Tag: organize your family

Let Me Introduce You To My Hall Closet (aka Linen Closet)

An appealing aspect of class participants coming to my home is the opportunity to look around for organizing ideas. Even my cleaning people mentioned last week that they pick up ideas at my house!  I created a house walking tour for the classes I host here.

I spent time in two different linen closets last week (I really do have the coolest job), so I’d like to share the tour with you, starting with the Linen Closet (aka the Hall closet).

First of all, I don’t call our linen closet a linen closet.  I call it the hall closet, because there are no linens and only a few towels in it.  We keep our bed linens in our bedrooms, where we use them.  There are only 2 extra sets of towels in the closet, because really, how many extra sets would we possibly need?  The kids’ towels are on hooks on their bedrooms, I use the ones in the bathroom, and there are 2 extra sets in the downstairs bathroom, in addition to those my hubby uses daily.  I do laundry regularly, so we don’t need to keep more than an extra set or two.  Paring down the towels certainly cuts the closet clutter!

I have one set of cleaning supplies for most of the house.  There is extra dish and Imagedishwasher detergent under the kitchen sink, but almost everything else is corralled in the hall closet into a portable caddy and a clear oblong bucket.  The caddy contains my regular cleaning supplies, and I carry it from room to room with me when I clean.  The bucket holds special items like leather and carpet cleaner, and the bottles of concentrates that I purchase then mix with water to make my own supplies (love my Melaleuca!!).

Moving down the shelves, we come to our hygiene and wellness shelf.  I have two Imagesquare baskets side by side that hold the bottles and supplies that usually roll around linen closets, getting lost or in the way.  One basket holds our toiletry inventory.  I take advantage of sales for our toiletries, buying multi packs of body wash, deodorant, bar soap, toothpaste, chapsticks, etc.  When someone runs out of an item, they check the basket to see what we have in stock.

The other basket holds our medicine and first aid supplies.  It’s safer to store medicine in the hallway and not in the hot steamy bathroom, and we don’t use them often, anyway.  And when my kids were younger, the medicine basket was on a much higher and safer shelf.  When someone is feeling poorly, with a cold for example, the cough medicine, throat drops and vapo-rub are all together in one location.

The very top shelf holds items rarely used, like heating pads or beach towels.  I move the beach towels down to a lower shelf for the summer.  And the bottom shelf holds Imagepaper towel, toilet paper, tissue and paper cup inventory.  There is more TP in a drawer in the bathroom, but we have more storage room for large packages out in the hall closet.  No once can ever say they can’t find a box of tissues or extra paper towels.

And finally, on the floor is the communal laundry basket, so no one can ever say they couldn’t put their stuff in the laundry basket, either!!!

One area of untapped closet storage space is the door.   If you find you need more storage, you could use an over-the-door shoe rack and stash toiletries or first aid items in the pockets.  I have also seen long table linens hung on over-the-door towel racks for wrinkle-free storage.

So, if we were touring your linen closet, which type of item causes the most clutter?  Towels?  Cleaning supplies, paper goods, bottles of shampoo, band-aids?  You decide, and try one of the tips above to eliminate the clutter and make the most of your linen closet!

10 Habits for the Organized Student at School

It is vital for a student’s academic success
to find what they need when they need it.

     I offer a class called NAPO In The Schools, a service project through the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO.net) geared towards helping 3rd-5th graders get and stay organized.   Establishing organization skills early helps in school and in life.  I spend 50 minutes with the student groups helping them to positively answer:  “Can you find what you need when you need it?”

     Here are 10 suggestions to help your student ‘find what they need when they need it’ at school.

Time Management:

1.  Take a minute every day to tidy up your desk or locker and get rid of trash.  Maintenance is worth the time investment. 

2.  Break big tasks into little manageable pieces:  For example, if you are working on a book report, reading a chapter a day is good for your final grade and personal satisfaction, instead of skimming in a hurry the night before a report is due.

Stuff Management:

3.  When it is time to move, either from class to class, or when you are heading home for the day, think ahead to your next activity, and grab all the stuff you need, so you don’t have to come back for anything.

4.  Make it easy to find your stuff.  Color code your notebooks and folders, or at least CLEARLY LABEL each notebook, so you don’t grab the wrong one.

5.  When it is time to go home, go through a check list in your head. Use a memory trick, like thinking about you from head to toe to remember all your snow gear, or thinking about your class schedule to remember your homework assignments

6.  Consider the people around you, and keep your stuff from overlapping into other people’s space.

7.  Keep similar things together.  Like all your soccer equipment in one bag, specifically for that sport.

8.  Store stuff where you need it.  Like the stuff that is to go home in your locker or backpack instead of in your desk.

9.  Designate a spot for the really important stuff and make sure those important things always make it back to that spot.  Always put your house keys or cell phone in the same inside pocket of your back pack, so you can find them when you need them.

10. Keep the stuff you use all the time close at hand.  Like pens and pencils and other small items at the front of your desk, so you can see them and grab them quickly.

So, print these up and present them to your student.  Sit down and discuss with them which suggestions you both feel they have already mastered, and then pick one more to try this week.  Help your student establish organizing habits for success in school and in life!