It is a fresh start! Pristine new notebooks and binders, pointy new crayons, a cool lunch box, and those brand new shoes! It is like a transformation that happens every fall. All the mishaps of last year are forgotten and children are ready to meet their new teachers and new friend. Embrace this “newness” with your student! Be their support for what’s ahead without looking back on previous trouble spots. They know they exist, but NOW they are navigating new waters and need you to support this new journey! Just think about how it would feel to walk into a your job every fall to find a whole new system, a new boss and new co-workers! That’s a lot to navigate. Student need to feel like they have some control over their environment. So develop systems together. Let them tell you how they use their locker, how they want to organize their back pack and where to put papers when they are home. Now this does not mean that you can’t make suggestions, just try let them come up with ideas with in you parameters. Be a good listener and don’t point to past failures. You will be amazed what a child who feels comfortable and safe to share will tell you! Sometime this will unlock the mysteries of where breakdowns occur.

So this is your chance to get on your students team. Keep an open mind, be positive and let them tell you what they need. You get to provide support and accountability and they get feel proud about taking responsibility for their school work.

Hopefully these are lessons that last a life time!

I was just considering some of the hurdles kids have to overcome every school year when it is time to go back to school. Just think how hard it would be at your job to get back into the groove every year if you switched rooms, schedules, bosses, coworkers and rules. What if you also knew that it was going to continue to get harder. Would you dread returning to work? Just think, this is what we do to kids every year!

This year try to avoid those back to school landmines to set your child up for success.

THE BACKPACK
I is important to teach kids that backpack are not for storage! They are for active traveling paper. Teaching them to prioritize what they carry is a great lesson in organization. Take time to go over how they are using their backpacks and how to out with them weekly until they get in the habit of doing it themselves. Do this with the mindset of teaching because these skills are not innate. Keep it positive.

THE LOCKER/DESK
These are important components of the paper flow system as well. These are vehicles for storage and children need to learn simple ways to make then work. Just separating morning and afternoon classes in a locker help kids get what they need quickly and more successfully. Simply loading desks, lockers, and backpacks with items in largest to smallest order is extremely important in for being able to find things in a hurry.

THE BINDER OR ACCORDION FILE
Taking time to build this system from the start might be the best thing you do all year. Do it with your child and let them have input. This will help them have “buy in” and there will be subtle agreement on where and how papers should travel and be stored. It will give you a chance to explore your child’s ability to process what is important to keep. This system will need to be tweaked as the year goes on. This is a good thing. Being organized is being able to adapt to changing needs.

PAPERS AT HOME
We recommend a desktop file that mirrors the section set up in the binder. This help keep the binder de-cluttered because papers that are needed for later review have a home! For older students computer files can also be set up in the same way. Don’t forget color! Try to keep one color per class for even easier retrieval!

So now you can look forward to more successes by setting up simply systems from the start that help student prioritize!

OK, I’ll admit it, I really don’t like 3 ring binders! This is a huge confession coming from a professional organizer! Organizers LOVE binders. Professional Organizers will “binderize” anything that is not nailed down! I always found it laborious to punch holes in hand outs and those jaw-like clips scare me! More things would lay on top of my binder than get in. But the point was driven home when i was reading Donna Goldgerg’s book, The Organized Student. She addresses the student’s organizational style and suggests that binders don’t work for some students. Her main point was that LEFT HANDED students can’t write on paper that is attached to a binder. Well call me slow, but I AM LEFT HANDED and I really never realized that all of you RIGHTIES were actualy writing in those binders. No wonder I can’t stand them. I guess on some level I knew because LEFTIES even have trouble with spiral notebooks, but I felt so much better after seeing it in print! So Mothers of LEFTIES, please don’t make your child use a binder if they resist. Use an accordian file or folders and you may see them have more success!

I am driving with my nephew and discussing how on earth a store could exist called Country clutter. What attracts people to stores with names that contain an undesirable message? I see clients spend money “unknowingly” on items that will surely become clutter because their homes are already overflowing, but this stuff is MARKED as clutter, MARKETED as clutter, ASSEMBLED TOGETHER with other clutter and SOLD as clutter. There are clearly warning signs here:) Shopper are not unwitting victims here! Maybe that is a good thing. Unlike a confusing nutrition label…here you know what you ate getting!

Everyday people spend money on our services to literally dig them out of their clutter yet these stores are breeding a new generation of hoarders! I just shake my head at how these places stay in business. I am a conscious consumer and am immediately get turned off to stores with names that are in opposition to what I am about. Another example is FATBURGERS! What’s next Holey Shoes or Busted Auto or Dog food Diner? So I challenge you to THINK BEFORE YOU SHOP!

As a Professional Organizer, I have always tried to keep “sharpening the saw” and learning as much as I can about the best practices in organizing. I recognize how hard it is for clients to “make that call” for help and I feel it is a privilege to be part of their life changing process. After eight years in the industry I watch new organizers come and go. Some try it and just can’t make the business work for them. They are good at what they do but can’t find people to do it for and give up because they can’t make it profitable! Others begin with the idea that they know how to be organized and they just have to show everyone “their way”. Both of these mindsets/situations may lead to a very short and sometimes very negative experience for organizers and clients alike. This is where the idea for P.O. PUSH came from! My colleague Patty Kreamer and I designed a program to shorten the learning curve to become professional and profitable quickly and easily. There will be 7 targeted tele-seminar sessions and small group session with peers to further deepen the learning and develop a support team for participant right from the start. Two more levels are to follow: PO PUMP and PO POWER! I’m just thrilled to be finally able to have a vehicle to share ideas on this industry that I truly care about!

What does an organized person look like? Many people envision the classic “librarian type”, with hair pulled back tight, thick glasses in well pressed blouse. Someone who follows a rigid set of rules in sensible shoes! Well, today during a NAPO Pittsburgh Meeting Lynn Staab said, “organize with flexability and change in mind”. This struck me as very interesting and so true! To me someeone who is rigid in their thinking is in danger of being disorganized. They keep trying to work in the same way they used to as their life continues to change and they outgrow their systems. So think about what organized looks like, and realize it can look like you!

I have been in so many offices where the design is beautiful but it does not work the person’s organizational style. Here are so things to look for when purchasing a desk.

Look at the Size
Many people don’t really think carefully about how a laptop or monitor will fit on the desk. Consider where the cord will be, where the keyboard will be and most importantly—where is the work space! Even the most techno savvy people need to be able to have work space on the desk top.

Where is the Drawer?
Our center drawers have been replaced with keyboard trays! Where does all that stuff go? A good desk has a narrow top drawer for small desk supplies. If your desk does not have that be sure to allow enough space for containers on your desktop or using products that can hang to use vertical space.

Horizontal or Vertical
Storing items vertically promotes action! Having a file drawer as part of your desk makes keeping your desktop clear EASY! If that drawer is not integrated into your desk, you need to have an easy place to put away processed papers. It is also powerful to place your active paper in stand up desk top sorter. This will stage items for each day so that you will have what you need at your fingertips! Horizontal tray seem to collect things rather than to keep things flowing. Be very careful to assign a function to these trays that is not storage.

Placement
Consider your style. Are you easily distracted? Are you highly visual? Do you want to face a wall, window or doorway?
Do you have enough space for an “L” shaped desk or a credenza that would allow for an area for work and a space for computing?

Adding functionallity that matches your style will set you up for success!

With ten days left before our daughter goes to college, we are preparing and packing to help her “fit” into her new life. This transition involves saying good bye to friends and family, and trying to get ready in many ways for a whole new lifestyle! We all know that space will be tight and we want this transition to be a smooth as possible. It is tempting to show our love and caring by making sure our new college student has everything they need!

But what do the NEED? If parents paid attention to all the prepared lists that retail outlet produce we would be having new bulletins of college dorms exploding all over the country! The more they have…the more they need to maintain. We want them to live simply and concentrate on their studies and having fun. So here are a few tips:
As you pack things, think about where they will fit in your child’s room. Pack in storage containers that will be used.
Use vertical space. Hang things from the wall. The 3m removable hooks are great. There is more hang up space than drawer space–use it!
Wait until you get there for the finishing touches. This will give room mate a chance to work together on a little decorating and to develop systems that work.
Pack a little tool kit for move in day and buy some laundry pre-stain products to help between laundry days.

Your job is to simply get them started and let them figure out the details!

In many situations clients are holding on to items because they are trying to respect the person that gave it to them. Often an item is passed down and has lost its usefulness and functionality in this world. It is so difficult to get rid of items like this. You have to ask yourself some tough questions. Assuming that you cup is already full, where is this item going to live in your world? What item do you already own that you would trade for it? Are you able to respect the item by storing it correctly in your space? Will it make you happy if you are not caring for it properly? Does it make you happy in general? Remember, you deserve to walk through this life—living with your BEST things.

Sometimes when I am working with clients–I am so amazed how close they are to making decisions that would help them be more organized—but they are just don’t make the final decision! We are able to reinforce their good instincts and many times there is an “avalanche” of decisions. Piles disappear and systems are put in place. So, pull the trigger and just make those decisions!