
Pants – Dressy             Size:                 Needs: 1          Has:                 To Buy:
Pants – Athletic            Size:                 Needs: 3          Has:                 To Buy:

Shoes – Sneakers         Size:                 Needs: 1          Has:                 To Buy:
Shoes – Dressy            Size:                 Needs: 1          Has:                 To Buy:
Shoes – Boots              Size:                 Needs: 1          Has:                 To Buy:

Other – Summer PJs     Size:                 Needs: 4          Has:                 To Buy:
Other – Winter PJs       Size:                 Needs: 4          Has:                 To Buy:

Other – Underwear       Size:                 Needs: 10        Has:                 To Buy:
Other – Socks              Size:                 Needs: 10        Has:                 To Buy:
Other – T-Shirts            Size:                 Needs: 10        Has:                 To Buy:
Other – Belts                Size:                 Needs: 2          Has:                 To Buy:
Other – Jacket              Size:                 Needs: 1          Has:                 To Buy:

Two New Ways to Improve Your Morning!

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It is so easy to get off track during the summer months.  Without the structure of school days, we may forget to eat a healthy breakfast at a regular time, abandon basic personal hygiene (for teenagers!) and generally take way too long to get out the door, leaving much undone.

Here are two tools to help your mornings flow more smoothly:  The “Morning Line-Up” and “Back to Ready”.

We use The Morning Line-Up every day:

  1. Start out with a clear bathroom counter.
  2. Take out all the items you need to get ready; we’ll call these the Usual Suspects in Your Morning Line-Up.  Every day, lay all the Usual Suspects on your empty counter.
  3. My Usual Suspects include Antiperspirant, Face Lotion with SPF 30, toothpaste and brush, hair products, contacts and solution, lip stain and powder, etc.
  4. Next to these are my kids’ deodorants, toothbrushes and pastes, a comb and fingernail clippers (someone always needs those).
  5. Now, as we use the item in our Morning Line-Up, we put the item back in the cabinet (or drawer, or basket under the sink, which ever you prefer).
  6. You can make this even easier by dedicating one shelf / basket / etc. for just your Usual Suspects.

This idea reaps multiple benefits:

  1. At a glance, I know what I have used or not, and I don’t forget things.  And I know when I need to nag my sons to finish.
  2. We can add new habits to the line-up, if there is something we want to improve upon.  For example, I added my contacts and solution to my Line-Up when I decided to wear them more regularly.
  3. I have a client cultivating a “Swipe and Swish” habit to tidy up the bathroom every morning.  So she adds Windex and paper towels to her counter as part of her Line-Up.
  4. The Morning Line-Up can also be used to improve other areas of your life, for example, nutrition.  When I got forgetful about my daily vitamins or supplements, I bought one of those daily medication sorters.  Now I leave it on the counter in the morning, and put it away when I am done.

The other tool I want to offer you is “Back To Ready”. 

This is a proactive, positive step to help me and my clients get a handle on our lives and our homes. “Back to Ready” means we feel ready for whatever the week throws our way.

Working from home, I find it difficult to focus on work when my home feels unfocused.  In my defense, to a casual observer my home would not look cluttered.  But I know when things are left undone, and because of who I am and what I do, I have a very low tolerance for any sense of disorganization.

So Back to Ready is very important for my success!  What does “Ready” look like?

  • Beds made;
  • Bedrooms tidied up / surfaces cleared off;
  • Clothes and shoes (oh, the shoes!) dealt with— Dirty ones in the hamper, clean ones put away;
  • Breakfast dishes in the sink or dishwasher, table wiped off;
  • Bathroom cleaned up, towels hung up, surfaces clear, mirror wiped clean;
  • Papers gathered together for me to work on them, or purge or shred them.

“Back to Ready” takes 30 minutes on a Monday morning (you pick your own day!).  It involves starting laundry and a sink of soapy dishwater, going room by room and collecting clutter, emptying trash and vacuuming.  I start it before the kids go to school, so they can tidy up their rooms and put away whatever clean laundry they may have.   And we pick Mondays because we are very hard on our home on the weekends!

Pick one spot to start, and start there every week.  You can choose the easiest room first (my youngest son’s), or the most public room first (the entry way and living room), or the hardest room first (kitchen).  It’s up to you, just choose.  Now, only spend a few minutes in each room—this is not major cleaning, this is just maintenance between cleanings, and preparing for the week ahead.

Carry a notebook, too, to jot down the random ideas that come up during this particular exercise.  The ideas could read “Need laundry detergent, need snacks for baseball, bake cookies for friend, teenager needs new dress shoes,  change smoke detector batteries, etc.”

I hope these two ideas help you get yourself and your family out the door in a calm and organized manner.  Summer is a great time to try something new when it comes to morning routines, so give them a try and see what works for you.  Enjoy!